Coronavirus and Walt Disney World general discussion

[Epcotfan21]

Things must be getting better in South Florida…

There’s a pop up testing site in a shopping plaza down the street from where we live. Two-three weeks ago there would be 100+ people standing in line waiting to get tested at a given time. I drove by it yesterday and I counted two people.

 

[DisneyFan32]

MSN

www.msn.com

Is the pandemic is getting even longer for years?

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

Same. Way too much crying wolf with this and I'm far too weary. I'll wait and see, thanks.

Still waiting on that Mu variant to show up.

I’ve known more people who caught Omicron in the last two months than the rest of the variants combined over the last two years, thankfully none have ended up in the hospital (or worse) but a couple have said it’s the sickest they’ve ever felt, like the flu on steroids. Most had mild or no symptoms at all.

Despite that, if it wasn’t for masks and the news I think I’d forget Covid even exists most days.

I still keep up with the latest but I completely agree the crying wolf doesn’t even affect me anymore. When I read a news story about the next “threat” I just shake my head and carry on like nothings changed, it’s not until the numbers start changing that I pay attention.

 

[hopemax]

Despite that, if it wasn’t for masks and the news I think I’d forget Covid even exists most days.

When I read a news story about the next “threat” I just shake my head and carry on like nothings changed, it’s not until the numbers start changing that I pay attention.

This is intended to be more philosophical review of "how we started / how things are going." Please, don't take it too personal. Your post is merely a jumping off point.

Will you forgive me for not believing this? All throughout people have been "only the deaths really matter." Death numbers were posted daily, when it broke 2000 it was horrifying. Did you know that the 7-day average of deaths in this wave is equal to the original wave, and more than the Delta wave? Only last winter's wave was worse. According to the Worldometers chart today's 7-day average was 2286 deaths. The original wave peaked at 2263, Delta at 2030. Yesterday's raw total 3143, the day before 3003. It's not a particular state that's doing worse than before. It's just a few deaths, in a thousand different communities...it all adds up. But as you said, you think you could forget Covid even exists. As they say, people can get used to anything.

 

[Lilofan]

Since milk has an expiration date listed and it tastes nasty in that case when it expires, I can see some afraid to buy milk. Stores would have to throw out expired Mu milk.

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

This is intended to be more philosophical review of "how we started / how things are going." Please, don't take it too personal. Your post is merely a jumping off point.

Will you forgive me for not believing this? All throughout people have been "only the deaths really matter." Death numbers were posted daily, when it broke 2000 it was horrifying. Did you know that the 7-day average of deaths in this wave is equal to the original wave, and more than the Delta wave? Only last winter's wave was worse. According to the Worldometers chart today's 7-day average was 2286 deaths. The original wave peaked at 2263, Delta at 2030. Yesterday's raw total 3143, the day before 3003. It's not a particular state that's doing worse than before. It's just a few deaths, in a thousand different communities...it all adds up. But as you said, you think you could forget Covid even exists. As they say, people can get used to anything.

The vast majority of those deaths are happening in the unvaccinated, as a fully vaccinated and boosted, healthy, middle aged person my risk of death from covid is no worse than my risk of death from hundreds of other risks such as car accidents, falling down a flight of stairs, etc.

The last report I saw was something like .1 death per 100,000 in boosted people, .9 in 100,000 in fully vaxxed, and 12 per 100,000 in unvaccinated. So while the death toll is still high we can guesstimate that of those 3000 deaths approximately 200 of them were vaxxed and another 20 were boosted, the rest are all unvaccinated. Last year about 117 people died in car crashes every day, that means I’m 4 times more likely to die from a car accident than Covid at this point.

Anything’s possible but I like my odds, the stress from worrying about it is probably a much bigger danger to vaccinated people than Covid is at this point.

 

[seascape]

It was only a couple of weeks ago I complained about NJ, NY and FL being among the worst states for Covid19. So today, even with their numbers still being to high, I am happy to say that all 3 are now among the 10 lowest states for Covid19 infections. Yes, NJ is now the 4th lowest, NY is 6th and FL is 10th.

Now for all the numbers. The US has 186 cases per 100k, 46 per 100k hospitalizations and 0.74 deaths per 100k. Florida has 149, 53 and 0.37. NJ has 96, 52 and 1.25. NY has 110, 56 and 1.02. All those numbers are way too high especially the deaths and hospitaluzations.

 

[DisneyCane]

The vast majority of those deaths are happening in the unvaccinated, as a fully vaccinated and boosted, healthy, middle aged person my risk of death from covid is no worse than my risk of death from hundreds of other risks such as car accidents, falling down a flight of stairs, etc.

The last report I saw was something like .1 death per 100,000 in boosted people, .9 in 100,000 in fully vaxxed, and 12 per 100,000 in unvaccinated. So while the death toll is still high we can guesstimate that of those 3000 deaths approximately 200 of them were vaxxed and another 20 were boosted, the rest are all unvaccinated. Last year about 117 people died in car crashes every day, that means I’m 4 times more likely to die from a car accident than Covid at this point.

Anything’s possible but I like my odds, the stress from worrying about it is probably a much bigger danger to vaccinated people than Covid is at this point.

And this is why I continue to double down on my opinion that the point has been reached (since vaccines have been widely available and FREE) that dealing with COVID should be an individual issue. Everybody can protect themselves by getting vaccinated and keeping up with recommended boosters and it makes the risk from COVID statistically insignificant in the scheme of all daily life risks. If you want to wear an N95 respirator all day you can do that also for free.

It is way past the point that there should not be mask wearing policies at theme parks or casinos, especially when those policies allow "cloth face coverings" which are essentially useless against Omicron (this is not just my opinion but the opinion of many experts who were previously trusted).

For the people who don't want to be vaccinated, raise their insurance rates, don't let them get Medicare or Medicaid but otherwise stop trying to force them to be vaccinated. They have made the decision to accept higher risk so they have to live with any consequences.

 

[DisneyCane]

It was only a couple of weeks ago I complained about NJ, NY and FL being among the worst states for Covid19. So today, even with their numbers still being to high, I am happy to say that all 3 are now among the 10 lowest states for Covid19 infections. Yes, NJ is now the 4th lowest, NY is 6th and FL is 10th.

Now for all the numbers. The US has 186 cases per 100k, 46 per 100k hospitalizations and 0.74 deaths per 100k. Florida has 149, 53 and 0.37. NJ has 96, 52 and 1.25. NY has 110, 56 and 1.02. All those numbers are way too high especially the deaths and hospitaluzations.

Looking at the South Africa and UK data, it seems that with Omicron, the curve is not as symmetric as prior variants. The downslope seems to reach a plateau and then have a slower decline. I don't know if this is due to reinfections by the subvariant.

Looking at the CDC data and overlaying the new hospitalizations on the case chart, it suggests that, for FL which I looked at, the infections continue to decline even though the cases seem to have hit a bit of a plateau. It could also mean that the subvariant is coming into play and is even more mild than the original Omicron.

The new hospitalizations are significantly lower than they were at the same level of Delta cases. The seven day average of new hospital admissions is 1,755 while the seven day average of new cases is 35,266 (4.97% hospitalization rate). During the Delta outbreak, the last time there was a similar average for hospital admissions it was 1,771 with a seven day average of 18,048 new cases (9.8% hospitalization rate). People are also spending less time in the hospital because the difference in current hospitalized COVID patients is even more stark.

For the same two days, the number of currently hospitalized COVID patients was 10,626 and 15,134 respectively.

 

[DisneyDebRob]

And this is why I continue to double down on my opinion that the point has been reached (since vaccines have been widely available and FREE) that dealing with COVID should be an individual issue. Everybody can protect themselves by getting vaccinated and keeping up with recommended boosters and it makes the risk from COVID statistically insignificant in the scheme of all daily life risks. If you want to wear an N95 respirator all day you can do that also for free.

It is way past the point that there should not be mask wearing policies at theme parks or casinos, especially when those policies allow "cloth face coverings" which are essentially useless against Omicron (this is not just my opinion but the opinion of many experts who were previously trusted).

For the people who don't want to be vaccinated, raise their insurance rates, don't let them get Medicare or Medicaid but otherwise stop trying to force them to be vaccinated. They have made the decision to accept higher risk so they have to live with any consequences.

Fortunately, it’s not up to you to determine whether masks should be gone in casinos, theme parks etc as you mentioned. That’s up to the individual restaurants, stores etc including the ones you mentioned. I agree if you don’t like the decision a business makes, you don’t have to go. Most are still following guidelines put out by the experts and IMO that’s a good thing. In fact I was at a store on Tuesday that had a sign that said no cloth masks allowed, only the ones that are now being pushed as the best ones to wear. Saw one couple turn around while complaining but the store had many people in it. It’s their choice to require it, it’s your choice to not give your business to them. That’s the way it should be at anytime, but especially during a pandemic.

 

[DisneyCane]

Fortunately, it’s not up to you to determine whether masks should be gone in casinos, theme parks etc as you mentioned. That’s up to the individual restaurants, stores etc including the ones you mentioned. I agree if you don’t like the decision a business makes, you don’t have to go. Most are still following guidelines put out by the experts and IMO that’s a good thing. In fact I was at a store on Tuesday that had a sign that said no cloth masks allowed, only the ones that are now being pushed as the best ones to wear. Saw one couple turn around while complaining but the store had many people in it. It’s their choice to require it, it’s your choice to not give your business to them. That’s the way it should be at anytime, but especially during a pandemic.

Out of curiosity, what store is requiring masks but not cloth?

The casinos and many theme parks (depending on state/locality) are not making the decision themselves.

 

[DisneyFan32]

Looking at the South Africa and UK data, it seems that with Omicron, the curve is not as symmetric as prior variants. The downslope seems to reach a plateau and then have a slower decline. I don't know if this is due to reinfections by the subvariant.

Looking at the CDC data and overlaying the new hospitalizations on the case chart, it suggests that, for FL which I looked at, the infections continue to decline even though the cases seem to have hit a bit of a plateau. It could also mean that the subvariant is coming into play and is even more mild than the original Omicron.

The new hospitalizations are significantly lower than they were at the same level of Delta cases. The seven day average of new hospital admissions is 1,755 while the seven day average of new cases is 35,266 (4.97% hospitalization rate). During the Delta outbreak, the last time there was a similar average for hospital admissions it was 1,771 with a seven day average of 18,048 new cases (9.8% hospitalization rate). People are also spending less time in the hospital because the difference in current hospitalized COVID patients is even more stark.

For the same two days, the number of currently hospitalized COVID patients was 10,626 and 15,134 respectively.

I'm scared of new variants in coming months that would keep the pandemic to be longer for years for the world with masks longer.

 

[Polkadotdress]

According to the Worldometers chart today's 7-day average was 2286 deaths. The original wave peaked at 2263, Delta at 2030. Yesterday's raw total 3143, the day before 3003. It's not a particular state that's doing worse than before. It's just a few deaths, in a thousand different communities...it all adds up. But as you said, you think you could forget Covid even exists. As they say, people can get used to anything.

Last year about 117 people died in car crashes every day, that means I’m 4 times more likely to die from a car accident than Covid at this point.

You may want to recheck your numbers, because as @hopemax clearly spelled out, we are far beyond any previous death rates for former Covid waves....which also much-surpassed the car crash rate you state.

Out of curiosity, what store is requiring masks but not cloth?

The casinos and many theme parks (depending on state/locality) are not making the decision themselves.

The Florida theme parks are very-much making their own decisions

 

[seabreezept813]

The vast majority of those deaths are happening in the unvaccinated, as a fully vaccinated and boosted, healthy, middle aged person my risk of death from covid is no worse than my risk of death from hundreds of other risks such as car accidents, falling down a flight of stairs, etc.

The last report I saw was something like .1 death per 100,000 in boosted people, .9 in 100,000 in fully vaxxed, and 12 per 100,000 in unvaccinated. So while the death toll is still high we can guesstimate that of those 3000 deaths approximately 200 of them were vaxxed and another 20 were boosted, the rest are all unvaccinated. Last year about 117 people died in car crashes every day, that means I’m 4 times more likely to die from a car accident than Covid at this point.

Anything’s possible but I like my odds, the stress from worrying about it is probably a much bigger danger to vaccinated people than Covid is at this point.

The tough part is that young children can't vaccinate. While their odds are good, my 10 month old was hospitalized for an infection and also tested positive for covid, our roommate was a 7 month old on oxygen support who couldn't eat because of covid. This sucks in these cases as they have no options for protection.

 

[drizgirl]

You may want to recheck your numbers, because as @hopemax clearly spelled out, we are far beyond any previous death rates for former Covid waves....which also much-surpassed the car crash rate you state.

PP was talking about risk to himself as a fully vaxxed and boosted individual.

 

[Trauma]

Fortunately, it’s not up to you to determine whether masks should be gone in casinos, theme parks etc as you mentioned. That’s up to the individual restaurants, stores etc including the ones you mentioned. I agree if you don’t like the decision a business makes, you don’t have to go. Most are still following guidelines put out by the experts and IMO that’s a good thing. In fact I was at a store on Tuesday that had a sign that said no cloth masks allowed, only the ones that are now being pushed as the best ones to wear. Saw one couple turn around while complaining but the store had many people in it. It’s their choice to require it, it’s your choice to not give your business to them. That’s the way it should be at anytime, but especially during a pandemic.

So a store had a sign that said “Please wear masks that are being pushed as the best ones to wear.”

At least the next sign on the door will make sense

“Going out of business sale”

 

[DisneyDebRob]

Out of curiosity, what store is requiring masks but not cloth?

The casinos and many theme parks (depending on state/locality) are not making the decision themselves.

It’s a local mom and pop place that I started frequenting instead of going to Lowes̴ or home depot . Trying to give my business to smaller places in the last 2 years. Doesn’t bother me at all and I’ll keep going and abiding to whatever they want.

 

[drizgirl]

It’s a local mom and pop place that I started frequenting instead of going to Lowes̴ or home depot . Trying to give my business to smaller places in the last 2 years. Doesn’t bother me at all and I’ll keep going and abiding to whatever they want.

Doesn't mean that others will all do the same. A small business is less likely to be able to withstand losing even a small segment of their customer base.

As an aside, I got caught without a mask yesterday. Had car issues on my way to get my morning caffeine at a drive-thru and ended up with a nerve racking detour to our auto repair shop. Small office had 2 people in the tiny office with no masks on. I quickly dropped off my key and waited outside in 12 degree cold for my husband to arrive and pick me up. (I normally have one in my coat pocket but hadn't checked before leaving). What a pain.

 

[DisneyDebRob]

So a store had a sign that said “Please wear masks that are being pushed as the best ones to wear.”

At least the next sign on the door will make sense

“Going out of business sale”

Is that what you got out of it? Don’t think they will be going out of business. They have strong support from the local community.

 

[DisneyDebRob]

Doesn't mean that others will all do the same. A small business is less likely to be able to withstand losing even a small segment of their customer base.

As an aside, I got caught without a mask yesterday. Had car issues on my way to get my morning caffeine at a drive-thru and ended up with a nerve racking detour to our auto repair shop. Small office had 2 people in the tiny office with no masks on. I quickly dropped off my key and waited outside in 12 degree cold for my husband to arrive and pick me up. (I normally have one in my coat pocket but hadn't checked before leaving). What a pain.

I never said others will do the same. Just said that some are doing it.
Need to keep a few of those masks in the glove compartment.