Tag: Covidapolis

Covid-19: Remember the Women

TimeHorse March 13, 2020 No Comments

One thing that has been sincerely bothering me about this whole Covid scare that I mentioned a couple days ago—as if it wasn’t all over the media already—is how it will most adversely affect women who can least afford it.

The thing is, women aren’t just paid less for equal work in most professions and by many companies, but women also often have to make ends meet in the lowest paying jobs, taking the double hit of low-wage work and lower pay than their male counterparts.

Add to that self-quarantining that South Korea, Italy, and now the United States are doing, at least in a patchwork of states. Many white-collar jobs offering benefits like telework and paid sick leave. But on the lower end of the economic scale, you have women working jobs in the service industry, such as in restaurants or retail. Although some retailers are also offering paid sick leave, it looks like Congress will not require it and so workers are at the whim of their employers when it comes to containing the virus.

Consider, therefore, for a moment, what a single mother who is working in a restaurant. She is paid below minimum wage, a practice under the dangerous assumption that she can make it up in tips. Add to this she has her children home from school so even if she’s healthy she may still need the time off. If she gets the time off, even paid time off, though, she’s still deprived of her tips.

Interestingly, under Virginia law, a server can be paid as little as $2.13 per hour, under the assumption she will be making at least $5.12 per hour in tips. As long as the net is $7.25 per hour, the Virginia state minimum, the Restaurant doesn’t need to pay her the full state minimum wage. Of course, when she takes off, assuming she’s paid, she’ll be paid the minimum wage of $7.25, but now the at best understaffed, and at worst closed restaurant has to pay her $5.12 more per hour to cover the lack of tips.

Keep in mind most restaurants fail. Thus, a two week slowdown or closure could leave a struggling establishment to deeply in the red to recover and if the restaurant fails, that single mother is out of work.

I’ll admit, this isn’t something I’d expect to be a rampant problem in the specific context I’ve just laid out, but consider it one of the many knock-on effects of a fortnight of closures could have on the U.S. Economy. After 9/11, all U.S. commercial air travel was ceased for the rest of the week, only recommencing on Friday, 14 September. Likewise, the New York Stock Exchange remained closed until 10:00, Monday, 20 September. The effects of just those closures on our economy were noticeable though nothing to cause an economic crash, though it did cause as much as $31.6 billion in losses to the insurance industry.

It’s hard to say exactly what the consequences of a fortnight of bringing the U.S. Economy to a grinding standstill, but there will be consequences. And consequences in a quadrennial election year. No-one knows for sure. But one thing we can almost certainly be sure of: it will hurt women the most.

SARS-CoV-2

TimeHorse March 11, 2020 19 Comments

This post is about the Pandemic Novel Coronavirus discovered in 2019, commonly known as COVID-19. Unless you’ve been vacationing on Mars, you’re almost certainly aware of this latest pathogen and heard enough frightening tales about it to keep make even Michael Crichton blush.

The trouble is, what are the facts and what is misinformation from all corners of everyday life. What I want to do is instead do some research, share my sources, and give my best interpretation on what best practices should be based on all the information that’s been made available to date.

First of all, we know the Coronavirus is related to SARS and the Common Cold. It is not a novel Flu bug. For one thing, it hits similar respiratory beats that those the Cold and SARS do. Indeed, the official name given to the Novel Coronavirus by the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses is SARS-CoV-2. The virus is also rather spikey, just like the Cold and SARS—Corona comes from the Latin word Coronam, meaning crown. For another, it’s the first pathogen to, within months of its discovery, to be entirely, genetically sequenced.

The virus itself is driven by a Positive-sense, Single-Stranded RNA, +ssRNA. The one of the first to decode a complete RNA sequence were the Chinese on 11 February, 2020, from a December 2019 sample. In that sample, the proteins encoded in the RNA are listed, where each letter in the sequence corresponds to a different protein. Since the Chinese sample, as of this writing 146 sequences have been decoded, though not all of them have the Protein analysis.

The beauty though is that, as we build a digital model of how the virus works, we will be able to much better adapt and derive pathways to block its effects or transmission, maybe even helping to develop a vaccine. That said, a vaccine at least a Phase 1 Clinical Trial to prove that it’s safe and non-toxic and what the right dose is among healthy individuals. Because it’s a vaccine, it’s unlikely to require Phase 2 and later trials in individuals with the condition as the vaccine is meant to be prophylactic. However, if the Phase 1 trial is small, a second trial is likely with just a larger healthy cohort. This whole process, however, will take months. With the sequences, it will be faster, but it’s not instantaneous.

From what we know about SARS, we expect the virus to mainly be transmitted from sneezing and coughing. Thus, it’s good to try to maintain a physical distance from others of about 2 meters (around 6 feet). Normally, beyond that distance, the respiratory droplets will desiccate and render the virus inert. But, some surfaces provide platforms which allow it to survive for hours or even days. Thus, it’s necessary to make sure you keep surface clean and disinfected.

Wash Your Hands!
From the Virginia Department of Health, remember to wash your hands frequently to prevent the spread of viruses.

Try to wash for at least 20 seconds, get between your fingers and rub the soap into your palms. Then rinse thoroughly and turn off the tap with your towel. Also, please wash your hands frequently—and don’t forget to moisturize to prevent them from cracking from the increased cleanliness. If a sink and fresh water isn’t available, try a 60%-alcohol sanitizer.

Consider washing after you step away from your computer or video game. Generally, after you touch anything that may have been touched by others. Also, avoid using your hands when possible. For instance, use your hips and elbows to open doors without a handle. And be mindful of where your mobile phone has been been.

The safest thing you can do is be mindful of your behavior. The western habit of shaking hands may finally become as outdated as spitting. Namaste, y’all!