Coronavirus COVID-19 - Global Health Pandemic #67

[Trino]

Well, this will make your day - a list from Business Insider of major layoffs nationwide. And, we, as a country, are being led to believe things are getting better with the economy? Coronavirus is ruling it.
The coronavirus outbreak has triggered unprecedented mass layoffs and furloughs. Here are the major companies that have announced they are downsizing their workforces.

 

[weepingangel]

massAchusetts and RI
More at link
https://www.masslive.com/news/2020/07/social-distant-strip-club-magic-lantern-in-monson-reopens-and-yes-dancers-will-keep-masks-on.html


MONSON — You’ll be able to see a lot at the Magic Lantern, now that the longtime strip club on Route 20 has reopened.

But you won’t see a topless dancer without a face mask on, said Christopher Brunelle, manager at the club.

Six-foot distances will always be enforced. The capacity has been reduced to just 50 people from 200. Only one entertainer on stage at a time— no private dances. These are all accommodations Brunelle, whose wife Kimberly, bought the club in March, has made to reopen under Gov. Charlie Baker’s phased reopening plan.


Restaurant closed after staff weren’t wearing face masks

The agency said state inspectors warned the restaurant of multiple violations on a number of occasions in recent weeks. It said restaurant staff weren’t wearing face coverings while within 6 feet (2 meters) of customers and that the bar was being used for seating and service even though that’s not currently allowed in Rhode Island.


Inspectors also found the bar had no physical barrier between the bartender and customers, and that people were allowed to sit close together at the bar. The health department also said restaurant employees had taken down posters on social distancing and face coverings that the state requires establishments to display.

 

[CeeCeeCat]

Well, this will make your day - a list from Business Insider of major layoffs nationwide. And, we, as a country, are being led to believe things are getting better with the economy? Coronavirus is ruling it.
The coronavirus outbreak has triggered unprecedented mass layoffs and furloughs. Here are the major companies that have announced they are downsizing their workforces.

Adding to this with the UK’s High Street woes. Talking with my CEO yesterday, we both feel there will be a lot more losses coming in October, when furlough ends.
Coronavirus: John Lewis and Boots to cut 5,300 jobs — BBC News

 

[CharlestonGal]

No kidding. Once again, the WHO (bless its heart) is lagging (and always does, although it is a very well meaning organization that focuses its energies on bringing the bare minimum of healthcare to the world...its work on hunger, alone, deserves a Nobel Prize).

OF COURSE it is airborne. Air not a technical term. It refers to the total sum of what we each. breath into our lungs. It contains aerosols, microdroplets, droplets (most of which are based on H20) and it contains gases and so forth. Like oxygen.

Why the resistance to this?

What is an "air particle"? Surely they mean "particles in the air."

OBVIOUSLY it's transmitted in subways, buses, houses, offices, airplanes, airports, elevators, restaurants, bars, hospitals, clinics, nursing care, classrooms, waiting rooms, etc. etc. Mostly through entering through the mouth, nose and eyes. From the air.

Sorry for the all caps. It's just so frustrating. It doesn't seem to come in through the skin - is that what they've been thinking due to all the fuss about cleaning products??

I think they are splitting hairs between droplet transmission and a truly airborne entity akin to measles, for instance. They've been saying that it spreads via droplet and larger particles that drop to the ground quickly. Now, it seems, research is showing that it lingers in the air in much smaller particles, travels much further, and contaminates the actual air. I think the explosion of infection bears this out.

*I'm not saying covid has a similar Ro to measles. Just using measles as an example of airborne virus.

 

[tresir2012]

So, as some of us predicted, Oklahoma's Rt has jumped over the past 3 weeks and is now one of the highest in the nation, at 1.27

Tulsa and Oklahoma City have the highest rates, of course.

Rt COVID-19

See also the graph here.

Oklahoma Rt

This is the OK R0 graph which shows the RO rate dropping. Not sure how that can be though, as cases are going up.

Effective Reproduction Rate · Rt
Rt is the average number of people who become infected by an infectious person. If it’s above 1.0, COVID-19 will spread quickly. If it’s below 1.0, infections will slow. Learn More.

3/65/57/81.01.52.01.19Reopening
Positive Tests
Testing Volume

0200400600800010k3/65/67/9Reopening
Adjusted Positive Tests & Implied Infections
We adjust positive tests for the number of tests done. Then, we calculate an implied infection curve. This uses a known distribution of how much time passes between infection and a confirmed positive report.

Adjusted Positive
De-noised Adjusted Positive
Implied Infections

05001k

 

[ZoriahNZ]

We knew this was coming but it's still devastating to read:

California, Florida and Texas report highest daily coronavirus death tolls

 

[tresir2012]

"Privett wrote that the governor must first "specifically state the emergency that requires the order, the location of the emergency, and the name of the local emergency management agency that has determined that the emergency is beyond its capabilities"

What?? Am I understand this right ... that a judge has been living under a rock?

The judge wants it specifically spelled out as regards the local emergency situation IMO. Eg the local area may have no cases I guess.

 

[CharlestonGal]

We knew this was coming but it's still devastating to read:

California, Florida and Texas report highest daily coronavirus death tolls

That is such a shame. All that work and economic pain of lockdown all for nothing. Not to mention many of these deaths were entirely preventable.

What an epic fail.

 

[Reasonable & Just]

Next week, I have to fly one way to Atlanta, then drive back. It's business that has to be dealt with before school starts up again, and I may as well go now, since the pandemic numbers are not getting any better. My N95s haven't come yet, though I am not above triple masking with my cloth ones. I'm more worried about the drive than the disease, but I would never want to be a vector and spread it to anyone. When I come back, we have a 14-day quarantine plan for me at home, and I'll get a test.

Anyway, I am thinking about those TSA screeners, flight attendants & pilots, baggage handlers, shuttle & taxi drivers, food service workers, and those hotel & airport cleaners who all risk their health to make it possible for us to conduct business. Plus the USPS workers bringing me my masks, and the LEOs patrolling the highways.

I'm going to borrow a line from @Bravo, and say - Be safe, and be kind to each other, and keep a thought for the working people who don't get to isolate. Love to all.

 

[Bravo]

Be safe in your travels Reasonable

 

[oviedo]

Florida coronavirus: 120 new deaths reported
9,000 new cases
Schools in Florida are ‘absolutely essential,’ governor says
many friends are teachers - how will they be protected?

 

[tresir2012]

Here is some tough police enforcement.

A 16th birthday party in Melbourne ... violated all the lockdown rules. The fine that was given by the police is $26,000!

https://7news.com.au/lifestyle/heal...y-observant-paramedics-on-a-kfc-run-c-1158022

This one is clearly wrong though. In Wales we had a 5 mile limit but feeding animals was considered essential, farmers and horse owners have to travel to where their animals are kept. That is quite clear. I would imagine Oz had a similar clause and this must have been a mistake. MOO.

https://7news.com.au/lifestyle/heal...eding-her-horse-just-13km-from-home-c-1158979

 

[CharlestonGal]

China really going for it. I hope it works!

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-06-chinese-coronavirus-vaccine-military.html

China's military has approved a coronavirus vaccine for use within its ranks that has been developed by its research unit and a biotech firm, the company said Monday.

Hong Kong-listed CanSino Biologics said in a filing to the stock exchange that data from clinical trials showed the Chinese military vaccine had a "good safety profile" and potential to prevent disease caused by the novel coronavirus.

The vaccine was jointly developed by CanSino and the Beijing Institute of Biotechnology, part of the Academy of Military Medical Sciences.

Its use cannot be expanded without further approvals, the listing said.

It was not clear how widely it would be used within China's enormous military forces, and the ministry of defence did not reply to an AFP request for further information.

 

[JerseyGirl]

13 states now report coronavirus testing issues, in echo of early troubles

In California and Nebraska, some testing sites were forced to close down because of a shortage in testing kits, chemical reagents, and other supplies.

In Omaha, Nebraska, a county-supported testing site primarily serving a highly impacted Hispanic population -- which is already hard hit by the virus -- closed shop earlier this week because of a supply shortage.

Arizona and South Carolina reported slower turnaround times for test results from labs due to lack of capacity.

In New York, private labs now take up to a week to return test results due to an increased demand from the rest of the country after the federal government asks those labs to prioritize high-risk states.

Some hospital labs in New Jersey, too, reported they are starting to see a testing chemical shortage.

In Oregon, supply shortages with certain testing machines are slowing the volume of tests that can be done in at least nine hospitals, and one has stopped testing all together. A press secretary for Gov. Kate Brown said he is “concerned” that surges in the south and west will begin to hinder testing capabilities there, and spoke out against what he said was “lack of equal support” from the federal government in ensuring that all states have the ability to properly test.

A Michigan DHHS spokesperson said FEMA supplies “have not met the overwhelming demand” the state is “still working through supply shortages,” which have limited the number of tests that can be run per day and have caused some laboratories or medical providers to restrict the types of individuals eligible for testing.

Asked for comment on the obstacles states are reporting with testing, a spokesperson for Health and Human Services said, “HHS and FEMA [Federal Emergency Management Agency] send states COVID-19 testing supplies, namely, swabs and transport media -- to each state and territory based on what the state or territory has requested each month."

 

[CharlestonGal]

Florida county reports 33.5% positivity rate

Officials in Florida's Miami-Dade County reported a staggering 33.5% Covid-19 positivity rate on Thursday, according to data released by Mayor Carlos Gimenez's office.

The positivity rate -- that is, the percentage of people who test positive for the virus of those overall who have been tested -- is tracked daily by the county.

Gimenez's office has said the goal is to not exceed a positivity rate of 10%. The county has exceeded the 18% mark for the past 14 days. The current 14-day average is 24%, the data shows.

Over the past 13 days, hospitalizations in Miami-Dade County have gone up by 76%, the number of ICU beds being used has increased by 86% and the use of ventilators has soared by 124%, according to the latest data from the county government.

 

[dixiegirl1035]

Next week, I have to fly one way to Atlanta, then drive back. It's business that has to be dealt with before school starts up again, and I may as well go now, since the pandemic numbers are not getting any better. My N95s haven't come yet, though I am not above triple masking with my cloth ones. I'm more worried about the drive than the disease, but I would never want to be a vector and spread it to anyone. When I come back, we have a 14-day quarantine plan for me at home, and I'll get a test.

Anyway, I am thinking about those TSA screeners, flight attendants & pilots, baggage handlers, shuttle & taxi drivers, food service workers, and those hotel & airport cleaners who all risk their health to make it possible for us to conduct business. Plus the USPS workers bringing me my masks, and the LEOs patrolling the highways.

I'm going to borrow a line from @Bravo, and say - Be safe, and be kind to each other, and keep a thought for the working people who don't get to isolate. Love to all.

Are you considering being like Ben ( the first guy here in thread #1 iirc from Wuhan who we followed) and wear goggles on the plane? He always wore goggles.. the tight ones like swimmers wear.

Just sayin'.......asking

 

[JerseyGirl]

Florida county reports 33.5% positivity rate

Officials in Florida's Miami-Dade County reported a staggering 33.5% Covid-19 positivity rate on Thursday, according to data released by Mayor Carlos Gimenez's office.

The positivity rate -- that is, the percentage of people who test positive for the virus of those overall who have been tested -- is tracked daily by the county.

Gimenez's office has said the goal is to not exceed a positivity rate of 10%. The county has exceeded the 18% mark for the past 14 days. The current 14-day average is 24%, the data shows.

Over the past 13 days, hospitalizations in Miami-Dade County have gone up by 76%, the number of ICU beds being used has increased by 86% and the use of ventilators has soared by 124%, according to the latest data from the county government.

Governor Ron DeSantis blames Florida farmworkers for COVID. Aid groups say testing help came late.

‘I really thought I was going to die.’ Plant nursery workers sick with COVID-19 report dangerous conditions at work

 

[tresir2012]

Even though this article opened for me, I think I have to edit and transcribe, as the link says subscription only.

Sofosbuvir and daclatasvir, in combination and used to cure Hep C, are showing promising results in treating Covid-19 in hospital trials in Iran.

Three trials ... 94 per cent showed reduced fevers and improved breathing (as opposed to 70 per cent in the control group - presumably being treated in another manner).

Death rate is just 5 per cent for those taking the drug combination, death rate is 20 per cent for those who were not.

Fauci says these results are really interesting, provocative, encouraging. That we very much need antivirals that are used very early during treatment of the virus, antivirals which many help reduce hospital numbers.
Fauci would encourage further studies of this combination of drugs.

Subscribe to read | Financial Times

Ribavirin, Remdesivir, Sofosbuvir, Galidesivir, and Tenofovir against SARS-CoV-2 RNA dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp): A molecular docking study

I think this has been known about since March. This is a study on the .Gov website.

Strange that Fauci would not know this.

 

[Shelby1]

Are you thinking of going?

Noooooooooo.

But I have to confess. I quit going to the fair years ago. Too hot, too crowded. And, frankly, I just stopped enjoying it. I don't like that they keep the chickens ..rabbits..etc. in tiny cages in that heat,

 

[JerseyGirl]

Trump will visit hard-hit Florida today. No, COVID is not on the agenda.

Here is Trump’s Friday schedule in South Florida