The cautious approach may protect audience members as well as the hosts and announcers, some of whom belong to high-risk populations that have been issued special precautions by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “Jeopardy!” announcer Gilbert and “Wheel of Fortune” hosts Pat Sajak and Vanna White are all older than 60, which the CDC says puts them at “higher risk of getting very sick from covid-19.”
Trebek, the 79-year-old host of “Jeopardy!,” is doubly vulnerable because of his age and his recent cancer treatments. Since being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer last year, he has been undergoing chemotherapy, which can compromise the immune system.
Fans’ love for the “Jeopardy!” staples was obvious Monday, when many reacted to the news by cheering the producers’ decision to limit exposure to the public on the show’s set. “Protect Alex Trebek at all costs” became a common refrain on social media....
March 10, 2020
"'Protect Alex Trebek at all costs': Live audiences banished from 'Jeopardy!' and 'Wheel of Fortune' tapings amid coronavirus fears."
WaPo reports.
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This is getting out of hand. They canceled Bring Your Kid's to Work day out of this rediculous fear of a mild cold.
How does sitting in the audience dozens of feet away threaten them?
Time to bring back the Isolation Booth like those old game shows in the 50's.
It's quite amazing what a beloved figure Alex Trebek has become in our culture, spanning multiple generations, hosting a game show.
I've got meetings in San Francisco in April. And an industry event in Dallas at the end of March. I'm waiting for everything to be postponed. But if they don't, I have to figure out if I should go. I'm honestly not sure what is the right thing to do. I'm in my 60s, but pretty damned healthy. Still, do I go on a plane and bring the virus to these meetings? Or bring it to the event- in a room full of a few hundred people shoulder to shoulder (that does not sound smart). Or bring the virus back home to my lovely wife?
Or do I just stay at home and drive my wife mad naturally? Questions. So many questions.
How does sitting in the audience dozens of feet away threaten them?
Every person in the U.S. has a duty to self educate: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/summary.html
https://youtu.be/FZV9z0RVhy4
The national health, safety, and peace must be: Of, by, and for the People. All in; no one out.
Alex Trebek has been placed on the Endangered Emcees List.
Alex Trebek has been placed on the Endangered Emcees List.
Tens of thousands of people will die of the flu this year, like every year. No one panics or changes their life over that. Why is this different?
I'm 66 and very healthy. I have more to fear from the flu than this media-driven panic.
You can't be too careful when it comes to people with compromised immune systems and/or the elderly. And just because you're asymptomatic doesn't mean that you can't be a carrier.
If you're self quarantining because you think you may have been exposed but you haven't yet experienced any symptoms, you should keep in mind that 14 days with no symptoms technically may not be enough.
According to this study, SARS-CoV-2 seems to have a median incubation period of about 5.1 days. Basically 95% of the time the incubation period will be 4.5 to 5.8 days. But in 1% cases can have an incubation period exceeding 14 days. After 14 days with no symptoms, it's highly unlikely you'd still be infectious even if you were an asymptomatic carrier, but there's still a outside chance. At the very least you should stay away from older people and those with compromised immune systems.
Wilbur—and from drunk driving. But alcohol culture continues apace.
"I'm 66 and very healthy. I have more to fear from the flu than this media-driven panic."
This attitude exemplifies the mindset of a potential Secret Super Spreader. A huge part of the problem.
Thanks for the condescension, Meade, but that link did not answer my question.
@I Have Misplaced My Pants ,
From the site I linked to:
What May Happen
More cases of COVID-19 are likely to be identified in the United States in the coming days, including more instances of community spread. It’s likely that at some point, widespread transmission of COVID-19 in the United States will occur. Widespread transmission of COVID-19 would translate into large numbers of people needing medical care at the same time. Schools, childcare centers, and workplaces, may experience more absenteeism. Mass gatherings may be sparsely attended or postponed. Public health and healthcare systems may become overloaded, with elevated rates of hospitalizations and deaths. Other critical infrastructure, such as law enforcement, emergency medical services, and sectors of the transportation industry may also be affected. Healthcare providers and hospitals may be overwhelmed. At this time, there is no vaccine to protect against COVID-19 and no medications approved to treat it. Nonpharmaceutical interventions would be the most important response strategy.
And back to my upcoming San Francisco trip. You know...for the past 3 or so years, I've had a tough time with San Francisco anyway. It's become such a weird mix of muck and superior attitudes. It's hard to stand in a luxury office, giving a presentation to high style people, and glancing out of the office window to the street down below filled with a tent city of homeless, drug-addled people. When it comes to San Francisco, I'm not sure which bothers me more, covid-19 or this: Another day in SF
Is it condescending of me to encourage you to keep reading and informing yourself? Then I condescend:
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/about/index.html
Sometimes you ain’t got nobody and you want somebody to love
Then you don't want to walk and talk about Alex
You just want to touch his face.
Meade- I don't think your approach or info is condescending. I get it all. I read a lot about this. Most of my mind knows that this has yet to fully bloom in the US. And that as long as we don't have a vaccine or any meds that we know can stifle this thing, the best thing to do is to keep your distance from others as much as possible, while keeping your arms tied to your legs and Jugs-O-Sanitizer close at hand at all times. I know and understand this.
But there's another part of my mind that has seen a history of hyping things beyond their actual reality for years now. This is the dangerous cynical side that many of us have in us. But following the herd, or a city-wide panic is also dangerous. I'm not prone to following the herd. And I tend to read with some level of skepticism the reports that are predicting deaths on the order of hundreds of thousands.
That said, the key is that this is still unknown. It's growing, It's dangerous- that much we do know. And we do all need to do what we can to stop it from spreading. I may have to purchase an extra bottle of two of good scotch and stay home until May or June.
This attitude exemplifies the mindset of a potential Secret Super Spreader.
The CDC, but mostly the WHO, are part of the problem.
Look at the awful names they dreamed up, hardly scary at all:
The virus has been named “SARS-CoV-2” and the disease it causes has been named “coronavirus disease 2019”
"Chinese bat urine plague" would get peoples' attention, but "we had to find a name that did not refer to a geographical location, an animal, an individual or group of people, and which is also pronounceable and related to the disease" they whined.
It's like calling your new menu item "Food item #19" rather than "Super Size Taco Bowl Supreme".
The sky is falling, the sky is falling!
Me and my scoped rifle are on the roof with the intention of shooting the first sumich that tries to walk up my sidewalk. That's the only fool proof type of quarantine. I already picked off the mailman for leaving potentially contaminated paper in my mail box. Now, I'm waiting for my wife to return from the store (we were down to our last four cases of TP.) My main issue now is how do I get someone to retrieve the mailman's body without having to shoot them too as they may also be super carriers? And can I let the wife back in the house now that she may have been exposed at the Piggly Wiggly? Maybe I can convince the wife to drag the mailman's body to the curb and then drop her in her tracks before she can get back out of the street. That still leaves me with the problem of trying to get the TP out of the car without taking the chance that it may have been contaminated by my wife when she put it into the car. I guess I could leave it there until the incubation period has passed, but do we even know how long that period may be? This is a really, really complicated virus. Anyway,
The sky is falling, the sky is falling! Mark my words, this whole thing is going to turn into a disaster of such a scope that it will make the Y2K tragedy seem like a walk in the park. Maybe the only recourse is suicide?
Or maybe I should just get a grip. Naaah!
Meade said...
https://youtu.be/FZV9z0RVhy4
3/10/20, 9:16 AM
I've been watching Dr. Campbell's videos daily. He's doing a great job at presenting information on the virus.
The Jeopardy audience is vulnerable because nerds are a high-risk population.
Seriously, though, they say it's much more infectious than the flu, and while it's a mild cold for most, it'll put 20% of its victims in the hospital.
Pat Sajak had an intestinal blockage requiring surgery a few months ago. My step-grandmother was in bad shape for months from one, but that was 40 years ago.
"...amid coronavirus fears."
Open any "news" article. Do ^f search for "amid". If more than 1 hit, bail out.
Next up, "meanwhile", "even as".
"Tens of thousands of people will die of the flu this year, like every year. No one panics or changes their life over that. Why is this different?"
Because the death rate is much higher, at least 10 times greater, but maybe 30 or 50 times greater, and there will not be adequate health services if 100 million U.S. citizens demand them at once. If health services become woefully inadequate that will affect people with medical needs of all sorts.
Do what you can not to be one of the people who demands health service and not to be one of the people who infects others. That applies whether you think you're likely to die if you get it and whether you care tremendously about not dying.
NO ONE is suggesting panic. That's a non-issue. The question is what to do, not whether to adopt a particular emotional expression while doing it. Complacency... panic... doesn't matter. Just understand what is right and rational and do it. Don't be a big baby about needing to be very careful or wanting to do just what you were already doing. It's not helpful.
I myself feel completely calm, but I am taking protective action and encouraging you to do so too.
"Trebek, the 79-year-old host of “Jeopardy"
79? Aren't most people retired by 79?
"Meade said...
Is it condescending of me to encourage you to keep reading and informing yourself? Then I condescend:
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/about/index.html"
There is nothing there that suggests self self-isolation:
Take steps to protect yourself
Clean your hands often
Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds especially after you have been in a public place, or after blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing.
If soap and water are not readily available, use a hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol. Cover all surfaces of your hands and rub them together until they feel dry.
Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands.
Here is the closest they come:
- Avoid close contact with people who are sick
Put distance between yourself and other people if COVID-19 is spreading in your community. This is especially important for people who are at higher risk of getting very sick.
Covid-19 is not spreading in Madison
Stick to mowing grass.
"NO ONE is suggesting panic."
Respectfully, Ann, YOU are suggesting panic. And yes, it IS an issue. At this point, because only the most seriously ill have been used to collect the public data - that is, the people already in hospitals - no one can know the true death rate. It is as likely to be 10 times LESS than the rate from influenza as 10 times greater. Science does not allow us to make such a prediction yet.
In the mean time, the economic costs of over-reaction (like cancelling events) are large, present, and universal. These are not unknown quantities. On the margins, people are indeed significantly affected by this, and some even die because of their inability to afford the higher, panic-driven costs of health care.
They canceled Bring Your Kid's to Work day
Best virus news I've heard yet.
I wash my hands more often. I even try not to touch my face. I refrain from having sex with strangers on the subway. I've changed my behavior a bit, but I really don't think my behavior will have very much to due with the spread and severity of the coronavirus, but there's that little smidgin of doubt and fear that lurks around the corner.
" I tend to read with some level of skepticism the reports that are predicting deaths on the order of hundreds of thousands."
Which reports are predicting deaths on the order of hundreds of thousands?
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