Coronavirus Discussion

[Astreya]

Who'd have thunk that with the loosening of restrictions and the return of pupils to school the infection rate would rocket up? And some of the children's GPs are annoyed that there are vaccination actions in schools as "the group pressure would pressure kids to get vaccinated even if they wouldn't want it themselves". Heck, what's bad about that? The more kids are vaccinated, the less chance for them to get severely ill!

 

For NRW, the 7-day-incidence is now 91.8 newly infected people per 100 000 in the last 7 days and thus nearing 100 again (Germany as a whole has 48.8 at the moment).  The only good thing is that so far the number of deaths hasn't risen with the infection number yet, but one can fear it won't be long until this happens, too.

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As of today, Saturday, August 21, 10:45 GMT+2, my home town (population 211 000) has 228 (+35) active cases, while 10 696 (+9)  people are considered to have recovered. 375 (+-0) persons sadly died. 546 persons are currently quarantined. All in all there have been 11 299 (+44) people who suffered from Covid-19 since the beginning of the pandemic. The number of newly infected people per 100 000 citizens in the last 7 days is 75.0 (+12.8).

 

Currently 13 (+-0) persons are treated in hospital, with 1 (-1) of them in intensive care.

There have been 133 378 (1st jab, 63.2%) and 118 005  (2nd jab, 55.9%) vaccinations so far.

[Source: Stadt Oberhausen]

[Lagie]

9 hours ago, Astreya said:

Who'd have thunk that with the loosening of restrictions and the return of pupils to school the infection rate would rocket up?

Any non-Covidiot with half a brain would know to expect that.

 

9 hours ago, Astreya said:

For NRW, the 7-day-incidence is now 91.8 newly infected people per 100 000 in the last 7 days and thus nearing 100 again

Stay safe!

 

 

150 new cases yesterday, 121 of those on my island (positivity rate 28.6%) for a new total of 17,279 cases. Three additional deaths take tgat total to 333.

149 people (down 8) in hospital, 12 (down 4) of those in the ICU.

 

Mr. @Kestra15, is this ever going to end?

[Kestra15]

Yes and no.

 

COVID-19 will eventually be endemic i.e. always around, like influenza or HIV. I imagine it'll need regular boosters like we have flu jabs every year. It'll still be a cause of death. But it won't be as widespread and we won't be having to worry about lockdowns. But we may still be a year away from that happening. Until vaccination is widespread, accepted as necessary, and sufficient local populations have a high enough level of immunity of one sort or another, we're still going to see these kind of numbers.

 

At least that's what we think and model. I still maintain that COVID-19 is a fascinating disease from an academic standpoint; it's action, it's virulence, how it has spread in the modern age and how societies have reacted are truly fascinating. I just wish it was in history books and not in my lifetime! We think it will eventually settle and be just another endemic disease that flares up now and again, but we only have eighteen months of data on it to go on.

 

I personally think it'll eventually settle. Diseases like this always do, and have to in order to survive. But it needs a world wide acceptance of the need for isolation, tracing, containment and treatment, and sadly the publics of the world are not all on board with that right now.

 

[Astreya]

IMO it would be sensible to get the studies done that allow vaccinations for younger kids, too. (and maybe improve the vaccines to push the possible side effects down even more), then it should be possible to keep the infection rate lower in general. Right now the highest incidences are among the kids and younger people, and these are the age groups that are the least vaccinated.

 

Here is an interesting chart that shows the 7-day incidence per 100 000 people in Germany, split among the age groups (the years are on the left, the chart starts left in March 2020 with every column one week and ends in the second week of August this year). The incidence numbers themselves are colour-coded with green the lowest, grey still pretty good and orange to red to darker red to purple highest:

Spoiler

Source: https://www.n-tv.de/infografik/Coronavirus-aktuelle-Zahlen-Daten-zur-Epidemie-in-Deutschland-Europa-und-der-Welt-article21604983.html

 

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As of today, Sunday, August 22, 11:00 GMT+2, my home town (population 211 000) has 267 (+39) active cases, while 10 704 (+8)  people are considered to have recovered. 375 (+-0) persons sadly died. 580 persons are currently quarantined. All in all there have been 11 346 (+47) people who suffered from Covid-19 since the beginning of the pandemic. The number of newly infected people per 100 000 citizens in the last 7 days is 84.0 (+9.0)  / Incidence for NRW: 99.2.

 

Currently 13 (+-0) persons are treated in hospital, with 1 (+-0) of them in intensive care.

There have been 133 898 (1st jab, 63.5%) and 118 341  (2nd jab, 56.1%) vaccinations so far.

 

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As of today, Monday, August 23, 13:00 GMT+2, my home town (population 211 000) has 287 (+20) active cases, while 10 704 (+-0)  people are considered to have recovered. 375 (+-0) persons sadly died. 579 persons are currently quarantined. All in all there have been 11 366 (+20) people who suffered from Covid-19 since the beginning of the pandemic. The number of newly infected people per 100 000 citizens in the last 7 days is 90.1 (+6.1)  / Incidence for NRW: 103.3 (+4.1).

 

Currently 17 (+4) persons are treated in hospital, with none of them in intensive care.

There have been 134 169 (1st jab, 63.6%) and 118 579  (2nd jab, 56.2%) vaccinations so far.

[Source: Stadt Oberhausen]

Edited August 23, 2021 by Astreya

[Kaini]

I'm seeing talk of the Pfizer vaccine being officially approved by the FDA Monday. Hopefully this will convince the people who didn't want to get it because it's emergency use only, and let them know it's safe.

 

For those that are still hesitant, once it's officially approved, more mandates can be made.

[Lagie]

15 hours ago, Kestra15 said:

I personally think it'll eventually settle. Diseases like this always do, and have to in order to survive. But it needs a world wide acceptance of the need for isolation, tracing, containment and treatment, and sadly the publics of the world are not all on board with that right now

I hope it settles sooner rather than later. Thanks!

 

6 hours ago, Kaini said:

I'm seeing talk of the Pfizer vaccine being officially approved by the FDA Monday. Hopefully this will convince the people who didn't want to get it because it's emergency use only, and let them know it's safe.

 

For those that are still hesitant, once it's officially approved, more mandates can be made.

That might actually help around here!

 

108 new cases yesterday, 91 of those on my island (positivity rate 18.8%) for a new total of 17,387 cases. Five additional deaths take tgat total to 338. 

148 people (down 1) in hospital, 11 (down 1) of those in the ICU.

 

We now have AZ, Pfizer, and J&J available. The J&J will be used on the Family Islands so only one vaccine outing will be needed for those that didn't get a first AZ shot. Second doses of AZ will be done at the same time. (This is the governmental, logistical nightmare of being an archipelago. With so many tiny inhabited islands, it's a major undertaking to get vaccines to all of them!)

[Long_Before_Sunrise]

"Dr. Louis Katz, chief medical officer for ImpactLife, an Iowa-based blood center, said he’s heard from “a small handful” of patients asking for blood from unvaccinated donors. And the resounding answer from centers and hospitals, he added, has been “no." - JoNel Aleccia, The Daily Beast

[Lagie]

159 new cases yesterday, 117 of those on my island (positivity rate 37.8 % on a Sunday... which is usually a slower testing day) for a new total of 17,545 cases. No additional deaths.

139 people (down 9) in hospital, 11 (no change) of those in the ICU.

 

On the "even closer to home than work" front, my two doors over neighbour had a guest over for dinner on Saturday... and she was one of those positive cases (and she's fully vaccinated).  I'm so glad I didn't pop my head out to say hello when I heard her leaving! The neighbour and the other person there both tested negative today.

[Astreya]

@Lagie

That's really close indeed. Depending on the virus strain, vaccinated persons might get infected, but it appears that they mostly have a smaller virus load, that is they are less infectious than unvaccinated people who got infected. Plus vaccinated persons usually have a milder case of the disease. (Not all, unfortunately, but then, the vaccines are not 100% perfect - "only" up to 95%, depending on the virus strain and immune system of the patients.)

 

As of today, the incidence in Germany will not be the sole number according of which certain measures are enacted. As vaccinated persons rarely get into the hospital even when they get infected, the government wants to look at the number of hospitalised persons instead to determine what to do. So they say even if we'd have an incidence of 100+ or 200+ or whatever we don't need to shut down locations where many people meet as long as they are vaccinated, recovered, or tested. Dunno if this is so clever as we currently have no idea whether long Covid can appear in vaccinated people who get infected, too.

 

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As of today, Tuesday, August 24, 13:00 GMT+2, my home town (population 211 000) has 291 (+4) active cases, while 10 712 (+8)  people are considered to have recovered. 375 (+-0) persons sadly died. 637 persons are currently quarantined. All in all there have been 11 378 (+12) people who suffered from Covid-19 since the beginning of the pandemic. The number of newly infected people per 100 000 citizens in the last 7 days is 102.0 (+11.9)  / Incidence for NRW: 108.4 (+5.1).

 

Currently 18 (+1) persons are treated in hospital, with one (+1) of them in intensive care.

There have been 134 396 (1st jab, 63.7%) and 118 681  (2nd jab, 56.2%) vaccinations so far.

 

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As of today, Wednesday, August 25, 11:30 GMT+2, my home town (population 211 000) has 311 (+20) active cases, while 10 726 (+14)  people are considered to have recovered. 375 (+-0) persons sadly died. 637 persons are currently quarantined. All in all there have been 11 412 (+34) people who suffered from Covid-19 since the beginning of the pandemic. The number of newly infected people per 100 000 citizens in the last 7 days is 102.0 (+-0.0)  / Incidence for NRW: 114.3 (+5.9).

 

Currently 18 (+-0) persons are treated in hospital, with 2 (+1) of them in intensive care, one of these needing artificial respiration.

There have been 134 623 (1st jab, 63.8%) and 118 734  (2nd jab, 56.3%) vaccinations so far.

 

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As of today, Thursday, August 26, 13:00 GMT+2, my home town (population 211 000) has 341 (+30) active cases, while 10 742 (+16)  people are considered to have recovered. 375 (+-0) persons sadly died. 888 persons are currently quarantined. All in all there have been 11 458 (+46) people who suffered from Covid-19 since the beginning of the pandemic. The number of newly infected people per 100 000 citizens in the last 7 days is 112.0 (+10.0)  / Incidence for NRW: 122.3 (+8.0).

 

Currently 21 (+3) persons are treated in hospital, with 2 (+-0) of them in intensive care, one of these needing artificial respiration.

There have been 135 349 (1st jab, 64.1%) and 118 921  (2nd jab, 56.4%) vaccinations so far.

[Source: Stadt Oberhausen]

Edited August 26, 2021 by Astreya

[Lagie]

No numbers yet for yesterday but have some info from our newspapers...

 

For high schoolers, an ad:

 

And a sad headline today:

[Tiira]

By the way, I got my booster vaccine today, yay! My sister will get hers the day after tomorrow, so then my whole family is fully vaccinated. I know, that doesn't mean we'd be hundred percent safe, but as safe as possible at least. I haven't been reading the news too much for many months, for my peace of mind, but I guess the vaccinations are going quite well here. Generally, people take it when it's their turn. And that is great, because people seem to be totally fed up with this all and don't care to keep distance, avoid partying etc. anymore, which is making me quite nervous every time I leave my neighbourhood. Helsinki is the worst place to be in Finland right now, that's how I feel. I hope the vaccinations help push the numbers lower. (Obviously, I am keeping my fingers crossed for all the other cities, and countries, as well!)

[catstaff]

@Varislapsido you know if there have been any outbreaks related to Qstock (Oulu) or Kuopiorock? Both festivals being about 3 weeks ago, I wondered if they'd gone off okay or if there ended up being problems. I saw security seemed to have face shields on, but obviously the performers didn't, and I have no idea about the festival-goers as the only videos I've seen were fan-cams, so I only saw the backs of heads when it came to the crowds.

[HeatherMarie]

On 8/23/2021 at 6:48 AM, Long_Before_Sunrise said:

"Dr. Louis Katz, chief medical officer for ImpactLife, an Iowa-based blood center, said he’s heard from “a small handful” of patients asking for blood from unvaccinated donors. And the resounding answer from centers and hospitals, he added, has been “no." - JoNel Aleccia, The Daily Beast

 

.......... *headdesks repeatedly* 

 

From what I've read it looks like there will be recommendations here of a 6-month booster for pretty much everyone, but the 3rd-dose right now still seems to be focused on the more at-risk population. It's looking more and more likely that I was right about the vaccines possibly becoming a yearly-needed thing like the flu shot. From a historical view, the flu *did* cause serious pandemics but nowadays the majority of cases are pretty mild and (at least in the US) it's treated as no worse than a cold. So I would hope that covid will eventually go that way as well, but realistically that's probably years away, maybe even longer if people keep being stupid about masks/vaccination/etc. 

 

Current stats here:

Spoiler

 

[Long_Before_Sunrise]

They're afraid of microchip cooties. Actually nanobots are what they're describing when they say microchips.

[Tiira]

@catstaff I did a quick search and apparently there were at least some exposures on both festivals. Unfortunately it seems that there could have been even hundreds of infections related to Kuopiorock (Yle 9.8.) but I didn't find any newer information. I know some Finnish festivals were much worse but I can't remember which ones. But I imagine it's just generally Finnish people enjoying the summer at local pubs that has been the biggest problem here, lately... rather than any single festival.

Edited August 27, 2021 by Varislapsi

[Astreya]

@Varislapsi

Great that you are fully vaccinated now!

 

@HeatherMarie

Here the opinions of the scientists vary on whether a third jab is really necessary. They will offer it to elderly and vulnerable people, though, just to be sure.

 

If I look at the numbers in my home town, I'm really shocked at the speed they rise at the moment! The person who died was an unvaccinated 88-year old woman, they write.

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As of today, Friday, August 27, 13:00 GMT+2, my home town (population 211 000) has 420 (+79) active cases, while 10 761 (+19)  people are considered to have recovered. 376 (+1) persons sadly died. 1025 persons are currently quarantined. All in all there have been 11 557 (+99) people who suffered from Covid-19 since the beginning of the pandemic. The number of newly infected people per 100 000 citizens in the last 7 days is 140.9 (+28.9)  / Incidence for NRW: 125.7 (+3.4).

 

Currently 20 (-1) persons are treated in hospital, with 1 (-1) of them in intensive care, needing artificial respiration.

There have been 136 326 (1st jab, 64.6%) and 120 633  (2nd jab, 57.2%) vaccinations so far.

 

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As of today, Saturday, August 28, 10:00 GMT+2, my home town (population 211 000) has 452 (+32) active cases, while 10 767 (+6)  people are considered to have recovered. 376 (+.0) persons sadly died. 1158 persons are currently quarantined. All in all there have been 11 595 (+38) people who suffered from Covid-19 since the beginning of the pandemic. The number of newly infected people per 100 000 citizens in the last 7 days is 140.3 (-0.6)  / Incidence for NRW: 124.3 (-1.4).

 

Currently 19 (-1) persons are treated in hospital, with 2 (+1) of them in intensive care, none of them needing artificial respiration.

There have been 136 528 (1st jab, 64.7%) and 120 692  (2nd jab, 57.2%) vaccinations so far.

 

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As of today, Sunday, August 29, 10:00 GMT+2, my home town (population 211 000) has 492 (+40) active cases, while 10 783 (+16)  people are considered to have recovered. 376 (+.0) persons sadly died. 1238 persons are currently quarantined. All in all there have been 11 651 (+56) people who suffered from Covid-19 since the beginning of the pandemic. The number of newly infected people per 100 000 citizens in the last 7 days is 150.3 (+10.0)  / Incidence for NRW: 125.3 (+1.0).

 

Currently 15 (-4) persons are treated in hospital, with 3 (+1) of them in intensive care, one of them needing artificial respiration.

There have been 136 805 (1st jab, 64.8%) and 120 958  (2nd jab, 57.3%) vaccinations so far.

[Source: Stadt Oberhausen]

Edited August 29, 2021 by Astreya

[Lagie]

On 8/23/2021 at 9:40 PM, Lagie said:

159 new cases yesterday, 117 of those on my island (positivity rate 37.8 % on a Sunday... which is usually a slower testing day) for a new total of 17,545 cases. No additional deaths.

139 people (down 9) in hospital, 11 (no change) of those in the ICU.

^ so that was Sunday.

 

70 new cases Monday, 60 of those on my island (positivity rate 22.1%) for a new total of 17,617 cases. 5 additional deaths takes that total to 343.

 

 

102 new cases Tuesday, 87 of those on my island (positivity rate 29.1%) for a new total of 17,718 cases. No additional deaths.

 

161 new cases Wednesday, 120 of those on my island (positivity rate 29.1%) for a new total of 17,879 cases. Eleven (11) additional deaths for a new total of 354.

 

 

62 new cases yesterday, 52 of those on my island (positivity rate 33.5 %) for a new total of 17,941 cases. No additional deaths.

170 people (up 31 from Sunday) in hospital, 18 (up 7 from Sunday) of those in the ICU.

 

Our statistics suck.

[AngelsSin]

So i have potentially be exposed.

My mom's fiance was exposed at work he has 2 coworkers who have it. So far he has been tested twice and negative both times. My mom apparently forgot to tell me and its been 8 or 9 days since he was exposed. I only just found out. Everyone feels fine so far. They have the vaccine im the only hold out.

That is pure fear of needles.  It just seems too many shots for my fear to handle. Its easier for me to have blood drawn than to receive a shot. 

I could manage if it was one and i didnt need to get another for years but not even a year till it stops working.

Potentially 3 shots for a vaccine that maybe lasts 6 month. If we are lucky.

I know the alternative is obviously bad but i just cant seem to do it when it is so many shots for such a short time and its not a guarantee that i wont get it.

This is one fear i have never been able to face without resorting to childish behavior like locking myself in the bathroom at the doctors and needing to be held down. To be fair i was a kid for that one but im not sure i wouldnt do it again at my age. 🤔

 

[Astreya]

@AngelsSin

While I can 100% understand phobias (I have several of my own - you should see me when I have to face a spider!), this might be one where you should try to bite into the sour apple and try to confront it, particularly as I was surprised how little I felt from the jab proper. (The area where I got the jab only hurt much later and it was as if I was punched, so one can probably try to reason it away from the needle itself.)

 

If you think about how many needles you would likely get stuck into you if you'd get a bad case of Covid, the trade-off should be obvious (and yes, phobias don't really work that way, but maybe it is an incentive for you anyway). Try to talk about it beforehand with your GP, and maybe you could even look for some doctor who works with hypnosis against fears (this even woks with strong fear from dentists - so why not needles, too?).

Edited August 30, 2021 by Astreya

[Kestra15]

Local ICU lost two more patients in the space of a few hours. This really is a long way from over.

[Lagie]

4 hours ago, Kestra15 said:

Local ICU lost two more patients in the space of a few hours. This really is a long way from over.

 

We reclassified 38 deaths 'under investigation' as Covid deaths so our total jumped dramatically yesterday.

[Astreya]

@Kestra15

Drat, that sounds dire. This must be a horrible strain on you to have such bad outcomes near you ever so often!  *hugs*

 

@Lagie

Just stay safe!

 

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As of today, Monday, August 30, 12:30 GMT+2, my home town (population 211 000) has 504 (+12) active cases, while 10 791 (+8)  people are considered to have recovered. 376 (+.0) persons sadly died. 1233 persons are currently quarantined. All in all there have been 11 671 (+20) people who suffered from Covid-19 since the beginning of the pandemic. The number of newly infected people per 100 000 citizens in the last 7 days is 151.7 (+1.4)  / Incidence for NRW: 127.7 (+2.4).

 

Currently 15 (+-0) persons are treated in hospital, with 3 (+-0) of them in intensive care, one of them needing artificial respiration.

There have been 137 012 (1st jab, 64.9%) and 121 135  (2nd jab, 57.4%) vaccinations so far.

 

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As of today, Tuesday, August 31, 09:15 GMT+2, my home town (population 211 000) has 467 (-37) active cases, while 10 838 (+47)  people are considered to have recovered. 376 (+.0) persons sadly died. 1233 persons are currently quarantined. All in all there have been 11 681 (+10) people who suffered from Covid-19 since the beginning of the pandemic. The number of newly infected people per 100 000 citizens in the last 7 days is 140.8 (-10.9)  / Incidence for NRW: 124.9 (-2.8).

 

Currently 20 (+5) persons are treated in hospital, with 3 (+-0) of them in intensive care, one of them needing artificial respiration.

There have been 137 178 (1st jab, 65.0%) and 121 150  (2nd jab, 57.4%) vaccinations so far.

[Source: Stadt Oberhausen]

Edited August 31, 2021 by Astreya

[Lagie]

91 new cases Friday, 81 of those on my island (positivity rate 21%) for a new total of 18,032 cases. No additional deaths.

164 people (down 6 from Thursday) in hospital, 15 (down 3) of those in the ICU.

 

108 new cases Saturday, 80 of those on my island (positivity rate 26.4%) for a new total of 18,140 cases. 27 reclassified deaths take that total to 381.

164 people (no change) in hospital, 15 (no change) of those in the ICU.

 

6 hours ago, Astreya said:

Just stay safe!

Will do my best! You, too!

[Kestra15]

10 hours ago, Lagie said:

 

We reclassified 38 deaths 'under investigation' as Covid deaths so our total jumped dramatically yesterday.

Ouch.

 

It's always the same story, treatment proceeds at a snail's pace for weeks, and either you eventually get well enough for a tracheostomy and a few more weeks on the ventilator, or you die. Some of them can be with us for a month or so and never get well enough for a trache. If your really lucky you'll get two or more members of the same family in at a time or one after the other, or a pregnant woman you have to do an emergency caesarean on.

 

Bear on mind we do all this while still carrying on with our normal workload as well. Those were not the only two deaths this weekend, just the two with COVID-19.

[catstaff]

@Kestra15Ouch. *gentle, socially-distanced hugs*