The official global death toll from COVID-19 is on the verge of eclipsing 6 million.
The toll is the latest reminder that the pandemic, now in its third year, is far from over — even as people shed masks, businesses reopen and travel resumes globally. https://t.co/spSWf6b9tZ
— The Associated Press (@AP) March 6, 2022
The United States is nearing 1 million reported deaths on its own, despite its wealth and vaccine availability.
It’s the biggest official toll of any country. https://t.co/AGShJFvIEL pic.twitter.com/Aj46yb6ruQ
— The Associated Press (@AP) March 6, 2022
This chart from @pewresearch shows that even though folks think COVID is done, we are still losing 2,000 Americans a day. Please continue to take sensible precautions. https://t.co/a85ly247PM pic.twitter.com/wKEPcfoYPs
— Bill Dauster (@Bill_Dauster) March 6, 2022
======
China has reported its highest number of coronavirus cases in two years as clusters emerged in more than a dozen cities, posing a fresh challenge to Beijing's zero-Covid policyhttps://t.co/hjWQeE8RRO
— AFP News Agency (@AFP) March 7, 2022
Mainland China has logged its highest number of daily new local symptomatic COVID-19 infections in about two years, with the highly transmissible Omicron variant putting pressure on the government's strict policy of curbing each outbreak quickly. https://t.co/vsFr70s353
— Reuters Health (@Reuters_Health) March 7, 2022
Hong Kong reported 25,150 new coronavirus infections and 280 deaths on Monday, as authorities struggle to contain a ballooning COVID-19 outbreak which has torn through hundreds of nursing homes and hit many of the city's unvaccinated elderly. https://t.co/YmPjMMNxpB
— Reuters Health (@Reuters_Health) March 7, 2022
Inside Hong Kong’s ‘zero-COVID’ zone: @rosannaphilpott shows the scenes that await people traveling into Hong Kong as the city grapples with a worsening outbreak pic.twitter.com/lmaBb5s3Cs
— Reuters (@Reuters) March 7, 2022
Virus chaos pushes more expats to join Hong Kong exodus.
Departures have skyrocketed with a net outflow of 71,000 people – including 63,000 residents – in February, the highest since pandemic began.
"We want to get our children out of here above all" https://t.co/B3jO6JNbdL pic.twitter.com/ufpeLikxuw
— AFP News Agency (@AFP) March 7, 2022
Japan sees record-high domestic violence reports amid the pandemichttps://t.co/wiFy6PIqqD
— Nick Kapur (@nick_kapur) March 5, 2022
South Korea scrambles to rework COVID-19 poll plans after early voting lapses https://t.co/rcn0Ht6MAk pic.twitter.com/u4hmYAuMh1
— Reuters (@Reuters) March 7, 2022
… As daily COVID-19 infections hover near unprecedented levels above 200,000 and more than 1 million receive treatment at home, parliament agreed to ease in-person voting by such patients.
Chaos erupted at many polling places during Saturday’s special early voting for infected voters.Instead of letting the voters directly cast ballots, some election workers collected and carried them in a shopping bag or plastic bucket to place in ballot boxes, the NEC said.
Some voters received papers that had already been used, while others had to wait in long queues in the cold, with at least one reported to have fainted…
Following an emergency meeting, it said it would allow remaining COVID patients to vote at formal polling stations, not the temporary booths used for early voting, after regular voters leave by 6 p.m…
Singapore plans to scrap Vaccinated Travel Lane system and fully reopen to all countries https://t.co/6z1RkjF0NC
— Executive Traveller (@Exec_Traveller) March 6, 2022
News about the pandemic in Europe just isn’t showing up on twitter, presumably because everyone’s attention is hyperfocused elsewhere. Given the long history of epidemics during wartime, maybe no news is good news…
“War is an infectious disease’s best friend.” Why Ukraine’s COVID-19 problem is everyone’s problemhttps://t.co/8ErvpqWXvJ
— TIME (@TIME) March 7, 2022
Ukraine was struggling to control the COVID-19 pandemic even before Russian troops advanced on the country. It was slower to launch its COVID-19 vaccination campaigns than other European countries, and while the government encouraged citizens to get immunized, most people struggled to find a way to get the shot, didn’t feel the need to get vaccinated, or didn’t trust the safety and efficacy of the vaccine.
Just before the invasion on Feb. 24, only 35% of the Ukrainian population had been vaccinated. That puts it in line with most of its neighboring countries, although some, including Poland and Hungary, have achieved higher vaccination coverage. While different health systems and varying attitudes about vaccination in those countries are contributing to those contrasting rates, Ukraine’s relatively low vaccination rate could have implications for how large additional surges of cases, both in the country and in the region become as a result of the war. Like many other countries, Ukraine experienced a surge in cases due to the Omicron variant in November and another peak in the first week of February—most likely due to its low level of vaccination. By the middle of February, 60% of COVID-19 tests conducted in the country were positive…
Vaccination and mitigation measures such as mask-wearing, social distancing, and basic hygiene are critical for curbing spread of SARS-CoV-2, but are impossible to maintain when a country is under siege. The humanitarian group Doctors Without Borders has been distributing trauma kits and training health care providers in Mariupol, Ukraine—a target of the Russian attack—as well as providing shelter and basic health needs for those crossing the border into other countries like Poland. But it’s not enough.
A decade and a half ago, World Health Organization researchers found that 65% of major infectious disease outbreaks occurring in the 1990s were among refugee populations or in conflict zones. Les Roberts, professor emeritus of Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health who has spent time in war zones addressing outbreaks, notes that these populations are especially vulnerable to viral diseases like COVID-19. “It turns out when you are under stress, your immune system does not work as well. You are not eating as well, and you cannot fight disease as well,” he says. “And in times of conflict, you move around a lot, and end up in bomb shelters or basements or on trucks that are way more crowded than normal and have bad air circulation. I don’t think people fully understand how war is like the breeding ground of disease.”
More than 670,000 people have left Ukraine since the war began, and this increased travel will almost certainly lead to a spike in cases in the country and those bordering it—like Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Romania, and Moldova—while straining their health care systems. Health experts are particularly concerned about the situation in Poland, where almost half of the Ukrainians have fled, according to the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees. “SARS-CoV-2 spreads like lightning right now,” says Jeffrey Shaman, professor of epidemiology at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. “For places like Poland and places in western Ukraine where people are fleeing, there is enormous opportunity for this virus to do damage that it wouldn’t have had the opportunity to do otherwise.” Prior to the influx, nearly 60% of Poland’s population was vaccinated, which will help protect it against a surge, but new infections will likely spike there as well, increasing demand for health care services…
======
Dr. Jon LaPook speaks with leading scientists and virus trackers to learn how they're looking for new coronavirus variants, and also for signs that the pandemic is winding down. https://t.co/tb9u3mVU7H
— CBS News (@CBSNews) March 7, 2022
How to reduce US Omicron hospitalizations by 92% across all age 18+ groups?
3-shots—the importance of the booster
2-shots: 75% reduction
New update @CDCgov US hospitalization data by vaccination statushttps://t.co/M2Bu9rj1Ve pic.twitter.com/hGn8RqYIpn— Eric Topol (@EricTopol) March 6, 2022
======
"The pandemic isn’t over, but that doesn’t mean it should stop all of us from living—especially those who have done the most important thing to protect themselves and others," @Craig_A_Spencer writes:https://t.co/b5EQHR9upB
— The Atlantic (@TheAtlantic) March 6, 2022
Craig Spencer (an emergency doctor in NYC, who’s survived both Covid-19 *and* ebola) can’t be dismissed as just another media pundit looking for affirmation from his social circle:
… So if you’re not vaccinated (and boosted), get vaccinated (and boosted). But if you are thrice shot, you should feel comfortable reengaging. Whether that means dining indoors with friends, getting drinks at a bar, or jumping on a plane for a long-delayed trip abroad, public-health advocates (and their allies in the public) shouldn’t make the boosted feel like they’re doing something scandalous by enjoying themselves. They did their part.
Many may choose to continue masking even as mandates fall across the country. The transition will take time for a lot of people, and they should do what makes them feel most comfortable. Others might want to use rapid testing before a large family gathering. And still everyone should live with the expectation that things can always change again should another variant emerge. But the boosted can do things—enjoy the company of other people, attend cultural events, eat in restaurants—even if we do sometimes take these additional precautions.
In fact, this is exactly how I go about my life now. I work in an emergency room and am constantly exposed to COVID. I test whenever I feel unwell or meet with others, especially those at high risk for COVID’s worst outcomes. I dine and drink with friends indoors. I wear a high-quality mask when one is required and in busy or crowded spaces such as grocery stores. And I change my behaviors in the days before visits to immunocompromised family members to lower the risk. If I ever do test positive, I’ll make sure to isolate in accordance with CDC guidance. I always remember that my actions affect others, and I try to behave responsibly and kindly. But I also know that the future of the pandemic does not depend on vaccinated people like me avoiding getting COVID forever.
So what does it depend on? Here we should look to institutions—both public and private—to do three things: increase vaccinations, reduce spread, and improve treatment options and availability.
On vaccinations, the place where we can have the greatest impact is with the elderly…
The second thing that institutions can do is to reduce spread with commonsense mitigation measures. How to do this? Two main things come to mind: Improve indoor air quality and expand flexibility for sick leave. Cleaning the air we breathe through improved ventilation and filtration would help cut the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and a whole host of other respiratory viruses as well. And if you run a business with employees, see to it that your employees have enough paid leave so that they don’t have to choose between coming to work when feeling unwell and not getting paid. In addition, all institutions—be they universities or corporations—need to retain the flexibility for remote options for education and work that we’ve witnessed in the past few years.
And finally, the government can do more to approve and make available new therapeutics such as Evushield, a monoclonal antibody cocktail to prevent infection, and Paxlovid, an oral antiviral that slashes the likelihood of hospitalization, both of which will play an important role in keeping people safe, including and especially immunocompromised people for whom vaccinations may not work as well. Unfortunately, these two drugs are still in short supply, and we need the government and health-care institutions to surge and stockpile more in advance of future waves…
… The pandemic isn’t over, even for the boosted. But with cases plummeting, it should be an invitation for them to responsibly take pleasure in activities they’ve long been putting off. Treating them as trusted partners is not only consistent with the virtues of the vaccines. It’s also an investment in future preparedness. This group, by virtue of getting boosted in the first place, is among public health’s best allies. If we level with them now, they will be more willing to listen when the message and guidance change. Failing to do so risks losing their trust and attention completely…
Vaccine refusal is now one of the leading killers of young and middle aged adults in America. As studies from @KFF @charles_gaba @pewresearch @nytimes @DLeonhardt @NPR show these “red Covid” deaths over last 10 months occur in a sharp partisan divide https://t.co/duQadMsDAB
— Prof Peter Hotez MD PhD (@PeterHotez) March 6, 2022
If there’s ever an inquiry into why so many Americans needlessly died, they could start with this list:
Key figures in shaping the Trump/Atlas response to Covid-19, including some of the major misinformation groups https://t.co/rmRCU4hnwU
— Prof. Gavin Yamey MD MPH (@GYamey) March 6, 2022
Some lady in a Walmart just screamed at my daughter that, “Jesus wants her to take off her mask.”
And my daughter replied, “well he can tell me himself then.”
— Kevin's 10,000 hours (@KevinAndrewTO) March 6, 2022
On The Road – Albatrossity – Chunky birds – week 2
NeenerNeener
Monroe County, NY:
37 new cases on 3/5. This is looking better.
NeenerNeener
I had my booster shot at the CVS in the local Target on Saturday. I told the pharmacist that all the people walking around without masks bothered me and she agreed. She said she’s not taking her mask off any time soon.
mrmoshpotato
Do. Not. Congratulate.
sab
I love that daughter’s rebuttal.
Shakti
@NeenerNeener: At my local CVS I did a night run to pick up some masks. The cashier behind the counter handed me some N95s in a bag. “They’re free from the government,” she said, surgical mask dangling from her ear.
The cough drop section was cleared out. Except for the menthol ones, because nobody likes those. “We’re having a real bad allergy season this year,” the cashier said.
There was also a full endcap of covid-19 tests right up front, so ymmv.
But what also surprised me was when I went to pick up coconuts at the Publix a week ago for Shivaraatri, they had covid-19 tests for impulse purchase right by the scanner.
Baud
@mrmoshpotato:
Heh. Good reference.
Kay
I’m the court appointed guardian of several people with serious, chronic mental illness. There’s very few places in the US for them to live, so they end up in nursing homes. I go to see them on Sundays. Both NW Ohio nursing homes I visited yesterday have dropped all enforcement of covid precautions for visitors, I think so they could reduce staffing and cut costs.
I hope all the media figures who bitched incessantly about masks and are “over!” covid recognize the most vulnerable people will be completely on their own now. People who never gave a shit whether they infected more vulnerable people now have validation of that position.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@NeenerNeener: I noticed quite a few more customers at work yesterday not masking. It was pretty much at 100% masked previously. Unfortunately, there’s not much that I can do about it except continue to wear my KN-95 mask.
Baud
@Kay:
Kay
Does it matter that they lifted covid restrictions? The anti-vaxx, anti (Democratic) government Right had a rally yesterday based on their opposition to “covid restrictions” which no longer exist.
They’re still fucking complaining. Are we now being ordered to pretend it never happened? Would that be enough? Just erase the million dead because it makes people uncomfortable?
New Deal democrat
Most States did not report yesterday due to the weekend, so this will be brief.
Cases declined to 46,200. This is a 30% decline from one week ago. This is lower than all but 8 months of the 24 during the pandemic. Deaths were flat at 1426. This is also about 30% lower than one week ago. As usual, better data will be available tomorrow when all States report.
Of note, two of the best jurisdictions, MD and PR, did report and are down to 6 cases per 100,000. At their very best levels last June, they were down to 1.
YY_Sima Qian
On 3/6 Mainland China reported 214 new domestic confirmed (3 previously asymptomatic), 312 new domestic asymptomatic cases.
Guangdong Province reported 69 new domestic confirmed & 104 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.
Guangxi “Autonomous” Region reported 1 new domestic confirmed (at Fangchenggang, mild) & 10 new domestic asymptomatic (2 at Fangchenggang, 7 at Baise & 1 at Chongzuo) cases. The new domestic positive cases at Fangchenggang are all traced close contacts already under centralized quarantine, & the new domestic positive cases at Baise are all found via regular screening of residents in border villages. 10 domestic confirmed cases recovered. There currently are 138 active domestic confirmed (86 at Baise, 51 at Fangchenggang & 1 at Nanning) & 33 active domestic asymptomatic cases (23 at Fangchenggang, 9 at Baise & 1 at Chongzuo) in the province. 2 zones at Fangchenggang are currently at Medium Risk.
Huaihua in Hunan Province did not report any new domestic positive cases. There currently is 1 active domestic confirmed case in the city.
Inner Mongolia “Autonomous” Region reported 7 new domestic confirmed cases. 35 domestic confirmed cases recovered. There currently are 229 active domestic confirmed & 1 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the province.
Tianjin Municipality did not report any new domestic positive cases. 1 domestic confirmed case recovered. There currently are 23 active domestic confirmed cases (16 mild & 7 moderate) in the city. 1 massage parlor is currently at High Risk.
Shandong Province reported 46 new domestic confirmed (45 mild & 1 moderate) & 117 new domestic asymptomatic cases, all at Qingdao, 111 are traced close contacts already under quarantine & 52 from mass screening. There currently are 145 active domestic confirmed cases (all at Qingdao) & 118 active asymptomatic (117 at Qingdao & 1 at Yantai) cases in the province. 1 residential compound at Qingdao has been elevated to High Risk. 1 residential compound & 1 middle school at Qingdao are currently at High Risk. 1 middle school & 2 villages have been elevated to Medium Risk. 2 villages, 1 middle school & 1 residential compound at Qingdao is currently Medium Risk.
Shanxi Province reported 1 new domestic confirmed & 1 new domestic asymptomatic cases. There currently are 21 active domestic confirmed & 1 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the province, all part of the transmission chain spreading from Hohhot in Inner Mongolia.
Hebei Province reported 9 new domestic confirmed & 1 new domestic asymptomatic cases. There currently are 35 active domestic confirmed & 3 active asymptomatic case in the province.
Liaoning Province reported 3 new domestic asymptomatic cases, 2 at Shenyang (from testing of persons returning from out of province) & 1 at Dandong (a traced close contact of a domestic positive case reported by Yanbian in Jilin). 19 domestic confirmed case recovered. There currently are 147 active domestic confirmed (all presumed Delta, all at Huludao) & 3 active domestic (2 t Shenyang & 1 at Dandong) cases in the province. 1 village at Suizhong County is currently at High Risk.
Heilongjiang Province did not report any new domestic positive cases. 1 domestic asymptomatic case was released from isolation. There currently are 22 active domestic confirmed& 43 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the province.
Jilin Province reported 54 new domestic confirmed (2 previously asymptomatic, 53 mild & 1 moderate) & 12 new domestic asymptomatic cases. There currently are 110 active domestic confirmed & 90 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the province.
Hainan Province did not report any new domestic positive cases. There currently are 3 active confirmed (all at Sanya) & 3 active domestic asymptomatic (2 at Sanya & 1 at Chengmai County) cases in the province.
Shanghai Municipality reported 3 new domestic confirmed & 45 new domestic asymptomatic cases, 47 are traced close contacts already under centralized quarantine & 1 is an airport worker found via daily screening. There currently are 12 active domestic confirmed & 118 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the city. Phylogenetic analysis indicates that the genetic sequence of the most recent outbreak has high degree of match to recent imported cases reported elsewhere in China. How the outbreak was seeded remain unknown. 1 residential building has been elevated to Medium Risk. An activity center, 2 residential buildings & a supermarket are currently at Medium Risk.
Xi’an in Shaanxi Province did not reported any new domestic positive cases. There currently are 2 active domestic confirmed cases in the city, part of the transmission chain spreading from Shanghai. 2 hotels & 1 residential building have been elevated to Medium Risk.
Hubei Province reported 2 new domestic confirmed cases (both mild), both at Wuhan, both traced close contacts already under centralized quarantine. There currently are 39 active domestic confirmed (30 mild & 9 moderate, all at Wuhan) & 9 active domestic asymptomatic (8 at Wuhan & 1 at Huanggang) cases in the province. 4 residential buildings & 1 hotel at Wuhan are currently at Medium Risk.
Jiangsu Province reported 5 new domestic & 1 new domestic asymptomatic cases. 4 domestic confirmed cases recovered & 1 domestic asymptomatic cases were released from isolation. There currently are 58 active domestic confirmed & 24 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the province.
Zhejiang Province reported 1 new domestic confirmed case (previously asymptomatic), at Jiaxing. There currently are 5 active domestic confirmed cases (2 each at Hangzhou & Wenzhou, & 1 at Jiaxing) in the province.
Sichuan Province did not report any new domestic positive cases. There currently are 37 active domestic confirmed & 12 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the province.
Lanzhou in Gansu Province reported 12 new domestic confirmed cases (4 mild & 8 moderate), all at Qinchuan Township, 1 found at fever clinic (initially testing positive on 3/5) & the rest are traced close contacts already under centralized quarantine. 1 hotel has been elevated to Medium Risk.
At Xiamen in Fujian Province there currently is 1 active domestic confirmed case in the city, a person who entered centralized quarantine to care for in under aged child arriving from overseas.
At Zhengzhou in Henan Province there currently is 1 active domestic confirmed case in the city, a person who entered centralized quarantine to care for in under aged child arriving from overseas.
Yunnan Province reported 4 new domestic confirmed & 18 new domestic asymptomatic cases. 4 domestic confirmed cases recovered & 1 domestic asymptomatic case was released from isolation. There currently are 56 active domestic confirmed & 161 active domestic asymptomatic cases remaining in the province.
Imported Cases
On 3/6, Mainland China reported 113 new imported confirmed cases (16 previously asymptomatic, 4 in Guangdong), 130 imported asymptomatic cases, 4 imported suspect cases:
Overall in Mainland China, 181 confirmed cases recovered (104 imported), 46 asymptomatic cases were released from isolation (43 imported) & 19 were reclassified as confirmed cases (16 imported), & 7,227 individuals were released from quarantine. Currently, there are 3,837 active confirmed cases in the country (2,290 imported), 11 in serious condition (2 imported), 2,024 active asymptomatic cases (1,148 imported), 13 suspect cases (all imported). 97,930 traced contacts are currently under centralized quarantine.
As of 3/6, 3,160.685M vaccine doses have been injected in Mainland China, an increase of 3.786M doses in the past 24 hrs.
On 3/7, Hong Kong reported 25,150 new positive cases (32 imported & 25,118 domestic), 147 deaths (only 14 fully vaccinated, including 1 boosted).
On 3/7, Taiwan reported 29 new positive cases, 27 imported & 2 domestic.
Baud
@New Deal democrat:
MD might go back up since that’s where the truckers are staging.
Kay
@Baud:
Well, they’re not doing it. They have a box of masks by the door and a sign with a drawing of a mask on the door. The whole sign in, ask about vaccination, don mask, enforcement is gone. They had to pay two additional people 12 dollars an hour to enforce it, so they’re more than happy to go “back to normal”.
Baud
@Kay:
Nursing homes have always been terrible. There’s a whole lot of pending lawsuits against them from the early days of the pandemic.
sab
I work from home, except when I drop off and pick up new files. My office manager asked about my mask. I told her my county was low transmission but her county is still medium and I want to be safe visiting my dad in his nursing home.
Baud
@sab:
You should have said Jesus wants you to wear a mask.
New Deal democrat
A friend asked over the weekend under what circumstances I would be willing to resume my normal pre-COVID activities, and in particular, eating inside restaurants. The answer – from last spring – was, when 70% of all adults are vaccinated, and cases are below 3 per 100,000.
Last spring the second criteria was met, but not the first. My county hit 70% vaccinations last fall, but by then Delta was raging. If cases keep falling in my area the way they have in the past month, I will be willing to resume my pre-COVID activities in just three more weeks.
The problem is, in the past two years I have really come to enjoy dining al fresco in the warmer months!
Kay
@sab:
You should say “it’s none of your business”.
Amir Khalid
Malaysia’s Ministry of Health reported 27,435 new Covid-19 cases yesterday in its media statement, for a cumulative reported total of 3,622,607 cases. It also reported 55 deaths for an adjusted cumulative total of 33,228 deaths – 0.92% of the cumulative reported total, 1.00% of resolved cases.
Malaysia’s nationwide Rt stands at 1.05.
122 confirmed cases are in ICU, 73 of them on ventilators. Meanwhile, 30,335 more patients have recovered, for a cumulative total of 3,281,128 patients recovered – 90.5% of the cumulative reported total.
Four new clusters were reported yesterday, for a cumulative total of 6,841 clusters. 454 clusters are currently active; 6,387 clusters are now inactive.
27,181 new cases reported yesterday were local infections. 254 new cases were imported.
The National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme (PICK) administered 57,106 doses of vaccine on 6th March: 24,342 first doses, 882 second doses, and 31,882 booster doses. The cumulative total is 67,731,132 doses administered: 27,162,874 first doses, 25,758,821 second doses, and 15,017,166 booster doses. 83.2% of the population have received their first dose, 78.9% their second dose, and 46.0% their booster dose.
NorthLeft12
@Kay: There are still protests against all of the COVID public health guidelines left (not many) in Canada too.
I suspect that these whackos will not be happy until ALL restrictions are gone, and they get a formal public apology that all the guidelines were wrong and ineffective, and that they were right all along.
lowtechcyclist
Worldometer is showing the 7-day rolling average is down to 1132/day.
ItinerantPedant
I think Dr Spencer has it right. At this point, I’m masking if I go somewhere they request masking, I’m asked to, and I’m ready at any time to go back to Threat Variant level. Otherwise, taking at least a break from not seeing movies and going to restaurants. (I’m still not seeing DC movies though…I’m not crazy).
I’ve thought about it and I’ve concluded that epidemiologists (some) seem to overadvocate mitigation measures because they’ve taken the Hippocratic Oath and are trying to protect EVERYONE.
I’m not a doctor, though, and I see no reason to immiserate myself for the benefit of the doorknob lickers who won’t vaccinate. They made their bed, and as far as I’m concerned they can die in it.
Baud
@NorthLeft12:
They’ll move on to something else. What they’re protesting is the fact that we are more moral and more powerful than they are.
Kay
@NorthLeft12:
Hey, they won! The most selfish, whiny, self pitying people won. They will no longer have to undergo the tyranny of anyone asking if they’re carrying an infectious disease when they traipse through a building filled with vulnerable people. Why can’t they take the win and leave the rest of us alone?
I think we have to denounce the milion dead. Weaklings. How dare they insist anyone even count them?
“Everyone pretend none of this happened!” Fuck that. It’s insane.
lowtechcyclist
@Baud:
@Kay:
Either one works for me.
I will probably keep masking until Covid fatalities drop below the level of motor vehicle fatalities. And that’ll probably be my answer if anyone asks.
I take reasonable precautions to not be in a car crash, and I’ll continue to take reasonable precautions to not get Covid.
mrmoshpotato
I really hope his daughter is pre-teen or a teenager, because so many irresponsible, plague rat assholes deserve to be told to STFU! by the kids these days.
sab
@Baud: I wish they would just give up and go back to antiflouride in the water.
Let their kids have cavities. I am fine with that.
danielx
@Baud:
~200,000 Covid deaths in long term care facilities, patients and staff
This death count is based on state and federal data sources. For the period between March 2020 and June 2021, the total number of deaths is based on state-reported data on LTCFs, including nursing homes, assisted living, and group homes, that summed to 187,000 resident and staff deaths. For the subsequent period between July 2021 and January 2022, we incorporated data reported to the federal government by nursing facilities (excluding other types of LTCFs), adding another 14,000 resident and staff deaths to the total. The total number of resident and staff deaths from these two sources, roughly 201,000, is likely an undercount of the true number of resident and staff deaths in LTCFs since it excludes deaths in long-term care settings other than nursing homes after June 30th, 2021.
Kay
@NorthLeft12:
Wait until they find out that daycares and public schools have always had rules about infectious disease and it was never acceptable to drop your kid off and infect other kids.
They’re hoping for a new norm where infecting other people is “back to normal” when it was never normal. They’re hoping for a new lower standard, where YOUR families needs trump the needs of everyone else in the building. Hey, no one dies of pink eye, or lice, or the flu. Just let er rip.
NorthLeft12
@New Deal democrat: My wife and I have discussed this as well. It is a difficult discussion.
We already are meeting and visiting family members who we know their vaccination status and are confident in their judgement. Going into public is another issue.
We won’t dine at restaurants or attend large public gatherings. We are sticking to Ontario for our summer and fall travel plans (we camp).
Both of us will continue to mask at any stores, libraries or other indoor venues. If a fourth vax is recommended we will take it.
And, like normal sane people, we will stay informed and adjust our plans accordingly.
Kay
@lowtechcyclist:
It is none of their business. Someone in a mask has no obligation to recite family medical history to people who are uncomfortable with thoughtfullness, and challenge them.
“It’s none of your business”. They wanted every man for himself, well, they got it. The upside of that is no one has to meet their belligerent demands for explanations.
Peale
@Kay: Eventually the Red vs. Blue divide will sink in and then the story will be that Biden was working towards mass extinction of his enemies and is worse than Putin. When some high school history text points out that no, in reality, they largely did it to themselves, there will be a moral panic about critical disease theory indoctrinating kids in the public schools with examples of how stupid their ancestors were.
topclimber
@Kay: Do they need custodial care or is this just dumping? At $6-$8K a day you could build a home for half dozen such patients, with supervision, and save a lot of money. Might be better therapeutically. But you know that.
Peale
@Kay: Its pretty much the extension of their “discipline” child rearing philosophy that Dobson has been promoting for 50 years. If beating your kids makes them stronger, giving them infectious diseases must have the same effect. I’m sure they think their doing people favors by dropping off their sick kids to infect other kids.
mrmoshpotato
@ItinerantPedant:
I hope this isn’t too long for a rotating tag.
OzarkHillbilly
I’d have said, “Fuck your Jesus.”
lowtechcyclist
Paid vacation and sick leave should be mandatory and automatic for all workers. You’d think this would be a no-brainer for the Dems. Either pass it so people can start benefiting from it, or make the Rethugs block it, and make sure your voters know that.
sab
My family lawyer’s firm is hosting Hans Von Spakovsky at some event. Ran ads in the paper. So I get to fire my lawyer today. Fourth generation at that firm, but I am done with them.
Kay
@topclimber:
There’s a couple of them. One of them is a converted motel on a (now) rarely used state route, which makes a lot of sense- I bet it went for next to nothing. It’s a good place – good people, they care about the residents, but it has a 2 year wait list. The worst are the “group homes”. They operate on a shoe string- they’re dumps- but still take the whole Social Security check – there’s no sense to this billing and budgeting.
Kalakal
Had to work a convention on saturday.
That was way beyond my comfort zone. Florida, indoors, around 500 people, fewer masks than fingers on a badly chain saw damaged hand.
I’ll have to see if my n100 mask + doulble boosted works
Ceci n est pas mon nym
I’ve been going to cafes and restaurants, and keeping the mask mostly on except when actually eating or drinking. Perhaps it’s mostly “hygiene theater” at this point, but I’m used to it and not yet at a point where I’d feel comfortable walking into ANY place without a mask on.
Fortunately, there is still a strong culture of mask-wearing in this area, and while I’m sure there are Covidiots, they aren’t the aggressive kind who yell at people wearing masks.
We’re not yet ready to go to the theater. I’m kind of annoyed that offering a streaming option for first-run movies seems to have been a very temporary thing. I’d be happy to pay the higher price, support the industry, to see a new release. I just don’t want to be forced back into the theater yet.
Positivity rate in PA is 4.6%, down from 6.6% last week. I think the lowest I saw was around 3% before the Omicron wave.
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@lowtechcyclist:
My understanding is that what they’ve tried to do and have been blocked by Manchinema and the R’s
Kay
@topclimber:
Every time I see one of those “why are there so many mentally ill people on the street?” I think about the 6 months of wheedling, bargaining phone calls I have to make to find them a place.
raven
sab
@Kay: Yes so much.
Baud
@OzarkHillbilly:
“Jesus wants me to remain celibate too. Oh well.”
joel hanes
I am “thrice shot”
Two and a half months after getting my booster (Moderna, as were the first two), I got breakthrough COVID. Wasn’t terribly sick, only congested and fatigued enough to sleep 12 hours/day for ten days.
But some people with breakthrough COVID aren’t so lucky, and some of them get long COVID.
Pace the estimable Mr. Spencer, I’ll be avoiding indoor crowds and masking for the forseeable future.
Kay
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):
Manchin played media AGAIN on his “offer” last week:
So much for his good faith intentions on raising taxes and climate change. It was bullshit! Just like the 15 prior claims! He’s a liar. He has lied about his intentions from the get go and has never once come thru, but still they return and allow him to continue this game.
They gave him two weeks of fawning coverage because he claimed he was working on the “electoral count act” with Republicans. Nothing. Not shit. Because he’s a liar who delivers on nothing.
Kalakal
@raven: Now that cheers me up. I hope there was a lot of them
lowtechcyclist
@NorthLeft12:
Other than the part about Ontario, that’s pretty much where my wife and I are. Both of the past two weekends, I’ve had dinner with family (my relatives, not hers) or close friends at their homes, with no masks. I’ve been totally comfortable with that.
But like you, we’re still not ready for restaurant dining, unless they’ve got outdoor seating and the weather’s nice. I see a roomful of people eating and drinking and talking loudly, and my mind sees Covid floating everywhere. I’m not taking my mask off even long enough to eat in an environment like that.
And grocery stores, the post office, and other indoor environments with strangers – you bet I’m keeping the mask on for now. Maybe things will get to a point where I feel differently, but I’ll probably be one of the last holdouts. And I’m perfectly OK with that.
Kay
All I ask of Democrats is that they not engage with Joe Manchin on “deficit reduction” because he’s full of shit and he has no intention of paying for it with repealing ANY of the Trump tax cuts.
Joe Manchin will bill working and middle class people for the Trump tax cuts. Bet on it. The Weasel from West Virginia has some sleazy trick up his sleeve and at the end of this the ONE thing Joe Manchin will have accomplished is preserving tax cuts for the wealthiest people in the country. That was always the issue, always the goal. He and Sinema go to work to stand in front of those tax cuts and defend them. It’s all they were paid to do.
topclimber
@Kay: The woman in my life worked many years as a legal services lawyer, including running a unit specializing in mental health clients.
We lived in a mixed race neighborhood that mysteriously had many more group homes per capita than surrounding white ones. They seemed to be well run and were certainly not a detriment to the community, though when I sold my home there wasn’t one on my block that might have turned off buyers.
satby
masked at work and indoors, have tests on hand in case I feel ill or know of an exposure, but otherwise a return to my usual life, which wasn’t heavily social anyway. Meeting friends for lunch or coffee mainly, as I haven’t gone to a movie theater in over a decade and have no wish to. But I had to work out with the public pretty much throughout the entire pandemic and so my comfort level is probably higher than most folks who were able to isolate.
topclimber
@Baud: Jesus is in the stock room. I will go ask him. In the meantime, go away.
sab
@Kay: Thank you, ma’am.
Soprano2
Thank you Dr. Spencer. This is pretty much how I’ve been living my life. Liberals should listen to him, and quit trying to make people feel like they’re as irresponsible as anti-vaxxers if they dare to go to a bar, eat in a restaurant, go to a gym, or do any other activity other than staying at home and avoiding other people at all costs. It’s kind of like how I feel about other people’s religious beliefs – I have no problem with you having your own, but don’t try to force yours onto me. I would never ask anyone about why they are wearing a mask in a particular situation, because that’s none of my business! Everyone has their own level of comfort with risk. Mine is probably higher than that of most of the people who post on this blog, and that’s fine, but I cringe every time I see a comment like “I think everyone who isn’t wearing a mask is an anti-vaxx asshole” (not an actual comment, just a compilation). Everyone who isn’t wearing a mask in public every minute is not an anti-vaxx asshole – you should contemplate that they might be a vaxxed and boosted person who feels comfortable being in WalMart without a face mask.
Soprano2
This is what they actually want, to force all of us to admit that we overreacted to Covid and secretly want to make them wear face masks and stay at home forever. The problem is, there are a few people who act like that’s exactly what they want. I heard a disability activist interviewed the other day; she said she had hoped that the measures put in place for Covid, like social distancing and face masks, would stay in place forever! That was NEVER a realistic hope.
Matt McIrvin
My somewhat arbitrary lines: I will dine indoors in counties where cases are below 10/100k/day (that’s here now), or a bit higher if they’re checking for vaccination at the door. Apart from that, I’m pretty much living my life as usual except that I wear an N95 mask in public places. I don’t see any reason to leave it off if it’s not a practical impediment. Nobody has given me crap about it; I don’t pay attention to side-eye.
Soprano2
@sab: I for one think your response was the correct one. This is a person you have a work relationship with, so there’s no reason to antagonize her, plus no one could reasonably argue with your answer. The “none of your business” or other snarky answer would be appropriate for a stranger, though, or for someone who was openly hostile.
Baud
@Soprano2:
For the right, it just takes one person with an extreme position to tar the collective left-of-center.
It is what it is.
Baud
@Soprano2:
Yeah we kid, but I agree. It depends on whether the other person was curious or hostile.
Soprano2
@Peale: I wonder if this is an extension of the idea that kids need to be exposed to dirt when they’re little to strengthen their immune systems. I agree that trying to raise your child in a sterilized bubble is a bad thing, but exposure to actual disease is not necessary!
Soprano2
@Baud: It could be an opportunity to impart information to people who don’t have it! Everyone who asks a question like this is not an anti-vaxx asshole. However, I think the reply to the stranger who said Jesus wants you to take off your mask was perfect!
Erin
@Soprano2: Thank you, and agreed. My comfort level with dining indoors and going without a mask is very high. To each their own.
Citizen Alan
@lowtechcyclist: I would have said “you worship the devil and pretend he’s Christ.”
Starfish
@OzarkHillbilly: Jesus wants you to quit yelling in the store. ?
Starfish
@sab: That’s terrible. I am sorry.
Baud
@sab:
I’m sorry, but good on you.
Soprano2
@Erin: Sometimes that feels pretty lonely in the liberal world, doesn’t it? And how weird, my first name is Erin too.
Starfish
@Soprano2: A lot of what you are saying is how I would like people to behave with the whole community minding their own business thing.
But we have “think pieces” condescending to people for being irrational for still wearing masks. We also have anti-maskers yelling in the stores.
The local toy store where there are kids who are too young to be vaccinated wanted to keep their workers and patrons masked.
Some yelling person went in there and the workers had to call 911. They dropped their requirement because they could not enforce it against the crazies.
We went in with masks and bought some stuff. Less than half the people were masked, which is where we are in my community.
There were some elderly folks who were masked, us, and the workers.
Matt McIrvin
@Soprano2:
And the theory that improved childhood hygiene has led to more widespread allergies. People hear these ideas and they get blown up into a huge worldview, probably because they flatter the naturalistic fallacy, that everything “natural” is superior.
NotMax
Locally (it’s a private school),
Matt McIrvin
@Matt McIrvin:
Properly speaking this is the “appeal to nature” fallacy; just reminded myself that the naturalistic fallacy is something different (though, I think, related): the idea that moral value is present in the inherent properties of objects.
WaterGirl
@Kalakal: That’s awful. Fingers crossed for you.
CliosFanBoy
@sab: Good for you. he’s a EVIL man.
Skepticat
This made my day. I also liked the suggestion that the reply could have been “Jesus wants you to wear yours.” I’m grateful I’m in an area where I haven’t yet run into similar foolishness, but I’d love to reply that it was he who told me to wear mine.
Mandates are being dropped in this area, but several are the schools are phrasing that intelligently as “masks optional.” I’ll be wearing a mask for the foreseeable future, as will most of my friends. It ain’t over ’til it’s over. And it ain’t.
Matt McIrvin
@Skepticat: “Oh, Jesus wants me to go meet him sooner?”
Skepticat
@Matt McIrvin: Good one.
TonyG
Here in New Jersey there seems to have been a decree that the pandemic is over with and there’s no longer any cause for concern. Magical thinking. I’m sure that the covid viruses will behave accordingly. I would like to believe that that is true, but I suspect that it is not.
Spinoza Is My Co-pilot
@Soprano2: I’m with you (and the other Erin) and Dr Spencer. As is my infectious disease specialist wife and most of her infectious disease/epidemiology colleagues (including those at the County Health Department). I’ve taken my cues from this group since Feb of ’20, and their consensus view has guided my changes in behavior from the first year of the pandemic (as much isolation as possible — primarily — with masking anytime indoors outside the home) through the first two shots (I’m pushing 70, so got those early, over a year ago) and now my booster (last December).
We’re now out to restaurants and the gym and even some concerts/club events (the music venues require vax cards for entry, some still require masking, some don’t). I mask where required no problem, but don’t if it’s not (outside those music venues no place we go to in the Phoenix area is requiring masks anymore).
We live in our multigenerational household with our young granddaughters — the previous school year (’20-’21) was Zoom kindergarten for the oldest (who is now triple-vaxxed herself) the younger just stayed home from pre-school to be with grandma and grandpa each day (she’s not old enough to get COVID vaxxed yet, but recently got like 4 inoculations for whatever the standard childhood vaccines for her age-group are), they both went back to in-person class for this school year (same school) where there was a universally-complied with mask requirement indoors for students and staff that just ended a few weeks back (I’ve been volunteering for phys ed stuff a couple days a week there). Kids have been required to stay out of school with just the sniffles or coughing and the like until they show a negative test (which the district helpfully has set up at their district office) — our granddaughters have done this twice each since school started last year (negative, just mild colds).
All six of us in the household got COVID before XMAS of ’20, I had the worst symptoms (was the sickest I’ve been with anything in my life, avoided hospitalization but got some good meds from an ER visit, fully recovered within a month and no problem since) while my granddaughters had no symptoms at all. Far as I’m concerned — this is just for myself personally — the pandemic is essentially over, I’m as immune to this plague as I can possibly get, I have very little concern with possibly getting re-infected or being some disease vector passing it along (I’ve had three tests in conjunction with those required for my granddaughters, all negative). I know this puts me in the minority with my left/liberal cohort, but I believe my risk-taking in this regard is well-considered and not “caution to the winds” as many might see it. I’m eagerly anticipating getting back to Coachella this April, for instance (it’ll be my 20th, which would have been in ’20, but…) and though I’m sorry they removed their earlier requirement for vax proof or negative test for entry, pretty much all the tickets purchased for the fest were made when that was a prominently-stated requirement, so my guess is the vast majority of attendees will be vaxxed, and the likelihood this will be some “spreader event” is as small as last year’s Lollapalooza in Chicago (it wasn’t). I’ll get tested just before heading to Coachella, and just after I get back, otherwise I’m not worrying about it.
Dopey-o
FIFY
bluefoot
@joel hanes: I know three different people who were vaccinated + boosted and now have long COVID. One of whom, previously healthy man in his 40s, now has serious cardiac issues that so far haven’t been amenable to treatment. His breakthrough COVID was mild, but the long COVID is decidedly not.
COVID is not something to mess with. I also expect we’re going to see a lot of early-onset dementia as a result of COVID in 10 years or so. COVID is not something I want to get.