Coronavirus COVID-19 - Global Health Pandemic #65

[CharlestonGal]

By the way TX governor at least started to do something. FL just keeps on going. No mask order, no closing of businesses, covid cases going through the roof.

And in Houston too. Where covid case are going through the roof.

Our cases in SC are accelerating, too. Our governor has lobbed the ball into our court, essentially telling us it's up to us to do something about it.

 

[CSIDreamer]

Capetown, South Africa

Deciding who lives and dies in a Cape Town township

 

[JerseyGirl]

[URL="https://www.newschannel5.com/news/national/coronavirus/11-year-old-boy-becomes-youngest-death-from-coronavirus-in-florida"]11-year-old boy becomes youngest death from coronavirus in Florida
[/URL]
11-year-old boy in Miami-Dade County becomes youngest death from coronavirus in Florida

17% of all hospitalizations are people under 45

 

[JerseyGirl]

Dr. Deborah Birx urges Florida to start pool testing for coronavirus. Here’s what that means

Pool testing takes samples from a small group of people -- typically five or 10 people -- and they are all tested for the coronavirus together in the same sample.

If the combined sample comes back negative for COVID-19, then the entire group is cleared.

If the combined sample comes back positive, then health officials would use contact testing and test each individual.

“One way is going into neighborhoods and testing whole families into a single tube,” Birx said. “If anybody is positive, you would go back and use your contact tracing to test everyone in the household.”

She said it would also be cost-effective in a school setting.

 

[SouthAussie]

Capetown, South Africa

Deciding who lives and dies in a Cape Town township

Very, very sad


"We are having to take some tough decisions. There's no point sending the extremely sick cases back to the referral hospital because they don't have the staff or the equipment. The hospitals in this region cannot cope," he said.

Instead, the most severe cases are left, almost certainly to die, in a palliative care section in the corner of the sports hall, while the precious supplies of oxygen are reserved for those perceived to have a better chance of recovery.

 

[CharlestonGal]

Capetown, South Africa

Deciding who lives and dies in a Cape Town township

From your link:

We are having to take some tough decisions. There's no point sending the extremely sick cases back to the referral hospital because they don't have the staff or the equipment. The hospitals in this region cannot cope," he said.

Instead, the most severe cases are left, almost certainly to die, in a palliative care section in the corner of the sports hall, while the precious supplies of oxygen are reserved for those perceived to have a better chance of recovery.

 

[nhmemorymaker]

The initial opinion of Fauci and the Attorney general were horrendous and false. They said no need to wear masks; i believe the surgeon general said somethi


Surgeon General Urges the Public to Stop Buying Face Masks

This pernicious comment from the surgeon general sent this entire country on the wrong path-- The country has never recovered from it. I believe Dr. Fauci also said
no masks: now we know why: Political opinions in and of themselves are not
bad but many of the political opinions we are getting now are downright harmful especially when you have a president who said two days ago "this will disappear soon".

There were two key reasons back early on...
One, Healthcare professionals needed every possible mask possible...thus the massive making of home made masks.
Two, in earliest medical reports, they did not realize how airborne this coronavirus was.
We have had to learn so much along the way--so we have to be fair about some criticisms.

I remember feeling retched when I heard more patients were dying ON respirators than not... and that was because we truly did not understand the "storm", and did not understand the Ace-Inhibitors and Oxygen issues that gradually just shut down body organs...

 

[SouthAussie]

England’s quarantine-free list of places published

Hot off the press.

Coronavirus (COVID-19): travel corridors

Current list

Exemption rules
From 10 July 2020 you will not have to self-isolate when you arrive in England, if you:

• are travelling or returning from one of the travel corridor countries
• have not been to or stopped in a country that’s not on the travel corridor list in the previous 14 day

This applies to all travel to England, by train, ferry, coach, air or any other route.

If you have been to or stopped in a country that’s not on the travel corridor list you will have to self-isolate until 14 days have passed since you left that country

Your stay abroad
You will have to comply with coronavirus requirements in the country you travel to. This may include self-isolating or providing your details to local authorities.

Check Foreign and Commonwealth Office coronavirus advice for the country you are travelling to.

Arrival in the UK
Before your arrival in the UK, you must complete a passenger locator form. You must present these details on your arrival in England. This applies to both visitors and UK residents.

Updates to the travel corridor list
We will keep the conditions in these countries and territories under review. If they worsen we will not hesitate to reintroduce self-isolation requirements.

Travellers should always check the latest FCO travel advice. Travel advice includes information on any health measures in place for visitors to the country or territory. These can include a requirement to self-isolate, quarantine, or undergo testing for coronavirus, or even restrictions on entry.

Make sure you have appropriate travel insurance in case you have unexpected costs.

Travel corridors: countries and territories exemption list
From 10 July 2020, unless they have visited or stopped in any other country or territory in the preceding 14 days, passengers arriving from the following countries and territories will not be required to self-isolate on arrival into England.

Andorra Germany New Zealand
Antigua and Barbuda Greece Norway
Aruba Greenland Poland
Australia Grenada Réunion
Austria Guadeloupe San Marino
Bahamas Hong Kong Serbia
Barbados Hungary Seychelles
Belgium Iceland South Korea
Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba Italy Spain
Croatia Jamaica St Barthélemy
Curaçao Japan St Kitts and Nevis
Cyprus Liechtenstein St Lucia
Czech Republic Lithuania St Pierre and Miquelon
Denmark Luxembourg Switzerland
Dominica Macau Taiwan
Faroe Islands Malta Trinidad and Tobago
Fiji Mauritius Turkey
Finland Monaco Vatican City
France Netherlands Vietnam
French Polynesia New Caledonia
Ireland is already exempt as part of the common travel area, as are the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man.

In addition, we will be exempting the 14 British Overseas Territories.

This list may be added to over the coming days following further discussions between the UKand international partners.

Information for travel into Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will be published in due course by the Devolved Administrations.

If you have coronavirus symptoms
Do not travel if you have coronavirus symptoms.

Tell a member of the staff or crew if you develop symptoms while traveling.

Published 3 July 2020

I wonder why Canada is not on the list. Perhaps the UK has excluded all of North America, just in case?
And, from what I can see, all of South America is not there either. (No surprise there.)

Canada made it onto the list of countries allowed into the EU.

 

[JerseyGirl]

Florida enters critical period in coronavirus fight

The University of Washington’s model predicts a range of possibilities, depending on whether Florida imposes a mask requirement or continues easing restrictions.

An ensemble forecast of 21 models for Florida produced a cumulative death toll of 5,873 by the end of the month, with predictions ranging from 4,050 to 18,404, although the high number is an outlier.

With a mask requirement, the model forecasts the death toll rising to 5,280 by the end of the month and 7,046 by Oct. 1.

Without one, the model predicts the toll rising to 5,569 by the end of the month and 13,349 by Oct. 1.

An infectious disease expert at Florida International University’s Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine said further restrictions are necessary, including a more widespread testing program that tracks down every infected person’s contacts and a statewide mask requirement, with fines for non-compliance.

 

[CharlestonGal]

Dr. Fauci says coronavirus surge ‘way beyond worst spikes we’ve seen’ as U.S. sets new single-day high

Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said the last several days have been the bleakest yet for the United States, where there have been more COVID-19 infections than anywhere else in the world.

“What we’ve seen over the last several days is a spike in cases that is way beyond the worst spikes that we’ve seen. That is not good news,” he said during an interview with BBC News that aired Thursday.

 

[JerseyGirl]

This is not good. Publix should have had plexiglass, extra cleaning and mandatory testing of its workers in place months ago.

Publix confirms 21 additional stores in Central Florida impacted by COVID-19

 

[musicaljoke]

Coronavirus quarantine order for travellers entering Canada extended to Aug. 31

OTTAWA — The federal government has extended the mandatory quarantine order for most people entering Canada until the end of August to help curb the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Any travellers entering the country — by land, air or sea — will have to isolate for 14 days, whether or not they are showing any symptoms of COVID-19.

The order made under the Quarantine Act, which first came into effect in late March, was set to expire at midnight Tuesday, but will now remain in effect until Aug. 31.

It carries penalties that include six months in prison or a fine of up to $750,000, which could go up to $1 million if the person caused death or bodily harm by wilfully and recklessly breaking the rules.

I support the stiff penalty for recklessly spreading covid and wonder if it should apply to more situations than just the border.

 

[JerseyGirl]

Florida Has New Kid Infection Numbers For Schools To Consider

According to Florida’s DOH data released in today’s report:

26,398 Floridians between the ages of 15-24 are infected with COVID-19.

5,136 Floridians between the ages of 5-14 are infected with COVID-19.

2,571 Floridians between the ages of 0-4 are infected with COVID-19.

The state is not breaking down those numbers by county which, ironically, is making it difficult for school officials to support the DeSantis administration’s push to open schools in full. While local officials may be privy to data that isn’t easily accessible by the public, the Florida Dept. of Health is only reporting the median age of infection on a county-by county basis.

Statewide, nearly 500 children and young adults between the ages of 0 and 24 have been so sick with COVID-19 related issues that they have been hospitalized.

The largest age group of 33,909 infected are aged 25-34. 6% of those infected in the 25-34 age group have been hospitalized.

 

[tresir2012]

I wonder why Canada is not on the list. Perhaps the UK has excluded all of North America, just in case?
And, from what I can see, all of South America is not there either. (No surprise there.)

Canada made it onto the list of countries allowed into the EU.

It could be because Canada still has a 14 day quarantine in place with UK so it is reciprocal. Canadians or others not on this list can visit but have to have a 14 day quarantine in UK or one of the countries on the list.

Canada travel advice

 

[CharlestonGal]

Perhaps we should offer to write his speeches for him.

 

[SouthAussie]

It could be because Canada still has a 14 day quarantine in place with UK so it is reciprocal. Canadians or others not on this list can visit but have to have a 14 day quarantine in UK or one of the countries on the list.

Canada travel advice

Geez ... we don't let UK people or anyone else into our country at the moment - no quarantine rights either - yet they are allowing us into the UK. (Not that we are allowed to travel outside of our country right now.)

So, I am not sure that it is a reciprocal quarantine issue.

Though I notice your link said that other countries may be added after the UK discusses things with their international partners.

 

[Tadpole12]

'I'm cautiously optimistic': Imperial's Robin Shattock on his coronavirus vaccine

"What we don't know is what level of immunity is required to prevent infection. If we only need a tiny bit, the majority of vaccines out there will probably work. That will be fantastic for the world."

 

[CharlestonGal]

I support the stiff penalty for recklessly spreading covid and wonder if it should apply to more situations than just the border.

I don't know what can be done, really. Unless you can prove someone tested positive and knew they were infected, it would be difficult to penalize them. In the US, anyway.

 

[musicaljoke]

Abbott: This is the ‘last, best chance’ to contain COVID-19 before shutting down again | KXAN Austin

AUSTIN (Nexstar) — Gov. Greg Abbott says right now is the last chance for people in Texas to work to contain the spread of COVID-19 before having to force the economy to shut down.

“If we do not contain this measure right now, we will lose the last, best chance to slow the coronavirus for anything short of having to shut our economy back down,” Gov. Abbott said in an interview with KTAB. “That’s the last thing we want to have happen in Texas.”

According to the Governor, rising positive cases, hospitalizations and deaths since June were behind his decision to order Texans in counties with more than 20 positive cases to wear masks.


“Our goal is to make sure that people will be able to continue to prosper while also protecting their lives,” said Abbott. “We can achieve both by having people wear face masks.

I wish that they'd find a new and more accurate phrase for "shut the economy down". This phrase isn't even true. Much of the economy is continuing through tighter physical distancing. Telling everyone that they are shutting the economy down creates fear instead of co-operation. It's a last resort instead of a logical, forward thinking way to deal with CoVid.

The fastest way to get people back to work is to clean up CoVid, so why aren't they rephrasing it? "Shut Down Covid" instead of "Shut Down the Economy"!

Stop covid or save the economy? We can do both.

 

[musicaljoke]

I don't know what can be done, really. Unless you can prove someone tested positive and knew they were infected, it would be difficult to penalize them. In the US, anyway.

I've heard of criminal cases in which someone intentionally passes on HIV. Maybe one of our resident lawyers could comment on whether or not a similar situation could be true of someone who passes on CoVid.

Criminal transmission of HIV in the United States - Wikipedia