plans for the what ifs....

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vanbrat

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 22, 2019
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Location
Whidbey Isand WA
Not trying to start a panic or anything,  just wondering what everyone is now thinking about all the fuss about Corona virus stuff. We are dealing with it here in WA, Seattle area. The state is trying to find ways to help homeless folks find ways to be housed and how to help with helping folks be able to isolate themselves. Does anyone have a plan if they need to. And what do you plan if you actually do get this nasty bug. There have been more deaths and while most people do not die and the people, sadly, that have had other issues that have contributed to their deaths. Just wondering what is anyone's plan? I know wash hands often and take care to minimize exposure ETC... But how is this effecting anyone.
 
My normal routine in the winter is to avoid getting a virus because it always goes into a bad case of bronchitis even from a mild cold. I have some scarring on my bronchials from gerd and from an incident at Boeing someone did something stupid and put a vat of hot chemicals under the air vent to our section of the building and when that chemical laden air hit moist tissues in the lungs it turned to acid.

So since the start of cold and flu season I have been avoiding crowds of people, doing the hand washing sanitizer routine. I don't have to change my daily routine, I am already doing the virus avoiding protocols.

If my friend gets sick he stays away and if he does need to come in I give him sanitizing wipes to use on every thing he touches that I might put my hands on. If I go shopping I do it during the hours of the day when kids are in school and people are at work. If a clerk appears to be sniffling I change to a different register or ask them to use hand santizer before they touch the items I am purchasing. Self checkout lines are a help, it avoids that chain of clerks and baggers touching my purchases after they have been touching other peoples purchases and money. You should take your own stylus to use for the payment kiosk.  Avoid coffee shops, cafes, fast food drive ups etc and eat at home. Avoid public restrooms, pee before you go to the store.  Use sanitizing wipes when you pump your gas if you are at a self serve. If you go to a public shower you need to take along some virus killing spray such as lysol and spray the shower first, then wait  before going into it so the solution can kill the virus. But the big issue with that is the fumes so it is better to wash yourself at home. Be careful in the laundromat. Take sanitizing wipes along. If you can use hot water for washing and the hottest setting for the dryer. Oxygen bleaches, vinegar and borax washing soda additive and of course the soap will all kill the virus as will a hot dryer. But it is those tables and coin slots and surfaces and the other people around who pose the risk. So go when it is not a busy time of day. Really that is the one biggest help...do your chores at the slack time of day when there are very few other people around.  Caravans do a lot of socializing and pot lucks. They do tend to pass viruses around camp. There is a big advantage to being an extrovert except when you really need some assistance from others. If you are really sick being out in the boonies alone is not to your advantage because you might need assitence with transportation to a medical facility. In that case it would be better to camp close to a town where there is a medical clinic and some type of transportation to get you there if you do begin to notice flu symptoms.

I did notice in the Seattle area that one of the coranvirus virus facilities has RVs set up to act as isolation units. Who knows but just maybe you could wrangle staying at one of them in your own RV if it came to needing to be in such a place where there is someone monitoring you.

I also in Seattle at present finishing up my build. Will I end up getting the corona virus?  No way to tell that. It could happen and if it does then I will deal with it then. But as I said since September I have already been living in a style that minimizes my exposure so nothing different for me which is why I am not overly concerned other than knowing the bronchitis will be very rough on me judging from past experiences. I do end up at the emergency clinics every time I get any kind of virus for cortisone medication so I can breathe. I will talk to my doctor to get a refill of the inhaler and possibly a couple of cortisone pills to have on hand just in case. But there is a University of Washington emergency clinic in the neighborhood and they have my records on file as that is where I go when I get a virus and the subsequent lung issues. Fortunately it has been nearly two years since the last time.
 
Not worried about it. At 3% fatality, it still has to hit you and make you one of the people who are not one of the 97%. Who seem to overwhelmingly be people 60+.

Not saying I don't care about those people, let me be clear. In fact at near there, I might as well be one of them. But ... I figure my chances are fairly low.

There are just too many other things to worry about day to day. Virtually any and all of my problems/concerns rank higher than this.
 
I second Ding's post. I feel the same on it all so far.
Obviously washing one's hands is smart. Good practice.
My usual 'take care of myself thru life on a daily basis' as I always do won't change at all.
so for me there is no plans for what ifs about this right now at all.
 
I don't buy corona beer :p

Seriously, I am now in the 70+ age range. I know I am going to die of something. I don't do anything different than I always have. What doesn't kill me makes me stronger.
 
Well, we now have our first known case here in North Carolina. We are planning to travel (by plane) to California later this month to see our Grandchildren. Our current plan is to wait and see how things are in a few weeks and decide to go or bail.
 
It’s a scary situation, but we really have almost no control over the spread of this virus.

It’s going to spread, we will likely all be exposed at some point or another, and can only do what we can do.

I was reading an article about the Spanish Flu 100 years ago, and it died down at one point before coming back with a vengeance. People could show symptoms in the morning and be dead by nightfall.

Then about a town in England or Scotland that self quarantined for an extended period because of the plague, most residents dying but it then didn’t spread to other communities.

That time.

Do the best we can is all we can do.
 
I have very little human contact in my nomadic life. And during all the previous flu/virus/plague/end-of-the-world scares the worst that ever happened to me was a couple of days feeling like crap.

However, I need to go to Los Angeles next week for, ironically, some medical appointments. So I'll be taking precautions — not so much to prevent contracting anything, but to not freak out other patients or staff.
 
Meanwhile, there are hundreds of other things out there far more likely to kill us, like tripping and cracking your head on the pavement, or choking on a hot dog, or a heart attack, or...
 
We've been camping in the desert since late October with just a few visits to large cities months ago so I think we're safe. We normally stop in Vegas for a few days as we head north. That will probably not happen this spring and we'll avoid any other large cities. Other than that we're just living like usual - no panic buys or stocking up. Fortunately we're healthy so even if we get sick it should be mild.
 
tonyandkaren said:
We normally stop in Vegas for a few days as we head north. That will probably not happen this spring and we'll avoid any other large cities.

Over the winter I've been renting a place in rural SE Arizona and have made weekly trips into town. My last trip to Vegas was in '88 and I had planned to head there soon to see the 'new' Vegas. So now I'll be changing my plans and not visit Vegas. Probably head to Utah to see all 5 national parks. Stocked up with water/food and will stay away from crowds.
 
I have been told that if you want to stay away from crowds stay away from the national parks. They are a great place to meet travelers from all over the world. No first hand experience but just what I heard.
 
nature lover said:
I have been told that if you want to stay away from crowds stay away from the national parks.  They are a great place to meet travelers from all over the world.  No first hand experience but just what I heard.

Crowds outdoors are a lot different. You don't have to go to the visitor centers, the gift shops, restaurants,etc.

Dispersed camping in wide open spaces.
 
^
So far I've only checked Zion and Canyonlands and they do allow it. Both have BLM areas nearby.

I'm really not freaked out about the virus thing. I've wanted to spend some time exploring Utah anyway.
 
We canceled a gathering of old fart motorcycle riders at Death Valley this month. Avoiding grocery shopping by using pre-order and pick up. Other shopping done online too. Planning on spending the summer as a hermet in remote areas. That in addition to the usual hand washing etc..
 
I'm a plus 60 so I'll be worrying about it and doing what I can do to make sure I'm not a victim.
 
Dingfelder said:
Not worried about it.  At 3% fatality, it still has to hit you and make you one of the people who are not one of the 97%.  Who seem to overwhelmingly be people 60+....
I am 60+ with some health conditions, as are many on here. Currently helping out someone who is much older than I. We are cautiously avoiding gatherings, and cleaning touch surfaces, filtering the air, handwashing, using disposable wipes and paper towels for cleaning. Lysol makes peroxide cleaner that is good. We would use masks but there aren't any. We stocked up on 2 weeks of food so we can hunker down here for a while.  -crofter.
 
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