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COVID-19 (Coronavirus) - How are you coping with this?


RailBus63

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Greetings all - I hope that my fellow CPTDB members and your families are staying healthy during the COVID-19 Coronavirus outbreak and continue to do so.  This is obviously a very stressful time for all of us and will likely continue to be a challenge in the coming weeks and months.  I'm interested in learning how others are handling this situation personally, especially given that we have a number of members who are on the front lines in the transportation industry.

(Note: I'm not interested in a political discussion about whether this is real, how politicians are handling it, etc.)

Personally, I like to think that I've always been a careful person in public spaces and have always washed my hands or used sanitizer after riding a transit vehicle, been in a public building, used a gas pump or ATM, etc., but I've tried lately to make an even more conscious effort to avoid touching surfaces, not touch my mouth, eyes, face, etc.  I have no intention on wearing a mask out in public because I don't believe it would be useful in avoiding disease.  We did recently stock up on supplies (got lucky and was at our local Wal-Mart right after they got a new shipment of Clorox wipes) but I'd sure like to get more hand sanitizer - hopefully it will be more available soon.  Also stocked up on canned goods in the event that a quarantine becomes necessary.  Hopefully we in North America can avoid the current lockdown that has taken place in Italy and China, but I don't think it hurts to be prepared. 

I'm also thinking about where I travel locally and how crowded the venues are.  The guidance I've read has indicated that the greatest risk of public exposure would be to be exposed to an infected person who is within six feet of you for 15 minutes or more.  I don't go to movie theaters much but I think this will keep me out of them for a while.  Likewise, I don't think I want to spend much time in a crowded restaurant either.  We're not shutting ourselves in at home, just trying to be mindful of where we go. 

I'm not currently a transit commuter so I don't have to be concerned about riding crowded vehicles - I'm curious how others feel about having to do this (or to drive them). 

In terms of transit enthusiast activities like photography, I haven't been doing any lately but that is more due to weather (and dirty buses) and not much new going on around here that I haven't already photographed.  I don't see this stopping my activities once spring arrives.

 Be safe out there - I'm thinking about all of my friends in this difficult time. 

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I've been a little bit worried about COVID-19 since I am in high school with tons of disgusting items all over.  Esspecially the desks, keyboards, mice in the school, I've become so worried about getting sick.  However, I have started to wash my hands between classes starting today, so hopefully that helps.  In terms of public transportation and bus fanning, I have been a little more cautious, using my sleeve on my hoodie to grab onto hand rails and open the train doors.  Hopefully when the 7600 charter comes around this Sunday we can all stay safe!  Cant wait for this coronavirus crap to be over.

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So far as the crisis has gone on, I haven't been particularly concerned for myself as I've been unemployed as of late, though I may be starting a new (retail) job soon and if that happens I'll fork out for a pair of gloves so that I can avoid touching potentially contaminated surfaces as I go about my work. The rest of the people in my house go to school and work and I'm rather more concerned that they'd catch something (what's it gonna take for schools to shut down a la Europe?), but none of us are in a particularly high risk category of people, so if we catch it then hopefully we can ride the storm out and come out the other side. Like Railbus, we've also been avoiding movie theatres and restaurants, but we've stocked up on a decent amount of food so a lockdown or quarantine situation shouldn't be a problem in that particular area.

Looking at the daily headlines though it's hard for me to feel particularly hopeful or encouraged. I'd like to hope that in 5 or 6 months' time this will be more under control and these emergency measures will just be a distant memory, but the road to get there is going to be long and bleak. I was supposed to be visiting my grandparents in Europe in the spring, but those plans have been put on hold till God knows when. I don't want to risk catching something on the plane and then giving it to them, who are in exactly the most high risk group, so I'm okay with not seeing them until this crap blows over, though I despair at the thought of another year of nothing to do with my time except working and seeing my friends every now and then.

In terms of my hobbies, I've been staying home and not photoing anything. I wouldn't have any issue with doing this by car, but I don't have that luxury, and I'd prefer not to take unnecessary risks. I had a fairly rich itinerary planned out for my trip in the spring that's all but completely been torpedoed, something I'm not very happy about - but except for visiting a trolleybus graveyard there shouldn't be much that should be existentially threatened, and a lot of events are being cancelled or pushed back anyway, and hopefully mine will follow suit. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't miffed - but there are people out there with far more to lose than me, so I must acknowledge how relatively fortunate I am.

Hoping everyone stays safe during this difficult time.

 

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I unfortunately take transit for at least 40 minutes Monday to Friday twice a day. I wear my winter gloves every time I go on. I’d be a bit more concerned, but usually my bus and streetcar routes are relatively not packed going the way I go to school. I still am concerned, but not as worried than I thought I would.

In terms of transit fanning I have been basically banned from transit fanning since about early February limits unless I am going to school.

I hope everyone is ok and is taking some sort of precaution during this difficult time.

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I've got a bit of time to work with.  I was on vacation and then dropped on to a bunch of back hour shifts when I came back to work so I'm not around other people much at all and I further reduced my exposure risk by taking advantage of the low gas prices and have been driving everywhere rather than using public transportation.  I have a couple more weeks of this until I spin back around to the day shift and by then, I'll be out of town in a nice, quiet corner of the country backfilling the engineer somewhere else for a few weeks.  Then I go back on another shift rotation when I return home.  Hopefully, hopefully, hopefully by the time that finishes up the back of this thing'll be broken.

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Its hit close to home in terms of the economics. Alberta is already in a recession so it isn't helping the situation.  My family relies on oil & gas and the airline industry. So at work, we were expected to get our schedules for a five-week cycle between late March and April. Unfortunately, in the airline industry, travel has declined. As a result, we aren't being issued schedules until a few days before the new cycle. It's especially worrying as rumors has it layoffs are going to happen if things don't improve. If the layoffs do happen, we don't know who is going to first be impacted which has gotten everyone paranoid but I wonder how the new hires will be the impacted. If that happens, it includes me as I've only been with my new employer since January. I am stressing out about it as this is my only source of income as I left my previous job for something better. I'll eventually know in the coming days as we continue to get continuous updates regarding the situation. All I hope for is that I still have a job in a couple weeks. 

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To be honest, I've honestly been a lot more concerned with how people have been treating Asian people since this outbreak. Normally when someone contracts the virus, most people react with "Get well soon" (and rightfully so), but whenever people mention the Chinese, people start victim-blaming and saying shit like "this is karma" or "this is what you get for eating bats". I barely notice any sympathy towards them and it's really frustrating. No one seems to care.

Eating bats is not common in China at all and is actually a prominent delicacy in other countries. 

Just because you find it weird doesn't give you the right to make a group of people a scapegoat for spreading an illness. An outbreak can happen anywhere.

Ignorance and victim-blaming are toxic and don't help anyone.

 

As for the virus itself, it hasn't really affected me as of now, I'm just making sure to just stay clean and not be paranoid as Ontario is pretty low-risk at the moment.

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20 hours ago, 9924 said:

There's nothing to "cope" with.  Just like with any other virus, unless you have a compromised immune system, you'll be just fine.

I assume "coping with" the uncertainty, fear, preparations, and for anyone in Europe, the extreme disruptions to everyday life.

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So the problems with the sick leave policy statements at work that have acted as a strong disincentive towards people self-reporting their status and staying home over the fear of not getting paid has caused a bit of a blowup with comments on the company's internal bulletin board system.  Well, good, it probably had to happen to get management to start rethinking how they want to approach this problem.  In the meantime, the union sent out a lame email mentioning how affected people staying from home might not be compensated for the time but made no mention of them fighting to get this situation sorted out for the better.  I honestly wonder what they're good for besides collecting dues and having social events for temp workers since they don't see to actually represent anybody.  They should've taken the lead on handling this issue but didn't.

And I've been getting an avalanche of cancellation notices too.  Oddly, at least for now, football hasn't been cancelled but the season itself doesn't start until the end of May.  Hopefully that scrapes by unscathed.  Trolley museums are starting to cancel events though.  Two just went poof down at Pennsylvania Trolley Museum.  I honestly think the panic itself is causing more problems than the corona virus itself at this point but I don't that changing very quickly though.

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Two Matthew Good tickets now sit in my nightstand as souvenirs of a concert that never was.

On 3/11/2020 at 6:52 PM, 9924 said:

There's nothing to "cope" with.  Just like with any other virus, unless you have a compromised immune system, you'll be just fine.

You’re absolutely right. What are elderly parents for, other than to collect inheritances? Because of my chosen vocation, I’ve already made the conscious decision to suspend visiting them...unfortunately that goes for their granddaughter, and every other person in my household too.

Even if I’m to make it though this without my household contracting- and recovering from (better chance of an ice cube surviving hell), I fully anticipate whatever family vacation plans I had on the back burner will be scuttled for a year, as manpower demands lean heavier on those unaffected to maintain baseline service.

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3 hours ago, Matthew TTC 4120 said:

So school just got closed in Ontario from March 14 to April 5. Publicly funded schools only.

Looks like I am doing a whole bunch of nothing

Really hope this doesn't happen in Calgary.  How will students (esspecially in high school) be directed/expected to learn the material when there is no teacher able to direct the course?  Also I can see parents of elementary aged students becoming angry over the school closures as they will have to either a) scramble to find a babysitter which costs money or b) staying home with their kids, not getting paid as a result and maybe even not getting food on the table.  I can understand that this virus isn't a joke and is contageous, but god damn is everyone and esspecially the media taking it out or porportion.

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1 minute ago, Bus_Medic said:

Two Matthew Good tickets now sit in my nightstand as souvenirs of a concert that never was.

You’re absolutely right. What are elderly parents for, other than to collect inheritances?

Elderly parents have a better chance succumbing from the normal flu then they do with the Covid19 strain.  

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27 minutes ago, 9924 said:

Elderly parents have a better chance succumbing from the normal flu then they do with the Covid19 strain.  

Elderly...heart condition, pacemaker and diabetes? I don’t visit with my kid if any of us have the flu, either.

Its unlikely that I’ll be struck by lightning by playing golf in a thunderstorm, but I ain’t doing that either.

A Hamilton oncologist returned from Hawaii last week feeling fine. With the best of intentions, she exposed roughly 14 immuno compromised patients. I’m not blaming her directly because we didn’t know the extent of the spread...we’re getting a more detailed picture of the extent with each passing day.

Seeing as I spend 40 hours a week in an environment with a high probability of exposure, the chances that I could be a carrier for days before becoming symptomatic are very real. 

I can’t live with that on my conscience.
If steps aren’t taken now to slow the spread, emergency resources and equipment will be overwhelmed for the few that will really need them...seeing as ER wards are running at nearly 100% long BEFORE this touched our shores.
 

The 1918 flu pandemic wasn’t “normal” any more than this is.

I’m not advocating for storming your nearest grocery store in a panic to buy up their entire supply of tampons, but a pragmatic, realistic outlook is needed if the most vulnerable are to have the best shot. Steps taken now can mean big differences in its overall impact.

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2 minutes ago, 9924 said:

Same things that increase complications for every other flu strain out there.

And I don’t go to work or visit hospitals or nursing homes with the flu, either. I’m not a software engineer that can hole up in my basement while waiting for this to run it’s course. 
I can, however limit who I contact outside of work.

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4 minutes ago, Bus_Medic said:

And I don’t go to work or visit hospitals or nursing homes with the flu, either. I’m not a software engineer that can hole up in my basement while waiting for this to run it’s course. 
I can, however limit who I contact outside of work.

And your point is?

You're free to do what ever you want.

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My point is, I care for my parents deeply, and I’m taking steps which I feel will help their chances of delaying their exposure, and increasing the odds should it happen anyway, the local hospitals will have a manageable caseload so they can have the intensive care resources available should they ever need them.

My feelings are valid, and I don’t appreciate being dismissed as overreacting. I don’t think I’m being at all unreasonable, given the circumstances we all now find ourselves in.

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1 hour ago, TechSpotlight said:

Really hope this doesn't happen in Calgary.  How will students (esspecially in high school) be directed/expected to learn the material when there is no teacher able to direct the course?  Also I can see parents of elementary aged students becoming angry over the school closures as they will have to either a) scramble to find a babysitter which costs money or b) staying home with their kids, not getting paid as a result and maybe even not getting food on the table.  I can understand that this virus isn't a joke and is contageous, but god damn is everyone and esspecially the media taking it out or porportion.

Yeah School is important but to me personally, I’d rather protect my family. Most importantly is my Grandmother. She is the last of my 4 grandparents, so I am trying to spend more time with her, and with school off for a bit, this is a great opportunity.

Luckily for school, I know of no test or projects that are happening in the next 2 weeks after March Break, other than the Math test that we are supposed to have tomorrow. What suck about all of this Is that I will still have to catch up, which is annoying.

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1 hour ago, TechSpotlight said:

How will students (esspecially in high school) be directed/expected to learn the material when there is no teacher able to direct the course?

Not to downplay the importance of education, but at a time like this this seems like a pretty non-issue. Education can be gained back at another time, but the lives of the vulnerable, once lost, are gone forever. I would take a bit of short term inconvenience over waiting until we reach Italian levels of crisis before we act.

I appreciate the difficulty that parents who don't have the option of working from home will have in figuring out what to do with their kids, though.

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26 minutes ago, Bus_Medic said:

My point is, I care for my parents deeply, and I’m taking steps which I feel will help their chances of delaying their exposure, and increasing the odds should it happen anyway, the local hospitals will have a manageable caseload so they can have the intensive care resources available should they ever need them.

My feelings are valid, and I don’t appreciate being dismissed as overreacting. I don’t think I’m being at all unreasonable, given the circumstances we all now find ourselves in.

3B930B52-FED8-4387-B196-23B99D311D50.thumb.jpeg.753adb2e93e43b782dcb7019d9bc1dcd.jpeg

So, you don't take those precautions with other flus?

As for cancelling things, overreaction plain and simple.

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26 minutes ago, 9924 said:

So, you don't take those precautions with other flus?

As for cancelling things, overreaction plain and simple.

I really don’t understand what you want me to say. This thread is for anyone to share their thoughts, concerns fears and frustrations related to the current pandemic. I’ve done that.

You want me to say I’m scared? I’m fucking terrified. Terrified enough to take action. 

You do you.

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5 hours ago, Bus_Medic said:

I really don’t understand what you want me to say. This thread is for anyone to share their thoughts, concerns fears and frustrations related to the current pandemic. I’ve done that.

Dude, you're the one who commented (with an extremely juvenile comment) on my post, I retorted, in which you replied and so on and so forth.  Thats kinda how discussion forums work. If you don't want someone to comment on your post, don't comment on their post in the first place.

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