Coronavirus COVID-19 - Global Health Pandemic #85

[Rose in SC]

DHEC, UofSC roll out new, random COVID-19 testing program

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) - The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control is working with the University of South Carolina to mail out invitations for a free COVID-19 test to random people across the state.

The blue envelopes with the invitations are being sent to 32,500 random people across the state across all backgrounds, races, and ethnicities. DHEC says ages five and older could be selected.

The project is called “South Carolina Strong” and it aims is to get a more accurate idea of how many people in South Carolina have been infected with the coronavirus, according to the project’s website.

The antibody and virus tests are free, voluntary, and confidential according to DHEC.

The first round of testing begins this fall, but DHEC says they plan to send the envelopes out quarterly until fall 2021.

 

[weepingangel]

Workers Tell Lawmakers of Dysfunction at Holyoke Soldiers' Home
more at link
Workers at a Massachusetts home for sick veterans where 76 residents who contracted the coronavirus died told lawmakers that the facility wasn't adequately staffed, they weren't given enough protective equipment, and they were bullied by management during the outbreak.

Current and former staffers at the Soldiers' Home in Holyoke told the Joint Special Legislative Oversight Committee on Tuesday that the ordeal left them depressed and contemplating retirement.

“They have broken many of us,'' nurse Francine Kapinos said.




New coronavirus testing site now open at Boston’s Logan Airport
More at link
The site, which will be operated by XpressSpa Group, will have seven testing rooms with the capability of conducting about 400 tests per day.

“We will be starting by testing airport employees and airline employees,” said Doug Satzman, CEO of XpressSpa. “We will be opening up to passengers after a couple of weeks.”

The COVID-19 tests cost $75, though discounts are available for airport and airline employees. People can also submit insurance claims.

Some tests will be sent to an outside lab for processing. An on-site lab will also be operational.


Rapid tests will cost $215, but results will be available in about 15 minutes.

 

[weepingangel]

Mass. Keeps Pressure on School Districts to Have Kids in Classrooms
Much more at link
Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker and his top education advisors urged schools Tuesday not to overreact to the rise in COVID-19 cases this fall, telling even those districts in communities deemed to be at the highest risk for transmission of the virus to stick with in-person learning unless there is evidence of spread within the school system.




Martha’s Vineyard COVID-19 cluster linked to wedding
More at link
Valley told the newspaper four of the eight people who tested positive were workers involved with the wedding, while the other four individuals were guests.


Two of the eight positive cases have been released from isolation. Another two have been referred to off-island health officials, and the other four remain in quarantine, according to the Gazette.


The Oct. 11 wedding, which was held both indoors and outdoors, did not violate any restrictions surrounding gathering sizes. However, Valley told the newspaper, some attendees did not abide by out-of-state travel rules.

 

[nhmemorymaker]

Kroger to offer 15-minute COVID-19 antibody tests at pharmacies | 11alive.com

Will it cost anything??
Are there any conditions on getting it?
Seems to me that this will not be a big seller....... people are being told new and changing news daily on the length of antibody protections.

Seems people who THOUGHT they had the disease many months back, would know it was too long ago.

Who would be the primary targets???

 

[Rose in SC]

SOUTH CAROLINA just can't keep that percent positive down.

DHEC: 636 new cases of COVID-19 for SC, 32 additional deaths | WBTW

165,477 confirmed positive cases (+636)

3,634 confirmed deaths (+32)

Total Tests Received - 1,936,739
Percent Positive - 15.5%

 

[sds71]

"State epidemiologist Josh Clayton said Wednesday that there are 28 people in South Dakota who have possibly been reinfected with the disease 90 days after their first infection, raising questions about how long antibodies can fight future infections."
South Dakota reaches new highs in COVID-19 hospitalizations, daily cases

 

[nhmemorymaker]

Mass. Keeps Pressure on School Districts to Have Kids in Classrooms
Much more at link
Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker and his top education advisors urged schools Tuesday not to overreact to the rise in COVID-19 cases this fall, telling even those districts in communities deemed to be at the highest risk for transmission of the virus to stick with in-person learning unless there is evidence of spread within the school system.




Martha’s Vineyard COVID-19 cluster linked to wedding

Valley told the newspaper four of the eight people who tested positive were workers involved with the wedding, while the other four individuals were guests.


Two of the eight positive cases have been released from isolation. Another two have been referred to off-island health officials, and the other four remain in quarantine, according to the Gazette.


The Oct. 11 wedding, which was held both indoors and outdoors, did not violate any restrictions surrounding gathering sizes. However, Valley told the newspaper, some attendees did not abide by out-of-state travel rules.

ahhhh, a wedding on Martha's Vineyard sounds so lovely!
Massachusetts has one of the better track and trace programs out there, so I wish the article had indicated from which states they had come from....

This state information set by Baker, is very interesting.... States that had the hugest outbreaks at the onset, when we knew nothing about how to handle this, and who suffered soooooo much are now the most low risk states.. That does say something...

Perhaps some of these late arrival states to the Covid outbreaks will learn too, and become more low-risk. Maybe not though, since we know so so much more how to handle the disease, so other states will probably never have to feel the true suffering that WA, CA, NY and NJ did.

Orders from Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker’s office requires travelers from 40 other states to quarantine for 14 days after arriving to the Bay State or provide proof of a negative COVID-19 test at most three days before their arrival.

Visitors coming from lower-risk states are exempt from the travel restrictions. As of Oct. 14, those states were California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Vermont and Washington state. Washington, D.C. is also excluded.

 

[Curiousobserver]

It's being politicized in other countries as well and there's no good reason for it - we see people downplaying the virus and other people trying to make it worse than it is.

And why? So, they can try to pin blame on someone. Never mind that we could spend our time trying to share important information, lets toss out non-peer-reviewed studies and politicized "documentaries" because it's more important to have an agenda than to discuss honestly.

Sigh...

And neither side has a way out. They have both painted themselves into a corner. Nobody can admit where the other side was right.

At the beginning, when 10% of people who were infected ended up in the hospital and 25% of those people died, locking everything down for a while made sense.

The folks opposed to being forced to wear masks and who didn't want to stay home had to be "defeated". The disease was characterized as a severe threat to humanity in the media and your response to it made you a good, or bad, person. But once you paint something as such an existential threat, how do you get back to normal if the disease is still around? The answer is that you can't, its like a tiger trap.

In the same way you can't get out of the trap if you have been painting this as some sort of hoax, defiantly refusing the wear masks or to socially distance, holding parties and going to bars. If it isn't real how to you admit it might be a good idea to wear a mask to help keep the case-count down.

Now, fortunately, the situation is very different; the fraction of people hospitalized is half what it was, and those hospitalized patients who die has dropped 3-5 fold. This is due both to the demographic being affected (younger people) and also to better treatment. While the disease could still devastate older people, the overall pandemic is much less "impactful" in terms of deaths than it was 7 months ago- which is great news. But neither side can budge.

As cases surge, the politicians and pundits who advocated lockdowns have nowhere to logically go except back to lockdowns and while wearing masks everywhere would slow the spread, anti-maskers throw more parties and defy health authorities.

I hope common sense prevails- everybody should be wearing masks when they are within 6 feet of a stranger and visiting crowded places less often, not never, but less often. On the other hand lockdowns like we saw in April and May might be a little extreme.

 

[dixiegirl1035]

Will it cost anything??RSBM Who would be the primary targets???

"The Ohio-based supermarket chain said the FDA-authorized tests will be available at all Kroger pharmacies and clinics by the end of November. The antibody tests, supplied by Whitmire Medical, involve a finger-prick blood sample to detect antibodies to SARS-CoV-2, the virus which causes COVID-19. The tests cost $25 and typically provide results within 15 minutes that let a person know if they've previously been infected, the company said.

People who think they currently have COVID-19 should not take an antibody test because it only detects antibodies developed in response to the virus, not the virus itself. Kroger has more than 2,200 pharmacies and 220 clinics in 35 states. The Kroger Co. grocery stores include Kroger, Harris Teeter, Ralphs, King Sooper's, Fry's, Fred Meyer and more."
The Kroger Co. Family of Stores includes:

• Baker’s
• City Market
• Dillons
• Food 4 Less
• Foods Co
• Fred Meyer
• Fry’s
• Gerbes
• Harris Teeter
• King Soopers
• Jay C Food Store
• Kroger
• Pay-Less Super Markets
• QFC
• Ralphs
• Smith’s Food and Drug
  

Source of stores: kroger.com

 

[GRT]

"State epidemiologist Josh Clayton said Wednesday that there are 28 people in South Dakota who have possibly been reinfected with the disease 90 days after their first infection, raising questions about how long antibodies can fight future infections."
South Dakota reaches new highs in COVID-19 hospitalizations, daily cases

We're starting to see more reinfections. That makes it all the more vital to develop a good vaccine.

 

[weepingangel]

Mass contact tracers getting back to work
As COVID-19 numbers rise, Massachusetts Contact Tracing Collaborative ramps back up

 

[Colorado303]

Went to Walgreens today for a flu shot. Big sign at the front of the store saying masks are required. First two shoppers I see —maskless. And not youngsters, either. In a drug store where sick people shop. Mentioned it to the pharmacist and she just shrugged. For crying out loud.

 

[weepingangel]

Yah just wait until all the folks who aren’t really paying attention to the sciencey parts realize they’ll need a covid shot every year. Or six months or whatever.

I am seriously ready to hibernate for the next six months. Wake me up when it’s (almost hopefully) over.

We're starting to see more reinfections. That makes it all the more vital to develop a good vaccine.

 

[nhmemorymaker]

Iowa numbers today: As of 10:00-11:00 a.m. we had 1,814 new confirmed cases for a total of 119,444 confirmed cases of which 90,422 had recovered (+1,009). 22 more were reported to have passed for a total of 1,680. 113 were hospitalized in the last 24 hrs. for a total of 596 (both new daily records). There are 29,022 active postive cases. Here are they daily age groups: 0-17: 10,538 (+175); 18-40: 53,696 (+658); 41-60: 33,040 (+551), 61-80: 17,187 (+298); & 81+: 4,954 (+131). Oct. 28: Iowa COVID-19 hospitalizations continue to spike with 1,814 new cases reported and 22 more deaths
Iowa COVID-19 Information
Iowa monitors staffing levels as COVID-19 hospitalizations spike Governor Reynolds more concerned about staffing hospitals than the number of beds available. She hasn't had a p.c. since Oct. 7. She won't have any until after the election.

grrrrrr. Don't like how your governor is playing politics, by not having any press conferences while your numbers are spiking.... (says she won't till after election)
At least our Florida governor stays very active in the public limelight !! Always!!! Ha Ha.

Florida Governor Wants International Tourists Back And Cruises To Resume

Gov. DeSantis says Florida schools should not close due to COVID-19 outbreaks

 

[amandab]

Went to Walgreens today for a flu shot. Big sign at the front of the store saying masks are required. First two shoppers I see —maskless. And not youngsters, either. In a drug store where sick people shop. Mentioned it to the pharmacist and she just shrugged. For crying out loud.

Things like this are why I'm perfectly content to nurture my budding agoraphobia.

 

[dixiegirl1035]

It's LIVE NOW, and has a live moderated chat room underneath.

JAMA Q&A (Journal of the American Medical Association) with Dr. Fauci

 

[dixiegirl1035]

Haven't read this, they just linked it in the chat room.

October 26, 2020
Preventing the Spread of SARS-CoV-2 With Masks and Other “Low-tech” Interventions
Andrea M. Lerner, MD, MS1; Gregory K. Folkers, MS, MPH1; Anthony S. Fauci, MD1

ETA: Ooops, here is link

Preventing the Spread of SARS-CoV-2 With Masks and Other “Low-tech” Interventions

 

[dixiegirl1035]

Per above JAMA Q&A with Fauci (I do hope that the chat feed is done on replay as they have moderators that are answering questions live in addition to questions presented to Fauci)

I'll do a few ETA's in case not...

1. 20 million is the number of health care workers which will be first wave of folks to get the vaccine, and there will be five levels of priority (IIRC, I posted that a few days ago)
2. He spoke about Oz outbreak in Melbourne and the shut down.. with mandatory mandate for MASKS with $1,000 fine. In a couple of months went from 20,000 cases to ZERO.

Oh well, it lasted 30 minutes so I didn't get much in as to info. Here are some other links they shared in the chat.

https://covid-trials.org/

Preventing the Spread of SARS-CoV-2 With Masks and Other “Low-tech” Interventions
October 26, 2020


Corticosteroids in COVID-19 ARDS



Next Friday they will cover Herd Immunity (this is a weekly series)

 

[acutename]

Anyone else in other states experiencing this? I don't go out to eat anymore, so it's news to me!

Restaurants, businesses turning to COVID surcharge to make up for pandemic expenses | WBTW

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD) – Have you have noticed a COVID-19, personal protective equipment (PPE) surcharge expense on your bill after eating out or visiting a business lately?

If so, you’re not alone. It’s something that is becoming more popular around the country due to the pandemic, and Lowcountry diners are taking note.

A patron at a Lowcountry restaurant recently received a 2% surcharge, and some businesses are charging even more.

Customers say the extra charge came as a surprise when they received their bill. And some were not pleased: “If they are struggling and they are needing more money to help, there’s other ways to do it than just charging the customers,” says tourist Peggy Maxwell. “Start a ********, do something.”

Maxwell believes most customers would be willing to pay the additional fee if told about it first.

Have only been out 2x (ate outside) and gotten take out a few times. Some menus have been "simplified" (less options) and the food costs a bit more. We were asked to "volunteer" to pay 2% more a discount store to pay the employees more because they needed hazard pay. It was really not much, so I said OK.

 

[MassGuy]

Coronavirus: France and Germany have announced second national lockdowns

President Emmanuel Macron confirmed his country's widely-expected measures, which will begin on Friday and remain in place until 1 December. They will not include closing schools.

Measures will include:

• Shutting restaurants and bars
• A travel ban between regions
• An emphasis on people staying at home
• A focus on working from home
• Closing external borders outside the Schengen Area
• Universities moving to online teaching

The only reasons people should leave their homes, Mr Macron said, will be to buy essential goods, seek medical attention, or exercise for an hour a day.

It comes hours after similar plans laid out by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who said her nation will enter a four-week lockdown from 2 November.