COVID-19 News

[Tranquility]

Fuck you, Florida! You thought YOU were the most stupid? No, it's the left coast. We're number 1, we're number 1! I raise you 300,000. (Just wait for us to count the votes. We're counterriffic!)
CA Public Health Director Tenders Late-Night Resignation After “Glitch” Delays 300,000 Test Results
...
In describing the problem, Ghaly said a July 25 server outage created a delay in records coming into the state’s lab reporting system. The state implemented what he described as “technical changes that allowed the records to flow into the system more quickly.” The changes were supposed to be temporary, Ghaly said, but the state did not disable them, “causing further delays in our reporting of lab data and creating an extensive backlog.”

“Simultaneously, we discovered that we were not receiving data from one of our largest commercial labs for a period of five days,” Ghaly said. “This was due to a certificate that the state neglected to renew timely. This resulted in data not being able to transmit to the state.”

Ghaly identified the lab as Quest Diagnostics and said the company had been unable to send test results to the state from July 31 through Aug. 4.

Ghaly had declined to offer details about the extent of the issue or what may have skewed the data earlier this week and pledged to share a full accounting of the problem as soon as the state fully understood it....

 

[florduh]

Fuck you, Florida! You thought YOU were the most stupid? No, it's the left coast. We're number 1

I dunno. Florida has the same number of cases. A similar number of deaths. And half the population of Cali.

Just wait for us to count the votes. We're counterriffic!

Florida is also rather famously bad at that.

We've really put workers in a shitty spot. I've heard friends bitching about businesses not enforcing their mask rules. Can't say I blame them though...

A 17-year-old Sesame Place employee was brutally attacked after asking a visitor to wear a mask, revealing a crisis for workers across America

A 17-year-old employee was attacked by an anti-mask visitor to the theme park, as workers are tasked with enforcing mask policies.

On Sunday, a teenage Sesame Place employee was punched by a man visiting the Langhorne, Pennsylvania, amusement park, reports CBS Philly.

Police told CBS Philly that the worker informed the man and a woman that the park's policy required them to wear masks. Later in the day, the man confronted the 17-year-old worker and attacked him, according to police. The worker was reportedly hospitalized and needed jaw surgery after the assault.

 

[hans solo]

'Don't they care?': Europeans astonished as U.S. hits 5 million cases

The United States' failure to contain the spread of the coronavirus has been met with astonishment and alarm in Europe, as the world's most powerful country edges closer to a global record of 5 million confirmed infections.

www.ctvnews.ca

 

[Vitolo]

I saw a "mask rebel" on line at the dispensary today.
He started a fight with 3 senior citizens, because they asked him to please wear a mask...
... on a line that has a dozen signs saying "You must wear a mask in this line"
He finally got in, and started a fuss with the staff... and security kicked him out.
They told him he could try back Thursday with a better attitude.

 

[Hackerman]

Comparing Florida and California is almost apples and oranges. Considering younger people often have the virus and don't report it and older people will go to the doctor, go for testing, etc and it gets on the list.

Out of 50 states, Florida is second for having the most old people (over 65) and Cali is 45th.

Florida has a ton of old people (respectfully refereed to as Raisins). Throughout my lifetime is has, pretty much been the place of choice for retirement for almost everyone East of the Rockies.

 

[Tranquility]

Comparing Florida and California is almost apples and oranges. Considering younger people often have the virus and don't report it and older people will go to the doctor, go for testing, etc and it gets on the list.

Out of 50 states, Florida is second for having the most old people (over 65) and Cali is 45th.

Florida has a ton of old people (respectfully refereed to as Raisins). Throughout my lifetime is has, pretty much been the place of choice for retirement for almost everyone East of the Rockies.

Yup. It's almost like a Covid is a disease. A disease that disproportionately affects older people. (Like me.)

As to the mask shaming others mentioned, I think that should stop. As I've posted already, the statistics for mask wearing are higher in the U.S. than most anywhere other than Asian countries. As a group, we get it. But, even if you talk with a highly pro-mask scientist, there's not going to be a claim the R naught value is going to change much. There's no data, but if the change were great, we'd see it clearly--we don't. It seems the change is slight but, through the magic of iterative exponential growth, a little can mean a lot over time. Wear your mask!

Now, how does that R naught change when people get into close confrontation over a mask? (Pro or con?) I have nothing but a wild-assed-guess that is as good as yours and think yelling at each other telling each other what to do over such a little thing causes more transmission than any mask would have stopped.

 

[florduh]

But, even if you talk with a highly pro-mask scientist, there's not going to be a claim the R naught value is going to change much.

It depends on how widespread the mask usage is. While only 30% are "anti-maskers", that's a whole lot of people spreading the virus in a country with hundreds of millions of people.

There's no data, but if the change were great, we'd see it clearly--we don't.

We've let the virus spread far and wide. 5 million known infections. There's only so much masks can do at this point, especially when 30% believe they're some sort of Satanic plot.

Requiring universal mask use may lead to better outcomes:

This study, focusing on health measures taken in Wuhan, Italy, and New York City, from January 23 to May 9, 2020, shows that local mask mandates are the determining factor in pandemic trends, above social distancing and washing hands.

The people with a lot of money at stake determined a national mask mandate would save the US economy 1 trillion dollars:

Goldman Sachs has done the math and a national mask mandate to halt the spread of coronavirus would have a big impact on the U.S. economy

Now, how does that R naught change when people get into close confrontation over a mask? (Pro or con?) I have nothing but a wild-assed-guess that is as good as yours and think yelling at each other telling each other what to do over such a little thing causes more transmission than any mask would have stopped.

While I've thought the same about random people accosting strangers over masks, that's not the situation in the "Sesame Street" Park story above. A kid was simply doing his job, trying to keep other customers and his coworkers safe. The anti-mask lunatic decided that gave him the right to break the kid's jaw.

Several companies have said they're not making their employees enforce their own mask rules. Because they believe there's enough lunatics like the Sesame Street guy out there that it's not worth the risk. This is where some sort of State mandate would help. Workers could tell the anti-mask loons "Hey man, would you mind putting on a mask? I don't want to risk us getting reported. We really can't afford to get shut down". Now the gubernment is the enemy. Not the 17 year old at Sesame Street World.

 

[ginolicious]

So now it’s being reported that some of the long haulers who have recovered from Covid. Yet still experience symptoms and anti bodies are now experiencing sudden and severe hair loss. This fucking virus does everything and anything to our bodies. We keep learning new things about it. It’s wild. And scary. My daughter is doing online learning now. I gotta take every Friday off. Keep my kids safe.

 

[macbill]

The Unraveling of America

The COVID pandemic will be remembered as .... a seminal event whose significance will unfold only in the wake of the crisis. It will mark this era much as the 1914 assassination of Archduke Ferdinand, the stock market crash of 1929, and the 1933 ascent of Adolf Hitler became fundamental benchmarks of the last century, all harbingers of greater and more consequential outcomes.

==============================================================================================
Marion County (FL) deputies ordered not to wear masks

As the city of Ocala wrestles with an ordinance requiring face coverings for people inside businesses, Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods told his employees they will not wear masks at work and visitors to his office can’t wear masks either.

Woods, in an email dated Aug. 11, said “my order will stand as is when you are on-duty/working as my employee and representing my Office – masks will not be worn.”

 

[hans solo]

Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods is a moron !

 

[Tranquility]

Marion County (FL) deputies ordered not to wear masks

As the city of Ocala wrestles with an ordinance requiring face coverings for people inside businesses, Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods told his employees they will not wear masks at work and visitors to his office can’t wear masks either.

Woods, in an email dated Aug. 11, said “my order will stand as is when you are on-duty/working as my employee and representing my Office – masks will not be worn.”

Even though I love a Florida is dumber than California story most any time, I'm not so sure this is an example of The Dumb.

Being older, I've found I've had a LOT of trouble understanding people as they're talking through the mask. I don't know if the sound is just less or if certain sounds are muffled more than others, but, it's getting so bad I'm going to get my hearing checked even though I don't have a problem without a mask wearing companion. The Sheriff in the article mentioned:
Ocala and other municipalities in Marion County also advise officers not to wear masks while on duty so their communication to people they encounter is clear.

As well as the hearing issue is the sight one. We get many clues for communication from facial expression. For much the same reason many departments won't allow officer to wear sunglasses unless light enough to see an officer's eyes, there is a communication loss if the speaker's expression is not seen too. That's even though we know sun exposure will cause problems in the eyes and people who work outside should probably wear appropriate protection.

 

[Shrike]

Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods is a moron !

M-O-O-N...that spells Moron. (almost)

 

[Gunky]

Stop justifying school reopening based on false statements

Can people please stop saying that children don’t get sick from the coronavirus and don’t spread it? These statements are being used to justify school reopening, and they’re just not true.
We heard this again from the president on Monday, but he’s not the only guilty party. If the goal is to safely return our children to schools for all the reasons that are important, we’ll need to build on what we know — so let’s start with that:

First, children do get infected. In fact, a new report by the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children’s Hospital Association found that 338,000 kids have been diagnosed with covid-19 in the United States. More than 97,000 cases were diagnosed in the last two weeks of July. The majority of these infections were in states undergoing surges, suggesting that high levels of community transmission directly translates to infections among children.


It is true that children tend to get less severely ill than adults, particularly when compared with older adults with underlying medical conditions. But some children do become very sick and require hospitalization. Among children admitted to the hospital, 1 in 3 end up being admitted to the intensive care unit — a similar ratio as adults. Racial disparities seen in adult patients are also mirrored in children: The rates of hospitalization among Hispanic and Black children are nearly eight and five times higher, respectively, than the rate in White children.


Even though the virus that causes covid-19 is transmitted through the respiratory system, that’s not all it affects. The virus can cause damage to multiple organs in children, just as it does to adults. There is even a rare but serious associated disease specific to children that we are just beginning to understand, the multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C). In a New England Journal of Medicine study, 92 percent of children with this syndrome experience effects on their gastrointestinal system and 80 percent on their cardiovascular system. Some develop coronary artery aneurysms. There are case reports of children suffering from a toxic shock-like multi-organ failure, which has led to death.
It’s also true that children spread covid-19. The largest study involving children and transmission is one from South Korea that traced nearly 60,000 people. It found that children 10 and older transmit the virus at least as well as adults. Children under 10 appeared to transmit it about half as much — though here the study was limited to only 57 younger children. Another study in JAMA Pediatrics found that children carry just as much virus in their nasal passages in adults; in fact, kids under 5 may carry 10 to 100 times more.


That children can transmit to one another and to adults around them is also evident in a case report from a Georgia summer camp. After a teenage counselor developed symptoms, the camp was shut down. By then, 260 of 344 campers and staff for whom testing data is available had the infection. Among children ages 6 to 10, more than half were infected. More than half of the staff, too, tested positive.
This shouldn’t be surprising considering our experience with other respiratory infections. How many of us parents have had the experience of becoming sick after our kids pick up colds at school?

Some who support on-time school reopening point to European countries that have had few outbreaks after resuming in-person instruction. However, these countries undertook many safety measures, including enforcing social distancing and implementing regular testing. They also had far lower rates of covid-19 in the community than we do. A cautionary tale should be Israel, where rapid school reopening with few safeguards contributed to a resurgence across the country. One school had a superspreader event after which 154 students and 26 staff members tested positive. A month after reopening, nearly half of the country’s new infections were thought to have originated in schools.


There remains a lot that we don’t know about covid-19 and children. We don’t know the long-term consequences of MIS-C or even, for that matter, of mild illness from covid-19. We don’t know how much immunity children have after exposure. We don’t know how likely children are to contract this coronavirus compared with adults, and we don’t know exactly how much they will be drivers of the infection during this pandemic.
But we certainly know that children can become infected, and we certainly know that they can transmit the virus.
Let’s stop justifying school reopenings based on false statements. Instead, let’s talk about how we can get widespread, rapid testing into schools. Let’s talk about the importance of wearing masks and the investments we need to make to reduce density of students in classrooms and improve their physical layout, ventilation and other infrastructure.

And let’s talk how we can suppress covid-19 transmission in the community and keep our children — and teachers, staff and families — safe.

 

[Tranquility]

Everyone has an opinion, even the CDC:
The Importance of Reopening America’s Schools this Fall
Concluding:
Schools are an important part of the infrastructure of our communities, as they provide safe, supportive learning environments for students, employ teachers and other staff, and enable parents, guardians, and caregivers to work. Schools also provide critical services that help meet the needs of children and families, especially those who are disadvantaged, through supporting the development of social and emotional skills, creating a safe environment for learning, identifying and addressing neglect and abuse, fulfilling nutritional needs, and facilitating physical activity. School closure disrupts the delivery of in-person instruction and critical services to children and families, which has negative individual and societal ramifications. The best available evidence from countries that have opened schools indicates that COVID-19 poses low risks to school-aged children, at least in areas with low community transmission, and suggests that children are unlikely to be major drivers of the spread of the virus. Reopening schools creates opportunity to invest in the education, well-being, and future of one of America’s greatest assets—our children—while taking every precaution to protect students, teachers, staff and all their families.

Edited to add two more studies after the above CDC update:
Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in Australian educational settings: a prospective cohort study

Determining the optimal strategy for reopening schools, the impact of test and trace interventions, and the risk of occurrence of a second COVID-19 epidemic wave in the UK: a modelling study

 

[Baron23]

My thoughts on the man breaking the jaw of the teenager at the theme park are:

1. without regard to whether masks are effective or not, it was the rule of the establishment and that's that.
2. The guy who punched the employee needs to be prosecuted to the full extent of the law and I hope the young employee sues the crap out of him also. This is not civil disobedience, this is an unlawful assault. Sort of like looting Gucci's in downtown Chicago ain't a protest, its a riot, theft, destruction of property, and assault and the perps also should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. Yeah, I'm a law and order sort of guy in general.
3. The theme park needs to hire some really big guys to be security at their gate and not rely on a high school student to enforce their rules. IMO, most of these mask marauders are cowards who don't mind picking a fight with a woman or the elderly but they probably ain't taking on Mr. T (who, by the by, started his career (such as it was) as a bouncer).

 

[Siebter]

Even though I love a Florida is dumber than California story most any time, I'm not so sure this is an example of The Dumb.

Being older, I've found I've had a LOT of trouble understanding people as they're talking through the mask. I don't know if the sound is just less or if certain sounds are muffled more than others, but, it's getting so bad I'm going to get my hearing checked even though I don't have a problem without a mask wearing companion. The Sheriff in the article mentioned:
Ocala and other municipalities in Marion County also advise officers not to wear masks while on duty so their communication to people they encounter is clear.

As well as the hearing issue is the sight one. We get many clues for communication from facial expression. For much the same reason many departments won't allow officer to wear sunglasses unless light enough to see an officer's eyes, there is a communication loss if the speaker's expression is not seen too. That's even though we know sun exposure will cause problems in the eyes and people who work outside should probably wear appropriate protection.

Okay, there's a lot of truth to it, however, I don't agree to use it as an argument for an order that a) sets a bad example and b) endangers the health and life of other people. I am heavily hearing impaired (one ear deaf, the other at 5%, been so since I was a kid) and those mask rules have made it even harder for me to communicate with people whose voices I am not used to. Not only does a mask damp and muffle words a lot, I can't read lips because of them, which is something I normally do to have one more source to get an idea what the fuck a person is saying. :-) So yeah, those masks don't make my life easier, *but* these obstacles can be overcome. It might be annoying to ask someone for the 3rd time what he / she was saying (welcome to my world), but it can be done. Once a herd of virusses hopped into your personal biosphere to have their idea of a party, it's not really an option to ask them to leave.

 

[Tranquility]

Okay, there's a lot of truth to it, however, I don't agree to use it as an argument for an order that a) sets a bad example and b) endangers the health and life of other people. I am heavily hearing impaired (one ear deaf, the other at 5%, been so since I was a kid) and those mask rules have made it even harder for me to communicate with people whose voices I am not used to. Not only does a mask damp and muffle words a lot, I can't read lips because of them, which is something I normally do to have one more source to get an idea what the fuck a person is saying. :-) So yeah, those masks don't make my life easier, *but* these obstacles can be overcome. It might be annoying to ask someone for the 3rd time what he / she was saying (welcome to my world), but it can be done. Once a herd of virusses hopped into your personal biosphere to have their idea of a party, it's not really an option to ask them to leave.

From the news lately, I don't think cops really wait to say something three times before acting. Generally, the rule is ask, tell, make. Once you're into tell and make, there's not going to be a lot of discussion.

That may be wrong, but it is the way it is.

Edit:
On masking, say we got 100% compliance by shooting people who don't wear masks. What result?
Horowitz: Philippines had the harshest lockdown and most mask wearing. It didn’t work

 

[cybrguy]

If you're looking for a deal on disposable surgical-style masks. Currently $5.48 shipped for a box of 50.

DPT Motorsports 50FSM Facemask for sale online | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for DPT Motorsports 50FSM Facemask at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

These masks recommended by @vtac arrived and, while they are in the glossy box, they seem to work well and have a better metal band for fitting than others I have. They also pass the water test, so I CAN recommend them even at so cheap a price...

 

[Siebter]

From the news lately, I don't think cops really wait to say something three times before acting.

Okay, if they don't wish to discuss anyway, they can wear a mask. Right? Yelling at someone is still possible.

 

[macbill]

‘A Smoking Gun’: Infectious Coronavirus Retrieved From Hospital Air
Skeptics of the notion that the coronavirus spreads through the air — including many expert advisers to the World Health Organization — have held out for one missing piece of evidence: proof that floating respiratory droplets called aerosols contain live virus, and not just fragments of genetic material.

Now a team of virologists and aerosol scientists has produced exactly that: confirmation of infectious virus in the air.

 

[Baron23]

‘A Smoking Gun’: Infectious Coronavirus Retrieved From Hospital Air
Skeptics of the notion that the coronavirus spreads through the air — including many expert advisers to the World Health Organization — have held out for one missing piece of evidence: proof that floating respiratory droplets called aerosols contain live virus, and not just fragments of genetic material.

Now a team of virologists and aerosol scientists has produced exactly that: confirmation of infectious virus in the air.

Further on the ever so not clear distinction between droplets and aerosols as it applies to disease transmission

https://first10em.com/aerosols-droplets-and-airborne-spread/

 

[Tranquility]

Okay, if they don't wish to discuss anyway, they can wear a mask. Right? Yelling at someone is still possible.

Remember the first part, ask. That's the part we don't get when the masks are on. Or, the part that gets misunderstood and the misunderstandings cause, a, complications.

Now for the perfect FC Covid-19 article!
Jerusalem Post Health & Science Israeli study finds efficacy in using cannabis terpenes to treat COVID-19
...
The fledgling study, being carried out by Israeli cannabis research and development firms Eybna and CannaSoul, is centered around examining the effectiveness of the use of a unique cannabis terpene formulation - NT-VRL - with respect to treating inflammatory conditions such as cytokine storm syndrome, which commonly occurs in serious cases of COVID-19.


Cytokine storms occur when the body overproduces immune cells and their activating compounds (cytokines), causing dangerously high blood pressure, lung damage, respiratory distress syndrome and organ failure. This is a common occurrence in some patients where the immune system's response to COVID-19 is extreme and goes into overdrive to fight the virus. Accumulating evidence shows that many COVID-19 patients die because of the increase in the production of the inflammatory cytokine molecules, rather than the virus itself.

“The preliminary results were highly positive. Demonstrating significant anti-inflammatory activity of terpenes and breaking the perception that terpenes are just flavorings and fragrances compounds with a placebo effect," said Eybna Co-founder and CEO Nadav Eyal. ...

 

[florduh]

Horowitz: Philippines had the harshest lockdown and most mask wearing. It didn’t work

I wonder if Mr. Horowitz realizes the Philippines, a country with over 100 million people, only lost about 2,000 people total to COVID. Georgia, a State with 10 million people, lost twice as many people. Maybe what we're doing also isn't working. People can point to other countries having minor resurgences all they want. It won't change the fact no other industrialized nation is seeing the numbers of new cases and deaths we are.

I wonder if Horowitz realizes that newspapers in every other industrialized country are continually writing articles with titles like "How Did America Fuck Up Their COVID Response This Thoroughly?". They're more diplomatic, but that's certainly the sentiment.

I also sort of doubt a site with articles entitled "Coronavirus Fascism: Will We Let America Become Like Australia?" or "Christians and the Age of COVID Tyranny" is a reliable source of information on the pandemic.

 

[ClearBlueLou]

I also sort of doubt a site with articles entitled "Coronavirus Fascism: Will We Let America Become Like Australia?" or "Christians and the Age of COVID Tyranny" is a reliable source of information on the pandemic.

...does seem more than “accidentally” hair-on-fire....

 

[florduh]

...does seem more than “accidentally” hair-on-fire....

I like the "WiLL wE bEcOME LIkE aUStrALia?!?!" bullshit.

Australia, a nation of 25 million, has only had 22,000 cases since this started. 350 dead.

Wisconsin, a small state of 5 million, has had 66,000 cases. Over 1,000 dead.

Certain corners of the media, looking to deflect from America's utter failure, recently pointed out Australia was also experiencing an outbreak. But their outbreak consisted of reporting 300-400 new daily cases. Floriduh was reporting 6000-9,000 daily cases over that same period.