Coronavirus

[Gob]

A theme park is being used as a drive-through coronavirus testing facility for frontline NHS workers.



Thousands of doctors and nurses are being tested at Chessington World of Adventures in Surrey, where a facility has been set up in the car park.

Six lanes have been set up at the children’s entertainment park for health workers to drive in to from the main road.

It is understood Chessington is one of a number of new sites preparing to take samples from NHS workers, allowing those who test negative to return to work.

A source told The Sun: ‘This is what the public, the experts and the medics have been crying out for in the past few weeks.

‘Testing is so important and, if this helps the heroes on the frontline do their jobs, it could be a massive game-changer.’

[MajGenl.Meade]

"You may feel a little discomfort"

[Lord Jim]

My safety routine has gone from normal flu season precautions to paranoid.

"Paranoid" lib?

You?

Please say it ain't so...

I can't for the life of me imagine how anyone could reach such a conclusion; a more well grounded, rooted in reality fellow one couldn't hope to meet...(Why if it hadn't been for you, none of when know about the pending Russian invasion of Alaska...)

[Gob]

A woman was arrested in Bournemouth after "endlessly driving around for no reason", police have said.

In a Facebook post, the force said an officer "pleaded" with the woman to go home before she swore at him and told him "I'll do what I like".

Police said she was then arrested for breaching a dispersal notice.

The force posted several photographs of officers stopping cars on Friday and said it had been hearing "ridiculous excuses".

[Scooter]

I get that it violates orders about being out in public, but someone driving around aimlessly in their car, who never stops to get out anywhere, is not putting themselves or anyone else in danger of infection. It would seem a better use of police time to focus their attentions elsewhere.

[Lord Jim]

Possibly a little good news:

FDA authorizes 15-minute coronavirus test

(CNN)Federal health officials on Friday approved a coronavirus test that can provide results in less than 15 minutes, using the same technology that powers some rapid flu tests.

Teased by Vice President Mike Pence in a Thursday press briefing, the new diagnostic test could accelerate testing in the United States, allowing for rapid results in doctors' offices. But shortages of critical equipment used to collect patient specimens, like masks and swabs, could blunt its impact.

The US Food and Drug Administration authorized the test for emergency use, signaling that federal regulators were satisfied with the test's validation data and believe its benefits outweigh any risks, such as false positives or negatives.
The test's maker, Abbott Laboratories, said it expects to deliver 50,000 tests per day beginning next week. The technology behind the test looks for genes that are present in the virus, similar to PCR (polymerase chain reaction) tests already on the market.

The platform used to run the test weighs less than 7 pounds, according to Abbott, and could be deployed "where testing is needed most."
Last week, the FDA authorized another rapid test from molecular diagnostics company Cepheid, which provides results in about 45 minutes. Most laboratory tests for the coronavirus take anywhere from a few hours to days to receive results.
All FDA-authorized tests, however, require samples from patients and health care facilities say they're facing shortages of critical supplies needed to collect specimens.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday issued guidance allowing some patients to collect their own nasal swabs in health care facilities, which could reduce the amount of protective equipment needed for health care workers.
But in some places, like New York City, health officials have said that patients with a coronavirus-like illness should stay home, saying that is "safer for the patients and health care workers" and doesn't change the treatment patients receive.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/27/us/15-mi ... index.html

If Abbot is really able to deliver these quantities on this kind of schedule, and if there is effective and efficient distribution to those areas that need them most (admittedly two big "ifs" given the track record...California could easily use 10,000 a day of these. The state's testing rate while improving is woefully inadequate. At about 800 tests per million population, it even lags behind the national average of 1400.) we'll at least start to get a better picture of the extent of what we're dealing with which should provide a better map for where resources are most needed.

And while it will mean that the number of identified cases will start to spike up dramatically, it also should help provide a truer read on the mortality rate. (Which given the lack of testing we've had thus far for people who have been asymptomatic or experiencing mild symptoms is likely to be lower than it currently appears; once folks from these groups start to get included.)

[Lord Jim]

And some more bad news:

Italy coronavirus deaths rise by 919, highest daily tally since start of outbreak

ROME (Reuters) - The death toll from an outbreak of coronavirus in Italy has surged by 919 to 9,134, the Civil Protection Agency said on Friday, easily the highest daily tally since the epidemic emerged on Feb. 21.

Prior to Friday's figure, the largest daily toll was registered on March 21, when 793 people died.

The 919 people who died over the last 24 hours compares with 712 deaths on Thursday, 683 on Wednesday, 743 on Tuesday and 602 on Monday.

The total number of confirmed cases rose to 86,498 from a previous 80,539, taking Italy's total past that of China, where the coronavirus epidemic emerged at the end of last year.

The United States already surpassed China's tally of cases on Thursday.

In Italy, of those originally infected nationwide, 10,950 had fully recovered on Friday, compared to 10,361 the day before. There were 3,732 people in intensive care against a previous 3,612.

The hardest-hit northern region of Lombardy reported a steep rise in fatalities compared with the day before and remains in a critical situation, with a total of 5,402 deaths and 37,298 cases.

That compared with 4,861 deaths and 34,889 cases reported up to Thursday.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/it ... r-BB11NMEU

What this unfortunately suggests is that once we get to a point where we see a few days of the daily death rate dropping, (no sign of that yet; yesterday there were 401 US deaths, compared to 268 the previous day.) it will by no means demonstrate that we have "turned the corner"...

[Crackpot]

What we really need is some decent data on infection rates

[RayThom]

It will get much worse before it gets better -- guaranteed. Brace yourself for a deep recession lasting many years.

A vaccine is the ONLY answer.

[liberty]

My safety routine has gone from normal flu season precautions to paranoid.

"Paranoid" lib?

You?

Please say it ain't so...

I can't for the life of me imagine how anyone could reach such a conclusion; a more well grounded, rooted in reality fellow one couldn't hope to meet...(Why if it hadn't been for you, none of when know about the pending Russian invasion of Alaska...)

I haven’t seen anything in the social discipline of the civilian population that makes me feel we could win a war against anyone of significant if a draft was needed. As infection rates in Louisiana climb, the governor begs for compliance but he is not getting it. As I drive around the states I see too many houses that appear to be holding parties or family get together.

If people would practice social distancing this thing could be defeated the Chinese have proven that I hope.

And Jim can you say with confidence what will or won’t happen in the future. Did you see this situation happening? I would rather prepare for something that might not happen than being caught unprepared if it does happen.

[BoSoxGal]

PEOPLE WON’T PRACTICE SOCIAL DISTANCING THEY ARE MORONS OR NARCISSISTS OR BOTH!

China doesn’t know yet if it has succeeded because it has only just begun to ease restrictions on the lockdown - and we can NEVER impose a lockdown here like they did there, people were made to stay inside their homes for two months solid on threat of arrest by armed military/police, which is not consistent with a free society, especially not one where there are more guns in private ownership than there are people.

The only way ‘social distancing’ would work is if people actually cared about each other which it appears way too many DON’T, or if they respected science which we already knew before coronavirus the great majority of Americans don’t.

So fuck the good people, we are gonna be hosed and maybe dead thanks to fucking selfish idiots.

[Lord Jim]

PEOPLE WON’T PRACTICE SOCIAL DISTANCING

Well, I can say from personal experience that it seems to be pretty well respected here in the Bay Area...

And if you look at the stats for nine county Bay area, (where we became the first shelter-in-place mandatory social distance regions in the country about two weeks ago) there's some clear evidence that it's having an impact on the death numbers:

https://projects.sfchronicle.com/2020/coronavirus-map/

If you scroll down to the appropriate graph plotting the death numbers for this nine county region, you'll see relatively modest (a strange phrase to use when you're talking about people losing their lives... ) arithmetic increases throughout the region that vary up and down, (more than half of the total of 38 deaths are in just one county, Santa Clara) not the kind of doubling of numbers in two or three days that many other cities, regions and states are experiencing...

[BoSoxGal]

There were stories all over the news about how Californians were crowding the parks during shutdown, on top of one another in big groups so bad that they had to close the parks. Maybe your neighborhood is a little better or maybe you’re just not out there seeing it because you’re home like you should be.

Here in Massachusetts people who have tried taking their dogs to regular places they walk them - city and state parks - have reported 10x or more the regular amount of people, like folks who never go to the park suddenly are desperate to go to the park and they are crowded right up next to total strangers. In my own experience people are doing the same in stores and such and I keep reading posts all over Facebook that others are experiencing the same thing. Even New York where folks should have a real clue about the seriousness of the situation, there are pictures on the news and social media showing people not following the rules of 3-6 feet distance left and right.

Sorry but I’m very discouraged, and having a splitting headache that paracetamol won’t touch and the shits for 3 days now isn’t helping to lift my spirits.

[Scooter]

[datsunaholic]

Here in Massachusetts people who have tried taking their dogs to regular places they walk them - city and state parks - have reported 10x or more the regular amount of people, like folks who never go to the park suddenly are desperate to go to the park and they are crowded right up next to total strangers. In my own experience people are doing the same in stores and such and I keep reading posts all over Facebook that others are experiencing the same thing. Even New York where folks should have a real clue about the seriousness of the situation, there are pictures on the news and social media showing people not following the rules of 3-6 feet distance left and right.

It's actually somewhat explainable.

0) These are normally people who would be stuffed in cubicles 40+ hours a week and now are at home going stir crazy.

1) People can't go to the gym. Not only are the for-profit gyms shut down, so are all amenity gyms at apartments and hotels. So people go to the park.

2) People are stuck at home with their dogs, whom they usually have paid dog walkers to take them on walksies. But since the dog walkers can't come out (not being an "essential business) people are taking their dogs to the park.

3) People are being told that you can go for a walk for exercise, which is pretty difficult to do inside a 600 sqft apartment. So they go to the park.

Hell, I'm sitting here, it's raining, and I want to go to the park. I won't, but I still want to.

OK, there are a few people out there that, having been told to do something by the Government, are going to do the exact opposite just because.

The 6-foot "rule" is about the most unenforceable and impossible rule to follow. I was out of cat food yesterday, I had to go to the store. (Online pet food shops are on a 2-3 week backlog). I have to buy small bags because they won't eat stale food, and it goes stale in about a week. If I tried to stay 6 feet away from everyone I never would have made it in the store. First you had to queue for a cart as one employee "disinfected" the handles. Second, the aisles are only 5 feet wide, so if anyone is already in an aisle you can't pass. If i waited on one end for the aisle to clear, I got walked past by at least 3-4 people. If you got to the checkout lane and tried standing 6 feet back, you were in the aisle, and someone inevitably got in front of you since you weren't in the checkout lane any more. Hell, I cut off one lady completely accidentally because she was standing 10 feet back waiting for the person at the register to leave before entering the lane at all. Self checkout was worse- the self checkout registers are only 3 feet apart, and with 20 or so folks queued up for 6 registers it was sardine time. Add in that the store was "disinfecting" each self checkout register between customers. Which was funny considering the 3 staffed checkout lanes only had 1-3 people lined up (of course, most of them had carts overflowing).

At work, I end up in at least a half dozen apartments a day. They're telling people no more than 2-3 people in an elevator car at a time. One building downtown- it's a 41-story apartment building with 3 elevators. One is reserved for move in-move out freight so that leaves 2. When I got there there were 30 people jammed in the 1st floor elevator lobby waiting for an empty elevator car. I cheated, I went down 3 flights of stairs to the P3 garage level, to catch the elevator up to the 33rd floor. I'm in no shape to climb 33 stories.

[Bicycle Bill]

My apartment is about three blocks from a rail-to-trail conversion.  It's early in the spring and the limestone screening ('gravel', to the rest of you who don't ride) is still a little soft, but my 'fat-bike' with the HYUUUGE 4-inch wide tires doesn't carve into it but sorta 'floats' over the top, so two or three days a week I'm out on the trail — head east about five miles from my village to the next town up the road, then turn around and head west, back past my place to the town to the immediate west of me.  Then turn around again and back home.

I'm not pushing myself, not this early in the season, so I get out in the open for about an hour and a half to two hours.  I get some exercise, I get some fresh air, and I'm definitely six feet or more away from ANYBODY.

-"BB"-

[MajGenl.Meade]

It's actually somewhat explainable.

[Gob]

I'm walking the footpaths and coastal paths hereabouts. I rarely see other walkers, and if I do we stay well apart. It's rather meditative at present.

[TPFKA@W]

Worth a listen and worth passing on as it is very simple and straightforward.


https://www.facebook.com/eric.wolfe.376 ... 547057815/

[rubato]

People here are observing the quarantine pretty faithfully and many are volunteering time resources and money to help the elderly and others hurt by it.

The significance of the small number of public spaces which attracted too many people is grossly exaggerated. The local sheriff has begun 'light' enforcement just to remind people. As far as I can tell we are doing the same as china with less use of force.


yrs,
rubato