Closed Businesses?

March 14, 2020, 9:00 am 9.9k Views 27 Comments

By an edhat reader

I’ve been hearing a lot of people say there are gas stations around town that are closing down due to the virus today? Out of fuel or lack of staff or something. Is this true? What other businesses are closed or planning to close this weekend or week?

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Written by Anonymous

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27 Comments

  10. don’t believe all of the doomsday noise out there. Especially regarding gas stations that are almost completely automated now.. pay at the pump, right?
    Life will continue and this will just be another blip on the radar screen and great practice for the zombie apocalypse! ;-}

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  11. Silly rumor. The danger is of a spike clogging the ICU’s. This is not Ebola such that gas, food and watersupplies won’t be serviced. Plenty of millenials and GenXers will be able to go to their jobs and deliver services, even clinical care. Stocking up on water & fuel is not needed, the viral receptors mainly in lung tissue not likely that water will be a significant vector of transmission. The virus will NOT come through the gas tank. Just use a glove or clean your hands after pumping the gas. Of course it is always prudent to keep a relatively full tank, but more likely that a fire, earthquake or tsunami will hit than a gasoline virus.

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  18. My housemate is doing some shopping for me. He reported that Wholefoods’ shelves are 1/2 empty. Same with Vons on Turnpike. Looks like people are panic-buying. I’m staying home because I watched that hour-long video presentation made by the Cottage Health Care Infectious Disease Specialist Dr. Lynn Fitzgibbons . According to recent findings, many carriers of this SarsCoV2 (SarsCoV2 = actual virus; disease is Novel Covid-19) may well be asymptomatic (not showing any illness at all) and thus the virus is “hiding” among those who seem healthy ——- and, meanwhile, being transmitted to others. Masks aren’t recommended for the general populace mainly because it’s nearly impossible to fit them properly (re: N-95 masks). The upshot is “Time is Our Friend.” The longer we can delay widespread transmission of the virus, the more time there is for supportive care and for researchers to find/develop better methods of dealing with this disease. Make no mistake: it is moving quickly. It is transmitted not only by touch and/or by coughing and sneezing. You can breathe the same air as an infected/asymptomatic person and contract this virus. Any person you come in contact with could be infected. You may already be infected. It’s not time to panic, but it is time to be realistic and keep your distance from others as much as is possible. And—–as we keep hearing: Wash your hands and DO NOT touch your eyes/nose/mouth. ******* It’s clinical, it’s dry, but worth a watch: https://www.edhat.com/news/local-infectious-disease-specialist-discusses-coronavirus
    ***********And here’s an addendum which is, I think, worth a smile, if not an outright laugh: Housemate reports people at Wholefoods were wearing masks and ” . . . some of them had on masks with a flowery design.”

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  19. And note who tells the truth and who doesn’t. “So far, 48 Corona-related deaths have been reported in the U.S. among a population of at least 300 million, and in every case the victims were either elderly and/or had underlying medical issues” and “I haven’t seen anyone claim only the elderly or persons with preexisting medical conditions have died” were said by the same person.

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  20. Also, some things are technically true but misleading, like “As of yesterday, 81% of confirmed cases have been rated as “mild” by the WHO” — “mild” is anything short of being hospitalized, and “mild” cases can become severe or critical. Also very very misleading, and tiresome: “At this point, and let’s hope it remains so, a U.S. citizen dying of COVID19 is far less than “regular” flues and far less than dying in an automobile accident” — Here’s the reality: https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/487489-worst-case-coronavirus-models-show-massive-us-toll “One model from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) suggested that between 160 million and 210 million Americans could contract the disease over as long as a year. Based on mortality data and current hospital capacity, the number of deaths under the CDC’s scenarios ranged from 200,000 to as many as 1.7 million.” and “Globally, the numbers are even more staggering. Five researchers at Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health estimated that between 20 percent and 60 percent of everyone on earth — or between 1.4 billion and 4.2 billion people — could eventually contract the disease.
    If the virus only kills 1 percent of those who contract it, somewhere between 14 million and 42 million people are at risk. In countries like Iran and Italy, where health systems are overrun, the mortality rate can be much higher. ” — as always, read the whole article. And then there’s “If you are in good, or even reasonably good, health and follow good hygienic practices, your chances of having any serious problems related to COVID19 are extremely small and almost non-existent regarding actual death.” — gee, that’s nice (though inaccurate), but not all of us, or the people we care about, are. This is addressed by this excellent and highly appropriate (not for delicate ears) PSA: https://twitter.com/minhtngo/status/1238680076088033282

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  23. OMG! Have you heard the latest news that’s causing panic, stress, and economic chaos? If you haven’t, here it is: “36,560 dead, 90 people die every day….” – these are the 2018 auto related deaths. I am astounded about the world’s reaction to COVID19, especially in America, and also especially that no one seems to worry about other flu strains in this country that claim many thousands of lives yearly. So far, 48 Corona-related deaths have been reported in the U.S. among a population of at least 300 million, and in every case the victims were either elderly and/or had underlying medical issues. Of the roughly 136,000 diagnosed with this virus, 70,000 have already fully recovered. Covid19 is certainly a major concern, but to see most of the media and people react the way they are doing is what is really frightening to me; this hints at what a real disaster would unleash.

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  24. Beware of false information, such as claims that only the elderly and those with medical conditions have died … this is simply not true (and so what if it were?). Of 83,052 closed cases, 6,456 have died … that’s nearly 8%. The increase in cases is exponential and the spread of this virus has just started, so comparisons to other causes of death are irrelevant. Although the number of cases in China has leveled off due to radical enforced social distancing measures, it has taken off elsewhere in the world. While the number of reported cases in the U.S. is 3,313, the number of actual infections is much higher due to lack of testing. See https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/ for up-to-date numbers.

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  25. Also, death isn’t the only thing to be concerned about … a stay in the ICU on a ventilator is no walk in the park. Some recoveries leave people with reduced lung function of 20% – 30%.
    As for what this means for personal behavior … panic buying? No of course not; there’s no reason for that. Social distancing? Yes, absolutely. Flattening the curve is necessary to prevent the healthcare system from being overwhelmed, which would cause far more deaths, as is happening in Italy. It’s particularly a problem in the U.S., which has very few available hospital beds and ventilators. Flattening the curve is an ongoing process … it makes no sense to ask whether it’s been done yet. https://www.health.com/condition/infectious-diseases/coronavirus/flatten-the-curve-meaning

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  26. Is bowling alley open? Ice rink? What about the zoo? Lotusland? Botanical Gardens is open!! I’ve got 3-young kids (5-11), who live in 350sq ft with 2 parents who must work. We’ve been to beach already. Schools are closed. SBUSD has yet to send memo or work but we’ve only one old computer for the 3 of them so sticking to old fashioned book reading. We’d welcome daily EdHat postings of what is open. Is the Art Museum open? Later tonight: Is The Red Piano Bar open?

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  27. JQB, the numbers I mentioned refer to the U.S only, so that’s not false information. Also, I haven’t seen anyone claim only the elderly or persons with preexisting medical conditions have died, but roughly 80% that HAVE died fell into that bracket and that’s not false information, either. The numbers you mention are world-wide and mostly related to early cases before the virus was identified. I read that some in the medical community believe that the initial higher rate of deaths in China was attributable to the fact that the Chinese are very heavy smokers and their lungs were already compromised. As of yesterday, 81% of confirmed cases have been rated as “mild” by the WHO. At this point, and let’s hope it remains so, a U.S. citizen dying of COVID19 is far less than “regular” flues and far less than dying in an automobile accident. To think otherwise is to fall prey to the fear and hysteria that is being spread much faster than the actual virus itself. As far as “social distancing”, the world has always a communicable place and will remain so, which is exacerbated by a huge and growing world population. You mention Italy, but as of yesterday nearly 80% who died were older than 70, with less than 1% under the age of 59, so that figure seems to be playing out just about everywhere. If you are in good, or even reasonably good, health and follow good hygienic practices, your chances of having any serious problems related to COVID19 are extremely small and almost non-existent regarding actual death. Stress related to fear and anxiety have proven to be strong contributors to a weakened immune system. Personally, I will be prudent regarding “social distancing”, but I don’t plan to go live in a cave.

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