The Washington Board of Nursing email I received yesterday said there have been 29 deaths in WA, so I think that number is low. 
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Blow by blow descriptions of how the virus affects the body:
https://www.medpagetoday.com/infectiousdisease/covid19/85361
Best synopsis of everything relevant to COVID-19 I’ve seen so far – with references, for fact checking:
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I was depressed several days ago when I realized self-isolation won’t materially impact my life. Probably, because I enjoy these kinds of discussions:
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now at 40 with 31 in WA.
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OH good grief. I saw that Dahmer thing a week ago. so it was accurate then.
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Not posted directly at you, but it seems it’s one of those things where people look at the here and now and draw conclusions based on that, rather than hope for the best and prepare for the worst (in a non-crazy, non-hording way).
Kind of like looking at a static, overall number of, “well, the flu has killed X, this has only done this.” Where the numbers that are being released to us, tend to point in the direction of it being around twice as infectious as the flu with a CFR of at least 6x (using the most conservative estimates of people who say they expect CFR to drop to .6-.7 range with widespread testing/confirmation of low grade infections). A much less eloquent stating of what @gmckayca said so well above.
Probably some kind of psychology lesson in there pertaining to which side of the camp you’re sitting in.
you ever have someone’s eyes glaze over when you’re talking to them about some technical topic like that? An expert in the field should be able to describe something like that in a technical way - basically brain to mouth. Being able to explain a difficult or highly technical thing to a lay person who has no knowledge of the subject except what they’ve googled though is a very different skill set - probably more of an art.
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The way I like to put it I took from a great piece on waitbutwhy: People are really bad about understanding curves. We don’t really grasp compounding effects.
Off topic, but interesting: The Artificial Intelligence Revolution: Part 1 - Wait But Why
On topic, and funny, of all things:
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The TSA has notified its employees that any TSOs who get COVID-19 will be put on paid administrative leave. (My son-in-law is a TSO.) Lots better than how the government treats them when it shuts down and they have to keep working despite not getting paid!
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All schools in Oregon will be closed effective on March 16 until April 1. I don’t have any children in school anymore, but our daughter drives school bus, so this is a relief…at least momentarily.
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Some evidence now that it may also be transmitted by “fecal shedding.” So public toilets could be a vector.
This is amazing. And heartwrenching.
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Thank you for your post – very well thought out and beautifully written. I especially liked the closing sentences. <3
I woke up yesterday morning wondering how many of my friends and family members will be infected; tallying up a fearsome list of potential casualties in my mind. I’m afraid. My parents are in the high-risk age group. So is my husband, and I’m not that many years removed from it. One of my brothers has both sarcoidosis (a lung disease) and cardiovascular issues. A sister-in-law and a daughter-in-law have severe asthma. My son-in-law works in a high-risk area. A lot of our community here on this forum is high-risk, too. The death toll could get 'way closer than I want to think about. I don’t like losing people I care about. None of us do.
But life will go on. Perhaps greatly altered, but it WILL go on. It always has. We will adapt, and cope, and move ahead, because that’s what humans have always done.
Now go and wash your hands.
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Uh, the math on that doesn’t quiet work. Surgical masks don’t filter out things in the sub-micron range, in fact they don’t filter out practically anything other than very large dust particles, they are designed to trap the WEARER’S droplets when they cough, not protect the wearer from others. Things in the nanometer range (e.g. viruses) go right through filters (heck even trapping comparatively large cells) is quite hard. A red blood cell which is 21microns across is like a blue-whale compared to a basketball of a virus particle… Also the whole it will fall to the ground is under perfect conditions, they’ve shown microorganisms can travel the jet stream by staying suspended in the air and cross oceans. That’s the big problem with measles is that an entire room is contagious after an infected person walks in for even a few seconds and can stay that way for hours.
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Thanks for clarifying – good info! I updated my post and linked it to your expanded information.
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Ft Worth schools are closed thru March 30. Yay, more time with Gkid! (Gotta look for those silver linings!)
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Yes. It doesn’t have to be technical. I’ve graduated to listener over the years. Also, make jokes.
Thanks you for your eloquent post. I’ve been trying to gather my thoughts and hold my tongue so I don’t have to mend fences with ignorant in-laws down the road and reading your insightful comment helped. (And yes, I came to the GF to lower my blood pressure lol.)
This morning I’ve had to wade though the in-laws stupid conspiracy memes becasue they are sure no one has really died from this and it’s just a world government take-over. 
I would normally just roll my eyes and move on, but I also had a sobering call from my 87 yr old mother and brother this morning. My brother has been an AIDS survivor for 25yrs and is now battling cancer that has been attributed to being at ground zero on 9/11. He called to cancel our plans for the weekend becasue he and mom are self-isolating for a few weeks at least. At 87 yrs old Mom just can’t risk it. My brother is getting over bronchitis that came on after his radiation treatment and his doctor said this virus would kill him, no question. My brother in-law is a principle and we’re hoping his school gets shut down so he can lower the small chance of bringing something home to my brother. So this may not be everyone’s reality, but it’s our and it angers me to have people dismiss it as if my family is overreacting. If the folks who think we can just carry on as usual only put themselves at greater risk, oh well, but unfortunately their cavalier attitude helps spread the virus and puts my loved ones at serious risk.
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While you’re washing your hands, also sanitize your phone frequently. And take off your shoes before coming into your house.
Here’s a cool phone-cleaning gadget, if you want to do it the geeky way:
Good (terrifying, but good) stuff in NYT today.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/13/us/coronavirus-deaths-estimate.html
I’ll give the bright side bit at the end to entice you and maybe not make this so dark:
“All U.S. cities and states have the natural experiment of the cities that have preceded us, namely the superb response of Singapore and Hong Kong,” said Dr. Michael Callahan, an infectious disease specialist at Harvard. Those countries implemented school closures, eliminated mass gatherings, required work from home, and rigorously decontaminated their public transportation and infrastructure. They also conducted widespread testing.
They were able to “reduce an explosive epidemic to a steady state one,” Dr. Callahan said.
As in the case of an approaching hurricane, Dr. Mecher said, “You’ve got to take potentially very disruptive actions when the sun is shining and the breeze is mild.”
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