Most of us here play poker to keep us busy and sane during this pandemic, but unfortunately, not all can say the same thing including me, and to those who will be celebrating Christmas alone because of certain reasons that keep some of our vulnerable family members in total isolation. I miss my parents but I just can't take the risk. Is there any advice you can share? Thank you.
Notifications
Clear all
Small Talk
40
Posts
13
Users
9
Reactions
8,167
Views
39 replies
That's really tough indeed. I can still visite my parents if I want to.
Problem as well is that the quality of life could be worse as well. If you are in isolation for a long time it could be bad for vulnerable people health as well.
I am not a member of the medical profession BUT the actual fatality percentage from those infected from Covid-19 is 0.3% or 3 deaths in every 1,000 people infected.
Stop worrying about this hyped-up flu and visit your parents.
Originally posted by arthurbentley
I am not a member of the medical profession BUT the actual fatality percentage from those infected from Covid-19 is 0.3% or 3 deaths in every 1,000 people infected.
Not to mention that it can be significantly lower than that if you're younger and without any previous medical conditions.
Sure, it's important to take it seriously, but don't let it rule your life. Even according to most laws about this, which tend to be strict, small family gatherings are usually allowed, I believe. At least that's how it is handled in my region, as far as I know.
However, you mentioned that the family members you'd like to visit are "vulnerable", so I don't know what their situation is like. Still, unless they are in quarantine, I don't see a reason not to visit them. In fact, if they are vulnerable to that disease, you may even help protect them by doing outside chores for them around that time like getting groceries etc.
I would suggest phoning them if possible.
From March onwards, I could not visit my Mum in person due to the regulations at the long-term care home where she lived.
Due to her hearing loss, and her confusion calling her wasn't an option really either.
My brother would send emails and the staff would read them too her.
Once or twice we visited the facility, and we could talk to her by phone although we were separated by a window.
This confused her completely, because although she could hear us on the phone, she couldn't link the voice on the phone to the person standing outside the window.
Originally posted by arthurbentley
I am not a member of the medical profession BUT the actual fatality percentage from those infected from Covid-19 is 0.3% or 3 deaths in every 1,000 people infected.Stop worrying about this hyped-up flu and visit your parents.
@arthurbentley -- regardless of what the overall mortality rate is, bear in mind that the rate is much, much higher in elderly people -- especially if they have underlying health concerns already.
Keep in mind that our forum principles forbid advising activity that is forbidden.
If laws or regulations do not permit the visit, then as responsible citizens we don't visit.
All the best,
VS
If you quarantine yourself around 5-10 days before Christmas and then maybe even try to get one of those quick tests that are available now, you can reduce the risk to a negligible amount. Putting yourself in quarantine is also not pleasant, but there is not that much you can do anyway these days, right?
Don't know if this could work out for you or if this adheres to the rules at your location, but might be worth considering?
The fatality percentage might be low for an individual, but it adds up applied to the population. It's like with vaccines, it doesn't hurt the population if a single person is not vaccinated, but if the majority doesn't go along we loose herd immunity. I try to act according to what I expect from others.
I've been out of the house maybe 3 times in the last two weeks -- all for necessities.
1. Shopping Trip
2. Dentist
3. Can't remember (NARF!)
Maybe only two times.
When I do go out, I try to get all my errands done at once, but others suggest that you don't go from place to place to place.
Originally posted by monteCarlol
The fatality percentage might be low for an individual, but it adds up applied to the population.
Still, if this is only a small family gathering, the risk should be easily manageable in this case.
If neither you nor your parents and everyone else who wants to participate shows any symptoms or serious vulnerabilities, I don't see the need for self-quarantine or any unpleasant COVID-tests either. Just be careful when you're out in public - masks, distancing, hygiene... you know the drill by now. Same for anyone else who is attending.
None of you are going to catch the virus out of nowhere by just sitting at home with uninfected people.
Maybe you could tell us a little more about your situation? What exactly makes those family members you would like to visit vulnerable?
Using the numbers here:
https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019
The actual overall mortality rate is 2.2% worldwide.
In Canada using data from https://health-infobase.canada.ca/covid-19/epidemiological-summary-covid-19-cases.html,
The mortality rate is 2.9% and most of the deaths have been in Ontario and Quebec, for unknown reasons, but my guess is population density.
If you have a look at https://health-infobase.canada.ca/covid-19/epidemiological-summary-covid-19-cases.html#a5
You'll see that the distribution of cases by age is rather skewed,
Another page with interesting data is this one:
https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/45-28-0001/2020001/article/00087-eng.htm
BTW, if you're going to post statistics, please post the source if you know it, or indicate that you don't know it.
Honestly, I don't see the need to debate statistics* here much at all, since this is a thread about how to deal with COVID-related anxiety and loneliness, as well as OP's situation in particular. I don't think medical statistics are all that relevant.
Suffice to say that we've all been living with this pandemic for about a year by now, and as wise as it may be to err on the side of caution, it doesn't warrant becoming a hermit, no matter what the exact numbers are.
*Not to mention that it can be hard to know which ones to take at face value, as even some "trusted" sources may have difficulties distinguishing people with COVID who are dying from people who are actually dying of COVID. Which can sometimes be impossible to tell anyway, since people suffering from the virus who have died may also have been dealing with other conditions.
Originally posted by VorpalF2F
BTW, if you're going to post statistics, please post the source if you know it, or indicate that you don't know it.
Testing shows hundreds of thousands in LA County may have been infected with coronavirus
Quote:
"The coronavirus outbreak in Los Angeles County is believed to have infected at least 200,000 people by early April, which would far surpass the number of officially confirmed cases, according to a report on Monday."
Quote:
The estimated infection numbers are 28 to 55 times higher than the 7,994 confirmed COVID-19 cases L.A. County had reported at the time of the study in early April.
Quote:
At least 615 coronavirus deaths have been confirmed in the county as of Tuesday morning, according to data from Johns Hopkins.
Fatality figure is 0.3% according to this study.
........................................
Coronavirus symptom tracker claims up to 6.6MILLION people in Britain may already have the life-threatening infection
Quote:
Analysis of the first 650,000 users found that 10 per cent of them have had the symptoms of the coronavirus, which causes fever, coughing and tiredness.
Quote:
If its infection rate of one in every 10 people is applied to the UK's population of 66million, that could mean 6.6m or more have already had the illness which has sent the world into hiding.
0.33% fatality rate for the UK according to this study
..................
Pennsylvania Doctor: Coronavirus May Be Less Deadly than Feared
Quote:
That puts the death rate closer to 0.25 percent than current estimates as high as seven percent. βThere is a big difference between 0.25% mortality and 7%,β he said.
Hey,
as far as loneliness goes I would suggest to call friends and family regularly and have some nice conversations in order to satisfy a bit of social need. Also multiplayer games you can play with friends help.
To deal with anxiety, I found excercising works by far the best. Like someone said "If they could put excercise in a pill, it would be the best bestseller ever." Furthermore, avoid junk information from the internet and read a quality book or watch a good movie/series instead.
And like someone posted before me, if you self isolate for 7+ days and don't develop covid symptoms you are free to visit your parents. Some people can develop symptoms up to 12 days from infection, but by far most get sick by the 7-8th day from infection. ...source is 2 doctors I have in my family.
Wish you all merry holidays!
burek2000
Originally posted by arthurbentley
I am not a member of the medical profession BUT the actual fatality percentage from those infected from Covid-19 is 0.3% or 3 deaths in every 1,000 people infected.Stop worrying about this hyped-up flu and visit your parents.
Oh I'm sorry that I have not added that my Dad has diabetes and my Mom had a stroke in the past so they are both vulnerable, that's why I can't take the risk and with the nature of my job that I travel everyday through commuting to go to work, it's just a no-no for me. I'm not looking for empathy about my parents condition, but I do look for some thoughts from some of you guys(that's been living alone too) on how you may have handled this kind of situation. Btw, your thoughts are well appreciated, thank you.
BTW, thank you all for sharing your thoughts about this, duly noted that I'll keep your advice in my heart, and will make sure I apply it this Christmas season. Thank you!
Using the most readily available numbers, from https://covid19statistics.org/CountryStats/CountryStatistics?countryName=Canada there have been 493,000 cases in Canada to date.
I cannot vouch for their accuracy.
Given that the population of Canada is 37.9 Million
That means that 1.3% of the entire population has been infected.
However, from this report https://hospitalnews.com/canada-ranks-last-on-number-of-hospital-beds-wait-times/ we have 2 hospital beds per 1000 population.
The whole goal of the preventive measure is not to protect the population but rather to protect the health care system from collapse.
Even if the measure suggested are each by themselves even slightly effective, added together then they might make a difference.
@VorpalF2F I agree with you on that, also, it only sounds that Canada is only lacking for more Doctors and Nurses position and that it can be solved by hiring more of them in the future. Right now, it's probably hard to reach that goal due to restrictions and such, but what's more important is the safety and well-being of our Doctors and Nurses so they can work better in their fields.
I've stumbled upon looking for some ways to cope with anxiety, stress, etc during this pandemic and I hope that anyone who reads this will find some good advice too as I have done.
https://www.helpguide.org/articles/anxiety/coronavirus-anxiety.htm
Merry Christmas!
Originally posted by Merlinious
@VorpalF2F I agree with you on that, also, it only sounds that Canada is only lacking for more Doctors and Nurses position and that it can be solved by hiring more of them in the future. Right now, it's probably hard to reach that goal due to restrictions and such, but what's more important is the safety and well-being of our Doctors and Nurses so they can work better in their fields.I've stumbled upon looking for some ways to cope with anxiety, stress, etc during this pandemic and I hope that anyone who reads this will find some good advice too as I have done.
www (dot) helpguide.org/articles/anxiety/coronavirus-anxiety (dot) htm
Merry Christmas!
Thanks for the link. It looks like an excellent resource for mental health in general.
Concerning the "Take care of your body and spirit" part I can highly recommend this video.
It's really quite beginner-friendly and has a great impact. Try it out! πͺπ»