Tuesday, March 17, 2020

Family news

the family is well so far: no corona virus yet in our area that we know of, but there have been quite a few people coming to the door asking for help to go to the ER for "bronchitis". 

?Influenza? Undiagnosed coronavirus?

Manila is on lockdown, screening everyone going in and out so traveling there is a mess. (3 hour delay for workers trying to get to and from work).

We are not quarantined yet, but the mayor has closed the schools and church meetings, and the big Monday palenke (when outside vendors come in to sell stuff) was canceled.


I updated my will, just in case. I had to get all the information out to file my income tax, so I updated the information on my will.

here, doing this is considered morbid, but hey, I'm a Yank.

Rice harvest is going on right now, so people are busy.

The quarantine will hurt a lot of poor people.

And to make things worse: Bird flu was just found at a local quail farm. This usually doesn't affect humans but could raise the price of eggs and chickens if it spreads to the large chicken farms in the area, and of course spread to the locals who have "backyard chickens" or fighting cocks.

 This is on top of the African swine flu that hit a bunch of local pigs.


(we are no longer in the chicken business nor do we raise pigs).




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in more coronavirus news:

heh. Instapundit says they are doing a trial of antibodies from patients who recovered from the coronavirus to see if it works.

This was how they treated pneumonia and diphtheria in the good old days before antibiotics. (This is the story behind Balto and the film Togo, about delivering Diphtheria anti serum in Alaska).

They also use it for rabies, in cases of serious dogbites, (e.g. many bites or bites to the face) to prevent the disease while you take the vaccine to build up your own immunity.

there are several countries working on vaccines, and also checking which drugs work the best.

By slowing the spread of the disease by quarantine etc., it is hoped that these interventions will be available as the epidemic continues. (which is why isolation is about lowering the curve rather than lowering the actual number of cases).

England is considering another approach: Herd immunity. If enough people get a mild case and become immune, the disease will stop spreading. therefore, it won't spread to the vunerable (who hopefully will stay away from others until the danger passes)

That of course assumes immunity from the infection, and of course, risks deaths among the "low risk" population.

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update:

Duterte has put Luzon on lockdown:

He said he decided to expand the quarantine to the rest of Luzon because there were reports that other areas on the island had coronavirus cases. The government does not have the luxury of time and wait to verify if there is a contagion in other places, he said. “I cannot go into a guessing game,” he said...
 private establishments providing basic necessities and such activities related to food and medicine production would remain open during the enhanced community quarantine.
These include public markets, supermarkets, grocery stores, convenience stores, hospitals, medical clinics, pharmacies and drug stores, food preparation and delivery services, water refilling stations, manufacturing and processing plants of basic food products and medicines, banks, money transfer services, power, energy, water and telecommunication supplies and facilities.


Earlier, since I had heard we go on lockdown tomorrow; so I went to the bank and we sent the secretary to the grocery store to buy bread.


presumably we will be allowed to deliver rice to Manila area.

and of course it is harvest time, so it means lots of work on the farm won't be affected.

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