outbreak! (ebola, sars, coronavirus, etc)

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

Can anyone explain to me why (1) at this late date, it can STILL take 7-10 days for a covid result (2) what the fuck is even the point of a COVID test that takes 7-10 days to come back and (3) why is there no consistency from place to place in terms of how long the test takes?

I wish I could explain that, I think the only explanation I can give is... because, America. But I don't mean that to be flip and dismissive of your concerns.

"the free market" seems like another plausible explanation

But I think that while everyone saw the cracks in their particular area, few people saw all the pieces--or weighted them correctly. Which is why we had pre-pandemic indices that assessed the US as the most prepared of all nations. 3/

(From March: https://t.co/woc4dxfi9r) pic.twitter.com/rMUFLhD9hp

— Ed Yong (@edyong209) August 6, 2020

Could the various testing sites just be overwhelmed? It's a different test, but when my wife got her antibody test a month or so ago it took only a couple of days max to get the result. That same test from the same clinic apparently now takes a couple of weeks. Then again, my daughter got an antibody test a couple of weeks ago during her annual checkup, and she got her result back in just a couple of days as well, so I don't know.

I mean, it seems that way, but it also seems like there is this ever-shifting of who is and isn't overwhelmed, like I'll follow message board or facebook discussions about testing locally and one person will say "I got the test at [urgent care center] three weeks ago and results came in a day" and then someone else will say "I was there two days ago and they told me two weeks." It just becomes impossible to even know where to get quick results. It's almost as though we could benefit from some kind of, like, coordination or something.

https://media.vanityfair.com/photos/5f2300a9ad09aa418d20422d/master/w_2560%2Cc_limit/jared-kushner-covid-testing-problems.png

iirc There are two types of tests, the brain swab and a faster one. The brain swab they have to send to a lab, right? Maybe that accounts for the discrepancy, it depends which test you are given and where?

I've taken tests at different facilities.

the local convention center, the first time it took them 4 days to get me a result, the second time, it took two. and it was the nasal swab!

the other locations......good god. First time took 5 days, ok fine. last time, almost two weeks went by, and I couldn't find any record of my test online, and I kept forgetting to call, so I forgot about it.

I get a call last week telling me they have my results, which...at the time, I was confused, as the only test I'd taken recently was two days earlier, far too soon (I thought) to have them. so she asks me for my DOB, and then asks me the date of the test, saying that i have to get it right per their security.

I was like "I've taken multiple tests in the last month, and none in the last few weeks, and many of the different locations use the same people to make the outbound calls, so I am REALLY not sure.". But I wound up guessing it....it was a test from two weeks prior!

and....I went online, and found the test, and apparently they had been sitting on the result for the last week, and just hadn't updated the site or called me.

an hour later, someone called me from the same place to give me the results. the next Monday, they called twice to give me the same results. same on Tuesday. Same on Wednesday. same on today. . I haven't been able to answer as I've been leading class from like 8:30 - 6:00 ET, meaning htey're closed when I finish, but tomorrow, since I don't have one, I'm going to tell them "you've called to tell me this ten times already!"

also amused that the website where we can look up our COVID results asks for the date of the test, but the "year" field lets you choose years prior to 2019 going all the way back to 1900.

"yeah, the good ole COVID test of 1977"

I got the brain tickle at a cvs and it’s two weeks now. My girlfriend got her results in three days (not from a CVS but from a County Government health clinic).

from now on I'm only doing the gov't, state-run one at the convention center. it's mega fast and convenient.

also who do I see about relearning geometry after the last test

hmmm, how can we take a take a state where no one lives, and the ones that do live far apart from each other, and create a self-inflicted covid19 crisis?

i know!

The federal government criticized Maryland for what it called a “failure” to implement mandatory inspections related to the pandemic at its 227 nursing homes, where nearly 5,000 residents have tested positive for the virus and 1,133 have died.

In a letter to Gov. Larry Hogan (R), the Trump administration said all but three states in the country had met the federal deadline of sending inspectors to check for infection-control violations at all licensed skilled nursing facilities by July 1.

Not only did Maryland miss the deadline, the letter said, it “ranks last and far behind the other States” having inspected only 55 percent of its nursing homes by the end of July.

Read more here.

By Rebecca Tan
5:29 p.m.
‘We cannot stop people’: 250,000 are expected at a South Dakota motorcycle rally
Heavy traffic on legendary Main Street in Sturgis, S.D., on Aug. 2, 2019. The area, which has seen an uptick in coronavirus infections in recent weeks, is bracing to host hundreds of thousands of bikers for the 80th edition of the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. More than 250,000 people are expected to attend the Aug. 7-16 event. (Jim Holland/Rapid City Journal via AP)
Heavy traffic on legendary Main Street in Sturgis, S.D., on Aug. 2, 2019. The area, which has seen an uptick in coronavirus infections in recent weeks, is bracing to host hundreds of thousands of bikers for the 80th edition of the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. More than 250,000 people are expected to attend the Aug. 7-16 event. (Jim Holland/Rapid City Journal via AP)
Coronavirus deaths have risen. Health officials are still warning against even small gatherings. States with relatively low spread are ordering visitors from hotspots to self-quarantine.

But come Friday, about 250,000 people from around the country are still expected to start descending on a roughly 7,000-person community in South Dakota for one of the biggest motorcycle rallies in the world, a tradition so deeply rooted that Sturgis calls itself “the City of Riders.”

The mayor of Sturgis says there’s not much to do but encourage “personal responsibility,” set up sanitation stations and give out masks — though face coverings won’t be required.

“We cannot stop people from coming,” Mayor Mark Carstensen said Thursday on CNN.

Worried residents, however, say officials should have canceled the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in a state where Republican Gov. Kristi L. Noem resisted stay-at-home orders and mask rules. A city survey found that more than 60 percent of Sturgis residents wanted the event postponed, the Associated Press reported.

“This is a huge, foolish mistake,” Sturgis resident Linda Chaplin chastised city counselors last month, according to the AP. “The government of Sturgis needs to care most for its citizens.”

“My grandma is absolutely terrified because she has diabetes and is in her 80s and has lupus,” another resident told CNN. “If she gets it, it’s a death sentence.”

But the 10-day event in South Dakota’s Black Hills is hugely important to the local economy, bringing in $1.3 million in city and state tax revenue alone last year, according to the Argus Leader. Officials decided that the event would go on.

copy and paste grade: D-

sorry. this is the part i meant to highlight:

Coronavirus deaths have risen. Health officials are still warning against even small gatherings. States with relatively low spread are ordering visitors from hotspots to self-quarantine.

But come Friday, about 250,000 people from around the country are still expected to start descending on a roughly 7,000-person community in South Dakota for one of the biggest motorcycle rallies in the world, a tradition so deeply rooted that Sturgis calls itself “the City of Riders.”

The mayor of Sturgis says there’s not much to do but encourage “personal responsibility,” set up sanitation stations and give out masks — though face coverings won’t be required.

“We cannot stop people from coming,” Mayor Mark Carstensen said Thursday on CNN.

Worried residents, however, say officials should have canceled the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in a state where Republican Gov. Kristi L. Noem resisted stay-at-home orders and mask rules. A city survey found that more than 60 percent of Sturgis residents wanted the event postponed, the Associated Press reported.

“This is a huge, foolish mistake,” Sturgis resident Linda Chaplin chastised city counselors last month, according to the AP. “The government of Sturgis needs to care most for its citizens.”

“My grandma is absolutely terrified because she has diabetes and is in her 80s and has lupus,” another resident told CNN. “If she gets it, it’s a death sentence.”

But the 10-day event in South Dakota’s Black Hills is hugely important to the local economy, bringing in $1.3 million in city and state tax revenue alone last year, according to the Argus Leader. Officials decided that the event would go on.

baal must be appeased

It's lovely to finally have concrete evidence that so many human beings have the self-control and penchant for self-preservation of a golden retriever that's happened upon an unguarded chocolate cake.

fucking PIECE OF SHIT

https://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/20200807/health-directors-told-to-keep-quiet-as-fla-leaders-pressed-to-reopen-classrooms

so is that nasal swab as painful as it looks

kind of unpleasant, not really painful, over quickly

it's fine

I haven't gotten the test myself, but I have heard from reliable friends and family that it was one of the most uncomfortable experiences they've had. So I guess ymmv. Maybe it depends on the person administering?

and how many uncomfortable nostril-related experiences you've had

it's really not bad folks if you are in a position to get a test that will give u results in a reasonable time just do it

it's not bad enough that it will dissuade me from doing it, no, but it's definitely mega-uncomfortable and leaves my nose feeling messed up for an hour or two after (not painful, just, discomfort).

but it's not like...OMG I CAN'T DO IT AGAIN, I JUST CAN'T, naw. I've done it 6 times now.

I've gotten the regular flu test and that was surprisingly uncomfortable, though in my defense I had no idea that was getting jammed all the way up the nose

amusingly that was back in February when my wife and I mysteriously got sick

that article you just posted is so sad

my state is fuckin' sad.

god why couldn't we have elected Gillum.

Um, how are things in the state of Gillum?

NY schools authorized to open

Every region is well below our COVID infection limit, therefore all school districts are authorized to open.

If the infection rate spikes, the guidance will change accordingly.

School districts are required to submit plans to NYS for review.

— Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) August 7, 2020

Every region is well below our COVID infection limit, therefore we will do everything in our power to ensure that every region exceeds their COVID infection limit as soon as humanly possible.

Y'know, I'll be the first to admit I was a schmuck if my doomsaying is all for naught, but atm I can't help but ask: HOW DO PEOPLE LOOK DIRECTLY AT AN OBVIOUS AND IMPENDING DISASTER AND FAIL TO SEE IT FOR WHAT IT IS

I’m with you

Sorry, not just fail to see it for what it is but, like, almost eagerly rush towards it.

yeah that shit is so mindblowingly dumb

like even here in Wisconsin (where our governor has actually been pretty good about this) there was still a lot of talk about how "if the cases drop for 14 days then we'll reopen" and it seems to me you're just saying "let's open things up when we get to the number of cases we had right before this thing exploded and we had to close everything down"

Got negative test results after waiting 16 days!

congrats i think

guys there is a real problem with kids staying at home for months and i get what you’re saying but we can’t just wait until there’s a vaccine to send kids back to school

would be cool if we thought of that before we decided that we had to reopen the bars because cases went down 10% one day

We could perhaps hold off in person classes a little while longer until clusters are contained, though.

Or actually mandate distance/masks.

Otherwise, the kids are going to be infected and then they're back home for two weeks anyway, only now with COVID.

Which actually has happened already in GA, apparently

Or, worse, the parents will tell their kid to hide that they have COVID, which will mean mass spread now with hundreds of kids home.

I agree we can't just wait for a vaccine because that could be 4 months (or longer, or never), but the solution shouldn't be stubbornly rushing headfirst into the flames, as FL and GA are.

that's the shit that worries me, if I was 15 I'd be terrified of being known as the kid who got sick and ruined everything

Other than vaccine or zero cases, what's the standard for anything opening, then?