Coronavirus COVID-19 - Global Health Pandemic #108

[Mauig’ma]

Hopefully you will be flying before the 18th which is when the travel mask mandate is set to expire.
Do most insurance plans cover emergency service at any hospital (except Hawaii?).
At least they covered mine at emergency visits in different states. Maybe you can get supplemental insurance since you’re going to be moving there soon?
Be safe traveling and get a cocktail prior to boarding.
JMO

I live part time on Maui. My adult son’s insurance from Iowa covered his er visit when he stepped on a sea urchin

 

[mickey2942]

A new wave of COVID is coming, and America doesn't seem to care

Well, this is grim. Hopefully it is just a guess.

 

[Lilibet]

They're "batch testing" groups with nose and mouth swabs? That's kinda gross. JMO

I heard of a family doing that in the U.S. Definitely gross even in the same family!

 

[Lilibet]

I live part time on Maui. My adult son’s insurance from Iowa covered his er visit when he stepped on a sea urchin

Ouch! I hope you’re son did OK. I think most insurance plans will cover emergencies “out of network” but not necessarily something routine. For those of us on Medicare, if you have a Medicare Advantage plan rather than original Medicare, you are only covered for emergencies out of network (state or sometimes even county depending on the plan). So @KALI may have an insurance plan with a network she has to stay within for routine coverage.

 

[Teche]

Going in tomorrow for 4th shot. I'll be flying on 4 planes shortly.
Do I want another shot? Hell no. At the end of my first two flights, I'll be alone in our new future home. Knowing, nobody.
I have a lot to do there. Being Down with Covid would be awful. My insurance would not cover me there either.
God, I hate this virus.

Did I miss something? Are y'all moving or going on a vacation?

 

[weepingangel]

Incomplete data likely masks a rise in U.S. Covid cases as focus on infection counts fades

"Case counts and testing are progressively becoming shaky indicators because we’re not catching everyone in the system," said Dr. Jonathan Quick, an adjunct professor at the Duke Global Health Institute.


Some local data, however, does reveal recent spikes. Average Covid cases have risen nearly 80 percent in Nebraska, 75 percent in Arizona, 58 percent in New York and 55 percent in Massachusetts over the past two weeks. Wastewater surveillance similarly suggests that infections are rising in Colorado, Ohio and Washington, among other states.

 

[katydid23]

Per Google, the goal posts are as follows:

Was the person less than 6 feet away from someone with confirmed or suspected COVID-19? Consider time spent with someone with COVID-19 starting 2 days before the infected person developed symptoms, or the date they were tested if they do not have symptoms, until they started isolation.

Has the person been in the presence of someone with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 for a cumulative total of 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period?

If the answers to the questions above are both yes, the person is a close contact, regardless of whether the person was wearing a mask properly.

If the answer to either of the questions above is no, the person is not a close contact.

COVID-19 and Your Health

Pelosi hugged Biden close and kissed him on the cheek. Wouldn't that count as 'close contact?'

Are they saying that one wouldn't pass Covid to someone if they hugged and kissed them, if it lasted less than 15 minutes?

 

[katydid23]

I live part time on Maui. My adult son’s insurance from Iowa covered his er visit when he stepped on a sea urchin

I bet his Iowa Insurance agent never had to authorise a sea urchin incident before this...lol

 

[Lilibet]

Pelosi hugged Biden close and kissed him on the cheek. Wouldn't that count as 'close contact?'

Are they saying that one wouldn't pass Covid to someone if they hugged and kissed them, if it lasted less than 15 minutes?

I don’t know how soon after the hug Pelosi developed symptoms or tested positive and how long the hug or presence with Biden lasted. If it was more than two days prior and less than 15 cumulative minutes in 24 hours, it would not be considered “close contact” per CDC. Personally, I think the hug was ill-advised (if unmasked), but the CDC has determined that it doesn’t count as close contact in the context they’re discussing.

I would view the CDC guidelines for what constitutes contact in this context as guidelines, not gospel. As I mentioned earlier, my congregation gathered for the first time in two years last week, all wearing masks and the majority vaxxed and boosted. Despite my earlier decision not to hug, I ended up hugging a lot of friends. But there was no one I was within six feet of for 15 minutes during the two hours total the 100+ of us were together before, during and after. However, if I were to come down with Covid, I would know that’s where I caught it, as I haven’t been anywhere else.

 

[Lilibet]

I bet his Iowa Insurance agent never had to authorise a sea urchin incident before this...lol

Yeah…I can just hear him asking “What’s a sea urchin?”

 

[WichitaFalls]

A new wave of COVID is coming, and America doesn't seem to care

Well, this is grim. Hopefully it is just a guess.

Great article! Everything written resonates with me. Sigh.

 

[sds71]

"Starting today, we're asking businesses to dig up those 'masks required' signs and start hanging them in your windows," Cheryl Bettigole, the city's health commissioner, said in a a news conference Monday afternoon. "Beginning Monday, April 18, our health inspectors will begin enforcing the mask mandate again," she added, noting that the city is allowing a week's grace period to get the word out.


Philadelphia revives mask mandate as COVID-19 cases surge

 

[KALI]

Got shot number 4 yesterday. Quickly in and out using CVS pharmacy app.
Moderna booster.
Arm hurt bad, for 1.5 days. Felt "off" for 5 hours. Just took it a little easy.
I did this booster because I will be boarding 4 planes over the next two weeks.
The idea of arriving to our new home, where I know no one and being alone, sick with Covid, motivated me to do this 4th shot.
If horns start growing out of my head, I will update.
So far, so good.

 

[Bethan]

Got shot number 4 yesterday. Quickly in and out using CVS pharmacy app.
Moderna booster.
Arm hurt bad, for 1.5 days. Felt "off" for 5 hours. Just took it a little easy.
I did this booster because I will be boarding 4 planes over the next two weeks.
The idea of arriving to our new home, where I know no one and being alone, sick with Covid, motivated me to do this 4th shot.
If horns start growing out of my head, I will update.
So far, so good.

I think you were wise!

Here in the UK there is a surge in cases, yet the government has removed all restrictions & stopped access to free lateral flow tests.

We are in our 60’s & have been incredibly careful since the start of the pandemic….fully vaccinated ( Pfizer), very limited contact with family, online grocery shopping, masks in public etc……..however we got married on Monday 4th….hurrah!!…..just us & 2 neighbours as witnesses ie still being careful!

My son & daughter-in-law saw us before & after, to celebrate briefly. D-in-law had a ‘head-cold’ but had had 5 consecutive days of negative lateral flow tests.

She helped me with my hair & make-up ( in the circumstances I hadn’t the heart to say ‘stay away!’ though I could/should have, so expected a head-cold at the very least)

That evening both of them re-tested & were positive for Covid.

3 days later, I developed symptoms & tested positive, so I’m now on Day 6 of isolating in my bedroom with the worst head-cold ever.
( Prior to this I’d not had a cold since the start of the pandemic.)

My husband is still symptom-free & negative, as is my daughter ( who had Covid recently while volunteering in Hawaii & also had a booster just a few weeks ago)

Our boosters were 5 months ago & I recently read a paper in a Medical Journal which suggested ideally a booster should be given 5 months after a Pfizer jab…..however we have to wait our turn…..here the ‘Spring booster’ is currently being offered to Over-75’s & those with medical conditions putting them at high risk.

Day 6 & I’m beginning to feel a bit better, though not complacent, I know respiratory complications can occur at the 3 week mark.

Also worried for my brand-new husband as the incubation period can be longer than my 3 days, so we’re not out of the woods yet.

Stay safe & allow others to make their own decisions regarding social distancing, mask wearing & vaccinations.

 

[katydid23]

I think you were wise!

Here in the UK there is a surge in cases, yet the government has removed all restrictions & stopped access to free lateral flow tests.

We are in our 60’s & have been incredibly careful since the start of the pandemic….fully vaccinated ( Pfizer), very limited contact with family, online grocery shopping, masks in public etc……..however we got married on Monday 4th….hurrah!!…..just us & 2 neighbours as witnesses ie still being careful!

My son & daughter-in-law saw us before & after, to celebrate briefly. D-in-law had a ‘head-cold’ but had had 5 consecutive days of negative lateral flow tests.

She helped me with my hair & make-up ( in the circumstances I hadn’t the heart to say ‘stay away!’ though I could/should have, so expected a head-cold at the very least)

That evening both of them re-tested & were positive for Covid.

3 days later, I developed symptoms & tested positive, so I’m now on Day 6 of isolating in my bedroom with the worst head-cold ever.
( Prior to this I’d not had a cold since the start of the pandemic.)

My husband is still symptom-free & negative, as is my daughter ( who had Covid recently while volunteering in Hawaii & also had a booster just a few weeks ago)

Our boosters were 5 months ago & I recently read a paper in a Medical Journal which suggested ideally a booster should be given 5 months after a Pfizer jab…..however we have to wait our turn…..here the ‘Spring booster’ is currently being offered to Over-75’s & those with medical conditions putting them at high risk.

Day 6 & I’m beginning to feel a bit better, though not complacent, I know respiratory complications can occur at the 3 week mark.

Also worried for my brand-new husband as the incubation period can be longer than my 3 days, so we’re not out of the woods yet.

Stay safe & allow others to make their own decisions regarding social distancing, mask wearing & vaccinations.

Congratulations on your Nuptials---but so sorry you are dealing with the pandemic now...Sending good thoughts and prayers your way.

 

[Grouse]

Day 6 & I’m beginning to feel a bit better, though not complacent, I know respiratory complications can occur at the 3 week mark.

RSBM and BBM.

I hadn't heard of that before (only about days 5 to 10 being significant, but I think that was more with the earlier variants than Omicron?) , and I haven't managed to find anything. Can you remember where you read this?

Congratulations on your wedding and wishing you a speedy recovery.

 

[Sundog]

WHO tracking new omicron sub-variants amid US BA.2 surge

In an April 8 update, the organization wrote that BA.4 had been found in South Africa, Denmark, Botswana, England and Scotland.

All BA.5 cases were in South Africa, but Botswana's ministry of health reportedly said it had identified four cases of both BA.4 and BA.5 among individuals aged 30 to 50 years old who were fully vaccinated and experiencing mild symptoms.

According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the highly transmissible BA.2 variant now makes up 72.2% of U.S. cases, surpassing BA.1.1 which accounts for 25.3%.

 

[CSIDreamer]

I think you were wise!

Here in the UK there is a surge in cases, yet the government has removed all restrictions & stopped access to free lateral flow tests.

We are in our 60’s & have been incredibly careful since the start of the pandemic….fully vaccinated ( Pfizer), very limited contact with family, online grocery shopping, masks in public etc……..however we got married on Monday 4th….hurrah!!…..just us & 2 neighbours as witnesses ie still being careful!

My son & daughter-in-law saw us before & after, to celebrate briefly. D-in-law had a ‘head-cold’ but had had 5 consecutive days of negative lateral flow tests.

She helped me with my hair & make-up ( in the circumstances I hadn’t the heart to say ‘stay away!’ though I could/should have, so expected a head-cold at the very least)

That evening both of them re-tested & were positive for Covid.

3 days later, I developed symptoms & tested positive, so I’m now on Day 6 of isolating in my bedroom with the worst head-cold ever.
( Prior to this I’d not had a cold since the start of the pandemic.)

My husband is still symptom-free & negative, as is my daughter ( who had Covid recently while volunteering in Hawaii & also had a booster just a few weeks ago)

Our boosters were 5 months ago & I recently read a paper in a Medical Journal which suggested ideally a booster should be given 5 months after a Pfizer jab…..however we have to wait our turn…..here the ‘Spring booster’ is currently being offered to Over-75’s & those with medical conditions putting them at high risk.

Day 6 & I’m beginning to feel a bit better, though not complacent, I know respiratory complications can occur at the 3 week mark.

Also worried for my brand-new husband as the incubation period can be longer than my 3 days, so we’re not out of the woods yet.

Stay safe & allow others to make their own decisions regarding social distancing, mask wearing & vaccinations.

Congratulations!

 

[dalsglen]

Well surprisingly with 4 young kids in school, we've only just got covid in our house. Thankfully it's the unsociable 13yo, she thinks it's brilliant, can play her playstation and not be forced out (I concur, 5pm and in cosy jammies) She felt head-coldy on Sunday but Been perfectly fine since.

I'm not even sure what the heck the rules are now, think they're changing again in Scotland on sunday/monday?

 

[Bethan]

RSBM and BBM.

I hadn't heard of that before (only about days 5 to 10 being significant, but I think that was more with the earlier variants than Omicron?) , and I haven't managed to find anything. Can you remember where you read this?

Congratulations on your wedding and wishing you a speedy recovery.

I can’t remember ( or now find) where I had read ‘3 weeks’ as I had quoted previously, despite searching. I may have misled you with incorrect info…..sorry for that.

And yes, I think complications are far less likely with the new variants & also after vaccination…..thank goodness!

I consider myself very fortunate to have contracted it at this later stage in the pandemic & not at the start. A young friend of mine was hospitalised with Covid 16 months ago & has, what is thought may be, permanent lung damage.

Thanks ALL for your congratulations & good wishes!!