[FaithWalker]

Things seem to be going fairly well in our County so far.  The uni made all incoming students and staff do mandatory testing before coming back last month, as well as random daily testing.  They are also doing waste water testing and can catch an outbreak before it happens apparently.  They are also doing LAMP testing with saliva.  Our school district has been to see a demonstration and has been looking at adding these forms as well.

Our total positivity rate is 1.68% but we have seen an uptick in cases over the last 2 weeks.  Right now we are in the phase "Protect our neighbors" and received a variance that allows 50% capacity at all types of establishments and businesses and gatherings of up to 500 people (whichever is less).  If we do well in the next 4 weeks we will receive a capacity increase.  If things get to a certain extent worse, we will drop back into Safer at Home phase.

Since March 1st, we have had 689 positive cases and 5 deaths.  A majority of our cases have been from people traveling to other States and Counties, and then spreading it to family members and co-workers.  We have had 8 small outbreaks, 5 of which are resolved. (1 nursing home, 2 churches, 1 extended hours program, a college sports team, 1 restaurant, 1 construction company and a wedding at a hotel)

About 14% of our kids are in online learning by choice of their parents, the rest are back in face to face learning.  The schools are "cohorting" so that if there are cases they can easily do contact tracing and are working very closely with the heath department.  So far there have been 18 cases of students or staff, all of which through contact tracing were identified as having been exposed outside of school.  1 staff member was in contact with many people at 1 school, so even though she/he was the only case at that school, the school went online for the allotted quarantine time.  They were back to in person learning as of yesterday.  Masks are required for all high school and middle school students and they have to fill out a daily symptom tracker.  Elementary kids have to wear masks on the bus, when walking through the halls, and working in small groups with their teachers.  Their parents are required to fill out a symptom tracker for them every morning.  Staff is also required to complete the symptom tracker every morning before work.

[xyzcf]

A ray of sunshine this morning, This could really help. Rapid testing to identify if you are free of the virus.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/lockdown-rapid-testing-1.5758034

[marvin4242]

That is great, but we have to be careful when rapid testing is misunderstood and misused (case and point, the White House outbreak).

And I HOPE they can get away from the incredibly painful nasal swab, that seems minor, but I think it may keep people from using it (specially if its a daily process).

[terra]

I am recently being approached for roles in management of clinical trials.

This is a bit outside my usual roles, and I’m not willing to take it on. What it tells me is that there is likely unusually high turnover and rapid burnout in these companies and roles at this time.

I hope everyone is safe and well, and please, have patience for the science developments. Especially in USA, the pressure now is both political and profit-driven, and that’s not how those environments usually work.

[marvin4242]

Interesting update of sorts on what is being seen. This review/update talks more in depth about long term Covid symptoms, and clarifies how COVID may cause four different syndrome rather than the one that we seem to think of the progression of disease.

From The Guardian summary:

“ Subtypes of lasting Covid identified by the NIHR included patients experiencing the after-effects of intensive care; those with post-viral fatigue; people with lasting organ damage; and those with fluctuating symptoms that move around the body.

“We believe that the term long Covid is being used as a catch-all for more than one syndrome, possibly up to four, and that the lack of distinction between these syndromes may explain the challenges people are having in being believed and accessing services,” said Dr Elaine Maxwell, the lead author of the report, which drew upon the experiences of patients and the latest published research. However, Prof Danny Altmann, an immunologist at Imperial College London, cautioned that narrowing long Covid down to just four syndromes might be too simplistic.”

It’s a good read.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/oct/15/long-covid-what-we-know-so-far

https://evidence.nihr.ac.uk/themedreview/living-with-covid19/

[Acorn]

Covid: Antibodies 'fall rapidly after infection'

https://www.bbc.com/news/health-54696873

“More than 350,000 people in England have taken an antibody test as part of the REACT-2 study so far.
In the first round of testing, at the end of June and the beginning of July, about 60 in 1,000 people had detectable antibodies.
But in the latest set of tests, in September, only 44 per 1,000 people were positive.
It suggests the number of people with antibodies fell by more than a quarter between summer and autumn.”

[OldPilot]

Covid: Antibodies 'fall rapidly after infection'

https://www.bbc.com/news/health-54696873

“More than 350,000 people in England have taken an antibody test as part of the REACT-2 study so far.
In the first round of testing, at the end of June and the beginning of July, about 60 in 1,000 people had detectable antibodies.
But in the latest set of tests, in September, only 44 per 1,000 people were positive.
It suggests the number of people with antibodies fell by more than a quarter between summer and autumn.”

I know that we tested negative for covid,
negative for anitbodies,
but we definitely had covid.

So have they had any studies of people becoming reinfected?

I would say if I become reinfected that it is more probable that I never fully recovered from the first time.

Just my opinion.

[marvin4242]

Here is a good website with demonstrations of risk of spread in various scenarios and conditions. Which also explains why some countries are imposing certain lockdown but not others.

https://english.elpais.com/society/2020-10-28/a-room-a-bar-and-a-class-how-the-coronavirus-is-spread-through-the-air.html

[Acorn]

Thank you, Marvin, for sharing the link. 

I took a look and it is highly informative and beautifully presented.  This article is another reminder that we can all contribute to lowering the spread of Covid 19 by taking personal responsibility seriously and being aware of the impact our choices has on the wellbeing of those around us.  Don’t we LBSs know that better than anyone else!   

May I add a quote from Angela Merkel’s most recent speech:

“Populists who call coronavirus harmless are dangerous and irresponsible. ......  Freedom is not doing what everybody wants but freedom is responsibility," she said. "We are in a dramatic situation -- it affects us all."

[xyzcf]

Regarding antibodies:
https://coronavirus.medium.com/dont-freak-out-over-that-waning-covid-19-antibodies-study-8705e7dbf1d8