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solarbirdA short sabotage/COVID-19 edition today. I can't say "enjoy," but, well, here it is. The first article is particularly obscene, as the first superspreader incident here involved an asymptomatic carrier infecting 3/4ths of a choir in a rehearsal where they'd even taken precautions. (This was early on, and their precautions weren't enough, but some were taken nonetheless.) The suppression of choral precaution information will infect thousands of people, no lie.
----- 1 -----
White House and CDC remove coronavirus warnings about choirs in faith guidance
By Lena H. Sun and Josh Dawsey
May 28, 2020 at 5:07 p.m. PDT
[EDITOR: This one's particularly obscene. The first superspreader incident here involved an asymptomatic carrier infecting 3/4ths of a choir in a rehearsal where they'd even taken mild precautions. This will infect thousands.]
https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/white-house-and-cdc-remove-coronavirus-warnings-about-choirs-in-faith-guidance/2020/05/28/5d9c526e-a117-11ea-9590-1858a893bd59_story.html
The Trump administration with no advance notice removed warnings contained in guidance for the reopening of houses of worship that singing in choirs can spread the coronavirus.
Last Friday, the administration released pandemic guidance for faith communities after weeks of debate flared between the White House and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Those guidelines posted on the CDC website included recommendations that religious communities “consider suspending or at least decreasing use of choir/musical ensembles and congregant singing, chanting, or reciting during services or other programming, if appropriate within the faith tradition.”
It added: “The act of singing may contribute to transmission of Covid-19, possibly through emission of aerosols.”
By Saturday, that version was replaced by updated guidance that no longer includes any reference to choirs or congregant singing and the risk for spreading virus. The altered guidance also deleted a reference to “shared cups” among items, including hymnals and worship rugs, that should not be shared. The updated guidelines also added language that said the guidance “is not intended to infringe on rights protected by the First Amendment.”
----- 2 -----
COVID-19 Cases and Deaths Surge: The Impact of Wisconsin’s In-Person Primary Vote
Posted on May 28, 2020 by Yves Smith
https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2020/05/covid-19-cases-and-deaths-surge-the-impact-of-wisconsins-in-person-primary-vote.html
Yves here. Correlation is not causation, but the Wisconsin primary looks to have ushered in more Covid-19 infections.
By Phillip Alvelda. Originally published at the Institute for New Economic Thinking website
The world is on edge at the prospect of a resurgent wave of infections. Models and speculation are rife, but facts remain scarce, which is why the events in Wisconsin on April 7, and their eventual impact, are so important.
As COVID-19 advanced across the globe, most countries reacted by instituting shelter-in-place and lock-down strategies. As those curbs now begin to ease, the world is on edge at the prospect of a resurgent wave of infections. Models and speculation are rife, but facts remain scarce.
Which is why the events in Wisconsin on April 7, and their eventual impact, are so important.
On that day, citizens who wished to exercise their right to vote in the state’s political primary were forced to go in person to the polls. Strong opposition and a series of court rulings had foreclosed earlier hopes for conducting the primary entirely by mail. In hindsight, the events in Wisconsin clearly demonstrate the outcome of a deliberate one-day easing of social distancing practices—and this grim picture may be worth more than a thousand words of speculation and modeling.
A straightforward statistical and graphical analysis of Wisconsin’s COVID-19 daily confirmed new cases and death counts show a clear surge in both, with lags characteristic of the independently measured course of the Coronavirus. The deadly cycle typically takes between twenty-two and twenty-six days from the first signs of infection, to hospitalization, through the intensive care unit, and too often, to death.
As Figure 1, based on data from the Wisconsin Department of Health[1], reveals, a cascade of new cases in the period following the April 7 in-person election is apparent. The grey circle markers show the daily count of new confirmed COVID-19 infections in Wisconsin by date. The blue line is a smoothed average of the new case count that highlights trends over time.
----- 3 -----
As Businesses Reopen, Experts Say It’s Crucial We Wear Masks
May 27, 2020 11:45 a.m.
UCSD Health Sciences
https://ucsdhealthsciences.tumblr.com/post/619294290085052416/as-businesses-reopen-experts-say-its-crucial-we
In a perspective piece published today in the journal Science, UC San Diego experts describe in detail the growing evidence that SARS-CoV-2, the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19, can be spread by asymptomatic people via aerosols — a reality that deeply underscores the ongoing importance of regular widespread testing, wearing masks and physical distancing to reduce the spread of the virus. Here’s what they said:
Asymptomatic people spread virus in aerosols. Mounting evidence suggests that SARS-CoV-2 is silently spread in aerosols exhaled by contagious infected persons displaying no symptoms. A recent study estimated that a single minute of loud speaking might generate between 1,000-100,000 virion-containing aerosols or virus particles suspended in the air. Due to their small size, aerosols can remain airborne for hours and travel long distances. Small, virus-containing aerosols can also penetrate more deeply into the lungs, bypassing the immune system, which can lead to more severe cases of COVID-19.
Traditional measures target droplets, not buoyant aerosols. Traditional respiratory disease controls based on physical spacing are designed to reduce transmission from large droplets produced in the sneezes and coughs of infected individuals. However, a large fraction of the spread of COVID-19 appears to be occurring through airborne transmission of smaller aerosols produced by infected but asymptomatic individuals during breathing and speaking. Droplets settle to surfaces within six feet and spread via contact. Contrarily, infectious aerosols can accumulate in indoor, uncirculating air for hours, where they can be more easily inhaled deeply into the lungs.
Infectious aerosols can travel further than six feet. Given how little is known about the airborne behavior of infectious aerosols, it’s difficult to define a safe distance for physical distancing. However, a six-foot perimeter indoors without a mask is likely not enough if an asymptomatic person is actively shedding the virus, researchers say. A good comparison is exhaled smoke: The distance from a smoker at which you can smell smoke indicates the distance at which you might also inhale infectious aerosols. Many factors affect aerosol spread indoors and outdoors, such as air flow and ventilation, number of people in the space, time of exposure, sunlight, temperature and humidity.
Masks are essential. Properly fitted masks provide a critical physical barrier, reducing the number of infectious viruses in the exhaled breath of asymptomatic individuals. Countries that have been most effective in limiting the spread of COVID-19 have implemented universal masking. For example, Taiwan (population 24 million), where masking orders were universal and quickly enacted, did not implement a lockdown during the pandemic; yet it maintained a low incidence of approximately 441 cases and 7 deaths. By contrast, New York State (population 20 million) has had more than 353,000 COVID-19 cases and 24,000 deaths.
- White House and CDC remove coronavirus warnings about choirs in faith guidance
- COVID-19 Cases and Deaths Surge: The Impact of Wisconsin’s In-Person Primary Vote
- As Businesses Reopen, Experts Say It’s Crucial We Wear Masks
----- 1 -----
White House and CDC remove coronavirus warnings about choirs in faith guidance
By Lena H. Sun and Josh Dawsey
May 28, 2020 at 5:07 p.m. PDT
[EDITOR: This one's particularly obscene. The first superspreader incident here involved an asymptomatic carrier infecting 3/4ths of a choir in a rehearsal where they'd even taken mild precautions. This will infect thousands.]
https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/white-house-and-cdc-remove-coronavirus-warnings-about-choirs-in-faith-guidance/2020/05/28/5d9c526e-a117-11ea-9590-1858a893bd59_story.html
The Trump administration with no advance notice removed warnings contained in guidance for the reopening of houses of worship that singing in choirs can spread the coronavirus.
Last Friday, the administration released pandemic guidance for faith communities after weeks of debate flared between the White House and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Those guidelines posted on the CDC website included recommendations that religious communities “consider suspending or at least decreasing use of choir/musical ensembles and congregant singing, chanting, or reciting during services or other programming, if appropriate within the faith tradition.”
It added: “The act of singing may contribute to transmission of Covid-19, possibly through emission of aerosols.”
By Saturday, that version was replaced by updated guidance that no longer includes any reference to choirs or congregant singing and the risk for spreading virus. The altered guidance also deleted a reference to “shared cups” among items, including hymnals and worship rugs, that should not be shared. The updated guidelines also added language that said the guidance “is not intended to infringe on rights protected by the First Amendment.”
----- 2 -----
COVID-19 Cases and Deaths Surge: The Impact of Wisconsin’s In-Person Primary Vote
Posted on May 28, 2020 by Yves Smith
https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2020/05/covid-19-cases-and-deaths-surge-the-impact-of-wisconsins-in-person-primary-vote.html
Yves here. Correlation is not causation, but the Wisconsin primary looks to have ushered in more Covid-19 infections.
By Phillip Alvelda. Originally published at the Institute for New Economic Thinking website
The world is on edge at the prospect of a resurgent wave of infections. Models and speculation are rife, but facts remain scarce, which is why the events in Wisconsin on April 7, and their eventual impact, are so important.
As COVID-19 advanced across the globe, most countries reacted by instituting shelter-in-place and lock-down strategies. As those curbs now begin to ease, the world is on edge at the prospect of a resurgent wave of infections. Models and speculation are rife, but facts remain scarce.
Which is why the events in Wisconsin on April 7, and their eventual impact, are so important.
On that day, citizens who wished to exercise their right to vote in the state’s political primary were forced to go in person to the polls. Strong opposition and a series of court rulings had foreclosed earlier hopes for conducting the primary entirely by mail. In hindsight, the events in Wisconsin clearly demonstrate the outcome of a deliberate one-day easing of social distancing practices—and this grim picture may be worth more than a thousand words of speculation and modeling.
A straightforward statistical and graphical analysis of Wisconsin’s COVID-19 daily confirmed new cases and death counts show a clear surge in both, with lags characteristic of the independently measured course of the Coronavirus. The deadly cycle typically takes between twenty-two and twenty-six days from the first signs of infection, to hospitalization, through the intensive care unit, and too often, to death.
As Figure 1, based on data from the Wisconsin Department of Health[1], reveals, a cascade of new cases in the period following the April 7 in-person election is apparent. The grey circle markers show the daily count of new confirmed COVID-19 infections in Wisconsin by date. The blue line is a smoothed average of the new case count that highlights trends over time.
----- 3 -----
As Businesses Reopen, Experts Say It’s Crucial We Wear Masks
May 27, 2020 11:45 a.m.
UCSD Health Sciences
https://ucsdhealthsciences.tumblr.com/post/619294290085052416/as-businesses-reopen-experts-say-its-crucial-we
In a perspective piece published today in the journal Science, UC San Diego experts describe in detail the growing evidence that SARS-CoV-2, the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19, can be spread by asymptomatic people via aerosols — a reality that deeply underscores the ongoing importance of regular widespread testing, wearing masks and physical distancing to reduce the spread of the virus. Here’s what they said:
Asymptomatic people spread virus in aerosols. Mounting evidence suggests that SARS-CoV-2 is silently spread in aerosols exhaled by contagious infected persons displaying no symptoms. A recent study estimated that a single minute of loud speaking might generate between 1,000-100,000 virion-containing aerosols or virus particles suspended in the air. Due to their small size, aerosols can remain airborne for hours and travel long distances. Small, virus-containing aerosols can also penetrate more deeply into the lungs, bypassing the immune system, which can lead to more severe cases of COVID-19.
Traditional measures target droplets, not buoyant aerosols. Traditional respiratory disease controls based on physical spacing are designed to reduce transmission from large droplets produced in the sneezes and coughs of infected individuals. However, a large fraction of the spread of COVID-19 appears to be occurring through airborne transmission of smaller aerosols produced by infected but asymptomatic individuals during breathing and speaking. Droplets settle to surfaces within six feet and spread via contact. Contrarily, infectious aerosols can accumulate in indoor, uncirculating air for hours, where they can be more easily inhaled deeply into the lungs.
Infectious aerosols can travel further than six feet. Given how little is known about the airborne behavior of infectious aerosols, it’s difficult to define a safe distance for physical distancing. However, a six-foot perimeter indoors without a mask is likely not enough if an asymptomatic person is actively shedding the virus, researchers say. A good comparison is exhaled smoke: The distance from a smoker at which you can smell smoke indicates the distance at which you might also inhale infectious aerosols. Many factors affect aerosol spread indoors and outdoors, such as air flow and ventilation, number of people in the space, time of exposure, sunlight, temperature and humidity.
Masks are essential. Properly fitted masks provide a critical physical barrier, reducing the number of infectious viruses in the exhaled breath of asymptomatic individuals. Countries that have been most effective in limiting the spread of COVID-19 have implemented universal masking. For example, Taiwan (population 24 million), where masking orders were universal and quickly enacted, did not implement a lockdown during the pandemic; yet it maintained a low incidence of approximately 441 cases and 7 deaths. By contrast, New York State (population 20 million) has had more than 353,000 COVID-19 cases and 24,000 deaths.
no subject
Date: 2020-05-29 02:34 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-05-30 08:41 am (UTC)How many people that kills is irrelevant.
no subject
Date: 2020-06-03 07:26 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-06-03 07:30 am (UTC)