COVID 2nd Wave is Here, Wear a Mask!

[jjkrkwood]

So just wanted to share with you all the Highlight of my week.... walking around the Shop Rite supermarket smelling all the cheeses and baked goods...

 

Went for a turkey breast for Christmas dinner, and came home $200 poorer... that's one expensive turkey breast !

 

This is what MY life has become.... But looking forward to ordering pizza and watching The Prom with Meryl Streep tonight on Netflix... Maybe ill go wild and have a glass of Sangria ? ?

[+ MysticMenace]

[jjkrkwood]

 

Yeah, that's on my list too, but I always get sidetracked talking to hot, beercan Cock boys from Medelin on Chaturbate, and then after (you know) I need to take a nap ! ?

[samhexum]

 

Edited December 12, 2020 by samhexum

[samhexum]

 

Edited December 12, 2020 by samhexum

[+ WilliamM]

Few face masks in the audience at the Army Navy football game right now.

 

Sad.

[mike carey]

Raf Epstein is the Drive announcer on ABC Radio Melbourne, the local station that is talk, some music, news commentary and general life about town in its programming. Like ABC local radio around the country it has open phone lines, a text line and twitter account for the public to join it. What goes to air from the public contributions is managed so that it discusses the issues the stations are looking at, not any random thing that people want to say.

 

Here's an article that Raf wrote for the ABC web site reflecting on the second wave of COVID-19 in Melbourne.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/about/backstory/2020-12-13/abc-radio-melbourne-broadcaster-raf-epstein-on-coronavirus-covid/12976532

 

Melbourne endured about 120 days of tight restrictions, but there have been no community cases for about 45 days now and restrictions are minimal. There have been a few cases among travellers returned from overseas who are in supervised hotel quarantine. Overseas flights to Melbourne have only resumed in the last week or so after being stopped for several months.

[samhexum]

Melbourne endured about 120 days of tight restrictions, but there have been no community cases for about 45 days now and restrictions are minimal. There have been a few cases among travellers returned from overseas who are in supervised hotel quarantine. Overseas flights to Melbourne have only resumed in the last week or so after being stopped for several months.

 

We need a 'jealous' emoji.

[samhexum]

http://synd.imgsrv.uclick.com/comics/co/2020/co201215.gif

[mike carey]

Vin Marco posted this on twitter, I can't say I'm affected by either dimension.

 

[samhexum]

Kirk Cameron caught heat Thursday for hosting a crowded and non-COVID-19-safety compliant Christmas caroling event, which he called a “peaceful protest” to oppose California’s statewide pandemic stay-at-home order.

 

The 50-year-old “Growing Pains” star organized the Sunday rally — his second this month — complete with a live band and hundreds of people in a mall parking lot in Thousand Oaks, California, according to footage he posted on Instagram.

 

“God Bless America. Joy over fear!” Cameron wrote in a post promoting photos of the “protest,” which shows throngs of maskless singers — apparently failing to follow social distance recommendations.

 

Critics were quick to point out the carolers were likely spreading more than just Christmas cheer.

 

“This is one of the most irresponsible things I’ve seen lately,” one observer slammed, in reference to California’s spiking coronavirus infections. “To him that knoweth to do good and doeth it not, to him it is sin…”

 

Another fumed, “No social distancing and only a couple of people wearing masks? This is so disrespectful and disappointing.”

 

The former teenage heartthrob claimed the protest was in opposition to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s stay-at-home order. It was also meant to “celebrate our “God-given liberties, our constitutionally protected rights” and the “birth of our savior,” he said.

 

On Dec. 6, the actor hosted a similar event where “over 500 people gathered” to sing Christmas songs, according to FOX News.

 

”If you love God, if you love Christmas and you love liberty, you’re not going to want to miss this,” Cameron said in a video at the time.

 

[samhexum]

Kirk Cameron caught heat Thursday for hosting a crowded and non-COVID-19-safety compliant Christmas caroling event

Kirk Cameron defends mask-less caroling events: 'We believe there is immunity in community' and stupidity, too

 

Kirk Cameron says he’ll continue hosting outdoor, mask optional, mass gatherings to peacefully protest California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s stay-at-home order amid the coronavirus pandemic.

 

After facing criticism for holding an event Sunday outside The Oaks mall in Thousand Oaks, Calif., and another earlier this month with more than 500 attendees, the former Growing Pains star, an evangelist Christian, defended himself Wednesday on Fox News. The segment was juxtaposed with a California judge ruling that two strip clubs in the state can remain open amid the lockdown.

 

Asked about the Thousand Oaks Mayor Claudia Bill-de la Peña calling the gatherings “unchristian” for “ignoring all guidelines,” Cameron replied, apparently unaware the mayor is a woman, “Well, he’s no one to judge someone else’s faith.”

 

The former child star continued, “I’m looking around in my community and I’m seeing the devastation and suffering of people whose businesses have been bankrupted, people dealing with anxiety, depression, suicide is spiking, the abused being quarantined with their abusers and I can’t just ignore that. I love my neighbors and so I want to give them hope a deadly disease.”

 

He added, “We’re offering a chance for people to come sing songs of hope — and that’s exactly what people want to be doing at Christmas time.”

 

Cameron was asked just one other question in the interview and it was whether he’ll continue to host the “Sing It Louder” protests.

 

“Absolutely! People are just clamoring dying to come and be a part of them,” he said. “This is the land of the free and home of the brave covidiot and there are thousands and thousands of people in our community who would rather not suffer in isolation and come out to sing and express their gratitude we're giving them a chance to suffer in a whole hospital ward full of people! Because we believe there is immunity in community but there is desolation in isolation and I want to give people hope my sanctimonious opinion.”

 

On Sunday, mall security reportedly called the Thousand Oaks police to the scene, but officers reportedly encouraged the revelers to mask up and left. While there were many critics of the mask-less display, the gathering doesn’t violate any rules because people can still gather for outdoor religious services and protests despite the regional stay-at-home order.

 

Thousand Oaks is the second-largest city in Ventura County. Earlier this month, COVID-19 hospitalizations reached record heights in Ventura County — and on Tuesday only 1 percent of ICU beds were available, leading to the county’s public health officer to again warn residents about the consequences of not masking up or allowing for social distance.

 

“If a hospital were a car, it would be rattling right now,” Dr. Robert Levin told CBS Los Angeles. “The numbers are getting to be astronomical. People are going to die that don’t need to die.” but, hey, at least they can sing!

 

In nearby Los Angeles County, with 10 million people, fewer than 100 ICU beds remain. At the L.A. County+USC Medical Center, there were no ICU beds available.

[samhexum]

[mike carey]

I have no words ...

 

[Luv2play]

I have no words ...

 

The lady was trying to comply with two social requirements simultaneously. I hope she turned the mask around when putting it back on.lol

[samhexum]

http://synd.imgsrv.uclick.com/comics/co/2020/co201222.gif

 

Fauci says new COVID-19 strain from UK is likely in US now

 

Dr. Anthony Fauci said the new mutation of COVID-19 that has spread across the UK is likely already in the US — and may even have originated here, according to a top virologist — but does not appear to affect the “protective nature” of the vaccines being used.

 

“When you see something that is pretty prevalent in a place like the UK — there are also mutations that we’re seeing in South Africa — and given the travel throughout the world, I would not be surprised if it is already here,” Fauci told PBS Newshour’s Judy Woodruff.

 

“When we start to look for it, we’re going to find it,” he said, adding that “you have to make that assumption” the mutated bug is in the US.

 

“Certainly, it is not yet the prevalent one, the way it seems to have assumed that prevalent nature in the UK,” Fauci, the director of the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said Monday.

 

“But we’re going to be looking for it right now, and I’m sure, sooner or later, we’re going to run into it and find it,” added the nation’s top infectious diseases expert.

 

Meanwhile, Jeremy Luban, a virologist at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, joined a number of other infectious diseases experts who said the variant may not have even originated in the UK in the first place.

 

“It may very well be here. It may have even started here. The sequencing in the US is so sporadic,” Luban said, according to The Washington Post.

 

Angela Rasmussen, a virologist at the Georgetown Center for Global Health Science and Security, said: “It makes sense that it was detected first in the UK because they have probably the world’s best surveillance program.

 

“It would not shock me at all to find out that it also is circulating in the US,” she added, the paper reported.

 

The experts suggested that the new strain was identified in the UK first because the country has a strong monitoring system that has studied tens of thousands of genomic sequences of viral samples, according to the report.

 

The US has lagged in sequencing and does not have nearly the same level of virus surveillance, The Washington Post reported.

 

Fauci said that since the bug that causes COVID-19 is an RNA virus it tends to mutate a lot.

 

“Most of the mutations have no functional relevance,” he said. “This one has a suggestion that it might allow the virus to spread more readily.

 

“We’re still seeking out evidence to prove or disapprove that. But let’s make an assumption that it is, in fact, making the virus more transmissible, even though it hasn’t been proven yet,” Fauci continued.

 

“It doesn’t seem at all to have any impact on the virulence or what we call the deadliness of the virus. It doesn’t make people more sick. And it doesn’t seem to have any impact on the protective nature of the vaccines that we’re currently using,” he said.

 

“So, it’s something you take seriously, you keep your eye out on it, and you do tests to determine if there is more functional relevance than we seem to believe that there is,” Fauci added.

 

The top doc also said he thinks a travel ban from the UK “might be premature.”

 

“I don’t think that that kind of a draconian approach is necessary. I think we should seriously consider the possibility of requiring testing of people before they come from the UK here,” Fauci said.

 

“But I don’t think that there is enough evidence right now to essentially lock down any travel from the UK, but seriously to consider the possibility that you might want to require people who are coming here to be tested within a period of time, you know, 24, 34, or 76 hours before they get on a plane to come to the United States,” he added.

 

On Tuesday morning, Fauci will receive Moderna’s jab alongside Health Secretary Alex Azar, National Institutes of Health Director Francis Collins, and frontline workers at the NIH Clinical Center in Bethesda, Maryland.

 

I blame Harry and Meghan.

 

 

I picked out the pic with the crotch shot.

Edited December 22, 2020 by samhexum

[samhexum]

2019 first-round draft pick Dwayne Haskins is in hot water with the NFL and Washington Football Team over a viral Instagram story depicting him partying maskless with strippers.

 

The photos originally appeared on Instagram user @kalabrya‘s account, which is now private, and were reposted on Twitter by Rudy Gersten.

 

In one story, a woman is sitting on the Washington quarterback’s lap with both parties holding wads of cash without masks on. Another story shows five maskless women wearing Washington No. 7 jerseys (Haskins’ number) sipping mimosas around a table.

 

“I want to publicly apologize for my actions this past Sunday,” Haskins wrote on his Twitter account, which he made private after his apology. “I spoke with Coach Rivera yesterday and took full accountability for putting the team at risk. It was irresponsible and immature of me and I accept responsibility for my action. I also want to apologize for creating a distraction for my team during our playoff push. I will learn and grow from this and do what’s best for the team moving forward.”

 

Gersten further pointed out that, “Haskins wore his favorite sweatshirt last night eliminating any deniability.”

 

“The Washington Football Team is aware of social media posts showing QB Dwayne Haskins partying maskless in a strip club, was in contact with the NFL yesterday about the matter and is handling the matter internally, I’m told,” NFL insider Tom Peilssero wrote on Twitter on Tuesday.

 

“Going to a nightclub without PPE is considered ‘High Risk COVID-19 Conduct,’ punishable by a maximum fine of one week’s salary or up to four-game suspension,” Pelissero said of Haskins, who faced previous fines this year for a separate COVID-19 violation.

 

Pelissero added that NFC East-leading Washington does not plan to release the 23-year-old, who is the lone healthy quarterback on their roster with Kyle Allen out for the year and Alex Smith dealing with a calf injury.

 

Haskins was relegated to third-string in early October behind former undrafted free agent Allen and veteran Smith, who hadn’t played in a NFL game since 2018. At the time, Haskins was also battling a non-COVID-19 stomach bug and dealing with the unexpected death of his puppy, Nipsi.

 

“Our full focus is on the Panthers game,” a team source told Chris Russell of 106.7 The Fan.

[samhexum]

2019 first-round draft pick Dwayne Haskins is in hot water with the NFL and Washington Football Team over a viral Instagram story depicting him partying maskless with strippers.

 

Washington Football Team quarterback Dwayne Haskins was stripped of his captaincy and fined $40,000 by the team for violating COVID-19 protocol when he partied with strippers without a mask this past weekend, according to multiple reports.

This is the largest known fine for a player’s COVID-19 violation, equaling more than half of Haskins’ weekly paycheck, according to NFL Network.

 

Haskins, 23, told reporters Wednesday he was not at a strip club, but rather a private birthday party for his girlfriend. ESPN reported Haskins hired strippers for a party in a hotel suite. He did admit, however, that he “deserved” his punishment for putting the team at risk by not wearing a mask at a large gathering. He said he’s thus far tested negative for COVID-19.

 

Haskins, the No. 15 overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, was caught partying maskless following Sunday’s 23-15 loss to the Seahawks, counting as the second time Haskins has violated the league’s coronavirus protocol. Earlier in the season, he made reservations for a family member to stay at the team hotel the night before a road game against the Giants.

 

With the team still waiting for clarity on quarterback Alex Smith’s calf injury, Washington might have to stick with Haskins. He participated in practice Wednesday and with no suspensions as part of his recent punishment, head coach Ron Rivera — who informed Haskins on Monday he’d no longer be a captain — said Haskins would start if Smith can’t play.

[samhexum]

A weary UK doctor walked out of the hospital where he spent New Year’s Eve treating COVID-19 patients and into a crowd of maskless protesters shouting “COVID is a hoax.”

 

“I’m disgusted but mostly heartbroken,” Matthew Lee tweeted along with video he shot of the hundreds of protesters outside London’s St Thomas’s Hospital.

 

“I wish people could see the amount of COVID-19 and death in hospitals, and the sacrifices that health care workers make. This week alone has been so tough. Their ignorance is hurting others. I really wish people would keep themselves safe.”

 

The UK is recording a huge surge of coronavirus cases as a highly contagious variant of the deadly bug rips through the population.

 

On New Year’s Eve, Londoners were warned not to party in groups outside, and indoor events that mixed groups from different households were banned, The Independent reported.

 

Lee’s post took off, getting shared and retweeted more than 24,000 times.

 

TV personality Piers Morgan was one who took notice, tweeting that he was “seething” about Lee’s video. “If it’s a hoax, let’s take all these imbeciles inside the covid ward without PPE. See how brave they feel when confronted with the reality of people choking to death.

 

Lee, a Hong Kong native who makes videos about his life in medicine, was overwhelmed by the response. “Thank you all for your support!” he tweeted on New Year’s Day. “Covid doesn’t discriminate and we’re all in this together.”

 

 

Edited January 2, 2021 by samhexum

[+ Lucky]

Dr. Lee is cute. Pay attention!

[samhexum]

Taylor (Mun)Dayne is defending herself after taking the stage at Mar-a-Lago on New Year’s Eve as part of President Donald Trump’s annual celebration.

 

The “Love Will Lead You Back” singer, 58, took to Twitter to respond to criticism from fans, who were upset to hear that she performed at the mask-less event during the coronavirus pandemic. Many also said her appearance was an endorsement of Trump’s policies.

 

“I’m saddened by all this ... I try to stay non-political and non-judgmental and not preach,” Dayne said in a now-deleted tweet, which was captured by Just Jared. Kushner or Fogle? “I sing from my heart purely and from Source. I wish for all to be who they need to be ... and find their way.”

 

(Mun)Dayne’s statement was met by significant criticism from some fans.

 

While Trump and first lady Melania Trump did not attend the celebration, guests at the glitzy fête included Donald Trump Jr. and girlfriend Kimberly Guilfoyle, Eric Trump and wife Lara Trump, Tiffany Trump and Rudy Giuliani. Guests reportedly paid four figures for an entry ticket, according to the New York Times.

 

(Mun)Dayne, who wore a floor-length shimmering gown to the celebration, wasn’t the only singer to perform at Mar-a-Lago. In a Facebook video, Donald Trump Jr. revealed that Vanilla Ice performed at the celebration, as Yahoo Entertainment previously reported. most of the guests kept mumbling "who are these people?"

 

“OK this is amazing. Vanilla Ice is playing the Mar-a-Lago New Years Eve party,” Trump Jr. captioned his video from Thursday evening, which depicted the rapper performing his 1989 hits “Ice Ice Baby” and a cover of Wild Cherry’s “Play That Funky Music” to a crowd of fans, who were all mask-less. “As a child of the ‘90s you can’t fathom how awesome that is. Beyond that I got the birthday shoutout so that’s pretty amazing.”

 

Representatives of Vanilla Ice did not respond to Yahoo Entertainment’s request for comment. The rapper’s latest tweet — captioned “#DropTheMic” — shares a news article detailing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s lifting of COVID-19 restrictions. A spokesperson for Mar-a-Lago also declined to comment when asked by Yahoo Entertainment.

 

In Palm Beach County, where Mar-a-Lago is located, the mayor has extended a State of Emergency order until Jan. 8 due to the more than 1.3 million positive coronavirus cases. However, Florida does not require face coverings.

 

 

Edited January 4, 2021 by samhexum

[samhexum]

A cab driver in British Columbia took a drunk passenger who refused to wear a mask to a police station, where that passenger was taken into custody.

 

The Victoria Police Department said in its report that the unidentified anti-masker was busted around 1 a.m. New Years Day after ignoring the taxi driver’s request to adhere to the pandemic prevention measure, then touching that worker’s face.

 

Once being driven to the station, that unruly passenger initially refused to leave the cab and was arrested. He was placed in a jail cell to sober up and faces fines of up to nearly $690 in Canadian currency, which comes out to $542. That’s the largest fine Victoria police have assessed to an individual for violating its COVID-19 Related Measures Act.

 

Johns Hopkins University reports that Canada, which has a population of over 37 million people, has seen 16,210 COVID-related deaths by Tuesday.

[Luv2play]

A cab driver in British Columbia took a drunk passenger who refused to wear a mask to a police station, where that passenger was taken into custody.

 

The Victoria Police Department said in its report that the unidentified anti-masker was busted around 1 a.m. New Years Day after ignoring the taxi driver’s request to adhere to the pandemic prevention measure, then touching that worker’s face.

 

Once being driven to the station, that unruly passenger initially refused to leave the cab and was arrested. He was placed in a jail cell to sober up and faces fines of up to nearly $690 in Canadian currency, which comes out to $542. That’s the largest fine Victoria police have assessed to an individual for violating its COVID-19 Related Measures Act.

 

Johns Hopkins University reports that Canada, which has a population of over 37 million people, has seen 16,210 COVID-related deaths by Tuesday.

 

Not great numbers in Canada but given our relative size in population to the United States, the deaths and number of cases is quite a bit less than half per capita.

[samhexum]

Not great numbers in Canada but given our relative size in population to the United States, the deaths and number of cases is quite a bit less than half per capita.

The U.S. has about 9 times the population and 22 times the number of deaths, although to be fair, part of that is because we have more densely populated areas and the virus hit first in 2 of the most-densely-populated ones in NY & NJ-- before much was known about how to fight it. And also, we have many more nursing home residents than Canada, and that's been the group with (by far) the highest percentage of deaths.

[Luv2play]

The U.S. has about 9 times the population and 22 times the number of deaths, although to be fair, part of that is because we have more densely populated areas and the virus hit first in 2 of the most-densely-populated ones in NY & NJ-- before much was known about how to fight it. And also, we have many more nursing home residents than Canada, and that's been the group with (by far) the highest percentage of deaths.

Actually while Canada is a larger country geographically than the US, over 90 percent of our population lives with 100 miles of the US border, making it a densely populated band along the southern border of the country. Also Canada is highly urbanized and most people live in large urban centres. The highest number of cases are in the most densely populated provinces, Ontario, Quebec, British Columbia and Alberta. Our Maritime provinces are largely rural, do not have large urban centres and they have the lowest number of cases.

 

Quebec has had the largest number of cases and deaths per capita and that is largely because the virus invaded there back in February because that is when they had their winter break, two weeks ahead of the rest of the country (vive la difference) and Quebecers brought the virus back unknowingly from the US and Europe, where many hundreds of thousands had vacationed. Even the Prime MInister's wife ,Sophie Trudeau, got sick when she visited London in February.

 

Cases in Quebec are skyrocketing again and today the government announced a one month curfew, the strictest lockdown in Canada so far. No one will be able to leave their homes from 8pm to 5am unless its to go to an essential job like healthcare workers.