Coronavirus COVID-19 - Global Health Pandemic #93

[tabitha111]

Duke University undergrads ordered to stay in place all week as Covid-19 cases spike - CNN- March 14, 2021


Duke University officials issued a stay-in-place order for all undergraduate students through next Sunday as the school tries to combat a rapidly escalating number of Covid-19 cases.

In a letter sent to students on Saturday, officials at the Durham, North Carolina, university said that more than 180 students have tested positive for Covid-19 and are in isolation, while another 200 are under quarantine based on contact tracing.

The spike in cases is "principally driven by students attending recruitment parties for selective living groups," the letter said. This is the largest one-week total of positive cases and quarantines since the pandemic began, officials said.

 

[SouthAussie]

That's just unacceptable. Number-wise as I pointed out in my last post, the US simply does not need to retain vaccines that aren't approved. We have so many millions in the pipeline--we're fine. We have limited medical personnel to give the shots anyway.

Australians should not be punished because they've taken heavy precautions. What is the lesson here? If you fly fast and loose, but you're an American, you're more important? But, if you play by the rules, yet you're Australian, move to the back of the line? Just over half of Americans have indicated they'll take the vaccine, and I'm guessing that number will drop further as the infection rates drop and it's time for the younger ones to get a shot.

Not many things make me frustrated, but this does. There's no logistical defense for this.

The NY Times article that I read yesterday indicated that any surplus the US has - and is willing to ship - will likely go to the EU.
I am not sure what info the NY Times is basing that on. It wasn't clear in the article.

 

[SouthAussie]

Well, that’s what I thought. But they definitely posted a new video yesterday at the airport...how happy they were to be going to Florida finally. I’d link but pretty sure it’s not allowed ;-)

I guess the UK 'do not travel' rule only applies to people who follow the rules.

It sounds as if nothing is actually stopping them booking a flight and getting on a plane? Same as the US, where it seems apparent that people are ignoring the published CDC 'do not travel' warnings. And the airlines are all fine with that.

 

[tabitha111]

India reports biggest daily jump in COVID-19 infections this year | World ABC News
3/14/2021

India reported the year’s biggest daily increase in COVID-19 cases on Sunday, with 25,320 new infections, a day ahead of a lockdown in the western state of Maharashtra, the epicentre of the renewed surge.

The increase was the biggest since Dec. 16, according to federal health data. India is the third-most affected country globally with 11.36 million cases, behind the United States and Brazil.

India’s COVID-19 deaths rose by 161 to 158,607 over the last 24 hours, Sunday’s data show, compared to an average of about 100 since early February.

 

[LadyL]

Dropping mask mandates, even as vaccinations speed up, is ‘risky business,’ Dr. Fauci warns.

 

[LadyL]

AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines under investigation ‘not shipped to Canada’, officials say

 

[HongKongPhooey]

Well, that’s what I thought. But they definitely posted a new video yesterday at the airport...how happy they were to be going to Florida finally. I’d link but pretty sure it’s not allowed ;-)

Strange. It's definitely illegal right now to travel for a holiday. Maybe they had another reason which was permitted.

 

[SouthAussie]

AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines under investigation ‘not shipped to Canada’, officials say

I have been wondering if the countries that are having these issues are checking the batches as they come in, and prior to using them. I know our govt here is checking each batch for ingredient integrity before sending the batches out for use. It causes a small delay, but tries to ensure safety from a possible bad batch.

I imagine that Canada is doing the same. Let's hope this verification process will keep us safe.

 

[MimosaMornings]

Duke University undergrads ordered to stay in place all week as Covid-19 cases spike - CNN- March 14, 2021


Duke University officials issued a stay-in-place order for all undergraduate students through next Sunday as the school tries to combat a rapidly escalating number of Covid-19 cases.

In a letter sent to students on Saturday, officials at the Durham, North Carolina, university said that more than 180 students have tested positive for Covid-19 and are in isolation, while another 200 are under quarantine based on contact tracing.

The spike in cases is "principally driven by students attending recruitment parties for selective living groups," the letter said. This is the largest one-week total of positive cases and quarantines since the pandemic began, officials said.

Yep. Got to have those Greek life parties and fraternity rush events.

 

[MimosaMornings]

Duke basketball not impacted by COVID-19 pause within football program

“However, the reason why this could have had an impact on the Blue Devils tipping off in Greensboro was that Duke is the only team not residing in Greensboro for the duration of the ACC Tournament, rather making the trip from Durham each day.

Duke is housing its men’s basketball players in the Washington Duke Inn, the same hotel on the Duke campus where members of the football program are residing this year.

As the Blue Devils were in the midst of their 81-56 victory over Boston College, many speculated whether or not Duke would remain in Greensboro instead of traveling back to Durham in the midst of the COVID news.

However, following Duke’s win, the ACC Network reported that the Blue Devils would be going back to Durham as the basketball team and football team live on different floors and different sides of the hotel.”

Coincidence? Probably not. JMO
Still sharing common areas, elevators, etc.

 

[nightowl1975]

Really?

Yes, really. Just my opinion.

 

[musicaljoke]

You might enjoy this news clip of Yo Yo Ma (below): generosity, optimism and, most importantly, encouragement for all communities to get the vaccine. As well, he did not "jump the line" as many celebrities have but waited for his age category, 65+, and had it done at his local community college.
A great moment for all to celebrate.

Yo-Yo Ma celebrates second dose of vaccine with impromptu concert - CNN Video

 

[dixiegirl1035]

The spike in cases is "principally driven by students attending recruitment parties for selective living groups," the letter said. This is the largest one-week total of positive cases and quarantines since the pandemic began, officials said.

Yep. Got to have those Greek life parties and fraternity rush events.

Thanks, As I was just going to ask what selective living groups meant. I thought "rush" was only in the fall.

 

[MimosaMornings]

Thanks, As I was just going to ask what selective living groups meant. I thought "rush" was only in the fall.

Fall rush could have been a non-event due to Covid restrictions at some schools.

There is usually a spring rush - pledge class is smaller which can be a good or bad thing.
JMO

 

[CoverMeCagney]

Yep. Got to have those Greek life parties and fraternity rush events.

Thanks, As I was just going to ask what selective living groups meant. I thought "rush" was only in the fall.

Fall rush could have been a non-event due to Covid restrictions at some schools.

There is usually a spring rush - pledge class is smaller which can be a good or bad thing.
JMO

Haha, it’s like you’re speaking a completely foreign language here! I have no idea what it means but I’m guessing it’s a return to college and our equivalent of freshers week, kind of

If that’s about right, I’m afraid it did not go well for the U.K. in September/October. I can’t solely blame students, but our cases rocketed as soon as schools and universities returned.

 

[Lilibet]

Haha, it’s like you’re speaking a completely foreign language here! I have no idea what it means but I’m guessing it’s a return to college and our equivalent of freshers week, kind of

If that’s about right, I’m afraid it did not go well for the U.K. in September/October. I can’t solely blame students, but our cases rocketed as soon as schools and universities returned.

Ha ha! You’re right. It is a foreign language. It is a return to college and those who are interested in joining a fraternity or sorority (residential exclusive social clubs with Greek names) go through rush week and are “courted” by these clubs. The students try to make a good impression in hopes of being invited to join (“pledge”). Lots of parties and drinking.

 

[CoverMeCagney]

Ha ha! You’re right. It is a foreign language. It is a return to college and those who are interested in joining a fraternity or sorority (residential exclusive social clubs with Greek names) go through rush week and are “courted” by these clubs. The students try to make a good impression in hopes of being invited to join (“pledge”). Lots of parties and drinking.

The Britain version would be freshers week and pub crawls and buses and snogging and sharing spliffs - who’d have thunk it’d go wrong here?! Hopefully your students will be more savvy/safe another 6 months down the line ... but at that age they’re mainly invincible.

 

[Lilibet]

Giving us some perspective, Dili, the capitol of Timor Leste (East Timor) is locked down. Cases are rising rapidly.

I text frequently with an American friend of mine who now lives in Dili, Timor Leste, an island nation in Southeast Asia and one of the poorest countries in the world. Up until now, Timor Leste has been praised for keeping Covid-19 cases very low by strict measures. So far, there have been zero deaths during the entire pandemic. They really had to be strict because the health care system can’t handle a surge. As the Al Jazeera link says:

Despite Timor-Leste’s healthcare improvements, the country still has minimal ability to handle critical care.

“There is a limited number of Intensive Care Units in the entire country. More importantly, there is limited clinical expertise to manage critically ill patients on ventilators,” said the WHO office in Dili.

Asante, who is also a UNSW health economist and health systems expert, says the country already faces significant pressure from one of the highest rates of tuberculosis in the world – about 500 cases per 100,000 people.

“In addition, there is chronic malnutrition, high rate of smoking and poor quality healthcare, all of which complicate the government’s efforts to bring tuberculosis under control and improve health outcomes generally,” he told Al Jazeera.

“But perhaps the biggest challenge is the widespread poverty, nearly 42 percent of the population lived below the national poverty line in 2014. If the COVID situation deteriorates, poverty would most likely worsen,” he added.

How tiny Timor-Leste kept the coronavirus at bay

Despite Timor Leste initially being a Covid success story, my friend told me last week that there were 11 new cases that day in Dili, 76 active cases. She said that the government announced that they have prepared 300 coffins and a special Covid-19 graveyard!

Timor Leste shares the island with part of Indonesia which has a rapidly spreading number of cases. She said that the weak link is people sneaking illegally over the border into Timor Leste. I believe she told me that some Timorese are among those going into Indonesia and coming back, bringing Covid with them.

Today she texted me that cases are rising daily and the government is working hard to contain it. There are 97 cases in the hospital and Dili is locked up tight. No one can come in or out. Police are arresting anyone who is out of the house except for food, medicine or emergency. Needless to say, she and her husband are staying home.

If you test positive you are locked in an isolation hospital, symptoms or not. If you had contact with anyone positive you are locked in a government quarantine center for two weeks. Yesterday, there was a glitch of some kind and quarantined people did not get food! In the past she has told me that the families of hospitalized patients have to provide food for them, but that was before there were Covid cases hospitalized, so I’m not sure what’s happening now.

The economy, such as it is, will not handle this well, especially with so much poverty. So far people they know are OK, although they did give one family money for food and rent.

Timor-Leste: Authorities lock down Dili through 2359 March 15 due to COVID-19 concerns

Scroll for graphs showing steep spike.
Timor-Leste Coronavirus: 196 Cases and 0 Deaths - Worldometer

Timor-Leste COVID-19 Corona Tracker

 

[Gibbo214]

Giving us some perspective, Dili, the capitol of Timor Leste (East Timor) is locked down. Cases are rising rapidly.

I text frequently with an American friend of mine who now lives in Dili, Timor Leste, an island nation in Southeast Asia and one of the poorest countries in the world. Up until now, Timor Leste has been praised for keeping Covid-19 cases very low by strict measures. So far, there have been zero deaths during the entire pandemic. They really had to be strict because the health care system can’t handle a surge. As the Al Jazeera link says:

Despite Timor-Leste’s healthcare improvements, the country still has minimal ability to handle critical care.

“There is a limited number of Intensive Care Units in the entire country. More importantly, there is limited clinical expertise to manage critically ill patients on ventilators,” said the WHO office in Dili.

Asante, who is also a UNSW health economist and health systems expert, says the country already faces significant pressure from one of the highest rates of tuberculosis in the world – about 500 cases per 100,000 people.

“In addition, there is chronic malnutrition, high rate of smoking and poor quality healthcare, all of which complicate the government’s efforts to bring tuberculosis under control and improve health outcomes generally,” he told Al Jazeera.

“But perhaps the biggest challenge is the widespread poverty, nearly 42 percent of the population lived below the national poverty line in 2014. If the COVID situation deteriorates, poverty would most likely worsen,” he added.

How tiny Timor-Leste kept the coronavirus at bay

Despite Timor Leste initially being a Covid success story, my friend told me last week that there were 11 new cases that day in Dili, 76 active cases. She said that the government announced that they have prepared 300 coffins and a special Covid-19 graveyard!

Timor Leste shares the island with part of Indonesia which has a rapidly spreading number of cases. She said that the weak link is people sneaking illegally over the border into Timor Leste. I believe she told me that some Timorese are among those going into Indonesia and coming back, bringing Covid with them.

Today she texted me that cases are rising daily and the government is working hard to contain it. There are 97 cases in the hospital and Dili is locked up tight. No one can come in or out. Police are arresting anyone who is out of the house except for food, medicine or emergency. Needless to say, she and her husband are staying home.

If you test positive you are locked in an isolation hospital, symptoms or not. If you had contact with anyone positive you are locked in a government quarantine center for two weeks. Yesterday, there was a glitch of some kind and quarantined people did not get food! In the past she has told me that the families of hospitalized patients have to provide food for them, but that was before there were Covid cases hospitalized, so I’m not sure what’s happening now.

The economy, such as it is, will not handle this well, especially with so much poverty. So far people they know are OK, although they did give one family money for food and rent.

Timor-Leste: Authorities lock down Dili through 2359 March 15 due to COVID-19 concerns

Scroll for graphs showing steep spike.
Timor-Leste Coronavirus: 196 Cases and 0 Deaths - Worldometer

Timor-Leste COVID-19 Corona Tracker

Australia has some sense of obligation to Timor Leste (a near neighbour) and has provided military assistance there when a really brutal oppression was going on. We are their largest development and security partner.

 

[SouthAussie]

Australia has some sense of obligation to Timor Leste (a near neighbour) and has provided military assistance there when a really brutal oppression was going on. We are their largest development and security partner.

An Aussie infectious disease doctor, Dr Joshua Francis from Qld, helped set up their first covid testing clinic for them - in Timor Leste. He will be on an ABC show tomorrow night talking about their situation.


Infectious disease doctor, Joshua Francis is worried about what COVID-19 will do in a country like Timor Leste, where health facilities are already stretched. He and his colleagues set-up the country's first testing facility.
http://www.abcaustralia.net.au/program/australians-about-covid19/AI2021H/