Category: Infectious Diseases

Covid-19 Buzz Cut – Done – 05.31.20

On By SupremeCmdrIn COVID-19, Diversions, Humor, Infectious Diseases, Memoir7 Comments

Getting WAY longer.  Note the Andy Rooney eyebrows.  The time had come to go back to my barber.

img_2008

Meanwhile in Oklahoma…we’re reopening but nearly nothing appears to be pre-Covid.  The outside world feels different from all of the behavioral changes.

SITUATION UPDATE: COVID-19

Screenshot_2020-05-31 COVID-19 Oklahoma State Department of Health

One of the changes at the barbershop was opening on Sunday mornings for cleaning and taking a few customers for haircuts by appointment only.  Business at the shop has been slow which tells me the customers here are still pretty much staying at home and sheltering in place.  They may have discovered the joys of cutting your own hair.  Or maybe money is tight, less frequent trips.  Or worse…

But for me this visit was about trust.  Trust in a man who has cut my hair for nearly fifteen years.  This is a man who would not put himself, his customers nor his business at risk.

Thanks Kevin.  I’ll see you again in a couple of weeks.

img_2009

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Half of newly diagnosed coronavirus cases in Washington are in people under 40

On By SupremeCmdrIn COVID-19, Infectious Diseases, Survival strategiesLeave a comment

Half of newly diagnosed coronavirus cases in Washington are in people under 40

cv-age-group-cases-W

Oops.

This shit is real and it is scary. COVID is taking patients down, and we do not know how to stop it. The images of overflowing EDs, overworked providers, patients who cannot breathe—these are real and it is happening. Do not let anyone tell you its not.

Rebecca Karb MD

This shit is real.  Don’t ever forget that.

More Drugs Please

On By SupremeCmdrIn addiction, COVID-19, Drugs, Infectious Diseases, Mental Health, Survival strategies1 Comment

 

According to Ginger, an organization that provides mental health services to companies, compared to January and February of this year, prescriptions for psychotropics, most of which were antidepressants, were up 86% for the months of March and April.

The stress of unemployment, social isolation and health concerns are all cited by Americans who say the lock down is having a serious impact on their mental health.

Pharmacy group Express Scripts also revealed that prescriptions for anti-anxiety medications were up 34.1% between mid-February and mid-March, while prescriptions for antidepressants increased 18.6%.

Link to the source article.

Wow.

House Hunters International (Pandemic Version) – Mexico

On By SupremeCmdrIn COVID-19, Infectious Diseases, International Risk, Survival strategies, Travel Risk3 Comments

Citation: California Border Hospitals Hit by Surge in COVID-19 Cases From Mexico – Medscape – May 20, 2020.

Here’s the link:

California Border Hospitals Hit by Surge in COVID-19 Cases From Mexico

Here’s an excerpt:

Imperial County has registered fewer than 800 known coronavirus infections and just 15 deaths to date. Baja California, by comparison, has reported 3,458 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 134 deaths.  Two main medical centers in Baja’s state capital – Mexicali Hospital General and IMSS Regional Hospital 30 – are both “saturated” by the outbreak, Mario Cervantes, head of relief services for the Red Cross of Mexicali, told Reuters.  Some arriving ambulances have had to wait hours to deliver new patients, while others were turned away altogether, he said.  Baja health department officials said neither Mexicali hospital had exhausted its bed space, but Dr. Rafael Abril, president of the Mexicali College of Surgeons, told local news in April that half the IMSS hospital’s doctors were infected with COVID-19, which could lead to staffing shortages.

Coronavirus: Hamster Research shows Effectiveness of Masks

On By SupremeCmdrIn COVID-19, Infectious Diseases, Survival strategiesLeave a comment

Coronavirus: hamster research shows effectiveness of masks ‘huge’

Hamsters placed in adjoining cages with infected subjects were infected at a 66.7 per cent rate; the introduction of a barrier saw the percentage drop to 16.7%.

The study, which the team called the first of its kind, found the rate of non-contact transmission – in which the virus was transmitted via respiratory droplets or airborne particles – dropped by as much as 75 per cent when masks were present.

“I know wearing masks will be difficult during the summer time. My advice is especially when you are in an indoor or closed environment where there’s no free air exchange, in crowded places or on public transport, you must wear a mask.”

img_1976