In case you were hoping Jamie would have chosen one of these 2 headlines….here are those stories!

They Thought Choir Practice Would Be a Good Idea. Nope!
What part of stay home are you not getting? In Mount Vernon, Washington, the good news is only half of the Skagit Valley Chorale’s 122 members showed up at their March 10 practice. That’s good because one of the singers who did attend had the coronavirus and managed to spread it to 87% of those in attendance. It’s all in a new report on this “superspreader event” by Skagit County Public Health, published by the CDC. Basically of the 61 choir members who did attend the 2.5-hour practice, the one sic person infected 52 others. Of those sickened, most were women with a median age of 69; three were hospitalized, and two died. The virus is believed to mainly spread when someone coughs or sneezes, releasing droplets into the air, and the choir practice “provided several opportunities” for this transmission. Those opportunities included “members sitting close to one another, sharing snacks, and stacking chairs at the end of the practice.” The report notes that chairs were placed 6 inches to 10 inches apart, “with a center aisle dividing left and right stages.” The larger group also split up at one point, with one group moving to a smaller room. Anyone with an especially strong voice may have also become a “superemitter” and exacerbated things. “The act of singing, itself, might have contributed to transmission through emission of aerosols, which is affected by loudness of vocalization,” according to the report. The potential for superspreader events underscores the importance of physical distancing, including avoiding gathering in large groups, to control spread of COVID-19.”?(Newser) 

 

 

COVID-19 Surcharge?
So the Kiko Japanese Steakhouse & Sushi Lounge in Missouri is in the middle of PR hell after a photo of one of their receipts, with a $2.19 “COVID-19 surcharge” added to the total, went viral on social media. Not surprisingly, many commenters were outraged and quite unkind while restaurant owners pleaded with them to understand they’re only adjusting to increased prices from suppliers. In a Facebook post they explained: “Please understand we are not doing this to take advantage of you guys! We are doing this hoping we can adjust the surcharge weekly rather than just raise all of our prices on our menu due to increase prices from our supplier on meat, poultry, seafood & produce.” Though a local TV station reported that the charge is perfectly legal, the restaurant and its employees have been flooded with harassment. There were so many negative messages that the restaurant had to ask people to please stop calling their employees names. In an interview with a local TV station, Kiko manager Sarah Sherwood said the price of meat and seafood has almost doubled. But the increased prices are temporary. If ingredient prices go down so will menu prices.?Whatever happened to all those “We’re All In This Together” memes? Give these poor people a break. We’re all just trying to figure out how to survive and make ends meet during this horror. (Daily Dot)