The Covid-19 thread.

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Apparently, we are moving gradually to "Stage 2" of reopening in the Province. The gym owners have been lobbying. I think it's fairly well known that groups of people in enclosed spaces aren't a great idea, but here we are.

  • Unsupervised, low-intensity individual and group exercises are now allowed by appointment only.
  • Mandatory physical distance of three metres is required between participants — including coaches and trainers — at all times, and masks must be worn at all times by trainers and those participating in low-intensity activities.
  • All indoor fitness must be pre-registered — no drop-ins allowed.
  • Low-intensity exercises include weightlifting, low-intensity dance classes, yoga, barre and indoor climbing, as well as the low-intensity use of treadmills, ellipticals and related equipment.
Da Premier says:

“Physical exertion close to others can be a cause, a high-risk cause of transmission,” he said. “We all know that through science that the way this virus is transmitted is through droplets that can be projected if people are respiring heavily — if they are exerting themselves physically — and so that kind of activity would be high risk.”

Low intensity weightlifting. What a concept.
 
I think that part of the lifting of some restrictions in the US is that the most vulnerable groups now have access to the vaccine. If not now, then they will very soon. I might be an outlier in this group on the subject, but I think that changes the equation dramatically, in regards to how open society should be. The virus won't be gone entirely for some time, but before it is, my city and town might be gone entirely, along with the livelihoods of all the people that have made it what it is, if we don't try to adjust our risk assessment to include what affect the vaccines can have, in protecting the most vulnerable people, before it reaches the people who by a huge margin will not get seriously ill if they get this thing.
 
I think that part of the lifting of some restrictions in the US is that the most vulnerable groups now have access to the vaccine. If not now, then they will very soon. I might be an outlier in this group on the subject, but I think that changes the equation dramatically, in regards to how open society should be. The virus won't be gone entirely for some time, but before it is, my city and town might be gone entirely, along with the livelihoods of all the people that have made it what it is, if we don't try to adjust our risk assessment to include what affect the vaccines can have, in protecting the most vulnerable people, before it reaches the people who by a huge margin will not get seriously ill if they get this thing.

"lifting of some restrictions" I think you hit it there. From what I read on Texas it was total lifting of the mask mandate and businesses "100% open". I think we have to be smarter than that. The last thing I want to see is hospitals being overburdened again. I'd venture to guess most of us know somebody in the healthcare field, and I hate to think of putting my friends and family members through another huge spike in hospitalizations. So yes, when enough of those most vulnerable to complications from the virus are vaccinated, it is time to move forward.
 
Unrelated to the above I just read that there'll be enough vaccine for every US adult by the end of May. I'm guessing the Merck manufacturing deal on the J&J vaccine helped move that up, as it was about 6 weeks to two months later than that, just a short while ago.

I don't care which one just get it in me.
 
"lifting of some restrictions" I think you hit it there. From what I read on Texas it was total lifting of the mask mandate and businesses "100% open". I think we have to be smarter than that. The last thing I want to see is hospitals being overburdened again. I'd venture to guess most of us know somebody in the healthcare field, and I hate to think of putting my friends and family members through another huge spike in hospitalizations. So yes, when enough of those most vulnerable to complications from the virus are vaccinated, it is time to move forward.
I agree that they're being very Texas with that, and its too much too soon. There is a part of that lift they just did that dictates that when a hospital area (they're divided up into areas) reaches more than 15% ER bed capacity that a judge in that area can bring back restrictions. So its not without any regard for it, I guess.
 
Umm, someone deleted a comment before I could emoji it. (Likely too political).
I think masks are a good thing to help reduce/prevent getting Covid and I always try to be the devils advocate to see what the other sides viewpoint/perspective is, but...I just can’t wrap my head around someone thinking that them being forced to wear a mask is infringing upon their right (when it can potentially save their/someone’s life...).🤦‍♂️
 
...I just can’t wrap my head around someone thinking that them being forced to wear a mask is infringing upon their right (when it can potentially save their/someone’s life...).🤦‍♂️
Some of it is such a selfish attitude. "I can never catch it!" Sure...but you can be asymptomatic and be spewing it all over so that everyone else around you can catch it? Thanks. Not. I don't really care if you catch it...but nobody else around you wants it. Keep your COVID to yourself.

My better half's cousin and his wife are like that, and have the conspiracy theories to go along with it. We keep wondering how (as she puts it) "grown-ass adults" can be so ignorant. The real irony is that their daughter in the Navy had it when she was stationed in Spain. But no, it's still fake. You could dump a bucketload of scientific research and expert opinions in front of them, but it'll never sink in.

It's like a line from a film. "What we have here is...failure to communicate. Some men you just can't reach."
 
I think masks are a good thing to help reduce/prevent getting Covid and I always try to be the devils advocate to see what the other sides viewpoint/perspective is, but...I just can’t wrap my head around someone thinking that them being forced to wear a mask is infringing upon their right (when it can potentially save their/someone’s life...).🤦‍♂️
Yeah, I've had a really hard time with this mindset. Public places require shoes and shirts but a mask in a pandemic is a Constitutional debate?
Here in Michigan, our Governor loosened things up a bit yesterday by allowing restaurants to go to 50% and similar moves for gyms and theaters, but masking is still mandated.
Sad to say, with these moves in Texas, Tennessee, and the hordes flocking to Florida for spring break, I think the downward trend will flatten and most likely spike up before the month ends, even with the additional vaccinations.
 
Sad to say, with these moves in Texas, Tennessee, and the hordes flocking to Florida for spring break, I think the downward trend will flatten and most likely spike up before the month ends, even with the additional vaccinations.
Exactly. I can imagine that some in Texas will treat this as "no more restrictions" and go back to the way things were pre-pandemic. With these new mutations out there that are allegedly more contagious, that was a really dumb move on Texas's part IMHO.
 
I was finally able to book an appointment for April 21st today, vaccine to be administered at the National Guard Armory in Yonkers, NY.

I became eligible on Feb 15th, but the stupid state website appointment system never showed any availability, so this morning I tried the 800 number which produced a recording saying there was a 16-29 minute wait, and press 1 if you wish to wait, so I did. About 5 minutes later another recording asked if I wanted to receive a call back that preserved my place in line, and if so press 1, so I did.

A very nice and helpful young lady called me back in about 10 minutes and booked the appointment, while apologizing for the admitted disaster of a website that is largely useless unless you get very, very lucky in hitting the refresh button all day every day.

Yonkers is about 40 miles south of me, so I'm going to keep trying both for something closer by, and perhaps by some miracle sooner than April 21st, but at least I now have a placeholder that if worse comes to worse will be my actual vaccine appointment. They will issue me a follow-up appointment for the 2nd dose right after the 1st one has been administered.
 
Yeah, I've had a really hard time with this mindset. Public places require shoes and shirts but a mask in a pandemic is a Constitutional debate?
Here in Michigan, our Governor loosened things up a bit yesterday by allowing restaurants to go to 50% and similar moves for gyms and theaters, but masking is still mandated.
Sad to say, with these moves in Texas, Tennessee, and the hordes flocking to Florida for spring break, I think the downward trend will flatten and most likely spike up before the month ends, even with the additional vaccinations.
I think you are right Andy.
 
Public places require shoes and shirts but a mask in a pandemic is a Constitutional debate?
Absolutely not, it is adhering to a public health policy during an emergency situation. There should have been steep penalties for non-compliance.

Sad to say, with these moves in Texas, Tennessee, and the hordes flocking to Florida for spring break, I think the downward trend will flatten and most likely spike up before the month ends, even with the additional vaccinations.
There's really no doubt that will happen, we already have the data looking back at the holiday surge, which actually started around Halloween in NY.
 
The data, to me, makes it look like there's a whole lot more risk of transmission due to "novel out of towners" visiting for a length of time (holidays) than random public run-ins. I'm not saying that should negate a mask mandate but it does look like the spikes are more directly related to more intimate contact with people you don't normally see, for longer times, than say standing next to somebody in line. Not that either is totally safe. It just seems strange to me that California and Florida have similar rates... and much different attitudes. It just doesn't all add up in an easy to pigeon hole way. They'll be studying this for years (hopefully).
 
And I just got an email from my daughter's high school principle that she has been contact traced to a confirmed case of Covid. We will have her tested and be monitoring her for the next 10 days as she is quarantined . Virtual school until the 15th. It's far from over and I hate seeing the attitude from some that "It's time" based primarily on politics. I know this will be studied for years to come, but when you are in the midst of something like this, it's like trying to pilot a plane without understanding the controls. Epidemiologists won't get everything right, and there is a limit to our scientific knowledge, so in my opinion caution is advisable when loosening restrictions.
 
And I just got an email from my daughter's high school principle that she has been contact traced to a confirmed case of Covid. We will have her tested and be monitoring her for the next 10 days as she is quarantined . Virtual school until the 15th. It's far from over and I hate seeing the attitude from some that "It's time" based primarily on politics. I know this will be studied for years to come, but when you are in the midst of something like this, it's like trying to pilot a plane without understanding the controls. Epidemiologists won't get everything right, and there is a limit to our scientific knowledge, so in my opinion caution is advisable when loosening restrictions.
Sounds reasonable to me, if the absolute experts don't know everything there is to know about this, how possibly can a politician, or anyone else?

Caution is in order, we've come too damn far now to screw things up any further, all of the best practices and known to help ways of conducting ourselves are critical at this juncture as we are about to turn the corner here... or not.

I just used the phone line again here in NY State and got my April 21st appt. moved up to April 9th, and 13 miles closer, my vaccination site is now the Westchester County Center in White Plains. So even though the scheduling website is a disaster, that doesn't mean sitting around and complaining about it is the only option, in my case the good old telephone method booked an appt. this morning, and just now I used the phone again to bump that appt. 12 days sooner and 13 miles closer. I am thankful, I think the state is doing the best they can given these very unprecedented circumstances, even if that is less than perfect.
 
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