Now, in some places, there is an oversupply of tests. People are not clamoring to get tested.
Could this mean that there are fewer symptomatic people and that asymptomatic people are not concerned that they’ve been exposed?
You would think so, but I’m in a suburb of Boston and don’t know anyone, not personally nor indirectly. There have definitely been cases in my area, so it’s out there. Guess we’ve just been lucky. Still wondering if H may have had a mild case earlier this year, or D who was away at college and repeatedly sick with something respiratory.
The only ones I know who actually tested positive were some of DH’s coworkers. The group had some with mild symptoms and even more complete asymptomatics (who were able to get tested after a coworker with mild symptoms tested positive). No one was hospitalized, and all are back at work at a job that requires them to be on their feet and moving most of the time.
One of DH’s coworker died, but the company made a point of saying it was not due to covid. It was very tragic, and due to privacy concerns, they weren’t able to say what did cause it. Reading a lot of stories of people afraid to go to hospitals for fear of catching the virus, my guess would be something along those lines.
My friend’s nephew (who is a HCW) tested positive for C19. After 7-10 days he improved and then his wife got it so she went into isolation and he is caring for their 5&10 year old kids, even tho he’s still always exhausted.
There was some family reunion that occurred with 30 people which caused an outbreak Gyms are trying to be careful , taking temps and wiping down equipment. But the tranmission (R factor ) is likely less in a gym than a gathering of people.
Well, I live in Michigan and I personally know quite a few people who’ve tested positive. Maybe I’m a curse?
- there’s my neighbor and friend who died after two weeks on a ventilator. It was a horrible way to die. She was 62 years old, and slightly overweight. Her husband never had a symptom or felt bad - although he’s feeling pretty terrible right now. His grief is overwhelming.
- my other neighbor’s daughter in Seattle. I mentioned her above. No hospital, but she still has significant lung impairment six weeks after recovery.
- three people from my church. One is dead; one was wiped out for three weeks (finally on the mend); another had a mild case.
- a coworker’s husband was hospitalized but has been discharged. He’s feeling better but it’s slow. His doctor is worried about long-term damage to his kidneys.
I’m sure I know others, but that’s just from my closest ring of friends.
That’s too bad there is an oversupply in some areas. There are some people who have recently posted on other threads that they still can’t get tested, even with symptoms.
If one lives in a place where testing is readily available and the state/county re-opening criteria include a declining % positivity metric, people should absolutely go get tested, symptoms or not.
Guess it depends on what you do at the gym. I would think a full cycling class would be high risk, or really any full group class. But for just weights and treadmill, if capacity is limited, people are appropriately spaced and equipment is cleaned between uses (which has always been a rule), that wouldn’t be very high risk.
The epidemiologist seems to think that the risk from gyms would be mitigated with frequent cleaning, a mask requirement and six foot distancing, whereas people in groups of friends wouldn’t wear masks, wouldn’t stay six feet away from one another and would touch the same things.
I think she’s thinking as an epidemiologist: would a gym as actually operated be more likely to cause transmission of disease than a party or get-together as it would actually occur?
I think this must be the case. It probably also depends if you’re the kind of person who goes when it’s not crowded, constantly wipes down equipment, drinks only from own bottle, washes hands afterward…
In my gym, I’ve seen it all, from the above - all the way to those who take off their shoes (not allowed) and shirts (not allowed), sweat all over shared equipment (not allowed), and crowd around way too close to other people. Granted, the shoe/shirt thing is more likely to give others some fungus or staph infection, not COVID, but still.
Group fitness classes would also be somewhat like a choir practice in terms of deep breathing in a confined space. Worse if it’s an aerobics class where you are “travelling” into places that others recently vacated as you go.
Hmmm…antibody tests are not readily available here…but if they were, and reliable ones, I might get that.
Someone just mentioned a long duration “cold” with cough. I haven’t had a cold in years, but I had one in February that just lingered and lingered. Let’s just say, I exceeded the number of days I took DayQuil by a lot. Coughing and a nasty cold. No fever that I know of. I did have chills for a couple of days. Maybe it was just your basic cold.
100 people at a house party in the Hollywood Hills. Shot fired. Police came. Man had shot himself in the groin accidentally. Of course, the big question is: were the people at the party arrested for violating the Safer at Home ‘law’? The article doesn’t say. They should have been IMO. So should the AirBnb owner. If gym owners are being arrested, people gathering in large groups like this should be too. The goosey-gander rule of law.
At my gym, I go to use the exercise equipment. I would not want to wear a mask, because when I go to the limit I need all the oxygen I can get. Yesterday when I was riding I wanted to pass a group of people who, annoyingly, were walking three abreast and not paying attention to others. I was wearing my mask, but then it got really steep and I pulled down the mask. It was that or stop, and I didn’t want to stop right next to this annoying crew who didn’t seem to care about social distancing.
^ Depends on the gym.
Westminster Strength & Conditioning (see their IG) in MD has moved nine squat racks outside (with pop-up tents on hand in case of rain).
There are time slots for gym members to come & Barbell train.
The owners & coaches lug the racks, weights, and mats back inside at the end of the day, and back outside in the morning.
Trying to stay in business & also serve their clients who don’t have the ability to lift heavy at home.
The business is lucky to have usable space outside.
There are other smaller Barbell-oriented gyms across the country that function on time slots and are anxious to open because they feel like their business model is conducive to relative safety.
I’m also stuck on the gym risk ranking.
Just this past week I cancelled my (at that time on hold) gym membership. It’s the first time in 40+ years I’ve not been a member somewhere. I honestly can’t see working out with a mask. I think I would wind up hyperventilating and possible getting faint.
What I could see some places doing - and ones in my area would have this as an option - is to hold classes outside. As things open up more I might entertain a membership in an outdoor bootcamp style class. My sister has continued with her group throughout this ordeal. There’s less than 10 of them, they do the SD thing and they are outside.
For me - part of the gym experience has always been the social aspect. I miss that part.
I posted about my oldest son on the Hitting Close to Home thread and don’t feel like reposting it all here too.
He was not hospitalized - no need - also wasn’t tested, just told he “likely” had it after they did a chest x-ray (officially had a lower respiratory infection). He was ill with it for at least a couple of weeks, but that was about a month ago now.
I most recently talked with him the Wednesday after Mother’s Day. His lungs are only feeling better if he does nothing. If he tries to talk for a few hours (it’s his paid job - he streams games live on the internet) he feels it for a couple of days. If he tries to go out and get some weeds out of his yard, he can only last for half an hour or so before needing a nap. He won’t try anything “harder.”
He’s in his upper 20s. Wife never had any symptoms. He’s now reading about some of the medical thoughts regarding lung issues and wondering if he’ll ever get back to normal. Only time will tell.
I’m looking forward to a reliable, affordable antibody test. After paying for his x-ray+ medical bill (when he went for a “free” test, but was denied it), I still would like answers.
There are other things still circulating besides Covid. Did he just get Walking Pneumonia from something, or was it Covid?
The folks I know who had it are otherwise from the hometown region of my youth. My sister keeps me up to date on them, but mainly when they die. I haven’t heard about recovery and she probably only hears about the deaths.
Our area is fortunately in a bubble - just 6 deaths in our county. The meat plant is the largest source of cases. It’s likely some of the parents of kids at school work there, but I haven’t heard of any specifics through the grapevine and HIPAA keeps me from hearing about them officially via work or elsewhere. I would hear about deaths (a member of our Class of 2018 just died from a motorcycle accident this week - too young to die and gives me shudders as my own 2014 lad rides a motorcycle).
But also, don’t some people who do not go to the hospital have longer lasting effects (e.g. reduced lung capacity) even after clearing the virus? So it may not be just the ~2% (or ~4% of those who are symptomatic) who go to the hospital who should be concerned about longer lasting effects. Also, some people may die at home having never gone to the hospital, perhaps because the symptoms did not seem severe enough until they rapidly progressed to death.
The nursing homes that did not get hit early probably got very paranoid about keeping the virus out.
For the first time in months, the state of Wisconsin reports no new deaths from coronavirus infection over the past 24 hours.
Additionally, the percentage of coronavirus tests that came back positive in the past 24 hours fell back down to 6.3 percent — down from 8.3 percent Saturday. The 14-day average — a key measure identified by the State Department of Health Services — is still on a downward trajectory, though slightly higher than it was Saturday.
Wisconsin now has had a total of 12,571 cases, according to Department of Health Services and county public health data, an increase of 203.
The largest increase in new cases today come from Milwaukee County, which reported only 37 cases after five days of triple-digit increases. The outbreak in Brown County seems to remain under control, as 26 more cases were identified and five percent of tests came back positive — down from more than 59 percent a week ago. An outbreak at a meat packing plant in Green Bay has significantly increased the number of positive cases in Brown County, which have now reached 2,096 in the county. That’s a rate of 807 cases per 100,000 residents — far higher than the second-highest rate, 520.5 in Racine County.
Note that “getting together with groups of friends” suggests a large number of people, while “gatherings with a couple of friends” suggests a small number of people, presumably why the former is “high risk” and the latter is “medium risk” (seems like the assumption is that neither activity will be done with social distancing).
But note that the page also has some details about how behavior while doing the activity can matter in terms of risk profile. For example “Shopping in grocery or clothing stores can be low risk if you keep distance from others and wear a mask.” But if the store is crowded or has narrow aisles, it can be difficult to stay away from others. The page also notes that the checkout line is the highest risk area in a store.