Coronavirus COVID-19 - Global Health Pandemic #64

[nhmemorymaker]

Johns Hopkins University stats: Jacksonville ranks 3rd in country for metro area COVID-19 growth

This Johns Hopkins article lists the top three metro area COVID growth (in the whole country) in the last week:
Kissimee/Orlando
Tampa Bay
Jacksonville

And there is no consistency as to what all the different areas are doing. Florida has a number of large metro cities so you sort of feel like you have more of a "birds eye" view of what the state is doing throughout.

Right now it is clear that Jacksonville is doing more of the right things... but for what reason? Are other Floridians losing out when one gets more?

IMO, and many folks I know... Florida is extremely inconsistent and unfair. I know many of us out there have favorable or unfavorable opinions of our mayors and governors. For me, I just feel you can not trust any information we get our of out state government....

Tampa cannot get enough tests, they constantly run out. One site ran out within one hour, stranding 1000s.
Some testing sites are state-run, some are not with the state seemingly taking more over.

Orlando, same story with test availability, and wait times and yet, we hear this:
State health officials say that despite the long lines in Orange County, and other testing sites in the state, there is not a shortage of tests in Florida.

But Jacksonville is getting 6 new testing sites, and all of a sudden "masks are mandatory".

https://www.baynews9.com/fl/tampa/news/2020/06/30/bay-area-demand-for-coronavirus-testing-remains-high

Long wait times for COVID-19 testing in Central Florida

City of Jacksonville to open 6 new COVID-19 testing sites

 

[JerseyGirl]

This Florida county is not expected to close its beaches for Fourth of July

Authorities in Brevard County, Florida, say beaches will remain open for the Fourth of July holiday.

Don Walker, spokesperson for the county, said that they are expecting a high number of people on their beaches. Walker says the county has 72 miles of shoreline which is ample space for people to safely socially distance.

The county is recommending all beachgoers follow all social distancing guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Brevard County officials are expected to meet later today to determine if they will issue a mandate for face masks, Walker said.

 

[nhmemorymaker]

Daughter who lives in Florida called. Remember that vacation to the Florida Keys last week?

Well, turns out 2 people in her party tested positive today for Covid that was traced to a party the week before THAT. She said they were also with another family and all of them dined and drank at restaurants and bars, went scuba diving, snorkeling and boating all week.

She then went on to tell me how contagious it is, they are now worried, warning me to stay in, blah, blah blah. In the meantime I'm rolling my eyes on the phone, saying, Yes, I told you this. Yes, I warned you of that.

Good luck Florida.

Wow...and Monroe County has been pretty good. But once they opened up, you just cannot keep tourists away. They were the first (or one of) to close beaches for the weekend of the 4th.

I just posted some of the dreadful information on our highest growth case cities here in Florida...and the inconsistencies and downright "seat of the pants" state management with Covid...

So.... Thank you for your good luck wishes...

 

[MimosaMornings]

Isn’t that what they are supposed to do. I’ve been hearing for months most people can recover at home. You recover at home if at all possible with any illness, not just covid. IMO

The question is there enough home health nurses or aides to handle it? We had two nurses quit this month from the service we use. We are having to go to a lab to get bloodwork done because no one is available this week. The lab is at the hospital.

 

[JerseyGirl]

Wow...and Monroe County has been pretty good. But once they opened up, you just cannot keep tourists away. They were the first (or one of) to close beaches for the weekend of the 4th.

I just posted some of the dreadful information on our highest growth case cities here in Florida...and the inconsistencies and downright "seat of the pants" state management with Covid...

So.... Thank you for your good luck wishes...

They didn't contract the virus in Monroe County (Keys). The 2 cases live in Marco Island and Inverness.

 

[CharlestonGal]

Really? Ugh, is there a link? Tia.

Michigan shooting: 3 charged in Family Dollar security guard killing - CNN

 

[10ofRods]

Just had a thought about schools opening in the Fall.

Will classes and all kids/adults quarantine at home for 14 days if a student or teacher in that classroom contract the virus? I mean, it is going to happen and probably on a frequent basis. I just don’t see how schools will be able to function with any regularity.

This whole set of issues drives me crazy and keeps me awake at night.

I think that once the school notifies parents that one child has CoVid, the advice will be to have all the kids tested. Most parents are going to freak out. I don't know how working parents are going to handle it. A lot of people may opt to homeschool, where legal (which still requires checking in, in some fashion - often online these days).

With so many people unemployed, some parents will just stay home with their kids (whether the parents are able to properly homeschool or not).

If they don't quarantine at least the entire class/playground group, schools can easily become community-wide spreaders.

The risk to teachers is significant, as well. The state universities in California are struggling with how to get younger people through the credential pipeline, since there are no student teaching opportunities (real world). I think they may start including online teaching as part of the plan. Too soon to tell.

Parents of teens tend to be older - old enough to be concerned about one wage earner being sidelined for a 2-3 months if they get a moderately severe case.

Most of my own students live at home with parents who are in their mid-40's. Some are single parents and live with a parent and grandparent. Everyone will need different contigency plans, when the schools start sending kids home for a couple of weeks (or close altogether, which they probably will if there are 2-3 cases in a school).

 

[margarita25]

There "won’t be social distancing" at Mount Rushmore July 4th event attended by Trump, governor says

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem said those who are concerned about the event — which is actually taking place on July 3 — should stay home.

"We told those folks that have concerns that they can stay home, but those who want to come and join us, we'll be giving out free face masks, if they choose to wear one," she said.

"We won’t be social distancing. We’re asking them to come, be ready to celebrate, to enjoy the freedoms and the liberties .....”

The website Recreation.gov warns: “This event will be attended by thousands. Participants will be in close contact for an extended amount of time, please plan accordingly.”

I saw somewhere where they were talking about this, and superimposed masks on the four faces of Mt. Rushmore.

 

[mickey2942]

My father, a fairly talented if conventional high-school all-rounder, would stare fixedly at their televised performance marathons around the holidays. "Look at that muscle control!", he would murmur. I saw they were going to let go of 3,500 employees... oy vey.

Shows in Vegas, one is tentatively scheduled in Vegas for end of July, but they have not staffed the theater yet.

I don't know what to think. Although, my husband thinks that there are probably some awesome travel deals for Vegas right now.

 

[margarita25]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/life...119ce2-b654-11ea-a8da-693df3d7674a_story.html

If this isn't scary, i don't know what is-- this woman states she did everything you are supposed to do but still got the virus--- the only thing i can think of is that there must have been a breach somewhere, or else how do you explain it--- it scares me because i think i do everything right (with an occasional mistake that so far hasn't cost me). Sigh

I haven’t read the article yet, but I’ve seen a few articles that claim people still got it despite....

Let me just say this: COVID-19 doesn’t appear via immaculate conception. If someone gets it, there was obviously a breach somewhere.

 

[nhmemorymaker]

This Florida county is not expected to close its beaches for Fourth of July

Authorities in Brevard County, Florida, say beaches will remain open for the Fourth of July holiday.

Don Walker, spokesperson for the county, said that they are expecting a high number of people on their beaches. Walker says the county has 72 miles of shoreline which is ample space for people to safely socially distance.

The county is recommending all beachgoers follow all social distancing guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Brevard County officials are expected to meet later today to determine if they will issue a mandate for face masks, Walker said.

We'll see how that goes.... when all those folks in hotels in Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach County roll up I95.

 

[KALI]

That's just irresponsible. No way would I go. But, I wouldn't have gone to ANY large gathering, anywhere.

There "won’t be social distancing" at Mount Rushmore July 4th event attended by Trump, governor says

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem said those who are concerned about the event — which is actually taking place on July 3 — should stay home.

"We told those folks that have concerns that they can stay home, but those who want to come and join us, we'll be giving out free face masks, if they choose to wear one," she said.

"We won’t be social distancing. We’re asking them to come, be ready to celebrate, to enjoy the freedoms and the liberties .....”

The website Recreation.gov warns: “This event will be attended by thousands. Participants will be in close contact for an extended amount of time, please plan accordingly.”

 

[margarita25]

Major League Baseball is coming back — but spitting will be banned

As Major League Baseball gets ready to restart its season next month, the league is encouraging players to not socialize or come within six feet of each other during upcoming games. The league is banning spitting of any kind with chewing gum permitted as an alternative.

MLB said all personnel will be required to complete Covid-19 screening and testing before entering club facilities. Clubs can begin full workouts starting Friday with Opening Day games on either July 23 or 24.

The league has told all 30 clubs that they must submit coronavirus health and safety action plans for league approval. Clubs are also being told that they need to physically expand dugout and bullpen spaces at their respective ballparks.

“Players on opposite teams should not socialize, fraternize, or come within six feet of each other before the game, during warm-ups, in between innings, or after the game.”

New non-traditional rules will be in place when the season starts including the addition of a designated hitter in the National League and placing a runner on second base at the start of each teams’ extra-inning frame.

Well at least something good has come out of this virus.

Now can they please ban spitting on the sidewalk and everywhere else lol.

Seriously, on some of the old posters for the 1918 flu, “NO SPITTING” was also written along the other advisements. Happy to find the posters later, racing to catch up.

 

[10ofRods]

@10ofRods.... You had provided another real-time Covid tool, yesterday or the day before. I meant to copy it...so could you provide again. I think it was something from NYT??

Sure thing, here:

Coronavirus in the U.S.: Latest Map and Case Count

It's a bit better today - although upstate New York is concerning (it's just starting to heat up).

Maricopa County, Arizona has seen a downturn over 2 days which is very good news. It seems to take something like panic and rapidly rising rates to get people to wear masks and stay home.

 

[MimosaMornings]

Good question. I can only speak from my experience working for a major medical ctr. in Michigan. Our general ICU for adults runs at capacity most times. Such was the case last weekend. I was not full of Covid patients, just typical for our health system on any given day. The problem is when the hospital ICU is typically full and you get a COVID surge you have a problem. We dealt with this by adding more ICU beds, converting regular units to ICU. Perhaps the ICU is full in that Huston hospital but they are also able to add beds so it is not a crisis? These are my thoughts and opinions only. MOO

Aren’t ICU units set up like a spoke?
Or a self contained “pod”?
Central command post in the middle?

So convert a regular floor with rooms off a hallway - a Decon room attached?


Guessing with elective surgeries on hold, there’s more beds that are available and can be converted.

 

[margarita25]

I am having a deja vu.... that "no way it'll come here" kind of feeling......that I had back in January.
BBC, NYT, CNN API..... everyone is reporting on this now.

Yep. Sounds legit. Moo.
(Or shall I say “oink”)

 

[margarita25]

I don't know why the media has decided to make a big deal out of this now. G4 has been circulating in swine for years. It is not new.

As have coronaviruses in animals.

What it takes is a zoonotic spillover event, or a “novel” virus.

 

[CharlestonGal]

SC breaks daily record again today with 1,741 new cases. That's 400 more than yesterday.

 

[jjenny]

I haven’t read the article yet, but I’ve seen a few articles that claim people still got it despite....

Let me just say this: COVID-19 doesn’t appear via immaculate conception. If someone gets it, there was obviously a breach somewhere.

The virus is definitely airborne. It also survives on surfaces for quite sometime. So it's easy to catch. Even if you stay home, unless you purchased enough supplies to last you years, and never leave that home, you are not completely isolated. The woman in the article still got packages (which they sanitized), food delivery, and went on walks. So somewhere in there she managed to get the virus, I am guessing either from walks, or packaging. But she had very mild symptoms for one day only, so I am guessing the viral dose she got was very small.

 

[margarita25]

BBM / RSBM:

The amount doesn't matter. If your infected with covid your infected with covid. It's how your body responds to it that makes the difference.

Uh, no. Absolutely not true. Jmo
Yes some people obviously fight off the virus better than others and immunity very obviously plays a role.

It’s called viral load...there’s a lot more to this. The amount and type of exposure clearly plays a role. We learned this back when Dr. LW died. This is why health care workers are so at risk, particularly during certain bronchial procedures. This is also why someone is more at risk the more time they’ve spent with someone, and the closer they were, etc etc...

There is much reference on this; @10ofRods may have time to summarize.