'People are terrified': Daily life on hold as Americans face coronavirus threat

[thaibeachlovers]

On 3/13/2020 at 4:55 PM, BestB said:

Regarding your last sentence , but it will make huge money for some and wipe some huge debts , perhaps the reason for mass scare mongering and mass hysteria . 
 

try to explain madness of stockpiling toilet paper as if without it virus will kill you

A psychologist on talk back radio explained why people go for the toilet paper. Silly reason, which just goes to show how the human race has not advanced much psychologically. Most think they are sophisticated, but when something like this comes along some revert to primitive actions.

[TheAppletons]

55 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

The U.S. has roughly 330 million people.  It only takes small proportions of things to translate into very large numbers...

 

E.g., a 1% overall death rate among cases if one-third to one-half of the population were to be infected would translate into 1 million to 1.6 million deaths.  Cut that assumption to a very low 0.5% death rate, and you're still talking about 500,000 to 800,000 deaths.

 

 

 

  There you go doing all your math and stuff again.....

[Crazy Alex]

If you're scared, terrified, whatever, you need to calm down and be rational. Emotional people make stupid decisions.

[thaibeachlovers]

On 3/13/2020 at 4:57 PM, Jingthing said:

Not to mention societies and medical systems will totally break down if the masses of sick people happen over a short time period. 

IMO people will adjust.

Yes, if masses of people become infected and all descend on hospitals it will be chaos, but most will be sent home and recover after a bout of something resembling flue. For those that are actually seriously ill, western hospitals will be unable to cope with the numbers ( if it's as bad as we are being told ), so triage will be carried out, and only the lucky or young will be treated, IMO. Unless someone can magic up thousands of extra nurses and hospital beds, most, IMO, won't be treated- remember hospitals also have to treat all the normal patients as well- road accidents, heart attacks, strokes etc. Not a good time to be waiting for elective surgery.

This is NOT new. The Spanish flue killed millions, but the human race survived.

[bristolboy]

8 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

IMO people will adjust.

Yes, if masses of people become infected and all descend on hospitals it will be chaos, but most will be sent home and recover after a bout of something resembling flue. For those that are actually seriously ill, western hospitals will be unable to cope with the numbers ( if it's as bad as we are being told ), so triage will be carried out, and only the lucky or young will be treated, IMO. Unless someone can magic up thousands of extra nurses and hospital beds, most, IMO, won't be treated- remember hospitals also have to treat all the normal patients as well- road accidents, heart attacks, strokes etc. Not a good time to be waiting for elective surgery.

This is NOT new. The Spanish flue killed millions, but the human race survived.

Maybe we should just get rid of medical care altogether. The human race has been in existence about 200,000 years, 99+ percent of that time without the assistance of modern medicine, so it should survive just fine without it.

[Crazy Alex]

10 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

IMO people will adjust.

Yes, if masses of people become infected and all descend on hospitals it will be chaos, but most will be sent home and recover after a bout of something resembling flue. For those that are actually seriously ill, western hospitals will be unable to cope with the numbers ( if it's as bad as we are being told ), so triage will be carried out, and only the lucky or young will be treated, IMO. Unless someone can magic up thousands of extra nurses and hospital beds, most, IMO, won't be treated- remember hospitals also have to treat all the normal patients as well- road accidents, heart attacks, strokes etc. Not a good time to be waiting for elective surgery.

This is NOT new. The Spanish flue killed millions, but the human race survived.

Notice how when people cannot form a rational argument, they make up fairy tales and try to lay responsibility for said fairy tales at your feet as though you were the person who made up the fairy tale they just made up? That is the sign of a person who knows they have put forth no rational argument.

[thaibeachlovers]

4 hours ago, watthong said:

 

Real life does not unfold like scenes from "World War Z" (though what we saw happened in Wuhan at the beginning comes pretty close.) In real life, terror works in silence; no one runs around screeching, with virus shredding from their pores, and human lives usually end within the quiet beeps of a flatliner.

 

Living in Thailand on security pension, age 60 plus, non-insured, I'm terrified. I am self-quarantined out of a persistent though mild sore throat since last week (which could be due to air pollution, cov19 stress and whatnot.) What terrifies me is the possibility of being hospitalized and requiring ventilators, etc. to stay alive. Who's going to pay for that, I, me and myself. That will eat into my 800K baht extension and I don't want to go back to live beggar-style in the states.  

 

When those in charge say : "First thing check with your doctor, " they have conveniently ruled out millions who don't have a doctor to call on. I'm certain there must be "real" americans in America right now who fret equally when faced with similar prospect and found themselves in tight circumstances, such as the average 400 bucks available for emergency cash among the majority of the populace. A minor side effect of this kind of terror is the "real" prospect of - who would have thought! -children going without lunch when schools close. Those who say people are not terrified would probably also say, "Let them eat cakes!"

There's no point in being terrified. It won't change anything an iota. If people are old, or broke, and haven't already prepared for the entirely expected event of death- everyone dies sooner or later- by making a will, nominating someone to be in charge of one in the event one is unable to manage due to illness, etc, etc they should do so now.

No one should think that a catastrophe will never happen to them.

[Sujo]

19 minutes ago, Crazy Alex said:

If you're scared, terrified, whatever, you need to calm down and be rational. Emotional people make stupid decisions.

So you are against trumps state of emergency.

[Sujo]

8 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

There's no point in being terrified. It won't change anything an iota. If people are old, or broke, and haven't already prepared for the entirely expected event of death- everyone dies sooner or later- by making a will, nominating someone to be in charge of one in the event one is unable to manage due to illness, etc, etc they should do so now.

No one should think that a catastrophe will never happen to them.

Yeah. Dont bother about hospitals or medicine. Just accept it. Curl up your toes and get on with dying.

[Crazy Alex]

3 minutes ago, Sujo said:

So you are against trumps state of emergency.

No. Why do you think a declared state of emergency equals not being calm and rational? What a bizarre reply.

[Crazy Alex]

2 minutes ago, Sujo said:

Yeah. Dont bother about hospitals or medicine. Just accept it. Curl up your toes and get on with dying.

Specifically, what in that post leads you to that the idea of "curl up your toes and get on with dying" was presented?

[Roadkillaf]

Cant say I've encountered anyone "terrified" or even close to. While I do take things like this and the every single winter influenza strains seriously, I'm of sound emotional stability, so I approach things with rational thought. I always make sure the Thai and I have necessities on hand, and bolstered things a few weeks ago, knowing people may be consumed with fear based hyper reactive behaviors. You know, rather than upping their hygiene habits. ????????

[Crazy Alex]

6 minutes ago, Roadkillaf said:

Cant say I've encountered anyone "terrified" or even close to. While I do take things like this and the every single winter influenza strains seriously, I'm of sound emotional stability, so I approach things with rational thought. I always make sure the Thai and I have necessities on hand, and bolstered things a few weeks ago, knowing people may be consumed with fear based hyper reactive behaviors. You know, rather than upping their hygiene habits. ????????

I'm in the US and have not seen anyone "terrified". That said, I did go to Walmart yesterday and was surprised to see the apparent need to stock up on things. I don't think that necessarily indicates "terror", but it does seem a bit emotional and sheepish. Fortunately, we tend to keep an abundance of certain things around like ramen noodles, canned goods and gallon jugs of water. If one maintains preparedness, the need for hysterics just isn't there.

[Roadkillaf]

19 minutes ago, Crazy Alex said:

I'm in the US and have not seen anyone "terrified". That said, I did go to Walmart yesterday and was surprised to see the apparent need to stock up on things. I don't think that necessarily indicates "terror", but it does seem a bit emotional and sheepish. Fortunately, we tend to keep an abundance of certain things around like ramen noodles, canned goods and gallon jugs of water. If one maintains preparedness, the need for hysterics just isn't there.

Oh I've seen people, 1-2, buying 6 mos of sh*t tickets and bleach wipes. But outside of that it's mild tension at the markets, at most. I truly feel sorry for anyone that so blindly responds to things with pure emotional response. Logic and practicality go much further. But that's not good for business nor political agendas. ????

[geriatrickid]

It is unfortunate that some people continue to remain dismissive of the emotional impact that this event is causing. Some are people who should know better, but who are apparently detached from the ongoing events and some who are in denial; Either due to fear, or ignorance, or arrogance, or political bias, they are in denial.

 

The undeniable fact is that a large number of Americans are scared and some are indeed terrified. If they were not, we  would not see events like this;

https://www.kwch.com/content/news/Parents-wipe-down-spray-disinfectant-on-students-after-school-employees-exposure-to-coronavirus-568685761.html

A school district in Memphis, Tenn. announced on Monday that a school employee was in contact with someone who tested positive for the novel coronavirus.  That had some parents at the school wiping down their kids and even spraying them with disinfectant.

 

 

Tell me again that people are not terrified, because spraying one's child with disinfectant, under these circumstances is hardly a rational act.

 

In some areas, store shelves have been stripped of products, and there are  long lines  in the stores. if that was not the case, we would not read articles like this;

By AFP - March 7, 2020 @ 10:24am

LOS ANGELES: Sprinting shoppers, rationed mineral water and not a roll of toilet paper to be seen: panic-buying sparked by the Covid-19 coronavirus soared in Los Angeles, the United States, this week. Two days after California declared a statewide emergency, wholesale stores visited by AFP on Friday were unable to keep up with soaring demand for a range of staple items, as citizens prepare for the worst.

“It’s pandemonium – our numbers are double the usual,” said Rene, an employee at a Costco supermarket in Burbank.

“Today has been out of control. That’s why we’re out of toilet paper, out of almost all water, out of hand sanitiser.”

“With the madness here, it’s starting to really set in,” said Lisa Garcia, a 30-year-old retail worker who admitted she was growing seriously worried.

https://www.nst.com.my/world/world/2020/03/572495/its-pandemonium-covid-19-panic-buying-hits-los-angeles

 

 https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2020/03/13/coronavirus-toilet-paper-selling-out-costco-walmart-target/5041064002/

Chiquita Thursby and Yordano Tesfailasce couldn't believe what they saw when they arrived at Costco Friday morning.    "We saw the line around the block and we thought the world had gone mad,'' Thursby said of the crowd gathered outside the store in Lawndale, California.  "Before it was a scare,'' Thursby said. "Now it's real.”

At stores across the U.S., shelves are being picked bare. The coronavirus is spurring panicked shoppers to stock up on products ranging from cleansing wipes to peanut butter as they prepare to hunker down in the midst of the growing pandemic.  "They're acting like this is the end of the world,'' said Lynette Young, a nurse in Los Angeles, who was amused by the rush as she bought ginger ale and cleaning supplies at a local Walmart.

 

On and on it goes, and the response from  some in this thread, is that no, it is not happening. Do not expect to be taken seriously when you deny events that are well documented.

 

I see the comments here that the media has  made this up, has invented these events. The recent outburst  by the FOX news host blaming China is an indication, a reflection of the fear, even terror, some Americans have. It is a displaced aggression.  The fact is, much of the media has been trying to calm people. Positive stories are being promoted. Calming fear, often irrational, is appropriate. Unfortunately, such stories which downplay the seriousness of the pandemic, also feed into the  "so what" attitudes of so many and explains in part why some countries are in the mess they are right now.

 

The US imposed travel ban is not so much an integral tool as it is a measure to calm the population, to show that the government is taking decisive action. Such a measure would not have been taken unless people were scared. (Congress members report that they are inundated with calls from constituents demanding that the government to take action.)

 

Some TVFers live in their own little bubble.  They do not understand that  for the working poor in the USA, they cannot just work from home or take 2 weeks off to self isolate as they live payday to payday. These working poor are stressed and scared as to what could happen to them.

 

The epicenter of the King County WA, epidemic is a seniors assisted care facility. The residents are terrified and have said so. The facility is  understaffed and  residents feel abandoned. The local papers and news shows are dominated by this  tragedy. To those who say people are calm, I say go and ask the care home residents or their families. Aside from fear, there is a large amount of anger. Anger that will soon manifest itself unless the fears are addressed.

 

I have a colleague in New York City, and he is indeed worried. We don't use the word terrified but he is. He has elderly parents and a kid in daycare. He can't care for his parents now because he knows that his child is a possible carrier and he would risk bringing the infection to his parents. His is but one of many tens of thousands of similar  situations. 

 

To those who wish to deny that a large number of people in the USA are gripped with fear, you have not seen anything yet. Once the  number of infections skyrocket and the dead pile up, particularly those who are poor and in  congested urban areas, you will see fear play out before your eyes.

[sirineou]

17 minutes ago, geriatrickid said:

It is unfortunate that some people continue to remain dismissive of the emotional impact that this event is causing. Some are people who should know better, but who are apparently detached from the ongoing events and some who are in denial; Either due to fear, or ignorance, or arrogance, or political bias, they are in denial.

 

The undeniable fact is that a large number of Americans are scared and some are indeed terrified. If they were not, we  would not see events like this;

https://www.kwch.com/content/news/Parents-wipe-down-spray-disinfectant-on-students-after-school-employees-exposure-to-coronavirus-568685761.html

A school district in Memphis, Tenn. announced on Monday that a school employee was in contact with someone who tested positive for the novel coronavirus.  That had some parents at the school wiping down their kids and even spraying them with disinfectant.

 

 

Tell me again that people are not terrified, because spraying one's child with disinfectant, under these circumstances is hardly a rational act.

 

In some areas, store shelves have been stripped of products, and there are  long lines  in the stores. if that was not the case, we would not read articles like this;

By AFP - March 7, 2020 @ 10:24am

LOS ANGELES: Sprinting shoppers, rationed mineral water and not a roll of toilet paper to be seen: panic-buying sparked by the Covid-19 coronavirus soared in Los Angeles, the United States, this week. Two days after California declared a statewide emergency, wholesale stores visited by AFP on Friday were unable to keep up with soaring demand for a range of staple items, as citizens prepare for the worst.

“It’s pandemonium – our numbers are double the usual,” said Rene, an employee at a Costco supermarket in Burbank.

“Today has been out of control. That’s why we’re out of toilet paper, out of almost all water, out of hand sanitiser.”

“With the madness here, it’s starting to really set in,” said Lisa Garcia, a 30-year-old retail worker who admitted she was growing seriously worried.

https://www.nst.com.my/world/world/2020/03/572495/its-pandemonium-covid-19-panic-buying-hits-los-angeles

 

 https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2020/03/13/coronavirus-toilet-paper-selling-out-costco-walmart-target/5041064002/

Chiquita Thursby and Yordano Tesfailasce couldn't believe what they saw when they arrived at Costco Friday morning.    "We saw the line around the block and we thought the world had gone mad,'' Thursby said of the crowd gathered outside the store in Lawndale, California.  "Before it was a scare,'' Thursby said. "Now it's real.”

At stores across the U.S., shelves are being picked bare. The coronavirus is spurring panicked shoppers to stock up on products ranging from cleansing wipes to peanut butter as they prepare to hunker down in the midst of the growing pandemic.  "They're acting like this is the end of the world,'' said Lynette Young, a nurse in Los Angeles, who was amused by the rush as she bought ginger ale and cleaning supplies at a local Walmart.

 

On and on it goes, and the response from  some in this thread, is that no, it is not happening. Do not expect to be taken seriously when you deny events that are well documented.

 

I see the comments here that the media has  made this up, has invented these events. The recent outburst  by the FOX news host blaming China is an indication, a reflection of the fear, even terror, some Americans have. It is a displaced aggression.  The fact is, much of the media has been trying to calm people. Positive stories are being promoted. Calming fear, often irrational, is appropriate. Unfortunately, such stories which downplay the seriousness of the pandemic, also feed into the  "so what" attitudes of so many and explains in part why some countries are in the mess they are right now.

 

The US imposed travel ban is not so much an integral tool as it is a measure to calm the population, to show that the government is taking decisive action. Such a measure would not have been taken unless people were scared. (Congress members report that they are inundated with calls from constituents demanding that the government to take action.)

 

Some TVFers live in their own little bubble.  They do not understand that  for the working poor in the USA, they cannot just work from home or take 2 weeks off to self isolate as they live payday to payday. These working poor are stressed and scared as to what could happen to them.

 

The epicenter of the King County WA, epidemic is a seniors assisted care facility. The residents are terrified and have said so. The facility is  understaffed and  residents feel abandoned. The local papers and news shows are dominated by this  tragedy. To those who say people are calm, I say go and ask the care home residents or their families. Aside from fear, there is a large amount of anger. Anger that will soon manifest itself unless the fears are addressed.

 

I have a colleague in New York City, and he is indeed worried. We don't use the word terrified but he is. He has elderly parents and a kid in daycare. He can't care for his parents now because he knows that his child is a possible carrier and he would risk bringing the infection to his parents. His is but one of many tens of thousands of similar  situations. 

 

To those who wish to deny that a large number of people in the USA are gripped with fear, you have not seen anything yet. Once the  number of infections skyrocket and the dead pile up, particularly those who are poor and in  congested urban areas, you will see fear play out before your eyes.

I can only talk of my corner of the world (North East Florida), but I just came back from the Gardening center looking for a large gardening pot without holes for a water garden project, then went to the Home Depot for some pea gravel and pavers, and both places were teaming with people ,

none of them looked terrified.

My wife's nail shop had a very good day yesterday, so apparently people are going out to do their nails. 

   So let's see  if it continues but for now things are close to normal. 

[Jingthing]

I'm hearing word from L.A. that the hoarding of goods has been very extreme with many items completely unavailable, most famously the toilet paper. Of course that's more about the fear behavior of the masses than a real supply problem.

 

Could be a great opportunity for Thai plumbers there to promote bum gun installations.

Edited March 14, 2020 by Jingthing

[tlandtday]

14 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

I'm hearing word from L.A. that the hoarding of goods has been very extreme with many items completely unavailable, most famously the toilet paper. Of course that's more about the fear behavior of the masses than a real supply problem.

 

Could be a great opportunity for Thai plumbers there to promote bum gun installations.

I would think without hoarding food one would not need to hoard toilet paper?

[Traubert]

4 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

 Unless someone can magic up thousands of extra nurses and hospital beds, most, IMO, won't be treated- remember hospitals also have to treat all the normal patients as well- road accidents, heart attacks, strokes etc. Not a good time to be waiting for elective surgery.

This is NOT new. The Spanish flue killed millions, but the human race survived.

China did it and some on here sneered. Even on this thread there is someone who claims the roofs leaked on the newly built hospitals. It didn't even rain, it never does in Southern China in winter, maybe a ten minute drizzle.

 

You can't respect people like that or value their opinions, so it's hard to empathise. I wish everyone luck, it all  you can rely on. You can't call on magic. China did.

[Traubert]

Fork lift truck manufacturers are now back in full production.

[gk10002000]

I live in America and me and most of my friends that have brains are not terrified.  Let the darn thing run its course and be done with it.  Closing schools, universities, theaters does more harm than good.  There is even talk of closing down the aerospace company I am contracting at as it has thousands of employees.  Closing the middle schools puts a heck of a strain on parents many of which work during the day.  Young kids are not susceptable to this thing, mostly old people are, many that would suffer from any flu anyway. 

[gk10002000]

Well the majority of people are stupid despite allegedly being educated.  Irrational fear i.e panic over anything. 

[Crazy Alex]

2 hours ago, Jingthing said:

I'm hearing word from L.A. that the hoarding of goods has been very extreme with many items completely unavailable, most famously the toilet paper. Of course that's more about the fear behavior of the masses than a real supply problem.

 

Could be a great opportunity for Thai plumbers there to promote bum gun installations.

Well yeah, leftists tend to <deleted> their pants and get hysterical a lot more easily. So LA having such problems makes sense.

[dananderson]

On 3/12/2020 at 7:00 PM, Henryford said:

Terrified of what" The chances of catching it are remore. The chances of dying under 50 are even more remote. I am more terrified of the world's over reaction than the virus.

Do you know what systemic health care failure means?  Hospital beds run at 2/3 capacity every day.  Have a look at just how hard an impact this pandemic will have in a best case scenario.   https://www.zerohedge.com/health/all-hospital-beds-us-will-be-filled-coronavirus-patients-about-may-8th-according-analysis

[thaibeachlovers]

6 hours ago, Sujo said:

Yeah. Dont bother about hospitals or medicine. Just accept it. Curl up your toes and get on with dying.

If this thing really takes off and one is old and not rich one isn't going to get admitted to hospital and there is no medicine for a virus.

Western hospitals are just not equipped to handle large numbers of very sick patients- not enough nurses and not enough beds.

When I worked in hospital, our beds were always near to full. So who is going to get the resources?

[UbonThani]

8 minutes ago, dananderson said:

Do you know what systemic health care failure means?  Hospital beds run at 2/3 capacity every day.  Have a look at just how hard an impact this pandemic will have in a best case scenario.   https://www.zerohedge.com/health/all-hospital-beds-us-will-be-filled-coronavirus-patients-about-may-8th-according-analysis

Dont need a hospital bed. Stay at home. It's killing the weak not the old. Just so happens a lot of 70yos are weak cause they smoked, drank and ate junk food most of their lives.

 

 

[Cryingdick]

4 hours ago, Crazy Alex said:

I'm in the US and have not seen anyone "terrified". That said, I did go to Walmart yesterday and was surprised to see the apparent need to stock up on things. I don't think that necessarily indicates "terror", but it does seem a bit emotional and sheepish. Fortunately, we tend to keep an abundance of certain things around like ramen noodles, canned goods and gallon jugs of water. If one maintains preparedness, the need for hysterics just isn't there.

 

Also in the USA and can't say anything is different. As far as hoarding goes Americans love being prepared. My Mom's BF must be having an orgasm right now, he is a prepper. He might finally get to use all those MRE and canned food and bottles of water down in his makeshift, holocaust, bunker. 

 

Nobody at my Husband's work seems worried. That would be Fed Ex corporate office adjacent to the Pittsburgh airport. That should be basically ground zero in this area. I don't think too many people who aren't over 60 or sick otherwise think anything of it. 

 

Getting tired of people living overseas and the media telling me how panicked we all are. 

 

 

 

 

[thaibeachlovers]

10 minutes ago, dananderson said:

Do you know what systemic health care failure means?  Hospital beds run at 2/3 capacity every day.  Have a look at just how hard an impact this pandemic will have in a best case scenario.   https://www.zerohedge.com/health/all-hospital-beds-us-will-be-filled-coronavirus-patients-about-may-8th-according-analysis

Western people are so accustomed to hospitals coping they have no idea of the reality. Hospitals are already full of people and more waiting to come in. Where are all the extra beds? Where are all the extra nurses?

Only China can construct a new hospital in days, and I'd like to know where they got all the needed nurses to work in them.

[thaibeachlovers]

5 minutes ago, Cryingdick said:

 

Also in the USA and can't say anything is different. As far as hoarding goes Americans love being prepared. My Mom's BF must be having an orgasm right now, he is a prepper. He might finally get to use all those MRE and canned food and bottles of water down in his makeshift, holocaust, bunker. 

 

Nobody at my Husband's work seems worried. That would be Fed Ex corporate office adjacent to the Pittsburgh airport. That should be basically ground zero in this area. I don't think too many people who aren't over 60 or sick otherwise think anything of it. 

 

Getting tired of people living overseas and the media telling me how panicked we all are. 

 

 

 

 

I'm in NZ and no one panicking where I live. It's life as normal where I am.

[thaibeachlovers]

4 hours ago, geriatrickid said:

"They're acting like this is the end of the world,'' said Lynette Young, a nurse in Los Angeles, who was amused by the rush as she bought ginger ale and cleaning supplies at a local Walmart.

amused by the rush

That's right- if it was rational to be terrified by Corona a NURSE would be. She's not and she KNOWS about such things.

 

Oh well, after it's all over people won't need to go to the supermarket for a long while, so that'll make it easier for me to go shopping.

 

I hope governments are going learn and prepare for the next pandemic as another is coming, and another after that etc.