There’s a lot of talk about a second wave when many states aren’t even past their first one. The US is the horror movie hero who lets down their guard thinking the monster is dead. The monster is not only alive but actively gnawing on parts of the hero. https://t.co/n33jpJkNp7
— Ed Yong (@edyong209) May 23, 2020
.@DrMikeRyan says it's dangerous to assume the drop in transmission of #Covid19 is due to seasonality when it's actually due to the extensive social distancing measures that have been taken. Too much easing of the pressure on the virus risks resurgence of transmission.
— Helen Branswell (@HelenBranswell) May 25, 2020
The World Health Organization on Monday warned that countries seeing a decline in COVID-19 infections could still face an "immediate second peak" if they let up too soon on measures to halt the outbreak.https://t.co/6hFLKSJW1f
— CGTN America (@cgtnamerica) May 25, 2020
For the latest developments around the coronavirus outbreak, follow @Reuters Liveblog https://t.co/cEBwkoEQ5P pic.twitter.com/r0yzSBTwxq
— Reuters (@Reuters) May 26, 2020
Daily covid hospitalizations showed sustained decline for two weeks but then over preceding week started to rise nationally. Some uptick in cases was expected as we re-opened but raises concern. Risk is we don’t better contain spread, get slow burn, and bigger re-ignition in Fall https://t.co/DF1L2I3hKw
— Scott Gottlieb, MD (@ScottGottliebMD) May 24, 2020
Most people are wearing masks… and it's a growing % of the population. Moreover, most think Trump should be wearing a mask. https://t.co/AtugaDP9TE https://t.co/3z0ZaE7EIF pic.twitter.com/a2eZ50aILr
— (((Harry Enten))) (@ForecasterEnten) May 25, 2020
A review by @AP found that at least half of the states are not going to meet White House’s deadline to test every nursing homes resident and staffer within 14 days – and some aren’t even bothering to try. https://t.co/pzOYW4H6QC
— Jonathan Lemire (@JonLemire) May 24, 2020
So tired of reading articles that project #Covid19 vaccine could be ready in a few months or a year without the key proviso that that doesn't mean you or I will be vaccinated on that timeline. Making/deploying vaccine for whole countries, let alone the world, is gonna take time.
— Helen Branswell (@HelenBranswell) May 25, 2020
Superspreading events being this important would explain why there seems to be so much randomness involved with where big outbreaks happen and where they don’t. https://t.co/RRDHICBh7d
— Matt O'Brien (@ObsoleteDogma) May 26, 2020
ICYMI: very interesting Q&A with a top Chinese virologist contrasting #Covid19 responses in China & the U.S. By @sciencecohen. https://t.co/WJIm0ZqC0E
— Helen Branswell (@HelenBranswell) May 25, 2020
.@DrTedros noted in today's @WHO press conf. that Japan has lifted its #Covid19 emergency declaration; Japan is down to ~40 cases/day.
Japan has a population of +125M.
The state I live in, Massachusetts (pop ~7M), reported 1013 cases Sunday.
US still has so much transmission.— Helen Branswell (@HelenBranswell) May 25, 2020
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe lifted the state of emergency set in Tokyo and pledged two unprecedented stimulus packages worth a total of over $1.8 trillion https://t.co/0pkGnU2Hih pic.twitter.com/8KIF271z8Y
— Reuters (@Reuters) May 26, 2020
@stanleywidianto & I wrote about how @KawalCOVID19, an army of volunteer data scientists & experts that has become an online force in fighting the coronavirus in Indonesia. Their work shows deaths are at least 4x higher than in official tolls. Thread 1/x https://t.co/PgOmNOQfVQ
— Fanny Potkin (@f_potkin) May 26, 2020
Iran reopens its major Shia Muslim shrines, two months after they were closed to combat coronavirus https://t.co/yzBdrMGIau
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) May 25, 2020
At this point, the only people who think what Sweden has done was a good idea are people in the U.S. who have spent a career belittling Scandinavian countries. https://t.co/kb8IvgWq14
— Andy Slavitt @ ? (@ASlavitt) May 26, 2020
Italy's medical workers: 'We became heroes but they've already forgotten us' https://t.co/g20JjClnsR
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) May 25, 2020
Study shows 8,000 additional deaths in Mexican capital as coronavirus rages https://t.co/PNIg9sZ9UB pic.twitter.com/psnI6AVCv9
— Reuters (@Reuters) May 26, 2020
The White House moved up by two days a travel ban on foreigners who have been to Brazil over the past two weeks, as the South American country's daily death toll from the coronavirus surpassed that of the United States https://t.co/0iR8JvseDh pic.twitter.com/uuLfSi0rI9
— Reuters (@Reuters) May 26, 2020
With Brazil emerging as one of the world's most infected countries, President Jair Bolsonaro is deflecting all responsibility for the coronavirus crisis, casting blame on mayors, governors, an outgoing health minister and the media. https://t.co/Yl143u03rN
— The Associated Press (@AP) May 26, 2020
"Nobody should have to choose between taking a day off work due to illness or being able to pay their bills."
Canada wants to have a national sick leave plan in place as the country prepares for a second wave of the coronavirus pandemic https://t.co/Cjp9mRxAMX
— CNN (@CNN) May 26, 2020
I can't begin to get the math in this, but the #COVID19 warning seems apropos:
"pandemics are a fat-tailed phenomenon, w/an extremely large tail risk & potentially destructive consequences. These should not be downplayed in any serious policy discussion."https://t.co/sTdTr93GrS— Laurie Garrett (@Laurie_Garrett) May 25, 2020
There is a print in a colleague’s office at @JHSPH_CHS commemorating the eradication of smallpox. It’s signed Never Again! I want us to say that about pandemics. And mean it. 1/
— Caitlin Rivers, PhD (@cmyeaton) May 24, 2020
It really worries me that a thread of public discourse has shifted to whether shutting down was justified. That conversation distracts form the real question: why were we so vulnerable that doing so was our only plausible option? 3/
— Caitlin Rivers, PhD (@cmyeaton) May 24, 2020
We can do better next time. We can treat pandemic preparedness with the same gravity that we treat national security. We can invest, plan, innovate, stockpile. We can say never again and mean it. 5/5
— Caitlin Rivers, PhD (@cmyeaton) May 24, 2020
Fujifilm research into COVID-19 drug spills into June, dashing hope of May approval https://t.co/m37hlHqGmf pic.twitter.com/q2BEjoAkZV
— Reuters (@Reuters) May 26, 2020
Could a second wave of coronavirus trigger new stay-at-home orders? States can't agree.https://t.co/ym87QHNlN9
— POLITICO (@politico) May 25, 2020
Interesting that Trump’s net approval on handling Covid continues to get worse. https://t.co/GfKzi665vb pic.twitter.com/mHsHmjOSip
— Josh Chafetz (@joshchafetz) May 25, 2020
Misery loves company… British epidemiologist, concerning Boris Johnson’s Steve Bannon, Dominic Cummings:
I spent this weekend refining our contact tracing analysis. One of the things that’s always stood out is that for these targeted measures to work, we need public adherence to isolation/quarantine to be very high. But I fear it’s now going to be far more difficult to achieve this.
— Adam Kucharski (@AdamJKucharski) May 24, 2020
I fear many usually sensible people will feel the same way as your Dad now. All the sacrifices people have made, all the hardships, all the deaths … everything undone in that Press Conference. Cummings and Johnson could well have another 60,000 deaths on their hands…
— Bluestocking Mum ⚫️ In total #lockdown for 12 wks (@Bluestockingmum) May 24, 2020
Cummings' lockdown easing strategy = manipulate public into defiant, rules flouting behaviour.
Media is filled with story from 2 months ago. People are justifiably enraged and will start breaking lockdown soon. Who leaked this story and why now?!
Are we back to "herd immunity"? pic.twitter.com/TIqdwC58Nv— K Frackowski Jnr (@FrackowskiK) May 24, 2020
Ascap_scab
Our county in southern Minnesota has had only 95 cases and zero deaths as of last week.
I went to Walmart on Saturday and mask usage was down to 25-30% from 70% last week. Most observant were 40-50 yos. Least observant were under 30s and 60 pluses. Only half were observing the one-way aisle signs, meaning probably none were. There was even a family of six, none were wearing a mask even though there was a sign out front that said only one shopper per family.
When this thing really hits, we are going to be so completely fucked.
Amir Khalid
Malaysia’s daily numbers: 187 new cases; 155 of them at three immigration detention centres. 10 imported cases, just four Malaysians were locally infected. Total 7,604 cases.
62 more patients recovered. Total 6,041 recovered, or 79.45% of total cases. Of 1,448 active cases, eight are in ICU and five of those are on ventilators. No new deaths, total stands at 115. Infection fatality rate 1.51%, case fatality rate 1.87%.
The contagion clusters in immigration detention centres involve mostly detainees. These clusters have been driving the new cases numbers for the past few days.
OzarkHillbilly
@Ascap_scab: A couple weeks ago I saw Grandma and Grandpa w/ their teenaged grandson. Gma and Gpa? Masked. Gson? Not.
Brachiator
Every now and then, Trump grunts his intention to make sure that US drug companies are the first to make a vaccine or, if this doesn’t happen, to make sure that the US gets control of the first batches of any vaccine.
And I will bet that Young Jared will be placed in charge of distributing any vaccine.
Gee. I wonder who he is imitating?
rikyrah
Once again about Sweden.
For the bleachers.
Take Sweden’s 5 closest neighbors.
Add up their COVID-19 deaths.
TRIPLE IT.
And, that is Sweden’s death toll-ALONE ??
rikyrah
@Amir Khalid:
Do you think that your country will extend isolation to 21 days?
rikyrah
That tweet comparing Japan to Massachusetts ??
Amir Khalid
@rikyrah:
I was listening to the DG of Health’s daily media briefing today, and he was confident that there is no need to extend isolation beyond 14 days.
Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes
In my closest grocery (exurban 60+ percent Trump-voting county outside lovely blue Louisville), nearly three out of four courageous patriots defiantly went maskless on Sunday. Most were doughy, gone to seed men in the 55 and up crowd. Several seemed to glare at me.
As I checked out, a guy in his 30s at the station behind me did a big sloppy wet sneeze – but it was into his mask, which I appreciated.
I’m not going back to that store – it’ll be a pain in the ass, but I can go to better locations for meat and produce anyhow. Plus, the people in the ‘Ville are good about their masks.
YY_Sima Qian
The 100% mass screening at Wuhan is drawing to a close, trying to catch the stragglers who have not tested in the past ten days.. According to the municipal authorities, from 5/15 – 5/24 over 9M residents have been sampled by nasopharyngeal or oropharyngeal swab and RT-PCR test processed. A total of 161 asymptomatic cases have been found, no confirmed cases.
The number of tests conducted:
5/15 113.6K
5/16 222.6K
5/17 335.9K
5/18 467.8K
5/19 856.1K
5/20 887.3K
5/21 1M
5/22 1.47M
5/23 1.15M
Still no official confirmation whether lab testing is done by grouping samples.
When people open up their APPs to show the health code, the interface shows the most recent PCR/antibody test results, and the date of the sample collection. This is useful, since many places require negative PCR results within 7 days to grant access (such as long distance mass transportation). However, the information is only automatically linked for Chinese citizens with citizenship ID, or Taiwanese/Hong Konger/Macanese with Chinese resident ID. As someone with foreign passport, it was a hassle just to set up my health code on Hubei Province’s health APP. Not sure if the testing results is automatically linked for me.
In China, life with citizenship or resident ID can be extremely convenient (though the big brother data mining by the government and the IT giants also comes with the territory), can be cumbersome without them, and virtually impossible without a local mobile number.
rikyrah
@YY_Sima Qian:
I’m in awe at Them testing the entire city?
YY_Sima Qian
@rikyrah: Well, at one level this is a “show of force” by the CCP regime (aimed at both the international and domestic audiences), at another level this is “showing off” by the Wuhan municipal administration (aimed at Beijing, other cities and provinces, and Wuhan residents), and at a third level this is an attempt by the government to assuage residual concerns of people in Wuhan as well as people in other provinces about those from Wuhan. Same with medical staff in non-COVID hospitals in Wuhan no longer wearing layers of full body protective gear. I see more and more people who are comfortable without masks outdoors in non-crowded environs. The vast majority of people are still wearing masks, though, almost 100% whenever it is crowded.
Soprano2
Brachiator
@rikyrah:
The situation in Sweden is complicated by a couple of factors. Their policy of not having a lockdown may have led to staffers bringing the infection to care homes.
Also, it is possible that Sweden was deliberately choosing not to treat care home patients who had the virus.
From BBC News.
beth
https://www.postandcourier.com/politics/pro-trump-boat-parade-packs-charleston-harbor-thrills-supporters/article_ecd65148-9edb-11ea-961e-f30ba30ff12a.html
We had this happen on Sunday – the organizers claim over 1300 boats participated, police counts were more like 700. Videos do show a ton of boats. Either way it’s sad to see so many – I’m hoping most people just wanted to get their boats out on a beautiful day rather than purely supporting Trump. From the photos, lots of boats full of people, no masks to be seen. Apparently they crowded local waterfront restaurants afterwards. I’m sure some folks I work with participated. It’s just sad.
Gvg
There shouldn’t be any reason for boaters to be masked. The outdoors are much safer, people on a boat would generally be the same household. Boat safety rules keep boats much further apart than regular social distancing rules. Only put in and take out have much chance at close encounters between people and even those times used to only have near encounters on very crowded put in docks or when someone had motor trouble and other boaters would generally try to help. That won’t happen now.
I am sure many or most there were supporting Trump but a boating event is actually probably not a superspreader event.
My 70 year old dad will probably go boating soon and I will go with him. We’ll take masks but on the boat won’t need them. We’ve all been very careful, but this just isn’t high risk quarters. Really, we just have to do some planning. It’s the travel to and from. Bathrooms etc. when I hold the boat line to the dock while he parks the trailer, each boat needs to be kept from bumping into other boats or currents and wind banging them into the dock. I am more than the length of the boat from the next guy doing the same thing. Then dad comes back hops in, starts the engine, I hop in and we’re gone. Extra passengers can socialize in normal times, but mostly we all just wave at each other as the boats pass, not to close for safety. A crowd on the water is a good deal more spread out than land. Boats move with wind and water so you actually have to keep them well away from each other, not at all like cars.
WereBear
On the advice of an online friend, I’ve been reading Dying of Whiteness, and it’s not metaphorical.
They are literally killing themselves rather than lose their white guy privilege. It’s a perfect storm of toxic masculinity, politically manipulated religion, and what they see as in-group allegiances.
The pandemic has acted as a jolt that has sped things into fast-forward: exposing all their deadly delusions at once.
J R in WV
@Gvg:
You describe a serious attempt to stay safe while boating.
How many of those people in the parade of boats made even a pretense of being safe? My take is less than a handful cared at all. I’m betting it was another superspreader event, one of hundreds across the nation over the weekend.
We are so fucked, mostly by the example set by ignorant leadership!
Enhanced Voting Techniques
What makes them think the Japanese’ government isn’t lying to save face? Japan is a densely populated country with the oldest population on earth.
Taken4Granite
@Gvg: I think the appropriate analogy here is with skiing. Remember that some of the early superspreader events took place at ski resorts. It’s not the skiing itself that’s the problem, it’s the apres-ski crowding in bars and restaurants. I suspect the same goes here: the boating itself is not so much of a problem as what happens when people are done boating for the day. Boat take-out points are going to be crowded at the end of a holiday weekend, and Beth noted that the waterfront restaurants were also crowded.
VOR
@Enhanced Voting Techniques: Because the Japanese government has more integrity than the governments of Florida or Georgia.