So, the other day I read a Facebook post from Pittsburgh media personality, Marty Griffin. I think Marty is a great talk show host. He does not tow a party line. He seems to be a man of common sense. His job is to stir the pot and get discussions going. I have no doubt he comes at it from the right place. I believe he sees his function as sparking discussion whether it is an easy or a difficult discussion to have. He is by all accounts a guy that really helps his community with his position and I love how he speaks about his family.

I honestly haven’t listened in a while. I know he riles people up. It’s part of the job. I have heard him say things about food allergies that I considered ignorant, but people are complex and you can’t hold your opinions on them to one single issue. I still follow him on social media.

This was the post;

Message from a friend.
What do you say?

This coronavirus is the strangest virus I’ve ever heard of. It’s very dangerous the way it spreads. It is so mysterious the way it lurks in schools, but then dies at Home Depot. It can wreak havoc in churches; praying people are exceptionally vulnerable! Although it’s Mind-boggling how it vanishes when people stand close together holding signs, destroying businesses, homes, property, monuments, etc. Yet, standing to watch a marathon or a concert triggers its wrath. It is sneaky. It can spread when buying clothes at Kohl’s but not at Target. It is non-alcoholic. It can’t spread when you are buying beer. It lives for two days on Amazon boxes, you must wait 48 hours to touch them but It can’t survive on Dunkin Donuts coffee cups, so enjoying a hot cup of joe is safe. It is the most curious thing, how it lives on basketballs, baseball bats and ballet bars, but dies on WWE ropes and Walmart shopping carts. It is spread by hair stylists, dog groomers, and dentists, but not by bank tellers, cashiers, and fast food workers. It’s so smart. It won’t bother the first 10 people but it knows when the 11th person shows up so be careful if that’s you. It even knows what you want vs what you need. If you want a massage or your nails done it is very actively on the prowl and not even a mask can stop it but If you need a plumber, it is weak, and a mask will keep it away. It also seems to be most dangerous after 5:30pm so businesses must start to close before the virus comes out and wreaks havoc upon the populations. Whoever heard of such a smart sneaky virus?!?😂

~copied, author unknown

It, like many other things I have seen on social media lately, just had me exhausted & exasperated.

I made a comment. Not only should I never read the comments, I should never post a comment. It’s a sickness, I tell you. My comment garnered a request. I am happy to oblige.

Rather than rant on FB, and in order collect my thoughts/links, I decided to post it here. I was even going to go to a Spongebob Mocking Text Generator to use that and post the OP sentence by sentence & argue it. But I want to be calm & civil. I want to pass on information that I have read, & maybe explain how I have come to perceive it. I may not be correct. I am not a scientist. I am not a journalist. I am just an asshole that figured out how to set up a WordPress a few years back and posts things for about 3 or 4 people to read occasionally.

None of us know the correct course of action. We could, maybe, use past pandemics as a model. We could, maybe, listen to the advise of experts… from doctors to scientists to statisticians, maybe even teams of the aforementioned. We have been inundated with media (and social media) that contradicts itself every few days.

I believe both the state and federal government failed to take swift decisive action, and they failed miserably to communicate how that action was to be rolled out, or why they made the decisions they did. This is not a political post. Leave your “Trump this” and “Wolfe that” at the door. They both needed to have a quick and concise plan, and that did not happen. I believe that government inaction/incompetence, coupled with the ever-contradicting media rushing to be first to a story (or to sensationalize to garner clicks), and further complicated with the panicked populace using social media as an outlet to voice their fear and frustrations… has built a mounting anxiety of epic proportions.

Proof, or at least validation, as requested for the above paragraph:

• • Trump’s recovery plan: Let the states lead (Politico)
  • Gov. Wolf’s shutdown order sows widespread confusion and panic. Up to 3 million workers affected (The Philadelphia Inquirer)

That is a long-winded way of putting an explanation behind my perspective. Here we go;

This coronavirus is the strangest virus I’ve ever heard of. It’s very dangerous the way it spreads.

Agreed. Read this article from WebMD: How Does Coronavirus Spread? Boy, we’re off to a good start.

It is so mysterious the way it lurks in schools, but then dies at Home Depot.

Um. It’s in both places, but let’s think about it logically. Did you read the article above about how it spreads? (Or one from the CDC, the WHO, Scientific American, or the Mayo Clinic if you prefer?)

Kids are in school for what? About 6 hours. Most of those kids are on buses to & from. Do you know how close together kids sit on the bus, in classrooms, the cafeteria? Have you ever seen a gym class or a playground? You have to realize its a Petri dish for communicable diseases on a good day, right? Right. Kids, though reminded, aren’t always the best at remembering social distancing or washing their hands.

You are hopefully at Home Depot for about an hour at most. If you need longer than that, ask an associate. They are generally knowledgeable or they can find someone who is. Please be polite though, as this is probably an insurmountably stressful time to be working. Better yet, it’s 2020. Order your stuff online and pickup in store and you’ll be in there 10 minutes tops. Hopefully the adults in the store (remember when they asked 1 person per family & no kids?) are able to remember social distancing (or read the arrows in the aisles or stickers on the floor), wearing masks, adhere to occupancy limits based on keeping customers well-spaced apart, and are good at dutifully washing (or at least sanitizing) their hands.

It’s all about risk. Please see this from the CDC: Deciding to Go Out – Venturing Out? Be Prepared and Stay Safe

This article from KLTV may help: Medical experts rank 36 activities by COVID-19 risk level

Does that make any sense? Going quickly in & out of a place of business while following the social distancing policies recommended by our governor puts you (and everyone you may come into contact with thereafter) at MUCH LESS RISK thank spending all day in close quarters with a large amount of tiny unsanitary people.

If you’re going to say it doesn’t seem to get a hold of children, please see this: ATTENTION PARENTS…. this morning I was notified that Lucas tested positive for COVID (Facebook) …and this: Kids with suspected Covid-related syndrome need immediate attention, doctors say (CNN)

It can wreak havoc in churches; praying people are exceptionally vulnerable!

Gonna go ahead and agree here, although it isn’t the praying that’s worrisome as much as the singing.

Read about how taking deep breaths and singing while packed together tightly is a perfect vehicle in which to spread the virus:

• How a superspreader at choir practice sickened 52 people with COVID-19 (Live Science)
• Two years until we hear a live choir? In COVID-19 pandemic, choral music may be too risky for a very long while. (The Philadelphia Inquirer)

Read multiple accounts of pastors refusing to close churches thus promoting rampant spread:

• Virginia pastor who defiantly held church service dies of coronavirus (New York Post)
• Pastor at church holding ‘drive-in’ services tests positive for COVID-19 (WSAZ)
• Kentucky pastor spars with Beshear after 18 church members test positive for COVID-19 (Courier Journal)
• CMPD tells preacher who claimed to have COVID-19 symptoms to stop services (WSOC TV) I mean, this guy told his congregants to lie.
• Pastor Who Held Service Where 180 People Were Exposed to COVID-19 Compares Himself to Jesus for Refusing to Apologize (Newsweek)
• COVID-19 spread silently through a rural Arkansas church in March, CDC says (NBC)
• How did 2 people with COVID-19 infect 35? This church offers dramatic lesson, CDC says (Miami Herald)
• No singing in church: Restrictions needed to limit COVID-19 spread (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
• Churches Could be the Deadliest Places in the COVID-19 Pandemic (Infection Control Today)

I don’t even know if I really need to offer my take here. You can find many more examples on Google, and probably even Bing or Yahoo.

Although it’s Mind-boggling how it vanishes when people stand close together holding signs, destroying businesses, homes, property, monuments, etc. Yet, standing to watch a marathon or a concert triggers its wrath. It is sneaky.

What is sneaky here is the slight at the ongoing protests of the Black Lives Matter movement. I won’t get into that here, other than to say a few short things: It’s saying “black lives matter, too.” more than “only black lives matter.” It’s saying “black lives matter now.” Then again, what do I know? I’m a straight white guy who grew up in a sheltered suburb of a still largely segregated city. Listen to 8:46 by Dave Chappelle. If that doesn’t move you emotionally, I don’t know what will. And don’t confuse protesters with rioters and looters. They are diverting attention and skewing the message. Even you, “antifa!” Which by the way, is not an organization or a thing at all, but a philosophy. That philosophy was shred by the United States of America & most of the world when we kicked Hitler’s ass.

Back to the original discussion, and I don’t believe I have to say this. The protests are not organized or sanctioned by your state or local officials. OK, the governor got a great photo op and PR boost, or maybe, just maybe… he valued the ongoing betterment of society over his own personal health & safety? I don’t even know what to say here. No one anywhere gave anyone the OK to protest. The protesters have had enough. They want heard. They want noticed. They want change.

It can spread when buying clothes at Kohl’s but not at Target.

Target sells food and other essential items. Kohl’s does not. What do you need from Kohl’s that you can’t get at Target or Walmart? Don’t say better clothes because in the early stages of the pandemic you were asked to not go anywhere. I don’t think I need to cite a source or proof here. Again, if people were in Target or Walmart wandering around aimlessly instead of shopping “on a mission” to get in and get out as explained above with the case of Home Depot vs. school (and all those links), then that is their own entirely stupid prerogative.

It is non-alcoholic. It can’t spread when you are buying beer.

Actually I believe alcohol kills the virus… so if it was sentient it probably would choose to be non-alcoholic. (That’s washing your hands with it, not drinking it.) If you remember, alcohol sales were shut down entirely, then opened because the government realized that withdrawal symptoms from alcoholism could be deadly. This isn’t a moral debate. Again with risk, getting in & out of the beer store quickly, & your personal feelings on whether it’s a nessecity.

It lives for two days on Amazon boxes, you must wait 48 hours to touch them but It can’t survive on Dunkin Donuts coffee cups, so enjoying a hot cup of joe is safe.

This is where maybe the media is sort-of to blame? They rushed to get the information out. Or was it groups of doctors and scientists publishing studies to quick? Was it the world’s hunger for information? I don’t know. The risk seems to have gone down. Did we wipe-down Amazon boxes or anything else that was delivered at the beginning of the pandemic? You’re damn right we did. Do we now? Not so much, but we discard packaging right away & wash our hands immediately. Why the change? Well, we did this curious thing where we adapted our behaviors based on the best and latest information available. I know that sounds crazy. But it works for us. For some reason, the “experts” as they are, decided that take-out food was low risk. Some still advised to wipe-down and discard packaging. Perhaps the push was because (we can only hope) that food-service employees are trained repeatedly on sanitary practices, so ramping up a bit more to protect them selves and the public may not have been that difficult. Word on the street is that Amazon doesn’t really care about employee health & safety, let alone yours.

I don’t even know how to tie these together:

• Shopping for Food During the COVID-19 Pandemic – Information for Consumers (USDA)
• Food Safety and COVID-19: A Guide for Handling Groceries and Takeout (Everyday Health)
• Is It Safe to Get Coffee During the Coronavirus Pandemic? (Eating Well)
• How safe is take-out and delivery food during COVID-19 pandemic? (KRTV)
• Food inspector explains why takeout and drive-thrus are safe despite coronavirus
• Can coronavirus survive on Amazon packages? What to know (Cnet)
• Sanitizing Amazon boxes, taking Uber and getting food properly during the coronavirus pandemic (USA Today)
• How to Handle Packages During the Coronavirus Pandemic (New York Times Wirecutter)
• How to properly handle Amazon delivery boxes and orders during the coronavirus pandemic (Kim Komando)
• Warehouse workers sue Amazon over COVID-19 exposure after death of an employee’s relative (Geek Wire)
• Romulus Amazon worker says ‘dozens’ of employees have caught COVID-19 (Fox 2 Detroit)
• ‘Way Too Late’: Inside Amazon’s Biggest Outbreak (New York Times)
• This Amazon warehouse is its most infected with COVID-19, but the company won’t give exact figures (The Morning Call)

So, there’s that.

It is the most curious thing, how it lives on basketballs, baseball bats and ballet bars, but dies on WWE ropes and Walmart shopping carts.

It’s not the objects in question, although it can probably live on all of those surfaces… it’s the activity. You are most likely breathing heavily while playing basketball, baseball, or dancing a ballet. Did you read above why that’s bad with choirs? I would guess that also applies here.

• How Long Does the Coronavirus Live on Surfaces? (WebMD)
• Considerations for Youth Sports (CDC)
• Guidance for All Sports Permitted to Operate During the COVID-19 Disaster Emergency to Ensure the Safety and Health of Employees, Athletes and the Public (PA Governor Tom Wolf)
• Houston suspends all voluntary workouts after six athletes test positive for COVID-19 (CBS Sports)
• The impact of COVID-19 on sport, physical activity and well-being and its effects on social development (United Nations)

The WWE, I believe, is testing all participants involved. Also, they dubiously were classified as essential by the state of Florida. I mean, Florida. I don’t know if I would agree with this, but if they feel they can do it within the guidelines of social distancing and that state is corrupt enough to agree, who am I to stop them?

• Florida Designates Pro Wrestling ‘Essential Business’ (NPR)
• WWE Confirms Employee Tested Positive for COVID-19 (Sports Illustrated)
• WWE’s Rumored Wave Of Suspensions Raises Questions About Wellness Policy (Forbes)

Yeah. Maybe the WWE doesn’t have the welfare of their people or the general public in mind. I don’t think I would hold them up as a standard-bearer of science, morality, or medical advice.

It is spread by hair stylists, dog groomers, and dentists, but not by bank tellers, cashiers, and fast food workers.

Yes, yes, & yes. No, no, & no.

A hair stylist is in your face for an extended period of time, probably in a ship full of other stylists or barbers in other people’s faces. The dog groomer is all over your dog with their hands… both potentially spreading COVID-19-laced bits of hair airborne. Masks mitigate risk, but not when you aren’t also standing the recommended distance apart. Also, hair stylist work in cash tips. No one wants your filthy cash.

The dentist is literally in your face. That job is disgusting enough without the threat of COVID-19 being spread from patient to dentist or patient to patient. I would say that if the dentist was open, they would handle emergencies & take all of the recommended steps to maintain your safety. I was unaware that dentists were ordered to shut down.

Bank tellers are generally behind a big Plexiglas wall. Most banks were drive-through only for a while anyway, no? Keeping customers apart car-to-car instead of in line in person is half the battle. Cashiers & fast food workers are now behind a big Plexiglas shield. Plus, food is essential, and haircuts are not. I think we covered stores & food already with the requested examples & proof.

As above with us personally lightening up on Amazon packages and the great Commonwealth of Pennsylvania going into the green phase, maybe it is time to get back to the stuff. I anticipate a post-Memorial Day & post-protest spike though, so I’m gonna sit back a while.

• Will covid-19 end the use of paper money? (Washington Post)
• Is It Safe to Get Your Hair Cut or Your Nails Done Right Now? (Health Line)
• Is It Safe to Visit Salons? How to Minimize COVID-19 Risks While Getting Your Hair or Nails Done (Good Housekeeping)
• Ready for a haircut? Read this first (Parkview Health)
• From haircuts to yard parties, here’s how infectious disease experts are running errands and socializing safely (CNBC)
• Hair Salons Are Starting to Reopen—But Is it Safe To Go During COVID-19? (Health.com)
• Don’t Get Your Pet Groomed, Groomers Say (The Atlantic)
• COVID-19 AND PETS: INFORMATION, RESOURCES AND ACTION ITEMS FROM PIJAC (PIJAC)
• Are Dentists And Dog Groomers Safe? Dr. Mallika Marshall Answers Your Coronavirus Questions (WBZ4 CBS Boston)
• Guidance for Dental Settings (CDC)
• Coronavirus and Dental Care (Web MD)

I will eventually get back to my awesome barber shop, and I sure need it. They will get a big tip and I’ll sanitize the money first.

It won’t bother the first 10 people but it knows when the 11th person shows up so be careful if that’s you.

Again, it’s all about the exponential spread. There has to be a number to pick. Ten people will spread it to less than eleven. You know how math works, right?

• How does the new coronavirus spread? These new studies offer clues. (Vox)
• The US has one week to enforce social distancing and ‘flatten the curve’ as the coronavirus outbreak escalates. Here’s why these days are so critical. (Business Insider)
• This graphic perfectly explains why social distancing is so important right now (Indy 100)

Yes, 10 is an arbitrary number, but there had to be a recommended number.

It even knows what you want vs what you need. If you want a massage or your nails done it is very actively on the prowl and not even a mask can stop it but If you need a plumber, it is weak, and a mask will keep it away.

What? You want someone, potentially an asymptomatic spreader, putting their hands all over your mostly naked body? Good luck with that. Masks work in conjunction with social distancing. How can we not all agree on that already?

• Study: 100% face mask use could crush second, third COVID-19 wave (WTAE)
• 5 Myths About Coronavirus and Face Masks, Debunked (Cleveland Clinic)
• Safety precautions you can take once hair, nail and massage salons open on June 15 statewide in Michigan (WXZY)
• Massage Therapists Worry It’s Too Soon to Return to Work Amid Coronavirus Pandemic (NBC 5 Chicago)
• Still unclear on the value of masks? Let the pee meme explain (SF Gate)
• “Putting their life on the line doing your nails”: What salon workers face in the pandemic (Vox)
• Is It Safe To Go To The Nail Salon Again? (Refinery 29)

If you need a plumber, it’s probably an emergency. Feces backed up in your house, or a lack of running water may not help with the whole hand-washing thing. If the plumber is willing to come out, it (again) is an acceptable risk. Again… getting a massage or getting your nails done may not be as essential as having a functioning toilet.

• Handwashing and Coronavirus (COVID-19) (Family Doctor)
• Coronavirus tips: In-home worker safety top of mind for consumers and workers (ABC 7 Chicago)
• How Bad Is It to Hold Your Poop? (Very Well Health)
• This Is What Happens When You Hold in Your Poop (Fatherly)
• 5 Pittsburgh Songs Perfect For Hand Washing (Pittsburgh Magazine)

Got it?

It also seems to be most dangerous after 5:30pm so businesses must start to close before the virus comes out and wreaks havoc upon the populations.

Aren’t you snarky?

Stores close early or open late to limit their employee’s exposure to the general public (some of whom erroneously believe their liberty is being threatened while they are asked to follow some pretty simple social distancing guidelines for the time being to promote the improved health of everyone), and to give the employees (or contracted specialty cleaning crews) a chance to sanitize the stores from top to bottom before the next day, all without extending the essential workers’ (who are are probably under inordinate amounts of stress) shifts.

A lot of these same stores offer early hours to the most vulnerable groups of the population.

• Walmart extends senior hour while Kohl’s, T.J. Maxx reopen with shopping time for those most at-risk of COVID-19 (USA Today)
• Some shoppers want Walmart to change its ‘senior hour’ shopping window (BGR)
• Important Store Info (Walmart)
• Giant Eagle cuts hours; Heinz History Center, Fort Pitt Museum close due to COVID-19 concerns (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
• Senior Shopping Hours Added (Giant Eagle)
• A Message from our President and CEO (Giant Eagle)

Does that clear that up?

Whoever heard of such a smart sneaky virus?!?😂

By now, we all have. Hopefully, anyway. Although, a lot of us don’t seem to understand it yet, including the experts. Hopefully we get a treatment or a vaccination soon.

• ‘We don’t actually have that answer yet’: WHO clarifies comments on asymptomatic spread of Covid-19 (Stat News)
• Russia Developing Coronavirus Treatment That Disinfects the Body With UV Light From Inside (Newsweek)
• Coronavirus research updates: Modified mice could aid the quest for vaccines and drugs (Nature.com)
• Coronavirus Researchers Tried to Warn Us (The Atlantic)
• Spate of new research supports wearing masks to control coronavirus spread (Washinton Post)
• Researchers: Coronavirus mutation could make it more contagious (Local 12)
• Coronavirus Vaccine Tracker (NY Times)
• Trump rally-goers must agree they won’t sue if they contract coronavirus (CBS)
• U.S. Hits 2 Million Coronavirus Cases As Many States See A Surge Of Patients (NPR)
• Alarming rise in virus cases as states roll back lockdowns (AP)
• Florida breaks record for new coronavirus cases recorded in a single day (NY Post)
• Texas Shatters Record For New Coronavirus Cases (Forbes)
• Study: 100% face mask use could crush second, third COVID-19 wave (SF Gate)
• Can You Get Covid-19 Twice? (Wall Street Journal)

Have you heard of it now?

~copied, author unknown

Of course.

But to the commenter on my comment, I hope I did provide enough examples with proof to back things up for you. I hope you weren’t looking for anecdotal evidence. I hope I opened up your mind a bit. Maybe we can learn from each other. I am just looking to keep my family and myself safe during all this. That extends to friends and co-workers and yes, the general public. It would be nice if we could all stick to a plan.