COVID-19 | science, damage limitation, NO POLITICS

[kers]

It would have been quite simple to mandate testing before boarding. It took a while, but in the EU it is now a general rule for many countries for air passengers to: take a test up to 72 hours before travel; or in some cases do the test at the airport of destination.

So simple one wonders why it took so long...

it will surely be a bit more secure, but you may caught it last week and still not be detected.
It is certainly not 100% waterproof- that is a problem with this virus.
The same on the returnflight. if you are negative then ; you probably did not cache it before you went away.
If you are positive- damage is done in the visiting country, but you know you can go into quarantaine for not exposing more people to the virus.

I understand every week a test would be best for everyone; but not very practical.

[kers]

... Cruise ships are like Petri dishes for Covid.

[faberryman]

Does that actually work?  Major league teams in America have been checking their players constantly.  Yet, the virus seems to break out anyway.

I thought the problem is that the players are going out drinking at night, which they euphemistically refer to as "compliance".

[hogloff]

I thought the problem is that the players are going out drinking at night, which they euphemistically refer to as "compliance".

Well we'll see how it goes with hockey. Technically the entire team is quarantined to their hotels when not playing. A team has the entire floor of a hotel. They are transported via bus to the arenas and have no access to fans. I await to see which player will be photographed partying it up at a local club.

[Alan Klein]

I thought the problem is that the players are going out drinking at night, which they euphemistically refer to as "compliance".

Well, there's no accounting for human behavior.

[Alan Goldhammer]

Alan G:  Know anything about this new anti-viral?

 RLF-100
https://nypost.com/2020/08/02/relief-neurorx-rlf-100-helps-critical-covid-19-patients/

It is in a clinical trial or two along with about 500 other compounds.  Lots of papers come out with positive data only to wash out when more patients are studied.  Tocilizumab had some encouraging early data but Roche said the big clinical trial failed to show usefulness.  At the end of the day, only the monoclonal antibodies may end up being useful along with dexamethasone.  Merck have an experimental drug they think highly of but don't need to tout early small trials.

[Alan Klein]

It is in a clinical trial or two along with about 500 other compounds.  Lots of papers come out with positive data only to wash out when more patients are studied.  Tocilizumab had some encouraging early data but Roche said the big clinical trial failed to show usefulness.  At the end of the day, only the monoclonal antibodies may end up being useful along with dexamethasone.  Merck have an experimental drug they think highly of but don't need to tout early small trials.

I wish they'd hurry up and find something that cures you so I can get out more. 

[LesPalenik]

I wish they'd hurry up and find something that cures you so I can get out more. 

Actually, getting out more is not a problem. I've been going to a nearby lake 3 times a week. There is a plenty of space and water for physical separation.

[hogloff]

Actually, getting out more is not a problem. I've been going to a nearby lake 3 times a week. There is a plenty of space and water for physical separation.

I get my dog out twice a day, once for a 6km walk along a shoreline and then another time to go swimming in the lake. I've been biking roughly 300km a week on rolling back roads. I have a vegetable garden going and have been remodelling the landscaping around the house. Every week my brother and I alternate a bbq day, he lives 110km from me.

Things I have not done is go to bars or restaurants...which is just fine with me. I have put any travel on hold until this virus is under control.

[LesPalenik]

A new report from Italy states that the real number of people with C19 antibodies is currently about 2.5% of the population, a figure 6 times higher than the official stats. In Lombardy, this percentage was 7.5%, while in the south only 0.3%. Interpolating 2.5% average penetration onto the US population, one could assume over 8 million cases in USA (about twice as high as the official counts). 
 

Almost 1.5 million people in Italy or 2.5% of the population have developed coronavirus antibodies, a figure six times more than official numbers reported, according to a survey from statistics agency Istat on Monday.

The survey by Istat and the health ministry, was based on antibody tests conducted on 64,660 people. Official figures show 248,229 confirmed cases of COVID-19 patients in Italy, with 35,166 deaths.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-italy/italy-survey-suggests-coronavirus-six-times-more-prevalent-than-official-data-idUSKCN24Z2IC?il=0

[Alan Klein]

Actually, getting out more is not a problem. I've been going to a nearby lake 3 times a week. There is a plenty of space and water for physical separation.

1 seat or 2 seat canoe?

[Chris Kern]

From the New York Times:

More than a century ago, as the 1918 influenza pandemic raged in the United States, masks of gauze and cheesecloth became the facial front lines in the battle against the virus. But as they have now, the masks also stoked political division. Then, as now, medical authorities urged the wearing of masks to help slow the spread of disease. And then, as now, some people resisted.

In 1918 and 1919, as bars, saloons, restaurants, theaters and schools were closed, masks became a scapegoat, a symbol of government overreach, inspiring protests, petitions and defiant bare-face gatherings. All the while, thousands of Americans were dying in a deadly pandemic.

[LesPalenik]

1 seat or 2 seat canoe?

My canoe has 2 seats, about 8 ft apart. With a new paddler, you can use that space for social distancing and once you get to know her better, you can get really close together.

[faberryman]

Well we'll see how it goes with hockey. Technically the entire team is quarantined to their hotels when not playing. A team has the entire floor of a hotel. They are transported via bus to the arenas and have no access to fans. I await to see which player will be photographed partying it up at a local club.

I watched a game on Sunday afternoon. It is not the same without the fans.

[Alan Klein]

My canoe has 2 seats, about 8 ft apart. With a new paddler, you can use that space for social distancing and once you get to know her better, you can get really close together.

You have to wait 14 days before getting too close. 

[Alan Klein]

I watched a game on Sunday afternoon. It is not the same without the fans.

I was watching a baseball game the other day.  They cloned in fans in the stands.  And the cheers and background noise.  What if the entire Covid thing is just our imagination or a dubbed in AI show?

[Paulo Bizarro]

Does that actually work?  Major league teams in America have been checking their players constantly.  Yet, the virus seems to break out anyway.  I assume that not everyone who's sick gets discovered.  On a ship, all you need is one sick passenger or crew member without symptoms to spread.  Cruise ships are like Petri dishes for Covid.

In Portugal, some sports were restarted (no public). Everyone involved is tested twice: 72 hours before the match, and a few hours before the match.

Yes it works. Say you have a cruise with 2000 people: test them all before boarding, say 24 hours before. Of course there is a residual risk of someone who got negative result becoming infected 1 hour before boarding, but that is a small risk. Simple and effective.

[hogloff]

In Portugal, some sports were restarted (no public). Everyone involved is tested twice: 72 hours before the match, and a few hours before the match.

Yes it works. Say you have a cruise with 2000 people: test them all before boarding, say 24 hours before. Of course there is a residual risk of someone who got negative result becoming infected 1 hour before boarding, but that is a small risk. Simple and effective.

Tests are not 100% accurate. Something like a 15% false negative rate.

[Alan Klein]

The last two posts are examples why everyone has difficulty in knowing what to do.  Mistakes are made because the "truth" is hard to get a handle on.  In America, we have 50 governors and one president who think they know what to do.  Add to that the medical and economic communities.  So everyone is doing it slightly differently or on a different timetable.  The truth is there's is no exact answer.  Health priorities are opposed to economic priorities.  You can't satisfy both areas simultaneously.  We're all shooting craps.

[hogloff]

The last two posts are examples why everyone has difficulty in knowing what to do.  Mistakes are made because the "truth" is hard to get a handle on.  In America, we have 50 governors and one president who think they know what to do.  Add to that the medical and economic communities.  So everyone is doing it slightly differently or on a different timetable.  The truth is there's is no exact answer.  Health priorities are opposed to economic priorities.  You can't satisfy both areas simultaneously.  We're all shooting craps.

And that's exactly how things are being handled...a crapshoot.