Monday, July 06, 2020

Even In Tulsa, Functioning Government Agencies Matter.



They'reFromTheGovernmentAndThey'reHere
ToHelpVille


Recently, the Tulsa Health Department (THD) laid out the bad news for its citizens:


With the uptick in positive cases, THD has noticed these trends:

  • For the week of June 14 to June 20, new cases were increased by 92%
  • The 18 – 35 age group, representing over 40% of all new cases, had a nearly 90% increase in new cases last week
  • The age group of 36 – 49 is the second largest group to have new cases, with 28% of new cases.
  • Hospitalizations for the age group of 18 – 35 saw a 133% increase over the previous week, and that group represents 25% of all hospitalizations...

However, because of the work it had done on contact tracing, it had specifics regarding sites of viral transmission for its citizenry, not to mention all of us, that matter:

...During our contact tracing of positive cases, there are locations routinely coming up as places where clusters of exposure have taken place.

Our epidemiologists have identified transmissions that have occurred at faith-based activities, funerals, house gatherings and other small events.

Our public health colleagues in Oklahoma City have dubbed these and other locations as the “Serious Seven.” Locations where disease transmission is likely to occur, because they involve larger numbers people in close contact.

These Serious Seven: weddings, funerals, faith-based activities, bars, gyms, house gatherings and other small events.

This doesn’t mean every one of these locations aren’t taking the right public health measures, it’s just locations that have been identified as places where risk of spread is higher due to close contact settings.

We are not seeing a large amount of positive cases from grocery stores likely due to social distancing measures in place. It is still important to wear a mask when entering a store or other retail environment...



Enough said?


________
Tip O' The Toque to Mike The Mad Biologist.
What's that subheader all about Alfie?....This.


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7 comments:

Lew said...

“Under the 2015 Presidential Transitions Improvement Act, which amended the 1963 Presidential Transition Act, the president must establish a White House coordinating committee and council of agency transition directors six months prior to a presidential election to facilitate an efficient transfer of power.”

“By September 15, each agency head must have a succession plan for each senior, non-career position in the agency.”

https://www.govexec.com/management/2020/04/white-house-directs-agencies-plan-presidential-transition/164988/

So the rag-tag collection of unqualified acolytes appointed by Cheetolini to run the agencies of the U.S. government is going to put together a coherent explanation of what they’ve been up to and their visions for the future of their agency?

Colour me sceptical.

Danneau said...

I read Michael Lewis' little screed about the Obama-Trump transition, and one would think the Trumpian Team will be as slipshod as they (hopefully) attempt not to get hit by the door on the way out as they were about reading and heeding the dossiers presented to them one the way in. I suspect that some agencies might still be waiting to make contact if they hadn't been shut down.

RossK said...

Lew and Danneau--

It really does appear that the American federal government is no longer functional.

Given this, if a vaccine was somehow miraculously available by Labour Day, would they even be able to roll it out by November's election day?


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Keith said...

Ross,

in your response to Lew and Danneau;

"Given this, if a vaccine was somehow miraculously available by Labour Day, would they even be able to roll it out by November's election day?"

I'm not betting against a vaccine making a miraculous appearance in the nick of time, but given the trumpian track record, would you, or anyone in their right mind trust it.?

RossK said...

Point taken Keith.

Depends who develops it and, most importantly, the quality of the trials.

So far I'm not concerned on that front based on the commentary of a guy who's demonstrated his bonafides to me on numerous occasions.

To wit.



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Scotty on Denman said...

“To wit...”

Well, yes, the issue of trust plagues us. The irony is that it seems the more we in BC benefit from complying (trusting, by and large) with the basics (not vaccines or remedies), the more we see naysayers suggest that, “therefore,” these protocols aren’t necessary because there’s so little CV19 around. It’s a leap, I know, but it’s happening, nonetheless.

The MoCo disappointingly plays into these questionable questionings of protocols by, for example only yesterday, broadcasting a list of reasons listeners do not like to wear a mask when one should be worn—including that children need to see facial expressions of others to develop empathy, that hearing-impaired can’t read lips as they’ve been trained, or feeling uncomfortable because they feel they can’t breathe with a mask on—and then not explain that outdoors, in most situations, personal distancing is easy and safe to do without wearing a mask which should otherwise be worn only when indoors with people whom one does not share a quarantine bubble, and that one is free to simply not attend indoor gatherings if it’s a concern (for example, that within one’s bubble is someone who is at high risk of dying if he or she gets infected with CV19) and, perhaps most of all, that the inconvenience of which mask wearing (appears to me) the least onerous of CV19 protocols.

One cannot trust somebody who does not trust enough, as the old Buddhist saw says. We seem to be containing the pernicious sources of doubt about the effectiveness of protocols —despite the clear demonstration that they work here in BC—and the pathetically ridiculous notion that the CV19 is more conspiracy than epidemic, that it either might not exists or, if it does, it’s no big deal—except for those alleged to be cooking up a huge windfall of vaccine profits courtesy our supposed sheepleness. Or even lemmingness.

As US CV19 guru (for now, at least) glumly pointed out: it’s one thing to develop a vaccine (which he believes will happen eventually—after proper trials for safety’s sake), but another to expect everyone—the magic, allegedly “freedom-busting” ingredient—to comply in getting vaccinated, an old conspiracy theory that hops from left to right to new-wave and anywhere else trust has eroded to such an extent.

Today I read somewhere about a patron of a Vancouver yoga studio which has opened under this protocol-relaxation phase who was told she couldn’t wear a mask inside the studio because, after redundantly trying to excuse herself because of medical concerns particular to her, it might frighten the other, presumably unmasked patrons (that is, presumably told the same thing, not to wear a mask despite being indoors and possibly at epidemiological close quarters). Anyway, she alerted authorities —and news media— and, last I heard, the studio had no comment for (or about) public consumption. I think episodes like this remind that for some, the message isn’t quite getting through that “reopening” does NOT mean everything’s back to party-hardy mode, as much as some would like to pretend.

Never give up.

e.a.f. said...

Based on nothing imparticular, I don't look at stats all that much, but there are still going to be a lot more dead Americans. its a form of ethnic cleansing without shooting and camps.

Many people today don't know that Pearson Hospital in Vancouver was once the T.B. hospital and then the polio hospital. I remember polio loud and clear. I remember people having polio even after we had the vaccine--it didn't work on everyone, so there are a number of aging baby boomers in Canada who have one shorter leg--they may not even notice it. Then we had AIDS and we know how that all turned out. Still no cure. Still no vaccine. Oh, they've got a pill to control it but its still with us and my guess is, it will always be there. We still have Ebola in Africa. Lets not forget malaria. COVID 19 in my opinion is a new fact of life. Those who want to return to "normal" ought to give their heads a shake and look at history.

The continual dying in the U.S.A. is helping the orange maggot though, more dead people of colour than whites. Now that the disease has moved into new territory that will change. But don't expect anything to change, except the increase in the dead.

In Canada we've done much better and we can thank our Provincial Chief Medical Officers and Dr. Tan. The one big surprise has been Ford in Ontario. We in B.C. are lucky Horgan turned it all over to Dix and Henry. Trump doesn't care how many die as long as he can have his rallies.

As to an AMerican vaccine????? Unless it gets cleared by Canada's scientific community and some in Europe I'm not keen to take it. You can't trust American Agencies any more. they're headed by people who trump appointed and none of them have much in the way of experience. Don't expect Dr. F. to be there much longer.

As long as the border stays closed and we keep Americans out we ought to be O.K.

People need to get a grip, life is never going to be the same. Some of us aging baby boomers are lucky we got to travel, see the best bands in the world and a whole lot of other things which included "close contact".
At least with AIDS you could use a condom. With COVID, not going to work. People might want to go back to the 1980s question: is this worth dying for?