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COVID-19 2nd wave - Texas only - Stats and such


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Just now, Liquor and Poker said:

I've gotten a lot of comments from the newly-converted along the lines "if it was such a big deal, why didn't they MAKE me do this stuff?  If I'm 'allowed' to do something, that means it's OK to do it.  I shouldn't have been free to do things if they were a bad idea."  

Apparently the populace is a collective 4-year-old.  

 

And the challenge is, they play the dueling banjos of idiocy.

First, it's "MAH FREEDOMS!  You can't make me!  Live free or die!  Like the eagle flies!"

Then, it's "if it was so important, why was it just a request?  It should have been required, and then we'd have to do it!"

We can't win for losing -- no matter which banjo is played, the tune is in the key of "moron."

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1 hour ago, Lobo said:

I'm glad so many Texans aren't going to let their support for the front line healthcare workers be obfuscated by something as silly as PPE.  

I took our kids out early this morning, and there was a good 20 parents at our neighborhood park, easily 30 kids, no masks in sight, no social distancing, kids playing together.

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2 hours ago, BradInATX said:

The really concerning thing about Austin being included in the elective surgery shutdown is that right now we actually still have a lot of capacity. That must mean that Abbott is looking at data and models that are showing things getting really bad in the near future. Abbott making a move like this that will cause significant financial pain surely has to mean he's looking at some pretty scary stuff coming across his desk.

I'm guessing the state is seeing numbers that are really bad.  This is going to hurt many medical practices, and yet the decision is being made for them to take that financial hit, rather than do things like face masks and other restrictions etc.

It's frustrating.    It feels like we are playing a game of chicken - the hit to the medical industry has been deemed acceptable while asking people to mask up, walking back some of the percentages on capacities of various businesses, etc. is not acceptable.

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2 hours ago, InkaUtexas said:

We are closing parks and such, but business remains normal. the ISD did close down early summer programs due to an outbreak with the football team's conditioning drills. What else have you heard? 

Just heard some recreational stuff was being shut down, and they were looking at other stuff.  Y'alls numbers are crazy, but I guess not surprising given  that it's the summer and a lot of tourists came in there quickly.

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1 minute ago, atomheartbevo said:

Just heard some recreational stuff was being shut down, and they were looking at other stuff.  Y'alls numbers are crazy, but I guess not surprising given  that it's the summer and a lot of tourists came in there quickly.

Yes they are. A few places are closing on their own but no government mandate. Parks and the river are closing. outlet mall deemed essential of course. 

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10 minutes ago, atomheartbevo said:

It's frustrating.    It feels like we are playing a game of chicken - the hit to the medical industry has been deemed acceptable while asking people to mask up, walking back some of the percentages on capacities of various businesses, etc. is not acceptable.

And low and behold, the state is putting the brakes on reopening.  Well, if you're open you can stay open at whatever capacity you are currently at.

https://www.kxan.com/news/texas/gov-greg-abbott-pauses-future-capacity-increases-as-covid-19-cases-skyrocket/

Quote

Gov. Greg Abbott is hitting pause on his phased plan to reopen Texas, he announced Thursday.

He said businesses that were permitted to open under the previous phases can continue to do so at the designated occupancy levels as well as under the minimum standard protocols from the Texas Department of State Health Services.

No more orders to increase capacity levels at businesses will be authorized until Gov. Abbott gives the go-ahead.

Quote

Cases of COVID-19 and hospitalizations associated with the disease skyrocketed recently in Texas. After a record of reported cases and hospitalizations both at the state level and locally, Austin Public Health Interim Health Authority Dr. Mark Escott said he is prepared to recommend a citywide shutdown if things get further out of hand.

I expect it within the next few days.

Quote

“The last thing we want to do as a state is go backwards and close down businesses. This temporary pause will help our state corral the spread until we can safely enter the next phase of opening our state for business,” Gov. Abbott said in a statement Thursday. 

“I ask all Texans to do their part to slow the spread of COVID-19 by wearing a mask, washing their hands regularly, and socially distancing from others. The more that we all follow these guidelines, the safer our state will be and the more we can open up Texas for business,” the statement read.

We have this spread because of what happened in May and because we re-opened.  It's not going to slow down anytime soon, otherwise he wouldn't be pausing things.

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4 minutes ago, DefinitelyNotHollywoodColt said:

sounds like Texas needs a little more PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY!!!!

Pbbbt. Personal responsibility is for Them. We get to do whatever the fuck We want whenever the fuck We want, and then whine and moan about how unfair the consequences are and how it is all Their fault. 

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This is maddening to watch unfold. I do elective surgery and I am currently not affected, but it feels like a matter of time.

It’s aggravating to see so many people in stores without masks. People are stubborn and selfish.

Why are churches still open? Online church accomplishes the same thing.

Why are youth sports going? Little League is not essential to the economy but it definitely encourages lots of people to congregate and commingle.

Texas Motor Speedway is having a NASCAR race on July 19 with fans in attendance. I have no idea what the capacity limit will be but I’m guessing in the thousands.

We are so dumb.

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30 minutes ago, atomheartbevo said:

We have this spread because of what happened in May and because we re-opened.  It's not going to slow down anytime soon, otherwise he wouldn't be pausing things.

We could have waited until June or July and we would still be right here just a few months later... this isn't going away, isn't the goal just to contain as much as possible within reason?

I do find it funny that mandating masks at the state level is such a trigger event for everyone.

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13 minutes ago, wild_turkey said:

This is maddening to watch unfold. I do elective surgery and I am currently not affected, but it feels like a matter of time.

It’s aggravating to see so many people in stores without masks. People are stubborn and selfish.

Why are churches still open? Online church accomplishes the same thing.

Why are youth sports going? Little League is not essential to the economy but it definitely encourages lots of people to congregate and commingle.

Texas Motor Speedway is having a NASCAR race on July 19 with fans in attendance. I have no idea what the capacity limit will be but I’m guessing in the thousands.

We are so dumb.

We have stupid and weak state leadership that bowed to political pressure by businesses and their lobby, the President and Karens United. 

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All this talk about "we're going to take further measures if things get worse".  What does that really mean?   There is still a significant lag between infection, symptom onset, testing, test results and hospitalization.  So positive case results and hospitalizations are pretty much fully baked in for the next 2 weeks.  Those numbers are what they are.  And it sure as hell seems like they aren't going to be very pretty. 

What we do today and the next 10 days  impacts how the numbers look in mid through the end of July.  We all watched this play out in real time in New York.  Once they made tough decisions it was too late.  I'm not predicting we get to that level but it seems pretty ridiculous to halt elective surgeries but not also make mask wearing mandatory statewide and significantly roll back (if not close) bars and restaurant capacity.   And flat out shut down weddings and other large events period so redneck dumbasses like some in my wife's family aren't convinced they are still holding a big ass wedding in a few weeks (the ridiculousness of this discussion within the family is worthy of its own post, and my wife is in the wedding, so putting her in an awkward position).  The public has shown we aren't capable of making smart decisions so time for someone to be the grown up.

Edited by Skipper
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I guess I could elaborate more by saying it's very unlikely that this is fully controlled until herd immunity and/or vaccine which is probably unlikely until 2021. Yes, we starting opening in May but my point is we had to start re-opening eventually and when we did case were going to spike. We can debate the speed at which we opened but some reopening needed to happen.

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Coronavirus may have infected 10 times more Americans than reported, CDC says

Just came across my news feed, siap 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Government experts believe more than 20 million Americans could have contracted the coronavirus, 10 times more than official counts, indicating many people without symptoms have or have had the disease, senior administration officials said.

The estimate, from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is based on serology testing used to determine the presence of antibodies that show whether an individual has had the disease, the officials said.

Edited by SHOOTER12
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The mask issue is something that is simple and easy to focus on but it’s not going to fix this. I don’t give a shit if we pass a national law that requires them. 

We are going to have to change our behavior for the foreseeable future. It’s getting lost in the mask argument but the way we slow the spread is social distancing.

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1 minute ago, ZB'Tejas said:

I guess I could elaborate more by saying it's very unlikely that this is fully controlled until herd immunity and/or vaccine which is probably unlikely until 2021. Yes, we starting opening in May but my point is we had to start re-opening eventually and when we did case were going to spike. We can debate the speed at which we opened but some reopening needed to happen.

there was a plan for re-opening that was announced, then crumpled into a ball and thrown in the trash. and now it looks like you're going to overload your healthcare system because of that.

what's confusing to you?

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3 hours ago, Covri said:

Wow, good job, assholes.  Turned out nobody was in on the real surprise.

 

Edited by J.R. Juniors Junior Jr.
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7 minutes ago, Skipper said:

All this talk about "we're going to take further measures if things get worse".  What does that really mean?   There is still a significant lag between infection, symptom onset, testing, test results and hospitalization.  So positive case results and hospitalizations are pretty much fully baked in for the next 2 weeks.  Those numbers are what they are.  And it sure as hell seems like they aren't going to be very pretty. 

What we do today and the next 10 days  impacts how the numbers look in mid through the end of July.  We all watched this play out in real time in New York.  Once they made tough decisions it was too late.  I'm not predicting we get to that level but it seems pretty ridiculous to halt elective surgeries but not also make mask wearing mandatory statewide and significantly roll back (if not close) bars and restaurant capacity.   And flat out shut down weddings and other large events period so redneck dumbasses like some in my wife's family aren't convinced they are still holding a big ass wedding in a few weeks (the ridiculousness of this discussion within the family is worthy of its own post, and my wife is in the wedding, so putting her in an awkward position).  The public has shown we aren't capable of making smart decisions so time for someone to be the grown up.

And all of this. I’d also add limiting non-essential travel.

 side note here in Port A about 75% of our bars have “temporarily” closed because they’ve had employees test positive, or in at least one case the employees voted to close because they didn’t want to deal with the idiots. Now, one of the few bars that is open has announced they will close July 2-6 to avoid the holiday crowd.

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And the challenge is, they play the dueling banjos of idiocy.
First, it's "MAH FREEDOMS!  You can't make me!  Live free or die!  Like the eagle flies!"
Then, it's "if it was so important, why was it just a request?  It should have been required, and then we'd have to do it!"
We can't win for losing -- no matter which banjo is played, the tune is in the key of "moron."
The same thing is happening here in NC. Yesterday the governor mandated masks in all indoor and outdoor areas because our numbers keep increasing so much, and all the rubes are criticizing him for waiting so long knowing full well if he had tried the same thing two months ago, they would have yelled about their rights and freedoms.

Enviado desde mi SM-G973U mediante Tapatalk

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What I do not understand is why Texas didn't just do the mask thing back in March and April.  Case spread was such that IMO, that probably would have done a lot to hindering the spread.  Then you would still have political capital to shut down should you need it.  I am still not sure why Texas did the big shut down when it did.  I have a guess, but the answer is too politiical, so I will hold off.  

 

 

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It''s all fun and games until it hits your family. Everyone thinks that it won't happen to them, until it does. Except it probably won't just happen to them but also their loved ones.

Just an innocent birthday party. 18 sick people with 3 in ICU...

People can choose to be selfish pricks hiding behind whatever fucking bullshit reasons they can come up with. What it's really about is human lives, lives needlessly put at risk because of selfishness disguising as "mah rights". 

https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/north-texas-family-shaken-after-18-relatives-test-positive-for-covid-19-following-surprise-birthday-party/287-ea8960ea-4c3c-40c1-b75e-f4437fe6f836

Spoiler

North Texas family shaken after 18 relatives test positive for COVID-19 following surprise birthday party

Three are now hospitalized, including two elderly family members and one woman battling breast cancer.
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Next UpCoronavirus in North Texas: Cases, hospitalizations reach new peak across the state
 
 
Customer claims Glenn Heights business owner called him N-word
 
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Author: Matt Howerton
Published: 10:11 PM CDT June 24, 2020
Updated: 10:29 PM CDT June 24, 2020
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CARROLLTON, Texas — As North Texas watches COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations surge, one family is shouldering a health crisis that they never expected to face. 

That crisis, all began on May 30 when just a single relative, unknowingly infected with COVID-19, interacted with seven family members at a surprise birthday party. 

 

Those seven family members then contracted and spread the virus to 10 other relatives. 

Now, Ron Barbosa is keeping track of 18 people in his family who have tested positive for COVID-19. 

Barbosa didn't attend the party himself, but the celebration was for his daughter-in-law who turned 30. 

However, Barbosa's nephew hosted. 

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Credit: Ron Barbosa
A photo taken at the party.

That nephew is the one who was unknowingly infected, thinking a slight cough was the byproduct of working in construction. 

Before the party, he played golf with a few family members who also attended the event, according to Barbosa. 

Even though everyone did their best to stay socially distant, Barbosa said it wasn't enough. 

"It wasn't that long. It was only a couple of hours," Barbosa, a volunteer EMT said. "But during that brief time, somehow the other 18 family members are now infected with COVID." 

Barbosa, who is also married to a doctor, said he and his wife refused to go to the party due to safety reasons. 

However, it was a party that by current state health standards appeared harmless. A total of 25 people attended, and not all of them arrived and stayed for the same duration. 

"When people started getting sick, we really let everyone have it," Barbosa said. "We knew this was going to happen, I mean this whole time this has been going on we've been terrified." 

Among those infected are two young children, two grandparents, a cancer patient and Barbosa's parents, who are in their 80s. 

Three are now hospitalized: Barbosa's parents Frank and Carole, along with his sister Kathy, who is battling breast cancer. 

 
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Credit: Ron Barbosa
Barbosa (right) with his mother Carole.

Kathy, per Barbosa, is recovering and feeling better, despite contracting the virus while simultaneously undergoing chemo treatments. 

He says she went to the party and got infected, even though she was socially distanced outside on a porch. 

But Barbosa's parents are in a much tougher situation. 

791876bb-7079-44dd-af61-3afd6b16c1c3_16x791876bb-7079-44dd-af61-3afd6b16c1c3_114
Credit: Ron Barbosa
A photo of Frank hospitalized.

Frank and Carole are highschool sweethearts and have been married almost 68 years. 

Barbosa said it's likely Carole infected Frank after she stopped by the party to drop something off. 

Carole has been hospitalized since June 13, and Frank has been in a hospital since June 17. 

Frank is in the ICU and is on life support. Barbosa told WFAA that he is inches away from being put on a ventilator. 

"My dad's hanging on by a thread," Barbosa said. "They're saying this is one of the last straws for my dad." 

Visitation is mostly restricted, meaning calls to Barbosa's parents are vital. 

"That's really the best medicine. You know they're in there by themselves with no family," Barbosa said holding back tears. "It's heartbreaking." 

Need for Plasma 

Barbosa told WFAA that his father is in need of blood plasma from recovered COVID-19 patients, who have established antibodies. 

However, Barbosa said that doctors have informed him that there's not a lot of it right now. 

On Facebook, a plea for help from Barbosa was answered by a few firefighters once infected with COVID-19, who were willing to donate. 

But he quickly learned that they couldn't donate their plasma for one specific person because there was a shortage. 

WFAA is now researching if that's the case with blood banks across the Dallas-Fort Worth area. 

In the meantime, Barbosa is using the phrase 'Frank Alert' to raise awareness about the need for more blood plasma with COVID-19 antibodies. 

"If you've recovered...go donate your plasma," Barbosa said. 

Other than his sister and parents, Barbosa said that his family is mostly recovering. 

In just a matter of weeks, they've gone through multiple emotions in this COVID-19 cautionary tale -- starting with anger. 

 

"We were horrified. People couldn't believe that they took it to a family member," Barbosa said. 

"But now, we're holding on together."

06f23bad-4f2b-4b1c-ad86-a658581d6e43_16x06f23bad-4f2b-4b1c-ad86-a658581d6e43_114
Credit: Ron Barbosa
A photo of Barbosa's parents, Frank and Carole.

 

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2 minutes ago, PenelopeWitherspoon said:

What I do not understand is why Texas didn't just do the mask thing back in March and April.  Case spread was such that IMO, that probably would have done a lot to hindering the spread.  Then you would still have political capital to shut down should you need it.  I am still not sure why Texas did the big shut down when it did.  I have a guess, but the answer is too politiical, so I will hold off.  

 

 

We didn't have widespread testing available when we first shut down. In hindsight it is maddening that we shut down completely when the 'rona really wasn't here, and now we refuse to even mandate masks when the complete shutdown should be happening

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2 minutes ago, PenelopeWitherspoon said:

I am still not sure why Texas did the big shut down when it did.

 

 

I agree it's easy to critique in hindsight, and I've seen a lot of that, but what people forget is:  (1) Our testing was an absolute travesty at the time. Pretty much worst in class.  As in you basically had to have visited China and be on your death bed to get tested (not quite that bad but pretty damn close).  So we really had no idea how widespread things were.  (2) There was no PPE in hospitals.  So if things did get bad we were fucked.   So the combination of those items really didn't leave us with any choice but to shut down at the time. 

I actually do think things would have gotten pretty damn bad in Dallas within 2-3 weeks had we not shut down when we did based on the late March/early April ICU numbers.   It was crucial we locked down nursing homes when we did for sure.

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21 minutes ago, PenelopeWitherspoon said:

What I do not understand is why Texas didn't just do the mask thing back in March and April.  Case spread was such that IMO, that probably would have done a lot to hindering the spread.  Then you would still have political capital to shut down should you need it.  I am still not sure why Texas did the big shut down when it did.  I have a guess, but the answer is too politiical, so I will hold off.  

 

 

While I know you haven't been having a picnic in NYC, trust me, you sure as shit haven't missed anything being here. And you know the answer to your question. You know exactly why masks weren't mandated. My step father was literally accosted in the fucking grocery store by a mouth breathing aggie about a month ago. He's 73 and grocery shopping in a mask and gloves and minding his own business, and a piece of shit hillbilly slathered head to toe in Maroon, in his 40's, comes up right next to him and says "Unmask, Longhorn." I wish I had been there. 

 

There was massive pushback when Hidalgo tried to implement masks in Harris County. People are revolting against a mask mandate now that it's official in Harris County. People are too fucking stupid about the stupidest fucking shit. 

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25 minutes ago, PenelopeWitherspoon said:

What I do not understand is why Texas didn't just do the mask thing back in March and April.  Case spread was such that IMO, that probably would have done a lot to hindering the spread.  Then you would still have political capital to shut down should you need it.  I am still not sure why Texas did the big shut down when it did.  I have a guess, but the answer is too politiical, so I will hold off.  

 

 

Because wearing a mask is not exactly what some people wanted to do and some people aren't going to do anything other than exactly what they want to do. 

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25 minutes ago, PenelopeWitherspoon said:

 I am still not sure why Texas did the big shut down when it did.  I have a guess, but the answer is too politiical, so I will hold off.  

 

 

Theres nothing political about it. We lacked testing and had no visibility into the true scale of the problem so we responsibly erred on the side of caution. The duration of the lock down when it was clear hospitals weren't being challenged is another subject, but hindsight is 20/20.

 

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29 minutes ago, SydneyCarton said:

While I know you haven't been having a picnic in NYC, trust me, you sure as shit haven't missed anything being here. And you know the answer to your question. You know exactly why masks weren't mandated. My step father was literally accosted in the fucking grocery store by a mouth breathing aggie about a month ago. He's 73 and grocery shopping in a mask and gloves and minding his own business, and a piece of shit hillbilly slathered head to toe in Maroon, in his 40's, comes up right next to him and says "Unmask, Longhorn." I wish I had been there. 

 

There was massive pushback when Hidalgo tried to implement masks in Harris County. People are revolting against a mask mandate now that it's official in Harris County. People are too fucking stupid about the stupidest fucking shit. 

Yes that aggy piece of crap deserves a proper beat down.

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1 hour ago, ZB'Tejas said:

I do find it funny that mandating masks at the state level is such a trigger event for everyone.

"Holy shit, it's 65 degrees, I better throw on a fleece and post a meme on Facebook about how it's like a blizzard!"

"Wear a mask? My ancestors didn't come over because of a potato famine just to see me wear a mask!  Would they have wanted their descendants to wear a mask over a simple thing like the flu?  Okay, yeah, I had a great-great uncle and a couple of great-great aunts die from the Spanish Flu, but that was like 200 years ago!"

Edited by atomheartbevo
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  • immamac changed the title to COVID-19 2nd wave - Texas only - Stats and such

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