Coronavirus

[Steubenhoosier]

2 hours ago, IU Scott said:

I went back to the doctor today because I am still having some problems with breathing.  When I now the yard I am really having problems with being out of breath.  Today they did a EKG and some blood work and both came back alright.  I am going to get echo cardiogram and a stress test scheduled in the next couple of days.

Stay strong Scott. Praying for you that tests come back showing no issues. Remember Job. You won’t be given more than you can handle 

[jefftheref]

4 hours ago, IU Scott said:

I went back to the doctor today because I am still having some problems with breathing.  When I now the yard I am really having problems with being out of breath.  Today they did a EKG and some blood work and both came back alright.  I am going to get echo cardiogram and a stress test scheduled in the next couple of days.

Wishing you nothing but the best my friend. 

[Reacher]

Some perspective on the increase in cases in Texas. Comparatively, they are in pretty good shape vs the rest of the US.

"According to Worldometers, 3,338  people have died of COVID-19 in the state as of Wednesday, or 72 per million, which places the Lone Star State in 42nd place among the 50 states, well below the national per capita rate of 362 COVID-19 deaths per million, and far behind New York, the state with the highest per capita COVID-19 death rate, where 1,596 people per million have died of COVID-19."

[Reacher]

We'll have to see how this plays out but doesn't sound good-

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3089476/there-may-be-no-immunity-against-covid-19-new-wuhan-study?utm_source=copy_link&utm_medium=share_widget&utm_campaign=3089476

 

[Reacher]

Some Dr put this out-

When it comes to the COVID-19 event, we have been experiencing a serious case of tunnel vision. As we focus on the day to day increase of COVID-19 things could look pretty grim, but as we take a step back and look at the comparative total mortality here in the US, things aren’t much worse than a bad seasonal flu, like that last seen in 2017-18. If you take the New York City region out of the mix, the rest of the country is cumulatively well within the expected mortality.

The estimated death toll from COVID-19 is on track to exceed 120,000 US deaths in the next few weeks. Yet, the majority of COVID-19 related deaths have been concentrated in the New York/New England region which to date includes nearly 50 percent of all COVID-19 deaths nationwide; the hospitals in this region were strained but not overwhelmed in the middle of April. The coronavirus’ effect on New York City has been especially telling if you examine the departure from expected cumulative mortality trends over the last four years in the CDC fluseason cycle.

We avoid looking at the COVID-19 counts, and rather focus on total mortality (by all causes) since this perspective avoids the diagnostic uncertainty of determining the exact cause of death, and does not rely on sampling problems associated with COVID-19 testing or potentially inflated death estimates from the virus.

The NYC/NJ contributions to total mortality have been so high that if they are removed from the current total mortality and replaced with levels proportional to those found in the rest of the US, the current total US death toll would be equivalent to the death toll from the 2018 seasonal flu. Even including the NYC/NJ mortality, throughout the entire US, the CDC seasonal cumulative total mortality (death by all causes) for the week 30 of the 2019-2020 flu season is 1,750,703, contrasted with the nearest ‘moderately bad’ CDC flu season of 2017-18 which came in at 1,711,357 total deaths at the same point (week 30) two years earlier. This constitutes a 39k mortality increase, most of which can be accounted for by the New York City area. If the annual mortality inflation of 2 percent per annum is taken into account, total mortality for the current flu season will be marginally beyond the normal expected increase, but well within increases that have been seen in previous flu seasons.

Apart from the New England region, there appear no evident effects/deviations from the main expected increase line for states that locked down early and with more stringent requirements, compared to those who had few lockdown restrictions (e.g., AR, IA, NB, SD, ND, WY.) States who opened sooner, (e.g., FL, TX, and GA) are all similarly situated somewhat beneath the prediction line. By this metric, there is little obvious difference across the entire country except for the Northeast.

The relative impact on total mortality of the COVID-19 event in the New York City region was in a class by itself… NYC is so far outside the mortality space of the other regions that it inhabited a different mortality universe altogether. It is well known that New Jersey experienced a high level of excess mortality, by a factor of 8 times its own expected increase, but yet it was still far below NYC, which is over 6 times greater than anywhere in the country.

The NYC mortality outcome is a strong indicator that powerful additional hazards were operating in New York City region, and it also suggests that the actions by the government on confinement contributed to this “perfect storm.” One of the documented government actions that appears to be a major factor is the forced admission of COVID positive patients into high risk facilities with extreme confinement regimens.

Much of the COVID-19 fear was sustained by media repetition and focus on daily and weekly COVID-19 infection rates and putative COVID-19 mortality that spiked in April. Daily and weekly mortality changes are quite variable, and the COVID-19 mortality estimates are partially confounded with total mortality, whereas cumulative weekly estimates of total mortality are highly regular. The growth pattern for COVID-19 mortality was shown day after day, but it was never placed within the context of the total cumulative mortality, and this gave rise to the impression that all the COVID-19 deaths were in fact directly caused by the disease, along with an additional false impression that the COVID-19 mortality was pushing the total mortality well above average for the year. These impressions turn out to be false.

[tdhoosier]

1 hour ago, Reacher said:

We'll have to see how this plays out but doesn't sound good-

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3089476/there-may-be-no-immunity-against-covid-19-new-wuhan-study?utm_source=copy_link&utm_medium=share_widget&utm_campaign=3089476

 

Silver lining...

Donald McNeil who seems to know his stuff said that it's likely people will develop antibodies, they just don't know for how long. Similar Coronaviruses antibodies last 1 to 2 years. He seemed to insinuate that any studies about antibodies would be premature at this time; it will be a while until scientists know for sure because it hinges on using accurate antibodies tests. And to his knowledge none have been created yet....they're still producing too many false positives and false negatives. So they really don't know with any accuracy, who has and who hasn't been infected. 

This disclaimer was mentioned further down in the article: "Based on their research, they said antibody tests may not be enough to tell whether someone had been infected"

 

[5fouls]

3 hours ago, Reacher said:

Some perspective on the increase in cases in Texas. Comparatively, they are in pretty good shape vs the rest of the US.

"According to Worldometers, 3,338  people have died of COVID-19 in the state as of Wednesday, or 72 per million, which places the Lone Star State in 42nd place among the 50 states, well below the national per capita rate of 362 COVID-19 deaths per million, and far behind New York, the state with the highest per capita COVID-19 death rate, where 1,596 people per million have died of COVID-19."

From my perspective, it appears the virus is peaking in states that were previously spared the worst.  What will cause me to be concerned is to see a spike in cases in areas that were already hit hard.  So, if New York, New Jersey, Michigan, etc. suddenly see a big increase in numbers, we need to worry. As it stands now, we're seeing a correction to the norm in places that avoided the March/April spike.

 

[5fouls]

Indiana is 17th among states in population and 17th among states in the number of Coronavirus cases.  States with more population than Indiana, but fewer cases are Tennessee and Washington.  States with a lower population and more cases are Maryland and Louisiana.

 

[Seeking6]

4 hours ago, 5fouls said:

Indiana is 17th among states in population and 17th among states in the number of Coronavirus cases.  States with more population than Indiana, but fewer cases are Tennessee and Washington.  States with a lower population and more cases are Maryland and Louisiana.

 

I don't follow the data much at all but this post had me curious. Does a states topography have anything to do with this? Washington was initially thought to be the center of this but as we know most of their population is in roughly 20% of their state. Similar to TN....you have Memphis, Nashville, Knoxville, Chattanooga....but the rest is basically shut off from the world. 

Just was curious I guess. I know numbers can always be played with but struck me initially when reading your post. 

[5fouls]

Scary projection here.  Projection is that Florida will need 4,178 ICU beds by October first.  The state currently only has 1,696.

https://covid19.healthdata.org/united-states-of-america/florida

[5fouls]

On 6/5/2020 at 5:03 PM, 5fouls said:

I find it interesting to compare current numbers to the same day of the week in previous weeks.  It does not make sense to compare a Sunday to a Wednesday, for instance, because not everyone reports consistently on the weekends.

New U.S. cases over last 7 Thursdays

• June 18th - 27,924
• June 11th - 23,300
• June 4th - 22,268
• May 28th - 22,658
• May 21st - 28,175
• May 14th - 27,246
• May 7th - 29,162

New U.S. deaths over last 7 Thursdays

• June 18th - 747
• June 11th - 904
• June 4th - 1,031
• May 28th - 1,223
• May 21st - 1,411
• May 14th - 1,753
• May 7th - 2,129

.

The two stats are definitely trending in opposite directions.  I have to assume deaths will eventually have to start trending upward as well if the new cases keep rising so dramatically.  We have to hope those start trending down before the lower death numbers are forced back up.

 

[Seeking6]

Never even knew this could happen. I've had a bottle riding shotgun in my car since Mid March.

https://fox59.com/news/national-world/hand-sanitizer-left-in-car-leads-to-fire-in-illinois/

[IUFLA]

11 minutes ago, Seeking6 said:

Never even knew this could happen. I've had a bottle riding shotgun in my car since Mid March.

https://fox59.com/news/national-world/hand-sanitizer-left-in-car-leads-to-fire-in-illinois/

I have too...pulled it this morning...

[Steubenhoosier]

Just got off a conference call and was informed that our state is reopening offices for client appointments if—local jurisdictions allow, by appointment only-no drop ins, mandating the client signs an attestation that they are not sick, and mandating they wear masks.

It will be interesting to see what kind of response we get—whether folks are ready for this, or not 

[Hoosierhoopster]

As new infections and hospitalizations sky rocket in the Houston / Harris County and San Antonio / Bexar County area, local officials are taking actions to minimize spread. In Bexar County, HEB (large grocery store chain) is now implementing a rule that if you want to shop there, you have to wear a mask. Good for them. Governor Abbot has said he won't dispute that action. I'm not going to trade stats/web sites with people, it's absolutely clear here that both new COVID cases and mounting hospitalizations (at over 6% a day) have been jumping since Memorial Day, and it's because people moronically run around without masks and don't practice social distancing. Hope, and expect, to see more businesses doing what HEB is doing -- yes, get back out in public, get to work but wear masks and continue to practice the kind of measures such as social distancing that helped drive down new infections and hospitalizations in the first place.

I'm in the office today. Here's our firm's current COVID policy protocol. This is the kind of balance we think makes sense, and it's consistent with CDC and other guidelines, and what other Houston-area law firms are doing. (ignore the formatting/numbering, posting here for some reason screws it up)

1. You must self-screen before arriving at work for any of the following new or worsening signs or symptoms of possible COVID-19:

1. 1. Cough
   2. Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
   3. Chills
   4. Repeated shaking with chills
   5. Muscle pain
   6. Headache
   7. Sore throat
   8. Loss of taste or smell
   9. Diarrhea
   10. Feeling feverish or a measured temperature greater than or equal to 100.0 degrees
   11. Known close contact with a person who is lab confirmed to have COVID-19

If any of those symptoms exists, let your supervisor and Kristina know. However, if you have any cold or flu-like symptoms, you are expected to stay home and work remotely to the extent possible.  There will be no penalties against any employee for exercising caution; this is not a time to “work through” an illness.  If you have symptoms, you might not be allowed to return to work until cleared by a medical provider.

2. lndividuals aged 65 and older are strongly encouraged to stay at home as much as possible. See the attached CDC poster “What you can do if you are at higher risk” for additional pointers.
3. Since individuals aged 65 or older are at a higher risk of COVID-l9, to the extent possible, avoid being within 6 feet of them if they do decide to work.
4. We have circulated an employee questionnaire so that everyone who comes into the office is able to confirm essential matters regarding the health of him/her and those around him/her.  For your convenience, the employee version of the questionnaire is attached again. Before arriving at the office, sign and return to Kristina the attached questionnaire.  Do not come to the office if at any time you cannot answer “no” to each question on the attached questionnaire, as it may be modified based on state or federal protocols;
5. A form of that questionnaire will apply to guests as well as employees.  If you know in advance that a guest is coming to the office, you should provide the guest with the questionnaire to review so that the guest can sign and date it upon arrival.   It is also attached.

8. If you develop any of the above symptoms during the day, let Kristina know - you may be required to go home.  See the attached CDC “If you have these symptoms” poster.
9. In addition to those 65 and older, if you are in a high-risk category due to personal health conditions, if you are caregivers of school-age children whose schools are closed (since per the firm’s policies, children should be in the office only in very limited circumstances described in the handbook) or you otherwise do not feel secure working in the office at this time, you may remain at home and work remotely if you believe it is necessary and provide an explanation to Kristina so that we can consider whether we can address your needs.  Again, there will not be penalties for employees who choose to exercise caution by working from home as long as they work as they would at the office, notify Kristina of the reasons and we cannot address the concerns. 
10. If 2 neighbors who are not in enclosed offices are worried about working on the same days, at this time we may allow scheduling flexibility to help with social distancing.  That will be considered on a case-by-case basis and will depend on the reasons and whether other options are available. 

When in the offices, the following protocols apply:

1. We will check everyone’s temperature when arriving at the office.  When you arrive, if there is no receptionist, find Enrique or John.  If they are not here yet, you can go to your work area and one of them will find you later.  If a person’s temp exceeds 100.0 degrees, that person will be told to go home and work remotely;
2. Keep proper social distancing of at least 6 feet from each other;
3. Avoid social gatherings;
4. Do not talk around the plexiglass.  Talk through it, and don’t talk over the area of the surrounds where there is no plexiglass;
5. If not at your desk, you must wear a mask; you must have a mask to work in the office (disposable or cotton).  However, wearing a mask is not a substitute for proper social distancing.  For information concerning masks, see the 2 attached CDC posters (“Cloth Face Coverings Information” and “Cloth Face Covering”);
6. Employees and guests are to be vigilant about handwashing, hand sanitizers, etc., and must wash or sanitize hands upon arriving at the office and frequently during the day, and specifically after sneezing or coughing, using the restroom, after putting on, touching or removing your mask, eating or preparing food or interacting with employees, contractors, customers or items in the office.  The CDC guidances “Stop the Spread of Germs” and “What you should know about COVID-19 to protect yourself and others” are attached for your review.  Also, for best practices, see https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/advice-for-public   
7. Avoid touching your eyes, nose, mouth and face with unwashed hands;
8. Avoid handshakes, fist bumps and hugs;
9. Sneeze or cough into a tissue or the inside of your elbow. Immediately dispose of used tissues.  See the CDC poster attached;
10. Do not use anyone else’s work station or other equipment (but if you must assist someone else – for instance, Siju helping with computer issues - then disinfect the equipment before and after use);
11. Sanitize your work area when arriving and leaving each day;
12. This should be happening anyway, but just to reiterate, each employee and guest should clean up after himself/herself, including disposing of trash and placing dishes and utensils in the dishwasher.  Please do not put others at risk by requiring others to clean up after you.
13. In keeping with the  building protocols, there should be no more than 4 people in an elevator at the same time, each located at a different corner of the elevator, to avoid close contact. ln elevators, masks must be worn;
14. We plan to clean conference rooms, break rooms, and other common areas on a regular basis;
15. We plan to disinfect frequently touched surfaces in common areas (tables, doorknobs, light switches, countertops, handles, desks, phones, microwaves, sinks, counters, light switches, copiers, printers, toilets, faucets and sinks) at least daily.  You should plan on disinfecting frequently touched areas in your work space daily (such as keyboards, phones, desks, mouse);
16. Leave internal doors propped open;
17. We have hooks that can be used during the day to open doors and punch knobs.  If you grab one, please leave it at the receptionist’s desk before leaving so that it can be cleaned for use the next day;
18. Since our experiment with auto-flushing toilets failed miserably, we will not be going that way again.  However, everyone should use toilet paper to flush the toilet and paper towels to turn the faucets on and off.  Also use paper towels to depress the coffee pot plungers or the hot water dispenser or to open a trash can drawer, then throw the paper towel away;
19. If you are dealing with a vendor that is sending employees here, tell the vendor to make sure no one sent to our offices is sick; 
20. If you are planning to travel outside of Texas, let Kristina know since it is possible that self-quarantining will be required upon return;
21. Do not roam around the office just for social visiting, even at a social distance.  If you do that and then come down with COVID-19, we will need to retrace your steps and isolate those areas as well as thoroughly disinfect those areas;
22. If you determine that you have been within 6 feet of someone who has COVID-19, let Kristina know.  It is possible that in that case you will need to self-quarantine.
23. If in doubt about your temperature, employees should check their temperature before coming to the office each day. A temperature of 100 degrees or more prohibits an employee from entering the offices;
24. Employees must remain in their assigned work areas, except when necessary to perform their assigned duties or where appropriate for restroom breaks, meals and

beverages;

25. Employees must wear a mask when more than one employee is in the same room. This means when you go into another person’s office to talk, both must wear masks;
26. No one is permitted to wash dishes, cups or glasses for other persons;
27. Employees must keep office medical matters off of social media. Of course, that is true whether there is a pandemic or not;
28. Don’t share writing utensils with other employees or clients;
29. If you have had any contact with a person that has tested positive with or has the common symptoms of COVID-19, you must notify Kristina and you must not return to the office Kristina has given you permission; and
30. Employees should wear gloves when handling and opening mail and packages or wash hands immediately thereafter.

The changes to the office include the following:

1. Plexiglass screens are in place in front of all desks used by assistants;
2. We had an outside cleaning service to spray Clorox 360 and RAZOR disinfectant throughout the office.  We might do it again early next week.  If interested, I have spec sheets on Clorox 360 and Razor Disinfectant. 
3. In addition to regular cleaning by the building and us, the outside cleaning service will also provide a deep cleaning and disinfect the entire from time to time if we consider it necessary.
4. []  has increased its cleaning regimen as well.  See the attached e-mail from the building about that.
5. To help keep proper social distancing, chairs have been removed from the lunch room and conference rooms so that fewer people can use them at the same time.  You are not to circumvent that by bringing in additional chairs or allowing large groups in any common area.  Avoid being in groups of more than 6 individuals;
6. We have increased the number of containers of sanitizer, wipes and tissues around the office so that they are all readily available for cleaning hands and operating knobs and buttons.  Gloves are also available;
7. The water/ice machine is now no-touch;
8. No-touch soap dispensers have been added;
9. Disposable paper plates and cups have been replaced with washable ones so that people don’t potentially touch cups/plates and then put them back in the stack.  If you use the washable plates, cups or utensils, return them to the lunchroom before the end of the day so they can be put through the dishwasher each night;
10. Individually wrapped plasticware is available if you do not choose to use the silverware;
11. We have added PPE receptacles at several locations so that you can safely dispose of masks and other similar materials;
12. We have added signage to remind everyone of best hygiene practices.  You should also read the attachments to this e-mail and follow those guidelines unless they are revised;
13. We have provided wipeable keyboard covers; and
14. We will be replacing the air filters that are under our control on a regular basis.

 

[FritzIam4IU]

Indiana seems to be mixed results right now...most counties show declining confirmed cases, while some are increasing...this story has a map to show recent trends.

https://www.wthr.com/article/news/investigations/13-investigates/trend-maps-show-coronavirus-cases-rising-some-indiana-counties/531-ace4c2a5-d2c9-4a23-8589-41e07a901641

[5fouls]

1 hour ago, Hoosierhoopster said:

 

18. Since our experiment with auto-flushing toilets failed miserably, we will not be going that way again.  

 

Imagine that.  An attorney's office filled with so much 'crap' that not even the most modern enhancements in plumbing can get rid of it all.  

[Hoosierhoopster]

9 minutes ago, 5fouls said:

Imagine that.  An attorney's office filled with so much 'crap' that not even the most modern enhancements in plumbing can get rid of it all.  

I was sure that someone, and I guessed you, would find that and comment. Lol. That line is by our firm president (I'm the VP) -- we tried to go with auto flush toilets. It didn't go well. haha

[TheWatShot]

Would libraries be a breeding ground for Covid? I ask because the library where I live still isn't letting anyone in except for a very small area near the entrance. I can't think of one time in my life where I got sick and blamed it on a trip to the library. 

[rico]

According to ABC 17 states have increased hospitalizations due to the virus.  

https://abcnews.go.com/US/coronavirus-hospitalizations-increasing-17-states/story?id=71349014&cid=clicksource_4380645_2_heads_hero_live_headlines_hed

[5fouls]

5 hours ago, rico said:

According to ABC 17 states have increased hospitalizations due to the virus.  

https://abcnews.go.com/US/coronavirus-hospitalizations-increasing-17-states/story?id=71349014&cid=clicksource_4380645_2_heads_hero_live_headlines_hed

The link you provided highlights Vermont as one of the states with increased hospitalizations,  Meanwhile, the info below highlights Vermont as the only state where the number of weekly cases has gone down by over 50%.  Both accurate stats, no doubt, but they tell a completely different story.  

 

According to data from Johns Hopkins University:

• These 24 states are seeing upward trends in newly reported cases from one week to the next: Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Oregon, Louisiana, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Washington, West Virginia and Wyoming.

• Seven states are seeing steady numbers of newly reported cases: Alaska, Arkansas, Delaware, Indiana, Kentucky, Nebraska and Wisconsin.

• These 18 states are seeing a downward trend: Connecticut, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Mississippi, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, and Virginia.

• One state, Vermont, has seen a decrease of at least 50%.

Edited June 20, 2020 by 5fouls

[5fouls]

Can we realistically expect to have team sports (pro, college, or high school) in this environment?  

[MoyeCowbell]

2 minutes ago, 5fouls said:

Can we realistically expect to have team sports (pro, college, or high school) in this environment?  

I"m very curious about that as well. Up until this week, I found it curious that MLB was so concerned with ending its proposed season by a certain date in the fall as to avoid a second "wave", and yet the NFL was gearing up to play during that exact time period. It was as if the two leagues were operating in totally different realities.

It's tough to square if sports leagues 'should' operate or not... in some ways they are elective luxuries (admittedly, providing important (essential?) employment to many) that aren't as necessary as schools, for example.

[5fouls]

2 minutes ago, MoyeCowbell said:

I"m very curious about that as well. Up until this week, I found it curious that MLB was so concerned with ending its proposed season by a certain date in the fall as to avoid a second "wave", and yet the NFL was gearing up to play during that exact time period. It was as if the two leagues were operating in totally different realities.

It's tough to square if sports leagues 'should' operate or not... in some ways they are elective luxuries (admittedly, providing important (essential?) employment to many) that aren't as necessary as schools, for example.

Clemson had more than 20 football players test positive this week.  Let's say a college football team has that happen on the Thursday or Friday before a Saturday game-day.  Even if the team impacted can scramble and put a team on the field, is the opposing team even going to want to play them, knowing there could be additional infected players that did not test positive?

 

 

[rico]

30 minutes ago, 5fouls said:

Clemson had more than 20 football players test positive this week.  Let's say a college football team has that happen on the Thursday or Friday before a Saturday game-day.  Even if the team impacted can scramble and put a team on the field, is the opposing team even going to want to play them, knowing there could be additional infected players that did not test positive?

 

 

Worry about that later...Premier League futball is playing live right f****** now BABY!!!!!!