Coronavirus COVID-19 - Global Health Pandemic #103

[CharlestonGal]

South Korea sees record number of Covid-19 patients in ICU

France has banned big outdoor events and gatherings on New Year’s Eve. The consumption of alcohol in public spaces will also be banned and the traditional New Year's fireworks and concerts are scrapped.

In the Netherlands, a strict lockdown started on December 19. Indoor gatherings are limited to a maximum of two guests until January 14, except on Christmas and New Year’s Eve, when that limit is extended to four guests. All schools and extracurricular activities will also close until at least January 9.

Belgium has canceled indoor events and activities, including indoor Christmas markets and villages, cinema showings, and shows starting Sunday. Those measures extend to indoor spaces of amusement parks and zoos.

In Germany, strict contact restrictions rule out any large New Year's Eve gatherings. From December 28, a maximum of 10 people will be allowed to meet in groups, regardless of whether they are vaccinated or recovered. Non-vaccinated people may use public transport only with a daily negative Covid-19 test. Nightclubs and discos in Germany will remain closed. Football matches will once again be played without spectators.

Since Monday, only those with vaccine passports or proof of recovery are allowed inside restaurants and indoor event spaces in Switzerland and masks must be worn at all times unless consuming food or drink. Private gatherings are limited to 10 people if there is one person from age 16 present who is unvaccinated or has not recovered from Covid-19.

Austria will impose a new 10 p.m. closing time on the hospitality sector as of December 27, which will remain in place on New Year's Eve. Only vaccinated or recovered people are allowed to visit Christmas markets. People who have no proof of either vaccination or recovery may only leave their accommodation for important supplies, to go to work, and for exercise.

Denmark has shut cinemas, theatres, and museums, while also prohibiting the sale of alcohol after 10 p.m. and asking hospitality venues to shut earlier.

Spain has reinstated its nationwide mandate for wearing masks outdoors -- with exceptions for sports and large areas -- from Christmas Eve. Meanwhile regionally, some governments are tightening restrictions even more.

Italy will close nightclubs and ban people from eating in public squares from December 30 to January 31. The outdoor mask mandate returned and the use of the Covid pass will be expanded from February 1.

Schools, bars, and clubs will all close in Portugal from December 26 until January 10. People have been told to work from home, and negative tests will be required for ceremonies such as weddings as well as all cultural and sporting events.

 

[Turkeytrot]

Hope everyone is having a wonderful Christmas and staying safe.

We (mainly me) decided to stay home for Christmas. Husband and family kept asking multiple times about just going for a couple days.. "maybe we could go over the break but after Christmas" etc etc. Mama Grinch (aka me) kept giving a hard no as the answer.

Felt guilty initially but watching this thing take off, I think it was the best decision for us.

 

[ilovewings]

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM VIRGINA BEACH!!

The director of the retirement community I live in asked me if I was coming down for Christmas Lunch! LOL...I have been eating in my room for the last week, why would I undo everything to eat Christmas dinner? She looked at me like I was a lunatic. Sigh. I trust my own wisdom and instincts. Here is to everyone staying safe!

Yep-- you have to trust your inner voice!!!
Seems to me, because it is Xmas lots of people are
throwing caution to the wind---

 

[MrX]

South Korea sees record number of Covid-19 patients in ICU

France has banned big outdoor events and gatherings on New Year’s Eve. The consumption of alcohol in public spaces will also be banned and the traditional New Year's fireworks and concerts are scrapped.

In the Netherlands, a strict lockdown started on December 19. Indoor gatherings are limited to a maximum of two guests until January 14, except on Christmas and New Year’s Eve, when that limit is extended to four guests. All schools and extracurricular activities will also close until at least January 9.

Belgium has canceled indoor events and activities, including indoor Christmas markets and villages, cinema showings, and shows starting Sunday. Those measures extend to indoor spaces of amusement parks and zoos.

In Germany, strict contact restrictions rule out any large New Year's Eve gatherings. From December 28, a maximum of 10 people will be allowed to meet in groups, regardless of whether they are vaccinated or recovered. Non-vaccinated people may use public transport only with a daily negative Covid-19 test. Nightclubs and discos in Germany will remain closed. Football matches will once again be played without spectators.

Since Monday, only those with vaccine passports or proof of recovery are allowed inside restaurants and indoor event spaces in Switzerland and masks must be worn at all times unless consuming food or drink. Private gatherings are limited to 10 people if there is one person from age 16 present who is unvaccinated or has not recovered from Covid-19.

Austria will impose a new 10 p.m. closing time on the hospitality sector as of December 27, which will remain in place on New Year's Eve. Only vaccinated or recovered people are allowed to visit Christmas markets. People who have no proof of either vaccination or recovery may only leave their accommodation for important supplies, to go to work, and for exercise.

Denmark has shut cinemas, theatres, and museums, while also prohibiting the sale of alcohol after 10 p.m. and asking hospitality venues to shut earlier.

Spain has reinstated its nationwide mandate for wearing masks outdoors -- with exceptions for sports and large areas -- from Christmas Eve. Meanwhile regionally, some governments are tightening restrictions even more.

Italy will close nightclubs and ban people from eating in public squares from December 30 to January 31. The outdoor mask mandate returned and the use of the Covid pass will be expanded from February 1.

Schools, bars, and clubs will all close in Portugal from December 26 until January 10. People have been told to work from home, and negative tests will be required for ceremonies such as weddings as well as all cultural and sporting events.

It really is a shocking difference. We called seven restaurants before finding one that wasn't completely booked for dinner last night. Merry Christmas, everyone.

 

[IceIce9]

More than 5,000 flights canceled on Christmas weekend

 

[Arkay]

It really is a shocking difference. We called seven restaurants before finding one that wasn't completely booked for dinner last night. Merry Christmas, everyone.

Cannot change anyone's mindset, I understand that.

But I hope that since so many reservations have been booked, that there is contract tracing after the inevitable spread of virus among seven restaurants full of people who must remove their masks to eat.

In answer to, I think it was @IceIce9 and @CharlestonGal, I did in fact hear from contact tracers. I’m listed as an emergency contact for my 17- year old granddaughter. When they couldn’t get through to her parents they called me. Apparently a child in her school tested positive and they were vigorously contacting all classmates.

Of course that is much easier in a place like school, where every child is registered and has contact info. In a store like where @CharlestonGal believes she may have contracted the virus, it would be a lot more tumultuous trying to find everyone who shopped there that day and several days prior.

As I’ve stated before, these restrictions such as Europe is implementing are only as good as enforcement and follow-through.

I’ve also stated many times that here in NYC we have some rigorous laws that are blatantly ignored by those who toss caution to the winds. Ergo, we are back to having the highest rates of covid positivity.

IMO it’s a vicious cycle that will not end while people feel their immediate gratification is the first priority.

 

[nhmemorymaker]

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM VIRGINA BEACH!!

The director of the retirement community I live in asked me if I was coming down for Christmas Lunch! LOL...I have been eating in my room for the last week, why would I undo everything to eat Christmas dinner? She looked at me like I was a lunatic. Sigh. I trust my own wisdom and instincts. Here is to everyone staying safe!

All of us sharing our symptoms, cautions and being alone is actually quite comforting and festive to me. I actually think we are going to remember this Christmas with a weird fondness... knowing we are trying to be safe, rather than unsafe.

Heartfelt hugs to you Tabitha!!

 

[MrX]

Cannot change anyone's mindset, I understand that.

But I hope that since so many reservations have been booked, that there is contract tracing after the inevitable spread of virus among seven restaurants full of people who must remove their masks to eat.

In answer to, I think it was @IceIce9 and @CharlestonGal, I did in fact hear from contact tracers. I’m listed as an emergency contact for my 17- year old granddaughter. When they couldn’t get through to her parents they called me. Apparently a child in her school tested positive and they were vigorously contacting all classmates.

Of course that is much easier in a place like school, where every child is registered and has contact info. In a store like where @CharlestonGal believes she may have contracted the virus, it would be a lot more tumultuous trying to find everyone who shopped there that day and several days prior.

As I’ve stated before, these restrictions such as Europe is implementing are only as good as enforcement and follow-through.

I’ve also stated many times that here in NYC we have some rigorous laws that are blatantly ignored by those who toss caution to the winds. Ergo, we are back to having the highest rates of covid positivity.

IMO it’s a vicious cycle that will not end while people feel their immediate gratification is the first priority.

The difference is stark, even in the U.S. You mentioned removing masks to eat, which sounds so strange because it is the rare person, in these parts, that wears a mask anywhere. And contact tracing is non existent. It really is like the article from The Atlantic that someone posted a couple of weeks ago.

 

[CharlestonGal]

Cannot change anyone's mindset, I understand that.

But I hope that since so many reservations have been booked, that there is contract tracing after the inevitable spread of virus among seven restaurants full of people who must remove their masks to eat.

In answer to, I think it was @IceIce9 and @CharlestonGal, I did in fact hear from contact tracers. I’m listed as an emergency contact for my 17- year old granddaughter. When they couldn’t get through to her parents they called me. Apparently a child in her school tested positive and they were vigorously contacting all classmates.

Of course that is much easier in a place like school, where every child is registered and has contact info. In a store like where @CharlestonGal believes she may have contracted the virus, it would be a lot more tumultuous trying to find everyone who shopped there that day and several days prior.

As I’ve stated before, these restrictions such as Europe is implementing are only as good as enforcement and follow-through.

I’ve also stated many times that here in NYC we have some rigorous laws that are blatantly ignored by those who toss caution to the winds. Ergo, we are back to having the highest rates of covid positivity.

IMO it’s a vicious cycle that will not end while people feel their immediate gratification is the first priority.

I agree that contact tracing Harris Teeter would be a hopeless task. But I could just as easily be running a home daycare for all they know. Or attended the Christmas party the night before at my clubhouse. If they don't call they can't know.

This situation in the US is just beyond hopeless in terms of our public health infrastructure. jmo

 

[Arkay]

The difference is stark, even in the U.S. You mentioned removing masks to eat, which sounds so strange because it is the rare person, in these parts, that wears a mask anywhere. And contact tracing is non existent. It really is like the article from The Atlantic that someone posted a couple of weeks ago.

I hope you and all yours stay healthy.

I don't know where you live, but wherever that is, it's an unimaginably different world than where I live.

But----China, India and Botswana are extremely different worlds from NYC, and yet the viruses that germinated there have overcome us here. Here being not just NYC but every nook and cranny of the United States.

It’s like the Butterfly Effect in its way. What happens in your corner of the world will eventually make its way around and kill people. People who presently have no idea that they will become infected through a chain of events that will land on them.

With that said, I wish everyone who celebrates this day a Merry Christmas and good health to all.

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

Nearly 5,000 flights canceled as omicron sparks Christmas travel chaos (nbcnews.com)

Thousands of Americans who were hoping to make it home for Christmas were likely left stranded, while in some parts of the country extreme weather caused further complications.

Almost 5,000 flights were canceled across the world over Christmas weekend as holiday travel plans were brought to a halt amid the rapidly spreading omicron variant of Covid-19.

Nearly 2,500 global flights were canceled on Christmas Day alone, according to flight tracker FlightAware, with some airline companies citing the spread of the new variant as the cause for the disruption. At least 850 of the flights cancelled on Saturday had been set to fly within, into or out of the United States.

Thousands of Americans who were hoping to make it home for Christmas were likely left stranded, while in some parts of the country extreme weather caused further complications.

Several major airlines, including United, Delta and Alaska, said they had been forced to cancel hundreds of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day flights after the omicron variant infected employees and crew members...

 

[MrX]

I hope you and all yours stay healthy.

I don't know where you live, but wherever that is, it's an unimaginably different world than where I live.

But----China, India and Botswana are extremely different worlds from NYC, and yet the viruses that germinated there have overcome us here. Here being not just NYC but every nook and cranny of the United States.

It’s like the Butterfly Effect in its way. What happens in your corner of the world will eventually make its way around and kill people. People who presently have no idea that they will become infected through a chain of events that will land on them.

With that said, I wish everyone who celebrates this day a Merry Christmas and good health to all.

Thank you and best wishes to you.

I am in Phoenix, but grew up in Chicago, so I follow the news there. It really is a totally different world when it comes to Covid.

 

[Warwick1991]

I ordered rapid tests from Amazon--- cant get them till Friday though but
that is okay-

I am thinking of how CG could have contracted the virus and it is a scary thought.
Lets say someone or a few someoones are in that store-- they have the
virus--- they may even be wearing a mask, but the mask is not very secure
for one reason or another and when they leave that store, because Oricron
is so transmissible, they leave behind virus in the air around where they
stood and people around that area breathe in the virus and get sick. I
cant think of any other way she could have gotten it.

Another factor with airborne transmission is that eyes are a point of vulnerability, not just the nose and mouth. To be truly secure in an unmasked indoor environment, not only would a properly fitting KN95/N95 mask be important, but some kind of eye protection would be critical. Without everyone wearing masks indoors, protecting oneself is very difficult. IMO, the social contract - people accepting behavioral limits for the common good - has gone out the window here in the US. It is a national tragedy IMOP, for a country that has been able to achieve so much.

 

[Warwick1991]

There have been studies about transmission of Covid-19 through the eyes. COVID-19: risk of ocular transmission in health care professionals

This was primarily thought to be a risk for healthcare workers, but a crowded supermarket with unmasked people would be even worse, IMO.

 

[ilovewings]

Another factor with airborne transmission is that eyes are a point of vulnerability, not just the nose and mouth. To be truly secure in an unmasked indoor environment, not only would a properly fitting KN95/N95 mask be important, but some kind of eye protection would be critical. Without everyone wearing masks indoors, protecting oneself is very difficult. IMO, the social contract - people accepting behavioral limits for the common good - has gone out the window here in the US. It is a national tragedy IMOP, for a country that has been able to achieve so much.

The monumental selfishness of too many Americans is a national
Tragedy that will end up costing over a million !ives and untold
thousands of people suffering illness from this virus--and what
is worse is that much of it was and is preventable

 

[Arkay]

Thank you and best wishes to you.

I am in Phoenix, but grew up in Chicago, so I follow the news there. It really is a totally different world when it comes to Covid.

Again, I hope you all remain healthy and safe. Apparently your county has an 11% positivity rate as of yesterday. Normally I’d think that you’d have better weather to eat outdoors than we do, but it looks cool and rainy in Phoenix.

I would not make the same choices as you but of course I can only preach. This virus bounds around to all of us everywhere.

 

[Teche]

I became a contact tracer early on, and at first anyone who tested positive for COVID was contacted by a contact tracer within 24 hours.

But after COVID became so widespread in many areas there weren’t enough contact tracers to keep up.

I would be interested in hearing from WS members who had been diagnosed with COVID, or have family members who have had COVID, whether a contact tracer got in touch with them.

My daughter is a neonatal nurse practitioner and her husband is an ER nurse. A year ago yesterday was the anniversary for them and their 3 kids completing quarantine. My daughter was exposed while at work when other nurses tested positive. The day they returned to work, the hospital was scheduling vaccines to medical providers. No contact tracers contacted them.

 

[Jsizzle]

Re- contact tracers. My husband and I tested positive Sat and Monday and nobody has contacted us thus far.

edited to say - we were out to dinner Thursday night and went to lunch on Friday. Husband took a turn for the worst out of nowhere Friday afternoon. We did contact the bartender who took care of us (he’s a friend) and he never got it thankfully. We also saw a friend that day and hugged and chatted for a good 20 min. She never got it either. Very strange how it seems to be so contagious sometimes and other times not so much. My kids still don’t have it. They are unvaxxed.

 

[Cool Cats]

Once again, COVID means scaled-back Christmas celebrations around the world

But Covid doesn't stop Christmas....

Palestinian scout bands parade through Manger Square at the Church of the Nativity, traditionally believed to be the birthplace of Jesus Christ, during Christmas celebrations, in the West Bank town of Bethlehem on Friday.

Members of the winter swimming club "Pirrlliepausen" go into Lake Senftenberg, which is four degrees cold (39 Farenheit) for their traditional Christmas swim, in Seftenberg, Germany, on Friday.

Women wearing masks to curb the spread of the coronavirus work on decorations to celebrate Christmas at a church in Bali, Indonesia, on Friday.

People gather around illuminated Christmas decorations on Christmas Eve in Seoul, South Korea.

During Posadas, family, friends and neighbors drop in on each other at night, asking for shelter in representation of Mary and Joseph's journey to Bethlehem ahead of Jesus' birth.

 

[indicolite22]

View attachment 327563

Again, I hope you all remain healthy and safe. Apparently your county has an 11% positivity rate as of yesterday. Normally I’d think that you’d have better weather to eat outdoors than we do, but it looks cool and rainy in Phoenix.

I would not make the same choices as you but of course I can only preach. This virus bounds around to all of us everywhere.

BBM. Did I read correctly that antigen (rapid) tests were also included in that positivity rate? That's not the case where I live - only PCR tests are considered for the positivity rate. Anti-vaxxers like to bring up the overal rate which is much lower due to mass testing.