Coronavirus Discussion

[olympe]

8 hours ago, trystan said:

*looks at who's in Washington DC* i can. *sigh*

 

 

so the pandemic has exposed something about the US to the world that i think most of us have known all along - a majority of Americans are selfish and stupid. *sigh*

Plus unable to focus on the most important things in their own country. The US are suffering the pandemic in all its ugliness, have protests about racism (again), their economy is going to **** and unemployment is soaring. Not to mention that people are dying by the hundreds each day, and also some people are getting killed for being on the wrong side of the mask-or-no-mask debate.

 

And what does Trump do? Think about new ways to penalize everyone involved with Nord Stream (gas pipeline from Russia to Germany by way of the north sea). Give China **** for their Hong Kong policy. (I'm totally in favor of the latter - but I don't think that's what he should be focusing on, tbh. Not to mention that another trade war won't be good for US economy.) Going on with his ralleys (unless there's a storm coming in). Discredit the one voice of reason in the whole pandemic mess. Watch governors sue mayors for lockdown-related issues and fiddle his thumbs. (Or did he once again tweet something along the lines of "They're taking arms against lockdown measures. They must like me.") Oh, and pose for Goya foods. I mean, seriously, what the F?

[Astreya]

It appears that people are getting more careless here, too. Plus the number of people who need treatment in hospital went from 3 to 7, so there are obviously more serious cases, too. While the numbers are still comparatively small, the continued increase is still worrisome.

 

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

Daily update for Oberhausen, NRW, Germany:

 

As of today, Saturday, July 18, 10:00 GMT+2,  my home town (population 211 000) has 22 active cases, while 296 people have recovered. All in all there have been 330 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 7.1.

 

Currently 7 persons are treated in hospitals, 2 of them in intensive care. 12 persons sadly died. 96 persons are currently quarantined. All in all there have been 15 694 Covid-19 tests in Oberhausen up to Friday, July 17.

 

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

[olympe]

37 minutes ago, Astreya said:

It appears that people are getting more careless here, too. Plus the number of people who need treatment in hospital went from 3 to 7, so there are obviously more serious cases, too. While the numbers are still comparatively small, the continued increase is still worrisome.

We're still on a good way. There was a slight uptick in cases in mid-June (country-wide), around the time covid was discovered at Tönnies. The question is - what exactly happened around the end of May or beginning of June to increase the rate? Was it the re-opening of pretty much everything, despite the safety measures? And, of course, there's a slight surge this week. Week three of the summer break in our state. 

 

However, I'm not too worried about the current numbers. But when the summer break is over, everyone is home from their vacation *and* school starts again - well, I expect the numbers to go up substantially.

[trystan]

10 hours ago, olympe said:

have protests about racism (again)

have protests about racism (still)

fixed that for you

 

10 hours ago, olympe said:

And what does Trump do?

nothing.  hawks beans and insults everyone that's not him.  i saw an interview on probably CNN, but i don't have any links, where trump is asked about mandating a country-wide mask wearing, and he says no, people should have their freedom.  actually, if everyone wears a mask, more places could possibly open up, so wearing a mask is freedom. *sigh* but no, people have to be selfish about it, even brandishing guns and shooting people, mean, there's the "I mean, seriously, what the F?" question for you

[olympe]

16 minutes ago, trystan said:

have protests about racism (still)

fixed that for you

I meant the again in reference to earlier protests not related to George Floyd, actually. But yes, you're as right as I am about it. Unfortunately.

[trystan]

ah, good point, @olympe. where the protests should have been constant is Washington DC.  there's some "residents" that really shouldn't be residing there....  

[Astreya]

@olympe

It's a good question. Today my Dad told me that he saw a wagon (like those often seen on Father's day) with quite some drunken guys on it on the street, none of them using face masks or respecting any distance. It's likely that there are more such irresponsible people around, although the website of my town reports almost no cases where the police or Ordnungsamt (regulatory agency) had to take action.

 

Additionally, Duisburg is one of the towns that had a pretty high rate of infections in the last time, so maybe some of the infections spilled over from there 

 

Addendum:

I found a very interesting, but pretty long article about the UK's response to the Covid-19 pandemic here:

https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/health-coronavirus-britain-tracing/

Edited July 18, 2020 by Astreya

[Lagie]

Another 9 cases today.

Some on my island, some on the other main one.

[trystan]

my county, numbers from yesterday? i don't know anymore....

 

Total Confirmed Cases: 5,937

Recoveries: 4,316

Deaths: 511

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

there were 44 new cases in the county yesterday (https://bucksgis.maps.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/a7e4f8a794a34bb5903813cdea584edb)

there's 67 current active cases in my municipality (https://bucksgis.maps.arcgis.com/apps/Media/index.html?appid=89e673a583fc4f44a8139205346a0ab6) 

 

but, as was pointed out yesterday, the numbers from JHU were a little different, so i don't know what's actually accurate....

 

Edited July 18, 2020 by trystan
proofread first, then post.....

[Astreya]

Daily update for Oberhausen, NRW, Germany:

 

As of today, Sunday, July 19, 10:00 GMT+2,  my home town (population 211 000) has 27 (+5)  active cases, while 297 (+1) people have recovered. All in all there have been 336 (+6) 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 9.5.

 

Currently 3 (-4) persons are treated in hospitals, 2 of them in intensive care. 12 persons sadly died. 99 (+3) persons are currently quarantined. All in all there have been 15 694 Covid-19 tests in Oberhausen up to Saturday, July 18.

 

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

[Bigbite]

All I can say to the man in the WH is...numbers don't lie.

[Lagie]

YES!!! Sorry all you Americans out there but our PM has closed our borders to you due to an exponential rise in case numbers here, many from people who were stupid enough to travel over there. We are still open to Canada, the UK, and the EU.

 

Grand Bahama island has been most affected and has had a stricter curfew imposed and they may have another lockdown if numbers do not stop rising. On my island, beaches and parks are closed again as well as a couple of popular congregation zones. Masks are still required by law, and the PM spelled out, and then repeated, it has to cover nose and mouth, not just mouth.

 

15 new cases today.

49 since the borders reopened.

Today's dashboard:

[Lagie]

That seems extreme, @AngelsSin. Where is that from?

[Astreya]

@AngelsSin

 

Worldometer has Florida with 350,047 cases all in all (+12,478) and 4,985 deaths (+87). I think this sounds a bit more realistic.

Source: https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/us/

 

Edited July 20, 2020 by Astreya

[Daydreamer09]

@Lagie

I'm so relieved and glad to hear that you guys are banning travelers from the US from entering! Last thing I would want is for another nation's numbers to skyrocket because of us, so please don't apologize.

 

I haven't been paying attention to my home state's numbers (Ohio), but I've been hearing talk about whether or not we will be going back into lockdown at least partially. We haven't been making the news like other states, but the fact numbers are going up is universal throughout the entire country. Mike DeWine's the governor here and for a Republican he's taken the pandemic seriously, but I'm really worried about whether or not he'll be willing to put restrictions back into place. It was something he promised would be the case in this sort of scenario back in May. 😕

 

One of my part-time jobs has me working in an office supply store at a printing counter. Within the last week I've had to print anti-vaccine and anti-lockdown materials for customers. Which... Has been fun to stomach. There's also a really surreal feeling accompanied with these sorts of retail stores gearing up for back-to-school season right now. My store is getting overstocked with rulers, binders, folders, crayons, etc., but obviously nobody knows what's going to happen with the schools. From a business side, I understand these events get planned months in advance, but it comes across as being unable to read the room. We are also back to almost our full operational hours before the pandemic, partly because our particular location is high volume. High volume and more hours during a pandemic... Makes sense. *sigh*

[Astreya]

Daily update for Oberhausen, NRW, Germany:

 

As of today, Monday, July 20, 10:00 GMT+2,  my home town (population 211 000) has 28 (+1)  active cases, while 297 (+-0) people have recovered. All in all there have been 337 (+1) 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 9.0.

 

Currently 3 (+-0) persons are treated in hospitals, 2 of them in intensive care. 12 persons sadly died. 92 (-7) persons are currently quarantined. All in all there have been 15 694 Covid-19 tests in Oberhausen up to Sunday, July 19.

 

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

[purplehaze]

US Surgeon General now says whole administration, including the President, is now supportive of masks!

https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/508087-us-surgeon-general-this-whole-administration-is-now-supportive-of

U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams on Monday implored Americans to wear masks in public, saying that the entire Trump administration, including the president, believes they are one of the most effective tools to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus.   

But Adams stopped short of pushing for a nationwide mask mandate, arguing that a federal order would need a "federal enforcement mechanism." He cited the tensions in Portland, Ore., following the deployment of federal law enforcement in the city as a reason why such a mandate could cause problems for local communities attempting to quell the virus's spread. 

...

But Adams also argued that the politics of masks was getting in the way of health recommendations. He stressed that the high degree of asymptomatic spread was the ultimate reason why mask recommendations were issued. 

"Face coverings are a way that we can reopen and that we can stay open. That’s what the science says," he said, noting that up to 50 percent of coronavirus infections could be spread from people without symptoms. 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) first recommended the use of face coverings to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus in April. The agency last week released guidance stating that the U.S. could get the pandemic under control if face masks are worn universally.

[trystan]

21 minutes ago, purplehaze said:

U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams on Monday implored Americans to wear masks in public, saying that the entire Trump administration, including the president, believes they are one of the most effective tools to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus.   

But Adams stopped short of pushing for a nationwide mask mandate, arguing that a federal order would need a "federal enforcement mechanism." He cited the tensions in Portland, Ore., following the deployment of federal law enforcement in the city as a reason why such a mandate could cause problems for local communities attempting to quell the virus's spread. 

thing is, it should be a federal mandate, and the Surgeon General as well as trump and everyone should be seen wearing a mask all the time in public.   if it's not a federal mandate, i think it'll remain politicized, and therefore polarized, and it won't get under control until well in to 2021. a lot of Americans will follow whatever Dear Leader does, and i really hope (fingers and toes and everything else crossed) Biden will soon be that leader.  wearing a mask is a health issue, not a political one. 

 

from last week - CDC says U.S. could get coronavirus under control in one to two months if everyone wears a mask (https://www.cnbc.com/2020/07/14/cdc-says-us-could-get-coronavirus-under-control-in-one-to-two-months-if-everyone-wears-a-mask.html), but as i said over on facebook recently, the people that are meant to read and understand that won't think it applies to them. *sigh*

 

Edited July 20, 2020 by trystan
proofread *first* then post...

[purplehaze]

4 minutes ago, trystan said:

thing is, it should be a federal mandate

Agreed. And I question whether the Prez is truly behind mask wearing, either. He still seems to be sending very mixed messages and refuses to set an example.

He doesn't seem to understand that the economy cannot recover as long as the virus runs rampant. He wants to forget the virus and forge full speed ahead.

[trystan]

18 minutes ago, purplehaze said:

Agreed. And I question whether the Prez is truly behind mask wearing, either. He still seems to be sending very mixed messages and refuses to set an example.

He doesn't seem to understand that the economy cannot recover as long as the virus runs rampant. He wants to forget the virus and forge full speed ahead.

i definitely question it, and i'm pretty sure he said he is only because he's been told to say that.

 

i saw somewhere (but didn't find anything when i tried to google it) that one of the governors (colorado?) said that everyone wearing a mask now means we could open up more things sooner. wearing a mask where you can't social distance means (to me, anyway) that if you go somewhere that people are going to have to be close together - school, concerts, sporting events - wear a mask so you don't breathe on the person next to you.  masks don't protect me from others, they protect others from me.

 

of course, there's always going to be those entitled ppl, "oh, i'm not sick, i don't have to wear a mask" and those are the ones that need to wear the mask.  this was also on facebook the other day - "The ones refusing to wear masks will be the reason why we end up closing down again. And they will be the ones b*tching the most about the re-closing that they are responsible for."

 

interesting tidbit - some restaurants in PA are allowing people to dine-in.  my daughter and some friends in her little social bubble went to a pizza place one day last week.  she said they had to wear their masks until they were seated.  but that means they were able to be maskless when someone came over to take their order.  i might have thought you had to wear a mask until your drinks and food came, but maybe it's different for each restaurant? we had dinner inside last night, me, daughter, and one of her friends in said bubble.  we sat near the back of the restaurant, the only other people in side were two other customers at a table along the opposite wall from us, and the three or so employees at the front behind the counter.  that wasn't so bad.  but it's the ppl who have to go out every night to bars and clubs and they're packed in like they just don't care? those are the ppl who need to wear masks.

[Lagie]

Our server today had a shield on. Only a shield. Which is technically wrong. The other server had his mask pulled down below his mouth.

 

Oh and 21 (!!!) new cases today. Each day is higher than the day before.

[Astreya]

@Lagie

The big problem is that many cases only show up 1-2 weeks after an event, and from what you wrote you still had your borders open to US people about that time ago.

[Lagie]

1 hour ago, Astreya said:

@Lagie

The big problem is that many cases only show up 1-2 weeks after an event, and from what you wrote you still had your borders open to US people about that time ago.

That's exactly the time frame, but it seems to be Bahamians that went to the US and returned rather than Americans who came here. 

[Astreya]

This is not looking good. There has been a new infection in a senior care home where one carer was tested positive. For now the two wards the carer was responsible for are isolated and the whole care home (carers and residents) will all be tested right away.

 

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

Daily update for Oberhausen, NRW, Germany:

 

As of today, Tuesday, July 21, 10:00 GMT+2,  my home town (population 211 000) has 35 (+7)  active cases, while 299 (+2) people have recovered. All in all there have been 346 (+9) 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 10.9.

 

Currently 3 (+-0) persons are treated in hospitals, 2 of them in intensive care. 12 persons sadly died. 93 (+1) persons are currently quarantined. All in all there have been 15 937 Covid-19 tests in Oberhausen up to Monday, July 20.

 

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

 

Edited July 21, 2020 by Astreya

[purplehaze]

While we struggle with containing the spread of the virus, there is hope on the treatment front.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jul/20/trial-of-covid-19-coronavirus-drug-given-via-inhaler-sng001-very-promising-say-scientists?utm_term=e772ef9d139fb89200130c4ababe4d5f&utm_campaign=USMorningBriefing&utm_source=esp&utm_medium=Email&CMP=usbriefing_email

Quote

Trials of an experimental drug inhaled by patients have found a significant reduction in hospital patients with Covid-19 needing to be put on a ventilator or dying from the disease, according to researchers.

The drug, called SNG001, is delivered via an inhaler and is based on interferon beta, a protein produced naturally in the body that plays an important role in coordinating the body’s antiviral response.

Researchers have announced the results of an initial trial which found the odds of Covid-19 patients needing ventilation, or dying, while being treated in hospital were reduced by 79% among those given SNG001 compared with those given a placebo.

What is more, the team behind the trial say those given the drug were just over twice as likely to show “no limitation of activities” or “no clinical or virological evidence of infection” during the 16-day study period – in other words, the chance of recovery was boosted. Those given the drug also showed a reduction in breathlessness...

 

Edited July 21, 2020 by purplehaze