Coronavirus COVID-19 - Global Health Pandemic #54

[Tillicum]

China silencing Wuhan coronavirus survivors, bereaved families through hush money, police interrogation

The Chinese Communist Party has launched a campaign to silence coronavirus survivors and families who have lost loved during the pandemic as part of its ongoing effort to control the narrative surrounding the outbreak in Wuhan and under-report the real case numbers, Fox News has learned.

The crackdown on coronavirus survivors and bereaved families is especially severe inside Wuhan, where government officials have used online censorship, police interrogations, shuttered support groups, and have even threatened lawyers representing coronavirus victims.

Officials in Wuhan, the epicenter of the virus outbreak last December, are coercing silence by paying families about $420 for each relative lost to the pandemic. This is in addition to offering discounts for cremation and burial services as Fox News has previously reported.

More at link.

 

[BUF]

Reopening restaurants with digital handwashing

The COVID-19 lockdown and subsequent reopening scheduled have raised the bar on restaurant cleanliness, especially hand cleanliness.
Operators are filling their entryways with hand sanitizer dispensers as one might expect following all the public briefings by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

But there is also unexpected use of technology that even the CDC hadn’t thought about. Crushed Red, in their seven restaurants, assures customers that prep-line handwashing is a verified reality, even for restroom hand washes.

Please wash vs. Thank you for washing
Some restaurants facing reopening will be replacing their restroom mirror handwashing reminders with fresh signage. Crushed Red, thanks to Voice Recognition technology, has data rather than an aspirational plea.

Customer trust is the simple outcome of a well-conducted symphony. When it comes to the handwashing factor, data is the maestro, according to concept founder, Chris LaRocca. “We replace hope they wash with know they wash. Data gives us facts which further drive staff motivation and professionalization.”

The Crushed Red employees find this paperless logging of handwashing convenient and even motivating. First, their name appears in a window on the voice recognition box, attached to the soap dispenser. Then, via realtime reports, their compliance to the handwashing policy is confirmed. Their personal performance becomes a link in the chain of teamsmanship success.

Each employee knows their WIN, their individual Wash Index Number, MyWIN. They also know the OurWIN factor which is a team measurement by shift.
— Jim Mann,
Handwashing for Life Institute

The OurWIN™- MyWIN™ Commitment Methodology

So our world has now come to being monitored when we wash our hands...but guess it has become a necessity.

 

[Inthedetails]

So our world has now come to being monitored when we wash our hands...but guess it has become a necessity.

The monitoring is for employees, not customers, is my understanding from the article. FWIW, the employees are required to wash hands, and this assures that it actually happens.

The system isn't monitoring everyone.

jmo

 

[sallye818]

@LotsaLatte Praying all goes well with the birth of your new grandbaby! Big excitement.

 

[firebird]

Paxton said he believes the judge is abusing his authority and that her arrest seems like a “political stunt.” In a full statement, Paxton said:

“I find it outrageous and out of touch that during this national pandemic, a judge, in a county that actually released hardened criminals for fear of contracting COVID-19, would jail a mother for operating her hair salon in an attempt to put food on her family’s table,” said Attorney General Paxton. “The trial judge did not need to lock up Shelley Luther. His order is a shameful abuse of judicial discretion, which seems like another political stunt in Dallas. He should release Ms. Luther immediately.”​

The attorney general sent a letter to Moye, saying her sentencing was “significantly overboard.” He mentioned that Abbott’s new executive order will allow her to operate business starting on Friday.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton Calls For ‘Immediate Release’ Of Jailed Dallas Salon Owner Shelley Luther – CBS Dallas / Fort Worth

 

[tabitha111]

Good morning everyone.

It’s such a beautiful morning - the sun is shining, there’s a gentle breeze wafting across the garden...one of those mornings where the wider world feels, well, a world away.
My veggie box delivery this week contained rhubarb, apples, peppers, tomatoes, leeks and potatoes. I made rhubarb and apple compote, tomato-pepper soup and spicy leek & potato soup - all made and the kitchen cleaned up before 8am. I feel so accomplished!

I wonder how we’ll emerge from this? Will we be more mindful of the world around us? Continue with those tiny acts of kindness towards each other? Continue looking out for those more vulnerable than others?
I hope so. All these losses can’t be for nothing.

Stay safe today

One thing that will change for me -is I will continue to go to the farm stand to get produce and also continue my other farm delivery. I have been using organic chicken raised on a farm and there is no going back for me...it is so different and so delish! Plus the produce I am buying and home goods (bread and butter pickles, pico salsa, peach jam) that others make are so superior to the grocery stores.
This has been a positive change for me.
Another is, I used to shop for loads of home decor, Marshalls, TJ Maxx, et. I like to set a different table each month, and change my porch deco each month. It was my "hobby" to shop shop shop.
I frankly do not miss it and when things "open up" I will NOT be going back to it. I have enough!

 

[BUF]

I was just thinking the other day about what a sea change it has been compared to almost 20 years ago...in 2001 you wouldn't dream of walking into an airport with a mask on. Now it's required to fly with some airlines. People with certain ethnic backgrounds may have been viewed with extra suspicion for covering their faces. Maybe the mask becomes a great equalizer Or redraws lines, this time between the considerate and the inconsiderate. Just my idle pondering (JMIP?)

ETA - I do feel bad for people who are extra sensitive to clothing, like kids on the autism spectrum or people who have experienced trauma. But maybe this is a chance for entrepreneurs to develop extra comfy "wonder masks".

One thing I realized today when grocery shopping with my mask...we have become a smile less society. Think about how many times people smile at one another. Now they are invisible under a mask...but still I am always happy to see those wearing them. I find now that since things are a bit lifted where I live, some masks have been taken off.

 

[BUF]

Disney announced yesterday that they have no plans to reopen in the US and that we must stay tuned. They are still trying to figure it out.

Yes I posted it in the Fl thread.

 

[Cool Cats]

One thing I realized today when grocery shopping with my mask...we have become a smile less society. Think about how many times people smile at one another. Now they are invisible under a mask...but still I am always happy to see those wearing them. I find now that since things are a bit lifted where I live, some masks have been taken off.

https://www.wikihow.com/Smile-With-the-Eyes

https://www.wikihow.com/Smile-With-the-Eyes#/Image:Smile-With-the-Eyes-Step-4-Version-3.jpg

 

[ilovewings]

I work for a personal injury attorney: we are trying to figure out how trials are going to go forward-- how will they pick juries---
I just don't see trials happening for quite a while-- already the court system is changing and i think these changes could be permanent: for example status conferences and case evaluation have always been conducted at the courthouse: now i think this will change- i expect these types of legal situations to be conducted via Zoom.

 

[Tillicum]

One thing I realized today when grocery shopping with my mask...we have become a smile less society. Think about how many times people smile at one another. Now they are invisible under a mask...but still I am always happy to see those wearing them. I find now that since things are a bit lifted where I live, some masks have been taken off.

I thought about drawing a smile on my masks but haven't done it yet. Yesterday at Aldi I noticed how many people still smile with their eyes. I hoped my eyes were smiling back.

 

[tresir2012]

<modsnip: quoted post was removed>

If you are asymptomatic does that mean you can spread it? I thought you had to have symptoms to spread it like a cough for instance. I am getting confused with all these different terms.

 

[cass523]

New Jersey’s death toll from the coronavirus rose to at least 8,549 Wednesday, with the state having seen at least 131,890 total cases in two months, as Gov. Phil Murphy continues to insist his near-lockdown measures need to remain in place to prevent more lives from being lost.

Murphy announced he is extending the public health emergency he declared in New Jersey over the coronavirus pandemic by another 30 days. It was set to expire Thursday.

When Murphy’s six-point plan was announced, on April 27, it failed to resolve some of the biggest questions surrounding the coronavirus in New Jersey. The plan offered no specific timeline, and it seemed to rely on a lot of things going right, during a crisis where a lot has gone wrong.

On Tuesday, Murphy emphasized that a timeline simply isn’t possible at this point. “I’m sorry we can’t give you more definitive guidance yet,” Murphy said during his daily coronavirus press briefing in Trenton. “We still have people getting sick, going to the hospitals, and sadly more than 300 we’re reporting (today) have died. So with all due respect, this is the fight of our lives.”

The governor also said he is bringing in national experts to help state health officials review safety procedures, care practices and outbreak protocols at nursing homes and other longterm care facilities throughout New Jersey.

It’s unclear when the state can safely reopen without risking a second, potentially even more serious outbreak of the coronavirus.

Oh, and even if we do meet all of Murphy’s criteria, it still might not be wise to reopen, experts caution.

“The United States and the state of New Jersey are not even remotely prepared to start putting in place measures to protect the general population from what’s likely to be a major second wave very soon,” said Sharon Abramowitz, a global health consultant for UNICEF and a former visiting professor at Rutgers. “And what you’re going to end up having is a massive wave… and there’s just going to be a lot of people who start to die again really quickly, which is going to result in the shutdown of the economy again.”

Here’s why Murphy’s reopening plan will take so long — and why the risk may still be too great

N.J. coronavirus deaths rise to 8,549, with 131,890 total cases. Officials confirm another 308 fatalities.

 

[anneg]

I had to repeatedly try the IRS "Get My Payment" site to give them my bank information for a direct deposit.

I finally had success last week and it took about 6 or 7 days before the deposit hit my bank.

Get My Payment | Internal Revenue Service

I went to the IRS site today and put in my information. I was under the apparently mistaken impression that since I use direct deposit for my Social Security benefit, I would not need to do that. I believe I'll need to wait until tomorrow to check on the status at IRS. Maybe I will have to wait for a paper check now.

Thanks! Wish I'd done this sooner.

 

[tresir2012]

I thought about drawing a smile on my masks but haven't done it yet. Yesterday at Aldi I noticed how many people still smile with their eyes. I hoped my eyes were smiling back.

That's why I like the idea of the face shield. You can still talk and be seen.

 

[branmuffin]

A lot of people are mistrustful of stats coming out of China but perhaps one reason for their low infection rate could be because everyone wears a mask, even when there isn't a virus. Mask wearing has become a kind of cultural identity in Asian countries like China, South Korea and Japan. It's an identity that rooted in a Taoism philosophy and ancient Chinese medicine that breath and breathing is a central element of good health.

Western culture sees face coverings of any kind to go again the grain of our beliefs of open and direct interaction with others. Wearing hoods, masks or veils suggest foreignness, subterfuge and lack of good intent.

But where the two cultures can become one is the realization that the very thing that sustains our own life: breathing, can impact another so greatly. That's why we are outraged when someone, like the woman in NC purposely coughed on others and licked change during a pandemic. So we have to do some internal self assessment of our belief system when it comes to who we share the planet with.

There are still those that choose not to wear a seatbelt while riding in a car, those who choose not to wear a helmet when riding a motorcycle and those who choose not to eat healthy food. It's their right, I suppose, since the argument is that their choices affect only themselves. That's a debatable point; there is always collateral damage from those choices.

I wear a homemade mask. I know it's not perfect. I am still waiting for my masks I ordered nearly a month ago. But when I go out I'd like to believe I'm doing my part to ensure those I come in contact with can breathe a little easier when they see I am attempting to ensure their safety.

 

[pocketaccent]

Cuomo says it's 'shocking' most new coronavirus hospitalizations are people who had been staying home

Most new Covid-19 hospitalizations in New York state are from people who were staying home and not venturing much outside, a “shocking” finding, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Wednesday.

The preliminary data was from 100 New York hospitals involving about 1,000 patients, Cuomo said at his daily briefing.


It shows that 66% of new admissions were from people who had largely been sheltering at home. The next highest source of admissions was from nursing homes, 18%.

 

[Reasonable & Just]

I thought about drawing a smile on my masks but haven't done it yet. Yesterday at Aldi I noticed how many people still smile with their eyes. I hoped my eyes were smiling back.

Same here! I was just thinking about this today while walking on trails. I've always been a "smile, nod and murmur hello" type (not a whole lot of people say it back and sometimes seem surprised, but maybe that's just this area.) I've actually been hoping my eyes were smiling at the folks I encounter.

As an aside, although lipstick might be a bust right now, I've been having fun upping my eyeliner game

 

[Inthedetails]

That's why I like the idea of the face shield. You can still talk and be seen.

On my solo exercise walk this morning, I saw a woman with a face shield. I coveted it, I admit.

Are they as effective as the masks? Seems like the bottom area is open, which doesn't seem like it would stop the spread of germs if the person coughed or sneezed.

jmo

 

[Inthedetails]

A lot of people are mistrustful of stats coming out of China but perhaps one reason for their low infection rate could be because everyone wears a mask, even when there isn't a virus. Mask wearing has become a kind of cultural identity in Asian countries like China, South Korea and Japan. It's an identity that rooted in a Taoism philosophy and ancient Chinese medicine that breath and breathing is a central element of good health.

Western culture sees face coverings of any kind to go again the grain of our beliefs of open and direct interaction with others. Wearing hoods, masks or veils suggest foreignness, subterfuge and lack of good intent.

But where the two cultures can become one is the realization that the very thing that sustains our own life: breathing, can impact another so greatly. That's why we are outraged when someone, like the woman in NC purposely coughed on others and licked change during a pandemic. So we have to do some internal self assessment of our belief system when it comes to who we share the planet with.

There are still those that choose not to wear a seatbelt while riding in a car, those who choose not to wear a helmet when riding a motorcycle and those who choose not to eat healthy food. It's their right, I suppose, since the argument is that their choices affect only themselves. That's a debatable point; there is always collateral damage from those choices.

I wear a homemade mask. I know it's not perfect. I am still waiting for my masks I ordered nearly a month ago. But when I go out I'd like to believe I'm doing my part to ensure those I come in contact with can breathe a little easier when they see I am attempting to ensure their safety.

Very thoughtful and interesting post!

jmo