Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)

[Undertoad]

rt.live numbers say the rates of infection are now increasing in 30 states. It's the midatlantic's turn, numbers up for WV, PA, MD, NJ. Not hugely up, like the curve in April, just a tick. But the rate is more driven by the fact that there are fewer tests, than more positive results, so who knows?

[xoxoxoBruce]

Uptics from colleges are expected.

Oh, up above I should have said carbon monoxide not dioxide. DUH

[Undertoad]

Centre County now a PA hotspot due to Penn State

Also, York County, that one seems to be from a prison

[Griff]

The guy from Pittston who hunts here was up over the weekend, he works on a cell block of old-timers. So far so good, let's hope it stays out of there.

[glatt]

My cousin's son, who is the same age as my son and traveled last summer with him and my sister on a whirlwind expedition through Ecuador, has been sent home from SUNY Oneonta. He's a freshman.
The campus closed amid covid concerns, and all students have been sent home.

He's been home for four days, and his test results just came back positive for covid. He hasn't got a single symptom. He feels just fine.

The family started off keeping distance from each other when he got back, but got more and more relaxed as the days went on. I imagine they are regretting that now. So now the entire household has to quarantine and wear masks around each other. Just waiting for symptoms to appear. Some may get it, some may not.

The grandmother, who lives across town, just got out of rehab after back surgery, and was going to be cared for by my cousin. She can't do that now that she has been exposed. Another relative is getting that job now.

I think it's smart of colleges to suspend in person classes when covid heats up on the campuses, but maybe sending the kids home to their families isn't such a great idea. At least not without strict controls.

[Griff]

It seems like on campus quarantine would make sense most places but the “city” of Oneonta probably lacks the beds if kids actually become ill.

[monster]

The colleges here mostly have quarantine dorms. There are three big college hotspots in Michigan. Not U of M ...yet..... they start classes later :/

[glatt]

And it turns out my information was bad. My cousin’s son has basically ALL the symptoms. My cousin must have told my mom that the boy had no symptoms 4 days ago when he came home.

[Ibby]

the local student paper just published a scathing opinion piece headlined UVM is destined to close over COVID-19. this section is particularly interesting:

In a July 2 email to all students, Provost Patricia Prelock said that all on-campus students would be required to participate in coronavirus testing twice a week for the entire fall semester.

Since then, UVM has scaled back that testing policy. According to UVM’s reopening website, the university will test students once a week for three weeks, until Sept. 18. The website does not specify why the policy was changed, or how often or whether students will be tested after that point.

I wondered at first why UVM chose to only test students until a specific date.

Then I remembered that Sept. 18 just so happens to be the last date on which students can withdraw from classes, meaning the last date on which students can leave the university for the semester without paying full tuition.

[glatt]

My son deferred enrollment for freshmen year there. He's off in the woods of NM instead.

It's really interesting to hear the stories of all his classmates, and who has taken a gap year, who has been exposed and is in quarantine, who has tested positive, and who is just off at college doing their best.

Dickinson, where my daughter is a senior, made the call earlier than most that they would be fully remote. So she is downstairs.

I'm so grateful that both my kids are in pretty safe environments while this gets sorted out.

[Griff]

My younger daughter is trying to work and complete her Masters, her practicum is getting complicated.

[xoxoxoBruce]

A German company has done a study using phone data among other things and came to the conclusion Sturgis caused 250,000 new Covid-19 cases. Not all of them in the 500,000 attendees, but the people they came in contact with traveling, plus the communities they went home to.

[Griff]

I saw that the other day and dismissed it. The numbers didn't seem to match reality at first glance.

[sexobon]

UK's Johnson to levy 10,000 pound fine on COVID-19 rule-breakers

LONDON (Reuters) - People in England who break new rules requiring them to self-isolate if they have been in contact with someone infected with COVID-19 will face a fine of up to 10,000 pounds ($12,914), Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Saturday.

The rules will apply from Sept. 28 to anyone in England who tests positive for the virus or is notified by public health workers that they have been in contact with someone infectious.

"People who choose to ignore the rules will face significant fines," Johnson said in a statement.

Fines will start at 1,000 pounds for a first offence, rising to 10,000 pounds for repeat offenders or cases where employers threaten to sack staff who self-isolate rather than go to work.

Some low-income workers who suffer a loss of earnings will receive a 500 pound support payment, on top of other benefits such as sick pay to which they may be entitled....

[monster]

Originally Posted by Griff

My younger daughter is trying to work and complete her Masters, her practicum is getting complicated.

Pologirl is in a similar position. They replaced it with extra theory courses, but she didn't really have room for that. I'm concerned she's nearing breaking point. And they've increased the amount and intensity of teaching work they require from them in return for their stipend -which they're suggesting reducing.....