All Things COVID-19

Status
Not open for further replies.
SpringVelocity said:
But scientifically speaking masks are beneficial to limiting spread of virus not stopping it. If we can limit the spread or viral load to other people why is this even a discussion?
Click to expand...
I would say only because some people will never agree, and some people will fight anything mandatory no matter what it is, so there's a balance that needs to be struck between maximizing the benefits without stirring up opposition, no matter how irrational it might seem.

Not that I am not a part of that irrationality; I say the above totally without judgement. I rarely wear a mask because I'm rarely in confined spaces with other people and I'm not going to walk around wearing one because the odds of random outdoor transmission are near zero; that's rational enough. But I drive around with no seatbelt on pretty often for no reason at all. I gain nothing by doing this. It's a random irrational impulse and I indulge it because I feel like it. It's a meaningless defiance of laws that exist for my own good, but I embrace the concept of refusing to adhere to rules made for my own good. I'm just not that interested in letting other people force me to be safe. If I want to juggle chainsaws I will. It's not a perfect analogy to the mask issue, in which you put others at risk more than yourself, but I bring it up just to demonstrate that removing the impulsive, irrational human factor in how orders will be perceived and obeyed or ignored is always a mistake.

I think Dr. Henry has done pretty well threading this needle, personally. An across the board masks-in-public order I don't think would help. There are too many places where that's obviously pointless, and you run the risk of people tuning out. I think she's really in touch with that and it's part of why her orders have been requests, and her advice has been fairly gently phrased.
 
Aces said:
Totally agree. I only mask up when I’m in a confined space and can’t social distance
Click to expand...
And that is all we are being asked to do. Not hard. Dr Bonnie said again today she believes mandatory mask orders can potentially have a negative outcome.

I'm still seeing mask wearing on the rise in the southern interior, despite the very few infections in the region. Unusual now to see anyone without a mask in a supermarket, wasn't like that 4-6 weeks ago.
 
Wow, I never saw this coming.

Artificial intelligence model detects asymptomatic Covid-19 infections through cellphone-recorded coughs
Results might provide a convenient screening tool for people who may not suspect they are infected.

Asymptomatic people who are infected with Covid-19 exhibit, by definition, no discernible physical symptoms of the disease. They are thus less likely to seek out testing for the virus, and could unknowingly spread the infection to others.

But it seems those who are asymptomatic may not be entirely free of changes wrought by the virus. MIT researchers have now found that people who are asymptomatic may differ from healthy individuals in the way that they cough. These differences are not decipherable to the human ear. But it turns out that they can be picked up by artificial intelligence.

In a paper published recently in the IEEE Journal of Engineering in Medicine and Biology, the team reports on an AI model that distinguishes asymptomatic people from healthy individuals through forced-cough recordings, which people voluntarily submitted through web browsers and devices such as cellphones and laptops.

The researchers trained the model on tens of thousands of samples of coughs, as well as spoken words. When they fed the model new cough recordings, it accurately identified 98.5 percent of coughs from people who were confirmed to have Covid-19, including 100 percent of coughs from asymptomatics — who reported they did not have symptoms but had tested positive for the virus.

The team is working on incorporating the model into a user-friendly app, which if FDA-approved and adopted on a large scale could potentially be a free, convenient, noninvasive prescreening tool to identify people who are likely to be asymptomatic for Covid-19. A user could log in daily, cough into their phone, and instantly get information on whether they might be infected and therefore should confirm with a formal test.

More:
https://news.mit.edu/2020/covid-19-cough-cellphone-detection-1029
 
GLG said:
Wow, I never saw this coming.

Artificial intelligence model detects asymptomatic Covid-19 infections through cellphone-recorded coughs
Results might provide a convenient screening tool for people who may not suspect they are infected.

Asymptomatic people who are infected with Covid-19 exhibit, by definition, no discernible physical symptoms of the disease. They are thus less likely to seek out testing for the virus, and could unknowingly spread the infection to others.

But it seems those who are asymptomatic may not be entirely free of changes wrought by the virus. MIT researchers have now found that people who are asymptomatic may differ from healthy individuals in the way that they cough. These differences are not decipherable to the human ear. But it turns out that they can be picked up by artificial intelligence.

In a paper published recently in the IEEE Journal of Engineering in Medicine and Biology, the team reports on an AI model that distinguishes asymptomatic people from healthy individuals through forced-cough recordings, which people voluntarily submitted through web browsers and devices such as cellphones and laptops.

The researchers trained the model on tens of thousands of samples of coughs, as well as spoken words. When they fed the model new cough recordings, it accurately identified 98.5 percent of coughs from people who were confirmed to have Covid-19, including 100 percent of coughs from asymptomatics — who reported they did not have symptoms but had tested positive for the virus.

The team is working on incorporating the model into a user-friendly app, which if FDA-approved and adopted on a large scale could potentially be a free, convenient, noninvasive prescreening tool to identify people who are likely to be asymptomatic for Covid-19. A user could log in daily, cough into their phone, and instantly get information on whether they might be infected and therefore should confirm with a formal test.

More:
https://news.mit.edu/2020/covid-19-cough-cellphone-detection-1029
Click to expand...

after watching NEXT that’s creepy
 
Bottom line on masks, do the right thing as per the good doctor.
 
Not looking good for Manitoba. Come on guys, were pulling for you.

Manitoba more than doubled its previous record for the most new COVID-19 cases announced on one day, with 480 infections on Friday, in a week that has broken new records for daily cases and hospitalizations day after day.
 
Oct 30, 2020 BC Covid surveillance report
http://www.bccdc.ca/health-info/diseases-conditions/covid-19/data

British Columbia (BC) COVID-19 Situation Report Week 43:
October 18 – October 24, 2020

Upswing in COVID-19 surveillance indicators in BC: Fraser Health Authority predominantly affected

  • COVID-19 incidence per 100,000 population in BC has steadily increased since week 31 (August) with a notable jump from week 41 (17.6) to week 42 (24.5) (October). Incidence for current report week 43 (20.2) was highest in Fraser Health Authority (FHA: 35.6), lowest in Vancouver Island Health Authority (VIHA: 0.6). Tallies for recent weeks are expected to increase as data, notably onset dates, become more complete.
  • SARS-CoV-2 test positivity increased between weeks 41-43 (1.4%, 2.1%, 2.9%), being highest in FHA (2.0%, 3.6%, 4.6%) and lowest in VIHA (0.2% each week). Positivity also increased from week 41-43 in Interior (0.4%, 0.7%, 1.9%) and Northern (1.0%, 1.3%, 2.6%) HAs but was more stable in Vancouver Coastal HA (1.3%, 1.6%, 1.6%).
  • In week 43, testing rates decreased in children <15 years old but increased in other age groups relative to the average test rate across prior weeks of Phase 3b. Positivity exceeded 2% in most age groups, highest in 15-19 (3.5%) and 20-39 year olds (3.1%).
  • More care facility outbreaks occurred after vs before Phase 3a (63 vs 48), but with half as many associated cases (362 vs 613). In week 43, 15 outbreaks were reported.
  • Alongside the increase in cases, a gradual increase in hospitalizations has been observed since week 33. During the first wave, the peak tally of hospitalizations per week was 107 (week 13, mid-March) whereas to date during the second wave the peak tally is about half that at 55 (week 41). Given the recent upswing in cases from week 42, the ultimate timing of the [delayed] peak in severe outcomes has yet to be determined. In week 43, there were 50 hospitalizations.
  • In total, 258 COVID-associated deaths were reported in BC, of which two-thirds occurred before Phase 3a, two-thirds were associated with a care facility outbreak, and 86% were 70+ years. In week 43, 5 deaths were recorded, all 70+ years.
http://www.bccdc.ca/Health-Info-Site/Documents/COVID_sitrep/Week_43_BC_COVID_19_Situation_Report.pdf
 
Much work to do to get this back down to a manageable problem.

El2sYdQVoAET4Vb


B.C.'s COVID-19 numbers continue to grow at an unprecedented rate, with another six deaths and 1,120 new cases confirmed over the weekend.

Deputy Provincial Health Officer Dr. Réka Gustafson announced the latest numbers on Monday afternoon, revealing that the active caseload is now 2,945 patients, 90 of whom are in hospital, including 19 in intensive care.

The new case numbers confirmed for each of the last three days are the highest that B.C. has seen so far, with 352 from Friday to Saturday, 389 from Saturday to Sunday and 379 from Sunday to Monday.

"These numbers are concerning to all of us, but we have learned a lot about COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic," Gustafson said.

She said the goal of public health officials will continue to be minimizing severe illness and death while keeping communities as open as possible.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/monday-covid-numbers-dix-1.5786155
 
They said on the radio today people are purposefully avoiding calls from contract tracers.

It’s been pretty well documented all over the world that the longer you take to use the stick the longer your pain or lockdown will last.
 
It's all a big hoax according to the President of the great USofA.
If you don't believe him and why would you??..
At least wear a mask and avoid large gatherings like those in Gastown in Vancouver on Halloween.
There are enough selfish idiots on both sides of the border to keep this virus alive and growing!!
It's your decision...which way are you going to go?
 
Alternative headline: Local man looking for three hots and a cot to ride out 2nd wave.

B.C. COVID-19 conspiracy theorist and yoga studio owner charged with breaking quarantine law

Nov 04, 2020

mak-parhar.jpg


Mak Parhar bragged in speech to supporters about violating rules after U.S. Flat Earth conference

A notorious Metro Vancouver COVID-19 conspiracy theorist has been charged with breaking mandatory quarantine after returning from a Flat Earth conference in the U.S.

Mak Parhar is charged with three counts of breaking the Canada Quarantine Act, according to court records, and made his first appearance in court on Tuesday.

According to his Facebook page, Parhar recently travelled to Greenville, South Carolina for an event called Flatoberfest 2020 — a gathering of conspiracy theorists who believe the Earth is flat.

Parhar made an appearance at a rally in front of the Vancouver Art Gallery on Sunday and bragged about breaking the mandatory 14-day self-isolation period upon his return to Canada.

"I'm not going to put myself in prison, because I'm a free man with god-given rights," Parhar told a small gathering of COVID-19 conspiracy theorists in a video posted to YouTube.

Court records show that he's accused of violating quarantine on Oct. 31, Nov. 1 and Nov. 2.

In his rambling speech at the art gallery this weekend, Parhar bragged about taking off his face mask on planes to and from the U.S., and about refusing to fill out federal government quarantine forms when he landed at Vancouver International Airport.

He claimed a border agent was "rattled" by his suggestion that the Quarantine Act doesn't apply to him, and said he told them he's not legally a "traveller" or a "person" under the law.

"They're not used to people who aren't obedient little sheep," Parhar said in Sunday's speech.

The claim that he's not legally a person lines up with yet another conspiracy theory, the "natural person" argument used by certain tax evaders who say only "artificial persons" need to pay taxes or obtain a licence to drive. The argument has been rejected over and over again in Canadian courts.

Parhar also spoke in Sunday's speech about police visiting his house on multiple occasions over the weekend to fine him for breaking quarantine, and mocked an officer who revealed a relative had recently died of COVID-19.

"People don't die of COVID, because — you guys already know this — COVID doesn't exist," Parhar told his supporters.

Business licence pulled in March
Parhar has had a high profile in Vancouver-area protests against COVID-19 restrictions since the beginning of the pandemic.

In March, the City of Delta pulled the business licence for his hot yoga studio after he encouraged clients to continue attending classes, falsely claiming the novel coronavirus "cannot survive in the heat."

With his business closed, Parhar began using his studio for gatherings of like-minded people who believe COVID-19 is a hoax. One meeting in April was reported to Delta police after a video was posted online, but Chief Neil Dubord told CBC at the time that his officers had no power to take action.

Parhar also attracted the attention of police in his hometown of New Westminster in the spring after he filmed a video in which he "investigated" the COVID-19 isolation area at Royal Columbian Hospital.

Parhar's next appearance in New Westminster provincial court is scheduled for Nov. 16.

The maximum penalty for a summary conviction under the Quarantine Act is $300,000 and/or imprisonment for up to six months. If the Crown proceeds with an indictment, reserved for the most serious offences, a convicted person could face a fine of up to $1 million and up to three years in prison.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/bc-covid-conspiracy-theorist-charged-1.5790376
 
EmGGsxVVcAEo_US

A record high of 425 new cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in B.C., with most of the cases located in the Fraser Health region.

Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry announced Thursday that there have been no new deaths, but the number of active cases, now at 3,389, has risen to its highest total to date. That includes 97 patients who are in hospital, including 24 in intensive care.

Of the new cases announced Thursday, 268 or about 63 per cent are located in the Fraser Health region, which has become the epicentre of the second wave of B.C.'s COVID-19 pandemic. Another 126 are in the Vancouver Coastal Health region.

Henry said she shares everyone's concern about the province's surging caseload.

"We did anticipate an increase as we moved indoors into the cooler weather. It is incredibly important we manage this increase effectively," she said.

"I'm asking you once again to slow the spread of the virus through B.C."

Thursday's update also included two new outbreaks in the health-care system. There are now 28 active outbreaks in long-term care and assisted living, and two in acute care units of hospitals.

At the same time, the outbreak at École de l'Anse-au-sable in Kelowna is officially over.

To date, B.C. has confirmed 16,560 cases of the virus and 273 people have died. A total of 7,519 people are currently under active monitoring by public health workers because of COVID-19 exposure.

Health Minister Adrian Dix stressed the importance of the public health order limiting indoor gatherings in people's homes to household members and the "safe six" people in their bubble.

He said that when it comes to house parties, "Don't throw. Don't go. Say no."
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/covid-19-update-bc-nov-5-1.5777641
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top