I checked the xkcd comic page a bit ago, and I've been laughing for the past several minutes. The artist, Russell Munroe, has included some observations on the corona virus in several recent installments.
Start with the most recent: "Pathogen Resistance". After you read it, mouse over any of the pictures. A message will pop up--one of the trademarks of the strip. This installment is a much larger format than he usually uses, and it tells about the virus from the virus's point of view.
Then you can see previous installments by clicking on the Prev nav button.
All Saints, Robert! (I've got a moustache and a full beard - both have been known to trap food so I should think viruses may find a home. Thorough washing must be the answer).
I just said to my wife, if one of us gets it badly, and an ambulance comes, we have to say good-bye then, because there may not be another chance. Cheery times.
In other words the tobacco industry might make slight amends. They've killed at least 200,000,000 - a quarter of a billion - people, they might save 10% of that?
Saying that in this situation, medication is used to control the sensation of breathlessness - and effectively what happens is people feel more and more tired, sleep more and more often, and for longer, and eventually do not regain consciousness. Also, that if you are on a ventilator you would be sedated and unconscious - unaware of what is happening.
So the catastrophic image we may have in our head, often unspoken, of dying whilst having a striving trauma of conscious suffocation akin to to drowning is highly unlikely to be the experience of death for those whose pass away from Covid-19.
. . . for situations where such medication is available and ventilators aren't rationed.
Not having seen people for ages I'm experimenting with growing a moustache. Are there health risks? Could bits of virus linger in the hairs?
The biggest risk is for situations where you're required to wear some kind of breathing mask. Enough facial hair will interfere with a good seal around perimeter of the mask, which is why most militaries regulate the facial hair of their members. Most specify clean-shaveness, but the U.S. Air Force allows mustaches provided the mustache doesn't extend beyond the corners of the mouth. Since this makes one look kind of like a certain historical figure (no, not that one, the other one) this isn't a terribly popular option.
The US death rate looks, according to the worldometer website, to have already crossed the 1,000 a day barrier and the evidence that its death rate is increasing looks pretty impressive.
Incubation period is a week, so reported infections will lag any changes from social distancing etc. by at least a week. Deaths will lag reported infections by another week or something. If we had uniform testing (which we don't) then you'd expect to have seen some effect in positive tests by now in the places that went on lockdown a couple of weeks ago. You probably wouldn't see the effect in the death rate yet.
I'm led to understand from practicing medical colleagues that if you need a ventalator, your survival odds are 50-50.
I'm also fond of the reframes of "I'm stuck at home" to "I'm safe at home", and that we need to talk of "operational stress" in place of "trauma" when it comes to responses of emergency and hospital personnel.
According to the worldometer website, the global infection total has now gone over the one million mark and the global death total is now over 50,000. The next few days should begin to bring out some clues about how well self-isolation and social distancing are working. Right now, it looks knife edged for many countries.
According to the worldometer website, the global infection total has now gone over the one million mark and the global death total is now over 50,000. The next few days should begin to bring out some clues about how well self-isolation and social distancing are working. Right now, it looks knife edged for many countries.
For larger ones, like the US, there may be waves. Rural areas have not been hit as hard, but they are also tend to be filled with people who doubt the seriousness, so might see upward spikes whilst the previously slammed urban areas see reductions.
Florida has enacted a stay at home order but exempts religious gatherings.
Thus completely negating the stay at home order.
:facepalm:
Worse, Governor DeSantis issued a second order stating that no local government could impose restrictions more stringent than the state stay-at-home order.
The second order requires that new state guidelines taking effect Friday morning “shall supersede any conflicting official action or order issued by local officials in response to COVID-19.” In other words, local governments cannot place any limitations that would be more strict than the statewide guidelines.
Locally, it means Hillsborough County cannot mandate churches close their doors, a rule that drew national attention and the ire of the local Republican Party after Tampa megachurch The River of Tampa Bay held two Sunday services, leading to the arrest of pastor Rodney Howard Browne.
The follow up action was taken to “provide clarity,” the order says. In practice, however, it’s a stark reversal from what DeSantis signed only hours earlier. Under the prior order, cities and counties could not allow activities that the state prohibited but could put in place tougher stay-at-home orders.
Looks like politics to me. DeSantis was elected by about 30,000 votes out of more than 8 million. Guess how important the support of white evangelicals was in that paper thin maJority. DeSantis will have done some quiet canvasing amongst Florida's church leaders and ruled accordingly.
Of course this might be just speculation on my part ..
I accept your ruling, of course, but am puzzled by it. My question was about the virus, rather than facial fashion.
There's an AS thread called Coping in the Time of COVID-19, which is there for sharing stuff, Robert. It was set up specifically for that purpose.
But I'll relent. If Shipmates have specific knowledge or links related to the safety of facial hair in these times, by all means let them post here.
B62 Purg Host
Thanks for this. I've not been reading that thread; I'm not looking at everything about the virus for saint's sake. I'd assumed it was about how to pass the time in lockdown.
Looks like politics to me. DeSantis was elected by about 30,000 votes out of more than 8 million. Guess how important the support of white evangelicals was in that paper thin maJority. DeSantis will have done some quiet canvasing amongst Florida's church leaders and ruled accordingly.
Of course this might be just speculation on my part ..
I know it's wrong, but one does sort of hope that if those evangelical voters go to their mega-churches on Sunday they'll experience a higher death rate than the mainstream majority who practice social distancing for the sake of everyone. That should cut a chunk out of that small majority come next election.
When 1/3 of all coronavirus cases in Sacramento County, CA, can be traced to religious assemblies, and when a choir of 60 in Skagit County, WA, had 48 of its members come down with Covid-19, with at least two deaths, I would hope some religious leaders in FL will have second thoughts. Religious Freedoms do not mean religious license. Freedom implies acting responsibly.
Looks like politics to me. DeSantis was elected by about 30,000 votes out of more than 8 million. Guess how important the support of white evangelicals was in that paper thin maJority. DeSantis will have done some quiet canvasing amongst Florida's church leaders and ruled accordingly.
Of course this might be just speculation on my part ..
I know it's wrong, but one does sort of hope that if those evangelical voters go to their mega-churches on Sunday they'll experience a higher death rate than the mainstream majority who practice social distancing for the sake of everyone. That should cut a chunk out of that small majority come next election.
They'll collapse the health system and take a bunch of people down with them. I'm completely on board with the sentiment, though.
When 1/3 of all coronavirus cases in Sacramento County, CA, can be traced to religious assemblies, and when a choir of 60 in Skagit County, WA, had 48 of its members come down with Covid-19, with at least two deaths, I would hope some religious leaders in FL will have second thoughts.
Just like the arseholes that partied at the beaches, people who think they have a special immunity will do stupid and selfish things. In other words, do not hold your breath.
Saying that in this situation, medication is used to control the sensation of breathlessness - and effectively what happens is people feel more and more tired, sleep more and more often, and for longer, and eventually do not regain consciousness. Also, that if you are on a ventilator you would be sedated and unconscious - unaware of what is happening.
So the catastrophic image we may have in our head, often unspoken, of dying whilst having a striving trauma of conscious suffocation akin to to drowning is highly unlikely to be the experience of death for those whose pass away from Covid-19.
Oh. Yay. Time for me to get a freaking bracelet or something, to avoid dying a horrible death. My family is opiate insensitive, and if you use the standard morphine to prevent air hunger, well... shudder. Can you say, "No effect"?
If those evangelical voters go to their mega-churches on Sunday they'll experience a higher death rate than the mainstream majority who practice social distancing.
Sort of gives new meaning to the Rapture, doesn't it?
List of countries with at least 5,000 known COVID-19 cases.
United States - 244,190 (227,907 / 10,400 / 5,883)
Italy - 115,242 (83,049 / 18,278 / 13,915)
Spain - 112,065 (74,974 / 26,743 / 10,348)
Germany - 84,794 (61,247 / 22,440 / 1,107)
China - 81,589 (1,863 / 76,408 / 3,318) 4.2%
France - 59,105 (41,290 / 12,428 / 5,387)
Iran - 50,468 (30,597 / 16,711 / 3,160)
United Kingdom - 33,718 (30,662 / 135 / 2,921)
Switzerland - 18,827 (14,278 / 4,013 / 536)
Turkey - 18,135 (17,364 / 415 / 356)
Belgium - 15,348 (11,842 / 2,495 / 1,011)
Netherlands - 14,697 (13,108 / 250 / 1,339)
Canada - 11,283 (9,131 / 1,979 / 173)
Austria - 11,129 (9,222 / 1,749 / 158)
South Korea - 9,976 (3,979 / 5,828 / 169)
Portugal - 9,034 (8,757 / 68 / 209)
Brazil - 8,044 (7,593 / 127 / 324)
Israel - 6,857 (6,483 / 338 / 36)
Sweden - 5,568 (5,157 / 103 / 308)
Australia - 5,314 (4,701 / 585 / 28)
Norway - 5,147 (5,065 / 32 / 50)
The listings are in the format:
X. Country - [# of known cases] ([active] / [recovered] / [dead]) [%fatality rate]
Fatality rates are only listed for countries where the number of resolved cases (recovered + dead) exceeds the number of known active cases by a ratio of at least 2:1. Italics indicate authoritarian countries whose official statistics are suspect. Other country's statistics are suspect if their testing regimes are substandard.
If American states were treated as individual countries, eleven of them (New York, New Jersey, California, Michigan, Louisiana, Florida, Massachusetts, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Washington, and Georgia) would be on that list. New York would be ranked between Spain and Germany.
Sweden and Norway have joined the list since the last compilation.
Re masks. Wear one of you're ill. Protect others from you. If you're ill or not and the mask isn't fitted properly, you're not helping anyone. In taking one off you can contaminate yourself. And most of our countries have shortages for front line workers. Better they wear the masks if they are the ones which are actually certified.
In addition, if you wear one you may behave differently. Taking more risks.
Best is to stay home and away from people 2 metres.
So the catastrophic image we may have in our head, often unspoken, of dying whilst having a striving trauma of conscious suffocation akin to to drowning is highly unlikely to be the experience of death for those whose pass away from Covid-19.
I find this comforting, actually. I'd rather die without horrific suffering than with it, all other things being equal, and if death is the best I can manage.
And from our stringent lockdown in South Africa -- no travel, no walking in streets, no sales of alcohol or cigarettes -- this latest report. The Minister of Police Bheki Cele says they have received 87 000 calls relating to Gender-Based Violence in the seven days since the beginning of the lockdown.
A police officer has been arrested for raping his wife, and offenders are being asked to leave the home and go into other lockdown shelters or face arrest.
Oh. Yay. Time for me to get a freaking bracelet or something, to avoid dying a horrible death. My family is opiate insensitive, and if you use the standard morphine to prevent air hunger, well... shudder. Can you say, "No effect"?
Might not be a bad idea. I don't know what the turnaround time would be these days for the metal ones with custom printing. BUT pharmacies/drugstores (like the big chain with a color at the end of its name) have ones that you can fill in yourself. Also ones where the bracelet has a number to call, and you give the company your important medical info, and medical workers can call the company for that info. (Hope that makes sense.)
Looks like politics to me. DeSantis was elected by about 30,000 votes out of more than 8 million. Guess how important the support of white evangelicals was in that paper thin maJority. DeSantis will have done some quiet canvasing amongst Florida's church leaders and ruled accordingly.
Of course this might be just speculation on my part ..
I know it's wrong, but one does sort of hope that if those evangelical voters go to their mega-churches on Sunday they'll experience a higher death rate than the mainstream majority who practice social distancing for the sake of everyone. That should cut a chunk out of that small majority come next election.
They'll collapse the health system and take a bunch of people down with them. I'm completely on board with the sentiment, though.
That's why I said I knew it was wrong. Also, despite the tendency among evangelicals to live in a bubble away from everyone else these people will still inevitably come into contact with others (eg: staff in stores) and so pose a risk to people who don't attend their church. It's the impact on wider society that's the problem, if they were only putting themselves at risk and getting ill didn't impact the health system and other aspects of society then there wouldn't be the problem.
Re coronavirus suffering. I've been impressed by CNN commentator Chris Cuomo's honest and vulnerable attempts to demystify the experience of coping with the virus and the range of symptoms he is experiencing. Not an easy thing to do.
Secondly the geneticist, Dr Adam Rutherford - Twitter from March 17 when he realised he had COVID19 and then tweeted updates. He missed days 10 and 11 as he became really ill with pneumonia, but is getting better now. He's 45.
It occurred to me to wonder how the US Amish community is handling this. For those who don't know, the Amish are an Anabaptist Protestant religious community with German (and Swiss?) roots. They've been in the US a long time. They mostly keep to themselves, though that depends on the particular community, and some are more open to modern life than others.
Anyway, I did a search on "corona Amish". I skimmed some articles. ISTM they've got about the same range of attitude and behavior as the rest of the country. Some take it very seriously, and some of their bishops have told people to do so.
The Amish are spread around various states--most are in Pennsylvania and Ohio, AFAIK. PA* is more traditional, and OH* is a little more open to the modern world. They did have some kind of Web presence. Don't know if they still do.
From the articles I skimmed, ISTM that OH Amish are maybe more open to working with public health officials, etc. Reportedly, that's because a measles epidemic affected their area, some years back, and they took steps afterwards to get prepared--even getting vaccinated.
The search hits are a motley crew of information and attitudes: "do the Amish know?", "they're taking it seriously", "they're mostly ignoring it", etc.
Thanks for the links. I'm drawing a distinction between being better informed and being reassured. Chris Cuomo's brother Andrew (Governor of NY) used the term demystify about what his brother is doing. The known may be scary but being scared of the unknown always strikes me as worse.
Separate issue re the numbers. Reports today give the US death total yesterday as 1169 whereas the world monitoring site worldometer gives yesterday's US total as 968. The differences seems to be down to cut off times. The worldometer site gives reported totals for all countries during the GMT 24 hour day ( i.e 12 midnight to 12 midnight GMT + 0 hours). My guess is the other reported US total reflects the number of deaths in the 24 hour period (midnight to midnight) for each state based on the timezones for each state. Complicated by the fact that some states seem to be updating totals more than once a day.
Another reason for recognising that trend lines are best looked at on the basis of several days experience.
Separate issue re the numbers. Reports today give the US death total yesterday as 1169 whereas the world monitoring site worldometer gives yesterday's US total as 968. The differences seems to be down to cut off times. The worldometer site gives reported totals for all countries during the GMT 24 hour day ( i.e 12 midnight to 12 midnight GMT + 0 hours). My guess is the other reported US total reflects the number of deaths in the 24 hour period (midnight to midnight) for each state based on the timezones for each state. Complicated by the fact that some states seem to be updating totals more than once a day.
Another reason for recognising that trend lines are best looked at on the basis of several days experience.
Comments
Anyway, AS is the right place for such sharing.
B62, Purgatory Host
There's an AS thread called Coping in the Time of COVID-19, which is there for sharing stuff, Robert. It was set up specifically for that purpose.
But I'll relent. If Shipmates have specific knowledge or links related to the safety of facial hair in these times, by all means let them post here.
B62 Purg Host
In other words the tobacco industry might make slight amends. They've killed at least 200,000,000 - a quarter of a billion - people, they might save 10% of that?
I've seen references to them. I *think* the CDC may have some on their site. If not, search the web on "corona virus hair" or some such.
. . . for situations where such medication is available and ventilators aren't rationed.
The biggest risk is for situations where you're required to wear some kind of breathing mask. Enough facial hair will interfere with a good seal around perimeter of the mask, which is why most militaries regulate the facial hair of their members. Most specify clean-shaveness, but the U.S. Air Force allows mustaches provided the mustache doesn't extend beyond the corners of the mouth. Since this makes one look kind of like a certain historical figure (no, not that one, the other one) this isn't a terribly popular option.
Incubation period is a week, so reported infections will lag any changes from social distancing etc. by at least a week. Deaths will lag reported infections by another week or something. If we had uniform testing (which we don't) then you'd expect to have seen some effect in positive tests by now in the places that went on lockdown a couple of weeks ago. You probably wouldn't see the effect in the death rate yet.
I'm also fond of the reframes of "I'm stuck at home" to "I'm safe at home", and that we need to talk of "operational stress" in place of "trauma" when it comes to responses of emergency and hospital personnel.
Mine too...
Florida has enacted a stay at home order but exempts religious gatherings.
Thus completely negating the stay at home order.
:facepalm:
Worse, Governor DeSantis issued a second order stating that no local government could impose restrictions more stringent than the state stay-at-home order.
Of course this might be just speculation on my part ..
Thanks for this. I've not been reading that thread; I'm not looking at everything about the virus for saint's sake. I'd assumed it was about how to pass the time in lockdown.
They'll collapse the health system and take a bunch of people down with them. I'm completely on board with the sentiment, though.
Oh. Yay. Time for me to get a freaking bracelet or something, to avoid dying a horrible death. My family is opiate insensitive, and if you use the standard morphine to prevent air hunger, well... shudder. Can you say, "No effect"?
The listings are in the format:
X. Country - [# of known cases] ([active] / [recovered] / [dead]) [%fatality rate]
Fatality rates are only listed for countries where the number of resolved cases (recovered + dead) exceeds the number of known active cases by a ratio of at least 2:1. Italics indicate authoritarian countries whose official statistics are suspect. Other country's statistics are suspect if their testing regimes are substandard.
If American states were treated as individual countries, eleven of them (New York, New Jersey, California, Michigan, Louisiana, Florida, Massachusetts, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Washington, and Georgia) would be on that list. New York would be ranked between Spain and Germany.
Sweden and Norway have joined the list since the last compilation.
In addition, if you wear one you may behave differently. Taking more risks.
Best is to stay home and away from people 2 metres.
I find this comforting, actually. I'd rather die without horrific suffering than with it, all other things being equal, and if death is the best I can manage.
A police officer has been arrested for raping his wife, and offenders are being asked to leave the home and go into other lockdown shelters or face arrest.
Might not be a bad idea. I don't know what the turnaround time would be these days for the metal ones with custom printing. BUT pharmacies/drugstores (like the big chain with a color at the end of its name) have ones that you can fill in yourself. Also ones where the bracelet has a number to call, and you give the company your important medical info, and medical workers can call the company for that info. (Hope that makes sense.)
Best of luck!
Raving neo-liberal I might superficially be, but they had no choice (scratch a raving neo-liberal eh?). Neither did he I'm sure.
Secondly the geneticist, Dr Adam Rutherford - Twitter from March 17 when he realised he had COVID19 and then tweeted updates. He missed days 10 and 11 as he became really ill with pneumonia, but is getting better now. He's 45.
Anyway, I did a search on "corona Amish". I skimmed some articles. ISTM they've got about the same range of attitude and behavior as the rest of the country. Some take it very seriously, and some of their bishops have told people to do so.
The Amish are spread around various states--most are in Pennsylvania and Ohio, AFAIK. PA* is more traditional, and OH* is a little more open to the modern world. They did have some kind of Web presence. Don't know if they still do.
From the articles I skimmed, ISTM that OH Amish are maybe more open to working with public health officials, etc. Reportedly, that's because a measles epidemic affected their area, some years back, and they took steps afterwards to get prepared--even getting vaccinated.
The search hits are a motley crew of information and attitudes: "do the Amish know?", "they're taking it seriously", "they're mostly ignoring it", etc.
I hope they do ok. I hope everyone does.
*Abbreviations for states.
Thanks for the links. I'm drawing a distinction between being better informed and being reassured. Chris Cuomo's brother Andrew (Governor of NY) used the term demystify about what his brother is doing. The known may be scary but being scared of the unknown always strikes me as worse.
Another reason for recognising that trend lines are best looked at on the basis of several days experience.
The pastor in question is called Rev Climate Wiseman - hardly the most appropriate name at the moment!
bears repeating