COVID-19: what's happening at your workplace?
Spouse and I can WFH, and are cancelling unneeded office visits. Our 20 yo, living with us, is a temp employee at a company that is testing WFH capabilities, but has yet to authorize WFH VPN access for people who aren’t full employees. She sits in an isolated corner, is skipping the Friday bagel spread and is opening doors in gloves. But before too long, she/we may have some hard decisions to make, in the name of public/family good.
My wife gets to make the call for when her team returns to the office; they're starting this week with rotating 2 days a week, so only a few are there at a time always seated at a minimum of 8-10 feet apart; all meetings and conversations via phone . The main problem is most really want to return because they've been wfh for five week and are getting cabin fever. I think it will be back to five day weeks in two weeks unless there's a weird spike in cases. Assuming the US can close all schools and get people to stay home (and all businesses sans grocery stores and pharmacies) for two weeks starting TODAY, you can look at returning to something approaching normal in about five weeks.
drummerboy said:
My son works for the NBA in Secaucus and the whole office starts WFH today.
Well that makes sense, since the players are, also.
In a rare moment of levity, the liquor store near my job yesterday had a parade of what appeared to be likely mostly moms carrying out cartons that looked pretty heavy. Seemed to coincide with when the town’s schools made the announcement to close.
The corporate office for my company is testing WFH capacity today but we are expected to be back at the office Monday. Unfortunately, this is not an option for our plants/facilities. My boss and I have told my team that if they are not comfortable coming to the office they have the OK to WFH.
Companywide, all international travel is suspended and all domestic tavel is necessary business travel effective immediately.
No work from home option at my job but they have agreed to pay employees who are quarantined/test positive by a medical professional up to 12 working days without using your own PTO or sick leave.
dave said:
Assuming the US can close all schools and get people to stay home (and all businesses sans grocery stores and pharmacies) for two weeks starting TODAY, you can look at returning to something approaching normal in about five weeks.
Assume on. I doubt we have the discipline.
I also understand everyone in Hong Kong wears face masks. Good luck doing it here. That is if you can even get some. And even if they can, many won't:
“Seriously people — STOP BUYING MASKS!” the surgeon general, Jerome M. Adams, said in a tweet on Saturday morning. “They are NOT effective in preventing general public from catching #Coronavirus, but if health care providers can’t get them to care for sick patients, it puts them and our communities at risk!”
My company is now WFH for anyone with a job that could be done remotely. They are rolling out a sh$tload of laptops for those that didn't have them already.
Son's company says all management and tech wfh until further notice, but the call center people can't: too costly and difficult to outfit and set up xx laptops, plus there are HIPAA issues using the company system at home. No, this will not facilitate their efforts to bridge a perceived "caste" gap between, yes, management/tech on the one hand and call people (who actually carry out the organization mission) on the other. Personally happy that son will be having daily contact with fewer people, hoping for the best for all of us.
On Wednesday our company encouraged everyone who can do so to work from home until 3/30. They also announced that they are waiving all co-pays for medical treatments related to the virus. I work for a Princeton based non profit that has about 3500 employees.
The authoritative account of WFH: https://www.newyorker.com/humor/daily-shouts/i-work-from-home
BG9 said:
I also understand everyone in Hong Kong wears face masks. Good luck doing it here. That is if you can even get some. And even if they can, many won't:
“Seriously people — STOP BUYING MASKS!” the surgeon general, Jerome M. Adams, said in a tweet on Saturday morning. “They are NOT effective in preventing general public from catching #Coronavirus, but if health care providers can’t get them to care for sick patients, it puts them and our communities at risk!”
The surgeon general can try to explain Hong Kong, where everyone is wearing masks and our numbers of new cases are slowing dramatically (the only new cases are those imported from abroad or HK residents returning from vacations to Egypt).
It's very common for Asians to wear face masks if they even feel slightly like they are coming down with something. In the US the Asian American community fears being made a scapegoat, so gun sales are up wherever they live.
This, then, leads to the massive shortage of masks conundrum. Taiwan and Hong Kong are paying factories to temporarily repurpose into mask making facilities. China's Jeff Bezos (Jack Ma) is offering to donate masks and test kits to the US, but Donald's pride appears to be getting in the way of saving lives.
https://www.wired.com/story/jack-ma-supply-us-covid-19-tests-masks/
Yeah, I could never quite figure out the "no mask" thing. Maybe they wouldn't be 100% effective, but it's got be a lot better than walking around without one.
Dumb.
drummerboy said:
Yeah, I could never quite figure out the "no mask" thing. Maybe they wouldn't be 100% effective, but it's got be a lot better than walking around without one.
Dumb.
Because if what Dave said is how it works, people wear them the moment they feel sick, then the mask do work to keep sneezes and coughs from traveling as far in the air. This is why when you go to a doctors office or ER they give you masks in the waiting room IF you are sick
The way the general population uses them here in public is people wear them as a preventative to not get sick, the healthy people wear them, not the sick ones. They’re much less effective that way
dave said:
The surgeon general can try to explain Hong Kong, where everyone is wearing masks and our numbers of new cases are slowing dramatically (the only new cases are those imported from abroad or HK residents returning from vacations to Egypt).
It's very common for Asians to wear face masks if they even feel slightly like they are coming down with something. In the US the Asian American community fears being made a scapegoat, so gun sales are up wherever they live.
This, then, leads to the massive shortage of masks conundrum. Taiwan and Hong Kong are paying factories to temporarily repurpose into mask making facilities. China's Jeff Bezos (Jack Ma) is offering to donate masks and test kits to the US, but Donald's pride appears to be getting in the way of saving lives.
https://www.wired.com/story/jack-ma-supply-us-covid-19-tests-masks/
I don't expect inteligent explanations from Trump's political appointees.
Refusing aid from China reminds me when we refused engineering aid from Holland after the Katrina disaster. Holland is the world class leader in flood management and remediation.
spontaneous said:
drummerboy said:
Yeah, I could never quite figure out the "no mask" thing. Maybe they wouldn't be 100% effective, but it's got be a lot better than walking around without one.
Dumb.
Because if what Dave said is how it works, people wear them the moment they feel sick, then the mask do work to keep sneezes and coughs from traveling as far in the air. This is why when you go to a doctors office or ER they give you masks in the waiting room IF you are sick
The way the general population uses them here in public is people wear them as a preventative to not get sick, the healthy people wear them, not the sick ones. They’re much less effective that way
Plus, every preventative mask being worn is one less mask a sick person has access to.
spontaneous said:
The way the general population uses them here in public is people wear them as a preventative to not get sick, the healthy people wear them, not the sick ones. They’re much less effective that way
And when used that way, they take them away from the sick people and healthcare workers who DO need them.
Just wash your hands!!
sac said:
And when used that way, they take them away from the sick people and healthcare workers who DO need them.
Just wash your hands!!
The problem is we don't know who is sick.
During incubation you don't know if you are sick or the person sitting next to you in public transport is. If they or you cough it would surely be nice if the spray is stopped or mitigated by a mask.
Dave can answer if its correct that the success in Hong Kong is partly due to everyone wearing a mask.
Thanks for everyone piping up about masks, but the fact is that most of the reasons you cite are not what we were told. We were told they're ineffective.
drummerboy said:
Thanks for everyone piping up about masks, but the fact is that most of the reasons you cite are not what we were told. We were told they're ineffective.
You were told wrong. They are somewhat effective.
“The more exposed you get to more virus, the higher the likelihood it is that you get infected,” Munster said.
That was echoed by Gary Whittaker, an infectious disease expert at Cornell University, who said that typically it takes “an army of viruses going in” to break through the natural defenses of a human being, which include mucus that lines airways.
“We’re talking about thousands or tens of thousands of particles to infect an animal or a person,” Whittaker said.
You want to reduce the viral load. When someone coughs, most droplets will be large enough to be stopped by a mask.
Did anyone tell this guy they're not effective. Or maybe he's just stupid.
Despite the fact that most workers can do their jobs from home pretty easily, our company's current policy is "Fingers Crossed!"
I was always skeptical of the surgical-masks-are-useless advice. I understand the need to give healthcare workers priority on surgical masks though. If you feel the need, there are videos on line about how to make a mask out of a shirt.
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COVID WFH Bingo, That's great!