outbreak! (ebola, sars, coronavirus, etc)

We have some non-crowded beaches locally that we've been swimming at. Social distancing hasn't been an issue at all. But over the weekend we were chased out of our regular spots by jellyfish, so we decided to try a larger local beach on the Chesapeake. We got there and it was packed to the gills with people. We rolled up there masked anyway, but we did a quick turnaround and left.

It was just like, oh shit I haven't been in a teeming mass of unmasked people in a LONG time.

i think i posted on another thread that there have been no confirmed transmissions at beaches worldwide (which is not true of parks btw). it appears to be very low risk.

it's given me the kick up the arse to do more beach trips - I've probably been more since lockdown started than last summer, excluding actual holiday. miles easier than parks etc imo.

just got tested in nyc; was told that under normal circumstances results can take up to two weeks, but if 'a rush is put on it' it might only take three days

so that's where we are, five months in, in a place that is actually trending decently

(unless you play baseball)

tbf it probably doesn't matter -- i can't really isolate any more than i've already been doing

Beaches and parks and bikepaths have been open here the whole time, and we didn't have a spike in cases until they reopened bars, then they closed the bars, I know science is hard but is this particular part of it actually that hard???

*then they closed the bars and the spike went away

It's been incredibly disappointing how many of the articles on failures in social/physical distancing have been illustrated with photos of sparsely populated beaches. Even if socializing, transmission risks at a beach is probably a small fraction of that at in a crowded bar/restaurant interiors.

Recent anecdotal (not physical) contact with anti-mask people is making me feel the U.S. is truly fucked:

The idea of being an anti-masker and also being extremely invested in your local food co-op is funny to me pic.twitter.com/gEkHwgyoHf

— CHANTS (@ChantsWI) August 3, 2020

From a bandmate:

Some fucking fat redneck loser in Walworth Country with "Obama Lies" stickers on his pickup truck tried to run us into oncoming traffic tonight, because he saw that we were from Madison. "Where's your masks??" he yelled

— Jung Millenial (@whothecanuck) August 3, 2020

Fauci going back and forth on schools reopening is annoying and unhelpful and the amount of conflicting or weird information coming out of the CDC is pissing me off

https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/03/health/us-coronavirus-monday/index.html

"The default position with K-12 schools should be to reopen them, said Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
There are two big reasons schools should go back to in-person learning, Fauci said Monday. Students need the psychological and nutritional benefits of being in school, and parents may have to "dramatically modify their work schedule."
"The primary consideration should always be the safety, the health of the welfare of the children, as well as the teachers and the secondary effects for spreading (to) the parents and other family members," he said.

and yet:

"If Americans want schools to safely reopen and the economy to improve, they must get more serious about personal responsibility, health experts say.
"You have to do more than just wear masks and keep social distancing. You have to minimize your contact with as many people as possible," ACCESS Health's Haseltine said.
"It's not that complicated. But it is hard to do psychologically. It's hard to do sociologically. And it's extremely hard to do for young people."
"And if you do have to work," he said, "you have to assure that the workplace is safe and you can work safely at a distance."

you have to assure that the workplace is safe and you can work safely at a distance.

schools are workplaces. there's no way I can conceive of maintaining safe distancing in classrooms, unless students are divided into several shifts so the number in a classroom at any one time is very limited. this doesn't solve the problem of:

parents may have to "dramatically modify their work schedule."

Especially for parents with multiple children in school, who might each be taught on a different shift. the whole set of guidelines given do not combine into a coherent whole.

yeah this was stupid across the board. sure classrooms and school in theory could be safe. Are they going to be? no. has fauci ever observed a child in a classroom? does he know what school funding is like? does he understand what class sizes are? apparently not.

see, I think it's all perfectly consistent with the message that many levels of government are pushing: schools are safe. the buildings are fine. busses are cool, as long as the windows are open. the systems are in place. failures and outbreaks that stem from schools being opened prematurely are actually the fault of the children and adulst who didn't execute the well-designed public policy plans safely.

my partner and i talk about this basically everyday because we're both reasonably concerned about her going back to work in a charter school and my latest default position is that, as her boss has made it clear it's unlikely she'll be called in for the first month, it seems highly likely this is going to go wrong before september in multiple places across the country and she'll almost certainly end up doing remote teaching in any case. so now we just need to make sure she holds on to the "let's give it a month" line with her boss.

Mandatory masking appears to be having a positive effect locally, which I’m sure means it will be allowed to lapse in six weeks and we can start all over again.

*grits teeth* texas

Wow.

Read this obituary for David Nagy. They (rightfully) went there. pic.twitter.com/WU2x9qL3oc

— 💙 Koko 🥁 💙 (@Kokomothegreat) August 3, 2020

I wish there were more of these.

uk has had below the average number of deaths for this time of year for a while now, they were saying on the news. i'm guessing this is because a lot of the people that would be dying around now are already dead.

BREAKING: NYC’s health commissioner resigned after clashing with Mayor de Blasio over his handling of the coronavirus outbreak.https://t.co/nHuxFzJfoX

— Cliff Levy (@cliffordlevy) August 4, 2020

Finally got a big study on nicotine replacement therapy/past smoking and Covid19.

smoking’s bad for you

Huge if true

I'm used to bristling at "They hate America!" but honestly I'm gettin there

This is the first day of school in Paulding County, Georgia. pic.twitter.com/fzdidaAABM

— 🇯🇲Black🇭🇹Aziz🇳🇬aNANsi🇹🇹 (@Freeyourmindkid) August 4, 2020

beside the point, but why are kids starting school on august 4?

In the American calendar it's April

i think some school districts wanted to move their calendars up to buy them time in the case of shutdowns, its dumb bc they should be shut down rn

I feel like my son's school will handle this better, but seeing stuff like this is pretty stressful.

one of my friends has heart issues and other regular health issues and has to go back to school. very worried for her.

a few of them had the VID already, guess we're about to find out how long-term antibodies work.

today was a really gloomy day for news and wondering what's going to be left after this is 'over'. if it's ever 'over'.

yeah, if

that thought process is such a dank rabbit hole but.....

I mean obv at some point we will be through this but this whole thing has impaired my ability to imagine life eveb a year or two from now

even

me too. i have to frequently stop myself from pondering it too much.

Economic collapse, serfdom, food riots

http://thumbnails.cbsig.net/CBS_Production_Entertainment_VMS/2013/04/06/24962627854/CBS_STAR_TREK_DS9_457_IMAGE_1368459_640x360.jpg

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/coronavirus-georgia-second-grader-covid-19-positive-test/

obviously the students got it before school started, but who knows how many people they spread it to.

so one day into class, you're now into a 2 week quarantine. how did that help your in person learning at all?

MARCH COMMERCIAL: during these uncertain times, we’re thinking of you and your family

AUGUST COMMERCIAL: look you might as well catch it at burger king

— Ben Rosen (@ben_rosen) August 5, 2020

refusing to require a mask (like in Georgia) is a particularly bad idea with high schoolers. it's a bad idea in general, to rely on every individual to make the obvious and correct choice to wear a mark. but it's really bad with students because they're even more susceptible to peer pressure and the perception of being cool than anyone else. if it's cool to not wear a mask, no one's going to wear a mask

I'm not sure I agree with that. If you make it a rule, and specify harsh enough consequences, students will do it. There are already dress codes - which of course are sometimes broken, but the consequences are usually mild, and the transgressions can be subjective. But nobody comes into school wearing a motorcycle helmet in class. If they do, they get told off and sent to the principal's office if they won't take it off.

Oh duh - that's what you're saying :)

The problem is that some non-trivial percentage of the kids' parents are probably mask truthers and telling their kids that they shouldn't wear them.

Well they can get with the fucking program.

these parents should be used as windshield wipers on sport utility vehicles

the old problem with democracy: relying on people to come to the obvious conclusion doesn't work

Public castration is a good idea

-Propagandhi

Lmao