Coronavirus COVID-19 - Global Health Pandemic #104

[Sundog]

Thank you.

Our state governor had a false positive antigen test. After his positive test, he took a PCR test and was negative. At our university, when we do surveillance testing weekly, anyone who gets a positive on the antigen tests follows up with a PCR test, this is our standard practice, as there are many false positives.

 

[beatrixpotter]

Do we need to stock up on paper products??? just askin'

ALL the toilet paper you can fit in your car!! LOL

 

[WildOrchid]

My state is opening yet another testing facility tomorrow about an hour north of me. The article states appts are encouraged but drive ups are welcome, to expect at least a 5 day wait for results due to backlog. Upon logging onto the spot site, the first opening is Jan 7. For anyone currently experiencing symptoms, this will tell you whether you had covid or not…but 12 days out from now, you’re out of quarantine and done.

 

[beatrixpotter]

I'm sorry your family is sick.
Speaking as a mom whose kids are scattered far and wide: If I was 97 years old and had a choice, I would choose to enjoy an evening with my loved ones. I think I would be pretty lonley after two years of pandemic life. My attitude might be Let's Go COVID!

Thankfully she has had people with her literally every day of the pandemic. She has 3 children and they have been taking turns making sure someone stayed in her home or she stayed in theirs at all times. That person took care of her groceries and everything else but also visited with her.

She has grandchildren and great grandchildren though and that has been more limited in contact. They did outdoor holidays at her home among other places. She was staying the week with my in laws this time and is there for New Years. But it really wasn't necessary for someone who had symptoms of a cold to come for a movie. I think that should have waited. :/

I know this has been hard on her. She has been slowly going downhill the last 3 years since a stroke. She was sharp as a tack before that. It's hard to balance stuff like this. I'd hate anyone to think she'd been isolated all this time though. But if she ends up hospitalized or dead I'm not sure if the movie was really worth it.

 

[WichitaFalls]

I have two teen sons that started quarantining Tuesday in our house after one suddenly came home from work feeling sick. They tested positive today. Well one did. I'm sure the other is. He lost his sense of smell as well. The week before Christmas I stocked the basement apartment and bought what they needed to quarantine so as soon as someone got sick we were able to immediately quarantine.

I'm not sure if it worked. No one else has symptoms except for me. I have had an intense headache since Monday that wakes me up every night. I have a drive through PCR test set up for tomorrow. I'm getting a little sniffly tonight and have a swollen lymph gland in my throat. (Overshare? lol)

On that same note, my niece also tested positive for covid this morning in a neighboring state. Sadly she and my mil exposed my husband's 97 yo grandmother the night before. I'm pretty unhappy as they both had symptoms that day and mil didn't not quarantine. And niece brushed it off as well and got together and watched a movie with the 97 yo.

For 2 years now her children have been protecting her throughout this pandemic. And now she's been exposed. She is however fully vaccinated and boosted. I'm pretty worried for her.

Do they still scrape your brain for the PCR tests? I can handle a lot of things. But my last PCR test was horrible and I'm dreading it.

Very well done on the proactive setup in the basement. I hope both boys are back up and well quickly. Fingers crossed for you that you are negative. Your symptoms sound suspect, don't they? Do you have a gut feeling? We'll be watching for your results.

I would be livid with niece and MIL. I understand your concern. I have an 86 year old Mom. I just don't see advance-aged people in general doing well with COVID. So many variables - busting at the seams hospitals, shortages of needed treatments/staff, no family support on site due to COVID, and on and on. I'm sure some elderly do well enough, but what a huge risk. In some ways I think my Mom who is super social and active has decided if she has to chose between quarantine and taking her chances, taking her chances is her choice.

Take care of yourself.

 

[TGIRecovered]

Thankfully she has had people with her literally every day of the pandemic. She has 3 children and they have been taking turns making sure someone stayed in her home or she stayed in theirs at all times. That person took care of her groceries and everything else but also visited with her.

She has grandchildren and great grandchildren though and that has been more limited in contact. They did outdoor holidays at her home among other places. She was staying the week with my in laws this time and is there for New Years. But it really wasn't necessary for someone who had symptoms of a cold to come for a movie. I think that should have waited. :/

I know this has been hard on her. She has been slowly going downhill the last 3 years sincIe a stroke. She was sharp as a tack before that. It's hard to balance stuff like this. I'd hate anyone to think she'd been isolated all this time though. But if she ends up hospitalized or dead I'm not sure if the movie was really worth it.

It's awesome that you and your family have come together to care for her so well. Families are so important. She is blessed to have you!

 

[MimosaMornings]

https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/coronavirus/article256924917.html

‘We will reload and serve the community’: StarMed strained after 20+ workers test positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday


“As COVID-19 cases and tests increase, StarMed is facing a strain.

That’s because more than 20 of its healthcare workers in Charlotte tested positive for COVID-19 Wednesday and had to be removed from the front lines.”

 

[WichitaFalls]

Jeff Lewis Reveals His Daughter Was Rejected by Private School as He Faces Backlash from 'Superspreader' Event — People

“This comes on the heels of a revelation this past Monday that Lewis, his staff and some of his famous friends contracted COVID at a "superspreader" holiday party he hosted.

Lewis is still recovering from the breakthrough COVID he contracted at the 30-person party on Dec. 21.

The house flipper had a fever that reached 104 degrees. Other guests — including co-host Megan Weaver, assistant Shane Douglas, actress Monika Casey, Shahs of Sunset star Mercedeh Javid Feight and Lewis' on-again, off-again, on-again boyfriend Scott Anderson — all tested positive too.

"I don't regret [it], by the way," Lewis said on Monday of the event, which was held at Real Housewives of Miami alum Lea Black's Los Angeles home. "That was an epic party. It was so worth almost dying for!"

Despite the backlash, the reality star claimed he had done everything to ensure everyone was safe, even hiring a nurse to test every guest before they went in.

"People are saying we're reckless and stupid. No we're not, f---ers," Lewis said. "We were all vaccinated and we had a nurse there testing all of us before we even went in the door. … I thought we were being responsible."

Until he's fully recovered, Lewis said he's going to continue distancing from Monroe, who has been staying with Edward.

"I don't want her to get sick and I also don't want to take care of her because I don't have any nannies," Lewis joked, explaining that a few of his housecleaners and nannies who work for him had also contracted COVID.”

Worth dying for? Really?
A nurse testing at the door?
Those wonderfully reliable rapid tests that people think are a magic wand....

Entitled jerk, I feel sorry for his daughter.

 

[mickey2942]

Entitled jerk, I feel sorry for his daughter.

Yes. I have always felt this way.

 

[Cool Cats]

CDC boss says COVID-19 hospitalizations are 'comparatively low' as US records most new cases in a single day

The US is seeing fewer COVID-19 hospitalizations per case than in previous waves, suggesting Omicron is causing "milder disease" than previous variants, the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Wednesday.

The news comes as new daily reported cases reach record highs, topping 277,000, according to CDC data. The new wave is being driven by infections from the Omicron variant.

"While cases have substantially increased from last week, hospitalizations and deaths remain comparatively low right now," Rochelle Walensky, the CDC director, told reporters at a White House briefing.

She warned that it was not clear whether the trend would last.

"This could be due to the fact that hospitalizations tend to lag behind cases by about two weeks," she said, "but may also be due to early indications that we've seen from other countries like South Africa and United Kingdom of milder disease from Omicron, especially among the vaccinated and the boosted."

 

[ilovewings]

CDC boss says COVID-19 hospitalizations are 'comparatively low' as US records most new cases in a single day

View attachment 328036

The US is seeing fewer COVID-19 hospitalizations per case than in previous waves, suggesting Omicron is causing "milder disease" than previous variants, the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Wednesday.

The news comes as new daily reported cases reach record highs, topping 277,000, according to CDC data. The new wave is being driven by infections from the Omicron variant.

"While cases have substantially increased from last week, hospitalizations and deaths remain comparatively low right now," Rochelle Walensky, the CDC director, told reporters at a White House briefing.

She warned that it was not clear whether the trend would last.

"This could be due to the fact that hospitalizations tend to lag behind cases by about two weeks," she said, "but may also be due to early indications that we've seen from other countries like South Africa and United Kingdom of milder disease from Omicron, especially among the vaccinated and the boosted."

One can only hope!

 

[Lilibet]

In Oregon things are revving up…
Oregon’s daily COVID case count soars near previous highs: 2,948 new cases

The Oregon Health Authority on Thursday reported 2,948 new cases of coronavirus, fast approaching previous highs in the pandemic as a new wave of infections that public health officials say is being driven by the super-contagious omicron variant sweeps across the state.

The agency also reported 15 new deaths.
The 7-day daily average of new cases jumped to 1,532, and the test positivity rate hit 15.5%, triple the level two weeks prior and rivaling some of the highest levels seen during the pandemic. Oregon’s highest daily case count during the pandemic was 3,207 on Aug. 27.
——————————

In Jackson county, where I live in rural southern Oregon, there were 185 cases in today’s report (from yesterday’s tests), up from 144 in yesterday’s and increasing each day in the past week. We usually run just behind the major metro counties up north, although today rural Deschutes county in the middle of the state is 100 ahead of us, with 20,000 less population. My dh and I were concerned about having to go to both L.A. and Sacramento in Calif this month, but I think we were probably safer there than at home!

 

[LaborDayRN]

I'm wondering something speaking of stockpiles. If stores get bad enough I wonder if they would let volunteers stock shelves? I've been in retail for years and can unload freight onto shelves like none other. Liability issues would probably kill this bright idea.

What a thoughtful idea! I also wonder about liability though.

 

[Lilibet]

I just logged on to ask if any of you are stocking up on groceries and supplies. I have not done it yet but am making a list and doing it tomorrow.

Yup. I’m starting an Instacart order for tomorrow.

 

[Lilibet]

I don't think that they swab as far up the nose for the PCR tests anymore, but I'm not 100% sure.

They didn’t for us last January. It was fine. And registered positive, so it got the job done.

 

[CSIDreamer]

I believe the % positive is going to continue to be very high for awhile. If we're experiencing test shortages it makes sense there are going to be requirements to get a test. When I got tested, you filled out a questionnaire. Then you were told what you qualified for.

I was sick as a dog, and the tech with the kleenex all but squealed "you can have both!". Trying to convince me it was going to be fun, I guess lol.

All that helped was my husband got stuff jammed up his nose twice, too.

 

[MimosaMornings]

Travelers infected one another across hallway in Covid-19 quarantine facility, New Zealand research shows — CNN

Interesting article
JMO

 

[LaborDayRN]

I need to do the same. I think the dire predictions sound likely. My problem is I have lots of dried and canned food stored. It's the fresh produce and dairy products I buy the most of right now.

I'm trying to figure out what to stock up on right now. I don't have a ton of freezer space left and lots of our meds insurance won't give more than 30 days worth.

I also have a good deal of shelf stable items so I'm concerned about the fresh dairy and produce as well. I've had a great deal of success freezing diary (including milk, cheese and yogurt) so I feel comfortable buying a little extra to store in my chest freezer. I also don't mind frozen vegetables if need be but I love a good salad so I would miss lettuce and other fresh veggies for salads. My african Gray also eats fresh & cooked veggies I'm going to use grocery store pickup occasionally for those and eggs (if they are in stock of course. No hoarding, just enough to get by for a bit.
I'll also pick up some extra dog food.

 

[LaborDayRN]

I don't think that they swab as far up the nose for the PCR tests anymore, but I'm not 100% sure.

I think your right. My daughter had one recently and they handed her the swab to insert in her own nostril and swab.

 

[LaborDayRN]

CDC boss says COVID-19 hospitalizations are 'comparatively low' as US records most new cases in a single day

View attachment 328036

The US is seeing fewer COVID-19 hospitalizations per case than in previous waves, suggesting Omicron is causing "milder disease" than previous variants, the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Wednesday.

The news comes as new daily reported cases reach record highs, topping 277,000, according to CDC data. The new wave is being driven by infections from the Omicron variant.

"While cases have substantially increased from last week, hospitalizations and deaths remain comparatively low right now," Rochelle Walensky, the CDC director, told reporters at a White House briefing.

She warned that it was not clear whether the trend would last.

"This could be due to the fact that hospitalizations tend to lag behind cases by about two weeks," she said, "but may also be due to early indications that we've seen from other countries like South Africa and United Kingdom of milder disease from Omicron, especially among the vaccinated and the boosted."

This is great news. Hopefully we will follow along the same path as South Africa and the U.K. Milder disease but also much more contagious.