Coronavirus COVID-19 - Global Health Pandemic #79

[Bailey38]

I think someone asked earlier in the thread to give reports from college students if we heard (collected) Intel from them. My granddaughter called and asked if she could come and stay the weekend, today if possible. She's a freshman in her first year of college, said she needed out for a few days.

Nothing good in her reports. Many are still in full party mode and lax in their cleaning, washing hands, etc. They are required to wear masks and she believes there are many cases of it but only 23 that she is aware of because she said they don't tell them. There is a quarantined section and she said today a girl was so upset of being sent to the area that she took her life. Now I can't say this is the reason, it's second hand info and she was in the hall when they heard a policeman and EMT come in to get the girl. So very saddened by this. Are the kids being shamed because they caught it? I'll dig into it more tomorrow evening because I have so much running and won't have a good talk with her until then. She has showered, eaten, and gone to bed.

What can we do to alter the stigma of this virus?

 

[musicaljoke]

I think someone asked earlier in the thread to give reports from college students if we heard (collected) Intel from them. My granddaughter called and asked if she could come and stay the weekend, today if possible. She's a freshman in her first year of college, said she needed out for a few days.

Nothing good in her reports. Many are still in full party mode and lax in their cleaning, washing hands, etc. They are required to wear masks and she believes there are many cases of it but only 23 that she is aware of because she said they don't tell them. There is a quarantined section and she said today a girl was so upset of being sent to the area that she took her life. Now I can't say this is the reason, it's second hand info and she was in the hall when they heard a policeman and EMT come in to get the girl. So very saddened by this. Are the kids being shamed because they caught it? I'll dig into it more tomorrow evening because I have so much running and won't have a good talk with her until then. She has showered, eaten, and gone to bed.

What can we do to alter the stigma of this virus?

You are asking a very good question. It certainly isn't good for anyone to feel that they have to hide the fact that they've contacted CoVid. There's a danger that they won't stay home from classes or work, nor remain in isolation, and possibly they won't seek medical help when they need it.

 

[SouthAussie]

You are asking a very good question. It certainly isn't good for anyone to feel that they have to hide the fact that they've contacted CoVid. There's a danger that they won't stay home from classes or work, nor remain in isolation, and possibly they won't seek medical help when they need it.

Just like HIV, back in the day.

It took Princess Diana and many celebrities to hug HIV infected people, shake their hands, before the stigma started to fall away.

IMO

 

[musicaljoke]

Doctor at 'mask optional' clinic in Melbourne dies; tests positive for coronavirus post-mortem

Patients shocked by death of Melbourne doctor; he had COVID-19

Such a sad loss. He could have spent time educating his patients about wearing masks. Instead he took the risk, and died. What kind of horrific social pressure was he dealing with that made him choose to take such an unnecessary risk, not only for him, but his staff and patients too?

 

[Trino]

I’m conflicted. Are people who attend super spreader events really entrenched in their beliefs or are they just ignorant?

 

[Rocco]

The video in this link is amazing. There is zero respect for authority anywhere. All over a damn mask. This school’s SRO deserves a medal for dealing with this dimwit woman. I hope she sues, loses & has to pay fines plus legal fees for both sides. In case anyone is wondering, like the filmer of this vid, yes, an SRO is a real police officer who can make a real arrest. Not a “rent-a-cop”. Watch the vid before “Karen’s” attorney gets it taken down. Jmo

I’d like to think how embarrassing this must be for her kid, but unfortunately she’s probably just become the latest role model for defiance. Mo

SUPPORTING SAFE SCHOOLS | COPS OFFICE

Great post!!!

You hit all the bases.

I wish someone would produce a compilation of clips of these knuckleheads and air it---complete with names. Along the lines of 'World's Dumbest Criminals'.

 

[Lilibet]

I’m conflicted. Are people who attend super spreader events really entrenched in their beliefs or are they just ignorant?

Maybe some attend these super spreader events because of entrenched beliefs and others out of ignorance, but I’m not sure it’s necessarily just an either/or reason for attending. Those entrenched beliefs may be caused by ignorance (willful or not) and ignorance may stem from entrenched beliefs. It will remain one of the great mysteries of the pandemic. And I’m being willfully facetious.

 

[musicaljoke]

I’m conflicted. Are people who attend super spreader events really entrenched in their beliefs or are they just ignorant?

We really don't know for sure. It could be either one, or both, or it could be that a false sense of safety comes over people when they see others doing something known to be unsafe. The article said that the people were wearing their masks when they arrived, but took them off when they got in the door. Was that because they saw others w/o masks and the trend snowballed until there were 200 people packed into the place, not social distancing, and not wearing masks?

I suspect that safety precautions were not well established in the community. From the article, there were other social clubs functioning as well, and that people gathered elsewhere also.

Who among us here is living in a town with an active covid spread, where this would be allowed? Probably none of us. Our public health guidelines have shut this type of thing down because it's known to be unsafe. But if you lived where it's common to have social gatherings, then the people could feel that it must be fine, or it wouldn't be allowed.

If you haven't guessed already, Palm Coast is in Florida.

From the article:
The counting is not over. “Many members of their club also belong to the Italian American Club, the fishing club and all the other clubs, but we talked to a lot of people, and it all stems back to the event on the 28th.” He added: “No one is singling out anyone. This is what the case investigation, contact tracing revealed, that common link in terms of the whereabouts of the individuals all tracing back to that one karaoke night.”

[...]

” the author of the email, who asked not to be identified, wrote. “It was packed — cheek by cheek, maybe 200 people, almost no masks, although people were required to wear them into the building. As soon as they came in, they took them off. I and two other people asked the titular head of the DAV to ask that the organizers make an announcement to keep masks on. A woman refused to do that. She is now dead. She had had symptoms for 10 days.

Covid 'Superspreader' Karaoke Night and Other Events at Social Club of Palm Coast Cause at Least 2 Deaths and Up to 50 Infections | FlaglerLive

 

[SouthAussie]

The stress on our essential workers can’t keep on like this:

'I cry before work': US essential workers burned out amid pandemic

The Columbia Chronicle's editor tried to address this kind of issue in the recent edition of their college newspaper.

Spread kindness, not the coronavirus
Although the pandemic may look different to everyone—some who have lost loved ones to the virus, others who must work from home with small kids attending school virtually and those who do not have the option of working from home if they want to keep their jobs—we all have to get through this together by having respect for others’ emotions and health.

What I have learned from this is that there is a time for understanding and kindness.
This means, yes, wearing a mask and looking out for one another by actively attempting to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
It can also mean calling a family member or friend once in a while, volunteering, showing appreciation and compassion, performing random acts of kindness or just trying to peacefully coexist with co-workers, roommates and community members.

Editor’s Note: spread kindness, not the coronavirus

 

[weepingangel]

Massachusetts
Brigham and Women’s Hospital scrambles to contain cluster of COVID-19 cases - The Boston Globe

Coronavirus Cluster Discovered At Brigham And Women's Hospital

 

[JerseyGirl]

The US remains in the first wave, since cases never declined significantly to a good baseline, says Dr. Anthony Fauci.

The idea of a second wave is based on the pattern seen during the 1918 pandemic, when cases were seen in the spring and then cases "literally disappeared" before there was an "explosion" of cases in the fall, Fauci said.

Rather than say, 'A second wave,' why don't we say, 'Are we prepared for the challenge of the fall and the winter?'" Fauci said.

There's also a potentially complicated flu season on its way ... and quickly overwhelm the healthcare system. The CDC director has warned it could be a historically difficult fall and winter.

Across the US, more than 6.9 million people have already been infected with the virus. CDC Director Redfield said this week more than 90% of the population remains susceptible to the virus. At least 202,000 Americans have died.

US still in first Covid-19 wave and should be prepared for 'challenge' of fall and winter, Fauci says

 

[SouthAussie]

The United Nations chief said in opening the Security Council meeting that the world failed to co-operate in tackling the COVID-19 pandemic. Guterres said that if the world responds to even more catastrophic challenges with the same disunity and disarray, "I fear the worst."

He said the international community's failure "was the result of a lack of global preparedness, co-operation, unity and solidarity".

Guterres pointed to the nearly 1 million people around the world that the coronavirus has killed, and the more than 30 million who have been infected. He said the global response was more and more fragmented, and "as countries go in different directions, the virus goes in every direction".

'Shame on each of you': China, Russia and US clash over pandemic responses

 

[JerseyGirl]

About 12 states are now seeing mask usage rates above 50%, according to researchers from the University of Washington's Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME).

Those include California, Colorado, Florida, Maryland, Mississippi, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, Washington and West Virginia.

The IHME projects if 95% of Americans wore masks, more than 95,000 lives could be saved by January.

US still in first Covid-19 wave and should be prepared for 'challenge' of fall and winter, Fauci says

 

[JerseyGirl]

The number of cases in the US topped 7 million on Thursday - more than 20% of the world's total - as Midwest states reported spikes in infections in September.

The latest milestone comes just days after the US surpassed over 200,000 deaths, the world's highest from the virus. Each day, over 700 people die in the US from COVID-19.

California leads the country with over 800,000 total cases, followed by Texas, Florida and New York.

All Midwest states except Ohio reported more cases in the past four weeks as compared with the prior four weeks, led by South Dakota and North Dakota. SD had the biggest percentage increase at 166% with 8,129 new cases, while ND’s new cases doubled to 8,752 as compared to 4,243 during the same time in August. Many cases in those two states have been linked to the annual motorcycle rally in Sturgis, SD.

Positive cases rose in half this month. Ten states have reported a record one-day increase in cases in September.

New cases rose last week after falling for 8 consecutive weeks. This spike was due to reopening schools and universities as well as parties over the Labor Day holiday. A study by researchers ... said recent reopenings of campuses for in-person instruction could be associated with more than 3,000 additional cases of COVID-19 per day in recent weeks.

U.S. confirmed cases are the highest in the world followed by India with 5.7 million cases and Brazil with 4.6 million.

The US is currently averaging 40,000 new infections per day. Dr. Anthony Fauci has said he would like to see the number to fall below 10,000 per day before flu season starts in October.

U.S. records over seven million COVID-19 cases as Midwest outbreak surges

 

[ilovewings]

Such a sad loss. He could have spent time educating his patients about wearing masks. Instead he took the risk, and died. What kind of horrific social pressure was he dealing with that made him choose to take such an unnecessary risk, not only for him, but his staff and patients too?

Reading that article makes me angry: one of his patients said she liked the fact that the doc and staff didn't wear masks or observe social distancing -so going there wasn't like "the end of the world"-- he even shook hands with his patients. SMH

 

[Deleted member 158085]

The US remains in the first wave, since cases never declined significantly to a good baseline, says Dr. Anthony Fauci.

The idea of a second wave is based on the pattern seen during the 1918 pandemic, when cases were seen in the spring and then cases "literally disappeared" before there was an "explosion" of cases in the fall, Fauci said.

Rather than say, 'A second wave,' why don't we say, 'Are we prepared for the challenge of the fall and the winter?'" Fauci said.

There's also a potentially complicated flu season on its way ... and quickly overwhelm the healthcare system. The CDC director has warned it could be a historically difficult fall and winter.

Across the US, more than 6.9 million people have already been infected with the virus. CDC Director Redfield said this week more than 90% of the population remains susceptible to the virus. At least 202,000 Americans have died.

US still in first Covid-19 wave and should be prepared for 'challenge' of fall and winter, Fauci says

I do wonder if our precautions will lessen the impact of the flu season. Hope so.

 

[ilovewings]

Massive genetic study shows coronavirus mutating amid rapid U.S. spread | Boston.com

Here is a very depressing article " Massive Genetic Study shows coronavirus mutating-evolving amid rapid U.S. spread". This article has not yet been peer reviewed. the virus is described as being more transmissible, but not deadlier.

 

[weepingangel]

Dozens More Test Positive in Merrimack College Coronavirus Outbreak
More
Nearly four dozen additional students living in one residence hall at Merrimack College have tested positive for the coronavirus, the college's president Christopher Hopey confirmed.

Twenty students had already tested positive on the campus in North Andover, Massachusetts, including 17 who live in the Monican residence hall.

The college says 47 additional Monican students who had been tested as they were leaving campus for quarantine were found positive

"We have now tested over 3,800 community members in the past 72 hours and the results indicate that this cluster does not extend outside of Monican Hall," Hopey stated in an email to students Thursday. "We are now optimistic with the Monican residents off the campus in isolation or in quarantine, that the campus can stay safely open and fully operational."

 

[Sundog]

Most public colleges and universities in Ohio are conducting weekly random surveillance testing on students, faculty and staff on their campuses and they have dashboards posted on their websites for transparency and at most universities, they are updated weekly with the random surveillance test results, as well as self-reported cases and cases reported by their county health departments.

Yesterday, the Governor of Ohio recommended that all residential public colleges and universities conduct weekly random surveillance testing of at least 3% (minimum) of its students - if they are not already doing so, but he acknowledged that most are already doing so, and he is in communication regularly with the presidents of Ohio's colleges and universities.

 

[CSIDreamer]

Oh my gosh. Is anyone that's wearing masks 4+ hours each day struggling with allergies that are worse than usual? The post nasal junk and coughing it up are about to get the best of me. Jmo