COVID-19 Thread [V2.0]

[DuWayne Steurer]

Like you turbo, I went on to the website, and Arby's site says they are wearing masks and gloves at all locations. Uhhhh, well all except one, maybe? I left a survey like you did.

 

I have gotten contactless delivery a handful of times, and gone through a drive through maybe 5-6 times since this all started. I have to go to gas stations from time to time for more than just gas, and kwik trips are convenient for just about everything. It honestly surprised me to see an entire restaurant full of people not wearing masks (or even worse, honestly) gloves, and handling food.

[LouisEly]

The research so far has shown no evidence of COVID-19 being transmitted by ingesting food. All of the research so far has shown it to be a respiratory virus.

 

Now, employees not wearing gloves is another story, but as far as COVID-19 goes, there is no evidence suggesting a reason to be concerned with eating food. To be safe, don't touch your face while eating and wash your hands after.

[CheezWizHed]

Since there has been so much made of people that are asymptomatic but COVID positive, I wonder if we start looking at influenza the same way.

[TURBO]

The research so far has shown no evidence of COVID-19 being transmitted by ingesting food. All of the research so far has shown it to be a respiratory virus.

 

Now, employees not wearing gloves is another story, but as far as COVID-19 goes, there is no evidence suggesting a reason to be concerned with eating food. To be safe, don't touch your face while eating and wash your hands after.

 

So you are saying that if a covid positive person is making a sandwich at a sub shop with no mask, and coughs directly onto that sandwich, the person now eating that sandwich less than 5 minutes later can't get the virus?

 

It's a serious question, not picking a fight...

[tmwiese55]

Since there has been so much made of people that are asymptomatic but COVID positive, I wonder if we start looking at influenza the same way.

 

At the very least at least now everyone with normal colds and flu will be at home out of caution in case it's covid instead of powering through to not miss work like in the past. Even as someone who almost never gets sick I found it gross to watch/hear on a daily basis. In theory you'd think normal flu illnesses and deaths go down noticeably next year for this reason combined with all covid precautions also slowing normal flue spread.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

The research so far has shown no evidence of COVID-19 being transmitted by ingesting food. All of the research so far has shown it to be a respiratory virus.

 

Now, employees not wearing gloves is another story, but as far as COVID-19 goes, there is no evidence suggesting a reason to be concerned with eating food. To be safe, don't touch your face while eating and wash your hands after.

 

So you are saying that if a covid positive person is making a sandwich at a sub shop with no mask, and coughs directly onto that sandwich, the person now eating that sandwich less than 5 minutes later can't get the virus?

 

It's a serious question, not picking a fight...

 

Gross, but probably true for the most part. I don't think anyone would use the word "can't," but the transmission is much more potent when you directly inhale the droplets. The sandwich makers should be wearing masks right now though, regardless of what the science says. It's negligent of a place that prepares food not do require it, if for no other reason than putting customers at ease.

[CheezWizHed]

Since there has been so much made of people that are asymptomatic but COVID positive, I wonder if we start looking at influenza the same way.

 

At the very least at least now everyone with normal colds and flu will be at home out of caution in case it's covid instead of powering through to not miss work like in the past. Even as someone who almost never gets sick I found it gross to watch/hear on a daily basis. In theory you'd think normal flu illnesses and deaths go down noticeably next year for this reason combined with all covid precautions also slowing normal flue spread.

 

Certainly the symptomatic people would be affected. Just curious if we will see a similar discovery about asymptomatic influenza people.

[jerichoholicninja]

The research so far has shown no evidence of COVID-19 being transmitted by ingesting food. All of the research so far has shown it to be a respiratory virus.

 

Now, employees not wearing gloves is another story, but as far as COVID-19 goes, there is no evidence suggesting a reason to be concerned with eating food. To be safe, don't touch your face while eating and wash your hands after.

 

So you are saying that if a covid positive person is making a sandwich at a sub shop with no mask, and coughs directly onto that sandwich, the person now eating that sandwich less than 5 minutes later can't get the virus?

 

It's a serious question, not picking a fight...

 

Sounds crazy but true from everything I've read. Saliva and digestive fluids destroy the virus supposedly.

[FVBrewerFan]

It's why I don't go to Subway ever, even before Covid. I hate watching the sub technician stick their hands in all the buckets over and over again. They have gloves on great, which they never seem to clean or change. That's always grossed me out. So have buffets to be honest.

 

Hey, it's no secret I'm a "get back to normal as soon as possible" guy. But at the very least, Covid or not food service should be more hygienic than it is. Try dining in western Waukesha county, it's like Covid doesn't even exist. You will rarely see any customer wear a mask, ever, and the employees are maybe 50/50. So yea, we get take-out a couple times a week and dine one once or twice a week but I won't patronize restaurants where I know the employees don't wear masks.

[JosephC]

 

Too often people still feel like wearing a mask protects themselves from being infected regardless of distance from others, and it gives them a false sense of security to tailgate others in the check out line or have no problems rolling side by side down an isle within a few feet of complete strangers.

 

 

However, face coverings may increase risk if users reduce their use of strong defenses, such as physical distancing and frequent hand washing, when using cloth face coverings.

 

It's funny that statements like that can actually appear on the Department of Health website, and yet the government and media seem to have hidden that message and really harped on this concept that masks will save us all. Hard to miss the obvious irony that just a couple months ago the government was saying that masks don't do any good.

[jerichoholicninja]

 

Too often people still feel like wearing a mask protects themselves from being infected regardless of distance from others, and it gives them a false sense of security to tailgate others in the check out line or have no problems rolling side by side down an isle within a few feet of complete strangers.

 

 

However, face coverings may increase risk if users reduce their use of strong defenses, such as physical distancing and frequent hand washing, when using cloth face coverings.

 

It's funny that statements like that can actually appear on the Department of Health website, and yet the government and media seem to have hidden that message and really harped on this concept that masks will save us all. Hard to miss the obvious irony that just a couple months ago the government was saying that masks don't do any good.

 

I know you like to harp your view on masks but what you said is very true. There are a lot of people that think that doing the bare minimum means they are totally protected and they can ignore everything else. I've wondered how many people that have been tested and came back negative felt like and went on to live their life like they have full immunity taking no precautions whatsoever.

[DHonks]

In AZ, many of us predicted the surge when by late April, seemingly everyone was going out at the same time with—at best—a bandana covering their face. Bars weren’t open, but Lowe’s and Home Depot were packed. People were lulled into a false sense of security. Kind of like how studies show that after seat belts were mandated, accidents went up.

[TURBO]

It's all because people are generally stupid.

[dpapo]

People not using good judgement is not solely a U.S. issue.

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-somerset-53462514

[OldSchoolSnapper]

 

Too often people still feel like wearing a mask protects themselves from being infected regardless of distance from others, and it gives them a false sense of security to tailgate others in the check out line or have no problems rolling side by side down an isle within a few feet of complete strangers.

 

 

However, face coverings may increase risk if users reduce their use of strong defenses, such as physical distancing and frequent hand washing, when using cloth face coverings.

 

It's funny that statements like that can actually appear on the Department of Health website, and yet the government and media seem to have hidden that message and really harped on this concept that masks will save us all. Hard to miss the obvious irony that just a couple months ago the government was saying that masks don't do any good.

 

I know you like to harp your view on masks but what you said is very true. There are a lot of people that think that doing the bare minimum means they are totally protected and they can ignore everything else. I've wondered how many people that have been tested and came back negative felt like and went on to live their life like they have full immunity taking no precautions whatsoever.

 

This is sort of the same thing with bike helmets. There was a growing philosophy for a long time that the helmets weren't all that useful because it gave bikers and drivers false security. If you get in a crash, the helmet is better, but wearing the helmet was said to increase the risk of an accident to begin with. It can't really be proven one way or the other, because the counterargument is that in many accidents the cyclist is taking a risk others wouldn't. I suspect it's the same with a mask, where if you wear a mask but do other sloppy things, you were probably more risky to begin with, with or without the mask.

[PeaveyFury]

you were probably more risky to begin with, with or without the mask.

 

Based on my recent pre-mandate trips to places like Home Depot, I'd guess this is fairly accurate. Those people who are way too close to you in the aisles at stores were probably doing so before they were required to wear masks as well.

[homer]

Fingers crossed but it looks like we may have peaked in Arizona. ICU and Inpatient beds have dipped the last four or five days. Deaths will most likely still be high for a little while since that's a lagging indicator but they look to be on the downslope.

[CheezWizHed]

When I looked at Texas and AZ's daily positive tests, it looks like they never had the initial peak that many states experienced in May. So maybe the second wave is a bit overblown? This would be their first wave. (*Caveat - there are other states like MN/WI that seem to be having a second wave similar to the initial May outbreak)

[homer]

I think 2nd wave is yet to come if it happens. They've always talked about late Oct/Nov for that.

[CheezWizHed]

Agreed, but much has been made of Texas and AZ blowing up again. But looking at the numbers, it would seem like this is more analogous to the first wave, but delayed a couple months from other states.

[tmwiese55]

Yea I understood this to still be the first wave this whole time since we never actually squashed it the first time before re-opening. I didn't really know that was even being debated or talked about. The idea of a 2nd wave to me would be what happens when Europe is a month or two into re-opening or in the fall for them, if it pops again.

[homer]

Agreed, but much has been made of Texas and AZ blowing up again. But looking at the numbers, it would seem like this is more analogous to the first wave, but delayed a couple months from other states.

 

Ah, I see. Yes, I agree.

[Fear The Chorizo]

 

If I had a choice between being in an indoor space for any length of time with everyone not wearing cloth masks but steadfastly keeping their space, or everyone wearing a mask but constantly being within 4' of people, give me the non-mask option every time.

 

 

I think indoors in a crowd with windows closed and AC on might turn out to be the worst place to be regardless of what you have on your face. Not sure social distancing matters either in that case.

 

Pretty much agree - and I also think it would have been much more effective to issue a no-AC, windows open/no recycled air mandate in public spaces than inconsistent mask mandates. Thinking of when Europe's case surge dwindled, it was still mid spring - so it wasn't like people returning to public settings weren't just running from their home AC unit into another closed space with AC running. Their overall AC utilization isn't anywhere close to the US, either. The US' initial return to public spaces occurred at the start of summer temps, particularly in the states that have seen the largest case spikes in recent weeks. NY/NJ is the outlier to seeing case surges returning this time of year, in large part to that part of the country being among the only areas where potential herd immunity for coronavirus is helping to limit spread. Remember way back in May that some antibody studies already pointed to 25% prevelance across the study group, and that's without factoring in the portion of a population likely with immunity from T-cells. For NY/NJ, the initial lockdown came too late to prevent widespread community infection, and those immediate March-May death counts bore that out - particularly with the policy of sending recovering infected people back to assisted living facilities instead of keeping them in hospitals. For the rest of the country, even in populated areas, the initial lockdowns limited widespread community infection and delayed it until this time of year, which was actually the lockdown's intent. The daily death tallies for states like AZ, TX, FLA, CA etc have risen - just not anywhere near the scale we saw during NY/NJ's initial wave back in April when comparing population sizes. I've stated much earlier that the best way this virus can be handled knowing a vaccine won't be readily available until the middle of this winter at the earliest is by allowing it to run through a good chunk of the population who have proven to be at very low risk of medical distress requiring hospitalization during the summer months while continuing to protect the elderly/vulnerable once it was apparent the hospital systems can effectively manage care. Building up a reasonable amount of exposure to a novel respiratory virus amongst the general population now will limit how significant its resurgence is during the fall/winter months, when seasonal flu and other viruses typically return in force as well.

 

It's often not that difficult to adjust HVAC units to cycle fresh air in through an AC unit or at least couple it with running an air exchanger - it isn't as energy efficient and people wouldn't be as comfortable...that's apparently a bigger problem/annoyance to most than getting a respiratory virus here in the land of the free. Although I will say that the total absence of AC would probably kill more elderly/vulnerable people living in places like AZ, FLA, TX, etc this time of year than COVID given the temps.

 

Also, when looking at AZ, TX, CA spikes recently, it's impossible not to factor in the impact of seasonal migrant worker and geography relative to Mexico, where COVID-19 has basically been running unchecked through that country for months.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

Our school district is opening and of course most people are rejoicing. But can't the governor force them all closed in a moment's notice?

 

I appreciated the results of the reopening survey being shared. 2% of parents said they were unlikely to send their kids back if school reopens. 59% said very likely and 16% said likely.

 

Here is where the division will be: The school is requiring masks in most scenarios, but basically 2/3 of parents responded masks should be optional. This survey was taken at the end of June, so I am hoping with where masks stands now in WI more people will relent on that.

[homer]

Also, when looking at AZ, TX, CA spikes recently, it's impossible not to factor in the impact of seasonal migrant worker and geography relative to Mexico, where COVID-19 has basically been running unchecked through that country for months.

 

Oh come on, man. What about Alabama, South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia?