At what point would you lock down again?

[Wishes]

18 minutes ago, prairiewindmomma said:

It really is.  It's been one of the best things about living here. Outdoor school is important enough here that it is standard that even the public school 6th graders spend a week at outdoor school at the end of the school year. (My daughter was really bummed to miss her outdoor school experience because of covid.) https://www.friendsofoutdoorschool.org/what-is-outdoor-school They've modified the program this year so all kids will get to do it even though covid is still at play. (Popping in a link for local folks: https://outdoorschool.oregonstate.edu)  

There are a ton of private schools that are outdoor schools in model, and then there are the usual semester or monthly add-ons that are done through private classes.

 

We have quite a few preschools in WA state as well. I’m trying to find an outdoor half-day kindergarten that meets five days a week, but no luck yet. Maybe COVID will change that.

[KSera]

6 hours ago, SKL said:

Florida's vax rates are climbing just like the other states' vax rates.  Also, mask mandates are popping up here and there, despite the sentiment against them.

True.  There has been some of that. It still seems minor to me in comparison to what is happening on the ground.  It seems like you would expect in that circumstance for everyone to be staying at home voluntarily unless they absolutely had to go out for something and that everyone would be wearing masks by choice because they were trying to do everything they could to not catch it.  I certainly would think that no one would be attending large events or social gatherings, but that’s not the case either.

1 hour ago, mommyoffive said:

What are everyone's thoughts on outdoor nature school?   Or outdoor sports?   Are they safe if you go masked? 

Are you doing them this fall and winter? 

One of mine will do a small, outdoor masked nature school once a week. This will be their first in person activity since March 2020.  It meets in a park, so there isn’t even the option of people ending up inside. 

24 minutes ago, ktgrok said:

A pastor's first job is to shepherd his flock. You have to be willing to be pro active and make hard decisions. 

I read epidemiologist’s substack piece on this topic yesterday and thought it was good. I thought she made an especially good point that churches shouldn’t be relying on surveys about what people’s “comfort level” is and instead need to be following what the actual truth is about risk levels, both to their congregation and to their community:

https://emilysmith.substack.com/p/delta-and-church

[Faith-manor]

56 minutes ago, mommyoffive said:

What are everyone's thoughts on outdoor nature school?   Or outdoor sports?   Are they safe if you go masked? 

Are you doing them this fall and winter? 

I don't have young ones now, but my daughter is doing a pod with two other families who pulled their children from PS in Huntsville due to lack of protocols in those schools. Parents and teens in those families are vaxed, and these families mask and have committed to limited public interaction so the pod can be safe. They have contracted for a swim instructor and will be using an indoor pool that is low use during the school day, mostly lap swimmers. They are using splash pads at low times. Ds is teaching an outdoor music class with rhythm instruments and boomwhackers, one mom had an art degree and is teaching a "sketch nature" class, and even the newly homeschooled teens like it a lot, and with so few students, she had a lot of time to coach the teens. The teens are doing an online DNR program that teaches them to identify plants and insects, and identify and report invasive. So they are getting to wander all over our mountain yard, the area backing up to Laman's Cove (protected wilderness so they aren't allowed to go down there) but can also hike to Jackson Cove which is not protected and walk along the creek. While they do that, the younger ones are doing nature scavenger hunts. I found a deck of cards for elementary aged and preschool kids that had all kinds of themed nature hunts on them. The kids are pretty good about not crowding each other, and due to the high heat and humidity are not masked presently. But it is probably okay because these families have formed a pod, and mask vigilant my when they have to go to the doctor or dentist, use curbside pick up to groceries and pharmacy.

Mark and I are going down the week before Halloween to help dd and dsil get ready for a 10 child, 3 family Halloween party in the yard. The half bath off the garage will be the only indoor area used and have the window open and a fan dispersing air. We are having pumpkin decorating, spooktastic scavenger hunt, costume contest - including adults - spooky relay race, pumpkin craft ornament making, and story time. Grandson wants his Papa Mark to dress up as Willy Wonka. LOL, I told dd she better get that boy hooked on Mary Popping because that is who I want to be! That child is absolutely enamored with Charlie and the Chocolate Factory on audio.

So obviously, we think outdoors is okay, and while masking would be optimal, for sports/exercise that is pretty hard due to sweat, and of course dangerous with children and swimming. The pod is the middle ground so the children can have sport/exercise but not be masked.

Of course the benefit of the Alabama house is that winter is not severe like it is here. They will be able to keep up with many outdoor activities but of course experience some rain cancellations.

For kids here, I think it would be great if schools and homeschool pods could find the money for used cross country skis, snowshoes, etc. and embrace winter sports. I think that these would be fine to do outdoors unmasked - though in Michigan, a face mask in winter is often normal anyway - and dispense with indoor sports. We get the snow, make use of it I say. Suspend football and basketball for a year, and turn the track into a cross-country run, and frankly, for a not unseemly amount of money invested in a tow rope system (It can actually be done with a pick up truck and a winch, LOL) the sled hill behind the high school that has zero trees and bushes, would make a perfect training hill for alpine skiing. To be honest, I'd be okay with don the mask, snow sculpting class everyday. Let the students turn the school yards into fantastic displays of snow art. It would be good for them! Sadly, local school boards and administrators do not color outside the lines so I have no expectation of seeing any creativity or money go to safe ways for students to have enriching activities. 

[freesia]

1 hour ago, mommyoffive said:

Are you in a spike or surge of cases?

Not really.  I'm in NY.  We are up, but numbers have stablized and our R0 is under 1.

[Arcadia]

1 hour ago, mommyoffive said:

What are everyone's thoughts on outdoor nature school?   Or outdoor sports?   Are they safe if you go masked? 

Are you doing them this fall and winter? 

My kids are still doing recreational tennis lessons which are outdoors anyway. Masks are required. It is quite easy to social distance on a tennis court. 

[sbgrace]

I may be giving up. 

Our county per 100,000 rate is now nearly 800. We have much higher actual case numbers than we had during our past (fall/winter) peak--almost double.

Businesses are closing (temp) because they can't stay staffed due to illnesses. Schools and hospitals are struggling. People are dying. 

We are, right now, the third worst county in our state--but others are quickly catching up. 

 My teens are the only ones in their social circles masking in any situations. That is not what I want for them. 

I'm starting to wonder why I'm trying to so hard to avoid this, given we're all vaccinated.

We have a big trip planned late fall. At least one of mine won't be able to booster before that trip. I'd hate for us to be sick then. I keep worrying we're going to bring COVID to (vaccinated, but not yet booster eligible) grandparents.

Maybe I should just ditch masks and get exposure over with, while we have some vaccine protection, so the rest of the year isn't so frustrating and uncertain?? Aren't we doomed to exposure as some point anyway, given this is going to be endemic?

I'm uncertain about the choices we are making. I wish someone would tell me what to do. 

I'm so discouraged.

Edited August 26, 2021 by sbgrace

[cintinative]

our church came out with a policy recommending masks. As far as I know there is no mechanism to notify if you have COVID and may have exposed others. Do your churches have this? 

Last year a youth group kid got COVID but the parents didn't let the youth pastor know. So the people who were at youth group with him could have been impacted.  I don't know how you handle this--especially as far as the sanctuary--I guess that is at your own risk. But do you think there should be a notification for kids who were in Sunday School together, for example?  

Our numbers keep climbing here.  (update:  Thursday’s cases are the most since Jan. 28.) @kbutton where can we find our case numbers per 100,000? That used to be part of the weekly pressers but they don't do those anymore.

Edited August 26, 2021 by cintinative

[MEmama]

2 hours ago, mommyoffive said:

What are everyone's thoughts on outdoor nature school?   Or outdoor sports?   Are they safe if you go masked? 

Are you doing them this fall and winter? 

DS will be running at university. Nearly everyone will be vaccinated so we have no qualms there at all.

Were he still in high school, he would have run there too, and did last year except for opting out of indoor track in winter. I had no problems with it at all—the kids masked when they weren’t doing heavy workouts or distance running, and all safety protocol was enforced. We had a long time relationship with his coaches and knew they took it seriously—as did the kids. I wouldn’t hesitate this year with that group.

When he was younger we did an outdoor nature school. In theory I wouldn’t have a big problem with it (assuming appropriate spacing, etc), but I wouldn’t have trusted the families *in the group we were part of*. I'm guessing many were off the deep essential oils/no vax end. 

[Katy]

Every time I've gotten on Facebook today someone I know from Florida posts another death of a friend or relative that's a woman in her 30's with elementary aged kids.  Except the last one is still alive - someone who got in a car wreck, broke multiple bones and needs surgery, but they can't perform it because she has double pneumonia and multiple blood clots.  Pregnant too.

Then I called my mom and was told one of my cousins got diagnosed today too.  She's vaccinated, but her husband is not.

When it was just good old boys who were too macho to get vaccinated it was one thing.  But hearing about so many children losing their mothers in one morning has just about wrecked me.  Those poor kids. 😭

[Drama Llama]

5 hours ago, mommyoffive said:

What are everyone's thoughts on outdoor nature school?   Or outdoor sports?   Are they safe if you go masked? 

Are you doing them this fall and winter? 

We are doing outdoor sports.  With masks for my unvaccinated soccer player, and no mask for my vaccinated swimmer who swims in an outdoor pool (no mask for obvious reasons, he masks when he is out of the water.

I would do nature school from a covid perspective, but we are doing actual school with a ton of precautions. 

[mommyoffive]

Schools: Mitigation measures in the light of Delta - by Katelyn Jetelina - Your Local Epidemiologist (substack.com)

[kbutton]

3 hours ago, cintinative said:

@kbutton where can we find our case numbers per 100,000? That used to be part of the weekly pressers but they don't do those anymore.

https://coronavirus.ohio.gov/wps/portal/gov/covid-19/home   

Looks like 338/100,000 statewide?

A link from that page goes to the county by county breakdown (2 week average):

https://coronavirus.ohio.gov/static/docs/statewide-and-county-case-rates.pdf

I assume this means that current rates are higher if the county tallies are averaged over two weeks. Yikes.

Local EDs are hopping and have long waits for everything. The number patients being seen in 24 hours is much higher than what is ordinarily planned for. I really dread what's coming. 

[cintinative]

18 minutes ago, kbutton said:

 

Local EDs are hopping and have long waits for everything. The number patients being seen in 24 hours is much higher than what is ordinarily planned for. I really dread what's coming. 

Me too. I am not sure what to do quite yet.  My husband and kids will revolt if I suggest we lock down again (even if it is much worse). I might be on my own no matter what.

[SeaConquest]

5 hours ago, sbgrace said:

I may be giving up. 

Our county per 100,000 rate is now nearly 800. We have much higher actual case numbers than we had during our past (fall/winter) peak--almost double.

Businesses are closing (temp) because they can't stay staffed due to illnesses. Schools and hospitals are struggling. People are dying. 

We are, right now, the third worst county in our state--but others are quickly catching up. 

 My teens are the only ones in their social circles masking in any situations. That is not what I want for them. 

I'm starting to wonder why I'm trying to so hard to avoid this, given we're all vaccinated.

We have a big trip planned late fall. At least one of mine won't be able to booster before that trip. I'd hate for us to be sick then. I keep worrying we're going to bring COVID to (vaccinated, but not yet booster eligible) grandparents.

Maybe I should just ditch masks and get exposure over with, while we have some vaccine protection, so the rest of the year isn't so frustrating and uncertain?? Aren't we doomed to exposure as some point anyway, given this is going to be endemic?

I'm uncertain about the choices we are making. I wish someone would tell me what to do. 

I'm so discouraged.

I am so sorry. I am feeling dejected too. It feels truly hopeless. Between Covid and the thought of the Taliban, Isis, and Al-Qaeda all freely operating in Afghanistan on the 20th anniversary of 9.11, I can feel those dark clouds starting to form in my mind. I am glad that I am "seeing" my psychiatrist on Thursday. Is there anyone you can talk to (besides the Hive) to help process everything?

[mommyoffive]

Ok.  Just signed up my kids for nature school.  All outdoors unless severe weather.  All masked.  Tell me this is ok.   I know it isn't, but I feel like they need something.  Cases are going up in my state.  We were holding steady for the month at 1400 or 1500 cases a day and now 2 days this week we have had over 2000.  These are my unvaxxed kids.  Sigh.  I don't know what to do or not. I just don't know how risky this really is. 

I am thinking that they won't go back to face to face dance.  They are currently doing a show that now I wish I wouldn't have signed up for.  I am so stressed about this.  They did just cancel doing indoor shows with 1k plus audience.  Thank goodness.  

I don't know what to do for my older kids who are really into dance.  Let them go back to face to face?  They are vaxxed but 3 kids are not.  Wait until the surge is over?  Go virtual?  This is their passion and where all their friends are.  It is big to their mental health.  The studio is small.  Maybe the classes will be small, I don't know.  Everyone is masked and most of the older kids are vaxxed.  I had set our minds on doing it virtual and finding something outdoors for them.  But man is it hard to find something outdoors for teens that are not already into some outdoor sport.  Any ideas?  I have been researching for 2 days.    I don't know if this is the right idea to do or not.  

[Danae]

13 minutes ago, mommyoffive said:

Ok.  Just signed up my kids for nature school.  All outdoors unless severe weather.  All masked.  Tell me this is ok.   I know it isn't, but I feel like they need something.  Cases are going up in my state.  We were holding steady for the month at 1400 or 1500 cases a day and now 2 days this week we have had over 2000.  These are my unvaxxed kids.  Sigh.  I don't know what to do or not. I just don't know how risky this really is. 

I am thinking that they won't go back to face to face dance.  They are currently doing a show that now I wish I wouldn't have signed up for.  I am so stressed about this.  They did just cancel doing indoor shows with 1k plus audience.  Thank goodness.  

I don't know what to do for my older kids who are really into dance.  Let them go back to face to face?  They are vaxxed but 3 kids are not.  Wait until the surge is over?  Go virtual?  This is their passion and where all their friends are.  It is big to their mental health.  The studio is small.  Maybe the classes will be small, I don't know.  Everyone is masked and most of the older kids are vaxxed.  I had set our minds on doing it virtual and finding something outdoors for them.  But man is it hard to find something outdoors for teens that are not already into some outdoor sport.  Any ideas?  I have been researching for 2 days.    I don't know if this is the right idea to do or not.  

I think nature school will be fine.  The families that are signing their kids up for outdoors and masked are probably being cautious in other ways, and the kids will be outdoors and masked.  
 

I don’t know about the older kids and dance.  I’m trying to decide that same thing.  They need organized physical activity. I completely failed at getting them enough exercise last year.  

[mommyoffive]

Covid data disappearing in some states even amid delta surge (msn.com)

 

 

Doctor Claims He Used Ivermectin on Thousands of COVID Patients Despite FDA Warnings (msn.com)

 

 

 

[kbutton]

More southwest Ohio fun: https://julieroys.com/cedarville-university-masks-covid/

Our poor governor has had his powers stripped, and this is the county he's from and where his home is located. He's as local as you can get to this outbreak. I feel so bad for him. 

Quote

Greene County, where Cedarville is located, had more than 17,000 active COVID-19 cases as of Wednesday, including both lab-confirmed and probable cases, the health department announced. That’s about one out of 10 residents in the county of about 169,000.

I am so disappointed personally as this is my alma mater. It's a shell of its former self, sadly. 

Quote

A total of 281 residential graduate and undergraduate students have active COVID-19 cases as of Thursday, meaning they’ve had a lab-confirmed positive test result, according to the university’s COVID-19 reporting dashboard.

That’s just over 7% of the university’s total number of undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in campus-based programs. Several hundred more are likely in quarantine due to exposure, based on university estimates. Classes began last Wednesday, Aug. 18, for residential students.

It’s unclear what portion of the campus’s residential students are in isolation because of positive test results or how many residential students have been vaccinated for COVID-19. The Roys Report reached out by text, voicemail and email to Cedarville spokesman Mark Weinstein, but he didn’t reply.

The university’s statistics also don’t include faculty or staff. Cedarville doesn’t require its employees to report whether they’ve come down with COVID-19, though they are expected to follow testing, quarantine and isolation guidance if they do catch it.

Cedarville urges students who’ve tested positive to go home if they can. The majority of students who’ve tested positive are isolating off campus, but 113 are on campus, the dashboard indicates.

 

Quote

Other colleges in the region have either mandated masks on campus or required students and staff to be vaccinated for COVID-19, the Dayton Daily News reported.

...but we won't because politics. 

[cintinative]

@kbutton I want to be surprised but I am not.

I have really tried to understand the alternate point of view, but I am growing weary. There is such a poor witness in so much of this.  The bill will come due, I think, when all this is over.

[SeaConquest]

I think I need to get off Twitter. These women aren't going to make it. These babies are never going to know their mothers. The anti-vax movement, and the politicians who weaponized the vaccine for their own political purposes, have so much blood on their hands.

https://www.uab.edu/news/health/item/12238-uab-hospital-icu-population-includes-alarming-number-of-pregnant-women

Physicians in UAB Medicine’s Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine report than 39 unvaccinated pregnant women have been admitted to UAB Hospital this month. Of those, 10 are in the intensive care unit and seven of them are on ventilators.

Edited August 27, 2021 by SeaConquest

[SeaConquest]

11 minutes ago, SeaConquest said:

I think I need to get off Twitter. These women aren't going to make it. These babies are never going to know their mothers. The anti-vax movement, and the politicians who weaponized the vaccine for their own political purposes, have so much blood on their hands.

https://www.uab.edu/news/health/item/12238-uab-hospital-icu-population-includes-alarming-number-of-pregnant-women

Physicians in UAB Medicine’s Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine report than 39 unvaccinated pregnant women have been admitted to UAB Hospital this month. Of those, 10 are in the intensive care unit and seven of them are on ventilators.

Quoting myself: And this is the antithesis of being pro-life. 

According to Free, UAB Hospital announced it had admitted at least 50 pregnant women who had contracted COVID-19 last week; two died, seven were on ventilators and there were “a number of fetal losses in the second and third trimester,” Free said.

https://www.al.com/news/2021/08/seven-pregnant-women-at-uab-on-ventilator-with-covid.html

Edited August 27, 2021 by SeaConquest

[mommyoffive]

Pediatric COVID-19 Cases Are Surging, Pushing Hospitals—and Health Care Workers—to Their Breaking Points (msn.com)

[SeaConquest]

6 minutes ago, Ordinary Shoes said:

I've been right about so many things during this pandemic but I was completely wrong about one thing. I remember saying early in the pandemic that the crazy people around me would take this more seriously if it affected pregnant women more. This would be because they care about fetuses more than anything else. 

Obviously I was wrong about that. 

Although I guess if there was a way to throw women in jail for not getting vaccinated...maybe? 

Oh wait, they'd try to throw women in jail for getting vaccinated. Nevermind. 

I've gotten to the point where I think these people have been infected by some form of neuro Covid. When they got infected earlier in the pandemic, Covid traveled to their brains and its made them lose their ever-loving minds because I just cannot understand how this huge percentage of our country is this soulless and whackadoo. It's just mind-boggling how irrationally cruel it all is. I keep thinking that X,Y, or FOR SURE Z will change their minds, but nothing ever does.  

[popmom]

51 minutes ago, SeaConquest said:

Quoting myself: And this is the antithesis of being pro-life. 

According to Free, UAB Hospital announced it had admitted at least 50 pregnant women who had contracted COVID-19 last week; two died, seven were on ventilators and there were “a number of fetal losses in the second and third trimester,” Free said.

https://www.al.com/news/2021/08/seven-pregnant-women-at-uab-on-ventilator-with-covid.html

This is where I live. I’ve been following closely. A friend has a daughter who is pregnant. As of a month ago, she was still too scared of the vaccine. I think about her every time I see these numbers. I need to call and see how her daughter is doing. She must be okay or I would have certainly heard something. 

Interestingly, they are liberal in their political views. My friend has tried to persuade her dd to get the shots,  so she is very pro vaccine. I have to believe the daughter would have been vaccinated if she wasn’t pregnant. 

Edited August 27, 2021 by popmom

[SeaConquest]

2 minutes ago, popmom said:

This is where I live. I’ve been following closely. A friend has a daughter who is pregnant. As of a month ago, she was still too scared of the vaccine. I think about her every time I see these numbers. I need to call and see how her daughter is doing. She must be okay or I would have certainly heard something. 

Interestingly, they are liberal in their political views. My friend has tried to persuade her dd to get the shots,  so she is very pro vaccine. I have to believe the daughter would have been vaccinated if she wasn’t pregnant. 

What does her OB say? I am happy to put her in touch with OBs that are knowledgeable about the most recent research re pregnant women and the vaccine if she has any questions/concerns. Sometimes, it just takes those 1-on-1 conversations with a compassionate and informed provider who can really listen to your concerns and address them with the most recent data. The fear is real when you are pregnant, especially.

[popmom]

19 minutes ago, SeaConquest said:

What does her OB say? I am happy to put her in touch with OBs that are knowledgeable about the most recent research re pregnant women and the vaccine if she has any questions/concerns. Sometimes, it just takes those 1-on-1 conversations with a compassionate and informed provider who can really listen to your concerns and address them with the most recent data. The fear is real when you are pregnant, especially.

I don’t know who her doctor is, but I feel sure that ALL the OBs here are strongly encouraging their patients to get vaccinated. I don’t know the daughter really well, but I know her well enough to know she’s very intelligent, wise, and thoughtful. I’m praying that she’s been vaccinated since the last time I spoke with her mom. 

[Shoes+Ships+SealingWax]

DH & I are both vaccinated, but our son is not yet old enough.

I will allow DS to continue participating in outdoor sports practices & games (unmasked) for as long as they are scheduled. Masking while sprinting in 100+ degree weather is not reasonable, however if the vaccine is approved for his age group we will be first in line! DH & I will mask on the sidelines of games, assuming spectators are allowed to attend. 

X DS plays out in the street with his public-schooled buddies unmasked. Their parents have proven to be very proactive about alerting everyone if they have an exposure & then the kids take a break from group play until we have the all clear. X

We have begun wearing masks indoors again when running errands & in the swim lesson waiting area. The instructors there have continued wearing face shields in the pool. He doesn’t participate in any other indoor, close-proximity activities - if he did, we’d mask for them. 

EDIT: Cases in our area have increased >40%. We’ve just broken it to DS that we’ll be taking a break from street play. He is disappointed, but understands. We also won’t be dining out any more. The break was nice while it lasted… *sigh*

Edited August 28, 2021 by Shoes+Ships+SealingWax

[SKL]

4 hours ago, SeaConquest said:

I've gotten to the point where I think these people have been infected by some form of neuro Covid. When they got infected earlier in the pandemic, Covid traveled to their brains and its made them lose their ever-loving minds ...

I have honestly thought this may be a factor for some people.  Covid supposedly does cause cognitive problems.  Of course it wouldn't explain the whole phenomenon, but for people you knew as intelligent who are now being dense, maybe that is a factor.

[Wheres Toto]

4 hours ago, SKL said:

I have honestly thought this may be a factor for some people.  Covid supposedly does cause cognitive problems.  Of course it wouldn't explain the whole phenomenon, but for people you knew as intelligent who are now being dense, maybe that is a factor.

This is one of the scariest ideas I've heard.  Can you imagine if tens of thousands of people are experiencing so much cognitive decline that they can no longer distinguish what's real/not real, or reasonable/not reasonable?  

[Not_a_Number]

8 minutes ago, Wheres Toto said:

This is one of the scariest ideas I've heard.  Can you imagine if tens of thousands of people are experiencing so much cognitive decline that they can no longer distinguish what's real/not real, or reasonable/not reasonable?  

Yes, that is actually a really frightening thought 😕 

[MEmama]

15 minutes ago, Wheres Toto said:

This is one of the scariest ideas I've heard.  Can you imagine if tens of thousands of people are experiencing so much cognitive decline that they can no longer distinguish what's real/not real, or reasonable/not reasonable?  

Idk. Right now we have no honest explanation for why tens of millions of Americans are behaving the way they are, insisting that Covid isn’t a big deal/ I go to a chiropractor/ I take zinc/ farm animal dewormer so I’ll be fine…. I think I would rather have an actual, scientific explanation for the cruelty and ignorance so they could be cured and we could on with the business of taking care of one another. 

[Not_a_Number]

10 minutes ago, MEmama said:

Idk. Right now we have no honest explanation for why tens of millions of Americans are behaving the way they are, insisting that Covid isn’t a big deal/ I go to a chiropractor/ I take zinc/ farm animal dewormer so I’ll be fine…. I think I would rather have an actual, scientific explanation for the cruelty and ignorance so they could be cured and we could on with the business of taking care of one another. 

People are cruel and ignorant all the time 😕 . That’s humanity for you.

[MEmama]

4 minutes ago, Not_a_Number said:

People are cruel and ignorant all the time 😕 . That’s humanity for you.

True. 😞 

[ktgrok]

30 minutes ago, MEmama said:

Idk. Right now we have no honest explanation for why tens of millions of Americans are behaving the way they are, insisting that Covid isn’t a big deal/ I go to a chiropractor/ I take zinc/ farm animal dewormer so I’ll be fine…. I think I would rather have an actual, scientific explanation for the cruelty and ignorance so they could be cured and we could on with the business of taking care of one another. 

I've been seeing behavior this illogical for a lot longer than Covid has been around. 

[SKL]

2 hours ago, Wheres Toto said:

This is one of the scariest ideas I've heard.  Can you imagine if tens of thousands of people are experiencing so much cognitive decline that they can no longer distinguish what's real/not real, or reasonable/not reasonable?  

I have seen at least two people decline noticeably, at least temporarily, after having Covid.  Both were already around 70-80 years old, but they were quite functional before.  One of them gave a graduation speech that literally made no sense.

I only hope this is relatively rare and very temporary.

[MEmama]

1 hour ago, ktgrok said:

I've been seeing behavior this illogical for a lot longer than Covid has been around. 

Of course. Even a cursory peek back in history shows it’s always been this way. Doesn’t mean I can’t wish for a cure, though. Lol

[mommyoffive]

COVID patients overwhelm Texas hospitals, amid 'hair on fire' crisis (msn.com)

 

 

[mommyoffive]

Australia COVID: Does the Delta variant affect children more severely? (smh.com.au)

[ieta_cassiopeia]

My county's stats are mostly looking better. While testing is down a little in the community (I'd prefer it if testing was at least held at the same rate), the positivity rate of the tests that are happening has dropped to below 1% (how much below 1% varies by area - it's 0.6% in my area), and the drop is much bigger than the drop in tests. There's also a new page on the monitoring dashboard breaking down negatives, voids, positives and total tests by area on a graph.

There's another new page giving cumulative COVID-19 death rate. The virus has killed just under 1/40 th of the population in my area (not counting deaths from other causes since the pandemic began).

There are a couple of hotspots of cases in my county - there's a town with 0.7% of the population estimated to have COVID-19 - but only about 5% of these people are now going to hospital, and this week none got ventilated (let alone died).

The next week-and-a-half before schools return look like they would be a good time to do things that involve a bit more risk than usual in my area. One of my friends has talked about going to the theatre that will re-open tomorrow, and I'm inclined to accept if we're attending in the next 10 days. (There's one play, four films and two music evenings scheduled during that time).

[Terabith]

4 hours ago, Wheres Toto said:

This is one of the scariest ideas I've heard.  Can you imagine if tens of thousands of people are experiencing so much cognitive decline that they can no longer distinguish what's real/not real, or reasonable/not reasonable?  

It's a terrifying thought, but I don't think it's covid related, since it seems to date back to at least 2015?  

[ktgrok]

7 minutes ago, ieta_cassiopeia said:

My county's stats are mostly looking better. While testing is down a little in the community (I'd prefer it if testing was at least held at the same rate), the positivity rate of the tests that are happening has dropped to below 1% (how much below 1% varies by area - it's 0.6% in my area), and the drop is much bigger than the drop in tests. There's also a new page on the monitoring dashboard breaking down negatives, voids, positives and total tests by area on a graph.

There's another new page giving cumulative COVID-19 death rate. The virus has killed just under 1/40 th of the population in my area (not counting deaths from other causes since the pandemic began).

There are a couple of hotspots of cases in my county - there's a town with 0.7% of the population estimated to have COVID-19 - but only about 5% of these people are now going to hospital, and this week none got ventilated (let alone died).

The next week-and-a-half before schools return look like they would be a good time to do things that involve a bit more risk than usual in my area. One of my friends has talked about going to the theatre that will re-open tomorrow, and I'm inclined to accept if we're attending in the next 10 days. (There's one play, four films and two music evenings scheduled during that time).

I am just trying to wrap my head around a positivity rate under 1 percent. My county is at 19.9%. 

[SKL]

1 hour ago, mommyoffive said:

Australia COVID: Does the Delta variant affect children more severely? (smh.com.au)

This is also very good news.

[Faith-manor]

It should also be pointed out that while covid may still be deemed not very dangerous to kids, we still have an issue of pediatric beds. We are bizarrely low as a nation in pediatric practitioners of every stripe not to mention ped beds and PICU beds. So even if everyone is comfortable with their kids' risk, the issue is we are overwhelming that part of the system so other sick children such as children with cancer are dying because there is no bed for them, the ER cannot see them. These deaths will be listed as cancer or sickle cell or anaphylaxis or whatever but they are directly covid caused because covid is overwhelming the system. Does no one care about this? Have we just decided that if you are sick with anything else, if your body is not "perfect", you are expendable? Sick kids? Let them die.

This is how I feel when people tout the " Oh well, it is mild in kids" thing, and the "Let it rip thing". It wad bad enough when this was the attitude towards the elderly, and worse when it trickled down into each adult segment. I think we all thought people would take it seriously and stop spreading it once it hit kids. But nope, damn the kids.

https://www.webmd.com/lung/news/20210816/u-s-reports-record-covid-hospitalizations-of-children

[mommyoffive]

Calls Grow to Discipline Doctors Spreading Virus Misinformation (msn.com)

 

After COVID-19, Our Kids Need Real Body Positivity | Opinion (msn.com)

 

US coronavirus: Surgeon General urges parents and officials take these steps to protect children from Covid-19 (msn.com)

 

[regentrude]

28 minutes ago, ktgrok said:

I am just trying to wrap my head around a positivity rate under 1 percent. My county is at 19.9%. 

ours has dropped down to 38% from 49%.

I can imagine a 1% positivity rate only if there are huge numbers of asymptomatic people testing routinely and frequently.

[freesia]

1 hour ago, regentrude said:

ours has dropped down to 38% from 49%.

I can imagine a 1% positivity rate only if there are huge numbers of asymptomatic people testing routinely and frequently.

That's the strategy where I live in NY.  Tests are easy to get and encouraged.  Our county is now at 2.9 positivity, it was below 1% from sometime in June to sometime in August, if I"m remembering correctly.

[freesia]

16 hours ago, kbutton said:

More southwest Ohio fun: https://julieroys.com/cedarville-university-masks-covid/

Our poor governor has had his powers stripped, and this is the county he's from and where his home is located. He's as local as you can get to this outbreak. I feel so bad for him. 

I am so disappointed personally as this is my alma mater. It's a shell of its former self, sadly. 

 

...but we won't because politics. 

This is not surprising to me at all.  We were in that area last weekend for a wedding of Cedarville grads.  The family of the groom is like family to us--our kids have grown up together and we decided to chance it--although if it had been this week I would have pulled the plug.  We wore our Kn95 or Happy Masks even with 5/6 of us vaccinated, and we were one of only 2 families masking at all.  When we'd go get fast food there *might* be one other masked person in the store.  We would just get take out.  There weren't even very many outside eating areas.  Very different from where I live in NY. Not surprisingly we already have heard of several positive cases from folks who were at the wedding (all the same family, so I don't know if it was the wedding or just being in the area for 5 days).  So far, so good for our family though. 

[Drama Llama]

1 hour ago, regentrude said:

ours has dropped down to 38% from 49%.

I can imagine a 1% positivity rate only if there are huge numbers of asymptomatic people testing routinely and frequently.

Our community has tons of routine testing.   For example, my kids' school is testing every unvaccinated student every week.  Last year they had something like 0.1% positivity across, so that's a lot of negative tests. 

[Not_a_Number]

18 minutes ago, freesia said:

That's the strategy where I live in NY.  Tests are easy to get and encouraged.  Our county is now at 2.9 positivity, it was below 1% from sometime in June to sometime in August, if I"m remembering correctly.

Yeah, it's similar in NYC. There are TONS of tests -- pharmacies, urgent cares, everywhere. 

[mommyoffive]

Doctor on rise of COVID-19 cases in children, research on potential new drug treatment (msn.com)

 

Back to school with the threat of the delta variant — some parents once again call for remote learning (msn.com)