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Author Topic: COVID-19 aka Corona Virus  (Read 14330 times)

txlabman

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COVID-19 aka Corona Virus
« on: March 17, 2020, 09:25:50 am »
I wanted to give my Forum Friends an update.  This virus is now disrupting me personally.  No, as far as I know I don't have the virus or any symptons.

My youngest daughter has been teaching at a college in Nevia, Columbia as a Fullbright Scholar.  Yesterday, the United States State Department which administers the Fullbright Program and the Peace Corps, issued a worldwide edict for all participants in these programs to immediately return to the USA.  Anyone that doesn't comply is on their own and the State Department will not be responsible for them.  So, my daughter and her fiancé are returning to our home in Dallas on Thursday from Columbia.

My daughter reports that the people in Columbia have a huge distrust of their government and are not taking this seriously.  In less than a week, Nevia has gone from zero reported cases to 10 cases in a city with approximately 300k people.

In addition, my daughter and her fiancé will be traveling through the Bogota and Houston international Airports on their return trip.

When they return to our home they will self-quarantine for 14 days as recommended.

So, I have made the difficult decision to leave my home for the quarantine period and beyond (until this virus plays out) and live alone with my dog at my ranch.  My wife thinks I am insane.  My four daughters think it is the right decision.  I am the most at risk from age, health and fitness of anyone in my family. 

I have a freezer full of wild game and enough other resources and books to survive there without leaving for at least a month.  I will be working on restoring a 1905 farm house that we bought in January which is about 1 mile from our Ranch Gate.

Unfortunately, I have very limited internet/cell service.  So, starting Thursday you may not hear a lot from me for a while.


Stoker

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Re: COVID-19 aka Corona Virus
« Reply #1 on: March 17, 2020, 10:00:36 am »
Good luck with your farmhouse restoration work Charlie .... lucky you, that you have such a wonderful escape valve available .....  think of it as a bachelor's vacation!

Sorry to hear that this vector is headed your way, but third world connections are always a roll of the dice in so many ways.

If it makes you feel better to quarantine yourself, then that is all the reason you need to go ahead and do it. The many hours flight in the closed circulation of the aluminum tube, is likely your daughters greatest chance at exposure, but getting home soon may well be her best bet, as it is problematic how much longer airlines can operate under the current paradigm. Personally, I think (or at least hope) that this issue will not be nearly as bad as advertised here in the first world, but there is absolutely nothing wrong with taking every reasonable precaution that you can think up.

Truly hope everything works out for the best for you and your family there Charlie!!!
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jkbixby

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Re: COVID-19 aka Corona Virus
« Reply #2 on: March 17, 2020, 10:23:29 am »
Hope it goes well for you and your family Charlie and I think it's probably a wise decision in your case. It will be interesting to see how bad this actually turns out in the long run - we'll know a lot more in a few weeks I'm sure. In my case I don't have too many options so will limit my exposure as much as I can and continue fixing up the steam room and taking care of our church building.
Regards,
Larry

Nick

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Re: COVID-19 aka Corona Virus
« Reply #3 on: March 17, 2020, 10:30:50 am »
Best of luck Charlie, keep in touch! As of yesterday, we now have no source of income for an unknown amount of time due to forced closures by the government... they are saying 10 days, but I imagine it will be more...
Nick

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Re: COVID-19 aka Corona Virus
« Reply #4 on: March 17, 2020, 11:16:28 am »
Good luck with it, Charlie!

My wife and I are holed up in the middle of our 100 acres; we don't think anyone can get too close to us....
Bob

classixs

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Re: COVID-19 aka Corona Virus
« Reply #5 on: March 17, 2020, 03:40:58 pm »
Best of luck Charlie, a wise move you´re making there!
Please do keep in touch, should you get an opportunity to do so out there.
Cheers
Jan
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oilfield_steam

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Re: COVID-19 aka Corona Virus
« Reply #6 on: March 17, 2020, 04:53:11 pm »
Sounds like the best thing to do, considering the circumstances.

Hope your daughter and fiance prove out to be non-positive.

Check in with us when you can... sounds like you need a 30-day free trial to HughesNet service!
Scott

parallelmotion

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Re: COVID-19 aka Corona Virus
« Reply #7 on: March 17, 2020, 05:00:54 pm »
Wise decision Charlie. Take some engines with you to play with. I had to self-quarantine for 14 days after coming back from Asia last month, also without corona symptoms. Went back to work this week only to learn today that the university is now closed to all staff and students for the rest of this week during spring break...possibly longer. All restaurants and bars also closed for the near future putting a lot of people out of work. But better that than having the health care system overwhelmed before they are ready.

Take care and keep in touch,
Brent

txlabman

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Re: COVID-19 aka Corona Virus
« Reply #8 on: March 17, 2020, 05:05:48 pm »
Sounds like the best thing to do, considering the circumstances.

Hope your daughter and fiance prove out to be non-positive.

Check in with us when you can... sounds like you need a 30-day free trial to HughesNet service!

Thanks Scott.  I called them today.  :)

txlabman

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Re: COVID-19 aka Corona Virus
« Reply #9 on: March 17, 2020, 05:09:07 pm »
Thank you for all of your comments and encouragement.

I am taking a couple engines with me.  I packed them up today.  And I am going to try to make a couple videos at the Ranch!

I will also try to post some pictures of the farm house that we are renovating/restoring.

My bug out kit is almost complete!

Nick

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Re: COVID-19 aka Corona Virus
« Reply #10 on: March 17, 2020, 05:31:29 pm »
All restaurants and bars also closed for the near future putting a lot of people out of work. But better that than having the health care system overwhelmed before they are ready.

This is what happened here to us, they say file for unemployment, but the online system was already down last night from so many people trying to do so. I am also assuming that with so many people signing up that it is going to take weeks or months to see any money and it's only going to be a fraction of what we had coming in. My wife's restaurant is remaining open for takeout only, so she is trying to pick up any cashiering shifts she can, but of course that is only a minimum wage job. We were prepared for this and can survive for the short run, but I do worry about them extending the closures...
Nick

Junkologist

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Re: COVID-19 aka Corona Virus
« Reply #11 on: March 17, 2020, 07:13:57 pm »
Best of luck to you and your family, Charlie. You’re making the right decision and it sounds like you have the perfect place to escape to.
Everything is closed down around here, but I feel like we’re pretty fortunate since it has not really affected either one of our jobs. I work outdoors in construction and my wife got orders to work from home since she’s in IT. For several years now, she has had automatic delivery of some paper products through Amazon and discovered that we have 72 rolls of toilet paper on hand! :D
Mike

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Nick

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Re: COVID-19 aka Corona Virus
« Reply #12 on: March 17, 2020, 07:41:25 pm »
Best of luck to you and your family, Charlie. You’re making the right decision and it sounds like you have the perfect place to escape to.
Everything is closed down around here, but I feel like we’re pretty fortunate since it has not really affected either one of our jobs. I work outdoors in construction and my wife got orders to work from home since she’s in IT. For several years now, she has had automatic delivery of some paper products through Amazon and discovered that we have 72 rolls of toilet paper on hand! :D

I can find outdoor work most any time other than March and November, looks like this came at the wrong time for us!

Will automatic Amazon deliveries be affected? I see Prime delivery is now up to 4 days.

I have alway kept the freezer full, food canned on the shelf and have bought in bulk to save money, so we luckily didn't have to go to shopping last minute. In fact, I had put 24 loaves of bread in the freezer last month because it was on sale for 49 cents/loaf at the local gas station.
Nick

St Paul Steam

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Re: COVID-19 aka Corona Virus
« Reply #13 on: March 17, 2020, 09:08:05 pm »
I have been reading with interest in how this Corona virus is effecting everyone, it gives us a candid glimpse Into people/families personal experiences from all across this Country & the globe,  we should start another thread with that as the topic.
Charlie I hope for the best in your situation,  I'm  afraid I might just enjoy that kind of exile for a few weeks, assuming nothing bad (healthwise) comes of it. Be safe , I hope your git kit has protection packed in with it.
Bruce, St. Paul Indiana, USA
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  Nikola Tesla

Raphael

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Re: COVID-19 aka Corona Virus
« Reply #14 on: March 18, 2020, 05:47:30 am »
Bonjour,
Why does the whole world have to be struck by a terrible disease rather than by great happiness?
Courage to all who, like me, must remain confined, and my healing vows to those already affected, let's keep our spirits up!
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