The New Normal

[MarzNC]

The cost of PCR tests depends somewhat on the style of testing.

There is a company in MA that is doing a lot of the testing for MA institutions like small colleges or long-term care facilities. Only reason I'm noting it here is that they mention cost on their website. Sounds like a test can be under $30 for a college or university with enough volume.

COVID-19 Testing

Broad Institute has created a novel automation system for COVID-19 test processing that is scalable, modular, and high-throughput. We processed more than 37 million tests in service of the public health needs of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and surrounding areas.

www.broadinstitute.org

 

[Warp daddy]

Today Clarkson (14) and St Lawrence(11) sent 25 kids home for "egregious. Violations " of their Covid restrictions hmmm 19 New Cases in the county today

 

[Brownski]

Heard a story on the radio today about a study in Iceland that showed high levels of antibodies for four months following infection.

 

[MarzNC]

Today Clarkson (14) and St Lawrence(11) sent 25 kids home for "egregious. Violations " of their Covid restrictions hmmm 19 New Cases in the county today

Wonder if the students sent home tested positive or negative?

In some places, it's getting very confusing to know what numbers from students really mean. The colleges are reporting based on on-campus testing and self-reporting of tests done off campus. The on-campus tests are counted in the county/zip code of the college. The off-campus or tests done at home are added to other county/zip code statistics.

 

[MarzNC]

Here's how my fitness center in central NC intends to re-open next week. If you watch the video, would you go to use equipment? Note that Zoom and outdoor fitness classes have been held all summer.

Gyms can re-open in NC at the end of this week in what's being called Phase 2.5. Also playgrounds. Bars still closed. The original date for changing things was Sept. 11. So will be more announcements next week.

UNC Wellness is associate with UNC Health, a large medical company affiliated with the Univ. of NC and UNC Hospital in Chapel Hill. There are two centers. The one in Chapel Hill serves a large retired population, many who moved from the northeast. The one a mile from my house serves new neighborhoods that includes lots of families with school age kids, along with active seniors living in retirement developments. Both centers do a lot of rehab and PT.

 

[JTG]

Plattsburgh seems to be on top of things. 2 positives since Aug 21, 0 new in the past 5 days. My son had his test under the pooled surveillance testing program this morning.

8-25-20 Plattsburgh Pooled Surveillance Testing - SUNY

Chancellor Malatras and SUNY Plattsburgh President Enyedi Announce Launch of Pooled Surveillance Testing for COVID-19 on Plattsburgh Campus

www.suny.edu

 

[The UNHOLY]

Isn't the mortality rate like 2-3% and the majority of those deaths are people classified as "high risk" ?

 

[Warp daddy]

only one POSITIVE at the colleges "at this point" of the now 20 new cases in the county .the county had been at zeo after earlier spiking in the the late winter and early spring ( 279), the majority of cases were in the City and larger villages and their surrounding burbs. Low density and high compliance here is a key factor

The County Geographically the 5th largest county east of the Mississippi has roughly 107,000 (within its 32 townships are 1 city and 13 villages) to give you perspective

 

[MarzNC]

Isn't the mortality rate like 2-3% and the majority of those deaths are people classified as "high risk" ?

Perhaps. Clearly when a medical system isn't overwhelmed, the mortality rate is nothing like what happened in NYC/NJ in Feb-Mar 2020 or Italy a month or two earlier. Things are still changing too much to have solid epidemiological data.

However, it's also become clear in recent months that two high risk factors are obesity and diabetes. For the U.S. and the U.K., there are a lot of people who fit into one or both of those subpopulations. These are the people under age 60 who can die within a few weeks of being infected. That's true in enough cases even for people who seek medical care within a few days of realizing they may have been exposed or are just starting to feel symptoms. I've read far too many sad stories. One that sticks with me was a mayor of a small town in NC. There was a family in FL who lost both adult children within a week who were in their 20s and obese.

COVID-19 was thought to be a respiratory illness because the lungs were the initial site of for people who were hospitalized. But it became clear that it's far more likely that the issues are vascular. Very low blood oxygen levels has become a key indicator that something is very wrong, especially when the patient isn't short of breath. I know of people who have recovered but are dealing with ongoing cardiac weakness, meaning people who were active advanced skiers with no underlying medical issues. The national headlines count cases and deaths, but there are many stories of survivors under age 50 who are far from back to good health after more than a couple months. Reminds me of Lyme disease where many doctors didn't believe long-term impact existed for quite a while. I'm not a medical professional, just someone who reads a lot.

New research about COVID-19 is being published all the time. Hopefully will lead to better treatment for those who end up in the hospital or have lingering medical issues.

Sept. 1, Elemental
A Supercomputer Analyzed Covid-19 — and an Interesting New Theory Has Emerged
A closer look at the Bradykinin hypothesis

A Supercomputer Analyzed Covid-19 — and an Interesting New Theory Has Emerged

A closer look at the Bradykinin hypothesis

elemental.medium.com

 

[Campgottagopee]

Isn't the mortality rate like 2-3% and the majority of those deaths are people classified as "high risk" ?

Our numbers continue to go down.

Even with the return of SUNY no new hospitalizations. Everyone, including myself, was very concerned about that.

I'm starting to feel that maybe it's time to take the muzzle off and let people decide what they want to, or don't want to do.