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Posted

Continued from here:

 

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Posted

The continued Cruise Ship issue.

https://www.cnn.com/world/live-news/coronavirus-pandemic-04-06-20/h_4b8172d50572112f849e7690cec55365

Quote

The USCG announced this weekend that 114 cruise ships with 93,000 crew members on board were off the coast of the United States. The overwhelming majority of them – up to 90 – are in the Miami USCG area of responsibility, per USCG.  

note that it says CREW members - that doesn't include potential passengers.  

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Posted

Gorka is like a bad penny, he keeps turning up. I love G-con's response:

 

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Posted

Pastor goes to Madrid Gras to preach, dies a month later

 

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Posted (edited)

Map of hardest hit counties

oops wrong link.  

Let's try this one:

 

Edited by clueliss
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Posted

This app was developed by a former classmate of mine and one of the main developers of Pinterest. I'm not sure if it's gone international yet, but it would be helpful for those in the US to use it to track symptoms. I've been isolated for 3 weeks, but logged anyway to hopefully show that quarantine is working. Here's what the Facebook post from the developer says:

"I've been working on an app to help stop the spread of COVID-19 called HowWeFeel. You can get it here: https://www.howwefeel.org/

The app lets anyone in the U.S. self-report COVID-19 symptoms. Aggregate data is securely shared with researchers, scientists and public health professionals. The data can help predict new outbreaks, identify at-risk populations, and better understand the efficacy of public health measures. Self-reported data is especially valuable right now because of the lack of widespread testing.

We partnered with scientists and doctors from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, The Howard Hughes Medical Institute, MIT’s McGovern Institute, and more. 

For every new person who downloads the app and shares how they feel, I will donate 1 meal to those in need through Feeding America—up to 10M meals.

It was fun to work with my high school friend and a hard-working group of volunteers from Pinterest.

This project  only works if lots of people use the app. Please use it and help spread the word. Thanks!"

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Posted

Stupid god then. 

 

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Posted

I just came back from taking a walk.  Mask, cloth over the mask, tissues to touch things outside with, hand sanitizer, bin with soap/bleach/water waiting for my clothes afterwards, a shower, put the mask in the oven at 170 F for 6 minutes to sanitize for reuse, used a cleaning wipe over surfaces that I or anything I had on touched inside, cleaned my glasses, wiped my phone, now back online.  I'm tired and I don't think much of it is from the walk.

I noticed, while walking, that more people who were driving had masks on than those who were walking.  The people walking were mostly quite a bit younger than me while the people driving appeared to be closer to my age.  Perhaps the fear level was generally higher in the drivers, motivating them to wear masks, otherwise they might have considered walking instead?  I'm curious whether the difference was more age- or fear-related, or simply coincidence.

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Posted

Just saw an article that tally’s the Kansas City metro virus number (5 counties 2 states plus Jackson county is separate from the city of KCMO)

 

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Posted (edited)

Ok guys, so I've just been for my Covid-19 test.

I was showing the common symptoms around ten days ago (high temp, cough, aches and pains) and rang my doctor but it took until today before I was called for a test - and only then because I work in a prison which is categorised as a high risk environment.

Thankfully after a couple of very unpleasant days early on I started to improve and now all I have left is the tickly cough and a pervasive need to sit in a comfy chair and stare into space.  So I'm drained but absolutely fine, praise to all the Gods in the universe.

Anyway, the test. They stuck a swab down my throat, which made me gag a bit, and before I recovered from that they rammed another swab so far up my nose that I swear they poked my eyeball!! Disgusting doesn't even come close to describing it; I've been home for two hours and I swear I can still feel it! ??

Stay home, for the love of Pete. Wash your hands and any other part of you that's interacted with the outside world and stay away from anyone it isn't absolutely essential for you to be near.

Oh, and the absolute kicker? Because I'm now Day 14 from where I first noticed symptoms, there's every chance my test will come back negative or inconclusive. SO THE NOSE PROBE WAS REALLY ALL FOR NOTHING!!!!!!

If anyone needs me I'll be in my chair, staring into space and eating ice cream. 

Edited by IrishCarrie
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Posted

@IrishCarrie I feel you. I got mine done yesterday because my PCPs office said to call around to commercial testing sites and the one in my town happened to have openings. They said it was drive through testing but it was actually done in a tiny back hallway. They offered me a folding chair to sit on, which I declined, and had a lot of trouble understanding each other through the masks they wore - I had to stand in that germy place for a good 5 minutes while they yelled back and forth about my name. When I said I had a strong gag reflex they handed me gloves and a bucket, as apparently people throw up from the test. (I didn’t, thank goodness, but it was close.)  They did the covid19 test and the flu test. I was negative for flu and suspect I’ll be negative for covid because it has been over a week since I showed symptoms.

 

I really hope I don’t have it and I really hope I do. I feel like with all the false negatives (up to 30%) I’ll never know for sure if the test is negative. So either way, was I being a murderer last week when I went to the grocery store? If I don’t have it, was I wasting a test for a common cold and fibromyalgia symptoms ? If I do, well, yay, I’ll develop antibodies. But if I do, will I get a lot sicker in a week or two like some people do? I feel such enormous guilt and like I took up important time from healthcare people. 
 

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Posted
23 hours ago, clueliss said:

The continued Cruise Ship issue.

https://www.cnn.com/world/live-news/coronavirus-pandemic-04-06-20/h_4b8172d50572112f849e7690cec55365

note that it says CREW members - that doesn't include potential passengers.  

According to this article, there is only 1 cruise ship that still has passengers that is going to dock in the US, plus one that has docked and is in the disembarkation process. The article is a few days old; the Coral Princess docked in Fort Lauderdale over the weekend and passengers have started to get off, although changes in CDC guidance means some passengers are still on board. So that just leaves the Pacific Princess, which only has 115 passengers left on board, none of whom have shown any signs of COVID-19. They are on their way from the South Pacific to LA, expected to arrive in a couple weeks. 

The rest of the ships are pretty much just waiting around with their crew on board. A few ships have had cases of crew getting sick and being medically evacuated, but most of them are just anchored outside of ports, where they can go in every once in a while to pick up food/fuel/supplies. 

 

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Posted

KC(MO I think) public schools have to stop meal delivery due to covid19 positive worker.

 

And a similar story in a St Louis area district - this time a bus driver.

Spoiler

 

 

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Posted
5 hours ago, IrishCarrie said:

Anyway, the test. They stuck a swab down my throat, which made me gag a bit, and before I recovered from that they rammed another swab so far up my nose that I swear they poked my eyeball!! Disgusting doesn't even come close to describing it; I've been home for two hours and I swear I can still feel it! ??

Another kicker is that they've discovered that a regular swab the nostril and only halfway up the nose is just as effective.  They've been torturing and continuing to torture people for nothing!  I hate it when they do things based on assumptions rather than facts.

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Posted

Since we could use some good news about covid19, thuringian scientists where part of an international cooperation to develop a quick test to determine if you are actually infected or if you where and have now gotten immunity for the virus. All needed is a drop of blood and you have to wait 10 minutes. The company Senova from Weimar is now busy producing the tests and shipping them out to doctors and hospitals. It's my neck of the woods where it comes from and I'm so proud of them. This test can make a huge difference in detecting who's infected and is faster and cheaper than the PCR used now. And it can show who had it and is now immune against it. https://www.leibniz-ipht.de/en/institute/presse/news/detail/forscherteam-vom-leibniz-ipht-entwickelt-antikoerpertest-auf-coronavirus-mit.html?utm_source=hootsuite

 

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Posted

For the love of Rufus, why?

A Nurse Bought Protective Supplies for Her Colleagues Using GoFundMe. The Hospital Suspended Her.

Quote

Olga Matievskaya and her fellow intensive care nurses at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center in New Jersey were so desperate for gowns and masks to protect themselves from the coronavirus that they turned to the online fundraising site GoFundMe to raise money.

The donations flowed in — more than $12,000 — and Matievskaya used some of them to buy about 500 masks, 4,000 shoe covers and 150 jumpsuits. She and her colleagues at the hospital celebrated protecting themselves and their patients from the spread of the virus.

But rather than thanking the staff, hospital administrators on Saturday suspended Matievskaya for distributing “unauthorized” protective gear.

Across the country, front-line medical providers and hospital administrators are butting heads about precautions against the coronavirus pandemic. Clinicians are being told to reuse or go without necessary supplies even when treating patients infected with COVID-19. That goes against the way they’ve been trained. Some doctors and nurses now say they are being instructed not to speak to journalists and disciplined for doing so or taking action to protect themselves.

Matievskaya spoke to ProPublica last week about the fundraising campaign. She said she had been able to purchase most of what the nurses needed on eBay. She did not criticize her administrators, and after her suspension she declined to comment. But four other Newark Beth Israel nurses spoke to ProPublica on the condition of anonymity about the dire shortage of gear.

All four said their administration has failed to provide the supplies they need to protect themselves and patients. Two of them work in the intensive care unit, which houses the sickest patients. The other two work in other areas of the hospital. They said Matievskaya showed leadership to keep people safe where their hospital administration has not. “There was no information distributed” about not being allowed to purchase supplies for others on staff, one of the nurses told ProPublica.

The hospital told ProPublica in a statement that Matievskaya’s suspension ended Monday. “No employee is allowed to distribute unauthorized medical supplies within the hospital,” the statement said. “The nurse in question was temporarily suspended for inappropriately distributing unauthorized medical supplies, against this policy.”

The hospital said it ensures clinicians have the supplies they need by following guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for reusing gear. “We are working 24-hours a day, 7-days a week to ensure that the appropriate PPE gets to the right staff, at the right time,” the hospital said in its statement.

It did not answer questions about what would become of the supplies purchased through the campaign or whether other nurses who participated in the fundraising might be subject to discipline.

The confrontation at Newark Beth Israel may foretell what’s coming in other cities. Northern New Jersey, just outside New York City, is one of the nation’s hotspots, with more than 41,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases as of Monday. As of Thursday, the 665-bed hospital had housed 196 COVID-19 patients, according to an internal communication to hospital staff. Hospitals across the country have shortages of protective equipment, according to a report published Monday by the Office of Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Aline Holmes, a clinical associate professor at the Rutgers School of Nursing, said she didn’t know the details of the case but was “very surprised” to hear of Matievskaya’s suspension. Hospital administrators are telling clinicians to reuse supplies, she said, which violates typical infection control standards. Suspending a nurse for obtaining protective equipment “doesn’t make any sense,” Holmes said.

“That just seems counterintuitive and really not a good message to send to your staff,” Holmes said. “The staff have a right to protect themselves. If the hospital can’t provide the necessary supplies, they have a right to do what they need to do. They’re caring for the sickest patients in the hospital right now.”

The situation is changing by the day as Newark Beth Israel acquires and runs through its supplies. But the four nurses told ProPublica that they have often not been given the N95 respirator masks the CDC has recommended to protect themselves from the virus. One of the ICU nurses said for at least one shift she received a regular surgical mask, which in her opinion is “like putting a paper towel over your face.”

Some nurses outside the intensive care unit have been given a single surgical mask in a brown paper bag that they’re expected to use for an entire week, one nurse said. Nurses at other hospitals around the country have made similar statements.

The shortage of gowns has also been a big problem, the nurses said. There should be enough to discard a gown after each interaction with an infected patient. But the shortage of gowns has required staff to leave the same gown hanging by the door of an infected patient’s room and reuse it throughout a shift. In at least one case no gowns were available, one nurse said, so the staffer had to use a combination of a patient gown and bedsheet to treat an infected patient.

Some nurses in the intensive care unit have been caring for COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 patients on the same shift, the nurses said. So if they’re not properly protected, the nurses said, they could pick the infection up on their masks or clothing in one room and carry it to the other. The nurses said they have heard of hospital staff testing positive for COVID-19, but they don’t know where they picked it up and the facility’s administration doesn’t make any total numbers known. “We are spreading it, and we are getting it,” one of the nurses said of the coronavirus.

The nurses said the situation is especially desperate because the hospital performs organ transplant operations, and those patients have compromised immune systems. A ProPublica report about the quality problems in the heart transplant program last year led to action by regulators. The hospital made the corrections required by the federal and state regulators, it said in a statement. The FBI also investigated the hospital as a result of the story, but the agency declined to comment Monday.

The nurses said some of the non-COVID-19 patients are heart and lung transplant recipients.

“We understand this is what we signed up for,” one ICU nurse told ProPublica. “Just provide us with sufficient (protective equipment) so we can give these patients the optimal care that they need, and so we aren’t contaminating others or ourselves.”

In some cases, nurses and administrators have disagreed about what is needed to keep them safe. The intensive care nurses said they have asked for jumpsuits, the overalls that cover their entire outfit. But administrators have told them such equipment isn’t required, they said.

The intensive care nurses said they are directed to call a “command center” when they need more supplies. But when they reach out, “You get yelled at sometimes,” one of the nurses said.

The hospital did not respond when ProPublica asked for an explanation of the various conditions described by the nurses.

But Dr. Matthew Schreiber, the hospital’s chief operating officer, said in a brief phone conversation that the hospital has the personal protective equipment “that the staff require, which is at times not the same as the (protective equipment) that people want to have. There’s lots of items people may bring from somewhere else.”

Francis Giantomasi, an attorney who serves as the chairman of the hospital’s board of trustees, said the problem isn’t a lack of money. Newark Beth Israel had $186 million in net assets, according to its 2017 tax forms. It paid its chief executive officer Darrell Terry more than $1.4 million in salary and compensation, the documents show.

Gowns and masks and other critical gear “are in short supply everywhere and needed by everyone,” Giantomasi said. “That’s a serious, troubling, undeniable reality.”

One of the nurses said that if the hospital can afford to pay its CEO so well, then it should be able to go on eBay itself and purchase supplies for the staff.

In its statement the hospital blamed the problem on the way supplies are distributed. “No one person, institution, or hospital can independently correct this global supply shortage,” it said.

Chris Neuwirth, assistant commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Health, said he feels that New Jersey is as prepared as it could have been. The 9/11 terrorist attacks, Superstorm Sandy and other events gave the emergency infrastructure a head start, he said. Meetings with hospital leaders began in early February. But the scope and magnitude of the coronavirus pandemic is beyond what emergency managers and public health officials could have anticipated, he said. When the crisis subsides, he predicted, there will be a reassessment of the stockpiles and what hospitals and health departments need to do in order to be prepared.

Holmes, the Rutgers professor, said hospital administrators need to step up and lead the providers on the front lines by communicating and building trust. If the staff members don’t trust the administration, they might refuse to risk their lives and the health of their families, she said. They might stay home, she said.

Medical providers will not forget how administrators treated them when the COVID-19 pandemic is over, said Dr. Zubin Damania, a Stanford-trained physician who is now a popular social media personality known as ZDoggMD. Damania has more than 1.6 million Facebook followers and is pushing for clinicians to reform American health care. He said he is getting more than 250 private messages a week from doctors, nurses and other health care providers, lamenting the lack of protective equipment and unclear communication and intimidation they’re getting from their administrators. In Mississippi, two doctors were reportedly fired for speaking out about coronavirus safety. A similar case was reported in Washington state.

“There’s so much distrust, and it’s all borne out of poor coordination of leadership that should know better,” Damania said.

 

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Posted

 

Spoiler

 

R Kelly staying in jail (see above)

 

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Posted

Missouri numbers report for the day.  Jump in deaths to 53 (from 39 - up 14)

And I poked around the state site and found this age breakdown on the deaths.

 

 
 
 
 
Spoiler

image.thumb.png.be58a0fdde06dd4aa81388efba020826.png

 

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Posted (edited)

Youngest woman in our county to die: 87.  Youngest man to die:  25.

This was according to an article in a local paper.

Edited by Coconut Flan
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Posted (edited)

It's my understanding that, for some reason, more men tend to get coronavirus and tend to be sicker. 

My county in central Texas, with an immense state university as well as several other colleges and universities, has a larger number of patients between 20 and 50.  My guess is that if this were broken down further, the larger number of patients would skew towards the 20 end of the scale. 

My city is closing all parks, paths and trails over the coming Easter weekend. 

Edited by Howl
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Posted
4 hours ago, klein_roeschen said:

The company Senova from Weimar is now busy producing the tests and shipping them out to doctors and hospitals. It's my neck of the woods where it comes from and I'm so proud of them.

My grandfather was born in Weimar.  I love people from your neck of the woods.

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Posted

i just had a mini breakdown 

full on cry

 

 

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Posted

I hope you feel a little better @nst. I have a feeling more than a few of us are headed for our own breakdowns soon. Sending internet hugs. 

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Posted
24 minutes ago, Kailash said:

I hope you feel a little better @nst. I have a feeling more than a few of us are headed for our own breakdowns soon. Sending internet hugs. 

thank you. The vicar was pressuring me and she mentioned that she understands that I have elderly parents - hence my not coming in even though she goes in.... (hers live in south africa) 

(she doesn't know that my elderly parents are having the time of their lives on the island) 

but still she is pressuring me and whining...so it got to me. 

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