Coronavirus COVID-19 - Global Health Pandemic #79

[FrostOwl]

A Swedish study by a professor in pulmonary health seems to indicate that one reason why people die from covid-19 is that the lungs are filled with a jelly made of hyaluronic acid, and that there are treatment against it.
Gelé i lungorna kan behandlas med läkemedel som finns i dag
Hyaluronic acid - Wikipedia

 

[FrostOwl]

Oh my gosh. Is anyone that's wearing masks 4+ hours each day struggling with allergies that are worse than usual? The post nasal junk and coughing it up are about to get the best of me. Jmo

My guess is that a reason for that is that when wearing a mask, whether cloth or paper, you will breath in tiny fibres from it, and those fibres irritate the cilia in the nose and lungs. Add to that a moist environment under the mask.
Cilium - Wikipedia

 

[CSIDreamer]

My guess is that a reason for that is that when wearing a mask, whether cloth or paper, you will breath in tiny fibres from it, and those fibres irritate the cilia in the nose and lungs. Add to that a moist environment under the mask.
Cilium - Wikipedia

That makes all the sense in the world. Thank you.

 

[weepingangel]

Holyoke Soldiers’ Home superintendent, former medical director facing criminal neglect charges

massachusetts/ more at link
Holyoke Soldiers' Home Superintendent Bennett Walsh and Dr. David Clinton, the home’s former medical director, have been charged with criminal neglect in connection with a COVID-19 outbreak at the facility that killed dozens of veterans.

Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey’s office confirmed the charges Friday morning, and said Walsh, 50, and Clinton, 71, were indicted Thursday by a statewide grand jury. The men each face five counts of two separate charges: caretaker who wantonly or recklessly commits or permits bodily injury to an elder or disabled person, and a similarly worded charge pertaining to the alleged “abuse, neglect or mistreatment” of an elderly or disabled person.
The charges come six months after Healey’s office began investigating the outbreak at the 247-bed long-term care facility that claimed the lives of 76 veterans and sickened many others — some of whom are still recovering at the Soldiers' Home or other facilities.

 

[Cool Cats]

I’m conflicted. Are people who attend super spreader events really entrenched in their beliefs or are they just ignorant?

What's the difference?

 

[weepingangel]

Virginia governor, wife, test positive for coronavirus
More at link
RICHMOND, Va. —

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam and his wife, First Lady Pamela Northam have both tested positive for the coronavirus.

The governor's office said in a statement Friday that Northam is showing no symptoms while those of Pam Northam are mild.

Northam and his wife plan to isolate for the next 10 days while working remotely.

Northam, a Democrat, is the country’s only governor who is also a doctor.

Some Republican lawmakers criticize his restrictions aimed at slowing the spread of the coronavirus, calling them too stringent.

 

[weepingangel]

Parents knowingly sent kids with coronavirus to school, Wisconsin officials say
More at link
Parents are knowingly sending their children who have coronavirus back to classes in Wisconsin, health officials said on Thursday, which could lead to potential school district shutdowns.

“The health department has worked with school districts since spring to make a plan to reopen,” Kirsten Johnson, Washington-Ozaukee public health director, told NBC News. “Never in a million years did we imagine or think to account for parents deliberately sending their sick or symptomatic child to school.”

 

[10ofRods]

While the spike in Arizona’a one day case rate caused that day to rise, due to a need to rectify data by adding in cases that had occurred over several days, the rectified per day numbers still put AZ and several other states in the rapidly rising group:

The coronavirus is surging again

Texas and New Jersey are also in the group of fastest rising states (22 states total are experiencing rises, but the dark colored states are rising most rapidly). SD, ND and WI have been on that list for a couple of weeks.

 

[mickey2942]

Oh my gosh. Is anyone that's wearing masks 4+ hours each day struggling with allergies that are worse than usual? The post nasal junk and coughing it up are about to get the best of me. Jmo

I wear a mask about 10 hours a day, with breaks for lunch. I went to an ENT I was having so many problems. I have been prescribed 2 different sprays. Suggest that you also make an appointment.

 

[10ofRods]

Virginia governor, wife, test positive for coronavirus
More at link
RICHMOND, Va. —

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam and his wife, First Lady Pamela Northam have both tested positive for the coronavirus.

The governor's office said in a statement Friday that Northam is showing no symptoms while those of Pam Northam are mild.

Northam and his wife plan to isolate for the next 10 days while working remotely.

Northam, a Democrat, is the country’s only governor who is also a doctor.

Some Republican lawmakers criticize his restrictions aimed at slowing the spread of the coronavirus, calling them too stringent.

So...is that both the Missouri and Virginia’s governors and spouses?

I know the Missouri governor is rather older than the Virginia governor, but haven’t seen updates on his condition since yesterday - I believe he’s in the hospital.

I think most politicians are taking off their masks when they’re speaking to cameras (etc) and using social distancing instead - but 6 feet is really not enough...

 

[dmac55]

I’m conflicted. Are people who attend super spreader events really entrenched in their beliefs or are they just ignorant?

Both in my experience

The people i know who are resistant to wearing masks, and don't believe or know about the concepts of civic duty or "for the greater good", fall down a political party line, closely followed by a level of education line

Their thinking is that not wearing a mask is an expression of their "rights and freedoms", and some believe that thinking makes them patriotic

I.Can.Not. as the kids say

My view/experience

Edited sloppy spelling

 

[MimosaMornings]

Parents knowingly sent kids with coronavirus to school, Wisconsin officials say
More at link
Parents are knowingly sending their children who have coronavirus back to classes in Wisconsin, health officials said on Thursday, which could lead to potential school district shutdowns.

“The health department has worked with school districts since spring to make a plan to reopen,” Kirsten Johnson, Washington-Ozaukee public health director, told NBC News. “Never in a million years did we imagine or think to account for parents deliberately sending their sick or symptomatic child to school.”

I worked for a company that organized “picture day” in various schools and you would not believe how many visibly sick children would be at school that day.
Just to get their picture made.

I felt so sorry for the younger students because it was obvious they were not well and needed to be home in bed.
JMO

 

[musicaljoke]

Parents knowingly sent kids with coronavirus to school, Wisconsin officials say
<rsbm>
“The health department has worked with school districts since spring to make a plan to reopen,” Kirsten Johnson, Washington-Ozaukee public health director, told NBC News. “Never in a million years did we imagine or think to account for parents deliberately sending their sick or symptomatic child to school.”

There's a lot of human behaviour that we never in a million years imagined people would do during a pandemic. For me, the most shocking of all, is that the expertise and authority of the CDC has been undermined by the present gov't administration and that a Canadian professor would have a role to play. Only a few months ago, I may have bet my life that such a thing could never be.

Canadian professor at heart of controversy over White House push to control COVID-19 messaging | National Post

 

[CSIDreamer]

I wear a mask about 10 hours a day, with breaks for lunch. I went to an ENT I was having so many problems. I have been prescribed 2 different sprays. Suggest that you also make an appointment.

I may have to. I normally have 1 little coughing fit in the morning. Its 1 pm and I'm still going strong. Ugh.

 

[anneg]

The Columbia Chronicle's editor tried to address this kind of issue in the recent edition of their college newspaper.

Spread kindness, not the coronavirus
Although the pandemic may look different to everyone—some who have lost loved ones to the virus, others who must work from home with small kids attending school virtually and those who do not have the option of working from home if they want to keep their jobs—we all have to get through this together by having respect for others’ emotions and health.

What I have learned from this is that there is a time for understanding and kindness.
This means, yes, wearing a mask and looking out for one another by actively attempting to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
It can also mean calling a family member or friend once in a while, volunteering, showing appreciation and compassion, performing random acts of kindness or just trying to peacefully coexist with co-workers, roommates and community members.

Editor’s Note: spread kindness, not the coronavirus

What a great editorial! This is such a good message.

 

[anneg]

About 12 states are now seeing mask usage rates above 50%, according to researchers from the University of Washington's Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME).

Those include California, Colorado, Florida, Maryland, Mississippi, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, Washington and West Virginia.

The IHME projects if 95% of Americans wore masks, more than 95,000 lives could be saved by January.

US still in first Covid-19 wave and should be prepared for 'challenge' of fall and winter, Fauci says

I'm happy to see NC on that list as well as the other states listed. Saving 95,000 lives is a worthy goal indeed.

 

[musicaljoke]

Reading that article makes me angry: one of his patients said she liked the fact that the doc and staff didn't wear masks or observe social distancing -so going there wasn't like "the end of the world"-- he even shook hands with his patients. SMH

But in reality, it was the end of his world.

 

[musicaljoke]

What's the difference?

That's a very good question. There is no difference in the end result, is there?

It's so important that the message is directed to people so that they can understand it. So if people can't comprehend the science, then giving them research results isn't the way to educate them. Perhaps they relate more to role models such as sports figures, movie stars, gov't and religious leaders, TV personalities, or royalty, and will mimic what they see there.

I think that our pandemic planning wasn't prepared for the push back from people who could not keep up with developing information. Was it JerseyGirl who posted an article that said 12 states have 50% or more of the population wearing masks? Those figures are way too low. The social distancing and mask message has been preached for at least a few months, but it is not reaching most of the American people.

Perhaps it's time to reexamine how the message is being put out there. Is there a mixed message, an uncoordinated effort, conflict and power posturing that is creating too much confusion?

Coronavirus: U.S. federal government’s mixed messages on masks creates confusion

 

[BlueShoe]

Michigan’s Upper Peninsula getting hit hard by surge of coronavirus cases
Michigan's Upper Peninsula is now another place where Covid-19 is spreading.

 

[JerseyGirl]

WHO says 2 million coronavirus deaths is 'not impossible' as world approaches 1 million

"It's certainly unimaginable, but it's not impossible because if we look at losing 1 million people in nine months and then we just look at the realities of getting vaccines out there in the next nine months, it's a big task for everyone involved," Dr. Mike Ryan, executive director of the WHO's health emergencies program, said in regards to whether the coronavirus death toll could rise to 2 million people.

"The real question is: Are we prepared, collectively, to do what it takes to avoid that number?" Ryan said.

"The time for action is now on every single aspect of this strategic approach," Ryan said. "Not just test and trace, not just clinical care, not just social distancing, not just hygiene, not just masks, not just vaccines. Do it all, and unless we do it all, (2 million deaths) are not only imaginable but unfortunately and sadly very likely."