Stay Safe Everyone!

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Precious Doll
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Re: Stay Safe Everyone!

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Reza wrote:
Precious Doll wrote:This afternoon we drove to another part of the city to see a film. No traffic, nobody at the shopping complex, nobody at the multiplex - so weird and creepy.
What did you watch? A new release or an old film? I'm surprised cinemas have opened in Australia.
Peninsula (aka Train to Busan 2). Cinemas have been open since about 2 July (they closed a week later in Melbourne though) but they have been struggling to do much business.
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Re: Stay Safe Everyone!

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Precious Doll wrote:This afternoon we drove to another part of the city to see a film. No traffic, nobody at the shopping complex, nobody at the multiplex - so weird and creepy.
What did you watch? A new release or an old film? I'm surprised cinemas have opened in Australia.
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Re: Stay Safe Everyone!

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Heksagon wrote:The number of infections have been rising in most European countries, and rapidly in some of them.

So Europe kept restrictions going until the infections hit low levels and then lifted almost all restrictions, even on foreign travel, while there was still community transmission going on and without having a proper tracking-and-testing system in place, even for people coming in from abroad. "Surprisingly" the disease is spreading again.

I have no idea what's going to happen now. So far there has been no political will or popular support for a policy that would aim at eliminating Covid, like there is in Australia, New Zealand and East Asia. Are we just going to turn the restrictions on and off every few months until a vaccine is discovered? Or try to tweak for a combination of restrictions that will somehow keep the amount of infections at a tolerably low level?
We put Heksagon. - Must say Finland as least from were I am sitting is doing really well. I hope I am correct on that assumption.

I'm staggered at how most European countries have handled this so badly. The US, UK, Russia, Brazil, Iran, etc are justifiably having the finger pointed at them for their appalling handling of the situation. But the like of France & Germany get a free pass? I have no idea why. Spain & Italy were the first to fall so to speak and that was going to happen to somewhere in Europe and they happened to be the unlucky two but most of the countries leaders looked like deers in headlights back in February/March and have come across as totally clueless ever since. So many people seem to be wishing it away for not really taking the action that is needed. One can wish all they want but this virus isn't going away anytime soon and certainly not by wishful thinking.

Movement of people within a country CANNOT start until community transmission is reduced to zero for at least six weeks. Entry into a territory can only be after a 14 day quarantine period. Whilst this isn't full proof it is the only way forward at this point in time. I'm stumped at the movement of people in Europe but then again I sort of understand it - so many people rely on tourism but the fact is with any community transmission travel is simply not safe.

New Zealand has had the virus pop up again and the likely source is through hotel quarantine. An enemy you can't see is a very difficult one to defend against. We will likely know more about the that source in the coming days and hopefully it won't spiral out of control like it did in Melbourne but the circumstances are widely different and New Zealand have sprung into fast decisive action. Which Melbourne (caused by quarantine breach(s) the Victoria Government was too slow to introduce a Stage 3 lockdown and this led to a harsher Stage 4 lockdown. It is a major fuck up that is going to cost well over 500 people to loose their lives, not to mention the economic damage and political careers, though some of the blame lies with previous Governments who implemented changes decades ago that reduced the Victorian Health Department to a dysfunctional shell of its former self.

The virus (imported from Victoria) is bubbling along at low levels in Sydney. Has been for about 5 weeks now as we have managed to contain it by rigorous tracking, tracing, quarantine and loads of testing. Plus every outbreak is widely mentioned in the media and additional testing sites are set up near places where infected people have been - depending on the circumstances some people are directed to have tests. The population is mostly compliant. Massive fines apply to people who break health control directives. At the first sign that it is out of control and spreading widely (and that is when the contact tracers can no longer keep up with their workload or there are too many community transmissions that cannot be linked to a known contact or cluster) the city will go into lockdown (I hope - but I don't see my State Government making the same mistakes as the Victorian Government). The state Government is trying to avoid that at all costs but if the situation deteriorate it is expected they will spring into action.

Also, the shocking things playing out in Melbourne has scarred the shit out of everyone else in the rest of the country. This afternoon we drove to another part of the city to see a film. No traffic, nobody at the shopping complex, nobody at the multiplex - so weird and creepy.

Offical Australian policy now is zero community transmission - elimination isn't possible because we will always be running the risk of it being innocently imported despite quarantine, etc. Melbourne has been a major setback but there is hope we will get there very early next year, maybe before Christmas if we get really lucky and sadly luck also has something to do with it.

But back to the point which really is lockdowns, slowly lifting once transmissions are down to zero and then no international travel (except under extreme circumstances) until such time as a vaccine is available. There really is no other way and whilst I can appreciate that this process is simply not possible for a lot of poorer countries Western countries and remote countries have no excuses. Speaks volumes of the moral fibre, intelligence and integrity when many much much poorer African countries are handling COVID-19 than most wealthy rich Western countries.
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Re: Stay Safe Everyone!

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The number of infections have been rising in most European countries, and rapidly in some of them.

So Europe kept restrictions going until the infections hit low levels and then lifted almost all restrictions, even on foreign travel, while there was still community transmission going on and without having a proper tracking-and-testing system in place, even for people coming in from abroad. "Surprisingly" the disease is spreading again.

I have no idea what's going to happen now. So far there has been no political will or popular support for a policy that would aim at eliminating Covid, like there is in Australia, New Zealand and East Asia. Are we just going to turn the restrictions on and off every few months until a vaccine is discovered? Or try to tweak for a combination of restrictions that will somehow keep the amount of infections at a tolerably low level?
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Re: Stay Safe Everyone!

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Andrew Lloyd Webber just volunteered for the human clinical trial of the Oxford coronavirus vaccine.
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Re: Stay Safe Everyone!

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Alabama's has been even higher than that a few times over the past couple weeks, and according to the most recent data was around 17%.

A church in my county has been the source of a major outbreak over the past few weeks. They are VERY conservative, very strict in their expectation that members be at all services, they had a big week-long thing in late July, and now about 100 members (out of ~200) have tested positive. This church actually has a few members who have some local political clout who wrote the governor a couple of months ago encouraging her to relax her directives for religious gatherings, and she reportedly used some of their suggestions in her subsequent order.
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Re: Stay Safe Everyone!

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Texas had a test positivity rate of 19%

I audibly gasped when I read that.
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Re: Stay Safe Everyone!

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Big Magilla wrote:
dws1982 wrote:I understand the perspective of trying to open--apparently four weeks of being open is the magic number to guarantee funding*. That's the thing that people often don't realize--when Trump or DeVos threaten to cut funding for schools that don't open, that doesn't really affect rich schools in suburbs. It affects Title I schools like mine, where 85% of the students are on free and reduced lunch, where the students are 40% Hispanic and 30% Black--groups that have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic. But then again, maybe they do realize it.
Oh, they realize it all right.
I'm sure Trump & Co. realize it (although I am sometimes unsure what he realizes), but I do think some regular people are unaware of how schools are funded and who would get hurt if schools lose federal funding.
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Re: Stay Safe Everyone!

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dws1982 wrote:I understand the perspective of trying to open--apparently four weeks of being open is the magic number to guarantee funding*. That's the thing that people often don't realize--when Trump or DeVos threaten to cut funding for schools that don't open, that doesn't really affect rich schools in suburbs. It affects Title I schools like mine, where 85% of the students are on free and reduced lunch, where the students are 40% Hispanic and 30% Black--groups that have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic. But then again, maybe they do realize it.
Oh, they realize it all right.

I can relate to your refrigerator story having been without power for 14 hours earlier this week due to the storm - some in the area were out even longer. I had no bad smell or even appearance, but I had to get rid of just about everything in it, which couldn't be replaced right away as stores in the area were still without power. I was able to get a few essentials two days later at my local RiteAid, but no eggs, fish or meat.
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Re: Stay Safe Everyone!

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Don't know anywhere else to put this, but:

Back in March, when we got out of school, I quickly cleaned out my classroom mini-fridge and unplugged it. We went back to work Tuesday, and I plugged the refrigerator in. Thursday I was planning to work all day to get my room ready (students came back today), so I brought lunch to put in the refrigerator. Only I discovered that I had not gotten everything out of the refrigerator. It may be exaggeration to say it was traumatizing, but I'm still fully disgusted every time I think back to the sight of that refrigerator when I opened it. I very nearly unplugged it and carted it straight out to the dumpster. Instead I spent an hour and a full roll of paper towel cleaning it out. I plan to go up this weekend and clean it again with bleach before I'm ready to put anything in it. Surprisingly, it didn't really smell that bad (it didn't smell good, but the smell was nothing compared to the sight), but my God, I've never ever seen anything like it.

And yes, we started back to school today. It went as well as it could I guess. Everyone had masks, and will until the end of August at least. I feel like they planned for a re-opening as well as they could but there are just so many variables that are impossible to control. I suspect we will be back out by Labor Day. I kind of hope so, because I volunteered to give up my planning period (they were offering a stipend to teachers who would teach their AP course to virtual students during their planning) and I'm kind of regretting it right now.

I understand the perspective of trying to open--apparently four weeks of being open is the magic number to guarantee funding*. That's the thing that people often don't realize--when Trump or DeVos threaten to cut funding for schools that don't open, that doesn't really affect rich schools in suburbs. It affects Title I schools like mine, where 85% of the students are on free and reduced lunch, where the students are 40% Hispanic and 30% Black--groups that have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic. But then again, maybe they do realize it.

* - I'm not sure if the fact that we opened today allows this week to count as a week. I know that if we dismiss early (due to weather, for example), it counts as a full day if lunch is served, so they'll run kids into the lunchroom at 9:30 for lunch if they need to.
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Re: Stay Safe Everyone!

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mlrg wrote:
Precious Doll wrote: due to these unprecedented events my doctor has delayed the program to get me off my sleeping pill addiction.
There is a huge debate going on my country around delays and postponements of medical acts during the lockdown we experienced in March and April in my country.

Official statistics show that July had the highest number of deaths of the last 12 years in Portugal. Of the total deaths only 1,56% are deaths from covid19. This means that the spike in deaths were due to medical acts like surgeries, treatments, programs etc... that were not performed thus resulting in deaths in the following months. They were not performed because the health system was almost only focused on treating the virus (numbers show that only 60% of intensive care units were occupied during the peak in April) and people were too scared to leave their homes and continue with their treatments.
That has been the case in a lot of places. Simply due to the fear factor. Any doctors appointments I've had have been by telephone except when I had to get a flu shot. I have to take my mother to a specialist appointment in Tuesday, but we will be phone in that appointment as the Medical Centre though located very close caters to people from across the city so it is deemed too unsafe to attend. Thankfully, she doesn't need to physically see the doctor due to her illness but reports in the media abound of people who are not going to hospital in relation to heart attacks, strokes and cancer.
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Re: Stay Safe Everyone!

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Precious Doll wrote: due to these unprecedented events my doctor has delayed the program to get me off my sleeping pill addiction.
There is a huge debate going on my country around delays and postponements of medical acts during the lockdown we experienced in March and April in my country.

Official statistics show that July had the highest number of deaths of the last 12 years in Portugal. Of the total deaths only 1,56% are deaths from covid19. This means that the spike in deaths were due to medical acts like surgeries, treatments, programs etc... that were not performed thus resulting in deaths in the following months. They were not performed because the health system was almost only focused on treating the virus (numbers show that only 60% of intensive care units were occupied during the peak in April) and people were too scared to leave their homes and continue with their treatments.
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Re: Stay Safe Everyone!

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I also forgot to mention that with Melbourne and the state of Victoria in lockdown food supplies are going to be effected - the Federal and State Governments are frantically trying to work out solutions because it looks like we will be running out of meat.

Glad I stocked up as far back as January and continued to over purchase every week. Just very sorry about the horrible circumstances.
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Re: Stay Safe Everyone!

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Reza wrote:[

I'm quite sure the figures are much higher as not everyone who comes down with symptoms gets themselves tested. They maybe quarantining themselves and recover without anybody finding out. A huge number also think it's some conspiracy and don't believe there's any virus. Many go around without masks - I've had to shame many store owners into getting them to throw out customers who they have allowed in without masks, once even getting into an altercation with a guy (without a mask) holding a toddler (also no mask) accompanied by a bunch of women in burqas (nose/mouth covered) holding assorted kids (no masks). The man accompanying this group had the gall to argue that I was wrong to point them out. They were all thrown out. The govt insists that masks are to be worn in shops all the time but not many shopkeepers take it seriously. Unfortunately there is no monetary fine imposed, like in Western countries, so people here are lax.
Good for you Reza putting people in their place but be careful - some people can react badly with dire outcomes (i.e. physical assault). Though I may be the people who can give that sort of advice. Last Thursday week when we were coming out of the cinema we had to catch the lift down to the ground floor because the elevator going down was out of order. We were on the top floor of the building and the lift stopped and the very next floor and a group of four got into the lift - only five people are suppose to be in a lift at the same time. One of the people noticed me glaring at them and he jokingly said it should be OK with one extra person to which I replied "You won't be thinking that if you end up on a ventilator in hospital" which caused everybody's jaws to drop to the floor whilst suddenly looking very anxious. If he hadn't opened his mouth I wouldn't have made any comment but that is where I do cross a line that I normally wouldn't.

Staff at restaurants have started wearing masks - we went out to dinner for a movie on Tuesday night (the COVID cases in Sydney are slightly dropping so I feel comfortable dining out) and the staff at the cinema on Thursday were all masked up.

If I'm waiting at traffic lights and somebody comes and stands right next to me I simply move away from them - but the streets where I walk are deserted. The only awkward moments I have are people wanting to pat my dogs when I'm out walking them - I'd rather they didn't but the dogs love attention, same with my cats who to their displeasure I kept indoors during the lockdown. Actually the effect on animals has also been dramatic. First the bushfires and now this and being animals, well I can't explain the situation to them.

Speaking of lockdowns Melbourne remains dire. Nearly 1,000 healthcare workers have tested positive for the virus and some of the staff, in particular younger people in their 20s and 30s are very stressed. The effects of the virus go way beyond what is does physically (or will do) to people who contract the virus, everybody is being scared mentally to some degree. The only plus side, if I can even call it that, is that due to these unprecedented events my doctor has delayed the program to get me off my sleeping pill addiction.
"I want cement covering every blade of grass in this nation! Don't we taxpayers have a voice anymore?" Peggy Gravel (Mink Stole) in John Waters' Desperate Living (1977)
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Re: Stay Safe Everyone!

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Sonic Youth wrote:I know two people in their early 30s who were infected with COVID-19. One, who is 31, smokes and is obese. For her, it was nothing more than a week long cold. The second, a year older, is (was) the model of perfect health, slim, energetic, was a vegetarian for a few years. She caught it nearly 3 months ago, and she's still undergoing a prolonged recovery. She's had to go to ER for severe respiratory symptoms. For months, she couldn't walk more than 15 minutes without getting winded. She also sees a neurologist (symptoms include memory loss, "dysexecutive functioning" and other fibromyalgia-like symptoms). Her respiratory conditions are much better 3 months later; her neurological conditions are persisting and hopefully not permanent. IOW, this is not a time to be dismissive, because no matter how healthy you are, you never know what the end result will be for you should you catch it.
One of the people I mentioned a few months ago who caught the virus wrote and published her experiences at The Guardian, which of course I recommend reading:

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfr ... 3MDKfF01Cc

Chances are if I catch it, I'll recover. But I've read too many "recovery" stories to know that I REALLY don't want to catch it.

I now know a third person who caught the virus. She's my "stage wife", so-called because we've been cast as husband-wife characters in several shows. She fell sick last March. was tested and came up negative. She was tested again recently, and discovered she carried the anti-bodies. Either she has it now, or the previous test was a false negative. Either way, she has to self-quarantine for 14 days. If she's fine, then that's good, but then she'd also have missed 2 weeks of work. So far, I've heard nothing.

Speaking of hearing nothing... Sabin, I hope "no news is good news" is the case regarding your dad?
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