Coronavirus in Massachusetts (Boston: house, colleges, salary)

[charolastra00]

Originally Posted by BostonMike7

That's amazing that you don't know anyone who's had it. I currently know 4 people who have it at this moment. All young people in their 20's. One is one of my best worker's at the office, so i'm scrambling to cover for their work at the moment.

I've heard a number of anecdotal stories from the younger folks. Fever, coughs, chills aches for a week and then it's gone. Keep in mind these are 20-somethings.

Just just thinking of the 4 I know: Live with roommates, live in urban centers in apartments, in some of the hardest hit areas, have heard them tell stories of socializing...

I know dozens who have gotten sick, though none right now, and 6 who have died. 2 of the 6 are some of the 8 people at work who have passed, though if I knew the others it was only because we'd seen each other from across a room.



A few reasons why I think I know more people than average:

• Almost everyone who I knew has tested positive has posted about it on social media. Not everyone is comfortable sharing stuff on social media, but for me it's probably a generational/career(many of us, myself included, work in digital comms)/comfort thing that others might not experience.
• My social network is pretty wide and mostly focused in Boston, NYC, NJ, and Atlanta. Many, especially in Boston and NYC, live with roommates and/or work in higher ed where it was likely spreading on campus before testing was available and students went home in March.
• Because my career is social media and my personal brand focuses around my cancer advocacy, I share a *lot* about health and coronavirus. People who I haven't spoken to since college have reached out to me personally about their experience with coronavirus, even if they're not public about it.

I also notice a definite difference in talking about your positive status now versus the summer and before, and also geographically. Now, people getting sick are more likely (but not entirely) to have contracted it because they go to *just one more* gathering or other at-risk behaviors. There may be a perception of less sympathy or support as a result.



I'm also seeing QAnon-types swing out of the rafters into the comments. A high school friend who I have stayed in vague touch with shared a photo of her hives and clumps of hair. She's a "long hauler" after testing positive in July working as a nurse in Georgia, and even now still struggles with fatigue, sudden chronic hives, and massive hair loss resulting in bald spots. She shared her story just the other day for the first time because she said she saw so many people not taking it seriously. Multiple people commented telling her she was exaggerating and it "must be something else" because "your symptoms are too severe for a 32 year old." Her symptoms weren't even that severe - her partner also got it and he was hospitalized for 2 1/2 weeks with severe pneumonia and trouble breathing! I've had other friends (all in their late 20s/early 30s) share their stories only to be told that they just need to exercise, lose weight, and take supplements - often to people who are not overweight! I can understand why people might want to stay quiet if they think they're going to invite that kind of trouble.

[GeoffD]

Originally Posted by msRB311

The nursing homes are a problem. Maybe they need to just eliminate as much staff as possible then. Or find people willing to stay there for weeks on end without leaving and pay them more? The plan in place is not working.

How do you care for people in a skilled nursing facility without staff? I recall the national standard for Medicaid nursing homes is ~4.1 hours per resident. Most Medicaid nursing homes don't even meet that metric because they can't afford the staffing. The way you control an outbreak in a skilled nursing facility is to limit the diameter of the user group. You want each staff member to only come in contact with a small number of residents and come in contact with the same residents every day. You don't let the residents interact with each other outside their small user group.



My mother's memory care place has 14-resident user groups. A staff member is only allowed to work with those 14 residents. In a nursing home with more staff per resident, you probably chop that back to 6 residents in the user group. There are RNs and physicians who see far more people but they're using rigorous infection control and PPE while doing it.



No matter how often you test staff and do temperature and health screenings, it's going to get into the nursing homes. The key is to adopt process that limits the damage. The VA homes with the huge body count didn't have that kind of process.

[msRB311]

I dont know, i dont necessarily have the answers, but it seems like the main goal is stop deaths. What is happening in nursing homes right now is deaths. I also didn't say get rid of all staff, but have as few people as possible.

I see people on other forums actually asking why the spread is so bad in MA. I dont have an answer for that either other than all the colleges in the area and Boston is pretty dense.

[brightdoglover]

I have two friends who got COVID early on- one worked in geriatric dementia and took it home to her retired spouse. No breathing problems, no hospitalization, just crushing fatigue/headache/weakness for months "recovering at home." They live in Cambridge. Their co-workers also tested positive and everyone was sent home, however, they were ordered not to discuss well-being or symptoms with each other.

The goal is stop/mitigate spread. Anywhere and everywhere.

[jtolpin]

Originally Posted by brightdoglover

however, they were ordered not to discuss well-being or symptoms with each other.

.

Really?

[msRB311]

my town apparently has a protest next week of angry parents who want their kids back in school full time (k-5). 600 people are signed up. I just found out today and don't plan to attend.

[massnative71]

Originally Posted by msRB311

my town apparently has a protest next week of angry parents who want their kids back in school full time (k-5). 600 people are signed up. I just found out today and don't plan to attend.

And something tells me these ones screaming the loudest are partially responsible for why your town is in that position in the first place.

[redplum33]

Originally Posted by wolfgang239

Absolutely, but at 8pm on any given night you are probably in the more enviable position of deciding what single malt to sip in said chair instead of being in the back of a stuffy sweaty 10x10 kitchen somewhere, or driving an uber around Allston. But I digress.

I'm picturing the man sprawled out on a second-hand couch (courtesy of Allston Christmas) with a huge bag of Cool Ranch Doritos, swigging from a 2-liter bottle of Mountain Dew, and watching The Voice.

[msRB311]

Originally Posted by massnative71

And something tells me these ones screaming the loudest are partially responsible for why your town is in that position in the first place.

Our town has had very few cases. I mentioned my son's school had two cases in september and we haven't had any since. We've never been in the red zone like Milton has been and many other south shore towns. I think we were yellow at one point for about a week.

I don't think now is the time to be protesting about such things given that it feels like we're in a surge right now.

[massnative71]

Originally Posted by msRB311

Our town has had very few cases. I mentioned my son's school had two cases in september and we haven't had any since. We've never been in the red zone like Milton has been and many other south shore towns. I think we were yellow at one point for about a week.

I don't think now is the time to be protesting about such things given that it feels like we're in a surge right now.

So why are they going remote? Something must have just come up.