Coronavirus COVID-19 - Global Health Pandemic #73

[Bravo]

Pfizer announces deal with Canada for experimental COVID-19 vaccine

 

[Tillicum]

Ugh

Clorox wipes shortage expected to continue until 2021 as coronavirus drives demand

Clorox, the world's biggest cleaning products maker, said grocery store shelves won’t be fully stocked with its disinfecting wipes until next year, according to a report on Tuesday.

The shortage was attributed to a surge in demand for many of its disinfectant products, which has increased sixfold during the coronavirus pandemic, CEO Benno Dorer told Reuters.

“Disinfecting wipes, which are the hottest commodity in the business right now, will probably take longer because it’s a very complex supply chain to make them,” Dorer said.

 

[beatrixpotter]

If we will be living with this virus for ' the rest of our lives', I think we have to figure out how to live our lives as safely as possible, but still work and go to school and see our families, etc. It has to be done responsibly but it has to be done, in my opinion.

This Saturday, my husband and I are going to go eat dinner with my son and his wife, and their 5 year old daughter. I am so excited to see them as a family again.

Our last two short visits were on lawn chairs on their front lawn. Waving and smiling from 10 feet away.

Saturday night we are going to eat dinner, socially distanced, on their back patio. We will BBQ like we did so often last summer, and wear masks except for when we are eating. We will throw the ball for their dogs and catch up on our lives.

My son gets tested once a week at his job site. His wife and daughter have been quarantining since March 12th. They order all their supplies online and walk their dogs in the neighborhood. That is pretty much it.

We have been quarantining as well. I go out for supplies very occasionally, but always mask up and wear covered eye shields and gloves and shower upon my return.

So we are taking a big step towards family normalisation. it is very painful not to spend time with my only grandchild. They only live 20 minutes away. She just turned 5 and I have barely seen her since she was 4 and 1/2. She is so much taller, and she can read now. I don't want to miss out on her childhood.

So we will continue to take these same precautions against the Virus. But we will begin to reconnect with family we have not seen.

I have not seen my 89 yr old mother since march 12th. She is no longer able to use her cell because she just cannot remember how to do it.

So we can only talk by her landline phone. And she has not really seen any loved ones since last March. Her retirement complex has been totally free from Covid, thank goodness. That is because it locked down on March 11th. I was told to leave on the 12th because it was shutting down and all visitors needed to leave.

It is great they did that. They saved all 200 seniors by doing that. But Mom is getting very lonely. They are not even allowed. to see each other. She has her own little apartment unit. But no one can visit and she cannot go anywhere but to her mail box and to the laundry room down the hall...

My brother is going to try and visit this month but he has to have a negative test within 24 hours of his visit. He will do so because he also feels like it is time to reconnect with our family.

If they say it will be around until late 2021, then many more people will begin to feel the same way. We need to figure out a way to see our loved ones, especially the elderly, who do not have that much more time.

It's really hard trying to figure out how to balance it. I have a family member who has been quarantining with a 96 yo family member since March with the exception of one two week break. Other family members brought their also over 90 yo mother/grandmother home.

But in my area the transmission rate is bad. We were going to meet outside with a friend today with masks on. She later wrote and said she didn't want to do that to her kids...have them wear masks in their yards. But they are high risk as far as exposure goes and aren't social distancing much and her husband works in a hospital with 20% covid patients. So currently my answer for getting together is no.

Our hospitals are being overloaded right now so I'm not taking chances. I don't believe kids without masks will safely keep their distance. It's a chance I'm not willing to take based on the data for our area. I'm just frustrated that so few people in my area are even trying so we have to stay quarantining more strictly and for longer .

 

[Bravo]

I see many folks without a mask in my City in SW Ontario Canada. About 5-6 weeks ago we were done to 1 case and 0 in Hospital. Now we have 72 cases and 4 of them are in Hospital

 

[Rose in SC]

No big deal I suppose in the grand scheme of things, but just wanted to report that today is the 19th day since I had my Covid-19 test at the CVS Pharmacy drive-thru (July 18). Still no results back.

I finally emailed them this morning (CVS 'My Chart' customer service) and got the following auto reply:
"Thank you for your e-mail. Due to high volume, average time for a response is 3 business days."

Well, that's good to know, lol. Wonder how long 3 days will be if 6-10 for testing is at least 19?

 

[MrX]

I was looking at graphs on Rt COVID-19 and see AZ's rT moved below one a week prior to the Governor's closure of gyms and bars, and the decline continued until two weeks after those closures. I'm sure no one will ask at tomorrow's presser, but it appears it was masks and/or weather, rather than closures, that caused the virus to retreat. Fascinating stuff.

 

[oviedo]

I was following a preliminary hearing on Monday and Tuesday this week for THE high profile case right now at WS, and was shocked that those in the gallery were not wearing their masks at times, some not correctly wearing their masks most of the time (the ol' cover your mouth, but not the nose / nasopharyngeal where the virus has those ACE2 receptor cells and likes to hang out).

It's gonna be a long time before we have jury trials MOO. There is no way I would be sitting on a panel with such disregard, and the court not enforcing the rules, for perhaps a year from now.

Can't post this on the trial thread as would be ... just not right as to who I would be pointing out that was doing such iykwim. So, came here to vent.

MOO

11th Judicial Circuit holds Florida’s first remote jury trial

Some are going remote here - we shall see if this works.

 

[TootsieFootsie]

I go to the shops a few days a week too, but not to get the boring basics. I adore shopping.
I do a lot of Click and Collecting, all kinds of things from clothes, homewares, tech stuff, lots more.
Plus several times a week I go for fresh fruit and veg. Apples have been my thing for awhile and I want to try all the different varieties.
The Woolworths people packing my last order must have thought I was crazy because apart from my fave pink lady apples and royal gala, I bought one apple from each of the varieties that were new to me.
I just don't think I'd like to live somewhere far from shops, I think I'd go insane lol. As it is I only have to walk two blocks and I'm in our CBD area and the shopping centres. Aldi is even closer.

My husband and i go to the grocery store almost every other day and I enjoy it since it is the only time i get out of the house!!

 

[TootsieFootsie]

I've been looking for a thermometer for months now, well mostly online and did order one once with my Woolworths order but they weren't able to supply it. I did see some in a chemist a few weeks ago but wasnt't sure I wanted to spend $140 on one so ended up not buying it.
Anyway I managed to find one at Big W online and will pick it up soon, it was $44 and a brand that I've heard of. Seems something that could be useful in these uncertain times.

I also bought a couple of thermometers and i have a pulse oximeter ( i could not find these two items at all in March, April or May)- I had to shop on line to get a simple thing like a thermometer.

 

[TootsieFootsie]

I'd want to use these too. Would be good if they were easily available to buy and not ones that you need to see your Doctor to get.

I think if/once the paper strip tests are allowed and available, things could become a lot easier.
To me, it would be worth it to pay $1-$5 to make sure each of us are covid-free prior to getting together with family members.

 

[TootsieFootsie]

I was thinking, maybe not in a totally serious way, that perhaps doggy schools could be set up to have your family dog trained to sniff out the virus

It is exciting to me because I think that, along with the covid sniffer dogs, these paper tests could open up safe travel.

 

[ilovewings]

11th Judicial Circuit holds Florida’s first remote jury trial

Some are going remote here - we shall see if this works.

how do you pick a jury remotely???

 

[Rose in SC]

I also bought a couple of thermometers and i have a pulse oximeter ( i could not find these two items at all in March, April or May)- I had to shop on line to get a simple thing like a thermometer. I also bought some canned goods i normally would not buy just in case.

RSBM - Fortunately when all this started, I had 3 digital thermometers already. I did think to buy extra batteries for them, just in case. I keep two at home, one for me, one for DH and keep one here in my desk at work. I admit I tend to be a bit obsessive about taking my temp (just now it was 96.9, lol, I usually run low).

The one thing I wish I had bought more of is Lysol spray in the aerosol can. Back in February when I could have bought unlimited cans, I bought two. Two! Can't find it anywhere now, although I did score a couple of small cans of the Walmart brand. One of the custodians here at the church also works part time at Walmart. I told him I would pay him a finder's fee if he could get me a can of Lysol!

 

[ilovewings]

RSBM - Fortunately when all this started, I had 3 digital thermometers already. I did think to buy extra batteries for them, just in case. I keep two at home, one for me, one for DH and keep one here in my desk at work. I admit I tend to be a bit obsessive about taking my temp (just now it was 96.9, lol, I tend to run low).

The one thing I wish I had bought more of is Lysol spray in the aerosol can. Back in February when I could have bought unlimited cans, I bought two. Two! Can't find it anywhere now, although I did score a couple of small cans of the Walmart brand. One of the custodians here at the church also works part time at Walmart. I told him I would pay him a finder's fee if he could get me a can of Lysol!

Lysol and Chlorox wipes-- i don't think we will be able to find these for quite awhile.
Back in March my digital thermometer conked out on me so I thought, okay i'll just go to CVS and get one- well, not one drug store or medical supply store had a thermometer: i had to order one of those no touch thermometers on line and that took a month to get to me. I could not believe it.

 

[oviedo]

how do you pick a jury remotely???

11th Judicial Circuit holds Florida’s first remote jury trial

Some are going remote here - we shall see if this works.

from the link:
snipped
Jury selection was accomplished remotely and streamed live on the 11th Circuit’s YouTube page.

Before the trial, a survey conducted by the local chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates of more than 600 Miami-Dade residents showed that local citizens would be willing to perform their civic duty during a pandemic, said Administrative Judge Jennifer Bailey.

“People see the right to a jury trial as essential work,” she said. “It’s something that we need to go forward on, provided — and it’s a big provided — that we take the necessary steps to keep everyone safe.”

For the pilot program, court officials edited a traditional jury summons so that it instructed recipients to go online instead of reporting to the courthouse, Judge Bailey said.

A 30% response yielded about 700 qualified and eligible jurors, from which, 120 were selected to participate in initial Zoom interviews, she said. Relatively few cited the pandemic as a reason for not wanting to serve, Judge Bailey said.

“In the end, there were about 12 to 14 people, who, for various reasons COVID-related, ultimately we excused for cause,” she said.

Using remote technology for jury selection allowed court officials to limit the number of people required to report to the courthouse.
---------
It's a little misleading - the jury was selected remotely but the trial is taking place live
JMO

 

[oviedo]

Ugh

Clorox wipes shortage expected to continue until 2021 as coronavirus drives demand

Clorox, the world's biggest cleaning products maker, said grocery store shelves won’t be fully stocked with its disinfecting wipes until next year, according to a report on Tuesday.

The shortage was attributed to a surge in demand for many of its disinfectant products, which has increased sixfold during the coronavirus pandemic, CEO Benno Dorer told Reuters.

“Disinfecting wipes, which are the hottest commodity in the business right now, will probably take longer because it’s a very complex supply chain to make them,” Dorer said.

I've never used these wipes - always thought they were too expensive so I make my own - with diluted bleach and paper towels if I need them outside of the house. Otherwise, I just use my cleaning rags with the bleach solution. I heard this on the news this morning and was reminded that the cleaning aisles at publix are still sparse.
JMO

 

[JerseyGirl]

NYC Will Install Checkpoints To Identify Out-Of-State Travelers Required To Quarantine

New York City will begin sending law enforcement officers to check for travelers at Penn Station as well as major bridge and tunnel crossings who are driving in from states with high levels of confirmed cases, Mayor Bill de Blasio said on Wednesday.

"Travelers coming in from those states will be given information about the quarantine and they will be reminded that is it required, not optional," de Blasio said. "They'll be reminded that failure to quarantine is a violation of state law and it comes with serious penalties."

A total of 35 states and U.S. territories, essentially most of the country, currently meets the state's quarantine criteria for a 14-day home quarantine.

Those who fail to quarantine are subject to a $10,000 fine. Refusal to fill out the form carries a $2,000 penalty.

On Wednesday, the mayor said that all air travelers would now be required to fill out the state health form when they purchase their ticket online.

 

[TootsieFootsie]

I make my own sanitised wipes. I use baby wipes saturated with hand sanitiser.
Around here there is sanitiser everywhere now after being impossible to find for months.

I've never used these wipes - always thought they were too expensive so I make my own - with diluted bleach and paper towels if I need them outside of the house. Otherwise, I just use my cleaning rags with the bleach solution. I heard this on the news this morning and was reminded that the cleaning aisles at publix are still sparse.
JMO

 

[JerseyGirl]

Vice President Joe Biden and the rest of the speakers scheduled to take the stage at the Democratic National Convention later this month will not travel to Milwaukee in person for their speeches.

Citing the coronavirus pandemic, organizers said the speakers will avoid Milwaukee "in order to prevent risking the health of our host community as well as the convention's production teams, security officials, community partners, media and others."

Democratic speakers are expected to include former President Barack Obama, presumptive nominee Joe Biden and his yet-to-be-announced vice presidential running mate.

Instead of traveling to Milwaukee, Biden will deliver his program-topping acceptance speech from his home state of Delaware on Thursday, August 20. The Democratic National Convention will air on television and online for two hours each night, 9:00-11:00 p.m. EST, from August 17-20.

Biden will not travel to Milwaukee for the Democratic National Convention amid coronavirus pandemic

Incumbent President Donald Trump also has yet to announce where he plans to deliver his acceptance speech, which is slated to take place a week after Biden's speech.

 

[JerseyGirl]

53 confirmed, 13 probable coronavirus cases now linked to Gladwin County youth camp

Public health officials are now aware of more than 50 confirmed cases and 13 probable cases of COVID-19 tied to a Christian youth camp in Gladwin County.

A health officer with Central Michigan District Health Department, provided the updated case count today, up from 42 confirmed cases a week ago. Of the now 66 confirmed and probable cases, 27 are campers, 27 are staff/camp counselors, and 12 are secondary cases.

“In terms of how many people were potentially exposed, there were over 230 campers between the two camps."

The camps took place July 12-17 and July 19-23.