Coronavirus COVID-19 - Global Health Pandemic #59

[CharlestonGal]

"In the first few weeks of 2020, as president Donald Trump dismissed and mocked warnings about a novel virus killing people faraway in China, Native American leaders were taking the deadly threat seriously.

And they were right.

The infection rate among the Navajo Nation has now surpassed the state of New York, the centre of the pandemic in the US, and on Monday stood at 2,680 cases per 100,000 people compared with 1,890 in New York.

The data emerging from some smaller tribes is even worse. By mid-May, the known infection rate in the Pueblo of Zia, which has a population of 934 people, was 3,319 per 100,000 – ten times the rate of New Mexico where the tribe is situated, and almost double the rate of New Jersey – the second worst hit US state.

The nearby Pueblo of San Felipe, population 3,544, is also badly affected with 3,301 known cases per 100,000. Reporting lags mean the actual infection rate for both tribes could be significantly higher."

More at link.

Why Native Americans took Covid-19 seriously: 'It's our reality'

 

[The Night Watchman]

I don't know how true this article is, but it is interesting.

There is only a 50% chance of the Oxford coronavirus vaccine working because cases in the UK are declining so fast, one of the scientists behind it has warned.

COVID-19 vaccine in January using a virus taken from chimpanzees.

He told The Sunday Telegraph: "It's a race against the virus disappearing, and against time. We said earlier in the year that there was an 80% chance of developing an effective vaccine by September.

"But at the moment, there's a 50% chance that we get no result at all. We're in the bizarre position of wanting COVID to stay, at least for a little while."

Coronavirus 'disappearing' so fast Oxford vaccine has 'only 50% chance of working'

 

[MimosaMornings]

That is kind of what I am saying. If you are worried about a dangerous work environment, I would want an option for you to be furloughed and go on full employment during the most dangerous phases of a pandemic, like we are in. This is cheaper for the government than shutting down the economy- by many orders of magnitude. Let the low risk people work and get infected, as they should have little concern about getting back to life.

I can't imagine forcing at-risk people to go back to high-exposure work environments. That seems like a preventable disaster, like health care homes.

If you don’t go to work, you don’t get unemployment. I have two family members that are at risk and in the 55-61 age range and work in a factory/plant work environment. (Not food)
Positive tests in both places.
These places were not set up for 6 feet away social distancing and wearing of masks. You are on top on each other, sharing tools, tablets, computer, etc.
Have to pull mask down to talk and hear team mates due to the noise. Ear plugs in also. I don’t know they are going to retrofit that environment safely.
They have burned through all their time off and their unemployment claim has been denied.

 

[LadyL]

glad this is being revealed to the public (& gov't) - wonder what happens when there's no witnesses?:

Canadian Armed Forces teams deployed to five of the province’s worst-hit long-term care homes to help control COVID-19 have raised concerns about each of the facilities, describing the care as ranging from below best practices to “borderline abusive, if not abusive” and worse, the documents show.

Military teams raise concerns about conditions at Ontario care homes

 

[jjenny]

glad this is being revealed to the public (& gov't) - wonder what happens when there's no witnesses?:

Canadian Armed Forces teams deployed to five of the province’s worst-hit long-term care homes to help control COVID-19 have raised concerns about each of the facilities, describing the care as ranging from below best practices to “borderline abusive, if not abusive” and worse, the documents show.

Military teams raise concerns about conditions at Ontario care homes

Well, that's the issue right now. They are not allowing family members visit nursing home patients (at least in US). Family members are another set of eyes if there is anything amiss. And that's not there right now.

 

[mickey2942]

If you don’t go to work, you don’t get unemployment. I have two family members that are at risk and in the 55-61 age range and work in a factory/plant work environment. (Not food)
Positive tests in both places.
These places were not set up for 6 feet away social distancing and wearing of masks. You are on top on each other, sharing tools, tablets, computer, etc.
Have to pull mask down to talk and hear team mates due to the noise. Ear plugs in also. I don’t know they are going to retrofit that environment safely.
They have burned through all their time off and their unemployment claim has been denied.

Yes, according to current unemployment laws, that would be a "voluntary quit". And you have to be "able and available" to work, in a job similar to base period employment.

And being obese, over age 55, without any disabling conditions does not meet any ADA parameters for disability. There goes entitlement programs, SSDI.

Go to work, wear a mask, pray.

 

[mickey2942]

Well, that's the issue right now. They are not allowing family members visit nursing home patients (at least in US). Family members are another set of eyes if there is anything amiss. And that's not there right now.

This is very true. And disturbing. Family members in and out of a nursing home facility make the staff members more aware of their responsibilities. And creates another layer of accountability.

 

[Sundog]

If you don’t go to work, you don’t get unemployment. I have two family members that are at risk and in the 55-61 age range and work in a factory/plant work environment. (Not food)
Positive tests in both places.
These places were not set up for 6 feet away social distancing and wearing of masks. You are on top on each other, sharing tools, tablets, computer, etc.
Have to pull mask down to talk and hear team mates due to the noise. Ear plugs in also. I don’t know they are going to retrofit that environment safely.
They have burned through all their time off and their unemployment claim has been denied.

The U.S. Department of Labor's OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) guidelines for COVID-19 for various work environments, including manufacturing plants, are available at the following link. Unsafe working conditions should be reported to OSHA and/or the county and state department of health.

Safety and Health Topics | COVID-19 | Occupational Safety and Health Administration

 

[Sundog]

Higher age staff and faculty are just a portion of the risk group. Age is certainly a risk factor, but it isn't the only one.

Because of HIPPA laws, employers aren't able to access information on the percentage of their employees who are at risk for medical conditions. But they can access information on the number of employees who are at risk due to their age (not by name, but as a percentage of their employees). So they could begin to plan for this at-risk population, and assume that other at risk employee groups will be making requests for reasonable accommodation or FMLA leave, and at least they will have a plan in place.

 

[CharlestonGal]

It's official. US has now passed 100,000 deaths.

United States Coronavirus: 1,715,520 Cases and 100,213 Deaths - Worldometer

 

[musicaljoke]

Not to mention that 39,000,000 Americans were infected with flu last year, while less than 2,000,000 have contracted covid so far. Can you imagine how many ICU beds would be needed if 39,000,000 people got covid?

It would have been catastrophic, and it certainly would have been the scenerio if people hadn't been so determined to stop the spread with social distancing, hand washing and sanitizing, working from home, closing the schools, etc. Drastic measures were and continue to be taken. I'm thankful for that.

 

[CharlestonGal]

Oakland McDonald's workers strike after COVID-19 concerns

"OAKLAND — After allegedly being told to masks made out of dog diapers, employees of a McDonald’s in Oakland went on strike Tuesday, effectively shutting down the restaurant, after at least four workers and their family members got sick with COVID-19.

The 22 workers of the Telegraph Avenue fast-food restaurant did not show up to work Tuesday, striking to demand a two-week paid quarantine period, company-paid medical costs and a deep cleaning of the store, plus proper personal protective equipment. Organizers say the cooks, cashiers and other workers were told to wear face masks made out of unused dog diapers or use coffee filters to make masks when they ran out of masks handed out by management.

“McDonald’s is treating us like dogs,” said worker Delia Vargas in a statement. “We don’t want to die for their hamburgers so we are going on strike, to protect ourselves, our families and our communities.”

 

[LadyL]

Well, that's the issue right now. They are not allowing family members visit nursing home patients (at least in US). Family members are another set of eyes if there is anything amiss. And that's not there right now.

yep they aren't in my area in Canada either

 

[margarita25]

US will pay for companies to bring supply chains home from China: Kudlow

PTL, moo.

About damn time.

I’ve always been a “Made in USA” type of person.

 

[vw51212]

Not to mention that 39,000,000 Americans were infected with flu last year, while less than 2,000,000 have contracted covid so far. Can you imagine how many ICU beds would be needed if 39,000,000 people got covid?

EXACTLY! and that is why we wanted to "flatten the curve" because no one wants to list "lack of access to healthcare" on a death certificate.
Also to be noted is that the contagion factor of flu is lower, in a busy flu year (2017-2018) we are able to open more units to accommodate the influx , flu patients usually do not require ICU support and flu patients are not usually hospitalized for 30 days as COVID patients require. Additionally Flu incubation is usually 5-7 days and is a season (5-6 months) where as COVID has an incubation period of 10-14 days (making it harder to trace) and seems to surge faster than the season we get with flu.
Flu has a known vaccine and a known treatment to decrease the length, COVID doesn't have either.
We have seen, studied and even been able to predict the flu outbreak season almost to complete accuracy. COVID is an unknown, we have never seen it before, it is an unknown disease.
There is nothing to describe the feeling of suiting up in full PPE and entering an ICU room to care for a patient with a unknown disease that his killed tens of thousands around the world.

 

[margarita25]

It's official. US has now passed 100,000 deaths.

United States Coronavirus: 1,715,520 Cases and 100,213 Deaths - Worldometer

 

[margarita25]

Live link to Colorado Governor PC:

FOX31 KDVR.com

(ETA: well crap, I can’t get it to play)

—-

Eta2:

WATCH LIVE: Gov. Polis provides update as restaurants, camps get ready to open

 

[Simply Southern]

US will pay for companies to bring supply chains home from China: Kudlow

Working in HC for 40+, I've experience many shortages of medical supplies from the overseas market. Suction and urinary sterile catheter were an issue in the late 90s, made in Honduras, due to Hurricane and flooding. The plants were wiped out and NO US back up.

Sterile gloves, trac tubes, serial medication for asthma, to name just a few.

Shortages have affected the healthcare systems since we moved manufacturing to foreign countries.

We need more than one source of a product to protect society.

 

[24Roses]

Iowa news today: May 26: Iowa reports 8 additional COVID-19 deaths, 104 more cases
104 new confirmed cases and 8 more have passed away. We now have a total of 17,661 confirmed cases and 464 passed.
9,410 have recovered.
Casinos, amusement parks, outdoor venues and sports leagues allowed to reopen June 1 with restrictions

 

[Barnabas]

Get this...I manage a small group of secretaries at work. We have all been working from home for two months and all were told to keep working at home through the summer as much as possible. This morning I get an email from one of them to inform me she was at the office for a couple hours already and she has a fever and has been sick bit don’t worry it’s probably not the virus because she lives in a rural area. Her chiropractor thought she should get tested but she’s sure it can’t be that since, again, it’s not in rural areas. She was there working sick with a fever for at least two hours before I found out. We made her go home and now she’s complaining about me lol how stupid can one be?