15 MARCH, 2020 - DAY 15 COVID IN OREGON - things....

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/

Before moving on to today's "bad" news in Oregon, here are some shared thoughts:
According to my Google Analytics data, the responses and contacts I receive, around 50 viewers follow this site's activity intensely (random visitor hits vary), we only have only12 confirmed mainland U.S. /Canadian readers, the remaining 35 or so, are scattered from Bhutan, India, Ghana, Greece, Philippines, Australia, Serbia, Brazil, New Zealand, Japan, Hawaii, Singapore, Taiwan, South Africa, U.K.,  Croatia, Panama, Israel, Russia, Italy, Netherlands, China, St. Kits, Puerto Rico, Curacao, and around 10 unknowns floating out there on ships somewhere.

Normally, I hear from readers when something major happens where they live/work/travel since this COVID-19 series began 9 posts ago (on the 1st of March), We are hearing from almost everyone! almost daily. The vocations of our following range from Ph.D.'s, to shipyard workers, taxi drivers, journalists, poets, military, longshoremen, politicians, pilots, and sailors of many types.

Because of the diversity, our readership almost never agrees on much (too many different opinions, cultures)... until now.  The input is very heavy, and mostly does not match with what we see/read here and in a few other countries, but, there is a common thread globally, here are some:

The four "F"'s..... Frustration, Freight, Food, and Financials.

Frustration...  I can say that most of our readership is between the ages of 25 and 80 and are well enough traveled and experienced to have been involved in, or at sometime participated in, Education, event/meeting planning, Contracting, banquet and receptions, cooking-catering, promotion, and sales, or management planning during their lifetime, which qualifies them to be aware of "how things work".

From all of that, a developed logic sequence of events and attention to details and great memory develop as a second skill, when stories and sequences change, are out of order, or contradict... rings alarm bells creates mistrust and have us take a second review of the plan. The upper echelons of all world society have done just that, and there is an odd unity of questioning what we are being told (not being told) about COVID_19, that frustration is why people are venting here.

Freight, most of us here are involved in Ocean Cargo, Fishing, Cruising, Ship Yard, IT or Education.
   We began hearing about an import/export/production problem back in October, as of yesterday and today it appears global, shortages, inflated prices, and empty shelves, backorders, and discontinued product is being reported by everyone (along with our dockside reportings f no traffic, ay offs, dead time, and simply no cargo).  Given another 10 days or so, this will end with local warehouses depleting inventory, and availabilities worsen.  Hence al of the Panic Pandemic buying.

Food... most of us pay no attention to "where" our favorite foods actually come from, many are surprised at the global interchange of products (sometimes relabeled locally) - these all rely on freight.  But... the WHO, UN, and governmental Health organizations all around the world ... failed to tell us about Viruses and Food:

The alarming truth is that viruses spread and survive in foods for long periods of time.

Foodborne viruses have often caused widespread outbreaks. in community facilities such as hospitals, schools, nursing homes,  large conferences/conventions, cruise ships, sports events, restaurants, and in your own home.
The Norovirus family is the most often found virus in food and is nick-named as the Stomach flu virus, but, Hepatitis A viruses, rotaviruses, sapoviruses or adenoviruses are causing foodborne infections transmitted via food. as well, up until now, Corona Viruses were always thought to be animal-only, not human.

Viruses cannot multiply in food like bacteria; but they are only able to get into food by external contamination (sneezing and airborne or manual contact). Two sources of food contamination prevail: Primary contamination results from contaminated raw materials like Vegetables, coming into contact with contaminated water or feces, urine in the field. Secondary contamination occurs during transport, sales, processing, preparation or serving of food and results from poor hygiene, and airborne particles.

A current study conducted by the FSA suggests that restaurant/grocery store employees often don’t wash their hands adequately, don’t wear gloves or prepare/serve foodstuffs while enduring a viral disease or illness (work sick). 

Products consumed raw including salad, fresh fruit and vegetables,  mussels and oysters, table breads, pastries, salad bars, display counters, tableware, napkins/table linen, beer/water glasses, butter, condiments, open buffets-smorgasbords, and the food transport/serving process from kitchen to table, even the preparation itself, if exposed to aerosol (airborne) sneezing, coughing, saliva, or manually on hands,  all spread foodborne virus alarmingly easy throughout a store, arena, kitchen or restaurant.

The point being... simply "think" about transmission routes, and how the virus spreads, and how food becomes adulterated with the virus, especially in the airborne currents.

The now-in-force mandatory universal government ordered restaurant closures have just begun, there are far too many to begin listing them all here, the trend worldwide goes like these: New York, Los Angeles, Seattle, London....
France:   Prime Minister Edouard Philippe announced on Saturday that — after midnight tonight— all bars, restaurants, nightclubs, cinemas and other non-essential outlets will be closed.

Las Vegas:   March 15, MGM Resorts International will close buffets at the company's seven Strip properties: ARIA, Bellagio, MGM Grand, Mandalay Bay, The Mirage, Luxor and Excalibur.

New York link (scan down): https://ny.eater.com/2020/3/13/21179388/nyc-restaurants-closed-coronavirus-pandemic 

I will do my planned FINANCIALS page tomorrow....