Topic: Coronavirus COVID-19

[charlie]

We're starting to get the vibe around here that we'll be cancelling our 2,500 kid/1,000 staff camp....

Yeah, that's a lot of people... It feels like we might start opening things up before the summer but I feel like large groups like this might not be coming back for a long time.

[Mike]

So, procrastination paid off for the wife and I.  Our 2018 return was just under the $150K amount for the stimulus checks and last week we had the accountant prepare our 2019 return and it is a good amount over that threshold.    Sure, I feel a little bad since we aren't in need of the money but being lazy with the taxes paid off this time.

[charlie]

I'm concerned that it doesn't seem like much progress is being made in ramping up testing and building up hospital supplies. The whole point of all these lockdowns was to give time for those things to catch up and be put into place. Is that even going to happen?

[Mike]

I don't expect testing to every ramp up in the US.  Many places are nearing the expected peak and are just assuming that if you have the symptoms you have the disease.  I expect that the antibody test to be the bigger focus as that gives you more of an idea of when we can open back up safely (not that certain people care about doing it safely).

[charlie]

I don't expect testing to every ramp up in the US.  Many places are nearing the expected peak and are just assuming that if you have the symptoms you have the disease.  I expect that the antibody test to be the bigger focus as that gives you more of an idea of when we can open back up safely (not that certain people care about doing it safely).

That would be bad. If things open up and we can't test and trace then infections will spike again and we'll have to go back into lockdown. We'd have to get lucky and have a LOT more asymptomatic infected folks running around for that to be a reasonable path forward in my opinion.

[Mike]

Agreed.  I just don't see the tests ramping up too much beyond the current level.

[Jake]

I don't expect testing to every ramp up in the US.  Many places are nearing the expected peak and are just assuming that if you have the symptoms you have the disease.  I expect that the antibody test to be the bigger focus as that gives you more of an idea of when we can open back up safely (not that certain people care about doing it safely).

I agree with Mike. I think this is the big push now, to offer a home test for the antibodies

[micah]

jack pot! thank you Corona

[Mike]

Racking in that 31 cents!

[jkim]

Our stimulus payment didn't hit as of yesterday, so we went ahead and added info to https://www.irs.gov/coronavirus/get-my-payment

We won't be getting the full amount back, but it's more than nothing. Someone in a FB group I'm in was bitching about how everyone was going to spend this on "crap" and why didn't the government put this into something like healthcare. I get where they were prooooobably coming from, but that privilege was full-frontal and they were getting draaagged from people who were asking where they was donating their stimulus check to.

[jkim]

I'm also worried about relaxing measures while we don't have sufficient testing available.

IMO the antibody test is really only useful in determining how much of the population was actually affected and asymptomatic to further determine transmissibility, pathogenesis, and mortality rates. It seems incredibly dangerous to put faith into these tests bringing us "back to normal." We might not end up with another wave the same way we experienced this time around in June or July but the testing response has been embarrassing.

[ober]

Totally agree Jen.  These people that are protesting and the idiots that just want to open everything back up are just asking for trouble.  If we had responded like some of the other countries we might be in better shape but we didn't.  And we're not. 

I'm sort of surprised by some people's responses to the stimulus checks.  I know a LOT of people that their job is either on hold or they flat out lost their job.  People that say stuff like that need a reality check (pun intended).

[charlie]

Someone in a FB group I'm in was bitching about how everyone was going to spend this on "crap" and why didn't the government put this into something like healthcare.

I mean... that's probably the #1 goal of a stimulus check... people spend it on crap which helps keep the economy afloat.

It also helps people who are struggling financially but I doubt there are that many people for which this one check is the difference.

[micah]

Someone in a FB group I'm in was bitching about how everyone was going to spend this on "crap" and why didn't the government put this into something like healthcare.

I mean... that's probably the #1 goal of a stimulus check... people spend it on crap which helps keep the economy afloat.

It also helps people who are struggling financially but I doubt there are that many people for which this one check is the difference.

I don't think this check was meant to keep people afloat who have lost income... more like, as you said, its meant so people will buy crap and stimulate the economy.  I agree 100% with your second statement... this check means I can get all my regular bills caught up and not worry when spending several hundred dollars during my current house purging (eg, buying the kids mattresses or replacing/fixing hosehold items and buying cleaning supplies beyond my normal budget).   Also, I bought a new shirt.

[Jake]

Our vendor shared this map with us yesterday. They are one of the biggest credit card processors for the hospitality industry in the country. This is the difference between 2/2/20 and first week of April.