bigjoey

Dogs are being trained to sniff out the presence of the virus in people. They can apparently pick up the scent from asymptotic people. Dogs like these can be a big help in places with lots of people like airports or public transport: https://www.sciencetimes.com/amp/articles/25979/20200608/belgian-shepherds-tell-coronavirus-smelling-armpit.htm

Dogs are being trained to sniff out the presence of the virus in people. They can apparently pick up the scent from asymptotic people. Dogs like these can be a big help in places with lots of people like airports or public transport: https://www.sciencetimes.com/amp/articles/25979/20200608/belgian-shepherds-tell-coronavirus-smelling-armpit.htm

But personal responsibility is so old fashion. Everything bad is always the fault of someone else. Is it that hard to social distance, wash your hands and wear a mask? Don’t push it by asking people to eat healthy and exercise or not drive while under the influence of alcohol or drugs?. I am coming to the conclusion that the old adage is correct: No one ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American public.

It’s official, the virus has mutated: https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2020/07/02/health/coronavirus-mutation-spread-study/index.html This may make a vaccine harder to develop?

It depends on if the man is a “lover” or a “sex partner.” To me, lover is a connotation of a very singular relationship. Sex partner is not as emotionally involved or intimate. If it is just a sex partner, you might try compartmentalism of his racism and politics. Currently, I am friendly with a number of people whose beliefs are vastly different from mine. I am not sexually intimate with these people and do not go out of my way to be with them. But if we meet at different functions or in public I am cordial and keep the subject of our differences out of any conversation. In the past, there were escorts who held views with which I did not agree but kept our interactions to just sex. Now if we are talking a lover. To me that is a singular partner with whom I am intimately involved as a spouse or long term partner. That makes it harder to keep separate but I do know couples who have navigated that separately. I think of the song from Avenue Q: “Everyone’s a Little Bit Racist.” I suppose it is a matter of degree. Racism is on a continuum and a “little bit” may be tolerable but not a lot. There is a trade off of how bad his racism is and that is balanced with how good the sex is. Each person will make his own judgement. For example, Wagner was a heavy duty anti-Semite. Big time hater. For about the first half century of Israel’s existence his music was not played by the Israel Orchestra. When they first played his music, it was a huge controversy. But in the end, the quality of his music outweighed the opposition to his anti-Semitism. I am sure there are people who do not attend concerts when his music is on the program. You have not said what “disturbing” is on a continuum (and there is no need to repeat anything as that is your judgement) but still the end of the day, it comes down to a personal judgement. In my own case, I have cut people out of my life when their racism was just out and out hatred.

Yes, from what I read much of the spike in infections is among the young with seniors being more cautious in their daily lives. America’s youth will win no prizes for intelligence when it comes to Covid19: https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/02/us/alabama-coronavirus-parties-trnd/index.html

It is now becoming clear what happened in Sweden and it is not good. For the expected crush in the hospitals, they issued protocols that limited access for the elderly. In a form of triage to ration care, for the elderly, senior homes were told not to send seniors to hospitals; seniors were given palliative care but not oxygen or intravenous therapy of fluids and nutrition. The government is being accused of the unnecessary deaths of thousands of seniors who were too quickly placed on just palliative care and given morphine and sedatives rather than being sent to a hospital. Anders Tegnell still stands by his original strategy except for “elderly care.” It is becoming clear that if Sweden had different set of elderly protocols, the national death rate would have been much lower. Bottom line: just like the NY government created a disaster with their mandate that put infected people into nursing homes, the Swedish government created a disaster by keeping infected seniors away from acute care that could have saved lives. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-52704836

A big part of the problem in the US is that each state is responding differently. The states are at different places in the time of the infection and different as to populations. While there has been some guidance from the federal government, the responsibility for execution lies at the state level (even then, there are state and local fights over what to do like Cuomo and DeBlasio). In looking at the US, it is more like looking at all of Europe where Norway responded differently than Spain.

The more we know about the virus, the better each individual will be able to make a personal risk assessment as to what activities they can do. Blood type, vitamin D levels, overweight, age, high blood pressure, diabetes, etc. will all go into the assessment along with the activity: outdoors or indoors, length of time, size of crowd, etc. In addition, the state of medical care available will make a difference: medical therapies, hospital capacity, etc. that are available if one does become infected. Adding to this will be our own personal behaviors like mask wearing and hand washing. As people mentally make the risk assessments, some will begin doing more activities and creating a new normal that is removed from our shutdown situation. All of this added knowledge like blood type is coming at a fast pace.

Some good news: https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2020/06/16/a-cheap-steroid-cuts-deaths-from-severe-covid-19

It is not a “misstated opinion” because they are referring to two different things. @former lurker is referring to events where he was present. @Unicorn was referring to events he saw on mass media and furnished pictures that make his point. Both posters can be factually correct as to the specific events to which they referred. Here in Kansas City, it depends on what day. The original riots and looting here showed no social distancing and few wearing masks. Now the current peaceful protests show people wearing masks and sometimes keeping social distancing. So it is a question of not only place but time.

At the senior facility where I volunteer, every employee is tested every morning before being allowed to work. So far, not one resident has been infected with Covid19. Even more surprising to me was that construction workers who are working on a wing of the building and not entering the main building where residents are located are tested before starting. The constitution area has been kept completely separated and yet they are doing that testing. (I am working on fundraising for the renovation and wanted to take a donor through the almost finished construction before any residents or staff was brought back in and the wing was connected back to the main building. I was told I could not do that. I have put in a request again but said we would submit ourselves to the same daily testing as the construction workers.) I had dinner (outside on a home patio with proper distancing) with a donor to the project. I was told their family foundation funded a full time person dedicated to infectious disease control at another senior facility two years ago! That facility has had no Covid19 cases. As I have pointed out, infections normally kill hundreds of thousands of seniors a year in nursing homes. The places that have been successful today with Covid19 have been successful for years in fighting infections. This is not a new situation. It puzzles me how hundreds of thousands of seniors can die each year if infections without the hysterical headlines we see today; that should be a big story. Yes, it would be easier if the virus was not in the general population. Yes, a lot of things in life would be better if one thing or another happened but that is not our reality. The reality is that we know what best practices are for fighting infections in nursing homes but many places ignore them.

I was referring to this type of packaging when the box is cut open and a tray slides out carrying all the products: https://mrcheckout.net/pdq-display/

I just got some oatmeal that makes the same claim?

Normally, I have been grocery shopping at “off hours.” When there are few customers in the store. Most of my shopping has been done late in the evening before closing. Yesterday on my walk around the neighborhood, there were few cars parked at the grocery store in the earl afternoon when in weeks past it had always been crowded. I went inside and bought some fresh vegetables and fruit and inside the store was back to “normal” as far as the number if shoppers. I then thought that because people here are returning to restaurants to eat, they will be buying less groceries. As I looked at the local restaurants, I saw many people have returned to their old habit of eating out. I talked to several of my “older” friends and they confirmed that with proper precautions they are starting to eat out (and mostly where there is outside seating). If this trend continues, watch both the number of people in the grocery stores decline (which makes them safer for those of us still practicing social distancing).

Well put: we can not eliminate risk but just minimize it. There are no Americans who have a zero risk of dying in the next 24 hours of some cause. Personal choices can lower or increase risk. People can choose to smoke, drive under the influence of drugs or alcohol, eat junk food and not exercise and become obese, not maintain physical distancing, not washing their hands and then touching their faces. People can choose to do all the “best practices” to maintain good health. These behaviors can change the risk of dying but not eliminate it. The good fairy is not going to lower our risk of dying in this pandemic. The government can help with things like test, trace and isolate or by financing medical research or by making sure proper supplies are available. But in the final analysis, we need to modify our behaviors.

For those trying to figure out the Covid19 death rate, the newest from the CDC with a LOWER figure range and number: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2020/06/05/fact-check-cdc-estimates-covid-19-death-rate-0-26/5269331002/

Picture #1 has been used at least sine GWB was President??

The photo may be printed backwards which would explain the left hand-right hand issues.

Yes, I think we will adjust our behavior to the known risk. Every year, we accept the risk of the annual flu season which can kill tens of thousands of people. Some people get the flu shots and others do not. Some stay away from crowds and others do not. We all have different risk tolerance levels and act accordingly.

I have a friend (gay male) whose father was gay. His parents divorced when he was about six months and raised by his gay father and his lover.

Sounds like a Creative Writing 101 assignment.????.

Interesting article about the virus. Much of the medical view has been that Covid19 is a disease primarily of the lungs. Still, there were cases that did not fit that exactly. Now another view: instead of a lung infection, this virus has its main target our blood vessels https://elemental.medium.com/coronavirus-may-be-a-blood-vessel-disease-which-explains-everything-2c4032481ab2 I would like doctors who are here like @purplekow to comment. Especially since @purplekow has so much first hand experience. How does this view alter medical therapies for those who are infected?

My post clearly reads that these performances can be viewed FREE. Normally, to view the shows have a cost. Yes, I know the Metropolitan Opera is closed. While I might be the “Woody Allen of surprises” to you, you are no longer a surprise to me. Save the snide comments for your PM’s (which I no longer read). From my posts, everyone should know how I feel about opening up the country “sooner rather than later.” Go back and refresh your mind and find the definitive answer.

The feel good account was about The United States. The United States needs such stories. Some places are doing things right and we should be feeling good about those places. You want a feel good account about a place that needed it: the musicians on the Titanic played well as the ship sunk.? Another feel good story: many cultural organizations have moved online; the pandemic has speeded up this move; for free, you can “ attend” the Metropolitan Opera every night?. Another feel good story: this pandemic has made the public aware of the ways to lessen contagious infections so that this Fall, fewer people are expected to become infected with the flu.? “Feel good” stories are around if you care to look for them. “Feel good” stories abound even in the worst places hit by the pandemic: @purplekow has shown us the dedication at his hospital by himself and others that should make us all feel good that even in the darkness, there are sources of hope about the goodness of humanity. His posts have been inspiring and should make us all feel good that such people exist.?