Jax and Coronavirus

[Adam White]

Don't know if this belongs here, or in a U2C thread ...
JTA has issued a media release about the use of autonomous vehicles at Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville to transport Coronovirus test samples.

On Monday, March 30, 2020, up to four autonomous vehicles began operating along an initial route, in full autonomous mode without attendants or other people onboard, to transport COVID-19 tests from a drive-thru testing site to a processing laboratory on Mayo Clinic's campus.  The COVID-19 test samples are placed in secure containers prior to Mayo Clinic healthcare professionals loading the samples onto the shuttle.

https://www.jtafla.com/media-center/press-releases/jta-beep-navya-autonomous-shuttles-help-mayo-clinic-transport-covid-19-tests/

That's wild.

[thelakelander]

I received the press release via email. I just didn't consider using an AV to run medical supplies across a parking lot within a controlled environment to be news.

[thelakelander]

This is pretty good example of how this virus has likely spread throughout the country:

'We were covered with virus from head to toe'

The flight landed in Atlanta in the wee hours of March 20 to a different world than the one the passengers had left when they first set sail. Since then, the fast-spreading coronavirus had overwhelmed health care systems, cleared public spaces, shuttered workplaces and nixed social events, disrupting life in unprecedented ways.

Passenger Martha Turner Bradbury said she'd read about cruise ship passengers undergoing rigorous health checks and two weeks quarantine at military bases nationwide. She was prepared for it.

After all, that's what happened in February, when about 400 American passengers returned from their cruise in Japan aboard the Diamond Princess. When their two-week quarantine ended in Tokyo Bay, they were flown to two US air bases in California and Texas for two more weeks of quarantine in bio-containment facilities.

In a highly choreographed federal and military effort to save lives and contain the virus, 14 Diamond Princess passengers who had tested positive were flown in a specialized containment area.

Instead, Bradbury said, the Costa Luminosa passengers landed in Atlanta to a chaotic scene with no clear guidance and preparation.

A lack of protocol leaves passengers confused

At the cargo area where the plane landed, passengers were met by health officials in hazmat suits, Bradbury said. They got a temperature check and a visual assessment, along with paperwork asking whether someone had a cough, a sore throat or other ailments associated with coronavirus, she said.

Those with signs of possible illness were taken into a separate room while those with no symptoms headed to customs, and were later put in buses that dropped them off near a terminal, Bradbury said. From there, they were all told to go in and get their bags.
"We're thinking someone is going to be meeting us ... nope. You just walk in and you're in the terminal with everybody else. We were shocked," Bradbury said.

Several passengers told CNN they were allowed to wander around inside the airport, including at least one person who was symptomatic.
"We were covered with virus from head to toe. We should not have been in the airport," said Harrell Catron.
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport referred CNN to the CDC.

With no plan for quarantines after arrival and no other options, Bradbury said, they joined other travelers. They considered themselves potential coronavirus patients and moved away if anyone got too close. Some went to their respective gates for their commercial flights home, others headed to restaurants to eat and others went to restrooms. Others even took rideshares to other parts of Atlanta.

"It was great that they got us there. But to not have any plan or protocol in place is crazy," Bradbury said.

Full article: https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/03/us/costa-luminosa-passengers-ordeal/index.html

[BridgeTroll]

Tried making a homemade face mask. Apparently I am not very "crafty".  What a bizarre and weird time. Hope everyone is doing ok... the lack of posts here makes me a bit nervous for my MJ community.   

[thelakelander]

Doing good but been busy with work.  The site's analytics indicate traffic goes up during weekday office hours. Since most people are at home these days, the numbers here are down. On the flip end, the numbers are higher for the articles and social media pages.

[blizz01]

Well, where's Kerry?

[MusicMan]

The whole story about the cruise ship passengers is sad, considering they flew into Atlanta, home of the CDC.

Just want to make sure everyone here knows, the "lockdown" of air traffic from China in January, a boasting point of the T administration, is superficial at best. American business men and their families along with Chinese Green card holders, were allowed to travel and were supposed to self quarantine ....... Only Chinese Nationals were prevented from traveling.

[BridgeTroll]

How is everyone doing???  Your silence seems ominous to me... I actually made a loaf of bread yesterday...

[Charles Hunter]

We are doing well. Wife is more than a bit haggard trying to jump through the bank and SBA hoops for those COVID relief loans for small businesses.

How are you, and how's the bread?

[Adam White]

Left the house yesterday for the first time in 15 or so days - and somehow how ended up with a cough last night. Obviously, I didn't contract a cough from going to the supermarket a couple of hours earlier - but I don't know how I got the damn cough, considering I've been holed up with the same three other people for weeks. Yeah, my wife has gone to the supermarket a couple of times, but she (and my kids) are not coughing or anything. Weird.

Things are fine, otherwise. I found out yesterday that I am being furloughed at work. So my last day of work in Thursday. The gov't will pay 80% of my wages and my company is going to pay the remaining 20% for as long as they can. I have no idea how long this will last - it will be a minimum of three weeks, but it could be months. There is a possibility that I will go back to work at some point and they will furlough someone else from my team.

[Tacachale]

Left the house yesterday for the first time in 15 or so days - and somehow how ended up with a cough last night. Obviously, I didn't contract a cough from going to the supermarket a couple of hours earlier - but I don't know how I got the damn cough, considering I've been holed up with the same three other people for weeks. Yeah, my wife has gone to the supermarket a couple of times, but she (and my kids) are not coughing or anything. Weird.

Things are fine, otherwise. I found out yesterday that I am being furloughed at work. So my last day of work in Thursday. The gov't will pay 80% of my wages and my company is going to pay the remaining 20% for as long as they can. I have no idea how long this will last - it will be a minimum of three weeks, but it could be months. There is a possibility that I will go back to work at some point and they will furlough someone else from my team.

Adam, I'm so sorry. That's really rough. Hang in there.

[BridgeTroll]

We are doing well. Wife is more than a bit haggard trying to jump through the bank and SBA hoops for those COVID relief loans for small businesses.

How are you, and how's the bread?

Doing fine... I  have my honeybees and garden as distractions and I bike ride daily for exercise. Bread is good. It is more dense (less air?) than a regular loaf. The only "shortage " at my house is the disposable cleaning wipes for disinfecting.

[BridgeTroll]

Left the house yesterday for the first time in 15 or so days - and somehow how ended up with a cough last night. Obviously, I didn't contract a cough from going to the supermarket a couple of hours earlier - but I don't know how I got the damn cough, considering I've been holed up with the same three other people for weeks. Yeah, my wife has gone to the supermarket a couple of times, but she (and my kids) are not coughing or anything. Weird.

Things are fine, otherwise. I found out yesterday that I am being furloughed at work. So my last day of work in Thursday. The gov't will pay 80% of my wages and my company is going to pay the remaining 20% for as long as they can. I have no idea how long this will last - it will be a minimum of three weeks, but it could be months. There is a possibility that I will go back to work at some point and they will furlough someone else from my team.

Adam, I'm so sorry. That's really rough. Hang in there.

Sorry to hear that. It is beginning here also. All we can do is hope the business survives and the job is still there when this is over.

[Tacachale]

We're hanging in there. My wife already worked from home, but she works for a nonprofit that deals with the good banks and incentives for SNAP recipients, so she's on the front lines of trying to keep people fed and supply chains open, and it's very stressful. For me, UNF has everybody working for home. I'm fortunate that everyone on my team has access to a home computer that enables them to continue their work. And we're really good ITS team. It's been a really eye opening experience for everyone in education I think.

Plus, not having to drive adds nearly an hour a day that I can spend writing! So there's that.

[Adam White]

Thanks guys.

I'm trying to remain positive and not see this as a harbinger of possible redundancy. But who knows. In the meantime, I can help out with the kids at home, as my wife is still working - with both of us working from home, the presence of two young children (6 and 2) can be very challenging.