Coronavirus COVID-19 - Global Health Pandemic #108

[kakadu]

Europe is not offering any 2nd booster over here. But I still wear my mask everywhere I go... View attachment 343764

Niner, Germany offers 2nd booster. Some of my friends have already got it. I'll get it in May too. I always wear my mask when I go shopping.

 

[Niner]

Niner, Germany offers 2nd booster. Some of my friends have already got it. I'll get it in May too. I always wear my mask when I go shopping.

Well in Latvia they are offering any 2nd boosters. My doctor didn't even know about a 2nd booster shot.... so who knows!

 

[anneg]

I just snorted my Diet Coke when I read the last sentence.

The last ten people that tested positive on a PCR test came to work.
Each one insisted they didn’t have Covid but came to work with varying degrees of symptoms and stated.....

“It’s just allergies”
“It’s just a runny nose”
“I have a cold not covid!”
“Just a bad head cold”

Oh for pity's sake! You mean they tested positive and THEN showed up at work in spite of it? I wonder if any of them were wearing a mask (doubt it).

Remember when we had to have our temperature taken many places? I wish we had something like those fever sensors that instead could tell instantly if people have Covid. They could be told to turn around and go straight home.

At my reunion, I'll definitely have an eye/ear out for anyone sneezing, blowing their nose, coughing, etc.

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

Oh for pity's sake! You mean they tested positive and THEN showed up at work in spite of it? I wonder if any of them were wearing a mask (doubt it).

Remember when we had to have our temperature taken many places? I wish we had something like those fever sensors that instead could tell instantly if people have Covid. They could be told to turn around and go straight home.

At my reunion, I'll definitely have an eye/ear out for anyone sneezing, blowing their nose, coughing, etc.

Here in southeastern lower Michigan, outdoor allergies are prevalent this time of year. Plenty of folks are coughing and/or sneezing, have watery eyes, runny nose, scratchy throat, etc. that are not necessarily linked to Covid. These symptoms would not lead me to assume that someone has Covid. I'm sure you will be careful and avoid contact with someone whom you truly believe might be infected with the nasty virus, but those same symptoms could be due to seasonal allergies. Enjoy your class reunion!

 

[ilovepierre]

I just snorted my Diet Coke when I read the last sentence.

The last ten people that tested positive on a PCR test came to work.
Each one insisted they didn’t have Covid but came to work with varying degrees of symptoms and stated.....

“It’s just allergies”
“It’s just a runny nose”
“I have a cold not covid!”
“Just a bad head cold”

I work at a grocery store and we aren’t allowed at work with symptoms-COVID or not. I’ve lost track of how many days of work I’ve missed due to either having COVID or a cold/flu.

Of course, not everyone follows the rules...

 

[cujenn81]

North Korea ‘Sending Out SOS’ as It Admits Unnamed Disease Has Spread to 350,000 People

Experts told VICE World News the outbreak is very likely COVID, with fears of “mass death” as the virus ravages the country’s unvaccinated and malnourished population.

www.vice.com

An article, published Friday by the country’s international broadcasting service the Voice of Korea, revealed that an “obscure febrile disease has been explosively spread and expanded on a nationwide scale since late April, producing more than 350,000 persons in a fever in a short time.”

The report did not explicitly state that the widespread infections were from COVID, but experts say it was a tacit admission that the virus has spread across the isolated country of 25.8 million people, which until this week had denied it had any confirmed case of the disease and rejected vaccine offers.

Experts fear the ramifications of such an outbreak could be catastrophic as the country is not known to have administered any COVID vaccines to its population.

“You can think of what happened in Wuhan when it first broke out, when no one had been infected before. But what’s spreading in North Korea now is five to six times more transmissible than the one in Wuhan,” said Lee. “The infection rate will be rising fast. No North Korean is immunised and well-nourished, so it’ll probably result in mass death.”

“There’s a high probability it could be a huge catastrophe.”

“The fact that they disclosed it themselves shows the severity of it; they wouldn’t have if it weren’t so serious,” said Lee. “It’s like they’re sending out an SOS to the world. The situation must be more serious than [has been] disclosed already.”

 

[dmac55]

Why 1 million dead from COVID is so hard for our brains to understand | PBS NewsHour
Why 1 million dead from COVID is so hard for our brains to understand
Why 1 million dead from COVID is so hard for our brains to understand

 

[MimosaMornings]

Oh for pity's sake! You mean they tested positive and THEN showed up at work in spite of it? I wonder if any of them were wearing a mask (doubt it).

Remember when we had to have our temperature taken many places? I wish we had something like those fever sensors that instead could tell instantly if people have Covid. They could be told to turn around and go straight home.

At my reunion, I'll definitely have an eye/ear out for anyone sneezing, blowing their nose, coughing, etc.

Sorry, the way I worded made it sound like they tested positive then came to work.
They tested negative on a rapid the day before reporting to the job so had the all clear to work. We are supposed to report any symptoms and remove ourselves from the job to be tested. They were on site for multiple days, some did additional rapids which were negative but with visible symptoms all were sent to have a PCR test which came back positive.
Masks are required for work but if you take them off during your lunch hour and sit in an indoor area with others to eat with masks off?
A Covid sensor would be a great tool.

Have fun at your reunion!

 

[MimosaMornings]

Opinion | This key step to getting Covid-19 under control isn’t getting enough attention (or money)

We need to invest in reducing exposures, or we will have many more cases to deal with and an increased likelihood of new variants.

www.nbcnews.com

“With infectious diseases, if we reduce transmission, fewer people will get infected from a given case, waves will end more quickly and many lives will be saved. An online calculator reinforces how this can work. With a standard set of assumptions, if you put 20 people in a room with poor ventilation, no filtration and no masks, the calculator says seven of them will be infected within an hour. If you improve the ventilation (outdoor air supply increasing to the recommended six air changes per hour), only three get infected. If you add masks that have a 50 percent particle reduction effectiveness (N95s are more effective) to that scenario, only one gets infected. And if you add a good HEPA filter on top, no one may be infected. The exact numbers will differ by variant and setting, but the idea is clear: If one case quickly leads to seven, things can get bad in a hurry. If no one is infected, we can get things under control faster.”

“The virus doesn’t care if we are tired of dealing with it.”

 

[Sundog]

North Korea ‘Sending Out SOS’ as It Admits Unnamed Disease Has Spread to 350,000 People

Experts told VICE World News the outbreak is very likely COVID, with fears of “mass death” as the virus ravages the country’s unvaccinated and malnourished population.

www.vice.com

An article, published Friday by the country’s international broadcasting service the Voice of Korea, revealed that an “obscure febrile disease has been explosively spread and expanded on a nationwide scale since late April, producing more than 350,000 persons in a fever in a short time.”

The report did not explicitly state that the widespread infections were from COVID, but experts say it was a tacit admission that the virus has spread across the isolated country of 25.8 million people, which until this week had denied it had any confirmed case of the disease and rejected vaccine offers.

Experts fear the ramifications of such an outbreak could be catastrophic as the country is not known to have administered any COVID vaccines to its population.

“You can think of what happened in Wuhan when it first broke out, when no one had been infected before. But what’s spreading in North Korea now is five to six times more transmissible than the one in Wuhan,” said Lee. “The infection rate will be rising fast. No North Korean is immunised and well-nourished, so it’ll probably result in mass death.”

“There’s a high probability it could be a huge catastrophe.”

“The fact that they disclosed it themselves shows the severity of it; they wouldn’t have if it weren’t so serious,” said Lee. “It’s like they’re sending out an SOS to the world. The situation must be more serious than [has been] disclosed already.”

I wonder if the international community can work with the PRC to send medical supplies to North Korea and other resources? There are 28 million people in the country and if it spreads across the country with no one being vaccinated and so much malnutrition among the population, this could be catastrophic.

ETA: Can the World Health Organization (WHO) organize the effort, does anyone know?

 

[katydid23]

I wonder if the international community can work with the PRC to send medical supplies to North Korea and other resources? There are 28 million people in the country and if it spreads across the country with no one being vaccinated and so much malnutrition among the population, this could be catastrophic.

ETA: Can the World Health Organization (WHO) organize the effort, does anyone know?

Will North Korea even accept any kind of help? I am afraid they would see it suspiciously and refuse the help.

 

[ilovepierre]

Sorry, the way I worded made it sound like they tested positive then came to work.
They tested negative on a rapid the day before reporting to the job so had the all clear to work. We are supposed to report any symptoms and remove ourselves from the job to be tested. They were on site for multiple days, some did additional rapids which were negative but with visible symptoms all were sent to have a PCR test which came back positive.
Masks are required for work but if you take them off during your lunch hour and sit in an indoor area with others to eat with masks off?
A Covid sensor would be a great tool.

Have fun at your reunion!

Where I live, PCR testing has been limited to certain people so everyone relies on rapid tests now. But even still...if we have cold/flu symptoms and have a negative rapid test, we’re still required to stay home until symptoms clear up.

 

[CSIDreamer]

I wonder if the international community can work with the PRC to send medical supplies to North Korea and other resources? There are 28 million people in the country and if it spreads across the country with no one being vaccinated and so much malnutrition among the population, this could be catastrophic.

ETA: Can the World Health Organization (WHO) organize the effort, does anyone know?

Their medical facilities are apparently very lacking, too.

North Korea confirms 21 new deaths as it battles COVID-19

North Korea has reported 21 new deaths and 174,440 more people with fever symptoms as the country scrambles to slow the spread of COVID-19 across its unvaccinated population.

apnews.com

Lacking vaccines, antiviral pills, intensive care units and other major health tools to fight the virus, North Korea’s pandemic response will be mostly about isolating people with symptoms at designated shelters, experts say.

 

[ilovewings]

Shortage of Contrast Media for CT Imaging Affecting Hospitals and Health Systems | AHA

Download the Member Advisory

www.aha.org

Serious shortage of contrast dye used in medical testing-- because we depend on China for our supply of this product. The United States must becomes less dependent on foreign countries, especially China, for so many products- due to this shortage, medical testing has been delayed in many hospitals around the country.

 

[Sundog]

Will North Korea even accept any kind of help? I am afraid they would see it suspiciously and refuse the help.

I think they would accept the held from the PRC, but not sure that PRC is in the position to help them right now at the level they need, given the covid situation inside China. Perhaps the WHO can work with the PRC to get aid to North Korea. PRC won't accept any covid aid from the U.S.

 

[Sundog]

Where I live, PCR testing has been limited to certain people so everyone relies on rapid tests now. But even still...if we have cold/flu symptoms and have a negative rapid test, we’re still required to stay home until symptoms clear up.

We can get a PRC test if we first have a positive antigen test here in Ohio.

 

[Sundog]

North Korea: Government must ensure access to Covid-19 vaccines during Omicron outbreak

Responding to North Korean state media declaring a “maximum national emergency” after the country’s first officially reported Covid-19 outbreak, Amnesty International’s East Asia Researcher Boram Jang said: “There is no evidence to show that North Korea has access to enough vaccines to protect...

www.amnesty.org

More information on situation of covid outbreak in North Korea and vaccine situation.

 

[Sundog]

Looks like South Korea and the PRC will help North Korea with covid vaccines and other medical supplies if Pyongyang will accept them/ask for them.

N. Korea reports 6 deaths after admitting COVID-19 outbreak

The office of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, who took office Tuesday, said his government is willing to provide medical supplies and hopes to talk to the North about specific plans. It said the North hasn’t yet asked for its help.

<snipped>

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said Beijing was ready to offer North Korea help but said he had no information about any such request being made. Asked whether China would be evacuating its nationals from North Korea, Zhao said Beijing will closely monitor the situation and maintain communication with the North to ensure the health and safety of Chinese citizens there.

 

[MimosaMornings]

Where I live, PCR testing has been limited to certain people so everyone relies on rapid tests now. But even still...if we have cold/flu symptoms and have a negative rapid test, we’re still required to stay home until symptoms clear up.

PCR tests are available at most pharmacy’s around here plus the county health department does free ones during the week.

 

[ilovepierre]

PCR tests are available at most pharmacy’s around here plus the county health department does free ones during the week.

The ones done at the pharmacies here cost money and are for asymptomatic people who need a PCR test to travel. Testing used to be available for everyone at our testing centres, but the criteria changed just after New Years.