Coronavirus Sars-CoV-2/Covid-19 Megathread

[viper37]

Quebec has officially launched its vaccine passport program today.

The Android app was not available last week.  I tried to load it Monday, could not register my covid proof as the site was overwhelmed.  Tried yesterday, same problem.  Tried again this morning by having the site send me back my download link, which has expired (what a stupid idea!).  No joy so far.

[Grey Fox]

I had 0 issue. I downloaded my QR code on the day I got my 2nd dose in July. Opened it on my computer & took a scan of it with the android app.

[viper37]

I had 0 issue. I downloaded my QR code on the day I got my 2nd dose in July. Opened it on my computer & took a scan of it with the android app.

Yeah, I hadn't my QR code.  I thought I would click on the link when the app became available.

Anyway, I finally found my first vaccine date and was able to get the QR code added to the app.  But I didn't need it at the restaurant.  Weird, I thought it was mandatory there.

[Grey Fox]

It is. But they get 2 weeks for implementation.

[Sheilbh]

It looks like case numbers are starting to plateau and fall again - we've had a bank holiday which muddies the waters but they're starting to trend down again even in Scotland were schools have been opened for a couple of weeks (they only went back in England today). Plus football's back with full stadiums, there's been a couple of mini-bumps associated with music festivals but I imagine that's more to do with the close contact you get at music festivals rather than the people standing in a crowd

It peaked in July then quite strongly for a couple of weeks, it's then been slowly climbing for a month and now seems to be on the turn again. It's really weird because so far if it's climbing or falling has been based on restrictions being lifted or imposed - so there's a clear-ish reason. But now whenever I see the numbers I don't know why they're happening and I wonder if this is just what an endemic disease looks like (with the most at-risk vaccincated) - there'll just be peaks and troughs that have no obvious direct cause? Hospital admissions and deaths are still higher than when we're in hard lockdown but at about 20% or 10% of peaks.

I still worry about autumn and winter when people are packed indoors - and especailly the risks of winter illnesses/flu + covid for the elderly (I know someone was doing tests on booster covid + flu jabs but I don't know what happened with that), plus because of the last 18 months and a historically very light flu season last winter (because of covid restrictions) that make me worry we'll see a very strong flu season this winter. There's lots I spin out about, but I wonder if this is the start of what covid as a normal background illness looks like?

Edit: And I basically thought my work's return to work plans wouldn't happen - they start this month and now it feels like they might which is the first sort of proper return to pre-covid life I can think of.

[Barrister]

So back here in Alberta, back in June with plummeting case numbers and growing vaccination rates, the government basically opened everything up and declared that 2021 would be the "best summer ever".

But now we have the delta variant and case numbers are rapidly increasing.  We're at probably half of our peaks from waves 2 and 3 with numbers still rising.

But now here's the thing.  Both the Premier, and our Chief Medical Officer of Health, have been nowhere to be heard for weeks now.  The CMOH used to give daily updates and answer questions from the media.  The Premier was usually not far from a tv camera.  Now the CMOH and Premier both post on Twitter - the CMOH just posts the daily case numbers, the Premier various feel-good news about the province - but nothing in person, and certainly not in public.

So it's not at all clear what the strategy is.  Do they have modeling that suggests the case numbers should start to level off soon?  Is the plan to just let the virus rip through the unvaccinated (and if they die it's their own damn fault)?  Are they going to introduce new restrictions soon?

Because the "Best summer ever" is now over.  Kids are going back to school.  Starting next week all GOA employees have to return to work.

[Legbiter]

Here there's been outbreaks at a couple dozen schools and kindergartens. Quarantine rules are more relaxed so there's not nearly the same disruptions as before. Kids don't mask while at school because they're not vulnerable, the virus will circulate and immunize them for life probably. Our delta wave is very slowly petering out, it'll probably yo-yo a couple times this winter. Currently no one is in ICU because of covid. This wave so far has only killed 2 elderly tourists, the vaccines protect most of the rest. Unvaccinated adults are not that many compared to the rest and although their odds of surviving covid are great, the gamble still isn't worth it, but eh, whaddya gonna do. 

[viper37]

It is. But they get 2 weeks for implementation.

Ah, I see.  Thanks!

[jimmy olsen]

1 in every 500 people in the US are now dead from the Coronavirus

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/us/

Florida is melting down hard.
https://twitter.com/BNODesk/status/1433607689230290956

U.S. COVID update: Nearly 3,000 new deaths, including backlog from Florida

- New cases: 179,343
- Average: 165,253 (-1,168)
- In hospital: 102,402 (+234)
- In ICU: 26,109 (-8)
- New deaths: 2,987

More data: https://newsnodes.com/us

https://twitter.com/BNODesk/status/1433546165149069335

BREAKING: Florida, which reports a backlog of COVID-19 deaths every Thursday, has added 1,338 new deaths, up 48% from last week

[alfred russel]

1 in every 500 people in the US are now dead from the Coronavirus

Similarly, about 7,000 in every 500 people in the US are dead from cancer and 12,000 in every 500 are dead from heart disease.

[Zanza]

"Heart diseases"are a cluster of several dozen different ailments, "cancer" clusters a hundred different types of cancer. Covid is a single virus.

Covid was the leading cause of death earlier in the year in the US and at 1000/day is again third biggest cause after the two big clusters cancer and heart.

https://www.healthsystemtracker.org/brief/covid-19-continues-to-be-a-leading-cause-of-death-in-the-u-s-in-june-2021/

[alfred russel]

"Heart diseases"are a cluster of several dozen different ailments, "cancer" clusters a hundred different types of cancer. Covid is a single virus.

Covid was the leading cause of death earlier in the year in the US and at 1000/day is again third biggest cause after the two big clusters cancer and heart.

https://www.healthsystemtracker.org/brief/covid-19-continues-to-be-a-leading-cause-of-death-in-the-u-s-in-june-2021/

I think you missed my point but covid is not a single virus - that is why we are talking about all the variants.

[Sheilbh]

Isn't the US like 95% delta now though?

[Razgovory]

DeSantis should be happy.  He was gloating the other day on Sean Hannity's show that the Biden has failed to end Covid.

[Zanza]

It's still one virus, even if it has different variants.