Are you a little confused by health experts and all the different changes that have been made up throughout the year concerning how you can catch COVID-19?
Get ready to rumble with some more mental gymnastics!
Despite earlier misgivings that close encounters would not yield many infections, the CDC has decided to change its guidance.
The definition change was triggered by a report on that case of a 20-year-old Vermont correctional officer, who was diagnosed with a coronavirus infection in August.
The guard, who wore a mask and goggles, had multiple brief encounters with six transferred prisoners before test results showed they were positive. At times, the prisoners wore masks, but there were encounters in cell doorways or in a recreational room where prisoners did not have them on, the report said.
An investigation that reviewed video footage concluded the guard’s brief interactions totaled 17 minutes during an 8-hour shift.
And with that, a brand new set of instructions for another morning ..
It would seem unfathomable that the deadly virus COVID-19 could be defeat it with just common household items, but we have come to learn that bleach, hand sanitizer, soap, and now mouthwash could very well do just that.
Penn State in Hershey Pennsylvania recently published a study, and while they did not test Darius mouthwash is against COVID-19, the researchers said they used a similar coronavirus to the SARS 19 virus.
They found some success in mitigating the virus, the spread, and the ability the virus would have inside the human body to leave the nose and mouth area and go into other portions of the anatomy.
And even if it doesn’t work, nurses and doctors will be truly overjoyed at your stay because of your fresh crystal clear breath..
More from the press release:
Certain oral antiseptics and mouthwashes may have the ability to inactivate human coronaviruses, according to a Penn State College of Medicine research study. The results indicate that some of these products might be useful for reducing the viral load, or amount of virus, in the mouth after infection and may help to reduce the spread of SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19.
Craig Meyers, distinguished professor of microbiology and immunology and obstetrics and gynecology, led a group of physicians and scientists who tested several oral and nasopharyngeal rinses in a laboratory setting for their ability to inactivate human coronaviruses, which are similar in structure to SARS-CoV-2. The products evaluated include a 1% solution of baby shampoo, a neti pot, peroxide sore-mouth cleansers, and mouthwashes.
The researchers found that several of the nasal and oral rinses had a strong ability to neutralize human coronavirus, which suggests that these products may have the potential to reduce the amount of virus spread by people who are COVID-19-positive.
The United States reported more than 69,000 new coronavirus cases on Friday, bringing the country’s total count to over 8 million reported cases, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
The last time the U.S. reported a daily count that high was in late July as the coronavirus swept through Sun Belt states.
The surge in cases comes as infectious disease experts warn the U.S. could face a “substantial third wave” of infections this winter.
Now on to the third wave!
The U.S. is averaging roughly 55,000 new coronavirus cases every day, based on a weekly average to smooth out the reporting, a more than 16% increase compared with a week ago, according to a CNBC analysis of Johns Hopkins data. New cases were growing by 5% or more in 38 states as the number of infections in the Midwest continues to surge.
There are tips being provided by WFAA in Dallas on how to create your own socially distance candy chute
-Buy PVC pipe which you can find at any hardware store or use a shipping tube if you have one at the home. *make sure the openings are large enough for candy to pass through.
– Cut the tube to the desired length *if trying to keep 6 feet social distance make sure the tube is longer than 6 feet
-Angle pipe or tube based on location and specifications of your home
-Make sure the contraption is safely set so you don’t put trick-or-treaters in harms way
-Make sure the person dispensing candy sanitizes hands or wear gloves
-Try to avoid trick-or-treaters from gathering in close proximity around the tube
THEY NEED TO STAND BACK FROM THE TUBE. AVOID THE TUBE.
Melania Trump revealed information tonight that first family son Barron also tested positive for the coronavirus, after initial negative test results.
Melania wrote that her son was strong and was without symptoms, but the news did come as a startling flash across the wires this evening.
She wrote:
My fear came true when he was tested again and it came up positive. Luckily he is a strong teenager and exhibited no symptoms. In one way I was glad the three of us went through this at the same time so we could take care of one another and spend time together. He has since tested negative.
The Drudge Report ran with the siren headline, and images were spread across social media of an exceptionally tall Baron towering over his parents at the White House.
Melania Trump revealed information tonight that first family son Barron also tested positive for the coronavirus, after initial negative test results.
Melania wrote that her son was strong and was without symptoms, but the news did come as a startling flash across the wires this evening.
She wrote:
My fear came true when he was tested again and it came up positive. Luckily he is a strong teenager and exhibited no symptoms. In one way I was glad the three of us went through this at the same time so we could take care of one another and spend time together. He has since tested negative.
The Drudge Report ran with the siren headline, and images were spread across social media of an exceptionally tall Baron towering over his parents at the White House.
Perhaps before we get into a few headlines and snippets of news, we should take a pause.
A deep, deep breath. Inhale..
If you thought the high speed railway of 2020 news would slow, you were mistaken. It turned into a monster freight train running of its tracks in some macabre October surprise, thanks to the coronavirus.
News headlines blazed around the global last night when President Donald Trump revealed that he and First Lady Melania had tested positive for COVID-19. As did the head of the Republican Party.. as did a Senator. As did Hope Hicks. As a matter of fact, the outbreak at the White House has been so fast and free that a Axios established a constantly updated page called Trump Coronavirus Tracker.
This is how the AP branded the breaking October surprise story:
News that the world’s most powerful man was infected with the world’s most notorious disease drew instant reactions of shock, sympathy, undisguised glee and, of course, the ever-present outrage and curiosity surrounding everything about President Donald Trump.
Trump’s announcement Friday, on Twitter, that he and first lady Melania Trump tested positive for the coronavirus, and the deep uncertainty that accompanied it, flashed across screens large and small, upending countless plans and sparking comment everywhere from presidential offices to the thousands looking to weigh in on social media.
The positive test reading for the leader of the world’s largest economy adds more uncertainty to investors’ worries, especially about its effect on the Nov. 3 election between the Republican president and Democrat Joe Biden. U.S. stock futures and most world markets fell on the news as did the price of oil.
CRICKETS AND DRAMA
The silence was deafening from the White House for most of Friday. Speculation was rampant about Joe Biden, who got tested twice today and is reportedly negative. Also rumors abounded about Mike Pence, who also reportedly is negative for COVID..
But how as the President himself doing? Things seemed sketchy and mysterious.
The White House initially said the president had mild symtoms. But the time Larry Kudlow was on cable news today, he said it was ‘moderate’ .. The First Lady Tweeted she was doing fine.
But there was nothing from the President.
Finally near the evening hour–after the stock market closed for Friday–news swiftly spread that the President was experiencing a fever.. he had a cough.. he was fatigued.. Also reported: He was given a cocktail of drugs to try warding off effects of the virus.
CHOPPER COUGH
By 5pm tonight, breaking news alerts across the world and social media declined into madness when it was announced that Donald Trump was being taken to Walter Reed Medical Center.. potentially for days..
In the midst of the media mania, White House official Alyssa Farah says power has not been transferred to Vice President Pence.
“The President is in charge,” she said, adding she is not aware of any additional coronavirus cases.
x x x
The President is in charge. Let that statement sink in.. dwell on those words to consider just what state of affairs, and what a nail biter of a moment we are in .. American history textbooks will undoubtedly speak of this year. But they will also capture this very day. This day that we all have lived through..
The path that this event takes next will be left to a higher power or natural fate. The future of American Democracy will be left to those who live in this Democratic Republic.
The world is watching.. And all we want to do is close our eyes.
HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE
There is some comfort in remembering that we have been here before (kind of) .. while no two or three events are comparable and all are unique, there is some precedent for what we are living through.
During Johnson’s last months in office, the President was hospitalized with the flu at the Bethesda Naval Hospital.
The media then, unlike today’s feeding frenzy, did not cover the event in the same manner that you’d expect.. They called Johnson’s battle with the pandemic a the “sniffles.” Doctors said he should simply rest.
And this may ring a bell: The White House called it a chest cold and low grade fever… Meanwhile, this was the state of affairs for the President with “sniffles:”
Back during the famous Spanish Flu (that we have often written about on this site) another United States President would acquire a pandemic. Woodrow Wilson began to feel ill on April 3, 1919. He got a fever, was unable to move, and went to bed.
He had contracted the Spanish flu, so bad that the President’s physician wrote confidentially to the White House, and it had made Wilson “violently sick.”
Wilson was in Paris for the treaty negotiations following the end of the First World War. It was at this even that he became ill. At that very decisive moment in global history.
Wilson recovered from the influenza, but suffered a severe stroke six months later, and was incapacitated through the remainder of his Presidency.. Some speculate that the Spanish Flu led to his death due to a body ravaged by that virulent pandemic.
But Wilson’s name is uniquely absent from virtually all historic stories about the Spanish Flu. He did not address it in public at all, nothing. Never. He had no time for the pandemic that was destroying the lives of so many around the United States–and they were having mask debates and school closings just like today. Instead he focused on the war.. and finally his unspoken words came back to harm his gravely..
And some other honorable mentions in history:
Dwight Eisinhower had heart issues and a heart attack. The nation at that time rallied around the guy they liked, Ike.
William Henry Harrison was only 32 days into his term as the ninth president of the United States when he became the first president to die in office. People blame his 2 hour long Inauguration Speech as to how he contracted either Typhoid fever or pneumonia.
Zachary Taylor died just 16 months after being sworn in as the 12th president of the United States. On July 4, 1950, Taylor had attended Fourth of July festivities on a scorching day in Washington, D.C., then returned to the White House where he ate cherries and drank iced milk and water. That night, he fell ill with stomach cramps that were diagnosed as cholera.
In 1923, Warren Harding died of a heart attack.
In 1945, beloved longtermed president Franklin Roosevelt died of a stroke.
Abraham Lincoln was assassinated in 1865.
John F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963.
And Ronald Reagan spent days in the hospital and almost died (we did not get told that then however) .. but survived and gained incredible fame as the Teflon Gipper when he made the joke, “Honey I forgot to duck.”
William McKinley was shot, and was initally reported to be recovering. And in good spirits.
James Garfield was shot in 1881. A long vigil began, and Garfield’s doctors issued regular bulletins that the American public followed closely throughout the summer of 1881.. His condition fluctuated; fevers came and went, he struggled to keep down solid food, and he spent most of the summer eating only liquids.
x x x
So exhale now. We have been through worse before.. And we may be through worse in the future again.
Time is never on our side.
And we’ve said this for years: No one ever said it was fun living through history.
In the predawn hours of March 30, Dr. Deborah Birx stepped in front of the camera on the White House lawn and made an alarming prediction about the coronavirus, which had, by then, killed fewer than 3,000 people in the United States.
“If we do things together, well, almost perfectly, we can get in the range of 100,000 to 200,000 fatalities,” Birx, coordinator of the White House coronavirus task force, told Savannah Guthrie of NBC News’ “Today” show.
“We don’t even want to see that,” she added, before Guthrie cut her off.
That was the worst case scenario..
The count continues.
The worst case scenario apparently is not done yet.
According to all reasonable reports, the COVID-19 death count surpassed the 200,000 mark on Saturday.
With the case count and death counts now rising in many locations around the United States, the next sobering number is being tossed around amongst many: A surge in the number of new infections in the fall and winter, combined with growing fatigue over social distancing and other public health measures, could result in more than 415,000 deaths in the U.S. by January, according to the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, or IHME, at the University of Washington.
x x x
THE SURGE
Boris Johnson was hospitalized with COVID-19 earlier this year. If you recall, Britain was on edge with rumors swirling that their prime minister was clinging for life. Public displays of his health suddenly became fearful, with the strong leader showing that adversity almost brought him down.
Now Johnson is publicly stating that his nation is in the second wave of the virus.
The plan would aim to avoid a national lockdown but could stop household-to-household contact. The first tier would be the level of measures currently in place in most parts of England now – with social distancing the key aspect. The second tier would involve what is currently being imposed in north-east of England – curfews on hospitality venues and a ban on meetings between households. The final third tier would involve stricter lockdown measures.
Europe’s death rate has been stable for 72 days, according to the ECDC, although Bulgaria, Croatia, Malta, Romania and Spain are seeing death rate increases.
The surge comes just after the summer vacation season, as workers return to city centers and children go back to school.
The World Health Organization blames countries that relaxed restrictions..
Perhaps images like this explain what is going wrong: People are seen dancing to a busker in Leicester Square, central London, on September 12, days before social gatherings were restricted again.
The second wave–or just increase in cases–may have just been inevitable.
Professor Mark Woolhouse, an epidemiologist at the University of Edinburgh, told CNN earlier this month that the initial lockdown was “never, ever going to solve the problem for us in Europe or anywhere else; it was simply deferring it.”
Deferring it.. And the world has deferred long enough?
Tenet made only $6.7 million during its second Friday-to-Sunday, which calculates to a 66.5 percent drop from weekend to weekend.. the film cost $200 mil to make.
This movie have done huge numbers in any other year, besides a 2020 cursed release.. There has been a particular focus on Tenet‘s release given the fact was set up to be a guinea pig of sorts for the industry to get a grasp on the potential of releasing a big blockbuster movie during the on-going pandemic, and thus far the reaction hasn’t exactly been positive..
These numbers showcase the true world of hurt that movie chains and studios are in right now.. 70% of theaters in America are open right now, but major cities like LA and NYC are keeping theirs closed. And even of the buildings open, there are stringent rules for social distancing with mostly empty theater rooms..
This is also the reason why several films, including WONDER WOMAN 1984 have delayed October releases.. Just a few more weeks.. just a few more hopes. And maybe this will all get better.. Or maybe it won’t.
Famous words from 20th century lyrics sadly ring true now..
The ‘older’ generation of kids grew up in a strange world of terrorism.. fears and loathing in public locations for almost two decades.
Now a virus came along to close those places down!
Younger people now are more likely to feel panic.. anxiety.. fear..
A majority of Americans ages 18 through 34 — 56% — say they have at least sometimes felt isolated in the past month, compared with about 4 in 10 older Americans, according to the latest COVID Response Tracking Study conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago.
Twenty-five percent of young adults rate their mental health as fair or poor, compared with 13% of older adults, while 56% of older adults say their mental health is excellent or very good, compared with just 39% of young adults.
The survey found 67% of young adults, but just 50% of those older, say they have at least sometimes felt that they were unable to control the important things in life. And 55% of 18 to 34 year olds say they have felt difficulties piling up too high to overcome, compared with 33% of older adults.
