Coronavirus COVID-19 - Global Health Pandemic #62

[10ofRods]

MSNBC is showing the holding area for today's rally in Phoenix, AZ. A few hundred people crammed together, and NOT A SINGLE PERSON WEARING A MASK. I kid you not. There was literally Nobody. The reporter mentioned the temperature would be 109 degrees today, the rally doesn't start for several more hours. He was standing beside a rotating fan blowing onto the crowd, and pointing out that fact, saying "hopefully this is not blowing the virus around."

Then he made the mistake of interviewing some of the people. OH MY GOD! They cut to a commentator who said, "It's like talking to my 15 Month old."

People in Phoenix are falling into two camps, just like everywhere else, sadly. Phoenix has a lot of older people (I know you know that).

This is a good time for me to repeat that indoor A/C is a real factor in CoVid transmission. I don't have time to repost all the links, but basically, dry air and cooler air (lower humidity comes with cooler air) make CoVId persist longer in the air. Outdoor dry air isn't so great either, but certainly preferably to recirculated air. One of Phoenix's big problems right now is that nearly everyone is in air-conditioned spaces.

If people do want to use fans and wind on their side, they should at least know how that works, or else yep, a fan can be a vector, as people in Italy found out. But, I guess Americans have to learn every single thing all over again, in their own locale. Pretty common human behavior. People actually went nutso during Black Plague and during Spanish Flu and went out into the streets en masse, dancing and singing and ready to meet their fate, apparently. Black Plague had two vectors - aerosolized spray, just like CoVid - plus, of course, flea bites (humans and every other mammal were hosting fleas of course).

We can expect some similar demographic effects, not as catastrophic as the Plague (we hope), but shearing off the oldest people in a group means that the average age of the population drops. This effects job preparedness, expertise in some fields, as well as, of course - voting patterns.

 

[jjenny]

Do you know where silk masks can be purchased? I haven’t seen any.

Amazon has a bunch of different ones. They are more of a bandana style, but you can cut off the extra fabric under the mask part. Then there is "etsy" but I never bought from there.

 

[10ofRods]

Coronavirus ‘Contact Tracer’ is One of the Most In-Demand Jobs Right Now. Here’s How to Get Hired

I applied but bilingual is a requirement - hey it’s worth a shot!

I'm teaching two classes that will give students enough experience in contact tracing to have something of a good interview. Bilingualism is a scale - if you know any Spanish at all, you can brush up, you'd be surprised how very little you need. There are other aspects of the job that are pertinent to your skills on WS.

Anyway, there aren't enough applicants in most places and we really need those workers.

It's definitely worth a shot.

 

[bears10]

For those who can't seem to find the Chris Wallace interview of Mercedes Schlapp. Watch the video real quick because Fox keeps blocking the video from other news sites that have reported on it "on copyright grounds."

But that doesn't mean the video doesn't exist, or that this interview didn't happen. Yes, it is fact. It is still all over twitter as well for anyone who actually wants to find it.

Fox News' Chris Wallace grills Trump campaign adviser on Tulsa rally: "The arena was empty"

Here it is on Fox New's website too

Trump campaign reacts to the president's return to the campaign trail

 

[SoCalDavidS]

Breaking On CNN:

EU considering banning travelers from the U.S. and other countries, when they open their borders to International travel in the near future.

 

[gngr~snap]

Do you know where silk masks can be purchased? I haven’t seen any.

This one is a soft cotton silky(ish) washable mask. I got 3, however I cannot get air with the inserts! I feel like I am smothering in all masks!
Still wearing them though.
My shopping trips are getting shorter and shorter!!!
MOO

Reusable Cloth Mask - Black - CASETiFY

 

[tresir2012]

2.5% of Massachusetts protesters who got COVID-19 testing were positive


Massachusetts more at link
More than 17,000 people took advantage of free COVID-19 testing offered last week aimed for people who had attended Black Lives Matter protests. Of those, 2.5% tested positive for the coronavirus, Gov. Charlie Baker said Tuesday morning.

Massachusetts offered free COVID-19 testing at more than 50 sites on Wednesday and Thursday, and a handful offered testing on Friday. In total, 17,617 people got COVID-19 tests under the initiative. Baker said the results are consistent with the statewide public health data.

“We’re obviously pleased to see that the percentage of positive tests was quite low, considering the frequency and the size of those protests and demonstrations, but we also pointed out that the vast majority of the folks who participated in those demonstrations were wearing masks or face coverings of one kind or another,” the Republican governor said Tuesday during a news briefing at the former Boston State Hospital site.


Baker noted other factors may have played a role in keeping the number of positive tests low, including the decisions to hold protests outdoors and the crowds of people moving in lieu of congregating in one place.

I make that 440 were positive then. We can maybe use this 2.5% for all the BLM and outdoor gatherings.

 

[10ofRods]

Unless it's a silk or chiffon mask.

I don't go out in crowds and I try to keep 6-10 feet between me and next person (I'm moderately high risk due to a gene I have), but I'd be comfortable with a surgical mask and a silk scarf doubled bandana-style. I am awaiting my cool-looking neck gaiters to tuck the silk scarf into, but I think I'm at about 75-80% protection (not 95%) with that get-up.

The mask making forum here on WS has been a lifesaver for me. Since it's not too hot here yet, I'm doing a cloth (3 layers, one layer polyester) with an N95 filter, and would add a silk scarf and gaiter to that if I had to be in a crowd or a hospital lobby/waiting room. I also have face shields for the hospital lobby, if I have to go.

 

[tresir2012]

Statement from Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband and U.S. Attorney Matthew Schneider on New York City’s Reopening Plans




Home » Office of Public Affairs » News
wrote Mayor de Blasio to express the concern that New York City was permitting large gatherings for political protest while not permitting in-person religious gatherings when the Constitution’s First Amendment protects both free speech rights and religious exercise.

New York City had vigorously enforced restrictions on religious gatherings, including by sending police officers to disperse numerous gatherings of the Jewish community, including outdoor funerals. At the same time, Mayor de Blasio marched in large in-person political gatherings concerning the recent tragic death of George Floyd and made statements suggesting — in a manner forbidden by the First Amendment — that religious exercise was less valued and protected by New York City than political exercise.

Attachment(s):
Download Letter to Mayor de Blasio 6.19.2020
Topic(s):
Coronavirus
Civil Rights
Component(s):
Civil Rights Division
USAO - Michigan, Eastern
Press Release Number:
20-574
Updated June 22, 2020
Speeches and Press Releases
Videos
Photos
Blogs

 

[MrX]

Right now, the only good advice that I think is coming from science is that if 80% of us wear masks 80% of the time, we can bring CoVid to its knees. With contact tracing (2/3s of Americans are refusing to do it, btw) we could extinguish it.

Any predictions about whether those two things are going to happen?

I think you already answered the second part. And with the dearth of available testing, tracing wouldn't be effective. As for masks, I see them on just about every person that's more than six feet away, in any given situation.

The facts, in the U.S. anyway, remain the same: there isn't enough testing (in AZ they just reported that there isn't even enough for people with symptoms), no contact tracing (which makes testing kind of pointless) and a percentage of the population who, for various reasons, will not socially distance. Case numbers will be talked about, for a while, but that will get old. Time for new and realistic ideas, perhaps?

 

[jjenny]

I don't go out in crowds and I try to keep 6-10 feet between me and next person (I'm moderately high risk due to a gene I have), but I'd be comfortable with a surgical mask and a silk scarf doubled bandana-style. I am awaiting my cool-looking neck gaiters to tuck the silk scarf into, but I think I'm at about 75-80% protection (not 95%) with that get-up.

The mask making forum here on WS has been a lifesaver for me. Since it's not too hot here yet, I'm doing a cloth (3 layers, one layer polyester) with an N95 filter, and would add a silk scarf and gaiter to that if I had to be in a crowd or a hospital lobby/waiting room. I also have face shields for the hospital lobby, if I have to go.

Yea, I got my silk bandanas to put over other masks, not wear by themselves. But they have a pocket to insert a filter, so I guess with a filter it can be worn by itself.

 

[Lavender Moon]

It’s extremely generous. I would love to know where all this money is coming from and how it’s going to be replenished.

Yes and I would love to know if we're really going to get it.

 

[MajorHoople]

Here's an interesting article and I'm sure of one thing - this study will be controversial. What do you think, are most of us overestimating or underestimating our risk of getting Covid-19?

Controversial California Study Claims Americans Are Overestimating Their Risk Of Getting Coronavirus And That The Odds Of Infection Are Around One In 4,000

Researchers looked at coronavirus case incidence data for the week ending May 30 in the 100 most populous US counties

They calculated that someone who has a single contact with an infected person has a one in 3,836 chance of getting sick themselves

For Americans between ages 50 to 64, the risk of being hospitalized is one in 852,000 and the risk of dying is one in 19.1 million

The team says action from governments, media attention, and the lack of feeling in control may be influencing the perception of risk


"Americans may be overestimating their risk of contracting the novel coronavirus, a controversial new study from California suggests.

Researchers found that, on average, a person who has a single contact with an infected individual has a one in about 4,000 chance of becoming sick, without using preventive measures such as social distancing or wearing a mask.

For the middle-aged, the risk of hospitalization is nearly one in a million and the risk of death is almost one in 20 million.

The team, from Stanford University and the University of California Los Angeles, says action from local and state governments, attention from the media, and the lack of feeling in control may be influencing the public's perception of risk."

 

[10ofRods]

Breaking On CNN:

EU considering banning travelers from the U.S. and other countries, when they open their borders to International travel in the near future.

Well of course. I feel like a prophet of doom, but my own work involves international travel (as does that of nearly all my colleagues). We are bereft, we are unhappy, but we know it's going to be a looong time before Americans are welcome in most places. Asia won't let us in for the most part, Europe is going to shut us out, UK will almost certainly allow us after Dec 31 (but has CoVid per capita worse than we do), Australia and New Zealand are obviously going to keep us out. Canada will begin to let some of us in, but not as tourists and will be quick to shut the border if any Americans test positive for CoVid while out and about in Canada, and Mexico is hesitant to let us in as well - although I predict they will (but who wants to be in a position to get CoVid while in Mexico - only a fraction of people who used to go, I wager).

If the EU makes a joint decision to start banning certain travelers, they may also include most of North America (probably not Canada) and UK. Until it gets better, which current models do not predict because no sane group of epidemiologists/stochastic modelers will take their models much further out than 3 months in a novel situation like this one.

So, being an American right now, in terms of being able to leave to travel (or find work) is like being in the Soviet block during the Cold War.

Everyone else will travel, and we'll stay home. Fighting amongst ourselves. Being mollified by "stimulus checks" rather than actual economic support that will go to failing parts of the economy and the recipients required to account for their use of it. Like you'd think a modern nation would do.

 

[jjenny]

Like I said, I know a bunch of people who got it. And some of those people weren't doing anything risky. They still got it. I am going to ignore that study. Makes no sense to me.

 

[Bravo]

Like I said, I know a bunch of people who got it. And some of those people weren't doing anything risky. They still got it. I am going to ignore that study. Makes no sense to me.

Me either. The rate of spread speaks volumes. To me.

 

[anneg]

A company called Heft makes them.

I just ordered two masks on Etsy that have two layers of batik cotton with a layer of chiffon "as an electrostatic filter." The batik print looks beautiful in the photo.

 

[Lavender Moon]

Has anyone here switched to new jobs due to this? I have a very high risk job that I am now due to return to. I am terrified. I’ve been trying to think of ways to successfully stay home and make a living.

If you are of a certain age, perhaps you could take the earliest retirement available to you .

 

[MrX]

Everyone else will travel, and we'll stay home. Fighting amongst ourselves.

Eventually the rest of the free world will chafe at the endless cycle of close/open/close. Just follow the news from places like Australia and New Zealand. Single digit cases cause a draconian backlash - it just doesn't sound sustainable.

Casinos are currently taking temperatures at check-in - so I would expect high speed, accurate tests to be developed for things like international travel. Unless things have changed, if two people who don't have the virus come within six feet of each other, the virus doesn't materialize out of nothing.

 

[Deleted member 158085]

Like I said, I know a bunch of people who got it. And some of those people weren't doing anything risky. They still got it. I am going to ignore that study. Makes no sense to me.

One in 4,000 doesn’t seem even close to accurate when you look at the church spreads. Dozens among hundreds is not 1 in 4K.