COVID-19 Megathread 6: Return of the Omicron

[Calthrina950]

Fortunately, she was understanding, but said it was a shame that we couldn't, and openly said that the maskless people were "Trump supporters."

They're not. I know firsthand they're not all Trumpers. I was at a local convenience store the other day, and everyone was maskless - despite a statewide order and store chain policy.

But the clerk said the store does not enforce the mask policy because a Walmart customer shot an employee who reminded them to wear a mask. I can't condone violence like this, regardless of whether we think the mask policy is a good idea. I am beyond furious at the government's poor handling of this pandemic, but shooting store employees isn't how we fight back.

You're right; not all of the maskless are Trump supporters. And as I noted in my post, most Trump supporters who come through my store (and it is a considerable number of them, given that I live in heavily Republican El Paso County), are obeying Polis' mask mandate and donning masks or facial coverings. But I also wouldn't be surprised if the vast majority of the maskless in my area are Trump supporters. I saw one person wearing a Trump shirt last week who was maskless.

And the incident you note is exactly why my store forbids us from denying service to maskless customers, or turning them away. We've been enjoined to politely remind customers to wear one, but no one in the store bothers to do so. As I've noted before, virtually all of the employees at my store were not wearing masks until they were made mandatory by the Governor for employees back in April, and many of them went about maskless while not on the clock until he issued his mandate for the general public last month.

[Dr. Arch]

The updated numbers for COVID-19 in the U.S. are in for 8/17 per: https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/us/

I'm keeping track of these updates daily and updating at the end of the day, whenever all states finish reporting for that day.

New - Substituting the Δ Change metric as of 7/13 on dates starting from 7/5:
ΔW Change: Comparisons of Weekly Day-to-day Growth or Decline of COVID-19 Spread/Deaths.

• IE: Comparing the numbers to the same day of last week, are we flattening the curve enough?

Σ Increase: A day's contribution to overall percentage growth of COVID-19 cases/deaths.

• IE: What's the overall change in the total?

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8/9: <Sunday>

• Cases: 5,199,444 (+49,721 | ΔW Change: ↑0.79% | Σ Increase: ↑0.97%)
• Deaths: 165,617 (+547 | ΔW Change: ↑17.13% | Σ Increase: ↑0.33%)

8/10: <M>

• Cases: 5,251,446 (+52,002 | ΔW Change: ↑7.16% | Σ Increase: ↑1.00%)
• Deaths: 166,192 (+575 | ΔW Change: ↑1.95% | Σ Increase: ↑0.35%)

8/11: <T>

• Cases: 5,305,957 (+54,511 | ΔW Change: ↓3.08% | Σ Increase: ↑1.04%)
• Deaths: 167,749 (+1,557 | ΔW Change: ↑14.40% | Σ Increase: ↑0.94%)

8/12: <W>

• Cases: 5,360,302 (+54,345 | ΔW Change: ↓1.46% | Σ Increase: ↑1.02%)
• Deaths: 169,131 (+1,382 | ΔW Change: ↑5.42% | Σ Increase: ↑0.82%)

8/13: <Þ>

• Cases: 5,415,666 (+55,364 | ΔW Change: ↓5.54% | Σ Increase: ↑1.03%)
• Deaths: 170,415 (+1,284 | ΔW Change: ↑6.73% | Σ Increase: ↑0.76%)

8/14: <F>

• Cases: 5,476,266 (+60,600 | ΔW Change: ↓4.33% | Σ Increase: ↑1.12%)
• Deaths: 171,535 (+1,120 | ΔW Change: ↓13.18% | Σ Increase: ↑0.66%)

8/15: <S>

• Cases: 5,529,789 (+53,523 | ΔW Change: ↓1.25% | Σ Increase: ↑0.98%)
• Deaths: 172,606 (+1,071 | ΔW Change: ↑9.73% | Σ Increase: ↑0.62%)

8/16 (Yesterday): <Sunday>

• Cases: 5,566,632 (+36,843 | ΔW Change: ↓25.90% | Σ Increase: ↑0.67%)
• Deaths: 173,128 (+522 | ΔW Change: ↓4.57% | Σ Increase: ↑0.30%)

8/17 (Today): <M>

• Cases: 5,612,027 (+45,395 | ΔW Change: ↓12.71% | Σ Increase: ↑0.82%)
• Deaths: 173,716 (+588 | ΔW Change: ↑2.26% | Σ Increase: ↑0.34%)

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

MyPillow CEO-turned-scientist Mike Lindell is selling a miracle death cure:
https://twitter.com/DrGJackBrown/status/1295491801126600704?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoog...
For the best night's sleep in the whole wide world.

The Joseph Stalin School of Medical thought. "No patient, then no problem".

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

To be fair, many medicines are poisons if you take too much. Of course that doesn't mean all poisons are potential medicines. Moreover, oleandrin is similar in its pharmacology to digoxin, so there's no logical reason to think either would be effective in providing even symptomatic relief for COVID-19.

[Person Man]

MyPillow CEO-turned-scientist Mike Lindell is selling a miracle death cure:
https://twitter.com/DrGJackBrown/status/1295491801126600704?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoog...
For the best night's sleep in the whole wide world.

The Joseph Stalin School of Medical thought. "No patient, then no problem".

More like Josegh Mengele

[GeorgiaModerate]

https://twitter.com/reporterdavidj/status/1295833909817729024

[GeorgiaModerate]

https://twitter.com/Anthony/status/1295828516014039041

[Progressive Pessimist]

So, my mom visited my grandma today very briefly to bring her some groceries she needed and ended up trapped in a conversation with my grandma's boyfriend. He is your everyday Trump cultist and apparently he was saying that kids should go back to school so that they aren't molested at home because according to him that is a problem that is increasing because of remote learning...yeah. I don't know that it's untrue, but seriously what the f***!? I would love to know here he heard that, because he is incapable of an original thought and gets his information exclusively from Fox News and right wing radio.

[Dr. Arch]

The updated numbers for COVID-19 in the U.S. are in for 8/18 per: https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/us/

I'm keeping track of these updates daily and updating at the end of the day, whenever all states finish reporting for that day.

New - Substituting the Δ Change metric as of 7/13 on dates starting from 7/5:
ΔW Change: Comparisons of Weekly Day-to-day Growth or Decline of COVID-19 Spread/Deaths.

• IE: Comparing the numbers to the same day of last week, are we flattening the curve enough?

Σ Increase: A day's contribution to overall percentage growth of COVID-19 cases/deaths.

• IE: What's the overall change in the total?

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8/9: <Sunday>

• Cases: 5,199,444 (+49,721 | ΔW Change: ↑0.79% | Σ Increase: ↑0.97%)
• Deaths: 165,617 (+547 | ΔW Change: ↑17.13% | Σ Increase: ↑0.33%)

8/10: <M>

• Cases: 5,251,446 (+52,002 | ΔW Change: ↑7.16% | Σ Increase: ↑1.00%)
• Deaths: 166,192 (+575 | ΔW Change: ↑1.95% | Σ Increase: ↑0.35%)

8/11: <T>

• Cases: 5,305,957 (+54,511 | ΔW Change: ↓3.08% | Σ Increase: ↑1.04%)
• Deaths: 167,749 (+1,557 | ΔW Change: ↑14.40% | Σ Increase: ↑0.94%)

8/12: <W>

• Cases: 5,360,302 (+54,345 | ΔW Change: ↓1.46% | Σ Increase: ↑1.02%)
• Deaths: 169,131 (+1,382 | ΔW Change: ↑5.42% | Σ Increase: ↑0.82%)

8/13: <Þ>

• Cases: 5,415,666 (+55,364 | ΔW Change: ↓5.54% | Σ Increase: ↑1.03%)
• Deaths: 170,415 (+1,284 | ΔW Change: ↑6.73% | Σ Increase: ↑0.76%)

8/14: <F>

• Cases: 5,476,266 (+60,600 | ΔW Change: ↓4.33% | Σ Increase: ↑1.12%)
• Deaths: 171,535 (+1,120 | ΔW Change: ↓13.18% | Σ Increase: ↑0.66%)

8/15: <S>

• Cases: 5,529,789 (+53,523 | ΔW Change: ↓1.25% | Σ Increase: ↑0.98%)
• Deaths: 172,606 (+1,071 | ΔW Change: ↑9.73% | Σ Increase: ↑0.62%)

8/16: <Sunday>

• Cases: 5,566,632 (+36,843 | ΔW Change: ↓25.90% | Σ Increase: ↑0.67%)
• Deaths: 173,128 (+522 | ΔW Change: ↓4.57% | Σ Increase: ↑0.30%)

8/17 (Yesterday): <M>

• Cases: 5,612,027 (+45,395 | ΔW Change: ↓12.71% | Σ Increase: ↑0.82%)
• Deaths: 173,716 (+588 | ΔW Change: ↑2.26% | Σ Increase: ↑0.34%)

8/18 (Today): <T>

• Cases: 5,655,974 (+43,947 | ΔW Change: ↓19.38% | Σ Increase: ↑0.82%)
• Deaths: 175,074 (+1,358 | ΔW Change: ↓12.78% | Σ Increase: ↑0.78%)

[GP270watch]

2020 in one video.

https://twitter.com/j_fnavarrete/status/1295699014780891136

[GeorgiaModerate]

The Atlanta Peachtree Road Race, which had already been postponed from July 4 to Thanksgiving this year, is going to a virtual format due to COVID-19.  This 10 km race is quite a big deal in the Atlanta area; it's been run every July 4 for the last 50 years through midtown, and is one of the largest foot races in the world (typically 60,000 runners and walkers).  I did it a few times in my younger days.

https://www.ajc.com/peachtree/ajc-peachtree-road-race-will-only-be-run-virtually/ZULNELGIFNAEHC77UCDQP7YZZI/

[GeorgiaModerate]

An aggressive push by Iowa’s pro-Trump governor to reopen schools amid a worsening coronavirus outbreak has descended into chaos, with some districts and teachers rebelling and experts calling the scientific benchmarks used by the state arbitrary and unsafe.

https://www.ajc.com/news/nation-world/iowa-governors-push-to-reopen-schools-descends-into-chaos/5FV6YLL57NHRJA4HD4AK2XHUYM/

[Progressive Pessimist]

An aggressive push by Iowa’s pro-Trump governor to reopen schools amid a worsening coronavirus outbreak has descended into chaos, with some districts and teachers rebelling and experts calling the scientific benchmarks used by the state arbitrary and unsafe.

https://www.ajc.com/news/nation-world/iowa-governors-push-to-reopen-schools-descends-into-chaos/5FV6YLL57NHRJA4HD4AK2XHUYM/

This on top of the storms too? You can do something about this on November 3, Iowa!

[It’s so Joever]

An aggressive push by Iowa’s pro-Trump governor to reopen schools amid a worsening coronavirus outbreak has descended into chaos, with some districts and teachers rebelling and experts calling the scientific benchmarks used by the state arbitrary and unsafe.

https://www.ajc.com/news/nation-world/iowa-governors-push-to-reopen-schools-descends-into-chaos/5FV6YLL57NHRJA4HD4AK2XHUYM/

This on top of the storms too? You can do something about this on November 3, Iowa!

Unfortunately, Iowa is safe R at this point.

[emailking]

They're basically tied in the polls.If you mean Trump/Biden.

[GeorgiaModerate]

An aggressive push by Iowa’s pro-Trump governor to reopen schools amid a worsening coronavirus outbreak has descended into chaos, with some districts and teachers rebelling and experts calling the scientific benchmarks used by the state arbitrary and unsafe.

https://www.ajc.com/news/nation-world/iowa-governors-push-to-reopen-schools-descends-into-chaos/5FV6YLL57NHRJA4HD4AK2XHUYM/

This on top of the storms too? You can do something about this on November 3, Iowa!

Unfortunately, Iowa is safe R at this point.

Iowa polling averages:

RCP: Trump+1.7
538: Trump+1.4
Economist: Trump+1.2

To quote Arthur Dent: This is obviously some strange usage of the word 'safe' that I wasn't previously aware of.

[Bandit3 the Worker]

Good grief! I just don't get it.

Of course I think schools should offer online instruction, but I don't understand the fetish for moving everything online when some families want in-person classes. Online schooling is only good as a short-term solution, but it's been going on since March.

Sooner or later - like very soon - we've got to get our schools back open just like normal. When I first voted when I was 18, one of my priorities was education. There's no way an all-online system would have been tolerated back then, even if it had been invented.

I know there's some people who still have some fear, but this is something we as a community and nation are going to overcome.

[Bandit3 the Worker]

And I love how the AP paints supporters of in-person schools as right-wing Trump supporters. We're not. I've been voting for more liberal candidates my whole adult life precisely because they're more pro-education.

The AP is guilty of defamation.

[It’s so Joever]

And I love how the AP paints supporters of in-person schools as right-wing Trump supporters. We're not. I've been voting for more liberal candidates my whole adult life precisely because they're more pro-education.

The AP is guilty of defamation.

So let’s see, you have made ignorant statements in virology, biology, and now basic law.
I see you have all your bases covered.

[Dr. Arch]

The updated numbers for COVID-19 in the U.S. are in for 8/19 per: https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/us/

I'm keeping track of these updates daily and updating at the end of the day, whenever all states finish reporting for that day.

New - Substituting the Δ Change metric as of 7/13 on dates starting from 7/5:
ΔW Change: Comparisons of Weekly Day-to-day Growth or Decline of COVID-19 Spread/Deaths.

• IE: Comparing the numbers to the same day of last week, are we flattening the curve enough?

Σ Increase: A day's contribution to overall percentage growth of COVID-19 cases/deaths.

• IE: What's the overall change in the total?

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8/9: <Sunday>

• Cases: 5,199,444 (+49,721 | ΔW Change: ↑0.79% | Σ Increase: ↑0.97%)
• Deaths: 165,617 (+547 | ΔW Change: ↑17.13% | Σ Increase: ↑0.33%)

8/10: <M>

• Cases: 5,251,446 (+52,002 | ΔW Change: ↑7.16% | Σ Increase: ↑1.00%)
• Deaths: 166,192 (+575 | ΔW Change: ↑1.95% | Σ Increase: ↑0.35%)

8/11: <T>

• Cases: 5,305,957 (+54,511 | ΔW Change: ↓3.08% | Σ Increase: ↑1.04%)
• Deaths: 167,749 (+1,557 | ΔW Change: ↑14.40% | Σ Increase: ↑0.94%)

8/12: <W>

• Cases: 5,360,302 (+54,345 | ΔW Change: ↓1.46% | Σ Increase: ↑1.02%)
• Deaths: 169,131 (+1,382 | ΔW Change: ↑5.42% | Σ Increase: ↑0.82%)

8/13: <Þ>

• Cases: 5,415,666 (+55,364 | ΔW Change: ↓5.54% | Σ Increase: ↑1.03%)
• Deaths: 170,415 (+1,284 | ΔW Change: ↑6.73% | Σ Increase: ↑0.76%)

8/14: <F>

• Cases: 5,476,266 (+60,600 | ΔW Change: ↓4.33% | Σ Increase: ↑1.12%)
• Deaths: 171,535 (+1,120 | ΔW Change: ↓13.18% | Σ Increase: ↑0.66%)

8/15: <S>

• Cases: 5,529,789 (+53,523 | ΔW Change: ↓1.25% | Σ Increase: ↑0.98%)
• Deaths: 172,606 (+1,071 | ΔW Change: ↑9.73% | Σ Increase: ↑0.62%)

8/16: <Sunday>

• Cases: 5,566,632 (+36,843 | ΔW Change: ↓25.90% | Σ Increase: ↑0.67%)
• Deaths: 173,128 (+522 | ΔW Change: ↓4.57% | Σ Increase: ↑0.30%)

8/17: <M>

• Cases: 5,612,027 (+45,395 | ΔW Change: ↓12.71% | Σ Increase: ↑0.82%)
• Deaths: 173,716 (+588 | ΔW Change: ↑2.26% | Σ Increase: ↑0.34%)

8/18 (Yesterday): <T>

• Cases: 5,655,974 (+43,947 | ΔW Change: ↓19.38% | Σ Increase: ↑0.82%)
• Deaths: 175,074 (+1,358 | ΔW Change: ↓12.78% | Σ Increase: ↑0.78%)

8/19 (Today): <W>

• Cases: 5,700,931 (+44,957 | ΔW Change: ↓17.27% | Σ Increase: ↑0.79%)
• Deaths: 176,337 (+1,263 | ΔW Change: ↓8.61% | Σ Increase: ↑0.72%)

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

2020 in one video.

https://twitter.com/j_fnavarrete/status/1295699014780891136

Eh, 2020 is worse than that for a variety of reasons.

[Hammy]

Good grief! I just don't get it.

Of course I think schools should offer online instruction, but I don't understand the fetish for moving everything online when some families want in-person classes. Online schooling is only good as a short-term solution, but it's been going on since March.

Sooner or later - like very soon - we've got to get our schools back open just like normal. When I first voted when I was 18, one of my priorities was education. There's no way an all-online system would have been tolerated back then, even if it had been invented.

I know there's some people who still have some fear, but this is something we as a community and nation are going to overcome.

What some idiots want without regard of how many people will die when the hospitals get overwhelmed should not dictate medical policy.

I'll say it here again, since some people just don't get it:

If we reopen everything because of some idiots whining, we are going to see a massive spike in cases, more hospitals getting overwhelmed, more people will die who might've otherwise been able to receive treatment because of this, and people who need medical attention for relatively minor to potentially life-threatening things that aren't covid, are thus more likely to die as well--not to mention permanent heart and lung damage for survivors

Anybody who continues to think this isn't the case or that the risk is worth it should be the first in line to volunteer to contract the virus, and sign a waiver stating they will not receive treatment.  If you are not willing to do this, then quit whining about online schooling or mask rules.

[Penn_Quaker_Girl]

Unemployment claims ticked back up over the one-million mark:

https://mobile.twitter.com/USDOL/status/1296424389370679298

[Former President tack50]

Good grief! I just don't get it.

Of course I think schools should offer online instruction, but I don't understand the fetish for moving everything online when some families want in-person classes. Online schooling is only good as a short-term solution, but it's been going on since March.

Sooner or later - like very soon - we've got to get our schools back open just like normal. When I first voted when I was 18, one of my priorities was education. There's no way an all-online system would have been tolerated back then, even if it had been invented.

I know there's some people who still have some fear, but this is something we as a community and nation are going to overcome.

This does not apply to primary school education (or even to high school though a model like this could be implemented there), though I will note that distance learning is nothing new, especially at the college level.

No idea if there is anything similar in the US, but at least here we've had the chance to do distance education at the college level since the mid 1970s, well before the internet even existed!

Of course, back in the 70s and 80s, instead of getting your lessons through the internet, you got them by watching them on TV or listening to the radio (this university ran a TV program and a radio program); or alternatively you'd get mailed a VHS tape (or later CD-ROM or DVD) with your lessons.

Though it is worth noting that this university did (and does) still use in-person exams. (Well except in 2020 because covid of course)

Still its existance does prove that, even back in the 70s or 80s, distance education was already a thing, albeit implemented differently.


In any case I personally think the US just screwed up in reopening schools way too early. It is still August. I understand why schools can and should be reopened, but the start of the school year should have been delayed?

From what I understand the average school year in the US is worth roughly 180 days of classes (36 weeks). Is it so hard to do a schedule like this?

October: 4 weeks
November: 4 weeks
December: 2 weeks (2 weeks Christmas break)
January: 4 weeks
February: 4 weeks
March: 5 weeks
April: 4 weeks
May: 4 weeks
June: 5 weeks

The school year would run from October 5th to July 2nd. Now, finishing the school year in July and having no spring break whatsoever would suck (you can add 1 week of spring break of course, at the cost of finishing a week later).

Still a calendar like this would buy 1 and a half months worth of time to get the pandemic under control and allow for at least primary schools to reopen (with tons of safety measures and social distancing of course)

Accounting for bank holidays the school year might need to be prolonged even more, but still, an October 1st to July 2nd school calendar would be perfectly fine

[Fmr. Gov. NickG]

Good grief! I just don't get it.

Of course I think schools should offer online instruction, but I don't understand the fetish for moving everything online when some families want in-person classes. Online schooling is only good as a short-term solution, but it's been going on since March.

Sooner or later - like very soon - we've got to get our schools back open just like normal. When I first voted when I was 18, one of my priorities was education. There's no way an all-online system would have been tolerated back then, even if it had been invented.

I know there's some people who still have some fear, but this is something we as a community and nation are going to overcome.

This does not apply to primary school education (or even to high school though a model like this could be implemented there), though I will note that distance learning is nothing new, especially at the college level.

No idea if there is anything similar in the US, but at least here we've had the chance to do distance education at the college level since the mid 1970s, well before the internet even existed!

Of course, back in the 70s and 80s, instead of getting your lessons through the internet, you got them by watching them on TV or listening to the radio (this university ran a TV program and a radio program); or alternatively you'd get mailed a VHS tape (or later CD-ROM or DVD) with your lessons.

Though it is worth noting that this university did (and does) still use in-person exams. (Well except in 2020 because covid of course)

Still its existance does prove that, even back in the 70s or 80s, distance education was already a thing, albeit implemented differently.


In any case I personally think the US just screwed up in reopening schools way too early. It is still August. I understand why schools can and should be reopened, but the start of the school year should have been delayed?

From what I understand the average school year in the US is worth roughly 180 days of classes (36 weeks). Is it so hard to do a schedule like this?

October: 4 weeks
November: 4 weeks
December: 2 weeks (2 weeks Christmas break)
January: 4 weeks
February: 4 weeks
March: 5 weeks
April: 4 weeks
May: 4 weeks
June: 5 weeks

The school year would run from October 5th to July 2nd. Now, finishing the school year in July and having no spring break whatsoever would suck (you can add 1 week of spring break of course, at the cost of finishing a week later).

Still a calendar like this would buy 1 and a half months worth of time to get the pandemic under control and allow for at least primary schools to reopen (with tons of safety measures and social distancing of course)

Accounting for bank holidays the school year might need to be prolonged even more, but still, an October 1st to July 2nd school calendar would be perfectly fine

The issue is that most people who don’t want schools open now don’t actually want to see them open until their is a vaccine available.  If you believe infections will drop enough nationally in the next month or so that this would be dispositive, why wouldn’t it be reasonable to have schools open on schedule in areas with lower infection numbers, like New York and New England? 

(FWIW, schools are not yet open in most parts of the country.  Some Southern school districts just open exceptionally early, but most don’t open until after Labor Day.)