Coronavirus COVID-19 - Global Health Pandemic #105

[beatrixpotter]

IMO, MOO, I think he 'conveniently' got tested positive on Dec 16.

That's a pretty good guess. He tested positive, never really stayed home sick. But, hey, look I have fresh natural immunity. I don't need a vaccine now.

 

[Fika]

I had the rapid test and it was negative..... but I am sure I had omicron. And so many people in my closer circle here have had it as well. All of us are totally vaxed and boosted. All of us just had varying degrees of the symptoms. The most common have been the throat, headaches and body and low back aches........oh and many of us ended up with the night sweats too. I kept running a low temperature...so have no idea what that means.

I know there have been people here who have tested negative to the pcr, so keep checking here.

While you are here, could you give us an idea of how things are going, and how people are feeling in Sweden right now? 72% of my ancestry comes home to you, so I am always interested! We had some Swedes on the site in the beginning of Covid... so they were sharing your early policies.

I had the rapid test and it was negative..... but I am sure I had omicron. And so many people in my closer circle here have had it as well. All of us are totally vaxed and boosted. All of us just had varying degrees of the symptoms. The most common have been the throat, headaches and body and low back aches........oh and many of us ended up with the night sweats too. I kept running a low temperature...so have no idea what that means.

I know there have been people here who have tested negative to the pcr, so keep checking here.

While you are here, could you give us an idea of how things are going, and how people are feeling in Sweden right now? 72% of my ancestry comes home to you, so I am always interested! We had some Swedes on the site in the beginning of Covid... so they were sharing your early policies.

Thank you for reply! People in Sweden feel as not much has been done ( me personally and my friends) it’s hard to get tested and not many wear masks also not many restrictions. I worked trough entire pandemic with not much protection but surgically mask . Just to take pcr I waited 2,5h in - 8 c outdoor. I work in ER dental office currently and most of my colleagues had covid or are sick now . I surprisingly didn’t get it ( tested a lot plus antibodies) I will keep testing I will get another pcr to confirm that it’s not covid.

 

[Sundog]

Some jobs require tests for work. (And Some mandates came with the “or regular testing” option) College students and employees have been getting tested 2-3 times a week since last year. Childcare centers can require it. I’ve been know to test several times a month as an extra precaution before spending time with an unvaxxed family member.

Colleges are providing the weekly testing, students and employees don't have to provide their own tests. For example, our university conducts about 4,500 random tests per week, and for individuals who have an exemption from the vaccine, we just include them in our random surveillance testing. And our health center on campus provides testing to symptomatic students and employees, or asymptomatic students and employees who may have been exposed to the virus. Colleges and universities, like K-12 schools, were provided with the funding for testing by the federal government, very generously.

But, as you say, people in other work environments need to provide tests on their own.

 

[Fika]

Hej!

My sister lives near Lund & Malmo - are you anywhere near there - how's the covid infections running? She & her husband are both vaxed & boosted. I'm planning a trip in February to visit with her on her birthday. So would like a bit of info if you know! TIA!

I live in Stockholm quite a bit away but infection is running rampant we had record breaks infection in past days mostly skåne (malmo) people get sick lots and que for testing it’s insane! Not many wear masks as it was never mandatory in Sweden. February might be okay to visit really hard to say as they say curve will reach top soon and go down.

 

[Sundog]

But none of that is medically necessary. Insurance companies shouldn't have to cover that. The examples you cited should be out of pocket.

That's also why some places keep running out of rapid tests.

JMO

I agree that work places that require testing should provide employees with the testing, if testing is a condition of employment. And if the OSHA vaccine requirement and testing mandate survives the Supreme Court challenge that is now under consideration following the arguments last week, then the federal government should provide employers with tests or testing.

 

[mickey2942]

This whole "Covid Hysteria" reminds me of when I taught school, everyone in the classroom had head lice. And many people wanted to KNOW who they caught IT from. Well, no one knows.

And I had parents who wanted me to identify that their child had caught lice from being at another parent's house.

It is sad that people are so crazy about Covid that a person puts her child in the trunk of the car for isolation.

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

Pope Francis: Vaccinating against Covid is a 'moral obligation' (nbcnews.com)

Francis used some of his strongest words yet and denounced how people had been swayed by “baseless information” to refuse one of the most effective measures to save lives.

Pope Francis suggested Monday that getting vaccinated against the coronavirus was a “moral obligation” and denounced how people had been swayed by “baseless information” to refuse one of the most effective measures to save lives during the pandemic...

Francis, 85, has generally shied away from speaking about vaccination as a “moral obligation,” though his COVID-19 advisors have referred to it as a “moral responsibility.” Rather, Francis has termed vaccination as “an act of love” and that refusing to get inoculated was “suicidal.”

On Monday he went a step further, saying that individuals had a responsibility to care for themselves “and this translates into respect for the health of those around us. Health care is a moral obligation,” he asserted...

 

[Niner]

I live in Stockholm quite a bit away but infection is running rampant we had record breaks infection in past days mostly skåne (malmo) people get sick lots and que for testing it’s insane! Not many wear masks as it was never mandatory in Sweden. February might be okay to visit really hard to say as they say curve will reach top soon and go down.

Thank you for your reply! They always mask if they go out. Will be talking with sister on Skype next Monday - and I can find out more - what the outbreak there is. Hopefully I'll be safe coming there in February. Even if I need a test before I fly out & come back home.

 

[CharlestonGal]

My opinion, is that only medical reasons should be required for insurance to be required to cover them. A medical reason (to me) is: I'm showing symptoms of Covid. JMO

A medical reason (to me) is: Slowing or stopping a pandemic. I'm also quite certain insurance companies would rather pay for $10 tests than a $60,000 hospital bill for whoever someone infected because they didn't have a test available before they went to visit grandma or attended a party. jmo

 

[Fika]

Thank you for your reply! They always mask if they go out. Will be talking with sister on Skype next Monday - and I can find out more - what the outbreak there is. Hopefully I'll be safe coming there in February. Even if I need a test before I fly out & come back home.

Yes I always mask up too during my commute and work unfortunately many dont actually majority don’t during commute but Stockholm might be specific I don’t know how other counties are doing. Be safe and mask up. Hope you will have a good time here !

 

[CharlestonGal]

Pope Francis: Vaccinating against Covid is a 'moral obligation' (nbcnews.com)

Francis used some of his strongest words yet and denounced how people had been swayed by “baseless information” to refuse one of the most effective measures to save lives.

Pope Francis suggested Monday that getting vaccinated against the coronavirus was a “moral obligation” and denounced how people had been swayed by “baseless information” to refuse one of the most effective measures to save lives during the pandemic...

Francis, 85, has generally shied away from speaking about vaccination as a “moral obligation,” though his COVID-19 advisors have referred to it as a “moral responsibility.” Rather, Francis has termed vaccination as “an act of love” and that refusing to get inoculated was “suicidal.”

On Monday he went a step further, saying that individuals had a responsibility to care for themselves “and this translates into respect for the health of those around us. Health care is a moral obligation,” he asserted...

The pope and I don't see eye to eye on many things, but I'm with him on this one. People may not think their own personal contribution means much, but those personal contributions add up exponentially when everyone contributes something, no matter how seemingly small. jmo

 

[CSIDreamer]

A medical reason (to me) is: Slowing or stopping a pandemic. I'm also quite certain insurance companies would rather pay for $10 tests than a $60,000 hospital bill for whoever someone infected because they didn't have a test available before they went to visit grandma or attended a party. jmo

A party? I'm just going to agree to disagree.

 

[CharlestonGal]

A party? I'm just going to agree to disagree.

Yes, even a party. My niece attended a Christmas party and she is dead now. If the party-goers had tests (free or covered by insurance) and used them before that party that might not be the case.

She died on a ventilator in the ICU, wracking up an $80,000 bill in the process, so I admit I may be a little biased. Tests should be in the hands of everybody and if private insurance helps make that possible I am all for it. The more the merrier. jmo

 

[CSIDreamer]

Yes, even a party. My niece attended a Christmas party and she is dead now. If the party-goers had tests (free or covered by insurance) and used them before that party that might not be the case.

She died on a ventilator in the ICU, wracking up an $80,000 bill in the process, so I admit I may be a little biased. Tests should be in the hands of everybody and if private insurance helps make that possible I am all for it. The more the merrier. jmo

I am truly sorry about your niece.

 

[CharlestonGal]

I am truly sorry about your niece.

Thank you. I appreciate that. She was only 39 and the whole family is devastated about this chain of events. I just hope that by putting her story out there people will have more awareness. More caution. Even about a simple party. jmo

 

[SouthAussie]

IMO, MOO, I think he 'conveniently' got tested positive on Dec 16.

Watching our morning news ...... it is not over yet. Seems Djokovic lied on his travel declaration (the declaration you have to complete and give to Immigration, as you enter Australia).

"Have you travelled in the last 14 days?" "No."
(There is published evidence that he had travelled.)

The Immigration Minister is 'looking into it'. There are penalties for lying on this declaration.

The travel question is one we are asked again and again, during covid. I am asked it at the dentist office, at the dr office, at the hospital ...... among the other screening questions (like 'do you feel well today?')
I don't know if this is a common screening question everywhere, but it is here.

Questions raised about whether Novak Djokovic lied about his travel history on border entry form

 

[CharlestonGal]

So much for Omicron being "mild".

US coronavirus: Covid-19 hospitalizations reach record high, HHS data shows - CNN

(CNN)The number of US patients hospitalized with Covid-19 has hit a record high, adding strain to health care networks and pushing states toward emergency staffing and other measures as they struggle to cope.

More than 145,900 people were in US hospitals with Covid-19 as of Tuesday -- a number that surpasses the previous peak from mid-January 2021 (142,246), and is almost twice what it was two weeks ago, according to data from the Department of Health and Human Services.
The hospitalization record comes amid a surge in cases fueled by the highly transmissible Omicron variant.

 

[sds71]

Mayor Lightfoot tests positive for COVID-19 | WGN-TV

 

[SouthAussie]

8?

I've had a total of 3 tests since January 2020. One because I landed in an ER totally unrelated to Covid. Then 2 in September because I got really ill after an event. It wasn't Covid.

IMO, that's overkill and encouraging hyperchondria and anxiety.

It is how we need to take pressure off the PCR lab testing system. And we are all trying to do that.
It is how we need to try to slow the spread, to take the pressure off our hospitals.

IIRC the school children in the UK test 2-3 times per week (with RATs provided through their govt national health system).

We are moving towards that here, too. If we are a close contact of a positive case, we are now to use a RAT at home instead of clogging up the PCR lab testing system. Our govt health dept will give us each two RATs to use, if we are a close contact.

We are all going to pay for this. Either through health insurance premium increases, or through our taxes - and if we don't do it, we are all paying via increased/ongoing strain on the hospitals and lab testing systems.

One of my clients is providing RATs to their close contact workers, to make sure they are not infected. This is an additional employment cost that is going to be a strain on company finances further down the line.

imo

 

[Cool Cats]

So much for Omicron being "mild".

US coronavirus: Covid-19 hospitalizations reach record high, HHS data shows - CNN

(CNN)The number of US patients hospitalized with Covid-19 has hit a record high, adding strain to health care networks and pushing states toward emergency staffing and other measures as they struggle to cope.

More than 145,900 people were in US hospitals with Covid-19 as of Tuesday -- a number that surpasses the previous peak from mid-January 2021 (142,246), and is almost twice what it was two weeks ago, according to data from the Department of Health and Human Services.
The hospitalization record comes amid a surge in cases fueled by the highly transmissible Omicron variant.

Are they in only because they are sick with Covid or are the majority coming in for other reasons and just happen to test positive?

Big difference.