March 1st: "A ban on single-use plastic bags in New York begins today. Here’s what to know."
March 18th: "“Reusable tote bags can sustain the COVID-19 and flu viruses — and spread the viruses throughout the store.”
🤦♂️ - Could the timing have been worse? pic.twitter.com/rDHKfrvwYz— Jeryl Bier (@JerylBier) March 21, 2020
Yes and the retail stores are closing one by one,the few are only management. I’m on a day to day basis as of today.
Los Angeles County health officials advised doctors to give up on testing patients in the hope of containing the coronavirus outbreak, instructing them to test patients only if a positive result could change how they would be treated.
The guidance, sent by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health to doctors on Thursday, was prompted by a crush of patients and shortage of tests, and could make it difficult to ever know precisely how many people in L.A. County contracted the virus.
The department “is shifting from a strategy of case containment to slowing disease transmission and averting excess morbidity and mortality,” according to the letter. Doctors should test symptomatic patients only when “a diagnostic result will change clinical management or inform public health response.”
The guidance sets in writing what has been a reality all along. The shortage of tests nationwide has meant that many patients suspected of having COVID-19 have not had the diagnosis confirmed by a laboratory.
In addition to the lack of tests, public health agencies across the country lack the staff to trace the source of new cases, drastically reducing the chances of isolating people who have been exposed and thereby containing the outbreak.
For years, state and local health officials have been warning that steep cuts to federal grants meant to boost preparedness for a pandemic would mean there wouldn’t be enough equipment and staff on hand to respond in the crucial, early stage. Those fears have come to fruition now, officials said.
A front-line healthcare provider who was not authorized to speak to the media and requested anonymity said county doctors are interpreting Thursday’s letter and other advice coming from senior L.A. County public health officials to mean they should only test patients who are going to be hospitalized or have something unique about the way they contracted the virus.
The letter also says that, with the increasing availability of tests at private labs, the Department of Public Health will focus on testing aimed at detecting and preventing outbreaks in hospitals and “congregate living settings,” such as nursing homes.
I’d bet money the health provider that was the source is a union official. Here in Texas, many were tested in private labs. I’d also bet that private labs are prohibited in one way or the other.
The nurses and other hospital staff will wait wait until a time like this to go on strike. They’ve closed down hospitals before.
Pray none of their contracts are up for renewal.