About those crowded stadiums for football games...front page story today

[mnhtnbb]

in the Raleigh News & Observer.


Here are some excerpts:

One glance at the stands during last weekend’s college football games across the state and you’d never guess we’re still in the middle of a serious COVID-19 surge.

But we are.

North Carolina reported more deaths from the virus last month than at any time since February. As of Sept. 8, at least 3,790 people were hospitalized with COVID in the state, including 928 who are being treated in intensive care units. And the state reported a rate of 15.8% this week for positive tests — well above the 5% rate health officials say is needed to slow the spread of the virus.




We asked a group of local health experts for their perspectives on attending football games right now, and also on outdoor concerts and outdoor street festivals.

In addition to Dr. Malchuk (a family medicine physician and public health expert at UNC School of Medicine), we spoke to Dr. David Alain Wohl, a professor at the Institute of Global Health and Infectious Diseases at UNC-Chapel Hill; Dr. Anita Skariah, a UNC Health internist and pediatrician; and Dr. David Cameron Wolfe, an infectious disease specialist at Duke University School of Medicine.

Here are the questions we asked and the responses.

Question: Would you feel safe attending a college football game (or any outdoor sporting event)? We’ve been told outdoor activities are safer, but does the delta variant — and the crowds plus screaming/cheering — change that?

Wohl: “Delta is a game-changer (pun intended). This variant is hyper-infectious and hyper-dangerous. That means the things that worked to protect us from previous variants may not be sufficient to protect against delta.

“So, I would not go to a crowded event like a game where it might be hard for me to keep a healthy distance from others in the stands or aisles or bathroom. It’s just too many people in too close a space for comfort.”

Malchuk: “I would not feel safe. In fact, I have canceled travel plans for myself for this reason. While outdoors is better than indoors, you can’t physically distance from people at a sporting event (whether in the stands or at the concession stand).”

Wolfe: “These are all balanced situations. The bigger the crowd, and the tighter they pack them in, the worse the risk. Outdoors is clearly better, but not if you’re sitting cheek by cheek yelling for hours. So I do think people need to be realistic.
“Events that have food and drink, minimal masking and squash everyone in are simply asking for trouble right now. Give it a month or two and things may be considerably better. Clearly it’s better if you’re vaccinated and masked, no question. I recommend the same to my patients.”

Skariah: “At this point, with the COVID-19 infection rates increasing, including breakthrough cases, I would not feel comfortable attending college football games or outdoor sporting events unless I could be certain to be distanced from others. I would feel more comfortable for family and friends if they were in the very back rows, masked with some distance from others.

“Screaming and cheering unmasked just increases the likelihood for spread, especially among people in close proximity. Outdoor events can be safe if you are spread out some, which is much more difficult to maintain in packed stadiums, unmasked.”

Read more here: https://www.newsobserver.com/news/coronavirus/article253976318.html#storylink=cpy

[musclecar6]

1. Good Article

For those that don’t have a brain in their head and can’t figure this common sense stuff out for themselves. Most of us on here have no problem with that but the knuckle dragging numbskulls running around not getting vaccinated going packed into these football games and other events don’t have a brain in their head.

[Chainfire]

2. I wouldn't think that you would need a health professional to explain the dangers of

sitting elbow to elbow with tens of thousands of unmasked, screaming fans in the middle of a pandemic. We will see the consequences in a couple of weeks, but that doesn't mean we will learn from our mistakes. Football is just too damn important to too many people to sacrifice on the alter of public health. It is like our nation is run by impatient children.

[mnhtnbb]

6. I thought it was interesting that the article made front page, below the fold.

I still prefer to read the newspaper print edition, but I'm old school, and I was surprised to see it front page.

If people won't pay attention to public health advice to get vaccinated and wear masks, they probably don't care what four docs have to say about going to college football games, but MAYBE it will cause a few people to rethink going to games right now, and MAYBE it will save a few people from getting really sick or even dying.

[gab13by13]

3. The mu mutation is also here.

[ProfessorGAC]

9. Heard Just Yesterday...

...that mu has been here since before delta.
Doctor on WGN afternoon news. Pretty sure he was with Northwestern.
He said mu has been around since late May, but delta is more pernicious so it took over.
I hadn't heard any of that until then.

[BannonsLiver]

4. I wouldn't go to a game now indoors or out

But I prefer watching on TV anyway. My own snacks. Comfy chair. Easy access to the can. And best of all, no people.

[Treefrog]

7. This!

[CTyankee]

5. OK. For our football season at the Yale Bowl. Won't attend game but will attend tailgate party but

will wear mask and distance my chair from others.

As for the food, I'll be the last at the buffet and not touch any food I am not going to eat.

No kisses, no hugs to folks I like but only see at our tailgate party.

[tanyev]

8. I've been keeping an eye on the numbers for Brazos County, where Texas A&M is,

ever since someone posted a video from Saturday’s game. Packed stadium, some singalong where they link up with arms over the shoulders of the people on each side and sway back and forth. Hope that song was worth a trip to the hospital.

[former9thward]

11. So what are the numbers?

How many people hospitalized?

[AngryOldDem]

17. Ask in a couple of weeks.

That’s when this will show up.

[tanyev]

19. Yes, the game was on Saturday afternoon, so people might just now be noticing symptoms.

From Wednesday's local paper:

The number of active COVID-19 cases among Brazos County residents surpassed 1,300 for the first time since February on Wednesday as health officials reported 165 new cases.

Thursday:

The number of active COVID-19 cases among Brazos County residents surpassed 1,500 for the first time since February on Thursday as health officials reported 304 new cases. It was the highest number of new cases reported in a single day since the pandemic began.

Another interesting tidbit:

U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz discussed his thoughts on how to handle the COVID-19 pandemic and other topics during a Wednesday visit to the Texas A&M Bush School of Government and Public Service.

https://theeagle.com/

[AngryOldDem]

20. I think the standard is two weeks.

So if there is going to be a Labor Day surge, it will show up in another week or so.

It is ludicrous to think that everybody at these packed stadiums has been vaccinated, or that they are not asymptomatic. There is no way with crowds of that size to check immunization status, or expect that everybody is being truthful about their health.

As I said, we are trying to bend nature to our will. With the variants, I doubt we could reach that fabled “herd immunity.” The only ways to fight this are through vaccinations and wearing masks. Period. I saw almost no masks on Saturday.

[former9thward]

10. I was at the Arizona State game last week.

A lot of fun. A lot of this seems to be people who don't want young people to have some fun because they (by choice) are not having any. If you are vax this is not an issue. I would never wear a mask outdoors and only where it is legally required indoors (a few government buildings).

We have had baseball all summer with no issues and millions in attendance. Now we have college football and the NFL starting. Many of these games are played in blue cities and blue states. How come Mayors and governors or President Biden have not said anything? Because it is not an issue. If you are vax it is not a problem.

[AngryOldDem]

13. So you know for a fact there haven't been any issues?

We still have to be smart about this. It’s not about anybody wanting to crap on somebody else’s good time. Stadiums were packed, while COVID stats last week hit numbers we’ve not seen since January.

Sorry, but we are nowhere near being out of the woods on this, vaxxed or not.

[beaglelover]

15. Preach Brother/Sister!!! I'm with you 100%!!!!

[mnhtnbb]

16. Breakthrough is becoming more of a problem according to the World Health Organization

"The second point here is that we're seeing more cases of breakthrough disease, in part because people are stopping the other interventions that reduce the transmission of this virus. So when the virus starts to transmit at a greater and greater pace and with greater frequency, there's a lot more exposure that everybody has, including people who are vaccinated."

https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/media-resources/science-in-5/episode-49-can-i-get-infected-after-vaccination?gclid=Cj0KCQjw4eaJBhDMARIsANhrQACQCD1SP3MlzvPhS3YXsUPKoXELI5hQ9QRsCBic3tLxxnhbe9XkpbQaAhzlEALw_wcB

[Shanti Shanti Shanti]

18. So I wonder if they're aren't massive outbreak stories 2 weeks from now?

If not, will we see the same hand wringing threads about crowd size?

[Crunchy Frog]

21. OK boomer.

[AngryOldDem]

12. I cringed when I saw the stadiums...

….and all the celebrations that things were “back to normal.”

When are we going to learn that we can’t bend this virus to our will? We can go “back to normal” all we want, but there will be a price to pay. Is it worth it?

This society has caved to all the anti-mask, anti-vax dumbasses who will never be convinced of the seriousness of this disease.

[Bettie]

14. My oldest son is in a college marching band

I worry for him, but he is vaccinated, so there's that and the fact that all band members wear their masks when they aren't actively playing.