Coronavirus and You - Page 256

On October 02 2020 18:23 JimmiC wrote:
More and more data coming out that masks are safe. If anyone is concerned hopefully it helps.

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/us/masks-don-t-hurt-lung-function-or-cause-co2-buildup/ar-BB19D89B?li=AAggFp4

On October 03 2020 15:22 DucK- wrote:
I never quite understood the logic behind resistance to mask use. It's not 100% prevention, but it certainly helps by a lot. Condoms are not 100% safe either, but it's still a pretty good birth control.

It's all ego imo

On October 03 2020 15:22 DucK- wrote:
I never quite understood the logic behind resistance to mask use. It's not 100% prevention, but it certainly helps by a lot. Condoms are not 100% safe either, but it's still a pretty good birth control.

It's all ego imo

On October 04 2020 05:25 Dark_Chill wrote:


Hate to break it to you, but there are plenty of people who would rather risk an unwanted pregnancy than wearing a condom. I think the prevailing attitude is either "what are the odds" or "it'd never happen to me".

CDC continues to believe, based on current science, that people are more likely to become infected the longer and closer they are to a person with COVID-19. Today’s update acknowledges the existence of some published reports showing limited, uncommon circumstances where people with COVID-19 infected others who were more than 6 feet away or shortly after the COVID-19-positive person left an area. In these instances, transmission occurred in poorly ventilated and enclosed spaces that often involved activities that caused heavier breathing, like singing or exercise. Such environments and activities may contribute to the buildup of virus-carrying particles.

CDC’s recommendations remain the same based on existing science and after a thorough technical review of the guidance.

People can protect themselves from the virus that causes COVID-19 by staying at least 6 feet away from others, wearing a mask that covers their nose and mouth, washing their hands frequently, cleaning touched surfaces often and staying home when sick.

PARIS — The French government Thursday announced a set of measures it said it was ready to impose to contain a rapid resurgence of the coronavirus.

For weeks, the country has relied on a regional system to implement restrictions in areas where transmission rates of the virus are high. On Thursday, Health Minister Olivier Véran said Paris could soon join the “maximum” risk category, which would mean another complete shutdown of bars, restaurants and cafes.

Some cities, notably Marseille, are already on the list. Paris so far has avoided further restrictions since a lockdown was lifted in mid-May. But Véran said that in the last 24 hours, the capital crossed multiple thresholds that make it a maximum-risk environment: The transmission rate has risen above 250 cases per 100,000, and the percentage of those who’ve tested positive for the novel coronavirus who require intensive care is now hovering between 30 and 35 percent.

“We have only observed this threshold crossing for a few hours — we will need to confirm it in the next few days,” Véran said during a weekly news conference. “If this were to be confirmed, we would have no other choice but to place Paris and its inner suburbs in the maximum-alert category starting on Monday.”

The announcement came to the chagrin of the restaurant industry, which took a major hit in the spring when France imposed one of Europe’s strictest lockdowns. After two months, the restrictions seemed to have beaten back the coronavirus to a significant degree.

A key component of that lockdown was the total closure of all bars, restaurants and cafes. The full-blown second wave France is now experiencing has many restaurateurs worried that they will not be able to survive a second shutdown.

Michel Sarran, a Michelin-starred chef from Toulouse in southern France, released a video message in advance of Véran’s announcement, anticipating a potential closure of restaurants in major cities. In a country where food is a way of life, he seemed to speak for many of his fellow restaurateurs.

“You are going to kill us,” he said.

“How can you say that establishments like mine and so many others, which accommodate around 40 people with rigorously enforced rules, are more dangerous than shopping malls or private gatherings?”

Less visible members of the food industry are also registering significant losses. On Thursday, the French catering giant Elior announced the elimination of 1,888 jobs in France in its branch devoted to corporate catering, Agence France-Presse reported.

Europe’s second coronavirus wave is spreading, and rising hospitalizations and deaths are prompting governments to impose more restrictions, from travel bans in Madrid to the closure of bars in Paris.

Confirmed cases in France, Spain, and the U.K. are now higher on an average day than at the peak of this spring’s emergency, although the trend also reflects better detection of the virus. Infections also have accelerated in Italy and Germany in recent days.

The health crisis isn’t as acute as in March and April, when hospitals in the worst-hit regions of Italy and Spain didn’t have enough intensive-care beds to treat all severely ill Covid-19 patients. But European authorities are worried that the strain on hospitals could return.

European governments, anxious to sustain the continent’s economic recovery from its sharp contraction this spring, continue to rule out a return to full-blown lockdowns and are relying on lighter restrictions on socializing and movement.

French official Monday announced new restrictions in the Paris region, where infections are rising quickly and some 36% of life-support beds are occupied by Covid-19 patients.

The measures, which take effect Tuesday and run for at least two weeks, include the closure of Paris bars and the imposition of strict, new hygiene rules for restaurants. Gyms and swimming pools for adults must also shut. Public drinking and outdoor amplified music is forbidden after 10 p.m. University student parties are banned, and occupancy during lessons will be halved, with students rotating between those attending in person and remotely.

“Life should be able to continue, albeit not quite as before,” said Anne Hidalgo, the mayor of Paris, announcing the measures.

Italian regional authorities also imposed new measures at the weekend, from compulsory mask-wearing on the streets of Rome to an 11 p.m. curfew on bars in Naples. The national government is considering extending those measures to the whole country.

Italy has been alarmed by a sudden surge in daily infections to over 2,600, compared with levels of roughly 1,500 for much of September. Most people currently testing positive have mild or no symptoms, but the number who need hospital treatment is rising.

“The enemy hasn’t been defeated yet,” Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said over the weekend. He called on Italians not to waste the progress against the virus that the country achieved with its stringent lockdown this spring.

New Covid-19 cases in Germany, which have been trending slowly up since mid-July, rose sharply last week, hitting 2,731 on 1 Oct., the highest level since April. Germany’s disease-control agency, the Robert Koch Institute, said parties and family gatherings, including weddings, birthdays and funerals, were the main sources of new infections.

On October 06 2020 09:04 BlackJack wrote:
I'm a native Floridian and people have been saying "the sky is falling" about Florida for so many months now. First it was in the early months of the shutdown when spring breakers were packing the beaches, then when they started to reopen "too early," then when they reopened the schools, and now they are reopening businesses to 100% capacity. Every step along the way there have been people predicting chaos and disaster for Florida and Florida has just been chugging along and pushing ahead.

On October 06 2020 08:08 Nevuk wrote:
CDC has updated guidelines, acknowledging that virus can spread further than 6 feet under certain circumstances.

https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2020/s1005-how-spread-covd.html

On October 06 2020 09:33 cLutZ wrote:


Good good they actually had to update it to say that? How dumb are the CDC scientists if they didn't already know that?

On October 06 2020 09:33 cLutZ wrote:


Good good they actually had to update it to say that? How dumb are the CDC scientists if they didn't already know that?

On October 06 2020 09:08 LegalLord wrote:

So how much death and illness are you looking for before it can be considered a problem?