This is very well done. pic.twitter.com/P8oS1nM1Di
— Tara Haelle (@tarahaelle) November 18, 2020
A quarter of a million people have died in the U.S. of Covid19. The country passed the grim milestone Wednesday with the number expected to keep climbing steeply as infections surge nationwide https://t.co/uvjK0rJkhg pic.twitter.com/gRVB6yyK68
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) November 18, 2020
These are astounding estimates.
1 in 100 Americans estimated to be contagious with #covid19. Right now.
"If the University of Michigan’s football stadium were packed with a random selection of Americans, about 1,000 would be contagious right now.”https://t.co/f1cL88aptL
— Leana Wen, M.D. (@DrLeanaWen) November 18, 2020
We're very close to 80,000 hospitalizations w/ the steepest rise of any country.
And we watch, almost numb, accepting. Do little compared w/ what we know can be done. Countries far worse recently (per capita) have turned it around. We could. Should.
We can't wait til Jan 20th. pic.twitter.com/jXh5Zpj0Q2— Eric Topol (@EricTopol) November 19, 2020
America's top disease expert, Dr Anthony Fauci, warns of "Covid fatigue"
"People are just worn out with these kinds of restrictions, we got to get them to hang in a bit longer because help is on the way, vaccines are coming" https://t.co/AlYmmfmN1C pic.twitter.com/dtQYs2lZqp
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) November 18, 2020
======
Italy was one of the worst hit countries during the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic.
Now the second wave is here — and it’s once again struggling to control the spread of the virus. https://t.co/tNeKeFJv5H
— POLITICOEurope (@POLITICOEurope) November 18, 2020
Police in Berlin used water cannons to break up a protest by coronavirus deniers, vaccine skeptics and right-wing extremists. As many as 10,000 demonstrators descended on the city. https://t.co/cs888Th0W4 pic.twitter.com/wEjhsCquRw
— The New York Times (@nytimes) November 18, 2020
Russia confirmed 20,985 Covid-19 cases and a record-breaking 456 deaths Wednesday, bringing its official number of cases to 1,991,998https://t.co/srotXEMm7g
— The Moscow Times (@MoscowTimes) November 18, 2020
Russian President Vladimir Putin voiced concern Wednesday over Russia's rising coronavirus fatality rate but said the outbreak was under control https://t.co/AUo5WAhr69
— The Moscow Times (@MoscowTimes) November 18, 2020
As Russia struggles to handle the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic, Moscow has begun converting sites such as a massive ice skating rink into makeshift hospitals for treating Covid-19 patientshttps://t.co/c2vApKRvVW
— The Moscow Times (@MoscowTimes) November 19, 2020
A Covid-19 infected governor of a Russian region suffering from severe drug and staff shortages in the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic has opted to be treated at a private clinic in Moscow as "not to occupy a bed at an infectious disease hospital”https://t.co/lonYQCbftp
— The Moscow Times (@MoscowTimes) November 19, 2020
South Korea kicks off special anti-coronavirus period ahead of college entrance exam https://t.co/Zf0GPghChK pic.twitter.com/blcPNbCLue
— Reuters (@Reuters) November 19, 2020
Japan’s number of reported daily coronavirus infections has hit a record high and the prime minister is urging maximum caution but has stopped short of calling for restrictions on travel or business. https://t.co/4tYrD01LK9
— The Associated Press (@AP) November 19, 2020
Japan to monitor virus cases, hospitals before any emergency declaration decision https://t.co/hHTGx0K5Kn pic.twitter.com/2n77Sj7B8X
— Reuters (@Reuters) November 19, 2020
South Asia reaches 10 million COVID-19 cases: Reuters tally https://t.co/9JjY62IhHj pic.twitter.com/YjI7Mg8tE2
— Reuters (@Reuters) November 19, 2020
Asia Today: The leader of the small Pacific nation of Samoa has appealed for calm after the country reported it’s first positive test for the coronavirus, although a second test on the same patient returned a negative result. https://t.co/RSvIXOJpGm
— The Associated Press (@AP) November 19, 2020
Australia imposed one of the strictest lockdowns in South Australia with outdoor gatherings, weddings, funerals, takeaway food all coming to a standstill as authorities try to stifle a fresh coronavirus outbreak https://t.co/lesJhwF47w pic.twitter.com/3uWKHhFHZb
— Reuters (@Reuters) November 19, 2020
BREAKING: The African continent has surpassed 2 million confirmed cases as health officials warn of infections starting to creep up again into a second surge. https://t.co/Ih0n5ggfBS
— AP Africa (@AP_Africa) November 19, 2020
Coronavirus: The realities of schooling in rural Brazil https://t.co/qQP1wrcmR7
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) November 19, 2020
Atlantic Canada's #Covid19 "Bubble" really is a marvel. Proof containment of the virus is doable, even in a western democracy where individual rights trump (we need to find a new word for that) the needs of the collective. https://t.co/csqoQna0QJ
— Helen Branswell (@HelenBranswell) November 18, 2020
======
An out-of-control pandemic is speeding the testing of vaccines https://t.co/o9anK7wMye
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) November 18, 2020
The resurgence of testing delays is sabotaging the nation's ability to stem runaway viral transmission and mounting loss of lives https://t.co/K5YOxsR0XQ
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) November 18, 2020
#Sinovac’s experimental #COVID19 vaccine triggered a quick immune response but the level of antibodies produced was lower than in people who had recovered from the disease, preliminary trial results showed.https://t.co/YIQxEdmZxV #vaccines #coronavirus
— MicrobesInfect (@MicrobesInfect) November 18, 2020
Smart story here by @erbrod: Hospitals are churning out local AI models to predict which #COVID19 patients will decline, but we still don't have data on their performance and generalizability. Is this reducing bias, or increasing it?
https://t.co/vSKIrxDTqB via @statnews
— Casey Ross (@caseymross) November 18, 2020
======
Texas' largest county sends emergency alert asking residents to cancel holiday plans amid 250% COVID case increase https://t.co/tRo8PPnX0m
— Newsweek (@Newsweek) November 18, 2020
Coronavirus: North Dakota has the world’s highest COVID19 mortality rate https://t.co/ao0EO7qITc pic.twitter.com/MfcMYzrnkl
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) November 18, 2020
Top hospital @MayoClinic in MN has 900 employees out w/#COVID19 & is short 1000 health pros to handle surging cases.
“It shows you how easy it is to get Covid-19 in the midwest. Our staff are being infected mostly due to community spread."https://t.co/b3qgcK3NxH— Laurie Garrett (@Laurie_Garrett) November 18, 2020
Hospitals in Iowa are filling up because 94!! long-term care facilities have COVID-19 outbreaks. If you can’t discharge a patient (any patient, not just covid patients) then you have nowhere to put new patients. Another aspect of Iowa’s healthcare system collapse https://t.co/KKhGvsQu6E
— ??? ??????????? ? ?? (@eliowa) November 18, 2020
Minnesota governor orders restaurants, bars to halt in-person dining for four weeks https://t.co/saOnv08k4z pic.twitter.com/nOe9ilP0xz
— Reuters (@Reuters) November 19, 2020
Hundreds of school employees in the U.S. have died of the coronavirus. While children generally have mild cases or no symptoms at all, about 1 in 4 of their teachers have a condition that raises their risk of becoming seriously ill from the virus. https://t.co/zGL5dNuzPA
— The Associated Press (@AP) November 18, 2020
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said the city's public school system, the largest in the U.S., would be closed for in-person learning starting Thursday to ward off the increasing spread of COVID-19 https://t.co/lPw0TprEHC pic.twitter.com/KIpbpn7hqH
— Reuters (@Reuters) November 19, 2020
NeenerNeener
224 new COVID cases around here yesterday. No new deaths but 6 more people ended up in the ICU. Not good.
mrmoshpotato
That “What you say” chart is excellent.
mrmoshpotato
@NeenerNeener: You’re in upstate NY again, right?
opiejeanne
On Wednesday WA did not set any records, but the death rate is still in the 20s every day. The area where I live has 3.9% positivity now, and the part of Seattle where one of my daughters live is at 4%.
Getting a new washing machine tomorrow which is a good thing because we’re just about out of clean undies.
opiejeanne
In light of Governor Inslee’s order to only celebrate with people in your household, the younger daughter will be having turkey with her husband at their apartment.
The older daughter and her fiancé are in a fancy van, were camped out on Nag’s Head a few days ago, and yesterday in Frisco NC. They’ve tested negative and are isolating before heading to have Thanksgiving with his mom and sister in Maryland. I hope his family have been as careful.
Sab
Neighboring county has gone into shelter in place mode. My county has indicated it will in the next day or so. Mayor says he expects police to enforce when neighbors call in too large household gatherings. Police union guy says ” No! Too dangerous!” WTF!
They break up bunches of large, fit drunken adolescents on AU campus every spring. They break up bar brawls every weekend. They breakup gang shootings on the westside every Saturday night. But they can’t breakup neighbor called in too big Thanksgiving day complaints.
These aren’t even new. Nobody needs to be arrested. Just an extension of fines beyond noise complaints to too many people complaints. Citation with $ 250 buck fine. They have been doing the noise complaint fines forever.
I could say our police are whimps, but I know they aren’t. They are just fucking lying. Covid isn’t real until it kills your family. That is their mindset. They aren’t afraid. They are just Republican nitwits.
NeenerNeener
@mrmoshpotato: Yep, Monroe County, NY. Mistermix, Central Planning and other Balloon Juicers live around here too. It’s kind of funny how many of us read Balloon Juice.
Central Planning
@NeenerNeener: I agree. DougJ is a local too.
Sab
Shelter in place thing is actually a big deal. Our cases are exploding insanely. Used to be we went out enmasked and expected mostly everyone we met was okay and masks protected us from the occassional positive outlier. Now we think everyone is infected. Finally, welcome to reality. Jeez. Took, what , eight months for reality to set in.
OzarkHillbilly
I have different translations for the “What you say – What I hear” board:
“Most people don’t die from it.” – “Fuck you.”
“We have to get back to our lives.” – “Fuck you.”
“I don’t live in fear.” – “Fuck you.”
“Keeping me at home is a violation of my freedom. – “Fuck you.”
“You’re exaggerating it because you are out to get trump.” – “Fuck you.”
mrmoshpotato
AKA “Hey Harris county! Our governor and lieutenant governor are both selfish asshats! Don’t follow their examples! Stay the fuck at home!”
Mary G
628 new cases in the OC today. two deaths. Hospitalizations going up fast. Percent of ICU beds available lowest I can remember in weeks – 27%.
Robert Sneddon
@Sab: Masks are envisaged as the viral equivalent of a bulletproof vest by way too many people — “I’m wearing a mask so I can go out and visit friends and drop by the coffee shop and attend church like normal and…”
The only certain way to avoid getting this disease is to stay away from other people as much as possible. Masks worn by “civilians” only reduce your chances of catching COVID-19 a little, not a lot.
Dog Mom
@Central Planning: Dog Mom here at the southern edge too.
TS (the original)
Too many people refused to abide by any type of restrictions – this is the problem, not that they are worn out. The people worn out are the health workers and the emergency staff who are called out & in close proximity to covid patients day in and day out.
South Australia had zero new cases today – and they are still in shutdown to make sure the latest outbreak stays manageable rather than spreading beyond the ability to trace and control.
mrmoshpotato
@OzarkHillbilly: I also translated What I Hear differently.
What I Hear:
“I’m an asshole!”
Amir Khalid
Malaysia’s daily Covid-19 numbers. The Ministry of Health reports 1,290 new cases today, back up to fur figures, for a cumulative reported total of 51,680 cases. The Ministry also reports four new deaths for a total of 326 deaths — 0.63% of the cumulative reported total, 0.86% of resolved cases.
13,222 active and contagious cases are currently in hospital; 110 are in ICU, 37 of them on respirators. Meanwhile, 878 patients recovered and were discharged, for a total of 38,132 patients recovered — 73.8% of the cumulative reported total.
Four new clusters were reported today: Kapas BJ in Selangor, Prestij in KL, Bah Bercham in Perak, Kiambang in Johor,
1,285 new cases are local infections. Sabah has 660 cases: 418 in existing clusters, including 250 in prison, police lockup, and remand centre clusters; 144 close-contact screenings; and 98 other screenings. Selangor has 407 cases: 306 in older clusters, including 245 in Teratai cluster; 55 in Kapas BJ cluster; 19 close-contact screenings; one SARI screening; and 26 other screenings. KL has 67 cases: 45 in older clusters, 15 in Prestij cluster, four close-contact screenings, and three other screenings. Perak has 48 cases: 35 in older clusters, two in Bah Bercham cluster, five close-contact screenings, one SARI screening, and five other screenings.
Negeri Sembilan has 32 cases: 26 kluster in existing clusters, five close-contact screenings, and one other screening. Kelantan has 17 cases: 15 in existing clusters, and two other screenings. Johor has 15 cases: 3 in older clusters 8 in Kiambang cluster, three close-contact screenings, and one other screening. Labuan has 15 cases: three in existing clusters, seven close-contact screenings, and five other screenings. Penang has eight cases: 7 in existing clusters, and one SARI screening. Sarawak has eight cases: 6 in existing clusters, one close-contact screening, and one other screening. Kedah has seven cases, all in existing clusters. Melaka has one case, a close-contact screening.
Terengganu, Putrajaya, Pahang and Perlis have reported no new cases today.
Five new cases are imported, all reported in KL.
The four deaths today are a 62-year-old woman in Johor with diabetes, hypertension, chronic kidney disease, and obesity; a 29-year-old woman in Sabah with chronic kidney disease; a 58-year-old man in Perk with hypertension, dyslipidaemia, and chronic kidney disease; and a 47-year-old non-Malaysian woman in Sabah with diabetes.
mrmoshpotato
@TS (the original):
Yup. “BUT MAH FREEDUMBS!”
Rusty
@NeenerNeener: Same here. Seems we are also more clustered on the east side suburbs.
Steeplejack
In personal coronavirus news, I ended up having the “no Thanksgiving” conversation with my brother this morning. I picked him up at 5:00 to give him a ride to the airport, and on the way he said that our friends’ three 20-something sons are not coming up from Florida. That had been a factor in my decision to not attend Thanksgiving dinner. Apparently reality is getting through to some people.
I said, “While we’re on the subject . . .,” because the other reason I don’t want to do Thanksgiving is because my brother will be back only four days from this trip to Las Vegas (family business—unnecessary and stupid, in my opinion) and he will be a potential threat. He cut me off and said, “I totally understand if you don’t want to do Thanksgiving. This is a year like no other. We’ll have plenty of time later.”
So, problem solved. Guess I can start planning what comfort food I’m going to lay in for the big day.
satby
@OzarkHillbilly: Yeah, that’s my answer to those statements too. Occasionally out loud.
satby
@Steeplejack: Glad that conversation went more easily than you anticipated.
Steeplejack
That Eric Topol chart of COVID deaths above had 1,869 yesterday. That would make it the leading cause of death in the United States, at least for one day.
As we were discussing in the COVID thread yesterday, the (usual) leading cause of death in the United States is heart disease, with about 1,795 deaths each day.
TS (the original)
@mrmoshpotato:
I sure agree with the DUMBS – who think they are FREE to infect their friends neighbours and families.
Trump has so much to answer for with covid control, let alone anything else he has done in the past 4 years
I will never forget how much freedumb they took upon themselves to attack President Obama about ebola. Why the sh!t things are different for republicans, I will never understand.
Steeplejack
@satby:
Thanks. It’s a load off my mind.
Incidentally, my brother (a doctor) has really upped his safety procedures for the trip. He’s wearing his N95 mask and goggles on the plane, and he’s going to limit his contact with people while he’s in Las Vegas. It’ll mostly be our RWNJ brother, who lives there.
The stupid family business is that the RWNJ brother and our increasingly nutty mother have decided that her house needs to be sold right now, so Bro’ Man is going out to help with planning that and to tag and band stuff to be shipped back here before it’s all sold at a yard sale or something.
Yes, I’m pissed about the whole thing.
germy
FDA and FTC issue more warning letters citing products and services making illegal COVID claims
https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/fda-and-ftc-issue-more-warning-letters-citing-products-and-services-making-illegal-covid-claims/
MomSense
My youngest is really sick and it could be Lyme from a recent tick bite or a reaction to the antibiotic but he also has respiratory symptoms. So we are going to the respiratory clinic for a test today. I hate everything.
All we need to do is wear face coverings and be considerate and that is apparently asking too much. Too much stupid and too much selfish.
Baud
@MomSense:
Oh no. Keep is informed about KidSense.
mrmoshpotato
@TS (the original):
Because they’re a sack of shit party that only cares about making themselves richer.
Steeplejack
@MomSense:
Hope your kid just has something minor. Very stressful.
mrmoshpotato
@germy: Assholes getting in on the snakeoil game during a pandemic. Fun.
LurkerNoLonger
I’ve gotta get a water cannon so when I see someone out in public not wearing a mask I can just blast them off their feet.
mrmoshpotato
@MomSense: Hope your kiddo recovers quickly.
Amir Khalid
@TS (the original):
These people are rejecting the very idea of civic consciousness, in the belief that it impinges on liberty. Some may call that attitude libertarianism; normal people call it being childish.
debbie
@Sab:
Ohio’s ODH is so overwhelmed and short-staffed from illness, including COVID, that they couldn’t get yesterday’s numbers out on time. The information is listed as “incomplete.”
debbie
@MomSense:
Sending positive thoughts for a good result for your kid.
debbie
@Amir Khalid:
They only heard the first couple of words in “With freedom comes responsibility.”
TS (the original)
@MomSense:
Best thoughts that it all goes well at the clinic.
satby
@MomSense: Keeping good thoughts for KidSense! Every cough is a worry now and that’s just so stressful. Hoping it’s nothing serious and he’s on the mend soon.
satby
@Steeplejack: I’m so sorry that you and your brother have to deal with both early dementia and not so early denial during this time. It’s hard enough without a pandemic. Good luck to your bro.
Steeplejack
@satby:
Thanks again. I’ll be lighting lots of candles, because if Bro’ Man gets taken out by coronavirus and I’m left with Mom and RWNJ it’s basically the end of our family, as far as I’m concerned.
MomSense
Thanks everyone. He definitely has a fever this morning. Should I be hoping for Lyme? Thanks a lot stupid Republicans for making this pandemic so fucked up.
Catherine D.
Cornell has gone back to Green – New Normal status from Yellow because campus cases have dropped. The county (Tompkins) is also showing the percentage of new cases dropping to 0.12%. We had what was probably a post-Halloween spike of stupid.
The surrounding counties have rising numbers, though.
OzarkHillbilly
@MomSense: Hope for the flu. Fingers crossed.
Sloane Ranger
@MomSense: Keeping my fingers crossed for Kidsense. Hope everything turns out OK.
While here I will give the update for the UK.
Yesterday, we had 19,609 new cases. This is down about 400 from the day before and the trendline is definitely curving downwards. The new cases by home nation are,
England – 17189 (down @350)
Northern Ireland – 518 (down @20)
Scotland – 1268 (up @20)
Wales – 638 (down @70).
Deaths – There were 529 deaths yesterday, 423 in England, 11 in Northern Ireland, 54 in Scotland and 41 in Wales. Horrid figures for Scotland and Wales, given their populations.
Testing – 283,358 tests were processed on Tuesday, 17 November out of a capacity of 529,691. 2,284,870 tests were conducted in the week ending 17 November, which is a 5.7% increase on the previous 7 days.
Hospitalisations – There were 16,271 people in hospitals as of 16th November and 1420 people on ventilators as of 17th November. Hospital admissions continue to trend upwards.
General – There are suggestions that the government is thinking of relaxing restrictions in England for Christmas so people can enjoy a “normal” holiday but then re-imposing them in the New Year to pay for the ensuing carnage. No details about what the relaxations will consist of but the thinking seems to be that lots of people will ignore the rules anyway, so why not go with the flow? I think this is ridiculous. Thoughtless and selfish people will ignore whatever restrictions happen to be in place because they are who they are, but, if the government makes it formal, a lot of people who would have followed the rules won’t, because they’ll think it must be safe or the government wouldn’t allow it.
YY_Sima Qian
Yesterday, China reported 0 new domestic confirmed and 1 new asymptomatic case, at Tianjin Municipality. The new asymptomatic case lives in the same apartment building as the 1st dock worker that tested positive more than a week ago, and had been under centralized quarantine since. So far as the contact tracer has been able to determine, their only “contact” was using the same elevator back to back (not even at the same time). Probably means neither were wearing masks. The building had been under lock down when the 1st case of the outbreak was discovered on 11/10, but was released from lock down when all residents tested negative on 11/11. Now the building is back under lock down.
In Xinjiang “Autonomous “ Region, 4 cases have recovered and 30 asymptomatic cases were released from isolation. There are currently 4 confirmed cases (none in serious condition), all in Kashgar, and 36 asymptomatic cases in Xinjiang (35 in Kashgar and 1 in Kizilsu).
Yesterday, China reported 12 new imported confirmed cases and 9 imported asymptomatic cases:
* Chengdu in Sichuan Province – 3 confirmed cases (all previously asymptomatic), 1 Chinese national each returning from Cambodia, Myanmar and Egypt
* Xiamen in Fujian Province – 2 confirmed cases, 1 Chinese national each returning from Gambia and the UAE
* Nanning in Guangxi Province – 2 confirmed and 2 asymptomatic cases, all Chinese nationals returning from overseas, no further information released
* Hohhot in Inner Mongolia – 1 confirmed case, no information released
* Shanghai Municipality – 1 confirmed case, a Chinese student returning from France
* Hangzhou in Zhejiang Province – 1 confirmed case, a Chinese national returning from the US
* Taiyuan in Shanxi Province – 1 confirmed case, no information released
* Guangzhou in Guangdong Province – 1 confirmed case, a Chinese national returning from Indonesia; 5 asymptomatic case, 2 Chinese nationals returning from Iran and 1 from Iraq (via Iran), and 2 Iranian nationals coming from Iran
* Chongqing Municipality – 1 confirmed case (previously asymptomatic), a Chinese national returning from Nepal
* Qingdao in Shandong Province – 1 asymptomatic case, a Burmese crew member off cargo ship
* Changsha in Hunan Province – 1 asymptomatic case, no information released
Yesterday, Hong Kong reported 12 new cases, 8 imported and 4 local (2 have sources infection identified).
YY_Sima Qian
@Catherine D.: Good to see my alma mater doing well! Helps to be next to a small town (not even within) in the middle of nowhere.
Aleta
@MomSense: Get well soon KidSense.
Aleta
@Steeplejack: ?
Been in a version of there. It’s rough. Stay well.
YY_Sima Qian
@TS (the original): I see in the news that South Australian authorities are concerned that the current outbreak is caused by a new strain that has only 1 – 2 days incubation period before the case becomes infectious, and that factored prominently in the decision for immediate hard lock down. So far the cases seem to be mild or asymptomatic, but are infectious very quickly. Has this been confirmed? If so, the new strain would be big news (as big as the strain from minks in Denmark).
Having a very short incubation after infection might actually be advantageous from contact tracing perspective. Might only need to look for contacts within 3 – 5 days of symptom onset, rather than the normal 14 days. On the other hand, such a short incubation period before being infectious, and the mild or lack of symptoms early on would make the strain much more infectious than even the currently dominant D416G strain from Europe, and would require much faster response (as SA is commendably doing). We have to see if the new strain is less virulent.
Steeplejack
@Aleta:
Thanks.
EmbraceYourInnerCrone
@NeenerNeener: Yup, my kid lives in Broome County and went to school in Onondaga County.
Laura Too
Thanks AL! never get a chance to say this in the morning. My musings of late: the little girl who passed the marshmallow test, and the many who couldn’t. We are a nation of marshmallow failures. They set up a test you can see on Youtube -tell kids if they can wait to eat the treat in front of them for a certain amount of time they will get double the amount at the end of that time. It is cute to see what some kids do as strategy to keep from eating it to delay their gratification. Weird, I know…
Laura Too
@Steeplejack: Thinking warm thoughts of you Mr. Jack. It is a tough thing to go through.
Steeplejack
@Laura Too:
Thanks.
Chief Oshkosh
@Steeplejack: I just returned from a “have to” trip that really was “have to.” If possible, have your bro fly Delta, choosing his seating carefully. My experience was fine on the plane, awful in the airports.
@LurkerNoLonger: Oh for the days when a SuperSoaker could be purchased at the local 5 and dime.
Steeplejack (phone)
@Chief Oshkosh:
Thanks. He’s already in the air, flying American.
TS (the original)
@YY_Sima Qian:
I don’t know enough to answer your questions. There was other news in Australia today that out ranked covid news, so I heard very little other than no new cases. There is major concern that there are many undetected cases, which is why the lockdown was so fast. Testing is available to anyone – and is free (covered by our health care system).
Contact tracing is reasonably fast & efficient while the numbers stay low. We end up with these lists of suspect places, as well as the close contacts being notified.
We have a continuous stream of cases in most states with returning travellers. I’m unsure how any country can control the virus with open borders. And of course this one got into the community from a quarantine hotel – as did the major Melbourne outbreak.
Alex
The reason bars/restaurants are open and schools are closed is that state and local governments, unlike the feds, can’t do deficit spending. If they close down the sources of revenue–sales tax, income tax, property tax (doesn’t get paid if renters all default), they can’t pay unemployment or Medicaid or fund schools or the local health department. Only the feds really have the capacity for countercyclical spending. This is all on Senate Republicans who are blocking aid because of the short-sighted demands of business lobbyists.
I keep seeing public health folks asking in exasperation why schools are closed and bars are open, and for a long time I thought it was just a rhetorical question. But I realized that this mechanism isn’t obvious to many citizens. In order to effect change, we need to identify the people with the power to fix things and put pressure on them. It’s not your local school board or teacher’s union or county health department– it’s federal Republican senators.
Another Scott
@TS (the original): Yup. Too many Americans have been told that wearing a mask and staying home is the equivalent of the Siege of Stalingrad. It’s not even close.
:-/
Cheers,
Scott.
Alex
@Steeplejack: I hope the house packing goes OK for your family. I’ve had to do 4 house clearouts (comes with being the oldest child of the oldest grandchild on both sides). Somehow they were all a huge rush of trying to rescue heirlooms and photos and just clearing out 50 years of stuff in 3 days. I’m dreading having to do a 5th one soon.
Steeplejack (phone)
@Alex:
Good point.
YY_Sima Qian
@TS (the original):
I assume you mean the investigation into Australian special forces executing prisoners and civilians in Afghanistan?
Here is one of the articles discussion the possibility of a new strain in Adelaide.
South Australian Premier Steven Marshall says the state is dealing with a ‘particularly sneaky’ strain COVID-19. Here’s what we know so far
I guess it is still speculative so far.
Steeplejack (phone)
@Alex:
Thanks. This is not a complete emptying, but in any case there’s no real emergency and it’s incredibly ill-timed, to say the least. Mom is in a “senior living” facility and her house is in a very safe subdivision, so it could sit there until next spring. But no—must do stuff now! ?
Robert Sneddon
The Scottish government has been announcing plans for vaccination against COVID-19 based on the promising reports for the two front-runner vaccine candidates from Pfizer and Moderna. They expect to vaccinate 4.4 million people in Scotland out of a total population of about 5.5 million, with a million people vaccinated by the end of January and the first vaccinations occurring next month (December). This assumes the candidate vaccines will get approval for use, perhaps on an emergency basis.
Priority will go to the people carrying out the vaccinations and logistics, people over the age of 80 who are most at risk from the disease, care home and front-line medical personnel and people with co-morbidities that put them at risk of a bad response to the disease. This will be a national program with multiple organisations co-opted to assist along with a specially-recruited workforce of 2000 people to help carry out the inoculations and handle logistics.
I should add there will be no charge for anyone receiving the vaccine through this program in Scotland, no employer insurance bullshit or co-payments because it’s too important for that kind of crap.
Catherine D.
@YY_Sima Qian: It’s testing, testing, testing, and a more functional county government than in the surrounding counties.
I only have to be tested once a week, but I’ve opted into twice a week, because why not, if it’s on offer.
Bill Arnold
@Robert Sneddon:
Seriously? Find a SARS-CoV-2 superspreader event where even just the index patient was wearing a mask, let alone everyone in the room. (And/Or outdoors, for that matter. The ACB confirmation was followed by an indoor party, unmasked.)
Recent modeling study, fairly straightforward:
Model Calculations of Aerosol Transmission and Infection Risk of COVID-19 in Indoor Environments (3 November 2020, Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health)
In areas where mask discipline is not close to 100 percent, I sort of agree. Particularly since the anti-maskers are probably taking risks and have a higher risk of being infectious. In those cases people should be wearing well-fitted medical grade masks when out if possible; 9 months into the pandemic there is no availability excuse. No documented cases of fomite-based transmission yet (AFAIK, 9 months into the pandemic) so the concerns about contaminated masks, outside high risk areas like hospitals, are probably almost entirely unwarranted.
Bill Arnold
@Dog Mom:
Another, well mid-Hudson valley not Rochester. 3 bridges north of NYC. (rt 84)
Bill Arnold
[just used to be able to edit last comment – last comment uneditable bug.]
NYCMT
Look at all the Cornellees. When were you there, YY Sima Qian? (I was there ’93-’01, worked in CCMR after ’97)
Sloane Ranger
@Robert Sneddon:
I would expect vaccinations to be done on the NHS for the entire population throughout the whole of the UK. It makes sense from a public health standpoint.
Actually, your comment has made me wonder about the US. I assume all those who catch the disease will be charged for their treatment unless they have insurance and, even those who do, will have co-pays. But what happens in those rural counties where patients have to be transferred to the big city because there are no ICU beds available locally? Presumably they will be charged the cost of the transfer and what if they end up in a hospital that their insurance doesn’t cover?
A lot of people are going to be facing massive, unexpected medical bills. That could be a drag on the economy going forward,as they won’t have as much disposable income as before.
pat
I wonder why no one is saying DO NOT TOUCH YOUR MASK. Use the bands alone to remove it.
If you have picked up aerosols containing virus, they might be on the surface of the mask, and you can pick them up and transfer them to your face.
Has anyone else thought about this?
Another Scott
@Bill Arnold: Thanks for the pointer. Passed it on…
Cheers,
Scott.
StringOnAStick
My friend who works at an engineering U says they are still at less than 0.1% in cases, all of which can be traced to off campus, unmasked behaviour. There has been zero incidence of transmission in classroom or land because mask wearing on campus has been super strong. The HVAC systems were all converted to 6 air exchanges per hour over the summer; it costs more to keep the temperature of the rooms tolerable but it is working and is in combination with learning old groups so interactions between students are limited in number and kept to set groups. It CAN be done!
Sab
So my local hospital has 71 covid patients and another 25 in isolation awaiting admission. Big uptick for my county. Election day and Halloween cases?
YY_Sima Qian
@Catherine D.: I don’t doubt that is the case.