Coronavirus COVID-19 - Global Health Pandemic #37

[Reasonable & Just]

In Coronavirus, Industry Sees Chance to Undo Plastic Bag Bans
They are “petri dishes for bacteria and carriers of harmful pathogens,” read one warning from a plastics industry group. They are “virus-laden.”

The group’s target? The reusable shopping bags that countless of Americans increasingly use instead of disposable plastic bags.

The plastic bag industry, battered by a wave of bans nationwide, is using the coronavirus crisis to try to block laws prohibiting single-use plastic. “We simply don’t want millions of Americans bringing germ-filled reusable bags into retail establishments putting the public and workers at risk,” an industry campaign that goes by the name Bag the Ban warned on Tuesday, quoting a Boston Herald column outlining some of the group’s talking points.

[...]

BBM: Reusable bags have already been disallowed at my local grocery store.

At my son's store, the bags are allowed, but clerks are not allowed to touch them (so you bag your own). Many bags are washable, though I don't blame stores for disallowing now. At some point, we will come out of this, so the plastic bag lobby needn't get too excited, IMO...

 

[astheworldfallsdown]

Coronavirus: Police get power to issue £60 fines or arrest Britons breaking lockdown rules

Coronavirus: Police get power to issue £60 fines or arrest Britons breaking lockdown rules
Officers get the means to ensure people stay at home and avoid non-essential travel - as one force employs random checkpoints.

Introduced on Thursday with immediate effect, the new powers will give police the means to ensure people stay at home and avoid non-essential travel.


If members of the public do not comply, police may:

• Instruct them to go home, leave an area or disperse;
• Ensure parents are taking necessary steps to stop their children breaking the rules;
• Issue a fixed penalty notice of £60, which will be lowered to £30 if paid within 14 days;
• Issue a fixed penalty notice of £120 for second time offenders, doubling on each further repeat offence.

 

[gregjrichards]

New York records 100 coronavirus death in just 24 hours, bringing state total to 385, as number of fatal cases across US jumps to 1,074 and infections increase to 73,000

New York records 100 coronavirus death in 24 hours as US cases increase to over 1000 | Daily Mail Online

#StayHomeSaveLives

 

[PommyMommy]

CONNECTICUT

Governor Asks for Presidential Major Disaster Declaration for Impact of Coronavirus on Connecticut
The governor is asking for a presidential major disaster declaration because of the devastating impact the COVID-19 pandemic is having on the State of Connecticut.

The state of Connecticut had had 875 confirmed cases of coronavirus and 12 deaths.

[...]

The governor said, if the assistance is approved, Connecticut residents might have access to additional resources to support childcare, crisis counseling ,and other needs identified as a result of the pandemic.

[...]

 

[CSIDreamer]

Which state is it that is including the # of patients on vents? I wish they all did that. Jmo

 

[otto]

Pregnant women with coronavirus infection can pass it to their babies, study finds
A study of 33 pregnant women in China who were infected with the new coronavirus found that three of them gave birth to babies with COVID-19.

All three infants survived after receiving treatment for their symptoms, doctors reported Thursday in the medical journal JAMA Pediatrics.

One of those infants was delivered by cesarean section nearly nine weeks before its due date because the mother was suffering from pneumonia caused by COVID-19. ...

[...]

It seems that there is not enough information yet, but early results indicate that infected mothers do not pass the virus to the fetus. It is likely that an infected mother can give the virus to her baby, but it does not seem that it happens during pregnancy or birth.

"The results of a small study in China that followed four pregnant women infected with COVID-19 during pregnancy, suggest that the viral infection doesn’t pass from mother to infant at birth. All four mothers in the study, which focused on the health of their newborns, gave birth at Wuhan’s Union Hospital. The report, published in the journal Frontiers in Pediatrics, is the second to come out of China within a month to find that mothers infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus did not infect their babies.

“Importantly, we found neither SARS-CoV-2 diagnostic positivity nor immediate evidence of symptomatic COVID-19 among these infants born to symptomatic, test-positive mothers,” commented Yalan Liu, PhD, at Huazhong University of Science and Technology, and colleagues in their Frontiers in Pediatrics report, which is titled, “Infants born to Mothers with a New Coronavirus (COVID-19).” Liu also works in the Department of Pediatrics at Union Hospital."​

Coronavirus Infection During Pregnancy Does Not Pass from Mother to Newborn

"A study of nine pregnant women who were infected with COVID-19 and had symptoms showed that none of their babies were affected by the virus. The virus was not present in amniotic fluid, the babies’ throats, or in breast milk. The risk of passing the infection to the fetus appears to be very low, and there is no evidence of any fetal malformations or effects due to maternal infection with COVID-19."​

Pregnant and worried about the new coronavirus? - Harvard Health Blog

 

[bluedivergirl]

We have the choice of paper or plastic and I should also have said this; we can bring reusable bags in for use but the staff cannot touch them, so you have to bag your own groceries if you want to use them. MOO

I would gladly do this. One less person touching my stuff. I often do it anyway, if the cashier doesn't have a bagger. I ain't broke.

 

[Trudie]

No, I reached my own conclusion. When and if I’m in public, I keep moving, I don’t stop to chat.
Ignoring directives is blatant defiance, imo.

Did you happen to stop them and ask of their circumstances prior to making your conclusion that they just don't care?

 

[PommyMommy]

Spain, Europe's worst-hit country after Italy, says coronavirus tests it bought from China are failing to detect positive cases
Microbiology experts in Spain have said that rapid coronavirus tests that the country bought from China are not consistently detecting positive cases.

The error was discovered as Spain is in the grip of one of the worst coronavirus outbreaks in the world, second only to Italy in the number of reported deaths.

Studies on the tests done in Spain found that they had only 30% sensitivity, meaning they correctly identify people with the virus only 30% of the time, sources told the Spanish newspaper El País.

[...]

 

[Windsorite]

Isn't that where all the snowbirds were stopping for groceries?

I don’t follow SM but I’ve seen published stories for Brockville and Preston. I think
only a small minority would travel this route, it would be several hours out of the way for most Snowbirds I would expect.

 

[Trudie]

Me too. I had never used the Auto Checkout before and I couldnt believe what happened to me about 3 weeks ago at WM.

I only had a few items and I didnt have my gloves on that I normally wear when grocery shopping. I was trying to avoid all contact with people and devices and I did pretty good till I had to checkout.

I first started to go to an isle that had a checkout person and then decided it would be better to do Auto Checkout.

Well, I couldnt figure out how to swipe my darn Visa card through the machine because the silly instructions showed to swipe it through the swiper thing. Unbeknownst to me and no visual instrucdtions for it, there was another slot underneath the thing that takes the swipe. Anyway, as I am struggling and looking around for help, a nice attendant came over and before I could do much about it, she grabbed my card and swiped it for me. I was thankful I could get out of there, but also immediately knew my card had now been handled by another person. My no contact rules and trying to stay away from people were a **FAIL** right at the end as I was trying to leave.

It reminds me too that I once failed at the car when I had my gloves on and took them off before putting the packages in my car. Another FAIL right at the end. Even going into the house, I made some mistakes in handling the goods.

So wanted to share this tip. Be careful at ALL TIMES and especially right near the end of your shopping journeys if you do have to go out for supplies.

Isn’t incredible how difficult/challenging it is to do an otherwise normal/mundane task?

 

[justbeachy]

Question: my daughter will be 19 in April and in order to have access to her medical information or, God forbid, need to make medical decisions for her, I will need a temporary power of attorney. I did a google search for free forms (Florida), but the options are overwhelming.

Has anyone downloaded legal forms online from a reputable website that you could direct me to? TIA!

 

[PommyMommy]

Jimmy Carter asks donors give to coronavirus response rather than the Carter Center - CNNPolitics
Former President Jimmy Carter is asking donors to "forgo (their) next gift" to the Carter Center and instead support local groups working to ease the "suffering caused" by the coronavirus pandemic.

"As you are well aware, our country is facing a health crisis. Though the behaviors of COVID-19 are not fully known, what we do know makes it a global threat to our physical and economic health," the former Democratic president wrote in a message Tuesday also signed by former first lady Rosalynn, and their eldest grandchild, Jason Carter, the chair of the Carter Center Board of Trustees.

[...]

 

[PommyMommy]

COLORADO

How Colorado will enforce its coronavirus stay-at-home orders
Colorado residents could face jail time and fines if they violate the state’s stay-at-home order during the novel coronavirus pandemic — but officials hope it won’t come to that.

With nearly all 5.8 million people in the state ordered to stay home starting Thursday in a bid to slow the spread of COVID-19, officials urged voluntary compliance...

By law, those who violate the state’s public health order commit a misdemeanor and can face fines of up to $1,000 as well as a year in jail. ...

[...]

 

[bluedivergirl]

idk but my dad is dying right now in hospital and no one is allowed to be with him, not even my mom

I am so sorry. I can't imagine losing my helpmeet of 45 years without being with him. I am so, so sorry.

 

[Trudie]

My concern was the person doing the cooking at their food establishment. I cant be sure if they are healthy or not.

. If you recall, a poster on a previous thread linked tweets about fast food drive thru workers testing positive.,.,.so there ya go. And gloves, omg, once the gloves touch any item, they are no longer sanitary, no dif’ than using hands to touch surfaces. Best bet, stay home. We all have to step out on occasion, we need to self sterilize afterwards. A simple grocery trip now means disinfecting car steering wheel, controls, shifter, keys, etc. then the purchased items....and so it goes. Moo

 

[otto]

I don’t follow SM but I’ve seen published stories for Brockville and Preston. I think
only a small minority would travel this route, it would be several hours out of the way for most Snowbirds I would expect.

Yes, quite right, Preston is the problem area. Snowbirds have been disregarding Canadian law requiring them to go straight home.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/otta...nowbirds-shopping-before-quarantine-1.5506464

 

[Recidivist]

No, I reached my own conclusion. When and if I’m in public, I keep moving, I don’t stop to chat.
Ignoring directives is blatant defiance, imo.

I guess I didn't realize that only certain folks were allowed in public to shop. You know there may be good reasons why a child has to go with their parent to the store. I am raising a 9 year old autistic child. I would almost always prefer to shop alone, but I get so uneasy leaving him alone, that I usually make him go with me. While I understand the importance of all the directives, and adhering to them to the best of our abilities, you don't know the circumstances of any or all of the folks you encounter, perhaps they really just need compassion and understanding over judgment and condemnation.

imo

 

[JerseyGirl]

I noticed that West Virginia is on a stay at home Order. They were the last state for days that didn’t record a single case (until a few days ago). Good for West Virginia for keeping their citizens safe.

COVID-19/Coronavirus Real Time Updates With Credible Sources in US and Canada | 1Point3Acres

 

[Hatfield]

Isn’t incredible how difficult/challenging it is to do an otherwise normal/mundane task?

Yes. It is almost impossible at times.

Ive concluded that we should just try to do as much safety precautions as possible and know that we may fail in some of our efforts but at least we are reducing the frequency and opportunity for the Virus to get us. Every little bit of prevention we do is helping to keep us and others safe and healthy.