Covid-19 Updates July

[Loa]

Links to old threads will be included.

We are a global community. Let's keep each other posted about the real state of events.

Discussion is welcome.
NO FEAR MONGERING

1. Where do you live?
2. What is the current climate like where you're at?
3. Are news reports coming from your area accurate or no? What is going on?
4. What are your questions and concerns?
5. What has your government / administration done to address this (please try to keep this as politics free as possible, it is fine to state whether you agree/disagree with their actions etc) and, in your opinion, how is it working? Ex: Shelter in place orders, curfews, closures
6. Is your job affected, if so, how?
7. How are you and your family doing??

MLP Arena, our staff, and our members, are unable to provide any medical advice or diagnoses.
This is a new disease, which means that even the experts are learning as we go and the situation is rapidly evolving. For the most up-to-date information, please refer to the WHO (World Health Organization) website for information about the coronavirus, and the respiratory illness it causes, COVID-19:

Prevention, health, travel and safety guidance:
https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/advice-for-public

Symptoms:
https://www.who.int/health-topics/coronavirus#tab=tab_3

FAQ:
https://www.who.int/news-room/q-a-detail/q-a-coronaviruses

Dispelling Myths / Misinformation:
https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/advice-for-public/myth-busters

CDC guidance:
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html


Archived Discussions
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[Ponyfan]

Yesterday the governor made face coverings mandatory state wide  in public unless you qualify for an exemption. Some of the exemptions include children under 10, going to a restaurant to eat, having a medical condition that makes it difficult to wear a face covering.

Public gatherings can be no more than 10 people. Bars are still closed and restaurants are back to 50% capacity.


Ponyfan

[Barnacle_lady]

So here is the status in The Netherlands

Our figures are dropping down for those who have died and still are on IC.
Public transport is driving according to their full schedule but everyone has to wear masks.
Gyms, restaurants and every other contact profession is open. Night clubs are still closed
Some events are also allowed to organise again but it has to guarantee the safety. So festivals are likely not allowed but I do have my hopes high for the fleamarket.
Tourists are also allowed to visit the country again as going on holiday too. But most are prepared on a local stay.

Happy with all of this but social distancing of 1,5 m is a must. And I simply don't want be in a very crowded place.

[banditpony]

As I mentioned in the last thread, our state really had a strong stance on this in the beginning. But the moment our health director stepped down, everything hit the fan.

For example, when we started opening up, Dewine was very clear that EVERYONE was to wear a mask and it was a part of his mandate. The day AFTER, he took it all back and said "well, I can't mandate that, but I highly recommend that". There is obviously a lot of disgusting politics going behind the scenes.

So, we've been trending up in cases and it's not just because we are testing more. We've been told friends who do the testing that our percentages of positives are up too. Hospitalizations have been up.

And K-12 schools will be pretty much up to each district. Mine is offering a full time home school option for kids. I wish I could do that, but my critter has an IEP and my dad wouldn't be able to meet her needs.

I'm just gonna stay at home and maybe one day we'll be in a better spot. I have no hope for people when adults scream at teenagers for wearings masks at their job in an icecream shop. Like hot dang, you don't like masks. Whatever. But swearing at kids? That *really* upsets me.
https://www.wlwt.com/article/ohio-ice-cream-shop-asks-customers-to-stop-yelling-at-teenage-employees-for-wearing-masks/33017028

[Koudoawaia]

299 cases today in KY bringing the total to 16,376 x.o My husband and I got brave and ordered out for the first time two nights ago because I was exhausted. We got baked spaghetti since that would've been baked in an oven then put in a metal tin. It came to us rather messy but I just wiped the tins down with a homemade hydrogen peroxide wipe best I could.

[BlackCurtains]

Welp, Florida is leading the US in cases and deaths per day! Nearly 10,000 new cases since yesterday! Terrific.

My sister went out to get some things for my dad's birthday and said it was so crowded and the traffic was terrible. She said they have the usual fireworks tent set up in the Wal-Mart parking lot. People all over, some with masks, some without.

They've made masks mandatory in a few counties but they should do it statewide. Beaches are also closing again here and there since they reopened because people are idiots and not following guidelines. DeSantis is a mini Trump so chances are slim he'll make any decisions.

I also just love how we're hitting a peak and it's been over 100° with the heat wave. But but but I thought the virus couldn't survive in the heat?!?!?! Then again those same people think it's all a hoax anyway so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Edit: The lady that originally made the Florida tracker was fired for refusing to omit information. She made another one that's accurate and includes the stuff that's not displayed on the "official" one. You can find hers here: https://floridacovidaction.com/

[gemini_pony]

My brother works in Fresno, CA and his hospital is at maximum capacity.  They had to dissolve two other wards and move those patients to another hospital to make room for covid patients.

[Taffeta]

I think with the US that there never was a peak, it was only a regional one, so everything you can do now to mitigate, even if it's just you staying home, wearing a mask if you are able, using sanitiser, washing hands, wiping down packages (not fruit and veg, obv xD), avoiding crowded spaces, you're going to help make a small contribution to the bigger effort. There are always going to be people who don't care enough about the lives of others to do anything and who will get violent, abusive and disgusting over it, but I feel like that's only a minority of people in most countries. I think the US can and will overcome this, but I do worry what will happen if July 4th carries on as normal. Small sacrifices have big rewards.

The UK is still not out of the woods in the overall picture. But our numbers are way, way, way down. Our peak for what is the first wave (we hope to avoid a second spike overall) was April, but it peaked later in care homes.

But right now I feel like we're still not down the curve as much as we should be.

Pubs and bars and hotels etc can open from today. Hairdressers as well. I think this is a bad idea as they are high risk places. But our testing has shot up since March and they are trying to tackle local outbreaks on a more targeted scale. We'll see what happens. The govt also published a list of countries where quarantining won't be required for people going/coming back into the UK. I am not sure but I think that starts from the 6th if the other country is reciprocal.

A report by the ONS reveals the most impacted group of people by covid and most likely to die are people with disabilities, which is no surprise for me. I'm not going to get political but it also shouldn't take 3 months to bother to write a letter to PIP claimants about what is happening with their benefits if they can take the time to set out plans for other groups. I would love to hope this crisis will open up other diversity and equality questions we can take forward, because right now we have an ugly stat of 2/3 of UK deaths being in the disabled category.

On a regional note:
My nhs area has had no deaths reported from COVID since June 21st in the community or in hospitals.
There has been 1 care home death in the last week in my borough, four in the wider county region.
There has been 1 new case in the wider county including my borough in the last few days.
Test results are now being released more locally for the community/home testing which makes me feel better that we're getting a more accurate picture than we had previously.

Overall the county has seen 1973 confirmed cases. There have been 184 confirmed hospital deaths and 139 confirmed care home deaths to date since March.

[banditpony]

There are always going to be people who don't care enough about the lives of others to do anything and who will get violent, abusive and disgusting over it, but I feel like that's only a minority of people in most countries. I think the US can and will overcome this, but I do worry what will happen if July 4th carries on as normal. Small sacrifices have big rewards.

I think you are wrong on this. I don't think the "minority" of people that don't care in the US, I think it's a solid half if not majority. It really doesn't have much to do about violence, but that's just icing on the cake in this disaster. It's just what I have seen with my two eyes (at a distance).

[Taffeta]

There are always going to be people who don't care enough about the lives of others to do anything and who will get violent, abusive and disgusting over it, but I feel like that's only a minority of people in most countries. I think the US can and will overcome this, but I do worry what will happen if July 4th carries on as normal. Small sacrifices have big rewards.

I think you are wrong on this. I don't think the "minority" of people that don't care in the US, I think it's a solid half if not majority. It really doesn't have much to do about violence, but that's just icing on the cake in this disaster. It's just what I have seen with my two eyes (at a distance).

It would definitely be wrong for me as a foreigner to argue with someone who's right there on the ground experiencing it, but I want to believe that the majority of people do care. I also do believe the US will come through this as it's a strong country with a long history of overcoming problems. But for the time being, seriously, stay safe everyone.

[brightberry]

There are always going to be people who don't care enough about the lives of others to do anything and who will get violent, abusive and disgusting over it, but I feel like that's only a minority of people in most countries. I think the US can and will overcome this, but I do worry what will happen if July 4th carries on as normal. Small sacrifices have big rewards.

I think you are wrong on this. I don't think the "minority" of people that don't care in the US, I think it's a solid half if not majority. It really doesn't have much to do about violence, but that's just icing on the cake in this disaster. It's just what I have seen with my two eyes (at a distance).

It would definitely be wrong for me as a foreigner to argue with someone who's right there on the ground experiencing it, but I want to believe that the majority of people do care. I also do believe the US will come through this as it's a strong country with a long history of overcoming problems. But for the time being, seriously, stay safe everyone.

Most people in my area are wearing masks inside stores and staying inside.  But then there are those mask less individuals that pop up while shopping and make us feel even more miserable.  They're arguing with employees, ignoring social distance and a few have been aggressive to other patrons.  Plus, I regularly see larger groups of people mask less and close together.  I guess because they're so visible, it seems like there are more of them.  But even so, they've become another reason why I won't go out to stores or do pick up at restaurants. 

And its crazy because it looks like we're heading into another lock down. 

[Barnacle_lady]

I forgot to mention in my post that there are a lot protests at the moment. People against social distancing, racism (because of George Floyd), farmers. Some are very peaceful with masks and some are making a mess.
Even though we have freedom of speech it already happened a couple of times a protest was not allowed to set place because a lot of people are expected and with social distancing safety was not guaranteed. It pisses people off and play the constitution card.

[Taffeta]

I forgot to mention in my post that there are a lot protests at the moment. People against social distancing, racism (because of George Floyd), farmers. Some are very peaceful with masks and some are making a mess.
Even though we have freedom of speech it already happened a couple of times a protest was not allowed to set place because a lot of people are expected and with social distancing safety was not guaranteed. It pisses people off and play the constitution card.

We've had some of those too, albeit they were mostly over the one space of time and not so much at the moment.

I have no issue with (peaceful) protest but the attitude that it's ok to put lives of people potentially vulnerable at risk by ignoring distancing etc during them bothers me.

As a historian, also, I think it's better to hold up the ugly bits of history for scrutiny and challenge, rather than trying to remove them through vandalism. If it's being removed, it's harder to talk about, and we need to talk about these issues, not just hide them away because they don't fit with modern society.

Mind you a whole bunch of people were in pubs last night...in comparison the protests are probably not such a big deal. No way we're going to have social distancing in pubs.

[svleonard]

I live in North Carolina. Last Friday, June 26th, our (Democratic) governor made face coverings mandatory, whereas before it was only advised. As soon as that happened, a lot more people started wearing them, almost everyone. Before, it seemed like it was about half and half.

It's STILL hard to find toilet paper, paper towels, certain cleaning products and antibacterial soap and wipes around here. The toilet paper and paper towels are easier to find now that there is less hoarding going on, but the shelves where the antibacterial wipes should be are always bare when I go to Target or the grocery store.

A lot of stores have installed plexiglass shields in between the cashier and the customer at the checkout lane or customer service counter. There are no buffet/self-serve type areas in grocery stores, except for soup.

[BlackCurtains]

I went with my sister while she ran some errands and to pick up my prescriptions. I'd say people not wearing masks were a little more than half of those with. My sister included in the not wearing group *sigh* She says it's too hard to breathe.

Look, I have both COPD and asthma. My lungs function at only 65% capacity. My oxygen usually reads 96 at rest, it can drop to 93 sometimes for no apparent reason. I wear a mask. It's uncomfortable and sweaty and breathing in makes it stick to my mouth (I can't breathe through my nose no matter what) but I manage somehow. Sometimes I have to step aside and pull it away from my nose for a minute but I mean, I've yet to collapse. So... wear a damn mask.