Coronavirus COVID-19 - Global Health Pandemic #74

[TootsieFootsie]

Angela Finn and her husband Joe were looking forward to being empty-nesters.
The last of their three children was about to leave home — and then COVID-19 struck.
Ms Finn knew when lockdown came she wouldn't be able to visit her 87-year-old mother, Pam.
So she moved her out of her nursing home and into the family home in Coogee, in Sydney's east.

"I knew … that mum would be very stressed with not knowing what was going on and where her family was," Ms Finn said.
But the decision was not easy.
"I went through a lot of grief thinking, is this the right decision for me, my husband, my family, for mum [and] would I do a good job bringing her home to live with me?"



Angela was looking forward to being an empty-nester — coronavirus changed all that

 

[weepingangel]

Some of the car insurance companies gave people refunds in March/April @ the height of the lockdown.
Interestingly the accident fatality rate doubled (here in the land of awful drivers)
Fatal Mass. car crash rate doubled in April, despite lockdown

Had the car in for an oil change and tire rotation. A famliy in the neighborhood owns the garage.

They called me laughing and ask why? I said it was just over 6 months, and he said, yea. but you've ain't driven 250 miles.

My next errand run, I checked the mileage...6 miles round trip. I've only bought gas twice since March and still have a half tank.

Just didn't realize how little I have driven.

 

[weepingangel]

Central Mass. hotel hit with more fines for hosting large events; hotel manager disputes allegations of 300-person wedding
more at link
State officials have slapped $2,400 in fines on the Massachusetts hotel accused of hosting two events last weekend that violated Covid-19 safety standards, including mask requirements and the 100-person limit for outdoor events.
The penalties against the Colonial Hotel in Gardner were handed down shortly after Gov. Charlie Baker, at a press conference on Friday, pointed to its events as one reason his administration would begin cracking down harder on gatherings that flout coronavirus regulations. Baker has cut the maximum capacity for outdoor events to 50 people, among other new restrictions.

 

[weepingangel]

Mass. updates COVID-19 guidance after bars found ways to reopen early
More at link
Some Massachusetts bars and breweries underwent a rebranding during the coronavirus pandemic, reopening as pretzel or popcorn eateries, serving booze on the side.

They won’t be open for long if the Baker administration has its way. Gov. Charlie Baker announced Friday it was ramping up enforcement of COVID-19 violations and updating its guidance on restaurants to close a loophole that allowed bars and breweries serving little more than snacks to reopen.

 

[musicaljoke]

Doctor claims Ivermectin triple therapy is 'amazingly effective' in treating COVID-19

Doctor claims Ivermectin triple therapy is 'amazingly effective' in treating COVID-19

Sky News Australia

4 hrs ago
Gastroenterologist Professor Thomas Borody says the Australian government should allow the clinical trials of a drug he says is “amazingly effective” in treating the deadly coronavirus COVID-19.

Professor Borody says Ivermectin, used in conjunction with two other drugs, has so-far been extremely successful in treating the deadly pathogen.

The drug is Federal Drug Agency and World Health Organisation approved; it is widely used for parasitic infections.

However, Professor Borody told Sky News despite early result showing the drug is a successful COVID-19 treatment, he has been met with a “very negative reaction” by the federal government when he suggests the drug should be subjected to rigorous clinical trials.

There were reports of Ivermectin successfully treating CoVid early on, and then we didn't hear much more about it. I suspect a lot of research went into studying another drug, at the expense of alternatives such as Ivermectin.

Possible coronavirus drug identified by Australian scientists
A collaborative study led by Monash University's Biomedicine Discovery Institute (BDI) in Melbourne, Australia, with the Peter Doherty Institute of Infection and Immunity (Doherty Institute), has shown that an anti-parasitic drug already available around the world kills the virus within 48 hours.

 

[MimosaMornings]

In the US, five states account for more than 40% of the country's nearly 5 million Covid-19 cases — CNN

“As of this week, five states together hold more than 40% of all US infections: California (with the most cases in the country), Florida, Texas, New York and Georgia. “

 

[MimosaMornings]

How coronavirus devastated Texas’s vulnerable borderlands

“It was a Friday night, and Ivan Melendez, the public health authority for Hidalgo County, Texas, had been on the job since 7 am. He was preparing to put in another 10 hours of work as he parked outside Edinburg Regional Medical Center, about a half-hour drive from the Mexican border.

He knew what to expect inside the hospital, where an office space had been converted into a temporary Covid-19 floor with about 50 beds separated by curtains. For months, he had witnessed scenes that had once been unimaginable: bed after bed of intubated and dying patients; people forced to catch last glimpses of their loved ones by phone because they couldn’t be bedside; doctors and nurses collapsing into tears amid all the suffering.

“The other patients are looking at them not wanting to be intubated because they know what that means: They’re slowly dying,” Melendez said.“

 

[FrostOwl]

I will be skeptical if a vaccine comes out too soon (like by the end of the year): vaccines takes years ---how could it be ready for people in a year???

Because so many countries are working on them together and are being funded very generously, not having to apply for grants and wait for approval for university labs as is the case normally.

The thing I worry about when it comes to a/several vaccine against the corona virus is that it has not been tested enough for side effects before mass vaccinations. Remember the swine flu vaccine of 1976, and whether the Guillan-Barre cases were connected to the vaccinations or not.
1976 swine flu outbreak - Wikipedia

 

[SouthAussie]

Well done New Zealand.
Keep it up!

"New Zealand on Sunday marked 100 days since it stamped out the spread of the coronavirus, a rare bright spot in a world that continues to be ravaged by the disease."



And well done Victoria.

"Victoria reported 394 cases on Sunday, the lowest figure in 11 days."

Global hotspots pass grim global milestones

 

[MimosaMornings]

Cantonment based manufacturing company invents virus-killing mask

“One manufacturing company, with its largest plant in Cantonment, says they’ve created a face mask that kills viruses like the Coronavirus.”
(Pensacola, FL)

 

[SouthAussie]

Central Mass. hotel hit with more fines for hosting large events; hotel manager disputes allegations of 300-person wedding
more at link
State officials have slapped $2,400 in fines on the Massachusetts hotel accused of hosting two events last weekend that violated Covid-19 safety standards, including mask requirements and the 100-person limit for outdoor events.
The penalties against the Colonial Hotel in Gardner were handed down shortly after Gov. Charlie Baker, at a press conference on Friday, pointed to its events as one reason his administration would begin cracking down harder on gatherings that flout coronavirus regulations. Baker has cut the maximum capacity for outdoor events to 50 people, among other new restrictions.

That fine is nowhere near enough to act as a deterrent. imo
But at least they are fining them, I guess. And perhaps MA laws don't support any greater deterrent.

When hotels receive many thousands for a large scale event like a wedding reception, they can just build the fine into their price for wedding receptions.

We have individuals here that can get fined as much, and some even double that amount, for their covid breaches .... they can even go to jail for up to 5 years.

 

[TootsieFootsie]

Going down!

And well done Victoria.

"Victoria reported 394 cases on Sunday, the lowest figure in 11 days."

 

[TootsieFootsie]

I thought I saw this headline a few days ago, but later when I looked for it, it wasn't there.
Would be good if it works and is not a danger to the wearer.

“One manufacturing company, with its largest plant in Cantonment, says they’ve created a face mask that kills viruses like the Coronavirus.”

 

[SouthAussie]

There were reports of Ivermectin successfully treating CoVid early on, and then we didn't hear much more about it. I suspect a lot of research went into studying another drug, at the expense of alternatives such as Ivermectin.

Possible coronavirus drug identified by Australian scientists
A collaborative study led by Monash University's Biomedicine Discovery Institute (BDI) in Melbourne, Australia, with the Peter Doherty Institute of Infection and Immunity (Doherty Institute), has shown that an anti-parasitic drug already available around the world kills the virus within 48 hours.

From what I have now read, you would have to take so much Ivermectin to hit the coronavirus that it would cause dangerous issues within the body. But using it - at recommended levels - in combination with other medications could turn out to be useful.

The approved dose of ivermectin alone not useful in treating COVID-19
What's Up With Ivermectin?

 

[ilovewings]

The thing I worry about when it comes to a/several vaccine against the corona virus is that it has not been tested enough for side effects before mass vaccinations. Remember the swine flu vaccine of 1976, and whether the Guillan-Barre cases were connected to the vaccinations or not.
1976 swine flu outbreak - Wikipedia

I sure do remember 1976 and Guillan-Barre- never forgot it and that is why i have never had a flu vaccine! I worry as you do that a vaccine might be rushed for this virus before enough time has passed to determine if it is truly safe

 

[musicaljoke]

From what I have now read, you would have to take so much Ivermectin to hit the coronavirus that it would cause dangerous issues within the body. But using it - at recommended levels - in combination with other medications could turn out to be useful.

The approved dose of ivermectin alone not useful in treating COVID-19
What's Up With Ivermectin?

Yes, this is very interesting. Ivermectin kills coronavirus, but if taken orally, at the approved dose, not enough Ivermectin reaches the lungs. I'll have to re-read the study to see if the same problem exists with injectable Ivermectin.

The last line gives some hope: "Inhaled ivermectin would allow for higher dosage and increased local lung concentrations without additional systemic exposure. However, preclinical studies of its safety and tolerability are required."

This is extemely significant, because all other treatments for CoVid are used to ease the symptoms. This would actually kill the viruss.

 

[tresir2012]

There were reports of Ivermectin successfully treating CoVid early on, and then we didn't hear much more about it. I suspect a lot of research went into studying another drug, at the expense of alternatives such as Ivermectin.

Possible coronavirus drug identified by Australian scientists
A collaborative study led by Monash University's Biomedicine Discovery Institute (BDI) in Melbourne, Australia, with the Peter Doherty Institute of Infection and Immunity (Doherty Institute), has shown that an anti-parasitic drug already available around the world kills the virus within 48 hours.

That is just an in vitro study so far though. HXC worked in vitro too.

In vitro testing of combined hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin on SARS-CoV-2 shows synergistic effect

 

[tresir2012]

My post wasn't about the number of cases in SD. It's about the nationwide average - because the participants in this rally are not (mostly) from SD, as has been well known since it began in 1938.

Your last paragraph was talking about it which is what I was addressing.

"Anyway, SD has 1024 active cases as of yesterday and 106 new cases yesterday (which is a jump already, for them). 1024 is more than 1% of the total population of SD (700,000+) Let's hope the active cases stay home, but if my county is any indication (similar size), that's not happening."

I have a link about the rally to post which is quite informative. I'll edit and add it.

Harleys everywhere, masks nowhere: Sturgis draws thousands

"Screw COVID," read the design on one T-shirt being hawked. "I went to Sturgis."

Thousands of bikers rode through the streets for the opening day of the 80th annual Sturgis Motorcycle rally Friday, Aug. 7, 2020, in Sturgis, S.D. (AP Photo/Stephen Groves)

AP
Bikers rumbled past hundreds of tents filled with motorcycle gear, T-shirts and food. Harley Davidson motorcycles were everywhere but masks were almost nowhere to be seen, with an Associated Press reporter counting fewer than 10 in a crowd of thousands over a period of several hours.

For Stephen Sample, who rode his Harley from Arizona, the event was a break from the routine of the last several months, when he's been mostly homebound or wearing a mask when he went to work as a surveyor.

"I don't want to die, but I don't want to be cooped up all my life either," he said.

Still, Sample, who is 66, feared what could happen if he caught COVID-19 at the rally. He said he was trying to avoid indoor bars and venues, where he felt the risk of infection was greater. But on the opening day of the rally, he said he ate breakfast at an indoor diner.

As Sample weighed the risks of navigating the crowds, the same thrill-seeking that attracted him to riding motorcycles seemed to win out.

"I think we're all willing to take a chance," he said.

Republican Gov. Kristi Noem has taken a largely hands-off approach to the pandemic, avoiding a mask mandate and preaching personal responsibility. She supported holding the Sturgis rally, pointing out that no virus outbreak was documented from the several thousand people who turned out to see President Donald Trump and fireworks at Mount Rushmore last month.

Daily virus cases have been trending upward in South Dakota, but the seven-day average is still only around 84, with fewer than two deaths per day.

More at link.

Can't post more due to 10% rule but it goes on to say many staff at the bars and restaurants rely on the tips from the rally and there are large sales of gear etc at the retail stores. One bar owner is interviewed and she has taken precautions such as spacing out the tables, cancelling live music and providing sanitizer. They have accepted there is a risk so we have to see what happens in 2 weeks time. The fact there was no uptick from the Mt Rushmore event is also mentioned.

 

[musicaljoke]

That is just an in vitro study so far though. HXC worked in vitro too.

In vitro testing of combined hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin on SARS-CoV-2 shows synergistic effect

I'm not sure how comparable the two drugs are. Hydroxychloroquine showed inhibition of viral replication after three days. Ivermectin actually killed the virus within 48 hrs.

Links included in conversation above.

 

[weepingangel]

How Italy turned the Covid-19 disaster around - CNN

Much more at link
Nightclubs and schools aren't yet reopened, face masks are mandatory and social distancing is enforced, but summer is in full swing in this country. People are going out for dinner at restaurants, enjoying the summer tradition of an aperitivo on an open square, going on vacation and generally moving forward. It's nothing short of a miracle, especially compared to nations like Brazil and the United States, where the pandemic is still very much out of control.



Before that terrible day in March when nearly 1,000 people died, stories about how Italians were skirting the lockdown were common. Tales of clandestine dinner parties and entire apartment blocks walking the same dog just to get outside seemed to expose the Italian national pastime of bending the rules. The lockdown by then had meant that everyone but the most essential of workers were confined to within just 300 meters of their homes.

People lost jobs, businesses suffered and children lost valuable time as the country's ill-funded education system struggled to adapt to online teaching. But as hard as it was, the images of the dead, of the overcrowded hospitals, of the people -- cherished grandmothers and grandfathers -- dying alone sparked an unimaginable national grief and scared the entire country, says Gianni Rezza, director of the National Health Institute.