COVID-19 (f/k/a "the Coronavirus")

[Jockey]

We might never have gotten into this Once In A Lifetime mess if only he had Found a Job where he could actually make more money than he lost. Instead, he took over The Big Country, ignored the Cities, and brought in a bunch of Slippery People. And She Was grabbed by the p****.

Have you seen the David Byrne broadway show on HBO? I haven’t checked it out yet.

[GooooMarquette]

Have you seen the David Byrne broadway show on HBO? I haven’t checked it out yet.

Haven't yet, but I plan to.

[Billy Hoyle]

Dr. Birx had been one of Trump's favorites until she became heavily criticized for downplaying the coronavirus and now has been replaced as the face of the Task Force by Dr. Scott Atlas, a purveyor of right-wing fringe conspiracies and ideas on how to treat the virus.

whom Trump referred to as "Scott Adams" during the town hall comedy show the other night.  Though it wouldn't surprise me if the Dilbert guy really was the top guy on the task force.

[GooooMarquette]

whom Trump referred to as "Scott Adams" during the town hall comedy show the other night.  Though it wouldn't surprise me if the Dilbert guy really was the top guy on the task force.

I'd rip that softball into the center field upper deck if it wouldn't risk the dreaded banhammer....

[MU82]

There was no more loyal soldier when it came to COVID-19 than Dr. Birx. She covered for Trump, she stayed stoic when he was asking her to research injecting Lysol into human bodies, and she lied for him on multiple occasions. But the one time she pushed back a little bit by defending the science, he immediately called her "pathetic."

[Jockey]

There was no more loyal soldier when it came to COVID-19 than Dr. Birx. She covered for Trump, she stayed stoic when he was asking her to research injecting Lysol into human bodies, and she lied for him on multiple occasions. But the one time she pushed back a little bit by defending the science, he immediately called her "pathetic."

Hence, the reason that I called her a poser a couple months ago. She is way too smart to toss out her dignity so easily. I don’t know how he gets people to do this.

[MU82]

Couple of interesting nuggets I just read ...

Bad News: Virus-related hospitalizations have risen by at least 5% in 37 states in recent days, CNBC said in analysis published Monday. Smaller hospitals in rural areas are struggling to respond. A hospital in North Dakota had to transfer patients to other states, and another in Iowa faced staffing shortages as employees became infected, NPR reported. Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said last week that “small household gatherings” were fueling a jump. In rural Tennessee, Dr. Martin Chaney said he’s seeing that first-hand. “It’s families getting together, small groups of people gathering, they let their guard down, they’re not distancing, they’re taking their masks off,” Chaney said.

Good News: “Game-changer” saliva tests developed in part at the University of South Carolina have allowed the university to conduct more than 30,000 COVID-19 tests since Aug. 1. University officials say the tests are just as accurate as traditional, nasal swab tests. The results come back in a fraction of the time needed for nasal tests, and spitting into a cup is less uncomfortable. South Carolina announced Wednesday that it will export the test to other colleges in the state, including rival Clemson.

[injuryBug]

Couple of interesting nuggets I just read ...

Bad News: Virus-related hospitalizations have risen by at least 5% in 37 states in recent days, CNBC said in analysis published Monday. Smaller hospitals in rural areas are struggling to respond. A hospital in North Dakota had to transfer patients to other states, and another in Iowa faced staffing shortages as employees became infected, NPR reported. Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said last week that “small household gatherings” were fueling a jump. In rural Tennessee, Dr. Martin Chaney said he’s seeing that first-hand. “It’s families getting together, small groups of people gathering, they let their guard down, they’re not distancing, they’re taking their masks off,” Chaney said.

Good News: “Game-changer” saliva tests developed in part at the University of South Carolina have allowed the university to conduct more than 30,000 COVID-19 tests since Aug. 1. University officials say the tests are just as accurate as traditional, nasal swab tests. The results come back in a fraction of the time needed for nasal tests, and spitting into a cup is less uncomfortable. South Carolina announced Wednesday that it will export the test to other colleges in the state, including rival Clemson.

Saw both as well.  The saliva tests have been coming back with strong accuracy with just a simple swab inside the mouth.  Now if those can become available to everyone like a pregnancy test that would be a huge game changer

[GooooMarquette]

Fast accurate saliva tests would be huge. Gotta get 'em made and widely distributed.

[pbiflyer]

That would truly be a game changer.

[MU82]

3 dead, 5 hospitalized among 82 cases tied to Charlotte church.

https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/coronavirus/article246630213.html?ac_cid=DM307644&ac_bid=-1672305050

COVID-19 cases connected to events at a Charlotte church continue to climb, with 82 cases and three deaths reported as of Thursday night.

Mecklenburg County Public Health has attempted to contact 131 close contacts of the 82 people with confirmed cases of COVID-19 linked to the events at United House of Prayer for All People on Beatties Ford Road.

At least five people have been hospitalized in connection with the church outbreak, Mecklenburg Deputy Health Director Raynard Washington said in a statement Thursday.

The county tested at least 127 people for COVID-19 Thursday at the Northwest Health Department location at 2845 Beatties Ford Road. Mecklenburg will hold another testing event there Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The county first warned of the cluster on Saturday, Oct. 17, nearly a week after convocation events at the church ended. At the time, Mecklenburg officials said nine confirmed cases of the coronavirus had been linked to the church’s events from Oct. 10 and 11.

Since then, that number has quickly grown.

Washington has said he believes at least 1,000 people attended events at the church Oct. 4-11, based on videos he saw.

[MU82]

Interesting stuff on how Vermont has effectively contained COVID-19, including having zero coronavirus-related deaths in 2+ months:

The coronavirus is spreading more rapidly in rural areas of the U.S. than in urban areas. But one rural state continues to do a fabulous job keeping the virus away: Vermont.



The starkest sign of Vermont’s success is that it has not recorded a single Covid-19 death in more than two months.

Vermont is succeeding partly because it has not allowed the virus to become a partisan issue. The Republican governor, Phil Scott — unlike many other Republican politicians around the country — has consistently told people to take the virus seriously. “He started wearing a mask early in the pandemic and has stood at the back of the room in many of the state’s coronavirus briefings, letting Dr. Mark Levine, Vermont’s answer to Dr. Anthony Fauci, dominate proceedings,” Bill McKibben, a Vermont resident, wrote in The New Yorker.

Vermont also benefits from having a high degree of social trust among its residents, as Maria Sacchetti explained in The Washington Post. And Vermont has two strong local media organizations — VTDigger and Seven Days — that keep residents informed and that both took an intriguing step early in the pandemic, McKibben notes: They shut down their comments sections, to prevent misinformation from spreading.

[Uncle Rico]

Interesting stuff on how Vermont has effectively contained COVID-19, including having zero coronavirus-related deaths in 2+ months:

The coronavirus is spreading more rapidly in rural areas of the U.S. than in urban areas. But one rural state continues to do a fabulous job keeping the virus away: Vermont.



The starkest sign of Vermont’s success is that it has not recorded a single Covid-19 death in more than two months.

Vermont is succeeding partly because it has not allowed the virus to become a partisan issue. The Republican governor, Phil Scott — unlike many other Republican politicians around the country — has consistently told people to take the virus seriously. “He started wearing a mask early in the pandemic and has stood at the back of the room in many of the state’s coronavirus briefings, letting Dr. Mark Levine, Vermont’s answer to Dr. Anthony Fauci, dominate proceedings,” Bill McKibben, a Vermont resident, wrote in The New Yorker.

Vermont also benefits from having a high degree of social trust among its residents, as Maria Sacchetti explained in The Washington Post. And Vermont has two strong local media organizations — VTDigger and Seven Days — that keep residents informed and that both took an intriguing step early in the pandemic, McKibben notes: They shut down their comments sections, to prevent misinformation from spreading.

I have a friend who sent his son to school in Vermont in August and they had to quarantine two weeks before arrival or after arrival

[Frenns Liquor Depot]

Vermont is succeeding partly because it has not allowed the virus to become a partisan issue. The Republican governor, Phil Scott — unlike many other Republican politicians around the country — has consistently told people to take the virus seriously. “He started wearing a mask early in the pandemic and has stood at the back of the room in many of the state’s coronavirus briefings, letting Dr. Mark Levine, Vermont’s answer to Dr. Anthony Fauci, dominate proceedings,” Bill McKibben, a Vermont resident, wrote in The New Yorker.

Vermont also benefits from having a high degree of social trust among its residents, as Maria Sacchetti explained in The Washington Post. And Vermont has two strong local media organizations — VTDigger and Seven Days — that keep residents informed and that both took an intriguing step early in the pandemic, McKibben notes: They shut down their comments sections, to prevent misinformation from spreading.[/i]

I actually don't like these articles because they confuse concepts.  Yes the virus response is not partisan there, but that is an output and not a fundamental lens that needs to be applied to everything.

I wish instead the headline was "Vermont takes virus seriously"
- Early Masking
- Medical Led Public Health Response
- Consistent Information & clear communication with actions to prevent mis-information
- Leadership that cares & models desired behavior
- High social trust and compliance

These things have nothing to do with politics...it just that since people are in denial or for other reasons, many places just don't want to accept they have to take this seriously.

[GooooMarquette]

I actually don't like these articles because they confuse concepts.  Yes the virus response is not partisan there, but that is an output and not a fundamental lens that needs to be applied to everything.

I wish instead the headline was "Vermont takes virus seriously"
- Early Masking
- Medical Led Public Health Response
- Consistent Information & clear communication with actions to prevent mis-information
- Leadership that cares & models desired behavior
- High social trust and compliance

These things have nothing to do with politics...it just that since people are in denial or for other reasons, many places just don't want to accept they have to take this seriously.

You are right, those concepts are not inherently political. Unfortunately, the current administration has made them political, and many republicans around the country have followed along. The point of the article as I see it is that republicans in VT have not followed along.

[GooooMarquette]

And now the third peak of officially higher than the previous high in the US, and still rising....

Coronavirus case increase sets new U.S. record, rising to over 77K in one day

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/coronavirus-case-increase-sets-new-u-s-record-rising-over-n1244490

The U.S. set a record Thursday as the number of new coronavirus cases rose to over 77,000, topping the previous record in July.

Nationwide, 77,640 new cases were reported for the day, up from the previous record of 75,723 on July 29, according to the latest tally compiled by NBC News.

The record-breaking daily tally comes as the total number of coronavirus cases in the country has reached nearly 8.5 million, with 224,280 deaths. There were 921 coronavirus-related deaths reported on Thursday.

[pacearrow02]

It was brought up in the debate last night that models show if we are not better at mask compliance we can expect 200k more deaths between now and end of year.

Followed up with the statement we can cut that in half and save 100K lives if everyone wears a mask.  If the 7 day national avg holds steady we will have saved more then the 100k estimate.  That tells me we, as a country, are doing what we can when it comes to masks or am I interrupting that wrong?

[GooooMarquette]

It was brought up in the debate last night that models show if we are not better at mask compliance we can expect 200k more deaths between now and end of year.

Followed up with the statement we can cut that in half and save 100K lives if everyone wears a mask.  If the 7 day national avg holds steady we will have saved more then the 100k estimate.  That tells me we, as a country, are doing what we can when it comes to masks or am I interrupting that wrong?

A universal mask mandate would save lives. We as a country have not implemented a universal mask mandate.

Ergo, we have NOT done everything we can when it comes to masks.

[pacearrow02]

A universal mask mandate would save lives. We as a country have not implemented a universal mask mandate.

Ergo, we have NOT done everything we can when it comes to masks.

Ok, that makes sense now.

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

Interesting stuff on how Vermont has effectively contained COVID-19, including having zero coronavirus-related deaths in 2+ months:

The coronavirus is spreading more rapidly in rural areas of the U.S. than in urban areas. But one rural state continues to do a fabulous job keeping the virus away: Vermont.



The starkest sign of Vermont’s success is that it has not recorded a single Covid-19 death in more than two months.

Vermont is succeeding partly because it has not allowed the virus to become a partisan issue. The Republican governor, Phil Scott — unlike many other Republican politicians around the country — has consistently told people to take the virus seriously. “He started wearing a mask early in the pandemic and has stood at the back of the room in many of the state’s coronavirus briefings, letting Dr. Mark Levine, Vermont’s answer to Dr. Anthony Fauci, dominate proceedings,” Bill McKibben, a Vermont resident, wrote in The New Yorker.

Vermont also benefits from having a high degree of social trust among its residents, as Maria Sacchetti explained in The Washington Post. And Vermont has two strong local media organizations — VTDigger and Seven Days — that keep residents informed and that both took an intriguing step early in the pandemic, McKibben notes: They shut down their comments sections, to prevent misinformation from spreading.

Plenty of people in Connecticut have second houses in Vermont.  What I hear from these people is they even make people from Connecticut quarantine if you rthere more than 24 hours.  And they get antsy when they see out of state plates.

Coincidently, Vermont was the most moved-to state since the pandemic began per United Van Lines. 

From March to August 2020, the top outbound states, defined by the highest percentages of moves where COVID was a contributing factor in leaving the state, were the following:
1. Washington, D.C.
2. New York
3. Nevada
4. Oregon
5. Delaware
6. California
7. Minnesota
8. Massachusetts
9. Florida
10. Washington

The top inbound states — those where COVID was a contributing factor in choosing to migrate to the state — were:
1. Vermont
2. North Dakota
3. Connecticut
4. Montana
5. Michigan
6. Arkansas
7. Oregon
8. Massachusetts
9. Ohio
10. Utah
UniGroup, parent company of United Van Lines, continuously fields a post-move survey with customers within five days following their move. The findings shared here are drawn from data collected among more than 6,000 United Van Lines and Mayflower customers who moved between March 1 – August 31, 2020.

[Jockey]

And now the third peak of officially higher than the previous high in the US, and still rising....

Coronavirus case increase sets new U.S. record, rising to over 77K in one day

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/coronavirus-case-increase-sets-new-u-s-record-rising-over-n1244490

The U.S. set a record Thursday as the number of new coronavirus cases rose to over 77,000, topping the previous record in July.

Nationwide, 77,640 new cases were reported for the day, up from the previous record of 75,723 on July 29, according to the latest tally compiled by NBC News.

The record-breaking daily tally comes as the total number of coronavirus cases in the country has reached nearly 8.5 million, with 224,280 deaths. There were 921 coronavirus-related deaths reported on Thursday.

We’re rounding the corner, man, we’re rounding the corner.

[TSmith34, Inc.]

You are right, those concepts are not inherently political. Unfortunately, the current administration has made them political, and many republicans around the country have followed along. The point of the article as I see it is that republicans in VT have not followed along.

Yes, that's the sad irony in this. If Trump had acted appropriately both Republican and Democratic Governors would have followed suit and we'd likely have the virus under control and the economy booming and Trump would be coasting to reelection.

Instead the U.S. is a replay of Trump University, Trump airlines, the New Jersey Generals, Trump casinos, Trump ties, Trump water, and Trump steaks rolled into one. #ETTD

[MU82]

Plenty of people in Connecticut have second houses in Vermont.  What I hear from these people is they even make people from Connecticut quarantine if you rthere more than 24 hours.  And they get antsy when they see out of state plates.

Coincidently, Vermont was the most moved-to state since the pandemic began per United Van Lines. 

From March to August 2020, the top outbound states, defined by the highest percentages of moves where COVID was a contributing factor in leaving the state, were the following:
1. Washington, D.C.
2. New York
3. Nevada
4. Oregon
5. Delaware
6. California
7. Minnesota
8. Massachusetts
9. Florida
10. Washington

The top inbound states — those where COVID was a contributing factor in choosing to migrate to the state — were:
1. Vermont
2. North Dakota
3. Connecticut
4. Montana
5. Michigan
6. Arkansas
7. Oregon
8. Massachusetts
9. Ohio
10. Utah
UniGroup, parent company of United Van Lines, continuously fields a post-move survey with customers within five days following their move. The findings shared here are drawn from data collected among more than 6,000 United Van Lines and Mayflower customers who moved between March 1 – August 31, 2020.

So what you're sayin' is that Oregon and Massachusetts don't know whether they're comin' or goin'!!

[Warriors4ever]

And now some of the states people moved to are experiencing spikes and Lviv positivity rates.....

[GooooMarquette]

So what you're sayin' is that Oregon and Massachusetts don't know whether they're comin' or goin'!!

The people who left Oregon are probably regretting that decision. Their departure was probably fueled by the fact that the first major US outbreak was just up the road in Seattle...but in fact Oregon's response has been phenomenal. To date, it is 4th lowest in total incidence with only 96/1M residents.

Heck, even Washington has done an outstanding job since the initial outbreak. Overall, they have the 7th lowest total incidence, at 132/1M residents. To draw a comparison that people here can relate to, Wisconsin's incidence is currently at 327/1M residents.