Coronavirus

[BottenFieldofDreams]

The Mythic Quest quarantine episode is magnificent.

[ghostrunner]

Even putting Corona aside, this is too crowded

[Mary1966]

I’m watching Mayor Krewson on MSNBC right now commenting on this.

[tlombard]

Even putting Corona aside, this is too crowded

Idiots. I was a bit surprised to see pictures from a couple of my friends from the pool at the entertainment across the street from the condo one of them owns. I thought they were smarter than that. To be completely honest, if it wasn't for the fact that we moved the GF into a new apartment on Sunday, I would have been down there with them and in that pool too. Things worked out for the best on my part with not being able to go to the LOTO.

[Leroy]

So I look at the numbers several times every day. I guess this is what I see. The number of cases per day has stayed steady for a couple of weeks, somewhere around 20,000. The number of deaths is decreasing however. Some days high, some days low, but the general trend is down. Also, the country has been slowly opening for a couple of weeks now. Doesn't make sense, does it?

Well, it has probably something to do with the following:
1) Testing - I don't know if we are testing more, but I have to think we are. So the cases are hanging steady. I think if testing would have been at the same level all the way through, we'd be shocked at how many people have already had this and are not counted as cases. I'll be honest, I have heard that severe abdominal pain is the only symptom in a small number of cases. About a week after we did a couple of audits in ND oil country, I was sick as hell for four days, but just of the stomach. I barely ate for those four days. There are a lot of people in that area that work here for three weeks and go wherever they are from for a week. It's very possible to have contact with someone from a long way away from here, so you never know, and I wouldn't know until they would test me for antibodies or whatever which probably won't happen unless I do get sick, and then I'd know I didn't have it at all.
2) Treating - I also have to think that our treatment is better. I have read that the ventilators did as much harm as good, but I have no proof of that. But the only way cases can stay the same and the death rate goes down is that the already sick got this and it pushed them over the edge, or that we are doing a better job of treating the infected or both.

It is my opinion that the death numbers are real. I also believe that the number of infections is way too low, which would also mean that the U.S. fatality rate of 5.9% is too high.

I'm not running around calling this a hoax, it obviously isn't. And I'm not rushing the capitol with guns and swastikas. I'm no scientist either. This is all just my opinion.

As far as the groups at the lake or whatever...too bad diseases couldn't only infect jackasses and leave the rest of us alone.

[pioneer98]

The death numbers are real and if anything they are low. Early on, there were a bunch of deaths that were likely caused by coronavirus, but it was so new a lot of hospitals listed pneumonia as the cause of death. Someone did a study and found a big spike in pneumonia deaths starting in January, a much higher spike than in previous years. No idea how many more deaths it would add to the totals. Probably thousands though.

I also read that because of the gestation time of this virus (symptoms may not appear anywhere from 4 days to 15 days, to never), the numbers we are seeing today are mainly the result of the social distancing we did like 4 to 20 days ago or so. So the social distancing we did around like May 12 or so is resposnible for the number of cases declining today. As states reopen, we will have to keep an eye on it. We won't know how well the reopeing is going for 2-3 weeks after reopening.

[Leroy]

On the flip side, a lot of people that are say 97 years old are dying and attributed to the virus. I'm not saying that isn't correct, but when our governor rattles off the death numbers here, I don't think he has ever mentioned a case without underlying conditions. I'm not arguing with your point, just making another. The two may just kinda wash though.

As far as the social distancing and reopening, we were never closed, so I don't expect a huge spike here. I mean, we couldn't go to bars, etc. but you are supposed to social distance to do that now. I'm pretty sure when people get likkered up, social distancing goes away though. We have to wait and see what happens.

I have thought for a long time that good, hot weather would help. Unfortunately, it has been an unusually cold spring. I just think heat helps, and getting out in the sun helps with vitamin D. I am required to take vitamin D daily, but the sun just can't hurt.

Honestly, I hope social distancing stays. I have no problem with people remaining 6 feet away from me. Those people in the video at the lake, yeah that isn't for me.

[mikechamp]

You can now socially distance and get a fast-food burger:

[GeddyWrox]

I don't think there is a way to embed this. It's an animation showing running total of global deaths for various causes in 2020.

https://public.flourish.studio/visualis ... wJDen87e6o

[Fat_Bulldog]

That is some animation Geddy.