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Coronavirus Covid-19 Update and Status

Eclectic-ware
Published by John W. Wagonis in Website Stuff / Miscellaneous · 14 March 2020

Coronavirus Covid-19 information

We are not a health provider or associated with any health organization. But since several of our manufacturers have put out statements about the Covid-19 pandemic and alerted us to their plan, it seems appropriate for us to inform our customers of our plan.

Our semi-daily updates follow at the end of this blog.

About Eclectic-ware's status

We plan to continue operations, ship orders, and pretty much conduct business as usual. But staying alert of all the health news, and abiding by any requests of the CDC or WHO pertaining to small businesses. Our business is a home based office. We pretty much have no physical interaction with the public. We do not have a showroom, and we do not have foot traffic coming to our office. The UPS driver picks up daily. And we take our smaller lightweight packages to the post office on Mondays and Thursdays. So our public contact is already at a minimum just due to how we have always conducted business. We will be diligent when out in public and conscious of our behavior and that of others.

About our Customers

If you need updated info about the Coronavirus, here are a few things you SHOULD do. Definitely inform yourself.
  • You can go to Google and type in "Coronavirus update". A red banner comes up at the top of the screen to bring your attention to all the news stories about it. After that, Google lists links for the CDC and WHO. Those are the websites that will have the most up to date data.
  • You can also turn on your local news or CNN. This pretty much is what the whole world is talking about right now. And the news can give you some very valuable information. Information that can save your life as well as the lives of the people close to you. Watch the news and listen to their tips.
  • Be cautious about social media updates. Some will be valid and helpful. But some will arise to stir chaos and increase panic. So be a bit careful about what you read and share on social media. When unsure, turn on the news or check in on the CDC website.

Some tips to help us all

  • Everyone is telling you to wash your hands. Not just your mother, but everyone on every news station. Most are saying to wash your hands for 20 seconds or longer.
  • But how do you wash your hands? We have all seen people in public restrooms who place their hands under running water for a few seconds, don't use soap, and then just dry them. THAT IS NOT WASHING YOUR HANDS. That is sprinkling water on your skin. For those of us who have watched MASH, we have seen those doctors scrub from their elbows to their fingertips and take several minutes to do so. We do not need to be that extreme.
  • When you do wash your hands, scrub the tops, insides, finger tips, between the fingers, wrists, and if you have longer nails, attempt to wash under your nails. Or keep them cut shorter for now.
  • Probably a good idea to change your hand towel every few days instead of leaving it out for a few weeks.
  • Always wash your hands before preparing food or eating, or immediately after touching any dirty or uncertain surfaces. I wash mine after dragging the trash can back to the house. The can is generally clean, but there is pollen on it, the garbage truck touched parts of the can, and who knows what bird flew over and peed on the can handle. Wash your hands OFTEN.
  • Consider washing your face too. Wash your hands first, well. Then wash your face. It is more work, but it is smart.

Coughing and Sneezing:
Yes, cover your mouth. Cough into your elbow. We are going to get tired of hearing it, but it needs to be said until everbody gets it. How many of us see people all the time, and childern, who just blurt out a cough or sneeze across the room without any care for the rest of us? It's pretty sick that some people have incredibly BAD manners. So from here forward in life, learn some good manners and cover your coughs and sneezes. It is only proper conduct. Behave properly.

Let's consider a few things that I do not hear the news saying yet!
  • When you cough into your elbow or shoulder instead of your hand, I think most of us press our face into our elbow or shoulder. Well, we are being told not to touch our face, especially our eyes, nose, and mouth. If you sneeze a second time into your elbow, you just touched your face. We might need to consider washing the insides of our elbows a couple times a day.
  • Also, when you cough or sneeze into your elbow, and then later CROSS YOUR ARMS, your hands just touched the insides of your elbows. That is pretty much the same thing as sneezing into your hand. So the emphasis of washing your hands often, multiple times a day, is really damn good advice.
  • The news is telling us to refrain from shaking hands. Good plan. There is no rule in business or life that we must greet someone with a hand shake. Wave, bow, claspe your hands, elbow bump, foot bump if you have good balance, or just nod. Various cultures greet in various ways - that do not involve touching. Maybe bowing should become a world custom. Don't be French right now, no kissing on the cheeks. We can all have a big hug in a couple of months after we beat this thing.

Distance between us
I am in line at the post office, grocery store, or other stores, and the person behind me in line needs to stand right on my ass. Why? I'm usually afraid that they are after my wallet. Why do people think they need to stand on top of someone? Newsflash, it does not make the line shorter. Physcially shorter in length, but not shorter to the checkout. So back up. We should always be leaving a few feet between us. And now, we need to add a few more feet to that. Current recommendation is to leave 6 feet between people. That might not always be feasible, but do try to leave some space between you and the next person. And cover your coughs and sneezes. Don't aim them at others.

When practicing Yoga or a martial art, you have space between you and the next person to keep from kicking them in the head. Restaurants may need to remove a few tables right now to have more space between tables. We know how crammed dining rooms generally are. Those with fixed booths obviously will not be able to remove a booth, but maybe they can seat every other booth when not busy instead of cramming people together.

The Future

We make the future happen. We can make it a good one, or we can incur the wrath of this ugly virus. A virus that has claimed a lot of lives already. I read up on the Spanish Flu of 1918-19. That was an H1N1 virus. It affected 500 million people worldwide, and sadly, most reports say approx. 50 million people died. One out of every ten people who had it, died. Times were much different then. Medical testing and technology was in its infant stages. We are much more advanced right now. Let's use our heads and be safe. Many of us are going to have to go through this self quarantine thing. It is going to suck. It is going to suck more for those who actually catch the virus. It will be important for all of us to have compassion and to obey the recommended rules right now.

Dr. Fauci is telling us about the Curve. We can choose to conduct our lives as normal, go out, touch everyone and everything, and all get sick. Or we can take a few weeks off from going out and touching everyone and everything, and make this thing fall flat. It could affect 50% of our population, or we all can do our part and keep it well below 1% of the population, far below 1%.

So keep your hands clean, keep them to yourself, keep them off your face. Wash your hands, elbows, and face more often than normal. Don't let people breathe on you or spray you with their uncovered mouth, and make sure you do not do that to others. Stay informed, watch the news and listen to the tips from the experts. Who is smarter, this virus, or us? We need to beat it and we need to show it that we will win.

March 20th, 2020

This past week we heard a lot more horror and saw numbers jump in the United States dramatically. Our hearts go out to those who have lost someone. Please do what you can to keep yourself and your families safe. The spread of this virus can become under our control if we listen to our local governments and the news. We have to space ourselves apart and be careful about the things we touch, including our faces. For those who have now been ordered to shelter in, it will be frustrating. But a few weeks or a couple of months of us trying to win against this virus is important. It will not be easy, no one is saying it will be. And it really does suck, but we cannot go out in public and either catch it or spread it. We all want to do the right thing. And the right thing will be maddening, but please bear with it.

March 23, 2020

We had our first vendor announce today that they will be shut down approx. till April 14th by declaration of the Michigan governor asking people to shelter in place. Another company in Illinois has not been able to return our e-mails for a few days now, we suspect they have been asked to do the same. We do stock a lot of our mainstream products, but many are custom, or just ordered as required. We will continue to operate as normal as possible up until any such order is issued in Florida. So most shipments are commencing at normal speeds still as of today.

PLEASE CONTINUE to head the warnings of health officials on the news. Their goal is to help us. Our goal should be to help us also. And I was just thinking this past weekend as I was raking leaves: Many of us complain about not having enough time around the house to get things done. So if you are sheltering in, that doesn't mean you can't go outside. Get some stuff done around the house. Paint a bedroom, clean the garage, clean the whole house. Let's use the time productively and when the height of this pandemic passes the hump, many of us will be ready to go back to work. We have an opportunity to make something from this - while being safe. Don't invite all the neighborhood kids over for a pool party, that would be stupid. But do grab a broom and stay busy. It may sound weird, but the way to help others right now is to stay away from others.

The numbers the news is showing us will look really bad next week. Tens of thousands are being affected quite rapidly. It is the numbers we will be seeing 2, 3, 4 weeks from now that will start to look better. IF WE ALL DO OUR PART.

March 25, 2020

Many State Governors have issued Stay At Home statewide orders (requests). Thus, a few of our manufacturers are caught up in that, so there can be some products that will encounter several week delays on custom made products. Some mainstream products too. Florida has not issued a statewide order. And we will keep shipping stock orders and set up direct ships for manufacturers who are still up and running.

Business is extremely slow, as expected. Everyone's focus should be on taking care of him or herself and your families. Watch the news, try your best not to be depressed or discouraged by it. All the experts are agreeing that the numbers will become far worse. That is the curve. Now the numbers can become just a bit worse or drastically worse, that is up to us. Staying at home 100% of the time or near 100% is going to help everyone. There are 329 million Americans who do not have this thing, let's try to keep it that way. Listen to the advisories for conducting yourself in public when you are out buying groceries. And just do not go out unless it is absolutely necessary. Again, it doesn't mean LOCK yourself in your house. You can still walk around the block, go in your backyard, and go to the store. Just don't play sports with the neighborhood kids, no Twister games, no pool parties, refrain from having our normal fun. It will return, just don't push it too soon.

March 29, 2020

Sadly, we were optimistic about hearing better news by now. We offer our condolences to those who have lost someone they loved. More of us are starting to understand the seriousness of this. As Andrew Cuomo has told us, the density of population is a HUGE factor in the spread of Covid-19. And social distancing and limiting your exposure in public MUST HAPPEN. The Florida Spring break crowd heading home to most of the Midwest and Northeast states is not going to help those states. It is possible to have this virus for 1 to 14 days before you show any signs of having it. If you think, 'I am not sick,' how do you really know? And if you are thinking can I get sick if I go out? YES, you can.

I saw something on Friday. I went to Sam's Club for supplies. I generally grab a cart from the lot and walk up to the store with it. I noticed someone else did the same. This person leaned on the cart with both of his forearms stretched across the cart handle. The lazi-man's walk. Instead of standing up straight, you are using the cart as a walker with your forearms. That cart handle was not wiped down yet from the previous person who left it in the lot. And even if that person goes in the store or home and washes his hands, is he going to wash his forearms? Cough into your elbow? His nose and eyes are going to touch his forearm. How is that being cautious. Touch the shopping carts only with your hands. And until you can find a place to wash your hands, keep them off your face. If you have an itch, let it itch. Keep your hands off your face.

Our county just issued a "Safer at Home order." Similar to the stay at home, but not really making anyone stay at home. Our state has not issued a statewide order like California, NY, and other states. There are millions of people who have been staying at home for a month now. Most of them have not worked their jobs. People are becoming cooped up and want to get out. Give it more time! It is important. Holidays can be celebrated later. Our public gatherings, sports, and social events will return. But wait it out. Find some ways to amuse yourself at home. There are over 30,000 people worldwide who have died. And this sucker is just ramping up in the US. Please, whether you have been told to stay at home or not, do so. Only necessary trips to the store. Keep your distance from people. And keep your hands off your face. That is the main way people are getting sick. Rubbing your eyes, nose, and mouth with the contamination on your hands. Stay Safer!

April 3, 2020

Much has happened in the last few days. Florida finally issued a statewide stay at home order. Our business is home based, so that effect is so minimal to us. Thus we are continuing operations. A few of our manufacturers have temporarily closed due to their States' stay at home orders/requests. Some of them are also small businesses, and many are still in operation. A few are considered essential businesses, and they are still open. Many are also publishing their own Covid-19 updates through e-mail to explain how they are safeguarding their employees and customers. This is good to see. When companies and citizens abide by these social distancing and stay at home orders, it will give us a stronger hand in beating this thing.

And we need to beat it. The numbers we keep hearing day to day are very sad. None of us enjoys hearing about thousands of people dieing. It is our current reality and we need to deal with it the best we can.

Many States have set up help lines for consuling. Call them if you believe you need help. Call them if someone told you that you can use some help. E-mail or text your friends. We are allowed to stay in communication with everyone we know. We just need to be patient about seeing these people in person. Can we do that? Can we be patient? We really need to try.

Look at how Facebook many years ago took many of us away from seeing people in person and just communicating via that platform. We instantly shared pictures and stories. We kept in touch with people continents apart. Use that technology. And does anyone remember how months ago we were complaining about people in restaurants sitting at the same table, and all or most would have their faces glued to their smartphone and weren't really interacting with one another? Or people sit at home in their living rooms with the TV on, but they are on their individual phone or Ipad and not conversing with anyone in the room? Remember that. People were already 'mentally social distancing.' So we should have a bit of practice with that already.

Do your part. Stay at home and save lives. It will be for only a short period. Yes the period seems to keep getting longer only because we did not do it diligently enough yet. As soon as we are diligent, the curve will flatten. The sooner it flattens and then goes completely flat, the sooner we can get back out there. Then we can complain about the long lines at restaurants once again. Let's bring back the good ole days of waiting for the little buzzer to go off to let us know that we finally get a table after waiting outside for an hour. We will be shoulder to shoulder again. That will return. Please be patient with it.

April 9, 2020

We are still chugging along and shipping orders. Most of our manufacturers are still open and shipping too. Only a few are caught up in the Stay at Home orders. And today I just want to offer two statements of advice for everyone:
  • Listen to Dr. Fauci
  • Listen to Governor Cuomo

April 10, 2020

Please play it safe this Easter weekend. Stay at home to be safe. Sounds like a rerun, and being cooped up as the weather turns nice doesn't mean you have to stay in your house with the windows closed up. We are allowed to go for walks, we can go for bikerides. We just are not supposed to line up side by side on our bikes and risk the health of others. Ride with someone, but keep some distance between you, WHILE watching for cars coming up on you. Let's prove how much we can think about our safety in all kinds of aspects of life. We have to refrain from playing ball and all jumping in the neighbor's swimming pool together. But there is a lot we can still do. There are a lot of movies to catch up on. There's probably a mess in the basement to clean up. Let's use the time wisely, and try to throw whatever fun you can into it. Dress up in your halloween costumes and post images on-line. Get a little crazy. Make people laugh. We only have weeks to go to slow this way down. AND THEN just a little bit more time to beat it into nothing. Do not rush going back to normal....

April 20, 2020

Please be smart and safe. Now is not the time to rush things open. Now is not the time to underestimate this virus. Now is not the time to ride piggy-back on your friend. Let's be a bit more patient. Yes, it is not easy. Many people have been told to stay at home or unemployed for well over a month. But just keep one major thought in mind: We have been shy on medical supplies, masks, gowns, face shields, gloves; thousands of police officers and medics have caught this virus from the public they are tending to; some police officers and medics have lost their lives; the economy has been hit hard; so with that long thought in mind, do you want this thing to rebound?

May 3, 2020

This will be our last update to this Coronavirus blog. Much of America is returning to work. There are mixed opinions about it. Some think it is being rushed, some think it is being rushed foolishly. There are communities that are lesser impacted, and there are some that are getting past the curve and on the way to recovery.

Today, I saw this quote in the news from Stillwater Mayor Will Joyce. It is in regard to the mandatory order to wear face masks when visiting businesses, and then the order being recinded 24 hours later due to threats of violence to store employees:
"To the people who resort to threats and intimidation when asked to take a simple step to protect your community: shame on you. Our freedom as Americans comes with responsibilities, too," the mayor tweeted. "We must find common ground and work together to deal with the circumstances our society is facing. Whether or not we agree on the details, we have to find ways to cooperate in the task before us."

Just like to emphasize the part ... Our freedom as Americans comes with responsibilities, too.

There has been enough on TV and other media to show us that we are all in this together, and we all need to do only a small part for the benefit of others, and ourselves. Wear a face mask. You can take it off while driving, and you do not need it at home. But when you visit a business, out of respect to others, and respect to the Freedom we take for granted in America, wear the damn mask when inside a store or restaurant. Or movie theater, bowling alley, etc. It is a simple thing to do, and it will put a big CLAMP on wave #2 of this crap when it comes back around.


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