Protests don’t appear to be driving coronavirus surge in Seattle area or elsewhere, researchers say

[doc1]

[quote]

Originally Posted by homesinseattle

It's not really a big reach man, come on. Trump has minimized the COVID threat, pushed for foolish reopening consistently and fomented a very real "mask rebellion".

I agree with the handling of the threat, I'm mixed on the reopening. How long can we shut down a national economy? I'm not smart enough to even guess, even with hindsight. I just don't know and I don't believe anyone else does.

As far as the mask rebellion, so many in urban areas (aka "not my President" areas )were out and about, gathering on stoops, big family get togethers, running, strolling through Central Park not wearing masks. I'm not buying the Red voter vs Blue meme with regards to mask wearing. It's lazy.

I'm very much in Trump country and saw masks everywhere. It seems that those not wearing them had the appearance of being lesser educated, many were young adults (we're a college town) and minorities. Hispanic more so than Blacks. Not sure why that was. A macho thing maybe?

I think the difference is more class based. At least where live, anyway.

That's the main reason we have staggering numbers of cases (and escalating) compared to most Western countries. Yeah, there are some young liberal fools but in general, Dems believe (and act on) the belief that we have a real problem more than Repubs do. The ironic thing is that if Trump had taken the lead on the lock down, mask wearing, "I care enough about Americans to have you do this", then mixed in some anti China comments, our economy would be back rolling by now, our numbers way down and he would have been a shoo-in for re-election.

Yet New York state, NJ and WA had very high levels. NY's Gov Cuomo has taken a lot of flack, if not outright blame, for putting elderly in nursing homes and causing many to die. IMO, he, like everyone else, was having to make it up as they went.

Again, I'm not handing Trump a sticker for his attitude, tweeting etc. on the covid business but as far as antagonizing China, GOOD! Anytime they f' up they double down on their offensive defense. Take a look at how they went after Australia when they stepped up to complain. Selling poisoned baby formula overseas and so on.

IMO the Chinese are the most nationalistic nation on the planet. They don't care about anyone but China.

I wholly supported Trump's travel restrictions from China but did ANY of the Ds? No, they called him a racist.

Sorry, but IMO both parties used this to bludgeon their opponents and neither has the right to plant their flag on the moral high ground.

As far as if Trump did this or that the economy would be rolling now, I just don't feel it. I don't think any politician could have saved us from this. That's just my gut. My career gig was telecom, not politics or economics.

I still believe the governors and other civic leaders should set policy at the state level and determine who works, who stays home, who opens or has to close, who can or can't enter the state and so forth.

I want the Feds to look at it nationally at a higher level such as supply chain, distribution funding research and for the manufacture of things like masks, ventilators etc., not micromanage locally.

That's my weary $.02 on the matter.

On another note, I enjoy going through your world travel blog.

[homesinseattle]

On another note, I enjoy going through your world travel blog.[/quote]

Thanks mate, which story did you read?

[ben young]

Im going to go protest ,rub some anti covid protest powder on me, and then go to church. Good to go .If I get sick it was church that did it.

[homesinseattle]

Originally Posted by ben young

Im going to go protest ,rub some anti covid protest powder on me, and then go to church. Good to go .If I get sick it was church that did it.

Great idea. Anti COVID powder = mask.

[jbgusa]

Here's my $0.02 without reading any of the posts. Most of the protesters were young. They don't tend to get seriously symptomatic Covid. They may have it or have spread it. Who knows?

I think though that officialdom's condemnation of failure to socially distance, and yet finding that "protests" are so important that they warrant an exception to social isolation or reopening guidelines is a crotch-breaking stretch.

[jbgusa]

Originally Posted by homesinseattle

But some researchers say that the protests do not appear to be significantly driving this surge. This helps bolster the case that the coronavirus generally does not transmit as easily outdoors, where even a gentle breeze can help diffuse the virus, compared to confined indoor spaces.

“I would say that outside makes a big difference because of much more air circulation,” said Dr. Jared Baeten, a vice dean at the University of Washington’s School of Public Health, who donned a mask and joined in the June 12 March of Silence through Seattle that drew an estimated 60,000 people.

Then why did my small village in suburban New York shut down outdoor tennis? On one warm Sunday in March the tennis courts were full, which is a rarity for a declining sport. The next day the mayor had the courts padlocked.

I emailed him asking if he was trying to "punish" people further during the boredom of self-isolation. His response mumbled something about the balls.

Officials seem to tolerate outdoor activities when it's woke to do so.

[jbgusa]

Originally Posted by Gaylord_Focker

Yep. Or maybe the fires kill the virus? Where’s the compassion for the business owners affected by this?

The words "whose streets, our streets" confer immunity.

[509]

Originally Posted by homesinseattle

.....................In King County, the epicenter of Washington’s protests, health investigators have tracked — during a 19-day span in June — less than 5% of 1,008 total positive cases to people who attended protests. In other cities, including Minneapolis and Portland, researchers have yet to find that protests, where many were masked, have caused major spikes in cases"..................

Wait....5% of the COVID cases related to the protests. How many protesters were there???


The population of the King County area is 2.3 million people......5% of that is 115,000 people.


So were there 115,000 protesters out there in the King County???


IF there were 115,000 protesters out there, it would be a push. If the number of protesters was significantly less than that.......well, they did spread the virus.

[atlguy44]

Without accurate tracking data and contact tracing, everything is just an estimate. Both seem to be lacking here.