Corona Virus

Havn't been on here for a while as things have been rather strange over here. There has been a lockdown in all but name here. It did not apply to me as I am regarded as "front line" so had to work as normal. This has been a little stressful for my wife and I owing to the fact that our daughter has special needs and I was worried that I could bring the infection home with me. So there I was, stripping in the yard, running for the shower, spending my evenings alone in a room and sleeping in a separate room to my wife. All precautions to keep the infection out.
The summer before last we spent 10 days in hospital with our daughter. One of the issues was fluid on the lungs which can occur with the C19 virus. The issue being is that if our daughter did become infected she would be hospitalised by her self and this was playing on our minds. Also if equipment and staff were stretched and in short supply my daughter who would require a lot of care and attention would be passed over and her place given to someone with a better chance of recovery who would recover quickly and resources redirected to another patient.
So after consultation with my wife we decided I'd request time off work to negate the risk on me bringing the virus home with me. I got a letter from our local doctor explaining the case. I sent this in to the powers that be and today I got word back that it has been granted. Happy days you might think...well read on.
When I returned this evening I was given the news that the wife of one of my fellow workers has been tested positive for the C19. The issue being that in order to be tested you have to be showing the requisite signs for a time. These have to be serious enough to warrant a test. There is a time lapse between testing and getting the results. During all this time the co worker kept coming in to work and never gave any indication of the situation. It would have been prudent if he had made us aware of the situation and stayed home while awaiting clarification as we are instructed to do. So now the rest of us will be on tender hooks for the next 9 - 10 to see if any of us develop symptoms. Then then is the issue of our families.

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Originally Posted by NavyDiver

Well done all- Bravo Zulu it seems. Modelling shows coronavirus being suppressed as Australia prepares to start surveillance testing - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

That's the ying or the good.

Some people are not happy for many reasons yet most are trying not to hurt other or themselves.

Mean while Multiple US protests for people 'sick and tired' of virus lockdown


I wonder how the protestors think the deaths and infection rates are going to reduce when they are massing together[bighmmm]

At least one person in this picture thought to wear a mask. Not the right type of course sadly. A song Say and little prayer for me popped into my head when reading this about some Americans.
https://static.ffx.io/images/$zoom_0...20a66bffdc220e

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Try this protest in michigan for size, block ambulance entrances to a hospital with your cars ,dont move when a doctor asks you to move...cant understand some days how the USA was/is so powerful


Right-wing protesters in Lansing, Michigan are out protesting the "Stay Home, Stay Safe" order.

The protest is preventing ambulances from dropping off patients at Sparrow Hospital.

https://mobile.twitter.com/chadloder...30116544815104

Science unscripted, coronavirus and your heart,

Science unscripted - Daily news on COVID-19 | Science| In-depth reporting on science and technology | DW | 17.04.2020

Coronavirus latest from around the World, from DW. EDIT. China raises it's cases by 50 %.

Coronavirus latest: IMF appeals for billions in aid to Africa during pandemic | News | DW | 17.04.2020

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Originally Posted by Saitch

Can you get coronavirus twice? This Nobel prize winner is sceptical - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

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Blackwater FIFO miner returned a false positive. Second test was negative.

Blackwater Mine worker returns 'false positive' COVID-19 test result

That's good.

This story has useful information debunking the Fox News claim the virus came from a Chinese lab.

Numerous theories abound around coronavirus's origins, and Donald Trump's catapulted an unverified one
Coronavirus may have come from a Chinese lab, if you believe Donald Trump — but experts disagree - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

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Originally Posted by spudfan

Havn't been on here for a while as things have been rather strange over here. There has been a lockdown in all but name here. It did not apply to me as I am regarded as "front line" so had to work as normal. This has been a little stressful for my wife and I owing to the fact that our daughter has special needs and I was worried that I could bring the infection home with me. So there I was, stripping in the yard, running for the shower, spending my evenings alone in a room and sleeping in a separate room to my wife. All precautions to keep the infection out.
The summer before last we spent 10 days in hospital with our daughter. One of the issues was fluid on the lungs which can occur with the C19 virus. The issue being is that if our daughter did become infected she would be hospitalised by her self and this was playing on our minds. Also if equipment and staff were stretched and in short supply my daughter who would require a lot of care and attention would be passed over and her place given to someone with a better chance of recovery who would recover quickly and resources redirected to another patient.
So after consultation with my wife we decided I'd request time off work to negate the risk on me bringing the virus home with me. I got a letter from our local doctor explaining the case. I sent this in to the powers that be and today I got word back that it has been granted. Happy days you might think...well read on.
When I returned this evening I was given the news that the wife of one of my fellow workers has been tested positive for the C19. The issue being that in order to be tested you have to be showing the requisite signs for a time. These have to be serious enough to warrant a test. There is a time lapse between testing and getting the results. During all this time the co worker kept coming in to work and never gave any indication of the situation. It would have been prudent if he had made us aware of the situation and stayed home while awaiting clarification as we are instructed to do. So now the rest of us will be on tender hooks for the next 9 - 10 to see if any of us develop symptoms. Then then is the issue of our families.

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That's concerning, but its possible to be a carrier and have no symptoms, so maybe the person didn't know. Its also possible to have mild symptoms and think its just a cold. I had that a few weeks ago, but didn't qualify to be tested. I still think I just had a sniffle. We are all fine.
Its good the states are now widening the criteria for testing. Really, testing should be universal. That would catch it early and reveal the real infection rate.
I hope it all goes well for you and your family.

All very well to say "testing should be universal". The reality is that obtaining a valid sample requires a trained person, special swabs and packaging, and skilled operators for the machines that run the actual test (and this is where false positives can easily happen - the test is so sensitive that scrupulous cleanliness is absolutely essential to avoid cross-contamination of samples), and the reagents need to be available.

All of the above are in short supply, and nobody, anywhere, has even contemplated the possibility of universal testing.

Note that the tests described above detect the actual presence of the virus, or at least a distinctive part of its RNA. Tests are also beginning to appear that test for the presence of antibodies in the blood. These can be (at least in theory) almost instantaneous, but have several severe shortcomings. The main one is that they tell that you have been exposed to the virus sufficiently to produce antibodies. It does not mean you have been infected to the extent that the virus has multiplied in your body, whether you are, or ever have been or ever will be, infectious. This is similar to the "Mantoux Test" I had as a child for TB - it was to find whether I had been exposed to it, not whether I had it.

The other problem is that at least some of these tests that has already been deployed in some countries is apparently also detecting as false positives antibodies that are the result of infection with either of the two common coronaviruses that result in common colds. And as a result has a false positive rate of up to 30%.

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Originally Posted by DiscoMick

That's concerning, but its possible to be a carrier and have no symptoms, so maybe the person didn't know. Its also possible to have mild symptoms and think its just a cold. I had that a few weeks ago, but didn't qualify to be tested. I still think I just had a sniffle. We are all fine.
Its good the states are now widening the criteria for testing. Really, testing should be universal. That would catch it early and reveal the real infection rate.
I hope it all goes well for you and your family.

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The other problem is that until very recently unless you had symptoms that exactly matched what the authorities had deemed to be indicative of COVI-19 - and even back in January it was known that not everyone with COVID-19 had those symptoms - they wouldn’t test you.

My house mate works for Home Affairs as an intelligence analysts and has previously worked in the Emergency Management operations center which provides overall control of all emergency activities at the Federal level. For a number of weeks Emergency Management has been asking for my housemate to go an work for them on Covid19 management which he wants to do but due to internal politics approval has been denied.

Yesterday my housemate went the Centrelink admin offices for training to be a call centre operator to help meet their high workload - he cannot be loaned to Emergency Management for work he likes and is experienced in but can be sent to Centrelink to be a call center operator. So I highly skilled person with experience that can directly assist with COVID19 management is being sent to answer phones.

He does not suffer fools easily so will not make a good call centre operator and he has advised them as such but they are not interested. As well, despite being employed by Home Affairs but on loan, Centrelink is trying to lock in these employees by requiring them as individuals to sign employment contracts for 6 months. All have refused as this is supposed to be a agency to agency agreement and Centrelink is not happy. A few of the Home Affairs staff were in the process of moving sideways in the organisation and this has forced the issue so they are now leaving - so work areas are loosing valuable staff as they have options.

You have gotta love Centrelink - the biggest waste of space organistion there is in the Government sector.

Garry