Coronavirus COVID-19 - Global Health Pandemic #53

[musicaljoke]

It sure isn’t just Walmart. Despite repeated reminders I’ve observed lots of employees unmasking and/or non-distancing during breaks and other times when it would be possible and easy !! to do so (keeping in mind often it’s not possible at all -healthcare)

We’re allowed to use one entrance only. Shift changes worth of people (coming in and leaving) using one entrance into an enclosed hallway. (I have complained to union, management and command center about the crowds) This is when we get temp scanned -I regularly read 94.-96. Yep. That’s an accurate assessment. (I scanned in yesterday morning at 97 plus and had a moment of panic)

Yeah, how hard would it be to set up a separate exit at least.

 

[Reasonable & Just]

Hospital worker with coronavirus found dead with child by her body

Not news, but a reminder of a woman who captured my mind early on in this pandemic. She was 43 years old, and a single working mom.

If you are complaining about the low death rate when arguing about all the things you have lost temporarily, well, this lady contributed one death, anyway. She died at home, probably not expecting that she would. She didn't take up a hospital bed or a ventilator, so if you are complaining about too many hospital beds or ventilators being requested - about that being a "waste", well you have a point. On the other hand, she died next to her child. I pray he didn't get sick, although I suppose him not getting sick would result in another "wasted" ventilator and bed.

This low death rate that some complain about is a result of our sacrifices. The people who make up the death rate are not just tiny percentages - they have faces. They had lives. They died terrible deaths. They didn't get a chance to complain about not going to the beach or not getting a hamburger. They may not get to keep that stimulus check for their heirs, either.

 

[Henry2326]

It’s enlightening what I’ve been reading on the neighborhood page, majority think - “The ban is lifted! The curve is flattened! It’s over!

They talk about resuming their daily life “like before”. No masks. No social distancing.

Seniors told to stay in until June and I’m hearing “only 5 more weeks to go”!

Do they not understand we haven’t eradicated this virus? And seniors still can’t go out or be around others after that magic date?

Or am I misinformed?

I'm in Fulton. GA Cases and deaths haven't flattened.....At 3 and 4% growth rate. I anticipate that the counts will increase in the next 4 weeks because of the same mis-interpretations on the message as you are hearing. 4 malls opening on Monday including Phipps and Lenox. Not a good situation....

 

[musicaljoke]

So I'm on twitter...... someone just referred to trace/test/isolate with this comment:

"Tracing is starting soon but by now it’s probability more for curiosity sake since our healthcare system is better than fine".

Kid you not.....smh.

Oh my. Time for me to crawl to my piano and dig out an old hymn.
Dear Lord and Father of mankind, forgive our foolish ways.
Reclothe us in our rightful mind ...

 

[Henry2326]

Ah OK, so Gov Kemp has just eased some restrictions. But they could easily come back in June if things do not improve.

Coronavirus in Fulton County: The latest news from the AJC

Looks like you have a free walk up testing site in Fulton. That's pretty good.

Fulton County health officials open 'neighborhood' COVID-19 test site

Too little too late.....The horse has been out of the barn for awhile. I live in Fulton. 80% of the hospitalization is in African American communities. Now they've been told all is good. Come out of your house. If we had the count on these sites, I would guess very small. They can only do 200 to 400 tests at the mobile sites and they are moving around.

 

[musicaljoke]

rbbm I think we are a society that respects and honours our elderly. Even though this nursing home and dormitory scenario is now well known as a risk it is still happening. Same mistakes being repeated is what I think is unforgivable.

Being in a care home was thought to be a place of safety but now we know that is not the case. Society being open or closed has not seemed to help these poor victims.

I'm not sure that we are a society that respects and honours our elderly. I think that many do, or did preCoV-19, but now I am not so sure. Actually, I think that as a society we do not honour our elderly. Like you say, we will watch if Cov-19 deaths among seniors will guide us to effective, ongoing new directives that are designed to protect the elderly.

 

[Bravo]

I got my 3k walk in early this a.m. It was decent until the sun went in. Wind was nippy. I'm still waiting for the warmth and some stable sun to venture out with a book. Husband and Son are out fishing. Our boat is stored in a friends barn so we have access. Marina's are closed but unmanned boat launches are open. 2 people per boat and your good to go. We took a ride out to the launch yesterday and along the water. I looked across at the U.S. wondering when will it be safe for me to see my American Family.

 

[tresir2012]

Coronavirus (COVID-19) cases in the UK

Coronavirus (COVID-19) in the UK
Last updated on Saturday 2 May 2020 at 5:24pm
Total number of lab-confirmed UK cases
182,260
Includes tests carried out by commercial partners which are not included in the 4 National totals
Total number of lab-confirmed UK cases
4,806
Number of additional cases on Saturday 2 May 2020
Total number of COVID-19 associated UK deaths
28,131
Deaths of people who have had a positive test result confirmed by a Public Health or NHS laboratory
Daily number of lab-confirmed UK cases
621
Number of additional deaths on Saturday 2 May 2020
Download the latest cases data as CSV or JSON

Download the latest deaths data as CSV or JSON


Sadly it looks like we will overtake Italy soon as the country with the second highest number of deaths in the world.

 

[musicaljoke]

..We are n0t a society that generally respects and honors its elderly, and the conversation around coronavirus has brought this failing into sharp focus. It’s an uncomfortable truth and so we look away and focus on “reopening.” But can we spare a moment to think about the words of former Vice President Hubert Humphrey (often erroneously attributed to Ghandi)...

“The moral test of government is how that government treats those who are in the dawn of life, the children; those who are in the twilight of life, the elderly; those who are in the shadows of life, the sick, the needy and the handicapped.”

Former President Jimmy Carter put it this way...“The measure of a society is found in how they treat their weakest and most helpless citizens.

I would add that how we think about and value these ones is the measure of us as individuals. So let’s resist thinking and talking in purely statistical or demographic terms as we move forward, and let us show that these lives lost and yet to be lost are truly valued.
JMO

We need this voice of compassion in our leaders. I long for a Hubert Humphrey or a Mahatma Gandhi to raise the bar on our moral values.

 

[firebird]

Well this is interesting. Doesn't seem consistent with the stats I've seen here and elsewhere:

Provisional Death Counts for Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19):

I can't get the chart at the link to transfer properly, but it was updated yesterday and says that there were

37,308 total covid death from 2/1 to 4/25

719,438 total deaths during the same period

97% of expected deaths for the period

64,382 pnuemonia deaths during the same period

16,564 covid plus pnuemonia deaths during the same period

5,846 flu deaths during the same period (I wonder what the rate was last year during that period)

90,165 deaths with flu, covid or pnuemonia during the same period.

 

[tresir2012]

I'm not sure that we are a society that respects and honours our elderly. I think that many do, or did preCoV-19, but now I am not so sure. Actually, I think that as a society we do not honour our elderly. Like you say, we will watch if Cov-19 deaths among seniors will guide us to effective, ongoing new directives that are designed to protect the elderly.

We do in the UK, I would say IMO. But I cannot speak for other countries or societies. We have clearly taken our eye off the ball with this virus, but it appears to target the elderly, weak and vulnerable more than others. I'm not sure we got a warning about that from China and I personally only became aware when I heard the news about the Spanish care homes, and Spain is definitely a country that honours and respects their elderly IMO.

 

[tresir2012]

Well this is interesting. Doesn't seem consistent with the stats I've seen here and elsewhere:

Provisional Death Counts for Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19):

I can't get the chart at the link to transfer properly, but it was updated yesterday and says that there were

37,308 total covid death from 2/1 to 4/25

719,438 total deaths during the same period

97% of expected deaths for the period

64,382 pnuemonia deaths during the same period

16,564 covid plus pnuemonia deaths during the same period

5,846 flu deaths during the same period (I wonder what the rate was last year during that period)

90,165 deaths with flu, covid or pnuemonia during the same period.

Yes that is interesting, especially as there are vaccines for pneumonia and flu available.

 

[tresir2012]

Coronavirus latest news: Death toll in UK rises by 621 to 28,131 overall


BBC link

How many confirmed cases are there in your area?

There are now more than 182,000 confirmed coronavirus cases in the UK and 28,131 people with the virus have died.

The actual number of cases is estimated to be higher. Until recently it was mostly those in hospital and some NHS and care staff who were being tested - but the testing programme is now being extended.

The following charts and graphics will help you understand the situation in the UK and how the authorities are responding.

Find out how many people have confirmed cases in your area:


How many cases and deaths in your area?
Enter a full postcode to find out.

Type in 3 or more characters for results.

If you can't see the look-up click here.

The death toll of the virus
The new coronavirus was first confirmed in the UK at the end of January. Strict social distancing measures were introduced at the end of March, while the daily death toll continued to rise into April, before slowly starting to come down just before Easter.

Another 621 daily deaths were announced on Saturday.

On Thursday the Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the country was now "past the peak" of the disease and on the downwards slope.

At the daily media briefings, ministers have praised the sacrifice of NHS staff and other healthcare workers who have died, and underlined the tragedy of each death from coronavirus amongst the wider public.

In Scotland, 1,559 people who tested positive for the virus have died, while the figure in Wales is 969. Northern Ireland has seen 376 deaths and in England the figure is 25,227.

A little more info from the link

Who is being most affected and where?
People living in more deprived areas of England and Wales are more likely to die with coronavirus than those in more affluent places, new figures from the Office for National Statistics suggest.

ONS analysis shows there were 55 deaths for every 100,000 people in the poorest parts of England, compared with 25 in the wealthiest areas.

Most recorded coronavirus deaths have been among the elderly. Figures released by NHS England show more than half of deaths have been among people aged over 80.

There also appears to be a disproportionate impact on those from black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) communities.

Black people account for 6% of coronavirus deaths in hospitals in England, but only around 3.5% of the population, according to BBC analysis.

Regional data suggests the daily numbers of deaths is declining fastest in London, but other parts of England are also now seeing a decline.

See link for graph

London and the Midlands have seen the highest death tolls, but the numbers in other English regions have been going up more quickly in recent days.

Related Topics

• Coronavirus pandemic

 

[10ofRods]

The weather? Humidity?

https://www.accuweather.com/en/se/stockholm/314929/march-weather/314929
https://www.accuweather.com/en/se/stockholm/314929/april-weather/314929?year=2020

Well, that's why I was comparing them to Norway and Denmark. In those three nations, there's similar weather and geography. Denmark is connected to the European mainland, so one would think they might have more cases through people coming over their border more regularly. Iceland and Finland also have similar climates (and St Petersburgh in Russia). Norway, Denmark, Iceland and Finland all have much lower rates than Sweden.

Norway is the best comparison. 2669 deaths in Sweden by this morning (PDT), with only 210 deaths. Sweden does have twice as many people, so for Sweden to have similar death rates to Norway, it would have to have only 420 deaths. So it has 6.5X as many deaths as its neighbor.

Other than population size, Norway and Sweden have nearly identical demographics, roughly the same number of people, roughly the same urban/rural mix and certain similar health patterns (life expectancies, causes of deaths, number of hospitals, etc.). Having a 1000% more cases for Sweden can only be explained, IMO, by their lack of shutting down and the very high number of asymptomatic transmitters they must have. Swedes believed that "common sense" would prevail, as they are apparently used to staying home when sick. However, I think people did not realize that there would be large pools of transmitters - who were not sick.

Average age at death from CoVid is higher in both Sweden and Norway than in the US or UK, so the health of the population made a difference there. But as Sweden continues to see more cases than Norway, they are having to ask themselves some hard questions. Almost 23,000 diagnosed CoVid cases in Sweden, only 7000-ish in Norway, so again, on that stat 3X the cases.

Lastly, Sweden is now projected to peak in terms of deaths on May 23. Unlike its neighbors, who have already peaked and are starting to approach very low numbers in new daily deaths, Sweden is predicted not to peak until May 23, with 425 or more deaths at the peak and a tail of as many as 200 deaths a day for as long as another month.

So, asymptomatic transmitters have many reservoirs in Sweden. One of them is their schools. They have not closed them, nor have they closed businesses, so we get to see a comparative example pretty much controlling for weather, income, overall health, etc.

 

[The Night Watchman]

It’s enlightening what I’ve been reading on the neighborhood page, majority think - “The ban is lifted! The curve is flattened! It’s over!

They talk about resuming their daily life “like before”. No masks. No social distancing.

Seniors told to stay in until June and I’m hearing “only 5 more weeks to go”!

Do they not understand we haven’t eradicated this virus? And seniors still can’t go out or be around others after that magic date?

Or am I misinformed?

From what we have learned about coronavirus, the elderly (>70) and those with health issues will have to essentially quarantine until there a heavy suppression of the virus- which may not happen, or there is a vaccine. Whether they choose to or not remains to be seen.

The reality is that people won't stay locked down, so either the virus and infection becomes part of life, or there is a summer heat/humidity regression of CV.

 

[musicaljoke]

We do in the UK, I would say IMO. But I cannot speak for other countries or societies. We have clearly taken our eye of the ball with this virus, but it appears to target the elderly, weak and vulnerable more than others. I'm not sure we got a warning about that from China and I personally only became aware when I heard the news about the Spanish care homes, and Spain is definitely a country that honours and respects their elderly IMO.

I'm in Canada. We live near a large First Nations Reserve. I have been watching how they show respect for their elders. They are absolutely awesome. They nailed their border shut very early. No one comes in or out unless they are essential services and even then, it's strictly governed. No one is whining about how they essentially have to go to Costco. The people constantly are doing things to show their love for the elders. They've done drive by car parades, held outdoor concerts with wheel chairs strategically placed, played tic-tac-toe on the windows, filled the lawns with loving messages, sent cards, made phone calls, do live streams, everything they can think of to lift the spirits of their elders and show their love. It's heart warming to see how the band members are self-sacrificing to make their elders less fearful and feel cared for. They have no cases of Covid.

 

[LadyL]

New Jersey and Oregon are the only two states in the U.S. that ban self-service gas stations. Oregon allows them in counties with under 40,000 population. However, Oregon has lifted the ban throughout the state during the pandemic (until May 9 unless extended again) if stations want to have self-service to protect their employees from contact with customers. Our favorite station is still pumping gas thankfully. We’ve gotten spoiled after living here 36 years!

Oregon State Police : Self-Service Rules Change FAQs : Office of the State Fire Marshal : State of Oregon

holy crap they BAN them? why???

 

[Bravo]

I'm not far from a Reserve as well musicaljoke. Blocked and manned to keep folks out. There are only 2 cases I last heard. Some folks do work in my City. I hope that's the only cases they have.

 

[anneg]

Oh my. Time for me to crawl to my piano and dig out an old hymn.
Dear Lord and Father of mankind, forgive our foolish ways.
Reclothe us in our rightful mind ...

I love that hymn too.

 

[10ofRods]

Follow the arrows back on the posts and it should show that. You may have to go back several times.

There were no arrows on any of the posts. Instead, there are a series of posts without quotes or arrows. Just stand alone posts, although I see the same thing with another poster. And now, so many of the posts have been deleted that it's a moot point. I'm just glad it wasn't generalized.

Glad it's resolved.