Coronavirus 4

[Smee]

How are you going @Ozlsn? I know a lot of Vic residents, even health professionals, are angry that more restrictions weren’t lifted yesterday as promised. It seems the govt doesn’t have a lot of faith in their contact tracing.

Today’s numbers though! You guys are smashing it

 

[Smash!]

Uh.. ok, that does not sound good. Who is getting tested at the moment - is it everyone who has been potentially exposed to a case, just people with symptoms, can people self-refer or do they have to be referred by a doctor? Depending on the testing cohort the numbers can change - here we have very low positive rates but we also test anyone who has symptoms, no matter how unlikely they are to have the virus, and also people in contact with known cases. Also anyone can turn up and get tested in drive through clinics.
Hand washing, masks and limiting contact as much as possible with people is all you can do unless your employer and/or the govt puts structures in place. Can you do your job with less face to face contact? 

Anyone can get tested. Tough it‘s only free of charge if you have the common covid or cold like symptoms (including fatigue or muscular aches) or if you have been exposed to a person who turned out to be positive. Every GP does the testing, but there are also covid testing sites where you can go without being referred to by a doctor. In short we test a lot but the test positivity rate has exploded in the last 2 weeks.
I‘m very relieved that my university goes fully online as of November 2nd. This is still way too late but I expect to have less face to face contact. I talked to my boss about home office but as long as we aren‘t shut down I can only work from home about one day a week. I think tough we are heading towards a lockdown because as soon as the ICU‘s are filled up the government has to act.

[Ozlsn]

1 hour ago, Smee said:

How are you going @Ozlsn? I know a lot of Vic residents, even health professionals, are angry that more restrictions weren’t lifted yesterday as promised. It seems the govt doesn’t have a lot of faith in their contact tracing.

Today’s numbers though! You guys are smashing it

 

I'm very much in the zen, it-is-how-it-is, let-go-of-what-you-can't-control state of mind - who knew spending months in NICU would be useful down the track! Also to be honest I have no idea what was supposed to be loosening - I tend to hide until after announcements and find out later at the moment. And avoid social media a lot because it's too stressful, and there is so much vitriol and division at present.

I am sitting here crying though because, wow, zero. After the really awful period in August I was starting to think that was no longer possible.  We might, just might, have a normal Christmas.

Even having the 25km limit was great - we saw my husband's parents for the first time since July on the weekend - we live just under 25km from each other. My parents are still too far away in regional Victoria, but I saw one sibling in person on the weekend as well - the others are across still closed borders, and much too far away.

[Smash!]

@Ozlsn You guys have zero cases? Oh wow this is so cool! And also that you were able to see some relatives ??? I so so hope for you that you're gonna have a normal christmas. I'm happy that there are at least some good news about the coronavirus in the world. ?

I learned today that even tough my university is switching mainly to online, our study spaces remain open ? This means no home office for me because a lot of students come to the campus solely to study there. Plus I often have to remind them that they have to wear  their masks while studying. It worries me from an aerosol point of view. ?

[Ozlsn]

15 minutes ago, Smash! said:

You guys have zero cases?

Zero new daily cases today, the first time since 9th June. We still have 100 known active cases who are in quarantine, but that there are no cases today is really promising - there are small clusters still but hopefully everyone has been traced and tested. Hopefully. There will probably still be low numbers of people testing positive in the near future, but it looks like the uncontrolled exponential growth might be well contained, touch wood.

And today they announced an end to the lockdown restrictions from Nov 8th, which is kind of amazing. Cafes and retail are reopening tonight, with distancing. 

I am daring to hope that we can discard masks for summer, because 35oC plus days with masks sounds... really annoying.

Naturally my child has come down today with fever, runny nose and coughing. So we're isolating at home until we get tested and have results. Sigh - I'm 99% sure it's a cold, but there's always the doubt.

[Alisamer]

5 hours ago, Ozlsn said:

I am daring to hope that we can discard masks for summer, because 35oC plus days with masks sounds... really annoying.

It is. It was around 80 F this weekend and I thought I was going to roast after an hour of wearing a mask. 

There are at least 5 people who attend my church who have tested positive for Covid, now. We're still virtual for the most part, but distanced choir practices have resumed apparently. And of course, there's one couple who are anti-maskers in the choir. If it was up to me they wouldn't be allowed in, but it's not my choice.

Some other guy from my church was on my uncle's facebook going on about how "there are no studies showing masks help reduce transmission" and quoting some random non-scientifically sound douchebag. My uncle, who enjoys arguing for fun and is pretty intelligent, started poking the bear and posting actual real studies. 

I'm really just done. Completely done. This dumbass goes to my gym, and is essentially the reason I have not gone back since it opened. Because I know full well he's there running on the treadmill huffing and puffing with no mask and self-righteous about it. 

I really want to be all serene, live and let live, what will be will be, etc. But then I see something like this and the mean dark part of me thinks "Please just get Covid and suffer enough to get over yourself" or "Please let Covid clean the stupid people out of the gene pool."

[clueliss]

Part of Utah has issues.

(and never-mind multiple instances of LDS family vloggers that I've noticed traveling around the country recently due to 'fall break')

 

[Cartmann99]

 

[clueliss]

Data that won't shock anyone here. 

Kansas counties with mask mandates (ahem - following governor's mask order vs those who opted out courtesy of the state attorney general) showing slower spread.

 

[Ozlsn]

3 hours ago, clueliss said:

Part of Utah has issues.

(and never-mind multiple instances of LDS family vloggers that I've noticed traveling around the country recently due to 'fall break')

 

One of the things that I saw or read somewhere was that in parts of Italy during their first peak they had so few ventilators that the cut off age for accessing one was 40. There seems to be this ongoing underlying assumption that the hospital system continues as normal in these situations - that there will be a bed, and staff and ventilators available. 

1 hour ago, Cartmann99 said:

A friend of mine in the UK is having ongoing issues after a mild initial case, to the point of needing ambulances called. It is honestly terrifying to me how many people are so cavalier about this when we still don't know much about the long term effects.

[Ozlsn]

Two days in a row of no new cases. I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop, and for it to go pear shaped again. I don't know how long before we trust the ground we're on again.

[Smash!]

 

This is so terrifying.
Three people in our team are currently at home. Two because of contact with a positive person and one because of cold like symptoms. One of the three tested negative but was told by contact tracers that a lot test positive after 10 days (before quarantine ends) the 2nd time and she should test again. Boss had a meeting with her and afterwards one with me. But he‘s still at work because coworker tested negative. It‘s frightening.
[mention]Ozlsn [/mention] Yay for the 2nd day without new cases!!! [emoji3]

[Ali]

15 hours ago, Cartmann99 said:

 

I really should have not read this thread this morning. I feel sick reading this. I am about to get ready for another day of in person teaching. I feel so hurt every time I read someone quoting a statistic about how little it affects the children or complaining about safety procedures being too restrictive. My life does not matter. My co-workers lives don't matter. I worry about the kind teacher across the hall that is high risk and near retirement. I am so tired of people minimizing this and expecting people to sacrifice their lives so they can live like there is no pandemic.

[WiseGirl]

28 minutes ago, Ali said:

I really should have not read this thread this morning. I feel sick reading this. I am about to get ready for another day of in person teaching. I feel so hurt every time I read someone quoting a statistic about how little it affects the children or complaining about safety procedures being too restrictive. My life does not matter. My co-workers lives don't matter. I worry about the kind teacher across the hall that is high risk and near retirement. I am so tired of people minimizing this and expecting people to sacrifice their lives so they can live like there is no pandemic.

Preach! On an FB post about schools opening someone posted something similar to "open the schools, some people may need to die. Sorry, not sorry." Really? Teachers went from heroes to sacrifices in a few short months.

Edited October 27, 2020 by WiseGirl
Spelling is hard

[clueliss]

@Smash! after one member of my group at work tested positive - the entire department was sent home for almost 2 weeks.  I opted to get a test because locally they were doing free testing right about in the window after my exposure to that person that should have been prime (8+ days).  I tested negative, nobody else was symptomatic.  I've opted to move to what I'm calling a hybrid plan.  Meaning I'm in the office part of the week and at home part of the week.  (Due to month end, this week I'm home Monday & Tuesday - a blessing because we've had snow/ice on Monday; next week I'll be home later in the week and in the office at the beginning of the week).  That scare made me feel less safe at the office (even though none of the rest of us got sick). 

[clueliss]

I'm in the office for the rest of the week (month end etc). 

Let's see - the engineer group upstairs was sent to work from home when someone in their group tested positive.  The Janitorial Service is fogging the joint every night now.  And someone else on our floor (that's all we know) wasn't feeling well and got a covid test that was negative. 

I reiterated my persona hybrid model return to the office (no, really it's for your benefit because my allergies/sinus issues overlap with colds/flu/mild covid.  And okay, paranoid)

And I asked about our Mexico facility because they've told citizens in El Paso to stay home.  Our facilities 'crisis level' is up to red and that apparently means at risk people should stay home (I needed to know if I was going to face issues getting data out of the plant like I did earlier in the year when they shut down)

[church_of_dog]

On 10/18/2020 at 3:40 AM, fraurosena said:

Haven't been here in ages, but just had to pop in to share this...

 

I started giggling at the sound of "mask-debaters" and couldn't stop.  Why yes, I am twelve. ?

[thoughtful]

39 minutes ago, church_of_dog said:

I started giggling at the sound of "mask-debaters" and couldn't stop.  Why yes, I am twelve. ?

 

[ADoyle90815]

Interesting article from Time Magazine about Halloween of 1918.

https://time.com/5900923/pandemic-halloween-1918/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=editorial&utm_term=history_holidays&linkId=103106070

[Smash!]

Our government announced measures yesterday that are about four weeks too late. Mask wearing in crowded places and the closing of clubs. Universities have to go fully online but the working spaces on campus remain open. Restaurants still open, no home office order (just a recommendation) or a general stay at home order. Mean while our ICU bed capacity is filled up in 10 days and all non emergency surgeries are suspended. Germany with less cases per capita implemented a partial lockdown. I guess this is because cancellor Angela Merkel is a scientist and knows how to lead. Meanwhile the leader of the health department and member of the federal council (our version of president) says we should not panic and our situation is good. Newsflash: It‘s shitty. Oh and there‘s a document from a county medical officer that says care staff in this county should keep working in hospitals and nursing homes even if they are supposed to be quarantining or have an asymptomatic covid-19 infection.
This is a recipe for disaster. I‘ve never thought Switzerland would go this route, but here we are.

[Ozlsn]

10 minutes ago, Smash! said:

Oh and there‘s a document from a county medical officer that says care staff in this county should keep working in hospitals and nursing homes

WTELF?? Nursing homes are where most of our deaths occurred. They really under no circumstances should be working if they have tested positive or have been in contact with a known case. OMFG that is appalling.

[Smash!]

20 minutes ago, Ozlsn said:

WTELF?? Nursing homes are where most of our deaths occurred. They really under no circumstances should be working if they have tested positive or have been in contact with a known case. OMFG that is appalling.

It's just one of 26 counties and I don't know if they really practice that. But fact is, it's an official paper from the county health officer. It's insane. Fortunately it's getting media traction. But this is what happens if the government decides to stay silent instead of acting amid the worst pandemic since the spanish flu. I mean we have a lot of elected politicians who have openly condemned the Swiss Covid Taskforce (consisting of scientists from every field that is relevant for this pandemic) for "spreading panic", tried to discredit them and have gotten (still get) away with it.
In the end we will need a lockdown but I don't know how long it will take. How many people must have to get infected and/or die or whether we must first ration care and decide who will get an intensive care bed and who will be sent directly to the palliative care unit until our government finally wakes up.

How is it going in Victoria? I hope still good!

[Ozlsn]

8 hours ago, Smash! said:

How is it going in Victoria? I hope still good!

Holding steady - after the two days of zero new cases and zero new deaths we had 2/2, then 3/0. We're down to zero cases in ICU, and only 5 cases in hospital though. Our big news is that retail opened on Wednesday - people stayed up to go shopping in K-mart at midnight. It is kind of weird seeing traffic and people sitting down to eat and drink again. Everything is still very socially distanced, the mask mandate is still in place, and there are maximum numbers allowed in shops (calculated by square metres per person).  Yr8-10 returned to school on Monday, which also contributed to the traffic. 

We're all pretty much waiting to see what happens next - can we identify and contain clusters quickly is the big question. The testing rates are still very high. All going well our internal state border should open 8th Nov and we can travel to regional areas again. Hopefully we can start getting international flights again before Christmas.

[Smee]

I’m so sorry @Smash! that all sounds incredibly stressful and irresponsible on behalf of your government. I can’t believe they aren’t telling health care workers to stay home if positive or symptomatic!! That could spell disaster.

 

 A friend shared this on FB today, I don’t know if it’s been shared here before but I found it really interesting and informative. Modelling about how covid spreads in different situations (home, bar, school) and the importance of ventilation and limiting the time spent in a place. I understand the “no singing in church” order a bit better now but I’m still hopeful we can make an exception for Christmas with daily cases in the single digits and no new cases in my area for months. 
https://english.elpais.com/society/2020-10-28/a-room-a-bar-and-a-class-how-the-coronavirus-is-spread-through-the-air.html?fbclid=IwAR08S94EwjMe9cjy7NBpuXQdZCu-jM8Em3xcRkOB_JVLxzH0c3XX6-8HdGQ

[WiseGirl]

Phooey, our numbers are creeping up. Ugh. Businesses can't afford to be shut down again. People get your shit together. Wear your mask and be safe  Ugh, ugh, ugh