Coronavirus

[TPFKA@W]

You'd think so but..we have a patient whose son is a well known specialist to whom people come from around the country for his skills in his specialty. The son wanted to bring an item in for his father. The drill is, come in, wearing a mask, get your temp, await whoever it is you plan to have deliver the item to your family member, give it to them, temp out and leave. This MD had a loud snit fit over having to have his temp checked and behaved as if it were the worst inconvenience, perhaps even an insult to him personally. It was quite the display of asshttery. MMV.

[Sue U]

They were both at the White House election night party; I suspect there is another WH outbreak occurring and we will likely not be told the extent.

Biden better have that place hosed down with Clorox before moving in.

[Bicycle Bill]

They were both at the White House election night party; I suspect there is another WH outbreak occurring and we will likely not be told the extent.

Biden better have that place hosed down with Clorox before moving in.

Don't worry — Trump will probably burn it down rather than let it fall into 'enemy' hands.

-"BB"-

[BoSoxGal]

They were both at the White House election night party; I suspect there is another WH outbreak occurring and we will likely not be told the extent.

Biden better have that place hosed down with Clorox before moving in.

I’m guessing they will utilize hospital grade UV-C sanitizers throughout the White House/West Wing before the Bidens & staff move in. It’s the best way to disinfect without damaging the fabrics and some of the more delicate antique surfaces in the rooms. Assuming the Trump staff is still on the job until the 19th, it must be assumed there is virus hanging about.

[Bicycle Bill]

-"BB"-

[Bicycle Bill]

-"BB"-

[BoSoxGal]

With positivity spiking, our hospitals shutting to elective procedures again because of rising covid19 hospitalizations and deaths, our governor issued an updated mask mandate requiring indoor and outdoor mask wearing in all public settings including workplaces. My employer, MassHealth, sent a notice around to all employees regarding the update. Because my client nearly died of covid19 last March and it is now clear that reinfection is a thing, I arrived to work yesterday with a mask on. He was okay with it but as soon as his wife saw me she screeched at me to take the diaper off my face, NOBODY would be wearing masks in her house!! (Later my client told me she has been mental since the election, which comes as no big surprise - I kind of suspected she was Trump cult. She is very cruel to him, basically emotionally abusive, and in order to preserve some peace of mind he can’t really argue the point although if it was up to him he’d be fine with me wearing a mask.)

So now I can either keep my job and put myself and my family at risk, or quit. I know my client will mark it as a layoff for me so I can get UI, but I’d rather be working - it’s good for me to get out of the house and Riley goes with me so it’s great for my client to get some dog love. I’m just worried because while at first when I came back at the end of July I felt somewhat safe since we spent a lot of time sitting outdoors AND the whole family had had the virus so I felt a bit buffered, now I know they aren’t immune and I’ve come to understand from listening that they aren’t being careful with mask wearing in many of the settings where they are interacting with non-household members. The client is, but he only really goes to medical appointments for the most part.

Contact tracing in Massachusetts has established (as elsewhere) that much of the current spread is coming from household gatherings, and my client's family visit him without masks on even though he almost died and they know he’s triple vulnerable due to all his chronic conditions.

I have to decide whether to keep coming back or not and it just really, really sucks. Why can’t a person just tolerate another person having a mask on? I wouldn’t ask them to mask up, but I would like to so 1) I am not the vector that infects (and likely kills) my client, and 2) I am not made a vector who infects my family members.

[datsunaholic]

Washington is going back to a modified lockdown tomorrow. My grandmother, who is 97 and has aggressive melanoma, COPD, AND heart failure, is absolutely despondent that the whole extended family won't be at her house (she still lives at home) for Thanksgiving. I work in a field services job, in and out of apartments all day. I can't quarantine for 2 weeks. It's heartbreaking having to say no, I can't be there. When I talked to her Thursday she is INSISTING that lockdowns or not, that everybody gather for Christmas because it likely will be her last. But it's not just her- my uncle, aunts, mom... they're all in their 70s. I mean, it would be our own little superspreader event.

[MajGenl.Meade]

We have a decision to make regarding travel. South Africa has cancelled the listing of "banned" countries, which included the USA. We may now go to the USA for a visit provided that upon return to SA we produce a negative Covid-19 test certificate issued within 72-house of the day/time we leave the USA to come back. BritAir is offering return trips for $800 each.

Not having seen our family & friends since 2017, it is really tempting to leave here mid December and return mid-January. Especially convenient since the house which we rent is a vacation home for SA friends and they want to use it during that time - summer vacation time here - and we must go SOMEWHERE that will cost us money.

But . . . is it worth the plague risk? When we look at the numbers, the USA appears to be frighteningly contaminated (and not just with Trumpistas). And what happens if South Africa experiences the much-feared second wave (and it seems to be happening) and puts the USA back on a travel-ban list?

And secondarily, who the heck flies to NE Ohio in the bitter winter while back here the sun is shining fit to burst?

We're torn.

[Bicycle Bill]

And secondarily, who the heck flies to NE Ohio in the bitter winter while back here the sun is shining fit to burst?

From the National Weather Service https://forecast.weather.gov/product.ph ... suedby=CLE

...THE CLEVELAND OH CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR NOVEMBER 15 2020...
VALID TODAY AS OF 0500 PM LOCAL TIME.

CLIMATE NORMAL PERIOD 1981 TO 2010
CLIMATE RECORD PERIOD 1871 TO 2020


WEATHER ITEM OBSERVED TIME RECORD YEAR NORMAL DEPARTURE LAST
VALUE (LST) VALUE VALUE FROM YEAR
NORMAL
...................................................................
TEMPERATURE (F)
TODAY
MAXIMUM 59 1249 PM 72 1927 51 8 38
MINIMUM 44 158 AM 14 1996 37 7 29
AVERAGE 52 44 8 34

PRECIPITATION (IN)
TODAY 0.35 0.13 0.22 0.00
MONTH TO DATE 0.56 1.79 -1.23 1.35
SINCE SEP 1 13.65 8.67 4.98 5.95
SINCE JAN 1 48.16 34.21 13.95 36.78

SNOWFALL (IN)
TODAY 0.0 0.1 -0.1 0.0
MONTH TO DATE T 1.4 -1.4 3.3
SINCE SEP 1 T 1.6 -1.6 3.3
SINCE JUL 1 T 1.6 -1.6 3.3
SNOW DEPTH 0

DEGREE DAYS
HEATING
TODAY 13 21 -8 31
MONTH TO DATE 185 275 -90 419
SINCE SEP 1 633 723 -90 680
SINCE JUL 1 635 735 -100 680

COOLING
TODAY 0 0 0 0
MONTH TO DATE 3 0 3 0
SINCE SEP 1 82 101 -19 241
SINCE JAN 1 909 816 93 1095
...................................................................


WIND (MPH)
HIGHEST WIND SPEED 45 HIGHEST WIND DIRECTION W (250)
HIGHEST GUST SPEED 72 HIGHEST GUST DIRECTION W (270)


SKY COVER
POSSIBLE SUNSHINE MM
AVERAGE SKY COVER 0.9


WEATHER CONDITIONS
THE FOLLOWING WEATHER WAS RECORDED TODAY.
THUNDERSTORM
RAIN
LIGHT RAIN
FOG


RELATIVE HUMIDITY (PERCENT)
HIGHEST 89 1000 AM
LOWEST 47 700 AM
AVERAGE 68

You've got an entirely different idea about what constitutes 'winter' than what I do.

-"BB"-

[BoSoxGal]

Meade don’t come here, really. You’re safer to stay away. Lots of low positivity covid19 places are desperate for tourism dollars and offering great deals I’m sure. Visit somewhere you’ve always wanted to go! It’s the middle of a deadly pandemic so more than ever, live like it’s the last.

[dales]

What BSG said.

Also keep in mind the high rate of firearms violence plaguing the USA.

Avoid the USA!

[Gob]

and just... it's the USA... so don't!

[MajGenl.Meade]

Yeah, wineland beckons....

BB - yeah, global weirding but take a look at the second chart. See "freezing" do ya?

https://weatherspark.com/m/18170/12/Ave ... ted-States

[Big RR]

Meade--I join the voices that say stay put; unless there is a significant reason to come here (like a close relative is seriously ill), it just doesn't make sense. And your return is far from guaranteed. One of our nephews (actually the son of one of my wife's cousins) has been living for more than 5 years with his girlfriend in China and then the Philippines and came here last March because his dad was very ill, dad has since stabilized and, given the state of the pandemic worldwide, he has still been unable to return. It might cost here more to come here next spring or summer, but hopefully htings will be a lot less precarious by then.

[Gob]

Funnily enough, the young couple from next door are in a similar position to me and Hen.

She is Cornish, he's a Saffer. He's stuck over there, and cannot get a residency visa here to be with her, mainly due to them not being wed, and visa financial considerations.

At least, once Qantas are flying again, Hen will be able to return for extended holidays.

[Sue U]

If it were me? Just sayin' . . .

[Gob]

Good news...

The race for a coronavirus vaccine has received another shot in the arm with the US biotech firm Moderna becoming the latest to reveal impressive results from phase 3 trials of its jab.

An interim analysis released on Monday, and based on 95 patients with confirmed Covid infections, found the candidate vaccine has an efficacy of 94.5%. The company said it planned to apply to the US regulator, the Food and Drug Administration, for emergency-use authorisation in the coming weeks. In the analysis, 90 of the patients received the placebo with the remaining five the vaccine.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/ ... e-candidat

[BoSoxGal]

If it were me? Just sayin' . . .

Totally agree! What a lovely trip that would be, such a spectacular place to visit and explore. Assuming you have enough time to complete their quarantine requirements, what a fun time that could be!

[Bicycle Bill]

Yeah, wineland beckons....

BB - yeah, global weirding but take a look at the second chart. See "freezing" do ya?

https://weatherspark.com/m/18170/12/Ave ... ted-States

Meade, my point was that the REAL cold weather, at least in my portion of the Upper Midwest, doesn't hit until sometime in January or February.  That's when you see the snowbanks on the side of the roads, the heating bills skyrocket, even the high temperatures are sub-zero (Fahrenheit OR Celsius!), and you are wishing someone would launch a nuclear attack if for no other reason than the fact that you know you wouldn't die from freezing to death, anyway.

-"BB"-