wuhan - coronavirus

[wathe]

Cheap, plentiful, one-size its all, no care required, comfortable to wear, nothing to keep track of (get supplied with a new one every day, if needed) and good enough protection.  From a public health point of view, they are actually pretty perfect.

Edited August 27, 2021 by wathe

[Not_a_Number]

3 minutes ago, wathe said:

Easy for you - a high functioning, organized and motivated person.

Hand wash only ...... not a chance on a population basis.   Absolutely not realistic for those living on the margins, with social and family dysfunction, etc.  A non-trivial number of kids are going to be using one of the spares from the box on the teacher's desk, on a daily basis.

I mean, I'm really lazy about washing things, and I haven't found the handwashing to be a huge deal. It's literally "dump in bowl, rinse out, leave to dry." Not much harder than throwing in the wash, and I personally was pretty iffy on the whole thing. 

I'm in some ways a high-functioning person, but I don't know that my household management can be described that way!! 

[wathe]

15 minutes ago, Not_a_Number said:

I mean, I'm really lazy about washing things, and I haven't found the handwashing to be a huge deal. It's literally "dump in bowl, rinse out, leave to dry." Not much harder than throwing in the wash, and I personally was pretty iffy on the whole thing. 

I'm in some ways a high-functioning person, but I don't know that my household management can be described that way!! 

Oh, no doubt your household is functional and motivated - you are definitely not in the category I'm talking about.

I'm talking about those who struggle to keep their kids fed and in clean clothes.  Where basic parenting is a huge challenge.  

There are also lots functional families who aren't motivated.  They just don't care, and having to purchases a relatively expensive, sized mask that requires hand washing is just not going to happen.

ETA "Just don't care" doesn't read the way I meant it - more that they don't judge that the modest relative increase in protection is worth the extra trouble and expense.

Edited August 27, 2021 by wathe

[Ausmumof3]

11 minutes ago, Not_a_Number said:

I mean, I'm really lazy about washing things, and I haven't found the handwashing to be a huge deal. It's literally "dump in bowl, rinse out, leave to dry." Not much harder than throwing in the wash, and I personally was pretty iffy on the whole thing. 

I'm in some ways a high-functioning person, but I don't know that my household management can be described that way!! 

Actually that’s a spin off thread I meant to start on managing mask washing.  How many masks minimum? How frequent? Soaps and cleansers or just water?  When do you do it?  I have two and they’re both on the line because I wasn’t organised and I really need to find and wash the kids ones.

[vonfirmath]

14 minutes ago, Not_a_Number said:

I mean, I'm really lazy about washing things, and I haven't found the handwashing to be a huge deal. It's literally "dump in bowl, rinse out, leave to dry." Not much harder than throwing in the wash, and I personally was pretty iffy on the whole thing. 

I'm in some ways a high-functioning person, but I don't know that my household management can be described that way!! 

Things that have to be hand washed -- don't get purchased in this house.

 

[vonfirmath]

2 minutes ago, Ausmumof3 said:

Actually that’s a spin off thread I meant to start on managing mask washing.  How many masks minimum? How frequent? Soaps and cleansers or just water?  When do you do it?  I have two and they’re both on the line because I wasn’t organised and I really need to find and wash the kids ones.

I keep a bra mesh bag to put masks in.  My daughter and I have way more than 7 masks. My husband and my son -- end up wearing more than one day in a row.  But I wash every week by throwing the mesh bag into the wash. Then pull it out and hang the masks up to dry, ready to use again the next week.

 

[Rosie_0801]

46 minutes ago, Ausmumof3 said:

 Instead there’s all this “I believe there’s a spiritual element to this virus”.  

Pride is a spiritual issue, no?

[Ausmumof3]

4 minutes ago, vonfirmath said:

I keep a bra mesh bag to put masks in.  My daughter and I have way more than 7 masks. My husband and my son -- end up wearing more than one day in a row.  But I wash every week by throwing the mesh bag into the wash. Then pull it out and hang the masks up to dry, ready to use again the next week.

 

Hmm ok.

I went for the wool mask option but at $30 each I won’t be buying 7 each for all 5 of us.  However the kids only need them about twice a week and I only have two days where I have to wear them longer than an hour or so.  I reckon two each for the kids and maybe 3 for me for now will do.  Otherwise I need to find some cheaper ones but the wool is really nice to wear.

[wathe]

5 minutes ago, Ausmumof3 said:

Actually that’s a spin off thread I meant to start on managing mask washing.  How many masks minimum? How frequent? Soaps and cleansers or just water?  When do you do it?  I have two and they’re both on the line because I wasn’t organised and I really need to find and wash the kids ones.

We do well fitting thin cloth over disposable pleated earloop mask for the kids (great fit, great filtration, very good comfort, great price)

I wash the cloth after each use  in a bucket in the sink and hang dry.  I've sewn up way many more than needed; each kid has at least 10).  Wash when the bucket is full - about once a week?

The disposable earloop masks get rotated (sit in mask quarantine for a few days) and re-used until the wearer judges them to be "gross", then tossed.

[Ausmumof3]

2 minutes ago, Rosie_0801 said:

Pride is a spiritual issue, no?

Lol true!

[vonfirmath]

1 minute ago, Ausmumof3 said:

Hmm ok.

I went for the wool mask option but at $30 each I won’t be buying 7 each for all 5 of us.  However the kids only need them about twice a week and I only have two days where I have to wear them longer than an hour or so.  I reckon two each for the kids and maybe 3 for me for now will do.  Otherwise I need to find some cheaper ones but the wool is really nice to wear.

We are pretty much wearing them all day 6 days a week. Sometimes we don't need them on Saturday.

I haven't spent $30 for any of them. Though I have had problems finding black/patterns my guys will wear in sizes that fit.

[wathe]

1 minute ago, Ausmumof3 said:

Hmm ok.

I went for the wool mask option but at $30 each I won’t be buying 7 each for all 5 of us.  However the kids only need them about twice a week and I only have two days where I have to wear them longer than an hour or so.  I reckon two each for the kids and maybe 3 for me for now will do.  Otherwise I need to find some cheaper ones but the wool is really nice to wear.

The way I look at it:  The virus doesn't seem to last more than a few days on surfaces.  So, "mask quarantine" for a few days takes care of that.  Washing gets rid of virus too (so wash if you need to re-wear the next day), but also gets rid of all the other yuckies the mask picks up from your own face/nose.

[Matryoshka]

14 minutes ago, vonfirmath said:

Things that have to be hand washed -- don't get purchased in this house.

I am usually like that. I may have had a bag of hand washables that sat around waiting to be washed so long that they went out of style and no longer fit me... 

But really, the Happy Masks are nothingburgers to wash. Normally, I just wash them when I see they've got a bit of makeup around the nose, but I don't wear them more than to go shopping.  When dh has had to wear them for a full workday,  he would wash after a day,  rotating through a few masks. They easily dry overnight.

Edited August 27, 2021 by Matryoshka

[Ausmumof3]

1 minute ago, vonfirmath said:

We are pretty much wearing them all day 6 days a week. Sometimes we don't need them on Saturday.

I haven't spent $30 for any of them. Though I have had problems finding black/patterns my guys will wear in sizes that fit.

Yeah for sure.  Although keep in mind $30 here buys a lot less than it does in the US but there are definitely cheaper options around.

[Ausmumof3]

https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/contaminant-moderna-vaccines-suspected-be-metallic-powder-nhk-2021-08-27/
 

 

[Ausmumof3]

US deaths passed 650,000 yesterday. They are back up around 1000 a day the last couple of days.(rolling average 995).  Significantly lower than last time case numbers were similar thankfully but 🙁

[Not_a_Number]

1 hour ago, Matryoshka said:

I am usually like that. I may have had a bag of hand washables that sat around waiting to be washed so long that they went out of style and no longer fit me... 

But really, the Happy Masks are nothingburgers to wash. Normally, I just wash them when I see they've got a bit of makeup around the nose, but I don't wear them more than to go shopping.  When dh has had to wear them for a full workday,  he would wash after a day,  rotating through a few masks. They easily dry overnight.

Yeah, it’s not really hand washing. It’s “dump in big bowl with dish detergent, set 5 minute timer, take out and rinse under cold water, dump on windowsill to dry.”

All my clothes that are supposed to be hand washed are washed in the machine on the “hand wash cycle,” lol. But these are a piece of cake.

[Ausmumof3]

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)01900-0/fulltext?dgcid=raven_jbs_etoc_email#.YSjIcFtmvRw.twitter
 

I don’t know that this study is really generalisable but it’s still worrying.

[ktgrok]

My only complaint about surgical style pleated disposable masks is that they ride up into my eyes every time I try to wear one. my ears/eyes much be more in line than most people's or something? Drives me bonkers and I'm constantly messing with it the times I've worn one (to get a hair cut post vaccine, or to a medical procedure where they required it). 

Disposable boat style fit great, but those are KN94s and more expensive. 

Happy mask fit well on me, not as well as KN94, but well, but my daughter says her glasses fog. And they are sold out constantly. 

[Cordelia]

9 hours ago, Ausmumof3 said:

Anyone else in Mere Motherhood on Facebook?  It’s been pretty anti vax for a while other than a few brave souls.  Today there is a thread on which many people share their experiences with the virus and how terrible it was and how they have anxiety and depression afterwards and yet… still no one is saying - maybe we should have vaccinated.  Instead there’s all this “I believe there’s a spiritual element to this virus”.  Um… no.  It’s a neurological biological thing that can be observed scientifically.  I know my theology is not very mainstream but this is something I just can’t get my head around at all.

 

I left almost all of my homeschooling facebook groups early on in the pandemic because of comments along these lines, and I'm a theologically conservative Christian. 

[TCB]

I’m traveling to visit my elderly parents in a couple of weeks time. I haven’t seen them for 2 years. I’m fully vaxed and being careful but, of course, have exposure at work so I’m hoping I don’t have to cancel because I get Covid. They are both double vaxed too. I will have a test a couple of days before I go, and then a PCR test on day 2. I will have access to enough lateral flow, at home, tests to be able to test at least every other day if necessary. I could possibly get more. I haven’t kept up on the recommended spacing for those tests. Does anyone know what the smart thing to do is regarding testing intervals?

[Dmmetler]

15 hours ago, Not_a_Number said:

I mean, I'm really lazy about washing things, and I haven't found the handwashing to be a huge deal. It's literally "dump in bowl, rinse out, leave to dry." Not much harder than throwing in the wash, and I personally was pretty iffy on the whole thing. 

I'm in some ways a high-functioning person, but I don't know that my household management can be described that way!! 

My college kid wears the mask for the day down to the shower at night, washes it during the shower, wears a dry one back to the dorm room, and hangs the wet one up to dry. It's dry by the next morning. So, if it can be managed by a college student with a communal bathroom and no sink in the room, I think it's pretty manageable. I sent my kid with a mix of Happy Masks and Enro ones, and they all get the same treatment. 

 

 

[Ausmumof3]

https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/70/wr/mm7035e2.htm
 

Report on COVID attack rate in a school.  Note the teacher was not vaccinated, did remove their mask and did work symptomatic so not an ideal scenario.  The classes did have HEPA filters and open windows and mandatory mask wearing.

On May 25, 2021, the Marin County Department of Public Health (MCPH) was notified by an elementary school that on May 23, an unvaccinated teacher had reported receiving a positive test result for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. The teacher reported becoming symptomatic on May 19, but continued to work for 2 days before receiving a test on May 21. On occasion during this time, the teacher read aloud unmasked to the class despite school requirements to mask while indoors. Beginning May 23, additional cases of COVID-19 were reported among other staff members, students, parents, and siblings connected to the school. To characterize the outbreak, on May 26, MCPH initiated case investigation and contact tracing that included whole genome sequencing (WGS) of available specimens. A total of 27 cases were identified, including that of the teacher. During May 23–26, among the teacher’s 24 students, 22 students, all ineligible for vaccination because of age, received testing for SARS-CoV-2; 12 received positive test results. The attack rate in the two rows seated closest to the teacher’s desk was 80% (eight of 10) and was 28% (four of 14) in the three back rows (Fisher’s exact test; p = 0.036). During May 24–June 1, six of 18 students in a separate grade at the school, all also too young for vaccination, received positive SARS-CoV-2 test results. Eight additional cases were also identified, all in parents and siblings of students in these two grades. Among these additional cases, three were in persons fully vaccinated in accordance with CDC recommendations (1). Among the 27 total cases, 22 (81%) persons reported symptoms; the most frequently reported symptoms were fever (41%), cough (33%), headache (26%), and sore throat (26%). WGS of all 18 available specimens identified the B.1.617.2 (Delta) variant. Vaccines are effective against the Delta variant (2), but risk of transmission remains elevated among unvaccinated persons in schools without strict adherence to prevention strategies. In addition to vaccination for eligible persons, strict adherence to nonpharmaceutical prevention strategies, including masking, routine testing, facility ventilation, and staying home when symptomatic, are important to ensure safe in-person learning in schools (3).

 

Edited August 27, 2021 by Ausmumof3

[wathe]

11 hours ago, ktgrok said:

My only complaint about surgical style pleated disposable masks is that they ride up into my eyes every time I try to wear one. my ears/eyes much be more in line than most people's or something? Drives me bonkers and I'm constantly messing with it the times I've worn one (to get a hair cut post vaccine, or to a medical procedure where they required it). 

Disposable boat style fit great, but those are KN94s and more expensive. 

Happy mask fit well on me, not as well as KN94, but well, but my daughter says her glasses fog. And they are sold out constantly. 

Things that can help prevent the pleated mask from floating around your face:

Fully open the mask so that it's completely unfolded in the centre, which will make the mask into more of a cup shape.

Make sure the bottom edge is well tucked under the chin

Tighten the ear loops by knotting them or using an ear-saver

If all that fails, then a small piece of medical tape to anchor the mask on the bridge of the nose.  

ETA, some pleated masks are just bad - too short, so they can't be properly anchored under the chin.  The only solution for those is tape.

Edited August 27, 2021 by wathe

[ktgrok]

5 minutes ago, wathe said:

Things that can help prevent the pleated mask from floating around your face:

Fully open the mask so that it's completely unfolded in the centre, which will make the mask into more of a cup shape.

Make sure the bottom edge is well tucked under the chin

Tighten the ear loops by knotting them or using an ear-saver

If all that fails, then a small piece of medical tape to anchor the mask on the bridge of the nose.  

ETA, some pleated masks are just bad - too short, so they can't be properly anchored under the chin.  The only solution for those is tape.

Thanks. I really do think it is just the angle of my eyes/ears, lol. I wonder if using an ear saver would help...will bring one if I need to wear one again. For now I use the boat style K94 masks I got, which fit beautifully.

Anything straight across is up under my eyes - I can't even really get it into the right fit, has to be angled. 

[BeachGal]

Of those of you HCWs working with Covid patients, are you noticing that fewer patients are being extubated now than the earlier waves a year ago? I am reading some other HCW accounts and — oof. Delta is doing a number on the unvaccinated in hospitals.

[wathe]

4 minutes ago, ktgrok said:

Thanks. I really do think it is just the angle of my eyes/ears, lol. I wonder if using an ear saver would help...will bring one if I need to wear one again. For now I use the boat style K94 masks I got, which fit beautifully.

Anything straight across is up under my eyes - I can't even really get it into the right fit, has to be angled. 

If you do, tuck bottom of the mask as far under your chin as it will go, and place the ear saver relatively high on on your head.  You want tension under the chin, to keep the mask anchored

[Melissa Louise]

1 hour ago, wathe said:

Things that can help prevent the pleated mask from floating around your face:

Fully open the mask so that it's completely unfolded in the centre, which will make the mask into more of a cup shape.

Make sure the bottom edge is well tucked under the chin

Tighten the ear loops by knotting them or using an ear-saver

If all that fails, then a small piece of medical tape to anchor the mask on the bridge of the nose.  

ETA, some pleated masks are just bad - too short, so they can't be properly anchored under the chin.  The only solution for those is tape.

I tie a knot in the loops right up against the mask. Then bend the nose wire so the mask 'pops' out. I tuck in the excess mask at the sides, so it makes a more oval shape, I guess. Then put it on, pulling down over the chin. 

This helps seal it better, stops it riding up, and keeps it further away from my mouth/nose. 

Edited August 28, 2021 by Melissa Louise

[KSera]

11 hours ago, ktgrok said:

My only complaint about surgical style pleated disposable masks is that they ride up into my eyes every time I try to wear one. my ears/eyes much be more in line than most people's or something? Drives me bonkers and I'm constantly messing with it the times I've worn one (to get a hair cut post vaccine, or to a medical procedure where they required it). 

 

There’s no nose wire in those, right? I can never figure out how anyone gets anything even close to a good fit without a nose wire. Maybe you can buy a big package of those adhesive nose wires on Amazon, and just stick one on? Also, do you know the trick of knotting the ear loops close to the side and doing the little tuck? I can link you if you have no idea what I’m talking about. Even better, is getting a mask fitter brace to wear with a surgical mask. That allows someone the best of both worlds – – the much better fit, but with inexpensive surgical masks. Like: https://www.fixthemask.com

 

[wathe]

50 minutes ago, KSera said:

There’s no nose wire in those, right? I can never figure out how anyone gets anything even close to a good fit without a nose wire. Maybe you can buy a big package of those adhesive nose wires on Amazon, and just stick one on? Also, do you know the trick of knotting the ear loops close to the side and doing the little tuck? I can link you if you have no idea what I’m talking about. Even better, is getting a mask fitter brace to wear with a surgical mask. That allows someone the best of both worlds – – the much better fit, but with inexpensive surgical masks. Like: https://www.fixthemask.com

 

They  have nose wires.

[Melissa Louise]

NSW Ambulance system close to overwhelm.

[Corraleno]

2 hours ago, BeachGal said:

Of those of you HCWs working with Covid patients, are you noticing that fewer patients are being extubated now than the earlier waves a year ago? I am reading some other HCW accounts and — oof. Delta is doing a number on the unvaccinated in hospitals.

I'm reading the same thing. In one of the news stories I saw recently, I think the doctor said only 2 of 20 ventilated patients had survived, and I've read at least two different stories where family members said they were told the survival rate was 20% once the patient was on a ventilator.

I think one possible reason that survival rates for ventilated patients could be lower now, versus earlier in the pandemic, is that we have better treatments available to keep people from getting to that point, so the only patients who end up intubated now are the ones who've tried everything else and have totally run out of options.

[bookbard]

1 hour ago, Melissa Louise said:

NSW Ambulance system close to overwhelm.

So I read a bit about this and it was really interesting. People are calling 000 for help - for help getting food, because no one in their house can leave, or help getting to a vaccination clinic. They need to advertise another number for people who need help. There is a covid helpline, but I don't know if it links people up to charities or just gives out govt health info. Plus, I don't think it has been widely advertised. 

It is all about community level action. We have a lot of community groups (including free food, accessible 24/7 contactless) and they're all grass roots. Anyone who needed help getting to a vaccination centre would be able to ask and have half a dozen people offer. I feel strongly that getting involved at a community level can have massive, macro-level outcomes - and freeing up the ambulance service is one of them.

[Melissa Louise]

2 minutes ago, bookbard said:

So I read a bit about this and it was really interesting. People are calling 000 for help - for help getting food, because no one in their house can leave, or help getting to a vaccination clinic. They need to advertise another number for people who need help. There is a covid helpline, but I don't know if it links people up to charities or just gives out govt health info. Plus, I don't think it has been widely advertised. 

It is all about community level action. We have a lot of community groups (including free food, accessible 24/7 contactless) and they're all grass roots. Anyone who needed help getting to a vaccination centre would be able to ask and have half a dozen people offer. I feel strongly that getting involved at a community level can have massive, macro-level outcomes - and freeing up the ambulance service is one of them.

Probably sending out the message that ambulances came free didn't help.

I mean, it does, if you've got Covid and are going downhill...not so much for other situations. 

I don't know about community stuff other than my local members. They've been pretty good. But you'd have to a. Know who they are and b. Follow them on some form of social media.

 

[bookbard]

20 hours ago, Melissa Louise said:

I don't know about community stuff other than my local members.

We have a local fb page which I'd say at least half to two-thirds of the place are on. 

Edited August 28, 2021 by bookbard

[Ausmumof3]

https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/delta-variant-poses-twice-risk-hospitalisation-study-2021-08-27/
 

Anyone got a link to this study - paywalled for me? It sounds worrying.

People who get the Delta variant of the coronavirus are twice as likely to be hospitalised as those who were infected by the Alpha variant which was first detected in England last year, a study showed on Friday.

 

[Ausmumof3]

27 minutes ago, bookbard said:

So I read a bit about this and it was really interesting. People are calling 000 for help - for help getting food, because no one in their house can leave, or help getting to a vaccination clinic. They need to advertise another number for people who need help. There is a covid helpline, but I don't know if it links people up to charities or just gives out govt health info. Plus, I don't think it has been widely advertised. 

It is all about community level action. We have a lot of community groups (including free food, accessible 24/7 contactless) and they're all grass roots. Anyone who needed help getting to a vaccination centre would be able to ask and have half a dozen people offer. I feel strongly that getting involved at a community level can have massive, macro-level outcomes - and freeing up the ambulance service is one of them.

Wow that’s crazy.  Calling an ambulance to get food? 
 

It also doesn’t take much if there’s a few shifts exposed that end up quarantined.

[Ausmumof3]

Case numbers 

NSW 1035

VIC 64

ACT 26

NZ 82

We have some exposure sites here from the truck drivers.  I want to do a mini stock up on groceries etc because it’s feeling like the situation is going to deteriorate before it gets better.

[TCB]

4 hours ago, BeachGal said:

Of those of you HCWs working with Covid patients, are you noticing that fewer patients are being extubated now than the earlier waves a year ago? I am reading some other HCW accounts and — oof. Delta is doing a number on the unvaccinated in hospitals.

It’s kind of hard to be totally objective when you are in the thick of it, I think, because it feels terrible, and it’s hard to think if it really is worse than before. The last waves we had lots of older people on vents, and very, very few younger ones. The people who were ventilated very often did not do well. This time we have very few older people, and most often younger people, and very often they still don’t do well once they progress to needing to be ventilated. I think we aren’t seeing older people, because they are the group that have been vaccinated. The younger ones are unvaccinated. It seems like it maybe is more severe, because if not, why didn’t we see this population before? But I know it hasn’t necessarily been found to be more severe yet.

[wathe]

22 minutes ago, Ausmumof3 said:

https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/delta-variant-poses-twice-risk-hospitalisation-study-2021-08-27/
 

Anyone got a link to this study - paywalled for me? It sounds worrying.

People who get the Delta variant of the coronavirus are twice as likely to be hospitalised as those who were infected by the Alpha variant which was first detected in England last year, a study showed on Friday.

 

https://www.thelancet.com/action/showPdf?pii=S1473-3099(21)00475-8

Link to PDF

[Arcadia]

On 8/26/2021 at 2:13 PM, Melissa Louise said:

Do you think it's OTT if I bought an oximeter? 

Singapore gave one free per household 

“Temasek Foundation is providing one free oximeter for every Singapore household to enable everyone to monitor their blood oxygen levels regularly.” https://stayprepared.sg/oximeter/

[Laura Corin]

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/aug/27/delta-covid-variant-doubles-risk-hospitalisation-new-study-finds

Delta doubles risk of hospitalisation in unvaccinated compared to Alpha

[Ausmumof3]

https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/two-die-japan-after-shots-suspended-moderna-vaccines-japan-govt-2021-08-28/
 

Two deaths in Japan from contaminated Moderna shots.

[ieta_cassiopeia]

7 hours ago, Ausmumof3 said:

https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/delta-variant-poses-twice-risk-hospitalisation-study-2021-08-27/
 

Anyone got a link to this study - paywalled for me? It sounds worrying.

People who get the Delta variant of the coronavirus are twice as likely to be hospitalised as those who were infected by the Alpha variant which was first detected in England last year, a study showed on Friday.

 

Apart from Wathe's link to the full research article 4 comments ago, the BBC has a non-paywalled summary. I should add that Delta appears to double risk of hospitalisation compared to Alpha regardless of vaccination status - it's just that the Alpha hospitalisation risk is so low for vaccinated people that Delta doubling it doesn't have much effect. 78% of people in the UK are now fully vaccinated.

7 hours ago, bookbard said:

We have a local fb page which I'd say at least half to two-thirds of the place are on. And we have a monthly newsletter that goes into letterboxes, so reaches everyone. And of course the post office is the central hub - lots of information there, fliers, noticeboard and so forth. So between those places, it's easy to reach people and let them know about what's available. We do have a chunk of holiday home owners who might not be as aware, but whether they're here during covid, I'm not sure. 

That might be why so many are calling 000. Lots of young people, especially left-leaning ones, stopped using FB over the last few years due to privacy, targeted advertising, negativity/mental health and political manipulation concerns, and won't re-start on principle. Since lots of young people also don't use post offices because they never send paper letters and only use parcels for online ordering, this means many youngsters would never encounter this information (and by the time they are trying to get information while quarantined, it's too late to go to the post office). Without a well-advertised method that doesn't require leaving the house or trusting one's personal information and emotions to Mark Zuckerberg, they end up desperate and contacting illogical/semi-logical places (such as the ambulance) for answers to such questions.

Food is a common question because from what I gather, the delivery services in cities weren't prepared for the surge and how it has been handled; they are fully booked while barely denting demand for that service. If you can't leave the house or get food from a commercial service, you're probably not going to just sit there and starve; you'll try whatever comes to mind as a possible solution. If the correct answer isn't accessible to you, you'll try incorrect ones until you get what you need. It's a mess.

(The UK has a non-emergency medical line that is well-advertised, though I'm not sure how effective this has been at redirecting this sort of enquiry, given that it has no mandate to recommend methods of getting food).

Edited August 28, 2021 by ieta_cassiopeia

[Ausmumof3]

21 minutes ago, ieta_cassiopeia said:

Apart from Wathe's link to the full research article 4 comments ago, the BBC has a non-paywalled summary. I should add that Delta appears to double risk of hospitalisation compared to Alpha regardless of vaccination status - it's just that the Alpha hospitalisation risk is so low for vaccinated people that Delta doubling it doesn't have much effect. 78% of people in the UK are now fully vaccinated.

That might be why so many are calling 000. Lots of young people, especially left-leaning ones, stopped using FB over the last few years due to privacy, targeted advertising, negativity/mental health and political manipulation concerns, and won't re-start on principle. Since lots of young people also don't use post offices because they never send paper letters and only use parcels for online ordering, this means many youngsters would never encounter this information (and by the time they are trying to get information while quarantined, it's too late to go to the post office). Without a well-advertised method that doesn't require leaving the house or trusting one's personal information and emotions to Mark Zuckerberg, they end up desperate and contacting illogical/semi-logical places (such as the ambulance) for answers to such questions.

Food is a common question because from what I gather, the delivery services in cities weren't prepared for the surge and how it has been handled; they are fully booked while barely denting demand for that service. If you can't leave the house or get food from a commercial service, you're probably not going to just sit there and starve; you'll try whatever comes to mind as a possible solution. If the correct answer isn't accessible to you, you'll try incorrect ones until you get what you need. It's a mess.

(The UK has a non-emergency medical line that is well-advertised, though I'm not sure how effective this has been at redirecting this sort of enquiry, given that it has no mandate to recommend methods of getting food).

Hmm interesting points I guess. We are still permitted to leave to get food though unless something has changed but if money is tight getting access to food pantries might be harder.

[Melissa in Australia]

1 hour ago, Ausmumof3 said:

Hmm interesting points I guess. We are still permitted to leave to get food though unless something has changed but if money is tight getting access to food pantries might be harder.

If a person has been exposed to Covid, then they are in isolation and not able to go get food. not to leave the house at all for 14 days.  However,  They are called almost daily to make sure they are OK and food can be arranged to be delivered. The Army and many voluntary organizations are helping with the food distribution . there is also the Covid hotline that can be rung if people need assistance 

Edited August 28, 2021 by Melissa in Australia

[Ausmumof3]

4 minutes ago, Melissa in Australia said:

If a person has been exposed to Covid, then they are insolation and not able to go get food. not to leave the house at all for 14 days.  However,  They are called almost daily to make sure they are OK and food can be arranged to be delivered. The Army and many voluntary organizations are helping with the food distribution . there is also the Covid hotline that can be rung if people need assistance 

Oh yes true!  If you are self isolating you can’t go out for food.  I have seen so much crazy stuff about “Australia’s lockdown” the last couple of days that I’m seeing it when it’s not there!

[whitestavern]

Another take:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/pediatric-covid-19-cases-are-surging-pushing-hospitals-and-health-care-workers-to-their-breaking-points/ar-AANMg3e?ocid=msedgntp

There is no evidence that the Delta variant is causing more severe disease than previous strains, says Dr. Sean O’Leary, vice chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) committee on infectious diseases. Less than 2% of children who have caught COVID-19 during this wave landed in the hospital—roughly the same percentage as during earlier phases of the pandemic, according to a TIME analysis of AAP and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services data. An even smaller percentage of children die from the disease, though some have gone on to develop complications like the inflammatory condition MIS-C.

The difference seems to be that the highly contagious Delta strain is tearing through all demographic groups at a furious clip, currently contributing to the more than 140,000 infections reported in the U.S. on any given day. It’s a depressing numbers game: If 100 children become infected, one or two might end up in the hospital. Push the caseload up to 180,000—the number of kids diagnosed with the virus nationwide during the week ending Aug. 19—and at least 1,800 are likely to get sick enough to need hospitalization.

[Laura Corin]

Latest on symptoms in vaccinated people.

https://youtu.be/GuYiVvDtOl0

 

[Wheres Toto]

34 minutes ago, Laura Corin said:

Latest on symptoms in vaccinated people.

https://youtu.be/GuYiVvDtOl0

 

Great, the top three are exactly what I get from allergies, particularly in the Fall.    I can generally tell when it's allergies and not that I'm sick.  When I get sick, it feels differently, more burning than with my allergies.  Also allergy meds don't tend to help when I'm sick.  Hope that all applies to this. 

I can do regular testing, but I certainly can't isolate every time I have any of those symptoms.