No Time to Die... from COVID-19

[Dartz]

For the last three weeks Paddy Irishman has been dutifully buying a copy of The Time every day.

He checks the front page, groans with dissapointment, and throws it in the bin.

After three weeks of this, Paddy Englishman the newsagent finally decides to ask him why he only reads the front page before binning the paper.

I'm looking at the deaths, says Paddy Irishman

But those aren't on the front page, says Paddy Englishman

The one I'm looking for will be, assures Paddy Irishman

BoJo's gone into the ICU. Shaking those hands doesn't seem so smart now, does it?

[robkelk]

What it's like to be a paramedic during a pandemic:

He knows he could be next, but there's a job to do

[LynnInDenver]

Colorado extended the Stay At Home order until the 26th. Denver extended it to the 30th.

I made two masks for each of us from the National Jewish Health pattern. That used up some key supplies in my sewing area, I don't really have enough left to make any more complete masks.

[robkelk]

Ottawa just cancelled all festival permits through June 30 - which means the 40th anniversary of the Ottawa JazzFest will be marked with no shows.

And they're not promising that there won't be an extension... which, if it happens, would cancel the Canada Day festivities. (This would be the equivalent of Washington calling off the July 4 events.)

[Star Ranger4]

Colorado extended the Stay At Home order until the 26th. Denver extended it to the 30th.

I made two masks for each of us from the National Jewish Health pattern. That used up some key supplies in my sewing area, I don't really have enough left to make any more complete masks.

...  Typical of what I've been fearing.  While they've asked people to try and make masks at home to save the 'really good ones' for medical personnel, the means to acquire the material?  Non essential.  Closed.

Brilliant thinking, governor.

[robkelk]

During self-isolation, I will take my amusements where I can find them. I just managed to win with a score of 0 in a full game of Microsoft Hearts.

<deadpan> Yay. </deadpan>

(No time for a big game during lunch break; but just enough time for a card game.)

[Dartz]

Saved by The Consumption it seems. Ireland was one of the few countries in Europe to keep BCG going - only stopping 5 years ago when stocks ran short. TB vaccination seems to be having a downward effect on Covid.

Especially when you compare us with our nearest neighbour which stopped the BCG in the 90's.

It's believeable when you consider how maddeningly rampant it is in nursing homes and how high the community transmission figure is - which suggests a very high degree of asymptomatic transmission. A quarter of cases are healthworkers - but less than 6% of those are getting it in the hospital.

Ireland may even be cresting the peak of the infection]. Something somewhat unbelieveable - we've had 36 deaths today - but maybe not far off. The majority over 80.



But 400-1000 deaths - compared to 60,000 next door?

Yikes.

[LynnInDenver]

Colorado extended the Stay At Home order until the 26th. Denver extended it to the 30th.

I made two masks for each of us from the National Jewish Health pattern. That used up some key supplies in my sewing area, I don't really have enough left to make any more complete masks.

...  Typical of what I've been fearing.  While they've asked people to try and make masks at home to save the 'really good ones' for medical personnel, the means to acquire the material?  Non essential.  Closed.

Brilliant thinking, governor.

To be fair, that's basically stock I had on hand in terms of swimsuit elastic (that I used for the straps as well as the bottom cinch elastic). I can probably make more if I need to, but it will involve making the straps at this point. But I take your point in general.

The masks are really just meant for venturing out of the house, so we effectively have enough. I do have a really good one - a 3M Respirator - but that one's been in the paint booth, and technically it's not for the intended purpose of keeping anything I may have from infecting others.

[Dartz]

Colorado extended the Stay At Home order until the 26th. Denver extended it to the 30th.

I made two masks for each of us from the National Jewish Health pattern. That used up some key supplies in my sewing area, I don't really have enough left to make any more complete masks.

...  Typical of what I've been fearing.  While they've asked people to try and make masks at home to save the 'really good ones' for medical personnel, the means to acquire the material?  Non essential.  Closed.

Brilliant thinking, governor.

To be fair, that's basically stock I had on hand in terms of swimsuit elastic (that I used for the straps as well as the bottom cinch elastic). I can probably make more if I need to, but it will involve making the straps at this point. But I take your point in general.

The masks are really just meant for venturing out of the house, so we effectively have enough. I do have a really good one - a 3M Respirator - but that one's been in the paint booth, and technically it's not for the intended purpose of keeping anything I may have from infecting others.

But those're great for Darth Vadering around the shop.

"I find your lack of Gramby pudding disturbing"

[LynnInDenver]

Colorado extended the Stay At Home order until the 26th. Denver extended it to the 30th.

I made two masks for each of us from the National Jewish Health pattern. That used up some key supplies in my sewing area, I don't really have enough left to make any more complete masks.

...  Typical of what I've been fearing.  While they've asked people to try and make masks at home to save the 'really good ones' for medical personnel, the means to acquire the material?  Non essential.  Closed.

Brilliant thinking, governor.

To be fair, that's basically stock I had on hand in terms of swimsuit elastic (that I used for the straps as well as the bottom cinch elastic). I can probably make more if I need to, but it will involve making the straps at this point. But I take your point in general.

The masks are really just meant for venturing out of the house, so we effectively have enough. I do have a really good one - a 3M Respirator - but that one's been in the paint booth, and technically it's not for the intended purpose of keeping anything I may have from infecting others.

But those're great for Darth Vadering around the shop.

"I find your lack of Gramby pudding disturbing"

*snort*

The point with the respirator is it doesn't keep my stuff in from everyone else - it's meant to filter the incoming while allowing the outgoing to leave "unmoltested". So it's technically not suited to the task of Outside Encountering anyway.

[hazard]

Just a thousand death is pretty good on a population of about 5 million Dartz. The Netherlands may've some 17 million inhabitants, but we're also already registering just over 2100 deaths in total and we've been hitting about 150 deaths per day for more than a week now. I wouldn't be too surprised if we hit a good bit over 3500 deaths in total.

And Lynn, if you are not infected, keeping yourself from getting infected is the better option.

[LynnInDenver]

And Lynn, if you are not infected, keeping yourself from getting infected is the better option.

Yeah, we've been staying inside as much as we can here in that effort to keep from getting sick. We're probably at least a good week away from even seeing the peak of this thing here, much less passing it... and I'm hoping it doesn't have another good peak within weeks of starting to loosen the restrictions.

[hazard]

Well, no data on how accurate that fear is, yet. China has begun easing restrictions, but AFAICT that was earlier this week so any new aren't likely to be detected prior to next week. It might be that we'll get a rebound as the virus finds new victims as the social distancing measures are lessened, or it might've burned itself out of the population.

I wouldn't be too hopeful of the latter.

[robkelk]

I have to cut down on how much news I follow.

I just read "Coriolanus" as "Coronavirus".

[classicdrogn]

WRT masks, I will note that Newegg.com is offering a free 5-pack of (Chinese, synthetic microfiber, non-N95 just standard surgical) masks for free with any order, limit one pack per customer account. As Dad and I were already housebound a few days before everyone went nuts prepping due to him taking a fall and me needing to be on hand if needed anything or fell again while his back was recovering from pulling it the first time, I hadn't been able to get any, so it's a very much appreciated add-in. They're not advertising it or anything, but don't dismiss the pop-up when you go to the cart as "just another bloody upsell" like the extended warranty offers that appear on everything.

[hazard]

The Dutch government has proposed to develop and distribute an application that will tell people if/when they've been at risk of exposure to COVID-19, potentially in real time.

This has... implications regarding medical data security and privacy.

[Dartz]

Yeah. That's going full China. You never want to go full China.

We've a backlog of about 60,000 tests sent to Germany. Those're being chewed through - which suggests the results of the last week or so were being held down by limited testing. As it is, the hospitals and ICU's aren't coming under extreme pressure - they're hoping for a steady 100 and it's at 150 - with some spare capacity in it still to be used.

Deaths have been trucking along between 20 and 36 for the last week or two. The majority of them are over 80 and in nursing homes where it's been running through like a housefire. We've 300 deaths and ICU admissions (total - including those who've recovered and left) are around 250. Most nursing home residents are not even going to hospital - they're just letting most them peacefully pass in comfort in a peaceful place.

Parents have recovered from Corvids. Now they're getting scorpy looks from the culchies for being the ones who brought it down there - despite getting it down there from someone they knew.

The big problem out of this is mental health.
70% of people are reporting severe worries
50% of people are reporting severe worries for their families.

The lockdown will go on until May the 5th.

It's almost impossible to get out of Dublin without being turned back by a police checkpoint.

It's also very quickly morphing into a toxic soup of us-v-them between the rest of Ireland and Dublin - with Dublin being the host of the majority of cases, there're threats being made against holiday-home owners who got out of the density weeks before it kicked off.

Driving most places at well beyond speed limit is the new normal.

The sun is out. People are inside.

500,000 are on the dole.
Another 200,000 are having 2/3rds of their salary paid by the government to keep small businesses ticking along so the economy restarts properly.

[robkelk]

Somebody had some fun with Potoshop. (Read the article to find out who.)

[hazard]

Paraphrasing events from a couple of weeks ago (which I missed).

The Dutch testing labs: "We don't have enough buffer fluid to perform the COVID-19 tests."
Roche (holding 80% of the market in a vendor lock in scheme): "We are producing as much fluid as we can."
The labs: "We still don't have enough buffer fluid."
The Dutch government: "Why is there not enough fluid."
Roche: "We are producing as much fluid as we can."
The government: "No seriously, we need more buffer fluid than you are producing for our needs."
Roche: "The recipe we use to produce buffer fluid has been publicly available on the internet since 1990."
The labs: "Strictly speaking correct, but producing our own buffer fluid would induce slow downs in testing because we have to detail personnel, lab space and time to producing that fluid and verifying it's of the correct composition and to what extent it needs to be diluted for optimal effect for testing for COVID-19. Roche has a private secret recipe whose traits and margins are known and the equipment to produce it in bulk without impacting our testing efforts."
The government: "Roche, we desperately need more buffer fluid."
Roche: "We are producing as much fluid as we can."
The government: "Roche, if you can't meet demand disclose the recipe so that others can help meet demand"
Roche: "That recipe is proprietary and must remain secret to maintain our vendor lock in scheme."
Dutch graffiti on Roche Netherland's head office: "How many dead" "Fuck Roche's profits." (Note that the graffiti used the English expletive 'fuck'.)
The government: "Roche, next time we're not asking, we need more buffer fluid than you are producing. Make the recipe available to others who can take at least some of the demand or we will make it available to them by force of law."
Roche: "We are producing as much fluid as we can. We are currently looking for ways to increase our production capacity and for partners who can aid us in producing more buffer fluid to the necessary standards."

[Black Aeronaut]

Blargh.

Big Pharma companies are a plague second only to American health insurance companies.

[Matrix Dragon]

Blargh.

Big Pharma companies are a plague second only to American health insurance companies.

These two images are identical.

[robkelk]

It's flood season again.

Time to send out the call for volunteers to... work... side... by... side...

Aw, crap.

[robkelk]

Well, the coyote did have the green light...



Source. This was close to "Embassy Row" in Ottawa.

[robkelk]

The Laundry List - tips for using a laundromat safely during the pandemic.

[Bob Schroeck]

Well, the coyote did have the green light...

Meanwhile the fox in Princeton, NJ was jaywalking on Nassau Street.