This is reassuring, in its own depressing way:
Hey I read a news story about COVID-19 that actually cheered me up a little. https://t.co/DhUjaxKjae
— Daniel W. Drezner (@dandrezner) July 21, 2020
Trump: “By comparison to most other countries, who are suffering greatly, we are doing very well.” pic.twitter.com/e4BU8rG8Ll
— Peter Baker (@peterbakernyt) July 21, 2020
New cases, yesterday:
Germany: 642
UK: 580
Japan: 454
France: 350
Australia: 267
Italy: 190
Portugal: 135
South Korea: 26United States: 62,879
— Brian Klaas (@brianklaas) July 21, 2020
A quick fact check: President Trump just said “no governors needs anything right now.”
Note: Governors asked Vice President Pence in call yesterday for more personnel and testing equipment. Governors have also asked for more resources to help school open up safely.— Yamiche Alcindor (@Yamiche) July 21, 2020
Many rich countries now do hundreds of tests per each case of COVID-19 they confirm.
The US confirms a case in every 12th test.
[source: https://t.co/7HDfjvvydf] pic.twitter.com/GwV2KNqt5m— Max Roser (@MaxCRoser) July 20, 2020
U.S. deaths from the novel coronavirus rose by more than 1,000, the biggest single-day increase since early June https://t.co/wHCv7nsR9P via @LisaLShumaker pic.twitter.com/PNUOdBxSuO
— Reuters (@Reuters) July 22, 2020
To fight #Covid19, the U.S. needs to have a good handle on how states & communities are doing in their control efforts. Right now, many are flying blind. @DrTomFrieden & others say collecting a standard set of metrics would help get us out of this mess. https://t.co/G7YQ5ummCh
— Helen Branswell (@HelenBranswell) July 21, 2020
Essential data on the US response to Covid is shockingly absent. The fault doesn't lie with the states—it’s a federal failing. https://t.co/cLJbZvA0K2
— Dr. Tom Frieden (@DrTomFrieden) July 21, 2020
Could there one day be mandatory #COVID19 vaccinations? Here's what could happen in the U.S. in terms of what states & employers can legally require https://t.co/suz00Jl5ii via @medical_xpress pic.twitter.com/bugLo0zsat
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) July 22, 2020
Within a few weeks, the US will reach the awful milestone of 100,000 new #COVID19 cases/day – & 225,000 deaths by Oct. 30 & 300,000 deaths by end of 2020.
But it is not too late to chart a different course. By Oct. 1, schools & businesses could reopen.https://t.co/VSh3I83PgP pic.twitter.com/R3cj6Y48aU
— Microbes&Infection (@MicrobesInfect) July 21, 2020
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Global coronavirus cases exceed 15 million: Reuters tally https://t.co/It7bme0Le9 pic.twitter.com/lkMjmNYpXK
— Reuters (@Reuters) July 22, 2020
Billions of dollars in global humanitarian aid are urgently needed in this pandemic, but the world’s top government donors are committing less, not more, an @AP Exclusive finds. https://t.co/5qVHByFz3U
— The Associated Press (@AP) July 22, 2020
India coronavirus: Study says nearly one in four in Delhi had Covid-19 https://t.co/zZE4Oa6Uvq
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) July 21, 2020
As #coronavirus infections climb in Mumbai, authorities in #India's worst-hit city turn to high-tech "smart helmets" to speed up screenings and identify suspected cases in the financial capital's densely-populated slums https://t.co/3rldQRd4Hv
? @thisisindra @AFP @AFPphoto pic.twitter.com/xS3De4f16y
— AFP South Asia (@AFPSouthAsia) July 21, 2020
Undiagnosed virus infections could be 27 times higher in South Korea's Daegu city: study https://t.co/rsa0JBGEx9 by @sangmi_cha pic.twitter.com/oC1vqH4kvB
— Reuters (@Reuters) July 22, 2020
#UPDATE Iran on Tuesday reported a new single-day record death toll of 229 from the novel #coronavirus, after weeks of rising numbers in the Middle East's worst-hit country https://t.co/SKlv0cE0xl
— AFP news agency (@AFP) July 21, 2020
VIDEO: Protesters gather outside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's residence in Jerusalem to protest against the government's response to the #coronavirus crisis, as well as against the PM, who was indicted in January for bribery, fraud and breach of trust pic.twitter.com/Fwyg0izF5L
— AFP news agency (@AFP) July 22, 2020
Covid-19 contact tracers in South Africa are finding their job is rapidly becoming busier and more dangerous… pic.twitter.com/d8cdjB19L2
— BBC World Service (@bbcworldservice) July 21, 2020
Australia reports a record 501 new #coronavirus infections, nearly four months after the pandemic initially peaked in the country, with authorities warning of a critical new phase in its two biggest cities https://t.co/PvXP35sTJi pic.twitter.com/p7XxIxvJHo
— AFP news agency (@AFP) July 22, 2020
The mayor of Bogota said she would expand a coronavirus lockdown from Thursday to cover five million residents of the Colombian capital after the government refused to authorize a total shutdownhttps://t.co/5Y3U4GoLFR
— AFP news agency (@AFP) July 22, 2020
A coffin with a sign reading "You decide, at home or in this box" is set up in Escuintla municipality, near Guatemala City, as part of a campaign to raise awareness about COVID-19
? Johan Ordonez pic.twitter.com/GqGxC8T4VH
— AFP news agency (@AFP) July 22, 2020
Despite sharing a border with hard-hit Brazil, the coronavirus is well under control in Uruguay, a small nation which has had one of the most effective responses in the Americas, @mili_costabel writes.https://t.co/TLlrovajlM
— Foreign Policy (@ForeignPolicy) July 21, 2020
#UPDATE Mexico has passed 40,000 deaths from COVID-19, as the country, which has the fourth-highest death toll in the world, struggles to contain the virus.
915 more fatalities were recorded in the past 24 hours. The first case in Mexico was detected February 28
?Pedro Pardo pic.twitter.com/HcAxx4PO3S
— AFP news agency (@AFP) July 22, 2020
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Coronavirus-fighting antibodies may only last a few months but scientists say this doesn't mean all protection is gone.https://t.co/vAl9laCilz
— AP Health & Science (@APHealthScience) July 21, 2020
Asymptomatic spread could make #COVID19 pandemic longer and worse https://t.co/znMux6ZRo2 via @medical_xpress pic.twitter.com/AO3worWUyh
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) July 21, 2020
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Minnesota health officials report the #COVID19 death of a 9-month-old baby. The state's health commissioner described the case as an "isolated incident." The child is among the youngest to die in the U.S pandemic, underscoring the COVID risk isn't zero https://t.co/doY18QWH4X
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) July 21, 2020
Texas county warns #COVID19-positive residents they *must stay home* or face prosecution https://t.co/DwYl0aerTC via @houstonchron
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) July 21, 2020
The poors need to build up their herd immunity — *someone’s* gotta clean up after the tourists!
“My daughters are going to be more focused on distance learning right now to make sure their children are safe,” Scott said. He said “some parents are going to do it because it’s a way for their children to get a subsidized meal, things like that."
— Daniel Uhlfelder (@DWUhlfelderLaw) July 21, 2020
Walmart doesn’t think we’ll be over the coronavirus by the end of November…
Walmart says that it will be closing its namesake stores and Sam's Clubs on Thanksgiving Day this year, saying that it wants to have its employees spend time with their families during the coronavirus. https://t.co/YWay65mwy8
— The Associated Press (@AP) July 21, 2020
Amir Khalid
Malaysia’s daily numbers. 16 new cases. Eight cases from local infection consisting of seven Malaysians, and one non-Malaysian screened ahead of travelling abroad. Eight cases from imported infection consisting of four Malaysians returning from South Korea, India, Russia and Saudi Arabia; four non-Malaysians consisting of three from aboard the Hyde Park, a ship currently in Pelabuhan Kelang harbour, and a permnent resident returning from Indonesia. Cumulative total 8,831 cases.
Four more patients recovered and were discharged, total 8,566 patients recovered or 97% of the cumulative total. 142 patients with active and contagious cases are in hospital for isolation/treatment; five are in ICU, one is on a respiratory device.
No new deaths. Total 123 deaths or 1.39% of the cumulative total and 1.42% of resolved cases.
OzarkHillbilly
Because they’ll all be dead by Xmas?
raven
@OzarkHillbilly: The first walmart I ever saw was when we were camped at Lake Wappapello and went into Poplar Bluff for supplies. They also had a Helpee Selfee Laundry and a Vida Blue car wash!
Amir Khalid
@OzarkHillbilly:
And what about the Black Friday sale? Is that off as well?
mrmoshpotato
@OzarkHillbilly:
Did Walmart just make coronavirus a new holiday?
This year they’re letting their massively-underpaid employees rest a day before Black Plague Friday! (And, yes, Black Friday is a plague.)
Mary G
@OzarkHillbilly:
@Amir Khalid: Nobody will have any money because the GOP members of Congress are going to fuck around fighting amongst themselves, the unemployment supplement will run out, state unemployment will run out, and Trump’s stormtroopers will be running wild in the streets.
satby
I have a ring side seat to the covidiots and their latest talking points. Now most of them are positive they already had it back in March, and also, too, the mortality reports are false. They’re all pushing the meme that if someone was in a motorcycle accident and dies and they tested positive for corona virus, that accident is counted as a covid death. Not sure why they’re so convinced we’re testing corpses after accidents to inflate numbers.
I wish some country would take us as refugees. I’m willing to quarantine for a month if one would.
OzarkHillbilly
@Amir Khalid: from the AP story:
JeanneT
So, I just heard that 2 members of my extended family (in a different state) have been diagnosed with COVID19; their close family members now being are getting tested.
But I also learned about a resource I’ve been wishing for – a map that shows what businesses are doing good and bad jobs at encouraging masking. I haven’t joined yet because it’s through Google, but even without joining and reporting you can check your local businesses: the Mask Map.
YY_Sima Qian
Yesterday, China reported 9 new domestic confirmed cases and 14 new domestic asymptomatic cases, all at Urumqi in Xinjiang “Autonomous” Region. The Urumqi outbreak now has 64 confirmed cases (62 in Urumqi, 1 in Kashgar, 1 in Xinjiang Construction Corps) and 69 asymptomatic cases (all in Urumqi), plus 1 asymptomatic case exported to Shaoxing in Zhejiang Province. 1 case is critical, 3 are severe, and 1 severe case has improved to moderate conditions. 3119 individuals remain under quarantine and medical observation as traced close contacts. Still no case summaries published, and no information on the geographical distribution of cases.
Urumqi is in its 6th day of lock down, starting from yesterday all residents are restricted to their apartment buildings and can no longer access the common greens of residential compounds. The free mass screening of Urumqi’s 3.5M population is ongoing (started the day before yesterday), sample collection from all residents of the populous Tianshan District has just completed, sample collection now moving to Saybag District. Business travelers and tourists who have been stuck at Urumqi when the city went into lock down now can leave with a negative RT-PCR test result. Urumqi government has been paying for the food and accommodation of business travelers who are stuck in the city, while arranging for food and accommodation for tourists (but they need to pay their own way).
All Beijing districts, subdistricts and communities are now classified as Low Risk, 87 patients remain under treatment in hospital, and 9 asymptomatic cases remain under quarantine and medical observation
China also reported 5 new imported confirmed and 8 new imported asymptomatic cases:
Shanghai Municipality: 2 confirmed cases, Chinese nationals returning from Mexico and Singapore
Guangzhou in Guangdong Province: 2 confirmed cases, both Chinese nationals returning from Bangladesh; 3 asymptomatic cases, Chinese nationals returning from Tanzania, Togo and Singapore
Kunming in Yunnan Province: 1 confirmed case, a Chinese national returning from Bangladesh
Fuzhou in Fujian Province: 2 asymptomatic cases, both Chinese nationals returning from Singapore
Chengdu in Sichuan Province: 2 asymptomatic cases, both Chinese nationals returning from Egypt
Chongqing Municipality: 1 asymptomatic case, a Chinese national returning from Singapore
There seems to be a recent uptick in cases imported from Singapore.
The Chinese government just published new regulations that all persons (regardless of nationality) entering China must furnish a negative RT-PCR report within 5 days prior to boarding. Foreign passport holders need to obtain a health certificate from a Chinese Consulate (not sure if this is done in person), with the negative test report. Chinese nationals need to submit a scanned copy of the negative test report to an APP. For any prospective American visitors to China this will be a pain, especially if they have to visit the Chinese consulate in person (dangerous to get on a flight to a city with a Chinese consulate, too). A number of my American colleagues on expatriate assignment to China are still waiting for special visa to come back, after months of waiting. The US State Department also just ordered the Chinese consulate in Houston to close by Friday, with a 3 days notice. It is supposed to serve the entire southern quarter of the US. Expect China to retaliate by closing one of the US consulates in China, the one in Hong Kong if the Chinese government really wants to escalate and make it hurt for the US. Just another skirmish as two countries slide toward Cold War 2.0.
For Chinese nationals overseas looking to return to China, the requirement could be problematic. Some countries still have very restrictive testing requirements (such as Japan), and some countries are suffering from a lack of testing capacity (such as large parts of the US). However, the policy has strong approval within China. It may also portend gradual loosening to foreign visitors from nations that has suppressed COVID-19. Mandatory 14 day quarantine and multiple RT-PCR and antibody tests are still in effect.
Sab
And my utility bill will include an item to reimburse FirstEnergy for huge bribe to Larry Householder et al. I love living in Ohio, but increasingly hard to be proud of being an Ohioan.
p.a.
@satby: TBH if the tests were as available as they SHOULD be, testing accident victims etc will be worthwhile for those handling the bodies. But the thought we’re testing decedents to inflate numbers is Jonesish idiocy.
Mousebumples
I have had a runny nose and congestion (and I lost my sense of smell in a car accident, years ago), so after talking with my doctor last week, I got tested.
Tested Tuesday afternoon , results online (through MyChart) Saturday morning. I didn’t get the MD reviewed results until yesterday – probably because my doctor is off on Mondays? Not sure if the turnaround would have been any different on the MD review if the test had been positive.
My nanny texted us in Sunday because a coworker of a friend had tested positive. The friend got tested Monday, and we’re still waiting on results. But the nanny and friend were outside over the weekend and masked up. We’re wearing masks inside this week, since her risk is/was low, but we’re hoping for a negative test for her friend. (and continued no symptoms from any of us)
We’re going Up North this weekend to a family “cottage” and a lot of the usual stuff at do is off limits on my head. Not planning to eat out. Not planning to check out the cute little shops. It’ll be different.
mrmoshpotato
@satby:
Well, a US passport will still allow you entry into 24!, count ’em, 24! countries!
Sab
@mrmoshpotato: Good luck getting a passport if you don’t already have one. State dept not processing anything. For that alone I want Pompeo behind bars. He gets his, we get nada.
TS (the original)
Victoria had its largest number of new cases ever yesterday with 484. The Australian total was 502. This is after 2 weeks of shutdown in Melbourne & on the day wearing masks became compulsory. The Victorian premier said major issues were
Not sure how you can ever get through to some folks.
mrmoshpotato
@Sab:
Agreed.
YY_Sima Qian
@TS (the original): What is the average turn around time from sample collection to results in Victoria? Case count should peak ~ 2 weeks after strict social distancing measures. We will have to see if today represents the peak (or close to it).
Enhanced Voting Techniques
Speaking as someone who works in medical devices the Vaccine makers are right; the EU, Brazil, China and even Russia have their own regulators you have to get approval from and all of them are more than happy to denounce evil American corporations.
Sloane Ranger
@satby: Funnily enough, it’s been recently reported, here in dear old Blighty, that Public Health England has been counting every death of anyone who ever tested positive at any time as a COVID-19 death, even if that person tested positive in March and died in a car accident or got murdered in June. The Government got quite excited about this as they initially thought it would bring our highest in Europe death figures down substantially. Unfortunately for them, a subsequent check showed that the actual reduction would be a couple of thousand at best since most causes of death aren’t so clear cut.
The idea that mortality rates are being inflated is over here as well. I first heard it from a member of my U3A committee but didn’t pay it much attention as she’s a bit of a right wing conspiracy theorist, but I’ve just heard the same thing from a member of my Social History Group. According to her, the Death Certificate of an elderly relative who tested negative twice while in hospital, had COVID-19 down as one of the causes of death.
I don’t understand this. It doesn’t make any sense.
Skepticat
The Bahamas has stopped commercial air and sea traffic between the Bahamas and the States. We had a “yuge” surge of cases (20)—all involved with travel to/from the States, and all isolated at home—bringing the national total to 194. The epicenter, Grand Bahama, is back under curfew.
TS (the original)
@YY_Sima Qian:
I think it’s about 2 days – so the comments were 2-3 days before people went to a test & another 2 days to get results, hence folks were active in the community for 4-5 days when they may have had COVID-19. On the official web site it says 1-3 days, but could be longer.
If “hope” is the right word, everyone is hoping we are near the peak.
Robert Sneddon
@Sloane Ranger: During the worst times of April and May in the UK there were about 25,000 people dying each week from all causes. The only big difference between this year and the previous years when about 10,000 people died each week was COVID-19 which officially was claiming about 11,000 to 12,000 lives each week at that time. A rough estimate is there have been about 60,000 “excess” deaths over a three-month period, about 25% more than the official count attributed to COVID-19.
If COVID-19 isn’t that bad then where did all those dead bodies come from? is the question you should be asking your “friends”.
Jinchi
Isn’t that excessive? I didn’t think these tests would give a positive result an hour after you’re exposed to the virus.
StringOnAStick
@Sab: You are correct, anything involving passports is barely functioning. Thanks to the heads up I got here about Covid, I sent mine in for renewal in early February; I got the new one three days ago and the cancelled one yesterday. I know someone here got a letter about ‘slow processing times’ while they waited but I didn’t receive one. I was trying to be proactive since we had tickets to go see friends in Canada this fall; cancelled now. Maybe next year but I have my doubts.
Robert Sneddon
@Jinchi: In-house testing for COVID-19 can turn around a nasal swab sample in an hour or less if the test is prioritised. It’s the “take a sample, label it, package it, ship it in a bundle picked up from the testing station twice a day, put the test sample in a lengthy queue at the overworked lab, get the test done, collate the results, send out emails at a convenient time” procedure that can take days or even weeks.
Big-buck sportsball teams can use in-house labs and technicians to do this sort of testing on a daily basis for their million-dollar assets, Joe and Jill Schmuck have to wait at the end of a long pipeline.
StringOnAStick
@Jinchi: I think we can be sure that the mango moron applies his usual magical thinking to this, meaning he thinks getting tested constantly means he can’t get it. Like somehow the testing process confers immunity, which is one reason why I really hope he gets it; take his scientific illiteracy and slap him hard with it.
Jinchi
@Robert Sneddon: I understand daily tests. But doesn’t a positive result require that the virus has had enough time to build up its numbers? If Trump got infected at breakfast, would a lunchtime test even come back positive?
Ruckus
@Jinchi:
Please don’t use logic on a absolutely, completely illogical person. All it will do is confuse, amaze, and piss you off more. He is mentally a 4 yr old, and not in any way a 4 yr old genius.
Jerzy Russian
@Jinchi: Also too, does early detection do any good In terms of outcomes for treatment? I am not sure. In any event it seems obvious that the focus should be on prevention, like wearing a mask, avoiding large groups, social distancing, no nose picking, etc.
Sloane Ranger
@Robert Sneddon:
Yes, I know. That’s what, in effect, another member of the Group pointed out while another asked who could possibly benefit from inflating the mortality rates? Certainly not the Government or a hospital or doctor.
J R in WV
@TS (the original):
By arresting everyone who breaks the rules. Once a few hundred were fined, fitted with GPS bracelets, and put in a guarded cheap motel with beans 3 times a day for 3 weeks, folks would pay attention.
VOR
@Jinchi: Define test. I doubt Trump is getting a nasal swap multiple times a day. But I could see a contactless temperature reading on a regular basis. That counts as a test. It’s pretty useless for COVID, but could count.
The West Wing isn’t connected to the Residence, you have to go outside. So they might be testing everyone who enters the West Wing. If Trump entered/exited multiple times a day, then he might get multiple tests per day. Assumes POTUS is subject to the rules.
VOR
@Sloane Ranger: The claim is the Government (Medicare???) pays better for a COVID death than other causes. So hospitals and doctors have financial incentives to exaggerate. I think this is BS, but my understanding this is the claim.
Searcher
Worth noting that while antibodies disappearing quickly after the infection cleared isn’t necessarily a problem for vaccine development or even the mythical “herd immunity”, it does make it harder to determine who is currently (probably) immune (for “immunity passports”) or what fraction of a population had it months or years after the outbreak.
Searcher
@Sloane Ranger:
This is one of those things that sounds damning if you don’t know how tests and diagnoses work. It also showed up in the video of that quack nurse from a month or two back.
Robert Sneddon
@Searcher:
It’s a real thing in the UK — someone who, for example has terminal cancer and also catches COVID-19 soon before dying will have COVID-19 mentioned on their death certificate. However that death is not necessarily counted as being due to COVID-19 or complications thereof.
Scotland has had, I think, a single confirmed death from COVID-19 over the past calendar week (Monday through Sunday). The National Records of Scotland (NRS) which collates births and deaths data reported six deaths over that period where COVID-19 is mentioned on the death certificate. Those other five deaths are not counted as COVID-19 deaths.