Corona Virus

[Bearu]

This was aired last week, but is still a thing...  Here's one for you Bearu...
opps, forgot the link...

The Corona virus displays the blatant inequality of healthcare access and other inequalities of society. I enjoyed the fact the narrator understood the ostentatious displays of wealth from the elites in the Corona virus outbreak remains an outrageous problem. Extremely rich people have owned private islands and land for centuries. Belgian King Leopold II's ownership of the Congo in the late 1880s illustrated a prominent example of private ownership of a nation under a private entity. These inequalities exist from the cruel system of inequality and exploitation under capitalism and people observe the inequalities in stark frequency under pandemic outbreaks and other natural disasters.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congo_Free_State

[Unorthodox]

Got a call from HR.  I was likely exposed on Thursday, though they won't give me a name so I can actually judge whether it's someone I was in close contact with or just someone on the same floor.  If it's just someone I might have touched the same doorknob as, I'm really not at all concerned.   However, I'm practically the only one in the office taking it seriously and actually wearing their mask.  (office, defined as the floor where my actual desk is, about 100 people during normal business...about 15 during Covid, the 800 employee workforce has various levels of serious depending on area)

Thursday was my only day in office last week, and my time in the actual area in question was fairly limited. 

They got back to me today and said that after interviewing the person, I no longer need to be under quarantine.  So, essentially they called everyone on the floor about the positive, then talked to the guy to determine whom he actually come in contact with. 

This actually demonstrates a shift in the company policy as the first presumed positive case earlier this year they just locked everyone on the floor down until the guy's tests come back negative.  (3 tests all negative 24 hours apart no less) 

We had a second confirmed case at another facility, and they shut the entire facility for a week, put everyone that had been in office on 2 weeks quarantine. 

Here it's a smaller space and they're letting everyone except a select number he names as close contact go about their business. 

Like I said, I was not at all worried about sharing a doorknob with my normal handwashing to begin with, I haven't been using the break rpoom at all since this started, wear my mask whenever I leave my space, and pack all my own water in, so other than 3 people who think masks are stupid still like to chat and hang out, I really wasn't worried.   I'd already eliminated those three people by the time they called today.

[E_T]

Great news all around

[Rusty Edge]

I decided to look at the stats after hearing debate about national strategies.

Sweden, who is basically taking the "let's get it over with approach," has 423 deaths/million population.

Densely populated Japan, who has high compliance mask wearing, has 7 deaths/million.

New Zealand, who took a strict lockdown approach, has 4 deaths/million.

For comparison, 1)Belgium 810, 2) Andorra 660, 3) Spain 580, 4) UK 558, 5) Italy 548, 6) France 448, 7)Sweden 423,
Netherlands 345, 9) Ireland 331, 10) USA 310

In retrospect, I wish we'd taken the Japanese approach, but I realize we are as contrary as the Italians and doomed to a similar fate.

[Geo]

For comparison, 1)Belgium 810, 2) Andorra 660, 3) Spain 580, 4) UK 558, 5) Italy 548, 6) France 448, 7)Sweden 423,
Netherlands 345, 9) Ireland 331, 10) USA 310

As I pointed out before, Belgium is about the only country which includes 'suspected' deaths as well in its official tally.
IIRC, roughty 3 quarters of the reported deaths were confirmed through a positive Covid-19 test. The rest were added because those people deceased in a place were the virus was on the lose and, I suppose, showed symptoms.

According to this article of the Financial Times, we're a couple places lower on the scale.
The article tried to compare excess deaths compared to expected deaths over a given timeframe.

[Rusty Edge]

Again, my hat is off to Belgium.

Those of us living in countries led by strong men - China, Russia, North Korea, Iran, Turkey, UK, USA... don't have the benefit of transparency and accuracy.

It is estimated that while we have recently officially surpassed the 100K dead landmark, it is very likely undercounted by 30,000 or so in simple excess deaths. Then again, the lockdown so diminished traffic deaths that most of the insurance companies are issuing rebate checks.   I'm also pretty sure that workplace related deaths and school shootings are way down, too.  We'll have to wait for the actuaries to sort it out, but in the meantime Chito Mussolini wants to focus on the positive and complain about the dead people who couldn't get tested being tallied.

[E_T]

I decided to look at the stats after hearing debate about national strategies.

Sweden, who is basically taking the "let's get it over with approach," has 423 deaths/million population.

Densely populated Japan, who has high compliance mask wearing, has 7 deaths/million.

New Zealand, who took a strict lockdown approach, has 4 deaths/million.

For comparison, 1)Belgium 810, 2) Andorra 660, 3) Spain 580, 4) UK 558, 5) Italy 548, 6) France 448, 7)Sweden 423,
  Netherlands 345, 9) Ireland 331, 10) USA 310

In retrospect, I wish we'd taken the Japanese approach, but I realize we are as contrary as the Italians and doomed to a similar fate.

Thing is, we STILL need to be taking the same approach as Japan, when it comes to Masks, moving forward.  So that, not only will it help when it comes to future spikes but helping with keeping down the spread.  THIS way, we can reopen larger Events, sooner.
Yesterday, I spoke to my Brother.  He is at work and as a Rabid Republican, he scoffs at the mere mention of using masks and thinks that this has all be a complete waste of time. He did not know about the Presentation of the virus with "Pink Eye" nor about "Covid Toes" or anything else, but you better not tell me to wear a mask....  I just hope that his two Grand kids don't come down with this, because of the things that have been popping up with some children, after they have gotten over it...

[Rusty Edge]

Another article which frames Covid-19 as a blood infection , rather than as a viral pneumonia.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2020/04/22/coronavirus-blood-clots/?cv-campaign=4fda08e2fbca0387b958bb44bf5cc2b6&utm_campaign=wp_to_your_health&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&wpisrc=nl_tyh

They find that asthmatic patients aren't as vulnerable as expected, but patients with hypertension and cardiovascular diseases are suddenly dying. The mechanism is unknown, but it disrupts clotting factors, but in the opposite way as Ebola. So people will suddenly die from blood clots, or gradually die from an accumulation of small blood clots in the lungs.  It also appears as complications in childbirth.

The first article I read along these lines some weeks ago suggested that the virus was stealing Iron ions from red blood cells, and that the resulting low blood O2 caused breathing problems, but it was more helpful for the ER doctors to think of it as CO poisoning or altitude sickness, rather than viral pneumonia.

Here's an article which frames it as a vascular disease, and says that statins are protective. Well, at least I've got unused bottles of those lying around.
https://elemental.medium.com/coronavirus-may-be-a-blood-vessel-disease-which-explains-everything-2c4032481ab2

[In a paper published in April in the scientific journal The Lancet, Mehra and a team of scientists discovered that the SARS-CoV-2 virus can infect the endothelial cells that line the inside of blood vessels. Endothelial cells protect the cardiovascular system, and they release proteins that influence everything from blood clotting to the immune response. In the paper, the scientists showed damage to endothelial cells in the lungs, heart, kidneys, liver, and intestines in people with Covid-19.
“The concept that’s emerging is that this is not a respiratory illness alone, this is a respiratory illness to start with, but it is actually a vascular illness that kills people through its involvement of the vasculature,” says Mehra.]

[E_T]

which is not good.  I wonder how deep it got into the people whom were Asymptomatic?

[Geo]

which is not good.  I wonder how deep it got into the people whom were Asymptomatic?

I suppose asymptomatic people can only hope no visible symptoms means almost no viral effects.

[Rusty Edge]

Good question, E_T

Some people claim to not get sick. Some people never miss a day of school their whole life. I used to think that it was because they'd somehow mastered the whole "don't touch your face " thing.  I doubt that would be enough.

 Plant breeders select for disease resistance OR disease tolerance. I wonder if it isn't a tolerance approach in these people. A strong immune response would feel like allergies, so you probably wouldn't  consider yourself asymptomatic if you were sneezing, for example. Maybe the tolerant people simply replace damaged calls and heal more rapidly, rather than put the energy into fevers, white blood cells, inflammation, and other immune responses?

[E_T]

or have the blood infections more then the pulmonary ones?

[Unorthodox]

Positive cases still rising, and they're going to open the local amusement park.  What could go wrong? 

http://www.lagoonpark.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Guest-Expectations-for-Opening-5.22.pdf

Case counts have accelerated since the state lowered restrictions, but Utah is having a really low hospitilization rate, so they're removing even more restrictions, basically completely open but 'encouraging social distancing' with no actual restrictions beginning this weekend, because even though it will see an uptick our hospitals are in a position to absorb it and the economy needs to get moving again. 

[E_T]

Well, lots of new cases increases in US.  I had seen one set of graphs that shows the US in a plateau while most others are on proper decline.  NOT a way to get rid of this thing.  Pretty soon, everyone else will isolate us!!

[E_T]

Orange County Mayor is now requiring ANYONE (unless they are exercising) to wear masks in public!  Starting on Saturday.