I wasn't implying that people at risk shouldn't be more careful, or that everyone should stay home. My comment was more about how people are more dismissive of older folks having to stay home. You know, #becauseold.
That kind of passive ageism also comes up in threads on other topics occasionally which is why I pointed it out. It gets old.
It was particularly disappointing that in Tesco even staff weren't wearing masks. The checkout people were behind plexi glass but it sets a poor example to their customers next weekend.
I have been wondering about this, as far as I can see staff should be a priority because a) they are coming into contact with many people and b) you are in close proximity to them for a reasonable period while they scan your goods.
However I have noticed more people wearing masks over the last couple of weeks so I suspect it is getting better.
2) If one person in the office has COVID, everyone will get it anyway, mask or no mask.
So one infected person in office (presumably asymptomatic or else they would not be there) cannot avoid becoming a super-spreader, whether everyone (including the infected)n wear masks or not? I get that if its a face-covering/worn improperly that it could be far less use than a mask worn properly but I assumed being masked up at all was worth some reduction of risk. Especially as this is prolonged contact within confined spaces.
Perhaps other measures are more effective than masks in workplace - i.e. social distancing improved (screens inserted/hot desk options removed) and workspaces/shared equipment is cleaned a lot and everyone washes hands/sanitises when entering the building (at minimum) this might work better in avoiding transmission? Perhaps these processes are more controllable in workplaces than in stores?
If workplace transmission is inevitable given anyone having COVID then at least some co-workers will become symptomatic and get tested and come back positive causing the whole department/office to close/isolate. This was the bit I did not understand as being worth the risk to an employer.
In the workplace, loose fitting masks should be worn around the neck most of the time, then pulled up whenever employees have to talk face to face. In a workplace where there is constant face to face talking, plexiglass shields over the face are a better idea. Idea is that the mask/shield diverts the flow of air from forwards to up/down. Then it's the responsibility of the employer to increase fresh air flow and/or air purification through filters so that virus particles floating in the air are quickly eliminated. These protections should probably be made permanent by OSHA and building code rule changes. Plexiglass face shield probably better permanent solution than masks.
Requiring tightly fitting masks all day long is just going to cause eventual rebellion.
Another permanent change should be hand washing equipment near every work desk/station. Desk or wall mounted dispenser of waterless alcohol hand cleaner.
I"m confused about the timeframe. I think Phase 3 trials require a 2 year period by the FDA? So if they start today then that's July 2022. Yet the news outlets are repeatedly saying a vaccine could be available in winter or early 2021? How does that work?
Report comes thru from major news wire of vaccine hopes.
S&P 500 futures trading in the green by market open on vaccine hopes.
Oligarchs sell stocks.
Thinking of starting Mister Imperceptible LLC, a new crypto-biotech hedge fund that seeks to tokenize the cure for common cold. Opening soon for new investors.
USA passed up France in per capita deaths this morning when we crossed 148,011
That puts the USA as 10th worst in the world. The only reason we're not 8th worst is that Chile & Peru passed us up in the past two weeks.
But, wait, if don't bother counting the tiny city-states of San Marino and Andorra, we're 8th worst.
One more thing to add... at the current weekly death rate, exceeding Italy & Spain's COVID-19 per capita death rate appears possible by the end of September. Yes, did you ever think we'd be saying the USA has a worse per capita death rate than Italy?!?
The USA's healthcare system is ranked 37th according to this whitepaper. Italy is #2.
I doubt though that in itself is having a big impact on Corona outcomes, at least within first world societies. Afaik the US is providing free Corona care to its citizens
Doesn’t surprise me at all. U.S. population is very unhealthy compared to the Italians.
I'm not necessarily on board with the proposed solutions--e.g., my experience as a lawyer who works with restaurant clients in the U.S. is that mandating calorie disclosures, etc., just means I make more money interpreting government regulations, creating larger barriers of entry, etc.--BUT, I absolutely LOVE the identification of the (or a) problem by Boris Johnson here: https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/27/uk/boris ... index.html. If only our government leaders would use their bully pulpits and use COVID as an excuse to encourage "my fellow Americans" to do their civic duty and quit eating so much shit. Wear a mask? Sure. Stay at home as much as possible? Ok. But how about, also, put down the fried food, get off your ass, and go for a walk in the sunshine? Do it for 'Merica damnit!
@Hristo Botev Can BMI impact health insurance premiums, or is too invisible or marginal to incentivise weight loss ?
That's a really interesting question that I know nothing about, and I suspect is REALLY complicated, but I would love to hear from those who know more. My own anecdotal experience is, as I recall, I've never been required to get a physical or anything of the sort in connection with setting my health insurance premium. Frankly, I really have no idea how insurance premiums are set. I definitely DID have to get a physical/blood work to find out what my monthly payment would be for my term life insurance policy--and the higher your BMI, etc., the higher your payment is.
