COVID-19 Novel Coronavirus pandemic

[puzzld]

If we had to do this, we'd become homeless. We don't get paid sick days or vacation time and we can't work from home. We'd be out of business.

This is one of the things that gives me nightmares. If my work were to shut down because we had an out break on campus, we'd be sent home to work from home. We'd do what we could and probably keep getting a pay check, but even if we had to take leave we'd be OK. But what about the folks in your position? The self employed, the part timers, the ones with no leave or insurance? Apparently many cases are mild a little fever, a cough. You going to tell me people are going to trot down to the ER and pay for a test out of pocket? Gonna self quarantine just in case? No. They're gonna keep soldiering on and infect everyone at the early bird special...

As badly as Ron Regan botched the AIDS crises (and he did botch it) it's a hard disease to catch, you've got to share bodily fluids... But this is much easier to spread with casual or no contact.

[puzzld]

Yeah, I think this is one of the times living in hurricaneville helps us.

No Hurricanes here, but I've got a garage full of blizzard supply's. We usually only need enough for 3-5 days, but we just beefed up a little.

My husband was a Strategic Planner, I worked in Emergency Management for the final four years of my career, and we live in South Florida. We have food (real, frozen, shelf and c-rats), meds, paper goods & medical supplies, water, batteries, fuel, guns and ammo (Saleen! ) to last about 3 weeks if we have to shelter in place. We have a go bag and a full tank of gas if we have to evacuate. We're good, we have a comprehensive emergency management plan. Written, distributed, tested.

ETA: My germaphobia and OCD may actually serve me well in the current situation. I'm seeing lots of "wash your hands" advice. If this is what it takes to get people to wash their hands it can't be all bad.

Cool. I posted here to get an idea what I'd missed, I knew some of you folks are worriers too! I'm not one for arming myself (I'd surely end up an article, either from my own clutsiness or because someone took my gun from me) but I'm taking everything else in consideration...

[raisedbywolves]

As badly as Ron Regan botched the AIDS crises (and he did botch it) it's a hard disease to catch, you've got to share bodily fluids... But this is much easier to spread with casual or no contact.

I was just telling hubby this a couple of days ago.

No Hurricanes here, but I've got a garage full of blizzard supply's. We usually only need enough for 3-5 days, but we just beefed up a little.


Cool. I posted here to get an idea what I'd missed, I knew some of you folks are worriers too! I'm not one for arming myself (I'd surely end up an article, either from my own clutsiness or because someone took my gun from me) but I'm taking everything else in consideration...

I read that you might want to stock up on basic OTC meds too. With the supply chain breakdown, and a potential run on them as people get sick, some officials are thinking there will be a shortage of pain meds/fever reducers and such.

[KimTisha]

This is one of the things that gives me nightmares. <snip> But what about the folks in your position? The self employed, the part timers, the ones with no leave or insurance? Apparently many cases are mild a little fever, a cough. You going to tell me people are going to trot down to the ER and pay for a test out of pocket? Gonna self quarantine just in case? No. They're gonna keep soldiering on and infect everyone at the early bird special...

As badly as Ron Regan botched the AIDS crises (and he did botch it) it's a hard disease to catch, you've got to share bodily fluids... But this is much easier to spread with casual or no contact.

Honestly, I'm really not worried about COVID19 - I'm worried about the overreaction to it. Our fanatically detailed preparations are directly related to geography and career choice (old habits and all that), not from any fear of a viral apocalypse. That said, I'm a huge proponent of personal preparedness plans for any emergency and heartily endorse the suggestions here. When chaos ensues, the only person you can really depend on is yourself, so you better have a plan (however simple) to do it.

I'm immunocompromised, so me + any virus = whether it's Corona, the flu, or "The 24 hr Bug." COVID19 is just another cootie I have to avoid, and I avoid cooties like, well.... like that other famous pandemic, The Plague.

I'm also old enough to have worked (at the federal level) on the government's response to SARS/H1N1/MERS/Avian/Swine/[insert latest pan(dem)ic here]. So while the general public might feel unprepared and vulnerable, I find comfort in knowing that every level of our government (fed/state/local), along with the medical/business communities, have been thinking about this for decades. There are Plans - tens of thousands of pages of plans that have been written, coordinated, exercised, executed, and rewritten to incorporate lessons learned. As we speak, thousands of people are operationalizing those plans. Are they fool-proof? Absolutely not. Will people die? Probably, there are no absolutes as evidenced by our inability to prevent an estimated 30k+ influenza deaths a year. But every year our emergency management capabilities evolve and increase with advances in science/medicine/technology. We've learned so much and we've come so far. I feel a helluva lot better about the government's ability to provide critical services for COVID19 in 2020, than I did about SARS in 2002 or H1N1 in 2009. I don't anticipate supply shortages much worse than hurricane/blizzard season - mostly caused by hoarding, not actual need.

I should add that it might not be readily apparent that your community/school/health dept/hospital is operationalizing their plan, even if you work there yourself. Plans aren't only executed by people in HazMat suits. Emergency response consists of detailed action sets that address escalating and triggering events from the mundane to the dramatic. Something as seemingly random as awareness campaigns, Travel Warnings, or "10 Things You Should Know About COVID19" blog posts on a hospital's website, are evidence of plan execution. Don't think for a minute that it's 'all they're doing.' Everybody has a role, some roles are more visible than others.

My Advice: Keep Calm, Wash Your Hands, Prepare for Annoying Disruptions

[Deviant Toaster]

I would almost laugh at how incredibly ridiculous this is being handled if it weren't down right disgusting. I feel for the people left at the CDC and the WHO who are trying to steer this in the right direction. There is just so much wrong with what is going on but the main take away is that nothing matters more than money, not even human lives. I wonder if Trump will go state by state and throw the cheapest face masks he can find at people along with some maga wear...you know like those amazing paper towels in Puerto Rico.

[puzzld]

Yeah, I think this is one of the times living in hurricaneville helps us.

Honestly, I'm really not worried about COVID19 - I'm worried about the overreaction to it. Our fanatically detailed preparations are directly related to geography and career choice (old habits and all that), not from any fear of a viral apocalypse. That said, I'm a huge proponent of personal preparedness plans for any emergency and heartily endorse the suggestions here. When chaos ensues, the only person you can really depend on is yourself, so you better have a plan (however simple) to do it.

I'm immunocompromised, so me + any virus = whether it's Corona, the flu, or "The 24 hr Bug." COVID19 is just another cootie I have to avoid, and I avoid cooties like, well.... like that other famous pandemic, The Plague.

I'm also old enough to have worked (at the federal level) on the government's response to SARS/H1N1/MERS/Avian/Swine/[insert latest pan(dem)ic here]. So while the general public might feel unprepared and vulnerable, I find comfort in knowing that every level of our government (fed/state/local), along with the medical/business communities, have been thinking about this for decades. There are Plans - tens of thousands of pages of plans that have been written, coordinated, exercised, executed, and rewritten to incorporate lessons learned. As we speak, thousands of people are operationalizing those plans. Are they fool-proof? Absolutely not. Will people die? Probably, there are no absolutes as evidenced by our inability to prevent an estimated 30k+ influenza deaths a year. But every year our emergency management capabilities evolve and increase with advances in science/medicine/technology. We've learned so much and we've come so far. I feel a helluva lot better about the government's ability to provide critical services for COVID19 in 2020, than I did about SARS in 2002 or H1N1 in 2009. I don't anticipate supply shortages much worse than hurricane/blizzard season - mostly caused by hoarding, not actual need.

I should add that it might not be readily apparent that your community/school/health dept/hospital is operationalizing their plan, even if you work there yourself. Plans aren't only executed by people in HazMat suits. Emergency response consists of detailed action sets that address escalating and triggering events from the mundane to the dramatic. Something as seemingly random as awareness campaigns, Travel Warnings, or "10 Things You Should Know About COVID19" blog posts on a hospital's website, are evidence of plan execution. Don't think for a minute that it's 'all they're doing.' Everybody has a role, some roles are more visible than others.

My Advice: Keep Calm, Wash Your Hands, Prepare for Annoying Disruptions

Well I hope you're right, but based on what we've seen so far, I suspect that a whole crapton of people will get sick, most only mildly sick, like they do from a cold of the flu, but that a bunch of people with immune system problems will be more than just mildly sick and since everyone in my household has immune system problems... I take it a little more seriously than the young and healthy might... and as I said in an earlier post, I've seen the ptb blow responses to epidemics before. HIV for one. Gun violence, Opioids... We also don't bother to treat people for things that are very curable if they don't have the money. We just don't seem to care that people die needlessly. (Not just the government, but the public as a whole. I don't need no stinkin flu (measles, chicken pox, DPT) shot. So what if my reckless disregard harms others. I can't imagine that the waitstaff making $3 per hour, plus tips is going to give up a days pay (still yet 3 weeks) because they have a little fever and I can't imagine the boss is going to hold their job... so they aren't going to abide by whatever grand plan the local authorities try to enforce. And as for expecting the current administration to step up and do the job previous administrations have done with the alphabet soup of previous threats? I don't feel like either Trump or Pence could find their own ass with both hands. And being as they'll can anyone who says anything that reflects badly on them... DOOMED we're DOOMED.

ahem excuse me. No I don't think this is some 1918 level threat, but it's going to do a great deal of harm to a lot of people. I used to have a lot of faith in the CDC and the other governmental agencies, (Mom was a fed for her whole working life) but now? Eh, not much.

[KimTisha]

Well I hope you're right, but based on what we've seen so far, I suspect that a whole crapton of people will get sick, most only mildly sick, like they do from a cold of the flu, but that a bunch of people with immune system problems will be more than just mildly sick and since everyone in my household has immune system problems... I take it a little more seriously than the young and healthy might...

I'm old and have autoimmune problems as well, so I can certainly appreciate this. In a strange way, I feel like it gives me a slight advantage in this situation because I already take more than basic precautions to avoid cooties, and I'm much more aware than your average Joe. It isn't something I have to train myself to remember to do, I don't get careless - it's deeply ingrained habit. So if there's a silver lining to AI problems, I guess that's it.

Your concerns are all valid, of course and I share many of them, although I don't think we're DOOMED (maybe lower case doomed, or maybe even domed). I do expect we will see many, many more cases and possibly, many deaths. I guess I'm just not afeared of the new threat because the world has always been a teeming mass of communicable disease in my eyes. I've been giving coughing waitresses and runny-nosed cashiers the side eye long before corona and hope to be doing so long after.

Besides, I have important things to worry about. Did you hear my neighbor stole my garbage can? Didja? Huh, didja?

[puzzld]

Besides, I have important things to worry about. Did you hear my neighbor stole my garbage can? Didja? Huh, didja?

You should have called "solid waste enforcement." Seriously, it's a thing here. Within the last 10 years or so the city garbage dept (sorry, Solid Waste Division) switch to an automated pickup system where you are issued one of several standard sized containers. All your trash, not including yard waste must fit in your standard can. If you have too much you will be billed extra, too little and you can ask for a smaller can (with smaller bill). Fine. So my friend all of a sudden started getting billed for overfilling her can, which she was not. Shortly before this started, she had been considering requesting the small can because she seldom more than half filled her can. So she had her housebound son start watching the can on garbage day and sure enough, her scummy neighbors were sneaking over after she left for work and adding trash to her can and to several other cans in the neighborhood. Well! So she called SWE and asked what they could do about this. Next week a man showed up just ahead of the garbage truck and inspected all the cans in the neighborhood. Apparently found bills, junk mail etc., belonging to scummy neighbors in many of the cans. That very day, SN got a new very large (the biggest residential sized can) delivered to their house along with a corresponding increased bill. The Garbage inspector called my friend and thanked her for her assistance as garbage scoff laws are taken seriously.

[KimTisha]

You should have called "solid waste enforcement." Seriously, it's a thing here. Within the last 10 years or so the city garbage dept (sorry, Solid Waste Division) switch to an automated pickup system where you are issued one of several standard sized containers. All your trash, not including yard waste must fit in your standard can. If you have too much you will be billed extra, too little and you can ask for a smaller can (with smaller bill). Fine. So my friend all of a sudden started getting billed for overfilling her can, which she was not. Shortly before this started, she had been considering requesting the small can because she seldom more than half filled her can. So she had her housebound son start watching the can on garbage day and sure enough, her scummy neighbors were sneaking over after she left for work and adding trash to her can and to several other cans in the neighborhood. Well! So she called SWE and asked what they could do about this. Next week a man showed up just ahead of the garbage truck and inspected all the cans in the neighborhood. Apparently found bills, junk mail etc., belonging to scummy neighbors in many of the cans. That very day, SN got a new very large (the biggest residential sized can) delivered to their house along with a corresponding increased bill. The Garbage inspector called my friend and thanked her for her assistance as garbage scoff laws are taken seriously.

Holy crap, that's some serious enforcement right there! If we had something like that I wouldn't have to resort to the passive-aggressive desecration of my trash can with paint and permanent markers to make it less attractive to my thieving neighbor.

[puzzld]

Holy crap, that's some serious enforcement right there! If we had something like that I wouldn't have to resort to the passive-aggressive desecration of my trash can with paint and permanent markers to make it less attractive to my thieving neighbor.

Jerry takes things seriously. I'm sure he'd have done DNA and fingerprints if it had been necessary to prove his case. But to be fair scummy neighbors were lazy and just put their trash on top. If they'd had the sense to bury it or to throw things with addresses in their own can they would have been harder to catch.

HMMM I wonder if we could put him in charge of coronavirus testing and quarantine enforcement?

[raisedbywolves]

So, I am really confused based on all the things I have seen. If you get sick, do you go to the doctor since they don't have the tests for it? If you are young(ish) and healthy and you get it, do you go to the hospital?

https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/01/healt...cdc/index.html

As new cases of coronavirus arise daily in the United States -- including several announced over the weekend and one death -- the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has failed to release crucial information physicians say could help save the lives of Americans diagnosed with the novel coronavirus.

Several US patients have recovered from coronavirus, but so far, the CDC has shared detailed clinical information about only one of those patients. That information includes what treatments the patients received and how they fared.

The CDC is the federal agency that communicates with physicians about how to handle outbreaks. Whether it's SARS, Ebola or last year's measles outbreak, the agency uses information from cases around the world -- and in particular the United States -- to advise doctors on how to diagnose, evaluate and treat diseases.

The federal agency possesses such information about several US coronavirus patients, but has not released it. That means doctors who now unexpectedly find themselves treating new coronavirus patients aren't able to benefit from the findings of doctors who preceded them.

"It's a medical truism that it's absolutely essential that physicians with experience with a particular condition disseminate information to others," said Dr. Irwin Redlener, director of the National Center for Disaster Preparedness at Columbia University.

Not sharing such information is "is inexplicable and inappropriate," Redlener added.

The CDC did not respond to CNN's requests for comment.

The top infectious disease expert at the National Institutes of Health said he thought the information would be shared soon.

"There will be reports," said Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases. "I'm sure that ultimately we're going to put the cases together and report them. That's what we do in medicine all the time."

That report about the United States' first coronavirus patient was published in the New England Journal of Medicine on January 31. CDC staffers were among the coauthors. The CDC references this report in its guidance to physicians.

The nine-page report provides valuable insights that could help physicians know what to expect if they care for a novel coronavirus patient -- an increasingly likely scenario as the virus spreads.

When the patient, a 35-year-old man in Washington state, was admitted to the hospital, his temperature was within a normal range and he had no shortness of breath. Six days later, he was so sick that doctors gave him supplemental oxygen and an experimental antiviral drug. Two days after that, the patient could breathe on his own and his only symptoms were an intermittent dry cough and a runny nose. The report has a chart of the patient's symptoms, results of his lab tests, and multiple X-ray images of his lungs at different points in his illness.

That's the kind of information that can help guide doctors now as new coronavirus cases pop up across the country.

"If I'm a hospital, I want to know from the people with experience, how did they manage this patient?" said Arthur Caplan, a bioethicist at New York University. "I don't want to know this when my first case arrives two months from now. I want to know this now so I can plan and prepare."

[puzzld]

So, I am really confused based on all the things I have seen. If you get sick, do you go to the doctor since they don't have the tests for it? If you are young(ish) and healthy and you get it, do you go to the hospital?

https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/01/healt...cdc/index.html

Sounds like tests will be available very shortly.

How to protect yourself

Do not go to the emergency room unless essential. Emergency rooms need to be able to serve those with the most critical needs. If you have symptoms like cough, fever, or other respiratory problems, contact your regular doctor first.
Stay home when sick
Practice excellent personal hygiene habits, including handwashing, coughing into tissue or elbow, avoid touching eyes, nose, or mouth.
Stay informed. Information is changing frequently.

Public Health says the symptoms for COVID-19 are similar to the flu and the common cold. That's why it's important for you to call your primary care doctor first.

https://q13fox.com/2020/03/01/two-mo...n-king-county/

[raisedbywolves]

Sounds like tests will be available very shortly. https://q13fox.com/2020/03/01/two-mo...n-king-county/

It's really scary because what if you do have a cold/regular flu....or what if it's not??? Ayyaya. So confusing. It sounds like it can turn on a dime, and if you think you just have a cold, but it's really the the COVID-19, and you waited too long to go to the hospital. I also think the hospital will be a bad place to be, so it's not like I think most people would want to go there right away, but if you wait too long it could be bad too. Just thinking out loud.

I am concerned about my husband's job and the several hundred people he is exposed to every day on the airplane. Ugh. He isn't worried, but I am .

[raisedbywolves]

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/co...id=mailsignout

If you noticed your local Costco was more crowded than normal this weekend, it probably wasn't your imagination.

People have been stocking up on supplies amid the growing concerns about coronavirus spreading in the United States. Store managers report big crowds, and social media are filled with photos of empty shelves even though there are no shortages of items.

Experts continue to urge caution, despite new cases in California and Washington that appear to have been spread in communities rather than from people connected to overseas travel.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Robert Redfield told Congress on Thursday there was no need for healthy Americans to stock up on supplies.

Q: Are people stocking up?In some places, it appears so.

Some Costcos, Walmarts and other stores said they've seen a decided increase in customers this weekend, and some store shelves have emptied.

Thad Kleszcz, general manager of Costco in Glendale, said for weeks he's noticed an unusually high number of customers at the store, but it seemed to have increased Friday and Saturday, after it was announced that a Washington state man had become the first person in the U.S. to die from coronavirus.

"Antiseptic wipes and Clorox disinfecting wipes are flying out of here," he said. "We can't keep those in stock."

He said people are mostly purchasing water, paper goods, grains such as rice and pasta, jarred food and peanut butter. He said Costco is doing everything it can to keep up with demand.

At the Mountain View, Calif., Costco, employees said the crowds this weekend eclipsed even Christmas rush — with cleaning supplies and water going fast.

"Yeah, this is double Christmas time. I feel like this is a little overdoing it for now," manager Grant Garmsey told KGO.

Crowds were also big at a Costco in Hawaii after state health officials urged resident to "stock up on all prescription medications and other basic household items like food and cleaning products so you can care for yourself and your family at home if someone becomes ill. Supplies of these items may be affected in the event of a pandemic."

[puzzld]

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/co...id=mailsignout

Sams club was absolutely packed this weekend. It's usually busy first weekend of the month, but this was more like just before Christmas... and there were no Kleenex. They had the nasty Puffs with lotion and the Members Mark but no Kleenex Brands.

I even saw a couple of people in face masks, which is not normal around here.

It's really scary because what if you do have a cold/regular flu....or what if it's not??? Ayyaya. So confusing. It sounds like it can turn on a dime, and if you think you just have a cold, but it's really the the COVID-19, and you waited too long to go to the hospital. I also think the hospital will be a bad place to be, so it's not like I think most people would want to go there right away, but if you wait too long it could be bad too. Just thinking out loud.

I am concerned about my husband's job and the several hundred people he is exposed to every day on the airplane. Ugh. He isn't worried, but I am .

Yeah. I think the hospital would be risky if a local outbreak happens. Roomie has an appointment with a pulmanologist later this month and I'm kind of side eyeing that.

[puzzld]

The Food and Drug Administration announced on Saturday that it was giving laboratories and hospitals across the country the go-ahead to conduct tests, and on Sunday, Vice President Mike Pence said the federal government released 15,000 testing kits over the weekend, and was working with a ?commercial provider? to distribute 50,000 more soon.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/01/u...-kR7lrY36BP66E

meanwhile...
South Korea had tested a total of 66,652 people for the COVID-19 coronavirus virus as of 4 p.m. local time Thursday, whereas Japan had reported administering roughly 1,890 tests and the U.S. only 445. The huge discrepancy compared to other countries reflects how quickly South Korea?s numbers have been rising, experts say.

The total number of confirmed cases so far in South Korea is 1,766, up 505 from the day before. Of the 66,00 people who have been tested, more than 25,000 are still awaiting lab results.
https://abcnews.go.com/International...ry?id=69226222

[puzzld]

some resources
https://www.health.harvard.edu/disea...G7ElaR70ryuuAM

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019...EZdoP0AOtlYVKQ

[Boston Babe 73]

My concern is that they have people so frantic over just a handful of cases here that when the real numbers come out it will be chaos. If people are buying out Costco with only a few confirmed cases, what kind of rioting is going to happen when the numbers hit the tens of thousands?

I'm genuinely concerned about my business and being able to sustain an income with all of this. If people stay home, they don't need their dogs walked and it doesn't even have to take a mandatory quarantine for that to happen. If they can work from home, they might opt for that just to be safe. We've already had a couple of people cancel trips overseas that would have paid big money. It's a real fear I have right now.

I fear that more than the actual virus and I'm immune compromised. Just the panic alone could ruin my entire income and life.

[Nic B]

I'm going to be at UCSF next week, will let you guys know if I end up with the plague.

[KimTisha]

My concern is that they have people so frantic over just a handful of cases here that when the real numbers come out it will be chaos. If people are buying out Costco with only a few confirmed cases, what kind of rioting is going to happen when the numbers hit the tens of thousands?

<snip>

I fear that more than the actual virus and I'm immune compromised. Just the panic alone could ruin my entire income and life.

Exactly. I fear the overreaction more than the actual virus. I'm scheduled for an eastward migration via sea in two weeks, but people are going crazy and countries aren't letting some ships dock and, and, and..... sigh.

[Deviant Toaster]

There is definitely a fine line between being knowledgeable and prepared and losing your fucking mind. Sadly as we have seen in the past the latter will undoubtedly take hold for some. If people are going overboard with 'stocking up' some of these people will inevitably be the ones rushing ERs, urgent cares, doctors offices more than once for testing when they aren't even sick.

[Boston Babe 73]

Exactly. I fear the overreaction more than the actual virus. I'm scheduled for an eastward migration via sea in two weeks, but people are going crazy and countries aren't letting some ships dock and, and, and..... sigh.

See, I can see the actual worry with this. Because coming back from anywhere overseas right now leaves you open to quarantine even if nobody is showing signs of anything. So I get that. Nobody wants to be locked on an army base for three weeks after their vacation. People aren't worried about really getting anything just at being held against their will. That shit, I understand.

It's the hoarding water and toilet paper and thinking that masks actually help you so spending hundreds (if not thousands) for "supplies". Maybe it's because I'm already prepoed for an Earthquake that doesn't have me worried? Or maybe it's I realize that my water taps will still work regardless of who gets sick.

There's real life consequences to hyping this shit up beyond what it's capable of. This isn't the apocalypse.

[raisedbywolves]

I've been wondering about BWS. She had an opportunity to go to Vietnam to teach some medical students. It's been planned for a long time. I saw her FB pics from when she was there, but haven't seen anything else. She was there during the time they had their outbreak. I am wondering if she is in quarantine of some sort? Come back and talk to us BWS!

[raisedbywolves]

It's the hoarding water and toilet paper and thinking that masks actually help you so spending hundreds (if not thousands) for "supplies". Maybe it's because I'm already prepoed for an Earthquake that doesn't have me worried? Or maybe it's I realize that my water taps will still work regardless of who gets sick.

See, I was trying to figure this out yesterday. I get why people stock up on water during the hurricanes...there's a good chance, especially is you have a well which a lot of people here do, that you may not have water after the storm. But I am at a loss on why people at the store were buying 10 cases of water yesterday.

Maybe it's like the old adage of the midwife having the father boil water when the baby is coming...just something to keep people busy because they don't know what else to do???

[Boston Babe 73]

See, I was trying to figure this out yesterday. I get why people stock up on water during the hurricanes...there's a good chance, especially is you have a well which a lot of people here do, that you may not have water after the storm. But I am at a loss on why people at the store were buying 10 cases of water yesterday.

Maybe it's like the old adage of the midwife having the father boil water when the baby is coming...just something to keep people busy because they don't know what else to do???

People are paranoid that it's going to get in to the water supply. Again, it's panic with no solid basis.