It better hurry. According to the report I read earlier, the huge medical center in Houston (Texas Medical Center) is getting close to running out of hospital beds in the surge of cases that have sprung up since re-opening the state earlier this month. Texas had 6,100+ new cases yesterday.
What is weird is the two stories that are being put out there. MJ you say that this one hospital is "close to running out of hospital beds". Yet hospitals were almost empty when we were to "flaten the curve". Suddenly we have full hospitals again? Which beds are full? ICU? Ventilators? Generic beds? Is anyone else having a hard time with this?
Originally posted by maryjane: Texas had 6,100+ new cases yesterday.
I can't say any of this surprises me.
Me either. Back when I was working the oil rigs, there were at times driving rain. I was protected by my full slicker suit (and my Red Wings). It did not protect others. I saw so many people through my carreer try to make do with head and arm holes cut in a plastic garbage bag. Some just had to nut up and take it a la nekid of protection.
Then, we have the sexual masks which are not worn, umm, I mean condoms. Some chose not to use them. Some more than once. There were not unexpected results in many cases.
We can also talk about helmet masks for motorcycle riding. Some choose not to use them.
Many times I still choose not to wear a seat belt.
I was in the hospital earlier this year before Kung Flu. From caution that I had tuberculosis, the medical staff wore masks (not I) while I was in an isolation negative pressure room. When I went in public space I had to wear a mask, not others. The patient on the operating table does not wear a mask.
If one wants to be skeered, let them wear a mask.
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Originally posted by Hudini: What is weird is the two stories that are being put out there. MJ you say that this one hospital is "close to running out of hospital beds". Yet hospitals were almost empty when we were to "flaten the curve". Suddenly we have full hospitals again? Which beds are full? ICU? Ventilators? Generic beds? Is anyone else having a hard time with this?
NYC never had a bed shortage and the need for ventilators was way over blown.
The United States is now reporting new cases at nine times the rate of Europe, per million people.
If I were one of Trump's reelection campaign advisors, I would be asking if there is some explanation that is outside the realm of federal policy. Some purely scientific reason? Is the virus more infective now in the U.S. (vs Europe) because of a genetic mutation? If there were such an explanation, I would put Dr Fauci in front of TV cameras to explain it.
You can discount Canada and Australia on this data plot because of their significantly smaller populations, vs the US. But what about the European Union?
The "19" in Covid-19 is for the year 2019, when the effects of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus on humans are considered to have first become a "thing" in the field of medical science.
[This message has been edited by rinselberg (edited 06-25-2020).]
What is weird is the two stories that are being put out there. MJ you say that this one hospital is "close to running out of hospital beds". Yet hospitals were almost empty when we were to "flaten the curve". Suddenly we have full hospitals again? Which beds are full? ICU? Ventilators? Generic beds? Is anyone else having a hard time with this?
It's what the lefties love.
We have more testing than any other country and therefore see more cases. No hospitals are being overrun, it's all propaganda. Most of us are sick of the bs, and can see right through it. Most.
Back in April and May, the USA Average between 2000 to 6000 deaths per day. Now that has average well below 1000 for the entire month of June, despite a huge percentage increase in testing and an infection rate of the population in some hot spots approaching 7% of the population.
Death rates are falling, but death rates and cases don't always jive with each other and never have. Part of that, is that we've gotten much better at treating the disease than we were back in late March and April. People are more apt to come in when symptoms 1st appear than they were early on and getting treatment as soon as possible is a big step toward recovery instead of sitting home thinking it's just a cold or flu.
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What is weird is the two stories that are being put out there. MJ you say that this one hospital is "close to running out of hospital beds". Yet hospitals were almost empty when we were to "flaten the curve". Suddenly we have full hospitals again? Which beds are full? ICU? Ventilators? Generic beds? Is anyone else having a hard time with this?
Texas Medical Center is not "one hospital". It's a complex near downtown Houston that takes up several blocks that consists of many separate medical facilities, currently 54 in total including St Lukes, Methodist, Baylor, Hermann, Univ of Texas health Science Center, Baylor college of Medicine, and many other teaching hospitals. It employs 106,000 people.
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The Texas Medical Center contains 54 medicine-related institutions, with 21 hospitals and eight specialty institutions, eight academic and research institutions, four medical schools, seven nursing schools, three public health organizations, two pharmacy schools and a dental school.
The reason it is now getting more patients is because of the recent surge. About 3 months ago, there were very few cases in the Houston metroplex area. That has changed drastically in recent weeks after the counties that make up HoustonMetro reopened.
I've stated in other threads over a month ago, that Texas seems to have a disparity in # of cases vs # of deaths, compared to other states with a smaller population, and it still holds true as of this image from yesterday. There are 14 states with more Covid deaths than Texas and 10 of them have had fewer total cases than Tx.
Looking at the lower graph, it appears the highs and dips are occurring on approx a 2 week interval..
Masks do NOT help the wearer!! That has been emphasized over and over again. Masks help to stop the spread of it to other people. If you aren't concerned with your fellow man, and don't care if you unknowingly spread it to someone else, and generally don't give a **** about anyone other than yourself then by all means, don't wear one.
If you aren't concerned with your fellow man, and don't care if you unknowingly spread it to someone else, and generally don't give a **** about anyone other than yourself then by all means, don't wear one.
I know... we hear that all the time from the left. I also hear how every white person is racist, every black person is a victim, all police are evil, and Donald Trump is the biggest threat to America since George Washington.
"Pausing will not make things better," Adler told CNN on Friday. "We need to do something that's different than that. The status quo will not protect us." The sudden spike in confirmed cases in recent days is no surprise, another health expert said. "Every epidemiologist was telling, screaming as loud as we could, that three weeks after Memorial Day, we'd have a peak in the cases, and five weeks after Memorial Day we'd begin to see a peak in hospitalizations and deaths," epidemiologist Larry Brilliant told CNN on Thursday night.
This, in all likelihood is going to cost trump the election and it's a shame it had to come to this. Keep in mind, that HRC lost her bid in part because she got the blame (fairly or not) for the deaths of just 4 people....US Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens; USFS officer Sean Smith; CIA contractors Tyrone S. Woods and Glen Doherty in Benghazi..4 people.
If you think the opposition isn't going to hound Trump about the un-necessary loss of thousands of lives right up to election day and think that death toll isn't going to resonate poorly with many thousands of swing voters you are very much mistaken. You can't lead from behind and expect to win re-election.
This, in all likelihood is going to cost trump the election and it's a shame it had to come to this. Keep in mind, that HRC lost her bid in part because she got the blame (fairly or not) for the deaths of just 4 people....US Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens; USFS officer Sean Smith; CIA contractors Tyrone S. Woods and Glen Doherty in Benghazi..4 people.
If you think the opposition isn't going to hound Trump about the un-necessary loss of thousands of lives right up to election day and think that death toll isn't going to resonate poorly with many thousands of swing voters you are very much mistaken. You can't lead from behind and expect to win re-election.
I absolutely think the opposition will do whatever they can.
But I think HRC lost because people believed she was untrustworthy, and because there was very little enthusiasm for her. She could barely fill a high school gym, and I'm not being facetious about that.
On this election, Trump's numbers and polling look bad. I can hope / assume that they're being manipulated or poorly accounted for just as they were in 2016, but that aside... the one thing I think Trump has in his favor is that there is *absolutely no enthusiasm* for Joe Biden. Literally, the only driving force from left-leaning voters is to get Trump out of office. My wife is a hard-core Democrat, and all of her friends are ultra-liberal, and most of my friends are Democrat as well. No one, and I mean not a single one of them is excited about Biden. They just want Trump out. All their Facebook feeds are simply geared towards getting Trump out, and not a single post about anything great Biden has done or anything significant that he's said.
So... there's that. But his polling is quite bad.
Trump cannot arbitrarily mandate that people around the world wear face masks. He also cannot arbitrarily mandate that the entire US shut down... and doing so would not only NOT help him gain leftist votes, but it would unilaterally hurt him exclusively on the right. Trump has done a lot to prevent this virus, but you and many others are being propagandized by a MASSIVE propaganda campaign that's occurring at the hands of China, Russia, and Iran... and apparently Turkey, but I've not seen any of that.
You can discount Canada and Australia on this data plot because of their significantly smaller populations, vs the US.
Why? This would suggest that Canadians and Aussies are evenly spread throughout the arctic and outback. Anyone in the know understands that this is not the case at all. Most Canadians and Australians live in densely populated areas, just like in the States.
It's unbelievable that one of the most wealthy, technologically advanced countries on the planet is dealing with this pandemic so poorly. Blaming the high infection rates on "more testing than any other country and therefore see more cases" would be laughable if it wasn't so sad.
Americans who are still in denial need to wake up... and/or rethink their strategy of sacrificing friends and family for the "economy".
Why? This would suggest that Canadians and Aussies are evenly spread throughout the arctic and outback. Anyone in the know understands that this is not the case at all. Most Canadians and Australians live in densely populated areas, just like in the States.
It's unbelievable that one of the most wealthy, technologically advanced countries on the planet is dealing with this pandemic so poorly. Blaming the high infection rates on "more testing than any other country and therefore see more cases" would be laughable if it wasn't so sad.
Americans who are still in denial need to wake up... and/or rethink their strategy of sacrificing friends and family for the "economy".
The numbers are highly manipulated because profit and funding is involved. A lot of deaths that are occurring during this time period are being labelled as COVID deaths... likewise there are a HUGE number of false positives as well. This last point I'm not sure about, but I thought I saw that we're doing significantly more testing than other countries... but I am not sure if that's correct.
Why? This would suggest that Canadians and Aussies are evenly spread throughout the arctic and outback. Anyone in the know understands that this is not the case at all. Most Canadians and Australians live in densely populated areas, just like in the States.
<SNIP>
The Y-axis of the data plot is New Cases Per One Million Population. When I said what I said, about discounting Canada and Australia, it was because I was mistakenly thinking of the Y-axis as New Cases, "period."
"My bad."
[This message has been edited by rinselberg (edited 06-26-2020).]
You're therefore inferring that this manipulation of "numbers" only occurs in the US. If that's the case, you've got to wonder... why is that so?
You cannot compare countries unless everything is equal including who is tested and the methods used for testing. Any comparisons are being used to manipulate public opinion.
EDIT: For comparison just look at N Korea since they have no cases at all.
[This message has been edited by Hudini (edited 06-26-2020).]
There are two types of test methods: one with the nasal swab and one with blood. Within those two types are several sub-types depending on which test kit maker your hospital uses. This is just in the US alone. Now Europe is using various sources for test kits including some from China. As you may remember there were many test kits and PPE that were rejected by Canada and others when the kits/PPE made over here turned out to be faulty.
On top of all that certain countries will not even test you unless you show symptoms and are in the hospital.
So unless you wish to keep making up excuses to argue then maybe you can see why I said we shouldn't compare countries with different testing methods.
The numbers are fudged all over the place. As has been pointed out, North Korea has no cases.
So, are you suggesting that the US has "fudged" their COVID-19 numbers in the same manner as a North Korean dictatorship, only in the opposite direction? If that's the situation, then Americans have far more to fear than simply a virus.
For a lot of people this virus has reached almost religious fervor level. I dunno, maybe subconsciously they ARE equating it with captain trips.
I suspect it's mostly the same bunch who went overboard with Y2K, Greta Greasycrotch and the Envirowacks, incoming asteroids and chicken littles sky. They need a new hobby.
Originally posted by maryjane: Masks do NOT help the wearer!! That has been emphasized over and over again. Masks help to stop the spread of it to other people.
Emphasized by whom ? That does not logically make sense ! Are masks made with one way material which will keep a cough forced contagion in, but will not keep out floating contagions ?
I was in the hospital, ICU, with respiratory concerns. It turned out to be a severe case of pneumonia but out an abundance of caution, they assumed it COULD be tuberculosis. I was treated wearing no mask. If a mask does not protect them, why were they wearing one ?
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Originally posted by maryjane: If you aren't concerned with your fellow man, and don't care if you unknowingly spread it to someone else, and generally don't give a **** about anyone other than yourself then by all means, don't wear one.
morons abound.
None of that is true. Including not wearing one. I wear it to protect myself, to keep from infecting my social circle. I guess I am a moron. I git to die anyway, again. Now, after the scaredemic had seemed to subside, more people are not wearing masks. What good does me wearing one do, ?
If you don't know the answers to most of those questions by now, you have either been doing hard time somewhere or freeze dried. But, just in case I'll explain it. The masks the Dr's, Nurses and epidemiologists wear are more often than not, far different (superior) than the cloth masks most of the public wears, as the public's home sewn cloth masks serve only to help keep droplets INSIDE. (that, is very OLD news, but evidently, it bears repeating) Keeping droplets INSIDE helps prevent the spread. You know this already tho, if you've ever once in your life used a handkerchief or Kleenex to sneeze or cough into.
The deniers should start a new movement of their own, and call it No Lives Matter.
I doubt you'll get this guy to join tho:
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Arizona reported that nearly 60 percent of its 66,000 confirmed cases have been younger than 45 years old.
Phoenix resident Jimmy Flores, 30, spent a night out drinking with friends in a nightclub. A week later, he felt sick and was admitted to hospital after testing positive for COVID-19, the Wall Street Journal reported.
“I’m a young, active, healthy person with no previous conditions,” Flores said. “I didn’t take it seriously for myself. I was not practicing the social-distancing guidelines. I didn’t wear a mask. I thought I was invincible.” Health officials have made it clear that people in older groups are more likely to suffer severe symptoms from the virus. But while young people are less likely to be symptomatic or die, they can still transfer the virus to other people. If you get infected, you will infect someone else,” Dr. Anthony Fauci said Friday specifically speaking to people under the age of 40, during the first White House Task Force press briefing on the coronavirus since late April. “A risk for you is not just isolated for you. You are innocently* and inadvertently propagating the process of a pandemic.”
*For those like Todd, who previously stated that he would not (in reference to social distancing and masks) join in with (his words) "the theatrics" I would omit the word 'innocently'.
NO LIVE$ MATTER!
[This message has been edited by maryjane (edited 06-27-2020).]
Whether or not masks are effective, I wear a mask in some situations for one simple reason: it makes life easier. I don't respond well to harassment and the mask can reduce the chance of someone else requiring medical care for a broken nose.
[This message has been edited by williegoat (edited 06-27-2020).]
You're therefore inferring that this manipulation of "numbers" only occurs in the US. If that's the case, you've got to wonder... why is that so?
I have asked, and this is the reason. We have a law in this country that requires all citizens to be treated at a hospital, regardless of their ability to pay. That's generally a good thing, because you don't want people to be in a situation where whether they live and / or die depends on whether or not they can pay for it.
Being that as the case, the ONLY hospitals that exist in poor areas are "Not for Profit" .. e.g. they are almost all hospitals that are owned by Christian church organizations (vast majority of which are Catholic funded by parishoners). The REASON this is the case is because "for profit" hospitals would lose money almost immediately and go out of business. But not for profit hospitals pay no taxes, and receive the majority of their money from church donations or local, state, and Federal grants.
One of the ways to get more grant money right now is by how many COVID-19 related cases you report. The more there are in a particular area, the Government deems it a "hot spot" and therefore they are more eligible for financial support from the Government. Incidentally, most not-for-profit hospitals happen to be in poor areas, for the reasons I mentioned above. In these poor areas there are a lot of minorities. Because of this, the reports that "minorities are significantly more at risk" are directly because more reports are being made by these Not For Profit hospitals in poor areas with minorities. So it's all related to that.
You can 100% have opinions on what's good or bad about this... but that's at least how this works. I worked in the medical industry for over a decade, and actually wrote the vast majority of the lab reporting front-end (i.e. the reporting system) for Quest Diagnostics. I also wrote medical billing software for a couple of years, so also intimately familiar with that.
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Originally posted by maryjane:
*For those like Todd, who previously stated that he would not (in reference to social distancing and masks) join in with (his words) "the theatrics" I would omit the word 'innocently'.
NO LIVE$ MATTER!
I'm not going to stoop to your level MJ. But I will reiterate a few things here...
The masks essentially do "nothing." The virus is not airborne, it is transmitted through contact. That means someone who has it licks their fingers, rubs their eyes, picks their nose, goes to the bathroom, doesn't wash their hands, and then touches everything. Subsequently, other people who touch the same surfaces within a given period of time may then rub their eyes, touch their face, or pick their nose, and they contract it.
The sole purpose of the face mask is to block mucous particulates from someone sneezing and coughing. I have done neither in a public setting. Furthermore, as I've stated plenty of times... if a store states I am required to wear a mask upon entering, then I will... because it is that business's right to mandate that I wear one. But I will not wear one outside, and I will respect other's distance and personal space who chooses to.
The more I read about what this thing is doing the more compused I get. For all of the different body systems it attacks it doesn't exactly seem naturally occurring. Back to lab escape conspiracy.
Originally posted by 82-T/A [At Work]: The masks essentially do "nothing." The virus is not airborne, it is transmitted through contact. That means someone who has it licks their fingers, rubs their eyes, picks their nose, goes to the bathroom, doesn't wash their hands, and then touches everything. Subsequently, other people who touch the same surfaces within a given period of time may then rub their eyes, touch their face, or pick their nose, and they contract it.
The sole purpose of the face mask is to block mucous particulates from someone sneezing and coughing. I have done neither in a public setting. Furthermore, as I've stated plenty of times... if a store states I am required to wear a mask upon entering, then I will... because it is that business's right to mandate that I wear one. But I will not wear one outside, and I will respect other's distance and personal space who chooses to.
These are recent findings, worthy of publication in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences or PNAS, and I am unaware of any scientific reports that would contradict these findings.
The 19th century man of letters Ralph Waldo Emerson published the rhyme "The music that can deepest reach, And cure all ill, is cordial speech," but this is 21st century science that renders that poetry Null and Void in the context of the coronavirus.
It's like a Flashing Red Light. (Of course, everywhere you look these days, there's another flashing red light, so I guess that's not so helpful.)
[This message has been edited by rinselberg (edited 06-27-2020).]
Originally posted by maryjane: If you don't know the answers to most of those questions by now, you have either been doing hard time somewhere or freeze dried. But, just in case I'll explain it. The masks the Dr's, Nurses and epidemiologists wear are more often than not, far different (superior) than the cloth masks most of the public wears, as the public's home sewn cloth masks serve only to help keep droplets INSIDE. (that, is very OLD news, but evidently, it bears repeating) Keeping droplets INSIDE helps prevent the spread. You know this already tho, if you've ever once in your life used a handkerchief or Kleenex to sneeze or cough into.
Yes sir, I know what an N 45 rated mask is. A low level rated respirator. I know what a particulate mask is also. I know that all masks are not created equal.
How can you say home sewn cloth masks serve only to help keep droplets INSIDE. Mine has hepa filters. Using an air filter composed of a mat of dense fibers arranged in folds, designed according to federal standards to trap at least 99.97% of airborne particles measuring 0.3 microns in diameter. Do they only keep air born particles inside ?
How many microns is a Covid 19 contagion ? How heavy is it in relation to air particles ? From my mask wearin' days in the oil patch I know H2S gas sinks to ground level. Or lower if it can. H2S work required a self contained breathing apparatus mask. SCBA, not SCUBA, not underwater.
Guys, don't feed the troll. He just wants to argue.
This is a forum... you know, for discussion. What a concept, eh!
Sorry if my opinion happens to be contrary to yours, but that doesn't make it any less relevant.
Counselling others here not to interact with me (someone who's been a member of PFF for 21 years) simply because I don't agree with you, seems rather draconian to say the least.
