Coronavirus COVID-19 - Global Health Pandemic #100

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Deprived of work by COVID, prison escapee turns himself in after 30 years of beach life on the lam

September 15, 2021 / 4:45 AM / AP

Canberra, Australia — A 64-year-old fugitive walked into a Sydney police station to give himself up almost 30 years after he used a hacksaw blade and bolt cutters to escape from prison, police said on Wednesday. Darko Desic decided to go back to prison because Sydney's COVID-19 lockdown made him jobless and homeless, media reported.

Desic surrendered at Dee Why Police Station at Sydney's fashionable northern beaches on Sunday morning and was denied bail when he appeared in a downtown court on Tuesday charged with escaping from lawful custody in 1992, a police statement said. The charge carries a potential seven-year prison sentence.

Sydney's lockdown, which began in June, had cost Desic his cash-in-hand work as a laborer and handyman, unnamed police sources told Sydney's The Daily Telegraph and Australian Broadcasting Corp.

australia-avalon-sydney-beach-1295562549.jpg

People enjoy the afternoon sunshine at Avalon Beach, January 10, 2021, in Sydney, Australia, where fugitive Darko Desic is believed to have spent 30 years living on the lam, until COVID-19 deprived him of work.

"He slept on the beach on Saturday night and said: 'Stuff it, I'll go back to prison where there's a roof over my head,'" a source told the newspaper.

Desic was 35 when he escaped from a century-old prison in Grafton, 390 miles north of Sydney, over the night of July 31-August 1, 1992.

Police allege he used tools including a hacksaw blade and bolt cutters to cut through his cell window bars and a perimeter fence.

He had served 13 months of a three-and-a-half-year sentence for growing marijuana.

Born in the former Yugoslavia, Desic told police he escaped because he thought he would be deported once he had served his sentence, the newspaper reported. He feared he would be punished for failing to do his compulsory military service in his former country, which has since broken into several nations.
 
GRT said:
That's a real risk. This guy had a "heart episode," and ended up dying 200 miles away from home because there were no hospitals closer. They called 43 hospitals!!!

A heart patient died after he couldn't get a cardiac ICU bed in 43 hospitals. Now his family is pleading for people to get vaccinated
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Why can't they keep some beds open for non covid patients and when covid patients come to the hospital they can try and find beds for them- why should non covid patients be treated like chopped liver? It is so unfair-
 
Can I Ask Someone If They Got the COVID Vaccine? (And 3 Other Post-Pandemic Etiquette Quandaries)

Etiquette Quandaries Covid
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1. Can I Ask Someone If They’re Vaccinated?
Myka Says: Yes. During a global pandemic, your health concerns should overtake social concerns. It can be tricky and awkward to determine how to bring this up before you meet, but it’s also a necessity in order to protect yourself or your loved ones. The way you approach the question depends on your relationship with the person.

A general, but direct ask could be: ‘I’m trying to be extra cautious and only making plans with people who are vaccinated at the moment. Are you fully vaccinated?’ or ‘Can you please let me know if you’re fully vaccinated? That will help me decide where we should make plans to meet and if I need to bring my mask.’

You could also approach it by explaining that your concern comes from compassion: ‘I’m trying to protect my parents who are high-risk, and therefore not making plans with anyone un-vaccinated. Can you please let me know if you are fully vaccinated?’ Once the person answers, you can make an educated decision on what you want to do or if you wish to reschedule.

2. Do I Need to Ask Permission to Hug Someone? How About Shake Their Hand?
Myka Says: Watch the body language of the person you are greeting. Are they standoffish or running at you with open arms? If you are comfortable hugging, you can simply approach the person while asking, ‘Are you hugging or still keeping distance?’ and then follow their lead.

The same goes for a handshake. If it seems like the person you’re approaching is reaching out (and you feel comfortable yourself), go for it. But you can also respectfully ask: ‘Are you OK with a handshake?’ Then, let the other person advise on their comfort level and what they prefer.

3. How Should You Navigate Mask-Wearing Now That Mask Mandates Are Lifted?
Myka Says: If you are fully vaccinated and a store, office or restaurant has a ‘mask optional’ sign up, then do as you feel most comfortable. If there is a sign clearly stating ‘enter only with a mask on,’ you should show respect by following the guidelines set by the building’s management.

Mask etiquette is simply about showing respect to other people while keeping yourself safe, too. As for whether or not you prefer to continue wearing one even though you’re vaccinated, don’t feel pressure to explain why. If you want to have an answer at the ready, you can simply say something along the lines of, ‘I’m being extra cautious!’ and then change the subject.

In general, it’s important to remember that people have varying comfort levels and, after such a traumatic time period, it may take time for some people to adjust, which is their prerogative. It’s worth noting that it could be considered invasive to ask someone why they are wearing a mask, as everyone has their own reasons and we should respect that.

4. How Should You Handle Desk-Sharing?
Myka Says: Wipe down shared items after use such as landline phones and conferencing systems. You should also follow any mask guidelines set by your HR department and try not to share communal items like scissors, pens or tape dispensers.

Instead, request your own set that you can tuck in a desk drawer. Bottom line: Do your best to keep the space tidy and organized. (And, if it helps your comfort level, you could always ask your company about cleaning protocol.)
 
ilovewings said:
Why can't they keep some beds open for non covid patients and when covid patients come to the hospital they can try and find beds for them- why should non covid patients be treated like chopped liver? It is so unfair-
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It seems as though they should be able to set up temp hospitals in larger cities--like they did last year--and then transfer covid patients there. That would open up local beds, but plus, it would keep the covid patients in one place rather than spread all around. Wouldn't that reduce the spread?

Then again, I think hospitals might get additional monies for treating covid patients, which might make them want to keep them. I just don't know, but it seems as though some sort of provisions should be made for patients that suffer from other illnesses or injuries.
 
GRT said:
It seems as though they should be able to set up temp hospitals in larger cities--like they did last year--and then transfer covid patients there. That would open up local beds, but plus, it would keep the covid patients in one place rather than spread all around. Wouldn't that reduce the spread?

Then again, I think hospitals might get additional monies for treating covid patients, which might make them want to keep them. I just don't know, but it seems as though some sort of provisions should be made for patients that suffer from other illnesses or injuries.
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It really bugs me- like if a person is having a heart attack and needs to be hospitalized to save their life---- well, tough toenails tootsie for them- all of our beds are occupied with Covid patients-- so I guess that patient will just have to die ( and we know this is happening every day)- what kind of health system is that?
 
GRT said:
It seems as though they should be able to set up temp hospitals in larger cities--like they did last year--and then transfer covid patients there. That would open up local beds, but plus, it would keep the covid patients in one place rather than spread all around. Wouldn't that reduce the spread?

Then again, I think hospitals might get additional monies for treating covid patients, which might make them want to keep them. I just don't know, but it seems as though some sort of provisions should be made for patients that suffer from other illnesses or injuries.
Click to expand...

You've got to have enough medical staff to do that. You already have a population of burned out and dejected medical staff, after 18 months of fighting this virus and trying to save people's lives.
 
Cool Cats said:
1. Can I Ask Someone If They’re Vaccinated?
Myka Says: Yes. During a global pandemic, your health concerns should overtake social concerns. It can be tricky and awkward to determine how to bring this up before you meet, but it’s also a necessity in order to protect yourself or your loved ones. The way you approach the question depends on your relationship with the person.
Click to expand...

Personally, I also think etiquette should “require” that people who want to get together with us should volunteer whether or not they are vaccinated so we can make an informed decision. We tend to assume ones in our well-informed circle are vaccinated and my husband was blindsided when he asked and was told “No” in the midst of a visit. Fortunately, they were visiting outside, masked and about 12 feet apart. This was a rare exception to our life of no socializing. From now on, no assumptions!

In another case, I was interviewing home care workers by phone for a friend. When I asked a woman if she was vaccinated, she didn’t answer, but deflected to another subject. I said “I will take that as a ‘No’.” She still didn’t give me an answer, so she got crossed off the list. Unfortunately, in Oregon home care workers are not required to be vaccinated unless they are home health care workers like visiting nurses.
 
It’s def lack of staffing. Our field hospital was used -but was limited availability due to staffing. I think it was staffed mainly by travelers $$$ during the last winter/spring surge.

Also the outdoor tent at the hospitals ER- used for triaging to try and keep the potential covids separate- also underutilized due to staffing. Those patients are currently now sitting in the waiting room with everyone else.
Sometimes for very long periods of time.


SouthAussie said:
You've got to have enough medical staff to do that. You already have a population of burned out and dejected medical staff, after 18 months of fighting this virus and trying to save people's lives.
Click to expand...
 
SouthAussie said:
You've got to have enough medical staff to do that. You already have a population of burned out and dejected medical staff, after 18 months of fighting this virus and trying to save people's lives.
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And in our area, some medical staff quit rather than get vaccinated, further depleting availability and burdening remaining staff even more. :mad:
 
Lilibet said:
Personally, I also think etiquette should “require” that people who want to get together with us should volunteer whether or not they are vaccinated so we can make an informed decision. We tend to assume ones in our well-informed circle are vaccinated and my husband was blindsided when he asked and was told “No” in the midst of a visit. Fortunately, they were visiting outside, masked and about 12 feet apart. This was a rare exception to our life of no socializing. From now on, no assumptions!

In another case, I was interviewing home care workers by phone for a friend. When I asked a woman if she was vaccinated, she didn’t answer, but deflected to another subject. I said “I will take that as a ‘No’.” She still didn’t give me an answer, so she got crossed off the list. Unfortunately, in Oregon home care workers are not required to be vaccinated unless they are home health care workers like visiting nurses.
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I politely ask everyone I am in close contact with if they have "had the opportunity to get vaccinated yet". lol

I've asked my dr, my dentist, my work associates, my friends, my family. I am going to have to ask my new dental hygienist in a few weeks. What a great way to start our relationship! :D

I agree. No answer, or a deflection, means 'no'.
 
School Days Have Changed - Down in the Trench

Our School Board Refused To Mandate Masks. Now Things Are Bad. Really Bad.
“In normal times, my job involves a variety of things... Now it’s just COVID. All day and every day, COVID.”

By Sadie Kneidel
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The author after a long day of making COVID calls.

In the high country of Appalachia, with fewer than 18,000 residents in our county, it took COVID a while to reach us. But it’s here now. Since 7:30 this morning, I’ve done nothing but make COVID calls.

In normal times, my job involves a variety of things: tutoring newly arrived students; interpreting Individualized Education Programs; refereeing meetings with counselors and principals; translating documents; relaying messages about soccer practice, the school play, a forgotten trumpet.

But now it’s just COVID. All day and every day, COVID.

Yesterday, I foolishly didn’t look at my email for a few hours. It turned out I’d missed an entire class going into quarantine ― a dozen students whom I failed to call, who showed up to school this morning only to be sent home again. “But my child was wearing his mask,” one mother says, bewildered, when I finally call. “Why does he have to quarantine?” Because the other child, the positive case, was not wearing a mask, I explain.

It starts before I’ve had breakfast. A mother calls: She is not allowed to take another day off work. A father laments: I don’t have a car to come pick up my child. Another dad: I’m the only one who can drive. I have the car at work from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Where can I get him tested before or after those hours?

A mom who thought a quarantine is supposed to last 40 days because the word for “quarantine” (cuarentena) is so similar to the word for “forty” (cuarenta). A mom who says she heard that you can die from the vaccine and is genuinely afraid to get it, although both her children have been in quarantine longer than they’ve been in school, and are now home with fevers as they await the results of their second tests of the school year.

A parent who calls me to ask anxiously, “Is it safe for the children to be at school?” “Not really,” I say. Three days later, she calls to tell me her two oldest are home sick. Before I can hang up, another mom beeps in: four children, all sick, fevers, coughs, the second one coughing so hard she can’t catch her breath. They’re heading to pick up a nebulizer.

Between calls, I find myself resting my forehead on the desk.
 
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Covid US: BABIES could be given low-dose of Pfizer's jab this winter | Daily Mail Online

Pfizer's Covid vaccine could be rolled out to babies as young as six months in the US this winter, under plans being drawn up by the pharmaceutical giant.

In a move likely to cause international controversy, the company intends to apply for authorisation to immunise American infants within the next two months.

The timeline will depend on the findings of in-house trials looking into whether the vaccines are safe and effective in youngsters aged six months to five years.

Frank D'Amelio, chief financial officer at Pfizer, told an industry conference yesterday that the firm plans to 'go file' by November, the Financial Times reports
 
77.9 percent of my town have had their first vaccine dose.

No mention of the figures of those who've had both doses.

A neighbouring town is doing even better with 85.3 percent having had their first dose.

And over 4000 people here had their first dose at the ADF (Australian Defence Force vaccine clinic a week or so back.

It's in this link here which they say is free content and though I can read it, I think it's behind a paywall.

Three new COVID-19 cases without links are a concern for Bathurst
 
He almost died of COVID. Now Ky. airline pilot spreads the word on vaccine.
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Jack White, Jr. is a pilot for American Airlines and has always been in very good shape. No medications, no weight issues, doesn’t smoke or drink. He’s a conservative but didn’t pay much attention to the political hubbub over the COVID-19 vaccine. If you got COVID-19, you got kind of sick, but healthy people would be fine, he thought.

“It wasn’t political, I just figured I didn’t need it,” he said.

Then he got COVID-19.

In early August, he and his wife, Karen, both tested positive and hunkered down on their Nonesuch farm. His fever kept running at 104, but they didn’t have an oximeter, so it wasn’t until they got to the Baptist Health Lexington emergency room that they found out his blood oxygen was 83, way lower than it’s supposed to be.

He ended up spending nine days in the COVID unit, just days away from being put on a ventilator. Luckily, he responded well to a drug called Actemra, used for rheumatoid arthritis but now with FDA emergency authorization to be used for COVID. If he hadn’t responded to that, he would have been put on a ventilator.

“We have all these crazy people calling it a government plot ... well I still can’t walk from the house to my truck, my lungs may never get back to where they were. So the shot can’t be as bad as that, as sick as I was.”

While he was in the COVID ward, a nurse explained to him that the vaccine was like a seatbelt — in a car wreck, you can still get hurt, but it won’t be nearly as bad as without one.

He got discharged, but about 10 days later, started feeling chest pains, so returned to the hospital with a blood clot in his lungs and bacterial pneumonia. Now, he’s grounded from flying for at least two months, until the blood clot clears up.

White is one of many people who wishes they’d been vaccinated, and he’s lucky enough to be alive to spread the word.
 
SouthAussie said:
You've got to have enough medical staff to do that. You already have a population of burned out and dejected medical staff, after 18 months of fighting this virus and trying to save people's lives.
Click to expand...


They are definitely burned out. Some are just throwing up their hands and quitting.

That puts a lot of pressure on the ones left behind to do double duty.
 
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