HantaVirus: Remain CALM

Readers who are terrified about hantavirus, flashbacks from the #COVID pandemic, all the reasons to distrust at least US government and media and social media voices, either skip to links RantWoman has found informative or USE YOUR OWN DANG SEARCH ENGINES. Wait, see the links below and they use your search engines.

Short version: is hantavirus something for the whole world to worry about? RantWoman's view: even if one does not live in areas where the virus is endemic, maybe some worry makes sense. RantWoman personally has a LONG list of worries and hantavirus definitely is nowhere near the top. People who have some risk of exposure isolate, monitor symptoms, and get medical help. People who are just worried might want to summon some of whatever energy got them through COVID. Also consider masking and social distancing, as already still practiced by many people for many reasons.

The longer version:

#HantaVirus is not #FakeNews. It also is not #COVID 

RantWoman wants to express appreciation for everyone on the MV Honius dealing with the #HantaVirus outbreak. To say the least, not a fun direction for a cruise to go. RantWoman especially wants to offer appreciation, again, for bearing with policies that are inconvenient but intended to help prevent any wider outbreak.

Ditto to all the public health officials and medical professionals working in responsible ways to identify people at risk, do contact tracing, and follow up for the virus incubation period of up to 8 weeks. Unlike #COVID at the beginning of the #pandemic, hantavirus is well studied. so far evidence is that it does not spread nearly as easily as COVID. Although patients' condition can change very quickly, once signs of infection are detected, appropriate treatment can make a big difference abotu survival.

With that, some of today's videos with a few RantWoman comments

Hantavirus fears spark Tenerife protests as cruise ship Hondius heads to the island | DW News

Well-rounded, scientifically based reporting typical of DW.

What Is Hantavirus and Should You Be Worried? An Epidemiologist Explains (w/ Katelyn Jetelina)        

Hantavirus outbreak: Nebraska Medicine will quarantine U.S. citizens

National quarantine unit

Hantavirus now in 9 countries: What doctors know so far

What you need to know about Hantavirus | BBC News

Hantavirus risk

Dr. Campbell from a couple days ago.

And a very high quality RANT about social media creators and rage bait

What they're getting wrong about the Hantavirus outbreak 

Other videos now available on YouTube. RantWoman loses patience quickly with some US media channels and is glad for longer and more nuanced reporting.

Friday Night Fare Media?

#FareEnforcement

So there RantWoman was, on her way home from an afternoon of errands. The sky is clear blue. There is full sunshine with a pleasant breeze when what to RantWoman's febrile mind should wander: FARE MEDIA?

Puget Sound transit agencies love it when people pay fares with ORCA Cards, passes, or now amazingly credit cards.

Digression: RantWoman was asked recently how to find RFID blocking wallet or other way to keep one's bus pass separate enough from one's credit cards to avoid accidentally paying bus fare with a credit card. This is especially important since RantWoman has not looked up how the pay by credit card process works if one has a "regional reduced fare permit" (RRFP), colloquially a disabled pass. 

RantWoman's answer: go to your favorite store and #AskAHuman . RantWoman's first thought was "look on Amazon." Based on what RantWoman knows about this beloved senior's digital prowess, "look on Amazon" is a silly answer.

RantWoman knows a lot of people who just don't do technology and / or don't have bank accounts. Here RantWoman's free range policy analysis instincts wandered back to Metro's recent fare enforcement report. RantWoman has been doing civic participation in a lot of meetings talking about transit fares and fare enforcement. One key moment the report does not address at all: people who don't have bank accounts, like to pay for things in cash and need to pay fares to go anywhere need places near them where they can pay for passes or put money on their ORCA cards. 

So if RantWoman were evaluating the effectiveness of fare enforcement officers, RantWoman would want to know something about agreements with businesses throughout the area to sell ORCA cards. RantWoman would want to know something about how many such locations there are and whether fare enforcement efforts have resulted in more people using places near where they live to get ORCA cards. This question is not in the ordinance the report responds to so RantWoman is just going to toss the topic into the conversation and let public servants take it from there.

Starting off Graduation Season: Thank you South Carolina State University

Shout out to students at South Carolina State University for getting a political candidate disinvited to serve as commencement speaker.

Hantavirus!

 #Hantavirus #AndesStrain

The world does NOT need another reason for people to be scared.  RantWoman learned RantMom's memorial that she and her pastor became global poster stars for airborne #COVID transmission by people, like RantMom at the time, who are asymptomatic. So RantWoman is just a little twitchy about people who have been on a boat together for weeks already and a disease that apparently has a long incubation time.

(RantWoman's mind went here. Adventures of RantWoman: Nope. Not COVID, but... Readers are welcome to scroll past)

Are we to be scared? What incubation period do people on the ship have to worry about? How much contact tracing is possible? Does the Andres strain just kill people to quickly to take off as a #pandemic??? 

STAY TUNED

RantWoman has seen several twitter posts and the videos posted here. Information about how many people are sick is bouncing around. Gene sequencing takes time. RantWoman has other dramas that need her attention as much as the hantavirus.

Apparently virus sequencing has identified the Andes strain of Hantavirus.

Andes strain is much harder to transmit but can kill more quickly, too quickly for broad transmission.

Spain says hantavirus-stricken ship can dock in Canary Islands | DW News

International collaboration is vital

How hantavirus locked down this cruise ship — indefinitely | About That

What to know about the hantavirus outbreak outbreak on cruise ship

Rochester expert answers Hantavirus questions: Adam Interviews

Full of LOTS of medical stuff. Interesting science. Of unclear use as far as deciding how scared to be.

Bottom line:

Be concerned. Don't panic.

But WAIT: Both the US and Argentina (per an Argentinian journalist on Twitter /x ) have withdrawn from the World Health Organization so...free riding anyone?

The dangerous ones go off on Data Centers

#50States50Stories #DataCenters

A BUNCH of questions to ask when data centers are coming to your town.

DO NOT leave news writing to algorithms! Do actually journalism!

Neil Gorsuch's book and ....

#America250 

It's Time to reclaim the constitution

Delightful Iceland videos that deserve more attention.

Iceland 

RantWoman is charmed by all three of the videos linked here. Enjoy! Like and Subscribe

Readers who just want to gaze at somestunning  scenery: enjoy, whether or not a trip to Iceland is on the horizon.

10 Places in Iceland You Must Visit in 2026 Trave Guide

wonderful narration

Hidden gems

500+ steps to the top of a waterfall sounds daunting, worthwhile but daunting.

Really FUN description of Reykjavik

A Paradise and a Nightmare on Earth: Iceland

"One of the most peaceful places on earth."

The only NATO country that does not have an army.

So much geothermal heat that people can cook meals by burying it in the ground.

Rules include "families must spend time together."

Old tradition of letting babies sleep outside even during the winter.

A knife is never given as a gift because it is believed it can harm relationships.

70% of exports are fish.

Iceland has no mosquitos!

Iceland is not a member of the European Union

The number of books published per person is the highest in Europe

1/3 of the population has guns but the police don't.