Coronavirus COVID-19 - Global Health Pandemic #66

[Midgie2]

San Antonio TX calling in military medical personnel to help with COVID.

Hope our DD doesn’t get called again.

 

[tmar]

United States coronavirus death toll passes 130,000, fears numbers could rise after July 4 celebrations

United States coronavirus death toll passes 130,000, fears numbers could rise after July 4 celebrations

5 hrs ago
...
Hospitals across the United States have warned they are at risk of being overwhelmed as health officials fear that a weekend of picnics, pool parties and beach outings for the Independence Day holiday could fuel the worsening coronavirus outbreak.

The warnings come as the death toll from the virus passed 130,000 in the United States, according to figures compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

Confirmed cases are on the rise in 41 out of 50 states, plus the District of Columbia, and the percentage of tests coming back positive for the virus is increasing in 39 states.

Florida, which recorded an all-time high of 11,400 new cases over the weekend and has seen its positive test rate lately reach more than 18 per cent, has been hit especially hard along with other Sunbelt states such as Arizona, California and Texas.

 

[mommadukes]

United States coronavirus death toll passes 130,000, fears numbers could rise after July 4 celebrations

United States coronavirus death toll passes 130,000, fears numbers could rise after July 4 celebrations

5 hrs ago
...
Hospitals across the United States have warned they are at risk of being overwhelmed as health officials fear that a weekend of picnics, pool parties and beach outings for the Independence Day holiday could fuel the worsening coronavirus outbreak.

The warnings come as the death toll from the virus passed 130,000 in the United States, according to figures compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

Confirmed cases are on the rise in 41 out of 50 states, plus the District of Columbia, and the percentage of tests coming back positive for the virus is increasing in 39 states.

Florida, which recorded an all-time high of 11,400 new cases over the weekend and has seen its positive test rate lately reach more than 18 per cent, has been hit especially hard along with other Sunbelt states such as Arizona, California and Texas.

Terrifying.

 

[SouthAussie]

Oh boy ... the situation in Victoria is officially being called a 2nd wave.

As well as closing its state borders, the whole of metropolitan Melbourne (about 5 million people) is now going under stay-at-home orders for 6 weeks. Their chief medical officer has advised it. Their case numbers are creeping up further.

So disappointing. They are blaming the situation on public complacency.


“This is not where any of us wanted to be, but we have to face the reality of our situation.
“To do anything else would have deadly consequences.
“I don’t take this step lightly, and I know just how deeply frustrating this is for everyone.”
“This isn’t over, and until there is a vaccine or a drug or a cure, there is no such thing as ‘normal’.
“For every restriction that you break and all the health advice that you ignore – the consequence may be someone’s life.”

Mr Andrews said he had requested an additional 260 ADF personnel to help with “on the ground support”, including assisting police in maintaining a perimeter around Melbourne.
https://twitter.com/australian/status/1280374958955229185

 

[SouthAussie]

Statement from the Premier of Victoria .... if anyone wants to know what the stay at home orders mean.

https://twitter.com/DanielAndrewsMP/status/1280372803363991552

 

[Lavender Moon]

That is SO funny. This weekend my Blackfoot friend and I did a small smudging ceremony with sage and sweet grass. It is partially spiritual/mental health, and supposed to banish bad spirits that cause disease. Anyway, we had a prayer circle, smudging.

My husband usually snorts, and calls it "Voodoo". Asks if we killed a chicken...anyway, he decided to join us. Whatever works.

Cleanse Your Home with this Sage Smudging Ritual and Prayer

Mickey2943, thank you so much for this

 

[tresir2012]

This is why we need to not make decisions based on politics. Trump grasped on to news of the French study in the hopes that it would work.

In this study, which is fairly large, it does appear to. Why not at least discuss and explore using everything in our toolbox that might work?

Antivirals.
Malaria drugs
Zinc
Arythromyocin (sp.?)

Etc.

The study explains that the drug needs to only be given in a hospital setting with the patients’ hearts closet monitored and that it helps when given early rather than later.

There is a really big study going on at the moment with HXC in the UK. It is being given to Health staff as a preventative. It is halfway thru a 3 month study. It is being used in several countries (Turkey is one I linked where it has reduced mortality to 1%) I will find and link that 3 month study.
Here it is.

Global clinical trial of 40,000+ healthcare workers begins to test in UK if chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine can prevent COVID-19 — Centre for Tropical Medicine and Global Health

The Michigan study showed improved recovery rates.

On the steroid treatment I linked about the doctor giving it to his patients, I have found a study done regarding corticosteroids.

Inhaled corticosteroids and COVID-19: a systematic review and clinical perspective

 

[tresir2012]

No surprises there, right? A White House staff member publicly supporting the rhetoric?

And they already said yesterday that the president will be stepping back from the covid conversation.

I'm just posting the link.
Have you got one for the stepping back?

 

[SouthAussie]

I'm just posting the link.
Have you got one for the stepping back?

Pretty sure I posted it yesterday.


ETA: Okay I found what I think I was referring to.

In recent days, however, Trump personally asked the task force to resume briefings but decided he would not participate in them, according to three White House officials.
The change comes as multiple recent national polls show Trump trailing presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden.
'We need to live with it': White House readies new message for the nation on coronavirus

 

[pocketaccent]

Oh boy ... the situation in Victoria is officially being called a 2nd wave.

As well as closing its state borders, the whole of metropolitan Melbourne (4.9+ million people) is now going under stay-at-home orders for 6 weeks. Their chief medical officer has advised it. Their case numbers are creeping up further.

So disappointing. They are blaming the situation on public complacency.


“This is not where any of us wanted to be, but we have to face the reality of our situation.
“To do anything else would have deadly consequences.
“I don’t take this step lightly, and I know just how deeply frustrating this is for everyone.”
“This isn’t over, and until there is a vaccine or a drug or a cure, there is no such thing as ‘normal’.
“For every restriction that you break and all the health advice that you ignore – the consequence may be someone’s life.”

Mr Andrews said he had requested an additional 260 ADF personnel to help with “on the ground support”, including assisting police in maintaining a perimeter around Melbourne.
NoCookies | The Australian

Ugh, sorry to hear about Melbourne going lock down again. Here in the US, we are going to learn to live with it.

'We need to live with it': White House readies new message for the nation on coronavirus

 

[SouthAussie]

ScoMo (our Prime Minister) has issued an update to our travel advice for China. He says that we are now all at risk of Chinese detention if we travel (or remain) there.


The Morrison government has updated its travel advice for China, warning Australians may be at risk of “arbitrary detention” if they enter mainland China.
In a fresh update to the Smart Traveller website on Tuesday, DFAT said Chinese authorities have detained foreigners because they’re allegedly “endangering national security”.

“If you’re already in China, and wish to return to Australia, we recommend you do so as soon as possible by commercial means,” the statement reads. “Authorities have detained foreigners because they’re ‘endangering national security’.
“Australians may also be at risk of arbitrary detention.”

https://twitter.com/australian/status/1280400961584816128

 

[tresir2012]

Due to the difficulty of getting tested here, I'm shocked the percentage is so low. It strikes me as illogical that an asymptomatic person is going to spend 8 hours in line in the AZ summer, for a test that could take three weeks to get back. If everyone waiting in line has symptoms serious enough warrant that wait, then shouldn't the percentage positive be closer to 100?

(I know people on AHCCCS that use the hospital as a kind of "Summer Staycation." If facilities are now hesitating to admit healthy people, it seems logical that a "positive" Covid test could be seen as a lottery ticket, of sorts.)

Some may be those who have been contact traced and may not have it or a family member has become positive so they need tests. They don't necessarily all have symptoms.

Regarding homeless people, UK has put them up in the empty hotels. This is due to finish at the end of the month so I don't know if it will be extended. This is one of the best things that has been done and it should continue IMO. Councils are responsible for housing the homeless normally but in reality they don't have sufficient housing.

 

[tresir2012]

Feds Set To Cut Coronavirus Testing Funds As COVID-19 Cases Soar | HuffPost

The federal government is ending funding for coronavirus test sites in 5 states as Trump claims the US is testing too much

Because if we test more, we get higher case numbers. Then the rest of the world doesn't like us. Since the disease is immaterial and 99% harmless, why spend more money? Clearly the money needs to go to businesses and private schools, who are being hurt by increasing amounts of CoVid.

Texas, North Carolina, South Carolina, Colorado, Arizona and Florida are among the states reporting test shortages. They need to build their own capacity, as other states know all too well.

Testing is of course, a key part of research, but specific other projects (such as direct study of the virus) have also been defunded. As have some projects regarding treatment (vaccine research is funded by huge grants to pharma, I believe there are 7 of those).

Coronavirus Attacks the Lungs. A Federal Agency Just Halted Funding for New Lung Treatments.

White House ordered NIH to cancel coronavirus research funding, Fauci says

Here's some information on what we *are* funding (so as not to be too negative):

BARDA’S Rapidly-Expanding COVID-19 Medical Countermeasure Portfolio

Almost all of it is now centered on vaccines, and as far as I can tell, interesting questions like "how long is a person contagious?" or "what exactly does "airborne transmision" mean?" are not on the federal list of BARDA projects.

We like funding private research, I guess (with our tax dollars) rather than university-based research. Fortunately, we have a lot of universities who can fund their own.

Why does the federal government need to be funding testing anyway if people have health insurance?

 

[tresir2012]

So as reasonable people we evolve as new information presents itself...right?

If they were wrong before they can be wrong again. In the UK masks are only currently needed in specific situations. But even that is ignored if no one is policing it. It's a bit like using a mobile in a car. It's illegal but you see people still doing it all the time.

 

[SouthAussie]

Why does the federal government need to be funding testing anyway if people have health insurance?

Apparently over 27 million US citizens do not have health insurance. That is more people than the population of my entire country.

How Many Americans Are Uninsured? — 2020 Research.

 

[oviedo]

If they were wrong before they can be wrong again. In the UK masks are only currently needed in specific situations. But even that is ignored if no one is policing it. It's a bit like using a mobile in a car. It's illegal but you see people still doing it all the time.

Watching CBS overnight news and they showed London with crowds outside - not a lot of masks and no social distancing - will see if a link is posted yet - IMO this is why numbers are rising - people are gathering together without masks/social distancing
JMO
ETA: link
England's pubs reopen as chief medical officer warns going out is not "risk-free"
They also showed parties at beaches, pools etc - no masks no social distancing - https://www.cbsnews.com/news/englan...cal-officer-warns-going-out-is-not-risk-free/

 

[SouthAussie]

You try to do the right thing, sigh.
Was at a pharmacy today, paid for my things, turned around to leave and there was an old lady with her head over my shoulder, grrr.
Nobody seemed to be keeping any distance at all. Groups of people taking up the whole footpath , forcing a few people to walk on the road, CBD area.

I read a piece of prose today about the covid exhaustion people are feeling. I hope that it is okay that I put it here.



Aspects of our Covid exhaustion are due to the reality that many of us are carrying the weight of other’s irresponsibility.

Many go about their lives, unencumbered with any feeling of social responsibility, then feel justified in their carelessness, at least partially protected by the herculean efforts of others.

Not only are we carefully navigating a context foreign to us, sacrificially bearing a collective burden, we have to watch those efforts devalued by those who then pretend their carelessness is justified.

We’re holding a societal umbrella in a downpour; they’re laughing and pretending it’s not raining because they’re not wet. It’s exhausting.

The Subversive Lens

 

[tresir2012]

The virus is transmitted primarily by respiration, not hands. While you are personally comfortable with your mailman's germs (I understand that you live someplace where CoVid is rare), the topic isn't just about each one of us and our individual habits. If I lived someplace where the positivity rate was 27% (it's 6% where I live), I would think about mail more.

So I'm typing this out in hopes it will make people in those places either step up their game or feel comfortable with what they're doing.

If someone mails me something here in town (such as legal documents), it's typically 12 hours between leaving that place and arriving at my door. How much CoVid has to be on the mail before it could be infectious?

Most mail goes through conveyor belts. How often are they sanitized? I just asked our post office about it (by phone) and the answer was "we are not sanitizing the conveyor belts." I asked about the storage bins - they aren't sanitizing those either. They are short-handed right now and there is no mandate.

So while I believe mail is not a usual source of infection, the fact that people who say they are "doing everything" and have never left their house are getting CoVid is an interest of mine.

The virus lasts on surfaces like conveyor belts for "hours to days" according to the research. Average is 24 hours for a carton and conveyor belts could be reinfected continuously (so hard to study and no one has attempted it, AFAIK - just one study saying 72 hours for a conveyor belt in a closed system).

The virus doesn't "dissipate." It deactivates after a time (different in varying circumstances). It can still be located even if deactivated. Where would it "dissipate" to, I wonder? It's a physical object. The amount of virus found on floors and in sewer water is very large - and is still active for up to a week (no one knows).

At any rate, very little new research on this topic and the early studies were provisional.

One form of the virus lives on paper for up to 5 days - so we can each decide for ourselves. But I'd sure wonder about that particular vector for the "I've never left my house, all groceries sit for 24 hours before I touch them" group. I'd also wonder if people's handwashing actions (most people wet their hands before adding soap) are a factor (inadvertent droplets splashed onto the face?)

Another possible source of CoVid for the "I have no idea where I got it" group is sink drains, traps, shower floors and traps. The study on this is new. We wash our hands in sinks, CoVid is found in the sink's plumbing. Is further water going down the drain capable of creating aerosols? I'm reading some conversations among some lab researchers who are arguing about how to go about recreating this situation in order to study it (different forces of faucet water have to be emulated, etc)

The new more stable form of CoVid (the "G" mutation) lasts longer than the prior version on these surfaces. Still waiting for any sort of coherent research to be done on just how long the more stable form lasts.

100,000 virions exhaled per breath in an active shedder who isn't talking...probably 1 million needed for most people to get infected. No one has estimated the "hand to face" transmission vector (and some scientists think it is super rare - but maybe that's what happens with these also super rare cases of people locked into their homes - and still getting CoVid?)

As someone else said, there has to be some way these people are getting it.

My postman wears disposable gloves. He doesn't breath on me, we social distance. Mostly he just puts it thru my letter box. If the post has picked it up from a conveyor belt in London or a postal worker coughing on it then the two days postal delivery time would get rid of it. Worrying about whether it is in drainage traps is not something I will lose sleep over as we put bleach in those to take care of that. If you have links for the G mutation lasting longer perhaps you could share.
If I lived in a hot state with a 25% positivity rate I would be much more worried about A/C than the postman.

 

[tresir2012]

Watching CBS overnight news and they showed London with crowds outside - not a lot of masks and no social distancing - will see if a link is posted yet - IMO this is why numbers are rising - people are gathering together without masks/social distancing
JMO
ETA: link
England's pubs reopen as chief medical officer warns going out is not "risk-free"
They also showed parties at beaches, pools etc - no masks no social distancing -

Numbers aren't rising (yet). The pubs take names and contact details then if a new case occurs they contact trace from that pub list. It is pretty neat actually. You cannot have a drink till you have given your details.

Here's a link showing it in action.

Pubs close after drinkers test positive for virus

"All three pubs had previously posted about implementing new social distancing and safety guidelines in line with government advice.

• Friends embrace 'Super Saturday' as pubs and bars reopen
• 'Crystal clear' drunk people will not keep distance
• 'It feels good to be free and have fun again'
• 'Why pictures of crowded pubs made me feel unsafe'

Under the measures, pubs can only offer table service, and customers must give contact details upon entry.

Image copyrightGOOGLE
Image captionThe Village Home Pub in Alverstoke, Hampshire, said customers only needed to isolate if they showed symptoms
Crowds were seen across England on "Super Saturday", as thousands flocked to enjoy a pint.

There were reports of arrests and early venue closures around the country, but police said a majority of people had acted responsibly.

UK pub and hospitality trade bodies have published guidance for bars and restaurants on how to operate contact tracing.

Contact details only need to be taken from one person in a group and must be kept for 21 days.

Owners are also asked to note the arrival times of customers and how long they stay. People can refuse to give information, but owners can choose not to serve them."

 

[tmar]

ALL of Melbourne is placed on lockdown for SIX WEEKS as Daniel Andrews reimposes strict rules in desperate bid to stop 'thousands and thousands' of COVID-19 cases and deaths

ALL of Melbourne is placed on lockdown for SIX WEEKS as Daniel Andrews reimposes strict rules in desperate bid to stop 'thousands and thousands' of COVID-19 cases and deaths

Charlie Moore, Political Reporter For Daily Mail Australia

3 hrs ago
...
The whole of Melbourne and the Mitchell Shire north of the city will be placed back into lock down for six weeks from 11.59pm on Wednesday after Victoria recorded 191 new cases of coronavirus - its worst figure yet.

Residents will be only allowed to leave their homes for work and study, giving or receiving care, shopping for essentials and daily exercise near where they live.

Police will stop people leaving Melbourne with roadblocks and booze bus-style vehicle checks, effectively sealing 5million people inside the city.