COVID-19 (Coronavirus)

[Frank G]

Originally Posted by GHen

Agreed, this conversation should have relevance to rv experience.

Is anyone is changing their rv plans based on their beliefs of the situation? We primarily boondock, so not us.

The DW and I live in a 55 and older RV resort in central Florida. Everything is normal here, church services were full yesterday as well as Sunday night ice cream and entertainment. Talks of upcoming cruses and summer travels were prevalent. This RV resort was founded by the Airstream community and it continues to be a favorite stop for the Airstream community. One thing I have learned is the people of the Airstream community are serious RV'ers and travelers. It will take more than this outbreak to stop them.

[ctbruce]

Not doing anything different this year than what is already planned.

Will stay away from the hot spots as an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Saw a report of a girl who was in contact with an infected person in Chicago, somehow forgot she was, took the train home to St. Louis, then remembered several days later after attending an event. The virus is just the bullets. The people are the guns.

As a healthcare worker and a front line person, we are practicing what John has been posting. We are not stock piling TP and we are having to lock up masks and hand sanitizer to prevent theft and hoarding. I have some of you on camera.

[JRTJH]

There is WAY TOO MUCH BS floating around about this and many other bacterial/viral infections.

Things like making your own hand sanitizer, adding "some essential oil to make it smell better" and buying alcohol at the dollar tree to add to the mix is just the latest in the long line of CRAP being put out by well intentioned news writers without a clue !!!!!.... Mix that hand sanitizer too strong and it will "preserve" the organisms you're trying to kill, mix it too weak and it will provide them a mechanism to adapt to the alcohol environment rather than die, mix in some contaminated "essential oil" left over from Christmas (that's growing a bacteria or virus you don't know is in it) will contaminate your "hand sanitizer" making it more harmful as it spreads those "new bugs" around the family.

I'd suspect that likely more than half the people "mixing this stuff at home" aren't aware that isopropyl alcohol is available in two "on the shelf strengths". One, 70% alcohol is the preferred ingredient. There's enough alcohol to dehydrate bacteria but not enough to trigger the bacterial defense mechanism.

In other words, using 70% alcohol will "sneak up on bugs and kill them" while 90% alcohol will trigger a defense mechanism in "some (not all) bacteria, triggering them to build a waxy shell to protect against the alcohol. Using "hand sanitizer" made at home (that is too strong) can actually "preserve the bacteria and viral organisms that it's intended to kill"...

I know, I know, but having done this for 25 years in the surgical and hospital setting, I can understand the "desire to be protected" but so many things people "contrive" actually make the situation worse rather than "fix the problem"....

Using contaminated aloe vera gel to add to the wrong strength alcohol, adding some "left over cucumber oil" so it smells good and wearing a paper mask that has a wire strand nose tab that you keep touching as you readjust so it stays against your face as you run your fingers through your hair to keep it off your face... Well, unfortunately, all of those things can increase your risk of exposure, not decrease them....

Sometimes, people are our own "worst enemy". I'm not suggesting anyone "ignore COVID-19" I'm simply saying that over-reacting and not thinking things through likely won't make you any safer from potential infection. Common sense, well thought out standard infection control that has worked for millions/billions of surgical procedures over the last 100 years are appropriate....

It's not like we don't have any experience in dealing with the spread of infections or that we haven't been "controlling the spread of bacterial and viral contamination for over a century", medical professionals have been doing this every day for decades.... Listen to the health care professionals, not the "sensationalizing news writer who can't even spell medical terms correctly"...…

If you've got a trip planned, use common sense. If you're sick, using supplemental oxygen, have COPD or any host of other "serious conditions" don't plan a trip to Seattle and don't book a RV trip that includes a 3 day cruise out of Los Angeles or San Diego. Go to the Grand Canyon (avoid the trinket shops at the rim), or some other place where large crowds of international travelers don't go. A little "common sense" goes a long, long way …..

[flybouy]

The following is my opinion. I have no numbers, no facts, just years of observations.

As I see it, our biggest threat in this country is the media, both traditional media outlets and social media. The media is biased, political, and deceptive and has been since the days of Ben Franklin. The public is, and always have been gullible and easily influenced. What I see today is the exponential increase in the speed at which the information, either real or manufactured, is dispensed. Since 9-11 every time you turn around there's a "news alert" in plastered in big bold bright fonts with an ominous sound to get your attention.

I recall someone back in the late 1970's that the "space shuttle was causing the weather changes". He said he read it in the newspaper. I asked which paper? He said it wasn't "one of those 25 cent papers, he paid a dollar for it!" He had read it in the National Enquirer that cost a dollar so that made it more true in his mind.

To me the internet and the proliferation of cable "news" channels are the modern day tabloids. Folks are fixated on their phones and tend to "buy into" what comes across.

My father used to tell me to "separate the wheat from the chaff" (separate the truth from the noise). Today, with the ease of manipulating the images the level of "chaff" has greatly increased. During these times it's the "deceiver's" that benefit whether it's by preying on the stock market or on a scared, panicked consumer.

We survived Sars, Ebola, Anthrax, AIDS, etc.,etc. This to shall pass.

JMHO

[ctbruce]

I'm probably having too much fun making these, but it points out the gullibility of some folks.

[77cruiser]

Originally Posted by ctbruce

I'm probably having too much fun making these, but it points out the gullibility of some folks. Attachment 25504

Maybe there's more to the story.


https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/hea...01Y?li=BBnb7Kz

[ctbruce]

Originally Posted by 77cruiser

Maybe there's more to the story.


https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/hea...01Y?li=BBnb7Kz

That diarrhea is way down the list. Kleenex with lotion would be a better choice.
"They have almost identical symptoms — fever, coughing, night sweats, aching bones, tiredness and, in the more severe cases of both viruses, nausea and even diarrhea."

[JRTJH]

Originally Posted by 77cruiser

Maybe there's more to the story.


https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/hea...01Y?li=BBnb7Kz

And then, maybe there's a LOT more to the story.

First, the author of that article, Quentin Fottrell, is a personal finance editor and advice columnist at MarketWatch. He is not a medical professional. While he may have some knowledge of infection control, his "area of expertise" is the economy, not public health.

That said, if you read his article carefully, it's filled with innuendo and hyperbole. He states in one place that among the vulnerable (over age 70) COVID-19 mortality rates are upwards of 14% and "flu mortality is 1%. He then "leaves the impression" that "common flu" mortality rate is the same for all age groups. Reality is that the mortality rate of "common flu" in that same age group (over 70) is also "at the 14% rate and it's estimated that 75% to 85% of all "flu related deaths" occur in the over 65 age group.

While he is "attempting to be objective" in comparing/contrasting different types of viral agents, he fails to do "apples to apples comparisons," falling into the trap of comparing COVID-19 in the geriatric population to "common flu" in a generalized population. There is no "peer review" of his article by any medical professional and, essentially, all "news articles" are written so they fill the allotted space on the page (after advertising space is filled) with little to no consideration about telling the "entire story" not just the part that helps sell the advertisements. Any first year journalism student knows how to "write an article with the main topics in the first paragraph and explain the key points in priority order in following paragraphs, so the article can be cut at any sentence and still "appear complete" even though half of it never sees the printer's ink.

If it seems that I'm "passionate" about where people get medical information that affects their health and safety, well, I'm guilty as charged..... All this newspaper sensationalism is causing far too much "shock the public and sell more papers", unfortunately, at the expense of those who are trying to get valid, accurate information. The Wall Street Journal or New York Times "editorial pages" are not the best source. Quentin Fottrell, who writes for MarketWatch, falls into that category. YMMV

[vampress_me]

Chip,

I’m having fun with it too!

[jsmith948]

You guys have got it sooo wrong. It is a known fact that one of the two major political parties has often expressed a keen desire to reduce/limit/cut the costs of the "entitlements" (ugh - as in Social Security and Medicare) OMG!
The current coronavirus is designed to reduce the number of "entitlement recipients" (AKA us older folks). It's just simple math

[Laredo Tugger]

You mean the party that counts on all those "older folks" to vote for their candidates?
Kind of shoot's your theory in the ***.
Where you from? Oh,that state. And you want the rest of the country to be like CA. No thanks !!!
RMc

[ctbruce]

Back off the political points, please.

Here are some helpful tips on how to self-diagnos if you are so inclined.

PS: all you TP hoarders, note diarrhea is RARE. LOL. [emoji41]

[jsmith948]

See there you go. Had to go personal didn't you? My post was meant as a humorous follow up to the posts previous to mine. Why did you feel the need to denigrate the state in which I live. Take a breath dude!

Originally Posted by Laredo Tugger

You mean the party that counts on all those "older folks" to vote for their candidates?
Kind of shoot's your theory in the ***.
Where you from? Oh,that state. And you want the rest of the country to be like CA. No thanks !!!
RMc

[sourdough]

Originally Posted by 77cruiser

Maybe there's more to the story.


https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/hea...01Y?li=BBnb7Kz

As John pointed out, this is just more "fake news" and opinions from a person who knows nothing about it but has to dream up a story about it.....I think I've got a better grip than that.

Now, I will say this. Driving to the "city" today just happened to hear a caller call into the 60s channel on Sirius XM thanking them for their channel dedicated to the coronavirus - so I tuned in for the hour drive. VERY enlightening. Not a bunch of columnists for biased news outlets; folks paid to put the public into a frenzy or anything else; health professionals; not only that but very specialized health professionals discussing the very details of the virus vs influenza etc. How it is "built", how it is transmitted, how it will go away, hopes for vaccines etc. etc. etc. If you have Sirius and you are worried about all this go to channel 121, the doctor's channel or something like that.

As one of the doctors that is involved with the CDC, federal agencies etc. (for decades in the virus fields) said, last year we lost 44k folks to influenza (from memory) and this virus has claimed 21 in the past quarter or so (my timeline). Make that computation. I could repeat the things he said from memory but anyone interested would be far better served to just access the channel, grab a chair and beverage and just listen to it. It gets pretty deep in medical terminology but as I said, it is VERY enlightening and should relieve anyone who has deep fears about this. The guy calling in that I heard told them he was thankful because he had been so worried and they put him at ease.

[German Shepherd Guy]

Originally Posted by jsmith948

You guys have got it sooo wrong. It is a known fact that one of the two major political parties has often expressed a keen desire to reduce/limit/cut the costs of the "entitlements" (ugh - as in Social Security and Medicare) OMG!
The current coronavirus is designed to reduce the number of "entitlement recipients" (AKA us older folks). It's just simple math

Well I thought it was funny...But maybe peoples sense of humor can be a bit thin on this. Can't blame 'em. But then again I like Californians and I am from Colorado. Now as for Texans..........Ha Danny I got then didn't I? No I like them too. Actually I like ALL Americans. Even the ones I don't like. (A Yogi is'm) As he said "WE are not the enemy"

Hey Danny/Sourdough thanks for the tip on Sirius. We don't have TV at our place and Sirius is it. I am listening now.
Stay safe everyone.
Oak

[sourdough]

Originally Posted by German Shepherd Guy

Well I thought it was funny...But maybe peoples sense of humor can be a bit thin on this. Can't blame 'em. But then again I like Californians and I am from Colorado. Now as for Texans..........Ha Danny I got then didn't I? No I like them too. Actually I like ALL Americans. Even the ones I don't like. (A Yogi is'm) As he said "WE are not the enemy"

Hey Danny/Sourdough thanks for the tip on Sirius. We don't have TV at our place and Sirius is it. I am listening now.
Stay safe everyone.
Oak

You are more than welcome. I had no idea but after listening to it for an hour into the city and an hour home it really gives you a more realistic picture....and I don't even like talk radio!

[Laredo Tugger]

Copy that jsmith.
Just a long rough day. Saw your smiley thing on your post. Sorry man,were good.
I was born and raised in CA and did a full career based there. I couldn't take the politics and such and got out about six years ago. Just upsetting what the place has become. Would love to live there but many issues to be resolved before that happens. Cost of living is a challenge as well.
Good luck
RMc

[Twisties]

So, our plan was to sell the house and move into the RV, make some winter visits to places we might want to resettle, and then strike east to visit the parents. DW has a mom still in Ft. Worth and I have a dad still in JAX. Things went well, and we're now in Ft. Worth at MIL's.

Dad is panicked and has asked that we not come, so that leg is cancelled. We're debating what to do from here.

Options we had discussed were returning to the communities we are looking at, or perhaps making a run towards Newfoundland. With Dad canceling, it's probably too early in the season for the run north, anyway.

Now, we're playing scenarios that include the potentials for shortages, us getting sick, quarantines, or other barriers arising that we can't forsee. We typically make a Costco stop when we're in a city and already we've found that we can't get TP. We thought maybe some wipes for fuel pumps and shopping carts, but they are vapor too.

Should we get back to Oregon where our health insurance is in effect (it supposedly covers emergencies out of state, but so far our experience is that it is a major headache)? Should we find a place to boondock and stay isolated? Both? Or carry-on with house hunting? Regarding the house, the money for that is in Federally insured accounts... maybe real estate prices are going to tumble, or maybe not.... Strange time to be gaming the market.

In the meantime, we couldn't bring the RV into DFW as there was nowhere to park it near MIL's. We are in her house and the RV is at a friend's place in the hill country. So far fuel prices are going down... filled with diesel for $2.25/g today... but it takes more than diesel to get across the country...

[Snoking]

Originally Posted by Twisties

So, our plan was to sell the house and move into the RV, make some winter visits to places we might want to resettle, and then strike east to visit the parents. DW has a mom still in Ft. Worth and I have a dad still in JAX. Things went well, and we're now in Ft. Worth at MIL's.

Dad is panicked and has asked that we not come, so that leg is cancelled. We're debating what to do from here.

Options we had discussed were returning to the communities we are looking at, or perhaps making a run towards Newfoundland. With Dad canceling, it's probably too early in the season for the run north, anyway.

Now, we're playing scenarios that include the potentials for shortages, us getting sick, quarantines, or other barriers arising that we can't forsee. We typically make a Costco stop when we're in a city and already we've found that we can't get TP. We thought maybe some wipes for fuel pumps and shopping carts, but they are vapor too.

Should we get back to Oregon where our health insurance is in effect (it supposedly covers emergencies out of state, but so far our experience is that it is a major headache)? Should we find a place to boondock and stay isolated? Both? Or carry-on with house hunting? Regarding the house, the money for that is in Federally insured accounts... maybe real estate prices are going to tumble, or maybe not.... Strange time to be gaming the market.

In the meantime, we couldn't bring the RV into DFW as there was nowhere to park it near MIL's. We are in her house and the RV is at a friend's place in the hill country. So far fuel prices are going down... filled with diesel for $2.25/g today... but it takes more than diesel to get across the country...

The Texas hill country is nice, you might think about just holing up there for a few months to see where things are going. We switched from a medicare Advantage health care plan that was Washington based two years ago to medicare and AARP/UHC supplement so that we can have doctors both in Washington and Arizona or other places that we travel.

Canadians are packing up here at our park and heading North to go home, so spaces are going to be available. In the the past RV Parks empty out April first anyway. The East Valley of Phoenix is full on RV parks and walk in clinics that one can use when on one of the plans like you are on.

We had planned to head to Texas on April 19th and spend most of a month getting back to the Seattle area. We are going to start cancelling the reservations for the trip and stay put in our Park Model here at Canyon Vistas RV Resort in Gold Canyon, AZ and decide in May what we will do for the summer. Stay here or go North. Send me a PM if you want to talk about options in this area. Chris

[Twisties]

Originally Posted by Snoking

The Texas hill country is nice, you might think about just holing up there for a few months to see where things are going. We switched from a medicare Advantage health care plan that was Washington based two years ago to medicare and AARP/UHC supplement so that we can have doctors both in Washington and Arizona or other places that we travel.

Canadians are packing up here at our park and heading North to go home, so spaces are going to be available. In the the past RV Parks empty out April first anyway. The East Valley of Phoenix is full on RV parks and walk in clinics that one can use when on one of the plans like you are on.

We had planned to head to Texas on April 19th and spend most of a month getting back to the Seattle area. We are going to start cancelling the reservations for the trip and stay put in our Park Model here at Canyon Vistas RV Resort in Gold Canyon, AZ and decide in May what we will do for the summer. Stay here or go North. Send me a PM if you want to talk about options in this area. Chris

Thank you, that is so kind. I would burn up in the PHX area in April, although that Apache Trail is sure beautiful this time of year.

We aren't yet on medicare and don't have an option to expand our coverage out of state.