My Corona...

 i head to work soon...so enjoy these shots of Miss Breezy Chatterbug and her beloved pups...mostly Ivy Rose.  she has a love/annoyed relationship with her canine friends.

 i shall ramble a bit about this Covid-19 Corona Virus....

 corona isn't new just this strain from what i understand.  at this point there are very few testing locations.  this may be increased from a few weeks ago though.  the CDC controls the testing for this particular strain.  so the bottom line on that is most folks who actually show up with any sort of similar symptoms will not be tested for Corona. 

 most people who get a bug do not go to a Dr or ER.  most cases of all of these are mild or even sub clinical with some having hardly any symptoms at all.  as far as i can tell this leaves them open to spread the virus...like all other viruses.

 i have a bit of a bug this week, no fever, but i will be headed to work. i will obviously wash my hands and wear a mask but the corona virus stays on  surfaces for up to 9 days...good luck controlling that.

 Alaska is a major hub from Asia, lets also mention that i have heard nothing that says that our robust winter Asian tourist season has been curtailed.  i have no idea how they are handling flights coming from the nations that seem to have corona outbreaks, but in a free society there is not that much to be done.  we have a culture that flies all over.  that spreads bugs.

 the ones impacted will be mostly the infirm, elderly and youngest populations. that is how most of the bugs work.  so that also means that most healthy adults will simply be carriers.  perhaps they will get a few symptoms...often not enough to put them off work or keep them from going to the store for supplies.  also not enough to cause them to visit a clinician. 

 so all those folks could already be out there with sub clinical or no symptoms leaving behind the virus. without a way to test rapidly and thoroughly...control will be hampered.

 could it get worse before it gets better, it could. 

 is our government prepared.....considering the history of misinformation from this administration, it's doubtful.  they have put a science denier in charge and they have now put a limit on those with the informations ability to share that information...it must go through Pence.

 this administration has also shut down or greatly reduced funding for departments that handled outbreaks.  the current potus is so jealous and spiteful of his predecessor that he slashes anything with the Obama name on it...without doing any investigation as to whether it has been helpful or effective at all...

 so that is where we are. 

 i wouldn't prepare for the last days quite yet though.  i suspect this virus like so many things in our nation will pass with some cases, some deaths but most likely we won't even know how extensive the virus is for a few years.  will it become mainstream...meaning will it's virulence worsen over the next few years.  will we see more cases in years to come...i have no idea.

 all those masks folks wear...they are only effective for a few hours at best.  people wear them for days some times. 

 viruses are tiny but very potent.  we think we are so big and strong but we can all be taken out by a tiny virus.  we can scream and pound our fists but in this modern world of constant transition we are somewhat powerless against them. 

 one person on one plane...they make a few flight changes, go to a few nations, touch stuff in all those places....they could be asymptomatic at the time but before you know it..the virus has been spread.  you can wash stuff but that is only so effective...besides, the more deadly to viruses the cleaning agent is...how deadly is it to us? 

 what cancer causing agents will we expose ourselves to in an attempt to kill off a virus...one that no doubt would have passed through us in a few days to a week like most viruses.

 don't doomsday plan yet.  panic in the streets is not merited at this point. 

 i have a sinus bug with a cough...i'm going to work.  i am not alone.  many people have bugs, almost none of us have been tested for corona virus and since there are only a few major hubs that are doing testing we aren't likely to get tested.  the only ones who will  be tested at this point is those who show some major symptoms, actually go in to a see someone and test negative for other stuff.  how long is the turn around on those tests?  what precautions will be taken. 

 we had an outbreak of influenza b...so much that we finally gave up doing total room cleans between cases...we had too many patients and it would take too much time...while those patients waited to be seen they were in the waiting area...how often is that area cleaned up? not often. 

 you have to protect yourselves.  wash you hands, carry your own sanitizer.  wipe up any surfaces you know are shared with other humans...

 good luck with that.

 off to work i go. 

thankful for A. the low chance of this virus becoming one that kills off a large percentage of the population  B. co-workers who will do the best they can...as they always do  C.  those who know about these things and are still somewhere in the cdc trying despite this idiotic administration