Conavirus......

[catherine]

Though I'm the furthest thing from a germophobe, and I haven't had the flu--or even a cold that I can remember--for some 25 years, I'm taking extraordinary (for me) precautions for this outbreak.

Me too. Some fellow moderators have emailed me asking what I'm doing--refusing to travel, etc. I mentioned in another thread that for the first time I'm considering asking my client if I can do a video interview rather than an in-person interview I have scheduled in a couple of weeks.

As for TTs question about one person holing up and the other going out, that's a good question. DH and I are both looking forward to getting back to the island next week. Unless we go into Burlington, we can stay pretty much self-quarantined up there. The winter population is 500, and no one does much. We'll see what happens in the spring.

[sweetana3]

Re the Alaska Cruise: We have a trip to Italy in late Sept. ???? My husband said "how flexible are you to delays?" We are totally flexible and have no one to report to if we are stuck somewhere for another month. Even have multiple cat sitters. But others not so much.

[Teacher Terry]

Part of it to if you get stuck for a month can you handle the expenses of hotel, etc if you aren’t on a ship.

[razz]

My wording was not quite accurately reflecting the cruise line's offer:

"Any cancellation will receive a Future Cruise Credit (FCC) for the amount of your cancellation fee, which can be used for another cruise in 2020 or 2021.
The FCC must be booked by December 31, 2020. This applies to bookings on spring 2020 Land+Sea Journeys and cruises for all destinations.
FCCs are nonrefundable, non-transferrable and do not have to be used on the same destination that was cancelled."

IMO, it is a fair offer giving the cruise line some indication of the public's concern about that cruise. My travel partner and I are considering all the issues of the cruise including the flexibility of the flight there and back which was arranged separately. For all we know the whole cruise may be cancelled if enough travellers withdraw or the advisory re travel changes significantly.

[SteveinMN]

"The FCC must be booked by December 31, 2020"

"Booked" using this credit will allow you to take any cruise that is on their schedule at the time you book, which undoubtedly will include many months into 2021.

[razz]

That is my understanding, Steve.
My mind is having a hard time getting around the idea that - one person in China bought from their local market and ate a wild animal which had been infected by a bat; this decision is triggering literally many billions of losses of $$$$$$ and thousands in loss of life. Imagine the budgets of the now unemployed or under-employed, the economies affected...

[Geila]

My mind is having a hard time getting around the idea that - one person in China bought from their local market and ate a wild animal which had been infected by a bat; this decision is triggering literally many billions of losses of $$$$$$ and thousands in loss of life. Imagine the budgets of the now unemployed or under-employed, the economies affected...

That's the basic plot for the movie Contagion from 2011. I have to admit, when I saw the movie, I could easily see it happening in real life. I'm actually surprised it hasn't happened before.

[sweetana3]

It is also the progression of the Ebola disease in Africa that killed well over half of those infected. Someone ate or was bitten by something that was contaminated and then had the ability to transmit between humans.

[Rogar]

The 1918 flu is somewhat famous, but I was reading about the 1957 flue epidemic where there were over a hundred thousand deaths in the US. I don't recall parents or any other ancestors talking about it or any recollections at all of it causing the same sort of social excitement. Maybe we were coming off of WWII and mass casualties were just the order of things or maybe I just missed hearing about in my younger years. It apparently favored both young and old. I wonder if calling a halt to so many things is right or wrong and really don't know, but there is a little bump up in health risk for everyone. I plan on shaking hands with old friends and hugging mother or sister like folks in my life unless things change. Other things I will do differently but I don't see it as a big issue in the quality of life. I don't know if it's over dramatic to say, stay calm, carry on, be well.

[SteveinMN]

I plan on shaking hands with old friends and hugging mother or sister like folks in my life unless things change. Other things I will do differently but I don't see it as a big issue in the quality of life. I don't know if it's over dramatic to say, stay calm, carry on, be well.

I don't think it's over-dramatic. Every day we straddle that line between security and living.

One of our dance groups held a dance last night. There seemed to be the usual amount of handshaking and hugging. I am hopeful that COVID-19 will run its course in a few months. If we knew that it would, then new habits like elbow bumping instead of shaking hands (or even the dancing itself) would make more sense and be easier to do. But if COVID-19 turns out to be something like the common cold with more morbidity, would we want to give up activities we enjoy very much even if they involved human contact and you merely could get sick? We get in our cars every day and go places even though getting into an accident could injure or kill you.