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Coronavirus affecting April/May Decisions

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Posted 3/8/2020 10:52 PM (GMT -5)
My wife and I go to Merlefest - a 4-day music festival in North Carolina - 70,000 plus people converging in Wilkesboro, North Carolina every spring. We drive three days from Massachusetts towing our trailer, stay at our same reserved campsite with full RV hookup behind the North Wilkesboro VFW and look forward to reconnecting with our regular festival camping neighbors. We are looking forward to this year especially - Willy Nelson, John Prine, Mavis Staples, Allison Krauss, Melissa Etheridge, and all the regulars - Jerry Douglas, Sam Bush and a hundred or so others, plus all-night campground jams, etc.

Last summer my 95 year-old mother moved in with us. We're in the process of clearing out and selling her house. We'd planned for my mother to move into a rehab/nursing facility for the two weeks we will be away - a place she has stayed before and agrees to go to.

But unless the news takes a different tack in the next two or three weeks we will probably have to cancel. Can we risk putting my 95 year old mother in a nursing facility for two weeks? Can my wife and I responsibly consent to spending 4 days in a close contact crowd of people from all over the country and abroad?

We'll wait a couple of weeks to make the decision. It sucks, but I think I know the answer.

We were at our grandson's concert this afternoon- he plays French horn with the Worcester (Massachusetts) Youth Symphony Orchestra. The hall was 2/3 empty. That never happens. The hall is always full to capacity. I think this is a sign of what we are facing over the next few months if not longer.
Jim
Posted 3/8/2020 11:06 PM (GMT -5)
I wouldn't cancel at the moment. There's a chance it might get canceled or there's a chance that this will have blown over by then.

It's possible that as the weather warms the outbreak reduces.

Andrew
Posted 3/8/2020 11:10 PM (GMT -5)
We have a May trip to Europe, with friends. Looking shaky. We have trip insurance, but amazingly the company has offered full refund cancellation with just 2 day notice.
Posted 3/9/2020 6:55 AM (GMT -5)
Only have U.S. travel plans car camping with our trailer to Utah, so we are not really worried about Covid 19... Not changing going to our local events either... but there are also no confirmed cases in our county even though we live in Washington state... the U.S. "epicenter". We even still have TP on the shelves in our local stores... All in all, I consider the excess panic and hysteria on the 24/7 news media. I have what I feel is a better balanced level of concern based on science and facts. Besides, after 13 years of dealing with PCa, this event pales in comparison. smile

pasayten
Posted 3/9/2020 9:28 AM (GMT -5)
I'd cancel going to Merlefest in two seconds flat. I suspect the reason the organizers of the event haven't canceled is m-o-n-e-y.
Posted 3/9/2020 9:33 AM (GMT -5)
The Corona virus hasn't been a major anxiety bomb for me because it's mostly beyond our control. There are some things within our control. At my house we do have a two-week supply of non-perishables, which is probably a good idea to have at any time. For the good of the nation, and for ourselves as individuals, we can avoid attending large gatherings unless it's absolutely necessary (how many large gatherings are absolutely necessary?). The hoarding of hand sanitizer and bottled water seems silly to me. I see no indication that public utilities could be interrupted. Washing your hands with soap works well enough.

I think the most critical aspect of this virus is slowing it down to keep food and medication distribution running smoothly, and to keep hospital beds open for the vulnerable. A big X-factor may be working people who don't have sick leave and can't afford to stay home. Unfortunately, many of these folks work in the service industries and come into contact with large numbers of people.

I think it's a good idea to stay home and slow the spread before we all must stay home.
Posted 3/9/2020 11:17 AM (GMT -5)

mattam said...
The Corona virus hasn't been a major anxiety bomb for me because it's mostly beyond our control. There are some things within our control. At my house we do have a two-week supply of non-perishables, which is probably a good idea to have at any time. For the good of the nation, and for ourselves as individuals, we can avoid attending large gatherings unless it's absolutely necessary (how many large gatherings are absolutely necessary?). The hoarding of hand sanitizer and bottled water seems silly to me. I see no indication that public utilities could be interrupted. Washing your hands with soap works well enough.

I think the most critical aspect of this virus is slowing it down to keep food and medication distribution running smoothly, and to keep hospital beds open for the vulnerable. A big X-factor may be working people who don't have sick leave and can't afford to stay home. Unfortunately, many of these folks work in the service industries and come into contact with large numbers of people.

I think it's a good idea to stay home and slow the spread before we all must stay home.

people can't afford to stay home.
Posted 3/9/2020 11:25 AM (GMT -5)
They also can't afford not to.
Posted 3/9/2020 11:35 AM (GMT -5)

Buddy Blank said...
They also can't afford not to.

it's the end of the world...….

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0gfrcfm-ay
Posted 3/9/2020 11:43 AM (GMT -5)
"people can't afford to stay home."

I meant unnecessary attendance at large gatherings - concerts, sports, religious ceremonies, etc.
Posted 3/9/2020 11:45 AM (GMT -5)
Ed usually when a man is wrong - in this case about people wanting to leave San Franciso - they step up the plate, shake hands, and admit their error. That isn't what happened here. Tells me a lot about that man. Have a great day buddy - the world isn't ending today.
Posted 3/9/2020 11:51 AM (GMT -5)

mattam said...
"people can't afford to stay home."

I meant unnecessary attendance at large gatherings - concerts, sports, religious ceremonies, etc.

like political rallies?
Posted 3/9/2020 11:52 AM (GMT -5)

Buddy Blank said...
Ed usually when a man is wrong - in this case about people wanting to leave San Franciso - they step up the plate, shake hands, and admit their error. That isn't what happened here. Tells me a lot about that man. Have a great day buddy - the world isn't ending today.

****! you might get a fist bump to the forehead
Posted 3/9/2020 11:53 AM (GMT -5)
Especially political rallies, which I wouldn't attend under any circumstances. 🙂
Posted 3/9/2020 12:01 PM (GMT -5)
Thanks Ed, appreciate that. We're good.
Posted 3/9/2020 12:51 PM (GMT -5)
For the next 6 months, unless there are direct legal directives from the proper authorities stating we must not travel, our plans will not change.

1) March 20- April 2. Our club is hosting the national senior cross country ski championships where 800 althletes plus coaches from all over North America and some from Europe will compete. My wife is the head organizer and I will be in charge of the stadium. There is a possibility that the nations sports body in charge of cross country skiing could still cancel the event due to the Corona virus.

2) Right after this event, we load up the trailer and head down to Utah, Arizona, Nevada, Colorado, Oregon for mountain biking, hiking, road riding for 2 months which is a trip we have done for many years.

3) Return home and hike and bike in the mountains until we fly to Zurich August 7th where we drop our touring bikes and train to Chamonix where we start an 8 day hike around the Mont Blanc massif. Continue a 9 day hike on the Walkers Haute Route to Zermatt.

4) Train back to Zurich where we assemble bikes and head off on a 1 month tour of parts of Switzerland, Austria and parts of northern Italy not including Lombardy.

5) October 1st back home to start training for skiing.

Even though almost 71, not ready yet to pull the covers over my head and wait for the sky to fall in.

Dave
Posted 3/9/2020 1:02 PM (GMT -5)
"not ready yet to pull the covers over my head and wait for the sky to fall in."

I hope we all can look back with sigh of relief. Good luck with your activities.
Posted 3/9/2020 1:05 PM (GMT -5)
just go wash your hands and have that extra piece of pie.
Posted 3/9/2020 1:17 PM (GMT -5)
This isn't directed at anyone in this thread, but I have sensed that in America there may be a large segment who don't think the spread of the virus is a big deal, and not requiring proactive cooperation. I just don't get it. There is plenty of evidence suggesting otherwise.
Posted 3/9/2020 1:30 PM (GMT -5)
Mattam - might be a difference in perspective, but here in the SF Bay Area, I see lots of people, companies, and government taking this seriously. In fact, we're seeing an overreaction boarding on paranoia.

Yes, this is a serious situation, but it only requires reasonable precautions - wash hands, avoid large crowds, etc. Around here that is being done. My company has issued extensive guidelines including restricted business travel, self-quarantine if you have recently traveled, work from home options for at risk persons, extra cleaning staff hired to disinfect the office, and so on. Our local governments have declared states of emergency that give the emergency funding and legal powers to require quarantines if needed. Lots of serious crap happening here.

However, the rush on Costco to buy all the available toilet paper and canned goods is a serious over reaction. Yes, we should take action, but telling everyone to hide under the beds for a month is an overreaction.

Go wash your hands.
Andrew
Posted 3/9/2020 1:31 PM (GMT -5)

mattam said...
This isn't directed at anyone in this thread, but I have sensed that in America there may be a large segment who don't think the spread of the virus is a big deal, and not requiring proactive cooperation. I just don't get it. There is plenty of evidence suggesting otherwise.

trickle down denial

https://abcnews.go.com/politics/stocks-dive-coronavirus-spreads-trump-repeats-risk-covid/story?id=69482971
Posted 3/9/2020 1:58 PM (GMT -5)
Andrew, I completely agree, and everything you outlined lines up well with what I stated in my first post on this thread. And I do wash my hands, but not OCD style.🙂

@ F8, if you feel my comments fit you, you're welcome to wear them. 😉
Posted 3/9/2020 2:27 PM (GMT -5)

mattam said...
This isn't directed at anyone in this thread, but I have sensed that in America there may be a large segment who don't think the spread of the virus is a big deal, and not requiring proactive cooperation. I just don't get it. There is plenty of evidence suggesting otherwise.

1) 154,000 deaths/year(US) from smoking(preventable)

2) 300,000 obesity related deaths/year (US) (preventable)

3) 88,000 alcohol related deaths/year (US) (preventable)

4) 67,367 drug over dose related deaths/year (US) (preventable)

5) 142,000 stroke related deaths/year(US) (mostly preventable)

6) 647,000 heart related deaths/year(US)(mostly preventable)

7) 22 Corona virus deaths to so far in the US.(preventable?)

I realize that we all have to die and some of these statistics(heart and stroke deaths) have to do with old age but as a nation, there are terrible personal tragedies played out every day in our hospitals that have to do with personal lifestyle choices that have far greater problems for the nation than the present Corona virus and most of us personally are not addressing these issues.

Dave.
Posted 3/9/2020 2:28 PM (GMT -5)
People that are laughing at this, making statements like "the sky is falling" intimating that anyone with serious concern are Chicken Littles, are going to find out the hard way I am afraid.
Posted 3/9/2020 2:29 PM (GMT -5)

mattam said...
Andrew, I completely agree, and everything you outlined lines up well with what I stated in my first post on this thread. And I do wash my hands, but not OCD style.🙂

@ F8, if you feel my comments fit you, you're welcome to wear them. 😉

if you think i'm in denial you misunderstood me. there are some troubling aspects to this disease that I think many are not aware of, and the U.S. has done no real testing.

i'm not in a panic but I am prepared.
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