Coronavirus prep

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Replies

  • Diatonic12
    Diatonic12 Posts: 32,344 Member
    @paperpudding The test was $250.00, the same price it was months ago. We don't have any free tests.
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 9,278 Member
    Diatonic12 wrote: »
    @paperpudding The test was $250.00, the same price it was months ago. We don't have any free tests.

    Could you clarify where you are please - as this seems to be varying within states of US ?? - if I have understood posters replies correctly

    Doesnt take a genius to figure you are going to be under reporting of true state of affairs (and therefore not reducing spread) if individuals have to pay $250 to get tested

    I know all countries systems are different - but I just find that situation so hard to get my head around. :o

    Here, anyone with insisest symptom or remotest contact history can get tested, you just get a referral from your doctor.

    The doctors surgery I work at - patient would get a phone consult with Dr the same day as anyone with any undiagnosed cold/flu symptoms not allowed on the premises (doesnt have to be their regular doctor any of the practice doctors can organise it), the form gets faxed to the drive thru Covid testing clinic at the local hospital, the patient drives or gets taken there, swab gets done, patient self isolates till next day, rings Dr, results are back.

    Cost to patient_ Nil.

    Location_ regional South Australia.

  • Noreenmarie1234
    Noreenmarie1234 Posts: 7,492 Member
    Diatonic12 wrote: »
    @paperpudding The test was $250.00, the same price it was months ago. We don't have any free tests.

    Cant you get free testing through telehealth?
  • autumnblade75
    autumnblade75 Posts: 1,661 Member
    Noreenmarie1234 wrote: »
    Diatonic12 wrote: »
    @paperpudding The test was $250.00, the same price it was months ago. We don't have any free tests.

    Cant you get free testing through telehealth?

    Probably not. I had a list of symptoms in April and I called. No fever or cough. When they concluded they didn't think it was Coronavirus they weren't interested in what was wrong with me, at all. They hung up on me.

    They diagnosed it as "Adjustment Insomnia." Yes, I was having trouble sleeping, but I couldn't confirm that sleep difficulty was connected to the other symptoms, since I do experience patches of difficulty sleeping. That one was not as bad as some others have been. I said so. I don't think she was listening any more by then.

    I was also pretty dehydrated, but since I was having trouble thinking (my main concern, actually) it kept slipping my mind to drink more water once I got home. I wasn't drinking much water at work because I was trying to do masks correctly. I was still under the impression that if you couldn't wash your hands before and after touching the mask (to get the water into the mouth!) that you should just keep the damn mask on at all times. AT ALL TIMES!!! I also had joint and muscle pains that did, at least, decrease once I got the hydration back up. I don't still have the list, but when I put all the symptoms into WebMD, the most likely diagnosis from them was Covid. When I told the Teledoc, she mocked me for trying to self-diagnose. But it's not like she actually helped, so whatever.

    My insurance is excellent. It doesn't improve my health care.
  • Diatonic12
    Diatonic12 Posts: 32,344 Member
    I can’t give out my gps coordinates. Six degrees of separation is more like one degree here.🌎 There is no help for anyone with co19. You will have to drive yourself to a neighboring state if you need to be admitted in for emergency care.
  • Diatonic12
    Diatonic12 Posts: 32,344 Member
    We don’t have any room at the ‘inn’ or the adequate ventilation system to protect other patients. You are on your own or you will travel 3 hours one way to the hospital. I can only imagine that their locals are weary with us for taking up space in their hospital.
  • jenilla1
    jenilla1 Posts: 11,118 Member
    Diatonic12 wrote: »
    I can’t give out my gps coordinates. Six degrees of separation is more like one degree here.🌎 There is no help for anyone with co19. You will have to drive yourself to a neighboring state if you need to be admitted in for emergency care.

    Sounds like Wyoming...🐎
  • Diatonic12
    Diatonic12 Posts: 32,344 Member
    It's akin to asking someone to show their face. Some do and some don't or can't. ;)
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    Diatonic12 wrote: »
    @paperpudding The test was $250.00, the same price it was months ago. We don't have any free tests.

    That is against federal law.
  • moonangel12
    moonangel12 Posts: 971 Member
    baconslave wrote: »
    moonangel12 wrote: »
    Argh... why does a local church think it’s a good idea to let Upward Football go on this fall? I was really hoping it was going to be flat out canceled... it’s my oldest’s last year to play before he ages out, and normally we are super involved - my husband coaches multiple teams, refs the games he’s not coaching, I would help where needed. We already said it’s a hard NO for b-ball if they choose to have it (last year was awful for sickness with the kids, including possibly an early round with COVID... we were getting over it around the time it was entering the US’s radar... or at least making it’s way into the news). We’re not going to lie to the kids, and I think they will somewhat understand not playing, but my oldest is going to not be happy. I told my husband we’re looking at a year or two of decisions like this.

    We were faced with a similar decision for Spring soccer. It was the last season my oldest son could play before he aged out. If they hadn't canceled it, we would have had to retract our sign-up and not played. I had to tell them they won't be playing soccer for a long time. All my kids had played soccer since they were 4. I'm really sad for them. The younger 2 will lose so many skills they may never end up playing again. It will be next summer minimum before we probably even think about playing again anyway. :disappointed:
    This stinks bad enough as an adult, but I can’t imagine being a kid with all this mess going on (or my poor grandmother with dementia). My crew is handling it well, but there has been some disappointment along the way (this was going to be the summer for family travel and a birthday adventure year - experiences and day drive destinations instead of gifts... MLB game, trampoline park, caverns, family trip to Maine or FL, travel in general while we can).

  • moonangel12
    moonangel12 Posts: 971 Member
    edited July 2020
    rheddmobile wrote: »
    lynn_glenmont wrote: »
    paperpudding wrote: »
    Ok, so disincentives to testing, like cost or difficulty getting there or not meeting 'sick enough' criteria is going to lead to under reporting and obviously to more spread. :/

    There are also such long waits for results in many cases that testing is useless for identifying presymptomatic cases and preventing spread (unless people are quarantining while waiting for results, and you could achieve the same results with a mandatory lockdown -- or even a partial lockdown by lottery -- without testing, and without being any more arbitrary).

    I feel like the only thing large-scale testing is good for in areas that don't have the infrastructure to process results quickly is to collect public health data that can be used to inform decisions about closing or opening businesses, schools, etc., mandating masks, etc.

    We have this going on in the Memphis area. Results taking up to 20 days to come back. Last I saw, positivity rate was nearly 20%. The labs have complained that they are not receiving shipments of needed supplies such as pipettes and can’t do tests without supplies. For that reason the health department has asked people not to test unless they are symptomatic or have a known exposure longer than 15 minutes. Previously we were testing anyone.

    It’s clearly not possible to contact trace when test results take weeks.

    Meanwhile, I got an email from race roster this morning saying that they will be starting actual, non-virtual races in August, in compliance with the loosening of rules for large gatherings. So that’s lunacy. They are making a good faith effort to social distance - sign up and sign in are online, you must remain in your vehicle until 15 minutes before the race, temperature check in to be allowed to enter, starting line is marked with 6 foot distance, no medals or shirts given at the race, you have to get immediately back into your car and leave when finished. Masks to be worn at all times, except while racing - they hand you one as you drive in, there will be a trash can to toss it in as you start, and they will hand you another at the finish, along with a bottle of water and a snack. And you should “try to remain six feet from other runners IN ALL DIRECTIONS” while racing, whatever that is supposed to mean at Shelby Farms where the paths are max six feet wide. It sounds to me like an excellent way to have zero percent of the fun of an actual race and a zillion times the risk profile of a virtual race, since you will be trotting along for half an hour with a group of unmasked, heavily breathing runners, and temp check is a joke since some studies have found most transmission happens before fever. If they can hand you a mask, isn’t that the exact same action as handing you a medal or a t-shirt? Or don’t masks and snacks carry cooties, only medals and shirts? How are you supposed to call it a race if you can’t pass anyone? What’s the point of a face to face race when you aren’t allowed to socialize before or after?
    I was listening to a podcast for our local running store, owned by a medical doctor at the local hospital, and it was interesting to hear his thoughts on everything going on. As of now the October race that he directs is still on. He said there will be limited numbers and timing chips so that they can start in small batches. Instead of shirts they are doing buffs and people will have to wear them at the start. No aid stations to grab cups from, half and full marathon runners need to bring their own bottles and a volunteer will be manning the water stations to fill them (runner holds the bottle, volunteer touches the dispenser). The routes are on paved roads (5k/10k), national parks, and battlefields so I assume there will be ample spacing? I still am skeptical it will happen.
  • Diatonic12
    Diatonic12 Posts: 32,344 Member
    edited July 2020
    @cwolfman13 There's no tellin' where the money went. The money for testing proly went for road and bridge construction. B)

    The money was so fine it was simply irresistible. :p
  • baconslave
    baconslave Posts: 7,018 Member
    T1DCarnivoreRunner wrote: »
    baconslave wrote: »
    Ran into this story yesterday. https://www.newser.com/story/294058/hospital-must-turn-away-sickest-covid-patients.html

    "The lone hospital in one Texas county is so swamped with coronavirus patients that it will start sending home patients who are deemed to be the most likely to die..."

    This is what I'm afraid is going to happen here in Northeast TN if people don't stop with the mask-rebellion. It may already be too late. We're at over 80% capacity. There are over 2,000 tests backlogged in the state, per the TN Dept of Health, which means they can't contact trace those folk, I don't think. (Correct me if I'm wrong.) Plus, Bristol had that race, which means all 20k-30k people came in and went to all the restaurants and stores before Walmart and others made the "no mask, no service." I expect we'll see the results of that soon. Will they send folk to other regions or do what the hospital in the article may decide to do?

    Not encouraging.

    This can happen here (NW Tennessee) too. My county has a mask mandate now. It applies to businesses inside and outside when within 6 feet of others. So far today, with Sat. errands:

    Grocery store gas station (entirely outside) - Nobody wore a mask. I only was just outside my car and mostly was more than 6 feet or had a fuel pump between me and others until the employee came over to change the receipt paper roll while I was still standing there.

    Car dealership for oil change/tire rotation: signs on door about mask requirement. This is required of businesses in accordance with the ordinance. Employees and customers mostly wearing masks, exception was 1 employee (but outside) and a couple of customers.

    Gas station / convenience store - went in for drinks. No signs at door as required. I was the only person with a mask - even the employee didn't have a mask.

    Laundromat - No signs at door as required. Employee / manager is here, but not wearing a mask. One other customer was wearing a mask besides me, she had out if state plates (TX, so not a nearby state). I live near the borders with MO, AR, and KY, but assume she is actually traveling. So... around a dozen people not wearing masks.

    Clearly this mask ordinance is being ignored and basically considered a joke.

    Yep. Classic rural TN, sadly. Hubby said Kroger was 100% masks though, even though many weren't wearing them right (peekaboo nose syndrome.) I know Walmart and the other "no mask no service" businesses are the only ones in which people are wearing masks. They otherwise don't care about the "mandate." I didn't ask if Little Caesar's did though. It's been mixed in the past. Some locations do and some don't. That's the take-out hubby chose as it was the most "no-contact." Sometimes we do Burger King but they always have no employees or customers wearing masks so he opted for the lowest exposure. Domino's has always had masked employees since March.

    Good luck over there.
  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,885 Member
    lokihen wrote: »
    lemurcat2 wrote: »
    paperpudding wrote: »
    Ok, so disincentives to testing, like cost or difficulty getting there or not meeting 'sick enough' criteria is going to lead to under reporting and obviously to more spread. :/

    Just to be clear, this varies a lot by state. Here anyone who wants can get tested, and it's free and there are tons of locations. We are currently testing around 40K per day.

    Do you know how long results are taking? Here it's two to over seven days depending on if the tests are sent out of state.

    Depends on the site. Some are overnight and some are a week, probably for the same reason as yours. I think you can check the stats for the site and it may depend on area of the state too (my area has had the most coronavirus, but we also probably have much more convenient and quicker testing).
  • missysippy930
    missysippy930 Posts: 2,577 Member
    moonangel12 wrote: »
    rheddmobile wrote: »
    lynn_glenmont wrote: »
    paperpudding wrote: »
    Ok, so disincentives to testing, like cost or difficulty getting there or not meeting 'sick enough' criteria is going to lead to under reporting and obviously to more spread. :/

    There are also such long waits for results in many cases that testing is useless for identifying presymptomatic cases and preventing spread (unless people are quarantining while waiting for results, and you could achieve the same results with a mandatory lockdown -- or even a partial lockdown by lottery -- without testing, and without being any more arbitrary).

    I feel like the only thing large-scale testing is good for in areas that don't have the infrastructure to process results quickly is to collect public health data that can be used to inform decisions about closing or opening businesses, schools, etc., mandating masks, etc.

    We have this going on in the Memphis area. Results taking up to 20 days to come back. Last I saw, positivity rate was nearly 20%. The labs have complained that they are not receiving shipments of needed supplies such as pipettes and can’t do tests without supplies. For that reason the health department has asked people not to test unless they are symptomatic or have a known exposure longer than 15 minutes. Previously we were testing anyone.

    It’s clearly not possible to contact trace when test results take weeks.

    Meanwhile, I got an email from race roster this morning saying that they will be starting actual, non-virtual races in August, in compliance with the loosening of rules for large gatherings. So that’s lunacy. They are making a good faith effort to social distance - sign up and sign in are online, you must remain in your vehicle until 15 minutes before the race, temperature check in to be allowed to enter, starting line is marked with 6 foot distance, no medals or shirts given at the race, you have to get immediately back into your car and leave when finished. Masks to be worn at all times, except while racing - they hand you one as you drive in, there will be a trash can to toss it in as you start, and they will hand you another at the finish, along with a bottle of water and a snack. And you should “try to remain six feet from other runners IN ALL DIRECTIONS” while racing, whatever that is supposed to mean at Shelby Farms where the paths are max six feet wide. It sounds to me like an excellent way to have zero percent of the fun of an actual race and a zillion times the risk profile of a virtual race, since you will be trotting along for half an hour with a group of unmasked, heavily breathing runners, and temp check is a joke since some studies have found most transmission happens before fever. If they can hand you a mask, isn’t that the exact same action as handing you a medal or a t-shirt? Or don’t masks and snacks carry cooties, only medals and shirts? How are you supposed to call it a race if you can’t pass anyone? What’s the point of a face to face race when you aren’t allowed to socialize before or after?
    I was listening to a podcast for our local running store, owned by a medical doctor at the local hospital, and it was interesting to hear his thoughts on everything going on. As of now the October race that he directs is still on. He said there will be limited numbers and timing chips so that they can start in small batches. Instead of shirts they are doing buffs and people will have to wear them at the start. No aid stations to grab cups from, half and full marathon runners need to bring their own bottles and a volunteer will be manning the water stations to fill them (runner holds the bottle, volunteer touches the dispenser). The routes are on paved roads (5k/10k), national parks, and battlefields so I assume there will be ample spacing? I still am skeptical it will happen.

    Skepticism is warranted. Every race, from 5k’s to marathons have been cancelled since March, or have gone virtual, here (MN). Every major marathon scheduled in the US, has been cancelled, for the summer/fall. Experts have deemed them as impossible to continue safely, and rightly so. How do they intend to keep runners social distancing? Who’s going to police the runners, and what are the consequences for getting in someone else’s space. Is the risk worth it?
  • Diatonic12
    Diatonic12 Posts: 32,344 Member
    COVID-19 false negative test results if used too early
    Date:
    June 10, 2020
    Source:
    Johns Hopkins Medicine
    Summary:
    Researchers found that testing people for SARS-CoV-2 -- the virus that causes COVID-19 -- too early in the course of infection is likely to result in a false negative test, even though they may eventually test positive for the virus.


    https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/06/200610094112.htm

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