Coronavirus: Lots of stories
The weather is turning warmish Wednesday and will stay warmer for days. I have a feeling it’s going to be a bit tricky keeping people locked down as spring comes.
People have officially caught COVID-19 from community transmission, which probably means there are a lot more that haven’t yet been tested. Hundreds are being turned away from the clinics who don’t meet the criteria for getting tested, which are listed in this item.
A homeless man was tested earlier this week then allowed to “go home” to wait, which for him meant walking around town since he had no home to go to. When the test came back positive, police had to look for him, and they did manage to find him – in a line outside the Old Brewery Mission – and bring him to hospital.
Five old people in a north-end CHSLD have tested positive for the virus.
People with Opus à l’année will be reimbursed for April.
Retailers are despairing at keeping their businesses viable over this obligatory closure. Radio‑Canada talked to florists, a trade considered nonessential, who have been throwing out the flowers they can no longer sell.
The Queen Elizabeth Hotel has lit up some rooms to make a heart over René-Lévesque. Speaking of royalty, Prince Charles has the rona.
walkerp 11:28 on 2020-03-25 Permalink
Yes, very concerned about the warm weather, how we are going to be able to maintain our discipline when spring arrives.
Raymond Lutz 11:38 on 2020-03-25 Permalink
Warm weather? This could be a good thing… As I wrote here P. Beckwith is the shit:
“I discuss a new scientific paper that examines the present coronavirus spread and shows correlations of the hardest hit regions to temperature and humidity changes with latitude. This is only one paper, but it seems to indicate that the hardest hit regions are within an average temperature band from 5C to 11C, with low specific humidity (3-6 g/kg) and absolute humidity (4-7 g/cm3). If this is confirmed in subsequent scientific studies then it could indicate that Covid-19 is a seasonal respiratory virus. Promising (since it would slow down in summer); but too early to tell for sure at the moment.”
Raymond Lutz 12:12 on 2020-03-25 Permalink
As P. Beckwith is explaining here, covid-19 is presumably transmitted via WATER droplets and when the air is more humid, the droplets grow rapidly bigger and drop to the ground before being inhaled be someone else (not directly related to temperature, though).
Respiratory infectious diseases spread are mostly determined by aerosol dynamics (air flow dynamic, evaporation VS condensation, gravity fall, etc..). Google “Wells 1934 droplets”
Faiz imam 12:24 on 2020-03-25 Permalink
the flower shops reminded me of something. Anyone know how pet shops are doing?
I don’t know how long they are able to stay open, and it makes me worry about the health of their stock.
Places selling cat and dog food are one thing, but aquarium shops? how long can they feed and maintain their stock before they got to let them die?
I don’t know the answer, but it worries me
Tee Owe 12:51 on 2020-03-25 Permalink
@raymond Lutz – explain this to folk in Australia and NZ where it’s 30 degrees plus summers and people are ill with and dying from coronavirus
dwgs 13:19 on 2020-03-25 Permalink
Also, doesn’t it make sense that transmission rates are higher in cooler climates because people are indoors more so they are in closer proximity and spending time in spaces where the air is recycled?
JaneyB 13:39 on 2020-03-25 Permalink
Tiny good note: QC has more than doubled the cumulative number of people tested in the last couple of days eg: from 12k total by March 23 to 28k as of today. Yes, I have been keeping a spreadsheet. Still positive rates are double the Cdn average – either we’re catching them early with better contract tracking or there are simply more people infected.
Side info: a sudden total loss of smell and taste even with no other symptoms is looking more and more like a marker of covid-19, especially in the young. Worth watching for since we’ve mostly heard about fever.
Kevin 14:40 on 2020-03-25 Permalink
@Faiz imam
Most pet stores moved their animals to outside locations about 2 weeks ago, and if they’re stuck in a mall, owners are allowed to go feed the fish.
@Raymond Lutz
I’m sorry to say that the common cold is a form of coronavirus, and they still propagate in the summer.
@Kate
It’s only fitting that Charles got the Crown virus.
Raymond Lutz 14:49 on 2020-03-25 Permalink
Geez, is this Boingboing forum? It’s not ONLY temperature… listen to the video I linked to and readTemperature, Humidity and Latitude Analysis to Predict Potential Spread and Seasonality for COVID-19“. |The authors distinguish between community spread and “extensive population interaction through travel” (like Australia?)
qatzelok 17:00 on 2020-03-25 Permalink
Thanks for the useful links, Raymond Lutz. Also, it’s worth looking into Farr’s Law and the founder of the use of medical statistics for predicting epidemics.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Farr
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2468042718300101