2019–20 Coronavirus Pandemic (COVID-19) Thread

[SitTwizzle]

18 minutes ago, rockstaryuzu said:

I love rugby but I just don't see how it could possibly come back, unless the players get weekly testing and go into semi-permanent isolation so as not to infect each other

Or be quarantined and tested after matches. And no "third halves" as we say in France (and probably elsewhere)...

[river]

2 hours ago, rockstaryuzu said:

Just to prove it's not all doom and gloom, today is the first day the number of patients my hospital is treating for COVID has dropped instead of increased, since March 12. Here's hoping it's a trend and not a blip. 

 

My hospital plays Here Comes the Sun over the intercom when a COVID-19 patient is discharged. I'm starting to hear it a lot more often.

[rockstaryuzu]

24 minutes ago, river said:

 

My hospital plays Here Comes the Sun over the intercom when a COVID-19 patient is discharged. I'm starting to hear it a lot more often.

Oh, that's nice! My hospital experimented with that kind of thing a while back - for one summer, it would play Brahm's Lullaby every time a baby was born on the maternity ward. It was really nice but they discontinued it after only 3 months...not sure why .

[Songster01]

Another concern for international fs events is skaters probably quarantining for 14 days for each new event, which could make attending multiple Challengers scheduled close together and especially J/GPs difficult.  Even quarantining for a championship can be tricky for skaters with less financial support, as flights may be more expensive and you'd definitely you'd have to pay for a longer accommodation.  Not sure if on-ice training would be doable while you are not supposed to be out and about.  Certainly in Canada they are emphasizing travelers should go straight home w/o contacting anyone or making stops.  Someone who should be self-isolating visiting a rink would be illegal here at the moment.  Then it's likely a skater would have to do the same process again on home soil/site of next event.  Would skaters want to compete if they had to spend 2 weeks off-ice before and after an event that is but one part of a series?  I suppose you could hold the whole GP series in one country, but you'd have to make sure everyone had the money for a long stay and enough room for the participants to practice safely for weeks.  I assume the fed in question would need special financial support to host an entire series, but I've no idea whether ISU/feds/national governments would support that.  Russia?  Japan? 

 

Adding fans to the mix at international events could make things that much more dicey.  I'm skeptical about screening here in Canada, given that it was near non-existent at airports and elsewhere before and even after the lockdown started. For example, the federal government here said the right things, but apparently little or nothing was really being done.  I'd also be wary of fans from countries where COVID-19 hasn't been handled well.  Right now Canada isn't planning on opening to the border to the US in the near future, but I suspect pressure will mount for it eventually, unless it's clear things continue to be chaotic there.  Even though I have family I would dearly love to visit, part of me is wonders if it would be far better to wait until a vaccine is rolled out.

 

A friend of mine suggested Nationals might be the safer option for fs, since it would involve domestic travel, which of course also has risks, but at least it would be confined to one country.  If a country can safely host sectionals and nationals, that would still permit training and a showing off of skills under competition pressure w/o needlessly risking further international spread. 

 

 

 

[liv]

I work in Long term care and while in Canada this is where many of our fatalities and horror stories are coming from, my home is doing well. We have no resident cases of Covid and only 2 staff, both administrative, have tested positive. Sick residents were tested, all were and continue to be negative. Just recently ontario decreed that workers only work in one place, but our home implemented that weeks ago. We had staff screening start immediately and no visitors have entered since mid March. The masks we've had to wear at all times have made my face break out, lol!!!  Luckily we had enough ppe from the beginning. And we have extra rooms prepared just in case we have isolation needs... but not every place has that... we are lucky that way. Obviously all this could change overnight, but so far, so good. The only thing our residents are suffering from is not seeing family, but they do as many phone calls and video chats as they can arrange... at least it is something. 

 

And speaking of frustrated, it seems our neighbours to the south are protesting to free the American people from the hoax that is covid19. Encouraged by their great leader to liberate certain states, his supporters are protesting with all sorts of signage... well, he wants everything open since the economy needs to get better and re election is up for grabs in months. 

 

[Lunna]

5 часов назад, Songster01 сказал:

If a country can safely host sectionals and nationals, that would still permit training and a showing off of skills under competition pressure w/o needlessly risking further international spread. 

Russia has internal comps, so if no GPs but rinks will open here, skaters can use these comps for training, but not many countries has such comps, I'm not sure even Europe has one for example (apart from challengers but they are in different countries).

Also they say here that now there're express-tests, so you can get a result in a couple of hours. But I don't know how effective they are and if the test is negative does it mean you don't need a 14 days quarantine or not.

[SitTwizzle]

6 hours ago, Songster01 said:

Another concern for international fs events is skaters probably quarantining for 14 days for each new event, which could make attending multiple Challengers scheduled close together and especially J/GPs difficult.  Even quarantining for a championship can be tricky for skaters with less financial support, as flights may be more expensive and you'd definitely you'd have to pay for a longer accommodation.  Not sure if on-ice training would be doable while you are not supposed to be out and about.  Certainly in Canada they are emphasizing travelers should go straight home w/o contacting anyone or making stops.  Someone who should be self-isolating visiting a rink would be illegal here at the moment.  Then it's likely a skater would have to do the same process again on home soil/site of next event.  Would skaters want to compete if they had to spend 2 weeks off-ice before and after an event that is but one part of a series?  I suppose you could hold the whole GP series in one country, but you'd have to make sure everyone had the money for a long stay and enough room for the participants to practice safely for weeks.  I assume the fed in question would need special financial support to host an entire series, but I've no idea whether ISU/feds/national governments would support that.  Russia?  Japan? 

 

Adding fans to the mix at international events could make things that much more dicey.  I'm skeptical about screening here in Canada, given that it was near non-existent at airports and elsewhere before and even after the lockdown started. For example, the federal government here said the right things, but apparently little or nothing was really being done.  I'd also be wary of fans from countries where COVID-19 hasn't been handled well.  Right now Canada isn't planning on opening to the border to the US in the near future, but I suspect pressure will mount for it eventually, unless it's clear things continue to be chaotic there.  Even though I have family I would dearly love to visit, part of me is wonders if it would be far better to wait until a vaccine is rolled out.

 

A friend of mine suggested Nationals might be the safer option for fs, since it would involve domestic travel, which of course also has risks, but at least it would be confined to one country.  If a country can safely host sectionals and nationals, that would still permit training and a showing off of skills under competition pressure w/o needlessly risking further international spread. 

 

 

 

It could be quarantine before OR after, but even this would be too much.

I rather think efficient measures such as were taken for 4CC, plus frequent testing of athletes and staff before and after, and a relative isolation allowing to retrieve fast and easy all contacts in case of a positive test, would suffice to get an infection rate much under the general population.

One can also think a preventive hydroxychloroquine take would reduce the risk of infection to very very low levels in itself, though we don't know yet how much. The risk being that people feel too well protected and don't follow other prophylaxis, as one can see for instance with HPV-vaccinated women neglecting regular screening. And there are people intolerant to this medication (I know a person who took it two days decades ago, unsupervised as was then the case, he took the second day in spite of strong eye pain the first day, and suffered an eyesight loss), plus contraindication (women with maternity projects in the following months) plus caveat (pregnant and milking women).

Sports with contact look more problematic, unless teams have a two-week collective quarantine before and after matches? Training camps for instance? Not a problem for national teams I suppose, much more so for local, regional ones.

 

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We have no resident cases of Covid and only 2 staff, both administrative, have tested positive. Sick residents were tested, all were and continue to be negative. Just recently ontario decreed that workers only work in one place, but our home implemented that weeks ago. We had staff screening start immediately and no visitors have entered since mid March. The masks we've had to wear at all times have made my face break out, lol!!!

 

Liv, how glad you had all this! In France, no test (either for staff or for residents, now they seem to be tested when terminally ill, maybe because they are likely to test negative even if dying of coronavirus?), no masks (plus misinformation pretending they were useless, particularly home-made ones; now people are making masks for carers and other medical staff, but so late)... But yes, care homes have prevented families from visiting. A 79-year-old wife showing a sign to her husband across the window was even arrested and fined by the police because "this was not a motive for going out of home" (though it is legally : assistance to an elderly person; but the police have quantitative objectives in fines, now so few cars can be fined), now she is traumatised.

[liv]

We didn't all wear masks right away. Staff always had access to masks and wore them when doing personal care, especially if someone was sick, but it was not encouraged at other times because there was still uncertainty about whether they were effective and there was concern about running out.  Some people made and wore their own as the days wore on, but as soon as we had our first staff case it all changed. For the last 3 weeks when you enter the building you are given a surgical mask and have to always wear it unless you are alone in your office. They also want everyone to follow physical distancing which is hard in health care! I work in physiotherapy so I am touching my people for long periods of time which makes that impossible. If we eventually get a covid case then I am sure things will change more... they say they now will test all staff and residents in care homes... I am not looking forward to my test, lol, but I know it is very important for all of us. 

 

Keep healthy everyone, and be careful.

[SitTwizzle]

1 hour ago, liv said:

We didn't all wear masks right away. Staff always had access to masks and wore them when doing personal care, especially if someone was sick, but it was not encouraged at other times because there was still uncertainty about whether they were effective and there was concern about running out.  Some people made and wore their own as the days wore on, but as soon as we had our first staff case it all changed. For the last 3 weeks when you enter the building you are given a surgical mask and have to always wear it unless you are alone in your office. They also want everyone to follow physical distancing which is hard in health care! I work in physiotherapy so I am touching my people for long periods of time which makes that impossible. If we eventually get a covid case then I am sure things will change more... they say they now will test all staff and residents in care homes... I am not looking forward to my test, lol, but I know it is very important for all of us. 

 

Keep healthy everyone, and be careful.

If your patients get deprived of physiotherapy, their health is likely to worsen quite a lot. I hope you will not be prevented from giving them the care they need.

[rockstaryuzu]

15 hours ago, liv said:

the hoax that is covid19

Every time this particular bit of tomfoolery pops up in my social media feeds I roll my eyes so hard it's a miracle I haven't sprained them. Sure. 150,000 deaths worldwide, and counting, is a hoax. Yep. Definitely.

 

Also, kudos to your workplace, they were on the ball. It's nice to hear.

 

My friend who lives in Troy, NY,  told me today that UV wands and flashlights are currently being marketed in the States as a way to disinfect used PPE " in seconds" and re-use them - but in actual fact, only C-band UV wavelengths will work for this, they take minutes not seconds, and they're so dangerous and penetrative that making them available in a consumer device is going to cause extreme harm. Regular UVA and UVB are dangerous enough - and can cause skin cancer with prolonged exposure. So whoever is selling these is endangering the public for profit and selling a device that likely won't work. 

 

On the bright side, Friday's report from my hospital CEO shows we're down to single digits for COVID patients in the ICU. I hope that continues.

 

 

 

[SitTwizzle]

6 hours ago, rockstaryuzu said:

Every time this particular bit of tomfoolery pops up in my social media feeds I roll my eyes so hard it's a miracle I haven't sprained them. Sure. 150,000 deaths worldwide, and counting, is a hoax. Yep. Definitely.

 

Also, kudos to your workplace, they were on the ball. It's nice to hear.

 

My friend who lives in Troy, NY,  told me today that UV wands and flashlights are currently being marketed in the States as a way to disinfect used PPE " in seconds" and re-use them - but in actual fact, only C-band UV wavelengths will work for this, they take minutes not seconds, and they're so dangerous and penetrative that making them available in a consumer device is going to cause extreme harm. Regular UVA and UVB are dangerous enough - and can cause skin cancer with prolonged exposure. So whoever is selling these is endangering the public for profit and selling a device that likely won't work. 

 

On the bright side, Friday's report from my hospital CEO shows we're down to single digits for COVID patients in the ICU. I hope that continues.

 

 

 

That those UV tanning devices are still allowed passes my understanding. Old rant off-topic. 

And very glad for your hospital — and your region.

[Umebachi]

12 hours ago, rockstaryuzu said:

 

Also, kudos to your workplace, they were on the ball. It's nice to hear.

 

 

On the bright side, Friday's report from my hospital CEO shows we're down to single digits for COVID patients in the ICU. I hope that continues.

 

 

 

 

So glad to hear your region is turning a corner.  Here in BC, the mood is also optimistic - our number of cases is definitely going down.  BC Chief Health Officer Dr Henry's press briefing has become part of our daily routine. Her voice is calming and soothing our frayed nerves.   

[ralucutzagy]

 

 

[ralucutzagy]

 

loool so true

[liv]

Clearly minds are going crazy over covid19... and I don't mean the things people are doing in quarantine/isolation etc... when a world leader suggests somehow injecting disinfectants like Lysol *into* the human body, it's more than a full moon causing mischief.