Coronavirus COVID-19 - Global Health Pandemic #68

[zecats]

Even though our portion sizes are ridiculous, Americans would likely start rioting all over again if you tried to reduce portion sizes.

I would not have a problem with smaller portions. I hate to see the waste. But, it doesn't make me clean my plate, or even take the rest home all the time, which is what I've always been told - that people expect enough for a "doggy bag."

Nowadays, when we do go out (for outside seating), or order takeout, I mostly go for apps. Entrees are just too much to visually or physically deal with.

But there surely is much food going to waste because of over-sized portions and all the accompaniments. JMO

 

[JerseyGirl]

Palm Beach County will close restaurants and bars at 11 p.m. ET tonight

Palm Beach County Mayor Dave Kerner said he’s going to stop alcohol and food sales after 11 p.m. ET to try and curb the spread of coronavirus in his county.

“I don’t think it’s a big move, it’s good public policy right now since we’ve seen broader compliance around county, we want to keep that momentum going forward. We have experienced increased levels of compliance in our county, the one difficulty we had was restaurants turning into bars and DJ clubs after midnight. By having a broad restriction on these facilities being open after 12, it will make it much easier to enforce against these bad actors,” Kerner said.

With the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association and large establishments in the county lending their support to Kerner, he said that restaurant owners are willing to support the mayor’s decision.

 

[zecats]

some states? Could you tell me what states have optimal test/results as a whole. I live in Dallas and cars line up for six hours in 107 degree heat. Their test results don't arrive until up to two weeks later. I hear similar stories from almost every state. The exception are the very connected/rich and even then they aren't always successful.

There was a time when it was more difficult to find a testing center here in NJ...not as bad as you describe in Dallas, though. I live in South Jersey and DH had the virus back in April. He went to the local ER (tele-heath docs were telling him he only had the flu and we wanted to find out for sure). He was tested for both - no to flu, but yes to CoVid. Test results back in 2 days.

Just this past week, my brother developed pneumonia and my mom took him to urgent care, who then sent him to the local hospital. He was also tested there with results returned in 2 days. He did not have it, thankfully, and is already home..

 

[10ofRods]

I seriously think it comes down to one basic thought – how much are you willing to jeopardize another human’s life to serve your own needs?

As many of you have deducted, I am very “hard core” about each of our own responsibility. The only way to protect others is to stay home unless essential travel is needed, keep your distance, stay masked outside of your own home, wash hands obsessively and sanitize anything with possibility of bringing in the virus. Playing the odds, doing math to negate the risk is all self-serving in my opinion.

Once we emerge, life will have changed as we knew it before this pandemic. Hopes, dreams, financial plans will have been destroyed for many. Businesses will need to re-brand and rebuild from the ground up. To me – that is one place governmental aid should prioritize. In helping businesses rebuild after we’ve emerged. Why isn’t this being discussed and promoted? Instead of pussy footing around and tip toeing on too many political issues, why aren’t we subsidizing and supporting and offering $ to businesses that will shut down for a period of time to slow the spread? To me in my simple reasoning – it would be cost effective and save lives.

Obviously, the trial of momentarily shutting down and re-opening in phases hasn’t succeeded for most areas. IF we want to emerge and rebuild – we must backtrack and try another approach. Putting others lives at risk for our own purpose and often, our own pleasure, doesn’t seem to be working.

What an awesome post. Thank you so much, you're so succinct and articulate.

 

[Rose in SC]

South Carolina still headed in the wrong direction -

SC reaches second highest day for positive coronavirus cases reported

 

[LadyL]

At least 16 sick after coronavirus exposure at DeWitt in-home day care: ‘Take this seriously ... stay home if sick at all'

 

[JerseyGirl]

Federal stockpile is thin amid coronavirus surge, internal documents show

The federal government may not have the capacity to supply medical professionals with personal protective equipment amid the latest surge in coronavirus cases, according to internal administration documents obtained by NBC News.

The Strategic National Stockpile and the Federal Emergency Management Agency have fewer than 900,000 gloves in reserve after shipping 82.7 million of them — or just 30% of the amount requested by state, local and tribal governments — since the COVID-19 crisis began, according to figures compiled Sunday by Health and Human Services Department officials for senior leaders of the interagency coronavirus task force effort.

In particular, nursing homes and long-term care facilities say there is a major personal protective equipment shortage.

"Currently, nearly 20% of nursing homes report to CDC that they either do not have or have less than a one-week supply of PPE, and more than half of assisted living communities have less than a two-week supply of N-95 masks and gowns," Mark Parkinson, president and CEO of the American Health Care Association and the National Center for Assisted Living, wrote in a letter to governors Tuesday. "N-95 masks are still not available and were not included in the FEMA shipments to nursing homes."

 

[10ofRods]

I guess as it is a respiratory infection, they can get infected as soon as they take their first breath. I remember seeing the newborn babies in China with their tiny face shields. Do we have similar pics of US and UK babies in maternity units?

Hopefully, hospitals are making sure that there are no CoVid-spewers in operating and delivery rooms!

Getting enough viral load to get CoVid from one breath would mean that the room was small and every single person in it was unmasked and positive for CoVid.

Instead, hospital personnel get tested, are masked - and now, so are the laboring moms (with exceptions).

However, the first year of life is a compromised time - so if Baby is going out in public, yes Baby should have a mask (or other way of coping - as they do in many nations already). You rarely see a baby in an open stroller in some parts of the world.

If Mom has CoVid, there are obviously special issues to address. And that just happened to someone I know. It's very scary, but so far so good (she has to wear a mask, baby doesn't).

The respiratory input of infants (and small children) is much less than an adults, so it takes quite a bit of close output by a CV+ person to infect them - so moms of newborns would be the main vector and a mask would solve that. Some babies are being born with CoVid as it is detected in the placenta and can cross into the uterus. But there are no published accounts of babies breathing in CV in the delivery room (or the maternity ward, for that matter).

The old advice used to be to keep babies isolated from the public for 2 months (immune system is truly not great at that time). With studies on breastfeeding, I think pediatricians now recommend 4-6 weeks - but if it were me, I'd probably isolate with Baby for at least 3 months. Maybe longer.

Again, not much need for masks on newborns...

 

[CharlestonGal]

South Carolina still headed in the wrong direction -

SC reaches second highest day for positive coronavirus cases reported

Probably going to get another lecture from the governor. Which the majority of people will ignore. Again.

 

[JerseyGirl]

California sees record-setting hospitalizations and ICU admissions, setting a new record with a total of 6,745 hospitalizations and 1,886 ICU admissions.

The state reported 260 new hospitalizations on Tuesday, which reflects a 4% increase from Monday. There was an increase of 53 new ICU patients, reflecting a 2.9% rise from Monday.

The majority of the hospitalizations are in Los Angeles County.

The state added 7,346 new positive cases, a 2.2% increase from the previous day. The total of cases statewide stands at 336,508

There were 47 new deaths, a 0.7% increase from the previous day, bringing the statewide total to 7,087.

The positivity rate over a two-week period is 7.1%..

 

[anneg]

What does “late stage” mean?

It's a phase 3 clinical trial in humans.
From clinicaltrials.gov:
Brief Summary:
The mRNA-1273 vaccine is being developed to prevent COVID-19, the disease resulting from Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) infection. The study is designed to primarily evaluate the efficacy, safety, and immunogenicity of mRNA-1273 to prevent COVID-19 for up to 2 years after the second dose of mRNA-1273.

Study Type : Interventional (Clinical Trial)
Estimated Enrollment : 30000 participants
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: Quadruple (Participant, Care Provider, Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)
Primary Purpose: Prevention
Official Title: A Phase 3, Randomized, Stratified, Observer-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Study to Evaluate the Efficacy, Safety, and Immunogenicity of mRNA-1273 SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine in Adults Aged 18 Years and Older
Estimated Study Start Date : July 27, 2020
Estimated Primary Completion Date : October 27, 2022
Estimated Study Completion Date : October 27, 2022

 

[JerseyGirl]

Texas, Arizona brace for increase in coronavirus deaths with refrigerated trucks for makeshift morgue

One Texas county says the morgue is already full. Several other Texas counties including Travis and Cameron are securing refrigerated trailers in anticipation of increasing coronavirus deaths

The medical examiner’s office in Maricopa County in Arizona, home to Phoenix, said it’s moving toward acquiring coolers and staffing because it’s currently near capacity for body storage.

 

[MimosaMornings]

Probably going to get another lecture from the governor. Which the majority of people will ignore. Again.

I was guessing Horry County would be the top reported cases. Maybe because the tourists were tested after they returned home? Looks like Charleston County has the top spot.

 

[JerseyGirl]

I was guessing Horry County would be the top reported cases. Maybe because the tourists were tested after they returned home? Looks like Charleston County has the top spot.

Charleston County had the highest number of new cases with 412 reported Tuesday.

Richland County reported 232

Greenville had 210.

Horry County reported 148

I'm surprised, I thought Myrtle Beach was a hotspot.

https://www.thestate.com/news/coronavirus/article244208217.html

 

[24Roses]

Iowa news today: As of 10:00 a.m today, we had 368 new confirmed cases for a total of 35,830 confirmed cases of which 26,899 have recovered (IDPH has 26,901 by 11:00 a.m.) 3 more have passed away for a total of 755 who have passed away (IDPH has 756 by 11:00 a.m.) July 14: 368 new COVID-19 cases, 310 more recoveries, 3 more deaths
Iowa COVID-19 Information
Iowa State Auditor: TestIowa reporting process violates the law
Gov. Reynolds hints at changes to bar capacity as COVID-19 cases increase
Footage of Court Avenue crowds prompts COVID-19 concerns
Des Moines to require masks or face shields inside city buildings

 

[tresir2012]

some states? Could you tell me what states have optimal test/results as a whole. I live in Dallas and cars line up for six hours in 107 degree heat. Their test results don't arrive until up to two weeks later. I hear similar stories from almost every state. The exception are the very connected/rich and even then they aren't always successful.

Some have given personal examples on here but I don't know what states they were. I'll see if I can find them.

 

[10ofRods]

Federal stockpile is thin amid coronavirus surge, internal documents show

The federal government may not have the capacity to supply medical professionals with personal protective equipment amid the latest surge in coronavirus cases, according to internal administration documents obtained by NBC News.

The Strategic National Stockpile and the Federal Emergency Management Agency have fewer than 900,000 gloves in reserve after shipping 82.7 million of them — or just 30% of the amount requested by state, local and tribal governments — since the COVID-19 crisis began, according to figures compiled Sunday by Health and Human Services Department officials for senior leaders of the interagency coronavirus task force effort.

In particular, nursing homes and long-term care facilities say there is a major personal protective equipment shortage.

"Currently, nearly 20% of nursing homes report to CDC that they either do not have or have less than a one-week supply of PPE, and more than half of assisted living communities have less than a two-week supply of N-95 masks and gowns," Mark Parkinson, president and CEO of the American Health Care Association and the National Center for Assisted Living, wrote in a letter to governors Tuesday. "N-95 masks are still not available and were not included in the FEMA shipments to nursing homes."

I just don't see how more Americans don't call out the government on this one. WHY are we not making more PPE? And I don't mean sewn cloth masks. I mean actual N95 masks, and face shields and all the specialized PPE. Why are the House and Senate concerned with vacation/travel stimulus money when we don't have PPE?

Why not have small business grants to encourage 3D printing or other tech intensive manufacture of masks? It's not that difficult to make (we used to send paper to China for recycling into PPE masks that they shipped back - why can't we just keep the production domestic?)

I sense that younger people are feeling hopeless about starting a business. They need mentors and help. I know a couple who have researched how to make N95's and they are startled at how easy it is (one is an electrical engineer, the other is a biology major).

The federal government could aid with both start-up funding and with the logistics of distribution.

 

[anneg]

I might have been to admit it, but now that I know someone else is a major DDD fan, I'm not I can watch DDD for hours when there are marathons. I've seen every episode dozens of times and never grow tired of it. Not a fan or GGG or any of his cooking shows, but GF is outstanding as host of Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives.

I haven't seen DDD but now I think I'll check it out!

 

[CSIDreamer]

3M says it's on track with N95 production goals

3M N95 production

 

[ilovewings]

i have a dilemma--i love my hair stylist but IMO he did something
reckless- he took a plane trip to North Carolina to visit a relative--
he took precautions--gloves,mask and even goggles-- tbe plane
was not full-- so he goes back to work the day after getting off the
plane-- to my way of thinking he is putting his co workers at risk
and his clients--at least for a period of 2 weeks-- i would not onsider
going to the sa!on for 2 weeks after he got off that plane--dont even
know if 2 weeks is enough time to be safe. i read things that 5 epidemiologists
wouldnt do, and that list included flying--- i have really lousy hair but
he makes it look as good as is possible-- what do ya all think?

well, i talked to one of my friends who is a client of my traveling stylist- she knows him well and suggested he get tested - she told him she will not let him do her hair unless he does that and he told her he will do that this week. He is now 8 days into the incubation period. I am glad she suggested that to him: they are friends so i think he will listen to her.