Coronavirus Discussion

[trystan]

some counties in my state are "green" and we just moved into yellow.  my retail job opened up to the public.  we have safety shields at the registers and we all (workers and customers have to wear masks.  and we have hand sanitizer at all the registers and disinfectant wipes for the carts, baskets and counters, pin-pads.... kinda what we were doing back in march before we shut down for a few months.

 

my county numbers as of yesterday:

Total Confirmed Cases: 4,906

Recoveries: 1,832

Deaths: 469

(https://covid19-bucksgis.hub.arcgis.com/)

there's 102 active cases in my township (https://bucksgis.maps.arcgis.com/apps/Media/index.html?appid=89e673a583fc4f44a8139205346a0ab6), and there were 25 new cases reported yesterday in the county, but 10 of 'em were older cases that those people weren't contagious anymore! (http://www.buckscounty.org/news/2020News/2020/06/05/bucks-reports-15-new-recent-covid-cases-and-10-delayed-older-cases)

 

Edited June 5, 2020 by trystan
proofread first, then post.....

[Astreya]

@RubyEyes  @AngelsSin

Full hazmat suits would be more appropriate anyway.

[purplehaze]

The chairs weren't bolted down at that "news conference" campaign rally. I am more than a little disappointed that not one member of the press made any effort to move the chairs. Sure, it would have made him mad and he probably would have retaliated, but that is how he is controlling people and someone needs to have enough gumption to stand up to him!

[Ruby Eyes]

... stand up at least long enough to move that chair before sitting down again ...

 

I think many have forgotten how to fight for their own rights. Even those who claim otherwise still look up and wait for answers and solutions from someone else - preferably solution that don't require any effort.

 

I got some re-usable masks last week (was still using my mother's old supplies of one-time masks - she had needed to wear one during dialysis every time). They're made of "cotton" that was actually won from trees - we have plenty of dead trees in Germany due to the bark beetles rampaging through our forests these past 2 years. So now I can claim I'm wearing a tree.

Also, while packing for the house move, we discovered that my mother apparently had stockpiled toilet paper, disinfectant tissues and papertowels long before it was the hip thing to do. She was always a trend setter *snickers*

[purplehaze]

Use of teargas on protesters may help spread the corona virus:

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/06/05/870144402/tear-gassing-protesters-during-an-infectious-outbreak-called-a-recipe-for-disast

Quote

In nationwide demonstrations against the police killing of George Floyd and other black Americans, protesters are frequently pepper-sprayed or enveloped in clouds of tear gas. These crowd-control weapons are rarely lethal, but in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic, there are growing calls for police to stop using these chemical irritants because they can damage the body in ways that can spread the coronavirus and increase the severity of COVID-19.

Even before the coronavirus pandemic, some experts said additional research was needed on the risks of tear gas — an umbrella term for several chemical "riot control agents" used by law enforcement. It's known that the chemicals can have both immediate and long-term health effects.

Their widespread use in recent weeks, while an infectious disease continues to spread across the U.S., has stunned experts and physicians. The coronavirus that causes the disease COVID-19 is highly contagious, spreads easily through the air via droplets and can lead to severe or fatal respiratory illness. Deploying these corrosive, inhalable chemicals could harm people in several ways: expose more people to the virus, compromise the body's ability to fight off the infection, and even cause mild infections to become more severe illnesses.
(...)
...a 2014 study from the U.S Army offers an alarming glimpse into how the chemical could escalate the pandemic. The study found that recruits who were exposed to tear gas as part of a training exercise were more likely to get sick with respiratory illnesses like the common cold and the flu.
(...)
Even though there is a limited amount of research on this new coronavirus, there are studies from China and Italy about how other irritants, such as smoking and air pollution, affect COVID-19. These studies indicate that tear gas could also make people more likely to develop severe illness, says Dr. John Balmes, a pulmonologist at the University of California, San Francisco, and an expert with the American Thoracic Society.

"I actually think we could be promoting COVID-19 by tear-gassing protesters," says Balmes. "It causes injury and inflammation to the lining of the airways."

Balmes says this period of inflammation sets back the body's defenses and makes it more likely that someone who already harbors the virus will become sick.

"It's adding fuel to the fire," says Balmes. "These exposures to tear gas would increase the risk of progression from the asymptomatic infection, to a symptomatic disease."
(...)
Tear gas and pepper spray can also sow confusion and panic in a crowd. People may rip off their masks and touch their faces, leading to more contamination.

Dr. Amesh Adalja, from Johns Hopkins University, says the body's reaction to the chemicals cause people to shed more of the virus.

"If they're coughing, the particles actually emanate and are projectiles that travel about 6 feet or so and could land on other people," says Adalja, who is also a spokesperson for the Infectious Diseases Society of America.

"This is a way to almost induce the virus to be expelled from people when they are exposed to these agents."

Adalja anticipates the protests will inevitably lead to a spike in infections.

Edited June 6, 2020 by purplehaze

[olympe]

3 hours ago, purplehaze said:

Use of teargas on protesters may help spread the corona virus:

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/06/05/870144402/tear-gassing-protesters-during-an-infectious-outbreak-called-a-recipe-for-disast

In other words: Deploying tear gas on protesters is a discreet way to dispose of your enemies - if you are Trump.

[Astreya]

Daily update for Oberhausen, NRW, Germany:

 

As of today, Saturday, June 6, 09:00 GMT+2,  my home town (population 211 000) has 7 active cases, while 247 people have recovered. All in all there have been 265 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 2.4.

 

Currently 3 persons are treated in hospitals, none of them in intensive care. 11 persons sadly died. 39 persons are currently quarantined. All in all there have been 10 372 Covid-19 tests in Oberhausen so far.

 

Source: https://www.oberhausen.de/de/index/rathaus/verwaltung/umwelt-gesundheit-und-mobilitat/gesundheit/aktuelle_informationen/informationen_zum_coronavirus/aktuelle_meldungen.php

 

 

In our neighbourtown Duisburg, there is an outbreak in a DPD (a German parcel service) sort facility. About 400 employees were tested in the beginning of the week, 46 of which were tested positive for Covid-19. I fear there might be a spill-over to my hometown as quite some people from here work in Duisburg and vice versa.

Source: https://www.radioduisburg.de/artikel/coronavirus-46-infektionen-bei-dpd-615082.html

 

[Ruby Eyes]

8 minutes ago, Astreya said:

In our neighbourtown Duisburg, there is an outbreak in a DPD (a German parcel service) sort facility. About 400 employees were tested in the beginning of the week, 46 of which were tested positive for Covid-19. I fear there might be a spill-over to my hometown as quite some people from here work in Duisburg and vice versa.

Source: https://www.radioduisburg.de/artikel/coronavirus-46-infektionen-bei-dpd-615082.html

Awesome. Didn't they learn *anything* after they already had to close their facility in Hückelhoven nearly 3 weeks ago?!

[Astreya]

@Ruby Eyes

Particularly as it is all "business as usual" there still and the work just continues normally as the article said. Stupid is as stupid does...

[Ruby Eyes]

Now I crave a box of chocolates.

 

On the same website that you linked to, I saw that apparently a 99-year old person from Duisburg survived Corona

And then there's another outbreak just in my district around the corner - it's time I move away from here!

[Astreya]

Fortunately there are quite some elderly people who survive Covid-19. It's just that the probability for them to die is much higher than for younger and healthier people.

 

------------------

Daily update for Oberhausen, NRW, Germany:

 

As of today, Sunday, June 7, 08:30 GMT+2,  my home town (population 211 000) has 7 active cases, while 248 people have recovered. All in all there have been 266 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 2.8.

 

Currently 3 persons are treated in hospitals, none of them in intensive care. 11 persons sadly died. 34 persons are currently quarantined. All in all there have been 10 586 Covid-19 tests in Oberhausen so far.

 

Source: https://www.oberhausen.de/de/index/rathaus/verwaltung/umwelt-gesundheit-und-mobilitat/gesundheit/aktuelle_informationen/informationen_zum_coronavirus/aktuelle_meldungen.php

[Astreya]

Looks like Mr.Bolsonaro thinks that by not publishing the numbers of infections and deaths officially in Brazil, he can make the pandemic go away:

 

Quote

"Brazil stops releasing Covid-19 death toll and wipes data from official site - Government accused of totalitarianism and censorship after Bolsonaro orders end to publication of numbers"

 

“The authoritarian, insensitive, inhuman and unethical attempt to make those killed by Covid-19 invisible will not succeed. We and Brazilian society will not forget them, nor the tragedy that befalls the nation,” said Alberto Beltrame, president of Brazil’s national council of state health secretaries, in a statement.

 

Brazil currently has the world’s second-highest number of cases, at 672,846, according to the Johns Hopkins university site, and has overtaken Italy, with 35,930 deaths. Johns Hopkins removed Brazil from its global count on Saturday but later reinstated it.

(...)

“You can’t face a pandemic without science, transparency and action,” Paulo Câmara, governor of the north-eastern state of Pernambuco, posted on Instagram. “Manipulation, omission and disrespect are the striking marks of authoritarian administrations. But this won’t destroy the effort of the whole nation. We will continue producing, systematising and releasing the data.”

(...)

Doctors across Brazil said the lack of information would hinder management of the pandemic as cases moved from big cities into its vast interior. “How is a manager going to reallocate resources and organise vacancies and transporting the sick if they don’t have data?” said Guilherme Pivoto, an infectious diseases specialist in Manaus, one of Brazil’s worst-hit cities.

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jun/07/brazil-stops-releasing-covid-19-death-toll-and-wipes-data-from-official-site

 

Almost no change from yesterday in my place:

------------------

Daily update for Oberhausen, NRW, Germany:

 

As of today, Monday, June 8, 09:00 GMT+2,  my home town (population 211 000) has 7 active cases, while 248 people have recovered. All in all there have been 266 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 2.8.

 

Currently 3 persons are treated in hospitals, none of them in intensive care. 11 persons sadly died. 32 persons are currently quarantined. All in all there have been 10 586 Covid-19 tests in Oberhausen so far.

 

Source: https://www.oberhausen.de/de/index/rathaus/verwaltung/umwelt-gesundheit-und-mobilitat/gesundheit/aktuelle_informationen/informationen_zum_coronavirus/aktuelle_meldungen.php

[purplehaze]

Figures for my state today:

COVID-19 Statistics in Maryland

Number of confirmed cases : 58,404
Number of persons tested negative : 313,099
Total testing volume : 435,363
Number of confirmed deaths : 2,653
Number of probable deaths : 123
Currently hospitalized : 979
Acute care : 587
Intensive care : 392
Ever hospitalized : 9,629
Released from isolation : 4,240

Changes in past 24 hours:

Confirmed cases +431

Confirmed deaths +28

The numbers are leveling off . Still too many for us to get complacent. I personally will continue to self-isolate most of the time.

[Astreya]

Daily update for Oberhausen, NRW, Germany:

 

As of today, Tuesday, June 9, 10:00 GMT+2,  my home town (population 211 000) has 7 active cases, while 248 people have recovered. All in all there have been 266 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 2.4.

 

Currently 3 persons are treated in hospitals, none of them in intensive care. 11 persons sadly died. 53 persons are currently quarantined. All in all there have been 10 822 Covid-19 tests in Oberhausen so far.

 

Source: https://www.oberhausen.de/de/index/rathaus/verwaltung/umwelt-gesundheit-und-mobilitat/gesundheit/aktuelle_informationen/informationen_zum_coronavirus/aktuelle_meldungen.php

 

 

Superficially the numbers look very similar to yesterday, but the fact that there are 53 quarantined person today, that is 21 more than yesterday, is worrisome as the results of the Covid-19 tests usually only come in two days after they were done. 

 

There was a "Corona party" in Essen yesterday (another neighbour town), where numerous  stupid people partied without keeping to social distancing and recording the addresses of the party goers. The police had to disperse the party and more than 160 reports were filed - I bet the additional quarantined persons in Oberhausen are related to this party.

 

Out of curiosity, I checked the Covid-19 info page of the town Essen and was surprised that they "only" did 13 730 tests despite the fact that they have 583 000 citizens and so far had 879 people suffering from the virus altogether (67 active as of today) and 41 deaths. Our neighbour town Duisburg (with 499 000 citizens), 1239 infected persons altogether (159 active cases as of today), 55 deaths, did 16 571 tests so far.

 

Edited June 9, 2020 by Astreya
Why do I only see mistakes after I clicked "save"? *head desk*

[Astreya]

Daily update for Oberhausen, NRW, Germany:

 

As of today, Wednesday, June 10, 10:00 GMT+2,  my home town (population 211 000) has 10 active cases, while 248 people have recovered. All in all there have been 269 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 3.3.

 

Currently 3 persons are treated in hospitals, none of them in intensive care. 11 persons sadly died. 53 persons are currently quarantined. All in all there have been 10 880 Covid-19 tests in Oberhausen so far.

 

Source: https://www.oberhausen.de/de/index/rathaus/verwaltung/umwelt-gesundheit-und-mobilitat/gesundheit/aktuelle_informationen/informationen_zum_coronavirus/aktuelle_meldungen.php

[trystan]

my county numbers, as of 6/9/20~

Total Confirmed Cases: 5,030

Recoveries: 2,070

Deaths: 477

100 active cases in my township (https://bucksgis.maps.arcgis.com/apps/Media/index.html?appid=89e673a583fc4f44a8139205346a0ab6)

26 new cases reported yesterday (6/9; https://bucksgis.maps.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/a7e4f8a794a34bb5903813cdea584edb)

[purplehaze]

Our church is considering resuming in-person services -- with restrictions. I told the person who called that I would not attend, yet. First of all, with everything that has been happening and all the opening up I would want to wait a good while to see what effect that all has on the infection numbers. Secondly, the restrictions they are considering would make it not feel as much like a church service as what we are currently doing online.

Current stats for my state:

COVID-19 Statistics in Maryland

Number of confirmed cases : 59,465
Number of persons tested negative : 325,177
Total testing volume : 451,967
Number of confirmed deaths : 2,719
Number of probable deaths : 125
Currently hospitalized : 955
Acute care : 576
Intensive care : 379
Ever hospitalized : 9,755
Released from isolation : 4,310

Changes in last 24 hours:

Cases - +561

Deaths - +33

 

For the county I am in:

Cases: 4348

Deaths: 181

42 new cases per day

[trystan]

35 minutes ago, purplehaze said:

Our church is considering resuming in-person services

the Association my Fellowship is part of put out a statement from the President of said Association, in which she says: "We also recommend that congregations begin planning for virtual operations for the next year (through May 2021)." (https://www.uua.org/pressroom/press-releases/message-uua-president-updated-guidance-gathering )

 

yep, May of 2021.

 

Edited June 10, 2020 by trystan

[Astreya]

Daily update for Oberhausen, NRW, Germany:

 

As of today, Thursday, June 11, 10:00 GMT+2,  my home town (population 211 000) has 10 active cases, while 248 people have recovered. All in all there have been 269 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 2.9.

 

Currently 3 persons are treated in hospitals, none of them in intensive care. 11 persons sadly died. 55 persons are currently quarantined. All in all there have been 11 534 Covid-19 tests in Oberhausen so far.

 

Source: https://www.oberhausen.de/de/index/rathaus/verwaltung/umwelt-gesundheit-und-mobilitat/gesundheit/aktuelle_informationen/informationen_zum_coronavirus/aktuelle_meldungen.php

[Astreya]

By the way, here's another video from the guy who does these impressive comparison videos. It was posted on May 31:

 

 

--------------------

Oh and meanwhile at the White House, Mr.Trump and his ilk are looking for new scapegoats for their failures:

Quote

The White House is exploring the possibility that travel from Mexico may be contributing to a new wave of coronavirus infections, rather than states moves toward reopening their economies, AP reports.

The notion was discussed at some length Thursday during a meeting of the administrations coronavirus task force in the White House Situation Room that focused on identifying commonalities between new outbreaks. Officials also considered how to surge response capabilities.

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2020/jun/12/coronavirus-live-news-markets-fall-over-fears-of-long-us-recovery-as-brazil-cases-top-800000?page=with:block-5ee2dfd28f08969537f782c6#block-5ee2dfd28f08969537f782c6

Edited June 12, 2020 by Astreya

[purpledragonclaw]

37 minutes ago, Astreya said:

Oh and meanwhile at the White House, Mr.Trump and his ilk are looking for new scapegoats for their failures:

 

Trump and conservatives are also trying to blame the spike on the protests. Meanwhile we just passed 2 million total cases, we're averaging 1,000 deaths per day, and there's no sign of it slowing. 

 

Those videos never cease to be shocking.

[Astreya]

@purpledragonclaw

A Boeing 747-8 can carry about 450-500 passengers. The current Covid-19 death toll in the US would be two of these Jumbo Jets crashing every day without any survivors. It appears that the death toll by the disease goes pretty much under the radar comparatively as it only shows by blank numbers. But imagine if you'd really have two 747 jets crashing every day!

 

-----------------------------

Daily update for Oberhausen, NRW, Germany:

 

As of today, Friday, June 12, 09:00 GMT+2,  my home town (population 211 000) has 10 active cases, while 248 people have recovered. All in all there have been 269 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 1.9.

 

Currently 3 persons are treated in hospitals, none of them in intensive care. 11 persons sadly died. 46 persons are currently quarantined. All in all there have been 11 535 Covid-19 tests in Oberhausen so far.

 

Source: https://www.oberhausen.de/de/index/rathaus/verwaltung/umwelt-gesundheit-und-mobilitat/gesundheit/aktuelle_informationen/informationen_zum_coronavirus/aktuelle_meldungen.php

 

Edited June 12, 2020 by Astreya

[Daydreamer09]

Wednesday I went into my chiropractor's office and I'd forgotten my facemask for the first time. Normally there've only been a handful of patients at one time, so I didn't think it'd be much of an issue and the office hadn't been requiring it. But as I got there, there were waaaay too many people for the space that they had. I'm kicking myself for downplaying my lack of a facemask on the drive there. Another thing that freaked me out was they were playing a video titled "The Ugly Truth About Vaccines" in their lobby and actually had a flyer hanging trying to convince people masks could be more dangerous than not having one. As well, talking about the local zoo reopening back up with one of the chiropractors she told me she didn't understand why it closed in the first place. I had to remind her about how March was.

I'm about ready to find a new chiropractor. 😟

 

Yesterday at the office supply store I work at a lady came into our self serve area with her baby and mother to print work paystubs and the entire time she was there she was coughing. Thankfully she had a thin headwrap she was using as a mask to cough in, but every now and then I caught her pulling it down to expose her nose. She should definitely not have been out and about. After she left I forced a customer to wait while I sprayed the machines and tables down before he went and used them. I'm crossing my fingers the lady only had allergies.

 

Just today I learned that there are even restaurants trying to sue my state's Governor because they don't like the restrictions in place to prevent Covid19's spread. So, I've had some interesting experiences this past week that are making me worry about the path my local area's going in.

[purplehaze]

13 hours ago, Astreya said:

@purpledragonclaw

A Boeing 747-8 can carry about 450-500 passengers. The current Covid-19 death toll in the US would be two of these Jumbo Jets crashing every day without any survivors. It appears that the death toll by the disease goes pretty much under the radar comparatively as it only shows by blank numbers. But imagine if you'd really have two 747 jets crashing every day!

That is pretty graphic.

I just spoke with my sister who lives in Arizona and she says cases are spiking there. Apparently their governor is unwilling to return to more restrictions.

https://www.azfamily.com/news/investigations/cbs_5_investigates/as-covid-19-cases-mount-in-arizona-pressure-grows-for-action/article_1a354c70-aada-11ea-9e9f-0767f3be2a0b.html

Edited June 12, 2020 by purplehaze

[Daydreamer09]

20 minutes ago, purplehaze said:

That is pretty graphic.

I just spoke with my sister who lives in Arizona and she says cases are spiking there. Apparently their governor is unwilling to return to more restrictions.

https://www.azfamily.com/news/investigations/cbs_5_investigates/as-covid-19-cases-mount-in-arizona-pressure-grows-for-action/article_1a354c70-aada-11ea-9e9f-0767f3be2a0b.html

That's really awful. Lives should have more value than keeping things open and available. I'm really worried other states are going to fall into the same pattern.