Muh Muh Muh My Corona (virus)

Is there anywhere to keep track of current hospitalizations now that @RickStain ’s favored site has stopped?

 

I've been told you can find it on the CDC web site somewhere, but I've been too lazy to figure out where. I feel like one of those old cranks when the sports section stops publishing the MLB box scores.

 

I think you meant "county," as in the county that's home to Microville Tech, as you call it.

Strange thing in Idaho ... our paper runs COVID numbers every day, and divides the state into its seven health districts.

Least number of cases and deaths, by far, is the district with University of Idaho (and Lewis-Clark State) in it. And we're talking per capita, too. Very interesting ... to me, anyway.

 

COVID Data Tracker

This is where the CDC tracks hospitalizations, but they show a consistently lower number than the Covid Tracking Project did and it takes up to a week for them to update, which sucks.

I do like that they also have this chart, New Admissions Per Day, which seems useful:

COVID Data Tracker

Unless some people start keeping track of the national data in a way that is easier to track, I'll probably just stick to my local data for my daily numbers hit.

 

Oooh, they also have this:

COVID Data Tracker

Percentage of emergency room visits with COVID-like symptoms (or pneumonia, flu-like symptoms, or shortness of breath). I seem to recall this being one of the leading indicators that can tell you when cases are about to start rising again a little bit before they start rising again.

COVID-like symptoms is still hitting new lows, so that's a good sign. If things are gonna plateau due to the B117 variant, that would happen pretty soon, like within a week or two at most.

 

It all depends on how much you test. I know that sounds Trumpist, but some of the counties near us have simply stopped except for definite positives, and are sinking their resources into vax clinics. Our neighboring county, mask usage was always less than ours, they have way more total cases and deaths, yet some day last week reported no cases.

Micro Tech is still testing all dorm/Greek housing/random students weekly and thus gets many asymptomatic positives that wouldn't even merit a test someplace else. Oh well, we'll come out of extreme this week and things will start opening up on Friday.

 

huh.

 

It will be interesting to note how the attitude toward anti-masking changes now that more and more of the populace answers the call to arms.

 

So I went to a funeral for my cousin this weekend. First time I've worshipped in a church in nearly 12 months. Probably the riskiest thing I've done in the entire pandemic. Though attendance was restricted to 25% or so, or roughly first cousins and above and things were distanced and everyone was diligent about masks, I definitely noticed when the funeral director closed the sanctuary doors, and we did three hymns and a drop-in special music finale version of the Old Irish Blessing that is pretty much de rigeur at family funerals even though we're not that Irish, and we couldn't keep it under an hour and a half, and all the family had food and drinks at the house because the church wouldn't allow it, so maybe it's been nice knowing you?

Writing it out makes me feel especially dumb, but it's also a question of who wants to put their foot down when the patriarch of the family has to bury his son after caring for him for a decade with muscular dystrophy, three years after he buried his wife for the same reason. That's the cruelty of all this. You don't get do-overs on these sorts of things.

That said, my folks got their first Moderna dose last week and I think everyone over 65 that wanted it has gotten at least one.

 

Cool.

So define the COVID "finish line."

In a way every bit as inarguable as the runners' finish line.

 

This is a very good point.

Dr. Fauci is urging mask use until some time in 2022.