How is recovered defined?
After the 14 days from first exposure, if you are asymptomatic the entire 14 days then you are no longer a carrier, it’s nothing like “Typhoid Mary”. There hasn’t been a single case of a “Typhoid Mary” like carrier yet.
Also, “Social Distancing” is an oxymoron, you can’t be social and distance yourself from people at the same time, they should rename it to “Physical Distancing”, since that’s what they want you to do.
I still contend it would be easier to isolate those most susceptible to COVID-19(the official name for this particular strain, no matter what everyone else writes) from contact with the general public than it is to get people to self quarantine or “shelter-in-place”. Witness the Mayor and Chief of Police announcing that anyone found not sheltering-in-place for other than an essential need will face more draconion measures such as a fine or misdemeanor(not withstanding the fact it’s a civil order with no enforcement mechanism behind it).
To
Social refers to living in various forms of contact with other humans. Physical space refers to the three dimensional volume around us. Since the virus is transmitted only between humans (assuming you don’t have access to the fruit bats from Hubei that are the theorized source) keeping a 2 meter physical space around one would include all objects, which would thus be an unnecessary precaution. Social distancing refers to keeping a 2 meter space around you in relation to other humans only.
How would you feel about substituting the word “liability” in place of the word “precaution”?
Suppose you are an owner of a non-essential business, but you continue to require your employees to report to work.
A confirmed outbreak occurs in your business, and one of your employees dies from it. Are you going to be sheltered by workmans comp, or are you staring down the barrel of a wrongful death lawsuit? Or both? Just a thought…many of these employers might be content to comply with the embargoed workplaces.
I wouldn’t hazard any legal opinion:; it’s not in my bailiwick. Maybe Euclid?
Probably safer and less “unmutual” ** to follow the suggestions of public healthcare people.
** as in The Prisoner
It’s less a legalistic issue than a practical one: if, as with colds, the primary infection risk is in droplets from sneezes/coughs or breathing, it makes sense to keep thr roughly 6’ distance from the part doing the ‘respiration’.
A far more alarming factor is how often I see the common sense of the distancing violated. I visited four separate facilities yesterday where customers and staff were animatedly talking straight to each other at about 3’ distance, none of them wearing masks or any other protection at all. A number of people were walking around animatedly yakking into their phones. As I mentioned yesterday it isn’t unusual to see people waiting for ‘limited admittance’ into government facilities now practicing ‘social separation’ to be crammed close together, talking vociferously about the irritation and risk they are suffering … and thereby probably increasing it dramatically if they should happen to be infectious, and perhaps (if they are inhaling strongly between comments) if not.
Please, folks, try to breathe through your nose and keep your head down and be quiet if you have to talk – keep your breath away from others as much as you can.
Incidentally, as of March 9th there were at least two fully-documented instances of asymptomatic people shedding very large amounts of virus. I wouldn’t be surprised if, with the advent of much wider testing in the days since, the recognized incidence has not increased.
Cuomo mentioned a couple of days ago that at least some patients ‘tested negative’ in recovery – whether this means negative for symptoms of COVID-19 or whether it means negative for shed virus remains unclear. My own great concern is that I expect many who ‘recover’ to continue producing virus particles, albeit at a lower rate, that may continue to pose an infection hazard through both aerosol and contact transfer to at-risk cohorts, perhaps indefinitely. That may me
In Israel, Recovery is defined as complete lack of symptoms and testing negative as a carrier. Is not this also the definition in the USA?
British ear, nose and throat doctors have called on adults who lose their sense of smell to isolate themselves for seven days, even if they have no other symptoms, as studies indicate that a loss of smell and taste could be a symptom of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.
“We really want to raise awareness that this is a sign of infection and that anyone who develops loss of sense of smell should self-isolate,” said Prof. Claire Hopkins, president of the British Rhinological Society, according to the New York Times. “It could contribute to slowing transmission and save lives.”
Ear, nose and throat specialists and eye doctors were infected and dying in large numbers in earlier reports from Wuhan, China, the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak, according to Hopkins.
Reports from multiple countries have indicated that significant numbers of coronavirus patients experienced anosmia, the loss of sense of smell, and ageusia, an accompanying diminished sense of taste, according to the Times.
The American Academy of Otolaryngology stated on Sunday that mounting anecdotal evidence indicates that lost or reduced sense of smell and taste are significant symptoms related to COVID-19. Some coronavirus patients have had a reduced sense of smell and taste without any other symptoms.
"There is evolving evidence that otolaryngologists are among the highest risk group when performing upper airway surgeries and examinations,” said a notice on the academy’s website on Friday. “A high rate of transmission of COVID-19 to otolaryngologists has been reported from China, Italy and Iran, many resulting in death.”
In I
Hello, everyone.
At New York City Transit, our number one priority is to move New York safely and efficiently. Even in a crisis, that priority doesn’t change.
I wanted to take a moment to update you on our current situation, and how we are reacting to it in real time.
Most importantly, we are listening to medical and health experts, and executing on their guidance and direction. We are also in constant communication and coordination with all of our partners across all levels of government - state, city and federal.
First, it’s important to note, public health experts have also said if you can stay home, you should stay home. If you’re able to work from home, please do so. If you don’t need to go out, please don’t. Please continue to follow their advice on all fronts: take care of yourselves, wash your hands for at least 20 seconds, use hand san
[(-D] Thanks. I needed a good pick-me-up this morning.
Well, according to one source at least, worker’s comp would not cover a workplace corona virus infection.
https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/coronavirus-your-rights-in-the-workplace.html
Yet NIOSH has established guidelines recognizing legitimate threat of “take home toxins” in general. (not specific to corona virus, but relevant nonetheless)
So, merely my gut hunch, but I suspect an employer requiring employee attendance, despite the known risk of the pandemic, might have some exposure here.
What would the employer’s defense be? Contributory negligence on behalf of the employee for following orders?
Let me put it this way. If I were still on the job doing copier repairs I’d be out there, especially now, and doubly-especially if medical offices were involved.
I’d get more than the usual satisfaction I used to get knowing I’d made a difference in someones day. Know what I mean? [;)]
Quoting Convicted One: “What would the employer’s defense be? Contributory negligence on behalf of the employee for following orders?” That sounds much like “All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others.”
"
Yeah, I can see where the ability to make photocopies could be considered “core” to the operations of some essential businesses.
Indiana just announced that it’s going to lock down to all but “essential” services at 11:59 pm Tuesday. There are a multitude of exceptions, exclusions, and gratuitous interpretations to what is considered “essential”. Here is a link:
https://www.in.gov/gov/files/Executive_Order_20-08_Stay_at_Home.pdf
I could likely fiind enough wiggle room to justify whatever my personal preferences were.
Which begs the question, how are the local authorities going to be able to enforce this?
If I am a janitor or a wall painter, and claim that I am on my way to/from performing services at an “essential” business, I’m exempt.
Not a lot there that can be enforced, so I guess the law is intended to control the sheep?
I think people actually engaged in essential work are given or must obtain a certificate.
The Indiana law is pretty specific as far as the ruleset being self contained, and there is no mention of any requirement for any certificate in the stated rules.
Look specifically at section “J” of the document I linked to, it is disappointingly permissive.
Reading elsewhere in the document , the welfare of pets is an exclusion. Where I worked most recently is a resident cat. I could argue thatI was on my way to make the daily “welfare” check on the office cat, and be exempt.
And it’s not just photocopies anymore C-O, for the past decade, and maybe a little more, what we used to call “copiers” are now called “Multi-FunctionPrinters,” or “MFP’s.” Not only do they copy, they print, scan, and fax. Sometimes when one function goes down the rest are still useable, but not always.
When I left the trade medical offices were still heavy users of the fax function, why I don’t know, but they seemed to prefer it that way. If they lost the fax they were in big trouble!
Who is leading the race to develop the coronavirus vaccine? Though regulatory processes and bureaucratic barriers are likely to be expedited, including the acceleration of clinical trials in humans, the world will need to be patient. By EYTAN HALON MARCH 22, 2020 21:55
As doctors battle night and day to save patients’ lives in hospitals worldwide, the world’s leading scientific minds are racing to produce the first vaccines for the novel coronavirus. Some of those leading the way have relied on knowledge from previous coronavirus outbreaks, while others have used vaccine platform technologies used to combat other epidemics, including Ebola.
Though regulatory processes and bureaucratic barriers are likely to be expedited, including the acceleration of clinical trials in humans, the world will need to be patient for the arrival of the vaccine. Dr. Mike Ryan, director of the WHO Health Emergencies Program, told BBC television on Sunday that it would take at “least a year” for a vaccine to become available, emphasizing the need for rigorous safety standards.
So, who are the developers leading the race for the highly sought-after vaccine? Moderna The first dose of the mRNA-1273 coronavirus vaccine, developed by the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Moderna’s infectious disease research team, was given to the first participant in their Phase 1 study on March 16. The trial of the vaccine, built on previous studies of SARS and MERS, is intended to provide data on the safety and immunogenicity of the vaccine, and is expected to enroll 45 healthy adult volunteers over six weeks. The Cambridge, Massachusetts-based drug discovery company emphasized that it is “still early in the story,” with no approved drugs to date emerging from its vaccine program and no previous human trials. The current trials are being carried out at the Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute in Seattle.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the NIH’s National In
David: The IDF has blockaded Gaza for years. Are they allowing medical supplies to enter now?
I think that early on they had incorporated a visual imaging system to share x-rays from office to office that incorporated fax technology. And they had a sizeable investment to amortize.
Of course, fax did monochrome fairly well, so why abandon the investment ?