Diamond Princess mysteries
Well worth reading.
Continue reading →Category Archives: Health
Then and now: COVID-19, H2N2, worst cases, and the economy
Here are some estimates for the toll COVID-19 is likely to take in the US. Make of them what you will: One model from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) suggested that between 160 million and 210 million … Continue reading →
COVID-19: explaining South Korea, explaining the US
Here’s an article purporting to explain why South Korea is doing relatively well against COVID-19: Behind its success so far has been the most expansive and well-organized testing program in the world, combined with extensive efforts to isolate infected people … Continue reading →
So here’s my question for all you epidemiologists and infectious disease experts out there –
Wouldn’t it be better to have only high-risk people stay home? People over 60 and those with pre-existing conditions? That way, if all those at low risk kept mingling, a lot of them would get a mild flu and herd … Continue reading →
Greater San Francisco shelters in place
Till April 7. At least. Going out without reason is a misdemeanor, although it is allowed for grocery shopping, taking walks (as long as you stay 6 feet away from other people), and a host of other purposes, and many … Continue reading →
The point of all those draconian rules: mitigation
The key to what’s going on now is containment and plus mitigation. To understand, here’s Dr. Fauci – the infectious disease expert on the task force to deal with COVID-19 – talking about the goals of containment plus mitigation, as … Continue reading →
Gone are the days: assuming the risk
People used to take things in stride. I realize that by saying that, I sound like an old curmudgeon. But maybe I now understand better why old curmudgeons sound like old curmudgeons. I grew up, as the somewhat-older author of … Continue reading →
Critical care beds: this may be part of what’s wrong in Italy
The number of critical care beds may be – critical. A while back, while I was trying to figure out why the situation in Italy has gotten so bad, one thing I came across was the idea that Italy doesn’t … Continue reading →
On the meaning of “pandemic”
Now that WHO has declared COVID-19 a pandemic, it’s time for a definition. The word “pandemic” can describe extreme situations like that in 1918, or milder situations that we barely remember, with far fewer deaths. If you look at the … Continue reading →
The stock market continues down
I’m not even going to include a link, because you know it’s happening, and you’re probably following it yourself. Some people are seeing this as a buying opportunity. I’m staying put, though – implementing a little social distancing from the … Continue reading →
The question of asymptomatic spread of COVID-19, as well as its reproduction number
I keep seeing and hearing references to the supposed fact that COVID-19 is known to be spread by asymptomatic people infected with the virus, in addition of course to symptomatic people. It was one of the first things I heard … Continue reading →
Trump addresses the nation on coronavirus
Here’s the speech. I can’t find a good full text from which to cut-and-paste excerpts (that C-SPAN link doesn’t allow cut-and-paste), but he has banned travel from Europe (except the UK) for the 30 days starting Friday. He also is … Continue reading →