# Coronavirus COVID-19 (2019-nCoV) Thread - 2021 Breaking News **URL:** \ **Category:** The Quarantine Zone\ **Tags:** covid-quarantine\ **Created:** [January 1, 2021, 8:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428 "2021-01-01T08:03:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 155
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2021, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/3144 "2021-11-29T17:24:00Z")
Because a person sitting there breathing put virus for a couple hours is leaving a vastly higher viral load for towers than a person who is only there 30 minutes. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2021, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/3145 "2021-11-29T17:43:55Z")
But isn’t 1 person sitting for 2 hours contributing about the same viral load as 4 people who each sit for 30 minutes? ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2021, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/3146 "2021-11-29T17:47:08Z")
I don’t know know if cycling people through faster will increase the number of people who want to eat at a place. I think it would just increase the number of empty tables. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2021, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/3147 "2021-11-29T18:19:55Z")
If the goal is fewer people at a time, or fewer total person-hours in an evening, I’d rather regulate that directly. That avoids weird side effects. For instance, my state experimented with limiting the time you could stay in a restaurant to 90 minutes. A coworker organized a birthday party, and felt that was overly restrictive. So she made three reservations at three neighboring restaurants, and the party just moved from one to another. I can’t imagine the 90 minute limit produced any net benefit. ---
**Author:** ![Tfletch1](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tfletch1/32/5340_2.png) [@Tfletch1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tfletch1)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2021, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/3148 "2021-11-29T18:34:03Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > But isn’t 1 person sitting for 2 hours contributing about the same viral load as 4 people who each sit for 30 minutes? > [@MandaJo](#): > > I don’t know know if cycling people through faster will increase the number of people who want to eat at a place. I think it would just increase the number of empty tables. Decreasing the time spent would work if it didn’t result in more people coming to the place to eat. The more people who cycle through, the more likely you’ll get someone that actually has covid. ---
**Author:** ![aurora\_maire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aurora_maire/32/328_2.png) [@aurora\_maire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aurora_maire)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2021, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/3149 "2021-11-30T00:43:27Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > Yeah, the “customers must wear masks in the 90 seconds it takes for them to get to their table” thing always struck me as dumb. Separate the tables. Upgrade the HVAC. It seems to me that people have forgotten the studies done early on that showed infections occurring from bad ventilation. Unless you know that the restaurant has upgraded their HVAC systems, you are taking a chance that covid is circulating in the air. It doesn’t matter how far you are away from an infected person if you are sitting in the air stream. And the air doesn’t stop moving because you are eating. People are so eager to get back to “normal” that they don’t want to think about that anymore. > **[Infected after 5 minutes, from 20 feet away: South Korea study shows...](https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-12-09/five-minutes-from-20-feet-away-south-korean-study-shows-perils-of-indoor-dining-for-covid-19)** > > A South Korean study raises concerns that six feet of social distance may not be far enough to keep people safe from the coronavirus. ---
**Author:** ![Bootb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19b73/32.png) [@Bootb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bootb)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2021, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/3150 "2021-11-30T03:51:40Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > The point is that you’re walking around during that period, and thus can more easily spread things to other people than when you’re at your table that is distanced from others. We know enough about Covid now to be able to say that the chances of spreading enough of a viral load in 90 seconds to infect somebody is nearly non-existent. Even if you’re shoulder-to-shoulder with the other person. > **Close Contact through [proximity and duration of exposure](https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/science/science-briefs/sars-cov-2-transmission.html):** Someone who was less than [6 feet away from infected person](https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/prevention.html#stay6ft) (laboratory-confirmed or a [clinical diagnosis](https://ndc.services.cdc.gov/case-definitions/coronavirus-disease-2019-2021/)) for a cumulative total of 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period (for example, _three individual 5-minute exposures for a total of 15 minutes)._ [https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/php/contact-tracing/contact-tracing-plan/appendix.html](https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/php/contact-tracing/contact-tracing-plan/appendix.html) ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2021, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/3151 "2021-11-30T05:02:30Z")
262,429,526 total cases 5,224,812 dead 236,988,470 recovered In the US: 49,301,070 total cases 801,326 dead 39,032,255 recovered Yesterday’s numbers for comparison: > [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > 261,763,463 total cases > 5,217,303 dead > 236,423,594 recovered > > In the US: > > 49,099,590 total cases > 799,414 dead > 38,880,081 recovered ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2021, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/3152 "2021-11-30T13:12:13Z")
Here’s some news: > **[Brazil and Japan report first cases of the omicron variant](https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-science-health-oceans-mozambique-08b63b7e889463b1627623da26a86da4)** > > Brazil and Japan joined the rapidly widening circle of countries to report cases of the omicron variant Tuesday, while new findings indicate the mutant coronavirus was already in Europe close to a week before South Africa sounded the alarm. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2021, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/3153 "2021-11-30T13:27:41Z")
Germany: > **[German minister hopes patient transfers a 'wake-up call'](https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-health-europe-germany-f75fbb1776d8586194721e1adf82113b)** > > BERLIN (AP) — Germany's health minister said Saturday he hopes that the sight of air force planes transferring patients across the country will act as a “wake-up call” to millions who are still holding out on getting vaccinated against COVID-19. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2021, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/3154 "2021-11-30T14:08:16Z")
According to Johns Hopkins site, there are new seven-day-averaged record highs in reported new cases in two states **New Hampshire** – 1144, far higher than the peak of 863 back on January 8 **Vermont** – 420 --higher than the peaks earlier this month and more than twice as high as the levels reported in January. I had regarded these two states as pretty sage until now. Maine had a new record high a week ago – 694 cases – but the rest of New England has been well below previous highs. Michigan set a new record of 8793 on November 16, and has oscillated since then. The good news is that, as a whole, the new cases in the US are going down, after seeing a slight and ominous rise. But we’ll see what happens now that omicron is here. ---
**Author:** ![tofor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tofor/32/13727_2.png) [@tofor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tofor)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2021, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/3155 "2021-11-30T14:52:11Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > The good news is that, as a whole, the new cases in the US are going down, after seeing a slight and ominous rise. But we’ll see what happens now that omicron is here. I don’t think they’re really going down. We had Thanksgiving last Thursday. Holidays always skew the numbers. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2021, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/3156 "2021-11-30T15:28:52Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > [German minister hopes patient transfers a 'wake-up call' | AP News](https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-health-europe-germany-f75fbb1776d8586194721e1adf82113b) Some people cannot be awakened. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2021, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/3157 "2021-11-30T23:38:28Z")
Brazil, Japan: > **[Brazil and Japan report first cases of the omicron variant](https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-science-health-oceans-mozambique-08b63b7e889463b1627623da26a86da4)** > > Brazil and Japan joined the rapidly widening circle of countries to report cases of the omicron variant Tuesday, while new findings indicate the mutant coronavirus was already in Europe close to a week before South Africa sounded the alarm. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2021, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/3158 "2021-11-30T23:39:25Z")
Merck gets go-ahead: > **[US panel backs first-of-a-kind COVID-19 pill from Merck](https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-science-business-health-medication-6932faff66f9295417b2b1f5e02a2165)** > > WASHINGTON (AP) — A panel of U.S. health advisers on Tuesday narrowly backed a closely watched COVID-19 pill from Merck, setting the stage for a likely authorization of the first drug that Americans could take at home to treat the coronavirus. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2021, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/3159 "2021-12-01T01:15:27Z")
I’m not sure about Vermont, but an issue here in New Hampshire is kids spreading it through schools, especially kids younger than 10. 1/4th to 1/3rd of our new cases every day for weeks have been [young kids](https://www.nhpr.org/coronavirus-updates) and only 13% of the 5-11 year olds have been vaccinated yet. One of my friends had her two kids who are 6 and 9 got their first dose a couple of weeks ago, and the older one tested positive this week. Wish the vaccine approval had come a few weeks sooner ☹ Another thing that concerns me, is that the percentage of deaths recently among people over the age of 60 has dropped to about 75%, over the past few days fluctuating between 72% and 82% each day. 25ish percent being no older than 59 is **a lot** when at the beginning over 80% of our deaths were amongst nursing home residents, and those numbers then didn’t include the younger and/or fitter elderly who were living at home still. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2021, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/3160 "2021-12-01T03:18:10Z")
263,035,743 total cases 5,233,046 dead 237,521,026 recovered In the US: 49,428,913 total cases 803,045 dead 39,205,902 recovered Yesterday’s numbers for comparison: > [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > 262,429,526 total cases > 5,224,812 dead > 236,988,470 recovered > > In the US: > > 49,301,070 total cases > 801,326 dead > 39,032,255 recovered ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2021, 8:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/3161 "2021-12-01T08:46:29Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > Another thing that concerns me, is that the percentage of deaths recently among people over the age of 60 has dropped to about 75%, over the past few days fluctuating between 72% and 82% each day. 25ish percent being no older than 59 is **a lot** when at the beginning over 80% of our deaths were amongst nursing home residents, and those numbers then didn’t include the younger and/or fitter elderly who were living at home still. Not sure why that should be surprising or concerning. If vaccination levels in older groups are higher than those in younger groups then you would expect those percentages to change. What matters of course is the overall numbers dying now, compared to previous waves and compared to equivalent infection numbers from previous waves. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2021, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/3162 "2021-12-01T14:52:31Z")
In the US, about 86% of 65+ are fully vaccinated (though I don’t know how many have also already had the booster), while the all-ages rate is 59%. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2021, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/3163 "2021-12-01T15:49:44Z")
Damn! **New Hampshire** set a new record high yesterday at 1383 ! And **Vermont** has set a new high at 484 yesterday [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428.md?page=154) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428.md?page=156)