I'm not sure how all these drive-thru testing locations are operating, but people need to only use it if they need it. I have a feeling a lot of people are just getting tested even if they aren't at a higher risk so far. If they do, the tests run out. If you require a doctor's referral, that I would assume would involve a visit to the doctor's office in most cases. You don't want to have people going to a doctor if they do have the symptoms though. I found that my insurance company here has telemedicine. (Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida) I didn't realize that until a few months ago and I set that up on my tablet. I haven't used it, but it is a nice option to have.
If someone feels sick, they should stay away from others, with or without a test. Even if you don't have the typical symptoms, they should avoid people more than normal. A doctor was on CNN tonight who has it. He said it initially presented like a cold. He stayed home, but when it starting acting like the flu, he eventually got tested. He was actually tested for the flu first and that was negative. He also had a blood test and something about it indicated a possible viral infection, so he got the coronavirus test.
The best thing is to assume everyone has it. Since my dad and I don't go out much, we don't social distance at home. If we had someone who went out constantly we would need to do that. Some of my neighbors are doing the right thing. Some are not. Kids are still playing with each other in my neighborhood. Scooters are the big thing here. Lots and lots of them. I live next to a golf course. People are still playing golf, even today. I live on a canal. People are boating. Jet skis and canoes too. I guess some of that can be done staying away from others, but it is a bit odd to see. There's a pandemic, and so many people seem to be just going on doing what they normally do. There is an apartment complex across the canal from me that has a walk along the canal that a lot of people usually use. I think there might be less people using it. I've been watching to see if people are getting close to each other. I haven't see that in the past few days.
4 states have a kind of lockdown (California, New York, Connecticut, Illinois):
https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/20/health/us-coronavirus-friday/index.html
Given what is happening in Italy though, it's going to need to be more eventually.
Here in Florida restaurants can now only have delivery or takeout:
https://www.tampabay.com/news/health/2020/03/20/coronavirus-florida-governor-orders-all-restaurants-closed-except-for-takeout-delivery-service/
It's only a mater of time before every state follows California. At some point, it's going to need to happen.
I was looking at local news online and saw an article about how a company that has distributed digital thermometers that connect to the internet might be showing where the coronavirus might be worse, in the areas where those thermometers are being used enough I guess.
https://www.tampabay.com/news/health/2020/03/19/smart-thermometer-company-may-predict-high-coronavirus-numbers-in-florida/
And the New York Times article that comes from: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/18/health/coronavirus-fever-thermometers.html
Here is the digital map online that shows where people have fevers:
https://healthweather.us/
Though at the FAQ page says in regard to "Is this a map of COVID-19 infections?" it says "This is not a map of COVID-19 infections. This map shows regions where Kinsa has detected unusually high levels of illness."
My dad and I went out to the post office last night after it closed to drop off our taxes. You can go in and drop off mail and there are also mailboxes there too. Two other people were also there that drove up before us. Each person followed social distancing. The first person went in to do something in one hallway. The next person watched to see where they went by peeking their head around the door and when they saw where the other person went, they went in to the mailbox section. When they both left my dad went in. Then when two other people drove up he avoided them before they got out of their cars good. The people in those two cars didn't social distance. They just went in.
We were going to go out one more time to a store tonight if it wasn't busy. We thought we would get some final things for now before starting to get home delivery of stuff. We passed a grocery store that is normally not busy, but it was very busy, and we knew the one we were going to, Aldi, was going to busy. It was. We drove home. They probably didn't have much at that point, because people coming out had bought a lot. We went about 10 minutes before it closed, at an earlier hour of 7pm, thinking maybe if we went in shortly before it would be less busy. Other people had that same idea though I think. Some people seemed to be waiting to try that.
One disadvantage of shortening hours might mean that some stores are probably going to be busier. Less time to shop. Then again, that was my last attempt at going in person into a store for a long time. I wouldn't mind shopping next week, but my dad doesn't want me going in and I don't want him going in. I have some cheap masks that don't work well, but it's not worth the risk. I would probably be okay if I got it, but my dad would not be. So I can't take the risk for him. Then again I have once had the early signs of pneumonia, with some fluid in my lungs, so I could have issues too if I got it.
I think I have enough food for two months if I needed it to last, so it wasn't really that necessary to go shopping. I just wanted to buy a little bit at a time. I didn't want to hoard when I went out previous times. I normally have probably a month and a half worth of food. The canned spaghetti and Ramen noodles would add two weeks for me and my dad. Half the canned spaghetti was from last hurricane season.
Monday and Wednesday when I drove to, and back from, Tennessee, life looked fairly normal. People were doing what they probably normally do, with perhaps a few exceptions. I was mostly on the interstate, but during city driving in Alabama, I saw a bank that was closed other than its drive-thru. At restaurants, drive-thru's were busy. There were very few people inside fast food restaurants, but since it was around lunch time maybe that is normal.
Tonight when I drove to the store I did see some places that had signs that said only the drive-thru was open. Some places still had a couple people eating inside, before that order here banning that was in effect, but mostly people using the drive-thru. It was around 7pm and there actually didn't seem to be many people eating even at drive-thrus. A buffet restaurant on the way and a bar were closed. |