Coronavirus COVID-19 - Global Health Pandemic #88

[sds71]

Texas A&M System, Worlds Inc. Collaborate On COVID-19 Breathalyzer:
Inside the Worlds Protect kiosk, a person’s breath is examined for the specific volatile organic compounds that are generated by the body when someone is fighting the virus. The test is done with advanced mass spectrometry technology, a chemical analysis made smarter by AI. Worlds Inc. uses AI software to map the chemical code of a body reacting to the infection.

The copper inlet and other key interior elements are heated between each breath to clean and sanitize the device so one individual test does not contaminate another individual test.

Texas A&M System, Worlds Inc. Collaborate On COVID-19 Breathalyzer

 

[Spider92]

Our 3 guests arrive shortly and I don't know which worries me more - offending my guests with my anti-virus behavior or actually catching the COVID. Luckily two guests have been tested this week (show me the results!) and one probably hasn't left her house since September. Still, I hope they understand when I greet them at the front door to do a temperature check. Now, if I could only find something other than this old anal thermometer.....
Happy Thanksgiving all!

 

[Lilibet]

Now, if I could only find something other than this old anal thermometer.....

...cleaning my coffee off the screen!

 

[Skigh]

US coronavirus: Doctors warn US will see 'darkest days' after Thanksgiving | Daily Mail Online

 

[dmac55]

I am watching The National Dog Show on NBC, and they just did a segment about dogs being trained to sniff out Covid-19

I know we have talked about that before

It was an unexpected surprise that it was included in the coverage of the dog show today
Made me smile

Edited to add the clip that was shown:
National Dog Show 2020: Dogs training to detect COVID-19 virus | NBC Sports
National Dog Show 2020: Dogs training to detect COVID-19 virus

 

[dixiegirl1035]

rsbm. Still, I hope they understand when I greet them at the front door to do a temperature check. Now, if I could only find something other than this old anal thermometer.....
Happy Thanksgiving all!

I'm sitting here by myself eating my wonderful Thanksgiving dinner, and I read this and almost choked on my turkey laughing so hard

 

[CoverMeCagney]

Happy Thanksgiving to you all!!

Stay safe everyone

 

[ilovewings]

Man dies after positive COVID-19 test, went on bus tour 10 days earlier

“North Carolina tour bus company --possibly linked to an outbreak of COVID-19 and one death. This seven-day trip included hotel stays, restaurant stops, and indoor tourist attractions.”

Oy Vay--- why would anybody not realize this was a disaster on wheels--'

 

[SouthAussie]

Remember the mess that Victoria was in a couple of months ago?

19,000 covid cases, 800 deaths, Melbourne ringfenced and locked down for 3 months, essential services only, work from home, school from home, mask up, their Premier appearing every morning "No, I am not going to lift lockdown, we have to wait, we have to do this right".

Today ..... 28 days with zero cases, zero deaths.

Victoria hits 28 days with no new coronavirus cases or deaths

 

[Rose in SC]

I hear people around town (small town, rural South Carolina) say the virus is going away, no big deal, it's time to get back to normal, etc. but how do they explain this (see comment below link)?

State health department to begin reporting COVID-19 data on 24-hour delay Friday

"Wednesday (November 25) marked the 16th day in November in which the number of newly-confirmed cases exceeded 1,000. It was also the ninth consecutive day with more than 1,000 cases reported.

By contrast, there were only two days in October in which the number of daily new COVID-19 cases reached past the 1,000-mark."

No Thanksgiving day report.

 

[HongKongPhooey]

Free flu jabs released for over 50s here. We've both been invited to make appointments.

Good to get an invitation, frankly

 

[CoverMeCagney]

Free flu jabs released for over 50s here. We've both been invited to make appointments.

Good to get an invitation, frankly

Yaaay, you could go together - date night!

 

[Rose in SC]

Remember the mess that Victoria was in a couple of months ago?

19,000 covid cases, 800 deaths, Melbourne ringfenced and locked down for 3 months, essential services only, work from home, school from home, mask up, their Premier appearing every morning "No, I am not going to lift lockdown, we have to wait, we have to do this right".

Today ..... 28 days with zero cases, zero deaths.

Victoria hits 28 days with no new coronavirus cases or deaths

BBM - Wow. That is incredible.

What's the population of Victoria? South Carolina has just over 5 million people and I cannot see us, as a state, ever even trying to enact such measures. We probably should, but it would never happen, IMO, especially with so much vaccine talk in the news. People just gonna take their chances and hope for the best.

 

[SouthAussie]

BBM - Wow. That is incredible.

What's the population of Victoria? South Carolina has just over 5 million people and I cannot see us, as a state, ever even trying to enact such measures. We probably should, but it would never happen, IMO, especially with so much vaccine talk in the news. People just gonna take their chances and hope for the best.

Victoria is 6.5 million.

Melbourne (ringfenced and locked down for 3 months) is 5 million.

Australia is in such a different place from the US. No comparison really. Right from Day One we have been suppressing this virus in any way that we can.

Ultimately, it will make vaccination and herd immunity so much easier and quicker. Starting with a healthy population, and then keeping them healthy, while systematically vaccinating the masses.

 

[ilovewings]

Remember the mess that Victoria was in a couple of months ago?

19,000 covid cases, 800 deaths, Melbourne ringfenced and locked down for 3 months, essential services only, work from home, school from home, mask up, their Premier appearing every morning "No, I am not going to lift lockdown, we have to wait, we have to do this right".

Today ..... 28 days with zero cases, zero deaths.

Victoria hits 28 days with no new coronavirus cases or deaths

That is awesome!!!

 

[Colorado303]

Keep in mind that some vaccines in the UK will not be the ones perhaps in the US. MOO

But I'm sure we will all have great discussions in future threads, and looking forward to such.

RE Covid testing - I just came back from CVS to get my shingrex (first round for 2 dose shingles vaccine). I went to the drive through and saw notices on the window re COVID testing. From the notices (darn, should have taken a photo) on the drive through window, it appears that they are giving out tests, then accepting them back. My guess is they instruct you through their glass so you self test, put in envelope, and give back for processing.

The pharmacist asked DOB/Name, and said that they would text me a form to fill out on line. So, I drove to a parking space, filled out the form (allergies, preexisting condition etc, do you have symptoms etc fill in the dots)... and then walked in to the store with mask and face shield . I received my shingrex shot and was out in 5 minutes.

While getting the shot I asked 2 questions about their COVID testing. 1) re type of test....is PCR 2) must you have script... no, just sign up on line and come in, free of charge

The entire time, I was the ONLY person in the store with the exception of the employees.

Just an FYI of my area... whose infection rate is currently RED ZONE of 247/100,000 (target was to keep below 100 for school closures, which is another story)

That’s the way flu/shingles vaccines should be done right now. And a huge contrast from my experience. I made an appt for 11:35 at the drugstore, downloaded forms and filled them out in advance then stood in front of the prescription counter for over 30 minutes waiting while customers (many maskless) ambled by. Then was taken to a small, airless room for 10 minutes with the person who gave me the shot and another employee that came in and out. Two days later the drugstore was closed for COVID and I voluntarily quarantined for 14 days.

Your way makes so much more sense!

 

[imstilla.grandma]

...
The Spanish fluhad killed nearly 300,000 Americans in just a few months –- the holiday outlook was very different. New cases were plummeting. World War I was over. Troops were returning to their families –- and Americans were ready to party.

"There was definitely a mixed message after Armistice Day [Nov. 11, 1918]," Nancy Tomes, a history professor who studies public health at Stony Brook University in New York, told Live Science. "There was a leftover concern about big public gatherings, and some cities issued stern warnings before the holidays. But there was also this tremendous conflation of gratitude that the war was finally over. The dominant tone to the public was: Be grateful, celebrate that we've come through this national emergency, go to church, say your prayers."
...
But even as Americans celebrated and took care of one another's physical and psychological needs, a new wave of infections was lurking just around the corner. For some communities, it would prove devastating.

The influenza pandemic of 1918 was one of the deadliest the world had ever seen, ultimately infecting roughly one-third of the global population, and killing more than 50 million people.
...
In hindsight, it seems obvious that the third wave of the Spanish flu pandemic would follow a season of intimate gatherings and public celebration. Tens of thousands of new cases were reported between December 1918 and April 1919, many of which arose in metropolitan hotspots.

In the first five days of January 2019, San Francisco reported 1,800 flu cases and more than 100 deaths, according to the CDC, and other big cities like New York, Minneapolis and Seattle were similarly hard-hit. Overall, however, the spike that followed the 1918 winter holidays was not nearly as deadly as the autumn spike that preceded them. The fourth wave, which began in winter 1919, similarly saw widespread infections around the U.S., though not nearly as many as autumn 1918 did.
...
One thing that is clear, though, is that influenza cases surged after the holiday seasons of 1918 and 1919, just as coronavirus infections are predicted to surge again in late 2020 and early 2021. Despite the overwhelming air of celebration after the war, some cities did ultimately cancel their Thanksgiving plans as small outbreaks popped up. When public gatherings were banned in Richmond, Indiana, shortly before Thanksgiving 1918, a reporter at the local newspaper characterized the imminent holiday as "a pleasant Thanksgiving with nothing to do." Hopefully, that's the worst that can be said about Thanksgiving 2020, as well.
Americans celebrated Thanksgiving during a pandemic before. Here's what happened. | Live Science

 

[Colorado303]

He already said awhile ago that he wasn’t going to celebrate with his mom and sisters. But if he grappled with that decision and changed his mind before changing it back, that’s human. However it certainly shows poor leadership. Leaders are supposed to be role models for us and when they waffle, what can they expect from us?

Regardless, it is factual that this virus is out of control and infecting, sickening and killing Americans at such a rapid rate that our health care system is buckling:

ER nurse says some COVID-19 patients still think coronavirus is a hoax: 'How much more real can it get?'

Everyone seems to think the rules apply to everyone but them. I’ve been guilty of that myself.

Hopefully our leaders can do better.

I’m two days behind in the thread so this may already have been posted but same thing happened w/Denver’s Mayor. He pleaded that everyone should spend Thanksgiving w/their immediate household members only. Went on to say how he wasn’t spending Thanksgiving w/the usual huge group, instead they’d be getting together over Zoom. On Wed he tweeted a reminder for people to stay home then 20 minutes later boarded a flight to Houston. After landing he drove for hours to spend Thanksgiving with his wife and daughter. He’s since issued a statement explaining that he did it because he missed them.

I could write paragraphs on his hypocricy, on the millions of people who stayed away from people they love and miss because people like the Mayor insisted it’s what needs to be done to corral the virus and safeguard our community. But hopefully there will be plenty of others doing it for me.

So instead I want to comment on his apparent lack of awareness as to the ramifications this decision would cause. Virus aside, this is an example of abominable planning and decision making. If our leaders can’t make decisions better than this we’re in a world of hurt. I don’t much care about political affiliation. I just want leaders who care about what’s best for their constituents and have enough spine/resolve to be transparent and honest and make sound decisions when things get tough. I might as well wish for a pony.

MOO

 

[imstilla.grandma]

“I worry that the Thanksgiving Day surge will then just add into what will become the Christmas surge, which will then make this one seem as if it wasn’t so bad,” said Michael Osterholm, the director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published an ensemble forecast Wednesday that projects between 294,000 and 321,000 coronavirus deaths in the United States by December 19.

“We have to understand we’re in a very dangerous place. People have to stop swapping air,” Osterholm said. “It’s just that simple.”

Osterholm told CNN’s Jim Acosta on Wednesday Americans need to understand how dangerous the virus is and how much more dangerous it will become.

“We are going to see our hospitals literally on the verge of collapse,” he said.
Thanksgiving coronavirus surge could turn into the Christmas surge, health professor warns - KRDO


*reality delivered a hard punch to my gut the day before yesterday. My 20 year old granddaughter tested positive for Covid. This is real!

 

[MimosaMornings]

I’m two days behind in the thread so this may already have been posted but same thing happened w/Denver’s Mayor. He pleaded that everyone should spend Thanksgiving w/their immediate household members only. Went on to say how he wasn’t spending Thanksgiving w/the usual huge group, instead they’d be getting together over Zoom. On Wed he tweeted a reminder for people to stay home then 20 minutes later boarded a flight to Houston. After landing he drove for hours to spend Thanksgiving with his wife and daughter. He’s since issued a statement explaining that he did it because he missed them.

I could write paragraphs on his hypocricy, on the millions of people who stayed away from people they love and miss because people like the Mayor insisted it’s what needs to be done to corral the virus and safeguard our community. But hopefully there will be plenty of others doing it for me.

So instead I want to comment on his apparent lack of awareness as to the ramifications this decision would cause. Virus aside, this is an example of abominable planning and decision making. If our leaders can’t make decisions better than this we’re in a world of hurt. I don’t much care about political affiliation. I just want leaders who care about what’s best for their constituents and have enough spine/resolve to be transparent and honest and make sound decisions when things get tough. I might as well wish for a pony.

MOO

Denver mayor traveled for Thanksgiving despite COVID-19 and Twitter was not happy about it

Scratching head.....
He flew into Houston, geez like IAH isn’t one of the busiest airports anyway.

Denver mayor apologises after flying for Thanksgiving against his own advice