COVID-19

She kinda walked it back but without much conviction.  Sounds like the jury is still out on this issue.


Ugh.

in need of sustenance I stopped at the Thomas Edison rest stop on the turnpike. They have the whole seating area roped off, but there must have been three dozen people who had gone past the rope and were sitting around. One group of three men were at one of the high top tables and clustered around a laptop for some kind of presentation. There was no demarcation for social distancing for the line at the Burger King, and people were not observing any kind of boundaries.

I left almost immediately. I don't need food that badly. I am assuming it would be the Turnpike Authority that would have some kind of jurisdiction over the rest area To provide some kind of enforcement.


mulemom said:

That's probably to prevent looting when protestors get out of control.

 Two different groups - protestors and looters are not one and the same...


oh, c'mon. That's because we have such beautiful testing that we are doing very powerfully.


America is back on the rise, baby!  

Over 30,000 new cases per day after getting as low as 18,000 new cases per day.

Trump's policies (or lack of) in action!


Two questions.  Are NYers and NJeans really smarter than the people out there in mid America such that our re-openings will not led to dramatic spikes. And if so, can we isolate ourselves from the idiots out there who rushed into re-opening and are now suffering spikes.

yahooyahoo said:

America is back on the rise, baby!  

Over 30,000 new cases per day after getting as low as 18,000 new cases per day.

Trump's policies (or lack of) in action!

 


NJ, NY and CT just imposed a 14 day quarantine on visitors from certain other states.

https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/tri-state-to-require-visitors-from-covid-hotspots-to-quarantine/2482284/


bub said:

Two questions.  Are NYers and NJeans really smarter than the people out there in mid America such that our re-openings will not led to dramatic spikes. And if so, can we isolate ourselves from the idiots out there who rushed into re-opening and are now suffering spikes.

yahooyahoo said:

America is back on the rise, baby!  

Over 30,000 new cases per day after getting as low as 18,000 new cases per day.

Trump's policies (or lack of) in action!

 

For several weeks, NY and NJ were the states responsible for the overall decrease in new cases for the U.S. in total.  Now NY and NJ have reached relatively low levels which leaves minimal room for improvement while several states are in full blown pandemic mode.  NY and NJ aren't necessarily smarter, we just saw the horrific results of the pandemic up close and took stay-at-home measures more seriously.  

The one state that really surprises me is California.  They were doing a good job controlling their case level until June.  

Overall, as a country we are f*cked.  Multiple states are on the rise and they have no interest in shutting down again.  We are along for the ride until vaccines and/or treatments are developed.

Wear a mask.


"The one state that really surprises me is California. They were doing a good job controlling their case level until June.

Overall, as a country we are f*cked. Multiple states are on the rise and they have no interest in shutting down again. We are along for the ride until vaccines and/or treatments are developed.

Wear a mask."

I just heard that playgrounds, basketball courts & parks will be open for sports/play after July 4 in NYC. I don't picture a lot of mask wearing there...Amusement parks opening in New Jersey--necessary?? At least these activities are outdoors. Indoor dining, indoor gyms...in those situations masks won't be worn and even with limited capacity, it seems like the risk of spread could be pretty high.

Bottom line, I agree with you that we are f'd, with NJ/NY rates increasing again by late July/early Aug, just when everyone is getting ready to go back to the "new normal" school/college, etc. Ugghhhh....


Looks like the U.S. had its worst daily new case total yesterday and Sweden, cited by the deniers as the model of voluntary distancing, had its worst total the day before, with 9 of its worst days occurring in approximately the last 2 weeks.  But hey, its all just a hoax.


good explanation of the apparent paradox of a falling death rate amidst a rising infection rate


The big crowd of unmasked parents around the lacrosse tryouts (practice?) at CHS a few minutes ago is not a reassuring sight. 


mrincredible said:

The big crowd of unmasked parents around the lacrosse tryouts (practice?) at CHS a few minutes ago is not a reassuring sight. 

 That's surprising. Mask wearing is usually close to 100% among the people I see around here.


What I don't get is that do people really not have enough self control to just not go to the beach for one year?

(easy for me to say. I kinda hate the beach.)


drummerboy said:

What I don't get is that do people really not have enough self control to just not go to the beach for one year?

(easy for me to say. I kinda hate the beach.)

I still don’t think the beach is all that dangerous, so long as it’s not crowded. Those pictures don’t look great though. 

It’s too late to stop the virus, and we might never have a vaccine. Even if we do get one, it won’t be anytime soon. So it’s going to be more than “one year” with no beach. We may never get back to normal, but we can’t just stay inside forever. 


Yeah, I think the risk at beaches is a lot lower than other areas too. It doesn't help the cause to pretend that all social gatherings are equally risky.

As for the virus - I dunno. New Jersey is doing ok compared to most other states. Maybe we could control it even more here with more lockdown. I don't think extending it is that much of a hardship. It's only been a few months so far.

(again, easy for me to say, I was pretty much a hermit pre-pandemic anyway. The only thing I really miss is my gym being closed. Socially distant racquetball doesn't seem to be a thing that's gonna happen.)


Morganna said:


A pretty offbeat theory from a doctor in Poland raises the question of antibodies existing in cat owners.  As many cats are normally exposed to a type of corona virus and develop antibodies the doctor suggested it might exist in those who live with them.


Possibly not so offbeat. If cats pass their virus to their owners its possible that it may help in fighting off the COVID-19 virus. It may not just be cats, it may be any regular exposure to the common cold.

A level of pre-existing immunity against SARS-CoV2 appears to exist in the general population,” said Dr. Antonio Bertoletti, a virologist at Duke NUS Medical School in Singapore.
The immunity may have been stimulated by prior exposure to coronaviruses that cause common colds. These T cells may not thwart infection, but they would blunt the illness and may explain why some people with Covid-19 have mild to no symptoms. “I believe that cellular and antibody immunity will be equally important,” Dr. Bertoletti said.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/22/health/covid-antibodies-herd-immunity.html

https://heavy.com/news/2020/05/people-build-immunity-coronavirus-common-cold/


Ugh - 

Today, the Broadway League announced that to protect audiences, cast and crew, and theatre employees, the suspension of performances will now extend through May 30, 2021. Most Off-Broadway shows are following that guidance as well.


Met Opera had already cancelled their 2020-21 season LOL


I’m cross-posting with my posting in the herd immunity thread. 
This research on the lifecycle of the coronavirus has just been published, and will bring about some quite big permanent changes to public/social lives.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-10-12/coronavirus-can-live-on-surfaces-for-month-australia-csiro-study/12752108

A fall in temperature of 10degrees C extends its life - that’s 50degrees F, expect many more cases as winter approaches. Then there’s the (appalling, to me) news that cafe crockery and cutlery aren’t easily rid of their contamination, even after normal cleaning. 

I’m going back to wearing disposable gloves when I’m away from home...


Joanne,

We bring clean gloves to the car. When we stop at a store we put the gloves on, then open the trunk and take out the needed credit card. After shopping we put the goods, credit card and gloves into the trunk. We enter the car knowing our hands and the car interior are not infected. The credit cards are in the trunk because we don't want to handle our pockets and wallets after touching the goods and terminals in the store. 

We repeat this for every store stop.


The practical issue is whether surface contact is actually a substantial source of transmission.  Overall, I've detected a pretty strong consensus that it isn't even if, in theory, you can touch the virus on a surface and then touch your face nose etc. and get the disease.  Obviously, you want to be careful.  Wash your hands after getting rid of, or wiping, packaging and don't touch your face while you are handling packages, bags boxes etc.  

 

  

  


The issue is more that it will persist for much longer, everywhere, all year, so upholstery and furnishings, crockery, utensils, stemware - you know, the things that facilitate a social meeting outside the home - aren’t as easily sanitised as previously thought. Not to mention the surfaces of public transport. 
The full report is fascinating and sobering reading. 


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