The piece explains symptoms of the H3N2 as the usual ones; high fevers, aches, chills, respiratory issues, and loss of appetite, plus "resulting in explosive diarrhea and projectile vomiting." Charmingly graphic, no? People have been sent home from work all over the country, even here in DE. And that means people are losing pay they cannot afford to lose right now.
Mix that in with our own annual "Sussex County Crud" and you've got a real medical nightmare to deal with.
Needless to say, we're extra vigilant at the restaurant, disinfecting everything and constantly washing hands. The health department suggests regularly sanitizing phones and touch screens as these two items cause the virus to spread rapidly. There are nine touch-screen stations and 4 phones in the restaurant. This doesn't include personal cell phones, which everyone seems to use all the time. Even when they're not supposed to do so. Anyone reporting even one of the symptoms above is sent home. A few have visited the hospital when things got too intense that they couldn't care for themselves or became severely dehydrated.
The worst is far from over, so they say. I got both flu and pneumonia shots last fall, and seem to be holding my own - so far. Physically and financially I cannot afford to be knocked out of commission by anything right now.
The snow predicted over night didn't amount to anything, really. A dusting on lawns, but the streets were too warm for anything to stick. It did get very cold however. Today was sunny with the temps hovering in the mid-thirties, though the high winds made it feel much colder.
And so it goes.
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My co-worker Robert and I constantly are wiping down all surfaces at work with hand sanitizer. Still, he got the flu as did I and our manager. Bill has it now, suffering greatly, poor thing. I still have traces but at least I got rid of the "blah" feeling which was a new symptom I never experienced before with either a flu or cold. You just don't feel like doing anything, just "blah." Right now I'm very tired and it is only 9:23 pm so I still have remnants of this illness left in my system. Usually on Saturday nights I'm good for a Netflix movie show until midnight. Not tonight, I'm going to bed in about ten minutes. Rest is what cures this baby.
ReplyDeletewashing the hands is the panacea of all ills.
ReplyDelete