Coronavirus Outbreak

[mike]

The AP is reporting that the the total number of deaths in the US this year will set a record, topping 3 million for the first time, up by at least 400,000, which will represents a15% increase over last year, perhaps higher. This will be the highest single year death rate increase since 1918 (even higher than the WWII years). In addition, life expectancy in the US is expected to drop by as much as 3 full years this year. The increase is primarily attributed to COVID-related deaths, although drug overdoses are also up significantly, and suicides may be up as well (many indirectly related to COVID).

In the end, these are the numbers and statistics that will matter most. When fully tabulated, this will be what goes into the encyclopedia in relation to the virus.

[mike]

Through science, technology, and quality of life improvements, the developed world has attained life expectancy numbers that were only dreamed of not so long ago. In 1900, life expectancy in the US was 46.3 years for men, 48.3 for women. Personally I find those numbers hard to even grasp. In 1998, those numbers were 73.8 for men and 79.5 for women.

That is an incredible increase. As a result, we may likely have largest population of elderly in human history - a population that has benefited from all of the medical advances of the past century, but at the same time a population that is still all too vulnerable to a novel disease such as COVID-19.

I think that one of the few possible good outcomes of all the attention and billions of dollars that have been thrown at the virus is what I heard a doctor say on the radio during the pandemic: virology will never be the same. It is likely that the treatment of viruses will advance as never before because of COVID. It is possible that the problems for worldwide health benchmarks caused by COVID, such as the drop in life expectancy which Dan mentioned, will be only a temporary setback in the bigger picture of medical advances.

[Judas Maccabeus]

I'm not real familiar with respirators although I did have occasions to wear one many years ago.
The question I have, JM, if an infected person is wearing a respirator, will it prevent that person from exhaling the virus into the atmosphere? I have read that they will not, but I don't know. It would help to explain hospital outbreaks, especially among staff.

The respirators are for the staff, not the patients. They have to be fitted tested, and worn properly. A patient already SOB will not be able to wear one, nor can they be trusted to keep them on properly. I have never heard of anyone giving one to a patient. They are STILL in short supply.

J.M.

That was not my question.
I should have clarified. Will the respirator worn by an infected staff member prevent that staff member from passing the virus on to someone else?

You have infected staff members? Knowingly? Why are these people not sent home? Are they doing routine weekly testing? They sure are down here, at least in some places.

J.M.

[silentreader]

The respirators are for the staff, not the patients. They have to be fitted tested, and worn properly. A patient already SOB will not be able to wear one, nor can they be trusted to keep them on properly. I have never heard of anyone giving one to a patient. They are STILL in short supply.

J.M.

That was not my question.
I should have clarified. Will the respirator worn by an infected staff member prevent that staff member from passing the virus on to someone else?

You have infected staff members? Knowingly? Why are these people not sent home? Are they doing routine weekly testing? They sure are down here, at least in some places.

J.M.

They have positive tests in staff. Are they "knowingly" infected? I can't answer that. But they do have "outbreaks."

[Aurien]

That was not my question.
I should have clarified. Will the respirator worn by an infected staff member prevent that staff member from passing the virus on to someone else?

It is my understanding that the N95's with a one way "exhaling valve" will release the virus into the air and to others. These are banned on some airlines.

N95's without the valve block droplets going both ways. However without the valve, some droplets will still likely exit the mask when the person exhales, unless it is a very good fit.

Thanks, that was my understanding as well.
It is troubling to me how much spread there is among health-care workers and in supposedly safe hospital environments among staff when we are in a lock-down.

Ernie's response is pretty much what I gathered from the CDC's Q&A page.

Respirators with exhalation valves protect the wearer from SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, but may not prevent the virus spreading from the wearer to others (that is, they may not be effective for source control). Until data are available to describe how effective respirators with exhalation valves are in preventing the spread of SARS-CoV-2 from the wearer to others:
Wear a respirator without an exhalation valve when both source control and respiratory protection are required.
If only a respirator with an exhalation valve is available and source control is needed, cover the exhalation valve with a surgical mask, procedure mask, or a cloth face covering that does not interfere with the respirator fit. ​

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-nc ... e-faq.html

[Judas Maccabeus]

That was not my question.
I should have clarified. Will the respirator worn by an infected staff member prevent that staff member from passing the virus on to someone else?

You have infected staff members? Knowingly? Why are these people not sent home? Are they doing routine weekly testing? They sure are down here, at least in some places.

J.M.

They have positive tests in staff. Are they "knowingly" infected? I can't answer that. But they do have "outbreaks."

If they are testing positive they are knowingly infected. If they are returning to work after a positive test, before being medically cleared, by a doctor, this should not happen! If they are working after a positive test, without quarantine, this should not happen.

J.M.

[mike]

I assume COVID-19 is a factor in New York being the state that lost the highest number of its residents in 2020. An interesting takeaway is that they may lose a US House Seat.

Also losing a seat would be: Alabama, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island. Gaining seats would be: Florida, at 29 seats, putting it in third place behind California and Texas.

Texas would gain three seats, and Arizona, Colorado, Oregon, North Carolina and Montana would each gain one.

[Ken]

You have infected staff members? Knowingly? Why are these people not sent home? Are they doing routine weekly testing? They sure are down here, at least in some places.

J.M.

They have positive tests in staff. Are they "knowingly" infected? I can't answer that. But they do have "outbreaks."

If they are testing positive they are knowingly infected. If they are returning to work after a positive test, before being medically cleared, by a doctor, this should not happen! If they are working after a positive test, without quarantine, this should not happen.

J.M.

In rural Roseburg Oregon, one infected person chose to return to work anyway. Seven people subsequently died and over 300 were infected. Actions have consequences:

https://www.oregonlive.com/coronavirus/ ... ounty.html

Earlier this month in Douglas County, one person who was sick went to work, and later tested positive for the coronavirus.

Within two weeks, that one action led to two subsequent outbreaks. The first killed at least seven people, nearly 20% of the county’s total COVID fatalities since the pandemic began. The second forced more than 300 people into quarantine.

The county would not say where the person worked, but Douglas County county officials are calling such decisions “super spreader actions,” and they’re sounding the alarm to prevent more from happening.

[ken_sylvania]

You have infected staff members? Knowingly? Why are these people not sent home? Are they doing routine weekly testing? They sure are down here, at least in some places.

J.M.

They have positive tests in staff. Are they "knowingly" infected? I can't answer that. But they do have "outbreaks."

If they are testing positive they are knowingly infected. If they are returning to work after a positive test, before being medically cleared, by a doctor, this should not happen! If they are working after a positive test, without quarantine, this should not happen.

J.M.

JM is it your opinion that if a person is being tested weekly, they cannot become infected and become contagious between tests?
If five people test positive on Friday, isn't it reasonable to assume that at least two or three of them might have been contagious on Wednesday and Thursday prior to being tested? If that is possible, I think silentreader's question has been about whether the N95 mask is effective in preventing that staff member from infecting others during that period of contagion before the test.

[Soloist]

JM is it your opinion that if a person is being tested weekly, they cannot become infected and become contagious between tests?
If five people test positive on Friday, isn't it reasonable to assume that at least two or three of them might have been contagious on Wednesday and Thursday prior to being tested? If that is possible, I think silentreader's question has been about whether the N95 mask is effective in preventing that staff member from infecting others during that period of contagion before the test.

I know you are asking him, but officially, you could transmit the disease between testing.
If the N95 has no exit valve and is being properly worn, then the disease should have zero chances of being transmitted. My work doesn't even have enough N95's for us to be wearing... In my case of work exposure, the cloth mask may have helped enough.
This is the puppy I want but I need to figure out how to get it. https://www.abcfireandsafety.com/produc ... age290.htm
Its my backup plan in case the vaccine becomes mandated.