I had to go to the dentist this afternoon in Charlottesville to get a tooth filled. I half-expected the office to call me this morning and reschedule until after the plague crisis, but they didn’t, so I went ahead and kept the appointment.
The dentist’s office took elaborate precautions against the Wuhan Coronavirus. When I arrived they questioned me about whether I was showing any symptoms, and then took my temperature (which was normal). While that was going on, staff members were swabbing down EVERYTHING in the waiting room.
The receptionist had me wait in my car until I was called. And I had to do a special antiseptic mouthwash before I got my tooth filled.
I told the dentist that he should maintain social distance. We had a nice chat about the possibility of using remote-control waldoes for dentistry. Apparently such things already exist: tiny mechanical “hands” that can work far back in the throat, controlled by some kind of joystick device.
The dentist’s assistant told me that Charlottesville had reported its first confirmed coronavirus infection, and that there was one in Harrisonburg, too.
Apparently I was one of the few patients who hadn’t called in and cancelled. They said they’re closing on Thursday because everybody has cancelled. As for next week, they’re waiting to hear what the CDC says.
Just for the heck of it I went to Walmart afterwards. They were out of a lot of stuff, so it’s a good thing I wasn’t there for food or toilet paper. But I noticed they had bread and milk, which surprised me. And plenty of bananas this time! So I bought a few.
Traffic was noticeably light. I was there at what should have been rush hour, but there really wasn’t any. The road home was almost empty.
When I got home, I saw a report that San Francisco has ordered all residents to stay at home 24/7 until April 7. The only exceptions are to go to a medical appointment or a grocery store. Where there will be no toilet paper, of course.
Shopping is now being done online. I just filled an order with Vons Markets (SoCal) for toilet paper and baby wipes that I must wait two weeks for. I am also dancing with Costco online trying to get a similar order filled.
When Swine Flu it wasn’t even half this crazy. Me thinks there is something behind the scenes conducting the ‘orchestrated’ response.
Many years ago, I was interested in Zen Buddhism. “Buddha is a [excrement] stick,” the koan wrote. Below was a link with an explanation about the ancient Chinese toilets. That [excrement] stick were reusable and in conditions of high population density in the end gave the Chinese the greatest immunity.
When the Wuhan epidemic began, I thought: and where is your much-praised immunity?
And now, comparing with Europe, I think, yes, only thanks to this immunity in China there are no such terrifying victims as in Italy.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shit_stick
I would not doubt that herd immunity conferred by the shtick. But I suspect it would not apply to novel pathogens.
Many Chinese live with abysmal hygiene practices by contemporary Canadian/American standards (probably in that order). I wonder if they suffer fewer allergies as a result.
Good to hear you got the teeth sorted Baron.
Nothing worse, just to consider the risk of pain, and even more dangerous to even have a low grade infection, that drags on you and risks one’s health more than most viruses.
Dentists do understand about hygiene standards, so do not really need to be told twice, but still good to see.
The other day I stocked up on a couple of packets of Paracetamol and Ibuprofen as pain, from a tooth can drive one crazy, or any other painful reason.
‘Oil of cloves’ just a minuscule drop on a cotton bud is also very good for a”dry hole” if a tooth has been pulled.
Very pleased to have had 1 tooth out, and checked over just prior to Christmas.
Hand sanitizer has been out of stock, for months in New Zealand.
This weekend had been the real turning point as the government finally woke up.
My small flat deck truck, lent itself to be able to rig up a 10 litre (2 gallon) container with a tap, with good boiled water, mixed with half cup of bleach, to keep the water good, and with a hand wash can keep my hands clean, rinse off, & paper towel dry after doing some shopping or other public work.
The alternate toilet paper is the “faucet shower” and the common name also is shown,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bidet_shower
A garden hose through the window and the hand faucet would basically do it. Just would not want to be so keen during winter. 🙁
Well the hatches are being battened down, priorities of living needs being prioritized and the Italian sings from the balcony in Naples. 🙂
https://twitter.com/i/status/1239245572206481412
2 mins 14 seconds.
A coronavirus was brought to our city by a woman who went on a business trip to Germany. Her husband met her in Moscow and also became infected. Now all the people who rode with her in the same train car are in quarantine.
The existence of the coronovirus still seems to have not registered with most people out on the street, this morning. I suspect they have been putting too much trust in the authorities who have engaged in sugar coating and happy talk rather than telling the truths that might prove upsetting. It made sense to follow their counsel some years ago when it was still authoritative, that is, competent. Some of it still is, but too much of it is now just wishful thinking.
I was chatting with a neighbor, yesterday, about his grandmother who lived through the hyperinflation and the second world war. We were laughing at some neighbors from a couple buildings over, who had returned from a little “hamster” buying, with the back of their hatchback topped up with packs of toilet paper. His grandmother would never have done such a thing, because after all that she had been through, she was already prepared and able to accept and overcome any eventuality. Apparently, she even kept on hand, the everyday materials to make explosives, because you never knew when you might need some. She was no prepper, just a typical German housewife who knew her trade. If you harbor high expectations of what folks in Germany (as a group) used to do and used to be able to do, you might want to lower them.
Sorry, coronavirus, not coronovirus. I am also reporting from Northern Germany. (I have been a little stressed.)
It’s different for everyone. For example, I bought only dog food. I’m already tired of worrying: we have been living for 30 years in a period of periodic collapse of the national currency and constant psychosis arranged by the Kremlin.
When my mother was young, their elderly lonely neighbor died. This woman survived the blockade in Leningrad. The closet in her apartment was filled with various cereals in which beetles wound up.
My grandmother survived the occupation in Belarus as a teenager. This also affected her psyche – if VERY TASTY food appeared in the house, she could not postpone it the next day, something in her psyche worked out that this delicious food would not be tomorrow. She always lived one day and tried to get everything from him fully.
I have seen enough of everyone in the USSR. And than. When I was 18 years old it was a tragedy that I can’t buy beautiful shoes and a dress (although we were not a poor family, relative to others). I recall the food service in Moscow in the 80s. God, what a shame it was … And now I do not care. I’m tired of this mouse fuss.
Today I went to the department store. For one type of toilet paper – a discount. Another whole type of these products is presented in a wide assortment. Good discounts on pasta.
I went to the clinic (recently I started having problems with hypertension). Usually you have to wait some time, even if you record for a certain time. Usually, all the seats in the corridor of the clinic are occupied by older women. Today there was not a single one. I was invited to the office a few minutes earlier.
But the therapist refused me physiotherapy – for the time of quarantine this service was stopped.