Wow, it’s getting really scary in Texas - and everywhere else!

[2soon2tell]

What is really scary is that people like Karen vote and also procreate.

I've always believed that disasters can bring out the very best qualities in people or the very worst. We are witnessing that now.

 

[Dtail]

Maybe you could suggest to them, every time they are outside, to close their eyes, face the sun and open their mouth for 10 minutes to let the sunshine clean them.

It would be really funny to see the odd person standing on a sidewalk, mouth agape at the sun

If it was suggested from high up, they would do that.
So that's why I can't seem to find Lysol.........

 

[Mark1]

I hang out on a conservative forum where most of the posters absolutely INSISTED that it would all but "go away" in the Summer months because "sunlight kills the virus".

They still to this day insist that's true, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary (obviously Texas, California, Arizona, ...)

Enclosed is a link to a short 4 min video on UV light killing COVID19, if interested.
https://physicsworld.com/a/reality-check-covid-19-and-uv-disinfection/
It sounds like the Ozone layer prevents much of the UVC light from reaching us.

 

[Brat]

I live in the only residential co-op in Oregon, about 70% of our residents are over 65. We have put in place very strict rules regarding who can come into our building, we require all to wear masks when out of their apartment and we enforce physical distancing. Out of approx 90 building residents none, to our knowledge, have contracted the virus. A couple of residents visit family members so this record may not last.

All the grocery stores require masks, almost all folks walking on the street where physical distancing isn't reliable wear a mask.

Multnomah County just opened at phase 1.

[mod edit]

 

[audreyh1]

I hang out on a .. forum where most of the posters absolutely INSISTED that it would all but "go away" in the Summer months because "sunlight kills the virus".

They still to this day insist that's true, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary (obviously Texas, California, Arizona, ...)

What this pandemic has taught me is that many people will insist that X is the absolute truth when the opposite of X is unfolding right before their eyes. But instead of realizing or admitting that they are wrong, they insist that X is true even harder.

 

[audreyh1]

A lot of people feel that the fears of a second wave are over-hyped. I kind of wonder about that too, but I am not betting my life on it! No way. Right now, engaging in risky behavior and not wearing a mask is doing exactly that so I modify my behavior accordingly.

And why even argue about a second wave when we haven’t even gotten ourselves out of a first wave yet?

 

[MichaelB]

<mod hat on>
Partisan politics is creeping into the discussion. I know for certain that COVID is has no political preference and will infect equally people of all views, even those that don’t believe in COVID. So, let’s please stay focused on the virus and forget the political distractions.
<mod hat off>

 

[gattara]

What this pandemic has taught me is that many people will insist that X is the absolute truth when the opposite of X is unfolding right before their eyes. But instead of realizing or admitting that they are wrong, they insist that X is true even harder.

Yes, this. Would love to understand the psychology of it because I don’t get it.

Well ... once, my mother-in-law sent DH an email to which he replied with, “look at this Snopes. What you said is not true.” Her response: “Well, if it’s not true, it should be!” I guess this gives me an idea of what drives her and others ... the need to be right, at least in her own mind.

 

[Montecfo]

I was reading some analysis of the new cases in Florida and they skew young. I think the same is true in Texas. Hospitalization and death rates are far lower for those under 50.

So this surge may in fact be different than how the initial wave of cases in WA, NY, NJ rolled out.

 

[Dtail]

I was reading some analysis of the new cases in Florida and they skew young. I think the same is true in Texas. Hospitalization and death rates are far lower for those under 50.

So this surge may in fact be different than how the initial wave of cases in WA, NY, NJ rolled out.

The cases in FLA are now 3x-4x more than they were. I haven't calculated it yet, but are the hospitalization rates of the younger crowd so much lower to make up for the much larger volume.
Supposedly in Houston, the hospitals are filling up close to capacity.

 

[audreyh1]

I was reading some analysis of the new cases in Florida and they skew young. I think the same is true in Texas. Hospitalization and death rates are far lower for those under 50.

So this surge may in fact be different than how the initial wave of cases in WA, NY, NJ rolled out.

Yes, this is quite different. Seems to be fueled by young people socializing with no protections. The fact that hospitalizations of younger people are going up may indicate that infections are far more widespread among that age cohort. But young people can easily infect other age groups too.

 

[Montecfo]

The cases in FLA are now 3x-4x more than they were. I haven't calculated it yet, but are the hospitalization rates of the younger crowd so much lower to make up for the much larger volume.
Supposedly in Houston, the hospitals are filling up close to capacity.

Lots of data here:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1276504439776559104

 

[Freedom56]

No medical expert on the planet can tell you the long term impact of a coronavirus in a human body and how it will impact the body of those who recovered. Many of the public health officials are not doctors but sociologists. I speak to my brother regularly who is a radiologist and nuclear medicine specialist. At his hospital and many others that send him cases, they are performing CT scans of patients that are admitted and those who are sent home due to mild symptoms. He said that CT scans provide faster results than PCR tests and have often proven to be more accurate. They are seeing scarring in lungs of many young patients who are mildly symptomatic or asymptomatic. Even those who recover from intubation and test negative have scaring in their lungs, heart, kidneys, and in rare cases the brain. His message to me was that we won't know the full impact of this virus for many years to come and the best course of action is don't put yourself at risk of contracting the virus by placing yourself in closed crowded spaces. He said this notion of herd immunity may prove to be ineffective at best and dangerous at worst.

 

[mpeirce]

So many sanctimonious folks in this forum lately, sigh.

Take a deep breath and back away from your keyboard...

 

[Montecfo]

Yes, this is quite different. Seems to be fueled by young people socializing with no protections. The fact that hospitalizations of younger people are going up may indicate that infections are far more widespread among that age cohort. But young people can easily infect other age groups too.

Agreed. It is a good fact, but it only takes you so far. It seems the older folks have to remain extremely vigilant about their health.

 

[Katsmeow]

So in my Texas news...

My stepdaughter (who lives in Texas also) was just diagnosed with Covid. This is highly probable that this is related to her volunteer fire department activities. So far her main symptoms have been a loss of smell and mild cough. Hope that continues but she is not far into this.

Where we live the County did a mask order. For non-Texas people, the governor does not allow direct mask requirements on people. However, local governments can require businesses to require worker and customers to wear masks or the business is fined. At first the county was not going to do it, but as things kept getting worst, the county relented.

However, my little city within the county is very hostile to orders of this type and and has said it will not enforce the order on businesses. That said, I think most businesses I know of here are going to comply with the order nonetheless. We don't actually go into many businesses (use pickup or delivery when possible). But, when we do we will probably go to one of the neighboring cities for our shopping unless sure where we are going in complying (we are surrounded by several other small municipalities).

In reality, the County Attorney has been doubtful about enforcing the order on businesses. The reason my city gives for not enforcing is because the County Attorney isn't enthused about prosecuting any businesses so they think it is a waste of time. That said -- this area is a hotbed of people who feel that mask orders or any restrictions at all are tyranny. That isn't the majority, but is a big group.

I am concerned that this is still too little too late. Still, I was glad to have this order.

 

[harllee]

My county in NC has had a mask requirement for a couple of weeks (and as of yesterday the NC Governor made masks mandatory all over the state). Businesses are required to enforce the mask order or they will be issued a citation (not sure exactly what the fine will be). Most grocery stores in my town seem to be trying to enforce the mask requirement except for one Harris Teeter--the manager says he has been told by corporate that he cannot enforce the mask order. However, the 3 other Harris Teeters in town are enforcing the mask order. So local folks have started a boycott of the Harris Teeter that refuses to require masks and the boycott is trending on Facebook and Twitter. It will be interesting to see the results of the boycott.

 

[Rianne]

This epidemic was sudden, took us by storm. Logical thinking is out the window, just think about what we do/mandate for our safety to name a few:
Seatbelts, car seats for children, no smoking in public places, car emissions, protections for clean water, car manufacturers having to add new safety features with every new car, driving!!! Stop lights, stop signs, yield signs, speed limits, left/right turn rules, pedestrian walkways, dog leashes, shoveling snow, salt for ice on roads, semi truck rules of the road, burning leaves in your yard within city limits, appliance regulations, label warnings on packages, removal of lead from paint, regulations on pesticides used on food...when do citizens go screaming at city council meetings regarding their freedom over these safety regulations??

 

[youbet]

young people socializing with no protections..........

Back in the day...... many decades ago....... when I was a young person, "socializing with no protection" had a different meaning.

 

[harllee]

This epidemic was sudden, took us by storm. Logical thinking is out the window, just think about what we do/mandate for our safety to name a few:
Seatbelts, car seats for children, no smoking in public places, car emissions, protections for clean water, car manufacturers having to add new safety features with every new car, driving!!! Stop lights, stop signs, yield signs, speed limits, left/right turn rules, pedestrian walkways, dog leashes, shoveling snow, salt for ice on roads, semi truck rules of the road, burning leaves in your yard within city limits, appliance regulations, label warnings on packages, removal of lead from paint, regulations on pesticides used on food...when do citizens go screaming at city council meetings regarding their freedom over these safety regulations??

Where I live there were protests, fights, rebellions, etc about some of these safety regulations. I remember major issues when smoking in public places was abolished and still to this day some people still try to smoke in public places. Also seatbelts--when the seatbelt requirements first came about many people refused to wear seatbelts until the state started imposing fines of several hundred dollars. I specifically remember that the seatbelt issue was political for a while. Another major issue is the requirement that motorcycle riders wear helmets. NC requires helmets, SC does not and it is a political issue about personal freedoms.

 

[neihn]

I hang out on a conservative forum where most of the posters absolutely INSISTED that it would all but "go away" in the Summer months because "sunlight kills the virus".

They still to this day insist that's true, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary (obviously Texas, California, Arizona, ...)

Wow, you must have a lot of time

 

[travelover]

This epidemic was sudden, took us by storm. Logical thinking is out the window, just think about what we do/mandate for our safety to name a few:
Seatbelts, car seats for children, no smoking in public places, car emissions, protections for clean water, car manufacturers having to add new safety features with every new car, driving!!! Stop lights, stop signs, yield signs, speed limits, left/right turn rules, pedestrian walkways, dog leashes, shoveling snow, salt for ice on roads, semi truck rules of the road, burning leaves in your yard within city limits, appliance regulations, label warnings on packages, removal of lead from paint, regulations on pesticides used on food...when do citizens go screaming at city council meetings regarding their freedom over these safety regulations??

Well yeah, but look at what a hellish existence we live as a result. The horror.

 

[Brat]

2 PM on Saturday, the bells at a neighboring church are ringing... wedding or funeral?

 

[audreyh1]

Do they ring bells at funerals? Must be a wedding.

 

[REWahoo]

So in my Texas news...

In my Texas news we just got home from a day trip that involved driving down the main street of a nearby tourist town and observing how many of the couple of hundred folks we saw on the sidewalk, going in and out of businesses and restaurants, were wearing masks - darned few. My estimate is 10% to 15%, and most of those weren't young. I didn't search to see if the county had a "businesses must require patrons/customers to wear face coverings" order in effect but it didn't appear to be the case.

And there was absolutely no sign of anything resembling social distancing.

Only yesterday there was major news coverage about the huge surge in new cases in the area and the need to avoid the things that spread infection. Makes it tough to be optimistic we will get out of this anytime soon without appalling loss of life and severe damage to the long-term health of many thousands who survive severe illness.

I need a drink...