Coronavirus pandemic

[Roadgeekteen]

Arkansas has just mandated masks beginning Monday (7/20)

Looks like many states are starting to catch on. Florida I'm waiting for you...

[tradephoric]

Florida government should be commended for keeping deaths down to a low level compared to what we saw in New York back in April.  For states with nearly identical populations we aren't seeing anywhere close to the 1,000 deaths a day like we saw in New York.  I know people will say deaths lag, but does anybody believe Florida will see a 10 fold increase in average daily deaths over the next several weeks (which is what would need to happen before deaths become comparable between the two states).  It's amazing how much of a media love fest there is for Andrew Cuomo when so many New York residents died under his watch and how much disdain there is for Ron DeSantis when the deaths out of Florida are much much lower than New York.

[kphoger]

Florida government should be commended for keeping deaths down to a low level compared to what we saw in New York back in April. 

At least some of that has to do with the fact that half the cases early on were nursing home and assisted living residents, whereas younger and healthier people are getting the virus now.  State governments can't necessarily be commended for that, because they weren't necessarily responsible for the demographic shift.

[Eth]

Arkansas has just mandated masks beginning Monday (7/20)

Looks like many states are starting to catch on. Florida I'm waiting for you...

And then...there's Georgia. (Note: the URL doesn't tell the whole story here.)

My opinion on the relationship between the state and local governments on these matters is unwelcome here, as I've already been made aware, so I'll let you draw your own conclusions.

[NWI_Irish96]

Florida government should be commended for keeping deaths down to a low level compared to what we saw in New York back in April. 

At least some of that has to do with the fact that half the cases early on were nursing home and assisted living residents, whereas younger and healthier people are getting the virus now.  State governments can't necessarily be commended for that, because they weren't necessarily responsible for the demographic shift.

The hospitalization rate in Florida suggests that the death rate isn't going to stay low for very long.

[kphoger]

Question:  Is there really a good reason to toss your face mask in the laundry every night?

I have three masks, and I cycle through them every three days.  Considering that the SARS-CoV-2 virus doesn't remain viable on fabric for two days, what advantage would there really be to washing them instead of just leaving them out for 2-3 days between uses?

[LM117]

Walmart is requiring masks in all its stores:

https://www.foxbusiness.com/lifestyle/coronavirus-walmart-sams-club-face-mask-shop

CVS, Target, Kroger, Kohl's, and Best Buy have joined the club.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/16/business/cvs-target-masks-required/index.html

_________

In other news, refrigerated trucks are heading to Arizona and Texas.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/16/health/us-coronavirus-thursday/index.html

[webny99]

Question:  Is there really a good reason to toss your face mask in the laundry every night?

I don't have the answer, but the question never even occurred to me because I've been using the disposable style of masks and discarding them after maybe 3 or 4 uses.

[SEWIGuy]

Florida government should be commended for keeping deaths down to a low level compared to what we saw in New York back in April. 

No they shouldn't.

It's the state government's irresponsible opening that has caused cases and hospitalizations to rise.  They don't get to take credit for what doctors and other health care professionals are doing to save lives.

[jeffandnicole]

Florida government should be commended for keeping deaths down to a low level compared to what we saw in New York back in April.  For states with nearly identical populations we aren't seeing anywhere close to the 1,000 deaths a day like we saw in New York.  I know people will say deaths lag, but does anybody believe Florida will see a 10 fold increase in average daily deaths over the next several weeks (which is what would need to happen before deaths become comparable between the two states).  It's amazing how much of a media love fest there is for Andrew Cuomo when so many New York residents died under his watch and how much disdain there is for Ron DeSantis when the deaths out of Florida are much much lower than New York.

This is 100% solely due to New York, and the rest of the country, trying to figure out how to handle the virus early on. 

Also, as in many cases, there is no comparing NYC to the rest of the country.  You simply don't have the intense population within a small area elsewhere like you do in NYC. 

For all your cherrypicking of datasets and graphics, I'm surprised you would let this try to sneak by everyone.

[kalvado]

Florida government should be commended for keeping deaths down to a low level compared to what we saw in New York back in April.  For states with nearly identical populations we aren't seeing anywhere close to the 1,000 deaths a day like we saw in New York.  I know people will say deaths lag, but does anybody believe Florida will see a 10 fold increase in average daily deaths over the next several weeks (which is what would need to happen before deaths become comparable between the two states).  It's amazing how much of a media love fest there is for Andrew Cuomo when so many New York residents died under his watch and how much disdain there is for Ron DeSantis when the deaths out of Florida are much much lower than New York.

This is 100% solely due to New York, and the rest of the country, trying to figure out how to handle the virus early on. 

Also, as in many cases, there is no comparing NYC to the rest of the country.  You simply don't have the intense population within a small area elsewhere like you do in NYC. 

For all your cherrypicking of datasets and graphics, I'm surprised you would let this try to sneak by everyone.

One thing about NY death rate - and many people believe that is direct fault of Cuomo - is the way nursing homes were forced to accept sick patients. Quite a few issues, and hopefully some lessons leaned.
https://nypost.com/2020/07/14/gov-cuomos-report-on-nursing-home-deaths-ripped-by-experts/

[kphoger]

Florida government should be commended for keeping deaths down to a low level compared to what we saw in New York back in April.  For states with nearly identical populations we aren't seeing anywhere close to the 1,000 deaths a day like we saw in New York.  I know people will say deaths lag, but does anybody believe Florida will see a 10 fold increase in average daily deaths over the next several weeks (which is what would need to happen before deaths become comparable between the two states).  It's amazing how much of a media love fest there is for Andrew Cuomo when so many New York residents died under his watch and how much disdain there is for Ron DeSantis when the deaths out of Florida are much much lower than New York.

This is 100% solely due to New York, and the rest of the country, trying to figure out how to handle the virus early on. 

Also, as in many cases, there is no comparing NYC to the rest of the country.  You simply don't have the intense population within a small area elsewhere like you do in NYC. 

For all your cherrypicking of datasets and graphics, I'm surprised you would let this try to sneak by everyone.

One thing about NY death rate - and many people believe that is direct fault of Cuomo - is the way nursing homes were forced to accept sick patients. Quite a few issues, and hopefully some lessons leaned.
https://nypost.com/2020/07/14/gov-cuomos-report-on-nursing-home-deaths-ripped-by-experts/

Yep, which tradephoric himself pointed out a month and a half ago.

... sounds like a better strategy than what some governors have been doing - allowing confirmed coronavirus cases to mingle with the most vulnerable populations inside nursing homes while forcing the non-vulnerable to shelter at home.

Highlighted below are those states I've seen reference to requiring long-term care facilities to accept patients with the virus.  Of course, saying that the one necessarily led to the other could be a case of post hoc ergo propter hoc, but I provide the numbers for you nevertheless.

[Roadgeekteen]

Walmart is requiring masks in all its stores:

https://www.foxbusiness.com/lifestyle/coronavirus-walmart-sams-club-face-mask-shop

CVS, Target, Kroger, Kohl's, and Best Buy have joined the club.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/16/business/cvs-target-masks-required/index.html

_________

In other news, refrigerated trucks are heading to Arizona and Texas.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/16/health/us-coronavirus-thursday/index.html

I think we should have a nationwide mask order if it's allowed.

[kphoger]

I think we should have a nationwide mask order if it's allowed.

I still think it makes little sense to require residents of a county with zero COVID cases to date (such as the county I grew up in, zero cases within 30 miles of the town I grew up in) to wear a mask at all times.  But apparently I'm in the minority on that one.

[NWI_Irish96]

I think we should have a nationwide mask order if it's allowed.

I still think it makes little sense to require residents of a county with zero COVID cases to date (such as the county I grew up in, zero cases within 30 miles of the town I grew up in) to wear a mask at all times.  But apparently I'm in the minority on that one.

In theory, everything, the level of lockdown, mask requirements, social gathering requirements, etc., should vary by county depending on population density and recent infection rates.

In practice, people everywhere are going to default to following the the rules of the least-restrictive county that is anywhere near them even if their own county is more restrictive.

[kalvado]

I think we should have a nationwide mask order if it's allowed.

I still think it makes little sense to require residents of a county with zero COVID cases to date (such as the county I grew up in, zero cases within 30 miles of the town I grew up in) to wear a mask at all times.  But apparently I'm in the minority on that one.

It's not that much a function of a county as a function of crowd size.  Things can go from zero to (anti)hero pretty quick.
Store with 10s people inside? Mask regardless of where it is. 

[hotdogPi]

In practice, people everywhere are going to default to following the the rules of the least-restrictive county that is anywhere near them even if their own county is more restrictive.

That was not the case here. In April, when we had high case counts, people were following the rules quite well. (They still are, but I'm in a low-case area now.)

[wxfree]

I heard a commentator say that calling Texas a "hotspot" is like calling the sun a hotspot.  We do seem to be making some progress.  Daily cases and the positivity rate are still high, but hospitalizations are leveling off.  Of people in hospitals, more of them are moving into ICUs, and much of the state has severe shortages of capacity.  And the death numbers are going up.  Late-stage numbers (ICU and deaths) are rising, but early and mid-stage numbers (infections and hospitalizations) are steady.  The daily cases chart is wavy, and weekly, with each week's numbers forming a plateau higher than the week before, but this week's plateau is only a little bit higher than last week's.  We might be reaching the peak of the wave in early numbers.  If so, the spike in late-stage bad outcomes is still ahead, and some cities and counties are bringing in refrigerated trailers to serve as makeshift morgues.

San Antonio has five trailers.

https://www.expressnews.com/coronavirus/article/San-Antonio-officials-secure-5-refrigerated-15412726.php

Cameron and Hidalgo Counties are sharing a trailer, and Dallas had to use a truck, which the interview makes it seem like they own and keep as a backup.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/16/health/us-coronavirus-thursday/index.html

[oscar]

Question:  Is there really a good reason to toss your face mask in the laundry every night?

I have three masks, and I cycle through them every three days.  Considering that the SARS-CoV-2 virus doesn't remain viable on fabric for two days, what advantage would there really be to washing them instead of just leaving them out for 2-3 days between uses?

Depends, at least in part, on whether you've sneezed or coughed into them. If so, your main concern isn't about any virus on the outside of the mask, but all the crud accumulating inside. True, that stuff came from inside you originally (and it's good the mask stopped it from spreading to other people), but still.

I have a few cloth masks, but still have a supply of non-washable disposables, which go into the trash rather than the laundry hamper.

I think we should have a nationwide mask order if it's allowed.

As allergic as I am to anything "nationwide" (as stated by kphoger), it would help travelers who are confused about mask requirements varying by jurisdiction. At rest areas in Maryland, I saw out-of-state travelers perplexed by the mask requirement posted outside the restrooms. Most of them just went into the restrooms (sometimes using single-user "family restrooms" where available) anyway, rather than go back to their cars to pull out a mask if they had one.

At least with stores under mask requirements, often someone will be around to give you a disposable mask, or sell you a cloth one. Walmarts tend to have a bin near entrances, with sometimes clever cloth masks. Even though I didn't need it right away, I bought a "Keep Calm and Stay 6 Feet Away" mask for future use.

[Roadgeekteen]

I think we should have a nationwide mask order if it's allowed.

I still think it makes little sense to require residents of a county with zero COVID cases to date (such as the county I grew up in, zero cases within 30 miles of the town I grew up in) to wear a mask at all times.  But apparently I'm in the minority on that one.

Maybe not nationwide, but in counties throughout America with some amount of cases. I do agree that this matter might be better left to the states, but if that's the case states should be allowed to close their borders.

[Max Rockatansky]

I think we should have a nationwide mask order if it's allowed.

I still think it makes little sense to require residents of a county with zero COVID cases to date (such as the county I grew up in, zero cases within 30 miles of the town I grew up in) to wear a mask at all times.  But apparently I'm in the minority on that one.

Maybe not nationwide, but in counties throughout America with some amount of cases. I do agree that this matter might be better left to the states, but if that's the case states should be allowed to close their borders.

Weren't some kind of doing that early on?  I seem to recall some Tennessee/North Carolina State Lines out in the Blue Ridge Mountains got some Jersey Barriers.

[Eth]

I think we should have a nationwide mask order if it's allowed.

I still think it makes little sense to require residents of a county with zero COVID cases to date (such as the county I grew up in, zero cases within 30 miles of the town I grew up in) to wear a mask at all times.  But apparently I'm in the minority on that one.

That's probably reasonable, though from my perspective that's a purely hypothetical situation as there are no such counties in my state. Then again, I also think counties with 5-digit case totals should probably at least be permitted to pass such a requirement, but some state governors apparently disagree.

[Scott5114]

A mask order still makes some degree of sense in a zero-case county, because an infected visitor could bring it in and not make it a zero-case county anymore. Having a mask order means that visitor would have to stay masked, protecting the residents from exposure.

(Early on in the pandemic, there was a case of an asymptomatic Tulsa preacher traveling to rural southwest Oklahoma nursing homes to give sermons, and being the first to introduce the virus to that region. The preacher later died of the virus himself.)

[3467]

The inventor of the n95 said if you have more than one set it aside and the virus and bacteria it caught will just die out. That was on CNN. Surgical masks are common enough to toss.
Illinois has a huge amount of testing and I know one little county where everyone celebrated no active cases by ditching their masks. Only problem even though most wear them while traveling they still have these things we talk about called roads and they are 40 miles from a hot spot.

[Duke87]

I think we should have a nationwide mask order if it's allowed.

I still think it makes little sense to require residents of a county with zero COVID cases to date (such as the county I grew up in, zero cases within 30 miles of the town I grew up in) to wear a mask at all times.  But apparently I'm in the minority on that one.

Regardless, a nationwide order isn't really consistent with how federalism works.

The feds have the authority to mandate masks, if they're so inclined, in places and circumstances that fall under their direct jurisdiction - so, for example, they could mandate everyone wear masks in post offices, on airplanes, on military bases, etc. And they could, through OSHA, mandate all employees wear masks while at work. But it's not really their place to make rules about what customers do while shopping, dining, etc. - this is under the purview of states.