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The elephant in the room......the symposium

D

Doug Rasmussen

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Haven't heard any mention of the symposium. Seems like it should be canceled.

Schools and colleges in my area (Seattle) are closing, gatherings over 250 are banned by law statewide. Highway traffic has dwindled. Store shelves are bare of certain things. Hand sanitizers and sanitary wipes are non-existent.
 
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Doug Rasmussen said:
Haven't heard any mention of the symposium. Seems like it should be canceled.

Schools and colleges in my area (Seattle) are closing, gatherings over 250 are banned by law statewide. Highway traffic has dwindled. Store shelves are bare of certain things. Hand sanitizers and sanitary wipes are non-existent.
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Wonder how that affects churches with a large congregation? It takes 2 weeks for the symptoms to appear after infected...so anyone can have the virus and not know it until symptoms appear. So one of 250 can be the problem. I got a sheet from a local hospital when I went in for lab work. Basically, it says to disinfect your entire house each day. I cringe when I see people cough in their hands and handle merchandise or groceries, come out of a restroom stall and exit without washing, wipe their mouth, nose, eyes and handle groceries. Got it on good information- regular viruses have a rate of 0.2% death rate; coronavirus has a rate of 2%.
 
The highest percentage of woodturners are in the age groups of the higher rates of death as well. Will probably empty out more nursing homes than anything else has in recent history. But after watching Alzheimer's claim my Mother in 2018 after 11 months in a nursing home, this could be a merciful thing to many. I apologize if this offends anyone, but watching a loved one like your Mother die of end stage Alzheimer's will shake you to your core. Watching the life physically drain from their face, a bit at a time until they are completely void of any emotion or facial movement, is life changing.
 
Doug Rasmussen said:
Haven't heard any mention of the symposium
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I know the AAW board and the Executive Director are Well aware of the Coronavirus and are watching the cancellations.
I expect to see communication to the membership sometime In the coming weeks or days.

On our side - it is still 3 months off. Some other organizations are cancelling because their sessions are much sooner and their attendees are cancelling.

Best to get as many facts as you can to make an informed decision.
The same thing we must do as individuals.

There is a long shot that it acts like the flu and disappears in April - no science to support this- hopeful thinking.
 
Richard Coers said:
The highest percentage of woodturners are in the age groups of the higher rates of death as well. Will probably empty out more nursing homes than anything else has in recent history. But after watching Alzheimer's claim my Mother in 2018 after 11 months in a nursing home, this could be a merciful thing to many. I apologize if this offends anyone, but watching a loved one like your Mother die of end stage Alzheimer's will shake you to your core. Watching the life physically drain from their face, a bit at a time until they are completely void of any emotion or facial movement, is life changing.
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Richard, I'm so sorry you had to go through that. I experienced something similar with both my folks.
 
Richard Coers said:
The highest percentage of woodturners are in the age groups of the higher rates of death as well. Will probably empty out more nursing homes than anything else has in recent history. But after watching Alzheimer's claim my Mother in 2018 after 11 months in a nursing home, this could be a merciful thing to many. I apologize if this offends anyone, but watching a loved one like your Mother die of end stage Alzheimer's will shake you to your core. Watching the life physically drain from their face, a bit at a time until they are completely void of any emotion or facial movement, is life changing.
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I feel your pain.My Mom had a massive stroke, and one of the first patients to receive TPA while it was in the clinical trials phase. Miraculously brought her back....then 3 years later, she began a 16 year journey with Alzheimer's. I really felt that I lost her a few years before we had services for her. Yes, she was technically alive - but no longer "there" snd we could not communicate with her. The most protracted painful experience of my life. And - I have sympathy for anyone coping with this evil disease. It is one that the entire family suffers from - when one loved one has it.
 
Italy is in a world of hurt right now with large numbers affected from the virus and most facilities have twice as many people then they have rooms. Each of the rooms have been turned into an intensive care room and they are no longer admitting people for strokes or similar health issues. The doctors and nurses have been working long hours and many have contracted the virus. The health care system in Italy is stretched beyond its capacity and the same thing could happen in the USA if they allow the outbreak to get out of hand. People should be responsible and stay away from large groups of people when possible and limit their travel to high density metro areas. Approx 20% of the people who contract the virus need to be admitted to a hospital for treatment, that is large number of people.
 
Mike Johnson said:
Italy is in a world of hurt right now with large numbers affected from the virus and most facilities have twice as many people then they have rooms. Each of the rooms have been turned into an intensive care room and they are no longer admitting people for strokes or similar health issues. The doctors and nurses have been working long hours and many have contracted the virus. The health care system in Italy is stretched beyond its capacity and the same thing could happen in the USA if they allow the outbreak to get out of hand. People should be responsible and stay away from large groups of people when possible and limit their travel to high density metro areas. Approx 20% of the people who contract the virus need to be admitted to a hospital for treatment, that is large number of people.
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Yeah...that hoarding TP....pretty stupid IMHO....but I am not sure about that 20% number holding for long. As the number of infected grow - I believe you will see a much lower percentage of patients requiring care in facilities.
 
john lucas said:
I'm just biding my time and watching what's happening. I personally think it's all over blown and media hype but we will see. Our local walmart doesn't have any toilet paper. Damn people are hoarding it.
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Then you're gonna be in for a surprise. Nothing hype about it.

John
 
john lucas said:
I'm just biding my time and watching what's happening. I personally think it's all over blown and media hype but we will see. Our local walmart doesn't have any toilet paper. Damn people are hoarding it.
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It doesn't take much for us to have a run on TP. When the hurricanes are heading this way, people hoard everything. For hurricane preparations, I see the point. For this Coronavirus, they are blowing it way out of proportion. Just in case I'm saving all of my Maui News, I used to take it to the recycling center, I grew up in a farm in the boondocks in Argentina and when hunting and fishing sometimes you have to be resourceful, LOL
 
We had to go to Walmart for groceries so we checked on the TP and they had none and had a sign saying they coudn't get it. So for interest sake we drove to Sam's. None there either. We drove to our local Dollar General and they had plenty. So if all else fails I can at least go to the bathroom. Just had my septic tank pumped last week also so I'm good to go, literally.
 
It was on the MLB channel- spring training games are cancelled and the major league season delayed at least two weeks. My daughter's school has cancelled with all classes now online plus the students are to vacate the dorms. BTW, the wife just went downstairs to check...29 rolls in inventory. We are good to go...literally.
 
All AAW members and symposium registrants will receive an Email shortly if not already.

I just got mine. For now it is wait and see.... almost 3 months out.
This is I believe prudent.

I expect reported cases in the USA to Sky rocket once the USA gets testing ramped up. Way behind other nations.
The Coronavirus cases are reported based in testing.

Chart below shows USA testing is way behind that of other countries like South Korea.
USA 8,000 tests for 330 million
South Korea 210,000 tests for 51 million
While South Korea is a pretty advanced country in many respects one would think the USA could at least be half as active as testing as the South Koreans.

7C5EF5FC-F5D7-49AA-8189-E111289B69AF.png
 
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AAW's Official Position as of March 12, 2020:

People worldwide are facing concerns about the COVID-19 epidemic.

We’d like you to know that the AAW leadership is carefully monitoring the status of COVID-19 in preparation for our 34th Annual International Symposium, June 4-7, in Louisville, KY. The health and safety of our members, demonstrators, trade show vendors, partners, and other event attendees is our absolute and utmost priority.

We remain watchfully optimistic that the AAW Symposium will go forward. Based on all available guidance as of March 12, the symposium is still scheduled to occur in June.

Any changes to this plan will be made based on available evidence and recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the World Health Organization (WHO), the Kentucky Department of Health, and other health authorities. Our professional conference management partner, ConferenceDirect, is actively communicating with the Louisville Convention and Visitor Bureau, our group hotels, and the Kentucky Exposition Center, the venue for the 2020 event. These ongoing discussions ensure regular and full sharing of information between AAW organizers and local authorities.

The AAW Symposium is 85 days away and the COVID-19 situation continues to evolve. Should anything change in our symposium planning, we will promptly notify you. We understand that the uncertainty is difficult and thank you for your understanding and patience as thoroughly assess what is in the best interest of all our constituents.

For those who have already registered for the AAW Symposium, and for those still planning to register, we have waived early cancellation fees. If future developments challenge us with a difficult but necessary decision to cancel the symposium, all registration fees will be refunded in full.

We will continue to update you as new information becomes available via email, AAW social media sites, and the AAW website. A list of the onsite measures AAW will be taking, can be found on the new COVID-19 page of the AAW website. We have consolidated COVID-19 FAQs and travel information from reliable international, national, state and local health and regulatory agencies on this page, which will be updated frequently.

Finally, if you have any questions or concerns do not hesitate to reach Phil McDonald, AAW Executive Director, by phone at 651-484-9094 or by email at phil@woodturner.org.

We look forward to seeing you in Louisville.

Kind regards,

AAW Board of Directors and Staff
 
Italy is now rationing "healthcare" provided by hospitals, if you are over a certain age or have a serious illness they turn you away. People with strokes & heart attacks are sent home.
They have basically adapted the Military triage guidelines, they treat people that have the best odds. People need to take this seriously and slow the spread of this virus or the USA could end up in the same situation as Italy having to ration rooms and treatments in hospitals. Italy was hit hard because they are a popular destination country for tourism and people visit large and small cities across the entire country, this quickly spread the virus across the entire country.

People seem to forget history, the 1918 Spanish Flu infected 500 million people worldwide and killed upwards of between 5-10 percent of the people infected.
 
john lucas said:
We had to go to Walmart for groceries so we checked on the TP and they had none and had a sign saying they coudn't get it. So for interest sake we drove to Sam's. None there either. We drove to our local Dollar General and they had plenty. So if all else fails I can at least go to the bathroom. Just had my septic tank pumped last week also so I'm good to go, literally.
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Ya, just "media hype"... good for the TP industry.
 
hockenbery said:
All AAW members and symposium registrants will receive an Email shortly if not already.


I expect reported cases in the USA to Sky rocket once the USA gets testing ramped up. Way behind other nations.
The Coronavirus cases are reported based in testing.




Al they will not give you a test if you do not have symptoms. That is the way it is done by all medical facilities.This is all complicated by the fact that we are in the middle of flu season. Best to stay at home , call your doctor and follow his instructions.

Spanish flu deaths in us over 600,000 and world wide 10 to 50 million. BUT remember medical technology was no where near where it is now.

Saw a report from WHO that 80 percent of cases are mild and the other 20 will need medical treatment.
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Emiliano,

The virus usually effects people in 3-stages cold symptoms which turns into high fever and flu symptoms which then morphs into respiratory issues for some cases..
Like other viruses they tend to migrate through the host infecting different biological systems as they are weakened.
The bodies natural defense system can generate excess mucus which can end up causing respiratory problems for compromised individuals unable to clear the mucus
which can build up in the lungs. A healthy person coughs enough to clear this material from the lungs which is the bodies natural defense to clean the lungs of unwanted
contaminants, dead cells and excess mucus when you are sick.
 
People are hoarding TP on the false assumption that they will be quarantined for weeks or months. The main problem is people!
A lady tested positive. So...in her infinite wisdom, she gets on two flights to fly to Houston to see her doctor. Result? She exposed hundreds of people at airports and flights to the virus. The airlines were contacting passengers, crews and ground staff about the exposure.
 
@Gerald Lawrence - I understand that criteria needs to be met to get nearly every medical service,
I am quite sure there are many thousands with symptoms not being tested.
( South Korea has drive up testing)

Also there is some anecdotal evidence coming out of Seattle regarding people in study groups testing positive without meeting the current criteria for testing.

Further being an NBA player seems to put you at the head of the line.
Big problem for us- won’t be able to tell if reported cases are decreasing because we won’t have a baseline until testing gets widely available
 
hockenbery said:
@Gerald Lawrence - I understand that criteria needs to be met to get nearly every medical service,
I am quite sure there are many thousands with symptoms not being tested.
( South Korea has drive up testing)

Also there is some anecdotal evidence coming out of Seattle regarding people in study groups testing positive without meeting the current criteria for testing.

Further being an NBA player seems to put you at the head of the line.
Big problem for us- won’t be able to tell if reported cases are decreasing because we won’t have a baseline until testing gets widely available
Click to expand...


Saw last night news in Mississippi the state dept of health has the test and a doctor has to send in for test to be done and takes 36 to 48 hours. By the way not all doctors report all cases of flu either so where is a baseline if stats are not complete? Looks to me like every medical authority or department will be handling tests differently and that also affects stats.
 
hockenbery said:
All AAW members and symposium registrants will receive an Email shortly if not already.

I just got mine. For now it is wait and see.... almost 3 months out.
This is I believe prudent.

I expect reported cases in the USA to Sky rocket once the USA gets testing ramped up. Way behind other nations.
The Coronavirus cases are reported based in testing.

Chart below shows USA testing is way behind that of other countries like South Korea.
USA 8,000 tests for 330 million
South Korea 210,000 tests for 51 million
While South Korea is a pretty advanced country in many respects one would think the USA could at least be half as active as testing as the South Koreans.

View attachment 32359
Click to expand...
I'm of the opinion that the USA is falling behind in many things. You can bet there is plenty of testing going on in offices in Washington, DC.
 
If I were king I'd sure like to test 20,000+ people at random in a couple of locations to really understand what's going on. As someone who used to develop similar tests and run them on 10,000's of samples myself with a couple techs I find that absence of testing in this country to be appalling. I suspect there were orders from on high to keep the numbers as low as possible, not that the virus is paying attention! For surveillance purposes you could multiplex samples and it wouldn't be very expensive at all. (ie mix 10-20 together, run one test, and then only go back to the positive mixtures to sort out which individual was positive)
 
Instead of TP go to HD and for about $30.00 get an aftermarket bidet. This will wash your tush and cut the need for TP. A downside is the cheaper units have no heater so for the south where there is no real cold water it is OK, but in the north it can get a bit chilly down there. Some TP is still needed but much less.

The instillation is simple and the cost is low. Hurry before everyone reads this and they sell out .

PS: Do not flush paper with wet strength (tissues or paper towels) or wipes if you have a septic system or you will have a problem. How do I know this?

Stu
 
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John Torchick said:
People are hoarding TP on the false assumption that they will be quarantined for weeks or months. The main problem is people!
A lady tested positive. So...in her infinite wisdom, she gets on two flights to fly to Houston to see her doctor. Result? She exposed hundreds of people at airports and flights to the virus. The airlines were contacting passengers, crews and ground staff about the exposure.
Click to expand...
A dude did this from NY to Florida (I think Miami). The airline has since banned him.
 
Mike Johnson said:
Emiliano,

The virus usually effects people in 3-stages cold symptoms which turns into high fever and flu symptoms which then morphs into respiratory issues for some cases..
Like other viruses they tend to migrate through the host infecting different biological systems as they are weakened.
The bodies natural defense system can generate excess mucus which can end up causing respiratory problems for compromised individuals unable to clear the mucus
which can build up in the lungs. A healthy person coughs enough to clear this material from the lungs which is the bodies natural defense to clean the lungs of unwanted
contaminants, dead cells and excess mucus when you are sick.
Click to expand...

Your explanation is too complicated for my simple Argentinian woodturner brain. So, at what stage of this virus do you become a slave of the toilet? If you did mention that on your response, I did not get it
 
Being new to turning, I was really excited about the symposium, but I am assuming that either it will be cancelled or it won't be prudent to attend. If things change I may reconsider at the last minute, but it seems highly unlikely to me. Sadly I expect we will be doing more social distancing not less and for quite a while. Early June is not likely to be a great time to be traveling to another city and attending a symposium. More likely I'll still be hunkering down at home for quite a while, 18 months wouldn't surprise me. I'd like to be wrong, but doubt that I am based on most of what I have read from any reputable sources.
 
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