Coronavirus 4

[Becky]

At least some people are upfront about their resistance to common-sense precautions, so you know to avoid them. I know several neighbors who are all “oh I am being so careful!” and then they are having dinner parties, having the card club or book group over, etc. Our state is in the red zone currently - nobody should be having indoor social gatherings. 

[Cartmann99]

[Ozlsn]

8 hours ago, Becky said:

At least some people are upfront about their resistance to common-sense precautions, so you know to avoid them. I know several neighbors who are all “oh I am being so careful!” and then they are having dinner parties, having the card club or book group over, etc. Our state is in the red zone currently - nobody should be having indoor social gatherings. 

People have this subconscious thing going where they think people they know wouldn't be infected because they're clean and risk-averse. It doesn't quite work like that unfortunately. 

[47of74]

And fuck face’s favorite money launderers suggested a tax on remote workers 

Quote

Deutsche Bank Research suggests a tax of 5% of a worker's salary if workers choose to work from home when they are not forced to by the current pandemic.

The tax would be paid for by employers and the income generated would be paid to people who cannot work from home.

This could earn $48bn (£36bn) if introduced in the US and would help redress the balance, the bank says.

It argues this is only fair, as those who work from home are saving money and not paying into the system like those who go out to work.

I have a better suggestion Deutsche Bank. Take all your ill gotten Russian gains and contribute those instead of asking businesses to absorb the cost. 

[47of74]

Local impacts of covid related unemployment

Quote

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to job losses across multiple economic sectors, with some industries bearing the brunt in the spring and others feeling the sting later in the year.

Local programming is helping job-seekers find the right fit.

A partnership between GDDC and Northeast Iowa Community College, known as Opportunity Dubuque, recently announced the rollout of two skills training programs.

The courses will prepare participants for assembly operator and warehouse technician positions, both of which are in-demand positions at this time.

Skills programs might help but I think it's time for governments to slow up on the tax credit / incentive wheeling and dealing because employees get caught in the middle of all that when the incentives dry up.  My big concern with the local programming they mention is that it's trying to shoehorn people into hot jobs of the moment and aren't good fits for people that will also not last long term.  Then what?  Start the cycle over again? 

[Ozlsn]

I didn't really know where to put this, so it's here:

https://mobile.twitter.com/jodidoering/status/1327771329555292162?s=21

I honestly don't know where you start with people who point blank refuse to believe there is a virus, even when they are gasping for breath from it.

[Ozlsn]

The Atlantic article about the pressure the health care workers are under.

The bit that got me was this:

Spoiler

As hard as the work fatigue is, the “societal fatigue” is harder, said Hatton, the Utah pulmonary specialist. He is tired of walking out of an ICU where COVID-19 has killed another patient, and walking into a grocery store where he hears people saying it doesn’t exist. Health-care workers and public-health officials have received threats and abusive messages accusing them of fearmongering. They’ve watched as friends have adopted Donald Trump’s lies about doctors juking the hospitalization numbers to get more money. They’ve pleaded with family members to wear masks and physically distance, lest they end up competing for ICU beds that no longer exist. “Nurses have been the most trusted profession for 18 years in a row, which is now bullshit because no one is listening to us,” Neville said.

I don't work on the frontline and it exhausts me - I can't imagine how utterly draining it is for someone who does.

[WiseGirl]

My state is up to 5% positivity. Two hour wait to get tested and I got here when they opened.

[therulesofjinx]

My state has the lowest total number of cases of the US states (we also have one of the lowest populations and a governor who cracked down early on). We've had a mask suggestion since April that moved into a mandate to wear a mask in all public spaces  since August- and we've had lots of other mandates/guidelines/protocol, etc., and were doing really well until the past few weeks when we started setting record high daily totals. Last Friday, the governor mandated that no one should meet socially ANYWHERE with anyone outside their household- not even going for a walk outside. Folks are to interact only with members of their house- going to work is still OK if you absolutely need to; schools are still in-person; errands, etc., for necessities are OK. I panicked a little because my mother lives alone and I was worried about her being alone on Thanksgiving (neither of us were doing social activities, anyway, and are staunch mask wearers and sanitizer users and are OK seeing each other in our homes) but the mandate says you can visit with immediate family if you live alone. Phew. I applaud our governor for making this choice- I'm sure that was a hard press conference- ahead of Thanksgiving. We've seen that small social gatherings have been a huge issue in terms of spreading the virus. Hopefully folks follow these new guidelines...

[AmazonGrace]

 

[Ozlsn]

Some of the comments on the Twitter thread made me laugh ("Covid declares Sturgis rally YUGE success") but the comment along the lines of "are most of the deaths on reservations? Are the general population affected as much?" made me see red. If 1 in 1000 North Dakotans has died from this I think you can safely say it's affecting everyone - and even if the rate is higher on reservations it's still not OK. Sheesh.

 

[Ozlsn]

Australian update: much to all of Victoria's surprise we are still OK... I'm actually afraid to say it in case I jinx it. South Australia though is going into hard lockdown - harder than ours even, no exercise, no takeaway food or coffee, only one person allowed out to get groceries per day - for the next 6 days after a breach* in hotel quarantine meant that a cleaner was infected, was asymptomatic and found out that she was positive after her mum got sick. I really feel for her - but am somewhat surprised to learn that they weren't routinely testing staff but relying on symptomatic people to come forward. Which, we're a year into this, what part of asymptomatic transmission do they not understand yet?!

Anyway, there are currently 20 confirmed cases, and they're hoping this lockdown is enough to bring it under control. I really hope so too. It's weird to me seeing photos of people stocking up on groceries in Adelaide with no one wearing masks, and standing a normal distance - because they were back to almost normal, and people forget how very easy it is for this to get out of control.  

*the SA premier is claiming it's not a breach because they think it was surface transmission rather than person-to-person. Same effing difference, FFS - it was transmitted from quarantine to the wider community, that is a breach. 

[smittykins]

Our bishop is suspending in-person services as of November 29th.

[HerNameIsBuffy]

As of Friday I'm back to WFH, our governor is now requiring all employees in our industry who aren't production to work from home.  

But before I go I have to do more Covid training.  Also, new rule effective Friday is everyone masked at all times except when actively eating or drinking as opposed to what we have in place now which is masked if you can't maintain the social distance.

Even those of us who have private offices would have to be masked even if working in there alone with the door shut.  But I guess it makes sense as if you work in your office alone you should be working from home.

[clueliss]

Apparently they've (finally) received and installed machines to check temperatures.  As soon as they're calibrated they'll begin having folks go only through certain doors (we have multiple buildings on our spread across a small town campus).  But they want us to begin using them now.  Granted, I'm working from home unless I absolutely need to go into the office. 

I sort of need to swing by to pick some things up.  I don't want to spend all day at the office so I'm thinking of wandering in Saturday morning when the number of folks in the office should be close to zero. 

[OHFL2009]

I have to admit, I don't fully understand the obsession with taking temperatures. Most people who have a fever will  stay at home anyway, as they probably know they aren't feeling well. The bigger issue in my mind is asymptomatic transmission, which a temperature check is not going to prevent. 

[Coconut Flan]

Since temperature is something they can check, it seems to be trying to do at least the minimum although it certainly isn't going to catch very many cases.  They do temperature checks at the hospital where I go for treatment and I think they've caught a couple cases of COVID where the person was very early into it and maybe a dozen cases of garden variety flu.  Catching some is better than none and maybe the temperature checks encourage people to stay home who otherwise might not.

[Smash!]

Can I move to Victoria? [emoji6] We have a very low capacity on ICU beds left and still no lockdown, not even a home office order just a recommendation.

[clueliss]

51 minutes ago, OHFL2009 said:

I have to admit, I don't fully understand the obsession with taking temperatures. Most people who have a fever will  stay at home anyway, as they probably know they aren't feeling well. The bigger issue in my mind is asymptomatic transmission, which a temperature check is not going to prevent. 

Not in my experience.  There is logic and there is how many of us (me included at times) behaves.  Early in my adult life (back in the early 90s) many many MANY of the people I worked with - and I - went to work sick because we had ZERO sick days.  And if you missed a day of work you went 'on contact' - meaning a mark went next to your name.  5 marks for any reason and they could fire you.  So at times, I still struggle with the whole, I'm too busy and 'need' to be at work.  (accountant/month end).  This year has likely gotten me finally past that.  But there is often pressure for many reasons to go to work sick.  Also not everyone realizes they have a temperature. 

[Ozlsn]

3 hours ago, clueliss said:

Early in my adult life (back in the early 90s) many many MANY of the people I worked with - and I - went to work sick because we had ZERO sick days.

That is so weird to me - how they think a workplace with people coming in sick is going to benefit anyone I don't know.

3 hours ago, OHFL2009 said:

I have to admit, I don't fully understand the obsession with taking temperatures. Most people who have a fever will  stay at home anyway, as they probably know they aren't feeling well. The bigger issue in my mind is asymptomatic transmission, which a temperature check is not going to prevent. 

I think some of it is a hangover from SARS, which generated a very high fever very quickly in almost all people - there wasn't really the asymptomatic infection that you see in covid. Having said that I'm another of those people who fails to realise they have a fever until it's stupidly high, so yeah I would turn up to work and have done at least once with flu. Which I mostly noticed thanks to the pounding headache that caused me to think I was going to OD on aspirin. Thanks very much idiot boss who turned up sick and infected the entire lab - I'm sure the overall productivity was greatly enhanced by 8 people being off for a fortnight rather than him taking a week off and staying at home.

Incidentally the strain in SA appears to be a lot more infectious than previous strains, which is a worry - people are becoming infectious to others in about 24 hours, rather than several days. Great for viral spread, less great for control measures.

[Cartmann99]

7 hours ago, clueliss said:

Not in my experience.  There is logic and there is how many of us (me included at times) behaves.  Early in my adult life (back in the early 90s) many many MANY of the people I worked with - and I - went to work sick because we had ZERO sick days.

I had a job like that during that same time period. I got sick and took three unpaid days off, and my employer complained so bitterly about it that I never called in sick again. I had a small health scare around this time, which prompted my now-husband and I to go ahead and get married so I could have health insurance through his job.

[Katzchen24]

21 hours ago, Ozlsn said:

South Australia though is going into hard lockdown - harder than ours even, no exercise, no takeaway food or coffee, only one person allowed out to get groceries per day - for the next 6 days

Adelaide is like a ghost town. I don't mind the lockdown if it means we stop the spread straight away, but my dogs aren't happy about not being able to go for walks! I think most people are agreeable to the restrictions because a) it's only 6 days and b) better a small amount of pain now than a large amount later. I know too many vulnerable people. 

Yesterday when the lockdown was announced was definitely weird. 

[Ozlsn]

2 hours ago, Katzchen24 said:

Adelaide is like a ghost town. I don't mind the lockdown if it means we stop the spread straight away, but my dogs aren't happy about not being able to go for walks! I think most people are agreeable to the restrictions because a) it's only 6 days and b) better a small amount of pain now than a large amount later. I know too many vulnerable people. 

Yesterday when the lockdown was announced was definitely weird. 

I was going to ask what happened with dogs!! Hopefully today's numbers means they might ease up a bit, with luck it's less widespread than feared. 

Yesterday was seriously weird, including here. I think a lot of us were having flashbacks, and we're all hoping it's a short lockdown.

[HerNameIsBuffy]

Hey, Department of Public Health...if you're reading here close your browser and answer the damn phone.

New regulations start tomorrow, one of them about testing and tracing has wording where I don't understand what's required.  IDPH website is super helpful in giving me a phone number, email, and online chat if I have questions.

They aren't answering any of them.  Oh Illinois, never change you neglectful jackass of a state.

[clueliss]

my county's health department has switched up contact tracing.  Instead of it being 'backlogged' and them saying we're at X date for contact tracing, they're working backwards starting with newest cases.  So for that cluster in between the backlog date and today's date - good luck.  Oh and they're sending a packet 'in the mail' or some such rot to those who tested positive. 

I may have had a 'we're doomed' Eeyore sort of reaction to this along with a one finger salute.