The COVID-19 Pandemic: What's happening in your part of the world?

[Pak-Man]

Used my supermarket discount to get it down to $1.15. I filled up my tank like it's 1999.

[CJones]

Nobody's driving anywhere, do demand for gas has gone way down. I can't even remember the last time gas was under $2 around here. I saw it earlier today for $1.89.

[CJones]

I went to the doctor's office on Monday (for something unrelated to Covid). They didn't allow more than two people be in the waiting room, which meant I had to wait outside for 20 minutes. Then when the doctor did see me, she was actually in a different room and we teleconferenced. One of the nurses was constantly wiping everything down; windows, counters, computers etc. You guys are scaring me

[wihogfan]

Doesn't seem that long ago...vehicle I bought before the one I have now...bought a gas guzzler...gas at $2.50 when purchased...job changed a month later that required me to drive 200+ miles a day and gas shot up to $4 a gallon and stayed over $3.50 for a long time. OK was probably 10 years ago, but man, just think of the extra money I could have put into my 401k and lost over the last 2 weeks if gas was $1.50 a gallon back then.

[RVR II]

You know it's serious when Waffle House closes down 
https://www.wafb.com/2020/03/24/waffle-house-closes-locations-across-us/

[RVR II]

My old Quality Assurance boss at Black & Decker posted that someone in their Fort Mill, SC Distribution Center tested positive for the virus yesterday.. She sounded pretty stressed about it

[RVR II]

Also got an automated phone call from the post office reconfirming that we are considered essential employees and that we are to report to work as scheduled. Thanks for the inspirational message

Here's the actual message I got..

Again, very inspirational

[stansimpson]

Well... Did the Walmart trip last night. Parking was eerily great. Plenty of aisles were full and others were picked bare (noodles, bread, meat, rice, TP, etc.). Fortunately they had everything we needed except rice. Got the 2nd to last of the beef and last of the mac & cheese. Spent over a $100 on groceries (hoping that should put us 3 weeks out though it may be 2). And I felt like a total jackass by the end. My cart was brimming while others had reasonable loads.

Worst part was when I was getting frozen burritos (I eat 2 and my kid eats 1 for lunch every day). As I was getting them, the aisle was getting more people and the Walmart Grocery pick-up lady was patiently waiting on me to finish loading. Finally just threw the last one in and bolted. I kept repeating to myself "This is to avoid multiple trips. This is for the safety of everyone. The fewer trips, the better." Still felt like a jackass.

No, the truly worst part is the guy checking out my groceries was wearing fingerless gloves!!! WTF!?! Somebody needs to tell me what's the point of fingerless gloves in a global pandemic! I made good use of the store soap dispenser and washed my hands probably 4 times in 10 minutes after getting home.

[MartyS (Gromit)]

No, the truly worst part is the guy checking out my groceries was wearing fingerless gloves!!! WTF!?! Somebody needs to tell me what's the point of fingerless gloves in a global pandemic! I made good use of the store soap dispenser and washed my hands probably 4 times in 10 minutes after getting home.

Does their checkout computer have a touch screen?  That's the only reason I can think of to need bare fingers.  Or they have a latex allergy and they couldn't find nitrile gloves.

[stansimpson]

No, the truly worst part is the guy checking out my groceries was wearing fingerless gloves!!! WTF!?! Somebody needs to tell me what's the point of fingerless gloves in a global pandemic! I made good use of the store soap dispenser and washed my hands probably 4 times in 10 minutes after getting home.

Does their checkout computer have a touch screen?  That's the only reason I can think of to need bare fingers.  Or they have a latex allergy and they couldn't find nitrile gloves.

Good thinking, but it was the standard push-button register. I noticed all the other register people had standard latex gloves. Except for one person who wasn't wearing any. So I guess it could've been worse. Lol

[RVR II]

Just got a memo that we at at the post office counter need to put tables in front of the counter to maintain a 6 ft away from the counter so I got what tables I could find and of course they're not long enough so people just walk beside them to within 4 ft of me..
PERFECT! !

[MartyS (Gromit)]

Philly was trying to rent and pay for upkeep of Hahnemann hospital that closed last fall, but the a-holes that own the building said they wouldn't rent it, but they would sell it to the city...   So an empty hospital in the middle of the city won't be getting used during this crisis.

Also sounds like the owners have let the building fall apart, so I guess it would have cost the city too much anyway to get it habitable again.

[RVR II]

Sounds like the former navy hospital in Charleston SC except it is owned by the city but has fallen into such disrepair that it probably wouldn't be worth fixing and should just be torn down 

[MartyS (Gromit)]

Sounds like the former navy hospital in Charleston SC except it is owned by the city but has fallen into such disrepair that it probably wouldn't be worth fixing and should just be torn down 

Only with the place in Philly it was real estate developers that bought the hospital a few years ago and purposely ran it into the ground so they could sell the property for a lot more.  Of course they say they "tried" to keep in in business, but they took a hospital that was breaking even, only one in that area of the city, and within a year (or 2?) they were filing for bankruptcy and shutting down.  Pretty obvious what they did, but they didn't do anything technically illegal so they got away with it.  At some point there will be million dollar condos going up after the hospital is torn down.

[MrTorso]

My day job closed down last wednesday. It was to be for 2 weeks (til April 4), then the governor (MA) closed all non essential businesses until April 7 (for now). Yesterday they terminated all part time employees (still paid promised corona pay and whatever PTO was banked) today all the full timers got furloughed. Still an employee but after my corona pay and PTO I have banked that is all she wrote until I can go back to work.  We are allowed to file for unemployment so I did. We will see what the future holds...

Still have my little webshop selling various pinback buttons and patches but no one is buying fun stuff right now. I am keeping it going because I enjoy it and it doesn't cost too much to keep running. Still making new ones and now that I have lots of time I can work on it more. This gem is going up soon: