# 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:** 16
**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:** [January 26, 2021, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/301 "2021-01-26T22:09:16Z")
> [@FigNorton](#): > > Uh, the cheese cloth is doing the straining, the colander is just holding it in place. MULTIPLE layers of cheesecloth. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2021, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/302 "2021-01-26T22:13:12Z")
> [@FigNorton](#): > > Uh, the cheese cloth is doing the straining, the colander is just holding it in place. > > Well, I’m sure 3M will be thrilled with this new discover. They can make their N95s much improved by slapping another piece of cloth over it. There’s nothing new about it, though. As pointed out, it’s the principle of layered filtration. The surgical masks we currently use specifically have 3 or 4 layers to make them more effective. Single layer or double layer masks are contraindicated. Now it’s probably not all that big a difference in the case you indicate, but I suspect that’s more to do diminishing returns with how big a difference there is in their filtration capacities. Instead, a cloth mask is likely more functioning as a prefilter, which makes masks last longer–something their manufacturer might not want as they’d rather you keep buying new masks. I also note that there are surgical masks now that have antiviral coatings, which have seen some promise in testing. That’s what my dad was wearing until we got a couple (very expensive) N95s. The costs are way too high right now in the US–I wish I could find them for $1 a piece, so yes, we are reusing them. (But my understanding is that the main issue is bacterial build-up as long as you let the N95s rest after use. The SARS-CoV-2 virus doesn’t last long on surfaces. Filtration does degrade over time, but not in a few hours of use. And double masking again should in theory help with that.) ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2021, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/303 "2021-01-26T22:15:33Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > I have more masks now, but in early days, when the supply was limited, I would spray my N95’s with some isopropyl rubbing alcohol every now and again to keep them relatively fresh. My understanding is that using liquids can degrade filtration fairly quickly. Either letting them rest, or, even better, using UV sterilization of sufficient intensity (and making sure it hits every part of the mask) is what I’ve seen recommended. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2021, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/304 "2021-01-26T22:30:00Z")
Yeah, so I hear, but in the early days it was either a very light misting or wear a stinky mask. ---
**Author:** ![Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heffalump_and_roo/32/7691_2.png) [@Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heffalump_and_Roo)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2021, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/305 "2021-01-26T23:43:51Z")
Umm. . . are they serious?! > **[COVID Anal Swabs for Beijing Residents More Accurate, Says Chinese Expert](https://www.newsweek.com/covid-anal-swabs-beijing-residents-more-accurate-says-chinese-expert-1564381)** > > Hundreds of thousands living in a key Beijing district have undergone antibody tests, as well as throat, nasal and anal swabs as the Chinese capital attempts to halt its second wave. CA Gov. Newsom lifts stay-at-home order for the State, leaving the restrictions back at the county level. > **[California Governor Gavin Newsom lifts virus stay-at-home orders](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/california-covid-stay-at-home-order-lifted/)** > > The move opens the way for a return to limited restaurant dining, religious services and other activities. IMF says that China and US will recover faster than other countries due to their willingness to extend policy stimulus and have more readily available vaccines. > [@](#): > > In general, the IMF’s forecasts showed better performance in countries with greater access to vaccines and those most willing to spend more on policy stimulus, which it did not expect to be inflationary. [IMF expects US and China to recover most strongly from virus economic hit](https://www.ft.com/content/341577c5-92f2-4bd3-a235-331d0db5dbbd) [paywalled after I read it] ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2021, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/306 "2021-01-27T00:16:41Z")
[Thousands of Covid-19 vaccines wind up in the garbage because of fed, state guidelines](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/thousands-covid-19-vaccines-wind-garbage-because-fed-state-guidelines-n1254364) > [@](#): > > Isolated incident? Not a chance, Dr. Ashish Jha, dean of the Brown University School of Public Health, told NBC News. > > “This kind of thing is pretty rampant,” Jha said. “I have personally heard stories like this from dozens of physician friends in a variety of different states. Hundreds, if not thousands, of doses are getting tossed across the country every day. It’s unbelievable.” > > Jha said the ER doctor whose story he laid out in a [Twitter thread](https://twitter.com/ashishkjha/status/1348489177491501063?s=20) this week asked to not be identified, but his story, seen by thousands of people, resonated with other medical professionals frustrated by rules and regulations that they say are making it harder to get more Americans vaccinated. ---
**Author:** ![FigNorton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fignorton/32/5619_2.png) [@FigNorton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FigNorton)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2021, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/307 "2021-01-27T01:13:36Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Now it’s probably not all that big a difference in the case you indicate, but I suspect that’s more to do diminishing returns with how big a difference there is in their filtration capacities. Instead, a cloth mask is likely more functioning as a prefilter, which makes masks last longer–something their manufacturer might not want as they’d rather you keep buying new masks. Here’s the thing, the most amazing thing about why N95 masks work so well is not physical filtering but electrostatic filtering. If this is a question about prefiltering so as to preserve N95 function, people should probably look more into hack methods to recharge the electrostatic fibres instead. But this is the news thread so maybe one of us should start a “mask hack” thread. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2021, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/308 "2021-01-27T01:29:59Z")
> [@Heffalump\_and\_Roo](#): > > Umm. . . are they serious?! Probably. There was a lot of research into testing for COVID in sewage in the early days before widespread individual testing was available. Testing a sample from a sewage treatment plant or a seward pipe couldn’t tell you _who_ had COVID, but it could sure tell you _what percentage_ of the local populace had COVID. The point as it relates to the Chinese is testing the output end of a person works just find for finding COVID. The logistical issues of taking anal samples in a drive-thru are probably something only the Chinese can cope with; I can’t see that approach selling well in, .e.g., Texas. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2021, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/309 "2021-01-27T05:31:30Z")
> [@Crane](#): > > Santa Rosa county maintains a list. The lady says she does not know who uses it or what they do with it. She just enters names on a spread sheet. Based only on personal experience with other organisations, I’d say they maintain the list so that when people call or visit, they can say, “OK, you’re in the right place. I’ve put your name on the list.” ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2021, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/310 "2021-01-27T05:46:20Z")
> [@Heffalump\_and\_Roo](#): > > Umm. . . are they serious?! The problem with nose swabs is that they are actually poor at detecting anything unless you have a runny nose. They are quite good for checking a lot of people to see if they have an active nose infection, but not terribly good at finding hidden asymptomatic cases. So the answer is, yes, really really really serious… 🙂 Regarding sewerage testing: Australia now has lots of sewerage testing, although they don’t talk about it very much 🙂 At this point, all it shows is that a lot of people have had COVID in a lot of places. They are still “shedding viral fragments”, so the sewerage tests come up positive. On one occasion that I know of, they got a positive result from an unexpected location, leading them to believe that there was an unaccounted-for case in that location, but even then they thought it probably wasn’t a problem: just some person that had had COVID and hadn’t known it. ---
**Author:** ![FigNorton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fignorton/32/5619_2.png) [@FigNorton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FigNorton)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2021, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/311 "2021-01-27T06:06:42Z")
A number of cities are doing it. It’s kinda neat. There’s probably a few different diseases they could routinely watch for this way. ---
**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:** [January 27, 2021, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/312 "2021-01-27T06:16:34Z")
100,839,430 total cases 2,167,167 dead 72,864,949 recovered In the US: 26,011,222 total cases 435,452 dead 15,767,413 recovered Yesterday’s numbers for comparison: > [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > 100,286,772 total cases > 2,149,496 dead > 72,313,625 recovered > > In the US: > > 25,861,597 total cases > 431,392 dead > 15,617,360 recovered > [@Czarcasm](#): > > Over 100 million total cases. > Shit. It’ll be more than 101,000,000 tomorrow. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2021, 8:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/313 "2021-01-27T08:03:51Z")
> [@Drsunflower1](#): > > I’ve seen the footage from the past two days, it reminded me of ye olden days when football (soccer) hooligans used to set fire to lampposts and bus stops. Fortunately 99% of the population complies with the new rules and the protests are widely condemned. However our own tiny aspiring autocrat Thierry Baudet has been inciting people in a way comparable to what Trump did three weeks ago. Not pretty. It seems Austria may now have the same problem, in the personage of FPÖ parliamentary leader Herbert Kickl. There’s going to be yet another anti-lockdown protest in Vienna on Sunday, and he’s attached to it as one of the star speakers. He’s already lent his name and face to a series of political ads attacking the coronavirus vaccine. Last I checked, his party’s support among the general population was only around 10%, though it was (and probably still is) growing, particularly among those who are looking for someone and something to legitimize their own skepticism or outright rejection of the pandemic containment measures. The previous demo, earlier this month, was also well attended by FPÖ members, as well as those even farther right on the political spectrum, who whipped up the crowd with calls to depose the chancellor. There was no violence at the time, but if the crowd at the upcoming event decides to pull off something like what happened in the Netherlands or in Washington, they might be able to inflict a great deal of physical damage. Unlike in many other countries, the parliament building, as well as the official residences of the president and chancellor, are not fenced off; they’re just ordinary buildings abutting ordinary streets and the general public can walk right up to the front doors. ---
**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:** [January 27, 2021, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/314 "2021-01-27T13:46:57Z")
The trend continues – no states have reported a record daily high in new cases (seven day average) so fat this week. The number of daily new reported cases appears to be going down in the US and most countries, and in the world altogether. Just to be clear – there are new cases being reported daily, but the number of such cases is clearly trending downwards, and we’re no longer reporting record high numbers of such cases. This is definitely progress. But we have a long way to go. ---
**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:** [January 27, 2021, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/315 "2021-01-27T14:49:00Z")
And, because to balance that happy news, we need a downer, here it is: > [@](#): > > **Infectious Disease Expert Warns Next 6 To 14 Weeks May Be ‘Darkest’ Of COVID-19 Pandemic** > > Infectious disease expert [Michael Osterholm](https://www.huffpost.com/topic/michael-osterholm) said Tuesday that he fears the United States is about to enter its “darkest weeks” of the [coronavirus](https://www.huffpost.com/feature/coronavirus) pandemic yet. > > The director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, who served on President [Joe Biden](https://www.huffpost.com/news/topic/joe-biden)’s COVID-19 advisory board [during the presidential transition](https://www.statnews.com/2021/01/20/biden-dissolves-covid-19-panel-that-aided-transition/), told [CNN](https://www.huffpost.com/news/topic/cnn)’s Anderson Cooper that there could be another potential explosion in new cases [if mutated, more contagious variants](https://www.huffpost.com/entry/us-covid-variants-cases-top-25-million_n_600ea00ac5b6a46978d2d9fc) of the virus take hold nationwide. > > Cooper asked Osterholm to put the [current phase of the public health crisis](https://www.mediaite.com/news/cnn-public-health-experts-osterholm-gupta-warn-next-few-months-could-be-the-darkest-of-covid-pandemic/) into baseball terms. > > “I’m certainly not a sports expert, but I do know that there are nine innings in a baseball game. What inning is this pandemic in?” Cooper said. > > “I still think we’re in the bottom of the third or the top of the fourth,” Osterholm said. “You know, I worry the next six to 14 weeks could be the darkest weeks of the pandemic.” > > “We’re down now to 150,000 cases a day, which seems down,” he continued. “Remember when 70,000 or 32,000 cases a day seemed high? And if this variant takes off here in North America like it has throughout Europe, I think we could be seeing numbers much, much higher than we’ve had to date.” > **[Infectious Disease Expert Warns Next 6 To 14 Weeks Could Be ‘Darkest’ Of...](https://www.huffpost.com/entry/michael-osterholm-warning-coronavirus-pandemic_n_60112bc5c5b6b8719d888159)** > > "The very worst of the pandemic is yet before us," Michael Osterholm said, citing new variants of the coronavirus as a primary concern. ---
**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:** [January 27, 2021, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/316 "2021-01-27T14:49:52Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Just to be clear – there are new cases being reported daily, but the number of such cases is clearly trending downwards, and we’re no longer reporting record high numbers of such cases. This is definitely progress. But we have a long way to go. We seem to be back below pre-Thanksgiving daily new case numbers. This is frankly stunning to me, and not at all where I expected to be late January. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2021, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/318 "2021-01-27T17:33:50Z")
Panama’s cases also have been trending sharply downward. Today the 7-day average is 1,757, after peaking at 3,618 on January 12. (Highest one day total of 5,186 on January 6.) Hopefully the trend will continue. Only small amounts of vaccines have arrived so far, and AFAIK are mostly going to health care and security workers and people in nursing homes etc. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2021, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/319 "2021-01-27T18:49:47Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > “I still think we’re in the bottom of the third or the top of the fourth,” Osterholm said. “You know, I worry the next six to 14 weeks could be the darkest weeks of the pandemic.” 14 weeks translates as 3-1/2 months. So mid-May. If that’s the end of “the darkest part”, dawn is still far away and noon farther away yet. Be a hell of a note if the human race was comprehensively outsmarted and defeated by a few thousand Daltons of RNA & some lipids. ---
**Author:** ![Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heffalump_and_roo/32/7691_2.png) [@Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heffalump_and_Roo)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2021, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/320 "2021-01-27T21:23:40Z")
I don’t know if this counts as breaking news. I also don’t know what to say about it that wouldn’t look partisan, so I’ll just leave the headline. I will say that’s taxpayers’ dollars at work. > **[Oklahoma trying to return its $2m stockpile of hydroxychloroquine](https://www.readfrontier.org/stories/oklahoma-trying-to-return-its-2m-stockpile-of-hydroxychloroquine/)** > > The Oklahoma Attorney General’s Office has been tasked with attempting to return a $2 million stockpile of a malaria drug once touted by former President Donald Trump as a way to treat the coronavirus. > [@](#): > > In April, Gov. Kevin Stitt, who ordered the hydroxychloroquine purchase, defended it by saying that while it may not be a useful treatment for the coronavirus, the drug had multiple other uses and “that money will not have gone to waste in any respect.” > > But nearly a year later the state is trying to offload the drug back to its original supplier, California-based FFF Enterprises, Inc, a private pharmaceutical wholesaler. > > Alex Gerszewski, a spokesman for Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter, told _The Frontier_ this week that the AG’s office was working with the state health department “to try to figure out a solution.” ---
**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:** [January 28, 2021, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/321 "2021-01-28T05:27:36Z")
101,441,177 total cases 2,184,273 dead 73,325,507 recovered In the US: 26,166,201 total cases 439,517 dead 15,942,757 recovered Yesterday’s numbers for comparison: > [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > 100,839,430 total cases > 2,167,167 dead > 72,864,949 recovered > > In the US: > > 26,011,222 total cases > 435,452 dead > 15,767,413 recovered [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428.md?page=15) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428.md?page=17)