Doing the right thing at this uncertain time

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ChuckM

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Do you have any stories to share about businesses (government or private or non-profit) doing the right thing to take care of their clients at this time of distress?

Some examples from North of the Border:

- ATB (a local bank) allows its loan and mortgage customers to delay their payments for up to 6 months
- Various retailers -- for example, the Body Shop, have closed their business until further notice but kept their staff on the payroll
- Lee Valley Tools offers free shipping without any order minimums so those who can't or don't want to be in a physical store can get what they need
- The Federal government has immediately created two new benefits program for those who normally don't qualify for unemployment benefits when they are let go (Everyone I know knows someone who has been laid off...in all kinds of sectors, especially in the retail, airline, oil & gas, and tourism industries)
- Some grocery stores have put aside certain hours for the high-risk group (seniors, people with pre-existing conditions, etc.) to shop
- The provincial government has allowed driver's licences and vehicle registrations to be valid past their expiry dates (till mid-May)
- Of course, countless businesses have their employees work from home.
 
I'm in Australia, things are starting to accelerate. I know a lot of people who are now working from home, overseas travel is banned, indoor gatherings of 100 or more are banned, 500 or more for outdoor. Majority of schools are still open. Panic buying is out of control.
Business owners are extremely worried.
Too early to see how people will react, as far as taking care of others. There are always good people out there, who put others before themselves, but this will require the vast majority of our population to do 'the right thing', to help slow the spread.
They are some great examples, [member=57948]ChuckM[/member], must help to keep the panic/anxiety at bay?
 
First of all - my thoughts and hopes go out to everyone who reads this forum.  We are, or will be dealing in some way, with a situation that 6 months ago we would not have imagined. Be sensible and careful.

I will ask and advise that comments in this thread be kept non-political.  That isn't anything new here, but right now, and in the immediate future, there absolutely isn't a need for it here.

Members come here for advice and inspiration.  Let's do our part to make that happen especially now.  And let's leave any and all egos at the door, and recognize that some who come here might be experiencing something that any one of us would dread, and all they really desire is a momentary distraction from their day.  What we do or say might just be that little thing for them.

Peter Halle - human, forum member, Moderator
 
Looking for something good in the midst of this pandemic -
As Senior Citizens - With underlying health issues -
My wife and I are seriously practicing Social Distancing.
But...
The isolation has had at least a couple of positive impacts for us:
She’s had a lot more time for her hobby: Gardening - A predominately “down alone” hobby.
And...
I’ve had a lot more time for my hobby: Woodworking - A predominately “down alone” hobby.
Here’s hoping you, too - Can find a Blessing during this difficult time.
 
I'd like to echo what Peter said.

  Aside from staying out of the politics lets make / keep this the positive thread on the virus. The inspirational. The it's NOT the end of the world. The life is NOT over. The many can keep on doing what they do in a different way.  Topic.

  We get almost unavoidably hammered with all the stats , all the bad news, all the "it's an apocalypse",  it will last forever, every economy will collapse ,  etc, etc, on and on ........................  ALL DAY LONG.

  Let's try to stay out of all that. No one needs any more of it.

  We all could use a good dose of the opposite.  [thumbs up]

  And just because,  here is a smiley face.  [smile]

Seth
 
As soon as we learned the schools were closing here in Washington we donated money to the local boys and girls club. That's where local kids who usually get free lunches and breakfasts at school can pick up free grab and go bags.

We also donated to local food banks and the local foster kids charity.

Every little bit counts.
 
Maybe some light in this tunnel. There was a fellow from France on the Glenn Beck show who said they had 100% recovery
in approximately 6 days using 2 drugs that are old and available. One is for malaria and I can't remember what the other one was for. Trump was on last night announcing the use of the on for malaria. FDA already approved.
 
As a surgeon, I am on the front lines of this issue.  I want to be on the back line.  That said, my only advise is to sanitize your hands, even in your shop.  You don't know who touched your supplies 3 weeks ago and you don't know what you brought to your shop after handling items at work/home.  Don't put your pencil/pen/flashlight in your mouth.  Get good ventilation.  It is a great time to detach from the worldwide panic and fear and clean, organize or create a legacy piece that will give joy for years.  I can't wait to get into my shop to give my brain a rest. 

Dale
 
Our school district is sending the buses out on their normal routes to deliver meals to the kids.
A teammate at my gym is donating free lunches from his food truck business to the Boys and Girls club.  Like Joelm mentioned, the Boys and Girls club is providing care for kids out of school.  I think especially for those parents in essential services like healthcare, law enforcement, etc.
 
John Beauchamp said:
Maybe some light in this tunnel. There was a fellow from France on the Glenn Beck show who said they had 100% recovery
in approximately 6 days using 2 drugs that are old and available. One is for malaria and I can't remember what the other one was for. Trump was on last night announcing the use of the on for malaria. FDA already approved.
Click to expand...

None of that is true, unfortunately. The FDA had to post a clarification immediately afterwards:https://www.fda.gov/news-events/pre...a-continues-facilitate-development-treatments
 
dmccririe said:
As a surgeon, I am on the front lines of this issue.  I want to be on the back line.  That said, my only advise is to sanitize your hands, even in your shop.  You don't know who touched your supplies 3 weeks ago and you don't know what you brought to your shop after handling items at work/home.  Don't put your pencil/pen/flashlight in your mouth.  Get good ventilation.  It is a great time to detach from the worldwide panic and fear and clean, organize or create a legacy piece that will give joy for years.  I can't wait to get into my shop to give my brain a rest. 

Dale
Click to expand...

Hi Dale, I am asking this respectably as your are clearly an expert. I thought virus’s only lived on objects for hours perhaps days . You are stating weeks, can you set me straight on the actual time and what drives the longevity ? Is it temperature humidity etc or I was just plan wrong?

I am struggling with how to make items like tomatoes safe. Who knows who touched them and when. Washing with water seems futile.
I have not been overly concerned with these topics in the past but I am the guy that always get every cold.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro
 
Forestmount:

Although the virus may not have longevity on solid surfaces for an extended period of time, There is still a lot that is not known.  I personally am washing frequently and not putting anything in my mouth that may have been touched.  In addition, nobody knows if they are shedding virus until symptoms develop and you may be infectious before then.  I'm just trying to be cognizant of risks as there may be more than one or two people in your workspace.  The plywood you bought a week ago is probably not contagious, but you can pick up virus from the common surfaces as well as airborne.  Basically, don't put screws or parts in your mouth to hold them and wash your hands on arrival to your shop to prevent bringing the virus in with you from doorknobs, steering wheel, etc.  "I hope this helps."
 
Thanks for the response, I am one for putting pens, screws in my mouth, possible as I was a smoker years ago. I am desperately trying to alter habit this at present.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro
 
But really no one is expert enough on this COVID-19 -- even the W.H.O. has revised its advice on the topic of whether Advil or the like is safe for those who contracted the virus.

I agree washing hands is the least of what we can do...please check out how you should wash hands or wear a mask as there're excellent videos out there.

I am finishing two projects, and will start the third one after next week (one week break to do the taxes, etc.). I have enough lumber to last at least for another 6 months. Don't know if it is true, but someone told me the COVID-19 will stick to wood for far more than 24 hours. I will wear gloves if I shop for wood (some front-line staff (banks, Safeway, etc.)  here are seen working with gloves already, and some with masks too). I definitely wear gloves when filling up the gas now.
 
It is great to see so many entertainers of all types providing special online shows and content for people stuck at home.

Seth
 
The silver lining to this pandemic is that people are canceling appointments. Wednesday night my neurologist said I should get a cardiologist to do some tests and I got it all done Thursday. Bad as the situation is now it will continually get worse for at least a month before it starts getting better. If you expect to need to do something important in a month or so do it now instead. IMO

I hate dust. Before getting Festools I used to wear a dust mask much of the time. Wearing one will cure the habit of holding things in your mouth. And now you can keep it on when you leave the house, although I haven’t, yet.

I have very dry skin so I often wear nitrile gloves. The surface of my skin is like microscopic fur so everything is slippery. Like picking up a heavy glass tumbler with wool mittens. Without the nitrile gloves I need a death grip on anything to lift it. To pick up cardboard I have to crush it. With the gloves on it only takes two fingers. Anyway, now I won’t feel so weird if I keep the gloves on when I leave the house.

They say the Coronavirus dies in about 24 hours on cardboard but lives 2-6 days on plastic and steel. Perhaps desiccation is fatal. Interesting that it dies in 4 hours on copper. I don’t get much of that delivered these days.

When a package is delivered I bring it in and let it sit untouched for a day or more if possible. I wash my hands even if wearing gloves. There is much less surface area on nitrile gloves so washing is more efficient and effective than with skin. I figure the stuff inside a package has been rendered safe by the passage of time. Stuff that has been recently handled by other people gets wiped down with a paper towel soaked in a bleach solution. Then the stuff sits until dry.

Be careful.
 
Here, to preserve resources, all hospital electives have been cancelled. To minimize transmission, all dental clinics have been closed, except for for emergence dental work.

Italy has waived the qualifying exams for its medical graduates so they can be put to the front-line. In our province, consideration is being given to expand the pharmacists' roles (they already can do injections, extend refills, etc.) .... Everything is on the table as they say to cope with this crisis.
 
As everyone says, practice good clean habits.  But also don't go insane.  Don't take flame throwers to everything, don't chop your hand off if you shake hands with someone out of habit.  If you aren't a high risk group, be careful, work to control the spread (don't be the spreader), but don't shut yourself down. Almost all of us will get this at some point.  High risk folks should know they are high risk and make sure their family understands that. A lot of us are going to get sick for a while and just have to plug along. Hopefully the bulk of folks will bounce back quickly and be able to be productive for those who aren't bouncing back as quickly or are in a group trying to avoid it as much as possible.

Remember, most you you here have something a lot of folks don't have,  tools, skills (hopefully) and some level of able body. Depending on how long things go, many of us may put yourself into action doing stuff for neighbors. 

And most importantly, there are enough MFT/3's for everyone, please stop hording MFT/3's.  Festool dealers really need to put a limit of 3 MFT/3's per customer, per day immediately.

Now when will the  SYS-TP-MEGA12 come out? (Must ship pre-stocked) . Also the SYS-EGG could be useful, with add on SYS-COOP-20 to store a chicken.
 
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