Corona Virus

The outbreak in Washington. From The New York Times.

The outbreak in Washington

A growing coronavirus cluster rattled the nation's capital today as fresh infections emptied the White House, sent top military officials into quarantine and left local health officials scrambling to trace contacts.

In the White House, residential staff wore protective gear after President Trump returned to the residence to convalesce with Covid-19. West Wing offices were largely deserted as a number of advisers and other officials stayed home.

The president continued to downplay the seriousness of the virus, even as Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, along with several of the Pentagon’s most senior uniformed leaders, went into quarantine after Adm. Charles Ray, the vice commandant of the Coast Guard, tested positive.

Congress’s attending physician has been working with the Washington, D.C., health department to trace the contacts of dozens of U.S. lawmakers, congressional aides and reporters. But the House of Representatives has no plans to move to mandatory Covid-19 testing for members and staff, citing concerns that the rapid tests used by the White House aren’t accurate.

The outbreaks at the White House and Capitol Hill underscore how difficult it is for Washington to get the virus under control when it has almost no control over the federal government — and when senior administration officials flout coronavirus restrictions and contact tracing procedures.

Case in point: the Sept. 26 reception in the White House Rose Garden for Judge Amy Coney Barrett, now thought to be a possible super-spreading event. It violated the city’s mandate on limiting the size of gatherings and requiring masks, but the White House, as federal property, is exempt. The White House refused to comply with the city’s request for help with contact tracing.

Quote:

---

Case in point: the Sept. 26 reception in the White House Rose Garden for Judge Amy Coney Barrett, now thought to be a possible super-spreading event. It violated the city’s mandate on limiting the size of gatherings and requiring masks, but the White House, as federal property, is exempt. The White House refused to comply with the city’s request for help with contact tracing.

---

What? They reckon the Virus stops at the fence line do they? IDIOTS!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Eevo

once a week? [bigwhistle]

---

I'm thinking of trying the Bamboo jobs, maybe I could get another two weeks extra out of those then burn them [bigrolf]

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by 4bee

What? They reckon the Virus stops at the fence line do they? IDIOTS!









I'm thinking of trying the Bamboo jobs, maybe I could get another two weeks extra out of those then burn them [bigrolf]

---

Actually you can get another week out of them if you just turn them inside out!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by RANDLOVER

Actually you can get another week out of them if you just turn them inside out!

---

:Rolling:

Actually that could be 5 weeks using your method. :clap2::ohyes: You ain't just a pretty face are you?[bigrolf]

NSW COVID infections passes Victoria. How long can QLD's luck hold out? As long as the border stays shut I guess. Even that may not be enough with this insidious virus.

NSW tops Victoria for virus cases amid spikes in both states

The QLD border is about as waterproof as a sieve, If northern NSW gets infections then QLD will cop it as well unfortunately

Meanwhile , in the USA. New York Times.

Cases are surging in America’s breadbasket

After savaging the Northeast in the spring and the South and the West this summer, the virus is now devastating another region in the United States — the Midwest and Great Plains.

From Wisconsin to Montana, states in the nation’s breadbasket had mostly avoided large outbreaks during the initial months of the pandemic. Now, many hospitals in the region are filling to capacity and cases and deaths are on the rise.

In the past week, North Dakota has reported more new cases per capita than any other state. Hospitalizations have risen so sharply that medical officials have had to send patients miles away for care, even across state lines to Montana and South Dakota. On Monday, across the entire state, just 39 staffed I.C.U. beds were available.

In Wisconsin, the virus is raging out of control. Three of the four metropolitan areas in the U.S. with the most cases per capita last week were in northeastern Wisconsin, and hospital systems in the state are becoming overwhelmed. Officials opened a field hospital today in Milwaukee.

Health experts say the recent spike in cases was driven by young adults and the reopening of colleges and K-12 schools. Thousands of cases have been linked to Midwestern universities, and the scale of the outbreaks, given the relatively small populations of states like South and North Dakota, has had outsize effects.

The virus took its time to reach frightening levels in the region, which is why public health officials say they’re having trouble convincing people that the situation is urgent. There’s a general fatigue over wearing masks and social distancing, and regulations aimed at slowing the spread of the virus in the region have been met with resistance. But as cases and deaths continue to climb, health officials like Vern Dosch, who leads contact tracing efforts for North Dakota, hope that the public will start to take the virus more seriously.

“If there’s anything that should get our population’s attention, it’s this: how perilously close we are to the edge,” Mr. Dosch said.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by trout1105

The QLD border is about as waterproof as a sieve, If northern NSW gets infections then QLD will cop it as well unfortunately

---

Unfortunately, I think you are right. Especially as the ADF was taken off border duties. [bigsad]

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by bob10

Meanwhile , in the USA. New York Times.

Cases are surging in America’s breadbasket

After savaging the Northeast in the spring and the South and the West this summer, the virus is now devastating another region in the United States — the Midwest and Great Plains ......

The virus took its time to reach frightening levels in the region, which is why public health officials say they’re having trouble convincing people that the situation is urgent. There’s a general fatigue over wearing masks and social distancing, and regulations aimed at slowing the spread of the virus in the region have been met with resistance. But as cases and deaths continue to climb, health officials like Vern Dosch, who leads contact tracing efforts for North Dakota, hope that the public will start to take the virus more seriously.

“If there’s anything that should get our population’s attention, it’s this: how perilously close we are to the edge,” Mr. Dosch said.

---

You'll recall at the start, when New York got smashed, that the Republicans were saying or alluding, that it just infected "Liberals" and migrants. I remember reading articles saying that it wouldn't spread outside NYC because the rest of the US wasn't crowded like NYC - but it doesn't matter how wide the horizons are if people are cramming themselves into supermarkets, bars, schools and churches.

An interesting update on the risk factors of transmission of COVID. Probably explains why anti social people (maybe Land Rover owners[biggrin]) are at less risk.

Coronavirus Australia: When it comes to ways of catching COVID-19, we'''re rating risks wrongly

Regards,
Tote