Coronavirus COVID-19 - Global Health Pandemic #74

[Cool Cats]

'I Was a Little Scared': Inside America's Reopening Schools

August 7, 2020, 7:13 AM

Kennedy Heim’s first day of high school was last Thursday. By the weekend, her school in central Indiana had already closed its doors, after a staff member tested positive for the coronavirus and other employees were required to quarantine.

Kennedy’s mother got a call from a contact tracer saying her daughter, a 14-year-old freshman, might have been exposed. So on Monday, they went for testing at the National Guard Armory, just down the street from her school. Wednesday morning, they got the results: Kennedy had tested positive.

“I just felt like I had a cold,” she said. But a few hours later, quarantined in her bedroom, with her mother delivering her meals while masked, Kennedy sipped on some grape Powerade and realized she had a classic COVID-19 symptom.

“I was trying to hydrate,” she said, “and I was like, ‘Definitely can’t taste that.’”

A photo provided by Liz Wright shows Kennedy Heim at her home in Elwood, Ind., on Thursday, July 30, 2020, her first day of high school. She tested positive for the coronavirus on the following Wednesday, Aug. 5. (Liz Wright via The New York Times)

 

[Sundog]

Coronavirus in Australia: What went wrong?

Apparently 1/3 of Australians don't get sick leave, so they had to go back to work, even with symptoms in many cases.

They have had to deploy the military to enforce restrictions, and now they have given police additional powers to enforce new restrictions. It seems to be like martial law.

 

[astheworldfallsdown]

Kildare factory confirms 80 Covid-19 cases among employees, suspends operations immediately

(Ireland)

O’BRIEN FINE FOODS in Co Kildare has confirmed that 80 of its employees have tested positive for Covid-19 and that it is suspending all operations at its Timahoe facility.

The company said that in recent days an employee presented with Covid-19 symptoms.

In line with its procedures, it immediately isolated the employee and initiated a test. Results received on 30 July confirmed that the person had tested positive.

The company engaged with the HSE and said it took what it believed was “the most responsible decision to test all employees which was coordinated by the HSE and a private provider to expedite testing.”

Of 243 tests completed, 80 employees have been confirmed as positive for Covid-19.


Of the 80 confirmed, the level of asymptomatic infectivity appears to be very high, the company said.

“We are completing testing of a further 42 employees today,” it said in a statement.

People who have tested positive have been advised to isolate and a full risk assessment and contract tracing procedures are underway, the company said.

“All close contacts of those affected are being notified, advised to self-isolate and to contact their GP.”

“We continue to assist, protect and support our team whom we engage with on a daily and regular basis and we maintain active engagement with customers and suppliers. We thank them for their understanding and support,” the statement said.

“The decision to suspend all processing operations is a precautionary measure. Following consultation with the HSE, our warehousing facility will operate at minimum staffing and capacity levels.

“A further comprehensive deep clean of the facility is underway and a full risk assessment process has commenced in the interest of employee and public health. We will continue to follow public health advice and take every necessary action to comprehensively address the risk, in cooperation with the HSE and Department of Health

 

[HongKongPhooey]

Coronavirus: Record daily jump in infections takes India's COVID-19 cases above 2m

India has reported a record daily jump in coronavirus cases, taking the total number of infections in the country above two million.

On Friday, officials confirmed that 62,538 new cases had been identified.

India is the third worst-affected country in the world behind the US and Brazil.

According to India's health ministry, only a third of the 2.03 million cases are currently active, with the country recording its highest-ever number of recoveries on Thursday.

The first registered COVID-19 case was detected in Kerala on 30 January this year. It took 173 days to reach a million cases on 16 July.

Since then, it has taken just 21 days to reach two million - an indication of how quickly the virus has spread across the country.

India now has the fastest growth rate of contagion at 3.1%.

More than 41,500 deaths have been reported so far. However, the government is keen to suggest that India's fatality rate of 2% is lower than what has been seen in other countries.

Nevertheless, the trajectory of the virus continues to show an upward trend across all states.

V worrying for India.

When the high tourist season begins again in Goa and Kerala, all the migrant workers will make their way down on packed trains.

In a way, worrying though that is, that's a good scenario - if Western Europe and Russia advise not to travel to these areas, their economy will take a huge hit.

 

[Trino]

i think somebody else should have decided for them- 250,000 people packed in bars, restaurants and hotels is a recipe for disaster. It is obvious they can't decide for themselves because reasonably intelligent people would not do this.

60% of Sturgis citizens wanted the rally postponed. City council and money talks.

 

[tresir2012]

i think somebody else should have decided for them- 250,000 people packed in bars, restaurants and hotels is a recipe for disaster. It is obvious they can't decide for themselves because reasonably intelligent people would not do this.

I think the officials of the state and the town decided to let it go on. It isn't a protest but an annual event that would need permissions like the Big Wheel that is mentioned. This is a rural state with few cases and deaths. I hope it stays that way but they have made a decision about it. I doubt there will be 250k there like previous years but we shall see I guess.

 

[Trino]

'I Was a Little Scared': Inside America's Reopening Schools

August 7, 2020, 7:13 AM

Kennedy Heim’s first day of high school was last Thursday. By the weekend, her school in central Indiana had already closed its doors, after a staff member tested positive for the coronavirus and other employees were required to quarantine.

Kennedy’s mother got a call from a contact tracer saying her daughter, a 14-year-old freshman, might have been exposed. So on Monday, they went for testing at the National Guard Armory, just down the street from her school. Wednesday morning, they got the results: Kennedy had tested positive.

“I just felt like I had a cold,” she said. But a few hours later, quarantined in her bedroom, with her mother delivering her meals while masked, Kennedy sipped on some grape Powerade and realized she had a classic COVID-19 symptom.

“I was trying to hydrate,” she said, “and I was like, ‘Definitely can’t taste that.’”

A photo provided by Liz Wright shows Kennedy Heim at her home in Elwood, Ind., on Thursday, July 30, 2020, her first day of high school. She tested positive for the coronavirus on the following Wednesday, Aug. 5. (Liz Wright via The New York Times)

This is our offspring, our heritage. What are these school systems thinking (NOT). A delay of perhaps a year with online learning is not going to have a lifetime effect on kids. COVID-19 may do so.

 

[dixiegirl1035]

https://twitter.com/i/events/1291730043404615682

India's Serum Institute pledges to sell 100m doses of a possible COVID-19 vaccine for $3 each. The world's largest vaccine manufacturer has partnered with Gavi and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to make 100 million doses of a COVID-19 vaccine for low and middle-income countries in 2021. The Serum Institute currently has a partnership with the UK's Oxford University-AstraZeneca trial and the US' Novavax trial.

MOO - Bill is sticking with what he has wanted to do for all of his philanthropic life, to give vaccines to third world as priority to stamp out diseases. That's his record.

 

[Trino]

I think the officials of the state and the town decided to let it go on. It isn't a protest but an annual event that would need permissions like the Big Wheel that is mentioned. This is a rural state with few cases and deaths. I hope it stays that way but they have made a decision about it. I doubt there will be 250k there like previous years but we shall see I guess.

Hopefully, not 250k, but a concern of even 1000 could be problematic.

 

[CSIDreamer]

This is our offspring, our heritage. What are these school systems thinking (NOT). A delay of perhaps a year with online learning is not going to have a lifetime effect on kids. COVID-19 may do so.

I think I posted awhile back but I could be wrong. The CDC being concerned about the suicide and overdose among school age individuals. According to the CDC Covid is the lesser of the evils.

COVID Webinar Series (TRANSCRIPT): Robert Redfield, MD - BUCK

CDC's Redfield should sound alarm about suicides amid coronavirus outbreak, critic says

Should be read in order.

 

[tresir2012]

Sturgis Motorcycle Rally could draw 250,000 people despite pandemic | Connect FM | Local News Radio | Dubois, PA

Wow that's a lot of revenue.

"The city fathers here wouldn’t cancel this rally if it were the middle of World War 7,” said Brent Bertlson, who has a home in Sturgis and will be attending his 26th rally this year. He said that “the money the city takes in is a number that Ripley wouldn’t believe.”

He’s not wrong. Sales tax revenue from the rally brought Sturgis, a town of 7,000 people, $26 million last year, according to City Manager Daniel Ainslie.

The event generated $655 million in 2019 across South Dakota, because many of the visitors spend time and money throughout the state as they travel to the rally, and often buy big-ticket items like motorcycles and motor homes while there.

“That’s a lot of money for a small state,” said Ainslie.

Rod Woodruff, owner of the Buffalo Chip, a campground and concert venue just outside the city where thousands of bikers will stay, explained how critical the rally can be.

“We spend the whole year getting ready to host the motorcycle rally and music festival,” he said. “And without it, we wouldn’t have a business.”

But even though the rally is going ahead, Ainslie noted the city is concerned about COVID-19. It has taken measures both to shrink the event, which normally draws close to 500,000 people, and to mitigate the potential for the virus to spread. It eliminated advertising and canceled parades, events and contests.

During the 10 days, any Sturgis resident who does not want to venture into the crowd can call upon city volunteers to have them shop for and deliver food and other necessities. In the week after the rally, the city will offer mass testing to any resident who interacted with the visitors.

Woodruff said he and other business owners have also taken precautions prompted by the pandemic.

“We will have hand sanitizer everywhere,” Woodruff said. “All our food will be takeout. We have signs everywhere reminding people to keep 6 feet apart.”

But the Buffalo Chip is not mandating masks. And those familiar with the rally say mask-wearing and social distancing will not be common.

“Those who attend are mavericks,” said Joel Heitkamp, a frequent Sturgis attendee. “This is the rebel crowd and they think they are cool because they don’t do what society tells them to do.”

This attitude might seem fitting in South Dakota, a state that never imposed a lockdown.

“South Dakota is fairly conservative, very independent,” said Christine Paige Diers, the former director of the Sturgis Motorcycle Museum. “The same could be said for the motorcyclists. They’re an independent lot. They don’t want you telling them what you can and can’t do.” "

 

[ilovewings]

I was reading an article about essential workers (at the grocery store) and how nasty customers can be when asked to wear a mask. A grocery worker said something to a customer like you will be preventing someone else from getting the virus if you wear the mask, and the customer said he didn't care about anybody else. That statement led me to believe that the strategy to get people to mask up has been all wrong: Let's face it, humans are self centered: some more, some less: but the most important thing to a person is him or herself. So, I think the strategy should have been that the mask prevents the virus for the person who wears the mask as well as the other person: but that is not what the message has been. the message was clear: the mask is to prevent the other person from getting the virus if you wear a mask. Recently public health workers have concluded that the mask does provide protection for the person who wears it as well. I wish these epidemiologists would change their message to indicate that the mask protects the person who wears it. The other day on MSNBC epidemiologists again said we should wear masks to protect others and didn't even mention that it can protect the person who wears it. That is the wrong message.

 

[CSIDreamer]

I was reading an article about essential workers (at the grocery store) and how nasty customers can be when asked to wear a mask. A grocery worker said something to a customer like you will be preventing someone else from getting the virus if you wear the mask, and the customer said he didn't care about anybody else. That statement led me to believe that the strategy to get people to mask up has been all wrong: Let's face it, humans are self centered: some more, some less: but the most important thing to a person is him or herself. So, I think the strategy should have been that the mask prevents the virus for the person who wears the mask as well as the other person: but that is not what the message has been. the message was clear: the mask is to prevent the other person from getting the virus if you wear a mask. Recently public health workers have concluded that the mask does provide protection for the person who wears it as well. I wish these epidemiologists would change their message to indicate that the mask protects the person who wears it. The other day on MSNBC epidemiologists again said we should wear masks to protect others and didn't even mention that it can protect the person who wears it. That is the wrong message.

I've noticed the few people not masking up around here just have this weird aura of hostility. They look every person in the eye they can, just daring them to say something. Jmo

 

[Tillicum]

Coronavirus: Rapid test vs. PCR test. What you need to know

The rapid type of coronavirus test that Gov. Mike DeWine took on the tarmac before greeting President Donald Trump could be more widely available in Ohio if the state succeeds with a group purchasing agreement with six other states for these types of tests.

Gov. Mike DeWine announced Wednesday the state’s plan to enter a multi-state purchasing agreement with Maryland, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, and Virginia to expand the use of rapid point-of-care tests.

<snip>

These tests use a different method of detection that is faster and cheaper, though less accurate, than the more common method of coronavirus testing, which is a PCR test, where a nasal swab is sent to a laboratory.

DeWine said at his Wednesday press conference that the states are joining together to ramp up the use of this type of test in order to “detect outbreaks sooner with faster turnaround time; expand testing in congregate settings such as nursing homes and assisted living facilities; and make testing more accessible for the most high-risk and hard-hit communities.”

<snip>

PCR (polymerase chain reaction tests) are highly accurate tests that work by extracting and amplifying genetic material from the novel coronavirus, according to Peter Mohler, chief scientific officer for the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center.

They are much more sensitive than a rapid test, meaning PCR tests can pick up very tiny amounts of virus so they have a high likelihood of catching an infection and not giving a false negative. These tests are a more expensive option, they take a more complex supply chain and take more human labor as well as laboratory capacity to complete — all of which are in high demand right now as everywhere in the U.S. tries to run more tests.

Rapid tests like the one DeWine used are what are called antigen tests.

“They can be done similar to how you would do a flu tests or a strep test,” Mohler said. “You can imagine having these in a doctor’s office or even a nursing home and to be able to test whether someone has it in, say, 15 or 20 minutes. The disadvantage is that they’re just not as sensitive as that molecular PCR test that we’ve been hearing about over the last few months.”

More information at link for anyone interested.

 

[weepingangel]

Alcoholics will drink hand sanitizer if it’s available.

I wonder if they were aware that it was only for use on the outside of your body ?

Maybe they think it's like alcohol and you can drink that?

 

[10ofRods]

That would mean 1,166 deaths a day for the next 120 days. Is that realistic?

Here's a fact check video by the BBC about a recent claim made by POTUS.

Yes, it's realistic. You can follow along at Coronavirus Update (Live): 19,358,362 Cases and 719,561 Deaths from COVID-19 Virus Pandemic - Worldometer

Or the New York Times, which has the 14 day average.

You questioned these estimates before, but looking at the real figures shows more than 1166. None of us can predict the future, but yes, it's realistic.

Yesterday, we lost 1203 Americans (that we know of, a couple of states are having trouble updating their numbers).

Two days ago, it was 1319. For days, recently, it was around 1500.

The only time it drops below 1200 of late, is on Sundays.

I'd go by the CDC figures posted on Worldometer, not what the BBC's interpretation is. We are over 1000 deaths daily for more than 2 weeks, there's no sign we're changing our behavior. In fact, we're opening up schools (maskless in some places) and teachers are going home sick, one has died (at least) since yesterday.

Look for our deaths to hover around 1200-1300 for quite some time. Hopefully, the news will scare a few more people into wearing masks or staying home aside from work and essential shopping.

We have a lot of people out vacationing and driving all over the nation, as well. I don't see the numbers coming down by much - sure do hope I'm wrong. But 1166 deaths a day?

YES, it's realistic.

 

[CoverMeCagney]

There are currently 1101 people in hospital in the UK, of which 69 are on ventilators. This compares with 2881 on ventilators in mid April.

Just hoping the numbers continue to decrease, though another sunny day (one of the hottest in our history, apparently) will mean the masses will be mingling today.

Coronavirus (COVID-19) in the UK

 

[CSIDreamer]

There are currently 1101 people in hospital in the UK, of which 69 are on ventilators. This compares with 2881 on ventilators in mid April.

Just hoping the numbers continue to decrease, though another sunny day (one of the hottest in our history, apparently) will mean the masses will be mingling today.

Coronavirus (COVID-19) in the UK

What a huge improvement!

 

[beatrixpotter]

Africa passes 1M confirmed virus cases; true number far more

"Africa’s confirmed coronavirus cases have surpassed 1 million, but global health experts say the true toll is likely several times higher, reflecting the gaping lack of testing for the continent’s 1.3 billion people.

While experts say infection tolls in richer nations can be significant undercounts, large numbers of undetected cases are a greater danger for Africa, with many of the world’s weakest health systems. More than 22,000 people have died of COVID-19.

Just two African countries at the start of the pandemic were equipped to test for the virus. Now virtually all have basic capacity, but supplies are often scarce. Some countries have a single testing machine. Some conduct fewer than 500 tests per million people, while richer countries overseas conduct hundreds of thousands. Samples can take days to reach labs. Even in South Africa, turnaround times for many test results have been a week or longer.

“We are fighting this disease in the dark,” International Rescue Committee expert Stacey Mearns said. In addition, Africa has just 1,500 epidemiologists, a deficit of about 4,500.

African nations overall have conducted just 8.8 million tests since the pandemic began, well below the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s goal of 13 million per month. Countries would love to increase testing if only supplies weren’t being snapped up by richer ones elsewhere."

 

[Tillicum]

I've noticed the few people not masking up around here just have this weird aura of hostility. They look every person in the eye they can, just daring them to say something. Jmo

Most customers where my husband works are wearing masks now but a few still come in without one or wearing it under their chin. He always tells them that according to corporate policy and state mandate they have to wear a mask that covers their nose and mouth, otherwise he will take care of them outdoors on the dock. Most will comply then but to those who have an attitude he asks them if they got a stimulus payment. When they say yes he asks if they used the money. They always answer yes so then he asks why they're willing to take the good and refuse the bad? Most comply then or they leave. He said he doesn't care if he loses their business if they don't care enough to protect the employees or customers there.