A few days late (sorry, still catching up, plz disregard if late info), but I am astonished to report that at least one city in the Gulf South is handling things much better than expected:
http://archive.today/fcZLp
TLDR:
- hospitals are conserving & stockpiling PPE ("successfully so" is implied)
- Ochsner system has been prepping since January (!)
- Hospitals "take cues" from CDC on how to proceed once cases found (which I personally find much more reassuring than actually following CDC guidelines to the letter, at this point)
- State has a hotline for medical professionals in place & is hiring more epidemiologists
- More cases "only a matter of time" but no doomer talk
- UMC (NOLA's relatively new & one of largest hospitals right beside downtown) advises not to get re.tarded with the mask use, saying “People stock up and it’s a feeling of safety, but it’s a theater rather than helpfulness.”
Considering how we do everything else in the Crescent City, this was a shocker. Tulane has been advising students, faculty, staff, & helicopter parents with multiple emails a week regarding travel restrictions
(in sum, "don't travel to China, Iran, Italy. Ask the Provost if you want to be a non-compliant ass. If you're studying abroad, we're bringing you back. If you're stuck here & can't get home, we'll arrange for you to stay throughout the summer semester if need be.), an FAQ on the virus & its relative shittiness, & reminders of number of cases found & that action will be taken if the virus hits LA (a few possible cases, as of today, Baton Rouge), NOLA, or Tulane. The Tulane response isn't really surprising, considering the number of "concerned (read: over-involved) parents" & level of medical research going on in the university, but if NOLA handles this well color me really fucking surprised.
FYI no real coofy buggers noticed at carnival this year. Alcohol may, in fact, have some internal benefits too,
non? . . . as does the positive attitude
@JosephStalin &
@Jet Fuel Johnny have recommended. Laissez les bons temps rouler, motherfuckers!
This weird feeling . . . is it . . .
pride? Pfft, we'll be back to assclown town in no time, hold our bourbon.