Mostly Apolitical Thread for Discussing/Venting our Rational/Irrational COVID-19 Fears and Experiences in 2020

this might mean me working from home. i am not forwarding phone calls to my mobile to take them in my apartment and they can't make me. so answering emails while reading dune in bed with my cat beside me potentially. sounds good

― COVID and the Gang (jim in vancouver)

just stay the fuck away from the brian herbert books

the schools thing is hard, out here as well they're serving as a grossly underresourced substitute for the nonexistent social safety net. how do you continue to provide essential services when every single person, place, and thing is a potential pandemic vector? on what basis does one make those decisions?

ah, you know, it's not my decision at least.

this email takes the cake imo

As new reports of Coronavirus (COVID-19) continue to develop, there's no denying that we have waded into unprecedented waters. The health and safety of our employees and customers remains our first priority, and because of that, I want to share my thoughts on these difficult times.

I've been in this business for a long time and have seen my fair share of highs and lows. One thing that has served me well throughout my career is the need to pause and take a deep breath during turbulent periods. To feel anxious is normal - it's hard not to be in a world that is changing day to day. We are faced with unparalleled challenges and adversity. But if history tells us anything, it's that the human condition will rise to the challenges we face, as we are doing now. No one knows what tomorrow will bring but that doesn't mean we stop preparing for it.

HSBC has been connecting customers to opportunities since 1865. As one of the largest banking and financial services organizations in the world, we are incredibly diversified, with operations in 64 countries and territories. Our expertise and experience has allowed us to be where the growth is for more than 150 years, enabling businesses to thrive, economies to prosper, and ultimately, helping people to fulfil their hopes and realize their ambitions.

While today's markets are experiencing unprecedented volatility, rest assured that our best and brightest are working tirelessly to understand this environment. With a bench as deep as ours, we're aware of the historical parallels and potential outcomes.

Fear and uncertainty are real and tangible emotions and it is easy to succumb to the unprecedented negative news and the panic in the market. That is why on a personal note, I recently spoke to my own financial advisor to review my family's financial plan, and to ensure we can still achieve our goals despite the current and - potentially further - market turbulence. It was a great discussion and her advice was to stay the course as this crisis, like those in the past, will come to an end. 'Don't panic and take a long-term view,' were words that helped put me and my family at ease. Based on my experience, I'd encourage you to seek advice from your financial advisor as well.

Please know that we have comprehensive plans in place to ensure our employees remain safe and are ready and able to serve our customers without disruption. Following my signature below are additional details regarding HSBC's resilience and further information we feel is important to put in your hands. As the situation evolves we will adjust our efforts accordingly.

Additionally, I encourage you to access your accounts and perform routine banking transactions at home using Personal Internet Banking or the HSBC Mobile Banking App, as well as an ATM near you where you can also access cash.

we should have an entire thread for COVID emails from businesses

So many missteps in that email, how do I choose just a few?

there's no denying that we have waded into unprecedented waters - what a metaphor, great job with that one

the need to pause and take a deep breath - always great advice when we are faced with respiratory illness

the human condition will rise to the challenges we face - wtf does that mean?

unprecedented negative news - just call it FAKE NEWS like you want to

'Don't panic and take a long-term view,' - what a masterfully crafted sentence, you really conveyed what you were trying to say there

lol why do we have 2 parallel threads again? i just posted about a bank doing this to me on the other one

i mean i know why sorry

Buffalo Wild Wings sez:

With the recent announcement of the cancellation of the NCAA Tournament and the postponement/suspension of major sports leagues, I want you to know that we are just as disappointed as you are, but we understand the tough decisions being made.

Our sports bars will remain open, and I want you to know how Buffalo Wild Wings is navigating the impact of the Coronavirus (COVID-19).

Our number one priority remains the health and safety of our guests and team members. We are in close contact with local and federal health officials, including the Centers for Disease Control and the World Health Organization, to ensure we have immediate and continuous updates as this issue evolves. We are acting swiftly and proactively as counsel and direction is made available to us.

While the situation remains fluid, I wanted to inform you of a few of the steps Buffalo Wild Wings has taken:
1. We have convened an internal Coronavirus Preparedness Task Force to constantly monitor the circumstances and stay in contact with health and government officials.

2. We have re-enforced to all of our sports bars across the country our rigorous Standard Operating Procedures focused on restaurant cleanliness and sanitation.

3. We have enacted additional and enhanced cleaning procedures to sanitize all customer contact surfaces with higher frequency.

We are committed to providing a safe, clean and welcoming sports bar for guests and team members across the hundreds of communities we serve.

I want to thank you for your continued trust and support in Buffalo Wild Wings.

so did I miss something about food stores closing a week from now? is everyone nuts?

Brooklyn woman on her phone: "dere afraid were gunna get hit by MAHTIAL LAW"

the language of it is to fake concerned about you. it's like it's holding your hand: "I want you to know how Buffalo Wild Wings is navigating the impact of the Coronavirus." thanks for your continued trust and support.

Morbs, everyone is nuts and presumably looking to Do Something when really the best thing to do is "as little as possible"

i'm aware of how many workers a grocery store needs, however, the giant in my neighborhood only ever has like one person working the checkout at any given time with all the other 12 stations closed so i feel like they'll be ok to stay open

silby otm
it's so very HARD to not engage in a freakout now tho

maryland's court system is closed to the public. today i learned i am not in the public.

yeah going to the store today was a mistake, that's the most people i've been in proximity to all month

I did all my freaking out sitting in the office last Tuesday, wfh since then and I’m gloomy but not anxious

I might save the end of this spiderman game because I feel like it might be a spoiler.

Dude behind me had 24 rolls of tp at the CVS.

Then I went to the grocery store and there was no bread flour! Tons of all purpose flour though.

I ended up buying corn meal.

Is the toilet paper freakout just a US thing?

i have maybe an excessive supply of AP flour right now. there was some bread flour today but i didn't get any.

xpost well I guess a lot of the rest of the world uses bidets

Neanderthal, I wonder why you are on the email list for Buffalo Wild Wings

I mean

like, are there important chicken-wing-related developments you are afraid to miss out on

"this just in, we're taking a mostly indedible foodstuff and drenching it in a slightly different sort of sauce this month. come drink beer in front of our televisions"

I took a business trip to Winston Salem in 2018, then secretly took the company-paid rental car to Virginia on the weekend to see Judas Priest. I decided to pay for all meals outside of Winston-Salem out of pocket, and I drove back the next day and it was the NFL season opener and near kickoff, and I found a Buffalo Wild Wings. and then I like added their app or something to like get a free appetizer and inadvertently signed up and I pay so little attention to my emails since i mass delete them that I guess I never unsubscribed.

anyway that was way more of an answer than you expected but I am extremely bored.

Neanderthal, I wonder why you are on the email list for Buffalo Wild Wings

I’d assumed everyone in Florida was.

that's my answer, "everyone in Florida is'. Mods delete my previous post.

Toilet paper rush a thing here in Paris too.
despite “bidet” being a French word, I’ve never seen one in France. They’re common in Italy though, and I’ve had them in Czechia too. But here we are wiping our asses with paper and it’s not just the dwindling number of American tourists doing the flush rush.

The hoarding thing is mind boggling- this isn’t a zombie apocalypse! It seems rushing to a supermarket, crowded with people, touching thing lots of other people have touched, is the worst thing to do??? I don’t understand what’s so difficult about “wash your hands and avoid contact with too many people”. Maybe because I already do these things so I’m proceeding as normal.

I’ve stocked up on literally nothing. I think we have maybe 6 rolls of toilet paper.

I bought 96 rolls of toilet paper today thinking I would be set for months but then when I got home and saw it there all stacked up looking so good I said aw damn I'm gonna go to town on all this TP and now it's gone

I just couldn't help myself

too much TP for one butt to be crying

SBA emergency loans might assuage my biggest source of anxiety, then just to worry about keeping my mom from getting it/dying.

I thought first mention of the TP rush on this thread came from me in Ireland.
Have now heard it directly related to the scarcity in Australia which is where it was initially being reported as run out.
Like people were listening to a situation on the far side of the planet and using it to create a panic then empty shelves.
I think supplies are still coming in so you can still get everything I'm the morning for a while. But did see some shelves empty 7pm Thursday.
Not sure if that happened again yesterday.
Was in in the morning.

The hoarding thing is mind boggling- this isn’t a zombie apocalypse! It seems rushing to a supermarket, crowded with people, touching thing lots of other people have touched, is the worst thing to do???

otm. I've resolved not to panic until I've been told that delivery trucks will not be replenishing stock. As far as I can tell, grocery stores will be getting their usual 2-3 days a week delivery as scheduled (at least for now), so right now the biggest bummer is having to wait a few extra days for things. Maybe worth asking a stockperson when their trucks usually arrive?

Dear Reader,

We’re living through turbulent times together. Our booksellers are your neighbors, your friends and family. Your stories are our stories, and we know how resilient our communities are.

Sincerely,

The Booksellers of Barnes & Noble

that's the whole email

lol

need something to read? the kobo ebook store has you covered...

https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/list/literature-and-contagion-a-reading-list/OrMYqNPotMLu5wjXxRZZmA

To Our Taco Bell Fans,

Like most of you, I’ve been reading the news about the spread of coronavirus and I am convinced that Taco Bell, our franchisees and team members have an obligation to do something to help stop this from spreading. It’s the right thing to do, but outside of increased cleaning in the restaurants like we’ve been doing, how can we make a larger impact?

As regions of the U.S. begin to mandate public closures and self-quarantine, we are equipping our restaurants to serve our guests via drive-thru and delivery only, where necessary. Should we need to temporarily close our dining rooms, we would be limiting millions of guest interactions and further enabling social distancing. We are going to redefine what it means to be a social brand during this coronavirus pandemic, while at the same time keeping our team members safe, and continuing to provide our fans with the delicious Taco Bell food they love.

We aim to be the safest place to eat AND the safest place to work. Our 7,200 managers are well-trained and prepared, and we’re going back to them to revisit our existing industry-leading training and operating procedures. Their personal well-being, safe food preparation, restaurant cleanliness and illness policies are our top priorities and are best practices from our operators from around the globe.

Because our people are the heart of our organization, and we understand the impact these actions can have, we’re amending our sick policy at our company-owned U.S. restaurants to better accommodate our teams while ensuring no one works who is sick. We’ll be paying employees who are required to stay at home, or who work at a restaurant that is closed, for their scheduled or regularly scheduled hours during their time away from work. We’re actively working with our franchise partners to encourage a similar approach.

Our purpose—to feed people’s lives with unexpected good—guides us in times like these, and we are thankful for your support. You can count on us to keep you informed as new information becomes available.

Mark King
CEO, Taco Bell Corp.

if y’all wanna download ebooks rn i highly support it because that’s my job

The hoarding thing is mind boggling- this isn’t a zombie apocalypse! It seems rushing to a supermarket, crowded with people, touching thing lots of other people have touched, is the worst thing to do???

― just1n3

well, that depends! is the assumption the person is making that we can avoid infection by avoiding contact, or is the assumption that we are probably already infected, that we've been exposed continuously to the virus over the past few weeks, that on the off chance we haven't the most effective way to deal with is not to "socially distance" but to completely self-quarantine until the worst passes? is the assumption that this is just a mass panic that will blow over and when the trucks bring a new supply of goods on monday they'll just be sitting on pristinely empty shelves, or is the assumption that there will be nobody healthy to drive the trucks, nobody healthy to staff the stores, that "pandemic" really does mean everyone?

both of these approaches are assumptions, because we don't know, we don't have sufficient evidence or knowledge to make a rational assessment of the scope and nature of the situation. the overwhelming majority of us under 60 (and, to be clear, almost certainly the vast majority of us _over_ 60) aren't going to die, but we are going to continue to need to eat, we are going to continue to poop, and knowing that i can't say i'm entirely surprised that some people are going out and hoarding.

Just got back from Trader Joe's (bad idea). The milk section was reduced to buttermilk and almond beverage, and the produce section was ransacked. At another store yesterday, I saw someone bagging fresh broccoli as if it was wartime and this was the first food they'd been able to get in ages. I hope all of this gets eaten before it spoils.

i was thinking how horrible it must be to get your period and not have any tp to use because it was hoarded

I keep certain well-worn washcloths for when I have my period. If I were to use them in lieu of tp, rinsing them out after use...living alone does have its compensations.

I was thinking about if it were someone's first period. How scary it would be to 1) get your period during a pandemic and 2) have this happen during a tp shortage.

Wait... what if the TP is for all the masturbating thats about to happen

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Wait... what if the TP is for all the masturbating thats about to happen

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I had a little anxiety attack as we drove back into the city yesterday. It definitely helped to see ppl walking around and doing stuff, a reminder that complete isolation is not possible or necessary or desirable (yet??) and all of NYC is not a zombie-infested wasteland. I mean depending on the neighborhood, natch.

I sort of veer between being resigned to getting this and getting through it and struggling to quit/cut back on my smoking (it's a journey) and also panic that everyone is going to know someone who dies and when will essential services shut down and how far into the wilderness do we need to be by then? My dad has multiple co-morbidities and I keep thinking what if I never see him again? I was supposed to go home for a long visit soon and it's been indefinitely postponed--some people are still flying, albeit cautiously-- but even if I'm not a carrier *now*, what if I'm exposed to the virus in the airport or plane and I deliver it to my parents? It didn't seem prudent but I have multiple friends in my soc med who just left for Mexico or (uhhh) LONDON and are posting pics like everything is normal.

I’m definitely considering hoarding purple o.b.s.

I just took my family to San Francisco against all common sense. Both Austin and SF airports were surprisingly crowded, but our plane was only 1/4 full. Still, being on the plane was the most stressful part because there were definitely sick people on there. I think my anxiety about this is driving my family crazy, they have a very blasé attitude about it all.

Just heard two workers at White Plain post office tested positive and that’s a main hub so no mail today???