On Topic Discussion 2019 Coronavirus (COVID-19/SARS-CoV-2)

[KaraBulut]

I am fairly certain me and my husband both got covid from the gym back in the summer of 2020. This guy was coughing horribly the entire hour and not covering his mouth and getting way too close to both of us in a very large and almost empty gym. At the time I had just started hearing about covid and didn't even consider that initially - I just thought he was a rude bastard spreading his germs.

Several people that I know who are gym regulars got COVID-19. I can't attest that they got COVID from the gym because they weren't very diligent about mask wearing and avoiding crowds anywhere. I can say with certainty that they were at the gym daily with COVID-19 until they started feeling crappy enough that they were forced to stay home.

That may be why there isn't much research about the spread of respiratory illnesses in gyms: it's hard to tell whether they contracted the illness at the gym or somewhere else.

COVID has made us all think about things that we normally didn't think much about. Over the years, I've heard people talk about how guys leave benches sweaty and how nasty the floors in the lockerroom/shower area are. What we weren't thinking much about is how often the equipment is being handled by multiple people who don't clean up or wipe it off afterward. And in many gyms, there are no capacity restrictions and during peak times, everyone is cramped together in areas like the free-weight areas. And the cleaning crew comes in at night, which is about the only time the equipment gets wiped down or the lockerrooms get a thorough cleaning.

No sign that anything is going to change. A couple of decades ago during the first SARS epidemic, gyms in the northern States in the US were more conscious about keeping disinfectant spray and paper towels available on the gym floor but that went away when the SARS epidemic went away. I'm not optimistic that COVID-19 will change gym cleaning standards either.

 

[cabinfever]

Several people that I know who are gym regulars got COVID-19. I can't attest that they got COVID from the gym because they weren't very diligent about mask wearing and avoiding crowds anywhere. I can say with certainty that they were at the gym daily with COVID-19 until they started feeling crappy enough that they were forced to stay home.

That may be why there isn't much research about the spread of respiratory illnesses in gyms: it's hard to tell whether they contracted the illness at the gym or somewhere else.

COVID has made us all think about things that we normally didn't think much about. Over the years, I've heard people talk about how guys leave benches sweaty and how nasty the floors in the lockerroom/shower area are. What we weren't thinking much about is how often the equipment is being handled by multiple people who don't clean up or wipe it off afterward. And in many gyms, there are no capacity restrictions and during peak times, everyone is cramped together in areas like the free-weight areas. And the cleaning crew comes in at night, which is about the only time the equipment gets wiped down or the lockerrooms get a thorough cleaning.

No sign that anything is going to change. A couple of decades ago during the first SARS epidemic, gyms in the northern States in the US were more conscious about keeping disinfectant spray and paper towels available on the gym floor but that went away when the SARS epidemic went away. I'm not optimistic that COVID-19 will change gym cleaning standards either.

When I got out of the ICU we went in to cancel the membership and told her why I had the feeling that she had been dealing with alot of cancellations for the same reason.

The thing with my last gym was that they had hundreds of locations all over the world and our key was good anywhere 24/7 so I could go to Japan or Brazil or any country with that gym and my key would work - which also means that it would be easy to spread the disease from one continent to the other. The coughing guy was not local and pretty sure not from the USA.

The other thing - they have a policy of wiping down the machines before and after use. I did it before and after ALWAYS but I rarely saw anyone else do it at all which annoyed me and this was before covid ever happened. The gym I was in before that one was much larger and better in alot of ways as they had a pool as well BUT the locker room and showers had slimy foot gunk on the floor - so gross. I see it is closed now.

 

[frankfrank]

I got my hands on these awesome N99 respirator masks.

I don't care what they say. I do not see myself going mask-less for the foreseeable future.

Oh man, I NEED these! ADJUSTABLE HEAD BAND? Wow...yes. PM me, please, with a link...this is sort of the "Holy Grail" of masks, so to speak.

my level of caring about life is next to zero since I lost Skylix

It was good talking with you Friday night. As I said on the phone, please feel free to call me...for any reason.

It seems to me we heard all of this "take your mask off" stuff last July just before Delta. Apparently, we learned nothing.
I'm afraid all we are doing is setting up the next variant for the next wave. Nope, not taking it off. Not now.

Wash. Rinse. Repeat.

That's all that Americans seem to know how to do - repeating the same mistake over and over and over. It's happening AGAIN as I type this...letting our guard down again.

If we'd done it this way years ago, we'd still be fighting SMALLPOX, WHOOPING COUGH, AND POLIO.

 

[frankfrank]

Heart-disease risk soars after COVID — even with a mild case

This is something I feel hasn't been talked about, enough. I first heard some mentions of this sometime before fall 2020!

I treat the threat of COVID as though it WILL do some "silent" damage to my heart. It's wisest to over-assume and, besides, there's a LOT of heart disease history on my Dad's side. (I seem to be lucky so far - my cholesterol and blood pressure are under control, and my cardiac stress test last October showed only 25% blockage in my coronary vessels, which is trivial, and a "clean" carotid artery.)

That said, I wear my mask everywhere, but I am still living a "reasonable" life. For example, I'll be playing Scrabble in a public place twelve hours from now.

I am fairly certain me and my husband both got covid from the gym back in the summer of 2020.

I wouldn't want to be around other people not wearing a mask in a closed space - still haven't been to an indoor restaurant and don't intend to go to one anytime soon.

I would guess, based on what you said: HIGHLY LIKELY. I remember you posting about your COVID at the time. Didn't he have it first?

Even in 2020, I realized that a gym was probably the VERY worst place for COVID safety. I do not find that the mask impedes anything at all when I'm doing the usual stuff (even including walking a mile at my still-ordinary pace of about 4MPH, as I would do fifty years ago), but it would probably be a different story if I was exerting myself to the extreme at a gym. And THAT'S THE PROBLEM - people there may not be able to optimally work out while wearing a mask, especially a good one such as a N-95. So, that means that an infected person is SPEWING OUT AEROSOLS LIKE CRAZY!

I also give masks more credit than most people do. If an N-95 mask gives protection to others around you, it WILL ALSO PROTECT ME. The levels of protection won't be the same, because my exhaling is moving at a much faster velocity than the surrounding air that I'm in turn breathing in, but I don't know in what way that changes the protection. Whether my breath is going out through a mask or whether I'm inhaling through my mask, though, THE AIR IN EITHER DIRECTION IS GOING THROUGH EXACTLY THE SAME FILTERING. How can, then, people around you be nearly entirely protected, but your mask isn't protecting you? That makes no sense at all, but a lot of people still believe masks don't protect [well].

At CityboySTL and others have said, I WILL CONTINUE TO WEAR MY MASK. There is a good chance I'll mask-up in public for the resat of my life, even if the worst COVID strain degrades to becoming only another ordinary common cold with no noticeable threat of death or long-term effects. I don't consider a mask inconvenient. And after all, I haven't had a COLD in two years, either. Colds don't slam me like they do to some people but, still, I do NOT like them - they'll keep me awake at night, etc.

If somebody questions me wearing a mask, I'll tell them (and so far it's not a lie, lol) that "I haven't had a cold in more than two years now, and I haven't had the flu, or anything else."

Only ONE other time I'm aware of in my lifetime, have I gone more than two years without a cold. That was like 12 to 15 years ago or something.

They don't HAVE to know that I haven't had the flu in at least 49 years, and in that entire while I haven't had any other contagious illness (WITH ONE EXCEPTION: whooping cough in 1999) either.

 

[purina]

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2022/02/20/world/queen-elizabeth-covid

“Buckingham Palace confirm that the queen has today tested positive for Covid,” the palace said in a statement. “Her Majesty is experiencing mild, coldlike symptoms but expects to continue light duties at Windsor over the coming week. She will continue to receive medical attention and will follow all the appropriate guidelines.”

 

[backagain]

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2022/02/20/world/queen-elizabeth-covid

“Buckingham Palace confirm that the queen has today tested positive for Covid,” the palace said in a statement. “Her Majesty is experiencing mild, coldlike symptoms but expects to continue light duties at Windsor over the coming week. She will continue to receive medical attention and will follow all the appropriate guidelines.”

Not surprising as Charles and Camila tested positive.

 

[belamyi]

 

[KaraBulut]

Week ending 19-Feb-2022:

Global COVID-19 Weekly Mortality/Morbidity

• Global Cases reported: 424,154,537 (up from 410,761,411 / 3.3%) - *‬*13,393,126 new cases this week
• Global Deaths: 5,886,306 (up from 5,812,463) - **73,843 people died this week

US COVID-19 Weekly Mortality/Morbidity

• Cases reported in the US - 78,476,869 (up from 77,707,694 / 1.0%), 769,175 new cases, 5.9% of world's new cases were in the US
• Deaths reported in the US - 935,331 deaths, 16,076 deaths this week , 21.8% of the world's reported deaths this week were in the US
• Hospitalizations reported in the US - 24,686 new hospitalizations (down from 91,354 last week) - 4,449,166 Americans have been hospitalized for COVID-19 since Jan, 2020

US Vaccination Weekly Stats

• Approx number of US doses distributed - 686,495,805 (up from 676,619,725 / +9,876,080) - 80.1% US doses have been administered
  
  Total US residents vaccinated
• 1st dose: - 252,791,817 (up from 251,926,344 / +865,473) - 76.6% of US population
• 2nd dose: - 214,745,073 (up from 213,734,419 / +1,010,654) - 65.1% of US population
• 3rd dose: - 92,807,720 (up from 91,397,490 / +1,410,230) - 28.1% of US population
  
  US residents over age 5 vaccinated
• 1st dose: - 252,723,259 (up from 251,862,639 / +860,620) - 80.9% of US population > 5 yo
• 2nd dose: - 214,726,791 (up from 213,719,144 / +1,007,647) - 68.8% of US population > 5 yo
  
  US residents over age 12 vaccinated
• 1st dose: - 243,431,431 (up from 242,736,774 / +694,657) - 95.0% of US population > 12 yo
• 2nd dose: - 207,585,660 (up from 206,861,022 / +724,638) - 73.2% of US population > 12 yo
• 3rd dose: - 92,792,231 (up from 91,383,519 / +1,408,712) - 44.7% of US population > 12 yo
  
  US residents over age 65 vaccinated
• 1st dose: - 56,091,245 (up from 56,020,219 / +71,026) - 95.0% of US population >65 yo
• 2nd dose: - 48,581,344 (up from 48,511,331 / +70,013) - 88.7% of US population >65 yo
• 3rd dose: - 31,999,065 (up from 31,763,725 / +235,340) - 65.9% of US population >65 yo

Coronavirus weekly cases/deaths in active countries (preference to countries with JUB members):

• Germany: 13,602,431 (up from 12,360,387 / +1,242,044 / 10.0%) - 121,281 deaths (+1,341) - avg daily: cases (+177,435) / deaths (+192)
• Russia: 15,147,762 (up from 13,923,951 / +1,223,811 / 8.8%) - 338,595 deaths (+5,174) - avg daily: cases (+174,830) / deaths (+739)
• Brazil: 28,218,180 (up from 27,434,286 / +783,894 / 2.9%) - 644,592 deaths (+6,246) - avg daily: cases (+111,985) / deaths (+892)
• US: 78,476,869 (up from 77,707,694 / +769,175 / 1.0%) - 935,331 deaths (+16,076) - avg daily: cases (+109,882) / deaths (+2,297)
• South Korea: 2,058,184 (up from 1,350,630 / +707,554 / 52.4%) - 7,450 deaths (+369) - avg daily: cases (+101,079) / deaths (+53)
• France: 22,445,580 (up from 21,765,182 / +680,398 / 3.1%) - 137,596 deaths (+1,901) - avg daily: cases (+97,200) / deaths (+272)
• Turkey: 13,504,485 (up from 12,834,534 / +669,951 / 5.2%) - 92,451 deaths (+2,185) - avg daily: cases (+95,707) / deaths (+312)
• Japan: 4,490,748 (up from 3,842,536 / +648,212 / 16.9%) - 21,844 deaths (+1,610) - avg daily: cases (+92,602) / deaths (+230)
• Italy: 12,469,975 (up from 12,053,330 / +416,645 / 3.5%) - 152,989 deaths (+2,165) - avg daily: cases (+59,521) / deaths (+309)
• Netherlands: 6,171,918 (up from 5,823,167 / +348,751 / 6.0%) - 22,057 deaths (+95) - avg daily: cases (+49,822) / deaths (+14)
• UK: 18,735,911 (up from 18,392,137 / +343,774 / 1.9%) - 161,148 deaths (+1,072) - avg daily: cases (+49,111) / deaths (+153)
• Spain: 10,809,222 (up from 10,604,200 / +205,022 / 1.9%) - 97,998 deaths (+2,003) - avg daily: cases (+29,289) / deaths (+286)
• India: 42,822,473 (up from 42,631,421 / +191,052 / 0.4%) - 511,903 deaths (+3,238) - avg daily: cases (+27,293) / deaths (+463)
• Israel: 3,552,858 (up from 3,404,541 / +148,317 / 4.4%) - 9,971 deaths (+505) - avg daily: cases (+21,188) / deaths (+72)
• Australia: 3,047,663 (up from 2,902,290 / +145,373 / 5.0%) - 4,930 deaths (+337) - avg daily: cases (+20,768) / deaths (+48)
• Iran: 6,942,452 (up from 6,806,265 / +136,187 / 2.0%) - 135,040 deaths (+1,322) - avg daily: cases (+19,455) / deaths (+189)
• Switzerland: 2,664,194 (up from 2,537,734 / +126,460 / 5.0%) - 13,016 deaths (+80) - avg daily: cases (+18,066) / deaths (+11)
• Mexico: 5,407,711 (up from 5,283,852 / +123,859 / 2.3%) - 315,525 deaths (+2,828) - avg daily: cases (+17,694) / deaths (+404)
• Argentina: 8,827,504 (up from 8,728,262 / +99,242 / 1.1%) - 125,278 deaths (+1,291) - avg daily: cases (+14,177) / deaths (+184)
• Belgium: 3,494,223 (up from 3,421,081 / +73,142 / 2.1%) - 29,920 deaths (+296) - avg daily: cases (+10,449) / deaths (+42)
• Canada: 3,238,624 (up from 3,188,332 / +50,292 / 1.6%) - 36,000 deaths (+543) - avg daily: cases (+7,185) / deaths (+78)
• Lebanon: 1,046,173 (up from 1,012,044 / +34,129 / 3.4%) - 9,970 deaths (+146) - avg daily: cases (+4,876) / deaths (+21)
• Columbia: 6,047,042 (up from 6,014,563 / +32,479 / 0.5%) - 138,106 deaths (+1,153) - avg daily: cases (+4,640) / deaths (+165)
• Sweden: 2,422,856 (up from 2,397,330 / +25,526 / 1.1%) - 16,852 deaths (+351) - avg daily: cases (+3,647) / deaths (+50)
• Ireland: 1,265,124 (up from 1,242,806 / +22,318 / 1.8%) - 6,417 deaths (+126) - avg daily: cases (+3,188) / deaths (+18)
• South Africa: 3,658,547 (up from 3,640,162 / +18,385 / 0.5%) - 98,667 deaths (+1,682) - avg daily: cases (+2,626) / deaths (+240)
• New Zealand: 33,319 (up from 19,779 / +13,540 / 68.5%) - 53 deaths (+0) - avg daily: cases (+1,934) / deaths (+0)

 

[belamyi]

 

[KaraBulut]

Something has been an odd feature of the omicron surge in the US is that cases jumped sharply after Thanksgiving and dropped quickly in February:

Omicron Surge: Weekly Case in the United States:

• 11-Dec: 830,160
• 18-Dec: 935,812
• 25-Dec: 1,454,540
• 01-Jan: 2,737,094
• 08-Jan: 4,746,917
• 15-Jan: 5,758,932
• 22-Jan: 4,969,601
• 29-Jan: 3,753,376
• 05-Feb: 2,214,305
• 12-Feb: 1,244,138
• 19-Feb: 769,175

However deaths have not followed this pattern.

Omicron Surge: Weekly Deaths in the United States:

• 11-Dec: 8,953
• 18-Dec: 9,167
• 25-Dec: 10,219
• 01-Jan: 9,376
• 08-Jan: 11,278
• 15-Jan: 13,170
• 22-Jan: 15,535
• 29-Jan: 18,008
• 05-Feb: 18,312
• 12-Feb: 16,966
• 19-Feb: 16,076

Here's a graphic representation of US deaths over time:

During the delta and omicron surges, the deaths among people who received a booster remained nearly flat. Deaths among the vaccinated but not boosted increased slightly. It was the unvaccinated who have accounted for the largest share of deaths, as well as the majority of the increase in deaths in January and February.

Here's a graphic representation of vaccinated vs unvaccinated deaths:

 

[belamyi]

^ You mean deaths did not multiply at the same rate, but they doubled, according to what you posted there.

The "odd feature" about omicron is that there has been an unprecedented surge of cases (graphics I posted), mainly because kids were tested massively at schools and, since the virus spread among them as non-vaccinated but not particularly vulnerable, the cases detected led to the detection of adult asymptomatic cases which would otherwise have remained unrecorded: that is what happened, for example, with a cousin of mine, who had three out of four possible cases in her family.

So the higher infectivity coupled with the lesser severity would lead to such results.

 

[frankfrank]

Uh-huh, yeah. And it causes hurricanes in the United States, too.

 

[belamyi]

^ Notice their point is the link between legal marriage and gay sex: like gay sex was born with gay marriage.

- - - Updated - - -

I would get if they talked of a curse of God, angered by marriage not sanctified by church pederasts, since fairytale worlds have their own logic, but that gay marriage would create a new coronavirus pandemic...

 

[KaraBulut]

^ You mean deaths did not multiply at the same rate, but they doubled, according to what you posted there.

The pattern of increased cases is clear however, deaths are much lower than they were in the early days of the pandemic. For example, on 2-Apr-2020 the US reported 27,135 cases and 1,067 deaths (~3.9% mortality) in a single day. On 30-Dec-2020, there were 205,163 and 4,126 deaths (2.0% mortality) in a single day. By the time that the vaccines rolled out, 1 in 100 people over age 65 in the US had died of COVID-19.

Contrast that with the numbers 2 weeks when the US hit the omicron peak of 536,197 cases and 2,573 deaths per day (0.4% mortality).

The US has a mind-blowing number of cases per day. Even last week, the average was 109,882 cases per day. What is odd is that the deaths- while still a lower percentage than in 2020- are still an astounding 2,297 people per day.

Some of the analysis on the numbers indicate that the deaths are:

• Still hitting the elderly but are shifting to a younger demographic. In 2020, people over age 65 composed about 80% of deaths. Residents of nursing homes were hit hard.
• Disproportionately in the unvaccinated.

This graph shows the timing of deaths in the US. Keep in mind that vaccines rolled out in Dec 2020 and the US did a major campaign in Jan-Mar, 2021 to vaccine nursing home residents. Pay attention to the vertical lines- each represents 100,000 deaths:

Here is that same death graph over time showing the population over 65 in red and the population under 65 in gray:

The demographic at the end of 2021 shifted to a younger population. Again, the vertical bars are 100,000 deaths. In Dec-Jan, 2021 the death toll was high and was disproportionately affecting unvaccinated people over age 65. The vaccines slowed the death rate in 2Q2021 until delta hit the US in the late summer of 2021. Even with delta, the high vaccination rate in the over age 65 age group kept the death proportion under 75%.

Now, with the knowledge that the over 65 age group is 89% vaccinated and 66% boosted, look again at the graph below. Deaths remain high in absolute numbers but as a percentage of cases, it is much lower and heavily weighted to the unvaccinated population:

 

[Kulindahr]

I've been frustrated with "updates" from different sources about the symptoms of the Omicron variant; one day they sound like just the same as the common cold, the next day more severe.

Which is annoying because I've been having occasional days with light headache, runny nose, light cough, a touch of nausea, and the next day I'm fine again.

 

[belamyi]

^ You mean that is something unusual for you to experience, being an old man outdoors the whole day on the foggy, damp, redneck Oregon coast.

 

[KaraBulut]

I've been frustrated with "updates" from different sources about the symptoms of the Omicron variant; one day they sound like just the same as the common cold, the next day more severe.

Urgent cares are seeing a lot of patients with flu and cold symptoms. The only way to be sure whether it's cold, flu, allergies or COVID-19 is run a rapid flow test. For people who have been vaccinated, the symptoms are very similar.

 

[Araucaria]

I've been frustrated with "updates" from different sources about the symptoms of the Omicron variant; one day they sound like just the same as the common cold, the next day more severe.

Which is annoying because I've been having occasional days with light headache, runny nose, light cough, a touch of nausea, and the next day I'm fine again.

Like Kulindahr, I had been having mild symptoms earlier this month, and I wondered if it could be Covid. I'm vaxxed and boosted, but I noticed mild chest congestion and coughing, and a scratchy throat or sneezing once in a while. One day I had GI tract discomfort and pain severe enough to disrupt my regular activities.

So I did one of the Covid self-tests when my shipment came in the mail. I swabbed both nostrils as instructed, and afterward my nose felt like I picked it rough, so I figured I must have done it right. The test came back negative. So I figured that whatever that was, it most likely wasn't Covid.

I guess I posted this to relay the concern and confusion I have been dealing with in the last couple of months or so.

 

[KaraBulut]

A little humorous retrospective on Feb 2021:

 

[cityboy-stl]

Urgent cares are seeing a lot of patients with flu and cold symptoms. The only way to be sure whether it's cold, flu, allergies or COVID-19 is run a rapid flow test. For people who have been vaccinated, the symptoms are very similar.

I understand, but the problem I have with allergies is they're almost all the time. If I got tested for covid every time I had allergy symptoms, I'd be getting tested every other day. So far I've had nothing that goes beyond the typical allergy symptoms I experience routinely throughout the year. So I don't bother. I'd definitely test though if I had something that felt more like a cold, which feels different generally. I have at home now six rapid antigen tests that I am saving for when I'm going to be around family.