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You are here: Home / Healthcare / COVID-19 Coronavirus / COVID-19 Coronavirus Updates: Thursday/Friday, Dec. 24-25

COVID-19 Coronavirus Updates: Thursday/Friday, Dec. 24-25

by Anne Laurie|  December 25, 20204:05 am| 38 Comments

This post is in: COVID-19 Coronavirus, Foreign Affairs

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COVID-19 Coronavirus Updates: Thursday/Friday, Dec. 24-25

(Strange Brew via GoComics.com)

In case anyone else needed to hear this. ? pic.twitter.com/fIrclgKUdM

— Emily Calandrelli (@TheSpaceGal) December 21, 2020


Americans celebrate Christmas Eve under spiraling COVID pandemic https://t.co/lLg2oyroAR pic.twitter.com/V8NWeRgLv1

— Reuters (@Reuters) December 25, 2020

Fauci’s Christmas Eve: Turning 80 and fighting the pandemic https://t.co/zKCQJGCM13

— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) December 23, 2020

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the US' top infectious disease expert since 1984, has worked on the federal response to Covid-19, AIDS, Ebola, the Zika virus and anthrax scares.

He turns 80 today. Here's a look back at his career serving under six US presidents. https://t.co/O3HPxlEgq6

— CNN International (@cnni) December 24, 2020

What's it like being Santa in a pandemic? ????

Video calls and plexiglass may be part of the deal this year. But for Santa Larry Christmas, it's always about bringing cheer ??https://t.co/ffgJ9L6sVB pic.twitter.com/6j23ckcGpd

— BBC World Service (@bbcworldservice) December 23, 2020

Hey all- if you have a loved one working in COVID (pubhealth, ID, HCW, etc.) the natural response during a holiday zoom is to ask lots of qxs. We’re always happy to answer them but please be gentle w/ us -we’ve been 24/7 COVID since Jan & sometimes need a mental health break

— Dr. Saskia Popescu (@SaskiaPopescu) December 24, 2020

======

I wish everyone a safe and restful holiday season. This year by staying apart to stay safe from #COVID19, we can all give the most important gifts of all: the gifts of life and health. #InThisTogetherpic.twitter.com/HlNobGujwg

— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) December 24, 2020

Blocked from the beach and the pub. Stuck in your region or not allowed to drive at all. Or perhaps there's no national rules even as new infections race through the country. Worldwide, it's a holiday mashup of virus restrictions. https://t.co/zsfVxfi4o8

— AP Europe (@AP_Europe) December 23, 2020

"It isn't a happy Christmas": The coronavirus pandemic has upended holiday traditions and brought in a season of loneliness, fear, isolation and financial distress. https://t.co/TPrDGBSaIP

— AP Europe (@AP_Europe) December 23, 2020

WATCH: Take a look at the measures adopted for Christmas and year-end festivities by some European countries https://t.co/LtE7scaJ4n pic.twitter.com/B7g6c0DsAJ

— Reuters (@Reuters) December 20, 2020

A stream of marching bands joyously paraded through Bethlehem, but few people were there to greet them as the coronavirus pandemic and a strict lockdown dampened Christmas Eve celebrations in the traditional birthplace of Jesus. https://t.co/eyqwQXq5sG

— The Associated Press (@AP) December 24, 2020

Five families, five Christmases: A festive season like no other around Europe https://t.co/u0Gvt190cx

— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) December 24, 2020

Theatrical versions of Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol have been performed for nearly 200 years

Can the tradition survive the pandemic? https://t.co/n5nmK858cz pic.twitter.com/RH23rZGCbk

— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) December 24, 2020

Volunteers called "Santa's grandchildren" are bringing Christmas cheer to Italian nursing home residents isolated by coronavirus restrictions. "I still want to be a grandchild," says one who lost both grandparents this year. https://t.co/tIuX4QYo1E

— AP Europe (@AP_Europe) December 24, 2020

Pope Francis celebrated a low-key Christmas Eve Mass made somber by the coronavirus pandemic https://t.co/wN44R13hZI pic.twitter.com/n7l8wYV3Vy

— Reuters (@Reuters) December 25, 2020

The traditional Czech golden-pig ornament, said to bring good luck and happiness, is getting a modern twist to reflect how people are adapting for the holidays this year https://t.co/pLvltXdlkh pic.twitter.com/Z1fzKu25Dz

— Reuters (@Reuters) December 3, 2020

Advertisements for “Ded Moroz with antibodies” have appeared in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Novosibirsk and other cities across Russia in the weeks before the New Year holiday https://t.co/5BK5yvdB0l

— The Moscow Times (@MoscowTimes) December 7, 2020

Millions of Sydney residents asked to 'limit' Christmas festivities to fight COVID cluster https://t.co/t4jK3YC2ai pic.twitter.com/j18WLsTzXv

— Reuters (@Reuters) December 24, 2020

Baby Jesus dons a face mask, a face shield and a hazmat suit for Christmas in Bolivia pic.twitter.com/dPuaXaNARz

— Reuters (@Reuters) December 17, 2020

Along the U.S. borders with Canada and Mexico, @AP photographers found families connecting in smaller, more intimate ways, overcoming unusual obstacles for shared celebrations. https://t.co/fFxxpIG6vA

— The Associated Press (@AP) December 25, 2020

======

COVID-19 Coronavirus Updates: Thursday/Friday, Dec. 24-25 2

(Cornered via GoComics.com)

Covid smell loss can replace the sweet smells of mulled wine, egg nog and hot mince pies with nothingness or a horrible smellhttps://t.co/itLPBzwiAD

— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) December 24, 2020

======

COVID-19 Coronavirus Updates: Thursday/Friday, Dec. 24-25 1

(Mike Luckovich via GoComics.com)

Doctors and nurses caring for the sickest COVID-19 patients are doing what they can to get through the holidays. At one Alabama hospital, the intensive care unit is decorated with Christmas trees, snowman stickers and lights. https://t.co/Rmvb1gIPam

— The Associated Press (@AP) December 22, 2020

A family Christmas Eve traditions is watching “It’s A Wonderful Life.”

I noticed this year the opening scene is set in 1919, and 12-year old George Bailey comforts the druggist, Mr Gower, on losing his son to influenza.

Will never miss that in the future.

— Mark Hertling (@MarkHertling) December 25, 2020

Opinion: All I want for Christmas are covid-19 mandates https://t.co/K3WOoySD0j

— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) December 24, 2020

My family asked me to make a Christmas ornament to help us remember 2020 five years from now.

I had some spare parts kicking around the workbench so I made this. pic.twitter.com/6BcJfHHzU2

— Jim Rodda (@Zheng3_Jim) December 20, 2020

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Reader Interactions

38Comments

  1. 1.

    NotMax

    December 25, 2020 at 4:29 am

    FYI. Fingers and toes crossed it is proven both efficacious and accurate.

    For months, a Honolulu company has been developing a rapid COVID-19 test that detects the virus in saliva.

    Oceanit says it’s working non-stop to complete clinical trials and submit its application for the FDA’s Emergency Use Authorization by the end of this month.

    The test is called Assure-19. It’s a rapid $20 COVID-19 test in which the user spits into a small cup and the result comes up in minutes like a pregnancy test.

    “It’s been a huge effort in a short amount of time so lots of people working really hard at it,” said Pat Sullivan, CEO of Oceanit. Source

  2. 2.

    opiejeanne

    December 25, 2020 at 4:32 am

    @NotMax: That would be such a great thing  to have if it’s effective.

  3. 3.

    opiejeanne

    December 25, 2020 at 4:53 am

    It was just the two of us this evening and this is the most melancholy I’ve felt this year. We did get to see our youngest kid and her husband briefly this afternoon, to exchange presents and gawp at what’s left of the greenhouse after the fire.

    I am sorry to be a downer tonight. I just want this terrible year to end.

  4. 4.

    NotMax

    December 25, 2020 at 4:55 am

    Can sympathize with the plight of the theater company but at the same time firmly believe it’s much too risky a gamble to implement as things stand currently.

    Consolidated Theatres are offering guests private screenings of “Wonder Woman 1984” from Dec. 25, 2020 through Jan. 3, 2021 by buying out an auditorium. The private screening is open to guests and 30 of their closest friends and family.
    [snip]
    Friends and family must be seated by household inside the auditorium, with no more than five guests per household within each individual grouping. Two additional seats will be left open on either side of each household group to further support social distancing. Source

  5. 5.

    daryljfontaine

    December 25, 2020 at 5:03 am

    Luckovich’s cartoon is on point but the scanning in the second line bugs me.

    “Who demanded to go maskless Christmas Eve”
    s/demanded/elected, decided
    s/demanded to go/selfishly went

    He doesn’t use enough syllables

    Merry Christmas, jackals.

    D

  6. 6.

    NotMax

    December 25, 2020 at 5:16 am

    @daryljfontaine

    Also one too many syllables in the first line. One possible fix:

    Grandma got the COVID from relations
    Who were maskless on this Christmas Eve
    .

  7. 7.

    YY_Sima Qian

    December 25, 2020 at 5:18 am

    On 12/24, China reported 7 new domestic confirmed and 5 2 new domestic asymptomatic cases.

    Dalian in Liaoning Province reported 7 new domestic confirmed (1 previously asymptomatic reported on 12/20, found during community mass screening and placed into isolation at that time) and 1 new domestic asymptomatic cases. The 3 of the 6 new confirmed cases are traced close contacts (already under quarantine since 12/22 or 12/23), and the other 3 found during the 2nd round of mass screening of all residents at Jinpu New Area. No case summaries were published for the asymptomatic case. Apparently, a cordon sanitaire has been set up around Jinpu New Area as of 3 days ago, and all public transportation within the district is shut down. There are currently 19 domestic confirmed and 18 domestic asymptomatic cases there. The mass screening campaign across the city is ongoing. So far, all results from districts other than Jinpu New Area have been negative. Jinpu New Area is an outlying new development zone, with a concentration of port and logistics facilities. ~ one third of seaborne cold chain logistic products are imported into China at Dalian. There are 1 community and 1 residential compound at Medium Risk.

    Beijing Municipality reported 1 new domestic asymptomatic case. There was some confusion with reporting yesterday. From 0 AM on 12/23 to 16 PM on 12/24, a total of 2 new domestic asymptomatic cases were found, 1 at Shunyi District (who traveled to Ningbo in Zhejiang Province on 12/23) and 1 at Xicheng District. There was not a 2nd asymptomatic case found at Shunyi District. I have discussed both cases in detail in yesterday’s post. 280 contacts have been traced from the former case, and 220 contacts from the latter.

    At Turfan in Xinjiang “Autonomous” Region, 2 asymptomatic cases have been released from isolation. There remains 2 asymptomatic cases in the city. 1 residential compound is designated as Medium Risk

    There are no changes in other Chinese cities with recent/current outbreaks.

    On 12/24, China reported 7 new imported confirmed cases, 15 imported asymptomatic cases:

    * Shanghai Municipality – 4 confirmed cases, 1 Chinese national each returning from the UAE, Spain and India, and 1 US national coming from the US; from 12/22 to 12/23, Shanghai found an entire family of 9 (an Israeli national and 8 US nationals), coming from Canada, were infected
    * Foshan in Guangdong Province – 1 confirmed case, a Chinese national returning from the US; 1 asymptomatic case, a Chinese national returning from Iraq
    * Shenzhen in Guangdong Province – 2 asymptomatic cases, 1 Chinese national each returning Russia and the US
    * Chengdu in Sichuan Province – 1 confirmed case, a Chinese national returning from Indonesia
    * Shenyang in Liaoning Province – 1 confirmed case, no information released
    * Chongqing Municipality – 4 asymptomatic cases, all Chinese nationals returning from Nepal
    * Hangzhou in Zhejiang Province – 6 asymptomatic cases, 2 Chinese nationals each returning from Nigeria and Egypt, and 1 each from Syria and Zambia
    * Fuzhou in Fujian Province – 1 asymptomatic cases, a Chinese national returning from Japan

    The imported case returning from South Korea, reported at Shenyang in Liaoning Province on 12/23, continues to cause a great deal of commotion. Policy at Shenyang for visitors/returnees from overseas is 14 days of mandatory centralized quarantine, followed by 14 days of mandatory self-quarantine at home, supervised by property management and neighborhood committee. Anyone who is sharing the residence needs to quarantine for the duration, as well. The case clearly did not follow the self-quarantine policies, and she was able to get away with it because one of her sons is the policeman posted to the community (China follows community policing model), and has several relatives working in the city’s police department. Anyone with fever symptoms can visit community clinics if he or she has a negative RT-PCR test report within 7 days, which the case would have from the negative tests during centralized quarantine. Given that it is winter at Shenyang right now, with temperatures well below freezing, common colds and flus are indeed common, and with the recent negative test reports from quarantine, the case probably never thought she had COVID-19. However, anyone returning from overseas, or works at high risk occupations (medical personnel, cold chain logistics workers, etc.), can only go to fever clinics at designated hospitals when exhibiting COVID-19 symptoms.

    The personal information (name, national ID #, address, mobile phone #, the schools where the grandchildren attend, etc.) of the imported case, as well as those of her family, were leaked on Chinese social media. This has led to a wave of harassment and online bullying of the case and her family. Such leaks has happened several times in China during the sporadic outbreaks since the end of the 1st wave. Each time, there has been a larger counteraction, outpourings of sympathies to those being bullied, as well as pressure on the authorities to crack down on leaking cases’ and close contacts’ private information. There has been less sympathy this time around, however, due to the case’s failure to adhere to quarantine policies (and leveraging family connections to do so), and being out and about across the city despite having COVID-19 symptoms. Her actions (and the failure by the property management and neighborhood committee to properly supervise her self-quarantine) have led to centralized quarantine of hundreds of F1 & F2 close contacts, home quarantine of hundreds of F3 close contacts, lock down of 2 residential compounds with thousands of residents, temporary shut down of 5 medical facilities and 2 schools, with all of the disruptions to public service operations, small businesses and personal lives.

    Today’s Shenyang authorities reported a new domestic confirmed case, the granddaughter of the imported case, who has been under quarantine since 12/22. Fortunately, other than the case’s close family (husband and granddaughter so far), everyone else (close contacts, residents of the compounds, and persons associated with the medical facilities and schools), have all tested negative to date. Therefore, Shenyang is likely not facing a Dalian type of situation.

    Overall in China, 9 confirmed cases recovered, 9 asymptomatic cases were released from isolation and 6 was reclassified as confirmed cases, 1 suspect case has been ruled out as COVID-19, and 879 individuals were released from quarantine. Currently, there are 320 active confirmed cases in the country (272 imported), 6 are in serious condition (5 imported), and 236 asymptomatic cases (195 imported). 9,890 individuals traced contacts are currently under quarantine.

    On 12/24, Hong Kong reported 57 new cases, 2 imported and 55 local (25 of whom without clear sources of infection). There are an additional 50 cases preliminarily positive, awaiting retest.

    Have a happy and safe holiday everyone!

  8. 8.

    gkoutnik

    December 25, 2020 at 5:35 am

    Mrs. K and I have been involved in the Fenimore’s production of “A Christmas Carol” for many years.  This year, we did an audiobook, with one person coming in to record at a time.  This year we’ve also done Zoom productions of “Love’s Labours Lost” and Wilde’s “A Woman of No Importance,” and a new play by a regional playwright.  So – a few bright spots here and there.

    Just Mrs. K and I for Christmas this year; first time in 70 years that either of us has not been surrounded by large numbers of family and great food, and it’s all due to COVID.  We’ll try a roast beef for the first time – lots of leftovers.

    It occurred to me that every Christmas of my life has been what someone else thought should happen on Christmas.  It’s odd to have the freedom to do whatever.  Too bad it’s all storm all day; we’d love to have an outdoor Christmas.  But we did some special hikes the last two days, and will again tomorrow.

    Merry and happy, all!

  9. 9.

    eclare

    December 25, 2020 at 5:35 am

    @opiejeanne:  Totally understand, we all want this year to end.  Any more information about your greenhouse?

  10. 10.

    OzarkHillbilly

    December 25, 2020 at 5:35 am

    Bah humbug.

  11. 11.

    YY_Sima Qian

    December 25, 2020 at 5:39 am

    Thanks A.L. for this collection of Christmas themed COVID-19 update!

    My parents celebrated Christmas Eve by themselves in Upstate NY, though they did decide to cook extra dishes, and opened a bottle of Sancerre that I had left in the cabinet for 10 years (:-0). (They claimed the wine was still fine.) We never did celebrate Christmas much when I was in the States.

    Today is a working day in China, but major shopping malls have all put up lavish decorations leading up to the occasion, never one miss out on an opportunity to monetize and commercialize. Online shopping platforms are also offering discounts. The upper scale residential compounds have hired Santas to knock on doors and hand out gifts to children, for those families interested in participating.

  12. 12.

    eclare

    December 25, 2020 at 5:52 am

    @YY_Sima Qian:  Thank you for your posts, they are informative.

  13. 13.

    MagdaInBlack

    December 25, 2020 at 5:57 am

    @gkoutnik: Funny you should mention doing ” what someone else thought should happen.” Yesterday I was thinking of all the holidays I spent trying to fulfill other peoples holiday expectations and how nice it feels ( to me) to not have to do that.
    Later I’ll throw together lasagna, because in a past life, that’s what I used to make for us, as we were sick of turkey.
    Finally located my copy of ” Hogfather” and I may watch the movie on youtube.
    Merry Christmas =-)

  14. 14.

    Amir Khalid

    December 25, 2020 at 6:20 am

    Malaysia’s daily Covid-19 numbers. Director-General of Health Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah reports 1,247 new cases today in his media statement, for a cumulative reported total of 101,565 cases. Dr Noor Hisham also reports three new deaths today, for a total of 449 deaths — 0.44% of the cumulative reported total, 0.54% of resolved cases.

    18,576 active and contagious cases are currently in hospital; 108 are in ICU, 47 of them on respirators. Meanwhile, 1,441 patients recovered and were discharged, for a total of 82,540 patients recovered — 81.3% of the cumulative reported total.

    Four new clusters were reported today: Cassia Diamond in Selangor; Pompod in Sabah; and Kiara building site and Perkasa building site in KL.

    1,245 new cases today are local infections. Selangor has 461 cases: 90 in older clusters, seven in Cassia Diamond cluster, 22 close-contact screenings, and 152 other screenings. Sabah has 225 cases: 34 in older clusters, four in Pompod cluster, 125 close-contact screenings, and 62 other screenings. Johor has 205 cases: 153 in existing clusters, 37 close-contact screenings, and 15 other screenings. KL has 140 cases: 37 in older clusters, 20 in Kiara building site and Perkasa building site clusters, 33 close-contact screenings, and 50 other screenings.

    Negeri Sembilan has 89 cases: 74 in existing clusters, 11 close-contact screenings, and six other screenings. Perak has 55 cases: 54 in existing clusters, and one other screening. Penang has 25 cases: eight in existing clusters, 10 close-contact screenings, and seven other screenings. Melaka has 14 cases: two in existing clusters, five close-contact screenings, and seven other screenings. Pahang has 11 cases: eight in existing clusters, two close-contact screenings, and one other screening.

    Labuan has seven local cases: one in an existing cluster, three close-contact screenings, and three other screenings. Putrajaya has seven cases: four in existing clusters, and three other screenings. Kelantan has four cases: one close-contact screening, and three other screenings. And Sarawak has two local cases, both found in other screenings.

    Kedah, Terengganu, and Perlis reported no new local cases today.

    Two new cases are imported. One was reported in Labuan, and one in Sarawak.

    The three deaths today are a 76-year-old man in Sabah with chronic obstructive airway disease and stroke; a 64-year-old woman in Selangor with diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease; and a 65-year-old non-Malaysian man in Sabah with hypertension and gout.

  15. 15.

    NeenerNeener

    December 25, 2020 at 6:38 am

    Monroe County, NY yesterday:
    643 new cases, 834 in the hospital, 136 in ICU, still at 507 deaths.
    33% available regular hospital beds, 31% available ICU beds.

    I’ve read that even more people traveled for Christmas than for Thanksgiving so we may hit 1000 new cases a day in 2 or 3 weeks. Ugh.

  16. 16.

    rikyrah

    December 25, 2020 at 6:45 am

    @NotMax:

    Will repeat

    Senegal has a $1 test that they’ve been using since the beginning of the pandemic

  17. 17.

    lowtechcyclist

    December 25, 2020 at 6:50 am

    A family Christmas Eve traditions is watching “It’s A Wonderful Life.”

    I noticed this year the opening scene is set in 1919, and 12-year old George Bailey comforts the druggist, Mr Gower, on losing his son to influenza.

    It’s not a family tradition for us, but we did watch IAWL last night. And yeah, that formerly minor detail was suddenly unmissable.

  18. 18.

    Geo Wilcox

    December 25, 2020 at 6:59 am

    That loss of smell aspect is not a joke. My neighbor’s 25 year old, very healthy son caught covid 19 at school in Idaho. He was pretty ill for a week then seemingly recovered. Unfortunately he had some pretty bad lingering symptoms.

    Resting heart rate 100 instead of 45, loss of sexual attraction, and loss of smell and taste. The worst part is the smell came back about 10% but everything was rewired. His shampoo smelled like gasoline and (GOD HELP ME) peanut butter smelled like cow shit. He had to set alarms to eat since he had no desire to do so.

    He feels lucky since his heart rate has gone back down to 60 and he likes seeing girls again but the smell thing pisses him off since he loves to cook and is quite the gourmand.

  19. 19.

    prostratedragon

    December 25, 2020 at 7:01 am

    Caught part of the midnight mass broadcast from Holy Name. Only about 100 widely scattered parishioners, choir coming in on zoom, well-spaced and masked non-wind instrumentalists in the loft and two vocal solists and the cantor at the corners of an inscribed triangle on the floor of the cathedral. The echo and the rumbling from the organ and tympany were so fierce that I was reminded of this:

    “Audi coelum [Hear me, heaven],” Monteverdi

    In the spirit of doing what I want, left the pot roast in the freezer for some other time, and am going to make meat sauce for spaghetti. Noticed that TCM seems to be forgoing the great It’s a Wonderful Life this year, in favor of Meet John Doe (1941), which might fit the mood of the day even better.

  20. 20.

    mrmoshpotato

    December 25, 2020 at 7:16 am

    @opiejeanne:

    I am sorry to be a downer tonight. I just want this terrible year to end. 

    We all continue counting down the days until Christmas January 20, 2021. :) (hugs)

  21. 21.

    mrmoshpotato

    December 25, 2020 at 7:32 am

    @prostratedragon:

    Caught part of the midnight mass broadcast from Holy Name. 

    What channel was carrying it?

  22. 22.

    Sloane Ranger

    December 25, 2020 at 7:36 am

    On Christmas Eve the UK reported 39,036 new cases. This is down about 200 from the 23rd and the rolling 7-day average is now showing an increase of 49.1%. Cases by home nation,

     

    England – 35,561 (up @1300)

    Northern Ireland – 0 (down 787)

    Scotland – 1314 (up @110)

    Wales – 2161 (down @900).

    I wouldn’t take too much notice of these figures over the holiday period. There are a number of reasons why they won’t be accurate, including unwillingness to get tested, staff holidays and one other I will cover under the General heading.

    Deaths – There were 574 deaths yesterday, 468 in England, 0 in Northern Ireland, 43 in Scotland and 63 in Wales.

    Testing – No update since Wednesday.

    Hospitalisations – On 22 December there were 21,286 people in hospital and 1529 on ventilators. The rolling 7-day average for hospital admissions has increased by 16.5%.

    General – Looking at the figures, I suspect that Northern Ireland didn’t report yesterday. Also, test processing has been slowed down by a major COVID outbreak at the largest English testing centre “The Lighthouse”. This is located in Milton Keynes, which has high figures among the population generally.

    Personal – When my brother was alive I went to him over Christmas and we would go out to a restaurant for our Christmas dinner. For the past 2 years I have booked a holiday over Christmas with other single people. This is my first time I have had Christmas alone but I am attempting the full Christmas spread and planning a quiet day with the TV and books for company. I am NOT going to let all this get me down!

    Happy Christmas or Happy Holidays, as appropriate, to you all!

  23. 23.

    YY_Sima Qian

    December 25, 2020 at 7:43 am

    Correction to my update above: China reported 2 new domestic asymptomatic cases yesterday, not 5.

  24. 24.

    Nicole

    December 25, 2020 at 8:39 am

    @lowtechcyclist: A theater company I work with did a holiday reading of it, and yeah, I caught it too, this time.  I read an article in the early months of this pandemic that looked at how, even though it seems like the flu of 1918 was stuffed down the memory hole, you can see its influence in the literature of the 1920s, and I guess, in fact, the shadow of it carried on even longer.  Certainly the contemporary audiences for It’s a Wonderful Life would have related.

  25. 25.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    December 25, 2020 at 8:45 am

    I always loath this time of year – end of the year diving catch in manufacturing to make the numbers impressive to the investors.  This year is the worst because we should have been able to get the orders completed well in time but due to shipping delays due to COVID (a lot of dock workers are ill at Long Beach) the stuff that was supposed to arrive in November only showed up last Tuesday.  So a months worth of work in two days, and we get to repeat that again next week. Happy fucking holidays.

    While I can’t dis management since their plan would have meant an easy December for us, I do find it exasperating how in these “all hands of deck, the future of the company situations” happen they or no other department in the company can be ever arsed to come and lend a hand.

  26. 26.

    Geminid

    December 25, 2020 at 9:13 am

    Virginia reported 4,798 new Covid-19 cases yesterday, a second record number in two days. We had been steady at about 1,000 new cases a day until October.

    With a similar population of about 8 1/2 million, Israel is back over 4,000 new cases a day, and will start their third lockdown on Sunday. (from the Jerusalem Post).

  27. 27.

    WaterGirl

    December 25, 2020 at 9:28 am

    @NotMax: That’s like the test we are using at the University of Illinois, developed in house.  They have done an amazing job with testing everyone 2-3 times a week, depending on your risk factors

    You spit in a tube and get your results the same day.  Lots of spit, though.  You don’t just get to spit once, you have to fill a tube.

  28. 28.

    J R in WV

    December 25, 2020 at 11:20 am

    At last year’s annual (’til now!) Solstice dinner, which is very popular with all our friends and neighbors, it was a very nice pot luck dinner, with live music by the neighbors.

    One good friend prepared edible gingerbread, with which he recreated Stonehenge in OCD matching to scale detail. One bite was all it took. It was a work of art, delicious as well.

    The woods around our home are really pretty today, last night’s snow adhered to every branch and twig, so things are really Christmasey out every window. We got about the forecast 4 inches of snow, but still tiny flakes are falling! Black dogs with snow on their backs are funny!!

  29. 29.

    Soprano2

    December 25, 2020 at 11:34 am

    We’ll be spending the day at home; to be absolutely safe we aren’t seeing my mother until next weekend at the earliest. It’ll be good for my husband,  I think he’s bored and trying to sleep too much,  which means he doesn’t actually get very much good sleep so he’s even more tired. We watched Christmas movies on TCM last night until we were falling asleep.

    My college choir recorded a vespers service in the chapel for Christmas this year. They sang it masked and distanced,  but they did it and put it on You Tube for everyone to hear. I was so glad they didn’t let the pandemic stop the tradition; it’s usually done in a chapel full of people. I cried listening to it, every time I get some “normal” these days it makes me weepy. It’s inspiring to me how people have persevered in the face of this terrible situation.

    Opejeanne, I’m so sorry about your greenhouse.  Fuck 2020 is right!

  30. 30.

    StringOnAStick

    December 25, 2020 at 12:25 pm

    @Geo Wilcox: I know it’s different because he lost his sense of smell due to Covid, but loss of it also happens from head injury, and it is common that as sense of smell comes back it can end up “mis-wired”.  The good news is usually in those cases the brain\olfactory nerve eventually straightens it out.  Hopefully the same thing happens for this young man.

  31. 31.

    opiejeanne

    December 25, 2020 at 12:26 pm

    @eclare: It caught fire for unknown reasons on the 22nd, around 7pm. It may have been the space heater caused an electrical fire, it may have been set. There was nothing flammable near the heater and it was sitting on the gravel floor. We had a torrential rainstorm followed by 3″ of snow the night before, so the roof may have leaked as the snow melted.

    It burned so hot that many things just evaporated, like a large planter in the corner made of plastic; the only sign that it was there was a large lump of potting soil. The greenhouse was 10′ X 12″ and had an aluminum frame with polycarbonate panels, which burn like crazy.  Mr opiejeanne had reinforced the frame with wooden timbers on the inside because we get high winds here and they were distorting the frame.

    There are photos at the bottom of this page:

    https://www.flickr.com/photos/snowwhite/albums/72157714036513623

  32. 32.

    patrick Il

    December 25, 2020 at 1:02 pm

    @WaterGirl:

    I think the difference is that yours goes to a lab.  Lab availability has been a restriction on widespread testing.

  33. 33.

    Uncle Cosmo

    December 25, 2020 at 1:24 pm

    @daryljfontaine: I presume you are inordinately fond of “the young man from Japan”

    Whose limericks never would scan.
    When someone asked why,
    He’d reply, “Because I
    Always try to put as many words into the last line as I possibly can.”

    :^p

  34. 34.

    Ruckus

    December 25, 2020 at 1:34 pm

    @StringOnAStick:

    Sense of smell can go away for a number of reasons, sometimes no actual answer can be found. Ask me how I know….

    Like most everything else, you miss it when it’s gone but you get used to it. You have to be more careful, you can’t smell it if you overcook something, you can’t smell when there’s fire. When we had the Bobcat fire about 4-5 miles upwind, I could see the smoke, the ash falling all around, but that last sense that’s gone, that one that normally you notice first, nothing. Like the smell of Italian food cooking? Not any longer, and then it starts to become harder to remember what it does smell like. And yes there are smells you don’t miss, we won’t discuss those…..

  35. 35.

    thalarctosMaritimus

    December 25, 2020 at 1:43 pm

    @opiejeanne: *hugs*, Jeanne. We’d come over and see you if we could. Let’s hope next year, we can.

  36. 36.

    Ruckus

    December 25, 2020 at 1:50 pm

    @mrmoshpotato:

    26 days from now will be a wonderful day, but it’s just a start on the road to recovery. Not to be a downer but do you think the republicans will just magically go along with the new, actual boss? Will it be better, of course it will, actual humans will be in charge. But just cleaning up this nationwide dumpster fire will be an ongoing fight, let alone moving on with it. Let’s hope that GA does the correct thing and elects both dem senators. It’s a real possibility and one that is necessary. Let’s hope that we don’t just look forward once again, history is still real and in this case a massively large problem. Conservatism has decimated 3 large democracies, US, Australia, UK. Strange that R. Murdoch is a very large common denominator among them, no? A personal misinformation campaign waged large upon over half a billion people. Noon, January 20, 2021 is a start. It is no where near a nirvana. As tired and worn out as we all are, this is no time to sit back and reflect on how bad it was, it’s still a long road ahead of us, for all of us.

  37. 37.

    Uncle Cosmo

    December 25, 2020 at 2:07 pm

    Just back from my brother’s, where I spent the night after the family (7 adults, 2 kids) gathered for early supper & gift exchange. Masks all around as some of us are in COVID’s crosshairs.

    When the joint emptied out that evening I took the opportunity (via bro’s Amazon Prime account) to watch the first 4 episodes of Season 5 of The Expanse, which continues to impress. As a longtime resident I can say that aside from a couple of details[1], 24th century Baltimore looked a lot like hardscrabble parts of the 2020 version[2,3].

    [1] Ubiquitous solar-paneled roofs, monorail tracks, rocket launches from a nearby spaceport.

    [2] Some of the near-street-level shots could have been filmed in contemporary neighborhoods not far from Johns Hopkins Hospital – and I even thought I recognized a couple of buildings in the skyline – but the series is filmed in Canada, so I guess not..

    [3] BTW & FWIW, oduks (backwards kudos) to David Simon, who between Homicide and The Wire did yeoman work imprinting my home town for the foreseeable future in every creative person’s mind as the default locale for a truly FUBAR US urban environment.

  38. 38.

    jc

    December 25, 2020 at 3:29 pm

    Anyone who was a jerk about wearing a mask should be required to go to the back of the line for the vaccine.

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