COVID-19 and the States

[raison de arizona]

Does anyone know if they can actually do that?

My recollection is that they CAN, but that it has to be an OSHA approved plan that is AT LEAST as effective as OSHA requirements.

[AndyinPA]

Does anyone know if they can actually do that?

My recollection is that they CAN, but that it has to be an OSHA approved plan that is AT LEAST as effective as OSHA requirements.

On paper. It's probably mostly theater anyway,

[Volkonski]

[p0rtia]

Screen Shot 2021-11-17 at 11.18.34 AM.png (147.8 KiB) Viewed 1049 times

[raison de arizona]

NYT graphic:

[Volkonski]

[Slim Cognito]

And it's not even Thanksgiving yet. I'm glad I was able to get my booster early but I still think we're going to have another bad winter. Hopefully not as bad.

[Lani]

It's going to be a harsh winter. Surges are popping up everywhere. My small island now has 11 people hospitalized. We've never gone over 4 in the past. We had dropped to about 5-25x cases/week, but now rising, currently in the 20's daily. And only one person I know realizes that a new surge is underway.

But the state & counties are still removing restrictions. And some people are refusing to speak with the DOH Covid tracers when they are told to quarantine because they had been exposed to the virus. They also refuse to reveal their contacts.

We don't have to wear a mask outside, but people are also gathering too close. Too many people - inside & out - wear masks pulled down below their noses.

Glad I work from home and rarely am out & about other than Big Dog Park - which is a couple of acres and breezy. And I when I need to buy dog & human food and household stuff, I place an order with Target or Safeway and have the purchases brought to my car.

[AndyinPA]

Everything I read says bad winter. PA's caseload is really high state wide today. Because of a pretty high rate of vaccination, deaths are not nearly what they were, but a lot more people are getting breakthrough cases.

Edited to add:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/ ... ses-winter

A steep rise in Covid-19 cases in Europe should serve as a warning that the US could also see significant increases in coronavirus cases this winter, particularly in the nation’s colder regions, scientists say.

However, there is more cause for optimism as America enters its second pandemic winter, even in the face of likely rises in cases.

Evidence shows vaccine-conferred protection against hospitalization and death remains high several months after inoculation, vaccines for children older than five can reduce Covid transmission, and new antiviral medications hold the promise of making Covid-19 a treatable disease.

“I do expect to see cases increasing – we’ve started to see this in the last week or so,” said Dr David Dowdy, an associate professor of epidemiology at Johns Hopkins University. “I don’t think what we’re seeing in Europe means we’re in for a huge surge of serious illness and death as we [saw] here in the US,” last winter.

In the last three weeks, new cases have increased in several cold weather states across New England and the midwest. However, vaccines remain roughly 85% effective at preventing hospitalization and death.

“Even if cases go up this winter, we’re very unlikely to see the overcrowded [intensive care units] and morgues of a year ago,” said Dowdy.

[AndyinPA]

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/202 ... er-midwest

America’s Covid-19 infections are climbing again, and could soon hit a weekly average of 100,000 cases a day as daily case reports increase more than 20% across the upper midwest.

The fresh worsening of the coronavirus pandemic in the US comes as temperatures cool during the approach of winter, forcing people indoors where the virus is believed to spread more readily and may presage another wave.

It is also happening ahead of the Thanksgiving national holiday where tens of millions of Americans are expected to travel all over the country as families gather together in homes for the annual feast.

With medical authorities struggling to get adult vaccination rates above 60% nationally, the states first to experience the onset of winter – Michigan and Minnesota – lead the country “by a significant margin in recent cases per capita”, according to analysis by the New York Times.

[pipistrelle]

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/202 ... er-midwest

America’s Covid-19 infections are climbing again, and could soon hit a weekly average of 100,000 cases a day as daily case reports increase more than 20% across the upper midwest.

The fresh worsening of the coronavirus pandemic in the US comes as temperatures cool during the approach of winter, forcing people indoors where the virus is believed to spread more readily and may presage another wave.

It is also happening ahead of the Thanksgiving national holiday where tens of millions of Americans are expected to travel all over the country as families gather together in homes for the annual feast.

With medical authorities struggling to get adult vaccination rates above 60% nationally, the states first to experience the onset of winter – Michigan and Minnesota – lead the country “by a significant margin in recent cases per capita”, according to analysis by the New York Times.

Don't Maine, Montana, Idaho, etc., also experience winter early?

[Foggy]

Yes, I'm always shocked that hoomins even manage to survive in those places.

[W. Kevin Vicklund]

Here in Michigan, we've had three months of rain. I have an electric mower and a giant backyard. Everytime it's dried up enough to mow, I've managed to get my front yard mowed under the legal limit (when you includes the amount of time they have to give you to fix it), but by the time I've recharged the batteries, the rain started right back up. I haven't managed to mow the backyard since early September. We've been indoors for months. The only saving grace is that Michigan was one of the last states to get hit by Delta (and the heat maps showed it was creeping in from the borders plus a couple of vacation destinations), and the spread has been linear, rather than exponential, for some bizarre reason. We're the boiled frog of Covid.

[pipistrelle]

Yes, I'm always shocked that hoomins even manage to survive in those places.

I feel that way about Florida. And the Carolinas.

[AndyinPA]

Yes, I'm always shocked that hoomins even manage to survive in those places.

I feel that way about Florida. And the Carolinas.

[Foggy]

Yeah, the Carolinas, even our main crop will kill ya.

[W. Kevin Vicklund]

Yes, I'm always shocked that hoomins even manage to survive in those places.

The current temp is 33^oF, and I'm about to go on an outdoor walk in a t-shirt and jeans. It's not that bad, really!

[Foggy]

Off Topic

Here it's 52° F. and raining like hell, and it's going to rain all day.

[RTH10260]

A Long Island emergency room goes dark as a vaccine mandate gets stricter.

A Long Island emergency room was forced to close its doors on Monday because of a nursing staff shortage, as a New York state rule took effect that bars unvaccinated medical workers from their jobs.

The free-standing Emergency Department at Long Beach, which is part of Mount Sinai South Nassau, said in a statement that patients would be directed to the hospital’s main campus in Oceanside, N.Y., about five miles north. An ambulance will be stationed at the shuttered facility, the statement said.

The hospital said the closure could last weeks or longer. But closing the Long Beach branch will allow the hospital to maintain adequate staffing at the Oceanside facility, the statement said.

“We regret having to take this step, but the safety of our patients is always our No. 1 priority,” said Dr. Adhi Sharma, the president of the medical center. “This closure should not be interpreted as anything beyond what it is — a temporary measure designed to relieve current staffing challenges in our emergency department. Our nurses, physicians and support staff have been on the front lines of the pandemic for more than 21 months. We will continue to be there for our patients.”

New York’s statewide vaccination mandate for health workers does not allow for religious exemptions, which spurred legal challenges. A federal court upheld the policy late last month.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/22/worl ... ndate.html

[W. Kevin Vicklund]

Here in Michigan, we've had three months of rain. I have an electric mower and a giant backyard. Everytime it's dried up enough to mow, I've managed to get my front yard mowed under the legal limit (when you includes the amount of time they have to give you to fix it), but by the time I've recharged the batteries, the rain started right back up. I haven't managed to mow the backyard since early September. We've been indoors for months. The only saving grace is that Michigan was one of the last states to get hit by Delta (and the heat maps showed it was creeping in from the borders plus a couple of vacation destinations), and the spread has been linear, rather than exponential, for some bizarre reason. We're the boiled frog of Covid.

Well, fuck. It went exponential last week, and I wasn't paying close enough attention.

[RTH10260]

See Where U.S. Covid Cases and Hospitalizations Are Surging
By Keith CollinsNov. 24, 2021

After a steady decline since mid-September, coronavirus cases are once again rising in most of the United States. New cases have increased by 25 percent nationally in the past two weeks. In 14 states, cases have climbed by 40 percent or more.



https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/202 ... iving.html

(sorry, part of this is may be behind a paywall)

[Lani]

I was able to see it. Thanks! Pretty much what I've been reading from the John Hopkins covid newsletter. And take a look at some of the new surges in Europe. You just know it's going to be the same here in the US.

And then there's the new variant that was recently found in Africa and has reached China. If it spreads, it's possible that the current vaccines will offer limited immunity, maybe next to none, to this new variant.

Hawaii has only ticked up a little bit, but it always starts that way. Our governor decided that each island can decide the restrictions on gatherings, stores, restaurants, etc., as more tourists arrive. That's not going to help! I get the economic problem, but rising covid rates will due more harm in the long term. The gov and all the island mayors are talking about learning to live with covid. Too many people think that means skip the safety protocols, ditch the mask. <sigh>

[RTH10260]

Omicron variant identified in U.S.: First case of covid-19 linked to new variant found in California
Fauci confirms first case of omicron variant in U.S.

By Lena H. Sun and Katie Shepherd
Yesterday at 1:53 p.m. EST|Updated yesterday at 5:35 p.m. EST


The omicron variant of the coronavirus — which has sparked concern across the world — has landed on U.S. shores, with the nation’s first case identified in a San Francisco resident who recently returned from South Africa. Amid uncertainty surrounding the potential threat of omicron, health officials said the discovery was both expected and a sign that precautions for travelers are working to keep tabs on the new variant.



https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2 ... in-the-us/

[Lani]

Hawaii now has omicron. DOH assumes there are more infections, but it takes days to get results from genomic sequencing. The person was under 65 and had not traveled off island. The person had covid previously, once more highlighting the fact that people can't rely on getting long term immunity from being infected.

[scirreeve]

Hawaii now has omicron. DOH assumes there are more infections, but it takes days to get results from genomic sequencing. The person was under 65 and had not traveled off island. The person had covid previously, once more highlighting the fact that people can't rely on getting long term immunity from being infected.

Yeah - I follow Hawaii news cuz Mrs. Reeve and I spend 5 weeks a year there. The infected person was not vaccinated which is an important point methinks.
https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2021/12/0 ... id-hawaii/