Coronavirus COVID-19 - Global Health Pandemic #73

[beatrixpotter]

My good news today is that someone offered me what looks like easily 2 bushels of free pears I'm going to pick up in a couple of days. Pear preserves, pear syrup and pear pie filling here we come.

You'd think I'd already lived through a famine in another life or something. But all I think about is making, putting up, growing and ensuring I have enough food for my family right now. All those years of reading Little House on the Prairie and the Foxfire books are paying off.

Things at Aldi and Walmart are getting harder to access again here. I need to snag some more sugar and rice when I can and maybe some pasta. We are low on that. Dh is putting in new shelves for the stuff I'm canning.

Oh, I bought face shields off Amazon. Dh wore one once and the next time he came out to the car it had MELTED!! It was totally unusable again. Talk about poorly made. I can't recall any plastic item in the car ever melting before so I can't imagine how badly this was made. Don't buy face shields from this company.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0872QVFG1/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[tmar]

Coronavirus pandemic will be ‘lengthy’, World Health Organisation warns

Coronavirus pandemic will be ‘lengthy’, World Health Organisation warns

Chris Baynes

2 hrs ago
...
The coronavirus pandemic is likely to be “lengthy,” the World Health Organisation has warned after its emergency committee met to evaluate the crisis six months after first declaring an international emergency.

A “nuanced” approach to tackling Covid-19 is needed to reduce the risk of “response fatigue” as the diseases places continued social and economic pressures on countries, the panel said.

The committee gathered in Geneva on Friday exactly six months on from its declaration that coronavirus was public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC), its highest level of alert.

 

[beatrixpotter]

What Vermont and Its History Might Teach the Nation About Handling the Coronavirus

"
covid-19 took a toll on the state fairly early—the first two deaths were confirmed on March 19th—and it soon became clear that terrible outbreaks were under way at a couple nursing homes. But action came early, too. Governor Phil Scott began closing things down that week—it wasn’t long before bars and restaurants were shut, followed by schools and pretty much everything else. Even construction jobs quieted, as the state shut down nonessential work. All of this came at a cost, of course. Vermont’s economy sunk like a stone. The average income here is below the national average, and the tourist trade is a big part of many people’s living, but with hotels and campgrounds closed quaintness suddenly had no cash value. People really suffered and are suffering still. When the National Guard organized food distribution, the lines of cars stretched for depressing miles.


But that suffering didn’t put much political pressure on the governor to reopen the state. When Vermont Against Excessive Quarantine called for an April rally outside the statehouse in Montpelier, VTDigger reported that a crowd of “between seven and 10 protesters” appeared, many of them wearing masks, and their rhetoric was not exactly fiery. “I think it is commendable but at the same time foolish to shut the economy down,” a man from St. Albans, in the far north, said. “I feel like the repercussions of shutting the economy down will probably be far worse than the actual virus.” Another explained, “There’s reason to be nervous—maybe a little edgy about this—I’m not denying there’s not anything out there that could hurt somebody. . . . But just use some common sense.” (By contrast, a few weeks later, five thousand people turned up at the same spot for a Black Lives Matter protest.)"

 

[beatrixpotter]

Every Faculty Member on This Campus Can Teach Outside

It's nice to see people thinking ahead, being realistic and trying to find ways to work with the situation instead of trying to forcing normal to work.

"Elizabeth A. Forys, one of the leaders of Eckerd’s outdoor-instruction initiative, is an experienced outdoor instructor, having taught environmental biology and ornithology classes outside for years. So when her campus closed because of Covid-19 in the spring, she began thinking ahead to reopening. Knowing outdoor-transmission rates for the virus are significantly lower than indoor ones, Forys said, she’d simply move all her classes outside. Many of her colleagues, even those whose material didn’t naturally lend itself to teaching outdoors, might want to do the same."

 

[tmar]

Facebook puts global block on Brazil's Bolsonaro supporters

Facebook puts global block on Brazil's Bolsonaro supporters

5 hrs ago
...
BRASILIA (Reuters) - Facebook said on Saturday it has put a global block on certain accounts controlled by supporters of Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro implicated in a fake news inquiry, a day after it was fined for not complying with a Supreme Court judge's order to do so.

A spokesperson for Facebook said the order was "extreme" and threatens "freedom of expression outside of Brazil's jurisdiction", but said the company has agreed to the order.

"Given the threat of criminal liability to a local employee, at this point we see no other alternative than complying with the decision by blocking the accounts globally, while we appeal to the Supreme Court," the spokesperson said.

Justice Alexandre de Moraes had ruled on Thursday that Facebook and Twitter failed to comply with orders to block the accounts because they were only blocked within Brazil, but remained accessible with foreign IP addresses.
On Friday, he ruled that Facebook must pay a 1.92 million reais (281,123.9 pounds) fine for not complying and face further daily fines of 100,000 reais per day if it does not block the accounts in question globally.

 

[10ofRods]

Gee, how could we have foreseen that this would happen?

Having up-to-date, easily accessible, accurate information is absolutely critical to fighting COVID-19 nationwide.

Whose bird brain idea was it to bypass the CDC completely, anyway? Heads should roll over this. We are in the middle of a global pandemic. This is sheer incompetence during a time when incompetence costs lives.

Probably the Secretary of Health and Human Services, Alex Azar - at least nominally.

Obviously, since the data is going to the "White House," then the goal and strategy had to involve that data repository (the White House). I believe technically the information is going directly to HHS (to the Secretary's laptop? What does this mean?)

Pence (who has never managed a medical information system in his life) said we'd still get the information - but that isn't happening. On many forecasts the space is now blank, where hospitalizations should be.

Some states release this information (after collecting it locally) and some do not.

The point of this was to be able to rational federal goods heading out to states. The effect has been a complete lack of transparency (worse than before) on that issue.

 

[tmar]

Russia says it will roll out a coronavirus vaccine to citizens in October

Russia says it will roll out a coronavirus vaccine to citizens in October

4 hrs ago
...
Russia says it will roll out a coronavirus vaccine in October - but no details have been given about what would be the first such programme anywhere in the world.

Foreign news agencies quoted Mikhail Murashko, the health minister for Russia, saying that research facility the Gamaleya Institute had completed clinical trials of the vaccine and paperwork is being prepared to register it.

Doctors and teachers would be vaccinated first before wider injections are rolled out to other Russians in October, Mr Murashko added.

Reuters, citing anonymous sources, said Russia's first potential vaccine would be approved by regulators this month.

But the speed of how the vaccine has been developed and is planned to be rolled out has sparked fears from critics.

Anthony Fauci, the United States' top infectious disease official, raised concerns on Friday regarding the safety of COVID-19 vaccines under development by China and Russia.

 

[tmar]

First Australian-made COVID swabs a promising sign for local manufacturers

First Australian-made COVID swabs a promising sign for local manufacturers

By Matt Bamford

1 hour ago
...
They are a crucial frontline tool in the fight against coronavirus and now one Sydney company has become the first to sell Australian-made medical swabs.

The development is the latest example of industry ingenuity as the Australian manufacturing sector adapts to the pandemic, as well as strengthening the case for more government support for research and development (R&D).
...
Gap in market for Aussie PPE
As the pandemic exposed Australia's reliance on overseas imports for essential medical supplies, Mr Wood saw a gap in the market for personal protective equipment.

He tried making face shields but found more success with swabs, after locating a design online from the Harvard Medical School.

 

[LadyL]

New Evidence Suggests Young Children Spread Covid-19 More Efficiently Than Adults

 

[tmar]

Victoria to go into Stage 4 lockdown from Wednesday

Victoria to go into Stage 4 lockdown from Wednesday

Isabelle Stackpool For Daily Mail Australia

10 hrs ago
...
Victoria is expected to go into strict Stage 4 lockdown from Wednesday after initial attempts to control a deadly second wave of coronavirus failed.

The state is set to close all but essential businesses and send high-school students back to learning from home.

If they go ahead they will be the harshest restrictions that Australia has seen and will be similar to the lockdown imposed by New Zealand.

Premier Daniel Andrews is expected to make the shock announcement on Sunday.

Under the new rules nearly all cafes, restaurants and shops are likely to close for a further six weeks.

 

[mickey2942]

I am currently watching the negotiations on the extension of the additional $600 each week for unemployment benefits.

Doesn't look like they are even close to an agreement.

 

[musicaljoke]

Russia says it will roll out a coronavirus vaccine to citizens in October

Russia says it will roll out a coronavirus vaccine to citizens in October

4 hrs ago
...
Russia says it will roll out a coronavirus vaccine in October - but no details have been given about what would be the first such programme anywhere in the world.

Foreign news agencies quoted Mikhail Murashko, the health minister for Russia, saying that research facility the Gamaleya Institute had completed clinical trials of the vaccine and paperwork is being prepared to register it.

Doctors and teachers would be vaccinated first before wider injections are rolled out to other Russians in October, Mr Murashko added.

Reuters, citing anonymous sources, said Russia's first potential vaccine would be approved by regulators this month.

But the speed of how the vaccine has been developed and is planned to be rolled out has sparked fears from critics.

Anthony Fauci, the United States' top infectious disease official, raised concerns on Friday regarding the safety of COVID-19 vaccines under development by China and Russia.

I hope Russia's vaccinations have good results. If not, people will be reluctant to accept safe and proven vaccines when they become available later.

 

[CSIDreamer]

I am currently watching the negotiations on the extension of the additional $600 each week for unemployment benefits.

Doesn't look like they are even close to an agreement.

If they extend them, I hope my employer shuts down again for awhile. I can easily double my $$ collecting unemployment. Jmo

ETA I work part time.

 

[musicaljoke]

New Evidence Suggests Young Children Spread Covid-19 More Efficiently Than Adults

For the peer reviewed journal article:

Age-Related Differences in Nasopharyngeal SARS-CoV-2 Levels in Patients With Mild to Moderate COVID-19

Children are susceptible to infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) but generally present with mild symptoms compared with adults.1 Children drive spread of respiratory and gastrointestinal illnesses in the population,2 but data on children as sources of SARS-CoV-2 spread are sparse.

Early reports did not find strong evidence of children as major contributors to SARS-CoV-2 spread,3 but school closures early in pandemic responses thwarted larger-scale investigations of schools as a source of community transmission. As public health systems look to reopen schools and day cares, understanding transmission potential in children will be important to guide public health measures. Here, we report that replication of SARS-CoV-2 in older children leads to similar levels of viral nucleic acid as adults, but significantly greater amounts of viral nucleic acid are detected in children younger than 5 years.

 

[beatrixpotter]

COVID-19 Is Pushing a Quarter of the Arab World to Poverty, UN Warns

"“With millions more pushed down the economic ladder, fully one-quarter of the Arab population may live in poverty,” said Guterres. “In a region already rife with tensions and inequalities, this will have profound consequences on political and social stability.”


The virus is as worrying for those living in the relative affluence of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and other Gulf states as it is for war-ravaged Libyans, Yemenis and Syrians, as well as impoverished Palestinians, the report said.


As leaders around the world shuttered their economies and people stayed home and stopped driving and taking flights, oil prices fell to around $40 per barrel – well below the price that Arab exporters need to balance their budgets.""

 

[tmar]

America surpasses 4.5 million COVID-19 cases

America surpasses 4.5 million COVID-19 cases

Sky News Australia

1 hour ago
...
The United States has surpassed more than 4.5 million cases of coronavirus and nearly 153,000 deaths.

Latest coronavirus modelling in America has predicted the country could see 230,000 deaths incurred from the disease by November.

Florida, Arizona and Mississippi have been particularly hard hit by the virus and have seen record one-day increases from the disease.

 

[PingTheRouter]

Hang in there buddy.

For me the scariest time was when it was “unfolding”,

Thanks appreciate it, we should find out today just how bad this lockdown is going to be

but news so far suggests its an entire city wide shut down for 6 weeks, so this should be fun

 

[ilovewings]

Wrestling tournament draws hundreds to Myrtle Beach despite COVID-19 pandemic

what could possibly go wrong--SMH

 

[tmar]

Thousands protest against new COVID restrictions in Germany

Thousands protest against new COVID restrictions in Germany

Sky News Australia

1 hour ago
...
An estimated 15,000 demonstrators have gathered in Berlin to protest coronavirus restrictions.

Organisers of the event claimed tough rules violate their rights and curb long-term economic recovery.

Germany's has received worldwide praise for its response to the pandemic with the country's death toll one of the lowest in Europe at just under 1,000.

 

[ilovewings]

Wrestling tournament draws hundreds to Myrtle Beach despite COVID-19 pandemic

what could possibly go wrong--SMH