Novel Coronavirus

[Garret]

Is a Hoover institute doctor like a Philladelphia lawyer………...

What's wrong with Philly lawyers?

[WI-Tom]

Got 2 emails from my school district today.

One was from the superintendent, announcing 9 new cases of COVID-19 in the district today.

The other was from the athletic director asking for staff to volunteer as referees, timekeepers, scorekeepers, and ticket takers for the upcoming volleyball, basketball, and wrestling seasons.

Tom

[skuthorp]

No new cases of local infection in Aus now, all active cases are returning nationals in quarantine.
And no deaths for a couple of weeks either.

[Garret]

Got 2 emails from my school district today.

One was from the superintendent, announcing 9 new cases of COVID-19 in the district today.

The other was from the athletic director asking for staff to volunteer as referees, timekeepers, scorekeepers, and ticket takers for the upcoming volleyball, basketball, and wrestling seasons.

Tom

VT has stopped all wrestling & is pleading with people to stay masked when carpooling, but it seems folks are tired of it.

[WI-Tom]

Another case in my high school today. 36 total cases in the district so far, an infection rate of about 4.9%.

At least we are on break now, and classes will run virtually between Thanksgiving and Christmas. I'm hoping they will extend that to at least Jan. 18 to protect people from the inevitable travel and family get-togethers over the break, but they haven't done so yet.

Tom

[sonofswen]

and on top of it all...RFK jr...what happened to him?

How a Kennedy became a ‘superspreader’ of hoaxes on COVID-19, vaccines, 5G and more

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/worl...isinformation/

[George.]

The US just passed Brazil again in death toll per capita. We are doing our best to rally, but the US has a huge lead, and Thanksgiving is still to come, while we have to wait for Christmas for our own mandatory superspreader gatherings. Will the US pass the six countries still ahead of it to be #1 in death rate before the vaccines arrive? One by one they give up and lock down, but America seems unstoppable...

[skuthorp]

One new case at an Adelaide high school today. Hopefully connected to last week's few cases from a returned national. But there will be such cases, the virus hasn't gone away. And if we are to be part of the international community again there's trade, the tourist industry etc which will bring people, and Covid in every planeload.

[George.]

The US is now averaging 1657 deaths per day, a 58% increase in 2 weeks. The new infections curve is now showing an inflexion, but death rate will continue to grow for at least two weeks.

Best case scenario now is the inflection in new cases quickly becomes a drop, and the US ends 2020 with 350,000 deaths, but no other country has managed that without a lockdown. Equally likely is that cases keep rising, boosted by all the Thanksgiving nonsense, and that this grim milestone is reached well before Christmas.

Trump did promise that if Biden was elected there would be no more Christmas...

[Corvida]

It's unlikely the fatality rate is going to drop before the vaccine starts getting distributed at this point. We're probably going to need multiple waves of vaccination before it's actually eradicated.

[Hugh Conway]

The US is now averaging 1657 deaths per day, a 58% increase in 2 weeks. The new infections curve is now showing an inflexion, but death rate will continue to grow for at least two weeks.

I have a bad feeling the infection curve is showing an inflection because many people were hunkering down so they could travel this week and join in large gatherings.

[Tom Montgomery]

.
A message to all residents from my County Public Health Director:

Message to Huron County residents

Nov 24, 2020 10:34 AM


Dear Huron County,

With Thanksgiving and other winter holidays quickly approaching, it appears that residents will continue to ignore the situation we find ourselves in and meet with family and friends inside of their homes to celebrate with one another. While we understand the strong desire to be around the people you love, possibly now more than ever, we are urging our residents to please reconsider. As COVID-19 cases continue to significantly increase throughout state, Huron County is rapidly moving in the wrong direction. This year, it is true that the safest Thanksgiving gatherings will include only people in your own immediate household and virtually meeting with others.

Over the last three weeks, the number of COVID-19 cases reported in Huron County has consistently doubled. It is at this time, as cases continue to increase, that we must consider that it may only be a short matter of time before Emergency Department visits, hospital admissions, and the percentage of Intensive Care Unit beds occupied also increase. Currently, our ongoing concern is if we don't control the spread of this virus, medical professionals will continue to get ill and hospitals won’t have the staff available to respond to an increased number of COVID patients, or be able to care for others admitted for serious non-COVID-19-related health conditions.

It is anticipated that this kind of shift could happen within the upcoming weeks if current trends do not change. However, whether this projection is not as immediate as we assume, and we do not reach a critical level of hospitalizations over the next month, there is still a need to call upon all individuals in our county to strengthen their resolve in adhering to the appropriate public health protection measures that have been communicated throughout the course of the pandemic.

The uncontrolled spread we are experiencing is being driven by informal gatherings and get-togethers with family and friends where it’s spread unknowingly by people who have the virus but do not have symptoms or have minor symptoms they write off as seasonal allergies or a cold. While we were fortunate to be able to get away with that behavior during the summer, the level of virus circulating in our county now is at an all-time high. These gatherings have proven to result in a widespread escalation of the number of people getting sick in our county.

The fact is, gathering in a group of people is risky right now, especially if you’re over 55 or have an underlying medical condition. In general, the more people you interact with, the closer you are to them when you interact with them, and the longer that interaction, the higher your risk of getting and spreading COVID-19. That doesn't mean you have to lock yourself in a room and not enjoy what hopefully will be a nice weekend, but there are certain fundamental protective steps that you can take and still enjoy yourself.

This is a call to action to the population of Huron County. The rates of infection and hospitalization being reported now will at some point be the tip of the iceberg if you don’t change how you are interacting with each other. I challenge residents to consider sacrificing the traditional style of hosting Thanksgiving this year, in hopes to have a more traditional Christmas celebration next month. The sacrifices being made and requested may be considerable, but it is what is required to prevent it from getting further out of control, overburdening our hospitals and causing more loss of life.

If you still decide to host guests, it is essential that you talk ahead of time about ways to keep the group safe, and make sure everyone understands why it’s important. You can protect your friends and family and make your traditions safer by taking every precaution you can. We appreciate your assistance in helping all of Huron County combat the spread of the virus, and thank you in advance for your understanding of the aforementioned recommendations and your continued cooperation in achieving them.

Sincerely, Tim Hollinger

Huron County Public Health Director

[WI-Tom]

That's a good message.

In Wisconsin, the county health directors have been put in a horrible position throughout the state, with residents and institutions openly defying their guidance. I'm sure they can't say everything it might occur to them to say. It must be terrible to know full well what actions are needed, and at the same time be so powerless to change things.

Tom

[Tom Montgomery]

.
I find the first sentence of my County Public Health Director's message to be chilling: "With Thanksgiving and other winter holidays quickly approaching, it appears that residents will continue to ignore the situation we find ourselves in..."

He delivers the proper message... but will enough people pay it heed to avert great tragedy?

I fear that Thanksgiving gatherings will lead to Christmas funerals.

No one in my family is gathering for Thanksgiving.

[WI-Tom]

.
I find the first sentence of my County Public Health Director's message to be chilling: "With Thanksgiving and other winter holidays quickly approaching, it appears that residents will continue to ignore the situation we find ourselves in..."

He delivers the proper message... but will enough people pay it heed to avert great tragedy?

I doubt it...

With hospitalizations lagging 2-3 weeks behind new cases, and deaths a few weeks later, it's going to be a grim Christmas around here, I'm afraid. My family is not gathering at all, even though many (not me) live within 10 miles of each other. Too much exposure at various jobs for some, too many health risks for others, and just generally irresponsible right now anyway.

Tom

[C. Ross]

More Americans than ever are in the hospital with the coronavirus. On Thanksgiving Day, hospitalizations hit a record high of more than 90,000 people, according to the COVID Tracking Project, and about 50 Americans are now dying every hour.
More than 13 million Americans have now been infected with the virus — and it shows no signs of slowing down. Hospitals, already at the brink, are bracing for a new surge after 6.5 million people flew this holiday week.

https://apple.news/A74AmyH2RSqCcvz0X8XAKJA

"That's all I hear about now. That's all I hear. Turn on television—'Covid, Covid, Covid, Covid, Covid, Covid.' A plane goes down. 500 people dead, they don't talk about it. ‘Covid, Covid, Covid, Covid.' By the way, on November 4, you won't hear about it anymore,"
- President Donald Trump, October 24, 2020, rally talk

"ALL THE FAKE NEWS MEDIA WANTS TO TALK ABOUT IS COVID, COVID, COVID. ON NOVEMBER 4th, YOU WON'T BE HEARING SO MUCH ABOUT IT ANYMORE. WE ARE ROUNDING THE TURN!!!"
- President Donald Trump, October 27, 2020, twitter

“Don’t let [Biden] take credit for the vaccines because the vaccines were me and I pushed people harder than they’ve ever been pushed before. We are rounding the curve. The vaccines are being delivered. It will start next week and the week after. It will hit the frontline workers, seniors, doctors and nurses. We are going very quickly.”
- President Donald Trump, November 26, 2020 in a Thanksgiving phone call to U.S. troops

[C. Ross]

D8BA34EA-AEA5-4374-BA48-3831476C0F43.jpg

https://apple.news/AnbEGjl0US-mqGowu7q2jCw

[peb]

"Close the bars and keep the schools open," says Fauci on @ThisWeekABC. "The default position should be to try... to keep the children in school or to get them back to school. ... If you look at the data, the spread among children and from children is not really very big at all."

[C. Ross]

Hopefully we learn. Hopefully we adjust.

[Hugh Conway]

Huh. I wonder if Republican intransigence about funding for state and local governments has influenced the choices? Couldn’t be.

[WI-Tom]

"Close the bars and keep the schools open," says Fauci on @ThisWeekABC. "The default position should be to try... to keep the children in school or to get them back to school. ... If you look at the data, the spread among children and from children is not really very big at all."

Yep. But to open schools without first controlling community spread is NOT what he is recommending. It's: "Close the bars" (hasn't happened yet) "and keep the schools open."

A pity people can't grasp that the one is a prerequisite for the other, or are just too selfish to care. Roughly 5% of our district personnel are infected. Statistically speaking, it's likely now that one of them will come through their illness with serious permanent organ damage.

Tom

[WI-Tom]

"Close the bars and keep the schools open," says Fauci on @ThisWeekABC. "The default position should be to try... to keep the children in school or to get them back to school. ... If you look at the data, the spread among children and from children is not really very big at all."

Also from your source, Dr. Fauci again:

"If you mitigate the things that you know are causing spread in a very, very profound way, in a robust way, if you bring that down, you will then indirectly and ultimately protect the children in the school because the community level is determined how things go across the board," he said.

Source

So, he is NOT saying "Open schools now." He is saying "Control community spread so schools CAN open."

But of course I'm not surprised that you spun it a bit differently.

Tom

[peb]

Also from your source, Dr. Fauci again:



Source

So, he is NOT saying "Open schools now." He is saying "Control community spread so schools CAN open."

But of course I'm not surprised that you spun it a bit differently.

Tom

Why must you continually pick a fight with me? I literally posted no comment at all, no spin, nothing. I simply posted his quote.

[P.I. Stazzer-Newt]

A partial an incomplete quote, taken from its context.

[ERGR]

Regard education as essential community services that must be kept going, like the police or health care centers. It's up to us adults to figure out a way to do that safely. Some education for some older children can be done via internet, but younger children need schools and all older children cannot handle internet education well. Closing schools isn't to solve the task of keeping them open.
/Erik

[George.]

"You better get good grades, boy! Your grandma died so you could go to school!"

[peb]

Regard education as essential community services that must be kept going, like the police or health care centers. It's up to us adults to figure out a way to do that safely. Some education for some older children can be done via internet, but younger children need schools and all older children cannot handle internet education well. Closing schools isn't to solve the task of keeping them open.
/Erik

Agreed, and I might ask again: where is the uproar from school ainistrators and teachers unions regarding teachers being some of the first to get a vaccine?

[peb]

A partial an incomplete quote, taken from its context.

It was a 19 minute interview, and that was his statement about schools.

[P.I. Stazzer-Newt]

And all of the rest was completely irrelevant?

Ripping a selective quote from its context has long been a dishonest practice.

[LeeG]

This is like family.

[peb]

And all of the rest was completely irrelevant?

Ripping a selective quote from its context has long been a dishonest practice.

Give me a break, journalist take one sentence and quote it all of the time. There is nothing dishonest about that. I will add that Fauci stated it was the "default position", which means that is a starting point pending more information. And I kept that key phrase in the quote. There is nothing dishonest about a selective quote unless out of context it did not represent what the man was saying. I listened to the interview, it represented his point on schools just fine.

And much of the interview was relevant, I would suggest watching it to all.

[Hugh Conway]

this is just performative victimhood at this point. Post a dishonest quote, whine when called on it.

[Garret]

Had to post this. Not directed at anyone here!

Gotcha.jpg

[George Jung]

So.... IOW.... you got nothing!

[peb]

this is just performative victimhood at this point. Post a dishonest quote, whine when called on it.

BS. Did you listen to his interview? I did. A quote can be taken out of context, if it is selected in such a way as to misrepresent the person's point. I did not do that. I posted the quote which best illustrated his point with regards to schools. Here is the complete quote:

Well, you know, Martha, that's a good question. We get asked it all the time. You know, we say it not being facetiously as a sound bite or anything, but, you know, close the bars and keep the schools open is what we really say.

Obviously, you don't have one size fits all. But as I said in the past and as you accurately quoted me, the default position should be to try as best as possible within reason to keep the children in school, or to get them back to school.

The best way to ensure the safety of the children in school is to get the community level of spread low. So, if you mitigate the things that you know are causing spread in a very, very profound way, in a robust way, if you bring that down, you will then indirectly and ultimately protect the children in the school because the community level is determined how things go across the board.

So, my feeling would be the same thing. If you look at the data, the spread among children and from children is not really very big at all, not like one would have suspected. So, let's try to get the kids back, but let's try to mitigate the things that maintain and just push the kind of community spread that we're trying to avoid.

And those are the things that you know well -- the bars, the restaurants where you have capacity seating indoors without masks, those are the things that drive the community spread, not the schools.

Yes, I could have posted the same thing about community spread that Tom did. But that would be more incomplete because he completed the statement by saying that schools do NOT cause community spread. Which Tom happened to leave out, so why are you guys not on his case?