Covid-19 miscellany

[TSwizzle]

It is, indeed, virtually certain that *some* deaths have been wrongly attributed to covid.

Some ?! Not some, quite a lot is more likely.

 

[ideologyhunter]

Who knows how it balances out, but there are plenty of cases that are not labeled covid because they are mild, untested cases, and the sick people are told to stay home.

 

[bilby]

It is, indeed, virtually certain that *some* deaths have been wrongly attributed to covid.

Some ?! Not some, quite a lot is more likely.

Quite a lot?! More likely loads, heaps, or even a multitude.

Still fewer than have been wrongly not attributed to covid.

Even if it were a metric shit-ton.

 

[TomC]

It is, indeed, virtually certain that *some* deaths have been wrongly attributed to covid.

Some ?! Not some, quite a lot is more likely.

Similarly, lots of C19 deaths weren't attributed to the virus.

Because the Trump Administration response was so lackadaisical and ill-informed. Lots of people died without actually being tested.

Even in late November, when my high risk mother-in-law was sick, there just weren't enough tests to go around. She never got tested.

On the other hand, a relative of mine died an ugly death from brain damage, due to a heart attack. If she hadn't been quarantining due to C19, somebody probably would have noticed and called for help right away. But they didn't, because they didn't know. I'd call that a C19 death, even though she never tested positive.

Or maybe, more precisely, a Trump virus death. Because if Trump had responded better a year ago, this probably wouldn't have happened.
Tom

 

[ZiprHead]

Texas and Mississippi to lift mask mandates and roll back Covid restrictions
Gov. Greg Abbott said Texas would be back open "100 percent" by March 10, and Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves said his state's mask mandate would end Wednesday.

Just one day after the CDC warned against complacency in the face of emerging coronavirus variants.

 

[TomC]

Texas and Mississippi to lift mask mandates and roll back Covid restrictions
Gov. Greg Abbott said Texas would be back open "100 percent" by March 10, and Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves said his state's mask mandate would end Wednesday.

Just one day after the CDC warned against complacency in the face of emerging coronavirus variants.

I guess the Texan government needs something to take people's attention off massive failure in the power supply and $16,000 dollar monthly electricity bills.
Tom

 

[lpetrich]

• Texas becomes biggest US state to lift COVID-19 mask mandate
• Gov. Reeves axes mandate for masks in Mississippi; replaced with ‘recommendations’
• Texas, Mississippi to lift mask mandates, let all businesses reopen at full capacity - POLITICO - "The executive orders announced by the two Republican governors come as health officials warn against loosening restrictions too quickly."
• COVID news: Biden enough vaccine; Texas, Mississippi lift restrictions

Reopening all businesses at full capacity? That's a harebrained idea, and an irresponsible one. I'm in favor of partial opening, opening anything that does not involve a lot of people indoors with their mouths uncovered. But complete opening is another story.

From POLITICO,

Texas and Mississippi on Tuesday issued separate executive orders to lift their states’ mask mandates and give all businesses the green light to reopen at full capacity, casting off restrictions meant to curb the Covid-19 pandemic.

“We must now do more to restore livelihoods and normalcy for Texans by opening Texas 100 percent,” Gov. Greg Abbott said in a statement announcing the executive order, which will take effect March 10.

“Make no mistake, COVID-19 has not disappeared, but it is clear from the recoveries, vaccinations, reduced hospitalizations, and safe practices that Texans are using that state mandates are no longer needed,” he said.

...
“Starting tomorrow, we are lifting all of our county mask mandates and businesses will be able to operate at full capacity without any state-imposed rules,” Gov. Tate Reeves of Mississippi wrote on Twitter. “Our hospitalizations and case numbers have plummeted, and the vaccine is being rapidly distributed. It is time!”

 

[TSwizzle]

Another blow to the insufferable prick Newsom;

The U.S. Supreme Court handed California churches a victory Friday, granting injunctive relief to a group that had sued over coronavirus lockdown rules that banned indoor services. The churches will be allowed to hold indoor services as they await a decision on their appeal in the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, which is hearing their case but had denied a motion to suspend the ban during it. The 6-3 decision came with the Court's liberal justices in dissent.

FoxLA

 

[blastula]

Another blow to the insufferable prick Newsom;

The U.S. Supreme Court handed California churches a victory Friday, granting injunctive relief to a group that had sued over coronavirus lockdown rules that banned indoor services. The churches will be allowed to hold indoor services as they await a decision on their appeal in the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, which is hearing their case but had denied a motion to suspend the ban during it. The 6-3 decision came with the Court's liberal justices in dissent.

FoxLA

It's good news for fans of the virus though.

 

[Loren Pechtel]

Correct. Based on the science, they shouldn't be open at all.

That's nonsense, there is no "science and data" (to quote that insufferable prick Newsom) that indicates restaurants are a significant source of virus spread. And nobody is forced to go to a restaurant, they should be allowed to open, you can stay home.

Your inability to look doesn't mean the data isn't there. It's just Google isn't very good at finding scientific stuff.

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2776937

4 locations are risky enough to show up statistically: Restaurants, bars, gyms and churches.

 

[Loren Pechtel]

It is, indeed, virtually certain that *some* deaths have been wrongly attributed to covid.

Some ?! Not some, quite a lot is more likely.

If it's not Covid killing them, what is it? You need to account for more than 600,000 deaths from something.

 

[Loren Pechtel]

Another blow to the insufferable prick Newsom;

The U.S. Supreme Court handed California churches a victory Friday, granting injunctive relief to a group that had sued over coronavirus lockdown rules that banned indoor services. The churches will be allowed to hold indoor services as they await a decision on their appeal in the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, which is hearing their case but had denied a motion to suspend the ban during it. The 6-3 decision came with the Court's liberal justices in dissent.

FoxLA

It's good news for fans of the virus though.

It's good news for fans of death.

 

[lpetrich]

The Associated Press on Twitter: "BREAKING: Texas is lifting its mask mandate, making it the largest state to end an order intended to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Gov. Greg Abbott has faced sharp criticism from his party over the mandate, imposed eight months ago. (link)" / Twitter
So it's the anti-lockdown and anti-mask people in his party.

Then
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "93.2% of Texans aren’t fully vaccinated. ..." / Twitter

93.2% of Texans aren’t fully vaccinated.

The state just endured one disaster worsened by selfishness + denial of basic science, and now conditions are being set for another.

Repealing the mask mandate now endangers so many people, especially essential workers & the vulnerable.

This endangers the entire country and beyond. We are in a pandemic. We know that COVID spread isn’t neatly contained by state borders, and explosions in COVID cases can increase the likelihood of new COVID variants to develop or spread to new places. It’s dangerous.

 

[Shadowy Man]

It is, indeed, virtually certain that *some* deaths have been wrongly attributed to covid.

Some ?! Not some, quite a lot is more likely.

If it's not Covid killing them, what is it? You need to account for more than 600,000 deaths from something.

They died because the heart stopped pumping blood to the brain.

 

[TSwizzle]

Another blow to the insufferable prick Newsom;

The U.S. Supreme Court handed California churches a victory Friday, granting injunctive relief to a group that had sued over coronavirus lockdown rules that banned indoor services. The churches will be allowed to hold indoor services as they await a decision on their appeal in the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, which is hearing their case but had denied a motion to suspend the ban during it. The 6-3 decision came with the Court's liberal justices in dissent.

FoxLA

It's good news for fans of the virus though.

It is bad news for the authoritarians.

 

[Jarhyn]

It's good news for fans of the virus though.

It is bad news for the authoritarians.

It's not authoritarian to wear masks nor to expect others to do so. It is humanitarian.

Like, how would TSwizzle feel if, say, someone just walked up to them and sprayed LSD in their face?

It wouldn't hurt them in any physical sense. It wouldn't chemically damage them. They would emerge out the far side of the experience no worse for wear, save for the material consequences of the decisions they made.

Yet we still recognize that exposing people to experiences for which they do not consent is not an acceptable act.

How much more so for getting someone sick with an agent that has the potential to kill them?

 

[TomC]

Another blow to the insufferable prick Newsom;

The U.S. Supreme Court handed California churches a victory Friday, granting injunctive relief to a group that had sued over coronavirus lockdown rules that banned indoor services. The churches will be allowed to hold indoor services as they await a decision on their appeal in the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, which is hearing their case but had denied a motion to suspend the ban during it. The 6-3 decision came with the Court's liberal justices in dissent.

FoxLA

And once again,
Had the Trump administration gotten a handle on this a year ago, in a big picture sort of way, state and local governments wouldn't be scrambling to deal with it.

But it wasn't politically expedient for Trump, so they didn't. This time last year, Trump was confidently claiming that everything would get taken care of and the country would be open and back to normal by Easter!

Sorry dude. Newsom isn't the problem. It's Trump.
Tom

 

[TomC]

I know I'm showing my age here.
But I can't help pointing out that the whole C19 thing keeps hitting me with deja vue.

I came out of the closet as a gay man in the mid-late 80s. The government response to the AIDS epidemic was so much like the response to C19. Lots more political posturing than action. Lots more fake news than science or compassion. Religious and business leaders taking strong stands, based almost entirely on personal interests.
Communities of ordinary people left twisting in the wind because it wasn't in the interests of the elite to become educated and honest before taking action. Leaders lying, because the people who suffer aren't as important as the support of their audience.

Yeah, this whole C19 thing is like AIDS for nice people. Less deadly perhaps, but more disruptive.

Tom

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

If it's not Covid killing them, what is it? You need to account for more than 600,000 deaths from something.

They died because the heart stopped pumping blood to the brain.

Dude, if we used that standard for living, half of right-wing voters would be declared dead.

 

[TSwizzle]

It is bad news for the authoritarians.

It's not authoritarian to wear masks nor to expect others to do so. It is humanitarian.

Nobody is stopping you from wearing a mask.

Like, how {snip incoherent/irrelevant ranting}

How much more so for getting someone sick with an agent that has the potential to kill them?

Stay home.