"spiking" according to ... ? Governor? Health department? Official or 
semi-official (or media) analyst? And how isolated is the spike?

davew


On Thu, Jun 11, 2020, at 1:56 PM, Frank Wimberly wrote:
> Arizona and Texas are "spiking" as of today. We're surrounded.
> 
> ---
> Frank C. Wimberly
> 140 Calle Ojo Feliz, 
> Santa Fe, NM 87505
> 
> 505 670-9918
> Santa Fe, NM
> 
> On Thu, Jun 11, 2020, 1:45 PM Prof David West <[email protected]> wrote:
>> __
>> I was going to make a separate post this morning claiming that my June 15th 
>> prediction had been realized. The 'straw' was 19 Governor's of states with 
>> rising rates, stated that restrictions would continue to be lifted on 
>> schedule and the rise in rates could be handled. All said there would be no 
>> return to lock down.Utah is the only state that delayed, by two weeks and 
>> for the Salt Lake City area, complete lifting of restrictions. The word 
>> "spike" is seldom seen in headlines — replaced with "rise."
>> 
>> Poker rooms are opening, even in CA, with 5-6 person tables instead of 9-10
>> 
>> Travel is not mentioned in the missive Nick included because people are 
>> simply traveling. The highways in southern Utah and the parks is typical 
>> summer volume already. RV parks are full. Campgrounds are full. Greyhound 
>> and FlixBus are reopening.
>> 
>> Carnival operators in Holland blocked a major highway today demanding, and 
>> evidently getting, permission to open for the summer traveling season. (talk 
>> about a vector!)
>> 
>> davew
>> 
>> 
>> On Thu, Jun 11, 2020, at 11:35 AM, [email protected] wrote:
>>> I wonder what The Congregation, including the Diaspora, thought about this. 
>>> Nothing very dramatic, here, but that’s just the point. Nothing on travel. 

>>> 

>>> From Dr. James Stein, Professor of Cardiovascular Research at the 
>>> University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health…

>>>  COVID-19 update as we start to leave our cocoons. The purpose of this post 
>>> is to provide a perspective on the intense but expected anxiety so many 
>>> people are experiencing as they prepare to leave the shelter of their 
>>> homes. My opinions are not those of my employers and are not meant to 
>>> invalidate anyone else’s – they simply are my perspective on managing risk.

>>>  In March, we did not know much about COVID-19 other than the incredibly 
>>> scary news reports from overrun hospitals in China, Italy, and other parts 
>>> of Europe. The media was filled with scary pictures of chest CT scans, 
>>> personal stories of people who decompensated quickly with shortness of 
>>> breath, overwhelmed health care systems, and deaths. We heard confusing and 
>>> widely varying estimates for risk of getting infected and of dying – some 
>>> estimates were quite high. 

>>> Key point #1: The COVID-19 we are facing now is the same disease it was 2 
>>> months ago. The “shelter at home” orders were the right step from a public 
>>> health standpoint to make sure we flattened the curve and didn’t overrun 
>>> the health care system which would have led to excess preventable deaths. 
>>> It also bought us time to learn about the disease’s dynamics, preventive 
>>> measures, and best treatment strategies – and we did. For hospitalized 
>>> patients, we have learned to avoid early intubation, to use prone 
>>> ventilation, and that remdesivir probably reduces time to recovery. We have 
>>> learned how to best use and preserve PPE. We also know that several 
>>> therapies suggested early on probably don’t do much and may even cause harm 
>>> (ie, azithromycin, chloroquine, hydroxychloroquine, lopinavir/ritonavir). 
>>> But all of our social distancing did not change the disease. Take home: We 
>>> flattened the curve and with it our economy and psyches, but the disease 
>>> itself is still here. 

>>> Key point #2: COVID-19 is more deadly than seasonal influenza (about 5-10x 
>>> so), but not nearly as deadly as Ebola, Rabies, or Marburg Hemorrhagic 
>>> Fever where 25-90% of people who get infected die. COVID-19’s case fatality 
>>> rate is about 0.8-1.5% overall, but much higher if you are 60-69 years old 
>>> (3-4%), 70-79 years old (7-9%), and especially so if you are over 80 years 
>>> old (CFR 13-17%). It is much lower if you are under 50 years old (<0.6%). 
>>> The infection fatality rate is about half of these numbers. Take home: 
>>> COVID-19 is dangerous, but the vast majority of people who get it, survive 
>>> it. About 15% of people get very ill and could stay ill for a long time. We 
>>> are going to be dealing with it for a long time.

>>>  Key point #3: SARS-CoV-2 is very contagious, but not as contagious as 
>>> Measles, Mumps, or even certain strains of pandemic Influenza. It is spread 
>>> by respiratory droplets and aerosols, not food and incidental contact. Take 
>>> home: social distancing, not touching our faces, and good hand hygiene are 
>>> the key weapons to stop the spread. Masks could make a difference, too, 
>>> especially in public places where people congregate. Incidental contact is 
>>> not really an issue, nor is food.

>>>  What does this all mean as we return to work and public life? COVID-19 is 
>>> not going away anytime soon. It may not go away for a year or two and may 
>>> not be eradicated for many years, so we have to learn to live with it and 
>>> do what we can to mitigate (reduce) risk. That means being willing to 
>>> accept *some* level of risk to live our lives as we desire. I can’t decide 
>>> that level of risk for you – only you can make that decision. There are few 
>>> certainties in pandemic risk management other than that fact that some 
>>> people will die, some people in low risk groups will die, and some people 
>>> in high risk groups will survive. It’s about probability.

>>>  Here is some guidance – my point of view, not judging yours:

>>> 1. People over 60 years old are at higher risk of severe disease – people 
>>> over 70 years old, even more so. They should be willing to tolerate less 
>>> risk than people under 50 years old and should be extra careful. Some 
>>> chronic diseases like heart disease and COPD increase risk, but it is not 
>>> clear if other diseases like obesity, asthma, immune disorders, etc. 
>>> increase risk appreciably. It looks like asthma and inflammatory bowel 
>>> disease might not be as high risk as we thought, but we are not sure - 
>>> their risks might be too small to pick up, or they might be associated with 
>>> things that put them at higher risk.

>>> People over 60-70 years old probably should continue to be very vigilant 
>>> about limiting exposures if they can. However, not seeing family – 
>>> especially children and grandchildren – can take a serious emotional toll, 
>>> so I encourage people to be creative and flexible. For example, in-person 
>>> visits are not crazy – consider one, especially if you have been isolated 
>>> and have no symptoms. They are especially safe in the early days after 
>>> restrictions are lifted in places like Madison or parts of major cities 
>>> where there is very little community transmission. Families can decide how 
>>> much mingling they are comfortable with - if they want to hug and eat 
>>> together, distance together with masks, or just stay apart and continue 
>>> using video-conferencing and the telephone to stay in contact. If you 
>>> choose to intermingle, remember to practice good hand hygiene, don’t share 
>>> plates/forks/spoons/cups, don’t share towels, and don’t sleep together.

>>>  2. Social distancing, not touching your face, and washing/sanitizing your 
>>> hands are the key prevention interventions. They are vastly more important 
>>> than anything else you do. Wearing a fabric mask is a good idea in crowded 
>>> public place like a grocery store or public transportation, but you 
>>> absolutely must distance, practice good hand hygiene, and don’t touch your 
>>> face. Wearing gloves is not helpful (the virus does not get in through the 
>>> skin) and may increase your risk because you likely won’t washing or 
>>> sanitize your hands when they are on, you will drop things, and touch your 
>>> face.

>>>  3. Be a good citizen. If you think you might be sick, stay home. If you 
>>> are going to cough or sneeze, turn away from people, block it, and sanitize 
>>> your hands immediately after.

>>>  4. Use common sense. Dial down the anxiety. If you are out taking a walk 
>>> and someone walks past you, that brief (near) contact is so low risk that 
>>> it doesn’t make sense to get scared. Smile at them as they approach, turn 
>>> your head away as they pass, move on. The smile will be more therapeutic 
>>> than the passing is dangerous. Similarly, if someone bumps into you at the 
>>> grocery store or reaches past you for a loaf of bread, don’t stress - it is 
>>> a very low risk encounter, also - as long as they didn’t cough or sneeze in 
>>> your face (one reason we wear cloth masks in public!). 

>>> 5. Use common sense, part II. Dial down the obsessiveness. There really is 
>>> no reason to go crazy sanitizing items that come into your house from 
>>> outside, like groceries and packages. For it to be a risk, the delivery 
>>> person would need to be infectious, cough or sneeze some droplets on your 
>>> package, you touch the droplet, then touch your face, and then it invades 
>>> your respiratory epithelium. There would need to be enough viral load and 
>>> the virions would need to survive long enough for you to get infected. It 
>>> could happen, but it’s pretty unlikely. If you want to have a staging 
>>> station for 1-2 days before you put things away, sure, no problem. You also 
>>> can simply wipe things off before they come in to your house - that is fine 
>>> is fine too. For an isolated family, it makes no sense to obsessively wipe 
>>> down every surface every day (or several times a day). Door knobs, toilet 
>>> handles, commonly trafficked light switches could get a wipe off each day, 
>>> but it takes a lot of time and emotional energy to do all those things and 
>>> they have marginal benefits. We don’t need to create a sterile operating 
>>> room-like living space. Compared to keeping your hands out of your mouth, 
>>> good hand hygiene, and cleaning food before serving it, these behaviors 
>>> might be more maladaptive than protective. 

>>> 6. There are few absolutes, so please get comfortable accepting some 
>>> calculated risks, otherwise you might be isolating yourself for a really, 
>>> really long time. Figure out how you can be in public and interact with 
>>> people without fear.

>>> 

>>> 

>>> Steven W. Tabak, M.D., F.A.C.C. | Medical Director, Quality and Physician 
>>> Outreach

>>> ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

>>> 

>>> 

>>> Nicholas Thompson

>>> Emeritus Professor of Ethology and Psychology

>>> Clark University

>>> [email protected]

>>> https://wordpress.clarku.edu/nthompson/

>>> 

>>> 

>>> 

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