Covid Updates

[Shippy]

  We took a 7 day Caribbean cruise the end of May & tested positive for Covid the day after we returned.

Old & symptoms not to bad but took the Paxlavid anyway.

We are totally vax'd & boostered.

  It is now a crap whether or not to take any kind of trip.

ANYONE WHO HAS TO ASK WHAT THE ODDS ARE IS JUST NOT REALISTIC !

BUT....it is because we are old & want to finish out our lives the way we want...we have another cruise scheduled for next month.

[JimmyVWine]

1 hour ago, SumoCitrus said:

In my opinion, "hospitals at capacity" is a bit misleading and risks being misused by the media as sensationalism.

 

Hospitals would like to be at 100% capacity. They are a business. Moreover, hospitals cannot control the number of people who come in their doors with conditions that are not hospital-worthy. Many people come to the ER with tummy aches that turn out to be gas or flu that really just needs rest and chicken soup. They do their best to deal with these folks using triage. 

 

Given these realities, it is hard to use "100% capacity" as some indicator of crisis.

“Hospitalizations” refers to admitted patients, not presenting patients. Of course there are people who show up who are seen and released because they aren’t sick enough to need hospital care. But they are not counted in the numbers. 
 

Here’s a current article that is actually based in fact and not chat board supposition. 
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/its-beginning-to-look-a-lot-like-another-covid-surge/ar-AA1568p0?ocid=sapphireappshare

 

[SumoCitrus]

3 hours ago, JimmyVWine said:

“Hospitalizations” refers to admitted patients, not presenting patients. Of course there are people who show up who are seen and released because they aren’t sick enough to need hospital care. But they are not counted in the numbers. 
 

Here’s a current article that is actually based in fact and not chat board supposition. 
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/its-beginning-to-look-a-lot-like-another-covid-surge/ar-AA1568p0?ocid=sapphireappshare

 

 

Ok. I think it might be best for you to stay home!

[SargassoPirate]

12 hours ago, PacnGoNow said:

It’s also IN food. Like salads, etc. Can be spread by just eating, if in the food.

 

Also, utensils in the buffet.  So, you have to sanitize your hands after touching those too.

 

Not much you can do if it’s in the food you’re eating.  

You are correct.  It can be in food items that are not heated to kill the bacteria - such as salads - and for that we have to depend on the restaurant to follow safe food handling practices.

 

That's one reason I get cranky when I see food handlers wearing plastic gloves - those gloves only serve to keep the wearer's hands clean and spread germs/bacteria from surface to surface.

 

Food borne illnesses can be traced back to the source when a large group of people report the same symptoms at about the same time. 

 

 

[cruzin4us]

13 hours ago, SumoCitrus said:

 Noro almost sent me to the hospital. Covid inconvenienced me.

 

Ditto here.   

[Daniel A]

12 hours ago, JimmyVWine said:

“Hospitalizations” refers to admitted patients, not presenting patients. Of course there are people who show up who are seen and released because they aren’t sick enough to need hospital care. But they are not counted in the numbers. 
 

Here’s a current article that is actually based in fact and not chat board supposition. 
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/its-beginning-to-look-a-lot-like-another-covid-surge/ar-AA1568p0?ocid=sapphireappshare

 

I read the article you referenced with interest.  The article consistently makes references to the unreliability of any "facts" or statistics.  It does however state that it is Adult Flu and RSV which is filling up hospitals, not Covid.  Relying on percentage of increases rather than percentage of population can be extraordinarily misleading.  (As an absurd example, take a ship with 4,000 souls onboard.  In the previous sailing, two people tested positive for Covid, but on the current sailing a family of six tests positive.  One can claim that there has been a 'surge' in cases with a 300% increase whereas in reality, it is only 0.15% of the total population aboard.  That would hardly be a 'surge' in cases.)

 

The following quote from that article sums it up pretty well:  For now, what happens next is anyone’s guess. The dominant variants—the Omicron offshoots BQ.1 and BQ.1.1—are worrying, but they don’t pose the same challenges as what hit us last winter. "

 

Let's just keep our fingers crossed and continue to take reasonable precautions as we go about our daily lives.

[Princessfan20]

Latest national statics are stating that sill over 400 people a day are dying from Covid in the US a day.

How many from colds, flu or noro?

[Keksie]

5 minutes ago, Princessfan20 said:

Latest national statics are stating that sill over 400 people a day are dying from Covid in the US a day.

How many from colds, flu or noro?

Currently the CDC is estimating that 118-328 persons a day are dying of flu.

[Bobbiegentry]

Yet another reason to tune out the worthless media.

[Coral]

On 12/8/2022 at 7:12 PM, martinitime1 said:

Got home two weeks to the day from a T/A on the Emerald with covid. Lots of the flu going around. I think it's going to be a sketchy winter.

I agree. I was on this sailing and there was a lot of illness. Several people on our roll call reported COVID while on the sailing and then others tested positive once home.

 

All I can say is that during the sea days crossing, there was a lot of coughing (not light coughing). I ended up avoiding public places (Skywalker's, Theatre, Wheelhouse) as I felt uncomfortable.

 

We ate early in the dining room and most of those around us didn't show up until later as we were finishing so I felt safe in our dining room arrangement. 

 

Our temps on our sea days were in the eighties (gorgeous weather).

 

Except for a piece of paper in our stateroom on day one (and the officers telling our M and G to report any illness) there was no mention of COVID on the 16 night sailing from Princess. In Spain - they did hand out face masks as people were leaving the ship as it was required in public transportation/tours. I did private tours and they were not enforced. Not sure about Princess tours.

 

 

[ChutChut]

19 hours ago, Arizona Wildcat said:

Hospitalizations in Arizona are at 100% of capacity in several local hospitals.  Flu is rampant this year after reduced interpersonal contacts reduced flu numbers to almost zero in 2020/2021.  Lots of RSV in children as well. Combine a couple viruses and you have a problem.  A big one here.

Hmmmmm - I would question that percentage. I think it's very misleading. 

[ChutChut]

15 minutes ago, Princessfan20 said:

Latest national statics are stating that sill over 400 people a day are dying from Covid in the US a day.

How many from colds, flu or noro?

I would question this as being misleading. "From" or "With" is a very different stat.

[wrongwaywatson]

Yes, the media was reporting people "hospitalized from COVID" when actually they were hospitalized with something else and tested positive for COVID when they tested them, because they tested anyone coming in.   

[Bobbiegentry]

1 hour ago, wrongwaywatson said:

Yes, the media was reporting people "hospitalized from COVID" when actually they were hospitalized with something else and tested positive for COVID when they tested them, because they tested anyone coming in.   

Remember when the media actually understood their role was that of informing the public?🤣🤣🤣🤣

[Coral]

15 minutes ago, wrongwaywatson said:

Yes, the media was reporting people "hospitalized from COVID" when actually they were hospitalized with something else and tested positive for COVID when they tested them, because they tested anyone coming in.   

They are not testing everyone for COVID in the hospitals. Maybe people who have symptoms.

[JimmyVWine]

1 hour ago, Daniel A said:

The following quote from that article sums it up pretty well:  For now, what happens next is anyone’s guess. The dominant variants—the Omicron offshoots BQ.1 and BQ.1.1—are worrying, but they don’t pose the same challenges as what hit us last winter. "

I think that sums it up as well. It’s the middle of the information curve with irrational exuberance and irrational pessimism removed, not to mention both ends of political agendas. 

[JimmyVWine]

10 hours ago, SumoCitrus said:

 

Ok. I think it might be best for you to stay home!

I didn’t write the article so I have absolutely no idea, none whatsoever, what you are referring to or are insinuating. But it seems like you are attempting an insult or a jab. You missed. 

[SargassoPirate]

55 minutes ago, Bobbiegentry said:

Yet another reason to tune out the worthless media.

Bobbie, I got suspended a while back for questioning the media and their quest for clicks and ratings by using words like skyrocketing and outbreak when it came to covid.  One has to be smarter than the average bear and dig down in more than one source to find the truth.  Statistics 101: Figures don't lie, but liars figure.

 

 

[wrongwaywatson]

10 minutes ago, Coral said:

They are not testing everyone for COVID in the hospitals. Maybe people who have symptoms.

Yes, I said WAS, not is.  In 2021 anyone who had any test done or who was hospitalized was tested for Covid.  Some places still do.  My neighbor goes to a hospital near Chicago with her sister, and they still test her when she goes up for any appointments/tests.

[JimmyVWine]

53 minutes ago, ChutChut said:

I would question this as being misleading. "From" or "With" is a very different stat.

A friend of mine who is a hospital physician and has worked on many Covid patients has told me that this distinction is overstated, probably by people who want to press a particular narrative. At his hospital the only Covid deaths counted or reported were/are people who expire in the ICU being treated specifically for deteriorating respiratory and lung function due to the confirmed virus. If someone comes in with a lacerated liver and dies, but tested positive for Covid, they have never been included in the Covid numbers. They are very particular about only counting people who die on respirators and the like. So at least in his hospital, there is no “from” or “with” ambiguity. I assume many ir most health care facilities do likewise. The CDC and local authorities rely on numbers in order to take corrective or ameliorative actions. There is no advantage to the hospitals to play fast and loose with numbers knowing that others rely on them. 

[SargassoPirate]

Many years ago when I was still working, I investigated two cases of food borne illness in institutional settings.  In both cases, it was traced back to poor food handling practices and food workers not washing their hands and touching multiple surfaces - cross contamination.

 

As I have said many times, those ubiquitous plastic gloves only keep the wearer's hands clean and are theater. Nothing more.

[JimmyVWine]

3 minutes ago, SargassoPirate said:

As I have said many times, those ubiquitous plastic gloves only keep the wearer's hands clean and are theater. Nothing more.

I’ve always thought that the glove thing was bizarre. Touch a contagion with a bare hand or with a glove and it makes no difference. The next thing the person touches will cause the contagion to be passed along. 

[hobbyfarmer2]

Got off the Enchanted almost 2 weeks ago.  DW & SiL caught head colds - they tested negative twice for Covid while on board.  BiL and I felt great on board but we both developed the same head colds with neg Covid tests 2 days after we got home.  Probably caught it from our wives and our colder weather back home most likely weakened our immune systems.

 

Almost zero mask wearing on board except for a few passengers and some crew occasionally.  No sign of Covid that we saw but we did have the Plus pkg which may have blinded us a bit.

[Itchy&Scratchy]

On 12/8/2022 at 8:15 PM, wrongwaywatson said:

We got off of a 10 Day Cruise on The Enchanted Princess on November 29.   I didn't see people that were visibly sick.  I also didn't see people suddenly "disappear" aka go into isolation.  There was very little masking, but people were washing hands and using sanitizer in the buffet.  But, overall, it seemed a pretty healthy cruise.  We were cruising in the Caribbean.  

On the same cruise - lot of people coughing and sneezing. Some did it right in their hand. Some didn't bother covering up at all.

 

A woman on the elevator with us coughed without covering up - I was visibly taken aback. She was like - it's not covid. And I said - you still have to cover up, nobody wants your mucus all over them.

 

We wore masks indoors at all times, unless actively eating. We didn't get covid THIS time, but we got it on our last cruise in June. This time we were freshly boostered in addition to having it in June.

 

We also used plastic gloves at the buffet because I saw people sneezing into their hand and then touching public utensils. Otherwise, I'd have to wash my hands after every plate fill up. Which I occasionally did, when not wearing gloves. I did this because we touched a lot of foods with our hands - peeling hard boiled eggs, eating donuts and sandwiches, mcmuffins, etc.

Edited December 10, 2022 by Itchy&Scratchy

[hobbyfarmer2]

17 minutes ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

On the same cruise - lot of people coughing and sneezing. Some did it right in their hand. Some didn't bother covering up at all.

 

A woman on the elevator with us coughed without covering up - I was visibly taken aback. She was like - it's not covid. And I said - you still have to cover up, nobody wants your mucus all over them.

 

We wore masks indoors at all times, unless actively eating. We didn't get covid THIS time, but we got it on our last cruise in June. This time we were freshly boostered in addition to having it in June.

DW rips a strip off me if I don't cough into my sleeve or a kleenex.  That coughing woman in the elevator was just plain rude.  I exclusively used the stairs, DW about 90%.  Going from 8 to 16-18 was tough at first but not too bad by the end of cruise.  Use it or lose it is what my old GP always said.  We got our 5th vax (3'rd booster) 3 weeks before we left.

Edited December 10, 2022 by hobbyfarmer2
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