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Pony Talk => Off Topic => Topic started by: dragonfly on April 15, 2020, 07:18:24 PM

Title: Week of April 13: COVID-19 info, facts & updates
Post by: dragonfly on April 15, 2020, 07:18:24 PM

Hi guys,
Because the other thread is already massive, I am going to be locking the COVID-19 threads each weekend and starting a new one.
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


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Title: Re: Week of April 13: COVID-19 info, facts & updates
Post by: Taffeta on April 16, 2020, 12:48:56 AM

UK expected to extend lockdown today, probably for 3 weeks. Scientists believe we are at the peak/have flattened the curve but that all depends on what happens next. Numbers still too high to be complacent. Medics say the whole country is more or less at the same position even though London raced ahead at the start. NHS still has 10,000 free beds and 2000ish ICU beds that it can use but wants to avoid a spike. Concern now focused a lot on care homes and how to help them.

Back briefly on the subject of the NHS - a lot of doctors in 1940s opposed it too until it came in and they realised the sheer state of people's health when they hadn't been able to afford medical care. And Beth, I think you're right that it's a middle ground. Nothing humans create is perfect, but for me the premise of a free health service that offers care to all is worth protecting and fighting for. It just needs the govt to give it more priority support in the way they are doing right now. Unfortunately Tories have traditionally taken the NHS for granted (it was a Labour introduction, probably in the same way as Obamacare was Democrat over there) and so haven't always supported it as fully as they should.

There's not a lot of point in getting a free test for COVID if you later need a week on a ventilator and end up bankrupted because the hospital saved your life. Here if you're a homeless person or the prime minister, you get the same level of care and the same effort to save your life. But the success of any system depends a lot on the govt funding that's put in, which is where the NHS has sometimes struggled.

Random personal note - mother finally got her letter from the NHS confirming she is high risk. I feel vindicated because I've said all along that she is, and she wouldn't believe me because she didn't have the letter. But I stopped all my going out even before lockdown fully happened on that assumption so it changes very little. If it makes getting food deliveries easier that would be nice...

Title: Re: Week of April 13: COVID-19 info, facts & updates
Post by: banditpony on April 16, 2020, 05:59:16 AM

When all is said and done and there is a vaccine created to hopefully end this, then I have no doubt in my mind that it will be covered -- free-- to everyone.

I don't think there should be a worry about that, honestly. That was what I was trying to explain in my message.

US healthcare system has pros and cons, and those pros and cons might be different then other country's health systems. There have been lots of positive changes that I don't find really relevant to share, although some have applied to me personally. 

But here is a list of things that insurance providers are doing. some better then others: https://www.ahip.org/health-insurance-providers-respond-to-coronavirus-covid-19

Some are literally waving costs to hospital care.

Title: Re: Week of April 13: COVID-19 info, facts & updates
Post by: Barnacle_lady on April 16, 2020, 06:39:10 AM

This weeks discussion is all about the masks. Wether they should be worn or not. Up here they say not to wear because it has no use. Only caring staff, hospital people etc should wear them. And making sure only they get them because there is a shortage. But my neighbour countries have to wear them....
Next week we get to hear what happens with schools, restaurants and "1,5 meter society". 

Title: Re: Week of April 13: COVID-19 info, facts & updates
Post by: tailrustedtealeaf on April 16, 2020, 07:56:37 AM

PA just decided yesterday to make mask-wearing mandatory for businesses. They're encouraging customers to wear them too, but we can't refuse entry of maskless customers if it's a grocery store or pharmacy.
I was lamenting about trying to piece together a schedule for the fall semester and my mom rolled her eyes...she thinks that they're going to have online classes again.
...I can see that happening.

Title: Re: Week of April 13: COVID-19 info, facts & updates
Post by: Taffeta on April 16, 2020, 08:38:14 AM

Quote from: banditpony on April 16, 2020, 05:59:16 AM

But here is a list of things that insurance providers are doing. some better then others: https://www.ahip.org/health-insurance-providers-respond-to-coronavirus-covid-19

Some are literally waving costs to hospital care.

It's a different mindset based on different expectations I think. It's great that some of the insurance companies are doing so much for their patients, and I'm glad you shared the link - but to me free hospital care isn't a pandemic privelege but a basic human right :/  Still it's awesome they're looking at bridging that gap and helping more people than in normal circs.

I should add that the UK has a private health care option as well, it's just not quite the same as in the US. And right now the private healthcare stuff is at the disposal of the NHS to treat non-covid patients (free/under NHS rules) so I guess it's true that private sector health can play a part as well.

The mask debate is here too.

UK safe distance is 2m (6ft) like I think in the US but some research has suggested if you're standing, that's fine, but if you're walking or running the distance away should be greater. There are a lot of concerns over misuse of masks though as has already been mentioned by other posters, so I think it will roll on. I admit I don't want to wear a mask, but more importantly I'm not sure that obtaining a mask will even be possible in current climate. We'll see.

UK news today:
CPAP device plans are being made available for free to other countries to help them in their treatment of patients.
FINALLY a domestic design for ventilators has been approved as suitable for COVID patients and thus into production and another one is being looked at for less severe patients, which can only be good for the NHS in the long term whatever happens with COVID going forwards.
The 99 year old war captain doing laps of his garden has now raised £14 million for the NHS and is officially a legend.
Lockdown expected to continue for 3 weeks more, will be very surprised if Raab doesn't announce that in the briefing today given all the govt ministers keep saying we're not there yet.　(Edit: Yes, UK lockdown confirmed for 3 more weeks when it will be reviewed again subject to all the figures. But we are geared up for the 12 weeks they told vulnerable people at the start, so actually quite relieved...).
UK is apparently also trialing plasma studies in Cardiff.
We were warned to expect stats to jump today after the bottleneck of easter, but they haven't jumped as much as projected...I really want to believe we are absolutely on the top of this curve since our new cases are going down a little bit each day, critical care hospital admissions yesterday were down 2% on the day before and deaths are not skyrocketing in the way they were predicted to do by some of the models.

We are all keeping our collective fingers crossed.

PHE are also mysteriously doing "high accuracy" antibody tests in mysterious unknown places on mysterious uncounted people...which appear in the stats but nobody knows anything about them. I sense a spy novel in progress...

Title: Re: Week of April 13: COVID-19 info, facts & updates
Post by: SpacePinto on April 16, 2020, 12:27:24 PM

Quote from: Barnacle_lady on April 16, 2020, 06:39:10 AM

This weeks discussion is all about the masks. Wether they should be worn or not. Up here they say not to wear because it has no use. Only caring staff, hospital people etc should wear them. And making sure only they get them because there is a shortage. But my neighbour countries have to wear them....

Czechia made it mandatory for everyone to wear masks in public a few weaks ago and latest statistics show that it was indeed a very good decision.

Title: Re: Week of April 13: COVID-19 info, facts & updates
Post by: lonewolf on April 16, 2020, 03:14:52 PM

Kansas is up to 1588 and 80 deaths.
There was a story in our local paper about clandestine church gatherings happening in NE Kansas. The photo showed a bunch of cars lined up facing a road.
Lansing, MI had a protest over the stay at home orders, and I've been seeing plans on Facebook for nationwide protests on May 2nd (#wewontstayhome) if the orders extend past that (Cali may not see any concerts, etc. until  late next year). If this does happen it's going to get ugly.

Title: Re: Week of April 13: COVID-19 info, facts & updates
Post by: Taffeta on April 16, 2020, 03:18:29 PM

The Lansing protests made our news as well.

I hope it doesn't make Michigan's situation worse :/

Title: Re: Week of April 13: COVID-19 info, facts & updates
Post by: banditpony on April 16, 2020, 04:29:09 PM

Well, the bad area within Michigan is Detroit-- as that is one of the worst hotspots. So I'd say whatever they spread within the protest, won't overload the hospitals since other areas aren't really hit as hard.

But really, there's more protests then that. There were protests in a ton of states. I know there were at least 2 in Ohio, you could hear them screaming during the Governor's daily press conference.

People have a right to protest. :/ One would like it if they practiced social distancing while they do it. But they are hurting financially most likely, and that's a scary thing. I can't blame them for being hurt, even if they are acting recklessly.

Title: Re: Week of April 13: COVID-19 info, facts & updates
Post by: brightberry on April 16, 2020, 05:37:13 PM

I'm not surprised at protesting in the US.  A lot of citizens don't have the kind of money needed to just stay inside and not work even for a couple of weeks.  Where I live, unemployment is almost impossible to get right now.

However, I don't think most of the protesting is about that.  I hear too many complain that covid isn't that bad, government overreach and so on.  But that's not the reality I see when we look at places like New York and Italy.  Covid looks really bad to me.

This is such a horrible situation.

Title: Re: Week of April 13: COVID-19 info, facts & updates
Post by: Ponyfan on April 16, 2020, 07:18:38 PM

I think the governor will hold a press conference tomorrow and issue new executive orders. I thought it was supposed to earlier this week but it didn't happen.

In my county we now have 401 cases, 101 recovered and 28 deaths. There haven't been any protests that I know of in my city but people are getting restless. Small non essential businesses are pleading with the mayor to let them reopen if they follow guidelines.  The mayor appointed a committee to look in to when the city can reopen but warned it will be a long process. 

I think reopening the city and the schools when we still have our numbers increasing so much everyday is not a good decision. Walmart is now just giving customers a sanitized cart instead of letting them choose. 

I mentioned this in the other thread but I will also say it here.


I think people are letting their guard down here. I've seen several people in the stores not social distancing, not wearing facial coverings or continuing to bring very young children in to the store. I know some people are single parents and have to bring their children because they can't leave them at home but I've also seen a lot of families with children that are old enough to stay home while one person goes to the store. I also saw a couple of people that were wearing facial coverings but took them off while still in the store.   


Ponyfan

Title: Re: Week of April 13: COVID-19 info, facts & updates
Post by: mlp4me on April 16, 2020, 07:45:49 PM

I'm in Northeast Wisconsin. Our shelter order was extended today until 5/24. School year will finish at home. Thus my work from home has been extended. We are beginning to see random shortages of sale items at stores and TP continues to be out of stock. As for statistics...

In my county, 168 confirmed cases now, 2 deaths.
For the whole state 3,555 confirmed cases, 170 deaths.
I still feel the shelter order is working to slow the spread.

 If I go out I'll be wearing a mask and gloves plus lysol spray for everything...

Hoping the stimulus is helping those who are in need!

Title: Re: Week of April 13: COVID-19 info, facts & updates
Post by: Taffeta on April 17, 2020, 01:58:49 AM

Quote from: banditpony on April 16, 2020, 04:29:09 PM

Well, the bad area within Michigan is Detroit-- as that is one of the worst hotspots. So I'd say whatever they spread within the protest, won't overload the hospitals since other areas aren't really hit as hard.

CNN mentioned protests in Ohio as well, I remember something about Ohio's governor being very fast with shut down measures at the start which I guess would contribute.

I think it's a dangerous assumption that a protest in an apparently low risk area can't create a bigger issue.

Three examples for you of why this is not good.

Spain allowed a demonstration on International Women's Day. 2 weeks later Spain's cases exploded to the situation they are now in (hopefully now on the decline but it went up very quickly). Barcelona and Madrid are among the worst hit places in Spain, they had large protests.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-43324406

The cases in Iran are thought to have exploded due to people gathering (pilgrimages). Same is true in South Korea and in some other places like India where close gatherings of people (here religious) helped to cause the virus to spread.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/24/world/middleeast/coronavirus-iran.html

And here in the UK, the closest city to where I live had an unexpectedly sharp rise in cases at the start of the UK's crisis. One potential cause for this seems to have been that 3000 fans of their football team travelled to Spain and watched the game there and thus brought a cluster of infection back into the country. The same may also have happened in Liverpool with a game there that people wanted to be stopped but which was not. London was our epicentre and our hotspot - now the country is all levelling off but the midlands in particular (my wider region) has also been hard hit by people continuing religious gatherings against advice.
https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11699/11944242/coronavirus-wolves-urge-fans-to-travel-with-caution-to-europa-league-game-at-espanyol
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/20/sharp-rise-in-number-of-coronavirus-cases-in-west-midlands

In short, the rationale why people are gathering is less important than the biological reality that people gathering causes higher risk of disease spread.  The virus doesn't care about the reasons. It doesn't care about the right to protest. It just doesn't care, period.

The other thing is that available hospital capacity doesn't automatically save lives. There's no cure or vaccine, it's a lottery whether the person who gets it gets better or doesn't. We've had a woman of 106 survive and a boy of 13 with no health conditions die. And at no point in this crisis has our health service been overloaded. The risk is just too great.

One news report also mentioned how PA had a much worse experience of Spanish Flu because a parade was allowed to go ahead in 1918 compared to areas that locked down.

Obviously there's nothing wrong with protesting against something you disagree with but to me the protests in cars (thus socially distanced) made a lot more sense than the mass gatherings where social distancing was being obviously ignored which are high risk for the people present. By all means make your views known, but not in a way that endangers other people.

We get a lot of US news here as well as UK and Europe and it sounds like there's been a lot of economic upheaval there (here too but the US is so vast it's always going to hit the headlines with the figures). However the govt is discussing a new support package, right? So hopefully that will help the people protesting out. The thing is the damage of the protests in these places won't be seen on the health services for 2-3 weeks most likely, and given the new guidelines from the white house they may actually put Michigan (and maybe other states) back on the curve to recovery by making it hard to meet the 14 days case drop criteria. So they might actually be making the whole thing worse economically as well by not protesting safely.

Time will tell, fingers crossed it's not like that at all.

Title: Re: Week of April 13: COVID-19 info, facts & updates
Post by: tailrustedtealeaf on April 17, 2020, 06:50:09 AM

I saw that Harrisburg is planning a protest soon as well. It's certainly scary to think about how this will continue to effect the economy, but I think it would cause cases to explode...
I work for the first time since Monday, I wonder what has changed.

Title: Re: Week of April 13: COVID-19 info, facts & updates
Post by: banditpony on April 17, 2020, 06:53:21 AM

Quote from: Taffeta on April 17, 2020, 01:58:49 AM

Quote from: banditpony on April 16, 2020, 04:29:09 PM

Well, the bad area within Michigan is Detroit-- as that is one of the worst hotspots. So I'd say whatever they spread within the protest, won't overload the hospitals since other areas aren't really hit as hard.

CNN mentioned protests in Ohio as well, I remember something about Ohio's governor being very fast with shut down measures at the start which I guess would contribute.

I think it's a dangerous assumption that a protest in an apparently low risk area can't create a bigger issue.

I didn't say "low risk area". There are places with fewer confirmed cases.

While some of those 100s of people might of gotten infected, and might infect others, the rest of Michigan is responsible and sheltering in place. I don't believe it will create an uncontrollable surge.

All I was saying is the hospitals in other areas of Michigan have very few patients, and would be able to handle them without being overwhelmed.

I know Ohio is planning to baby step into reopening May 1. I believe other states are probably planning the same. There is a balance between health and economy.

Title: Re: Week of April 13: COVID-19 info, facts & updates
Post by: AnnaPommes on April 17, 2020, 07:24:17 AM

Münster has just 131 documented infected people today ( april 17) and that is quite good for a city with about  300.000 people. ^^

Merkel explained about the situation. that it is "fragile" and that we can slowly lift the quarantine, but have to be carefull and still take it seriously.
https://metro.co.uk/2020/04/16/angela-merkel-explains-coronavirus-infection-risk-anyone-can-understand-12566585/

where i live, some people sitting outside again talking to neigbours and kids play around. Shopping for groceries is tense for workers and shoppers. The cashiers are stressed but said that they get free chocolate and other things every day! :D
We all appreciate them a lot!

next week some more places like malls shall open again, i am curious to see how it will be!

my current question is more what is okay and what is to much? I want to be prepared and keep everybody safe, but it is difficult to see what is the right way now. (to open shop, to wears masks or not and so on)

Title: Re: Week of April 13: COVID-19 info, facts & updates
Post by: LadyMoondancer on April 17, 2020, 09:20:47 AM

Quote from: banditpony on April 16, 2020, 04:29:09 PM

Well, the bad area within Michigan is Detroit-- as that is one of the worst hotspots. So I'd say whatever they spread within the protest, won't overload the hospitals since other areas aren't really hit as hard.

A lot of those people were from rural Michigan, who traveled to the city to protest.  And now they're returning to their rural homes, potentially bringing the virus back with them.
 
Absolutely irresponsible.  Yeah, it's scary to be out of work and see the economy tanking.  But the economy can be rebuilt and you can get another job.  You can't get another life.  Your elderly mother can't get another life.  The grocery workers can't get another life.  The health care workers can't get another life.  The bus drivers can't get another life.  It's not just their own lives that they're risking.  They are selfish.  And I do not have any sympathy or patience for that.

Title: Re: Week of April 13: COVID-19 info, facts & updates
Post by: banditpony on April 17, 2020, 09:36:12 AM

I don't disagree that it's irresponsible. I don't disagree that it's going to cause some deaths. I'm just stating it's not going to overwhelm hospitals. Even the rural ones.

Because the thing is, let's be honest, not everyone is adhering to social distancing. Most of these protesters aren't. I don't find this different then people gathering in large churches. Or people having parties with their friends. The reality is there is no strict social gathering rules set in place with punishment, or whatever.

I think any jump in 2 weeks is more likely to be family gatherings for easter then a protest with a few 100 people.

Title: Re: Week of April 13: COVID-19 info, facts & updates
Post by: KarentheUnicorn on April 17, 2020, 10:21:26 AM

I can understand why people in Michigan are upset if what I'm hearing is true. There is a point the government can go to far and do stupid things that make absolutely no sense. Regardless of the virus, so I'm not going to call these people irresponsible because there is a certain point where these rules are arbitrary and at the very basic level stupid. I get that the government is trying to protect people, but at some point not all the rules the government makes are smart/helpful or useful.

People in Virginia are starting to balk at some of these rules as well. I just don't believe the government has all the answers or always makes the best rules about this kind of stuff.

And I'd also like to add that for some people their job isn't just a job, it is a big part of their life. So telling someone who actually run's their own business...Oh well, you can just get another job...meh, that does boarderline tick me off and make me rage flip tables. For some people their job is more than just a 9 to 5 and it's something that is part of them.

Title: Re: Week of April 13: COVID-19 info, facts & updates
Post by: Ponyfan on April 17, 2020, 11:51:28 AM

I don't have new numbers for my county today but the gov held a press conference earlier today and issued several executive orders.

Schools are closed until the start of next school year. Students will do distance learning to finish. Teachers, admins and staff can enter the building to clean out their rooms for summer.

State parks will reopen next weekend. Facial coverings must be worn at all times to enter/be in the park.  No more than 5 can be gathered together unless they are a family unit.

Non essential businesses can reopen next weekend if there're able to do buy online, curbside pickup or delivery.

Non essential surgeries can start again but will be done on a case by case basis.


Ponyfan

Title: Re: Week of April 13: COVID-19 info, facts & updates
Post by: banditpony on April 17, 2020, 12:42:03 PM

Ohio is going to start loosening up it's stay at home order May 1. I guess we will know more details next week.

There's only been subtle hints of what the first parts of that will be. I believe the first one will be within the hospitals-- regarding procedures that do not require heavy need of PPE. Like a mammogram, or colonoscopy, or children's vaccines.

No word on schools. So I could see it going both ways... The governor has been tight lipped on the issue, but our house rep has mentioned those with special needs who get therapies through the school.
Nope. Distant learning for remainder of school year. Potential distant learning for fall as well, it will depending on severity and district. Might be half and half too. I'm happy he's trying to address kids with special needs, and those with health challenges..


And I don't know if non-essential businesses will be opening, but if they do, then they must adhere to the strict social distancing rules that are in place already for our essential business otherwise people can call them out and the health boards will check it out.

Title: Re: Week of April 13: COVID-19 info, facts & updates
Post by: Taffeta on April 18, 2020, 08:40:35 AM

UK update 18th April.

Deaths not pretty but numbers stable, we've been told from the start it will be the last thing to change. The diagram of statistics show we are almost exactly tracking Italy, which makes sense given we have the same rough size of population. But we're still waiting on some lagged and unconfirmed cases in carehomes etc.

Spoiler

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Hospital admissions down across the country by 5%, including in peak areas London and for me, most critically, here in the midlands.

Spoiler

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A note on why this slide says Great Britain and the others say UK - Great Britain excludes Northern Ireland, whose hospital admission data for some reason is not on the map...maybe because it remains low, NI only has around 1.5 million people.

Cases stable too, but increasing numbers of health care workers testing positive now so still an issue there which may or may not relate to more of them being tested.

Spoiler

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 Orange being NHS/frontline worker tests, blue being hospital admission and other confirmed tests, most of which are not mild community cases.

Government have mandated that as well as people being able to say goodbye to dying loved ones, they will also be allowed to attend funerals and visit graves so long as social distancing is observed.

99 year old Captain Tom has now raised over £20 million for the NHS and is a national hero. People are petitioning for him to be knighted.

On a personal note...

Mum got her letter the other day confirming she is extremely high risk, which she is still getting her head around. Yesterday the doctor phoned and spoke to her and explained why she's high risk, which when she told me I was like, Mum, Naynie and I know that, that's why we're both on your case about it. Doctor told her that all of the things I've been insisting on, even the ones she thinks unreasonable, are entirely right. She's resisting me less now, it's much nicer. We're still trying to get slots but the doctor thinks we should find it easier over the next week because she's now on the list. We'll see.

Raining in the UK today. No gardening.

UK lockdown will officially be reviewed again on May 7th but scientists originally said they thought we'd need 13 weeks. Also talk of community testing returning which we very much want to see.

Meantime, Oxford University say they have a vaccine they believe can be available in September. They were involved in the MERS vaccine so everyone is waiting to see what happens in their trials.

PPE remains an ongoing issue, as does spread in care homes, just like everywhere else in the world.

Title: Re: Week of April 13: COVID-19 info, facts & updates
Post by: lovesbabysquirmy on April 18, 2020, 10:19:46 AM

In Canada, we are having massive increases in the number of cases in the long-term care homes - that is to be expected sadly.  The care workers have always been asked to work at multiple facilities and obviously the health ministers just realized that they are causing community spread.  Sorry not trying to be sarcastic, it's just that this particular branch of healthcare always gets the short end of the stick.  Their job is hard enough but the cost-savings that has been proliferated through the system based on their sacrifices is insane.  I think those who have to change adult diapers, give baths and put up with dementia "tantrums" are just as valuable as the doctor who sews you back together in the ER.  Alas... not my decision!

Also though, the leadership of many essential businesses DID NOT put any distancing measures in the workplace, nor PPE, so now we are having skyrocketing numbers in the food production supply and the energy sector. 

"there are 207 cases in the town of High River, while 358 cases are linked specifically to Cargill Meat Solutions and involve people and households outside High River. "
So Cargill processes 55% of Canadian beef.  They hire temporary foreign workers and jam them into dormitory-style housing.  Obviously you can't wear PPE while slaughtering - it's already too cramped and hot in the facility, with a million ways to get hurt or get caught on something.  trying to space out the huge machinery won't work, asking less production also wasn't an option. 

I hear helicopters about 4x a day patrolling and whatnot, but there is virtually silence outside because so few people are driving.  You can get to places in like, 10 minutes on our expressway where it normally should take you ~20.  It's rather eerie!  We have not heard aircraft traffic in weeks, aside from the few flights that are still bringing Canadians back home - most of the other airports are closed but YYC is open with only like, 2 terminals.

Grocery stores and pharmacies are a game of roulette when you go - empty shelves, customers who get too close, people who are sick and still going out! 

DH and I are high risk, so we have done our best to avoid humans.  I have been fighting *something* in my lungs since January but I didn't get a chance to take off work and go to the doctor and now, they are only doing video and email appointments so it's tricky.  I hope they give me steroids - I know how to handle taking those as I usually have to do so at least once a year.  I got lucky a few years in a row and not needing any, but this winter has been awful. 

Though they are reporting nationally that we have "flattened the curve", I don't think it's because of the Canadian people doing what was asked of them.  I think it's really because of the mandated work closures.  All sorts of people I know are still finding ways to meet up and socialize.  INSANE.  In the initial first days of school closures, one of my friends who works at TRU said that all day long, people were bringing their families and children inside to touch everything and shop, because what else were they going to do, with school closed?  Shortly after that, TRU closed and they are only doing online click-and-collect orders.  But really?!  School is closed because of an infectious, deadly disease, and parents are like, "Oh we should go meander through our community businesses!"  Stay the *beep* home and binge some Netflix.  Your child will not suffer because they watched TV during this crisis.  Okay rant over. :D

Title: Re: Week of April 13: COVID-19 info, facts & updates
Post by: BlackCurtains on April 18, 2020, 01:05:08 PM

It's still messy in Florida.

25,269 cases & 740 deaths. The death toll is lessening by day but positive cases are about the same. 248,412 tests have been done so far, they're holding steady at about 10.5 percent positive. Every county has confirmed cases. 135 in mine.

Beaches are to reopen in Jacksonville, the third hardest hit area. Boat docks have already been reopened in Sarasota. There is talk of opening school May 1st so the kids can have at least a few weeks of "normalcy".

It's just... a bad scene. DeSantis waited way too long to really do something and as soon as he does, he follows in Trump's footsteps about reopening things. He's really just a puppet.

Title: Re: Week of April 13: COVID-19 info, facts & updates
Post by: Noasar on April 18, 2020, 02:50:28 PM

Quote from: AnnaPommes on April 17, 2020, 07:24:17 AM

Münster has just 131 documented infected people today ( april 17) and that is quite good for a city with about  300.000 people. ^^

Merkel explained about the situation. that it is "fragile" and that we can slowly lift the quarantine, but have to be carefull and still take it seriously.
https://metro.co.uk/2020/04/16/angela-merkel-explains-coronavirus-infection-risk-anyone-can-understand-12566585/

where i live, some people sitting outside again talking to neigbours and kids play around. Shopping for groceries is tense for workers and shoppers. The cashiers are stressed but said that they get free chocolate and other things every day! :D
We all appreciate them a lot!

next week some more places like malls shall open again, i am curious to see how it will be!

my current question is more what is okay and what is to much? I want to be prepared and keep everybody safe, but it is difficult to see what is the right way now. (to open shop, to wears masks or not and so on)

Anna, Germany seem to be doing an amazing job! You guys always seem to get it right...smuggle me over a German passport somehow? XD

My school's technology department has been making PPE equipment for local hospitals and has been on the news. I am in work on Monday (we are taking it in turns to go in and look after key worker children). I am actually excited to go in!

Also, I found  2 bags of flour yesterday when out shopping (at a petrol station of all places), so I was really happy with that as it has sold out everywhere! I managed to make my naan breads for my tea and banana bread this week is ON!

Title: Re: Week of April 13: COVID-19 info, facts & updates
Post by: Taffeta on April 18, 2020, 02:59:33 PM

Yeah, flour is another insanely hard thing to get at the moment. My only explanation is that half the country have taken up baking at the other half's expense, since eggs are also hard to get.

Good luck with your teaching rotation, Noasar! It's rough on those kids to have to spend their Easter break at school.

Title: Re: Week of April 13: COVID-19 info, facts & updates
Post by: Noasar on April 19, 2020, 05:02:22 AM

Quote from: Taffeta on April 18, 2020, 02:59:33 PM

Yeah, flour is another insanely hard thing to get at the moment. My only explanation is that half the country have taken up baking at the other half's expense, since eggs are also hard to get.

Good luck with your teaching rotation, Noasar! It's rough on those kids to have to spend their Easter break at school.

Thanks. I think the kids are quite enjoying being in as it means they can see them some of their friends.

Eggs haven’t been a problem as I have pet chickens. We’ve been giving a lot away to neighbours - we are really thankful for them!

Title: Re: Week of April 13: COVID-19 info, facts & updates
Post by: Barnacle_lady on April 19, 2020, 06:14:29 AM

Our new death figure is 3684. Amongst them the first teenager. It seems that less people are being admitted in ic.

It pisses me off that people still don't know what social distancing and not to gather around. The past few days groups got 390 euros per person for breaking the rules. Tuesday there is a new press conference and I am not surprised if all current rules are being extended.

Amsterdam (Gay) Pride has been cancelled which was supposed to be the end of July. And I am sure more large events will follow because its going to be way too crowded.
The evening of 4th May where we remember those who have fallen during war is without public and the day after they won't be a huge celebration. This when we have been free from war for 75 years now.
And my favourite day of the year Kings Day has to be celebrated differently than we are used to. At home with singing and music. And no fleamarkets. Maybe something digital but thats not the basic idea of this day for a pony collector.

Title: Re: Week of April 13: COVID-19 info, facts & updates
Post by: Taffeta on April 19, 2020, 07:06:59 AM

I am not really sure what to read into the UK stats since the daily figure and the graph of cases by specimen test date are not actually the same. I guess there's a testing bottleneck that takes some time for results to come through but there's a problem with the idea that yesterday 5000ish cases were added while the official case/by/test dates suggest thus far they only have 148 results. I want to see some proper graphs of figures by date of case and date of death, not when-tests-came-through. That might tell us where we actually stand.

One final note on today's stats, the North West went up in a mad spike for hospital admissions today. Two weeks ago the police had to shut down a very large numbers of house parties in Manchester and surrounds. I can only think that this is the reason :/ For the first time since the pandemic began, the North West have jumped above the Midlands in terms of admissions. We're still going down.

KCL's covid tracker app suggests that the spread of the virus has dropped here by 70% because of lockdown and most areas now have less than 2% symptomatic people. But there are caveats to that as those are based on data not testing, and don't include care homes or many older people.

Right now my administrative borough has 150 confirmed cases. We have one hospital in the borough, but the death stats are combined with the wider county (the other acute hospital and the community hospitals) because of a shared medical trust, current deaths for the whole wider county area 63.

The PPE debate rages on.

I am no fan of this govt but I do wish the media would leave their "what was done wrong" attacks till the whole thing is over and we can see exactly all of the things that went wrong, because even if things did go wrong, preventing ministers from dealing with the wrong by taking up their time demanding justifications for months long since past seems impractical. Take them apart at the end. Not right now. Right now let them get more PPE, look at vaccines and support people's jobs. Plenty of time for a political barbeque once people's lives are saved.

Title: Re: Week of April 13: COVID-19 info, facts & updates
Post by: tailrustedtealeaf on April 19, 2020, 09:41:00 AM

Liqour stores in my state will be offering curbside pickup. We sell wine and beer at my grocery store and it has been rather swamped. A good number of people standing in line to come in to the store are only here for alcohol, so I hope this alleviate some of the stress it puts on our cashiers and front end staff.
Masks will become mandatory at 8 Pm tonight. Interesting time, glad to hear I can breathe easy for the first 3 hours of my shift tonight (I'm in a box anyway, not interacting with customers).
We are over 30000 cases.

Title: Re: Week of April 13: COVID-19 info, facts & updates
Post by: Beth3346 on April 19, 2020, 05:02:06 PM

Cases in my county north of Austin have stayed flat for a while. I'm not sure if its real or if there is a lack of testing. Governor Abbot is pushing for a gradual reopening by executive order. I think it's a terrible idea and will continue to stay home as much as I can.

I work from home so as long as I am at this job I don't have to go into an office. I do understand that working from home is a luxury that most don't have.

There were protests at the capital yesterday. I'm not sure how many people there were but from what I've read most of the protests in the US have been relatively small. The protest here in Texas was organized by a very fringe group. It also took place after the governor announced plans to gradually reopen anyway so i'm not really seeing the point.

I do understand that people are frustrated and afraid about the economic free fall that we're seeing. But from everything i've read and listened to it's not as if we can have mass deaths and a thriving economy.

I'm very worried that there will be a second wave in the fall. I'm also worried that because social distancing is working and maybe even the warm weather is helping people will think it was all overblown and be even more reluctant to take precautions in the fall if there is a second wave. We went out yesterday to pick up take-out from the drive thru and there were a lot of people out. The Academy parking lot had a lot of cars. I feel like people are already letting down their guard.

I'm also very concerned about voting in the fall if there is a second wave. In order to vote by mail in Texas you need to have an excuse. I hope they work out something before November.

Title: Re: Week of April 13: COVID-19 info, facts & updates
Post by: banditpony on April 19, 2020, 05:05:15 PM

Our numbers spiked because in some prisons they are testing everyone regardless of if they are showing symptoms. So thats a +2,400 bump up.

One prison has more than 1,800+ cases so far for prisoners (75% of the population). No deaths yet..

I guess the good thing is though is hospitalizations are trending down. We'll see if that rings true for tomorrow, and numbers tend to be lower on weekends.

Title: Re: Week of April 13: COVID-19 info, facts & updates
Post by: Pokeyonekenobie on April 19, 2020, 05:29:01 PM

There was an article on my weather.com app that said they had tested almost 400 people at a Boston homeless shelter and found that 146 of them tested positive for COVID-19 without having any symptoms.  I wonder if we'll see them start to show symptoms or if they truly are asymptomatic and if there is a connection on a DNA level that might reveal who would be at the most risk for having the worst symptoms.

Title: Re: Week of April 13: COVID-19 info, facts & updates
Post by: Taffeta on April 20, 2020, 08:42:54 AM

On the DNA, one of our big DNA database organisations is working on something like that, because apparently there are minor differences in people's DNA which can make an immune system uniquely vulnerable to just one microbe (or strong to it), and that's something they want to look into.

Plasma tests, vaccine trials due to begin this week.

We still have some concerning PPE issues. And talk is that lockdown will not be removed for a while (they said 3 months at the start, that looks likely) but may have some modifications mid-May depending on how things go in other countries now loosening things up. We are a bit behind most of our European neighbours on this so I imagine they'll be watching closely what happens in Spain, Italy, Germany, Denmark etc. (Oh the irony).

But the immediate case/death stats were way down again today. More than usually down on a weekend. Good sign? Maybe. We'll see. The general feel from the science people is that we're at/moving through the peak/over it but that we can't let up yet because we're not done. Scotland's cases often spike on a Tuesday/Wednesday because of lab backlog.

My wider county area has now recorded a total of 66 deaths across all its hospitals and one residential facility.

The UK have put a lot of homeless people into hotels donated for the purpose by various chains across the country, to try and protect them and prevent spread (and charities hope they might be able to make interventions for/with those people as a result of that).

I am kinda relieved that most of the footage of US protests here has been of people in cars protesting. I mean the right to protest is really important, but so is public health - protesting from cars is better than in person atm. Also some stats we got here suggested 81% of Americans support the lockdown measures. Trump hasn't helped with some of his statements though. I'm glad our election was last December, as it means that there's literally no point in political posturing since no polls are going to happen nationally for 5 years. We're stuck with the Tories but at least we know what we have.

Mum spoke to her friend/former pupil in Yokohama today. She likes to phone Mum to practice her English. She's very worried about the lack of proper full lockdown in Japan at the moment. I've also been in email contact with another former language student/friend of my mother's who looked out for me when I was over there on fieldwork, and he's said the same (he's in Kyoto) - that it's a state of national emergency but not an order that people must stay home. Pretty worried about them and the safety of another family friend living in Kusatsu right now.

Title: Re: Week of April 13: COVID-19 info, facts & updates
Post by: Ponyfan on April 20, 2020, 04:55:45 PM

Latest numbers from my county were just released. 445 cases, 36 deaths, 124 recovered.

There was a small protest in my city from small business owners over the weekend. They stayed in cars though.  Officially my city’s stay at home order is supposed to end next week but we are still being encouraged to stay at home and wear facial coverings when going out. 

Walmart and Target announced today that they will require employees to wear facial coverings. Covid has been found in at least  2 meat processing plants in the US.


@Taffeta I hope your friends in Japan stay safe. :hug:


Ponyfan

Title: Re: Week of April 13: COVID-19 info, facts & updates
Post by: Taffeta on April 21, 2020, 06:35:00 AM

Thanks Ponyfan. Mum was on the phone to the one in Yokohama yesterday, got an email from her today with all the roses (English roses of course!) that she's bought, several of which have names local to this area (where she and her family lived for four or five years when Mum was her English teacher). So far they seem to be doing okay but she can't see either of her kids as they are in different prefectures.

UK Update
 
Each week they release other death data relating to COVID, and this is a bit grim, but it is also a bit of light at the end of the tunnel as NHS England has catalogued deaths by date of death, rather than by date it was added to the stats, and it suggests a peak somewhere around the 9th April.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-52361519

Similar graphs on tests and testing data also suggest that's the case, with the most cases being reported around 10th April. This also corroborate the KCL app data that suggests mild cases across the UK have dropped by about 70% during lockdown.

Probably those figures are mostly for England but since lockdown was coordinated, it's probably not that far different for the other nations as well. The suggestion is that London may have peaked even earlier than that.

I don't want to talk about people's deaths as being good news. It's not good news. It's horrific even thinking about it. But if the peak is past then maybe fewer people will have to die. And that, in a situation like this, can only be good news.

Of course, it's not over yet. But it's a ray of hope. There are still around 17000 people in hospital with COVID, which is far below NHS capacity (even in ICU) but...still far too many people.

Other news - Boris is starting to get back involved with govt stuff again.

Title: Re: Week of April 13: COVID-19 info, facts & updates
Post by: Barnacle_lady on April 22, 2020, 12:23:57 AM

Yesterday there was the press conference was waiting for and here are the highlights

- As predicted all events are off until 1st of September
- Restaurants, cinemas, gyms etc got extended until May 20
- Children until 18 years are allowed to go to school/daycare on parttime base. And are allowed to sport again as long they keep the 1,5 metres distance

You can imagine not everyone is happy with this. Especially those who have a plan where they can keep people to the required distance.

Title: Re: Week of April 13: COVID-19 info, facts & updates
Post by: Artemesia's Garden on April 22, 2020, 01:22:12 AM

Quote from: Barnacle_lady on April 22, 2020, 12:23:57 AM

Yesterday there was the press conference was waiting for and here are the highlights

- As predicted all events are off until 1st of September
- Restaurants, cinemas, gyms etc got extended until May 20
- Children until 18 years are allowed to go to school/daycare on parttime base. And are allowed to sport again as long they keep the 1,5 metres distance

You can imagine not everyone is happy with this. Especially those who have a plan where they can keep people to the required distance.

So some busineses feel they have have good measures in place so they are unhappy that they still have to remain closed. interesting. I think most people who still go into work feel they are at risk all the time because the measures are almost impossible to enforce. Some people just don't seem to 'get it' and break the rules as I discovred at the supermarket.

Thank you Taffeta for the updates. One news story that caught my eye yesterday is that there is concern that if the UK public are advised to start wearing face masks in public it might 'take away' essential PPE from the NHS staff. I happen to have 4 FP3 masks in the house for doing DIY and have been rotating them when I go out, to begin with I started doing this because I was pregnant. I had to ignore some rude looks from people which I don't understand. These masks have now all been worn at least once and left on a windowsill for a week in between wearings to dry out and decontaminate. Since I have them I'd like to continue wearing them to protect myself and others however I feel as though due to this news story I might get judged even more. I might have to make some home-made ones.

Title: Re: Week of April 13: COVID-19 info, facts & updates
Post by: SpacePinto on April 22, 2020, 05:16:43 AM

Quote from: Artemesia's Garden on April 22, 2020, 01:22:12 AM

Thank you Taffeta for the updates. One news story that caught my eye yesterday is that there is concern that if the UK public are advised to start wearing face masks in public it might 'take away' essential PPE from the NHS staff. I happen to have 4 FP3 masks in the house for doing DIY and have been rotating them when I go out, to begin with I started doing this because I was pregnant. I had to ignore some rude looks from people which I don't understand. These masks have now all been worn at least once and left on a windowsill for a week in between wearings to dry out and decontaminate. Since I have them I'd like to continue wearing them to protect myself and others however I feel as though due to this news story I might get judged even more. I might have to make some home-made ones.

Regular people don't need to wear FPP2/FPP3 masks, these are mostly to protect those who are often around sick (like medical personnel), simple reusable surgical masks made of cotton are enough and they are very cheap and easy to make. Sure, they are not very good for protecting you from catching the virus, but they are pretty good at preventing the sick from spreading it around by blocking most of air exhaled/cought up, so if everyone has to wear them outside, the sick don't infect others around them or the food in supermarkets etc. that much. Just look at Czechia, the government made it mandatory to wear face masks in public a month ago and now the country has one of the flattest curves in Europe before even reaching five digits.

Title: Re: Week of April 13: COVID-19 info, facts & updates
Post by: Barnacle_lady on April 22, 2020, 05:40:57 AM

Up here I am used to the mostly Asian tourists that wear face masks. So now nobody looks weird if we are obliged to wear them.

Title: Re: Week of April 13: COVID-19 info, facts & updates
Post by: Taffeta on April 22, 2020, 08:22:09 AM

I am waiting for clear indication from our govt about masks since I am unlikely to anywhere except casual walk for exercise in largely ruralish area for the next six or eight weeks and I hope that'll be enough time for them to get it figured out. I have told Mum it might be a requirement, she's not very keen. Lockdown may or may not ease in May but it won't for us because of my mother's vulnerability status, so I'm happy to wait and see what happens. Where we are people are all social distancing and helping each other out quite a lot (and clapping for the NHS on a Thursday) so the mask thing isn't really a big issue right now. There's at least 10 metres between most people most days. The people with dogs are the worst as they don't pay attention to other people or their dogs, but there's still enough space to keep a wide berth and a lot of people are spending time in their gardens anyway.

I am like Artie, I have some masks from my time in Japan which I brought back to use when cleaning at home. I had the same thought about being judged on wearing something that looks more 'masky' so I am thinking about what to do and probably will try and make or source a homemade one if we have to go into mask territory. I will keep the three remaining Japanese masks for cleaning at home.

I'm not a scientist but given the places that this spreads most vociferously involve people being in close contact for more than just a brief second, and can be spread asymptomatically, it does seem as though people can breathe the virus out and that there is an argument for wearing masks to protect other people. But masks also can cause panic attacks, and breathing problems in some people, and there's still the risk of people touching them, taking them off or on while out, not washing/disposing of them properly and thinking that wearing a mask means you can go right up to someone else. I think those things need to be addressed too if masks become a thing here.

It is interesting that now PHE and NHS England are updating the proper death graph now as well as giving us the daily stats. As this goes on, the more small details we get to flesh out the bigger picture.

But today's stats, both the fatalities reported today and cases reported today continue to gradually go down.

Also, to cheer everyone up, here's a cute story from the BBC about why not to let your toddler near your phone.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-england-london-52379814/toddler-racks-up-eye-watering-20-deliveroo-onions-bill

Title: Re: Week of April 13: COVID-19 info, facts & updates
Post by: Ponyfan on April 22, 2020, 01:22:49 PM

Numbers in my county were just updated.  We 470 cases, 138 recovered and 39 deaths. Our numbers are going to go up though as the news announced today there’s been 2 cases at a third nursing home and a construction worker has also tested positive.

Wearing a mask makes me feel self conscious. I feel like everyone is staring at me even though a lot of other people are wearing them too. That being said, I do wear a mask when I need to go out even though it becomes uncomfortable for me due to respiratory issues. 

In my city we are strongly encouraged to wear some kind of facial covering in public so we will not spread the virus even if we are not showing symptoms because several confirmed cases were asymptomatic.

@Taffeta thanks for posting that story about the onions. :lol: I needed something to smile about today.


Ponyfan

Title: Re: Week of April 13: COVID-19 info, facts & updates
Post by: Taffeta on April 23, 2020, 09:41:15 AM

Today's more lighthearted anecdote:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-south-yorkshire-52395609

Today's UK stats -still going down, Hancock reckons the UK testing thing is gonna meet his target for the end of the month, he's announced a bunch more plans today. Also that antibody tests are being reviewed (we've rejected a lot apparently for having low accuracy % so who knows if that will happen any time soon).

Trying to keep my mother corralled is very stressful.

Title: Re: Week of April 13: COVID-19 info, facts & updates
Post by: Beth3346 on April 23, 2020, 12:29:00 PM

Quote from: Taffeta on April 23, 2020, 09:41:15 AM

Today's more lighthearted anecdote:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-south-yorkshire-52395609

What a sweet story :) :lovey:

Title: Re: Week of April 13: COVID-19 info, facts & updates
Post by: lonewolf on April 24, 2020, 06:06:58 AM

Yikes. My state is up to 2482 and 112 deaths. The total's jumped 271 cases since yesterday.

Title: Re: Week of April 13: COVID-19 info, facts & updates
Post by: Artemesia's Garden on April 24, 2020, 10:01:08 AM

Quote from: Taffeta on April 23, 2020, 09:41:15 AM

Trying to keep my mother corralled is very stressful.

Sending lots of love and good wishes. You're doing a good deed there for sure.

Title: Re: Week of April 13: COVID-19 info, facts & updates
Post by: Taffeta on April 24, 2020, 10:09:37 AM

Quote from: Artemesia's Garden on April 24, 2020, 10:01:08 AM

Quote from: Taffeta on April 23, 2020, 09:41:15 AM

Trying to keep my mother corralled is very stressful.

Sending lots of love and good wishes. You're doing a good deed there for sure.

Thanks Artie. :hug: We're about managing. My mother is a really smart woman, very independant, and super capable. But that is sort of part of the problem since she thinks that it's all too much fuss given that she's so 'active' and in remission...

But at least Dad is more or less backing me up.

UK is at the peak still but it's gonna be a while before we're in the clear. BUT the KCL Covid app data is encouraging that the potential spread around the country is going down. I just hope it doesn't lead to people going out more because they think it's all done with.

Meanwhile because at the moment you can't return or exchange any substitute items in food deliveries, we've arranged with the local community volunteer group to take a small box of the stuff we can't use for whatever reason to a local foodbank so that it doesn't get wasted. Things like grapefruit which mum and I don't like and Dad can't eat because of his medicine, and other things. Hopefully they will come to get it tomorrow morning...hopefully they will help someone out.

And today a delivery I made that was meant to be delivered on 14th April finally came. (Not food, other essentials). I wouldn't mind except it was one of those with slot days and 10 days later is not helpful. But the good news is that we definitely won't be short of washing up liquid for a while.

Title: Re: Week of April 13: COVID-19 info, facts & updates
Post by: mylittleponyroom on April 24, 2020, 09:01:44 PM

Hello everybody! I am from Germany and in my region we still have to fight with Corona. However, the number of infected people is no longer increasing. The number of healthy people is getting higher and higher. Nevertheless there are still a lot of security measures in place. Contact ban, ban on events (yes, there are NO flea markets or similar and that probably until autumn...!) From Monday on we have to wear face masks in shops, public transport and buildings. That is ok. But the problem is that we almost can't buy them anywhere (except of course expensive on the internet). Therefore we will have to do some bigger purchases later.
I did not get sick myself. Neither did my husband and I don't know anybody who knows anybody who got Corona sick. Fortunately I can go to work as usual (my work is a 10 minutes walk from our house). My husband has been working in the home office for about 2 months. I hope everyone who reads this is doing well! It's a queasy time, but it will pass. Stay well, everyone!

Title: Re: Week of April 13: COVID-19 info, facts & updates
Post by: Ponyfan on April 25, 2020, 08:19:59 AM

My county is at 494 cases and 40 deaths. I'm not what the current recovered numbers are.

I mentioned this in the other thread but think it's also relevant here.  I worry about people in my state thinking that the crisis is over because some non essential businesses are allowed to reopen, even though they are supposed to be "retail to go."  I've seen quite a few people still not wearing masks in public  and continuing  to bring their children that are old enough to stay home while a parent goes to the store shopping with them.


My cousin's dr wants her to take the antibodies test to see if carries the antibodies for the coronavirus


Ponyfan

Title: Re: Week of April 13: COVID-19 info, facts & updates
Post by: Taffeta on April 25, 2020, 09:44:52 AM

I am wary of the antibody test thing at the moment.

The UK govt have tested a gazillion and have rejected all of them as not having a high enough accuracy level. I heard there are a bunch of unapproved tests floating around in the US, there was a story here of some local hospital trying to buy some. There are some mysterious antibody tests going on under Pillar 4 of the govt's strategy, but it's all cloak and dagger as to whether those tests are ours, foreign, different...working...I dunno. There are some rumours they come from Porton Down, which if so means they probably do work, but they keep telling us there are no working antibody tests with guaranteed accuracy anywhere in the world.

So yeah. Until there's a test that everyone can be 100% sure about, I'm really wary of them. The problem seems to be distinguishing the difference between existing coronaviruses (which most of us have had) and the new one, and some people get positives because they've had a cold in the past, not because they had Covid.

But when we DO have very accurate ones I want my sister and her boyfriend to take them, because he was ill with a flu like illness at end Jan/Feb and she had something over the following weeks as well. Since nobody seems to know exactly when the virus really arrived and started community spread here due to the means of testing, they weren't tested (though sister saw a doctor 3 times, they would not test her for anything, let alone covid). And I'd like to know if that's what they had.

UK has passed 20k death toll. Not pretty.

The graph for England still shows decline but it's so slow and the whole thing is not nice. And that is only England. The UK totals are collective for all four nations in one, the England total is the highest of these because the English population # is higher in general.

Case numbers are going down, they're saying testing is increasing...we will see. They haven't put key worker restrictions on the test registration site so no doubt someone will abuse that system.

DIY stores have reopened here with social distancing, they were never asked to close but several did to make their environments safer.

And Priti Patel gave today's press conference. And since she has singularly zero positive qualities to recommend listening to her, I didn't.

Title: Re: Week of April 13: COVID-19 info, facts & updates
Post by: SpacePinto on April 25, 2020, 09:49:57 AM

Quote from: mylittleponyroom on April 24, 2020, 09:01:44 PM

From Monday on we have to wear face masks in shops, public transport and buildings. That is ok. But the problem is that we almost can't buy them anywhere (except of course expensive on the internet). Therefore we will have to do some bigger purchases later.

You can easily make your own mask using an old bandana and two rubber bands :)

Title: Re: Week of April 13: COVID-19 info, facts & updates
Post by: banditpony on April 25, 2020, 10:54:04 AM

Quote from: Taffeta on April 25, 2020, 09:44:52 AM

I am wary of the antibody test thing at the moment.

The UK govt have tested a gazillion and have rejected all of them as not having a high enough accuracy level. I heard there are a bunch of unapproved tests floating around in the US, there was a story here of some local hospital trying to buy some.

Yah, I heard something similar. It's pretty much on the FDA webpage : https://www.fda.gov/medical-devices/emergency-situations-medical-devices/faqs-diagnostic-testing-sars-cov-2

However, it looks like there are 4 FDA approved tests available now. https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/coronavirus-covid-19-update-serological-tests
The first one rolled out on April 1... so honestly, I don't think there is any amount of wide spread availability on them.

Title: Re: Week of April 13: COVID-19 info, facts & updates
Post by: Artemesia's Garden on April 26, 2020, 03:43:59 PM

Quote from: Taffeta on April 25, 2020, 09:44:52 AM

Priti Patel gave today's press conference. And since she has singularly zero positive qualities to recommend listening to her, I didn't.

Heh, that made me chuckle.

Title: Re: Week of April 13: COVID-19 info, facts & updates
Post by: Taffeta on April 26, 2020, 04:04:37 PM

Quote from: Artemesia's Garden on April 26, 2020, 03:43:59 PM

Quote from: Taffeta on April 25, 2020, 09:44:52 AM

Priti Patel gave today's press conference. And since she has singularly zero positive qualities to recommend listening to her, I didn't.

Heh, that made me chuckle.

>.> Well, I'm not wrong.

I'm wondering if Boris will give the briefing on Monday. O.o.

Title: Re: Week of April 13: COVID-19 info, facts & updates
Post by: Ponyfan on April 27, 2020, 03:13:33 PM

Big update today.  Our stay at home order will expire on April 30th as long as new coronavirus cases do not go up dramatically.  All stores, restaurants, movie theaters and malls can reopen May lst as along as social distancing guidelines are followed and max capacity is at 25% or less of the building's total capacity.  Museums and libraries will also be able to reopen under the same guidelines. Gyms, bars, salons and other businesses will reopen in mid May if coronavirus numbers do not go up.

People in high risk groups and those 65 and older are asked to stay at home as much as possible. Everyone is encouraged to wear a facial covering when in public.

People can gather outside for sports in groups of 4 or less.

Ponyfan

Title: Re: Week of April 13: COVID-19 info, facts & updates
Post by: Taffeta on April 27, 2020, 03:27:27 PM

Boris didn't give the press conference, just a statement this morning, Hancock gave the briefing (but that's fine).

Briefings are getting to be a bit like a panel show where you look at who is appearing before you bother deciding to watch xD. Sunak and Hancock are the better options.

Our scientists are always very cautious. Our numbers are still fairly stable and dropping but they warn against post-weekend spikes because of the level of testing being different on the weekend.

A side note for anyone international in regards to the "is stuff being reported accurately" - the IHME model is inaccurate for the UK vis a vis beds, ICU equipment and death data in the 'assumed' range, including the peak. The actual known data here indicates the peak was around 8th-10th April, and now it's more about preventing it kicking off again by not releasing too early.

Boris made it clear this morning there will be no quick open up. But he did drop hints at a phased opening and that we would know more about the ideas behind that this week.

There have been rumours of an antibody test that's accurate and can be mass produced - but no govt confirmation yet, so who knows if it's true.

Our testing goal is still 100,000 tests per day by the end of April. The Govt don't seem too worried that they're not quite at that target yet...we'll see if they make it but it has gone up and for the first time in today's figures more key workers at drive throughs were tested than seriously ill people in hospital settings.

Locally, 225 cases in my borough, 3 new registered in the last 24 hours. The wider county that share our health trust has around 400something. Across both areas there are 84 deaths associated with Covid.

Title: Re: Week of April 13: COVID-19 info, facts & updates
Post by: banditpony on April 27, 2020, 04:28:10 PM

Our update on opening up was pretty much as expected. Stay at home order continues.

May 1 - Hospitals can now start outpatient surgeries. Same with vets. And dentists can resume business.

May 4-  Manufacturing, distribution, and construction are okayed. (from what wasn't essential ... ). "General office" stuff can open too. However, people are encouraged to work at home when possible.

May 12 - general retail & services -- I'm not sure what all that entails. It does not include salons/barbershops, gyms, or restaurants.

With any business that is open -- all employees must wear a masks. They will have daily health monitoring. They must practice social distancing as best as possible. And clean frequently and have good hygiene. Occupancy must be under 50% firecode.
ETA: Oh, I was wrong. customers do have to wear a mask to go in a business.. Just not when they are outside.

Ohio will do trace contacting, and there is a timeline to get people hired for this. It's not as robust as I think it could be, but it's way better than nothing.

We have a timeline to amp up testing. Our state has unfortunately gotten the short end of the stick with receiving tests, but with FDA approval of a few things, we will be doing our own production of tests (or the pieces and parts). So we finally can do more. 

I believe late may when our testing ramps up, we will have a better picture of where we land. And the governor will be more likely to let more things open then.

Title: Re: Week of April 13: COVID-19 info, facts & updates
Post by: Taffeta on April 28, 2020, 12:58:32 AM

There was an interview with one of the major local doctors in local press today, who said that our two main hospitals were busier 2 weeks ago, but that there are still cases so it's too soon to lift the lockdown. He also said the hospitals have not been over capacity at any point, that they have had zero problems getting PPE (compared with some of the city hospitals featured prominently in the press) and that they are seeing a spike in DIY injuries because everyone is fixing their house in lockdown xD.

There's also an idea being floated that the Nightingale hospitals set up as temporary hospitals (but so far hardly used due to NHS coping with normal capacity) might be used as Covid hospitals going forward. Which is a good idea since they are built for that, but will probably mean people having to be taken longer distances from areas like this with no city in order to get treatment. Our closest one is 50 miles away. That's a long way when you're really ill...

It would also mean an acceptance (which I think most people have anyway) that events will not happen for some time. Like other places, our Nightingale hospitals are in existing buildings, especially convention centres etc. One of which held ponycon 3 years ago (in Bristol).

On another nice note, some of the football clubs in this region are allowing their grounds/conference rooms to be used by midwives to do post and pre natal appointments away from the hospital, and the charity feed the homeless project at one club is now being scaled up to feed more people struggling for food. The Sikh community in Birmingham are also delivering food to people who need it (as they are not able to do their usual thing of having food at the gurdwara after ceremonies).

Title: Re: Week of April 13: COVID-19 info, facts & updates
Post by: Beth3346 on April 28, 2020, 03:29:45 PM

The US passed 1 million cases today. States including Texas where I live are starting to reopen. There are more people out. We went out to get takeout yesterday and there were a lot of people out on the roads. I'm glad I have a car and am still able to get out of the house while social distancing.

Restaurants can reopen their dining rooms here on Thursday so we'll see what happens. Quite a few restaurants in Austin have already closed for good. Though it sounds like they were already having difficulties. I'm starting to have some mixed feelings. Small businesses were supposed to have access to loans but that program is faltering. And people are having all kinds of problems applying for unemployment. So if the economy gets much worse who knows. I wish the government would step in and cover salaries the way they have in some European countries. Though the US is much larger.

I'm really just getting frustrated but i'm also nervous and scared of what will happen when people start going out. The US increased their projections of how many people will die from Covid-19 in response to the states opening up earlier than recommended.

Last week we had to drive back to San Antonio and finish cleaning out our old house. We didn't go anywhere else so we're still social distancing. But downtown was so eerily quiet without tourists. I don't think I've ever seen it so quiet.

Sorry for the rambling :(

Title: Re: Week of April 13: COVID-19 info, facts & updates
Post by: lovesbabysquirmy on April 29, 2020, 07:42:03 AM

I don't want people to start going back to work or open up stores until we have a proper treatment plan in place. Or a vaccine.
There's so much uncertainty, and I really don't like the idea that people keep having of, "Well, let's just risk it.  If the high risk people die, oh well.  If the seniors die, oh well.  At least I can work my minimum wage job and sneeze on bus seats, and think of myself first!  YAY!"  :(

Now I am stressing over that... I don't want to be forced back into society or the workplace.  I don't want my husband to die and I certainly don't want to leave my child motherless.  But people just "have to have their normal lives back".  It's so alienating, knowing that most of my neighbours would happily take a Starbucks run over my health and well-being.  :( 

Title: Re: Week of April 13: COVID-19 info, facts & updates
Post by: Koudoawaia on April 29, 2020, 09:13:04 AM

I 100% agree with  you lovesbabysquirmy. I just unfollowed a church friend I grew up with for being yet another conspiracist doing things like referring to the non compliance line as a 'snitch line' It's like 'Um why? Are you doing something that's against the guidelines or something??" I doubt she is but I have no time for conspiracies about the meanie government trying to control us  in my feed when in reality they're trying to save lives.

Title: Re: Week of April 13: COVID-19 info, facts & updates
Post by: Taffeta on April 29, 2020, 09:44:09 AM

Today the UK compiled and released death data from care homes, homes, other settings to combine with the hospital data (so if you see a UK stat jump this is why) in an attempt to be more transparent more quickly over what is happening where. Like everywhere, the UK's carehomes have been blitzed by this horrible thing, so they're also now opening testing up to everyone staff and residents in care homes whether they have symptoms or not (hopefully it will help).

Our testing is going up day by day, but the number of positives are still fairly stable so it feels like we're still on the right track.

Like a lot of other people, I'm also uncertain about what comes next. There's no clear get out strategy even if the govt were ready to share one, which they aren't. At the start the scientists estimated 13 weeks. I want them to go the 13 weeks, but that requires the govt to continue to subsidise a lot of businesses through furlough and right now this is only happening till end June.

Rant within spoiler...

Spoiler

I'm also sick of people who think they are more important than the rest of the nation and that regulations don't apply to them. And especially people who have the following two attitudes:

"The vulnerable people can just stay shielded and we can get back to normal life."

"This only really affects old people so our businesses are being ruined by the old people".

I saw some other more upsetting things said about older people by such folk but this isn't the place to share them.

As for the first one, vulnerable people are people. They're people who already got dealt a cruddy hand, by having to deal with some health issue probably for no reason of their own. They didn't choose to be old. Disabled. Ill. They didn't ask to have cancer, asthma, or any other condition. Even if some of them had lifestyle choices that weren't wise, who hasn't made silly health related decisions at SOME point in their life? That doesn't stop those people being PEOPLE. They shouldn't have to give up their 'life' in either context - not just stay locked up like hermits forever so that Johnny Young Guy can go to the pub and get hammered and then arrested for drink driving. Nor should they have to die because Johnny Young Guy didn't observe distancing, gave COVID to the police officer who then accidentally gave it to his vulnerable relative.

As for the second one, COVID took away people's jobs. Lives. Freedoms. Everything. Not any group. Not any race. Age. Gender. Anything of people. COVID did. And the only way we can beat COVID is by starving it out. And that's why we're all staying home.

So yeah.

And I don't get the attitudes either. I mean, there's some dissonance between generations here because of Brexit but most of them have just gone away because of the reality of HUMAN BEINGS NEED EACH OTHER. The UK is actually more united in a lot of ways than it has been for the last 3 years, amazingly...but there are just those few who you want to just shake. Like the family of 5 who decided to drive to the beach last weekend. Why? What are you teaching your kids, to not respect rules? To put others at risk? To do as you like?

For me, I'm only meant to be stopping with my parents temporarily. My intention was to get an academic post for September and then move back down south or wherever.

Lockdown means there are no jobs. There may not be any university departments to apply to after this happens. Nobody knows yet.
Lockdown means shielding my mother and protecting my father, who is also over 70. That means physically going out shopping is not possible, let alone travelling for an interview or moving or anything like that.

When all this happened, I made the decision that so long as I needed to, I would lock down with them as best I could. If that means I don't get a job till next year, that's what it means. If it means living on my savings till then, then it does.

Because my parents are people and they matter more than my bank balance. And it really annoys me that there are people out there who think my parents are disposable commodities in their "let's go out and party!" rhetoric. So yeah. I am totally with you guys on this subject.

I am not a fan of informing on people breaking the lockdown, but I support the enforcement of our lockdown. The UK lockdown is not as severe as some places. I actually think it's not that different to what has happened in the Netherlands. There have been many stores which closed that didn't technically need to, but have since begun to reopen with distancing measures. Some people think it's not strict enough. Some people think it's too much. It's a hard balance to strike. I think that if we can keep things going down at the current level of economic activity, there's some hope at the end of the tunnel. A lot of companies have diversified, and one local one to us is now trading internationally thanks to lockdown and people taking up baking. So I think some good things can come out of this as well. But I think our economy will change, and it's unknown what will happen yet with Brexit or the EU at the moment. It could be a double dip effect.

Title: Re: Week of April 13: COVID-19 info, facts & updates
Post by: Wardah on April 29, 2020, 09:53:11 AM

Quote from: lovesbabysquirmy on April 29, 2020, 07:42:03 AM

I don't want people to start going back to work or open up stores until we have a proper treatment plan in place. Or a vaccine.
There's so much uncertainty, and I really don't like the idea that people keep having of, "Well, let's just risk it.  If the high risk people die, oh well.  If the seniors die, oh well.  At least I can work my minimum wage job and sneeze on bus seats, and think of myself first!  YAY!"  :(

Now I am stressing over that... I don't want to be forced back into society or the workplace.  I don't want my husband to die and I certainly don't want to leave my child motherless.  But people just "have to have their normal lives back".  It's so alienating, knowing that most of my neighbours would happily take a Starbucks run over my health and well-being.  :( 

I agree but the problem is at least in the US the government is doing jack about it. They say they are giving more unemployment but it takes forever to get on it because the states aren't used to dealing with such a high volume. They say they are helping small businesses but only a small percentage are getting that help. For people that lived paycheck to paycheck and businesses that were low margin it's devastating.

Title: Re: Week of April 13: COVID-19 info, facts & updates
Post by: Ponybookworm on April 29, 2020, 10:35:22 AM

I agree with you lot. I apologised, yep, APOLOGISED. to the Co-op the fortnight including my bd for going outside more than once in that two-week period, because I know what's at stake, & that we have to stay in as much as possible to avoid excessive contamination. So people who feel the "need" to resume normal life too early are acting very selfishly in my book. I go out to the Co-op because 1/ I need to get my electric & I have to go out for that, 2/ I can take out my recycling, particularly glass, on the way, 3/ I can't take a bus due to the pandemic, & most importantly, 4/ to leave delivery slots free for households like Taffeta's where there are high-risk residents so they can't go outside AT ALL.

By setting my alarm on messages day & supplementing wi eBay, Amazon & the like, I can avoid the crowds & at least get what I need. It's not perfect but my life never was anyway. it's just what we have to do.