covid-19 (new corona virus)

[user 423]

And last night I got a call saying the panic buying has begun here. Can you imagine what that must have been like. (can you say little Saigon) Over the last 15 years 68% of the population (public fact as of a news article last summer) here has came from S.E. Asia and refuse to speak English. 

If I have offended some one, those weren't my intentions. But the line forms at the rear.  :heart:

It's not just about offending some one it's about adding to xenophobia and scapegoating.  Everyone should follow the link below and read about the murder of a completely innocent victim of mistaken identity:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Vincent_Chin

The sad thing about it is that there are people at the highest levels of the US government who are guilty of contributing to this type of ignorance.

 

[Firebuild]

If they do end up creating a vaccine to treat this....Then all these years they could of created a vaccine to treat the common cold and the flu and just haven't because they've looked at us as their cash cows.

Umm.... not to nitpick but, there IS a vaccine for the flu, and has been since 1938. The "common cold" is actually caused by a vast array of different things and vaccines by nature are targeted responses, so there of course could never BE a vaccine for the common cold.

 

[Firebuild]

Chill people.  I keep hearing chicken little in my head.  We lived through the swine flu, the bird flu and sars.  What makes this so different?  Sometimes the heard gets thinned.  If it is me, so be it.  We don't get out alive anyway.  I think driving is far more dangerous.

Here is a great article detailing the difference between swine flu and covid-19. 

https://www.livescience.com/amp/cov...IIPFt6s4n7so8xLutIDn1HN9O73MPgqkAnsKA-emMj7uc

That is, if anyone is actually interested.

 

[Firebuild]

I'm still waiting for the 15 cases to "Go away as if by a miracle".

Two public meetings I went to this week; declare your travel history, whether you have been in contact with a confirmed case, and current health status is Good.   Wife's sewing group is doing similar online before their meeting next week.   Strikes me as a sensible approach without hiding away in a panic.

Here's why declaring travel history and whether you've been in contact with a confirmed case won't work. 

My friend's daughter works with a guy who had no symptoms at all. He had been to Italy but simply didn't tell anyone. Wasn't trying to hide it, just never had a conversation about it. Another worker in the office got sick, even though the traveler had no symptoms. Everyone got checked, and my friend's daughter, who is also asymptomatic, had it. She self-quarantined, and she lives with my friend (her mom), so Mom had to self-quarantine also. 

I live with my 82 year old mother, whose immune system is compromised by radiation etc from a bout with cancer in addition to her advanced age. If my friend and I had met for coffee as we often do before the person in her daughter's office had become ill, I very likely could have gotten it rom my friend (symptomatic or not) and brought it home to my mother, who very likely would have died. 

Personally, I would not want that on my conscience so I could attend a hobby group. I wouldn't have had any travel history to declare and to acknowledge contact with an infected person, you have to know they're infected. Which isn't always possible with this one.

 

[crofter]

Things are going to get very complicated very quickly for fresh fruits and vegetable supplies.....

FYI, I saw the lettuce truck leaving the field on time today in spite of soggy field conditions due to the heavy rainfall this winter (usually no rain here). What a load of mud caked on that semi, almost worthy of a pic for U. Most veggies are available year round due to being imported from Mexico and South America during the cold seasons in North America. If virus germs were on the lettuce, they could be dead by the time you get it, dying in cold storage on the way through the supply chain from farm to cold storage to grocery to you.  Some sources say to stop eating the lettuce, but I'm still eating it with vinegar and oil. Yum.  

But if you want to stockpile food, the most reliable option to stockpile food is to buy frozen, canned, or dried. If you decide to grow your own, you will still have a large crop to store when it is ready, so you will be freezing, canning, or drying it. Hard to do large scale food processing with the dweller life. At least I don't do it. 

Hot weather irrigated farming areas like southern AZ and north Mexico still have virtually no coronavirus cases. People are being cautious. Incidence is expected to drop as the heat gets here. Nothing else lives at 110 degrees and low humidity, why would a virus survive? Today's temperature was 15 degrees below normal, so we are still waiting for the heat when (if) weather patterns to get back to normal. Later in the summer, irrigated crops will rotate to hay, so if you are still worried about AZ produce then, don't kiss your horse.    ~crofter

 

[maki2]

The CDC says there is no evidence that Covid 19 is being transmitted via food. OK so that means they have not yet documented a case directly tied to that source of transmission but it does not mean anything other than that.

they also say elsewhere on the food handling advice that it is pretty much impossible to remove virus from fresh produce because it gets into the crevices and cells of the plants and while you can soak and wash it you can't reliably get it all off the produce. Of course it is known that you can get Hepatitis which is also a virus from contaminated fruits and vegetables. That for safe food consumption of fruits and vegetables it must be heated all the way through to 178 degrees

So at this point in time who can tell what is what from the information we are getting.
But here is what I do know, when I was in the store the other day the produce clerk was putting out and rearranging fruits and vegetables in the store display and he was not wearing gloves such as food workers in cafes are required to use when preparing meals. We all know that customers pick up vegies, look at them, put them back down or move them aside to get at another one with their bare hands, or end up touching adjacent vegies when they pick one up.

As far as frozen vegies, they go through lots of spray washes on conveyor belts at the processing facilities. However it is not always enough right now there is a recall on some Wa state frozen berries that were contaminated with the Norovirus, meaning you could get the that nasty stomach virus if you just thaw them out and eat them without cooking them to the temperature that will kill a virus. https://q13fox.com/2020/03/18/washington-grown-berries-recalled-for-norovirus-concern/

So if you can get the Norovirus from frozen berries of course you can get other types of virus from both fresh and frozen fruits and vegies including Hepatitus and why not also Coronavirus as well.

Pretty soon many people will know a whole lot more regarding information on how to prevent catching a virus than in the past.

 

[crofter]

@maki
The bagged veggies, especially lettuce, are bagged and boxed in the field. There is a harvester that picks the heads and transfers them to a conveyor belt, and the workers stand on the platform trimming and bagging the lettuce. When the semi pulls out of the field, the lettuce on it is bagged boxed and ready to go right into cold storage. The bag continues to protect the fresh food as it travels to market. This process is also used for the spring mix you buy in a plastic box.

If you buy the loose stuff and not the bagged stuff, it may not have been processed in this way. Other veg are harvested with a conveyor platform also. Not too much hand harvesting going on anymore.   ~crofter

Lettuce picker
https://www.mondomacchina.it/en/lettuce-harvester-novelty-by-ortomec-c1866

cutting lettuce and cucumber crops with a lettuce picker

 

[Qxxx]

Bagged raw veggies, heads of lettuce, ooof. I know a lot of you guys like yer salads, but in general I totally stay away from raw veggies, and especially lettuce. I always eat well cooked veggies. There have been so many problems with raw lettuce the past few years, that I put eating it in the same equivalence class as sailing on one of those cruise liners, where one person gets sick and it gets spread all around, no doubt because of the closed ventilation systems (but it does save lots of money by recirculating 98% of the air).

"Not too much hand harvesting going on anymore" ...

Are you sure about this? I drove past a lot of fields around Yuma, Salton Sea and Mecca CA last month, and about all I ever saw were transport busses, people in the fields, porta pottis along the highway, and not much (obvious) evidence of sanitary wash facilities. Just saying. But then, I'm at that elderly finicky age where everything is suspect anymore, so trust is on the low ebb.

 

[crofter]

I have yet to hear that covid 19 is a food borne illness. However they seem to think you can get it in a bar, but not from liquor. You can now get take out liquor along with your take out food in AZ, by the gov's order.    -crofter

 

[Cammalu]

I’ve always had a garden but perhaps a much bigger one this year is in order. Too bad I’m too crippled up and old to tend to it.

Guess a food dehydrator might be a good idea this summer also.

 

[Qxxx]

I have yet to hear that covid 19 is a food borne illness. However they seem to think you can get it in a bar, but not from liquor. You can now get take out liquor along with your take out food in AZ, by the gov's order.    -crofter

I was actually talking about my feeling concerning lettuce in general, not in reference to covid. Not all of it is picked by machine, and there have been recent e-coli outbreaks. Of course, now we have lots more to worry about, in any case.
I'm home now, but not sure it's any safer than being on the road, since I live in a medium size city.

 

[user 423]

I'm home now, but not sure it's any safer than being on the road, since I live in a medium size city.

It's should I stay or should I go for me, too.  Where I live now in a rural area is pretty isolated but I'll still need to grocery shop occasionally since it's too far out for home delivery. I guess it will be possible to have everything shipped in using Amazon,etc. but you can pick up packages while on the road also.

The main difference would be access to health care as I'm in the at-risk category. It's not too far to a good hospital located in a medium size city.

 

[crofter]

I was actually talking about my feeling concerning lettuce in general, not in reference to covid. Not all of it is picked by machine, and there have been recent e-coli outbreaks. Of course, now we have lots more to worry about, in any case.
I'm home now, but not sure it's any safer than being on the road, since I live in a medium size city.

Just what the Doctor ordered, you can cook that lettuce till it's kilt.   ~crofter


Southern Wilted Lettuce With Hot Bacon Dressing Recipe

Written by 
Diana Rattray
Updated 05/21/19         The Spruce / Diana Rattray

• Total:17 mins
  
• Prep:15 mins
  
• Cook:2 mins
  
• Yield:4 to 6 servings

Nutritional Guidelines (per serving)32 Calories, 1g Fat, 4g Carbs, 2g Protein
 See Full Nutritional Guidelines
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

This wilted lettuce is also known as "killed lettuce" or "kilt" lettuce. The lettuce softens under the hot, tangy dressing. You might have fond memories of this famous Southern salad. And what better way to use fresh-from-the-garden spring lettuce and green onions.​

A hot dressing made with bacon drippings wilts the lettuce and give the salad its fabulous flavor. The sugar gives the salad a sweet and sour taste, but it may be omitted or reduced if you like a less sweet dressing. Double the bacon drippings and vinegar for a saucier salad.​

Fry (or bake) 4 to 5 strips of bacon before you begin; drain and crumble the bacon and use it as a garnish. Enjoy this salad with freshly baked cornbread or cornbread muffins.​

Ingredients

• 8 cups shredded lettuce
  
• 3 to 4 green onions (chopped)
  
• Kosher salt (to taste)
  
• freshly ground black pepper (to taste)
  
• For the Dressing:
  
• 2 tablespoons melted bacon drippings
  
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar (or white vinegar)
  
• 1 tablespoon sugar

Steps to Make It

1. Gather the ingredients.
   
   
2. Combine the shredded lettuce and chopped green onion in a large bowl; sprinkle with salt and pepper.
   
   
3. Combine the dressing ingredients in a saucepan and heat to boiling point; pour over the shredded lettuce mixture. (or just cook it all together)
   
   
4. Taste and adjust seasonings.
   
   
5. Toss to mix. Serve at once.
   

 

[MrAlvinDude]

I thought that you guys might like to see some statistics, about who gets sick, with this new virus.




(This graph is part of the daily official documentation of COVID-19 in the country of Denmark: https://files.ssi.dk/COVID19-overvaagningsrapport-20032020 - look at page 4)

It might be worth noting that people at any age is getting this illness. The numbers are however not universally representative, as they only show the positive cases of people being tested, and there is a screening/approval process, before one gets tested in this country.

Here are some more data: View attachment covid-19_March20.pdf

 

[tx2sturgis]

Repeating an earlier request:

When I started this thread they had not yet named this flu, covid-19...I'm requesting that a moderator update the thread title, for the entire thread.

Remove '2019 nCoV' (which is still accurate but not the popular name) and replace that with 'covid-19'.

Surely the moderators are reading this thread....

This change will help avoid confusion. Thanks.

 

[MotorVation]

When I isolate, I isolate. I'm taking this very seriously. There are over 3 million people in Tampa Bay and I'm in no rush to go back. I took this pic today. If you look hard enough, you can see my van way down there somewhere.

If you know where this is, please don't let on publicly. Thanks. Stay safe everyone

 

[tx2sturgis]

Ok...the correction to the thread title, while appreciated, left an important part of the original thread title out.

My suggestion, and request, is that the part of the title CoNv would be removed, but that the other part (new corona virus) be retained.

Requested correction is:

"covid-19 (new corona virus)"

Leaving out the quotation marks but keeping the parentheses.

I believe that this title will help avoid confusion. 

Thanks in advance.

 

[tx2sturgis]

Thanks mods... that corrects the thread title to reflect the current name and popular name for this disease. 

Feel free to remove these posts requesting title updating, if desired.

 

[maki2]

I have yet to hear that covid 19 is a food borne illness. However they seem to think you can get it in a bar, but not from liquor. You can now get take out liquor along with your take out food in AZ, by the gov's order.    -crofter

I wonder if that is the same in Wa state now?  I did think it odd when I saw our local tavern open yesterday with chairs on the sidewalk but a ribbon across the doorway. My workshop partner will be thrilled if he can still get his favorite Turkey and Cranberry sandwich from them. Just after the sammiches, they are his "thing" at least once a week.

 

[crofter]

Looks like Dallas will be staying home. A reality check there in the graph correlating deaths from the virus with how much you stay home. From still going for drinks with friends (as in Italy) to worst case having your apartment door welded shut (the China experience). Ironically prisoners are also somehow getting this virus (the US experience). -crofter

https://www.dallasnews.com/news/pub...-new-shelter-in-place-rules-are-put-in-place/