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

[MU82]

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.

Traveling to Washington soon ... if they'll have North Carolinians like me!

[GooooMarquette]

Just got my weekly Costco email and saw that they are selling PCR-based saliva Covid testing kits. For any of you Costco members who haven't been able to get a test....

https://www.costco.com/covid-19-saliva-pcr-test-kit%2c-redeemed-by-azova.product.100706742.html

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

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

I know, right.

[GooooMarquette]

A couple days ago, North Dakota's surge overwhelmed contact tracers to the point where the state is now asking people who test positive to do the contact tracing themselves.

https://www.foxnews.com/health/coronavirus-surge-north-dakota-contact-tracing-residents

[MU82]

It's not bad enough that this president's horrific handling of the coronavirus pandemic has contributed to nearly 225K dead Americans on his watch, millions of unemployed Americans on his watch and hundreds of thousands of permanently shuttered American businesses on his watch.

He now is willingly sacrificing American lives in his reckless, desperate, narcissistic pursuit of a second term by insisting upon going against his own administration's guidelines to hold one super-spreader rally after another -- even as COVID-19 has picked up steam again in America.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/investigations/2020/10/22/trumps-campaign-made-stops-nationwide-then-coronavirus-cases-surged/3679534001/

Everywhere he holds one of these things -- totally oblivious to the fact that there again are daily counts of tens of thousands of cases and 1,000+ deaths -- he leaves a wake of COVID-19 cases.

Which shortly thereafter results in a wake of hospitalizations.

Which shortly thereafter leaves a wake of ... well ... wakes.

He's a regular effen Donnie Covidseed.

He just held a yuuuge, unmasked, super-spreader rally at The Villages. Yep, the largest senior community in the United States. This won't result in any deaths at all.

What a shameful chapter in U.S. history.

[The Sultan]

A billboard outside the Waukesha airport.

[Jockey]

A billboard outside the Waukesha airport.

Typhoid Donny.

[shoothoops]

One year ago this weekend,

https://twitter.com/JoeBiden/status/1187829299207954437?s=19

[MU82]

Typhoid Donny.

That's hilarious.

I call him Donnie Covidseed.

[Warriors4ever]

https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/25/politics/mark-meadows-controlling-coronavirus-pandemic-cnntv/index.html

White House pandemic response: Whatever.

[pbiflyer]

That's hilarious.

I call him Donnie Covidseed.

#Covidiot

[Frenns Liquor Depot]

https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/25/politics/mark-meadows-controlling-coronavirus-pandemic-cnntv/index.html

White House pandemic response: Whatever.

I don't believe in this strategy, but it would be one.  The downside is that it's not apparent we have the PPE or the wherewithal to 'protect the vulnerable' required to successfully execute this plan.  So just one more spin on the true strategy develop a vaccine and hope for the best. 

When a guy like Gottleib who is not hostile to administration tweets this, I get worried.

https://twitter.com/scottgottliebmd/status/1319788915327381505?s=21

[MU82]

It's at least the 3rd time Trump and/or his people have said they've all out given up on even trying.

In a twist this time, Meadows didn't proclaim victory as he gave up.

[forgetful]

If you want to see how policy (masks) and behavior impacts COVID transmission this is a nice data example.

https://twitter.com/FelderFerdinand/status/1319978974928306176

You can essentially mark transitions in exponential thread by looking 14-days forward from any major decisions. In Switzerland, the most recent factor...winter is coming and outdoor activities move indoors.

Will that mean more European lockdowns, will the US impose partial lockdowns?

[GooooMarquette]

Will that mean more European lockdowns, will the US impose partial lockdowns?

Spain imposed a curfew beginning at 11pm tonight. I suspect more stringent restrictions are coming.

IMHO, we will begin to see partial/targeted lockdowns in the US shortly after next Tuesday.

[tower912]

I think the limbo between November 3 and January 20 will not include lockdowns.   If there is a limbo.

[GooooMarquette]

I think the limbo between November 3 and January 20 will not include lockdowns.   If there is a limbo.

I'm not so sure. Trump will criticize any closures whether he's in, out or in limbo.

But regardless of Trump's ranting and even if the presidential election is in limbo, state races will likely be decided in November. Since the lockdowns have been imposed on a state by state (or regional) level, officials will likely feel secure enough post-election to take appropriate action, regardless of the presidential outcome.

[The Sultan]

We won't see lockdowns or curfews. The public doesn't want them.

[GooooMarquette]

We won't see lockdowns or curfews. The public doesn't want them.

I don't think we will see large-scale ones like we saw this spring, but I do think we will see partial or targeted lockdowns in areas that are seeing dramatic increases. People won't want them, but they will likely accept them if the rates are rising quickly enough.

[Frenns Liquor Depot]

If anyone ever wondered why humidity matters for disease transmission, here is a very simple thread illustrating.

https://twitter.com/virusesimmunity/status/1320430656481120256?s=21

[pbiflyer]

If anyone ever wondered why humidity matters for disease transmission, here is a very simple thread illustrating.

https://twitter.com/virusesimmunity/status/1320430656481120256?s=21

So humid Florida is good. At least outdoors. Indoors with AC, I guess, not so much.

[Frenns Liquor Depot]

This is interesting.  The paper finds that COVID may be the new leading cause of death in 25-44 y/o's in parts of the US.  Overtaking accidental opioid overdose. 

https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.10.21.20217174v1

[GooooMarquette]

The Fox News president and several anchors were advised to quarantine after possible virus exposure.

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2020/10/26/world/covid-19-coronavirus-updates?action=click&module=Top%20Stories&pgtype=Homepage#the-fox-news-president-and-several-anchors-were-advised-to-quarantine-after-possible-virus-exposure

The president of Fox News and several of the network's top anchors have been advised to quarantine after being exposed to someone on a private flight who later tested positive for the coronavirus, two people with direct knowledge of the situation said on Sunday.

The infected person was on a charter flight to New York from Nashville with a group of network executives, personalities and other staff members who attended the presidential debate on Thursday, according to the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal network matters.

Everyone on board the plane has been told to get tested and quarantine. It was unclear whether more than one person had tested positive.

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Wonder how many were wearing masks, and how many wear masks regularly in public.

[GooooMarquette]

Global pandemic hits home in the West Virginia mountains

https://apnews.com/article/pandemics-virus-outbreak-football-west-virginia-2a69c2e79d3772e5018c6badacaaf315

"People said it wasn't real," said Victoria Gains, a librarian in the county seat of West Union, which has a population of about 800. "You know it is real when it's in Doddridge County."

From the Dakotas to Kansas to West Virginia, rural America is now seeing coronavirus cases rising again. Hundreds of counties with fewer than 10,000 residents have experienced a surge in the past 14 days, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

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The only place to hide is behind a mask....

[GooooMarquette]

Utah hospitals discussing plan to ration ICU care with governor as coronavirus cases surge in the state

https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/522707-utah-hospitals-plan-on-rationing-care-as-coronavirus-cases-surge-in-the

Hospitals in Utah could soon be forced to begin prioritizing younger COVID-19 patients over older ones in some cases amid a surging rate of hospitalizations from the virus in the state, according to a plan presented to Utah's governor on Thursday.

Hospital administrators in the state told Gov. Gary Herbert (R) that they could ask him to approve a plan in the coming weeks that would take drastic steps to reduce intensive care unit (ICU) admissions in the event of hospital ICUs being overwhelmed, which they said was a serious possibility in the days ahead.

A state official told The Hill that the specifics of the plan were not presented to Herbert, but that he was advised that hospitals would likely have to enact a plan to deal with at-capacity ICUs in the coming weeks.

If ICUs are nearing capacity, patients who are not seen to be improving even with intensive care will be asked to consider moving to a regular hospital bed. Doctors will also be asked to clearly communicate with patients about do-not-resuscitate orders.

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It did not have to come to this....