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NON_POLITICAL China Coronavirus THREAD

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CZroe said:
No. I can get tested for free today with no reason and my state encourages it. They wanted to ywt testing numbers up.
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Not so, here in Portugal: unless you happen to be / work in a "hotspot" infected area, where they test ALL individual, you're only tested if you have COVID-19 symptoms.
 
I just saw on Inside Edition that patrons in the casinos in Las Vegas stood right next on each other (shoulder to shoulder) to check in the hotels. A lot of them did not wear any mask at all. Yike.
 
Svnla said:
I just saw on Inside Edition that patrons in the casinos in Las Vegas stood right next on each other (shoulder to shoulder) to check in the hotels. A lot of them did not wear any mask at all. Yike.
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If you're going to gamble then go big.
 
I was beaching it this week on the East Coast. I didn't eat in restaurants and did an online grocery order, but had to go inside to get beer. The employees wore masks, but very few shoppers had them. I wear a mask anytime I'm indoors in public places. I had my family stay in the car.

I think the beach hotspots are going to see huge increases in local infections from stupid tourists not following CDC standards while dining in restaurants and shopping. Many beaches are spaced out enough.

I just got home and went grocery shopping for the essentials. Maybe a handful of the people in the store didn't have masks, but most did. Feels good to be back where my county only has a handful of active infections (they track recovered here)
 
Memorial Day weekend, Alamance County Speedway, NC:
www.thetimesnews.com

Photos: Capacity crowd and racing action at Ace Speedway on Memorial Day weekend

www.thetimesnews.com www.thetimesnews.com



2 weeks later, also Alamance County:

Play stupid games, win stupid prizes. NC currently now has 8? straight days of rising case numbers (3 straight daily records, I think), and hospitalizations (ave. of ~450/day to now over 600/day). ...but most of NC is reopening into phase 1 anyway, for reasons. Obviously, this is all going to get way worse due to the protests everywhere, attracting even rural residents into these population centers, for whatever reasons they are traveling, to bring virus back into their previously-controlled areas.

I've delayed my return back up to MD by several days, mainly because I'm hoping to avoid the influx of protesters using 95 and 495, but it's weird coming back down to a place that was somewhat "sleepy" the last couple of months with cases, but is now hitting its real spike and is showing the current hotspot in the country.

Right now, this is memorial day stuff. Late next week or shortly after, the protest infections are going to hit, and as bad as testing remains everywhere, we aren't going to be getting a proper picture of that.
 
zinfamous said:
and as bad as testing remains everywhere,
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everyone keeps saying this, but i see advertisements around here for free testing for anyone who shows up, no doc. note needed... and no lines whatsoever at the drive ups. hard to believe that this is the only place in the whole country like that.

is this a case of "it must be because that's what everyone keeps saying" with no actual proof?
 
herm0016 said:
everyone keeps saying this, but i see advertisements around here for free testing for anyone who shows up, no doc. note needed... and no lines whatsoever at the drive ups. hard to believe that this is the only place in the whole country like that.

is this a case of "it must be because that's what everyone keeps saying" with no actual proof?
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well, it's not currently the case in MD (still need to be symptomatic and/or proven to be in close proximity to someone tested positive)--this, from my portal at Kaiser and looking at the published state guidance prior to coming down to NC last week, while my Mom goes through surgery. Drive-up testing appointments required PCP referral based on those guidance...basically, I couldn't be tested.

...same in NC right now from what I have seen. I did have to take her to a drive up last Saturday that was required ahead of her Tuesday surgery.

Yes, I don't think all places are like that, but the overall issue is the fundamental lack of testing kits available in the US, compared to other developed nations. It never had to be this way. It was a specific, direct decision that fundamentally limited test kits from the beginning.

I think places like CVS are kinda doing their own thing? ....but from what Mom mentioned to me, they are also issuing kits that allow the user to swab themselves, and they are essentially just swabbing the inner lining of their nose, not the actual sinus cavity. People, especially those that have absolutely no training or experience in anything clinical, aren't going to be shoving a swab deep into their own sinus cavity when they are in control...so those would be garbage tests.

I was kinda shocked to see how, up until last week, statewide testing in NC was abysmally low, at least going by the numbers that were being reported. It was shockingly bad, and they only started ramping up recently--which obviously also influences their spike in case numbers. ....which again, is alarming because you know how dangerously inaccurate all the numbers have been to this date.

So, you don't have to assume it is what people are saying, you can look at specific published numbers, based on local populations, and when you see less than 10% of the population being tested (maybe less--I'm honestly not sure if they are differentiating between people that have had multiple tests or not) in certain states, you know there is a problem. Or, is it just a refusal to actually report the necessary data? Another problem, and a far more insidious one.
 
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zinfamous said:
well, it's not currently the case in MD (still need to be symptomatic and/or proven to be in close proximity to someone tested positive)--this, from my portal at Kaiser and looking at the published state guidance prior to coming down to NC last week, while my Mom goes through surgery. Drive-up testing appointments required PCP referral based on those guidance...basically, I couldn't be tested.

...same in NC right now from what I have seen. I did have to take her to a drive up last Saturday that was required ahead of her Tuesday surgery.

Yes, I don't think all places are like that, but the overall issue is the fundamental lack of testing kits available in the US, compared to other developed nations. It never had to be this way. It was a specific, direct decision that fundamentally limited test kits from the beginning.

I think places like CVS are kinda doing their own thing? ....but from what Mom mentioned to me, they are also issuing kits that allow the user to swab themselves, and they are essentially just swabbing the inner lining of their nose, not the actual sinus cavity. People, especially those that have absolutely no training or experience in anything clinical, aren't going to be shoving a swab deep into their own sinus cavity when they are in control...so those would be garbage tests.

I was kinda shocked to see how, up until last week, statewide testing in NC was abysmally low, at least going by the numbers that were being reported. It was shockingly bad, and they only started ramping up recently--which obviously also influences their spike in case numbers. ....which again, is alarming because you know how dangerously inaccurate all the numbers have been to this date.

So, you don't have to assume it is what people are saying, you can look at specific published numbers, based on local populations, and when you see less than 10% of the population being tested (maybe less--I'm honestly not sure if they are differentiating between people that have had multiple tests or not) in certain states, you know there is a problem. Or, is it just a refusal to actually report the necessary data? Another problem, and a far more insidious one.
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You'd literally have to MAKE people get tested to raise the numbers here, since testing is free for anyone and there are no lines. Seriously. Testing capacity remains where it is in many states because they far exceeded demand a long time ago. It's why so many states have lifted restrictions on who can be tested and/or made it free.

Yes, they would have to make asymptomatic people get tested when they otherwise don't have a reason to. That's why I haven't been tested even though I can get it for free. I don't have symptoms, I'm not doing anything risky like visiting the elderly, and no one is making me... thus, I have no reason to.
 
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OK guys, thanks for making me look. Apparently i can get tested if i want, without showing any symptoms.
Through the work of a number of entities, testing is accessible for Pennsylvanians. As entities such as Rite Aid, CVS, Patient First and Walmart offer testing regardless of symptoms, more Pennsylvanians can get tested close to home.

Beginning Friday, June 5, various Walmart and Quest Diagnostics drive-thru testing locations across the state will provide testing for residents living in areas with fewer testing sites. At this time, the tests are being provided at no cost to Pennsylvanians.
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If needed, i guess it's more a matter how close to me are the tests being administered. And are the tests at the drugstores free also?
Local hospital wants $200 for a COVID-19 test. Guys at work insist that's for an antibody test. I don't know, all it says on their website is COVID-19 test.

If they're really free tests, you'd think employers might want employees to get tested at some point, just for some peace of mind. But then there's the question of how often to get retested.
 
CZroe said:
You'd literally have to MAKE people get tested to raise the numbers here, since testing is free for anyone and there are no lines. Seriously. Testing capacity remains where it is in many states because they far exceeded demand a long time ago. It's why so many states have lifted restrictions on who can be tested and/or made it free.

Yes, they would have to make asymptomatic people get tested when they otherwise don't have a reason to. That's why I haven't been tested even though I can get it for free. I don't have symptoms, I'm not doing anything risky like visiting the elderly, and no one is making me... thus, I have no reason to.
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If a reliable antibody test was free or cheap, I would do that in a heartbeat. I just want to know if I had it back in March.
 
Got email from corporate today saying we are more than likely working from home at least until end of summer. We still need 1 person in the office, so basically status quo for the next few months. I'm mostly in the office, but gotten to work from home too. The best part about all this, even though I need to be at the office most of the time, is that the 4pm guy is not here. He always brings these super horrible smelling meals and stinks up the whole place. It's a breath of fresh air not having him around.
 
JujuFish said:
Hence the 'reliable' part of his sentence.
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Your statement makes me think you don't really understand biostatistics.

What most lay folks think is that "reliability" is a property of the test itself, it's not, and that's only part of it. Prevalence of disease in the tested population matters A LOT.

The exact same test which performs excellently, will likely be entirely valid in NYC but complete garbage (more likely wrong than right) in a rural area not hit hard by Coronavirus.

Hence, my sentence.
 
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TheVrolok said:
Your statement makes me think you don't really understand biostatistics.

What most lay folks think is that "reliability" is a property of the test itself, it's not, and that's only part of it. Prevalence of disease in the tested population matters A LOT.

The exact same test which performs excellently, will likely be entirely valid in NYC but complete garbage (more likely wrong than right) in a rural area not hit hard by Coronavirus.

Hence, my sentence.
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Is this really that hard to understand? Obviously he's referring to a test that performs excellently and is entirely valid in his area (Georgia?). Don't be condescending.
 
JujuFish said:
Is this really that hard to understand? Obviously he's referring to a test that performs excellently and is entirely valid in his area (Georgia?). Don't be condescending.
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Obviously?

How would he know if it's valid in his area?

These things are discussed superficially everyday and it promotes significant misunderstanding, simply trying to clear that up. There's nothing condescending about it.
 
shortylickens said:
Umm, if you know your history you'll realize that just about every time the government has made cheap public housing it ends up in disaster.
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Our government? Often yes. Other governments not so much.

Anyway this can be achieved almost entirely though different policy choices via the private sector.
 
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shortylickens said:
Umm, if you know your history you'll realize that just about every time the government has made cheap public housing it ends up in disaster.
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Government doesn't have to build it. It also doesn't have to continue standing in the way of expanded housing as it currently does with zoning laws (look at the massive amounts of single family zoning, that elevates property value by artificially restricting supply)
 
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