Semi-OT: Coronavirus (COVID-19) Discussion Thread VI (Don't Read Post 1 & FAQ)

[NoDopeOnSundays]

[LKN]

This is not only important for now for those who are out there doing essential jobs for us like food deliveries and police officers, but also critical when we go back to work because wearing masks will significantly reduce the 2nd wave of attack and you know, if we aren't careful enough there will be a 2nd wave.

If a 2nd wave is possible, Could the USA shut down a possible 2nd wave by shutting down any travel IN/OUT of the USA?

Either that or massive strict mask policy. The former hurts the economy, the latter requires substantial mentality change due to the "no mask" culture in western countries. I don't know which one is better. Culture wise Asia is doing the latter and it's easier for them.

I'm not sure masks are a panacea, but they certainly would help (possibly quite a bit). The thing is mask wearing has to become the standard (almost universal) for it to have a chance to make a real difference. At a minimum this needs to happen inside public spaces like grocery stores.

[lakerz12]

CNN reporting over 600 deaths in the United States already today.

Sent from my SM-G950U using RealGM mobile app

Unfortunately, this is looking like a bloodbath. Based on projections from the CDC of a similar type virus (similar death rate) expected deaths were 2 million, not the 200k Fauci is stating.

Part of problem is that as soon as people start living normally again, this thing will rage out of control. I'm not sure where a talk of a second wave comes from. It's possible that things slow if weather has an effect combined with current measures, but we are talking about a second avalanche. Going from bad to horrific when the weather turns against us again.

Can you provide any links or sources to this? Or is it just pure speculation? I've noticed that a few post I try quoting that are on the optimistic side have been taken down, yet ones like this have stayed up. Honest question, is this thread mainly to instill the fear into others? Or is it for factual information? My bad if I'm stepping on toes here as it's an honest question.

The popular mood/tide/trend in this thread is to focus on worst case scenarios and negative news.

I don't know why that is. Honestly. It's sad though.

Of course we should look at worst case scenarios but we should also consider best case scenarios and every scenario in between.

It's like some people are rooting for the virus. I don't think they even realize they are doing it, but they seem biased toward the bad happening.

Meanwhile, we are at in fact around 42,006 worldwide deaths and 3,779 deaths in the U.S.

One could argue that with social distancing, increased awareness, medical treatment advances, increased supply manufacturing, etc. that we MIGHT be able to contain this thing and likely keep deaths WAY BELOW the estimates from a couple weeks ago (where many were saying millions of deaths).

But, as you've noticed, pointing out potential good news is not popular here. The good news is, people are working tirelessly to keep the death count low and what those on the sidelines say is just noise. Including this post.

[LKN]

Read on Twitter

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[karkinos]

What the hell is going on in Louisiana? They have more deaths than California which is 10x the size.

we rank the 50th healthiest state for a reason

[niQ]

1. Stay at home. Keep social distance.
2. Wear mask, wear them properly.
3. Keep in mind there is a shortage for the medical staff so don't stockpile.
4. However by properly wearing a mask which reduces the spread, you are saving a lot more masks then you use.

This is really not a hard concept I have no idea why there are still morons out there saying "don't wear a mask", "save them for the medical staff". Our leaders still need to step up further to admit their original "not recommend on mask" is because of the supply shortage above anything else. Don't wishy washy, make that message crystal clear. Know someone stockpiling them? Go get them. See price gauging? Put them in jail. You will always have those people but that's not the reason for you to chicken out and not do the right thing.

This is not only important for now for those who are out there doing essential jobs for us like food deliveries and police officers, but also critical when we go back to work because wearing masks will significantly reduce the 2nd wave of attack and you know, if we aren't careful enough there will be a 2nd wave.

Just like how US factories pumped out those hundreds of thousands of tanks and aircrafts after Pearl Harbor, I believe our manufacturing will eventually ramp up since it can't be clearer that masks will be a huge demand for many months to come.

To add. I have my masks on rotation now. I've read, the virus can last up to 4 or as long as 9 days on the masks. I do 4. Keep them in separate bags and rotate their use. I don't go out everyday and certainly not multiple times a day.

Good stuff. And if you have rubbing alcohol, you can sanitize your mask outer surface too. I sanitize and rotate with 2. Those grocery trips are pretty short anyway, about 30 minutes each starting from entering the store to getting back into the car.

This is also new, that Battelle has developed mask sterilization process and it just got approved by FDA. It can potentially make an n95 reusable by 20 times.

Watch on YouTube

;feature=emb_title

I'm no expert, and this is just from a quick google search, but apparently it's better to simply let the mask dry for 2-3 days instead of using rubbing alcohol or soap, if you plan to reuse it..

https://smartairfilters.com/en/blog/disinfect-clean-n95-mask-virus-coronavirus/

[ken6199]

[
I'm no expert, and this is just from a quick google search, but apparently it's better to simply let the mask dry for 2-3 days instead of using rubbing alcohol or soap, if you plan to reuse it..

https://smartairfilters.com/en/blog/disinfect-clean-n95-mask-virus-coronavirus/

Good info. Actually I put the alcohol into a spray bottle, give a little spray and hang for a couple of days. Hopefully that was at least better than dipping them into alcohol completely, or actually rubbing.

[basketballRob]

Unfortunately, this is looking like a bloodbath. Based on projections from the CDC of a similar type virus (similar death rate) expected deaths were 2 million, not the 200k Fauci is stating.

Part of problem is that as soon as people start living normally again, this thing will rage out of control. I'm not sure where a talk of a second wave comes from. It's possible that things slow if weather has an effect combined with current measures, but we are talking about a second avalanche. Going from bad to horrific when the weather turns against us again.

Can you provide any links or sources to this? Or is it just pure speculation? I've noticed that a few post I try quoting that are on the optimistic side have been taken down, yet ones like this have stayed up. Honest question, is this thread mainly to instill the fear into others? Or is it for factual information? My bad if I'm stepping on toes here as it's an honest question.

The popular mood/tide/trend in this thread is to focus on worst case scenarios and negative news.

I don't know why that is. Honestly. It's sad though.

Of course we should look at worst case scenarios but we should also consider best case scenarios and every scenario in between.

It's like some people are rooting for the virus. I don't think they even realize they are doing it, but they seem biased toward the bad happening.

Meanwhile, we are at in fact around 42,006 worldwide deaths and 3,779 deaths in the U.S.

One could argue that with social distancing, increased awareness, medical treatment advances, increased supply manufacturing, etc. that we MIGHT be able to contain this thing and likely keep deaths WAY BELOW the estimates from a couple weeks ago (where many were saying millions of deaths).

But, as you've noticed, pointing out potential good news is not popular here. The good news is, people are working tirelessly to keep the death count low and what those on the sidelines say is just noise. Including this post.

We dropped the ball on keeping the death total low, it's too late for that. It's going to be between 1-200k at a minimum.

Sent from my SM-G950U using RealGM mobile app

[sfernald]

CNN reporting over 600 deaths in the United States already today.

Sent from my SM-G950U using RealGM mobile app

Unfortunately, this is looking like a bloodbath. Based on projections from the CDC of a similar type virus (similar death rate) expected deaths were 2 million, not the 200k Fauci is stating.

Part of problem is that as soon as people start living normally again, this thing will rage out of control. I'm not sure where a talk of a second wave comes from. It's possible that things slow if weather has an effect combined with current measures, but we are talking about a second avalanche. Going from bad to horrific when the weather turns against us again.

As testing and increased measures are instituted en masse over the coming weeks, the next wave (if it comes) should be much easier to deal with, not tougher. There will also have been so many that were already infected that a global immunity could be reached sooner than later (depending on how bad this gets initially).

There’s so many unknowns though. The fact that this is infecting so many people means the virus laboratory is running at full operational capacity and speed and this bug could make a right turn and mutate in a horrific way like the Spanish flu did after 6 months or so. Suddenly people age 20-40 were dropping at up to a 50% clip because it actually caused their immune systems to overreact to such a degree it became lethal. At no point will we be out of the woods for the foreseeable future until working vaccines are out there for everyone to buy at cvs maybe.

[Triples333]

Unfortunately, this is looking like a bloodbath. Based on projections from the CDC of a similar type virus (similar death rate) expected deaths were 2 million, not the 200k Fauci is stating.

Part of problem is that as soon as people start living normally again, this thing will rage out of control. I'm not sure where a talk of a second wave comes from. It's possible that things slow if weather has an effect combined with current measures, but we are talking about a second avalanche. Going from bad to horrific when the weather turns against us again.

As testing and increased measures are instituted en masse over the coming weeks, the next wave (if it comes) should be much easier to deal with, not tougher. There will also have been so many that were already infected that a global immunity could be reached sooner than later (depending on how bad this gets initially).

It should be easier to deal with as more beds, ventilators, masks etc become available. Without a treatment, this just may make the situation look like frantic rather than substantially better outcomes. Hopefully this thing doesn't mutate.

FWIW, by and large a mutated virus creates a far less deadly version of itself. The virus wants to spread, and can't do so if the hosts die.

[Je K]

Spoiler:

Can you provide any links or sources to this? Or is it just pure speculation? I've noticed that a few post I try quoting that are on the optimistic side have been taken down, yet ones like this have stayed up. Honest question, is this thread mainly to instill the fear into others? Or is it for factual information? My bad if I'm stepping on toes here as it's an honest question.

The popular mood/tide/trend in this thread is to focus on worst case scenarios and negative news.

I don't know why that is. Honestly. It's sad though.

Of course we should look at worst case scenarios but we should also consider best case scenarios and every scenario in between.

It's like some people are rooting for the virus. I don't think they even realize they are doing it, but they seem biased toward the bad happening.

Meanwhile, we are at in fact around 42,006 worldwide deaths and 3,779 deaths in the U.S.

One could argue that with social distancing, increased awareness, medical treatment advances, increased supply manufacturing, etc. that we MIGHT be able to contain this thing and likely keep deaths WAY BELOW the estimates from a couple weeks ago (where many were saying millions of deaths).

But, as you've noticed, pointing out potential good news is not popular here. The good news is, people are working tirelessly to keep the death count low and what those on the sidelines say is just noise. Including this post.

We dropped the ball on keeping the death total low, it's too late for that. It's going to be between 1-200k at a minimum.

Sent from my SM-G950U using RealGM mobile app

FWIW, the UW model that the government has been following only projects 84,000 by August. I wouldn't be surprised if it surpassed that, but it's hard to say 200k minimum with that much certainty right now.

https://covid19.healthdata.org/projections

[LKN]

I wish I could remember who the guy was who was posting last week that we were going to peak at 160,000 infections LOL

[LKN]

As testing and increased measures are instituted en masse over the coming weeks, the next wave (if it comes) should be much easier to deal with, not tougher. There will also have been so many that were already infected that a global immunity could be reached sooner than later (depending on how bad this gets initially).

It should be easier to deal with as more beds, ventilators, masks etc become available. Without a treatment, this just may make the situation look like frantic rather than substantially better outcomes. Hopefully this thing doesn't mutate.

FWIW, by and large a mutated virus creates a far less deadly version of itself. The virus wants to spread, and can't do so if the hosts die.

Viruses don't actually want anything. Mutation is completely random.

(just being pedantic - you are absolutely correct that certain mutations would make the virus more likely to spread than others)

[basketballRob]

Spoiler:

The popular mood/tide/trend in this thread is to focus on worst case scenarios and negative news.

I don't know why that is. Honestly. It's sad though.

Of course we should look at worst case scenarios but we should also consider best case scenarios and every scenario in between.

It's like some people are rooting for the virus. I don't think they even realize they are doing it, but they seem biased toward the bad happening.

Meanwhile, we are at in fact around 42,006 worldwide deaths and 3,779 deaths in the U.S.

One could argue that with social distancing, increased awareness, medical treatment advances, increased supply manufacturing, etc. that we MIGHT be able to contain this thing and likely keep deaths WAY BELOW the estimates from a couple weeks ago (where many were saying millions of deaths).

But, as you've noticed, pointing out potential good news is not popular here. The good news is, people are working tirelessly to keep the death count low and what those on the sidelines say is just noise. Including this post.

We dropped the ball on keeping the death total low, it's too late for that. It's going to be between 1-200k at a minimum.

Sent from my SM-G950U using RealGM mobile app

FWIW, the UW model that the government has been following only projects 84,000 by August. I wouldn't be surprised if it surpassed that, but it's hard to say 200k minimum with that much certainty right now.

https://covid19.healthdata.org/projections

It's not over until everyone is vaccinated. I said 100-200 minimum. We let it get too far out of control to keep the numbers less than that

Sent from my SM-G950U using RealGM mobile app

[sfernald]

I wish I could remember who the guy was who was posting last week that we were going to peak at 160,000 infections LOL

We will hit 1 million known infections in a day or two, and so many unknown infections out there. Maybe 10X?

[LKN]

If you lose your job make sure you sign up for COBRA if you can (you don't have to pay for something like 45-90 days after you sign up). They are unfortunately not going to re-open ACA enrollment. Be aware that if you are hospitalized for COVID-19 the bill will likely be 5 figures (possibly well into 5 figures). Not intending for this to start a political debate - just a PSA as I want everyone here to stay healthy (physically and financially).

Note that several states who run their own exchanges HAVE reopened their enrollment periods. If I can find the list I'll post it here. I'd advise anyone who is able to at least sign up for a lower cost plan. If you end up in the ICU the bill will be huge.

Edit: I've added added a list of states and deadlines that are currently allowing sign ups.

Read on Twitter

?s=20

Read on Twitter

?s=20

[DowJones]

Birx and Fauci are so good at what they do. We are very lucky to have them.

[basketballRob]

If you lose your job make sure you sign up for COBRA if you can (you don't have to pay for something like 45-90 days after you sign up). They are unfortunately not going to re-open ACA enrollment. Be aware that if you are hospitalized for COVID-19 the bill will likely be 5 figures (possibly well into 5 figures). Not intending for this to start a political debate - just a PSA as I want everyone here to stay healthy (physically and financially).

Note that several states who run their own exchanges HAVE reopened their enrollment periods. If I can find the list I'll post it here. I'd advise anyone who is able to at least sign up for a lower cost plan. If you end up in the ICU the bill will be huge.

Edit: I've added added a list of states and deadlines that are currently allowing sign ups.

Read on Twitter

?s=20

Read on Twitter

?s=20

If you're financially strapped, my personal opinion is just don't pay the medical bill. It's possible they'll have some forgiveness for it later. Having 10 million people filing bankruptcy would cost more than helping people stay on track financially.

Sent from my SM-G950U using RealGM mobile app

[EazyAsPie]

Unfortunately, this is looking like a bloodbath. Based on projections from the CDC of a similar type virus (similar death rate) expected deaths were 2 million, not the 200k Fauci is stating.

Part of problem is that as soon as people start living normally again, this thing will rage out of control. I'm not sure where a talk of a second wave comes from. It's possible that things slow if weather has an effect combined with current measures, but we are talking about a second avalanche. Going from bad to horrific when the weather turns against us again.

Can you provide any links or sources to this? Or is it just pure speculation? I've noticed that a few post I try quoting that are on the optimistic side have been taken down, yet ones like this have stayed up. Honest question, is this thread mainly to instill the fear into others? Or is it for factual information? My bad if I'm stepping on toes here as it's an honest question.

The popular mood/tide/trend in this thread is to focus on worst case scenarios and negative news.

I don't know why that is. Honestly. It's sad though.

Of course we should look at worst case scenarios but we should also consider best case scenarios and every scenario in between.

It's like some people are rooting for the virus. I don't think they even realize they are doing it, but they seem biased toward the bad happening.

Meanwhile, we are at in fact around 42,006 worldwide deaths and 3,779 deaths in the U.S.

One could argue that with social distancing, increased awareness, medical treatment advances, increased supply manufacturing, etc. that we MIGHT be able to contain this thing and likely keep deaths WAY BELOW the estimates from a couple weeks ago (where many were saying millions of deaths).

But, as you've noticed, pointing out potential good news is not popular here. The good news is, people are working tirelessly to keep the death count low and what those on the sidelines say is just noise. Including this post.

Interesting. I'm on many different sports forums and anymore most are overtaken with Coronavirus threads. I've mostly lurked here but I've noticed that, more then any other board, this one seems to really be pushing the fear side of this virus. Now, I have no idea if that's because of the specific posters here or if it's the people in charge wanting things more intense/fear driven, but it also seems to be a little bit much because of that. Like, this thing is obviously a scary threat but the fact that some posters can basically say everyone is going to die and get away with it, then the very next poster will reply with " I think we will be fine "..only to get bashed.

The truth is both sides of that spectrum are wrong. The guy saying "this will be a blood bath " is just as bad as the guy saying " we will be fine".... Don't let fear control your life people. Seriously, we are all fighting this together and if you let fear control you at every step during this you're going to get destroyed. Turn CNN off and breath. Trust me.

[ImSlower]

If you lose your job make sure you sign up for COBRA if you can (you don't have to pay for something like 45-90 days after you sign up). They are unfortunately not going to re-open ACA enrollment. Be aware that if you are hospitalized for COVID-19 the bill will likely be 5 figures (possibly well into 5 figures). Not intending for this to start a political debate - just a PSA as I want everyone here to stay healthy (physically and financially).

Note that several states who run their own exchanges HAVE reopened their enrollment periods. If I can find the list I'll post it here. I'd advise anyone who is able to at least sign up for a lower cost plan. If you end up in the ICU the bill will be huge.

Read on Twitter

?s=20

That's unfortunate. I'm currently uninsured due to some complications last year trying to file. Although I have no PEC, it would still be quite scary if I came down with bad symptoms.

https://www.nprillinois.org/post/9-states-reopen-aca-insurance-enrollment-broaden-health-coverage#stream/0

California, Colorado, Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington all have announced that people without insurance can sign up for a plan — even without a life-changing event, which is the usual exception to standard open enrollment periods. An estimated 30 million Americans do not have health insurance.

If Chicagoland continues to see drastic increases, perhaps Illinois will re-open the ACA.