Thursday, October 23, 2014

Ebola in NYC (Updated)

I said to a colleague last Friday - I bet there is someone infected with Ebola walking around NYC right now. I was right. He agreed with me then.  Like I said about Duncan, I worry less about the discovered carrier, than about the undiscovered ones.  Spencer will not be the last person to carry Ebola into the U.S. There will be others and at this time there are probably over 20,000 people infected with Ebola in West Africa. Many of them cannot get to a medical facility and over 1/2 of them will die.  Those with the means, will try anything and everything to get medical help. While other countries are closing the roads leading to them, the U.S. doors remain open.

This is maddening and it is madness. This doctor Spencer should have known better and kept himself in isolation after arriving here. I bet he didn't.  The economic impact to Houston was likely over 1 billion dollars from Duncan's trip of a lifetime. The impact to NY and the rest of the country will likely be even greater. As soon as there is a dozen Duncans and Spencers walking around this city, riding on subways and buses, and checking themselves into the city's emergency rooms...this city will fall.  People won't go to shows, avoid large market places, and avoid public transportation.

I hope I am wrong about all of the above, but I fear that I am not.  I so wish that we still had Giuliani as our mayor.

Update:
A few minutes ago I posted my doubts about this doctor having the wisdom to self quarantine after arriving here from Guinea. I just read that the idiot bastard went bowling last night in Brooklyn. By tomorrow, that business will be closed.

Update #2

It just keeps getting better and better. He also rode the subway last night.  BTW, that business where he went bowling, known as The Gutter, is now closed. I wish them luck attracting customers in the next year. I think it may remain closed permanently. Economy to crash next week.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

So, you don't advise that I'll go tomorrow to JPMorgan library for a concert?

Ex-Dissident said...

I think it is early, but in a couple of weeks we might see lots of closed venues.

Anonymous said...

In a couple of weeks I will have no insurance. None. What do i do - shut myself in the apartment and don't go on interviews?

Ex-Dissident said...

I don't know Etat. I see tons of people daily without insurance and the social workers get them emergency medicaid. If illegal aliens qualify for this, I don't see why you cannot. However, being exposed to a deadly virus is a very different type of experience. If we start seeing cases in this city, then I would avoid large gatherings. I don't think going on interviews is the same risk. For myself however, the risk becomes significant since I work at a county hospital and frequently see people with such symptoms. The screening ED provides is a slight help, but often they don't screen. I don't know how many times I caught them placing people with flu and TB on the medical floor without isolation, exposing all the staff to these bugs. It is very scary. I wouldn't worry about interviews just yet, but in 6 months time, things may change. If we become Monrovia, then the only logical solution at that point will be to leave.

Anonymous said...

Leave where? The choices are limited, and getting fewer with time.

Let's hope for the best and prepare for the worst.

Take care of yourself, Vinny. I don't want to lose you!

Grouch, MD said...

What is the deal with saying Houston, when Duncan was in Dallas? I am from Houston, even I don't hate Dallas enough to refuse to say its name.