PlagueWatch 2020-23 - Coronavirus

[rsvman]

Anybody else find it interesting that the same people who think we should use hydroxychloroquine willy-nilly and find it almost offensive that experts say we don't have scientific evidence to support its use are also the ones who insist that we needn't wear masks because there is no scientific proof of their efficacy? Can't have it both ways.

Isn't it self-evident that wearing a mask will necessarily decrease the amount of secretions going out into the air? Do they not understand that if I were to sneeze on their arm it would get covered with droplets and that if I did the same thing but with a mask on they would get far fewer of those droplets on them? Do they really think we need some expensive scientific study to prove that?

[-jk]

Anybody else find it interesting that the same people who think we should use hydroxychloroquine willy-nilly and find it almost offensive that experts say we don't have scientific evidence to support its use are also the ones who insist that we needn't wear masks because there is no scientific proof of their efficacy? Can't have it both ways.

Isn't it self-evident that wearing a mask will necessarily decrease the amount of secretions going out into the air? Do they not understand that if I were to sneeze on their arm it would get covered with droplets and that if I did the same thing but with a mask on they would get far fewer of those droplets on them? Do they really think we need some expensive scientific study to prove that?

I'll trust the evidence that fits my world view, thanks!

Or something like that.

-jk

[MChambers]

Anybody else find it interesting that the same people who think we should use hydroxychloroquine willy-nilly and find it almost offensive that experts say we don't have scientific evidence to support its use are also the ones who insist that we needn't wear masks because there is no scientific proof of their efficacy? Can't have it both ways.

Isn't it self-evident that wearing a mask will necessarily decrease the amount of secretions going out into the air? Do they not understand that if I were to sneeze on their arm it would get covered with droplets and that if I did the same thing but with a mask on they would get far fewer of those droplets on them? Do they really think we need some expensive scientific study to prove that?

Right. For me, I don't need a scientific study to show that if I wear a mask I am less likely to infect other people. It seems obvious from the way masks work. It also seems obvious that countries where wearing masks is routinely done have done far better fighting the coronavirus.

I really don't understand people who feel differently.

[MChambers]

I'm still paying more attention to hospital capacity than to positive tests - that's what flattening the curve was all about after all.

Here in Mont Co, MD, (just outside DC - and NIH central) we're in one of the country's hotspots. MoCo has a dashboard showing utilization of acute care and icu beds. I want to know they have space for me if I need it!

Edit to add excess deaths...

-jk

Here in upper Northwest DC (I can walk to Montgomery County in less than five minutes), that's good to know. The DC hospital bed situation is similar to Montgomery County.

https://coronavirus.dc.gov/page/coronavirus-data

On the other hand, I would just as soon avoid any visit to the hospital, especially one owing to the coronavirus.

[BD80]

… Isn't it self-evident that wearing a mask will necessarily decrease the amount of secretions going out into the air? Do they not understand that if I were to sneeze on their arm it would get covered with droplets and that if I did the same thing but with a mask on they would get far fewer of those droplets on them? Do they really think we need some expensive scientific study to prove that?

Right. For me, I don't need a scientific study to show that if I wear a mask I am less likely to infect other people. It seems obvious from the way masks work. It also seems obvious that countries where wearing masks is routinely done have done far better fighting the coronavirus.

I really don't understand people who feel differently.

I am really struggling to understand the opposition to wearing masks.


So I've decided to try a new approach:

bacon masks.jpg


Good news: business model looks sound, people will go through multiple masks in a day. Demand will be really high. Price point high.

Bad news: can't get enough of the product past Quality Testing to make it to market.

[Bluedog]

Jason,

Can you find where WHO has changed their opinion? I mean, I'm all in on masks and think the arguments against use are asinine, but:

1. CNN reported that WHO stood by their guidance as of the end of March.

2. The WHO facebook page appears devoid of recommendations for mask use other than by nursing mothers. They do recommend that folks refrain from alcohol and salt. The salt was a new one on me.

3. The WHO web page on mask use contains the same information Fox News is reporting.

Given Fox's bent, it's not surprising that they'd ferret out information anti-mask. It is surprising the WHO hasn't been more directly pro-mask given what we've learned. Or, maybe I'm just not looking online in the right places.

Yep, the WHO clarified this week that the guidance to not wear a mask unless caring for somebody with COVID-19 is STILL their guidance. Seems like the reason is largely for other countries where people don't have access to masks or they're needed for healthcare workers, not as relevant to the situation in the US.

https://abcnews.go.com/amp/Health/cd...BgxRuroVjmw7mI

[CameronDuke]

The USA death toll on Worldometer is now over 105,000. I am having a hard time fathoming that many deaths in such a short time. We still aren’t done with May either. By the end of June and into the middle of the summer, I cannot even begin to think about how many deaths there may be due to COVID-19.

[Furniture]

492000 tests in the US yesterday....

[bundabergdevil]

I am really struggling to understand the opposition to wearing masks.


So I've decided to try a new approach:

bacon masks.jpg


Good news: business model looks sound, people will go through multiple masks in a day. Demand will be really high. Price point high.

Bad news: can't get enough of the product past Quality Testing to make it to market.

I don’t like to toss around the word genius lightly but...

[mattman91]

Saw this today at a brewery, thought this thread would enjoy it

IMG_20200530_145136.jpg he

[mattman91]

Saw this today at a brewery, thought this thread would enjoy it

IMG_20200530_145136.jpg he

Dammit. Every time I post a pic from my phone it posts sideways. Can a mod please fix this?

[YmoBeThere]

Dammit. Every time I post a pic from my phone it posts sideways. Can a mod please fix this?

You need to edit the picture, by doing something like cropping it, etc. That is the only way I've gotten them to work here. And you don't have to crop much. Just a few pixels on the outside should work.

[CrazyNotCrazie]

This might have been discussed upthread but I was wondering if anyone could tell me the pros and cons of the nasal test vs the saliva test (other than the obvious discomfort issue)? A friend was discussing using saliva tests on kids before opening camps and/or schools.

[jimsumner]

I am really struggling to understand the opposition to wearing masks.


.

If you start from the premise that COVID-19 is a hoax perpetuated by enemies of the current inhabitant of the White House for the purpose of shutting down the economy to hinder his re-election campaign, then it's not hard to connect the dots.

Doesn't apply to everyone refusing to wear masks. But it applies to a lot.

And then there are the folks who simply think they are invulnerable and don't go much past that.

[OldPhiKap]

If you start from the premise that COVID-19 is a hoax perpetuated by enemies of the current inhabitant of the White House for the purpose of shutting down the economy to hinder his re-election campaign, then it's not hard to connect the dots.

Doesn't apply to everyone refusing to wear masks. But it applies to a lot.

And then there are the folks who simply think they are invulnerable and don't go much past that.

I think that a warped concept of masculinity plays in too.

In my experience, the folks not wearing masks are predominantly white men between 20 and 40-ish. Small sample size, perhaps, but wonder if that observation matches the experience of others.

[devildeac]

Saw this today at a brewery, thought this thread would enjoy it

IMG_20200530_145136.jpg he

If you saw this at a brewery:

1. It must be true.
2. It should be posted in Ymm, Beer.

[OldPhiKap]

Dammit. Every time I post a pic from my phone it posts sideways. Can a mod please fix this?

Is that a gravity-assisted shot, or gravity-defying? Can’t get a close look but my level of impressedness depends greatly on that simple fact.

[devildeac]

Dammit. Every time I post a pic from my phone it posts sideways. Can a mod please fix this?

Might have something to do with your location and preferred liquid of hydration.

(posts someone who has yet to learn how to post any photos from his phone )

[devildeac]

Looks like pangolins back on the endangered species list again:

https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/29/healt...udy/index.html

"What is clear is that the coronavirus has swapped genes repeatedly with similar strains infecting bats, pangolins and a possible third species, a team of researchers from Duke University, Los Alamos National Laboratory and elsewhere reported in the journal Science Advances."

[OldPhiKap]

Damn, was planning on doing pangolin tartare tomorrow. Another recipe gone to hell.