SARS-CoV-2 Coronavirus (COVID-19)

All the way back in April, the Department of Health and Human Services and the US Postal Service were planning on sending five masks to every American:
Read the scrapped USPS announcement to send 5 masks to every American household - The Washington Post

The plan was scrapped by the White House.

 

Japan did that to every household in the country. Abenomask, as it was called, was not received very well by most constituency.
From Abenomics to Abenomask: Japan Mask Plan Meets With Derision - Bloomberg

 

Well, major lock downs and border closures seem to have work over here in Australia. The second wave was far more serious than the first wave and that can be put down to complacency, too many thought the worst of it was passed and it then spread like wild fire. Worse in some states than others but might be due to the ethic based population that are into the hugs and kisses with large family gatherings and sharing plates of food set out on large tables etc ...... The whole Thanks Giving and Christmas/New Yr thing will be a time when super spreading will occur if everyone isn't super careful.
European countries are into their third wave, so forget about herd immunity, even if a proven vaccine was discovered tomorrow, by the time it reaches the mass population the damage to the population as a whole will be substantial, both health wise and financially.
The question needs to be asked, who can afford to finance a whole of population immunisation scheme? It's fine to print money ... until the value starts to collapse, then all the money loses value, not just the last lot printed. The big pharmaceutical companies will want to recover their outlay and make a $$, what unit of value will be used if the USD is printed into the Italian Lira value levels ......

T1 Terry

 

Canada’s had its Thanksgiving — and now has a COVID-19 spike

Whatever Canada can do, we can do bigger. Especially if it isn't beneficial.

Our own Thanksgiving is coming up in four weeks. And we are starting with a much higher rate of people primed to be spreaders.

 

our thanksgiving plans are in my avatar. 3 people from ny, and 7 local.
i don't know how long we'll last, depending on the weather.

two years ago, it was 20f with a wind chill of 10.

 

Copied from an Australian VW forum

"Just 11% of The population with a positive Covid result in the UK today, actually DO isolate for 14 days, as requested.

Consider that Victoria reached the 700+ daily positive cases at the same time the UK did, before their second wave kicked in.

And now, the UK has 20,000 new cases per day, by doing stuff all, as it was their summer holidays.


Well done Victoria on the impressive results from what some describe as “draconian” ( but proven effective) actions. "
Victorian was the state that suffered the biggest second wave outbreak, particularly in the capital city Melbourne. They went into a full lock down and only started to lift restrictions as the number of new cases dropped below a 14 day average. Each milestone meant a further relaxation of the harsh lockdown and it really only lifted when the 14 day average dropped below 5 ..... there are still restrictions in place and lock downs apply to any establishment or area that records a new infection ......

T1 Terry

 

When a pandemic becomes endemic, our responses may change.

Will SARS-CoV-2 become endemic? | Science

The key point is:

"How we deal with Covid-19 once it becomes endemic will depend on how good our vaccines and treatments are. If they can protect people from the most severe outcomes, the infection will become manageable. Covid-19 will then be like several other diseases that we have learned to live with and many people will experience during their lives."
Covid-19 will probably become endemic. Here's what that means | Human World | EarthSky
​

Let's hope for the quick development of effective vaccines and treatments.

 

Realistically, logically and historically this will be the most likely outcome. Historically we have only been able to eradicate one viral infection - smallpox.

I have an uncomfortable feeling that a generation will have to pass before the PTSD of living through this subsides; and we start live and behave ‘normally’ like we did/do with other endemic conditions like hepatitis or norovirus.

Those countries in the Far East that lived through the first SARS outbreak were more primed to react and act effectively because of the scars they bore from that experience.

I suspect, like what happened to air travel after 9/11, that some aspects of our activities of daily living may never be the same again.

 

Source: https://ipsr.ku.edu/covid19/images/MaskMandateUpdate.pdf

On July 3rd, the Governor implemented a mask mandate for the state of Kansas. Counties could opt-out of the mandate. Some cities imposed a mandate but the surrounding county did not.​

• Counties with a mask mandate saw a decrease starting 14 days after the mandate
• New spikes afterwards despite mandate
• Mask counties held cases flat
• No-Mask counties steadily increasing

Absence other medical practices, a mask and social distancing appear to be close to as effective as a vaccine. China has shown it works.

Bob Wilson

 

someone is going to invent a comfortable, washable, all day wearing, well fitting, 99.9999 virus free mask

 

Probably the Chinese already have . . .

To be fair, they also did need a very effective lock-down first before masking and distancing could keep things under control.

 

Masks have gotten so cheap nowdays that I bring a couple to work and change it out at noon. The next day I bring two new ones, and alternate so I don't need to wash them every day.

It seems like you don't need 99.9999 virus free. You just need to reduce the viral load your body is exposed to.

 

https://medium.com/@umairh/how-the-west-got-covid-so-wrong-766772322a3b

 

England heads back into lockdown . . .

England to Shut Pubs, Restaurants and Most Shops as Virus Surges - The New York Times

 

This is bad: Denmark tightens lockdown in north over mink Covid outbreak | World news | The Guardian

An outbreak among farmed mink of a mutant form of Covid-19 with the potential to be resistant to future vaccines has led to the Danish government bringing in tougher lockdown measures in parts of the country.

The measures were announced following the discovery of a new strain of the disease in animals bred for fur in the country’s northern regions.

Twelve people in the Jutland region have been diagnosed with infection with the new strain, and municipalities in northern Denmark will impose restrictions on residents’ movements between regions.
. . .​

A virus that switches species easily is a real challenge. Fortunately, masks and social distancing works.

Bob Wilson

 

kill all the minks, and lawyers that wear them

 

Over here, as election news slowed down enough to have some gaps, covid-19 was one of the primary gap fillers.

So certain political voices were right -- on November 4, is was completely gone from the news I was seeing. Vanished. But that absence was brief, and by Nov 6, it was reappearing.