On the Corona Virus
Mar. 4th, 2020 08:22 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
livingdebMy favorite list of facts so far is The WHO sent 25 international experts to China and here are their main findings after 9 days on Reddit.
The summary I find to be the most fun is John Oliver's video. Although there is swearing and weirdness about Adam Driver.
(If you need to, skip the parts with Trump and Pence, and know that although it's actually true that the virus may lose power as the weather warms, it would probably then gain power again in the fall.)
My favorite part of that video is the hand washing dance from Vietnam. There's even a tutorial.
Here are some other thoughts:
* The world seems to be working together to fight this virus. I fear this is a distraction from fighting the climate crisis.
* As a respiratory disease, it's hitting smokers hard. If you have been thinking about quitting smoking, this might be a good motivation. Your lungs don't heal all the way instantly, but they do immediately start healing.
* Besides washing hands, this might be a good time to focus on your health in general--try to get enough sleep, enough water, some exercise, you know the drill.
* The stock market is falling because of the corona virus, and yet pro-stock-market people tend to oppose universal health care. I don't really get that.
* We can't really expect science to come up with cures and vaccines so that we don't have to take any precautions while at the same time trashing and defunding science. (Same with the climate crisis.)
* Edited to add: my mom is a nurse and is thus a professional hand washer. She had to wash all the way up to the elbows and then keep her hands up where they could be seen before working with a patient. She said that the rubbing and the rinsing is actually more important than the soap.
In other news, I am always touching my face. Here are some suggestions I've seen for re-training:
* cone of shame (perhaps one on each wrist?)
* gloves
* glamour-length nails
* eye make-up (or cornea transplants or other facial surgery)
I wish you all the best in staying safe and happy, especially extroverts.
The summary I find to be the most fun is John Oliver's video. Although there is swearing and weirdness about Adam Driver.
(If you need to, skip the parts with Trump and Pence, and know that although it's actually true that the virus may lose power as the weather warms, it would probably then gain power again in the fall.)
My favorite part of that video is the hand washing dance from Vietnam. There's even a tutorial.
Here are some other thoughts:
* The world seems to be working together to fight this virus. I fear this is a distraction from fighting the climate crisis.
* As a respiratory disease, it's hitting smokers hard. If you have been thinking about quitting smoking, this might be a good motivation. Your lungs don't heal all the way instantly, but they do immediately start healing.
* Besides washing hands, this might be a good time to focus on your health in general--try to get enough sleep, enough water, some exercise, you know the drill.
* The stock market is falling because of the corona virus, and yet pro-stock-market people tend to oppose universal health care. I don't really get that.
* We can't really expect science to come up with cures and vaccines so that we don't have to take any precautions while at the same time trashing and defunding science. (Same with the climate crisis.)
* Edited to add: my mom is a nurse and is thus a professional hand washer. She had to wash all the way up to the elbows and then keep her hands up where they could be seen before working with a patient. She said that the rubbing and the rinsing is actually more important than the soap.
In other news, I am always touching my face. Here are some suggestions I've seen for re-training:
* cone of shame (perhaps one on each wrist?)
* gloves
* glamour-length nails
* eye make-up (or cornea transplants or other facial surgery)
I wish you all the best in staying safe and happy, especially extroverts.
no subject
on 2020-03-05 02:06 pm (UTC)I appreciated the list of knowledge out of China. I'm impressed by the science and sociology behind containment and I'm saddened by the initially slow response.
no subject
on 2020-03-14 01:15 am (UTC)It's going to be tough times ahead for many.