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Coronavirus is in the air – there’s too much focus on surfaces

nature.com

81–90 of 196 posts

Re: Coronavirus is in the air – there’s too much focus on surfaces

#82
post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It seems like people have been saying this from the beginning. But no one can say for certain that there is little or no fomite risk, and hand washing and surface cleaning gives people something to do that helps them feel like they are in control.

So one way people lose my trust is to tell me to do useless things for my perceived psychological benefit. I have both changed doctors and jobs for this reason. Treat me like a child and you're out of my life.

What if your broker is ,,protecting you’’?

Re: Coronavirus is in the air – there’s too much focus on surfaces

#83
post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Our early guidance that masks don’t help (because we needed to save the real masks for healthcare workers) I see this mentioned a lot, is this really a big factor? Did a ton of people genuinely begin the pandemic by believing officials and then after a few weeks start to disbelieve officials? That just doesn't make sense to me. I mostly see this issue used as a bad faith cudgel to justify not wearing a mask now, but…

> people genuinely begin the pandemic by believing officials and then after a few weeks start to disbelieve officials? (Anecdote) At the start of the pandemic, I took it all very seriously. We were in the fog of war and didn't know how serious it was, so we assumed it was very dangerous. We did our best to avoid people and do our part to "stop the spread" or "flatten the curve". At the beginning of June, I started to…

This is a ridiculous post. It’s not about _you_, it’s about vulnerable people who you were willingly becoming a vector of infection for.

Your friend who recommended “not to go out and get it, but it isn’t that bad” doesn’t know if they gave it to a vulnerable person.

It’s never been just about you or how you and your circle will handle it.

Re: Coronavirus is in the air – there’s too much focus on surfaces

#84
post #27

Serious Question: I have been super paranoid about surfaces for the past year. Disinfecting groceries, quarantining packages, washing hands after touching the mail or opening takeout, etc. This is pretty draining. Should my takeaway be that all of these precautions are unnecessary?

Even if the risk of transmission from surfaces turns out to be low, I suspect it’s still >0%. Given the potential of developing chronic conditions from covid and the number of times we come into contact groceries, deliveries, etc., it seems rational to keep wiping down surfaces.

Literally everything you do has a >0% risk of death or serious injury. You have to pick your battles, and I would expect that being paranoid about delivery boxes fails the cost/benefit test for almost everyone.

Re: Coronavirus is in the air – there’s too much focus on surfaces

#85

In Sweden people continually blow their nose by holding one nostril and blasting the mucus from the other straight out into the air. Joggers of both sexes (but mostly men) do this all the time, even with other people all around them on the street. When I last got the subway an older guy did it on the platform, just before the train doors opened and the passengers walked out - presumably straight through the fine drop…

In the United States, this is called the "farmers' handkerchief."

Snot rocket

Re: Coronavirus is in the air – there’s too much focus on surfaces

#86
post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

None of the authors of the Great Barrington Declaration said anything of the sort. This kind of çomment is unhelpful and uncharitable. It's an ad hominem attack.

I googled that for you - https://www.wsj.com/articles/britains-professor-reopen-11591... Gupta said 500k deaths worst case in uk was bollocks (bc according to her everyone already got it). They are already at 100k with aggressive lockdowns. Does that sound like crackpottery to you?

She's saying that Ferguson's projections were wrong.

They certainly have been wrong -- wildly so -- in most of the world. He also projected 2.2M deaths in the United States, and that hospitals would be over-run in the UK even with interventions. The predictions from the original paper do not hold up well in retrospect:

https://www.imperial.ac.uk/media/imperial-college/medicine/m...

Re: Coronavirus is in the air – there’s too much focus on surfaces

#87

In Sweden people continually blow their nose by holding one nostril and blasting the mucus from the other straight out into the air. Joggers of both sexes (but mostly men) do this all the time, even with other people all around them on the street. When I last got the subway an older guy did it on the platform, just before the train doors opened and the passengers walked out - presumably straight through the fine drop…

And in Australia they just sniff non-stop for 20 days straight until someone shoves a tissue in their face, then they pull a face of complete disbelief "Oh, thank you!"

Re: Coronavirus is in the air – there’s too much focus on surfaces

#88
post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> people genuinely begin the pandemic by believing officials and then after a few weeks start to disbelieve officials? (Anecdote) At the start of the pandemic, I took it all very seriously. We were in the fog of war and didn't know how serious it was, so we assumed it was very dangerous. We did our best to avoid people and do our part to "stop the spread" or "flatten the curve". At the beginning of June, I started to…

This is a ridiculous post. It’s not about _you_, it’s about vulnerable people who you were willingly becoming a vector of infection for. Your friend who recommended “not to go out and get it, but it isn’t that bad” doesn’t know if they gave it to a vulnerable person. It’s never been just about you or how you and your circle will handle it.

> Your friend who recommended “not to go out and get it, but it isn’t that bad” doesn’t know if they gave it to a vulnerable person.

Yes, I'm sure the 20 days they were collectively quarantined was completely reckless and putting people in danger.

Edit:

Also, his wife caught it at work. Where she was being, you know, essential.

Re: Coronavirus is in the air – there’s too much focus on surfaces

#89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why only health officials?

The bar is higher for professionals speaking in their field of expertise

Well, now we know that they are neither professionals, nor experts. Most of what comes from the public health establishment is more like "science theater" that is engineered to obey whatever political dictates need to be handed down with the air of authority.

Recall the proclamations from last summer that massive street protests were either magically not going to spread COVID, or that it was somehow acceptable because "racism is a public health issue".

Re: Coronavirus is in the air – there’s too much focus on surfaces

#90
I saw videos of some countries driving trucks doing a sort of fogging and spraying of whole outdoor areas. Not unlike in the article here.

It seemed like a strange practice to combat a virus to me but when I raised the question I was told various things that I found pretty unconvincing.

I'm glad to see some actual work identifying risks is out there now.

I suspect surfaces, like other practices are focused on, because we can easily deal with them. Anyone can disinfect a surface. The air, not as easy unfortunately.

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