Why is Covid suddenly surging again?

And not only that, but TP and Paper Towels are being hoarded again. Nothing on the shelves. And I understand why Covid is surging again, because people are going back inside, but why not TP?

americans have no self control. that's why.

I don’t know my Family is seriously considering cancelling Christmas though 😞 it surging in Canada too

but it is surging everywhere r2

Because of the IDIOTS WHO WON'T WEAR MASKS

In Asia, r4?

Our cultural insistence on the rights of the individual as opposed to one's responsibility to our fellow citizens.

Also, an awful lot of us are just plain "slow".

After nine months, people have gotten lazy, complacent and careless, and are exhibiting "COVID fatigue". Also, the unwillingness of officials to shut down businesses, schools and gatherings has given license to people to behave as if there is no reason to be concerned.

OP the media covered the surging Covid numbers throughout the election. When the President decides to pursue fraudulent quackery, rather than a science based national strategy and Republicans politicize mask wearing. Do you really need to ask why it’s surging in the US?

I ain't wearin' no mask! And Trump wpn!

Cooler weather leads to people spending more time indoors, which increases the number of cases, just as was predicted months ago.

In the summer, people in the northern U.S. spent more time outdoors, reducing the transmission, while people in the southern U.S. spent more time indoors (for the air conditioning) increasing the transmission, all as predicted last spring.

Covid-19 is not surging everywhere, R4. It isn’t surging in Asia, Australia and New Zealand, for example.

It has been surging in the USA for some time and has been covered in the media. Perhaps you missed it.

Being that we’ve never gotten it under control in the US. What could it do here but surge?

Winter is here and all the countries in the northern hemisphere that didn't do everything they could to control the virus during the warmer summer/fall months are in for a surge. A flu like viral disease surging during the flu season. Who would have thunk?!

Fatigue.

People are tired of staying home with only members of their household and many have decided they’re willing to take the risk to attend parties or dinners with friends and family. Maybe that one big annual Halloween party with fifty people didn’t happen this year, but a few parties of five to ten people took its place.

People tend to forget that even though a quarter of a million Americans have died from it, many people still don’t know anyone who died personally, and probably don’t even know that many people who have tested positive. It stands to reason that people would let their guard down, even if they shouldn’t. And so here we are.

You mean, why is it surging even though we have such competent REPUBLICAN leadership in Washington?

Not covered in the news? What fucking news are you watching OP? It is on the news every single fucking hour of every single fucking day on every single fucking network. Between Covid and Trump, I am going to have to turn off the news completely for 2 months or I will soon go insane. I think I am already getting close.

r14 has it right. Public health agencies squandered a minimum of nine months with inadequate, simplistic messaging that necessarily overlooked:

- the reality of relaxed social distancing protocols to protect transportation

- the percentage of people in the United States with metabolic syndrome -- 37 percent.

- in the United States, 6 out of 10 adults (source: cdc dot gov) have a chronic disease that increases their risk of severe COVID-19. Also, 4 out of 10 people have two or more of these chronic conditions.

- selenium deficiency

- Vitamin D deficiency

- lack of rapid result tests. Tested persons continued along their normal lives for days as they awaited test results

You ain't seen nothing yet, wait until after Thanksgiving.

[quote] it surging in Canada too

Thank you for reporting, Cookie Monster.

I live in a part of the US where a lot of truckers work. Supposedly, they're gearing up for a huge truck driver strike. They're upset about the conditions they've been having to work in and so are going on strike. That's why toilet paper is selling out again--people are worried stores will run out due to not being able to get deliveries.

[quote]Cooler weather leads to people spending more time indoors, which increases the number of cases, just as was predicted months ago.

This isn't the predicted cold weather surge yet. This is the 'it has now reached the rural parts of the country and these fucking idiots couldn't learn one lesson from the places hit early so we're not going to wear masks and we're going to do whatever we want' surge. The cold weather surge will hit in a few weeks.

It's "surging" because that's what viruses do. Attack, mutate and then attack again until they destroy the host or are neutralized and/or destroyed by the host. All of the precautions - masks, distancing, etc. - simply delay the inevitable, And due to ignorance and the hysteria generated by the novel virus, it is impossible to gather accurate data about the effectiveness of the precautions.

Most places reopened too much too soon; too many people are refusing to wear masks; and too many large in-person gatherings have been happening (Trump events, Sturgis, church services, etc. etc.). A lot of the cases we’re seeing now are due to Halloween parties; in December the hospitals will be crammed with patients who got sick during Thanksgiving gatherings - so a lot of families will be observing Christmas by mourning their dead.

I've said it before, if this thing killed kids as it does adults, you could bet people would be taking it a hell of a lot more seriously.

It is surging because far too many people are dumbass pieces of shit who don't give a fuck about anyone but themselves. I am losing faith in humanity. Please stay safe, fellow DLers. You know what to do. We need to stick together over the holidays.

[quote]those little fuckers are carriers

R25 types wisdom. I'm one of the wear a mask only when I absolutely must. But if I'm anywhere near even one small child, you motherfucking bet I don a mask AND a face shield.

I think the whole “bubble” or “pod” concept didn’t really work. People say oh, I trust you or I trust them. Trust? How do you trust someone not to inhale a virus particle before your family game night? Even before Covid, the western world in particular seemed to be ignorant about a lot of basic health care facts. At least a few times each winter, I hear someone blame their cold on going outside with a wet head or ask for antibiotics for a cold. So we started from a public health disadvantage and Trump’s spreading lies and conspiracy made it worse.

I live in red state with not enough state guidelines and not enough people who take Covid seriously. Someone called me yesterday and asked me to perform in a play in January with a cast and crew of at least 20 in a tiny theater with cramped dressing rooms, and because it's a historic building, it is not ADA compliant and has lots of narrow places in the entrance and near the box office, where it's difficult to social distance.

I said, no, of course I wouldn't do it. I'm out of circulation and not participating in any group activities until there's a vaccine that is proven effective and everyone is taking it, and the pandemic is over.

The person on the other end said, "Can we revisit this when we start rehearsals in early January?"

NO!

Then she finished the conversation with, "Well, I guess if you're afraid of it, there's nothing I can do."

That's why Covid is continuing to surge (it never really stopped or even slowed much) in my state.

R29 Wow, she thinks people would still be up to attending a play cramped into a small theater in January? Talk about having your head in the sand. Or maybe it's just that limitless red state optimism.

How unfortunate to make it through weeks of rehearsal, only to die on opening night.

Break a lung!

Cold, dry air irritates nasal passages and makes people more susceptible to sickness.

You've been telling us about this alleged truck driver strike for weeks R21, and the only thing about it online are a few posts from Trumpster truckers threatening a strike but having almost no support for it.

In fact, the "Stop the Tires" rightwing strike-slash-petulant hissy fit because Trump didn't win was CANCELLED.

Stop fearmongering, you fool.

Americans are obese, incautious and reckless, that's why. I'm ecstatic that finally the coronavirus has brought the smug asses down to their fat, wobbly knees

I'm never going to find it again but someone in a thread on here recently linked to an article saying that it's no longer about being in COVID hotspots, basically if you're anywhere in public, especially in buildings, you can expect to be exposed.

If you look at the CDC tracker, it almost looks like Sturgis was ground zero for the current outbreak. I don't know that it was, but it's pretty striking.

Cold weather and people want to go back to normal and is totally understandable, except for the fact that things can't go back to normal yet with a pandemic of a respiratory virus that doesn't generate a long lasting immunity after you survive, that means no " herd immunity". Pretending thing are normal won't change reality specially with a population so pretentious, they think they know better, like refusing to believe a mask help to prevent the contagion of a respiratory virus.

Because idiots on FB pollute news station's comment sections with wisdom like, "I had covid and it was a cakewalk, they're inflating the numbers and masks don't work."

[quote]...with a pandemic of a respiratory virus that doesn't generate a long lasting immunity after you survive, that means no " herd immunity".

Actually, the latest studies show that immunity will most likely be very long term. There's a difference between antibodies and T-cells.

I've mentioned this before but our Health Dept's Facebook page was overtaken by anti-COVID trolls from all over the country and they succeeded in disrupting the flow of information to the public.

R34 The threatened trucker's strike, which would take place at the end of this month, is mentioned in this news broadcast from yesterday.

R39 Sounds like wishful thinking.

People started hoarding toilet paper again weeks ago, and it had nothing to do with the trucker's strike. Stop it.

It’s spiking again theories: + many schools reopened in October. One in every 11 children has it and most are asymptomatic. + a political figure kept on having rallies in September, October and November in places now reporting surges. + Halloween parties turned out to be superspreeader events. (People ignored the warnings and had them anyway.)

Here in Maine, we are seeing historic numbers of coronavirus cases, although not nearly as large an outbreak as in other, more populous states. An August wedding planned by two morons led to the state's first major outbreak because no one wore a mask and there was no social distancing at either the church or the reception venue. As a result, 165 people were infected and one wedding guest spread the virus to a nursing home where seven people died. Another guest works at a state prison and caused a major outbreak among inmates. There are still many here who believe the virus is a hoax, like our Dear Leader, and others who see mask-wearing as a violation of their Constitutional rights. I fear sheer stupidity is going to keep the virus circulating for a long time, even after vaccines are readily available.

U.S. mayhem and reasons are amply documented... but there's evermore ugliness in Canada, Europe and elsewhere. Feels like it's all too clear that leaders have to be hard fuckin' core with controls/laws/requirements -- and penalties -- or there will be mayhem.

Stay as safe as you can do people.

Infection and Covid death rates are climbing here in my part of the UK, despite us being in what is supposed to be lockdown. Traffic on the roads is at normal levels, despite all non essential shops being closed.

Wash your hands. Wear a mask. Keep your distance. Eradicate social contact as much as you can. Get food delivered. Stay home. Protect yourselves, where possible.

We are on the home run with vaccines around the world showing encouraging results. Not long to go. Just stay safe please everyone.

I don't think a lot of us are taking this seriously. In Vermont, restaurants can be open, but must close at 10pm. How does that stop the spread? Does the virus only come out after 10pm? Gyms can stay open with restrictions.

Ridiculous and dangerous. If you travel into Vermont, quarantine yourself and you're on your honor -- we won't check!

Winter will make spring and summer look like a lark.

Everyone's wearing masks in Europe now r5 and has been for a few weeks, yet it's still surging. Probably because some people think all that's needed is for masks to be worn and they're completely protected, so they're then just carrying on their lives as they always normal but with a mask on.

R45, even if those people at that wedding were wearing masks and socially distanced it should still have been banned. US states need to ban all such events. You need a full lockdown right now. Even if a lockdown is lifted, severe restrictions should still remain in place.

[quote]I don't think a lot of us are taking this seriously. In Vermont, restaurants can be open, but must close at 10pm. How does that stop the spread? Does the virus only come out after 10pm

It's stupid, but the justification is that the later it gets, the drunker people get, and the more likely they are to ignore distancing. Based on my own limited observation (and I'm not eating in a restaurant again until we get a significant percentage of the population vaccinated--and I tested positive over the weekend), they're not doing such a good job even when they're not drunk. They're starting to enclose the outdoor dining booths because of the weather, which is basically eliminating the advantages of outdoor dining. One restaurant has a bunch of bubble tents that are similar to these. There's no air flow in them, and the odds of them getting thoroughly cleaned between uses have to be essentially nil.

Meanwhile, goddamn DeBlasio closed the schools again, despite that being a minimal vector since so many kids are still doing either home instruction or hybrid learning.

Republicans deserve to die.

Everything needs to be shut down for 4 full months.

Idiots and fatigue, but mostly extroverts who JUST have to gather and yap and drink and fill rooms with their COVIDy spit.

Fuck you, extroverts. First you make meetings go too fucking long, then you kill Nana.

Sacrifice or Die.

The choice is yours.

So r7 what you are saying is you'd rather live in Russia or China because your dialogue is shaming people for having a mind of their own and demanding individual rights.

I think at this point it makes sense to question the "official" line on COVID.

Our news organizations and our government is not controlled in any way by the citizens of this country. They are owned by corporations and billionaires who can pick and choose the information we are fed. There are plenty of people questioning this sudden push to close everything down. Just think about it, this can easily be used to punish and control us or just train us into behaving how they want us to.

I am grateful for those citizens who are pushing back. I hope more join in whether they are wearing masks or not. Now is not the time to blindly behave but if you are white you are going to feel that's the best way to go because you've never lived in a reality where the system of how things work are working against YOU.

Once again, the news organizations are owned by billionaires and corporations and they own our politicians and government. Everything that we hear is propoganda and all the decisions made in DC are for the benefit of the Oligarchy who care nothing about main street Americans.

Where I live, nearly everyone wears a mask in stores and public places. The problem is coming from personal gatherings (e.g., baby showers, football-viewing parties, birthday parties). People are masking up when they are around strangers, but let down their guard around people they know. The problem is, everyone has a different group of people they trust, so gathering with ten people you think are safe means that you are accepting the risk from the dozens of others that are in their trust circles who don't overlap with yours. That party with the group of ten you "trust" actually results in you being exposed to maybe as many as 100 people through secondary contact.

Adopt the attitude that you're not safe anywhere.

Or, just be stupid.

I was planning a simple Thanksgiving dinner, the Saturday after Thanksgiving day with my daughter and her boyfriend. She is in the health field, so she wears mask, facemask and follow strict cleanliness procedures. Her dental office even invested in a better air filtration system. We have discussed that we are self quarantining, meaning limited outside engagement outside of work, and no visiting others. Now follow the story. My daughter will first be going to her boyfriend's family on Thanksgiving day. 7 people. The boyfriend's father is health compromised, so the people visiting are 'suppose' to be self quarantining 14 days or so prior to Thanksgiving day. Then my daughter and boyfriend will have a Thanksgiving celebration with my ex wife and step father on the day after, Friday. Ex-wife is a teacher, where they recently just started in classroom. 4 people present. Yesterday my daughter just sent me a text asking if she could go to a office Thanksgiving event. Same health field, following the same protocols. 8 people. By the time it gets to me, it's 19 people with potential spread, not to mention the kids the ex-wife is exposed at her school. I have to depend on everyone in the chain to be sane and safe. But, I've been an Essential worker in a health field related job (non medical) , working in public this entire time also following protocols. It is recommended that people should have a Covid test get just before Thanksgiving. Well guess what. No quick tests around. Our Patients First is just about to get the rapid test, but my inside source says only for people with symptoms, not to be used for clearing you for Thanksgiving. My dilemma is I have my 89 year old mom that lives with me. I am now about to shut Thanksgiving plans down, and not take the risk. We shall see what Christmas will bring. I am going to order either Boston Markets individual turkey meals, or Bob Evans. Sorry daughter.

It's surging again because the people in control of things want us to think it's surging again.

Just think how much control they will have once they shut down before the holidays and push people further into desperation and depression. People will be willing to do just about anything don't you think? Give up rights. Follow orders.

Then when Joe comes in to office and allows even just a bit of freedom and stimulates the economy a bit, he will be hailed as a god. We will do anything the Dems say. They say jump, we say how high. And they will shit on us over and over and over and we will take it because they freed us and saved us with the stimulus package.

Or they will raise taxes on us and give the billionaires even more money so they will stimulate the economy, which we know won't happen because trickle down doesn't work. They will talk like they are doing us favors but the opposite will really be happening and those of you still buying this farce will be the people that continue to give them support.

Stupid white people are killing this country and all the rest of us can do is sit back and watch.

Stay out of jail.

Australia has opened up in full. Nary a trace of the virus in Sydney. People are walking around w/o masks and stores and restaurants.

You can always leave, R60 .........

You just know that a lot of people are going to gather for the holidays despite the warnings. The death rate probably won't decrease until next spring.

[quote] the percentage of people in the United States with metabolic syndrome -- 37 percent.

What is this?

It is sickening to think of the numbers of people who will die, as well as those who live but will have long-term effects, but I can't help wondering about all those Trumpers who deny the risks. How many of them will do Thanksgiving and then Christmas, and kill their grandparents, parents, and their 12-year-old cousin with Type 1 diabetes. December and January are going to be a bloodbath.

Even if Trump doesn't drop a bomb on Tehran, we are going to be a nation in crisis by January 20. We're in crisis now, but a third of the population doesn't believe it.

It's surging among people who refuse to wear masks and scorn (as does R60) the reality-based community. They're a minority where I live, but their Halloween parties and whatever inevitably end up infecting their family members and others unlucky enough to come in close quarters.

Their bizarre devotion to "personal freedom" to the exclusion of responsibility to others is a distinctly post-Reagan phenomenon in the US. In WWII and other crises people in general had a more responsible attitude toward their families and communities, and were more willing to shame and be ashamed on account of selfishness and carelessness. But Republicans have found it profitable to exploit people's basest instincts and encourage them.

[quote] It's "surging" because that's what viruses do. Attack, mutate and then attack again until they destroy the host

Epidemiologist, are ya?

A virus has no incentive to, nor does it “destroy the host.” Its goal is to stay alive. Viruses are not kamikazes on a suicide mission.

Dumb ass mothers in NYC insisting that schools are the safest place for their kids to be.

Sorry mom, if school c!osings are interfering with your gym time and happy hours.

Are you speaking of your Thanksgiving host?

[quote]Dumb ass mothers in NYC insisting that schools are the safest place for their kids to be.

The transmission rate in schools is much, much lower than in the community right now. I think current in-person instruction averages out to something like ten kids per room.

Meanwhile, moms can run around with their wine and their hot yoga.

R56 is a loon.

R56/R60, isn’t there a pizza parlor you should be raiding?

It's not only surging among those who don't wear masks. If someone is wearing a mask but they're around people who don't, the person wearing the mask still has a pretty good chance of catching it, even if they do everything right.

[quote]If someone is wearing a mask but they're around people who don't, the person wearing the mask still has a pretty good chance of catching it, even if they do everything right.

*raises hand*

Linda, do you want to go out to the bar tonight and watch the game?

Just Stay Home

Same, R75. It's absolute bullshit to stay home for six months, wear masks all the time, wash hands, get everything delivered, and still get it because your car broke down and you had to go to the shop ONCE and got the virus.

I blame Trump who weaponized Covid-19 with his superspreader events and brainwashing his followers that either COVID-19 isn't real and if it's real it isn't dangerous and if it's real and dangerous you better own the Libs by giving it to them.

Here are the reasons. A lot of states did not follow mandates - SD, IA etc...and are now suffering. Those people travel. Couple that with stupid fucking people who still get together in mass numbers (Trump supporters, gay men, college kids)

Turn off Bravo for a minute and Redd the paper, OP. It’s been predicted, covered, explained thoroughly.

From r36’s link.

New COVID cases per 100,000 over the past 10 days (Nov. 9-18):

North Dakota 185

South Dakota 161

Iowa 134

Texas 32

California 22

New York City 20

Here in San Francisco, the figure is 9. Which is about double what it had been previously, so this mayor immediately shut down indoor dining and slashed gym capacity to 10%.

Of the 10 states with the highest infection rates, 7 were won by Trump.

Of the 10 states with with the lowest infection rates, 1 was won by Trump.

It’s almost as if there was a correlation.

[quote]Everyone's wearing masks in Europe now [R5] and has been for a few weeks, yet it's still surging.

In fact, the COVID-19 spread in Europe appears to be slowing as mask compliance has climbed to 60%. It would be slowing a lot faster if even more Europeans would wear the damn mask.

R83, the Covid-19 spread in Europe is slowing because most countries are back to an almost complete lockdown situation. Even in places where mask-wearing was mandated everywhere (e.g. France), including outdoors and not just indoors or on public transport, infections started to rise massively. Where exactly are these places in Europe where you believe that people aren't "wearing the damn mask"?

[quote]Where exactly are these places in Europe where you believe that people aren't "wearing the damn mask"?

"WHO is still against lockdowns except for a last report, and Kludge said that they could be avoidable if mask compliance is above 90 percent, the Times reports. Compliance across Europe currently sits at around 60 percent."

I’m so thirsty RN 😩😷

To think that people are dieing of COVID and they don't believe it....this is the insanity of the Orange Anus, Q, OAN, FOX and NEWSMAX. They should all be held responsible.

I asked you, r85, which European countries do you believe people aren't wearing masks in? Europe is dozens of countries which are implementing different policies. I'm in one and am hearing from friends and family in other countries about what's going on where they are. I can assure you, where I am mask use is almost practically 100%, yet cases have shot up and so there has to be another lockdown. If you take "Europe" as one entity you will not get an accurate picture.

Which countries do you mean, r85?

Here's the list of countries in the "Europe area" which Kluge is talking about. It's really not just the EU and a few other western European countries.

Albania Andorra Armenia Austria Azerbaijan Belarus Belgium Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria Croatia Cyprus Czechia Denmark Estonia Finland France Georgia Germany Greece Hungary Iceland Ireland Israel Italy Kazakhstan Kyrgyzstan Latvia Lithuania Luxembourg Malta Monaco Montenegro Netherlands North Macedonia Norway Poland Portugal Republic of Moldova Romania Russian Federation San Marino Serbia Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden Switzerland Tajikistan Turkey Turkmenistan Ukraine United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Uzbekistan

[quote] New York City 20

Are you sure that’s only the City and not the entire state?

[quote] To think that people are dieing

Oh, dear!

Some interesting statistics for you, r85. Spain has almost 96% "always" mask compliance, Italy 92% "always" mask compliance, France 85% "always" mask compliance. If you add "frequently" for mask compliance, then those three countries have almost 100% mask compliance in all or most circumstances. Yet, those are the three EU countries that have experienced the worst recent surges. Finland, Norway and Denmark have low mask compliance yet they have the lowest rates of Covid in the EU.

Just saying "wear masks but don't close anything!" is actually pretty useless advice for most European (EU/EEA) countries right now.

I think they are wearing the masks the wrong way! I see many people with masks under their noses.

[quote]Some interesting statistics for you

First, those stats rely on self-reporting. Second, bars and restaurants were all open until recently in those countries -- Italy's are still open -- and I guarantee you some of these "always" mask wearers didn't wear them while eating and drinking in public.

Masks are effective, and they're most effective when everyone complies completely: mandatory masks in public, no exceptions, and masks must be worn properly, covering the nose and the chin at all times. Bars and restaurants should be closed (and public eating and drinking banned), and their industries completely bailed out by the government by taxing all the billionaires profiting hand over fist right now.

R24 for the win (from a US perspective) - I think Halloween was a big spreader, then the parties when Biden won. Now there are multiple opportunities to spread it during the holiday season: Drunksgiving, Thanksgiving, Christmas parties, Christmas, then, if you haven't gotten it yet, indoor New Years Eve parties. Plus, add in post-semester parties in college before everyone goes home for Winter Break.

By the time Biden gets into office, it will be almost 30 days past Christmas and I predict we would be peaking in deaths and hospitalizations.

Sadly, there is no reason to believe this won't happen based on the past few months. Oh - and let's not forget inauguration parties and Super Bowl parties 2 weeks after that.

I have a feeling we're going to see > 250,000 cases a day and 2,500-3,000 deaths a day. We're not THAT far away from that now.

r94, WHY DO YOU HATE FREEDOM AND CAPITALISM AND AMERICA??!??!?

The Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918 surged twice again after the initial outbreak. The third round killed more people than the first two combined.

Don't confuse the transmission rate with the positivity rate.

[Quote] I've said it before, if this thing killed kids as it does adults, you could bet people would be taking it a hell of a lot more seriously.

[Bold] WHAT ABOUT THE CHILDREN?!?!?!

[quote] The Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918 surged twice again after the initial outbreak. The third round killed more people than the first two combined.

Even when people don't die from the first Covid-19 wave they potentially get weakened and once they are weakened the second wave finishes them off.

In the future not weapons of mass destruction are our greatest strength. It's our immune system and preventing exposure to viral threats.

Keep your immune system up, up, up and running. Until the vaccine is available to everybody who needs it it's going to be a bumpy ride.

We're in for a very dark late winter.

We're in for a very dark early and mid winter, too.

[quote] R56: So [R7] what you are saying is you'd rather live in Russia or China because your dialogue is shaming people for having a mind of their own and demanding individual rights.

I can write something that a politician cannot. Half the people in the country are below average IQ. That’s by definition. I’ll further add, that the average person is dumb as fuck. It’s fine to “have a mind of there own”, but most people do not know enough on the subject to make educated and wise decisions.

[quote] R78: Same, [R75]. It's absolute bullshit to stay home for six months, wear masks all the time,

You don’t need to wear a mask at home alone, or when alone in your car.

Because of fucking idiots. I wouldn’t be opposed to building a wall around the Dakotas.

[quote]Half the people in the country are below average IQ. That’s by definition.

You're confusing "average" and "median."

Ok, R106, and yet, here we are.

My county in Colorado had a helpful spreadsheet of known outbreaks, number of people, dates, etc.

I did a pivot table off of it out of boredom by type of location.

Healthcare (combined - nursing homes, hospitals, etc.) was #1

Schools were a very close 2nd.

Then workplaces (offices).

I was surprised to see restaurants way down the line so I don't think it is happening where everyone is automatically assuming.

Putin had a coughing fit today...lots of people wonder if he's got it!

FYI, we’re doomed. Iowa has a positivity rate of 40%. IIRC.

Yesterday Italy registered over 700 deaths and over 700 deaths the day before.

That would be the equivalent of over 3,500 deaths per day in the US.

France, Spain, UK etc are not doing much better.

On Nov 17th Germany registered 357 deaths. The most for Germany since the pandemic started earlier this year. That would be the equivalent of about 1,430 deaths in the US.

I blame this on Trump's election rallies. They were all superspreader events that spread Covid rapidly around the red states.

This man at this time. We're not living right or something.

R112 - well, if that was the main item, then it would be mainly Trumpsters who are getting it. Unfortunately, I don't believe we see that pattern.

I would love to see the mask-wearers and science supporters come out of this unscathed, but I don't think that's what is happening.

I'd like to know what the breakdowns are - but they'll never report that.

R105

[quote] Because of fucking idiots. I wouldn’t be opposed to building a wall around the Dakotas.

Since the strain that spread across the US came from New York, the rest of the USA should have built a wall around New York at the beginning.

(Even those neighboring states who tried to restrict New Yorkers from entering their state were attacked by your governor.)

So, R105, would your have supported a complete quarantine of New York. Block bridges, tunnels, airports, roads, etc. Airlift in food and let the virus run its course.

That would have saved the rest of us a lot of heartache.

I'm sure I read back in the spring that the strain that was going around the West Coast came from China and the slightly variant strain in New York came from Europe.

Gov. Gavin Newsom has announced a 10 p.m. curfew that will start Saturday and last for a month in California counties that are in the strictest level of the state's pandemic restrictions, as COVID-19 cases continue to rise.

Non-essential work and gatherings must shut down from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. in the 41 counties in California's purple tier, which includes 94% of the state's nearly 40 million residents. The order will be in effect until Dec. 21, but could be extended if infection rates and disease trends don’t improve.

R6 - in the EU as well. I have been staying in but when I go get Starbucks to go at the mall here in Romania, I see international students, mostly from the EU and locals sitting in groups outside, the outdoors dining area is full, half the people (ALL the men) have their masks under the nose and, because Turkey is now the only ace they can travel they are swarming Istanbul.

The local Americans aren't smarter. They talk about having a Thanksgiving get together of about 10 to which they invited me and my roommate which we declined. Their answer? "Well we are all very careful about where we go and who we come into contact with". Then they post pictures of outings every weekend in groups and essentially raided the mall in a herd for Black Friday (which is November 13th here).

Where in the fuck have you been OP???

More than 900 Mayo Clinic employees have caught COVID-19 in the past two weeks.

At a press briefing on Tuesday, Dr. Amy Williams, dean of clinical practice at the hospital, said that the vast majority of staff who were infected – 93% – were not infected at work. Most of those who were infected at work contracted the virus while eating without a mask during their breaks, Williams said.

It’s not just deplorables ignoring warnings. Everyone in Seattle, who’s is progressive, wears masks. But they go to bars with friends because they are bored. Everyone is getting together for Thanksgiving and traveling which they know they shouldn’t. People can’t do it. Especially extroverts.

The deplorables are being assholes about masks. But lots of liberals are also taking a lot of chances. We are all guilty collectively. And we are going to get slammed because of it.

R116 As I recall, the virulent strain from Wuhan never made much of an impact here. There was a cluster of COVID-related deaths in a nursing home in Washington state in February or March that the media wanted to pin on China, but no big outbreak came from that. Actually, that incident is very reminiscent of the "mystery flu" deaths in nursing homes back east during the fall of 2019. A genetic study found there is a weaker strain of COVID that was found predominately in Australia/US, but no one will report on that since that contradicts the established narrative to blame China.

R121 - I have been a sexless loner with the exception of my roommate since March. As an extrovert, I totally understand the "people can't do it" part since my focus and psychological state have deteriorated as well as my energy levels. My roommate who is usually a psychologically sturdy girl who went through her dad's debilitating stroke, moving abroad, the death of her fiancee and is facing middle age and menopause with no signs of anything but a sunny disposition is now depressed. It is scary. She went to a salon to get her hair done but left when she saw 2 of the queens working there leave on lunch and take off their masks as soon as outside to smoke with 4 other people near the ashtray and EVERYONE was less than 1 foot apart.

Is it a bridge too far to want everyone of the 73 million assholes who voted for Trump again to get this and die slow, painful deaths where every final breath hurts and they are isolated from loved ones?

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[quote]Gov Newsom issues stay-at-home order banning non-essential work and gatherings from 10pm to 5am

Is he fighting Covid or vampires? No one can say this nighttime ban is based on science.

[quote] that the average person is dumb as fuck. It’s fine to “have a mind of there own”,

Oh, I so love irony.

R126 - what politicians up for re-election are doing in Europe wherever elections are coming up soon. Closing the malls at 9 PM instead of 10 PM (which only means one less hour of wages for hourly employees and less business for the food servers who do a 50% off everything at 9 PM instead of throwing it out). Also, no going out except for essentials between 11 PM and 5 AM.

But Black Friday is on!

[quote] You don’t need to wear a mask...when alone in your car.

How do you know that? What if the person is an Uber or Lyft driver and is between passengers? What if the person is going to pick up an elderly relative for a doctor’s appointment?

Without a mask, viral particles could be all over the car and when that person gets in....

R129 - I don't know but that seems far fetched.

[quote] well, if that was the main item, then it would be mainly Trumpsters who are getting it.

Do you think these people go to rallies and drive straight home and never go back out? No, they’re interacting with everyone in the community, from other shoppers to the clerk, etc.

[quote] (Even those neighboring states who tried to restrict New Yorkers from entering their state were attacked by your governor.)

And rightfully so. It’s unconstitutional.

R123, I went on a survivalist website recently to see what they were saying (lots of Republicans). The women were saying they are all growing their hair out long because they don’t want to go to the hairdresser. Some said they normally have short hair or layers, but they said growing it out means after it gets to a certain length, they can pin it up and get it out of the way without getting their hair done.

I saw a commercial about some product for older people yesterday. The man had gray hair. The woman had gray roots about long enough to have started around February, then below that, she had very fake looking, faded out blonde dye. There was a sharp demarcation line where the dye ended and it was very obvious. In a commercial about older people.

I was really surprised they cast her. I’ve seen women everywhere growing out their dye, and you can tell by the root line how long ago it was. It’s about ear length for a lot of them. From the practical point of view, that’s smart. It was fascinating to me that they wanted to give the subliminal message, it’s fine to stop dyeing your hair, and not try to blend the roots or get it fixed, even this well to do woman in the commercial is doing it.

R130, what seems far fetched to me is people who give a flying fuck what other people are wearing in their car.

R133, WTF are you on about?

R134 - I mean it's normal and all if you are gonna get in it with them.

[quote] Probably because some people think all that's needed is for masks to be worn and they're completely protected, so they're then just carrying on their lives as they always normal but with a mask on.

Yes, people think that as long as they're wearing a mask, it's impossible to get COVID. They've given up on social distancing, washing their hands, avoiding large gatherings, etc.

I've decided to make no more grocery store trips until cases start falling again. Whenever I'm at the grocery store, I see fraus pull down their masks to talk to their children (who are usually running around maskless) and people pull down their masks to talk on their phones. And a lot of shoppers wait until they're fully inside the store to put on their mask, and they take it off the instant they leave the register, so the cart area at the store entrance is always full of people not wearing masks.

R135 - should be pretty clear he is taling about women preferring to let their hair look bad instead of risking at the salon.

And that makes sense in a thread about why COVID is surging?

Because these old bitties are not going to the hair salon?

People need to stay home more.

R140 Exactly!

I had to take the bus into the city I live in, here in the UK last Friday. It's compulsory to wear a mask on the bus.

I was shocked by the number of old ladies on the bus, going into town shopping. Exactly the sort of people, who should be staying home, but they were heading into town because they always do.

R135, Women would normally be totally embarrassed to be seen like that. But people are letting it go because of Covid. It’s almost like the WWII saying, “don’t you know there’s a war on,” to remind people you can’t have everything just like you would have before.

I thought the woman in the commercial was a propaganda thing. “Look, she’s not going, you don’t have to either. Stay home, nobody will criticize you.” It was a subliminal message within an unrelated ad, that’s what interested me.

As soon as Biden gets in, or even now, he ought to run some ads telling people to stay in. Or subliminal ads like that, showing people at home in their bubble, doing indoor things. Couples alone eating Christmas dinner by candlelight in a decorated room. That’s the way they brainwashed people to sacrifice during WWII. People didn’t just naturally do it because they were saints. They were bombarded by propaganda day and night, everywhere.

The real way you stop people from doing something is peer pressure, or peer acceptance. People listen to that. Not preaching.

It makes you wonder how much society is going to change due to Covid, even after it’s over.

And the US passed 2,000 deaths today - the most since early May.

If we maintain the same levels and things don't get worse, we're going to have another 250,000 deaths before the vaccine. But things are going to get worse - these are the deaths from infections 20-30 days ago when we were at half the amount of infections.

This sucks.

One really powerful way to push staying home would be to show people on TV shows doing it. The Conners are staying home. The newsreader and his family plan to stay home for the holidays. The Kardashians are staying home. Etc. Make it the fashionable thing to do, make it seem like everyone’s doing it and you’re just going along with the trend.

We tried having Dr Fauci tell people to stay home. Doesn’t work. They need to hear Kim Kardashian is doing it.

Biden might actually have some pull with Hollywood. He should ask them to push it.

The problem is that a lot of celebrities are preaching that but not doing it same with the politicians and there is a double standard

The Kardashians have been the worst, throwing lavish rooftop parties and going on expensive tropical vacations, then acting completely unapologetic.

I don’t think celebrities saying stay at home would have much effect even if they found a really conscientious, trustworthy one (think Tom Hanks). It’s a lot easier to stay home in a Beverly Hills mansion than a one bedroom apartment.

All Smithsonian museums will temporarily close in Washington, DC

From CNN’s Pete Muntean, Nicky Robertson and Aileen Graef

The Smithsonian Institute just announced it will be closing all Smithsonian museums and the National Zoo starting Monday. The move is a direct response to the rising number of Covid-19 cases across the Washington, DC, area and the country.

This will be the second time the museums have closed to the public this year. Both the museums and the zoo closed in March and had a limited reopening in September.

The Smithsonian did not announce a planned date to reopen.

A press release issued by the Institute Thursday said, "Visitors who had reserved timed-entry passes to visit at a future date are being contacted directly."

The US Holocaust Museum in Washington, DC, also announced it would shut its doors on Monday.

Delirium may be a primary symptom of Covid-19 in older adults, study says

From CNN's Naomi Thomas

Delirium was common among elderly patients with Covid-19 who came to the emergency department, according to a study published Thursday in JAMA Network Open, and many of them did not have other typical signs or symptoms of the disease.

“In this multicenter retrospective cohort study, 28% of 817 older patients with Covid-19 infection had delirium on arrival to the ED, and delirium was the sixth most common presenting symptom or sign overall,” read the study, from lead authors Dr. Maura Kennedy of Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School and Benjamin Helfand of the University of Massachusetts Medical School.

“Delirium at presentation was significantly associated with increased risk for poor hospital outcomes, including ICU stay, discharge to a rehabilitation facility, and death," the study said.

Of the 226 patients with delirium, 37, or 16%, had delirium as their primary symptom. Importantly, the authors said, 84 of those 226, or 37%, had no fever or shortness of breath.

More on the study: The study was conducted at seven sites across the United States and included older adults who went to emergency departments on or after March 13.

Some of the factors associated with delirium included being older than 75, living in a nursing home or assisted living facility, prior use of psychoactive medication, vision or hearing impairment, stroke and Parkinson’s disease.

“Our study demonstrates that it is critical to recognize that older adults with Covid-19 may present with delirium as the primary or sole symptom,” the study says. “In addition, delirium is an important risk marker to identify patients at high risk for poor outcomes, including death.”

Remember: The study does have some limitations, including the fact that they suspect that the delirium rate observed is an underestimate, they were unable to evaluate site-specific data and enrollment occurred primarily in the Northeast during a time when it was undergoing a surge in Covid-19 infections.

R147 - museums have been open in DC? They've been closed in California since March.

It's surging because Nancy Pelosi got her hair done and Gavin Newsom ate in a restaurant!

when is unemployment ending for those out of work? in NY for example?

This 28-year-old doctor went from running marathons to being unable to breathe due to Covid-19

From CNN's Adrienne Vogt

Dr. David Burkard.

A healthy 28-year-old emergency room doctor thought he would be fine if he contracted coronavirus. But he went from running nearly every day to being barely able to walk or catch his breath after getting the virus.

After five days with symptoms of Covid-19, Michigan physician Dr. David Burkard said he could not breathe on the sixth day and needed to be hospitalized in the same place where he treats patients.

“I think the hard thing is having seen it and having been the person that talks to the patient with Covid and says, ‘You know what, it's time to call your wife. We're going to have to put a breathing tube down and it's time for you to say good-bye,’” he said in an interview with CNN’s Sara Sidner.

Burkard also said that someone reported him to Facebook for spreading “hoax” information. He encouraged people to wear masks and stay home for Thanksgiving.

“Instead of just like saying mean things from behind the keyboard … imagine what it's like to have that conversation with someone — that you are putting a breathing tube down their throat and they may not be able to say ‘I love you’ to their loved one again — and that's what we're doing every day, constantly,” he said.

Tokyo raises Covid-19 alert to highest level amid surging cases

From CNN's Yoko Wakatsuki in Tokyo

Tokyo is raising its Covid-19 alert to level 4, the highest of the four-tier alert system, officials in the Japanese capital announced on Thursday. ""New infections and intractable cases are increasing rapidly and we are at the phase of rapid infection expansion," Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike said during a meeting with medical experts."

Koike urged the public and business owners to follow prevention measures such as wearing masks, social distancing, air ventilation, and minimizing dining in groups as the holiday season approaches.

Dr. Norio Ohmagari, chairman of the city's expert monitoring meeting, said infections are rising in all age groups including the elderly, who are particularly vulnerable to the virus.

"New infections in the past week went over 2,000. If this pace continues, the daily infections might increase to over 1,000 per day," Ohmagari warned.

Tokyo confirmed 493 new infections Wednesday, the highest daily increase since the pandemic began.

Deplorables and extroverts define America. Deplorables and extroverts will end America.

I watch the cases in my area daily. Its really small town. I noticed a bump in numbers before Halloween. I assume more people were shopping and touching more objects in stores for trick or treating and party costumes and foods.

Numbers leveled off until after Halloween when they have been on a steady rise.

I also live in a really red area of the country. So not a lot of masks so we see cause and effect quickly.

So looks to me that a lot of kids are asymptomatic and are passing it to all the adults in their lives. Probably the same for young people as well.

That and all the other factors added in. But I think this new rise has a lot to do with Halloween.

R139 = IQ challenged DL-er.

If I look at a place like Vietnam - it is contact tracing and effective QUARANTINE in their federal ISOLATION CENTERS. Government takes care of you until you recover and are no longer contagious. Here, workers have no sick leave. Government isn't paying you to stay alone away from family and your community when sick. It's as simple as that. The virus is allowed to spread person to person (mostly at super spreading events! It takes 1 person!)

What the failing OP doesn’t know, couldn’t know even, is that it’s going to go from 15 cases down to nothing. You’ll see, it’s going to go away....

The US is simply not set up to face such a challenge. We are only concerned about PROFIT, PRODUCTIVITY and GROWTH. Anything outside of this realm is not profitable and therefore useless.

It’s being contained. Don’t you think it’s being contained?

[quote] I don’t think celebrities saying stay at home would have much effect even if they found a really conscientious, trustworthy one (think Tom Hanks). It’s a lot easier to stay home in a Beverly Hills mansion than a one bedroom apartment.

It’s like jail, really.

r159. If it were up to the companies they'd have made sure that all the people follow the safety protocols from day one so no lockdown had to occur. And the companies would have pushed the government to set up big fines and severe punishment for those who don't follow these safety protocols, again, to avoid a lockdown bringing the economy to a halt. I don't know if it would have been the best solution, but at least a better one than Trump gave us.

It’s just like a cold!

NY1's Jamie Stelter:

I am speechless. @RogerClark41 is at LaGuardia for us this morning talking to people traveling despite new CDC warnings. (As if you needed the new warnings?) People going to weddings, Thanksgiving gatherings... WHY WHY WHY

AAA was saying they expect a 10% reduction in holiday travel. The fact that it's only 10% scares the bejesus out of me.

And Delta is, to my knowledge, the only airline who is still flying at reduced capacity. I think JetBlue was the other last holdout, and they're going to stop in January.

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I am sick to death of hearing that we are not taking this seriously. Schools are closed and children are falling behind and dropping off the radar of social workers, possibly being abused or worse. Workers are working from home if they still have jobs. Domestic abuse is skyrocketing. The elderly aren’t being visited. Cultural institutions are shut, maybe forever and there is no live music or theatre. No movies. No jobs. How is this not a serious response? Are we supposed to wail and tear our hair out screaming “Covid!” Or sport a monocle and say with much gravity “tsk tsk Covid is no laughing matter.” Really I am so sick of hearing about Covid 24/7 on the screechy CNN and then all the righteousness about not taking it seriously. Maybe we should all just kill ourselves, since inevitably Covid is going to eventually cause all the evil sinners of the USA to die an excruciating death according to CNN. At this point, it’s a morality play. People feeling guilty for visiting their dying parents, that’s ridiculous.

[quote] Schools are closed

Where?

After so many months of this covid-19 mess, one comes to realize we live in the Free World... for morons.

The mindset at R167 is why it’s going to be COVID will continue to be bad. “it’s too hard for me”

Wear your mask, don’t travel unless you have to (and being bored doesn’t count), and avoid gathering with more than a few people. Not that hard. Everyone is sacrificing.

God, Rachel Maddow talking about her wife being sick just broke my heart.

R167 - and yet, there are millions not doing the minimum to prevent the disease from spreading. There ARE many people not taking it seriously, including many Republican governors in states where it is exploding. It's not some conspiracy.

People wonder why and how we don't have it under control - THIS IS WHY. This is why it is talked about - it's not to make you feel bad.

Public schools in nyc are closed for in person sessions. only remote.

Rachel's wife is fat like a cow. probably has diabetes...high risk.

CNBC: Missouri county health director Amber Elliott says she is resigning, having been threatened for talking about science and facts. People are “still not believing that this pandemic is real,” she says.

“I’ve had strange cars driving back and forth past my house. I get threatening messages from people saying they’re watching me.

“They followed my family to the park and took pictures of my kids. How insane is that?"

[quote]How is this not a serious response?

Mostly because what you wrote isn't true for much of the country.

[quote] R129: You don’t need to wear a mask...when alone in your car.

R129, I mean your own car, if you keep strangers out.

COVID-fatigue. Plus, there are so many people who have had it and survived that it doesn't seem so scary anymore.

China suggests Italy may be the birthplace of COVID-19 pandemic

China is using a new study about the early, hidden spread of coronavirus in Italy to cast doubt on the firmly held assumption that the Asian nation was the birthplace of the pandemic, according to reports.

Officials in Beijing are pushing a new study that suggests the contagion may have been spreading in the European nation as early as September — three months before it was confirmed to be spreading in the long-assumed epicenter in the Chinese city of Wuhan, the Times of London noted.

The Asian nation has also previously questioned Spain about the origins of the pandemic, as well as the US military, claiming it brought the virus to Wuhan in October last year during the Military World Games, the report said.

Chinese state media have now been strongly pushing the idea that the new study by the National Cancer Institute proves that the contagion likely started in Italy, not China, according to the UK paper.

“This once again shows that tracing the virus’s source is a complex scientific question that should be left to scientists,” China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said, according to the UK Times. “[It] is a developing process that can involve multiple countries.”

The World Health Organization has admitted it is possible that the virus “silently circulated elsewhere” before it was detected in Wuhan.

However, many scientists are skeptical of the Italian study’s findings — and others note it does not rule out the coronavirus originating in China.

“We know that China delayed announcing its outbreak so there is no telling when it started there, and China has very strong commercial links with northern Italy,” Giovanni Apolone of Milan’s National Cancer Institute told the UK Times.

45% percent of people are asymptomatic I think this explains the spread.

[quote]There ARE many people not taking it seriously, including many Republican governors in states where it is exploding. It's not some conspiracy. People wonder why and how we don't have it under control - THIS IS WHY. This is why it is talked about - it's not to make you feel bad.

Oh really?

Then why is the virus surging in places with leadership and people that DO take it seriously?

What part of the first sentence do you not understand, R181? "There ARE many people not taking it seriously," even in states with leadership that does.

France, Spain, Italy....all doing horribly.

Germany right now is having more new cases and daily death counts higher than the start of the pandemic.

Houston here. Driving last night I noticed bars and restaurants were booming and lots of reports of no social distancing being enforced by owners/managers.

Rick Scott and Rudy Giuliani’s son test positive for COVID.

Tots and pears.

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The problem is that some people are simply tired of COVID-19 and the safety protocol measures. Maybe they followed the safety measures at the beginning with social distancing, wearing a mask, washing hands several times throughout the day (after going outside), etc. But it's been months now and some people just want to go back to normal. I highly suspect it will get even worse now with holiday seasons (Thanksgiving and Christmas) around the corner.

People getting so antsy that maybe even Joe Biden will not get through to them after January 20th.

Please, just look at the news, FB, and IG. There are plenty of stories of people acting just like it was 2019. Sure, many people are being responsible, but many, many more are not and they are completely ignoring the recommendations. And they have been for months.

No one is enforcing the rules and recommended procedures, even in states where the governors are taking the crisis seriously. If you knew no cops were enforcing the speed limit, how many people do you think would go 55? Plus, people are making up their own rules to justify doing what they want to do.

Then you have the idiots — like this lunkhead bodybuilder I follow on IG — who buy into the absurd notion that this is all some grand conspiracy, and the restrictions are completely unnecessary. The theory goes that those people who follow the doctors and scientists are a bunch mindless sheep who can’t think for themselves. If you don’t agree with those knowledgeable individuals, then you are an enlightened, independent thinker. This is further troubling behavior where we have a significant portion of the population all of whom who insist on their own set of facts free from any verifiable evidence.

Easy to see why this is such a disaster.

[quote]People getting so antsy that maybe even Joe Biden will not get through to them after January 20th.

Hard to get through to dead people.

People are getting complacent.

Yes, wear masks correctly but you must not be touching the outside of it and then touching your eyes etc. don't ever touch your face with your bare hands unless you just washed them. Best to use tissue and then throw it away right after.

Virus can live on some surfaces for hours and some even 2 days.

R192

Sick of precautions ..like wearing a mask and washing your hands. I mean what a bunch of spoiled cunts we are

[quote]Virus can live on some surfaces for hours and some even 2 days.

Yes, but ...

"All over the world, workers are soaping, wiping and fumigating surfaces with an urgent sense of purpose: to fight the coronavirus. But scientists increasingly say that there is little to no evidence that contaminated surfaces can spread the virus. In crowded indoor spaces like airports, they say, the virus that is exhaled by infected people and that lingers in the air is a much greater threat.

Hand washing with soap and water for 20 seconds — or sanitizer in the absence of soap — is still encouraged to stop the virus’s spread. But scrubbing surfaces does little to mitigate the virus threat indoors, experts say, and health officials are being urged to focus instead on improving ventilation and filtration of indoor air."

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Remember MAGATs saying we’d never hear the word “COVID-19” after November 3rd?

[quote]Rick Scott and Rudy Giuliani’s son test positive for COVID.

They had a son together? Which one carried to term?

i read about a study where marine recruits were tested and 90 % of those who tested positive had no symptoms!

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Throw up the sash in the winta?!

Blimey!

What do you suggest then R167?

Yesterday there were 201,083 new cases in the US and 1,951 deaths.

Yeah. Didn't Qanon and the GOP tell us that as soon as the election was over COVID would evaporate?

I’m not R167, but I share his exhaustion with the never-ending scolding and hysteria by the media. What I’d like to see is the media holding governments, whether local, state or federal, to account.

We’re always hearing what we have to do, and how we have to sacrifice, but governments have utterly failed at their end of the deal, whether it’s contact tracing or providing support for people whose jobs have been eliminated by the pandemic.

Much of the scolding over pandemic behavior comes down to telling people how they’re being selfish and don’t care about the welfare of others, but when the message from the state has been “tough shit, you’re in your own” for months now, is it any wonder people are acting solely out of naked self-interest?

What "governments"? Trump and many Republican governors have been completely delinquent in setting up any kind of response. But governors who do try are stymied both by economic conditions (while Congressional Republicans refuse to offer any kind of assistance) and the denialists like R167 who go around whining about how fatigued everybody is and how we have to get back to normal life. In my state, RI, the governor comes out to speak and at least half the comments on the feed are from angry morons saying, "You can't tell me what I can do in my own home!" And they have 20 people over for a party.

Where I live is a coastal area. Big bar/restaurant scene. The cases started rising due to restaurants and bars. 3rd issue I would say are the school's reopening. But definitely bars and restaurants. Tons of reports lately of waiters and bartenders testing positive. And these are small and cozy seaside type of restaurants.

You could not pay me to go to one of those places. I won't even go to Trader Joes- I have not been there since February. I cannot even imagine being in that tight little store/aisles with all of those people around. The store was always so busy. No thank you.

I know assholes who are still inviting friends over to their house on weekends. People like that are the problem.

Definitely R207-

The building where I live has a lot of 23-28 year olds. They act like nothing is going on. Parties, etc. Crazy.

This is what living through a fucking pandemic looks like.

There were anti-lockdown protesters during the Spanish Flu and no one gives a shit about their feelings, now.

Contagion is one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse for a reason.

"HOUSECOW AND HOUSEOAF"

I just pissed my pants from laughing so hard.

We are all individuals. There will never be a time when 100% of humanity is on the same side of any issue. Even when it comes to a pandemic like this one. Greed, panic, self-interest, etc. will dominate a few people's actions while others have compassion and obey trying to keep themselves and others save.

Even Germany has greater transmission and death rates now than at the beginning of the pandemic and, for the most part, they did everything right.

The uncomfortable truth is that the only thing that would lower the transmission and death rates would be another full on lockdown where even supermarkets are closed for several days and food being delivered to everybody. But that would be a logistic nightmare no country in the world is prepared for. And everybody in charge is afraid to hurt the economy further.

Have a read of this article. It is very interesting and explains not just that social distancing , masks and other precautions are smart because they help reduce your chances of becoming infected but because social distancing helps to speed up the arrival of the time when the virus has to evolve to becoming less lethal and much less deadly most of the time in order to survive.

All the people ignoring the guidelines and scientific information are prolonging the most severe and horrible stage of the pandemic and ensuring the virus stays more potent and dangerous for longer .Basically the virus has no evolutionary reason to evolve to become less deadly and problematic to its hosts if we act like it doesn't exist and don't take precautions. Obstacles to it successfully spreading like social distancing cause it to become evolve to be more benign in order not to be thwarted in its spread.

R212, just because it's where my mind goes...there is also a chance that it will evolve in the other direction and become more lethal. Either way, these fuckers are screwing us over with their ignorance.

Weddings and for our district it started when they canceled Homecoming and Halloween activities so parents thought their children were being gypped so had their own parties which became super spreaders.

My dearest r52. Courtesy of King Dump, it is with deep regret to inform you that the King had laid waste to the Occupational and Safety Hazards Administration (known as OSHA) is now defunct due to lack of federal funding. Which translates to "those peon workers are both fucked and dispensable."

Sorry, meant R162^^^

[quote]Much of the scolding over pandemic behavior comes down to telling people how they’re being selfish and don’t care about the welfare of others, but when the message from the state has been “tough shit, you’re in your own” for months now, is it any wonder people are acting solely out of naked self-interest?

People in America "act solely out of naked self-interest" because we are selfish, not because our government forces us into it. The Hong Kong government fumbled its response to the pandemic, perhaps even more badly than the Trump administration, so the populace stepped up and banded together to protect themselves and their fellow citizens. For example:

Hong Kongers spontaneously adopted near-universal masking on their own, defying the government’s ban on masks.

When the government refused at first to close the border with mainland China, more than 7,000 medical workers went on an unprecedented strike, demanding border closures and PPE for hospital workers.

An “army of volunteers” spread among intensely crowded and often decrepit tenement buildings to install and keep filled hand-sanitizer dispensers.

[quote] is it any wonder people are acting solely out of naked self-interest?

If they were acting in their self-interest, they’d wear a fucking mask and socially distance.

They are acting like a bunch of spoiled brats.

Diseased spoiled brats

I mean, the national motto of the US is basically: "I got mine, fuck you."

Spot on but there's no "basically" about it R219.

It very definitely; "I got mine and just fuck all y'all..."

Perhaps no hospital in the United States was better prepared for a pandemic than the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha.

But in the past two weeks, the hospital had to convert an entire building into a COVID-19 tower, from the top down. It now has 10 COVID-19 units, each taking up an entire hospital floor. Three of the units provide intensive care to the very sickest people, several of whom die every day. One unit solely provides “comfort care” to COVID-19 patients who are certain to die. “We’ve never had to do anything like this,” Angela Hewlett, the infectious-disease specialist who directs the hospital’s COVID-19 team, told me. “We are on an absolutely catastrophic path.”

During the spring, most of UNMC’s COVID-19 patients were either elderly people from nursing homes or workers in meatpacking plants and factories. But with the third national surge, “all the trends have gone out the window,” Sarah Swistak, a staff nurse, told me. “From the 90-year-old with every comorbidity listed to the 30-year-old who is the picture of perfect health, they’re all requiring oxygen because they’re so short of breath.”

all the Karen's and Kens of the world thinking its about them and refusing to wear a mask.

i've noticed a lot more people are wearing masks as well as face shields. In midtown manhattan NY.

If you go to Chinatown or Flushing queens where there is a lot of Asians, you see sooo many face shields but only a few in midtown manhattan but i've seen more and more people wearing it.

^^Oh fucking dear!

🐝 BeeCuz peeplez R sew stoopid, dat's Y !

R225, shouldn’t you be busy putting up Christmas decorations?

R 213 Virus always mutate to be less lethal, this is the same shit people always say about HIV too, stop spreading misinformation

Not always, r227.

It’s rare, but some viruses can mutate to become more deadly and more dangerous.

It's interesting, recent reports say that the virus was found in air vents in high rise buildings so it travels through air vents. So when are we going to stop air travel?

So much bullshit being peddled and most people lapping it up with a spoon.

Why aren't more people noticing in inconsistencies and backtracking since this whole thing started? They just make it up as we go along, whatever suits their needs.

Because people didn't wear masks, flouted social distancing pleas, and gathered together when they'd been told not to. Not hard to figure out.

[quote]So when are we going to stop air travel?

Not today, apparently.

Terrifying

Did anyone map the Covid spread in countries based on where that country falls on the introvert/extrovert spectrum? Bet that would be enlightening.

We can clear out a lot of the beds pretty quickly. If you didn't wear a mask, no hospital care for you. If you think it's a hoax, no hospital care for you. If you traveled, no hospital care for you. If you went to a gathering outside your quarantine bubble, no hospital care for you.

Just try to expire near the curb, though. If you can crawl into a garbage bag, that would be extra helpful. The trucks will be along to pick up your body ASAP. Your family can "visit" you in the Dakotas. Since they will be empty soon, we've designated both states as massive potter's fields.

The only solution to a pandemic is a medical one.

Covid shows all of the inequalities and shortcomings of our for-profit healthcare system, and our capitalist system as well. Everyone should be receiving free healthcare and a universal basic income to get through this. Instead we have businesses shuttering forever, jobs long gone, and people dying from lack of care or lack of access.

[quote]People in America "act solely out of naked self-interest" because we are selfish, not because our government forces us into it.

What a convenient argument. It blames the victim AND absolves the government, all at once! brilliant trolling.

R236 is right, but sadly, but people will just accept the levels of death today as a result of the disease and not of political decision making. And once a vaccine is rolled out, they and politicians will forget these bad times.

Trump made a brief appearance at today's virtual G20 meeting before skipping out to go golfing. Among the material he missed: a meeting on “Pandemic Preparedness and Response."

How many lives would have been saved if we had just banned air travel this week and next week? If you are willing to drive 12 hours to kill grandma, then so be it but why make it easier for these fuckers?

R217 LOL Who writes this shit? There was no ban on mask wearing during the pandemic. That was during the riots. There is surge in cases in HK SAR because certain group of people didn't get tested when the city had a campaign to get everyone tested, and they continue to spread the virus. That's what you get when you learn from the west I suppose.

[quote] R231: So when are we going to stop air travel?

I stopped flying in Feb 2020. I’ve been so careful, but I have a sense of dread and will be pissed after all the care I’ve taken, if I get sick before a vaccine is available.

Could be morons at a game tonight?

Why do people link to subscription required sites?

I know a few different idiots who had weddings recently! And they were big ones with lots of guests like there was no pandemic!🤦🏻‍♂️

Here in Deploraville which would be Louisiana, the news showed the highlights of Friday high school football, the stands were FILLED with deplorables not wearing masks. Can't miss that game can we?!!! Just wait until after Thanksgiving it's gonna be on!!! We have been going to select restaurants when there was no one there but we have decided just take away from now on.

My office closed again, it's work from home until Jan 4th at the earliest. I'm getting groceries delivered, doing a LOT of home cooking and baking from scratch, bulk meals filling the freezer right now. I'm not leaving the house except for very rare errands and daily socially distanced walks. Can't imagine even sitting outside for feed or drink, and not because of the temps.

[quote]Can't imagine even sitting outside for feed

Welcome to Datalounge, Sarah Jessica Parker!

It’s surging because there are a LOT of people not taking this seriously. In the past 48 hours, I read of 2 events in my state that drew criticism for no masks and a lack of social distancing - a concert at a university and a tree lighting ceremony that became a huge gathering.

Just because you see people around you following the guidelines doesn’t mean that everyone else is...

The virus mutates slowly and it is entering through the eyes too.

Look around, OP ........

The answer should slap you in the face.

HIV didn't become less lethal; the drugs to combat it became much better. Now it is controllable though not curable.

And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him

Fuck, R239. The bastard looks old and exhausted in that photo. This must be a very stressful time for him, knowing what's going to go down for him and his spawn come January 20th.

And I'm LOVING IT.

Too bad were stuck until January with a Presidency that doesn't give a flying fuck about America.

Chris Christie: [italic] Trump's legal team is a national embarrassment.

Did he really say that, r255?

Oh I fucking love it. I knew if he recovered from the virus he’d be pissed at Trump and take the gloves off.

Axios: Invitations for White House holiday parties hosted by the Trumps began circulating last week, ahead of events that begin the first week in December.

Two invitations reviewed by Axios make no mention of health safety protocols.

White House officials tell me this year's parties will be held indoors, as usual, despite recommendations from the CDC discouraging large gatherings and holiday celebrations.

I mean, who the fuck would go?

He’s a lame duck and you’re literally taking your life in your hands.

A friend of mine is an OR nurse in Portland. She has been pulled off of OR to float between ER and ICU. She said they are at 98% hospital capacity and ICU at 100%. Shit is getting real now.

Also a mobile morgue is being brought in.

HIV has indeed become less less lethal. All viruses become less resistant, that's how they survive.

You can also blame the MSM as well with their recent headlines and sensationalism of the vaccine. They have people thinking that everything is fine now and that the vaccine is ready to go when in reality it isn’t. It will be months before most people will be able to get it.

You queens are all hysterical. Use your common sense. If you have underlying medical conditions or live with someone who does, stay home. If you are over 70, stay home. Most everyone else who contacts this will survive. Wear a mask, take precautions.

[quote]You queens are all hysterical.

You've been saying that since April, and you've been wrong.

I am in rural Oregon, and we now have no beds at our hospital, as they medvaced patients out here from Portland. As of Saturday. I am not leaving my home at this point.

[quote] Most everyone else who contacts this will survive.

Do you have its phone number? I want to ask it some questions.

TIA!

R263, it’s not death or nothing.

There’s a ton of issues in between those two extremes.

60 Minutes did a story on "long-haulers" yesterday -- youngish, fit people with no underlying conditions that are still dealing with often debilitating COVID after-effects months and months and months after initial infection. Doctors think maybe, perhaps, it's possible that these symptoms could disappear with time ... but it's just speculation at this point.

Oh, straight people...

R262

The “MSM”, as far as I’m aware, is only reporting what these companies, doctors, scientists have stated. Companies that are manipulating the narrative to control the stock market.

It would be really funny if there were a huge storm off the Grenadines and David Geffen’s boat sank, and he was rescued by a person swarming with the coronavirus.

Keep in mind also that along with the Covid deniers there's the cult of deliberately spreading the virus as quickly as possible in hopes of creating "herd immunity," a pseudoscientific concept beloved of anti-vaxxers that has no basis in epidemiological reality. So I recommend that you tune out that Putinbot telling you "I had it and it's no big deal, so go ahead and catch it and get it over with."

I have to ask R272 ....

[quote] Keep in mind also that along with the Covid deniers there's the cult of deliberately spreading the virus as quickly as possible in hopes of creating "herd immunity," a pseudoscientific concept beloved of anti-vaxxers that has no basis in epidemiological reality

Don’t vaccines create herd immunity? There is nothing wrong with the concept itself, it is how you get there.

R273 Except when people casually say "herd immunity" they actually meant thinning the herd: exposing everyone to the virus and sacrificing the weak and vulnerable so no one has to wear masks or lock down or even develop a vaccine for that matter. It's a misuse of the term to give validity to a stupid idea.

Yep, and to get herd immunity, in the absence of a vaccine, would mean about 3 million dead.

This is one of the problems with having an idiot for President. Any other President would have read three books on the 1918 pandemic, at least, and be listening to the experts. Trump knows nothing of history, and refuses to learn anything, making him useless.

r265, I'm in Portland and I'm getting scared too. I have a friend who is an OR nurse at one of the major hospitals. She said overall hospital beds are 98% full and 100% full for ICU. She has been pulled off OR and is now a floater between ICU and ER. She texted me this a few days ago. I feel sorry for her, she is really stressed and burnt out. We have another year of this at least is my guess.

I don't think people realize that 100% capacity means hear attacks, strokes, accident victims, gall bladder attacks go untreated. There is only so many medical staff available to help and no where to pull backups from. It's not like any other country will spare some to help us when half our country won't take precautions.

Meanwhile when I post things like this online the deniers line up to tell me not to believe the MSM scare tactics. Unfucking believable.

They need to start a triage system based on whether you acted responsibly or not. Someone who acted responsibly and has a heart attack or gets into a car accident should get priority. Send the irresponsible deniers home with an aspirin. Fuck them all.

Why is Oregon so bad? I'm in Illinois and we're fucked because we're surrounded by fucktarded red states on all sides. I would think there'd be a buffer around Oregon a bit. Is there a large red contingent of morons in Oregon or is it the militia types?

R277 So am I! Do you live in Chicago or elsewhere?

Da 'burbs, R278. Fuck this part of the country from the collar counties out! Repugs and hickabillies as far as the eye can see.

Portland used to be pretty white trash and now after gentrification it’s the suburbs that are. Portland is a small city.

And then, at Disney World...

We are sooooooo fucked.

It’s surging because governments opened up too quickly and people went back to former behaviors. There’s also a large percentage of people who only give a fuck about themselves. And also those who think a vaccine will be a miracle that changes things overnight, so bank only on that. Thrown in the media and social media, and different narratives emerge. It’s suffice to say we’re fucked if anything more dangerous than covid hits.

[quote]We are sooooooo fucked.

In fairness to Disney, if they were determined to be open, they did it in as responsible a way as they could. They still have very limited capacity and are more than willing to kick out anti-maskers. But there have been outbreaks among castmembers that they've hushed up.

Disney is actually handling this pandemic in the best way possible, they strictly enforce mask compliance to the point that you cannot snack and drink while walking. They walk around making sure people are wearing masks properly and if you are not they will immediately stop you and tell you to mask up properly or leave.

The parks are operating at less than 35% capacity to ensure social distancing on rides which they constantly clean during the day. The restaurants inside are keeping distance between tables and have reduced capacity to the point you need a reservation to enter, there is no waiting for a table either.

This is all despite idiot governors order to open everything back up.

Yes there are areas where you see crowds but overall they doing what they can to keep people safe and the doors open.

[quote]In fairness to Disney, if they were determined to be open, they did it in as responsible a way as they could.

In fairness to reality, they didn't need to fucking reopen during a pandemic.

[quote]there have been outbreaks among castmembers that they've hushed up.

Then why the hell are you posting "in fairness to Disney?" Why are you defending them at all??

What kind of idiot goes to an amusement park during a pandemic?

Why is everyone so selfish??

[quote]In fairness to reality, they didn't need to fucking reopen during a pandemic.

I don't disagree with you, but they'd damn well have Disneyland open too if California would let them. And some blame should fall to the idiot fans who just need to ride the teacups that badly.

Also, I don't think Disney was in a big hurry to open up, but when Universal did, they were forced into it.

Normally my family does a Thanksgiving dinner with 20+ people. We already conceded that we shouldn't do that this year (not everyone agreed). Yesterday a sibling invited me to come over for Thanksgiving dinner that would just be their family unit, but then it was going to be that plus a friend of my nephew plus a parent in law. I said I am probably just going to stay home but would confirm today. Before I called to say thanks but I'm playing it safe and staying home, I got a call to un-invite me because someone in the household had to be tested for Covid due to a direct exposure at work. Good thing my head is in the right place and I was already planning to decline. I miss my family very much but we all need to just stay home for a while and get through this. I'm cringing at the thought of the millions of families that are not following the recommendations tomorrow. I want to be wrong but think Dec is going to be a public health catastrophe.

Is it true that guests will be served Clorox Punch and Hydroxychloroquine Chip Brownies at the White House Gala?

Two thousand Americans died of COVID yesterday. There's typically a 22-day lag from infection to death, so those deaths arose from 85,000 cases identified three weeks ago.

Yesterday, the U.S. reported 185,000 infections – more than double that of three weeks ago. The death rate in mid-December will be horrific. And then it will get worse.

Future pandemic movie title: Dead by Xmas.

Breathless in Seattle

Let's think about what was going on in recent weeks. Biden became the apparent winner of the election on 11/7 and thousands of people were celebrating in crowds. Believe me, I wanted to do the same but it was not worth the risk. Roughly 2 weeks later there was a huge surge in cases. Now we're approaching 3 weeks later and the expected jump in deaths is happening. People will never learn.

Funny that you absolve trump and all his superspreader rallies.

I didn't absolve anyone. I was pointing out some major crowd activity that likely contributed to the spread. The Trumpardo rallies have already been discussed to death on here, so it's already understood and well known that those were a problem. But some people don't want to acknowledge the post-win celebrations which were very unwise and dangerous in the middle of a pandemic.

[quote]After nine months, people have gotten lazy, complacent and careless, and are exhibiting "COVID fatigue".

And soon they'll be exhibiting "breathing fatigue"!

R296, that might be from voting in person.

[quote]Biden became the apparent winner of the election on 11/7 and thousands of people were celebrating in crowds.

At every single celebration I saw on television, I don't think I saw more than one or two people without masks on. Democrats are taking this seriously and they were the ones outside celebrating. The Repugs are not and they are the ones that went out to vote, maskless in many of the now hardest hit idiot states. It also happens to be two/three weeks post Halloween parties, so those "young adults" and college students can all go fuck themselves. I wish this killed that age group. Then we would have stood a chance.