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Author Topic:   Coronavirus and Pandemics
Percy
Member
Posts: 22391
From: New Hampshire
Joined: 12-23-2000
Member Rating: 5.2


Message 421 of 955 (874482)
04-03-2020 8:42 AM
Reply to: Message 415 by Coragyps
04-02-2020 10:09 PM


Re: To Mask Or Not To Mask.
Coragyps writes:
Spitballing again, but it seems that thirty minutes in 150F/65C oven would sterilize a mask pretty well. A paper or cotton mask, anyway - one that would partially melt wouldn’t do so well.
This might be a very useful suggestion. Coronavirus survives for less than 15 minutes when exposed to a temperature of 132°F. It seems like masks should survive that just fine, though I'm not sure about the elastics. If someone tries this please let us know how it goes. If you don't use your oven often be very cautious about the temperature setting. Kitchen oven temperature settings are often very inaccurate. A 50 degree discrepancy is not uncommon.
--Percy

This message is a reply to:
 Message 415 by Coragyps, posted 04-02-2020 10:09 PM Coragyps has not replied

  
Percy
Member
Posts: 22391
From: New Hampshire
Joined: 12-23-2000
Member Rating: 5.2


Message 422 of 955 (874483)
04-03-2020 9:48 AM


The Trump Administration and the Coronavirus Epidemic
From Commander of confusion: Trump sows uncertainty and seeks to cast blame in coronavirus crisis in today's Washington Post:
quote:
In the three weeks since declaring the novel coronavirus outbreak a national emergency, President Trump has delivered a dizzying array of rhetorical contortions, sowed confusion and repeatedly sought to cast blame on others.
History has never known a crisis response as strong as his own, Trump says yet the self-described wartime president claims he is merely backup. He has faulted governors for acting too slowly and, as he did Thursday, has accused overwhelmed state and hospital officials of complaining too much and of hoarding supplies.
America is winning its war with the coronavirus, the president says yet the death toll rises still, and in the best-case scenario more Americans will die than in the wars in Vietnam, Korea, Afghanistan and Iraq combined.
The economy is the strongest ever and will rebound in no time, he says yet stock markets have cratered and in the past two weeks a record 10 million people filed for unemployment insurance.
As Trump has sought to remake his public image from that of a skeptic of the pandemic’s danger to a savior forestalling catastrophe and protecting hundreds of thousands of people from a vicious contagion, he also has distorted the truth, making edits and creating illusions at many turns.
Trump’s machinations have a dogged showman’s quality, using his omnipresence at daily White House news conferences which sometimes stretch two hours or more and are broadcast to millions to try to erase memories from his two months of playing down the crisis. He sometimes scolds reporters who question his version of events.
...
The result is chaotic...
This long opinion piece summarizes what many have been saying all along: Trump downplayed the seriousness of the pandemic from when it first appeared until just a couple weeks ago, accepts no responsibility and assigns all blame to others, and he refuses to let the federal government lead a centralized and coordinated effort to acquire PPE, ventilators and other hospital equipment and allocate them and associated manpower to the states as needed. That the hospital ship in New York has only 15 patients speaks volumes - all potential hospital ship patients must first go to the hospital and be certified free of coronavirus infection.
It is very difficult to make Trump move to take positive action, and he seems to be trying to position himself for minimum blame. His story during the election will be, "The states were responsible for that and they did very poor job, except for the red states, whose support I need."
--Percy

Replies to this message:
 Message 423 by jar, posted 04-03-2020 9:57 AM Percy has seen this message but not replied

  
jar
Member (Idle past 394 days)
Posts: 34026
From: Texas!!
Joined: 04-20-2004


Message 423 of 955 (874484)
04-03-2020 9:57 AM
Reply to: Message 422 by Percy
04-03-2020 9:48 AM


Re: The Trump Administration and the Coronavirus Epidemic
Percy writes:
His story during the election will be, "The states were responsible for that and they did very poor job, except for the red states, whose support I need."
Almost. More likely His story during the election will be, "The some states were responsible for that and they did very poor job which endangered not just their citizens but even those living in the states that did a good job."
And it will work!

My Sister's Website: Rose Hill StudiosMy Website: My Website

This message is a reply to:
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Percy
Member
Posts: 22391
From: New Hampshire
Joined: 12-23-2000
Member Rating: 5.2


Message 424 of 955 (874485)
04-03-2020 10:32 AM


Safety and Takeout and Delivered Food
What to know about the risks of restaurant takeout and delivery and how to minimize them is a mostly excellent article about the safety of takeout and delivered food.
I only fault the article in one place, and that's where it cites the CDC in deeming food itself safe. Anyone who remembers past E. coli epidemics where bacteria is transmitted on food like lettuce and meat will also doubt this contention. If virus somehow dies or becomes inactive when it comes in contact with food then someone is going to have to prove it to me. Until then it is my firm belief that if an infected person coughs on your salad that you have a good chance of becoming infected yourself.
My advice is to order no cold takeout or delivered food. Order hot food then heat it again in the microwave or oven after it arrives.
--Percy
Edited by Percy, : Typo.
Edited by Percy, : Typo in title.

Replies to this message:
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Coragyps
Member (Idle past 734 days)
Posts: 5553
From: Snyder, Texas, USA
Joined: 11-12-2002


Message 425 of 955 (874488)
04-03-2020 12:04 PM
Reply to: Message 424 by Percy
04-03-2020 10:32 AM


Re: Safety and Takeout and Delivered Food
Yeah - Coronavirus seems to like taking up residence in lungs. Cow lungs are called sweetbreads by Scots and other such pagans that actually eat such things.
Edited by Admin, : Typo in title.

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Chiroptera
Inactive Member


Message 426 of 955 (874489)
04-03-2020 12:15 PM
Reply to: Message 420 by caffeine
04-03-2020 8:07 AM


Re: To Mask Or Not To Mask.
Yeah, I'm assuming most of us don't have access to actual surgical masks and are improvising with bandanas andpaper towel.
Throw away the paper towel lining, boil the bandana.

But [Frederick] Douglass was not gone; he was merely dead. -- David W. Blight

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Hyroglyphx
Inactive Member


(1)
Message 427 of 955 (874490)
04-03-2020 12:23 PM
Reply to: Message 410 by AZPaul3
04-02-2020 5:24 PM


Re: To Mask Or Not To Mask.
Cloth masks are not one-use items. Even the standard surgical masks we bottom-feeders of society can no longer get are put into multi-use mode these days. So how do we clean them?
My idea is to dampen the mask, not drench it but just dab it, with a clean sheet of paper towel wet with ethanol then seal it in one of those zip-like baggies and let it fumigate for a day or two. Would this work?
I know ethanol in the guise of rubbing alcohol is as scarce as surgical masks and Lysol-like sprays in your local grocery/pharmacy store but for those who don’t know Everclear 190 proof grain alcohol (95% ethanol) is still available, at least in Arizona, in your local liquor store for about $25 a fifth (750 ml).
Most manufactured masks are one time use.... You wear it and then basically have to dispose of it. My wife does her tech job from home during the day and learned to sew in the last few days to work on masks at night. She has been making multiple clothed masks sewn from a template with an insertable pocket or pouch. We bought air filters used for home air filters. The grade of filtration is said to be designed to protect against bacteria and viruses, among other things. So we cut the air filter and insert it in to the pocket.
I also bought clear, plastic eye protection since the ocular cavity is an excellent transmission site that people seem to forget about. After use when you have to be exposed the glasses can be sanitized. We always wear gloves whenever having to open doors or whatever. The filter for the mask can be disposed of but the cloth can be washed using hot water and reused multiple times. The only problem we have currently is how to find the nose piece to mold to the shape of the bridge of your nose. We're still trying to figure out what material to use for that. Some kind of pliable, low grade metal.... Any suggestions would be great.
Unfortunately the nature of my job forces me to interact with the public and my department has inadequate measures to protect its employees. I can't self-quarantine so I have to adapt and become creative.
The cases are relatively low in my area when compared to other cities of comparable size. But just to give some scope to the spread of the virus, Travis County had 209 cases yesterday. As of today, we now have 351 confirmed cases. Extrapolating and taking into consideration the incubation period, you can basically surmise that at least 100 more have it right now and are not yet symptomatic, maybe even me. They will then spread that 300 more and so on...
I don't know how well our protective measures will be, but the whole world is woefully underprepared... Except maybe Taiwan which actually learned a valuable lesson during SARS and has prepared its society in advance.
Anyway, I figure my current measures are better than nothing. I hope maybe this gives you guys some ideas for the times when you have to be out in public.
Stay safe, EvC, and good luck.
Edited by Hyroglyphx, : No reason given.

"Reason obeys itself; and ignorance submits to whatever is dictated to it" -- Thomas Paine

This message is a reply to:
 Message 410 by AZPaul3, posted 04-02-2020 5:24 PM AZPaul3 has replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 428 by Coragyps, posted 04-03-2020 1:32 PM Hyroglyphx has not replied
 Message 434 by AZPaul3, posted 04-03-2020 4:31 PM Hyroglyphx has not replied

  
Coragyps
Member (Idle past 734 days)
Posts: 5553
From: Snyder, Texas, USA
Joined: 11-12-2002


(1)
Message 428 of 955 (874491)
04-03-2020 1:32 PM
Reply to: Message 427 by Hyroglyphx
04-03-2020 12:23 PM


Re: To Mask Or Not To Mask.
Pipe cleaners will do fine to make a mask hug your nose. They may be in short supply, at least for cleaning the tar out of plpes, but Hobby Lobby will have them for crafts. They’re ESSENTIAL , y’know.

This message is a reply to:
 Message 427 by Hyroglyphx, posted 04-03-2020 12:23 PM Hyroglyphx has not replied

  
caffeine
Member (Idle past 1024 days)
Posts: 1800
From: Prague, Czech Republic
Joined: 10-22-2008


Message 429 of 955 (874493)
04-03-2020 2:26 PM


Coronavirus virulence
We had some speculation earlier in the thread on how many coronavirus infections are likely to be going unnoticed. Some clues from Iceland; who have been conducting the first large-scale randomised testing.
They haven't released detailed data, but they report that based on initial findings more than 50% of those who tested positive had no symptoms; and most of the rest had only a mild cold. There's no number put to 'most', though.

  
JonF
Member (Idle past 168 days)
Posts: 6174
Joined: 06-23-2003


Message 430 of 955 (874494)
04-03-2020 2:43 PM


We are so screwed.
Admin Scrubs Websites Of Stockpile Language That Contradicted Kushner
quote:
The state still has a stockpile and the notion of the federal stockpile was it’s supposed to be our stockpile, Kushner said at a briefing about the coronavirus pandemic. It’s not supposed to be states’ stockpiles that they then use.
So I would just encourage you, when you have governors saying that the federal government hasn’t given them what they need, I would just urge you to ask them, ‘well have you looked within your state to make sure that you haven’t been able to find the resources?' he continued.
As captured by journalist Laura Bassett and noted by the Washington Post, the original description of the stockpile on the Public Health Emergency subsection of the Health and Human Services site characterized it as the nation’s largest supply of life-saving pharmaceuticals and medical supplies for use in a public health emergency severe enough to cause local supplies to run out.
It added: When state, local, tribal, and territorial responders request federal assistance to support their response efforts, the stockpile ensures that the right medicines and supplies get to those who need them most during an emergency.
We have always been at war with EastAsia.
Obviously the intent in establishing the stockpile was to create a store of critical equipment to be doled out to those with the brownest noses and withheld from those who haven't sufficiently prostrated before the throne.
And Jared Kushner has made it clear that expertise and facts are NOT welcomed.

Replies to this message:
 Message 431 by jar, posted 04-03-2020 3:07 PM JonF has replied

  
jar
Member (Idle past 394 days)
Posts: 34026
From: Texas!!
Joined: 04-20-2004


Message 431 of 955 (874495)
04-03-2020 3:07 PM
Reply to: Message 430 by JonF
04-03-2020 2:43 PM


We will get exactly what we want.
But the US Senate with the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court presiding decided that if the President deems some act or position to be in the Nations Best Interest then it cannot be illegal.
If the President believes that his continued Presidency is in the Best Interest of the Nation and that using the stockpile is a means of insuring his continued Presidency then it is not just legal, it is the correct usage.

My Sister's Website: Rose Hill StudiosMy Website: My Website

This message is a reply to:
 Message 430 by JonF, posted 04-03-2020 2:43 PM JonF has replied

Replies to this message:
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JonF
Member (Idle past 168 days)
Posts: 6174
Joined: 06-23-2003


Message 432 of 955 (874497)
04-03-2020 3:58 PM
Reply to: Message 431 by jar
04-03-2020 3:07 PM


Re: We will get exactly what we want.
Good point!

This message is a reply to:
 Message 431 by jar, posted 04-03-2020 3:07 PM jar has not replied

  
JonF
Member (Idle past 168 days)
Posts: 6174
Joined: 06-23-2003


Message 433 of 955 (874498)
04-03-2020 3:59 PM



  
AZPaul3
Member
Posts: 8513
From: Phoenix
Joined: 11-06-2006
Member Rating: 5.3


(1)
Message 434 of 955 (874499)
04-03-2020 4:31 PM
Reply to: Message 427 by Hyroglyphx
04-03-2020 12:23 PM


Re: To Mask Or Not To Mask.
Coragyps is right on. Pipe cleaners are a good way to go. I have a political problem with doing *any* business with Hobby Lobby but, hey, if that is the only readily available source then no choice, right?
Watching and hearing what police officers go thru on a daily basis (Phoenix PD just lost a commander in a domestic disturbance call) I cringe at the increased risks you folk are subject to these days. Not just the virus but the stir-crazy nut-jobs this is bringing out.
Watch yourself. Take extra precautions. And keep your fingers out of your nose.

Eschew obfuscation. Habituate elucidation.

This message is a reply to:
 Message 427 by Hyroglyphx, posted 04-03-2020 12:23 PM Hyroglyphx has not replied

Replies to this message:
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Coragyps
Member (Idle past 734 days)
Posts: 5553
From: Snyder, Texas, USA
Joined: 11-12-2002


Message 435 of 955 (874501)
04-03-2020 6:45 PM
Reply to: Message 434 by AZPaul3
04-03-2020 4:31 PM


Re: To Mask Or Not To Mask.
I just saw that Hobby Lobby agreed that they maybe aren’t essential, so they’re closing. Head shops/vape shops probably have pipe cleaners, though, and check your nearest convenience store, too.

This message is a reply to:
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