Coronavirus (NO POLITICAL OR SOCIAL COMMENTARY PLEASE)

[Member-222782]

I do everything I can to safeguard myself while I'm out in the wild going to and from work but it's not always easy. A 7-11 coffee run this morning was a true test of wills. First, the homeless just LOVE 7-11. There were two very shady dudes in there, one had what looked like a streak of blood on his face. I prayed that the latte machine making my coffee would hurry up so I could get outta there but there was only one clerk and the line was kinda long so there was no way around it. And shopping choices are few and far between around here. The masks and gloves provide some peace of mind so at least there's that.

Speaking of masks, it finally hit me that they're actually not for our own protection - they're recommended mainly so we don't infect others since we're all supposed to be carriers. I'll still do my part and wear a mask but my confidence in their effectiveness for personal protection is at an all-time low.

[MifuneFan]

Originally Posted by Cinema84

Speaking of masks, it finally hit me that they're actually not for our own protection - they're recommended mainly so we don't infect others since we're all supposed to be carriers. I'll still do my part and wear a mask but my confidence in their effectiveness for personal protection is at an all-time low.

It can offer protection too. An area with poor ventilation for instance can have virus particles suspended in the air for a while, and you can simply breathe it in, so a mask definitely reduces that risk. Simply breathing and talking can put out these microdroplets too.

Skip to around 4:00 here (the whole vid is worth watching though)

Covid-19 Coronavirus Evidence of 3rd infection route via airborne microdroplets emission - YouTube

[Beefbowl]

Originally Posted by Cinema84

I do everything I can to safeguard myself while I'm out in the wild going to and from work but it's not always easy. A 7-11 coffee run this morning was a true test of wills. First, the homeless just LOVE 7-11. There were two very shady dudes in there, one had what looked like a streak of blood on his face. I prayed that the latte machine making my coffee would hurry up so I could get outta there but there was only one clerk and the line was kinda long so there was no way around it. And shopping choices are few and far between around here. The masks and gloves provide some peace of mind so at least there's that.

Speaking of masks, it finally hit me that they're actually not for our own protection - they're recommended mainly so we don't infect others since we're all supposed to be carriers. I'll still do my part and wear a mask but my confidence in their effectiveness for personal protection is at an all-time low.

Most important part about wearing a mask is not touching your face 50 times trying to adjust your mask.

[Lee A Stewart]

Originally Posted by Cinema84

I do everything I can to safeguard myself while I'm out in the wild going to and from work but it's not always easy. A 7-11 coffee run this morning was a true test of wills. First, the homeless just LOVE 7-11. There were two very shady dudes in there, one had what looked like a streak of blood on his face. I prayed that the latte machine making my coffee would hurry up so I could get outta there but there was only one clerk and the line was kinda long so there was no way around it. And shopping choices are few and far between around here. The masks and gloves provide some peace of mind so at least there's that.

Speaking of masks, it finally hit me that they're actually not for our own protection - they're recommended mainly so we don't infect others since we're all supposed to be carriers. I'll still do my part and wear a mask but my confidence in their effectiveness for personal protection is at an all-time low.

Try making your own coffee. Avoid the 7-11 altogether.

[Lee A Stewart]

Health experts call for Roosevelt-style programs to kill virus, revive economy

A first-of-its-kind program that will deploy almost a thousand people across Massachusetts may be a small-scale test of what public health experts hope could eventually stamp out the coronavirus even before a vaccine becomes widely available.

Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker (R) said Friday that his state would join with Partners In Health, a Boston-based global health nonprofit, to turn staffers into contact tracers, the backbone of any robust public health effort to squelch a deadly disease.

Those contact tracers will interview people who have come down with the coronavirus to determine who around them might also have been exposed. Those who may have been exposed will be warned to watch for symptoms themselves, giving public health officials a window into how the coronavirus is spreading and who might next be at risk.

"Massachusetts is the only state in the nation implementing this type of programming, and this collaborative tracing initiative will break new ground as we work together to slow the spread of COVID-19," Baker said in a statement Friday.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/polit...cid=spartandhp

[Member-222782]

Originally Posted by Lee A Stewart

Try making your own coffee. Avoid the 7-11 altogether.

Sure. I'll run back home and make myself a cup

[Member-222782]

I'm dumbfounded every time I see someone on a train or in public without any sort of protection, especially people in scrubs. Do they know something we don't?

[Batman1980]

I don't wear masks (yet) but unlike most I try to maintain minimally 6 feet distance from other people. I also (these days) rarely interact with anyone outside of my immediate family and my former brother-in-law.

[Joeker]

Everytime I see the White House briefings I walk away with a feeling that we’re all doomed. I think I will stick to just reading the news for a few days and not watch the briefings.

[Lee A Stewart]

Wells Fargo stops taking small-business relief loan applications

Wells Fargo is bowing out of a new federal program aimed at helping small businesses retain workers and pay bills during the coronavirus pandemic. The bank announced late Sunday that it would no longer accept new loan applications under the government's Paycheck Protection Program, which launched last week as part of Washington's $2.2 trillion economic relief package.

Wells also said it planned to lend a maximum of $10 billion through the program and that it has already received more than enough applications to reach that threshold. Any requests for loans submitted after April 5 will not be considered, according to the bank.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/comp...cid=spartandhp

[Lacit170]

Originally Posted by sfmarine

Did a Sam’s Club run today wearing a bandana. They were out of wipes for the carts. They had plenty of meat so I picked up some lamb. Still no TP or paper towels (won’t even mention hand sanitizer) but they had tissues so I grabbed a case.

It seemed like most of the shoppers had masks on or bandanas which means many are heeding the advice of the government. Unlike Walmart, Sam’s has yet to implement a customer in-store limit. I think it’s a great idea to keep the aisles cleared and to maintain the 6ft rule. It’s definitely a different world out there but I get what I need and get the heck home.

Stay safe, everyone.

My dog dog enjoyed the long ride and most of the parks are closed but I found a nice trail to take her on.

hate to burst bubbles, but just wearing a bandana does virtually nothing. surgical masks also will not prevent you from getting it, only prevent it from spreading it further if the wearer has covid-19.

N95 are the only masks to stop you from getting it but even then, most wont wear it correctly and they are very hard to find anyway.

[Lee A Stewart]

Allstate to return $600 million in auto premiums as pandemic cuts driving

U.S. insurer Allstate Corp said on Monday that it would return more than $600 million in auto insurance premiums to customers as many Americans stay home and drive less due to "shelter-in-place" orders to curb the coronavirus outbreak.

Most customers will receive a "payback" of 15% of their monthly premium in April and May, the company said.

The payback, which will apply to 18 million policies issued by Allstate and its Esurance and Encompass units, follows a data analysis by the insurer that showed mileage is down between 35% and 50% in most states, Allstate Chief Executive Officer Tom Wilson said during a call with reporters on Monday.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/comp...cid=spartandhp

[Boccaccio]

Originally Posted by Pondosinatra

The one lady's cat died...

That's not true. The cat recovered and is doing just fine now.

[Lee A Stewart]

Coronavirus death toll: Americans are almost certainly dying of covid-19 but being left out of the official count

The fast-spreading novel coronavirus is almost certainly killing Americans who are not included in the nation’s growing death toll, according to public health experts and government officials involved in the tally.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention counts only deaths in which the presence of the coronavirus is confirmed in a laboratory test. “We know that it is an underestimation,” agency spokeswoman Kristen Nordlund said.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/co...cid=spartandhp

[MifuneFan]

I know for sure California is under-reporting.

[Himmel]

Mark Levine

Soon we'll start “temporary interment”. This likely will be done by using a NYC park for burials (yes you read that right). Trenches will be dug for 10 caskets in a line. It will be done in a dignified, orderly--and temporary--manner. But it will be tough for NYers to take.

The goal is to avoid scenes like those in Italy, where the military was forced to collect bodies from churches and even off the streets. OCME is going to need much more staff to achieve that goal.

Thankfully the Dept. of Defense and the NY National Guard have already sent teams, and volunteer medical examiners have come from around the country. But we are going to need much more help if we're going to avoid disaster.

As New York City continues to appeal to the nation for help, we need to ask not just for doctors and nurses and respiratory therapists. We also need mortuary affairs staff. This is tough to talk about and maybe tough to ask for. But we have no choice. The stakes are too high.

To recap: Nothing matters more in this crisis than saving the living. But we need to face the gruesome reality that we need more resources to manage our dead as well. Or the pain of this crisis will be compounded almost beyond comprehension.

.

[neoz]

Originally Posted by Himmel

Mark Levine

.

Back in the day they would just do a mass burn. They did it to a bunch of veterans after the 1935 Labor Day hurricane.

[Lee A Stewart]

Jeez, we just zoomed past 10,000 deaths! Last time I looked (2 hours ago) it was 9600+

[intoanewlife]

Originally Posted by Himmel

Mark Levine

.

Utterly horrific

[Lee A Stewart]

A potential coronavirus vaccine funded by Bill Gates is set to begin testing in people, with the first patient expected to get it today

Healthy volunteers in Philadelphia and Kansas City, Missouri, will begin to test an experimental coronavirus vaccine starting this week.

The small Pennsylvania-based biotech Inovio Pharmaceuticals received regulatory clearance to begin testing. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, along with other nonprofits, have poured funding into Inovio's vaccine project.

The biotech expects to have early safety data by late summer and is aiming to produce 1 million doses by the end of 2020.

A small Pennsylvania biotech company is planning to start injecting healthy volunteers with a potential coronavirus vaccine, after receiving regulatory clearance to start clinical testing.

Researchers plan to dose the first person Monday. The experimental vaccine was developed by Inovio Pharmaceuticals, with the effort receiving funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/hea...cid=spartandhp