Week of 10/19 Covid News and Chat

[Velar Fricative]

Oct 20, 2020 12:40:10 GMT -5 eddy said:

I just had a FB friend post a million photos from her wedding including getting ready. In the salon, at the wedding, in the reception. Not a mask to be found anywhere. Not even on staff. Huge guest list it appears.

This is the shit that makes me feel legit crazy. How can we all live in such different realities?

I would be devastated if a pandemic disrupted my wedding but that does not mean it's a good idea to just hold it anyway. They are classic superspreader events (and are, if you're keeping up with the news) - large gatherings among close-knit people and alcohol (nothing but open bars here), probably indoors...what could possibly go wrong???

[pugz]

@@@

my daughter's 3rd grade teacher got married over the weekend. It was majorly downsized, like 40 people total. No honeymoon, she is back in the classroom today. Glad they are all masked at school except at lunch.

[scout8]

Oct 20, 2020 13:07:59 GMT -5 Velar Fricative said:

Oct 20, 2020 12:40:10 GMT -5 eddy said:

I just had a FB friend post a million photos from her wedding including getting ready. In the salon, at the wedding, in the reception. Not a mask to be found anywhere. Not even on staff. Huge guest list it appears.

This is the shit that makes me feel legit crazy. How can we all live in such different realities?

I would be devastated if a pandemic disrupted my wedding but that does not mean it's a good idea to just hold it anyway. They are classic superspreader events (and are, if you're keeping up with the news) - large gatherings among close-knit people and alcohol (nothing but open bars here), probably indoors...what could possibly go wrong???

Right??!! I would feel so guilty if my wedding was a superspreader event and someone died. I don't understand how these people aren't concerned about it. 

[eddy]

Oct 20, 2020 13:07:59 GMT -5 Velar Fricative said:

Oct 20, 2020 12:40:10 GMT -5 eddy said:

I just had a FB friend post a million photos from her wedding including getting ready. In the salon, at the wedding, in the reception. Not a mask to be found anywhere. Not even on staff. Huge guest list it appears.

This is the shit that makes me feel legit crazy. How can we all live in such different realities?

I would be devastated if a pandemic disrupted my wedding but that does not mean it's a good idea to just hold it anyway. They are classic superspreader events (and are, if you're keeping up with the news) - large gatherings among close-knit people and alcohol (nothing but open bars here), probably indoors...what could possibly go wrong???

I can sympathize. My guess was there were a lot of non-refundable deposits put down. Money sunk into an event that can't happen. It has to really fucking suck.

But all I see with these reception pictures are people breathing directly into each other's mouths as they talk/shout lol.

[Velar Fricative]

Oct 20, 2020 15:45:39 GMT -5 eddy said:

Oct 20, 2020 13:07:59 GMT -5 Velar Fricative said:

I would be devastated if a pandemic disrupted my wedding but that does not mean it's a good idea to just hold it anyway. They are classic superspreader events (and are, if you're keeping up with the news) - large gatherings among close-knit people and alcohol (nothing but open bars here), probably indoors...what could possibly go wrong???

I can sympathize. My guess was there were a lot of non-refundable deposits put down. Money sunk into an event that can't happen. It has to really fucking suck.

But all I see with these reception pictures are people breathing directly into each other's mouths as they talk/shout lol.

I do know a couple of people at work with postponed summer weddings. They can’t get the deposits back but were able to reschedule to next summer. Even next summer seems a bit ambitious but we will see.

[penguingrrl]

Oct 20, 2020 16:13:29 GMT -5 Velar Fricative said:

Oct 20, 2020 15:45:39 GMT -5 eddy said:

I can sympathize. My guess was there were a lot of non-refundable deposits put down. Money sunk into an event that can't happen. It has to really fucking suck.

But all I see with these reception pictures are people breathing directly into each other's mouths as they talk/shout lol.

I do know a couple of people at work with postponed summer weddings. They can’t get the deposits back but were able to reschedule to next summer. Even next summer seems a bit ambitious but we will see.

It’s so hard. I know someone who had already put a ton of money in and tried to reschedule. Her venue (which had a lot of money already) wouldn’t work with her at all. They finally offered a Thursday afternoon in December of 2022 if she wanted to move from a Saturday night in September. For the same price.

She ended up doing her wedding with half the planned guests, outside, and provided masks and insisted everyone wear one when not actively eating. It’s now been a month and they had no issues thankfully.

While trying to negotiate moving she did contact a lawyer but the contract didn’t allow for this, so they had no recourse other than losing thousands of dollars. She definitely felt like she was between a rock and a hard place.

[dirtyred]

I don't know if this has been posted elsewhere, but please watch. It's gold.


www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltjBT_TuUVA

[sofamonkey]

@@

Yeah, we are going to try to have a family holiday. Just us 8 though. The kids go to camp through the YMCA, and there are just 9 kids total, and then they’ll be at home with me for about 14 days before we get together. DH and I should be able to self quarantine for almost 14 days as well. My parents and sis/BIL don’t go anywhere. So, it kind of depends on if we have positive patients at my work before hand.

I’m cautiously optimistic. I need to prep myself better this not happening, but I’ve just got to be hopeful for now. I’m already so sad that we can’t do our big extended Italian family gathering. We’ve lost 2 family members in the past 6 months. It’s awful to not get together and grieve together. I know we aren’t the only ones though.

[Velar Fricative]

I know Americans aren't one to talk, but I'm heartbroken at what's happening in the Czech Republic, my favorite place in the whole wide world. They had a very successful lockdown in the spring because they put in a wartime-like effort to make masks and distribute throughout the country early on. But then the masks came off and now they are getting hit harder right now than anywhere else in the world on a per capita basis.

www.cnn.com/2020/10/20/europe/czech-republic-coronavirus-mask-mandate-intl/index.html

[Velar Fricative]

I'm being petty, but I'm getting in a fight on Facebook with my dumbass councilman who is suing the city for not letting kids go to school 5 days a week. When I said packing kids into classrooms with no distancing is unsafe, he just replied to me that I could just "stay home." Mature.


nypost.com/2020/10/21/nyc-parents-filing-lawsuit-to-force-full-reopening-of-schools/

[stever]

Oct 21, 2020 8:39:54 GMT -5 Velar Fricative said:

I know Americans aren't one to talk, but I'm heartbroken at what's happening in the Czech Republic, my favorite place in the whole wide world. They had a very successful lockdown in the spring because they put in a wartime-like effort to make masks and distribute throughout the country early on. But then the masks came off and now they are getting hit harder right now than anywhere else in the world on a per capita basis.

www.cnn.com/2020/10/20/europe/czech-republic-coronavirus-mask-mandate-intl/index.html

Did you see the big dinner they had on Charles Bridge over the summer to “celebrate the end of Covid? “I adore Prague, and I would love to have been at that dinner any other time, but I cringed.

[NewOrleans]

Oct 21, 2020 14:46:06 GMT -5 Velar Fricative said:

I'm being petty, but I'm getting in a fight on Facebook with my dumbass councilman who is suing the city for not letting kids go to school 5 days a week. When I said packing kids into classrooms with no distancing is unsafe, he just replied to me that I could just "stay home." Mature.


nypost.com/2020/10/21/nyc-parents-filing-lawsuit-to-force-full-reopening-of-schools/

He’s so close to getting it!

[Velar Fricative]

Oct 21, 2020 16:31:49 GMT -5 stever said:

Oct 21, 2020 8:39:54 GMT -5 Velar Fricative said:

I know Americans aren't one to talk, but I'm heartbroken at what's happening in the Czech Republic, my favorite place in the whole wide world. They had a very successful lockdown in the spring because they put in a wartime-like effort to make masks and distribute throughout the country early on. But then the masks came off and now they are getting hit harder right now than anywhere else in the world on a per capita basis.

www.cnn.com/2020/10/20/europe/czech-republic-coronavirus-mask-mandate-intl/index.html

Did you see the big dinner they had on Charles Bridge over the summer to “celebrate the end of Covid? “I adore Prague, and I would love to have been at that dinner any other time, but I cringed.

I did. It looked lovely but I remember thinking IT’S NOT OVER YET!!!

[Velar Fricative]

CDC is updating guidelines on exposure to indicate it is considered being within 6 feet of someone for at least 15 *cumulative* minutes in 24 hours. It stems from an interesting case in Vermont where a correctional officer was infected through multiple short exposures within covid+ inmates that totaled up to 17 minutes during his shift.

www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/cdc-changes-guidance-close-contacts-emphasizes-importance-wearing-mask-n1244147

The officer wore a mask but occasionally the inmates did not. And since the caseload is so low in VT, the DOH determined his only possible exposure could have come from these inmates.

[AAM2012]

Oct 21, 2020 20:10:23 GMT -5 Velar Fricative said:

CDC is updating guidelines on exposure to indicate it is considered being within 6 feet of someone for at least 15 *cumulative* minutes in 24 hours. It stems from an interesting case in Vermont where a correctional officer was infected through multiple short exposures within covid+ inmates that totaled up to 17 minutes during his shift.

www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/cdc-changes-guidance-close-contacts-emphasizes-importance-wearing-mask-n1244147

The officer wore a mask but occasionally the inmates did not. And since the caseload is so low in VT, the DOH determined his only possible exposure could have come from these inmates.

I thought masks aren’t support to protect the user..?

[bugandbibs]

I’m surprised that the CDC is only now saying cumulative 15 minutes. We have been using that as the standard of a close contact in my county for months. It’s one of the reasons we have to log everywhere we are in each building everyday for contract tracing. It’s what I teach the staff as part of social distancing guidelines.

[lilac05]

When I saw the updated guidelines, my first thought was, “Was our idiot governor right?” (Iowa doesn’t consider anyone a “close contact” if everyone was wearing a mask, regardless of distance or duration.) Nope! Now our state guidelines are even further from CDC guidelines.

In unsurprising news, Iowa had a record number of hospitalizations and a record number of deaths today. 31 deaths. I believe our previous high was 23.

[Velar Fricative]

Oct 21, 2020 22:09:45 GMT -5 AAM2012 said:

Oct 21, 2020 20:10:23 GMT -5 Velar Fricative said:

CDC is updating guidelines on exposure to indicate it is considered being within 6 feet of someone for at least 15 *cumulative* minutes in 24 hours. It stems from an interesting case in Vermont where a correctional officer was infected through multiple short exposures within covid+ inmates that totaled up to 17 minutes during his shift.

www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/cdc-changes-guidance-close-contacts-emphasizes-importance-wearing-mask-n1244147

The officer wore a mask but occasionally the inmates did not. And since the caseload is so low in VT, the DOH determined his only possible exposure could have come from these inmates.

I thought masks aren’t support to protect the user..?

Studies and real-life situations have shown that they do provide a level of protection for the wearer too. It’s presumed that at least one of the inmates here was a “super shedder” so when he wasn’t wearing the mask, he was able to infect the officer.

[eddy]

Oct 22, 2020 1:40:08 GMT -5 lilac05 said:

When I saw the updated guidelines, my first thought was, “Was our idiot governor right?” (Iowa doesn’t consider anyone a “close contact” if everyone was wearing a mask, regardless of distance or duration.) Nope! Now our state guidelines are even further from CDC guidelines.

In unsurprising news, Iowa had a record number of hospitalizations and a record number of deaths today. 31 deaths. I believe our previous high was 23.

It feels so fucking bleak. Especially if you pair it with the cold weather this week.

[eddy]

Also having confirmation that infection can happen quickly and even when one person has protection is honestly scary. I am not surprised and I am grateful that we are learning more as this goes on. I read about the update right away this morning and it has made me feel a bit helpless.

[Velar Fricative]

Oct 22, 2020 7:16:52 GMT -5 eddy said:

Also having confirmation that infection can happen quickly and even when one person has protection is honestly scary. I am not surprised and I am grateful that we are learning more as this goes on. I read about the update right away this morning and it has made me feel a bit helpless.

On the one hand, it’s a good example of how BOTH people (if there are just two) need to be wearing masks to protect the both of them. But if people are so anti-mask already I’m really not sure if even an example like this will change their minds.

[wanderingback]

Oct 21, 2020 22:09:45 GMT -5 AAM2012 said:

Oct 21, 2020 20:10:23 GMT -5 Velar Fricative said:

CDC is updating guidelines on exposure to indicate it is considered being within 6 feet of someone for at least 15 *cumulative* minutes in 24 hours. It stems from an interesting case in Vermont where a correctional officer was infected through multiple short exposures within covid+ inmates that totaled up to 17 minutes during his shift.

www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/cdc-changes-guidance-close-contacts-emphasizes-importance-wearing-mask-n1244147

The officer wore a mask but occasionally the inmates did not. And since the caseload is so low in VT, the DOH determined his only possible exposure could have come from these inmates.

I thought masks aren’t support to protect the user..?

Yes PPE, including masks help those who wear it. That’s why healthcare workers have been screaming about PPE.

[noodleoo]

Oct 22, 2020 8:16:03 GMT -5 wanderingback said:

Oct 21, 2020 22:09:45 GMT -5 AAM2012 said:

I thought masks aren’t support to protect the user..?

Yes PPE, including masks help those who wear it. That’s why healthcare workers have been screaming about PPE.

I think this has been a big failing in messaging.  Most people still think masks only protect others.  If people believed the masks protected themselves, maybe they'd be more likely to wear them.  Americans are inherently selfish, wearing them to protect others was not a good way to sell them.

[mrssandro]

Interesting read

thehill.com/policy/healthcare/522219-columbia-report-us-could-have-avoided-130000-covid-deaths-with-better

[aspentosh]

Oct 19, 2020 8:00:07 GMT -5 tessalb said:

I watched highlights of Fauci’s interview this morning. My dentist used to work with him, years and years ago, and said Fauci is every bit the man we hope he is.

1000 percent. He is a great man and leader. I worked fairly closely with him for about a year and I was always amazed by his humility and kindness.

[pixy0stix]

@@@@

This is why when people say they're going to stay home and quarantine, or get tests before they go to a family function I just say, "Ok." Because the best and safest plan is to not gather with your family now. www.washingtonpost.com/travel/2020/10/15/teen-family-vacation-covid-outbreak/

Synopsis: Teen spread it to 11 relatives after a negative covid test.

[Velar Fricative]

Oct 22, 2020 11:15:37 GMT -5 pixy0stix said:

@@@@

This is why when people say they're going to stay home and quarantine, or get tests before they go to a family function I just say, "Ok." Because the best and safest plan is to not gather with your family now. www.washingtonpost.com/travel/2020/10/15/teen-family-vacation-covid-outbreak/

Synopsis: Teen spread it to 11 relatives after a negative covid test.

I read the CDC report in there as well and it was fascinating, especially the graph. Very helpful to visualize when people got infected.

www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/wr/pdfs/mm6940e2-H.pdf

[wanderingback]

So per our weekly state department of health weekly covid call for healthcare workers the HHS has started to distribute poc antigen tests to nursing homes, adult care facilities, Indian health service areas, hbcu’s (and maybe one more group I can’t remember). Plus they said our state is getting tests from HHS. We already have pretty robust testing here so hopefully other states are getting tests as well. The poc antigen test is slightly less sensitive than the pcr tests, but I think we need more poc antigen tests for sure. I guess the government is doing something at this point :/

[Velar Fricative]

Oct 22, 2020 12:35:06 GMT -5 wanderingback said:

So per our weekly state department of health weekly covid call for healthcare workers the HHS has started to distribute poc antigen tests to nursing homes, adult care facilities, Indian health service areas, hbcu’s (and maybe one more group I can’t remember). Plus they said our state is getting tests from HHS. We already have pretty robust testing here so hopefully other states are getting tests as well. The poc antigen test is slightly less sensitive than the pcr tests, but I think we need more poc antigen tests for sure. I guess the government is doing something at this point :/

I'll have to dig but I remember reading how basically we need these antigen tests because even though they may not be as accurate as PCR, we are so bad at testing nationally (obviously some states are better than others) that anything additional will be an improvement. And we need the quicker results to catch as many cases as possible, even if it's not 100% accurate. 

It looks like yesterday NYC sent all residents a box of at-home tests (I never requested anything and other city residents got them too). It felt like Christmas when I opened up the box and found not just the tests, but a bottle of hand sanitizer, wipes and masks! My expectations for gifts in 2020 are truly so low lol. 

[noodleoo]

Oct 22, 2020 12:35:06 GMT -5 wanderingback said:

So per our weekly state department of health weekly covid call for healthcare workers the HHS has started to distribute poc antigen tests to nursing homes, adult care facilities, Indian health service areas, hbcu’s (and maybe one more group I can’t remember). Plus they said our state is getting tests from HHS. We already have pretty robust testing here so hopefully other states are getting tests as well. The poc antigen test is slightly less sensitive than the pcr tests, but I think we need more poc antigen tests for sure. I guess the government is doing something at this point :/

What is a poc antigen test?  Does it test for past infection or current?  We definitely need more/faster testing.