BBC: China pneumonia outbreak: COVID-19 Global Pandemic

[Springfield]

1 hour ago, tshile said:

I generally hate sharing stuff like this. I cannot personally vet it. And I’m not knowledgeable enough to go against it. Just sharing... 

 

and up until now I’ve been positive about things just like @Springfieldhas been. The models were looking good. 
 

but a daily briefing had the following talking points:

mega surge expected with new variant in 4-6 weeks

infection rate expected to double every 10 days

expected to be 30-50% more transmissible 

expected to be 30% more lethal

expected to have 40-60% increased hospitalization rate

 

 

this is not good. 

That isn’t good. So naturally I’ll ignore it until it comes to fruition. Also, I’m banking on my immunized ass to just skate right on by. I got a business to get back to pre-Covid levels and vacations to go on and new babies to have (at least my wife). Basically, I got a life to live. I’m over Covid. Naturally, this is way of thinking is probably pretty prevalent at this point and of course how the pandemic endures.

[visionary]

 

[Mr. Sinister]

My how the mighty have fallen

[BatteredFanSyndrome]

11 minutes ago, Mr. Sinister said:

My how the mighty have fallen

I always kind of thought he was a phony anyways.  When I saw his book at Costco, it helped to confirm that.

[Sacks 'n' Stuff]

Both Cuomos always rubbed me the wrong way.

[China]

US life expectancy drops a year in pandemic, most since WWII

 

Life expectancy in the United States dropped a staggering one year during the first half of 2020 as the coronavirus pandemic caused its first wave of deaths, health officials are reporting.

 

Minorities suffered the biggest impact, with Black Americans losing nearly three years and Hispanics, nearly two years, according to preliminary estimates Thursday from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

 

“This is a huge decline,” said Robert Anderson, who oversees the numbers for the CDC. “You have to go back to World War II, the 1940s, to find a decline like this.”

 

Other health experts say it shows the profound impact of COVID-19, not just on deaths directly due to infection but also from heart disease, cancer and other conditions.

 

“What is really quite striking in these numbers is that they only reflect the first half of the year ... I would expect that these numbers would only get worse,” said Dr. Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo, a health equity researcher and dean at the University of California, San Francisco.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[Larry]

2 minutes ago, China said:

“What is really quite striking in these numbers is that they only reflect the first half of the year ... I would expect that these numbers would only get worse,”

 

Assume so.  

[visionary]

 

[TradeTheBeal!]

 

[China]

West Virginia's Vaccination Rate Ranks Among Highest In World

 

West Virginia isn't known for its good health outcomes. It leads the nation in deaths from diabetes, accidents and drug overdoses. But when it comes to distributing the COVID-19 vaccine, the state has been a shining star.

 

It didn't start out that way. In late December, on what was the day that Gov. Jim Justice announced West Virginians older than 80 would be able to receive doses of the vaccine from their county health departments, seniors began lining up right away — even before doses of the vaccine were available. Chris Dorst, a Charleston Gazette-Mail photographer for 30 years, was sent out by his editor to photograph the serpentine line of senior citizens she'd seen waiting outside the Kanawha-Charleston Health Department, under the gray December sky.

 

"Some people had wheelchairs or walkers — elderly people, and maybe some family members with them in line, just waiting. It seemed to move really slow," Dorst says.

 

Behind the scenes at Kanawha-Charleston Health Department, things were chaotic. The staff received a call from the governor's office at 11 a.m. letting them know they would receive vaccines to distribute to seniors, just one hour before Justice's public announcement. As soon as the governor made the announcement, octogenarians came down to stand outside the health department. By the time Dr. Sherri Young, the county health director, returned to the building with the doses of the Moderna vaccine, it was nearly 2 p.m. But the vaccine she'd just picked up still needed to thaw, the line of elderly constituents was only getting longer and rain was in the forecast. Young's office was able to repurpose thawed doses of the vaccine meant for first responders and deliver 210 shots to the people in line that day.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[China]

How Herd Immunity Works — And What Stands In Its Way

 

What will it take to finally halt the spread of the coronavirus in the U.S.? To answer that question, we've created a simulation of a mock disease we're calling SIMVID-19.

 

When you click "Run Simulation" above, you are witnessing how a disease can spread through a population and how increased levels of vaccination can stop it in its tracks.

 

We're chosen to simulate a fake disease since there are too many unknowns to simulate the course of COVID-19. There are common features in how any infection spreads. When enough people are immune — through vaccination or natural immunity — a population achieves herd immunity. The disease stops spreading efficiently and starts to fade away.

 

How quickly a community gets to herd immunity depends on a number of factors. We've illustrated some major ones in the scenarios that follow.

 

Click on the link for the simulations and full article

[TradeTheBeal!]

One year ago today.

 

 

[Llevron]

 

 

 

Edit: I posted this without context initially because work roomie happened to walk in (we arent supposed to be in the office at the same time, cause of COVID and we are definitely not allowed to talk politics anymore) so I had to post and move on. But my point was going to be how frustrating it is to see what Trump would post publicly and what he would say privately.....and when so many people died because of his negligence. Really makes me sad.

 

I had a nightmare about the government lying about brain worms last night. And as funny as it is now, it makes me sad that subconsciously I must think that **** could actually happen to us. 

Edited February 24, 2021 by Llevron

[China]

Going maskless is a key factor in Covid-19 outbreaks at gyms, studies say

 

Wearing masks and other safety precautions are key to stop the spread of Covid-19 during indoor group exercise, according to two new reports published by the US Centers for Disease and Prevention.

 

The two studies, published Wednesday, linked Covid-19 outbreaks over the summer to exercise facilities in Chicago and Honolulu.

In the Chicago report, 60% of people who attended in-person fitness classes at one facility between August 24 and September 1 tested positive for Covid-19. Another 7% of attendees reported symptoms consistent with the disease.

While some mitigation measures were in place at the facility -- including required temperature checks and symptom screenings upon entry -- removal of masks was permitted during exercise, according to the report.

In Honolulu, 21 cases were linked to a fitness instructor who tested positive for Covid-19 on July 1.

About two days before experiencing symptoms, the fitness instructor led a yoga class for 27 people while wearing a mask. There were no reported cases among these participants.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[China]

China denies asking US diplomats to undergo COVID anal tests

 

China has denied subjecting United States diplomats to COVID-19 anal tests following reports in US media that some US personnel reported being made to undergo the procedure.

 

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian told reporters at a daily briefing on Thursday that: “China has never asked US diplomats in China to go through anal swab tests.”

 

A US State Department spokesperson said Washington was “committed to guaranteeing the safety and security of American diplomats and their families while preserving their dignity, consistent with the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations as well as other relevant diplomatic law provisions”.

 

The Washington Post reported last week that some US personnel had told the department they had been subjected to the anal tests.

 

The procedure has been applied in China because it is reportedly more accurate than nasal or mouth swabs.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[China]

Woman uses thong as mask to do grocery shopping

 

Shoppers at an unnamed local supermarket were shocked when a woman stood in line without her mask in. In the video, which has gone viral on social media, a masked security guard can be seen asking the woman to put a mask on. She replies: “I don’t have one.”

 

As security persists in saying she needs to wear a mask in-store or she will be escorted out, she does something no-one expected: she reaches up under the skirt of her dress, and pulls her thong down and proceeds to wear it as a mask.

“Are you happy now?” she asks security.

 

 

Click on the link for more (including video)

Edited February 26, 2021 by China

[Barry.Randolphe]

 

54 minutes ago, China said:

Woman uses thong as mask to do grocery shopping

 

It was reported after she did that, she kept asking why every aisle smelled like tuna fish

[Cooked Crack]

 

 

[visionary]

 

[China]

Missouri couple quarantining with COVID-19 found dead

 

A couple whose bodies were found in their home last week died of COVID-19, St. Louis County authorities said Friday.

 

Police were called to the home in Mehlville on Feb. 18 after receiving a report of a sudden death, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.

 

Officer Tracy Panus said a man and woman were found dead at the home.

 

The couple were quarantining after testing positive for COVID-19. Family members told police the man and woman both were experiencing symptoms, police said.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[visionary]

 

[dfitzo53]

Finally moving in the right direction at least.

[China]

On 2/25/2021 at 11:55 PM, China said:

China denies asking US diplomats to undergo COVID anal tests

 

China has denied subjecting United States diplomats to COVID-19 anal tests following reports in US media that some US personnel reported being made to undergo the procedure.

 

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian told reporters at a daily briefing on Thursday that: “China has never asked US diplomats in China to go through anal swab tests.”

 

A US State Department spokesperson said Washington was “committed to guaranteeing the safety and security of American diplomats and their families while preserving their dignity, consistent with the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations as well as other relevant diplomatic law provisions”.

 

The Washington Post reported last week that some US personnel had told the department they had been subjected to the anal tests.

 

The procedure has been applied in China because it is reportedly more accurate than nasal or mouth swabs.

 

Click on the link for the full article

 

Tokyo asks China to stop anal swab tests for COVID-19 on Japanese citizens

 

Tokyo has requested Beijing to stop taking anal swab tests for COVID-19 on Japanese citizens as the procedure causes psychological pain, a government spokesman said on Monday.

 

Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato said the government has not received a response that Beijing would change the testing procedure, so Japan would continue to ask China to alter the way of testing.

 

“Some Japanese reported to our embassy in China that they received anal swab tests, which caused a great psychologial pain,” Kato told a news conference.

 

It was not known how many Japanese citizens received such tests for the coronavirus, he said.

 

China’s foreign ministry denied last month that U.S. diplomats in the country had been required to take anal swab tests for COVID-19, following media reports that some had complained about the procedure.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[China]

Spring break crowds flock to Fort Lauderdale, Miami Beach amid COVID concerns

 

The first weekend of spring break 2021 has brought large crowds to South Florida beaches, along with concerns about the potential for a coronavirus outbreak.

 

Back in the 1960s and 70s, Fort Lauderdale Beach was known as the place where the boys are. On Saturday, it looked like everyone else came down as well.

 

“Just enjoying the weather, getting away from the cold,” said a beachgoer.

 

Revelers riding in an SUV cheered and greeted 7News cameras as they drove near Fort Lauderdale Beach.

 

Spring breakers usually bring stress on cities like Fort Lauderdale and Miami Beach, but this year adds COVID-19 worries to the mix.

 

Click on the link for the full article

 

[Destino]

14 hours ago, visionary said:

 

Wasn’t it October when republicans were all saying that after the election the media would never talk about Covid again?  I remember Donald JR was saying we had a cure and deaths were down because we could treat it now.  They mocked Biden for predicting a “dark winter” too.  Look at the numbers that followed.  
 

Republicans handled Covid like the virus was a major donor to their campaigns.