Coronavirus in the United States - news and thoughts

Dropping death numbers are likely due to a number of factors. One is doctors better know how to treat COVID-19. This is a good thing. Two, more people are wearing masks and acting responsibly.

The numbers are improving in Arizona, and my school district reopened hybrid classes today. In elementary school, kids with last name A-L go to school Mon and Thu, and M-Z, Tue and Fri, with everyone online Wed. First day back today, and my kid is in class.

The only question I have is will people remain vigilant. If we do, then things can get back to some sort of normal. The metrics and numbers are improving. I hope things can continue in this direction.

 

Interesting. Our HS principal wants all football and volleyball players to have a ‘background’ test completed. I see several issues with mandating testing on what is currently an asymptomatic group (temp checks, questioning, etc being done before every practice). One is that the test is to be completed one calendar week after a return to in person learning (for those that chose to do so) and three days after the first football game. The team on our schedule is not testing and there is no plan for how to handle a positive test wrt quarantine or retest to verify. Many of us parents are puzzled as to the purpose of this type of testing. It feels more like she is hoping for a positive result so she can shut the semester down for any sports or in person learning.

 

There is no doubt that there are many in admin who want to shut things down. I watched the FHSAA Zoom meeting with my son back in July about football. It was very disheartening for me that so few of the members of that board were working towards getting spirts up and running.

 

I think everyone's goal should be to make sure these tests are accurate. If a test is this bad at testing for Covid then it's useless. Who knows if this is going on everywhere around the country.

 

Britain above 6k cases again for first time since May. daily deaths are trending above average. beginning to lock things down again.

Johnson Warns Against ‘Complacency’ as U.K. Covid Cases Rise

Hancock said the government will be tightening enforcement of pandemic rules and stepping up communication on social distancing. He also gave an indication of what areas facing a surge in cases can expect, announcing new restrictions in the northern town of Bolton, including shorter opening hours for pubs.

Meanwhile, the prime minister’s team is looking at cutting the maximum number of people who are legally allowed to gather in a private home, according to a senior official.
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The seven-day rate of new cases in the U.K. has risen to 21.3 per 100,000 people, he said, just over the threshold of 20 cases per 100,000 the government uses to help assess whether to impose quarantine rules for other countries.

Van Tam also said that while the U.K.’s hospitalization and death rates remain comparatively low, the experience of other countries shows infections among young people are likely to filter through to older generations, who are more at risk.

 

Coronavirus patients still had lung damage, breathlessness, weeks after leaving hospital: report

Researchers in Austria released the preliminary results from a study that tracked 86 coronavirus patients after their release from a hospital following a severe coronavirus infection.

It found that six weeks after being discharged, CT scans determined 88 percent of the patients still had signs of lung damage while 47 percent were experiencing breathlessness, according to the Guardian. During that timeframe, 24 of the patients also had less than 80 percent of the lung volume available for breathing compared to the average person.
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The study saw patients examined using scans, lung function measurements, and clinical examinations six weeks after discharge, and again at 12 weeks. More than 60 percent of patients were male, nearly 50 percent were current or former smokers, and 65 percent were overweight or obese.

Evidence of lung damage was still prevalent at the 12-week mark, although it had decreased by 32 percent when compared to the 6-week evaluation, while signs of breathlessness were down eight percent, the Guardian reported.

 

Sturgis Motorcycle Rally linked to 20% of US coronavirus cases in August: researchers

 

So this "research" firm concludes that BLM protests didn't cause any Covid outbreaks but a Bike Rally does and causes 12.2 Billion in public health costs? OK, I have no idea who this Research facility is but something doesn't pass the smell test on this one.

 

The BLM paper that they did analyzed behavioral change from people not engaged in the protests, finding that the protests caused behavioral change (in the form of increased staying at home) that blunted the spread while the marches increased the spread by a similar amount. Basically, the two effects balanced. I doubt anybody in Texas stayed at home because of Sturgis.

 

In CC (Covid Correctness) world you are not allowed to ask questions and make points like that!!

 

So with Covid cases dropping significantly in August versus July, then how does Sturgis supposedly increase Covid cases almost 20%? That makes no sense whatsoever. I mean I see this report where there is one person who has died. Think this article is BS. And by BS i mean the biggest load of crap i've read in a long time.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2020/09/02/sturgis-rally-death-coronavirus/

 

No, they stayed home because of BLM protests in Tulsa. BLM protests were pretty widely distributed. Motorcycle rallies haven't been.

 

That isn't what it said. They said 19% of the cases were tied to that event. You are assuming a stable baseline, which is a faulty assumption (also, you are utilizing monthly figures that largely masks actual variation on both sides of the event).

The death figure has three major problems: 1. we don't have great contact tracing in order to accurately assess sourcing of the virus; 2. that is only in the first generation of the disease spread, not including the second, third, fourth, fifth, etc. generations; 3. the death figures are lagging indicators, an effect that is even more important as you move down generation by generation of spread.

 

You really believe that Sturgis caused 19% of cases and 12.2 billion in costs. Just want to get you on record on this one.

 

I haven't read the paper on the 19% of cases. The $12.2 billion in lost economic value (it isn't really a cost in that nobody paid out $12.2 billion) is likely a little high given that they utilized the high end valuation of human life. I'd have probably used $10 million per life instead of $11 million.

 

So you are defending an article that you didn't read and pointing out differences between Sturgis and BLM protests? That's interesting.

 

Definition of a tragedy.....

Argentina Professor, Who Had Been Battling Covid-19 for Over a Month, Dies During Zoom Lecture

 

No, I am pointing out that you made false claims about what the article stated (which could be known even reading the media write-up). I did read the BLM article a little while back.

 

False claims? Funny. Wrong but funny. Can't help it if a BS article is running around making outlandish claims. But you keep defending it. Might want to read it first though.