ISOLATION - Your Experience

[Tronhard]

For more countries, isolation and lock-down are becoming the requirement to curb the rise of Covid-19 infections. In NZ we are going into full isolation for at least the next 4 weeks, likely longer.

This is going to change our world - how cities look, and how we engage in our own domestic environments. There are going to be stresses, cabin-fever and new engagements as we deal with this new reality. We are going to want some purposes to engage us and so I am starting this thread so contributors can document these new conditions.

I hope many of your around the world will take up the challenge and lets our community know what is happening in your space, and since we are a photography community, when you can post images.

[mugge]

We have started by going to our nearest café for two takeaways. We then walk around a bit. At home I have started rereading Proust after that all of Nabokov, again. The garden will be pristine also. I will teach my wife chess and I shall beat her and she in turn will beat me at scrabble

There will be challenges no doubt but we will all overcome it in the end.
Cheers Ole

[LePetomane]

Living in Wyoming, we're relatively isolated. Our son is with us. He attends a University of Wyoming branch campus here. He is currently on spring break. His classes will resume in a week in an online format. I've been fishing quite a bit. I did play a tennis match yesterday.

I do have a trip planned to SE Utah in mid-April to do some photography. It is a pretty isolated area so I doubt I will see many people. I'm driving down, taking a lot of food and water, staying in a campground.

We will get through this and come out stronger.

[Manfred M]

My part of the world is locking down as well with most non-essential functions shutting down effective Wednesday at midnight for the foreseeable future.

With three introverts living in our house (me, my wife and my daughter who turns 25 in a month who moved home back in September when she got a job in town), so no real impact. We don't have a problem with self-isolation as we have plenty of projects around the house to keep us busy. I've done no serious shooting over the past month and hope to ramp up again as the weather continues to improve (I tend to not like shooting outdoors at this time of year and with the photo club facility (including the studio) shut down, it's back to some still life projects at home.

What I am following right now is my Hong Kong based daughter and her family. Hong Kong is about 6 -8 weeks ahead of us on the COVID-19 curve and Japan (where she and her son are right now are about 4 - 6 weeks ahead of Canada). None of these places are locked down as tightly as we are, but the societies are much less individualistic and protecting others from illness is more inherent there. Regardless, things are definitely not "normal", but things are still open and running and the planes and trains are running.

We try to limit going out and doing any shopping to around every 10 days.

Lots of backlog in the PP world to work on images I have accumulated over the years that I put away for a rainy day... It looks like the rainy day is now.

[rpcrowe]

Despite our Supreme Leader (Oh no - "Supreme Leader" is that guy in Iran - isn't he?) saying that this will be over in a couple of weeks - I think we are in this for the long haul...

I am very fortunate to live in a large home with a larger fenced in yard which will be our little part of paradise for the duration.

I have lots of projects both, photo oriented and other types, and I don't think that I will be bored in the foreseeable future...

Anyway, I'd rather be bored and healthy than unbored and sick...

[Donald]

Scotland and the UK went into a total lock down as from last night (Mon).

I was thinking that since our hobby is very much an isolationist activity anyway, it would be okay for me to be on my own around the area. However, that's now banned. Only allowed out once per day for food or pharmaceutical shopping (every other shop is closed). Oh well, the TS-E 90mm macro is going to drafted into action in the garden.

The big issue here is about those from the cities taking campervans/RVs into tourist areas such as the Highlands of Scotland, which, because they are rural, have limited facilities for shopping and health care. Locals are very angry at them and the Government has asked them to go home.

[Tronhard]

Preparation:

Preparation is critical.

Since we have to go out for my partner's treatment, things we have include: masks, gloves, hand sanitizer and glasses for protection when we do go out.
For home we have cleaning/disinfecting products and lots of soap. Of course we have some extra food, but we're not going overboard - supermarkets, pharmacies etc. will remain open here.

Entertainment is good for mental health (and to stop us killing each other!) - a good selection of DVDs (I have over 1,000), good books (for me, obviously about photography!), and we've got the WWW and Netflix. Plus some board games - not Monopoly - that's too dangerous in a confined space!

What do your preparations look like????

[DanK]

Individual preparations here have been difficult because of the combination of a total lack of aggregate preparedness and a great deal of individual hording. We were reasonably lucky and were able to find much of what we needed, in large part because we started earlier than most people.

Even though Boston is a hot spot (although nowhere nearly as bad as New york, which seems to be on the edge of becoming another Italy), we don't have a shelter-in-place order yet. All inessential businesses have been closed, and gatherings have been banned. However, we are allowed to go outside as long as we stay 6 ft (a bit under 2m) apart from each other. My wife and I do that most days. A new etiquette has developed: when people approach from opposite directions, one will step aside, even if it means walking into the street. But almost as if to offset this--or perhaps because people are just happy to see other people--strangers often now greet each other as they step aside.

We use Zoom and FaceTime to have a virtual dinner or happy hour most days. That helps a lot.

[Tronhard]

Scotland and the UK went into a total lock down as from last night (Mon).

I was thinking that since our hobby is very much an isolationist activity anyway, it would be okay for me to be on my own around the area. However, that's now banned. Only allowed out once per day for food or pharmaceutical shopping (every other shop is closed). Oh well, the TS-E 90mm macro is going to drafted into action in the garden.

The big issue here is about those from the cities taking campervans/RVs into tourist areas such as the Highlands of Scotland, which, because they are rural, have limited facilities for shopping and health care. Locals are very angry at them and the Government has asked them to go home.

We're encouraged to go out and get fresh air and exercise from time to time, just stay away from other people. NZ is still estimated to have up to 100,000 tourists and visitors here - although the government wants them to go home while they can. They are looking to use camper-vans normally rented, and now left at the main international departure points, as temporary isolation units - being conveniently placed where people will arrive back. They will have to stay put for at least 14 days, no matter where they come from.

I hope to get out over the next few days to take photos of places that would normally be very crowded and catch them in "ghost town" mode... I can travel in my own car, but am banned from public transit, which is now limited in schedule and accessible only to selected critical workers.

Sadly there have been tales of some gun owners lining up to buy supplies - apparently one chap came with two large backpacks and went away with them full of ammunition - considering what NZ has gone through barely a year ago, it's not going down well with the mass of the population. Even the gun shop owners were feeling intimidated by some of these people. Still, most people are behaving themselves and everyone I have encountered has been polite.

[mugge]

I was waiting for my wife (dentist's appointment) and was in dire need of a coffee. The café would only accept cards, not cash. As I did not have a card on me but cash only the lady in front offered me her coffee and I accepted it gladly. She did not want my money.

It was a small gesture but it was so nice. I smiled for a while after that.

The image is of our nature strip (lawn between footpath and street). Is it not grand!

Manicured lawn in time of coronavirus by Ole Hansen, on Flickr

[rpcrowe]

I am worried about New England and other Northeast areas because of the very possible influx of snowbirds as they leave Florida. Many of these returning snowbirds will be bringing unknown packages of Covid-19 to present to the folks at their final destinations. As if the Northeast doesn't have enough home grown problems...

The innovative Kinsa thermometer is tracking fevers across the nation. It connects to your smart phone and sends immediate results to the Kinsa website. The company states that it has been able to track real time flu outbreaks across the nation two weeks earlier that the Center for Disease Control (which relies on reports from hospitals and other medical facilities)... Apparently this company has developed a logarithm that can separate unusual instances of fever clusters from the normal seasonal occuraance of flu.

https://techcrunch.com/2020/03/23/ki...vid-19-spread/

At least two results can be determined from the Kinsa data.

First determination is that Florida and up the Southern Atlantic Coast (which are magnet areas for snowbirds) as well as Louisiana (and further up the Mississippi River corridor) are becoming fever hotspots. Perhaps we need a limitation or even a hiatus on internal travel within the USA

Second is that they have graphed the unusual fever outbreaks (COVID-19) in areas prior to lock downs and after lockdowns. There is a definite and immediate reduction in the extent of new fevers after lockdown and social distancing occurs.

Apparently a great vector incident happened in New Orleans, Louisiana due to the immense crowds at Mardi Gra time. I am thankful that many city authorities (including my San Diego, California) cancelled the Saint Patrick's Day celebrations which would have resulted in those celebrations becoming a giant Shamrock Green Petri dish for Covid-19.

Memories of days gone by...

[DanK]

Yes, it doesn't take much impact of social distancing to dramatically reduce caseloads. Such is the power of exponential functions with sizable bases.

This isn't precisely what's happening, but just for illustration: The Times reported today that doubling in NY is taking about 3 days. The R0 of this virus is probably between 2.0 and 3.0. That's the number of new cases each case generates in the absence of controls. Say, 2.2 for the sake of argument. Then without social distancing, each case will have produced on average about 2656 cases 30 days later (2.2^10). Reducing R0 only to 1.8 via social distancing reduces the number of cases 30 days later to 357--an 87% reduction. Given the limited number of ventilators, etc., this effect will save a huge number of lives, if Trump and the Fox crowd don't manage to persuade people to ignore social distancing.

[rpcrowe]

Life changes on a daily basis these days...

I just received an email from the Military Exchange System... Here is the gist of it:

Studies show that paper money and coins can harbor bacteria and viruses long after they change hands. We are asking Exchange shoppers to help in the fight against the transmission of COVID-19 through increased reliance on bank-issued credit and debit, MILITARY STAR® or gift cards instead of cash. Please note that cash-back and check-cashing transactions may be unavailable during this time.

Doesn't impact me much since I do little if any shopping at the exchanges and whenever I did, I paid with plastic (in fact I have been using plastic for 90% of my purchases... However for those people living on the bases it could be a major life change. I am wondering about those folks who have bad or no credit and live on a cash basis and I guess that this might be a coming thing in other commercial systems?

A friend of mine took all his savings out of his bank and is holding it in cash - might be problematic in the future...

I am wondering about items shipped from Amazon

I had an appointment with my cardiologist which is always preceded by an echocardiogram. I was worried because there are usually many people in the waiting room. Just received a phone call informing me that the date for my echocardiogram has changed since they are spacing out appointments to reduce the numbers of patients in the waiting room and then, after the echocardiogram, my consultation with the doctor will be by telephone - not in person. That seems to be a proactive measure

[Tronhard]

I had an appointment with my cardiologist which is always preceded by an echocardiogram. I was worried because there are usually many people in the waiting room. Just received a phone call informing me that the date for my echocardiogram has changed since they are spacing out appointments to reduce the numbers of patients in the waiting room and then, after the echocardiogram, my consultation with the doctor will be by telephone - not in person. That seems to be a proactive measure

According to the information I have read, since the virus is respiratory it is transmitted in the air through coughing, sneezing and expectoration and you will most likely get it by breathing in the airborne particles, or by touching a contaminated surface and then touching your face. Having a face mask on will serve a couple of purposes - less likely: stopping you avoiding every particulate in the air, although it will help, but more so, stopping you touching your face after your hands have become contaminated. If you want to be REALLY sure, cover your eyes - it's amazing how often touch them and they are apparently another conduit...

The best advice seems to be to wash your hands well and regularly for 20 secs with soap if you use common surfaces: e.g. door and other handles, chairs, books and magazines and of course after going to the loo. Also good if you can't do that easily is to have some hand sanitizer - it should kill the bugs but leaves them on your hands.

[Tronhard]

Traffic

The following images were taken from an over-bridge on the main state highway (SH1) that transects Auckland - in both cases I waited for some time to get the most dense traffic flow.
Normally it is VERY busy on a workday: and in fact from 3:00pm until about 6:30 it is at, or close to, gridlock.

This is the scene taken yesterday - the day before the NZ - wide lock down was implemented.



And Today, Day 01 of the lock-down, at about the same period...

[davidedric]

With reference to payments - contactless cards are very popular, and a good thing to.

For me, the biggest impact has been on my 99 year old mother who moved into a care home at the end of January. The care home has of course closed to visitors, so she's lonely, vulnerable and frightened. Not frightened of the virus, she'll tell you how she longs for release, but whether she will get the care she needs. Nothing to be done, I fear.

[lesuna]

My friend could not get pregnant for a long time
She was treated at the clinic for reproductive medicine for infertility
A few days ago, doctors confirmed the presence of a coronavirus in a woman. The whole apartment building is isolated.
Three days ago, she gave birth to a boy. It is not yet clear whether the child has a coronavirus.

[DanK]

I am wondering about items shipped from Amazon

I don't have the expertise that would allow me to feel comfortable giving advice about this. However, I will tell you what I concluded after reading numerous pieces about this. This is what we do:

1. We treat the outside surface of all deliveries as potentially contaminated. Even though cardboard is not a particularly hospitable environment for the virus, tests indicate that it can survive at least a day on that surface, and some estimate that a small amount may sometimes survive for three days.

2. The contents, on the other hand, depend on shipping time. With quick deliveries, such as what Amazon tries to provide, the contents can also be contaminated. After 3 or 4 days, however, the contents won't be.

We open all deliveries outside, using gloves and a dedicated knife, with disinfecting wipes on hand. contents, if old enough, are dropped onto a clean surface. Packaging goes directly into a recycling bin we keep in that location. Packages with suspect contents, if they are not perishable, are banished to purgatory: a small, unused part of our basement where it can sit for 3 days or so before I open it. Perishable contents of packages--e.g., wrapped poultry in a grocery delivery--are disinfected on the spot before being brought indoors.

Some people have responded that it's safe if the delivery people are wearing gloves. I think that's nonsense. The source of contamination is the hands per se; it's what the hands have touched. if a person puts on gloves and then touches a contaminated surface, they might as well not be wearing gloves. Reminds me of the kids one sees sometimes in sandwich shops and the like who wear gloves to handle food but leave them on while handling money.

[LePetomane]

This place is a ghost town. We've had 4 confirmed cases, 3 have recovered and one remains hospitalized. I'm down to two trout streams to fish as one runs through a busy cattle ranch and it is calving season. I offered to help the rancher but he graciously declined my offer. He didn't have any objections to me fishing but I decided to stay out of the way and fish the neighborhood water. I caught this guy yesterday near my home.

[rpcrowe]

I don't have the expertise that would allow me to feel comfortable giving advice about this. However, I will tell you what I concluded after reading numerous pieces about this. This is what we do:

1. We treat the outside surface of all deliveries as potentially contaminated. Even though cardboard is not a particularly hospitable environment for the virus, tests indicate that it can survive at least a day on that surface, and some estimate that a small amount may sometimes survive for three days.

2. The contents, on the other hand, depend on shipping time. With quick deliveries, such as what Amazon tries to provide, the contents can also be contaminated. After 3 or 4 days, however, the contents won't be.

We open all deliveries outside, using gloves and a dedicated knife, with disinfecting wipes on hand. contents, if old enough, are dropped onto a clean surface. Packaging goes directly into a recycling bin we keep in that location. Packages with suspect contents, if they are not perishable, are banished to purgatory: a small, unused part of our basement where it can sit for 3 days or so before I open it. Perishable contents of packages--e.g., wrapped poultry in a grocery delivery--are disinfected on the spot before being brought indoors.

Some people have responded that it's safe if the delivery people are wearing gloves. I think that's nonsense. The source of contamination is the hands per se; it's what the hands have touched. if a person puts on gloves and then touches a contaminated surface, they might as well not be wearing gloves. Reminds me of the kids one sees sometimes in sandwich shops and the like who wear gloves to handle food but leave them on while handling money.

Excellent idea... I will begin procedures to decontaminate items arriving... I use a solution of Odobon which is a chemical that I know kills the HIV virus and also kills Canine Corona Virus. I queried both the company who manufactures the chemical and the CDC (early-on before they were overwhelmed). Their consensus was, while Odobon has not been tested on the COVID-19 virus, the fact that it is successful against a wide range of viruses and bacteria makes it a likely candidate for killing the COVID-19 virus. I have use this for years cleaning my dog crates after I transport a rescue dog home... It was (don't know if it still is) available in Home Depot, home improvement stores...