Coronavirus COVID-19 - Global Health Pandemic #84

[GRT]

In addition to wearing masks, a new study indicates gargling might help reduce the spread of the virus.

At the start of an infection, most of the infected droplets come from the upper respiratory tract, like the nose, mouth and throat. Now, research suggests it might be possible to kill the virus there -- reducing your ability to spread it.

Maybe it would be good to implement gargling in nursing home residents--and others who work/live in close proximity. It's interesting at any rate and it makes everyone more pleasant to be around too. Win-win.

 

[SouthAussie]

The pandemic has caused nearly 300,000 deaths in the United States through early October, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a report released Tuesday. The tally includes not only deaths directly caused by the coronavirus but also nearly 100,000 fatalities that are indirectly related but would not have occurred if not for the virus.

Many experts believe this measure tracks the pandemic’s impact more accurately than the case fatality rate. The figure includes deaths from Covid-19 that were misclassified or missed and deaths from emergencies like heart attacks that went untreated because people were afraid to go to the hospital.

While the pandemic has taken the greatest toll on older citizens, the biggest percentage increase in excess deaths has occurred among young adults ages 25 to 44, among whom there was a 26.5 percent increase — as compared with an increase of 14.4 percent in those over 85, a group with a large proportion of the nation’s excess deaths.

A Third Coronavirus Surge Has Taken Root in the U.S.
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[SouthAussie]

With the number of coronavirus infections reaching record levels in New Mexico, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced new restrictions on Tuesday in the hopes of tamping down the virus’s spread.

The governor indicated that the new policies were driven in part by the state’s health system’s being overwhelmed with inpatient coronavirus cases, which has led to 81 percent of all adult hospital beds and 71 percent of intensive care unit beds being filled.

All retail establishments across New Mexico, including grocery stores, will have to close at 10 p.m. each night, and the state will also close state museums and historical sites to visitors.

Over the past week, there have been an average of 563 cases per day, an increase of 139 percent from the average two weeks earlier, according to a New York Times database.

A Third Coronavirus Surge Has Taken Root in the U.S.
(Signing up for a free account can give access to this article)

 

[musicaljoke]

50 COVID-19 cases tied to Charlotte church. Officials urge attendees to get tested. — The Charlotte Observer

“The number of COVID-19 cases traced back to a Charlotte worship service has grown to 50, but church leaders have not agreed to conduct testing on site, Mecklenburg health officials said Tuesday.

County health officials first announced the outbreak Saturday, saying at least nine COVID-19 cases were connected to United House of Prayer for All People at 2321 Beatties Ford Road.

But by Tuesday, the number of cases had more than doubled since Monday, Deputy Health Director Raynard Washington told county commissioners. County officials initially identified “more than 23” cases, the Observer reported.”
—————-
The event included attendees from all over the country.

Church leaders were not interested in setting up testing on site.

Church holds two day "convocation" events,
with hundreds of attendees,
has 50 cases of covid traced back to those events,
including 5 at an assisted living home,
claims it was following recommendations,
church not interested in hosting covid testing.

BAH!! It defies explanation. How can a church be so completely unwilling to take responsibility for the welfare of the people?

Church's webpage may give some clues. United House of Prayer for All People - Atlanta

 

[GRT]

All retail establishments across New Mexico, including grocery stores, will have to close at 10 p.m. each night, and the state will also close state museums and historical sites to visitors.

Respectfully snipped for focus.

Some stores in my area have done this, too, and I think it's counterproductive if it's a grocery store. People have to eat, and by closing early, those stores are forcing people who would have shopped at night to shop during the day, making the store more crowded with people.

Walmart did another silly thing in my opinion--they closed the doors on one end of the store, which funneled shoppers closely together going in and out of a single door on the other end.

Sometimes, I think people just do something so they can say they've done something, but they don't really think it through. JMOO

 

[musicaljoke]

It appears Australia may have its first case of reinfection. A person who had the virus in July has once again tested positive.

https://www.theage.com.au/national/...onavirus-cases-no-deaths-20201021-p5670w.html

My thoughts seem mean-spirited even to me, though I don't wish to be victim blaming. But, apart from those who work directly with Covid patients, how does one contact Covid twice in a country with such a low rate of spread? This person must be working/living in a situation that leaves him or her vulnerable. The article doesn't give many clues.

 

[SouthAussie]

Respectfully snipped for focus.

Some stores in my area have done this, too, and I think it's counterproductive if it's a grocery store. People have to eat, and by closing early, those stores are forcing people who would have shopped at night to shop during the day, making the store more crowded with people.

Walmart did another silly thing in my opinion--they closed the doors on one end of the store, which funneled shoppers closely together going in and out of a single door on the other end.

Sometimes, I think people just do something so they can say they've done something, but they don't really think it through. JMOO

Another incomprehensible part in that article ....

"Those policies go into effect Friday, and apply to restaurants and bars, retail stores and other businesses that typically involve close contact between patrons and employees. Any that report four or more positive coronavirus cases over a two-week period will have to close their doors for 14 days."

4 or more cases among who? The staff? The patrons (how would they know who tested positive)?
And do they think that people who need money to survive are going to willingly close up for 14 days?

 

[SouthAussie]

My thoughts seem mean-spirited even to me, though I don't wish to be victim blaming. But, apart from those who work directly with Covid patients, how does one contact Covid twice in a country with such a low rate of spread? This person must be working/living in a situation that leaves him or her vulnerable. The article doesn't give many clues.

He lives in Victoria, where there is active cases. But they say he may be shedding from his covid infection in July. Genomic sequencing is not yet completed.


Andrews announced the possible reinfection on Wednesday saying the man was being treated as a reinfected case “out of an abundance of caution”.
An expert panel had “reviewed this particular case and concluded there wasn’t enough evidence to say that the positive test presented viral shedding, so the case is being monitored closely, and it is through an abundance of caution that we are assuming that it is a positive case, rather than the person shedding after the original infection,” he said.
Australia may have recorded first case of Covid-19 reinfection

 

[musicaljoke]

How many of you actually spent your time in whatever amount of lockdown you have done in the ways you initially expected/envisioned? I just realized that I have spent my time in ways I did not expect or plan to, and not at all in doing what I originally expected or planned to.

In March, when everything shut down, I never envisioned that we would be in lockdown this long. I thought Covid would be under control in a couple of months, much like SARS and MERS.

So there's been a constant need to adjust my expectations. Many things take longer to do than pre-covid. But there are huge time saving changes too. Zoom is time efficient so I no longer need to schedule an entire evening for a single meeting.

It's really just been recently that I've accepted the fact that we may still be living like this next year at this time. Having a longer framework helps prevent a sense of drifting, waiting and wasting time.

 

[Trino]

So, it's happened even sooner than I thought. From midnight tonight, Ireland will be the first EU country to return to a full national lockdown for six weeks. Only essential services to remain open and everyone to stay within 5km of home, with certain essential travel and compassionate exceptions.

Ireland placed on Level 5 of the Plan for Living with COVID-19

Level 5 lockdown: Everything you need to know about the new Covid laws and fines for travel and house parties

Depending on the election, a lockdown is not out of the question for the US, but I can already foresee the court challenges. When you try to do what's right, not everyone agrees.

 

[Trino]

With the number of coronavirus infections reaching record levels in New Mexico, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced new restrictions on Tuesday in the hopes of tamping down the virus’s spread.

The governor indicated that the new policies were driven in part by the state’s health system’s being overwhelmed with inpatient coronavirus cases, which has led to 81 percent of all adult hospital beds and 71 percent of intensive care unit beds being filled.

All retail establishments across New Mexico, including grocery stores, will have to close at 10 p.m. each night, and the state will also close state museums and historical sites to visitors.

Over the past week, there have been an average of 563 cases per day, an increase of 139 percent from the average two weeks earlier, according to a New York Times database.

A Third Coronavirus Surge Has Taken Root in the U.S.
(Signing up for a free account can give access to this article)

Time to re-assess. Are we a country, or are we 50 individual states doing whatever?

 

[GRT]

Depending on the election, a lockdown is not out of the question for the US, but I can already foresee the court challenges. When you try to do what's right, not everyone agrees.

Sometimes, I think an educational focus is more effective than rules that can make some people feel alienated. I agree the intentions are good, but the result can be less than successful. In some cases, it can actually backfire.

When smoking was popular, limiting purchase to those over 18 didn't stop kids from smoking, they found ways around it, but when a massive national educational effort was made to teach everyone how dangerous smoking really was, we began to see change on a larger level. I think this could work with Covid, too.

In my opinion, there are two ways to influence change, either by "helping" or by "hindering," and the first method stands the best chance at being successful because people don't resist like they resist the second method.

You're right, we're already seeing legal challenges to some of the rules governors have made and it's probably going to be a long time until they trickle up to the SCOTUS and we find out whether they're constitutional or not.

Meanwhile, we could use a concentrated effort via commercials, radio spots, billboards, that teach people in a positive and helpful way how to stay safe.

JMOO

 

[nhmemorymaker]

I was simply objecting to the somewhat perjorative term "disgruntled." I think the employees are justifiably scared and outraged. At least, that's how the word is heard out here where I live. Often preceded by the word "just."

"She's just disgruntled because she didn't get her raise, so she's complaining about her boss." But yeah, those employees have every right to be angry. I'd just use the word angry instead!

good point. thanks. I have meant justifiably disgruntled..... they want to keep their jobs............

BBM - I try to keep the South Carolina thread updated with (what I thought were) the daily DHEC (Department of Health and Environmental Control) Covid stats but then lists like this come along and make me feel like I've just been wasting my time for the last 7 months. I'd rather not post at all than post inaccurate numbers.

According to DHEC there were 25 'new' confirmed deaths today; 666 (!) new confirmed cases (reported today, but yesterday's stats).
SC announces 666 new COVID-19 cases, 25 more deaths Tuesday

And what I assume are the "35" deaths to put us at #6 on the list above were reported thusly on DHEC's site today:
September 21 (1)
October 6 (1)
October 8 (2)
October 12 (2)
October 13 (2)
October 14 (1)
October 15 (3)
October 16 (7)
October 17 (5)
October 18 (9)
October 19 (2)

So that's not really 35 "daily" deaths as the list above claims - that's 35 "newly reported" deaths from 11 different days. Are all the states on that Top 10 list tallied that way? Isn't that kind of misleading? Especially when you have to go all the way back to September 8 to find a "daily" death total of 35 or more.

It's just all so confusing to me - I don't even know what's accurate anymore. According to this DHEC graphic, there were 2 deaths on October 19, but in the media, DHEC reports 25 deaths. Where did the 25 come from? I admit I'm not smart enough to figure this all out, lol.

Governor of FL is threatening the daily count. He is stating it is too expensive and labor intensive (24/7) to manage it.

As said upthread......... 50 different plans and sets of data........

 

[nhmemorymaker]

Makes me think of this post on the Hippie Peace Freaks FB page
(Hope this is allowed)

View attachment 268616

Truth of all truths. Who knew that "thinking" would be sooooo exhausting.

 

[nhmemorymaker]

Thanks, @SouthAussie, yeah we're ready for it. Won't make too much of a difference to us as we work from home anyway in a rural area. The nearest supermarket is 20km from us so we can travel as normal to buy food and are not restricted to the 5k radius like they are in cities.
But it's tricky because even though we're an island, Northern Ireland is part of the UK and has less stringent virus restrictions. Their shops are still open so our govt is afraid of people crossing the border to shop in the North. And Northern Ireland's case numbers are really dreadful at the moment, even worse than the Republic's. So they are going to beef up policing and fines. Many feel it's too heavy handed an approach, some feel it's not tough enough...

Why does Northern Ireland have less stringest rules??

 

[nhmemorymaker]

Really hasn't been much of a problem - spent time bicycling, hiking, taking our RV to lesser known state parks during the week. We probably would not have done the state parks had the virus not hit. Husband re-built a retaining wall, but that was pre-planned. He also ripped up bedroom carpet and put in a wood floor, but I had to re-paint the bedroom and closet walls - not in my plan but glad it's done. I dismantled and re-finished outdoor furniture - sort of planned that before the virus hit. I think Home Depot benefitted from the virus.

You are so energetic!! And yes, we have discussed how much home renovation is going on as well as continued big development where I live. Huge waits and increased prices for lumber.

 

[Mo Thuairim]

Why does Northern Ireland have less stringest rules??

Different jurisdiction, different chief medical officer, different health system. The UK as a whole has been a bit more lenient in its restrictions than Ireland. We have been trying to protect our already overstretched hospital system in the Republic and that's been our main priority. There are calls for an all-island public health approach to co-ordinate our pandemic responses north and south but that's tricky because, y'know, politics...

 

[Tigerlily75]

So, it's happened even sooner than I thought. From midnight tonight, Ireland will be the first EU country to return to a full national lockdown for six weeks. Only essential services to remain open and everyone to stay within 5km of home, with certain essential travel and compassionate exceptions.

Ireland placed on Level 5 of the Plan for Living with COVID-19

Level 5 lockdown: Everything you need to know about the new Covid laws and fines for travel and house parties

Sending solidarity from Melbourne!

 

[Tigerlily75]

My thoughts seem mean-spirited even to me, though I don't wish to be victim blaming. But, apart from those who work directly with Covid patients, how does one contact Covid twice in a country with such a low rate of spread? This person must be working/living in a situation that leaves him or her vulnerable. The article doesn't give many clues.

I wondered the same! Hopefully we’ll learn more soon. It would have to be a healthcare worker surely.

 

[dixiegirl1035]

Another incomprehensible part in that article ....

"Those policies go into effect Friday, and apply to restaurants and bars, retail stores and other businesses that typically involve close contact between patrons and employees. Any that report four or more positive coronavirus cases over a two-week period will have to close their doors for 14 days."

4 or more cases among who? The staff? The patrons (how would they know who tested positive)?
And do they think that people who need money to survive are going to willingly close up for 14 days?

The balance of public health vs. folks losing jobs etc (impact of being positive) is tilting already, and afraid will moreso in the future. Could it be increasing that folks do not get tested nor participate fully and honestly in contact tracing (if that's even done) due to such personal reasons?