Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Republicans: “Abortion is murder but you can take a bus to get one.” Easy peasy.

I’d like to think you all would remain faithful to me if i ever tried to have some of you killed.

She burned that motherfucker down, and I am so here for it. Thank you, Caroline Kennedy.

We cannot abandon the truth and remain a free nation.

Museums are not America’s attic for its racist shit.

If you are still in the gop, you are either an extremist yourself, or in bed with those who are.

This really is a full service blog.

Republicans are radicals, not conservatives.

Balloon Juice, where there is always someone who will say you’re doing it wrong.

They were going to turn on one another at some point. It was inevitable.

Good lord, these people are nuts.

It’s easy to sit in safety and prescribe what other people should be doing.

Hot air and ill-informed banter

Some judge needs to shut this circus down soon.

One lie, alone, tears the fabric of reality.

When we show up, we win.

Accused of treason; bitches about the ratings. I am in awe.

Nothing says ‘pro-life’ like letting children go hungry.

Whoever he was, that guy was nuts.

People really shouldn’t expect the government to help after they watched the GOP drown it in a bathtub.

Consistently wrong since 2002

Never entrust democracy to any process that requires Republicans to act in good faith.

The arc of the moral universe does not bend itself. it is up to us to bend it.

Dear elected officials: Trump is temporary, dishonor is forever.

You are here: Home / Healthcare / COVID-19 / COVID-19 Coronavirus Updates: Wednesday / Thursday, Feb. 16-17

COVID-19 Coronavirus Updates: Wednesday / Thursday, Feb. 16-17

by | 74 Comments

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First, dispense with the fiction that immunocompromised people are rare, secluded, or easy to identify.

There are millions of them. Most don’t live in a bubble. Most look healthy. You probably have friends & colleagues you don’t know are ICd. 2/

A lot of immunocompromised people respond poorly to COVID vaccines & are mostly unprotected despite their shots.

They’re in limbo, uncertain about the odds & consequences of infections. Meanwhile, the gulf between them & everyone else widens. 3/

Policies like mask mandates that helped immunocompromised folks are vanishing. Friends & colleagues are dismissing their remaining risk because of the misleading idea that Omicron is “mild”. 4/

To be simply ignored would be bad enough. To be *mocked* is even worse. Many immunocompromised people I spoke to are tired of pundits who equate risk-aversion with irrationality. They’re sick of being a throwaway clause in someone’s callous op-ed. 5/

So many immunocompromised people I spoke to feel abandoned. Several said that Biden’s speech about “a winter of severe illness and death” for unvaxxed people felt like a gut punch for them–vaxxed but still potentially unprotected. 6/

They’ve been made to feel that they’re holding society back. The opposite is true. Losing remote options forces many immunocompromised people into risky situations, “like asking someone who can’t swim to jump into the ocean instead of trying a pool.” 7/

I spoke to 21 people for this story who are either immunocompromised or caring for those who are. I asked them what they want. Exactly no one said “permanent lockdown”. They want their lives back too. They need the world to be safer. 8/

Antivirals & antibody cocktails bring hope. But these are *really* hard to get & doses are pitifully short. Equitable, widespread access would go a long way to salving the feeling of being abandoned by a government that’s so keen on biomedical panaceas. 9/

The people I interviewed mostly wanted structural changes—easier healthcare access, paid sick leave, mask mandates during surges, better ventilation, flexibility for work. All things that would improve the health of immunocompetent people too. 10/

It wouldn’t be too onerous to build a world in which being immunocompromised requires fewer compromises. Disability is as much about society as biology. We can & should put in policies that make IC’d people less disabled in a world where COVID persists. 11/

If you don’t buy the moral argument, here’s a selfish one: Age weakens immunity. Respecting the needs of immunocompromised people isn’t about disproportionately accommodating some tiny minority. It’s about empathizing with your future self. 12/

There’s more in the piece. I’ve tried to address all the standard tropes–“but we didn’t make accommodations before”; “we can’t shut down society for a small fraction”—and why they’re problematic. That’s all in here. 13/

I hope you read this piece, even if—or, really, especially if—you feel more secure about your own risk. We cannot move forward as a society if we don’t care for those who shoulder the majority of the risk that remains. 14/

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Reader Interactions

74Comments

  2. 2.

    lowtechcyclist

    Rand Paul wants legislation to force airlines to end mask mandates because he is “tired of paying the airlines to be treated like crap .. I want them to bring me a glass of water and peanuts and I don’t want somebody jammering at me to put a mask on.”

    Ayn Rand’s philosophy in a nutshell! If a private business conducts their business in a way that annoys you, the government should legislate the annoying behavior out of existence.

  3. 3.

    New Deal democrat

    Nationwide deaths declined to 2200, about 12% below peak. Cases declined to 129,000, almost 85% below peak and only 9,000 above their pre-Omicron level. As a result, we can expect deaths to decline to about 400 in a month. This level of deaths will be lower than at any point since the onset of the pandemic except for last June and July.

    US Census regions are down between 80% (the South) and over 90% (the Northeast). The Northeast has not declined for the last 3 days, but this is because of a data dump from ME. MD also had a data dump. The only other State that is not declining from one week ago is KS. ID has only declined by about 15% in the past week. All other States, plus DC and PR, continue to decline sharply.

    The nationwide average is 39 cases per 100,000. AK, ID, and KY are doing the worst, with 90 cases per 100,000. DC is doing the best at 17 per 100,000, followed closely by PR and NE at 18, and NY at 21. To put this in context, many States had fewer than 10 cases per 100,000 during most of 2020.

    *If* the present trend continues, we will be back below 10 cases per 100,000 in about 3 weeks, and at about 5 in a month. At our best level last June, we were at 3.5.

    Since we won’t fall to zero, I am watching to see if any States turn flat or increase week over week, and then if the number of States increases. That will precede any nationwide change of trend. Fortunately, there is no evidence of that now.

  5. 5.

    NeenerNeener

    Monroe County, NY:

    There were 125 new laboratory-confirmed cases of COVID-19 on 2/16.
    There were 70 positive home COVID tests reported on 2/16.

    We’re headed back up again. No bueno.

    My test kit order is still “in progress”.

  6. 6.

    YY_Sima Qian

    On 2/16 Mainland China reported 35 new domestic confirmed (none previously asymptomatic) & 11 new domestic asymptomatic cases.

    Guangdong Province reported 7 new domestic confirmed & 2 new domestic asymptomatic cases. As the province does not breakdown recoveries between domestic & imported cases, I cannot track the count of active cases in parts of the province.

    • At Zhuhai there currently are 10 active domestic confirmed cases (all presumed Omicron) in the city.
    • Shenzhen reported 6 new domestic confirmed (all mild) & 2 new domestic asymptomatic cases, 6 new domestic confirmed cases are quarantine hotel workers & traced closed contacts already under centralized quarantine, 1 of the new domestic asymptomatic cases is found from voluntary testing, the other is a traced close contact. 1 shopping center has been elevated to Medium Risk. 4 residential buildings & a shopping center are currently at Medium Risk.
    • Guangzhou reported 1 new domestic confirmed case, a traced close contact of the 2 cases imported from Hong Kong reported on 2/15, has been under centralized quarantine since that date.
    • Dongguan did not report any new domestic positive cases. There currently is 1 active domestic asymptomatic case in the city, a person who recently returned from out of province.
    • At Yunfu there currently are 7 active domestic confirmed & 1 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the city, all part of the Omicron transmission chain spreading from Shenzhen.
    • At Huizhou there currently are 6 active domestic confirmed cases in the city, part of the Omicron transmission chain spreading from Shenzhen.
    • In the rest of the province there currently are 2 active domestic confirmed (1 each at Heyuan & Meizhou) cases remaining.

    Guangxi “Autonomous” Region reported 1 new domestic confirmed case. There currently are 273 active domestic confirmed & 1 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the province.

    • Baise reported 1 new domestic confirmed case, a traced close contact already under centralized quarantine. There currently are 271 active domestic confirmed cases (all presumed Omicron) in the city, most of whom are residents in the same village, all part of the transmission chain spreading from Shenzhen in Guangdong. 4 villages, 2 residential compounds & 1 business at Debao County have been elevated to Medium Risk. 1 village at Debao County is currently at High Risk, & 4 villages, 2 residential compounds, a business & a hotel there are currently at Medium Risk. 2 villages at Jingxi are currently at Medium Risk.
    • The rest of the province did not report any new domestic positive cases. There currently are 2 active domestic confirmed (1 each at Nanning & Chongzuo) & 1 active domestic asymptomatic (at Chongzuo) cases remaining.

    At Shaoyang in Hunan Province there currently is 1 active domestic confirmed case in the city, part of the transmission chain spreading from Shenzhen in Guangdong.

    Inner Mongolia “Autonomous” Region reported 3 new domestic confirmed cases. There currently are 10 active domestic confirmed cases in the province.

    • Manzhouli in Hulun Buir did not report any new domestic positive cases. There currently are 5 active domestic confirmed cases in the city. 1 sub-district has been elevated to Medium Risk.
    • Hohhot reported 3 new domestic cases, 2 are traced close contact & 1 found at fever clinic. There currently are 5 active domestic confirmed cases in the city. 3 residential compounds have been elevated to Medium Risk.

    At Tianjin Municipality 3 domestic confirmed case recovered. There currently are 12 active domestic confirmed cases (all presumed Omicron). All areas of the city are now at Low Risk.

    Liaoning Province reported 7 new domestic confirmed cases. There currently are 114 active domestic confirmed & 2 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the province.

    • Huludao reported 7 new domestic confirmed cases (6 mild & 1 moderate), all at Suizhong County, all traced close contacts already under centralized quarantine. There currently are 111 active domestic confirmed cases in the city. 1 village at Suizhong County is currently at High Risk, & a residential compound there is currently at Medium Risk.
    • At Shenyang there currently are 3 active domestic confirmed & 2 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the city.

    At Shandong Province there currently are 1 active domestic confirmed (at Jinan) & 1 active domestic asymptomatic (at Liaocheng) cases in the province, all part of the transmission chain from the cold storage warehouses outbreak at Fengtai District in Beijing.

    At Datong in Shanxi Province there currently is 1 active domestic confirmed case remaining in the city.

    At Hebei Province 2 domestic confirmed cases recovered. There currently are 8 active domestic confirmed cases (3 at Xiong’an, 4 at Hengshui & 1 at Langfang) remaining in the province, all part of the transmission chain from the cold storage warehouses outbreak in Fengtai District in Beijing.

    At Heilongjiang Province 2 domestic confirmed cases recovered & 2 domestic asymptomatic cases were released from isolation. There currently are 14 active domestic confirmed (all at Mudanjiang) & 36 active domestic asymptomatic (11 at Heihe, 22 at Mudanjiang & 3 at Qiqihar) cases in the province. 5 residential buildings at Heihe are currently at Medium Risk.

    At Shanghai Municipality 1 domestic confirmed case recovered. There currently are 1 active domestic confirmed & 1 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the city.

    At Huanggang in Hubei Province there currently is 1 active domestic asymptomatic case in the city, part of the transmission chain from Hangzhou in Zhejiang.

    Jiangsu Province reported 16 new domestic confirmed & 7 new domestic asymptomatic cases (all presumed Omicron). There currently is 43 active domestic confirmed & 15 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the city.

    • Suzhou reported 16 new domestic confirmed & 6 domestic asymptomatic cases, all but 2 are traced close contacts already under centralized quarantine/medical isolation since 2/15 or earlier, the other 2 are found from mass screening. There currently are 42 active domestic confirmed & 12 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the city, the vast majority are workers at the Suzhou Industrial Zone or their close contacts. 7 residential buildings & a tea house have been elevated to Medium Risk. 13 residential buildings, a dormitory & a business have been elevated to Medium Rusk. 26 residential buildings closed, a dormitory, a business & a tea house are currently at Medium Risk.
    • Wuxi reported 1 new domestic asymptomatic case, a traced close contact already under centralized quarantine since 2/15. There are currently 3 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the city, all part of the transmission chain spreading from Suzhou.
    • Nantong did not report any new domestic positive cases. There currently is 1 active domestic confirmed case in the city, part of the transmission chain spreading from Suzhou.

    At Tongren in Guizhou Province there currently is 1 active domestic confirmed case in the city, part of the transmission chain spreading from Huludao in Liaoning.

    At Henan Province 17 domestic confirmed case recovered. There currently are 68 active domestic confirmed cases in the province. 

    Yunnan Province reported 1 new domestic confirmed & 2 new asymptomatic cases, all at Ruili in Dehong Prefecture, 2 from regular screening of all residents of border villages & a traced close contact. 1 domestic confirmed case recovered. There currently are 9 active domestic confirmed (1 at Dehong Prefecture, 5 at Sipsongpanna Prefecture & 3 at Wenshan Prefecture) & 18 active domestic asymptomatic (1 at Dehong Prefecture, 5 at Sipsongpanna Prefecture & 11 at Wenshan Prefecture) cases remaining.

    Imported Cases

    On 2/16, Mainland China reported 57 new imported confirmed cases (8 previously asymptomatic), 21 imported asymptomatic cases, 3 imported suspect cases:

    • Guangzhou in Guangdong Province – 9 confirmed cases (1 previously asymptomatic), 2 Chinese nationals each returning from Ethiopia & Singapore & 1 each from Malaysia, Thailand, Russia & Australia, & a foreign national coming from Singapore; 4 asymptomatic cases, 1 Chinese national each returning from Kuwait, Singapore & Russia, & a foreign national coming from Nigeria (via Istanbul)
    • Shenzhen in Guangdong Province – 4 confirmed cases, all Mainland Chinese residents returning from Hong Kong
    • Dongguan in Guangdong Province – 5 confirmed (3 previously asymptomatic), all coming from Hong Kong
    • Foshan in Guangdong Province – 2 confirmed & 1 asymptomatic cases, all coming from Hong Kong
    • Zhuhai in Guangdong Province – 1 confirmed & 1 asymptomatic cases, both coming from Hong Kong
    • Zhongshan in Guangdong Province – 1 confirmed & 1 asymptomatic cases, both coming from Hong Kong
    • Jiangmen in Guangdong Province – 1 asymptomatic case, coming from Hong Kong
    • Shanghai Municipality – 9 confirmed cases, 2 Chinese nationals returning from Singapore & 1 each from Canada & Niger (via Paris CdG), 2 Mainland Chinese residents returning from Hong Kong, & 3 Singaporean nationals coming from Singapore; 1 asymptomatic case, a Mainland Chinese resident returning from Hong Kong; 3 suspect cases, no information released
    • Qingdao in Shandong Province – 9 confirmed cases, all Chinese nationals returning from Russia
    • Weihai Port in Shandong Province – 1 asymptomatic case, a crew member off a cargo ship w/ last port of call in Fiji
    • Hangzhou in Zhejiang Province – 4 confirmed cases (1 previously asymptomatic), 1 each coming from South Korea, Panama & Uganda
    • Chongzuo in Guangxi “Autonomous” Region  – 3 confirmed (1 previously asymptomatic) & 2 asymptomatic cases, no information released
    • Fangchenggang in Guangxi “Autonomous” Region  – 1 confirmed case, no information released
    • Xiamen in Fujian Province – 3 confirmed cases, a Chinese national returning from Australia & 2 Mainland Chinese residents returning from Hong Kong
    • Changchun in Jilin Province – 2 confirmed cases, both coming from South Korea 
    • Chengdu in Sichuan Province – 2 confirmed cases (1 previously asymptomatic), both Mainland Chinese residents returning from Hong Kong
    • Zhengzhou in Henan Province – 1 confirmed case (previously asymptomatic), no information released
    • Yunnan Province (location not specified) – 1 confirmed & 1 asymptomatic cases, both Chinese nationals returning from Myanmar, via land border crossings
    • Wuhan in Hubei Province – 4 asymptomatic cases, no information released
    • Beijing Municipality – 2 asymptomatic cases, no information released
    • Tongliao Inner Mongolia “Autonomous” Region – 1 asymptomatic case, a Chinese national returning from Turkey; the case had arrived at Guangzhou in Guangdong on 1/25, passed through the 14 days of centralized quarantine & tested negative multiple times, upon release from quarantine on 2/8 the case flew to Hohhot & was transferred to Tongliao & re-entered centralized quarantine, testing positive on 2/15
    • Dalian in Liaoning Province – 1 asymptomatic case, no information released 

    Overall in Mainland China, 91 confirmed cases recovered (47 imported), 50 asymptomatic cases were released from isolation (47 imported) & 4 were reclassified as confirmed cases (3 imported), & 3,013 individuals were released from quarantine. Currently, there are 1,420 active confirmed cases in the country (701 imported), 7 in serious condition (1 imported), 791 active asymptomatic cases (731 imported), 3 suspect cases (all imported). 29,006 traced contacts are currently under centralized quarantine.

    As of 2/16, 3,063.991M vaccine doses have been injected in Mainland China, an increase of 6.394M doses in the past 24 hrs.

    On 2/17, Hong Kong reported 6,116 new positive cases, 9 imported & 6,097 domestic. There are another ~ 6,300 cases who are preliminarily positive, awaiting confirmation. 

    On 2/17, Taiwan reported 68 new positive cases, 14 imported & 54 domestic (8 from a new karaoke cluster).

  7. 7.

    New Deal democrat

    @lowtechcyclist:

    “Ayn Rand’s philosophy in a nutshell!”

    This is modern GOP libertarianism. Classical libertarianism holds that I have the right do do whatever I want, so long as it doesn’t hurt you (“my rights end at your nose”).

    Modern GOP libertarianism holds that I have the right do do whatever I want, and if it hurts you, that’s your problem (“it’s your fault for not getting your nose out of the way”).

    There is simply no way to run a civilized society with the second type of libertarianism.

  8. 8.

    debbie

    Today’s Google Doodle celebrates Michiaki Takahashi, the creator of the chickenpox vaccine. Take that, anti-vaxxers!

  14. 14.

    NorthLeft12

    @New Deal democrat: I believe that the pandemic has clearly shown how dangerous the “classic libertarianism” philosophy can be to society.
    Not that there wasn’t enough evidence before that libertarianism basically serves the rich, powerful, and privileged only.

  16. 16.

    Amir Khalid

    No update from me today. The Ministry of Healthis switching to reporting its Covid data reporting time to 10:00 am the next day. See you tomorrow.

  17. 17.

    lowtechcyclist

    Texas AG sues over U.S. airport and airplane mask mandates

    Wearing a mask in the airport and on the plane bothers me a hell of a lot less than having to take off my shoes while I’m juggling everything else going through security.  All because of one guy with a shoe bomb 20 years ago.

    Meanwhile, the mask mandates are there because of a million excess deaths in America alone in the past two years.

  19. 19.

    Matt McIrvin

    @New Deal democrat: I think the commitment to respecting your freedom as much as mine was always an inch deep. The thing that made old-fashioned libertarianism even as attractive as it was was the opposition to civil-rights laws that restricted private discrimination. It always required having this studiously maintained blind spot where the government was the only oppressor that counted–and even that was OK as long as it was zealously enforcing property rights.

  25. 25.

    Kay

    @bjacques:

    Rand Paul’s adult children are in the news a lot, partly through the efforts of Rand Paul and partly through getting arrested on their own:

    Here’s a funny story about how Rand Paul was too cheap to add his college age son to his congressional health care plan, and then lied about it and used it to attack Obamacare:

    “I actually tried to get my son signed up through the Kentucky exchange, you know, that the Democrats have said is so good. And I have here my son’s Medicaid card. We didn’t try to get him Medicaid, I’m trying to pay for his insurance. But they automatically enrolled him in Medicaid.”

  28. 28.

    NotMax

    Locally,

    School districts around the country are dropping mask requirements. But Hawaii’s Education Department said there are no plans to change their masking policies.

    In a newsletter, the DOE said that they are following the guidelines of the state Department of Health, which is aligned with the CDC’s guidelines.

    And parents appear to support that approach.

    At Kahala Elementary on Wednesday, several parents said they want to see masks kept on. Source

    Also,

    Some long COVID patients find promising results in treatment aimed at ‘awakening’ brain

    Elsewhere,

    Dozens of National Guard Army and Air Force troops in New Mexico have been stepping in for an emergency unlike others they have responded to before: the shortage of teachers and school staff members that has tested the ability of schools nationwide to continue operating during the coronavirus pandemic.

    While many other states and school districts issued pleas for substitute teachers amid omicron-driven surges in infections, New Mexico has been alone in calling out its National Guard members. In 36 of the state’s 89 school districts, guard members have traded in mission briefs for lesson plans to work for school systems. Source

    With the first community outbreak of the coronavirus in the Solomon Islands spreading rapidly through the largely unvaccinated population, the Red Cross warned Thursday that the Pacific Island nation’s fragile health care system is at risk of becoming overwhelmed.
    [snip]
    The nation of some 690,000 is spread across hundreds of islands, and many are served by only small health care clinics or have no nearby facilities at all, Manuri said.

    “I think the fear now is if it goes to the villages it will be a very serious problem,” he said.

    Solomon Islands authorities said last week that one in every two people in the capital now have COVID-19 symptoms, but with the lack of testing it is hard to say exactly how many are currently ill with the virus, because the regular flu is also going around right now, Manuri said. Source

    South Korea will distribute free coronavirus rapid test kits at schools and senior care facilities starting next week as it weathers an unprecedented wave of infections driven by the fast-moving omicron variant.

    Health officials on Wednesday reported its highest daily jump in coronavirus infections with 90,443 new cases, shattering the previous one-day record set on Tuesday by more than 33,000 cases. The figure represents more than a 20-fold increase from the levels seen in mid-January, when omicron emerged as the country’s dominant strain, and some experts say the country could see daily cases of around 200,000 in March. Source

  31. 31.

    Kay

    (Actually, unless forms were incorrectly filled out, Paul’s son should not qualify for Medicaid because he is listed as a dependent on Paul’s tax return. As a senator, Paul’s $174,000-a-year salary is too high for Medicaid, which in Kentucky is limited to individuals below 138 percent of the federal poverty level.)

    He used his son to tell this giant bullshit story about how people who make 174k a year are getting Medicaid. Ran to Fox to peddle this elaborate story about his son, none of which makes sense.

  32. 32.

    Kay

    @Baud:

    A United States Senator somehow can’t manage the process to add his son to his employer-provided health care plan? The whole thing is a lie.

  33. 33.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    Last night people here were puzzled by all the negativism, so we start off with….

    Top U.S. infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci said that it is time for the United States to start inching back toward normality, despite remaining risks from COVID-19

    Which is fucking fantastic good news. Though I am curious what the new normal will be. I mean I really can’t see going to movie theater or dinning in public now as a routine thing.  Streaming and door delivery services are just to convenient.

  35. 35.

    Cameron

    Since one of my sisters and my oldest friend are both immunocompromised, I don’t really think too much about what a crushing burden it is to wear a mask.  “Just die already” doesn’t appear to me to be an appropriate response.

  38. 38.

    Peale

    One way to get the flight attendants to stop “yammering” is to do what you’re supposed to do.  Plus adults who lose their tempers on planes and assault people should be permanently banned from flying. There’s no “political protests” on planes.

  39. 39.

    RSA

    Rand Paul wants legislation to force airlines to end mask mandates because he is “tired of paying the airlines to be treated like crap”

    Most Americans would be happy to treat Rand Paul like crap entirely for free.

  40. 40.

    La Nonna

    Italy just relaxed the mask mandate for outdoors, which had been in force for the last 6 weeks.  At the same time requires all employees over the age of 50 to be vaccinated in order to work.  Masking still required for all indoor settings, and additionally a greenpass is required for the post office, government offices, cafs, restaurants, museums, gyms, etc. We are enjoying daytrips to local sights, lunches out, and quite a full home-based social life, all of our friends are triple vaxxed, we have stopped seeing the few who are not. Really grateful for Italy’s uncharacteristically firm stand on protecting its people.

  41. 41.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Enhanced Voting Techniques: The thing that always frustrates me is that it seems like, at the conclusion of every wave, public officials jump the gun in lifting restrictions by just a little and it just causes more suffering. It’s like: if you could just wait one more month to do what you’re doing now, it would be so much better!

    I’m looking at numbers in Massachusetts and it seems like the case rates are plummeting exponentially everywhere… except for Hampshire County in western MA, where the drop has had sort of an ominous hiccup. And I wonder what is going on there, exactly. Is it that more transmissible subvariant? Is that a thing for us to worry about? I don’t know.

  43. 43.

    Geminid

    @La Nonna: Thank you for this report. I’m curious: has there been a politicized anti-vax, anti-mitigation movement in Italy like there has been in the U.S?

  45. 45.

    Matt McIrvin

    It also seems like there’s a dramatic difference between MA and NH in how rapidly cases are dropping– a much smoother drop here in Essex County, MA than in Rockingham County, NH just over the state line. Vaccination and hospitalization data from north of the border are spotty so it’s hard to tell exactly what the issue is. Our case rates here were actually much higher at the peak of Omicron so maybe it’s just that we had more immunity from people getting infected.

  46. 46.

    Kay

    Ethan Lynne@ethanclynne·12h
    NEW: Virginia Republicans just blocked the 2021 Virginia Teacher of the Year from serving on the Board of Education after he’d already been serving as an interim member for months

    “Education governor” doing stellar work in Virginia, I see. It always goes great when you start a war with teachers and exclude them from public education policy. Good move.

  47. 47.

    La Nonna

    @Geminid:

    Not much antivaxx, mosty in big cities, Rome and Milan affiliated with rightwing and anti-immigrant policies.  I think the huge price paid by the elderly in the beginning of the pandemic as well as universal healthcare allows people to stay more community-minded, and care for the common good.

  49. 49.

    Soprano2

    @Kay: Shoot, his staff could help with that!! It’s obviously deliberate – he wanted to have this story to tell on Fox.

  50. 50.

    Zzyzx

    1. Unfortunately, if you actually watch the clip, Rand Paul is actually trying to get rid of the federal mask mandate on flights, not make it illegal for an airline to have one. It’s stupid but fits with his selfish philosophy.
    2. I also worry that it’s too soon to loosen things up and would prefer to wait a few more weeks (which my state of WA is doing), but I don’t think that it’s so insanely too soon that I have an issue with it. At some point people are going to try it and see what happens. Maybe I’m just happy that we’ll be able to see the data before we make our decision.
  51. 51.

    Fred Allen

    The Nature article is eye-opening and everyone should read it.  Also, Rand Paul is an idiot, but that’s well-established.

  52. 52.

    New Deal democrat

    @Matt McIrvin: “this studiously maintained blind spot where the government was the only oppressor that counted“

    Which is why why even classical libertarianism was wrong.

  53. 53.

    Soprano2

    @Enhanced Voting Techniques: I mean I really can’t see going to movie theater or dinning in public now as a routine thing.  Streaming and door delivery services are just to convenient.

    I think you are in the minority, at least when it comes to going to restaurants.  People like to go somewhere else and have food served hot and fresh. Getting something that’s sat in a styrofoam container for 30 minutes or more and eating it at home just isn’t the same experience. When I celebrate my birthday with my husband, I don’t want to order a steak and eat it on the couch, and I don’t want to have to cook and then clean up afterward. Plus, there’s the whole social aspect of going out with your friends. I’m sure there will be some people who decide to never go in a restaurant again, but they’ll be a small minority, especially in a couple more years.

    I suspect the “new normal” will be almost exactly like the “old normal”, at least if MIssouri is anything to judge by. There aren’t going to be large amounts of people wearing face masks in public all the time in a couple of years, unless things take a really bad turn.

  55. 55.

    Soprano2

    @Matt McIrvin:It’s like: if you could just wait one more month to do what you’re doing now, it would be so much better!

    I think the problem is that no one wants to say when it’s time – how do you know one more month is the right time? At the beginning of this, our city set parameters for when to remove their face mask mandate. However, as it got more and more unpopular, they eventually lifted it even though the metrics were never met (they came close, though, in May 2021). I get frustrated by that too – don’t just say “don’t lift them yet”, tell me when they can be lifted. What metrics have to exist in order to remove face mask mandates, for example. I think many people have come to believe those who are saying “not yet” really mean “never”, and thus the pressure to remove them too soon.

  56. 56.

    Soprano2

    @Kay: I’m sure it enrages MAGA men when a female flight attendant tells them to put a mask on. They have a lot of rage toward any woman who they think is telling them what to do – they thought that ended when they got old enough to not have to listen to their mother anymore.

  58. 58.

    Soprano2

    @Kay: And of course he is black, big surprise. Sounds like Republicans in VA are going to try to take over the state board of education so they can get around what the people want and impose their will on schools.

  59. 59.

    Soprano2

    It’s funny how these anti-mask anti-vaxx people are actually making an argument to get rid of all laws, they just don’t seem to realize it. When they say “how dare the government tell me what to do, I can decide for myself what’s best for me” they are advocating to get rid of all laws governing people’s behavior, which means all laws. Why have speed limits – I’ll decide how fast to drive! Why have stop lights – I’ll decide whether or not I should stop at an intersection! Why have laws against stealing and murder – I’ll decide whether or not those are the right choices for me! It’s such an absurd argument, I can’t believe more interviewers don’t press them on its logical conclusion.

  60. 60.

    barbequebob

    @Matt McIrvin: Wonder if it has anything to do with Hampshire County, being home to UMass Amherst and several other colleges, having a higher than average population of college students (who will not show up in any official census of population since  most do not register as local residents). Just speculating.

  61. 61.

    Robert Sneddon

    Scotland — 7,144 new cases of COVID-19 and 22 deaths of people who have tested positive reported. These figures remain at about the same level, not falling noticeably day on day.

    944 people were in hospital yesterday with recently confirmed COVID-19 with 11 people in intensive care. The high ratio of hospital cases versus ICU bed occupancy may be down to the “in hospital with COVID-19” cases where the patients are suffering very mild cases or are even asymptomatic but when they are hospitalised for other reasons they test positive on admission and thus are counted as COVID-19 cases. There’s no breakdown on this, not surprisingly since it’s difficult to clinically define “mild” in such cases.

  62. 62.

    Soprano2

    A couple of other observations. That tweet where the doc says even after a surge masks can be useful, I understand what she means but I guarantee you a lot of people who don’t know much about Covid read that and say “Those public health officials would never let us take these masks off if they had their way, even if we’re vaxxed and boosted”. Also, the contradictions about home tests – “We need home tests”, “don’t trust home tests”, who knows what to believe? I understand why that’s so confusing – we all agitated for home tests, then you see a tweet like that one above warning that they aren’t that accurate. It’s no wonder people throw up their hands in frustration and say “fuck it”.

  64. 64.

    Chris

    @New Deal democrat:

    This is modern GOP libertarianism. Classical libertarianism holds that I have the right do do whatever I want, so long as it doesn’t hurt you (“my rights end at your nose”).

    Isn’t that just classical liberalism, not libertarianism of any kind?

  65. 65.

    Matt McIrvin

    @barbequebob: I actually suspect it’s just a transient thing–Hampshire County is slightly less vaccinated (though more boosted!) than eastern MA, also has a lower population density which makes disease transmission weird and clumpy, and they were behind eastern MA in getting hit in the first place.

  66. 66.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Soprano2:

    That tweet where the doc says even after a surge masks can be useful, I understand what she means but I guarantee you a lot of people who don’t know much about Covid read that and say “Those public health officials would never let us take these masks off if they had their way, even if we’re vaxxed and boosted”.

    Okay, but at that point there’s so much assumption of bad faith that NOTHING she says could possibly be useful. If the only answer you’ll hear is “stop taking all precautions forever”, you’re basically unreachable and no subtle messaging strategy can work.

  67. 67.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Soprano2: …But you just described the problem on the other side here: whenever they DO try to set reasonable metrics, there’s too much political pressure to ignore them and jump the gun, because measures that are actually useful to control the disease will always seem excessive–and because even in the minority the opposition is extremely loud and threatening, sometimes violent.

  68. 68.

    New Deal democrat

    @Chris:

    “Isn’t that just classical liberalism, not libertarianism of any kind?”

    If you mean 19th century liberalism, I suspect that is true, although (others may know much better) I think that liberalism did allow for legislating morality, basically on the grounds that it constituted civic virtue.

  69. 69.

    Miss Bianca

    @Kay: EIther a lie, or he really *is* that incompetent. Occam’s Razor suggests a toss-up between the two possibilities as equally likely.

  70. 70.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Soprano2: …The more common pattern I see is that they set, not a metric, but a date, and then they rigidly stick to that date no matter what happens, even if the recovery is slower than expected or there’s a new outbreak. It seems to be a popular thing for conservatives who are not full antivaxxer-loon but want to seem reasonable. That repeatedly happened here in Massachusetts, also in the UK.

  71. 71.

    The Moar You Know

    Modern GOP libertarianism holds that I have the right do do whatever I want, and if it hurts you, that’s your problem (“it’s your fault for not getting your nose out of the way”).

    There is simply no way to run a civilized society with the second type of libertarianism.

     

    @New Deal democrat: That’s pretty much the textbook definition of anarchy.

  72. 72.

    JaneE

    We went with the state guidelines, no masks indoors for vaccinated, which everyone knows means no indoor masks at all.  Surprisingly, I saw more masks than usual.  Few who wore them are giving them up yet, including me.  I may stop using the N95’s because they are harder to put on.  And the local Rite-Aid has a big display of the free ones just inside the door.  I am still expecting another surge.

  74. 74.

    J R in WV

    I stopped in to the Kroger’s pharmacy yesterday (a waste of time, they don’t have the steroid cream I needed) and while I waited I saw a shelf full of government provided N95 masks, 6 per person the sign said, so I picked up 12 for me and Wife.

    We will be wearing masks when out in the community, and I don’t expect to eat in a restaurant anytime soon. Our favorite styles do take out that works really well, Indian, Sushi and Thai… Steak is so easy I just do it in an iron skillet.

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