KY_EnviroGuy
Profile Information
Name: Pet Rock
Gender: Male
Hometown: TN, KY
Home country: USA
Current location: KY
Member since: Thu Jul 6, 2017, 06:43 PM
Number of posts: 12,124
Gender: Male
Hometown: TN, KY
Home country: USA
Current location: KY
Member since: Thu Jul 6, 2017, 06:43 PM
Number of posts: 12,124
Journal Archives
Scientists say mass tests in Italian town have halted Covid-19 there
Scientists say mass tests in Italian town have halted Covid-19 there
A study in Vò, which saw Italy’s first death, points to the danger of asymptomatic carriers Read it here: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/18/scientists-say-mass-tests-in-italian-town-have-halted-covid-19 (snips) The small town of Vò, in northern Italy, where the first coronavirus death occurred in the country, has become a case study that demonstrates how scientists might neutralise the spread of Covid-19.
A scientific study, rolled out by the University of Padua, with the help of the Veneto Region and the Red Cross, consisted of testing all 3,300 inhabitants of the town, including asymptomatic people. The goal was to study the natural history of the virus, the transmission dynamics and the categories at risk. The researchers explained they had tested the inhabitants twice and that the study led to the discovery of the decisive role in the spread of the coronavirus epidemic of asymptomatic people. When the study began, on 6 March, there were at least 90 infected in Vò. For days now, there have been no new cases. Coronavirus: the week explained - sign up for our email newsletter “We were able to contain the outbreak here, because we identified and eliminated the ‘submerged’ infections and isolated them,” Andrea Crisanti, an infections expert at Imperial College London, who took part in the Vò project, told the Financial Times. “That is what makes the difference.” and..... The research allowed for the identification of at least six asymptomatic people who tested positive for Covid-19. ‘‘If these people had not been discovered,” said the researchers, they would probably have unknowingly infected other inhabitants.
“The percentage of infected people, even if asymptomatic, in the population is very high,” wrote Sergio Romagnani, professor of clinical immunology at the University of Florence, in a letter to the authorities. “The isolation of asymptomatics is essential to be able to control the spread of the virus and the severity of the disease.” And the only way to identify asymptomatic people is to test, test, test........ 
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Posted by KY_EnviroGuy | Thu Mar 19, 2020, 02:32 AM (29 replies)
I guess we'll go back to bartering.
Trade ya a 57 Chevy hubcap for that sack of beans.
This is what we get for allowing ourselves to become totally enamored to the stock market, the gambling and whore house it is. Wall Street and Republicans did this to us by making it impossible to make gains from bank savings and CDs, and everyone took flight to stocks and mutual funds and became overnight market experts. They also made trading as easy as buying bubble gum. After that the public refused to criticize the rigged system because we became the system but in the far, far back seat. But as they've consistently said, the market always comes back. We just may not live long enough to see it. Not making light of your loss because I've been burned bad before too (90s tech crash). KY........ 
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Posted by KY_EnviroGuy | Thu Mar 19, 2020, 01:18 AM (1 replies)
The commitment and verbiage seems to be in Walgreen's press release...
but whether or not they can put it into practice in every store and with every employee is another story.
Updates on our Walgreens COVID-19 response by Walgreens News 18 March 2020 Read here: https://news.walgreens.com/our-stories/covid-19-faq.htm#stores Excerpt: Our stores have always been at the heart of America’s communities – a role we take very seriously, especially during this unprecedented time for our country. We are doing everything we can to help ensure the health and well-being of our team members and customers during the pandemic, and that includes keeping everyone updated and informed.
I'm confident Walgreens has instructed all employees on safety around customers. They don't want to lose employees with illness and certainly would want to protect customers. Further, if an infection occurs in a store, it would mean possible closure and a huge stain on their pharmacy integrity. At this time, most all companies with exposures to the general public have a gun to their heads to conduct themselves according to CDC practices and a second gun held by their insurance carriers. I suggest you call and speak with the store manager and tell them about your experience. Unfortunately, far too many Americans have heard the right things to do but simply are not yet taking it serious enough so that the proper behavior is instinctive. KY........... 
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Posted by KY_EnviroGuy | Wed Mar 18, 2020, 10:43 PM (0 replies)
Understaffed Veterans Affairs Scrambles to Confront COVID-19
Understaffed Veterans Affairs Scrambles to Confront COVID-19
By Aaron Glantz 5:00 PM ET The VA’s patients are disproportionately elderly and many have war-related health conditions that could make them more vulnerable to the coronavirus. Read here: https://www.defenseone.com/threats/2020/03/understaffed-veterans-affairs-scrambles-confront-covid-19/163894/?oref=d-river (snips) The Department of Veterans Affairs, which runs the nation’s largest integrated health care system, is confronting the COVID-19 pandemic seriously understaffed, with only limited protocols in place to protect its millions of elderly patients.
“My concern is the social spread” of COVID-19, said Joe Bello, a Navy veteran who receives care from a VA facility in the Bronx, New York, where two patients are already under home quarantine with suspected COVID-19. “You get one veteran who is infected and who shows up at the VA for treatment, thinking maybe it’s the flu. As of this morning, the Veterans Health Administration had five confirmed cases of COVID-19 among its patients, with another 25 presumed positive cases. On Saturday, the agency had its first fatality when a patient in their 70s died at the VA hospital in Portland, Oregon, due to complications from the new coronavirus. The VA’s patients are disproportionately elderly – roughly half of the 9 million veterans who use the VA’s network of more than 170 hospitals are at least 65 years old – and many have war-related health conditions that could make them more vulnerable to the coronavirus. Data published by the agency in February shows the VA is short 44,000 health care professionals, including 2,700 doctors and 11,300 nurses and nursing assistants. The VA is beset by “large staffing shortages, including physicians and registered nurses,” according to a September report from the Government Accountability Office. The VA’s inspector general has also said the agency’s emergency cache of medicine is in disarray and there are only limited numbers of coronavirus tests available for patients and staff, including those who care for vulnerable patients in government nursing homes. KY............ 
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Posted by KY_EnviroGuy | Wed Mar 18, 2020, 09:32 PM (1 replies)
U.S. Air Force flew 500,000 COVID-19 test kit components from Italy to Memphis
US Air Force Flew Half a Million Coronavirus Test Swabs From Italy to Tennessee
By Marcus Weisgerber, Global Business Editor Read 11:22 AM ET Link: https://www.defenseone.com/threats/2020/03/us-air-force-flew-half-million-coronavirus-test-kits-italy-tennessee/163879/ (snips) Similar missions to distribute COVID-19 test kits are expected in coming days.
UPDATE 2:30 PM: This story has been updated to include comments from Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman and Air Force Brig. Gen. Dr. Paul Friedrichs, the Joint Staff surgeon. The U.S. Air Force quietly flew 500,000 swabs for COVID-19 testing kits from Italy to Memphis, Tennessee, on Monday, Defense One has learned. Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman confirmed the shipment on board an Air National Guard aircraft. The plane carried “swabs” that are used in the COVID-19 testing process, he said during a Wednesday afternoon briefing at the Pentagon. “There’s multiple parts to testing,” Air Force Brig. Gen. Dr. Paul Friedrichs, the Joint Staff surgeon, said at the same briefing. “The first is the swabs that are used to collect the sample from the individual who’s being tested, then there’s a liquid … that you put the swab into. That’s what composed what we brought over from Italy.” These types of swabs are made by companies in the U.S. and overseas, he said. “This is a great example of how nations are working together to ensure that we’re meeting the global demand,” Friedrichs said. Don't quite comprehend the significance of this, but it looks like we may finally be making some progress toward a plan.......
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Posted by KY_EnviroGuy | Wed Mar 18, 2020, 05:13 PM (9 replies)
This is important and worth repeating on GD: Video primer on corona virus....
Thanks to DUer BootinUp in Video & Multimedia.....
This is a seven-part series of short videos that brings us up to speed on understanding coronavirus to help dispel some of the misinformation and confusion in our public. It's a good investment of time, especially if the knowledge saves someone we know from becoming infected or even dying from this disease. The series is hosted by Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, the owner of the Los Angeles Times. Soon-Shiong is a surgeon and scientist who has spent his career studying the human immune system to fight cancer and infectious diseases. Link to YouTube playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLdgePvblfv94cvAtTVcaRYXrEepvG_JKM If you like it, pass it along to friends, family and work associates. It could save a life....... 
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Posted by KY_EnviroGuy | Wed Mar 18, 2020, 06:30 AM (5 replies)
The NYSE is fighting to keeping its trading floor open amid coronavirus pandem
The NYSE, a symbol of America, is fighting to keeping its trading floor open amid coronavirus pandemic
Published: March 17, 2020 at 11:54 p.m. ET By Mark DeCambre ‘They have to balance the health and safety of not only the people who work there but broader social responsibility’ Read here: https://www.marketwatch.com/story/the-nyse-a-symbol-of-america-is-fighting-to-keeping-its-trading-floor-open-amid-coronavirus-pandemic-2020-03-17?mod=home-page (snips) Joe Gawronski said concerns about the coronavirus outbreak really hit home on March 13. “Our attitude has changed markedly since Friday,” he said of his family’s reaction to the viral outbreak of COVID-19.
The president of New York brokerage firm Rosenblatt Securities lives in Summit, N.J., a suburb a little more than 20 miles west of the New York Stock Exchange in Manhattan, and his children’s school district announced on March 12 that it would be closing until at least April 6 as more than two dozen confirmed cases of the viral pandemic cropped up in the Garden State. ++++++ That may be why, Gawronski, one of the head honchos at the NYSE’s largest floor traders, harbors some ambivalence about the exchange keeping its trading floors open during the pandemic that has spread rapidly across the globe, causing New York City to consider drastic measures to contain the deadly pathogen. “It’s a tough call,” Gawronski said of keeping the exchange staffed with scores of traders amid the epidemic. The NYSE officials have been adamant about the need for the exchange to remain open and to maintain a staff of flesh-and-blood traders on the floor even as the New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio hinted on Tuesday at the possibility of tighter restrictions on the movement of the city’s residents to mitigate the contagion, which has infected about 200,000 people worldwide and claimed nearly 8,000 lives, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. Same health and survival vs keeping the doors open decision as millions of other businesses around the world. Basically: Do or die or do and die. KY..... 
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Posted by KY_EnviroGuy | Wed Mar 18, 2020, 05:22 AM (2 replies)
This appears to be an excellent series to pass along.....
as a basic primer for everyday citizens to understand this crisis we face.
This is a seven-part series of short videos that brings us up to speed on understanding coronavirus to help dispel some of the misinformation and confusion in our public. It's a good investment of our time, especially if the knowledge saves someone we know from becoming infected or even dying from this disease. Link: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLdgePvblfv94cvAtTVcaRYXrEepvG_JKM If you like it, pass it along to friends, family and work associates. Thanks, BootinUp.............. 
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Posted by KY_EnviroGuy | Wed Mar 18, 2020, 04:37 AM (0 replies)
Will drive-in theaters become the rage again?
Should interstate toll booths become coronavirus testing stations?
Should drive-through liquor stores start selling toilet paper? Are we all going to need ultraviolet sanitizing mailboxes and package drop boxes installed? Do they make robots that can give me a haircut? Just some thoughts from the KY stir-crazy zone.........  .......
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Posted by KY_EnviroGuy | Tue Mar 17, 2020, 07:26 PM (10 replies)
Be forewarned about calling the cops - they may not come.
Bear with me while I rant a little.....
I live in a low-income suburban neighborhood in a large metropolitan city with several parallel streets and properties having adjacent companion rear fences. Therefore, I get noises from front, two sides and the rear. I am admittedly highly sensitive to noises. Many homes here are occupied by retirees, widows and widowers like me from the days when it was more of a middle-income subdivision. We have a fellow on the next street over whose property is not directly behind me but instead catty-cornered and behind my next door neighbor's place, but offset by about a half a lot due to the crazy way lots were divided. The fellow has been a constant nuisance for years and apparently works on cars in his garage. His vehicles have loud mufflers and he ran a small gas engine for hours each night last year outside the garage, apparently a compressor for painting cars. I reported that to the police and it stopped after some delay (I think he was pissing others off as well). Suddenly, a few months ago we started hearing loud bangs or explosions from that direction. One night in February, I actually witnessed them setting off some sort of charge near their back deck and reported it to the cops. I believe the cops talked to them and it quietened for a while Last night, after hearing two the night before, they set off two and one of them sounded like a partial stick of dynamite. It literally shook the back of my house. I called the police and the lady seemed almost disinterested. After dancing in circles with her over this obvious disturbance of the peace, she finally told me our metro police are not responding to any non-life threatening calls at all due to the coronavirus crisis so cops can minimize their exposure to the public. The dispatcher recorded my info and that was the end of it. The reason I'm fearful of this situation is that considering this family's past disregard for being a good neighbor, it's entirely possible they are a bunch of nutjobs building explosive devises for use in insurrection, or just to annoy poor people in fear because they can. I also worry we may experience a sudden rise in crime here, once the petty thieves and vandals learn cops are not going to respond. Coincidentally, we may as well see a rise in shootings here as people take the law in their own hands. I'm posting this so my fellow DUers can be forewarned this may happen where you live and so you can increase your security awareness. KY rant done.......
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Posted by KY_EnviroGuy | Tue Mar 17, 2020, 11:14 AM (9 replies)
