Texas coronavirus discussion - wear your face masks, y'all

Commedieu · May 18, 2020

Sheepinator said:
So many people in America just don't believe it's a big deal... until it happens to them.

Hitchens said that he was once among those who thought the coronavirus "is a fake crisis" that was "blown out of proportion" and "wasn't that serious."

That changed when he started to feel sick in April and stopped working, he wrote.

Hitchens said he "had just enough energy" to drive himself and his wife to Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center on April 19, where they both tested positive for the virus.

"They admitted us right away and we both went to ICU," he wrote. "I started feeling better within a few days but my wife got worse to the point where they sedated her and put her on the ventilator."

He thought the coronavirus was 'a fake crisis.' Then he contracted it and changed his mind.

Brian Hitchens said he thought that the coronavirus "is a fake crisis" that was "blown out of proportion" and "wasn't that serious."

www.nbcnews.com

A Florida man who thought the coronavirus was "a fake crisis" has changed his mind after he and his wife contracted COVID-19.
Brian Hitchens, a rideshare driver who lives in Jupiter, downplayed the seriousness of the coronavirus

what r u gunna do? infect me?

FreshYoungDoggo · May 18, 2020

darkwing said:
I'm thinking it will be like, "oh, deaths already at 150,000, good thing it's a under 500,000, so on and so forth"

Yeah the goalposts will keep getting moved, "more people die from X", and then when those numbers get surpassed they move onto the next one.

Stooge · May 18, 2020

Book One said:
Wife said they put out a chart saying testing was going up while new cases was going down? I thought the tracking project numbers were showing otherwise

They are intentionally removing some of the positive cases because they dont count.*

*because prions, elder care facilities and meat processing plants hurt their numbers.

captive · May 18, 2020

why am i not surprised we literally have people in this thread downplaying the numbers or even claiming the OP is misrepresenting them.

SpottieO · May 18, 2020

Bars are opening up this weekend? JFC this is going to suck.

Ziltoidia 9 · May 18, 2020

darkwing said:
is the R0 at < 1 now?

Hell if I know. I just know it is based on personal responsibility, but I assume we will see packed bar pictures soon enough. If it wasn't as contagious, slow acting, or less prone to stay on surfaces longer then I might feel like is going to be okay, but in the end if enough people spread it while having the attitude that a lot of the people have right now (The types that would protest) then we will just back at stage 1.

perfectchaos007 · May 18, 2020

darkwing said:
I'm thinking it will be like, "oh, deaths already at 150,000, good thing it's a under 500,000, so on and so forth"

"Well at the beginning of the pandemic they predicted 2 million"

hsojlightfoot · May 18, 2020

As a Texan this makes me shelter in place even more. I still won't go into places with mass gatherings. Ask me again in 2021 when we have a new administration.

BasilZero · May 18, 2020

hsojlightfoot said:
As a Texan this makes me shelter in place even more. I still won't go into places with mass gatherings. Ask me again in 2021 when we have a new administration.

Same here

Also going to stick to curbside deliveries when shopping too

Deleted member 14377 · May 18, 2020

Fuckin hell...

maximumzero · May 18, 2020

Was temp-banned from another Forum for calling someone an idiot over their belief that "COVID-19 is no deadlier than the annual influenza."

I took that ban proudly. Fuck that guy.

bangai-o · May 18, 2020

SpottieO said:
Bars are opening up this weekend? JFC this is going to suck.

Covid19 is the new herpes. Dont want it, but these beers should help us ignore that.

bastardly · May 18, 2020

I don't even get this, nothing has changed and people will be a bit more careful for awhile but they'll get lazy and it's just going to spike again. Once it does and they shut things down again people will really go berserk, or say "why the hell did you let me go to the gym if it wasn't safe? How was I supposed to know?"

SpottieO · May 18, 2020

bastardly said:
I don't even get this, nothing has changed and people will be a bit more careful for awhile but they'll get lazy and it's just going to spike again. Once it does and they shut things down again people will really go berserk, or say "why the hell did you let me go to the gym if it wasn't safe? How was I supposed to know?"

Texas will absolutely not shut down again no matter how bad it gets. Abbott would rather watch the state burn.

Jmdajr · May 18, 2020

darkwing said:
I'm thinking it will be like, "oh, deaths already at 150,000, good thing it's a under 500,000, so on and so forth"

I still say 1 million by Match 2021. Slow and steady death Grind.

We had one poor deputy die after like a 2 month battle.

Transistor · May 18, 2020

SpottieO said:
Texas will absolutely not shut down again no matter how bad it gets. Abbott would rather watch the state burn.

Truth. I hate Abbott so much.

Zoe · May 18, 2020

SpottieO said:
Texas will absolutely not shut down again no matter how bad it gets. Abbott would rather watch the state burn.

Yep. He said they'll slow down in areas with spikes like the week delay for Amarillo, but he doesn't see them stepping back and will instead focus on containment.

Jmdajr · May 18, 2020

As long as the Hospitals have capacity, they won't care what you do.

Book One · May 18, 2020

Stooge said:
They are intentionally removing some of the positive cases because they dont count.*

*because prions, elder care facilities and meat processing plants hurt their numbers.

ahhh, yeah that doesn't surprise me. i told her i don't see how that's the case when she said they put that up

Friskykillface · May 18, 2020

States won't shut down unless it gets to New York infection bad
The plan is to just ignore it and hope for the best
It'd be helpful if dummies would wear masks but the rebellion I've seen over the past few weeks make me shook, what a mess

Summer season will be really deadly since I'm sure Disney world/land will open up and other amusement parks so we are in for a bumpy ride

Deleted member 21709 · May 18, 2020

Zoe said:
Yep. He said they'll slow down in areas with spikes like the week delay for Amarillo, but he doesn't see them stepping back and will instead focus on containment.

He's planning on building a wall around Texas? I guess that will work.

Feep · May 18, 2020

maximumzero said:
Was temp-banned from another Forum for calling someone an idiot over their belief that "COVID-19 is no deadlier than the annual influenza."

I took that ban proudly. Fuck that guy.

Seriously. It is approximately twenty to twenty five times deadlier.

maximumzero · May 18, 2020

Feep said:
Seriously. It is approximately twenty to twenty five times deadlier.

Did the math and comparing the Flu deaths from the 2018-2019 season to the current COVID-19 deaths and it's roughly sixty-six times deadlier. The rate of death due to influenza was 0.09% versus almost 6% for COVID-19.

And we're not done yet.

Grayson · May 18, 2020

Friskykillface said:
States won't shut down unless it gets to New York infection bad
The plan is to just ignore it and hope for the best
It'd be helpful if dummies would wear masks but the rebellion I've seen over the past few weeks make me shook, what a mess

Summer season will be really deadly since I'm sure Disney world/land will open up and other amusement parks so we are in for a bumpy ride

Disney isn't even close to opening. Follow the actual reporting.

Legally they cannot until Phase 4 in Florida and we aren't even close to phase 2. Sorry I'm just tired of all the Disney bad faith posts.

Feep · May 18, 2020

maximumzero said:
Did the math and comparing the Flu deaths from the 2018-2019 season to the current COVID-19 deaths and it's roughly sixty-six times deadlier. The rate of death due to influenza was 0.09% versus almost 6% for COVID-19.

And we're not done yet.

I think the general consensus is that the actual mortality rate is closer to 2 or 2.5%, considering the number of unreported/asymptomatic cases that aren't in the numbers. But still, either way. Absurd.

bye · May 18, 2020

Feep said:
I think the general consensus is that the actual mortality rate is closer to 2 or 2.5%, considering the number of unreported/asymptomatic cases that aren't in the numbers. But still, either way. Absurd.

yes, but it's suspected to be higher in the US possibly due to lots of people with pre-existing conditions (diabetes, heart disease, obesity, etc)

MIMIC · May 18, 2020

There was a substantial decline in the latest day-to-day numbers so that's good. But it's going to take about another week's worth of data in order for these rises/declines to make sense.

Book One · May 18, 2020

Book One said:
Wife said they put out a chart saying testing was going up while new cases was going down? I thought the tracking project numbers were showing otherwise

Stooge said:
They are intentionally removing some of the positive cases because they dont count.*

*because prions, elder care facilities and meat processing plants hurt their numbers.

so, following up on this, i found a Houston Press article that seems to reference the chart Abbott was putting up today, and why it was showing what it was:

Abbott said the reason the number of positive cases is increasing is due to increased testing. But he said what is important is the rate generated by comparing the number of cases to the number of COVID-19 tests. The rate, he said, has decreased dramatically and is now down to less than 5 percent. He also said there is plenty of room in hospitals to handle the number of cases coming in.

Houston's mayor Turner pointed out the issue he has with using that as a guideline:

At a following press conference, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner reported one more COVID-19 death bringing the total in the city to 115 and an additional 139 new reported cases bringing the number of positive coronavirus cases in the city of Houston to 5.795.

Turner did take issue somewhat with the way the governor is interpreting the statistics, saying it is an apples and oranges comparison. "In March and April we were just testing people who were symptomatic," he said. "Then we started testing everyone." As a result, of course, more people tested negative and the ratio decreased. To be a truly valid analysis, the comparison should only contain the data of the peopel who were symptomatic when they came in, he said.

Plutone · May 18, 2020

Yeah, this is gross. Abbott is misrepresenting the statistics for a distinct reason. Fuck the whole Republican side of the administration, honestly.

Compbros · May 18, 2020

Michigan stopped caring a long time ago and are proudly reporting "only 11 deaths on Sunday" as we head towards a soft re-opening of the state. People only wear masks when explicitly told to, people coughing on purpose because of disagreements with the bus driver, shit is beyond fucked here.

Superman00 · May 18, 2020

Book One said:
so, following up on this, i found a Houston Press article that seems to reference the chart Abbott was putting up today, and why it was showing what it was:

Houston's mayor Turner pointed out the issue he has with using that as a guideline:

Yeah, positive case percentage need to be look at with the number of new cases and not just by itself.

Texas 2 week interval:
April 6 - 8,088
April 20 - 19,822 (+11734)
May 4 - 33,027 (+13205)
May 18 - 49,590 (+16563)

Testing have ramp up, but numbers of new cases aren't exactly dropping.

Ziltoidia 9 · May 18, 2020

Superman00 said:
Yeah, positive case percentage need to be look at with the number of new cases and not just by itself.

Texas 2 week interval:
April 6 - 8,088
April 20 - 19,822 (+11734)
May 4 - 33,027 (+13205)
May 18 - 49,590 (+16563)

Testing have ramp up, but numbers of new cases aren't exactly dropping.

They are going based on % of positive tests, not overall tests. We could get 50k new cases but if they tested like 10 million in a week they would still say it is a reduction because of the %.

HOUSEJoseph · May 18, 2020

So just so you guys know, the spin down here in my state is that there are now more tests available. So.....why did we open the state up before we had more sufficient testing, der?

dep9000 · May 18, 2020

Do restaurants not need to abide by guidelines for reopening? That past weekend I drove by a restaurant with outside seating and every table was full and they were not six feet apart.

perfectchaos007 · May 18, 2020

The strat for Abbott here is to test as many non-sick people in Texas as possible to get the ratio down.

onadesertedisland · May 18, 2020

dep9000 said:
Do restaurants not need to abide by guidelines for reopening? That past weekend I drove by a restaurant with outside seating and every table was full and they were not six feet apart.

There's no way to enforce anything. It's all 'guidelines'. It's beyond dumb. You have the yokels believing their racist Facebook memes going out like it's all a conspiracy.

dep9000 · May 18, 2020

onadesertedisland said:
There's no way to enforce anything. It's all 'guidelines'. It's beyond dumb. You have the yokels believing their racist Facebook memes going out like it's all a conspiracy.

That's too bad. I thought about calling the police when I saw that (a real Karen move I know), but then I thought that it's not a law so the police couldn't do anything. Shame on the restaurant owners for allowing that though. Completely irresponsible

Superman00 · May 18, 2020

Ziltoidia 9 said:
They are going based on % of positive tests, not overall tests. We could get 50k new cases but if they tested like 10 million in a week they would still say it is a reduction because of the %.

I know, that's what I'm getting at. Since the testing has increase quite a bit, but the rate of infection has slowed down. So the positive percentage is going down. However, the amount of new case per 2 week period is still increasing from the previous week. Using only % of positive tests by itself is not a good measure for reopening.

onadesertedisland · May 18, 2020

Ron Paul said:
The strat for Abbott here is to test as many non-sick people in Texas as possible to get the ratio down.

His strategy is that we aren't as densely populated as NYC.

Ziltoidia 9 · May 18, 2020

Superman00 said:
I know, that's what I'm getting at. Since the testing has increase quite a bit, but the rate of infection has slowed down. So the positive percentage is going down. However, the amount of new case per 2 week period is still increasing from the previous week. Using only % of positive tests by itself is not a good measure for reopening.

Ditto. Basically, it's so destrimental to getting rid of it before fall/winter, because it basically gives COVID a life line to last through the summer.

Zoe · May 18, 2020

dep9000 said:
Do restaurants not need to abide by guidelines for reopening? That past weekend I drove by a restaurant with outside seating and every table was full and they were not six feet apart.

They're supposed to be spaced out. Austin says to call 311 to report violations, but... 🤷‍♀️

dep9000 · May 18, 2020

Zoe said:
They're supposed to be spaced out. Austin says to call 311 to report violations, but... 🤷‍♀️

Oh. I'm in Dallas area. I will look into it if there is a way to report. Still, valid point with what they would do with that report. Maybe nothing

Zoe · May 18, 2020

dep9000 said:
Oh. I'm in Dallas area. I will look into it if there is a way to report. Still, valid point with what they would do with that report. Maybe nothing

Yeah... https://www.kut.org/post/austinites...-stay-home-violations-two-tickets-were-issued

Lathentar · May 18, 2020

Feep said:
I think the general consensus is that the actual mortality rate is closer to 2 or 2.5%, considering the number of unreported/asymptomatic cases that aren't in the numbers. But still, either way. Absurd.

The numbers I'm seeing from a quick google search are between 1.5 and as low as 0.2%. Still significantly higher than the seasonal flu.

Jadentheman · May 18, 2020

compbros said:
Michigan stopped caring a long time ago and are proudly reporting "only 11 deaths on Sunday" as we head towards a soft re-opening of the state. People only wear masks when explicitly told to, people coughing on purpose because of disagreements with the bus driver, shit is beyond fucked here.

The mask thing is the biggest thing for me. I just don't understand how they want their cake and to eat it too. Re-open ok but you gotta wear mask.."but we don't want to wear masks". Ok I'll cater to you...what?!

captive · May 18, 2020

ody · May 18, 2020

captive said:

idiots

zombiejames · May 18, 2020

captive said:

"This event comes at a time where beaches across the state are re-opening following the coronavirus pandemic."

Oh, the pandemic is over? What's everyone worried about then ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

onadesertedisland · May 18, 2020

captive said:

What's missing from that clip is all of the racist flags flowing from the backs of the jeeps and off road vehicles. Straight up open racism on the beach Bolivar.

DeliciousSunnyD! · May 18, 2020

I happened to move to Texas right before the pandemic really spiraled out of control. Seeing this state be like this is infuriating, but I didn't come from a better one. I had a lot of optimism prior to moving here, but all that's happened has sapped that optimism right out of me, it sucks. :(

What I want to really know is, just how feasible is it to turn TX from Red to Blue? And if it's possible, how long do people think this process might take? I know I'm going to do my part.

It seems like there's a high concentration of terrible, stupid, selfish people here just judging from my initial limited exposure so far. I know there's tons of good people here too, but man, the high level TX government officials seem absolutely ghoulish.

Texas coronavirus discussion - wear your face masks, y'all

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