Novel Coronavirus COVID-19 (nCoV-2019)

[SunriseChampion]

Corona is old news.


Me and friends having a backyard drinking session Saturday 5 8 girls and guys.

58?!

I used to have that many friends....then we all turnt 30 and everyone vanished into some sort of existential crisis involving moving across the world or into family trap.

That's some jam though. I'm here with my one mate, drinking in the carpark on Fridays. ?

 

[TrickyRicky]

I love how the mood is also now all about how this is finally over. a) It's not over at all in Toronto b) Government and organizations in Ontario are making glacially slow progress to establish guidelines and institute systems of suppressive levels of monitoring and containment that make common and scientific sense. It's still all ad hoc and we'll see-as-we go and we're doing great pat-on-the-back.

In other words we will be more prepared for a potential second wave than this first wave but not amazingly more. A second wave would look different than the first in some good and some bad ways. The good ways is that I'm not sure the modeling differentiates people as actors with differing risk profiles. People are not just people. A second wave would have a hard time for instance devastating an LTC or institutional setting that was already devastated this spring. People at higher risk are more likely to have already been exposed even if the general population is still fresh kindling for the virus.

On the other hand the government will likely not have your back financially to the same extent if we go back into lockdown. That means it would be prudent for us personally to spend the summer relaxing mentally but at the same time preparing ourselves. It may never materialize but if it does you have about 3 months to prepare. I'm stress tested to operate personally and organizationally with zero income for the next 12 months. You might think that's crazy conservative but 3 months at zero income including zero access to financing or loans I think is just prudent. A second wave would probably be characterized by more people having to make tougher financial versus health risk calculations. That would lead to greater infection rates although likely with a lower overall death rate.

 

[Videodrome]

Well, daycare facilities can open up again, but the one my wife works at isn't rushing things. They would wait at least a week to do it.

Toronto councillor Michael Ford tests positive for COVID-19

Toronto City Councillor and Premier Doug Ford’s nephew Michael Ford says he has tested positive for COVID-19. Ford released a statement saying he was informed of his positive test result on Tuesday morning. He is currently the Ward 1 councillor for Etobicoke North. “This morning I was made aware...

toronto.citynews.ca

Oh my...

 

[AlbertC]

Lawsuits allege Princess Cruises knew of coronavirus cases prior to sailing

Jun 9 2020

Two new lawsuits against Princess Cruises have recently surfaced accusing the organization of not instilling the necessary precautionary measures to ensure the health and safety of passengers aboard two of its vessels.

These sailings both received significant media attention when news broke of outbreaks of COVID-19 cases onboard.

The suits assert that Princess Cruises did not instill appropriate health screening procedures during the embarkation process for the Grand Princess and Ruby Princess ships. They also allege that the company did not react swiftly enough to institute mandatory isolation orders for those infected once the first cases of the virus had been discovered.

Lawsuits allege Princess Cruises knew of coronavirus cases prior to sailing | Mapped

Princess Cruises is facing two lawsuits alleging its inadequate actions regarding the company's handling of the coronavirus pandemic on board its vessels.

dailyhive.com

 

[AlbertC]

COVID-19 cases are on the rise among young adults, but health experts aren’t sure why

JUNE 9, 2020

People in their 20s are helping to drive transmission of COVID-19 in many Ontario hot spots, but public-health experts say it’s unclear where they are getting infected, which could hamper efforts to contain further spread.

The issue is taking on increasing urgency as the Greater Toronto Area, Hamilton, Windsor and other populous parts of the province cannot move to the next stage of reopening their economies until they reduce their numbers of new cases.

For example, Toronto still has an average of 140 new cases a day.

In recent weeks, the number of people in their 20s testing positive for COVID-19 in areas such as Toronto and Hamilton has risen compared with older age groups.

In Hamilton as of June 8, people in their 20s accounted for 40 per cent of all new COVID-19 cases reported in the previous 10 days. Over the same time period, people in their 50s accounted for 17.5 per cent of cases, while people in their 70s accounted for 5 per cent of cases. City officials are planning a social-media campaign to target young people about the risks of COVID-19.

COVID-19 cases are on the rise among young adults, but health experts aren’t sure why

In Hamilton as of June 8, people in their 20s accounted for 40 per cent of all new COVID-19 cases reported in the previous 10 days

www.theglobeandmail.com

 

[Jasmine18]

So the WHO backtracked on saying people with symptoms are not spreading virus.


WHO is getting picked on a bit but its done it self no favours.

 

[W. K. Lis]

COVID-19 cases are on the rise among young adults, but health experts aren’t sure why

JUNE 9, 2020

People in their 20s are helping to drive transmission of COVID-19 in many Ontario hot spots, but public-health experts say it’s unclear where they are getting infected, which could hamper efforts to contain further spread.

The issue is taking on increasing urgency as the Greater Toronto Area, Hamilton, Windsor and other populous parts of the province cannot move to the next stage of reopening their economies until they reduce their numbers of new cases.

For example, Toronto still has an average of 140 new cases a day.

In recent weeks, the number of people in their 20s testing positive for COVID-19 in areas such as Toronto and Hamilton has risen compared with older age groups.

In Hamilton as of June 8, people in their 20s accounted for 40 per cent of all new COVID-19 cases reported in the previous 10 days. Over the same time period, people in their 50s accounted for 17.5 per cent of cases, while people in their 70s accounted for 5 per cent of cases. City officials are planning a social-media campaign to target young people about the risks of COVID-19.

COVID-19 cases are on the rise among young adults, but health experts aren’t sure why

In Hamilton as of June 8, people in their 20s accounted for 40 per cent of all new COVID-19 cases reported in the previous 10 days

www.theglobeandmail.com

Michael Ford, Premier's nephew and Toronto Councillor, is 26 years old. He tested positive for COVID-19.
See link.

 

[Jasmine18]

Oddly enough Ford's Personal Popularity is boosting the Tories after polls showed for a few months Lib and Tory Tie which based on the situation on the ground made no sense to me.

Be honest the Ontario polling has been so wildly different its odd.


Based on Poll Ford remain not very popular in the 416 but in the 905 he captures nearly 50% of the vote.

The rising popularity of Doug Ford - Macleans.ca

Philippe J. Fournier: A new Mainstreet/338Canada poll shows the Ontario premier enjoying a surprising mid-mandate surge in support

www.macleans.ca

 

[W. K. Lis]

More than half of people tested in Italy's coronavirus epicentre of Bergamo have antibodies

From link.

More than half of people in the epicentre of Italy’s outbreak have been infected with coronavirus and the region has the highest rate of antibodies yet discovered, a study by health authorities has found.

The city of Bergamo and its surrounding province were hit hard by the virus, which was first detected in Italy in late February but is believed to have been present in January or even earlier.

Blood tests carried out on more than 20,000 people in Bergamo and the surrounding area between April 23 and June 3 revealed that 57 per cent of people had antibodies indicating they had come into contact with Covid-19. Among medical staff, the proportion was 30 per cent.

The study suggests that the area may be approaching herd immunity levels – experts suggest the threshold for achieving herd immunity against coronavirus may be around 60-65 per cent.

The idea of herd immunity is that if a certain percentage of the population is immune to an infectious disease, the disease will stop spreading.

Testing has shown that around 17 per cent of London’s population now has Covid-19 antibodies, while the figure for the rest of the country is 5 per cent.

In New York City, around 25 per cent of the population has tested positive for coronavirus antibodies.

Blood testing in Spain revealed that 5 per cent of the overall population has antibodies, with the figure rising to 7 per cent in Barcelona and 11 per cent in Madrid. In Stockholm, around 7 per cent of people have developed antibodies to Covid-19.

Several studies suggest that people who have been infected with Covid-19 gain some degree of immunity, although it is not clear for how long.

Bergamo is in the northern region of Lombardy, where more than 16,000 people have lost their lives to the virus – nearly half Italy’s total of 34,000 fatalities.

Italy has recorded 235,000 infections, of which 35,000 people are still infected.

Bergamo became a chilling symbol of Italy’s battle against the virus when a convoy of army trucks had to be drafted in to remove more than 60 coffins full of bodies from the city’s overwhelmed cemetery.

In a report last month, Italy’s national statistics agency said the number of overall deaths in Bergamo had jumped by 568 per cent in March, compared with previous years.

That made it by far the worst affected part of Italy.

Population density and atmospheric pollution have been posited for the high number of infections and deaths in Lombardy.

There are other factors – the region is renowned for its manufacturing, with many businesses having commercial links with China, where the virus originated.

Despite Italy declaring a strict national lockdown in early March, many people in the industrious region continued to go to work, with mobile phone data suggesting up to 40 per cent of people were out and about.

Lombardy is still discovering hundreds of new cases a week, but the aggressive nature of the virus may be diminishing, experts said.

“Something has happened in terms of the aggressiveness of the virus,” said Sergio Harari, an expert in pneumology from San Giuseppe Hospital in Milan. “We don’t know whether it’s something in the viral load or whether it’s a mutation.”

While Lombardy and other northern regions emerge slowly from the emergency, several of Italy’s 20 regions are recording no new cases, including Sardinia, Umbria, Valle d’Aosta, Molise, Abruzzo, Calabria and Basilicata.

Italy has begun rolling out a contact-tracing app called Immuni that people can download to their mobile phones.

The app enables users to find out whether they have come into contact with someone infected with Covid-19.

If they have, they would undergo tests and self-quarantine to stop the spread of the virus.

Testing of the app has started in four regions – Puglia, Abruzzo, Liguria and Marche – and has been downloaded two million times.

"The more people download the app, the more chance there is of them being notified if they come into contact with a positive case," said Paola Pisano, the minister for innovation.

 

[Jasmine18]

wait 16,000 deaths in a region of 123k people ?

 

[W. K. Lis]

wait 16,000 deaths in a region of 123k people ?

Think they meant "Province of Bergamo", with a population of 1.112 million (2017). Still a lot.

 

[AlbertC]

19 states see rising coronavirus cases and Arizona is asking its hospitals to activate emergency plans

Wed June 10, 2020

Health experts have long warned about a second peak in Covid-19, and now a rise in cases has pushed Arizona to tell its hospitals to activate emergency plans.

Arizona is one of the 19 states with the trend of new coronavirus cases still increasing. While 24 are trending downward, seven states' trends are holding steady. Nationally more than 1.9 million people have been infected by the virus and more than 112,000 have died, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

At its peak, Arizona's intensive care unit beds were 78% in use. As of Monday, 76% were occupied. Arizona's Director of Health Services Dr. Cara Christ asked that hospitals "be judicious" in elective surgeries to ensure bed capacity.

12 states see rising Covid-19 hospitalizations as Arizona asks hospitals to activate emergency plans

Health experts have long warned about a second peak in Covid-19, and now a rise in cases has pushed Arizona to tell its hospitals to activate emergency plans.

www.cnn.com

 

[AlbertC]

Brampton lays record number of bylaw charges as COVID-19 cases persist

Wednesday, June 10, 2020

Brampton laid a record number of bylaw charges last week against backyard partiers, parking lot loiterers and a hair salon that flouted the rules, as the local medical officer of health warns it is becoming the epicentre of new COVID-19 infections in the region.

“COVID-19 has started to decline from new plateau in our seven day moving average of 40 to 50 new cases per day,” Interim Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Lawrence Loh said Wednesday. “But since early June it is also clear that most new cases in Region of Peel are from The City of Brampton.”

Using last week’s average, it appears Brampton generated between a sixth to an eighth of all known novel coronavirus infections each day last week, despite being only one twentieth of Ontario’s total population.

Brampton lays record number of bylaw charges as COVID-19 cases persist

Brampton laid a record number of bylaw charges last week against backyard partiers, parking lot loiterers and a hair salon that flouted the rules, as the local medical officer of health warns it is becoming the epicentre of new COVID-19 infections in the region.

www.cp24.com

 

[Jasmine18]

that is more from strict enforcement then people are dumb in Brampton though

 

[WislaHD]

I love how the mood is also now all about how this is finally over. a) It's not over at all in Toronto b) Government and organizations in Ontario are making glacially slow progress to establish guidelines and institute systems of suppressive levels of monitoring and containment that make common and scientific sense. It's still all ad hoc and we'll see-as-we go and we're doing great pat-on-the-back.

In other words we will be more prepared for a potential second wave than this first wave but not amazingly more. A second wave would look different than the first in some good and some bad ways. The good ways is that I'm not sure the modeling differentiates people as actors with differing risk profiles. People are not just people. A second wave would have a hard time for instance devastating an LTC or institutional setting that was already devastated this spring. People at higher risk are more likely to have already been exposed even if the general population is still fresh kindling for the virus.

On the other hand the government will likely not have your back financially to the same extent if we go back into lockdown. That means it would be prudent for us personally to spend the summer relaxing mentally but at the same time preparing ourselves. It may never materialize but if it does you have about 3 months to prepare. I'm stress tested to operate personally and organizationally with zero income for the next 12 months. You might think that's crazy conservative but 3 months at zero income including zero access to financing or loans I think is just prudent. A second wave would probably be characterized by more people having to make tougher financial versus health risk calculations. That would lead to greater infection rates although likely with a lower overall death rate.

The news cycle has moved on from Coronavirus. The media is all-powerful.

I've lost the faith and confidence that our society has any ability to lockdown again for a second wave. The electorate would simply tell our political leaders to screw off. This is a democracy after all.