Coronavirus COVID-19 - Global Health Pandemic #45

[imstilla.grandma]

That's why it's good to have that medical ID filled out on your cell phone. It's accessible even when your phone is locked, and lets you give the basic medical info...blood type, medications you're on, whom to call etc.

Yes, I agree. This is another reason why I use only one pharmacy for the last ten years. As long as the hospital has my name and birthdate - my prescription history can be pulled identifying all meds and prescribers. This has probably saved my life several times when I’ve not been able to speak.

 

[tresir2012]

It's still illegal, both by federal law and by provincial law to sell raw milk in Canada. It's the only G7 country where it is completely illegal.

But, if you own the cow, then you can consume that cow's raw milk. Some people who want raw milk will own shares in a cow, and thereby skirt the law.

So if you want to make cheese from raw milk for your personal use, you can, providing you own the cow. Otherwise, cheese is made from pasteurized milk.

Thanks for clarifying there is a work around. Are there a lot of people owning cow shares in Canada ?

 

[margarita25]

Covid-19 Pet Preparedness

 

[astheworldfallsdown]

Coronavirus: PM in 'early phase of his recovery' as Britons told lockdown must continue

Boris Johnson appears to be out of danger at the start of an Easter weekend that ministers claim will be critical in the battle against coronavirus.

After three nights in intensive care, the prime minister is now back in a hospital ward after a gradual improvement in his condition that has left him in "extremely good spirits".


Downing Street announced Mr Johnson's move out of intensive care shortly after his stand-in, Dominic Raab, told the nation it is too early to lift the coronavirus lockdown.

With temperatures set to soar over the Easter weekend, police forces have warned they are ready to take action against those who flout rules designed to slow the spread of COVID-19.

Speaking after chairing a COBRA meeting, Mr Raab declared: "We're not done yet. After all the efforts everybody has made, after all the sacrifices we've made, let's not ruin it now."

The government has launched a huge Easter holiday publicity blitz urging the public to stay at home, not visit friends or family and observe the lockdown rules over the weekend.

Launching the campaign, a spokesman said: "We are at a crucial moment in preventing further transmission of coronavirus, and so it is vital that we continue following the government's guidance to stay at home, protect the NHS, and save lives."

 

[tresir2012]

"Coronavirus: Boris Johnson must rest up, says PM's father - BBC News" PM 'must rest up', says his father

"Boris Johnson "must rest up" after he was moved from intensive care with coronavirus, his father has said.

"He almost took one for the team and we've got to make sure we play properly now," Stanley Johnson told the BBC.

Scientific adviser Prof Neil Ferguson, who was asked about coming out of lockdown, said it would likely "be targeted by age, by geography".

Meanwhile, the government has launched a campaign urging people to stay at home over the Easter Bank Holiday.

Stanley Johnson spoke of his "relief" and said the whole family was "tremendously grateful" that the prime minister had been moved out of intensive care at St Thomas' Hospital, adding that he thought his illness had "got the whole country to realise this is a serious event".

"It does come close to home. It's certainly made me feel cautious," he said."

• LIVE UPDATES: Christians face Good Friday on virus lockdown

So if and when UK comes out of lockdown it may be based on "age and geography".

Hmmmm. So kids back to school and over 70's stay at home maybe? London and large cities staying on lockdown perhaps?

Interesting.

 

[margarita25]

“NEW YORK (WABC) -- New York state now leads every country (outside of the United States) in the world in coronavirus with 159,937 confirmed COVID-19 cases.

That's a jump of more than 10,000 new cases in a single day.

New York surpassed Spain, which has 152,446 confirmed cases.

The state also reported a record number of deaths for a third consecutive day with 799, raising the outbreak total above 7,000.

Cuomo described the virus as a "silent explosion that ripples through society with the same randomness, the same evil that we saw on 9/11."”

Coronavirus News: New York now leads every country in COVID-19 cases
Apr 9

—-


“Dr Anthony Fauci, a key member of the White House's coronavirus task force, told NBC News' Today show on Thursday the final number of Americans who will die from Covid-19 in the outbreak "looks more like 60,000".

In late March, Dr Fauci estimated "between 100,000 and 200,000" could die.

The 60,000 projection would match the upper estimate for total flu deaths in the US between October 2019 to March 2020, according to government data.

But Vice-President Mike Pence stressed on Thursday that Covid-19 is about three times as contagious as influenza.”

[...]

“Gun violence in Chicago on Tuesday left seven dead and 14 injured, which city officials said was unforgivable given the virus crisis.

"Every one of those ER beds taken up by a gunshot victim could be somebody's grandmother, somebody with pre-existing conditions, somebody that is in danger of losing their lives because of the pandemic," Supt Charlie Beck said.”

[...]

“Alabama, Iowa, Ohio and Oklahoma have introduced similar abortion bans.

While there is still no vaccine for Covid-19, America's culture wars have proved similarly incurable.

Legal battles have also ensued over whether guns shops should be closed during the pandemic, and if religious services should be exempt from state orders that ban large gatherings.”

BBC:
New York has more virus cases than any country

—-

“NEW YORK — Marnee May, 75, was told by the city she’d be getting shipments of weekly meals in late March. She lives in Lower Manhattan and was getting the “grab-and-go” meals from the senior center in her building.

Toward the end of March, as the coronavirus tore through the city, the center was shuttered. Weeks have since gone by and her meals haven’t arrived.”

[...]

“New York City’s massive effort to deliver food directly to the homes of the elderly, spearheaded by the Department for the Aging, has left many behind, according to interviews with seniors, advocates and government officials. Throughout the city, many of its most vulnerable residents are trapped at home, wondering when their next meal will come.

“I could say funeral homes weren’t prepared for this, but Jesus, the city should have been prepared to give people meals,” May told POLITICO.”

 

[imstilla.grandma]

DeCA guidance requires employees, customers to have a face covering to enter commissaries
Defense Commissary Agency (DeCA) guidance is effective April 10:

Spoiler: DeCA Corporate Communications Release

FORT LEE, Va. – Commissaries are requiring some form of face covering for store employees and customers to enter a commissary.
The Defense Commissary Agency (DeCA) guidance is effective April 10 and applies to all agency stores and other facilities worldwide where no local directive has yet been issued, said Rear Adm. (Ret.) Robert J. Bianchi, DOD special assistant for commissary operations.
“If an installation commander has already issued a directive to require face coverings in DeCA commissaries, this order shall not supersede their policy, and all patrons and employees shall adhere to current rules,” Bianchi said. “Many bases have already imposed this requirement, but at locations where there is no guidance, this is protection of our employees and our customers.”
DeCA’s guidance falls in line with April 5 Department of Defense guidance mandating that “all individuals on DoD property, installations, and facilities will wear cloth face coverings when they cannot maintain 6 feet of social distance in public areas or work centers.”
On April 3, DeCA announced to employees it was working through the procurement process to purchase and distribute personal protective equipment (PPE) to stores as fast as possible.
The commissary agency is purchasing disposable masks and gloves through the commercial supply system that will be made available to employees.
As supplies of masks and gloves make their way to commissaries, store employees are wearing their own masks or some form of material such as scarfs, bandannas, clean t-shirts or cloths to cover the nose and mouth.
Army Lt. Col. Angela Parham, DeCA’s director of health and safety, emphasized that PPE is only one part of the preventive measures required to help combat COVID-19.
“DOD’s face covering mandate aligns with CDC guidance to help prevent asymptomatic people, who may not know they’re infected, from spreading the virus to healthy folks,” Parham said. “Even when you wear a mask or other face covering, it is still important to practice good hand hygiene, social distancing, and refrain from touching your face.”
In addition to requiring face coverings for employees and customers, commissaries have implemented the following operational policies to help make stores safer during this pandemic:
• Commissaries are installing clear, acrylic sneeze shields in all regular checkout lanes to add extra protection for customers and cashiers.
• Commissary personnel are wiping down checkout areas, product display cases, restrooms and shopping carts with disinfectant, and practicing routine hand washing and other basic sanitation measures to reduce transmission risk.
• Hand sanitizer is provided at each register and staff are encouraged to use it at the end of each patron transaction.
• DeCA encourages its employees to closely monitor their health, and asks them to stay home if they, or someone in their household, are sick.
• Stores are working with their installations to implement procedures regarding social distancing.
• A “no visitors” policy was instituted to reduce the number of people in the stores.
• Early bird hours were suspended to allow stores more time to clean and restock the store
• Patrons cannot bring reusable bags into the commissary to help reduce the risk of virus.
• Cashiers no longer handle patron ID cards. Instead, customers will be asked to scan their own ID or cashiers can use the handheld scanner if available.
• DeCA encourages the use of credit or debit transactions to limit the use of cash and coins
• Local commissaries work closely with the public health assets on the installation to monitor transmission risk related to staff and patrons.
• Commissaries have temporarily suspended the requirement to sign credit card receipts to prevent multi patron handling of the credit card reader pen.
“We will continue to follow the highest standards of DOD health protection in our stores,” Bianchi said. “DeCA’s objective is always to deliver the necessary goods our customers need in stores that are safe and clean for them and our employees.”
Commissary customers should continue to refer to the federal government’s response to coronavirus, COVID-19 website and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Coronavirus site for updates and guidance regarding this virus. Updates related to the commissaries can be found on DeCA’s Coronavirus page.
-DeCA-

New Policies

1. There will be 100% I.D. card checks at the entrance of all stores and no visitors will be allowed entrance. We believe this will reduce the number of people in our stores and help with social distancing.
2. There will be no more "early bird" shopping hours to allow more time for cleaning and re-stocking of our stores.
3. Please note that each commissary location in coordination with their installation leadership may need to implement purchase limitations on products to ensure that DeCA can meet the increased requirements and take care of all of our valued patrons. Our commissary team is working very hard on a daily basis to re-stock the shelves as the supplies are delivered. Once again, we appreciate your support and patience during this period.
4. During this pandemic, we will be limiting the use of reusable bags at the register.
5. Plexiglass shields are being installed in all checkout lanes as a protective measure.
6. Please consider using bank-issued credit and debit, MILITARY STAR or gift cards instead of cash. Cash-back and check-cashing transactions may be limited during this time.

Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) | Commissaries

 

[imstilla.grandma]

“It is likely that people who have passed away from (coronavirus).... will be buried on the Island in the coming days," New York City Mayor Press Secretary Freddi Goldstein told CNN.

Hart Island has been used by the city as a public cemetery for over 150 years and is managed by the Department of Corrections. The Hart island burials are mostly people who have been unclaimed at the city's morgue for anywhere from 30 to 60 days, Goldstein said.
Over one million people are interred there.

The city is transferring unclaimed bodies to Hart Island to make way for other coronavirus victims whose bodies will be claimed, Goldstein said. New rules from the medical examiner's office say bodies will be taken to the island if they go unclaimed for two weeks.
New York's Hart Island may be used to bury unclaimed coronavirus victims - CNN

 

[squareandrabbet]

Some good news:

The US is set to reach its highest daily number of deaths on or around Sunday, according to models by the prominent Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington in Seattle.

It estimated that 60,415 in the US would die of coronavirus by August, assuming social distancing policies continue through May. That projection is down from the 82,000 it predicted earlier this week.

US coronavirus: America nears peak death rate - CNN

 

[imstilla.grandma]

“This plant continues to operate. There are hundreds of people still there getting sick affecting others,” he complained.”

[...]

“JBS spokesman Cameron Bruett told CBS4 the plant is open because it involves food and is considered an “essential business.” He said, “It’s for the good of the nation.””

—-

“BEEF PRODUCTION
Located on the Colorado front range, the Greeley beef processing facility serves customers throughout the U.S. and exports more than 30% of its production to 20 different countries around the world, including Japan, Korea and Hong Kong.”

JBS

Hmm...I wonder if that plant supplies my grocery store...it seems they do service that grocery chain along with others.

I’m going to call and ask them tomorrow. If so, I’ll be amending my order.

—-

Another JBS plant mentioned here:
Meat Processing Plants Suspend Operations After Workers Fall Ill

“Several meat processing plants around the U.S. are sitting idle this week because workers have been infected with the coronavirus. Tyson Foods, one of the country's biggest meat processors, says it suspended operations at its pork plant in Columbus Junction, Iowa, after more than two dozen workers got sick with COVID-19. National Beef Packing stopped slaughtering cattle at another Iowa plant, and JBS USA shut down work at a beef plant in Pennsylvania.”

—-

Meat plants are shutting down as workers get sick - CNN

—-

LIVESTOCK-U.S. livestock futures slide as coronavirus worries roil market

“Smithfield Foods Inc, the world's biggest pork processor, said on Thursday it is temporarily closing a plant in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, because of the new coronavirus, the latest disruption to the U.S. food supply chain from the outbreak.”

—-

Tyson:

Tyson Foods CEO Provides Update on Efforts to Address COVID-19

Covid-19 exposes one of the big weaknesses of a consolidated US meat industry

A Smithfield Foods pork processing plant in South Dakota is closing temporarily after more than 80 employees tested positive for the coronavirus.

The Department of Agriculture says there's no evidence that the coronavirus is transmitted through food or its packaging.
Smithfield temporarily shuts pork plant due to coronavirus


After Sanchez was diagnosed and hospitalized in March, his family was frustrated by JBS officials being unresponsive to their attempts to report that their loved one might have unknowingly exposed others in the beef plant to the virus — and that maybe JBS might want to do something about it.

In his death, the Sanchez family was credited by the Greeley Tribune with breaking open “the usually impenetrable concrete walls of the beef plant during a critical time.”

“Team member health and safety remains our top priority,” according to a JBS statement. It said company officials are working with local health departments and following guidelines from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

In Hazleton, PA, Cargill has sent 900 employees home “indefinitely” from a meat processing facility that usually is helping keep grocery store meat counters full.

“Our goal is to keep our 900 employees at this case-ready protein facility healthy and minimize risk within the Hazleton community, which has been greatly impacted by COVID-19,” Cargill said. “Our facility will re-open as soon as is it is safe to do so.”

In Ontario, Canada, Maple Leaf Foods suspended operations at Brampton after three employees tested positive for COVID-19. While closed, Maple Leaf will deep clean the plant and further investigate the spread of the virus.

And in Columbus Junction, IA, Tyson Foods ceased operations at its pork plant after 24 cases of COVID-19 were reported at the facility. Tyson is shifting livestock from the Columbus Junction pork plant to other facilities.

The steps the meat industry is taking are also being embraced by the its regulator. USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) on April 9 let meat inspectors know that they may now wear face masks. In a notice, FSIS said:
“The Agency’s mission-essential workforce, whose duties require they continue to work at their primary job site every day, or who come into work intermittently at labs and headquarters, and who do not typically wear face coverings as part of their jobs, may consider wearing a face-covering consistent with CDC recommendations.”
Death, illness reports cause industry to get busy with COVID-19 mitigation measures | Food Safety News

 

[BUF]

Coronavirus Update: Over 100 New York Buildings, Landmarks Participate In 'Light It Blue' Tribute To Thank Essential Workers

Hundreds of buildings across the country lit up blue Thursday night to say thank you to those on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We hope that it just creates this giant hug for all the health care workers and essential workers,”

 

[nhmemorymaker]

We have a lot of feral cats in our area and many years ago we successfully "adopted" one of them when he kept visiting our yard. It was a lot of work to domesticate him but over time he turned out to be the best pet cat we ever had. There were challenges and he always kept his wild side to him like instead of bringing us birds to give us as "gifts", we would get large squirrels. LOL

He was amazing though and such an amazing cat. We let him sleep in the garage each night and he loved having a home base. He had to roam though as he did not like being too confined. He protected our yard from other feral cats and slowly but surely allowed us to pet and hold him.

We live rural out in the country and one day he didnt return and we think a coyote must have gotten him as we have large packs of coyotes in the area.

We miss him to this day. He was a joy in our lives.

I am definitely not a cat person...but I do know people who have done wonders with feral cats. Just as you discuss, you really do have to let the cat control the process and the way the relationship will be handled. I had to laugh... my good friend gets squirrels too!

 

[tresir2012]

This article is from over two weeks ago, on March 24.

I think there is a more recent update in there though where he is saying he is keeping it the same. I can only read bits of it as it keeps wanting me to add stuff to be able to properly read it all.

 

[mickey2942]

My view is if it helps and it is a proven drug already and is part of a legit study, then it is common sense that it be tried. This is not the only drug being trialled either, as HIV drugs as well as Ebola drugs are being trialled also. There are no cures out there so these trials are vital IMO. And I want to hear how they are going wherever possible.

It's really interesting to hear your perspective, as you have taken it for some time.

I haven't taken any meds, but really since the only real outcome for many people who have comorbid disorders, since death is pretty much an assumption if they get COVID19. It wouldn't matter much what the side effects are.
Hair loss? Already have it
Sterile? No problem
Loss of libido? At age 80, again, not a problem.
Pot belly and possible indigestion. Sure, bring it on...

So really, this is like the "Wild West" for drug companies. They have a population who would literally take anything to be immune from COVID19.

 

[oviedo]

I agree that it should be considered that schools maybe go back after Easter in a lot of countries/states. Children are a low risk group. What do posters think?

Most everyone I know thinks we won’t return to live school this term but just wait for August - we shall see (I think we need to stay home/stay safe including live school through May)
JMO

 

[tresir2012]

OMG, your neighbor lost his wife. That is heartbreaking. Now, he struggles with guilt. I am so worried about family members thinking they're being careful enough.

Me too, same as you...COPD. We can not catch this devil virus. West Coast here, your building has more stories. Do you have to use a laundry room? I know I was stocking up way before my neighbors, and telling people on the elevator in the building that it was possible we weren't going to be able to go out. They laughed at the thought. There's many here that still don't think they could get the virus. I'm so sorry he lost his wife. Take care dear.

I am worried about more than one person in the elevator. How big is the elevator? Definitely wear a mask and keep safe.

 

[tresir2012]

America's first ER doctor to die on the frontline of the coronavirus battle (Guardian)

At about 5am on 19 March, a New York ER physician named Frank Gabrin texted a friend about his concerns over the lack of medical supplies at hospitals.

“It’s busy – everyone wants a Covid test that I do not have to give them,” he wrote in the message to Eddy Soffer. “So they are angry and disappointed.”

Worse, though, was the limited availability of personal protective equipment (PPE) – the masks and gloves that both prevent healthcare workers getting sick and spreading the virus to others. Gabrin said he had no choice but to don the same mask for several shifts, against Food and Drug Administration (FDA) guidelines.

“Don’t have any PPE that has not been used,” he wrote. “No N95 masks – my own goggles – my own face shield,” he added, referring to the N95 respirators that are considered one of the best lines of defense.



Less than two weeks later, Gabrin became the first ER doctor in the US known to have died as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to the American College of Emergency Physicians.
(more)​

Heartbreaking. We have discussed trying to sterilise masks to use more than once which could have saved his life perhaps. Enough N95 masks would also have helped.

 

[PommyMommy]

“NEW YORK (WABC) -- New York state now leads every country (outside of the United States) in the world in coronavirus with 159,937 confirmed COVID-19 cases.

That's a jump of more than 10,000 new cases in a single day.

New York surpassed Spain, which has 152,446 confirmed cases.

The state also reported a record number of deaths for a third consecutive day with 799, raising the outbreak total above 7,000.

Cuomo described the virus as a "silent explosion that ripples through society with the same randomness, the same evil that we saw on 9/11."”

Coronavirus News: New York now leads every country in COVID-19 cases
Apr 9

—-


“Dr Anthony Fauci, a key member of the White House's coronavirus task force, told NBC News' Today show on Thursday the final number of Americans who will die from Covid-19 in the outbreak "looks more like 60,000".

In late March, Dr Fauci estimated "between 100,000 and 200,000" could die.

The 60,000 projection would match the upper estimate for total flu deaths in the US between October 2019 to March 2020, according to government data.

But Vice-President Mike Pence stressed on Thursday that Covid-19 is about three times as contagious as influenza.”

[...]

“Gun violence in Chicago on Tuesday left seven dead and 14 injured, which city officials said was unforgivable given the virus crisis.

"Every one of those ER beds taken up by a gunshot victim could be somebody's grandmother, somebody with pre-existing conditions, somebody that is in danger of losing their lives because of the pandemic," Supt Charlie Beck said.”

[...]

“Alabama, Iowa, Ohio and Oklahoma have introduced similar abortion bans.

While there is still no vaccine for Covid-19, America's culture wars have proved similarly incurable.

Legal battles have also ensued over whether guns shops should be closed during the pandemic, and if religious services should be exempt from state orders that ban large gatherings.”

BBC:
New York has more virus cases than any country

—-

“NEW YORK — Marnee May, 75, was told by the city she’d be getting shipments of weekly meals in late March. She lives in Lower Manhattan and was getting the “grab-and-go” meals from the senior center in her building.

Toward the end of March, as the coronavirus tore through the city, the center was shuttered. Weeks have since gone by and her meals haven’t arrived.”

[...]

“New York City’s massive effort to deliver food directly to the homes of the elderly, spearheaded by the Department for the Aging, has left many behind, according to interviews with seniors, advocates and government officials. Throughout the city, many of its most vulnerable residents are trapped at home, wondering when their next meal will come.

“I could say funeral homes weren’t prepared for this, but Jesus, the city should have been prepared to give people meals,” May told POLITICO.”

I'm very behind and just saw yesterday's numbers for New York. My word!

New York City had 7,521 new cases and 518 new deaths today

New York City has 7,521 new coronavirus cases and 518 new deaths, according to the city’s website.

That brings the city's total to 87,725 cases and 4,778 deaths.

[...]

That means, according to official statistics, New York City alone now has had more infections than the whole of China, which has reported 81,907 cases, according to the Chinese National Health Commission.

April 9 coronavirus news - CNN

 

[astheworldfallsdown]

LIVE: 48 more people die with coronavirus in Scotland, says Nicola Sturgeon

48 more people die in Scotland

Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon is holding her daily briefing on the virus outbreak.

She says 5,275 people have now been diagnosed with the new coronavirus - an increase of 318 from yesterday.

"These numbers are under-estimate," Sturgeon warns.

Sadly the number of people with COVID-19 who have died has risen by 48 - taking the total to 495.

 

[tresir2012]

Thank you, and please be careful as well.

Yes, we have a laundry room in the lobby. That's where the mailroom is, as well. I'm hyperaware that the elevator is an enclosed communal space, and that in the lobby and laundry room we are all passing by each other and sharing the same air. That also goes for when it's empty, but people could have been there moments earlier. My 23-story building has three sections, and while I haven't been visiting friends in the other sections of course, so I'm not in those elevators now, all sections use the lobby. Within 5 blocks of me there are 19 buildings of the same size. I haven't gone out in weeks now. Just too much density here.

We are all still in shock about the death of our friend; she's the third person I know who died this week. The other two were Covid. While we still haven't heard that her death was from the virus, I know her husband will always hear her begging him to wear that mask because she was so afraid he'd bring the virus home to her. Whether or not that's what happened, this will tear him apart forever. And he really, really always sacrificed and did so much for her. It's awful.

He also was not allowed to go inside the hospital. She died alone. He can't hold a shiva for her (the Jewish ritual of mourning which involves many mourners comforting the bereaved).

@Curious Me ...this is in response to your post...I don't know why the quote didn't show...please stay well!

I have heard this a lot that next of kin are not allowed in and cannot really understand if they have already been living in close quarters and it is a CV19 ward. Wonder what the reason for the isolation actually is?