Quarantined

[Kelteglow]

Here in Cornwall its the same with lots of empty shelves in the super markets.I have tried playing my concertina but without the need to practice prior to a performance seams to make it harder .I am sure I will get used to it . There are many musicians  stuck at home and when the weather improves we are going to meet two meters apart in the local park for a session .Unless its banned.

[JimLucas]

7 hours ago, Geoff Wooff said:

Total  Isolation.   Sounds like a great  chance to  practice -  learn some new  tunes....

 

Unless you have neighbors whom it disturbs.

[Geoff Wooff]

13 hours ago, JimLucas said:

 

Unless you have neighbors whom it disturbs.

 

Learning new tunes is  far  more annoying  to  those around us  than playing  those pieces  we know well.  Of  course  Jim, you know this  ... so  I'm just saying   for  the  benefit of  those    who    may not  realise  the disturbance  inflicted  on  others.

[wunks]

With everyone at home now, I self-quarantine to the tree house to play.....?

[SteveS]

48 minutes ago, Geoff Wooff said:

 

Learning new tunes is  far  more annoying  to  those around us  than playing  those pieces  we know well.  Of  course  Jim, you know this  ... so  I'm just saying   for  the  benefit of  those    who    may not  realise  the disturbance  inflicted  on  others.

I'm having to close 2 sets of doors between my practice space and my nearest and dearest - repeating the same phrases over and over, making mistakes in the same places each time though a passage, can be annoying.  I'm also working on some harmonium accompaniment, so I'm playing back recordings of tunes, sometimes recordings of my playing, to which I'm trying to jam along.

[JimLucas]

Keep safe.  Keep isolated.

 

The virus is spreading even among people without symptoms.

 

The chorus my sister in the US sings with had a rehearsal (52 individuals) March 10.  That was before the "no more than 10" recommendation, but no one had symptoms.  By the 14th, six members (including my sister) had symptoms.  By the 20th, 25 chorus members had symptoms and 8 had gotten back test results that were positive for covid-19.

 

On March 21, my sister wrote:

Quote

News from the chorale is that at least 10 have tested positive, and one is quite ill - not sure if he/she is hospitalized.  They're not saying who it is.

 

It seems extraordinary that so many of us caught this just by being in the same room for 2 hours - sitting near each other but mostly being careful not to touch.  It seems more logical that a group near the infected person would have been affected, but not random people all around a large room.  And I can't help wondering where the person who brought it to rehearsal got infected and who else outside our group was in contact with that source.

 

We'll never know. The county health dept questioned all choir members but if the person who brought the virus to rehearsal was pre-symptomatic, how would they even know that they were the carrier, rather than a recipient like the rest of us.

 

That "at least 10" was before she, and now her husband, got back test results saying that they're  both positive for covid-19.  And the authorities are still not testing individuals who are asymptomatic, even though they've been in contact with those who have tested positive.

 

In last night's (March 23) email, she says:

Quote

Just got word that one woman from the Chorale who was at the rehearsal where I caught the virus died Saturday.  Not releasing her name yet.  Very sad.

 

And so far, this cluster doesn't seem to have been noticed by the national news networks.

 

SteveS, has there been any change where you are?  (I'd guess not, or you would have told us.)  What about others here?

[SteveS]

Jim

Thanks for the message.  So sorry about your sister, her friends, and especially for her friend that died.

 

We're doing fine, thanks for asking.  We've been in quarantine for 17 days now.  This for me is an opportunity to knuckle down to some of my concertina projects.  Now even more stringent quarantine rules have been introduced in Italy, so we can't go out at all, only to the supermarket (where btw there are stringent rules about masks, gloves, and distance from others).

 

Everyone - keep safe and observe social distancing rules (keep at least 2 metres/7 feet apart) - and stay home!!
 

Edited March 24, 2020 by SteveS

[JimLucas]

Well, the story of my sister's chorus has now reached the Los Angeles Times.  There are some "sobering" details which suggest that transmission is much easier than authorities, even the W.H.O., have reported.  Worth reading carefully and completely.

 

My sister and her husband have now recovered, but not all of their friends

 

Here's the article.  The last paragraph actually makes a good introduction:  

Quote

“It’s just normal random people doing things that they love to do, and all of a sudden some people are dead,” she said. “It’s very sobering.”

 

[Don Taylor]

Sad to say that group or choral singing is probably one of the most dangerous activities possible wrt spreading Covid-19.  When you sing you eject many droplets for a much greater distance than the recommended 2 metre social distancing rule.

Edited March 30, 2020 by Don Taylor

[David Barnert]

On 3/30/2020 at 10:11 AM, JimLucas said:

Well, the story of my sister's chorus has now reached the Los Angeles Times.  There are some "sobering" details which suggest that transmission is much easier than authorities, even the W.H.O., have reported.  Worth reading carefully and completely.

 

My sister and her husband have now recovered, but not all of their friends

 

Here's the article.  The last paragraph actually makes a good introduction:  

 

 

There’s an article in today’s New York Times: Illness Ravaged Choir, but Quick Action Kept Community Safer, a Study Says

[JimLucas]

2 hours ago, David Barnert said:

here’s an article in today’s New York Times: Illness Ravaged Choir, but Quick Action Kept Community Safer, a Study Says

 

Also one in the Washington Post two days ago:  US choir outbreak called ‘superspreader event’ in report

 

And today it even hit one of Denmark's national papers, Berlingske Tidende.

 

Well, I'm pleased to say that here in Denmark I have managed to get tested, and I tested negative for the virus.  Even here, it's still not everyone who can get tested.  (I got permission because I needed to know if I could get a broken tooth fixed without endandering my dentist.)  Even getting to and from the testing site was not trivial:  I thought I would need to use public transportation -- train and bus, more than an hour each way, -- but a friend (already tested negative) offered to drive me, masked and isolated in the back of his car with the sunroof open, so that was only half an hour each way.

 

Meanwhile, it appears that both Denmark and Sweden have extended their border closures, so while Sweden is only a 20-minute ferry ride (4 miles) away, I'm not allowed to go there... for another 2 months, according to the latest announcements.  Still, things are apparently much more open here than where SteveS is in Italy.  And a couple of Swedish friends who were living and traveling in their camper van are currently stranded in North Macedonia.

[seanc]

This. Needs to end!
i have a ton of stuff listed to finance a new English. And nobody’s buying anything!
 

[Peter Laban]

On 5/14/2020 at 8:22 PM, JimLucas said:

Also one in the Washington Post two days ago:  US choir outbreak called ‘superspreader event’ in report

 

The Guardian/Observer had some on the transmission within choirs today : https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/17/did-singing-together-spread-coronavirus-to-four-choirs

Edited May 17, 2020 by Peter Laban