General > General Technical Chat
Working From Home - Impacts of Coronavirus
Muttley Snickers:
I rang the hospital today to arrange a couple of outpatient appointments and was told that both the cardiologist and vascular specialist would probably conduct these follow up sessions over the phone instead of an attendance at the hospital. The normal routine is to sit in a crowded waiting room for two to three hours alongside some very sick people which I don't enjoy one bit.
When they do finally call you up it's generally just a five minute chat and perhaps a prescription change so the phone call thing will be a big improvement. This also saves a trip to the hospital and the hassle of trying to find a carpark, in addition it eliminates the risk of catching a bug from other patients or putting the nursing staff and specialists at further risk of the Coronavirus.
Zero999:
I don't want to get political but I'm very disappointed with my government. They gave up on testing, contact tracing and containment far too early. I appreciate testing might be expensive and they aren't prepared for it, but it will save money. For example, there are those like myself who are off work because they most likely have a mild common cold (a minor cough and no fever) who could be tested and go back to work. I'll probably have to take at least five days off work. I don't even have to bother doing the calculation to know the cost in hours lost, is greater than the price of a Covid-19 test, even at the rip-off prices charged by some private providers. At least those employed in critical sectors such as healthcare should be tested, at the first sign of the mildest symptoms, rather than being sent home and told to self-isolate! It's retarded!
Although I think it's highly unlikely, I hope I have Covid-19, because if it's just going to be a cough for me, I'd be happy to be immune to it and not pass it on. Assuming I don't have it, the only good think about self-isolation is I won't catch i, on top of this cough, which would have made it worse. Now my cough has improved significantly, but I believe I'll still need to continue self-isolation for a couple of days afterwards. Hopefully not. I'll discuss it with my employer tomorrow.
bd139:
I disagree. They're doing the best they can in a situation which is effectively a no win whatever containment measures we put in place. The containment measures will actually likely in the long run, according to the Imperial report, actually not improve the outcome significantly because the healthcare system is overwhelmed almost instantly. It might save thousands of lives which in numbers are statistically insignificant but that's worth it.
Not joking but I think I've had / have got this [1] and there is no test available for me as well. Saying that the key issue with testing is volume. It's not trivial to bring up whole labs to run tests so they have to test for critical cases first which are in hospitals i.e. people actually likely to end up in an ICU or are sick. They are ramping up test production as fast as possible. Key issue I understand is reagent supplies and skills. Being told to self-isolate is about reducing impact from the 80%+ of minor cases on people who it is a high risk for, nothing more. They don't have the capacity to test the entire planet. No one does. Simply because it has to be done multiple times.
My takings from this are:
1. Live your life early on, not the carrot of retirement.
2. Take your health seriously.
3. Prepare for the worst (bog roll and beans) and hope for the best (steak and chips :) )
The planet can off us as a species almost instantly if the situation arises and no national government has a plan that can cover all scenarios. Knowing how this year is going already it'll be raining asteroids by July.
[1] lost 4kg weight in last 8 days, had sweats, 40oC temp, really nasty cough, chest infection, feel like shit but am still working (from home). I am self isolating as are my family for ref.
Zero999:
I agree with you about the the containment measures currently put in place, but don't think they go far enough. For example barbers shops are still open near where I live and people still seem to be crowding. We're better off completely locking down the country and suffering greater short-term stress and economic loss, in return for stopping this thing, which will ultimately save both lives and money in the long run. China have proven it's possible to stop this. It's not too late.
Covid-19 testing and contact tracing are recommended by the world health organisation, have been implemented by China and South Korea and has worked very well over there and Germany is currently doing the same, with some success, so our government not doing it makes no sense. I agree it probably makes less sense for those such as yourself who can work from home and me, who isn't employed by an industry essential to the country's infrastructure, but it's sensible to prioritise testing of healthcare workers at whatever cost.
Yes, I emphatically agree with points #1 to #3, except don't panic buy bog role and beans!
Hope you feel better soon, you really have got it and it's not too bad for you.
By they way, don't take anything to bring your temperature down. It's helping your body fight the disease and will most likely result in a poorer outcome, even if it makes you feel better, in the short term.
bd139:
I agree but unfortunately people are arseholes generally and don't give a shit past their own personal circumstances. They have to factor that into the calculations. I've seen packs of joggers going past this morning ffs. :palm:
Yes I haven't taken any medication at all other than chocolate biscuits :-DD. The immune response is to raise body temperature to destroy the virus so I've let it go. Just have to keep hydrated. Feeling better now apart from the chest but if it was that then I've had worse. Full blown chicken pox at the age of 28, for the second time, was much much much worse. Most people are asymptomatic. The kids have been around me past the incubation time and had a sniffy nose and that was it.
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