COVID

It may have been, Durhamlad.  The alerts on cell phone aps are one-size-fits-all, which is better than nothing.

The virus aerosolizes out of the body when people cough, sneeze, talk, sing, or breathe. An aerosol biochemist I know recommends we think of it like cigarette or vaping smoke as an example, because it demonstrates the air-flow as you can see that smoke swirling around when someone exhales it and then walks away, or exhales it in, say, an elevator - you can still smell it when you get on the elevator on another floor because it's floating around in there  for some time. In effect, it's a fog of particles. How far that fog extends  from someone depends on things like the force with which it was expelled and the air circulation in the immediate area. The virus is, of course, very much smaller than a vape smoke particle. 

The last I'd read was that more of it you breathe, the higher the risk of serious disease. They used to think that one was reasonably safe if they weren't in a high-risk situation for more than 15 minutes at a time, even if masked up in anything short of a '95 respirator and eye coverings. That's apparently now changed to being exposed for 15 minutes in any 24-hour period. For the "old" version. I would imagine the "new" Covid is much less time.

In any case, if they were on their doorstep and the other person was a good ten feet away and there was a breeze carrying the "smoke/virus" away from them, they were probably safe.  If not... it would depend on how much of the virus made it to them. When in doubt, I hope they play it safe. It's really not worth the risk, is it? They could talk to people on the phone?

The NHS app risk algorithm updates as science changes and the way it scores the risk is not a simple 15 minutes close to someone. It calculates the time over a 24 hour period and the score increases the closer you are to the infected person. I obviously did not meet the score threshold when talking to my brother in law 5 days ago. Regardless of not receiving an alert or having any symptoms I intend to continue my isolation from others for 10 days.

https://covid19.nhs.uk/risk-scoring-algorithm.html

For each encounter, a score is calculated as follows:

Estimated within 1m of the other device: total time spent within 1m
Estimated 1m or beyond from the other device: sum of [total time at each distance / distance squared]
These scores are summed across the interactions someone has had in a single day with the contact who has tested positive. The app does not look at interactions across multiple days as it uses new anonymous IDs every day in order to protect the privacy of users.

Finally, the total score is multiplied by a factor recognising infectiousness (of the individual testing positive) on the day of the encounter.

Well, that's good.

So it only looks at exposure to one particular carrier then, not all carriers? No way to know if you've been sent a dose of virus from a dozen people equivalent to a concerning dose from one? (Still better than nothing, if so, but....)

On the other hand, it's darned creepy to think that one's movements can be monitored so closely.   

Well, that's good.

So it only looks at exposure to one particular carrier then, not all carriers? No way to know if you've been sent a dose of virus from a dozen people equivalent to a concerning dose from one? (Still better than nothing, if so, but....)

On the other hand, it's darned creepy to think that one's movements can be monitored so closely.   

It looks at multiple people.

I think the track and trace is great.  But it’s optional to have it installed and running.  And people pretend they didn’t see the notification that they’ve been exposed.  Humans suck everywhere, not just when we have sophisticated software.

Cool!

It's unfortunate, then, that everyone can't/doesn't use it.

Speaking of idiots...There was some asshat here who got on an airliner full of people in Orlando (Florida) a couple of weeks ago, having had serious Covid signs for some time. He died mid-flight. They landed in New Orleans (I think) to get him and his wife, who knew about his symptoms, off the plane. After he became unconscious, an EMT who was traveling on the same flight did CPR on him. Because the now-dead passenger had signed off on his pre-flight paperwork that he had not had any Covid symptoms, the airline gave people the option to catch a later flight or remain on that one. (They thought he'd had a heart attack.) Some deboarded and took other flights, some stayed onboard all the way to Los Angeles.  The wife told the paramedics who came to take the guy off the plane that they were trying to get him home so he'd be at home while ill. The EMT now has Covid symptoms.

While their actions are understandable on an emotional level, they are inexcusable. I think she should be charged with complicity if anyone who was on that flight dies from Covid acquired on the flight. And that the dead man's estate should be billed for all costs incurred by the airline and anyone else on the flight because of his actions. There's been no news about anybody else on the flight catching it or not yet.

Yeah, some people suck.    But not that poor EMT.

Cool!

It's unfortunate, then, that everyone can't/doesn't use it.

Speaking of idiots...There was some asshat here who got on an airliner full of people in Orlando (Florida) a couple of weeks ago, having had serious Covid signs for some time. He died mid-flight. They landed in New Orleans (I think) to get him and his wife, who knew about his symptoms, off the plane. After he became unconscious, an EMT who was traveling on the same flight did CPR on him. Because the now-dead passenger had signed off on his pre-flight paperwork that he had not had any Covid symptoms, the airline gave people the option to catch a later flight or remain on that one. (They thought he'd had a heart attack.) Some deboarded and took other flights, some stayed onboard all the way to Los Angeles.  The wife told the paramedics who came to take the guy off the plane that they were trying to get him home so he'd be at home while ill. The EMT now has Covid symptoms.

While their actions are understandable on an emotional level, they are inexcusable. I think she should be charged with complicity if anyone who was on that flight dies from Covid acquired on the flight. And that the dead man's estate should be billed for all costs incurred by the airline and anyone else on the flight because of his actions. There's been no news about anybody else on the flight catching it or not yet.

Yeah, some people suck.    But not that poor EMT.

That was worldwide news.  Shows why we just stay at home.

And the wife should already be charged criminally, regardless of the EMT surviving or not.  It’s incidents like this where I am in full support of the EMT being able to sue the pants off of anyone he can.

Yeah. If she's a Cali resident, and he is as well, perhaps he can sue in State court. I'm not sure what grounds he'd use tho.  For a civil matter, some sort of negligence/personal injury claim?  https://www.flahavanlaw.com/blog/personal-injury/how-does-california-determine-civil-liability-in-coronavirus-cases/    Then again, if the estate hasn't got much money, they can't get blood out of a rock. It's not cheap to sue someone, so unless he could get a lawyer to work for him pro bono he'd just be out more money.

Criminal charges can and have been filed around the country for people who intentionally spread, or say they are attempting to spread, Covid. I think I read somewhere that attempted murder charges were being filed against someone who spit on someone else. Assault and battery in other states.  But they all were in cases of intentional infection or threat of infection.  There's no way to know if this guy intended to infect - most likely not, he was just "trying to get home".  Which makes him, and his wife, stupid and beyond selfish. And negligent. What they could charge the wife in this case with...?  Complicity in being stupid? She didn't sign the form lying about not having had symptoms, he did.

My guess is that it'd have to be some sort of federal prosecution, since it involved interstate commerce/transportation. But they are not likely do do it to the widow, I don't think. The airline could go after them for costs, but would they do that? Horrible publicity, pursuing the widow of a guy who died on their flight. (Even though they'd be perfectly justified in doing so.)

Well, that's good.

So it only looks at exposure to one particular carrier then, not all carriers? No way to know if you've been sent a dose of virus from a dozen people equivalent to a concerning dose from one? (Still better than nothing, if so, but....)

On the other hand, it's darned creepy to think that one's movements can be monitored so closely.   

No, multiple individuals.

There is absolutely no location information passed onto the website. Each app has a unique identifier and they exchange this locally via Bluetooth to other apps when in range, and that locally held data is deleted every 21 days.  If someone tests positive and enters the unique code given to them with the test result then the app communicates all the app codes it has held locally that need to be notified based on the algorithm in the link I provided. The Google/App server then notifies all the apps anonymously that they have been in close contact with someone who has tested and may have passed the virus to them. The app advice to self isolate is exactly that, just advice and no one in the NHS or government knows anything about all this, so the folks with the alert will never be contacted by the test and trace teams.

When you do test positive you will also be contacted by a test and trace team and be asked to give them the names and contact details, if known, of  all the folks you have been in contact with. The T&T teams will then attempt to contact those folks. The purpose of the app is most useful for all the folks you don’t know you have been in contact with such as bus and train commuters,  fellow shoppers etc.

While we were allowed to go inside places to eat, get hair cuts, visit outside attractions, go to the gym etc, the check-in feature of the app is really easy to use. All these places are required to have a log book or check-in sheet where you write down your contact details so you can be contacted if someone consequently tests positive all customers need to be notified. You just point your camera at the NHS app displayed at the entrance and that’s it. No contact details needed. If a customer or staff member later tests positive on a day you might have been infected you just get an alert on the app. T&T won’t contact you because they have no contact details. If the government really wanted to know and you paid by credit or debit card then they could track you down, which is what happens in S Korea and other places but the government here is not so intrusive and relies on folks being responsible and doing the right thing.

These people (see the news story, below) really are unbelievable. What ... morons. Well, we've been stuck at home since March and we always go on holiday abroad at Christmas so why shouldn't we do it this year? And they made us leave early. Whinge, whinge, whinge.    Of course, the problem isn't them, it's someone else who's caused it. (It always is.) They couldn't stay at home for the holidays because they wanted a splurge in the middle of a pandemic. And then complain when it goes awry.

NO sympathy from this desk. At all.

https://www.glasgowlive.co.uk/news/glasgow-news/couple-dumped-150-miles-glasgow-19527661

Over 200 British tourists at a Swiss ski resort did a midnight run to escape mandatory quarantine, hired cars and drove all the way back to England. Unbelievable that so many (over 400) Brits just couldn’t miss their Christmas ski vacation even though the pandemic was raging when they left Britain. And then for half of them to break quarantine and drive all the way home because all flights to the UK had been suspended is just awful.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-55465079

You should see the number of Americans in Facebook groups that either have their families here or went to the US for the holidays.  “But they are safe”. 

There’s a reason why this crisis is far from over.

They haven't been enforcing any of the quarantines or rules the entire time, why would anyone start following them now?

So glad they are pushing back on the plans to open schools. There needs to be some in person education for those who have no child care (key workers) or Internet at home, and for SEND students, but that is a much smaller student population than *send everyone back at once*.

You should see the number of Americans in Facebook groups that either have their families here or went to the US for the holidays.  “But they are safe”. 

There’s a reason why this crisis is far from over.

Oh, seriously. WTF?

They are now requiring travelers from the UK to the USA to produce a negative Covid test before boarding a flight in the UK. And in NYC the cops are going to every single UK traveler's home/hotel to check up on them. It's too late - if that mutation has been lurking in the virus pool for a few months (as apparently it has) there, it's already here and they just haven't found it yet. Bet they will soon, though, as something between 1.5 and 2 million people in the USA traveled over the Christmas holidays. I couldn't travel to attend funerals, which couldn't be held anyway, really. And these jokers think nothing of hopping a plane to go see Aunt Gertie or have a fun time at the beach/ski slopes. I'm not at all sympathetic.

I felt a little guilty for running into a Target to get supplies and then not just coming right out again, yesterday. The infection rate here was "only" 5.8 percent the last time I checked, so I kind of relaxed. (What the heck was I thinking! Tonight it's close to 10% here.)  The store was relatively empty so I did a perimeter sweep looking for bargains, and was in there at least 20 minutes instead of the 10 I meant to spend just getting what I needed. I was enjoying convincing myself that things were "normal" for a bit. But really,  even with sanitizer and masks, that was a risk I shouldn't have taken. At least I now have enough paper supplies to last until the Second Coming. 

Then I turn on the news to see that 2 million of my fellow citizens boarded airplanes, trains, and cars and drove all the hell over the place for a holiday. Makes me want to never go out my front door again, that does. How many of their germs were floating around in the Target store? Did I pick up something that someone infected had recently held? Did I remember to not rub my eyes? When I got home did I remember to not touch the outside of my three-layer cotton mask when I took it off? (I boiled it later, but before then.) I can't remember if I did or did not.

The Daughter has a friend in California who is house-sitting for a couple who decided a few weeks ago to take a long holiday in Europe. They are currently stuck in France and cannot get home. A holiday. In Europe. In a pandemic. Still, they're probably better off there than in Los Angeles right now. They're out of ICU beds in a lot of the hospitals, and the big post-holiday surge hasn't hit yet.

Travel Holidays? Seriously? NOW???  There was a time, once, when I would have said to let the gene pool flush the sludge away, but that sludge is going to take granny and grandad and other people who catch Covid through no fault of their own with them. I'm bad about it myself, I know, but those people have got to be the most self-centered creatures on the planet. It's all about "them". How dare they!?!

Oy.

They haven't been enforcing any of the quarantines or rules the entire time, why would anyone start following them now?

They certainly have been enforcing the rules around here. This last couple of weeks have seen many fines handed out to folks in places like Whitby and York where people have been traveling from Tier 3 areas into Tier 2 so they can go to pubs, cafes and restaurants.

It even made the news in Canada!!

https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/dozens-of-covid-19-related-charges-laid-in-york-region-over-the-weekend-1.5210639