Corona Virus

[NAZCamperVan]

GallenH, As a northern Ariz resident, thank you for reconsidering your plans to visit this area. The City of Flagstaff has closed restaurants to inhouse dining. The one hospital is anticipating the need to maintain critical staffing and supply levels. Visitor services at National Parks are limited. The local ski area will close. As a retired federal info officer and emergency responder, I appreciate these proactive measures to flatten the curve of virus spread to within healthcare capacity. **Avoid discretionary travel, shopping trips, and social visits.**

[Davydd]

Another RV event I planned to attend, Advanced Fest in Willoughby, Ohio at Advanced RV scheduled in May has been cancelled.

I haven't been home during the month of May in several years. I may this year.

[MsNomer]

Likewise, we will not take our yearly trip to NH to visit the grandkid. No open spaces like here in the west. We also will not include the GC on this trip. We are sticking to wide open spaces.

[Jon in AZ]

There are two issues with discretionary travel. One is the obvious- you could be an unknowing carrier. The second is about health care resources, especially in rural areas. Many rural communities were in crisis long before COVID due to lack of doctors and hospital beds.

I read this morning that Moab, UT and surrounding counties have closed all short-term accommodations, including motels, campgrounds, and dispersed camping areas. You can still drive through, but don’t plan to stay overnight. Reason is lack of health care capacity for visitors. Basically they’re preserving limited resources for permanent residents.

If you are at home, it would be prudent to stay there. If you are a seasonal visitor far from home, you will have to weigh the pros and cons of high-tailing it home versus sheltering in place. If you decide not to head home, or if your RV is your home, consider carefully where you choose to ride this out. Wide open spaces protect from contact with people, but they may also put you in a place with very limited healthcare resources if you get sick. It needn’t be COVID.

[avanti]

Originally Posted by Jon in AZ

There are two issues with discretionary travel. One is the obvious- you could be an unknowing carrier. The second is about health care resources, especially in rural areas. Many rural communities were in crisis long before COVID due to lack of doctors and hospital beds.

I read this morning that Moab, UT and surrounding counties have closed all short-term accommodations, including motels, campgrounds, and dispersed camping areas. You can still drive through, but don’t plan to stay overnight. Reason is lack of health care capacity for visitors. Basically they’re preserving limited resources for permanent residents.

If you are at home, it would be prudent to stay there. If you are a seasonal visitor far from home, you will have to weigh the pros and cons of high-tailing it home versus sheltering in place. If you decide not to head home, or if your RV is your home, consider carefully where you choose to ride this out. Wide open spaces protect from contact with people, but they may also put you in a place with very limited healthcare resources if you get sick. It needn’t be COVID.

This is a very valid point and well-worth heeding.

But, it is an argument against TRAVEL, not against CAMPING. As I have said, we plan to do a lot of camping, but only within a short driving distance from our home. At many of these campgrounds, our home hospitals would be the closest realistic facility, anyway. There is a small chance that we would increase the load on a remote facility, but of course we are also relieving the load on our home facilities. It is not at all clear which way this cuts.

[rockymtnb]

Originally Posted by Jon in AZ

I read this morning that Moab, UT and surrounding counties have closed all short-term accommodations, including motels, campgrounds, and dispersed camping areas. You can still drive through, but don’t plan to stay overnight.

I don't think that's fully accurate. We just returned from Moab and Grand County Health Dept has implemented restrictions on restaurants, hotels, movie theaters and commercial RV parks. However the county regulations do not apply to National Parks, Forest Service or BLM lands.

When we left yesterday the facilities in town were already beginning to clear out. Existing hotel guests were permitted to stay but no new check-ins were allowed, and restaurants were limited to take out and delivery service.

National Parks had closed visitor centers and curtailed ranger-led activities but Arches had long lines of vehicles at the entrance gates, although perhaps a bit shorter than normal. Driving up Hwy 128 on the way out all the BLM campgrounds along the Colorado River were still open but a couple of boat ramps were closed apparently due to construction.

Note I'm not encouraging anyone to begin a trip to Moab. But if you're already in the area it doesn't look like you'll be kicked off the federal lands and campgrounds, at least not yet.

[Davydd]

Originally Posted by Jon in AZ

There are two issues with discretionary travel. One is the obvious- you could be an unknowing carrier. The second is about health care resources, especially in rural areas. Many rural communities were in crisis long before COVID due to lack of doctors and hospital beds.

I already experienced rural healthcare. When I had my stroke while hiking in Letchworth State Park in upstate New York, I got a great service from first responders in the park but they sent me first to a county hospital 11 miles away in an ambulance. There all they could do is confirm the diagnosis which the first responders already deduced and give me aspirin. With that delay it was night time and raining and I got another ambulance ride of 58 miles to Buffalo General Hospital and my wife had to drive our Class B to follow at speeds exceeding the limit on a hilly two lane highway.

[MsNomer]

We are canceling the rest of our trip and headed home. No detours, but a relatively leisurely pace. The rest of the trip was to have involved interaction with three others and we all agreed it was not a good idea. I’m glad we did what we did, though, and we will continue to visit as long as we can.

[avanti]

“I’ve directed the National Park Service to waive entrance fees at parks that remain open. This small step makes it a little easier for the American public to enjoy the outdoors in our incredible National Parks,” Secretary David Bernhardt of the Interior Department, which oversees NPS, said in a statement.

“Our vast public lands that are overseen by the department offer special outdoor experiences to recreate, embrace nature and implement some social distancing,” he added

https://thehill.com/policy/energy-en...ng-coronavirus

[Davydd]

The Pennsylvania Turnpike has closed its food courts and restroom facilities. The gas pumps and convenient stores remain open.

Those National Parks probably are concerned about social distancing for employees. Shops, tours, exhibits and everything else has closed. Other than self-contained RVs, keep in mind car traffic which depends on travel interactions such as food, events, exhibits, etc., that may be closed down will probably not be enjoyable and will gradually diminish.

[avanti]

Originally Posted by Davydd

The Pennsylvania Turnpike has closed its food courts and restroom facilities. The gas pumps and convenient stores remain open.

They also installed porta-potties in the misguided belief that this was somehow smarter than keeping the indoor bathrooms open.

However, they partially reversed some of these restrictions after pushback by the truck-drivers:

https://www.inquirer.com/health/coro...-20200318.html

Those National Parks probably are concerned about social distancing for employees. Shops, tours, exhibits and everything else has closed. Other than self-contained RVs, keep in mind car traffic which depends on travel interactions such as food, events, exhibits, etc., that may be closed down will probably not be enjoyable and will gradually diminish.

It seems very clear both from the text that I excerpted and also from the previous statements by the Governor of NY that they were referencing the value of parklands as a valuable venue for outdoor activities while also practicing social distancing. The NPS guy was explicit about this.

IMO, it is a HUGE mistake to implement feel-good restrictions that are in fact counterproductive. There are precious few things that anybody can responsibly use as pressure-relief valves. That makes the ones that are available all the more valuable. Getting outdoors in non-social situations is one of these. The more they are supported and encouraged, the more likely it is that people will be able to tolerate the extreme pressures that are coming to their lives.

New York and the NPS realize this. New Mexico and the Pennsylvania DOT apparently do not.

[DUTCH in Atlanta]

Originally Posted by mumkin

Canadians down here in AZ, who usually leave end of this month, are getting nervous and wondering if they need to start home now. I will still wait till mid-May as usual.

And Canada and the US just closed the border to all but necessary traffic.

[DUTCH in Atlanta]

Originally Posted by jon

Now that Seattle has closed schools for six weeks we want to get out before we get quarantined in. We were thinking to visit Tahoe, Death Valley, or Joshua Tree.

Death Valley just announced that they're closing until further notice.

[DUTCH in Atlanta]

Originally Posted by Davydd

As was explained to me after getting a pacemaker, my ejection fraction or percent of blood from the heart was reduced for each beat because of the pacemaker. I didn't know that beforehand but probably didn't have much choice anyway. I did notice a drop in endurance especially at higher altitudes to inquire.

Interesting. My ejection fraction did the opposite and went UP out of the trouble zone when I had the pacemaker installed - which it was intended to do. Mine is a three lead bi-ventricular model.

[DUTCH in Atlanta]

Originally Posted by Knit

All of my fellow posters. Now is the time to hunker down where you are and reduce the possible spread of the virus. It is the only thing to do as a responsible citizen of the world. We need to stop the exponential spread of this now to limit the potentially giant impact of this.

Agreed 110%, but try to tell that to the Spring Break kids in Ft Liquordale and Miami.

[GeorgeRa]

Good news on the therapeutic front from Fujifilm Holdings company.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/fujif...090303639.html
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20200318_36/

[Davydd]

Florida State Parks closed including overnight camping. Pennsylvania State Parks suspended all activity but still allowed overnight camping. I think it is clear they want people to stay home in order to not spread the virus. President Trump’s answer to traveling was, “Enjoy your living room.” Maybe that was a little bit facetious but it emphasized the fact they did not want the virus spread by traveling and contact with others. Can we say for Class B’ers, “Enjoy your driveway.”

[avanti]

Originally Posted by Davydd

Florida State Parks closed including overnight camping. Pennsylvania State Parks suspended all activity but still allowed overnight camping. I think it is clear they want people to stay home in order to not spread the virus.

I think that this is the opposite of clear.

Florida is closing their parks to drive the snowbirds home, which makes good sense, since they generally act more like residents than like campers.

If PA didn't want campers, they could easily close the campgrounds. They are suspending activity to protect their employees and to discourage crowds. They are quite clear on this.

...they did not want the virus spread by traveling and contact with others.

The kind of traveling that I have described, and that is being encouraged in many constituencies does not involve contact with others and does not spread the virus. This seems obvious. To argue otherwise is not only incorrect, it is harmful. Many of the competent experts are encouraging outdoor activities that do not involve groups, for reasons both of physical health and emotional well-being.

[GeorgeRa]

Let's not forget that UV radiation kills viruses quickly, so sunny days are reasonably safe from surface and airborne caused infections. ““Ultraviolet light can be a really powerful disinfectant and we get a lot of UVA light from the sun," says Daniel Kuritzkes an infectious disease expert at Brigham and Women's Hospital. "Direct sunlight can help rapidly diminish infectivity of viruses on surfaces," he says. He was not involved in the new research.”
https://www.npr.org/sections/health-...-to-clean-them

UV light is used to disinfect buses in China in their AC phase. (AC - After Corona) https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news...notes-12535916

[Boxster1971]

I've been in Hawaii for last two weeks. Arrived on Maui today - my last stop. But today governor closed all restaurants and bars. Takeout food only. Crazy thing is the resort pool is still open and full of people. Makes little sense to me. Soon every state will be locked down and only allow you to buy food and medications.