Posted on 11/16/2020 9:29:07 AM PST by NOBO2012
Is over testing inflating the numbers? Here’s what some friends told me today....
I was told by a nurse who does the testing here in -—————— that the same people come back for the test. One gentlemen she knew had been in at least 3 times and he tested positive. She asked him why and he said he would be back every week until he checked negative.
And in another part of the country...
I know someone who does that also. Her and her husband are always testing... BUT the testing site here have lines of cars that start lining up at 5:30 am....
Crap. What I wanted to say was “Is over testing BY DEMOCRATS inflating the numbers?
PATed wrote: “The primary mechanism of spread is respiratory droplets, the transmission of which is reduced by masks.”
Reducing the spread of droplets by 80% isn’t the same as reducing infections by 80%
“We should be doing both masking and protecting the most vulnerable. Government aid is already $3 trillion+ along with untold economic impact. Unless something changes we’re going to see hospitals in hard hit areas (like mine) start collapsing. This will impact the care of anyone who needs a hospital, not just COVID patients.”
As I remember, many hospitals were almost forced into bankruptcy by the misguided protocols of last spring.
Just because we were forced to spend trillions in a misguided attempt to corral the virus is not justification for spending additional trillions in another misguided attempt.
Take some of those trillions and provide N95 masks to the elderly most vulnerable and let the young go back to work. Spend some of those trillions providing delivery services to the elderly most vulnerable and let the young go back to work.
I’ve read recommendations that everyone should wear a mask even when they’re walking their dog and there is no one else in sight. How does that make sense? I walked a golf course this afternoon. Didn’t see a soul within 200 yards of me. Why should I have worn a mask.
My country club allows someone sitting at the bar to remove their mask but someone standing at the bar cannot. How does that make sense?
My state requires one to wear a mask while entering the gym but not while exercising. (It’s a big gym and social distancing isn’t an issue) I can remove the mask after walking 20 feet from the door when I enter the active exercising area. Why does that make sense?
Hong Kong flu of 68-69 and Covid 19, their numbers are pretty similar. The differences - back then nobody wore masks, nobody social distanced and nobody locked down. Most people didn’t even know this was goin’ around - remember Woodstock? Yeah, that’s right, Woodstock 1969. So you tell me - is covid being over blown? The answer is - of course it is.
Given the number of factors in play in transmission scenarios, it can be difficult to specifically tie masks to infection prevention. But, the available data suggests that masks help reduce infection (https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-02801-8).
I don’t think masks are needed when outdoors alone. I think it’s the crowded situations (indoors and outdoors) where they provide some benefit.
Your country club’s rules don’t make sense to me. The best course of action would be to close bars and other crowded indoor venues if there is a severe rate of spread. If not, then people in the bar should wear masks whether sitting or standing, when not drinking or eating. I don’t know of any reason to distinguish between sitters and standers in terms of mask wearing.
PATed wrote: “Given the number of factors in play in transmission scenarios, it can be difficult to specifically tie masks to infection prevention. But, the available data suggests that masks help reduce infection”
The question remains: Do mask reduce infections among the general populace to be worth the costs? Certainly, in high risk situations they should be worn. In most others, wearing masks have become a form of virtue signalling (I care so I wear) or a way for politicians to pretend they’re actually doing something. Personally, I don’t think there is much politicians can do but they have to be seen as doing something.
People aren’t stupid. They can see when when rules lack rational justifications. The CDC originally said masks should be work in when in contact with an infected person for longer than 15 minutes in a poorly ventilated area. Somehow, that has been extended to people walking alone in deserted areas. BTW, I don’t think Walmart fits the original CDC guidance for wearing a mask.
Neither does your generality of saying most of the spread is from large indoor gatherings. How would you know? It takes 3-10 days to germinate. Transmission could be from anywhere.
New England Journal of Medicine
SARS-CoV-2 Transmission among Marine Recruits during Quarantine
https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2029717
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