Coronavirus Diaries

seems short-sighted of them to be worrying so much about the germs on reusable bags.

what about all the germs on people's clothing?

who knows - it is panic mode everywhere - I went to the grocery today - about an hour after the senior hour ends. This for stores that do not have store pick up.

To me that seems the best time - you have the senior hour when the seniors go - then the store opens for all and there is a mad rush at that hour - so you go at say 10 (8-9 seniors; 9-10 paper product shoppers aka hoarders) and then the store is empty - you still got alot of stuff to choose from - other than those things hoarders want.

So upon leaving the store and after I load the trunk - I use a wipe to wash my hands - upon entering the car because the wipe is not enough - I use antibactorial gel.

So I come home with my Easter dinner stuff - in plastic bags cuz I can't use my re-usables any more. I put the plastic bags down in the mud room area. I go wash my hands, then I come into the mud room with more wipes - after I take each product out plastic bag I put them down, put the bags together because obviously they are contaminated. And proceed to use a wipe to clean my hands again - I then wipe each product I bought with a wipe - either hand it to my husband in the kitchen or reach over to place in the kitchen from the mud room.

When I am done I bring the contaminated plastic bags to the garage, come in the house and wash my hands again.

Am I paronoid?

Oh and I do go up and change my clothes too - just in case

No, you’re not paranoid, but I didn’t think of changing clothes! I also designate a place to put my store bags and wipe off packages from the store...then, wipe off the counter where store bags had been.

You run a tight ship!

Look what I saw -it cropped up when I was on the local news website

https://gomerblog.com/2020/04/in-effort-to-contain-coronavirus/

I don't know what's driving my moods during this time, but I woke up genuinely happy for the first time since my lockdown. I just did an inventory of food and even though I'm out of A2--my calcium and cereal requirement, I've got a couple of days of meals, so I'm going to forego my awesome cereal and deplete my reserves before going out.

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I think my experiences with my students are making a big difference. I've gotten a couple of emails from students that I'll probably print out and frame to build me up when I need it--and remind me in my waning days that I made a difference in the lives of some kids who had a lot of adversity on their plates in this life. These kids!

Beyond that, it is fun -- like some silly, but urgent academic safari to have a kid email for help, I say 'Sup?' they say--please meet me on my Day 8 assignment document and see if my essay looks right. I immediately meet him on his doc and we type out our little diagnostic conversation punctuated with emojis; I have a template of the graphic organizer that will help him form his writing correctly and slap it down for him on the doc-- he's amazed!! I ask him questions that lead him to the corrected theme in real time and he has the information to re-focus his essay with the authentic thesis. I've been able to get down into individualized instruction--this is teaching and learning. This is what the lovely emails are talking about.

Why can't it always be so? This is the dreamiest teaching experience I've had--and it is impossible during what they call school.
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My fam did play a game together a few days ago and it was hilarious. It was wonderful to see all the faces and laugh together again. We played some game--
Bawdy fun--and I didn't realize how happy I'd be to see them. We're doing it again tomorrow night. Highly recommended.

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In goose news, the dad goose's post had been in close proximity to the driver's side of my car. After a couple of days, I had to go shopping, so I climbed through the passenger's side (surprisingly complicated with that big gear-shifty thing and storage console between the driver's and passenger's seats--like the bridge of the Starship Enterprise to climb over. I developed an intimate relationship during that climb, damn goose.) All that to say, holding less-menacing vigil in the parking lot outside my window, he still sits this morning. She's pleasantly sitting on her eggs in our lush little garden by the entryway of our building. He's too tired to honk at all entrants anymore, thankfully. It took him days to get used to it. Animal Control gave our mgmt the run around, reportedly, so they sent another memo asking people to just be nice to the geese.

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Despite all our concerns that my daughter might be sick, it seems her sniffles and sore throat episodes have been unrelated to big worries, thankfully. We are currently all healthy. Just bored as hell, but grateful.

Also at Easter there will be no church services in German prayer houses. The Federal Constitutional Court (highest German court) confirmed the ban on masses on Friday.
The reason: the danger of infection was simply too great.
Nevertheless, the judges insisted on the expiry date of the strict anti-corona measures.

"As an extremely serious encroachment on the freedom of faith, the prohibition of worship requires a continuous strict examination of its proportionality on the basis of the latest findings" 1 BvQ 28/20 (in German)

Walter, what would you say is the percentage of non-compliance with these covid-related laws and directives?

Walter, are you familiar with the report from an antibody/antigen study conducted in Gangelt ?? I saw som preliminary results and they look somewhat encouraging regarding native immunity to covid is possibly higher than earlier reported. (The original values used in the models assume a 100% susceptibility)

If there is an "end date" mentioned, AND the circumstances why and when law/directive/by-law/order comes into force, if all this is mentioned, it will be difficult to get it restricted.


Two examples:
1) The state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern ("Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania") got a regulation on travel restrictions. One paragraph contains travel restrictions for locals at Easter: even they weren't allowed to gon on the seaside, the isles, certain peninsulas and the Mecklenburg Lake Plateau.

This was objected by several institutions and municipalities.
The Higher Administrative Court stated in a decision that the restrictions provided for were a disproportionate encroachment on the freedom of the person. Although the court was aware of the exceptional situation of danger, the provision encroached unreasonably on the fundamental right of freedom of movement Furthermore, it was not comprehensible that the state capital Schwerin and its surroundings of all places were not covered by the travel restrictions. In addition, due to the lack of out-of-state tourists, there was in any case more space in the holiday centres.

The state government accepted this ruling (otherwise, the state's constitutional court had to look at it) and changed the paragraph in question.

2) The government of my state North Rhein-Westphalia want a "Pandemic Law". Since the law was wanted as soon as possible, the bill was done with a lick and a promise . not only the opposition parties thought a lot to be unconstitutionally (regarding both federal and state constitution).
So the text was changed accordingly, and we'll get the law next Wednesday. (After the third reading - the right-AfD opposed the law and thus forced another reading)

Yes, I am.
There's big discussion about it - mainly, because temporary results were offered yesterday (by scientists) and in the media (because they've got what they want: a "result").
I think, since different antibody/antigen studies are done elsewhere in Germany as well (a similar to that of the Gangelt-study is done in Bavaria), we really should wait until this and all the others are finalised.

Thanks. I’m probably not the only person tracking comparisons between Germany and...everybody else. Trying to find a good source of German news I can read.

DW news and perhaps The Local

I leave my outer layers outside when I get home from shopping. Bring them in 4+ hours later. Admittedly a few things have been out there for quite a while.
Inner layers get switched out once I'm inside. Docs are reporting that the virus dies faster on soft surfaces so I'm avoiding wearing slick/harder fabrics out. Right now I've got 3 bandanna/mask covers airing out. of course that means they're gathering pollen so I'll sneeze when I first put one on. no winning there.

hands are super dry from all the handcleaner stuff. put cuticle oil on. now my fingers are sliding all over the keyboard. urff.

Still having fun knitting the little nurse-mate dolls. Dang cute. I'm not used to knitting sweet little things. A friend just told me her very elderly mother was given one when she was in her last days in the hospital last year, and that she found it very comforting. Maybe I'll keep on with the little nurses and docs.

one of the clerks at our local store said they were ok with reusables as long as they are not placed on their counters. fair enough.

You can bring the bags/rollie in - just have to pack your own - away from counter.

I hoep wou will keep us iformed since this may be some much needed positive news regarding ourabilities to draw up the battle lines.
If it turns up that those folks who test positive in the antigen and then show antibodies,maybe we have a built in immunity. That can really kick any anti viral vaccine into the passing lane.


I got this from Dr John Campbell's daily You tube rundown. He's been mostly bad news lately and yesterday he was talking about re-infections in China andKorea.
SO if this is so, its demonstrating something Ive been saying when using evolution as a guide. The virus only starts by killing us but later either mutates or has a built in genetic variability so that a less lethal variant becomes the main species. If the virus just keeps killing us, it sets up for its own doom , whereas natural selection allows it (and us) to live .

Spanish flu had a similar presentation. Gradually , after its first sets of infection, the "Flu" became almost a chronic feature and it still is among us today in less leathal forms.


Here in the US , we BS everybody about "testing" but we still dont have enough tests to draw any meaningful infection data and we dont have ANY available antibody testing at all.
No matter what our leaders say, we are still in the wake of most other countries.

I seems to be rather certain - according what others said today - that it can be assumed that the severity of the disease could be reduced through hygiene measures. It is therefore important that we learn to deal with the risks appropriately.

Im really most interested in the genetic variability of these critters. It could be we have a new tool thanks to Mr Darwin and Fr Mendel. Germans are always in the center of technological developments and discoveries.

Im amazed that we have , so damn many cnters of research that we cant work togeter to develop an antibody screening test. We used to develop these autoimmune tests to determine antibody loading for people who lived around gold mines using Cyanide mining, and we did it using one college biochem lab using rabbits.