COVID Gains After Mask Rules Dropped

[Guest]

2 hours ago, MikeBiDude said:

So you use the nasal saline rinse to avoid a positive Covid test result?

To reduce the chance of having the test come out positive. To avoid the possibility of alarming the uninformed, in other words. 

[Guest]

1 hour ago, MikeBiDude said:

LA County move from low to medium Covid risk level.

Stats on the increase here. Decision based on CDC parameters.

Once again, "cases" are not the important metric. The virus is extremely prevalent in LA County, about 2.85% of tests are coming out positive, meaning one person in 35 is walking around "positive." Jimmy Kimmel just tested positive for the 2nd time in 3 weeks. Fortunately, no one is getting seriously ill:

http://publichealth.lacounty.gov/media/Coronavirus/data/#

 

Bear in mind that the population of LA County is over 10 MILLION (more than 1/4 of the population of Canada and more than 1/3 of the population of Australia). Taking the 2.85% positivity, that means that 285,000 people are walking around positive on any given day (and a different 285,000 the next week). Essentially everyone is getting infected, but just about no one gets seriously ill, and the deaths (if even caused by the virus itself, which is dubious) for the last 6 weeks can literally be counted on the fingers of one hand. 

 

Edited May 20, 2022 by Unicorn

[+ Lucky]

Yes, let's cheat on the Covid test so we can get on a plane and infect the people near us! Lovely idea @Unicorn.

[Guest]

15 minutes ago, Lucky said:

Yes, let's cheat on the Covid test so we can get on a plane and infect the people near us! Lovely idea @Unicorn.

Jesus friggin' Christ. Would it be too much trouble for you to even bother glancing at the data/statistics which I'm spoon-feeding you? The risk from the virus is essentially ZERO now. To paraphrase FDR, the only thing we have to fear at this time is the fear of ignorant people. In your case, extremely willfully ignorant people. 

Edited May 20, 2022 by Unicorn

[MikeBiDude]

2 hours ago, Unicorn said:

To reduce the chance of having the test come out positive. To avoid the possibility of alarming the uninformed, in other words. 

Shameful example from a doctor.

[+ Lucky]

The good doctor has to resort to name calling as well as cheating. Yes, shameful.

A friend in San Francisco tested positive today. He is sick and had to cancel his trip that was supposed to have started tomorrow.

Tell him there are no consequences to getting Covid.

[+ Lucky]

https://www.sfchronicle.com/health/article/COVID-in-California-A-third-of-Americans-think-17185822.php

Latest updates:

Bay Area COVID case rate up 80% since last week

Hospitalizations in the state reach a two-month high

U.S. cases rise by 19%, hospitalizations up more than 24%

Almost as contagious as measles: Coronavirus spins out worrisome new mutations

COVID-19 deaths, hospitalizations expected to rise in nearly every state

Now, that's spoon feeding!

[+ WilliamM]

1 hour ago, Unicorn said:

Jesus friggin' Christ. Would it be too much trouble for you to even bother glancing at the data/statistics which I'm spoon-feeding you? The risk from the virus is essentially ZERO now. To paraphrase FDR, the only thing we have to fear at this time is the fear of ignorant people. In your case, extremely willfully ignorant people. 

How can it be essentially zero?  Not everyone is vaccinated. I mentioned that my close friend died in January from covid19 in January. He wasn't vaccinated at age 74.

Please stop calling people "willfully ignorant" when they  disagree with you!"

[Luv2play]

I'm glad we have at least one ethical doctor on this forum, Purplekow, who always demonstrates reasonable judgment and sagacity. It's best to ignore the other frequent poster who has revealed his true character in recent months.

[Guest]

2 hours ago, Lucky said:

....

Hospitalizations in the state reach a two-month high
U.S. cases rise by 19%, hospitalizations up more than 24%...

What a great example of how to lie with statistics:  choose craftingly calculated points in the graph without showing the whole picture. I can't read the article because it's behind a paywall. These are the facts, however. The hospitalizations have climbed by 24% from historic lows. The ICU levels have remained as low as they have ever been at any time since the statistics began (despite a large increase in "cases"):

Hospitalizations may have increased a bit since their low-point during the pandemic, early April, but cases have increased far more than 19% during that same period of time--they've more than doubled, from less than 50,000 to over 100,000:

(Source: CDC)

Since the hospitalization rate, over the last 2 months, has only increased a small amount compared to the overall number of people testing positive, that strongly suggests that those testing positive are incidental to why the person is in the hospital. It's obviously not possible for an infection rate to increase so wildly and not have some more people test positive when they're admitted to the hospital (even though the infection may have nothing to do with why the person is in the hospital in the first place). 

[Guest]

3 hours ago, Lucky said:

...A friend in San Francisco tested positive today. He is sick and had to cancel his trip that was supposed to have started tomorrow.

Tell him there are no consequences to getting Covid.

Well, the consequence was the cancelling of a trip, not being put in the hospital due to the virus. That could happen with any cold. Some people would cancel a trip due to a cold. Not everyone would. Probably every single person in the US has contracted omicron at some point since the start of the year. Almost no one is getting seriously ill from the virus. He's more a victim of the testing than of the actual virus itself. 

[Guest]

2 hours ago, Luv2play said:

...Purplekow, who always demonstrates reasonable judgment and sagacity...

I haven't heard  his agreeing with you recently--just the same old clowns...

 

[Guest]

11 hours ago, Lucky said:

Yes, let's cheat on the Covid test so we can get on a plane and infect the people near us! Lovely idea @Unicorn.

A Covid test is now only needed before going on a return flight to the US from abroad. No test is needed before going on any flight within the US, or on any flight to Europe, Canada, Australia, or the vast majority of countries south of the US border. Why? Because almost everyone but some numbskulls here recognize that the testing is unnecessary. The omicron strain is actually less serious than most common colds, at this point, even to the unvaccinated. The price of diamonds should go down. They've finally found a substance harder than diamonds--the hard heads of some people who keep bringing up the same BS in this string, although every week the benign nature of omicron becomes increasingly apparent. 

[EZEtoGRU]

13 hours ago, Unicorn said:

the hard heads of some people who keep bringing up the same BS in this string

You must have been looking in the mirror when you composed this line.  

Meanwhile COVID hospitalizations are up again this week in Michigan.  This is now 6-7 weeks of continuous increases in COVID hospitalizations in the state.  From 473 persons hospitalized on April 1 to 1146 on May 18.  Hospitalizations in Michigan have more than doubled since April 1.   Yet our faux doctor is pushing the theory that no-one is getting sick from Omicron in the US.  Complete B.S. and he knows it.  The test positivity rate is running between 14-18% here depending on the day so we have a high rate of transmission resulting in a continuous increase in COVID hospitalizations.  This has been going on now since the end of March. 

Edited May 21, 2022 by EZEtoGRU

[+ WilliamM]

Agree. A retired Doctor  would be  playing with His Partner at a  nude beach in California or Australia rather than posting here.

[Guest]

10 hours ago, EZEtoGRU said:

...Meanwhile COVID hospitalizations are up again this week in Michigan.  This is now 6-7 weeks of continuous increases in COVID hospitalizations in the state.  From 473 persons hospitalized on April 1 to 1146 on May 18.  Hospitalizations in Michigan have more than doubled since April 1.   Yet our faux doctor is pushing the theory that no-one is getting sick from Omicron in the US.  Complete B.S. and he knows it.  The test positivity rate is running between 14-18% here depending on the day so we have a high rate of transmission resulting in a continuous increase in COVID hospitalizations.  This has been going on now since the end of March. 

I'm just amazed that they let people with your understanding of math, fractions, and arithmetic even graduate from the 4th grade. The test positivity rate has gone from around 2% to 14-18%, or increased 7+fold, but hospitalizations have only doubled (or increased 2.2 times). What is that telling you? Even if I will allow for the fact that people who are testing are probably more likely than the general public to test positive (actors, healthcare workers, hospitality workers--though that's debatable), you still have a situation in which probably 1 in 10 in Michigan is now running around with the virus. That's 1 million in your population of 10 million. 

Do you never stop to wonder why there have been no changes in public health mandates? Why aren't public health officials foaming at the mouth and screaming like rabid lunatics? Because nearly nobody is getting sick BECAUSE of the virus. According to the American Hospital Directory, there are 29,000 acute care (not nursing home) hospital beds in the state of Michigan:

https://www.ahd.com/states/hospital_MI.html

Yet, according to the New York Times, https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/us/michigan-covid-cases.html , there are now 1100 patients hospitalized on any given day (7-day average) who test positive:

So 1100 out of 29,000 is far less than the 10% positivity rate (let alone "14-18%"). (Hospitals usually run about 80% full) The other fact you'll notice from that graph, if you'll take a cold shower and calm down for long enough to actually look at real statistics, is that, unlike with every other increase in hospitalization since the statistics have been taken, there's been no rise in ICU admissions (a real indication of life-threatening disease). If anything, the data seem to suggest that contracting the virus protects you from getting ill. 

Try to look beyond sensationalist headlines. If you actually look at the data with a calm, rational mindset, you will conclude that these data actually demonstrate the degree to which the virus has become benign. Yes, it is extraordinarily contagious--but not life-threatening (not even to the unvaccinated at this  point). 

[EZEtoGRU]

14 hours ago, Unicorn said:

I'm just amazed that they let people with your understanding of math, fractions, and arithmetic even graduate from the 4th grade. The test positivity rate has gone from around 2% to 14-18%, or increased 7+fold, but hospitalizations have only doubled (or increased 2.2 times). What is that telling you? Even if I will allow for the fact that people who are testing are probably more likely than the general public to test positive (actors, healthcare workers, hospitality workers--though that's debatable), you still have a situation in which probably 1 in 10 in Michigan is now running around with the virus. That's 1 million in your population of 10 million. 

Do you never stop to wonder why there have been no changes in public health mandates? Why aren't public health officials foaming at the mouth and screaming like rabid lunatics? Because nearly nobody is getting sick BECAUSE of the virus. According to the American Hospital Directory, there are 29,000 acute care (not nursing home) hospital beds in the state of Michigan:

https://www.ahd.com/states/hospital_MI.html

Yet, according to the New York Times, https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/us/michigan-covid-cases.html , there are now 1100 patients hospitalized on any given day (7-day average) who test positive:

So 1100 out of 29,000 is far less than the 10% positivity rate (let alone "14-18%"). (Hospitals usually run about 80% full) The other fact you'll notice from that graph, if you'll take a cold shower and calm down for long enough to actually look at real statistics, is that, unlike with every other increase in hospitalization since the statistics have been taken, there's been no rise in ICU admissions (a real indication of life-threatening disease). If anything, the data seem to suggest that contracting the virus protects you from getting ill. 

Try to look beyond sensationalist headlines. If you actually look at the data with a calm, rational mindset, you will conclude that these data actually demonstrate the degree to which the virus has become benign. Yes, it is extraordinarily contagious--but not life-threatening (not even to the unvaccinated at this  point). 

What's tragically comical is that that that you have argued for months that COVID hospitalizations were not increasing.  Now you matter-of-factly acknowledge that Michigan COVID hospitalizations have more than doubled since April 1.  In the same breath, you say "nearly nobody is getting sick BECAUSE of the virus".  News flash:  Being hospitalized due to COVID means you're getting sick because of COVID.

Honestly, just throw in the towel.  Your theories have been fully debunked.  The curtain has been pulled back great wizard.  The gig's up.  Omicron is raging.  Hospitalizations are up everywhere (which you have consistently denied until today).  COVID isn't over.  

 

 

Edited May 22, 2022 by EZEtoGRU

[+ WilliamM]

@Unicorn

 

The data does not suggest that a person who has had covid19 will not get it again

[Luv2play]

Our Dr. Denial is coming completely unhinged. His ravings have just become farcical except for the serious nature of the subject. He is a prime speciman from where he hails in LaLa land.

[MiamiLooker]

On 5/20/2022 at 1:33 PM, Unicorn said:

To reduce the chance of having the test come out positive. To avoid the possibility of alarming the uninformed, in other words. 

Are you saying the nasal saline rinse interferes with the test, causing someone who is positive to test negative or are you saying the saline rinse reduces the chance of a false-positive test result?

[Guest]

2 hours ago, MiamiLooker said:

Are you saying the nasal saline rinse interferes with the test, causing someone who is positive to test negative or are you saying the saline rinse reduces the chance of a false-positive test result?

Well, it lowers the number of particles, so more likely to turn negative someone who has a lower number of particles, and who would therefore be less likely to be contagious. So more likely to turn negative someone who's falsely positive (has some particles, but not contagious). 

[Guest]

5 hours ago, EZEtoGRU said:

... News flash:  Being hospitalized due to COVID means you're getting sick because of COVID.

...

Holy shit. You've got to be denser than a lead cannonball. News flash: THE STATISTICS AREN'T MEASURING THOSE HOSPITALIZED BECAUSE OF THE VIRUS--THEY MEASURE ANYONE WHO TESTS POSTIVE. Just look at U. of Michigan's data (one of the few hospitals in your state that reports its data individually):

https://www.uofmhealth.org/coronavirus/covid19-numbers

...

As of May 20, 8:00 am

• Total patients tested for COVID-19 at Michigan Medicine since the pandemic began (includes pending tests): 395,718
• Total positive tests: 23,080
• Tests pending (waiting for results): 50
• Current inpatients that are COVID-19 positive:46
• Pediatric patients that are COVID-19 positive: 11
• Total COVID-19 patients discharged to date: 5,450
• COVID-19 patients discharged yesterday: 14...

In other words, they test every single person who walks through their doors, regardless of the reason for admission, and are reporting everyone who tests positive, NOT people who are admitted BECAUSE of the virus. 

I would think it would be intuitive to almost anyone, even babies, that if the test positivity increases by 7-fold in the general population, that there would be SOME increase in the test positivity rate in those entering the hospital, even though the positive test has nothing to do with the reason the patient is in the hospital. You honestly can't understand this? The amazing facts are that the rate of increase is even lower, and the rate of positivity among hospitalized patients is even lower than that of the general population (not the opposite). 

Are you honestly telling me you can't understand this????

Fortunately, the obvious facts are also apparent to every public health official, who agrees with me, and disagrees with you. I accept the fact that you'll never be a man who'll admit when he was wrong. 

Edited May 22, 2022 by Unicorn

[Guest]

6 hours ago, WilliamM said:

@Unicorn

 

The data does not suggest that a person who has had covid19 will not get it again

[NJF]

2 hours ago, Unicorn said:

Holy shit. You've got to be denser than a lead cannonball. News flash: THE STATISTICS AREN'T MEASURING THOSE HOSPITALIZED BECAUSE OF THE VIRUS--THEY MEASURE ANYONE WHO TESTS POSTIVE. Just look at U. of Michigan's data (one of the few hospitals in your state that reports its data individually):

https://www.uofmhealth.org/coronavirus/covid19-numbers

...

As of May 20, 8:00 am

• Total patients tested for COVID-19 at Michigan Medicine since the pandemic began (includes pending tests): 395,718
• Total positive tests: 23,080
• Tests pending (waiting for results): 50
• Current inpatients that are COVID-19 positive:46
• Pediatric patients that are COVID-19 positive: 11
• Total COVID-19 patients discharged to date: 5,450
• COVID-19 patients discharged yesterday: 14...

In other words, they test every single person who walks through their doors, regardless of the reason for admission, and are reporting everyone who tests positive, NOT people who are admitted BECAUSE of the virus. 

I would think it would be intuitive to almost anyone, even babies, that if the test positivity increases by 7-fold in the general population, that there would be SOME increase in the test positivity rate in those entering the hospital, even though the positive test has nothing to do with the reason the patient is in the hospital. You honestly can't understand this? The amazing facts are that the rate of increase is even lower, and the rate of positivity among hospitalized patients is even lower than that of the general population (not the opposite). 

Are you honestly telling me you can't understand this????

Fortunately, the obvious facts are also apparent to every public health official, who agrees with me, and disagrees with you. I accept the fact that you'll never be a man who'll admit when he was wrong. 

We have stopped the mandatory covid testing for patients and shut down the screening facility. So the category of patients with covid disappeared. Nowadays the covid positive patients all have severe symptoms and a high percentage are in ICU.

[+ WilliamM]

8 minutes ago, Unicorn said:

One has to repeat information to catch the attention of a retired Doctor.

I am aware of my current limitations in discussions about my job  about fighting predatory lending and encouragement of housing counseling for first time home buyers