Coronavirus thread

Started by JBS, March 12, 2020, 07:03:50 PM

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Karl Henning

84% of my town is vaccinated. (Just chanced on a chart)
Karl Henning, Ph.D.
Composer & Clarinetist
Boston MA
http://www.karlhenning.com/
[Matisse] was interested neither in fending off opposition,
nor in competing for the favor of wayward friends.
His only competition was with himself. — Françoise Gilot

Pohjolas Daughter

Quote from: André on January 21, 2022, 11:07:03 AM
No, it was just a lift back home, about 75 km ride. The excursion itself was a small group, well distanced and of course en plein air - no chance of catching a virus. It's the car ride: closed space, 45 mins, no mask...
Sorry to hear that.  Between you and Floristan's comments...yes, using a mask helps, but (just tossing it out there) if you're sitting next to someone or are a couple of feet away (backseat to front at best), would being masked truly contain the virus for such a long time and so close together?  Yes, I think that it would help, but if you were in close proximity for more than a few minutes, would that have prevented catching Covid?  What do our doctors/medical pros think?  Just asking questions and trying to figure it out....  :(

PD

Pohjolas Daughter

Dry Brett Kavanaugh

#6882
Quote from: Pohjolas Daughter on January 21, 2022, 12:22:14 PM
Sorry to hear that.  Between you and Floristan's comments...yes, using a mask helps, but (just tossing it out there) if you're sitting next to someone or are a couple of feet away (backseat to front at best), would being masked truly contain the virus for such a long time and so close together?  Yes, I think that it would help, but if you were in close proximity for more than a few minutes, would that have prevented catching Covid?  What do our doctors/medical pros think?  Just asking questions and trying to figure it out....  :(

PD

Probably masks by infected people are relatively more effective than masks by non-infected people. Still, the latter reduces the chance/probability of getting infected.

Jfyi,

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/nov/17/wearing-masks-single-most-effective-way-to-tackle-covid-study-finds

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/342409160_Face_mask_wearing_rate_predicts_country's_COVID-19_death_rates

https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0249891

https://www.healthdata.org/sites/default/files/files/Projects/COVID/Mask_use_infographic_2020-1.pdf



Karl Henning

Mass. reports 86,450 breakthrough COVID-19 cases, raising total to 6.8 percent of fully vaccinated people
Karl Henning, Ph.D.
Composer & Clarinetist
Boston MA
http://www.karlhenning.com/
[Matisse] was interested neither in fending off opposition,
nor in competing for the favor of wayward friends.
His only competition was with himself. — Françoise Gilot

Madiel

#6884
Quote from: Pohjolas Daughter on January 21, 2022, 12:22:14 PM
Sorry to hear that.  Between you and Floristan's comments...yes, using a mask helps, but (just tossing it out there) if you're sitting next to someone or are a couple of feet away (backseat to front at best), would being masked truly contain the virus for such a long time and so close together?  Yes, I think that it would help, but if you were in close proximity for more than a few minutes, would that have prevented catching Covid?  What do our doctors/medical pros think?  Just asking questions and trying to figure it out....  :(

PD

Nothing is a guarantee. It is all risk reduction.

I had several real estate agents visiting my house the week before last to talk about selling it, and also a couple of other people for related matters. Every single one of those visitors turned up to my door masked, and I wore mine as well. One of the real estate agents started having symptoms the day after his visit, meaning that he most likely was already infected the previous afternoon. I'm obviously glad that we were taking precautions (my rapid antigen test was negative), but if I had got infected I wouldn't have blamed him, because we were taking precautions.

Also he's vaccinated, which as well as helping make his infection less severe reduces his chance of spreading it. His immediate family have tested negative.
I am now working on a discography of the works of Vagn Holmboe. Please visit and also contribute!

Karl Henning

Yes: both zero-COVID and zero-risk were always mirages.
Karl Henning, Ph.D.
Composer & Clarinetist
Boston MA
http://www.karlhenning.com/
[Matisse] was interested neither in fending off opposition,
nor in competing for the favor of wayward friends.
His only competition was with himself. — Françoise Gilot

Florestan

Irish government removes most of its Covid rules

The Irish government has agreed to lift almost all of its Covid-19 restrictions from Saturday, Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister) Micheál Martin has said.

"Today is a good day," Mr Martin said, as he told a press conference that the Republic of Ireland had "weathered the Omicron storm".

He said customers would no longer need to show proof of Covid status to enter hospitality and entertainment venues.

Bars, restaurants and nightclubs will also return to normal trading hours.

Currently, hospitality and cultural venues including pubs, restaurants, cinemas and theatres must close by 20:00 local time.

Mr Martin also confirmed that restrictions on household gatherings would end and the limits on the numbers of people who can attend events were being abolished.

The government is also lifting its rules about working from home, which would allow a gradual return to the workplace to begin, the taoiseach said.

However, rules on wearing masks on public transport and most public buildings will stay in place for now, as he urged the public to continue to follow the remaining public health advice.
Every kind of music is good, except the boring kind. — Rossini

Pohjolas Daughter

Quote from: Madiel on January 21, 2022, 04:28:26 PM
Nothing is a guarantee. It is all risk reduction.

I had several real estate agents visiting my house the week before last to talk about selling it, and also a couple of other people for related matters. Every single one of those visitors turned up to my door masked, and I wore mine as well. One of the real estate agents started having symptoms the day after his visit, meaning that he most likely was already infected the previous afternoon. I'm obviously glad that we were taking precautions (my rapid antigen test was negative), but if I had got infected I wouldn't have blamed him, because we were taking precautions.

Also he's vaccinated, which as well as helping make his infection less severe reduces his chance of spreading it. His immediate family have tested negative.
Yep!

Glad that you didn't also catch it; hope that he's o.k. soon too.

I'm trying to remember, were you the one who had recently bought a new house (after struggling to find one in your area with a certain floor plan and getting outbidded in your earlier efforts?)?  Or was that someone else on the forum?

Quote from: Dry Brett Kavanaugh on January 21, 2022, 12:35:31 PM
Probably masks by infected people are relatively more effective than masks by non-infected people. Still, the latter reduces the chance/probability of getting infected.

Jfyi,

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/nov/17/wearing-masks-single-most-effective-way-to-tackle-covid-study-finds

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/342409160_Face_mask_wearing_rate_predicts_country's_COVID-19_death_rates

https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0249891

https://www.healthdata.org/sites/default/files/files/Projects/COVID/Mask_use_infographic_2020-1.pdf

I try and be very careful at my end--particularly as far as mask wearing is concerned.  I even wear it when outside and walking around town.  They are now recommending N95 masks if one can tolerate them.  I should see if I can get my hands on a few of them.  I've been using your basic medical-type masks with the wire nose piece.

PD



Pohjolas Daughter

Madiel

Quote from: Pohjolas Daughter on January 22, 2022, 04:08:16 AM
I'm trying to remember, were you the one who had recently bought a new house (after struggling to find one in your area with a certain floor plan and getting outbidded in your earlier efforts?)?  Or was that someone else on the forum?

Yes, that's me.

I was supposed to complete the purchase and get the keys on Monday. It now won't be Monday, because one part of my bank completely mucked up the paperwork. Hopefully only a few days delay.

So now beginning to organise sale of the old house, and painting in both houses, and a removalist.  And I'm spending my weekend wrapping my head around fridge options only to discover the ideal fridge might be too tall because they want 4 inches clearance above it...
I am now working on a discography of the works of Vagn Holmboe. Please visit and also contribute!

Pohjolas Daughter

Quote from: Madiel on January 22, 2022, 09:37:03 PM
Yes, that's me.

I was supposed to complete the purchase and get the keys on Monday. It now won't be Monday, because one part of my bank completely mucked up the paperwork. Hopefully only a few days delay.

So now beginning to organise sale of the old house, and painting in both houses, and a removalist.  And I'm spending my weekend wrapping my head around fridge options only to discover the ideal fridge might be too tall because they want 4 inches clearance above it...
Sounds like you're having a lot of fun there!

Is there any way (preferably not horribly expensive) that you can raise the area above the fridge?  In my kitchen there are cupboards above mine, so in theory, I could either alter or remove them if I wanted to get a taller fridge.  I'd love to get one which is wider and not as deep (hard for me to get at things in the back).  As is, I seldom access things in that cupboard (I keep most of my baking pans in there) as they're hard to get at and I'm not doing as much baking these days.

Fingers crossed for you re the closing!

PD
Pohjolas Daughter

Todd

Ordered my four free Covid tests directly from USPS.  Should get them soon?  I wonder whatever happened to the eight free tests per person, per month that was originally offered.  I mean, I don't, not really.  I should probably go scoop up some free N95 masks while I can, too.  It will all make me feel so very safe.  Public health theater, and all that.
The universe is change; life is opinion. - Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

People would rather believe than know - E.O. Wilson

Propaganda death ensemble - Tom Araya

Karl Henning

Stressed hospitals are asking workers with COVID to return — even if they may be infectious — 2:03 p.m
By The Washington Post

Hospitals are increasingly asking staff who have the coronavirus to work while potentially infectious, underscoring how the hyper-transmissible omicron variant has sidelined employees, overwhelmed resources and upended nearly two years of strict protocols. Though vaccine requirements are common at hospitals, many health care workers are coming down with the virus, exacerbating staffing issues.

Ten-day isolation periods have given way to five-day ones under CDC guidelines updated late last month, with workers sometimes allowed back as long as symptoms are deemed mild and improving. Officials acknowledge even halving isolation may not be enough to keep hospitals staffed: The CDC says health care workers who test positive can keep working uninterrupted in a "crisis" - and one state, California, recently declared that hospitals could take that step for employees without symptoms.
Karl Henning, Ph.D.
Composer & Clarinetist
Boston MA
http://www.karlhenning.com/
[Matisse] was interested neither in fending off opposition,
nor in competing for the favor of wayward friends.
His only competition was with himself. — Françoise Gilot

Madiel

Similar stories here, Karl.

Also, observations that Omicron is having a bigger economic impact than all the lockdowns that people complained were having an economic impact. Who knew? Well... all the people who repeatedly calculated that a lockdown was better than mass illness when we were having lockdowns. That's who.
I am now working on a discography of the works of Vagn Holmboe. Please visit and also contribute!

Mandryka

#6893
Quote from: Madiel on January 23, 2022, 11:37:15 AM
Similar stories here, Karl.

Also, observations that Omicron is having a bigger economic impact than all the lockdowns that people complained were having an economic impact. Who knew? Well... all the people who repeatedly calculated that a lockdown was better than mass illness when we were having lockdowns. That's who.

It may be very short lived and it should result in enhanced population immunity. Here in the UK, we seem to be doing more or less OK - the shops and schools and core services have been working as far as I can see, the mail comes and the supermarket shelves are full, the police catch villains, I don't know anyone who has been abandoned in a medical emergency or who has died because of bad treatment. We got over the peak in pretty short order with not much damage. Our economy is growing real fast.

But you can't generalise, omicron seems to behave significantly differently according to the existing levels of immunity in the population.
Wovon man nicht sprechen kann, darüber muss man schweigen

Madiel

If your supermarket shelves are full then your supply chains must be in better shape than around here.

Though there are signs we might just be passing the peak.
I am now working on a discography of the works of Vagn Holmboe. Please visit and also contribute!

Mandryka

#6895
Quote from: Madiel on January 23, 2022, 11:45:42 AM
If your supermarket shelves are full then your supply chains must be in better shape than around here.

Though there are signs we might just be passing the peak.

Interesting, because in September the press here was saying that we're in the shit because our supply chains are fucked post Brexit. No truck drivers blah blah.

All they did was precipitate a completely spurious rush to stockpile petrol, which of course itself created a short lived shortage. What a lot of crap the media is! The Times of London and Auntie BBC are no better, worse in fact, than twitter and instagram.
Wovon man nicht sprechen kann, darüber muss man schweigen

André

Quote from: Mandryka on January 23, 2022, 11:39:07 AM
It may be very short  lived and it should result in enhanced population immunity. Here in the UK, we seem to be doing more or less OK - the shops and schools and core services have been working as far as I can see, the mail comes and the supermarket shelves are full, the police catch villains, I don't know anyone who has been abandoned in a medical emergency or who has died because of bad treatment. We got over the peak in pretty short order with not much damage. Our economy is growing real fast.

But you can't generalise, omicron seems to behave significantly differently according to the existing levels of immunity in the population.

You mean Andrew Mountbatten is in jail ?  :o

Pohjolas Daughter

Quote from: k a rl h e nn i ng on January 23, 2022, 10:26:25 AM
Stressed hospitals are asking workers with COVID to return — even if they may be infectious — 2:03 p.m
By The Washington Post

Hospitals are increasingly asking staff who have the coronavirus to work while potentially infectious, underscoring how the hyper-transmissible omicron variant has sidelined employees, overwhelmed resources and upended nearly two years of strict protocols. Though vaccine requirements are common at hospitals, many health care workers are coming down with the virus, exacerbating staffing issues.

Ten-day isolation periods have given way to five-day ones under CDC guidelines updated late last month, with workers sometimes allowed back as long as symptoms are deemed mild and improving. Officials acknowledge even halving isolation may not be enough to keep hospitals staffed: The CDC says health care workers who test positive can keep working uninterrupted in a "crisis" - and one state, California, recently declared that hospitals could take that step for employees without symptoms.
Hard to figure out how to solve worker-shortage/healh issues.  I keep hearing stories in which it sounds like more and more health-care workers are quitting due to all of the stresses including often being overworked.   :(

Quote from: Mandryka on January 23, 2022, 12:08:32 PM
Interesting, because in September the press here was saying that we're in the shit because our supply chains are fucked post Brexit. No truck drivers blah blah.

All they did was precipitate a completely spurious rush to stockpile petrol, which of course itself created a short lived shortage. What a lot of crap the media is! The Times of London and Auntie BBC are no better, worse in fact, than twitter and instagram.

Quote from: Madiel on January 23, 2022, 11:45:42 AM
If your supermarket shelves are full then your supply chains must be in better shape than around here.

Though there are signs we might just be passing the peak.
Grocery stores' shelves have been mostly full but with some erratic cases.  It looks to me like when items go on sale, they get stripped bare quite quickly.  Other non-sale ones but basic necessities, like milk, are often there but in low amounts and certain brands sold out in the bigger grocery stores (noticed this again this past weekend), but in good supply at my local co-op.  Of course, it being winter here, there is often a run on the stores when there is talk of an upcoming winter storm.  Overall though, it hasn't been bad lately. Two weekends ago, for example, a friend wanted to get some fresh broccoli.  It was sold out at his regular grocery store, but he was able to find it at another...and he would have happily settled for carrots and peas instead.  Still seeing things like toilet paper often being in low supplies at times; it seems to sell out fairly quickly.

PD
Pohjolas Daughter

premont

The Danish health authorities have decided to offer the particularly vulnerable group a fourth Pfizer jab, so I expect to get this very soon. I got the third jab four months ago. Hopefully an omikron-specific vaccine has been developed, when the time for the fifth jab comes.
γνῶθι σεαυτόν

MusicTurner

#6899
Yes, an omicron targeted one is expected within some months. Supposedly, you've already read about the survey saying that the 3rd jab still has 90% efficiency after 3 months, which is good.

Another sign of relative omicron mildness: now it's 40% of hospitalized cases here who just have the infection, without it being the reason for hospitalization. Before, it was around 20, later 25. ICUs still going down too.

But case numbers are still very high here. Hopefully a decline will start soon.