Thread: Corona Virus

Originally Posted by 4bee

Are you aware whether that vent is Supply or Return air? Not great if it turns out to be Return & getting heaps of crap air from the rest of the Tube is it?

Already on that, supply on top, return down at floor level. HEPA filters on the supply. Fingers crossed we’ve not been fed bull****.

We should all be thankful we don't live in the USA. [This virus spread quickly from Wuhan when 5,000 Chinese travelled across the country for a national festival. During thanksgiving, 50,000 Americans travelled across their country for family gatherings.]

Data from Johns Hopkins University reveals 2804 Americans died from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, obliterating the previous record by about 7.5 per cent.
The last time the single-day death toll was this high was on April 15, when the US recorded 2609 COVID deaths.
The past 24 hours also saw the second biggest ever daily increase in coronavirus cases reported, with 200,070 new infections.
The previous record rise in new confirmed cases had been set last Friday with 205,557 new cases.
According to the Covid Tracking Project, the total number of Americans who are currently in hospital with the virus has for the first time hit six figures – 100,226 to be exact.



US coronavirus deaths reach new high, cases spike (thenewdaily.com.au)

Given the incubation period of up to 14 days, we are yet to see the peak of new infections (not to mention that the ongoing infection rate is now working from a larger base. And consider that deaths commonly occur two to four weeks after diagnosis, expect these figures to keep rising dramatically for at least the next month.

As was pointed out before Thanksgiving - "Big gathering at Thanksgiving ----> small funeral at Christmas".

My brother in Houston apparently managed to stave off suggestions for a family gathering.

Originally Posted by JDNSW

Given the incubation period of up to 14 days, we are yet to see the peak of new infections (not to mention that the ongoing infection rate is now working from a larger base. And consider that deaths commonly occur two to four weeks after diagnosis, expect these figures to keep rising dramatically for at least the next month.

As was pointed out before Thanksgiving - "Big gathering at Thanksgiving ----> small funeral at Christmas".

My brother in Houston apparently managed to stave off suggestions for a family gathering.

Yes, the worst is yet to come. It's like something out of a horror movie. 2,885 people died yesterday.

Bad as things are, the worst is yet to come

Nine months after the initial outbreak, the United States, by our best indicators, has never been in a worse position in the pandemic.

Across the country, more than 100,000 people are hospitalized with Covid-19, a record that is nearly double the high point in the spring, when the pandemic reached its first peak. The country also recorded nearly 200,000 cases yesterday, it’s second highest daily total since the pandemic began, and today surpassed a total of 14 million infections.

The New York Times

But no indicator is more consequential, or gut-wrenching, than the death rate — and yesterday 2,885 people died from Covid-19, more than the record set in April, when the pandemic first peaked.

The New York Times

Sadly, all indications point to things probably getting much worse.

When there are so many cases in so many places, as there are now, it becomes much more difficult to bend the curve — it’s like turning around an aircraft carrier, Dr. Anthony Fauci told me recently.

The April peak was the worst moment in the spring. Deaths dropped after lockdowns were imposed, Americans changed their behavior and the summer months arrived.

Now, however, there’s no interruption in sight. The delayed effects of Thanksgiving travel and gatherings are likely to push the cases, hospitalizations and deaths higher. The communal rituals of support and hope that helped get the country through the first surge — like the nightly pot-banging salutes to health care workers — have disappeared. Pandemic fatigue and winter’s grim chill make the appeal of December holiday gatherings even more difficult to resist.

Dr. Robert Redfield, the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said on Wednesday that he thought that the next few months may not be just the toughest moment of the coronavirus pandemic, but perhaps the most difficult time in the nation’s public health history.

But there is still time to turn things around, he said, if Americans would just take measures to slow the spread, like wearing masks.

“It’s not a fait accompli,” he said. “We’re not defenseless. The truth is that mitigation works. But it’s not going to work if half of us do what we need to do. Probably not even if three-quarters do.”

The US sadly achieved the double today with the highest number of new daily cases (218,576) and the highest number of new daily deaths (2,918) bringing the total number of dead from Covid to 282,829. according to Wordometers.

Wasn't very long ago that the modellers were predicting 300,000 dead by the end of Jan, now it looks like that's going to happen by Xmas.

Americans are not going to be 'all together in Church' then either.

DL

Originally Posted by bob10

WHO gives a warning, the vaccine may not be the end of COVID.

WHO warns vaccine not the only answer to end pandemic (thenewdaily.com.au)

More loss of credibility for WHO: latest research shows that antibodies are likely to be long lasting - as they are for SARs - so, in the medium term vaccines are the answer.

As for the poor and marginalised, big chunks of the developing world - such as Africa - that it was feared would be decimated by COVID-19 have actually weathered it quite well, either because of existing immunity to other coronaviruses or because there are relatively few old people in those countries.

A message from our favourite surf club. Green shoots. Positive outlook. Yahooo!

Europe's wasted summer, the perils of opening up with few restrictions.

Europe’s wasted summer

By early June, Europe was emerging from the depths of its fight against the coronavirus, just as the U.S. and others were fighting record caseloads. Europeans, desperate for a break, headed off for their sacred summer vacations — and paid dearly for it.

The second wave now hitting Europe is deadlier than the first, pushing reluctant governments back into lockdowns and inflicting new scars on the European economy. Swift reopenings with few restrictions, coupled with cross-border travel, turned out to be a deadly combination.

In most European countries, daily deaths are jumping higher this fall than ever before. Nearly 105,000 people died of Covid-19 in November in 31 countries monitored by the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control.

With Christmas approaching, the region is on high alert. Movement between Italian regions will be all but barred between Dec. 21 and Jan. 6, with people allowed to travel only for work, health reasons or emergencies. New Year’s Eve dinners in hotels are also banned and limited to room service. And ski slopes will be closed from the Alps to the Apennines, a coordinated decision by Italy, France and Germany.