Coronavirus discussion thread

136 watchers

EvilPixie Jul 2021 11:00am, 28 Jul 2021 26,843 posts	0 EvilPixie The Olympic host city Tokyo has today recorded its largest number of new Covid infections in a single day since the pandemic began. On Wednesday more than 3,177 new cases were confirmed, while across Japan more than 8,000 new infections were reported – also the highest one-day total ever. Health experts say the situation in the Tokyo is grim and daily infections are expected to continue rising. The new infection record also suggests Tokyo’s state of emergency is not really working. Six new deaths were reported on Wednesday, which is still low, but hospitalisations are increasing fast, and deaths generally lag infections by several weeks. The only good news is that that Covid infections remain very low among those taking part in the Olympics. There were 16 new cases confirmed inside the Olympic bubble on Wednesday – but they are all among local support staff, not athletes.
sallykate Jul 2021 11:11am, 28 Jul 2021 8,119 posts	0 sallykate I've just been "pinged by the app" and am totally confused as to why. It's asking me to self-isolate for ten days, which would imply that I was potentially exposed today or yesterday. But I haven't been within 2m of anyone for 2 mins, let alone 15, in that time. Two very brief trips to the shop, no loitering, just in, pick up two things, pay at self-checkout and out again. The latest real risk of exposure would have been public transport on the way back from Endure24 on Sunday.
Tim of Fife Jul 2021 11:22am, 28 Jul 2021 3,485 posts	0 Tim of Fife The main reason I've not signed up to the app is the lack of transparency. If it gave a precise time for the 'contact', I could make an informed decision - eg I was in a cafe sitting right opposite someone for two hours or I was in a cafe and the nearest other customer was ten metres away. But without this detail, asking me to imprison myself for ten days is untenable. Hey, the close content could have been the other side of a brick wall.
sallykate Jul 2021 11:33am, 28 Jul 2021 8,120 posts	0 sallykate It asks you to self-isolate for ten days from the contact. So if you're asked to self-isolate for seven days you know the contact was three days before. It's entirely feasible that I was in close contact on Sunday with someone who later tested positive. If it asked me to S-I for seven days that would make a lot more sense to me. Ten days makes no sense to me as I've definitely NOT been in close contact with anyone* in the last three days. So if I wanted to make an informed decision on that basis I'd conclude that it's being over-sensitive and ignore it. *except my husband - who refused to download the app and hasn't reported a positive test so it's definitely not him!
ThorntonRunner Jul 2021 11:35am, 28 Jul 2021 5,146 posts	0 ThorntonRunner I'm reasonably optimistic on the fall in cases - Assuming the fall is genuine, I wouldn't expect to see hospitalisations level and start to fall until next week, and the reporting of that could be a few days later. Note that in Scotland, they saw a drop in cases earlier than we did (potentially due to schools closing for summer earlier, and Scotland being knocked out of Euro 2000 earlier) and they are now seeing falls in hospitalisation. The curve for cases shows a much steeper fall than the more gradual reduction in tests, so I can't see that the fall in cases can be (wholly) put down to a fall in testing.
sallykate Jul 2021 11:37am, 28 Jul 2021 8,121 posts	0 sallykate Absolutely TR, yesterday's figs had a 30% dec in cases against a 10% dec in tests (both seven day averages) I think. Quite a discrepancy.
sallykate Jul 2021 12:11pm, 28 Jul 2021 8,122 posts	0 sallykate Mystery solved: my upstairs neighbour reported a positive PCR test. I suppose we are strictly speaking within two metres of each other, but as the virus can't travel through floors and ceilings I think I'm safe to ignore the advice.
ChrisHB Jul 2021 1:30pm, 28 Jul 2021 21,095 posts	0 ChrisHB That is a ridiculous situation for the app to alert anyone, SK. Glad it's clarified itself.
Ocelot Spleens Jul 2021 1:59pm, 28 Jul 2021 31,511 posts	0 Ocelot Spleens It is not ridiculous it is how radio waves work, which is why you have to sit and work out your contacts,
um Jul 2021 2:02pm, 28 Jul 2021 4,973 posts	0 um Good to know there's a logic to the ping.