Stayin' Alive - Covid-19 #10

[LongRider]

10 minutes ago, Tywin et al. said:

It's nice to see you back. The virus has caused many to return. 

That's so nice of you say that!    

Lookee what I found    

Quote

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump’s former personal attorney Michael Cohen testified on Wednesday that Swiss drugmaker Novartis AG initially wanted him to lobby for the company when it retained him with a $1.2 million contract, but that Cohen refused.

“Novartis sent me their contract, which stated specifically that they wanted me to lobby. That they wanted me to provide access to government, including the president, “ Cohen said.

“That paragraph was crossed out by me, initialed, and written in my own handwriting that says I will not lobby or do government relations work,” he told members of the House Oversight Committee.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-russia-novartis/trump-ex-lawyer-cohen-drugmaker-novartis-wanted-him-to-lobby-he-refused-idUSKCN1QG2DU     dated  February 27, 2019 / 9:06 AM / a year ago

 

Always follow the money.

[Zorral]

The Riches are making effwads outta this:

Quote

Stock markets surge even as the U.S. braces for ‘hardest and saddest’ week
Dow jumps more 900 points, or 4 percent, as the United States braces for coronavirus infections to peak

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/04/06/stocks-markets-today-economy-coronavirus/

 

[LynnS]

There isn't a 'lockdown' where I live, except in Senior's homes that have been hit particularly hard and where most of the deaths have occurred.  Otherwise, everyone is following physical distancing rules and I see nobody walking in pairs unless they are family members in the same house.  Usually walking their dogs.  It is so incredibly quiet.  Not much traffic during the day and mostly trucking.  I don't see any kids anywhere.  Grocery stores are disinfecting karts before and after every use, people shopping  keep their distance.  There are very few empty shelves.  Check-out lanes mark off the 6 foot distance and cashiers have check-out guards and gloves.  They disinfect the station after every use.  Shoppers are starting to wear gloves and masks as they become available.  I don't see cars with more than one passenger anymore.  The stores are not packed with shoppers.  Most people are buying for themselves and for others at the same time.  

I have been shopping for an elderly neighbor and for the local food bank.  I try to shop only twice a month now and I stay isolated in between.

[Isis]

8 hours ago, mcbigski said:

Sounds reasonable to me except that if that were the case that hemoglobin is being attacked couldn't they detect the decrease in oxygen capacity via a blood test?  I would think that's a pretty basic part of the testing.

Why not just test Hb levels? It's part of every routine automated FBC. 

[Fez]

Lengthy twitter through from the chair of the NYC council health committee. Two particular tweets stand out:

So that seems bad. And...

Fucking hell.

 

And going back a page, on the virus hoping to big cats, I know many viruses can hop-species. This one already did when it jumped from bats or wherever to us. But I thought most viruses only could jump around a bit, and not have such a diverse range of options. If this one does though, 1) it seems impossible to eradicate since there will always be reservoirs where it's laying in wait, and 2) I remain a bit surprised we haven't been exposed to this virus until now.

[Fragile Bird]

I wonder if those deaths at home are counted as Coronavirus deaths or not. Like in Italy and Spain.

[Kalbear]

We are exposed to coronaviruses all the time. The wuhan province has people who have countless sets of antibodies to various ones.

The difference is that this one in particular is both very virulent and very dangerous. 

Theres a reason that the CDC had a lab specifically in wuhan studying this.

[Zorral]

The park that should be used for the 'temporary' burial ground is Washington Square Park.  That's what it was originally: a potter's field burial ground.  But it's a lot smaller now than then.

 

[BigFatCoward]

Huge drop in daily deaths (in hospital) in UK. Down to 400, trouble is this news just makes idiots think the worst is over and they can go back to hosting BBQs for their closest 50 friends. 

[Fez]

7 minutes ago, Fragile Bird said:

I wonder if those deaths at home are counted as Coronavirus deaths or not. Like in Italy and Spain.

I doubt it, since they haven't been tested. And there's three pots of people here:

1) People who would've died at home anyway during this time (who definitely shouldn't be in the count)

2) People who died of other issues but weren't able/willing to get hospital treatment because of how overwhelmed the hospitals are (debatable if they should be counted)

3) People who died of COVID-19 (should be counted)

Without testing there's no way of knowing how the people should be counted across the 3 pots.

[Fragile Bird]

1 hour ago, Fez said:

I doubt it, since they haven't been tested. And there's three pots of people here:

1) People who would've died at home anyway during this time (who definitely shouldn't be in the count)

2) People who died of other issues but weren't able/willing to get hospital treatment because of how overwhelmed the hospitals are (debatable if they should be counted)

3) People who died of COVID-19 (should be counted)

Without testing there's no way of knowing how the people should be counted across the 3 pots.

When this all ends, three totals should be given, the official Coronavirus deaths, the number of other deaths, and the average number of deaths from the last five years.

[ljkeane]

Died at home's a little bit of an odd statistic. That increase sounds really bad if it's people dying at home due to covid 19 but is a lot of it made up of people who would die of things like heart attacks etc outside of home now dying at home because they're spending almost all their time there? You'd have to see a more specific breakdown to draw any real conclusions.

[Zorral]

More information - clarification has emerged on using an NYC parks as a 'temporary' burial ground.  

The city's morgues have run out of space, though, it seems what they're really running out of is morgue workers.

The City is considering contingency plans such as using a park as a 'temporary' burial ground.

I cannot express how much I loathe and am mortified by spreading false information!

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

Anyone else seeing kids having a lot of fun with chalk message? They're all over Minneapolis and people have had fun sharing them. 

[davos]

The nursing home my mother lives in has had a resident test positive for Covid-19 after becoming symptomatic.  All residents are now quarantined to their rooms and being monitored closely.  This is small comfort as this individual would have been infectious for some time before developing the illness.  Additionally the home has been in lock down for over 3 weeks to visitors, meaning that it almost certainly has to be brought in by an asymptomatic staff member.  

My mother is in the latter stages of Parkinson's, making her at high risk if she develops respiratory infections.  While she is fine now, this is a really precarious situation for her.  While I would have thought restricting residents to their rooms should have been done when the facility went into lock down, I can understand that they were probably as concerned for their mental well being.  What is more frustrating is that staff should have been masked and gloved anytime they were close to the residents. Given the shortages of PPE, this may have not been a viable approach.  Regardless, we are stuck in a wait and worry and hope mode with my mother's well being on the line.

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

2 minutes ago, davos said:

The nursing home my mother lives in has had a resident test positive for Covid-19 after becoming symptomatic.  All residents are now quarantined to their rooms and being monitored closely.  This is small comfort as this individual would have been infectious for some time before developing the illness.  Additionally the home has been in lock down for over 3 weeks to visitors, meaning that it almost certainly has to be brought in by an asymptomatic staff member.  

My mother is in the latter stages of Parkinson's, making her at high risk if she develops respiratory infections.  While she is fine now, this is a really precarious situation for her.  While I would have thought restricting residents to their rooms should have been done when the facility went into lock down, I can understand that they were probably as concerned for their mental well being.  What is more frustrating is that staff should have been masked and gloved anytime they were close to the residents. Given the shortages of PPE, this may have not been a viable approach.  Regardless, we are stuck in a wait and worry and hope mode with my mother's well being on the line.

I'm really sorry to hear that, Davos. You and yours will be in my thoughts during Passover. 

[DireWolfSpirit]

59 minutes ago, davos said:

The nursing home my mother lives in has had a resident test positive for Covid-19 after becoming symptomatic.  All residents are now quarantined to their rooms and being monitored closely.  This is small comfort as this individual would have been infectious for some time before developing the illness.  Additionally the home has been in lock down for over 3 weeks to visitors, meaning that it almost certainly has to be brought in by an asymptomatic staff member. 

My mother is in the latter stages of Parkinson's, making her at high risk if she develops respiratory infections.  While she is fine now, this is a really precarious situation for her.  While I would have thought restricting residents to their rooms should have been done when the facility went into lock down, I can understand that they were probably as concerned for their mental well being.  What is more frustrating is that staff should have been masked and gloved anytime they were close to the residents. Given the shortages of PPE, this may have not been a viable approach.  Regardless, we are stuck in a wait and worry and hope mode with my mother's well being on the line.

The staff should be confined to the facility as well then.

[Rippounet]

Damn, the number of deaths in France has reached almost 9000 (no joke intended). I would have sworn it was around 7,500 yesterday, and there have only been +605 deaths today.
What this means is that lots of people are dying in retirement homes (or at home). It'll take some time to know just how many exactly.

And on a more personal note, my symptoms are back, the virus isn't done with me just yet. Nothing worrying, but this disease is quite tenacious.

[A True Kaniggit]

10 minutes ago, Rippounet said:

Damn, the number of deaths in France has reached almost 9000 (no joke intended).

Yet I laughed anyways.

(Sorry. Gallows Humor. I know there's a thread for that.)

 

[Rippounet]

29 minutes ago, A True Kaniggit said:

Yet I laughed anyway.

It's not the right number though... 

On a more serious note has anyone posted this info on chloroquine and its side effects? 

https://www.newsweek.com/swedish-hospitals-chloroquine-covid-19-side-effects-1496368?fbclid=IwAR3L7E2bYxo119duA3TNNinkz_wHMCv_sgXxnjRM7j6lB8Mc-r8Uhy8ZBb0