Coronavirus and Walt Disney World general discussion

[TrainsOfDisney]

We already knew this.

First of all... speak for yourself. I didn’t know it.

Second of all... the article is from July 4.

 

[Miss Bella]

First of all... speak for yourself. I didn’t know it.

Second of all... the article is from July 4.

Healthcare workers have been wearing N95’s and face shields since March. You haven’t seen pictures. We’ve known it lingers in the air since then.

 

[GoofGoof]

Glad it worked for you. Frustrating bc I suspect this has a lot to do with where one lives, which inherently problematic.

A lot of states with fewer initial infections ramped up testing and were in really good shape with very low percent positive rates, but now that there’s a surge in new cases it seems like there are starting to be more issues with testing being available. Time to boost efforts to expand testing again but that’s easier said then done. Hopefully once the dust settles on the holiday weekend there’s a significant ramp up in testing again everywhere that needs it.

 

[Miss Bella]

A lot of states with fewer initial infections ramped up testing and were in really good shape with very low percent positive rates, but now that there’s a surge in new cases it seems like there are starting to be more issues with testing being available. Time to boost efforts to expand testing again but that’s easier said then done. Hopefully once the dust settles on the holiday weekend there’s a significant ramp up in testing again everywhere that needs it.

A lot of people want to get tested that are asymptomatic and have no known exposure. This is making the lines really long and honestly it makes no sense to do that.

 

[Rider]

More from that article since some people may not read it and understand what it is about:

Dr. Morawska and others pointed to several incidents that indicate airborne transmission of the virus, particularly in poorly ventilated and crowded indoor spaces. They said the W.H.O. was making an artificial distinction between tiny aerosols and larger droplets, even though infected people produce both.

“We’ve known since 1946 that coughing and talking generate aerosols,” said Linsey Marr, an expert in airborne transmission of viruses at Virginia Tech.

Scientists have not been able to grow the coronavirus from aerosols in the lab. But that doesn’t mean aerosols are not infective, Dr. Marr said: Most of the samples in those experiments have come from hospital rooms with good air flow that would dilute viral levels.

In most buildings, she said, “the air-exchange rate is usually much lower, allowing virus to accumulate in the air and pose a greater risk.”

The W.H.O. also is relying on a dated definition of airborne transmission, Dr. Marr said. The agency believes an airborne pathogen, like the measles virus, has to be highly infectious and to travel long distances.

People generally “think and talk about airborne transmission profoundly stupidly,” said Bill Hanage, an epidemiologist at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

“We have this notion that airborne transmission means droplets hanging in the air capable of infecting you many hours later, drifting down streets, through letter boxes and finding their way into homes everywhere,” Dr. Hanage said.

Experts all agree that the coronavirus does not behave that way. Dr. Marr and others said the coronavirus seemed to be most infectious when people were in prolonged contact at close range, especially indoors, and even more so in superspreader events — exactly what scientists would expect from aerosol transmission.

Precautionary principle

The W.H.O. has found itself at odds with groups of scientists more than once during this pandemic.

The agency lagged behind most of its member nations in endorsing face coverings for the public. While other organizations, including the C.D.C., have long since acknowledged the importance of transmission by people without symptoms, the W.H.O. still maintains that asymptomatic transmission is rare.

“At the country level, a lot of W.H.O. technical staff are scratching their heads,” said a consultant at a regional office in Southeast Asia, who did not wish to be identified because he was worried about losing his contract. “This is not giving us credibility.”

The consultant recalled that the W.H.O. staff members in his country were the only ones to go without masks after the government there endorsed them.

Many experts said the W.H.O. should embrace what some called a “precautionary principle” and others called “needs and values” — the idea that even without definitive evidence, the agency should assume the worst of the virus, apply common sense and recommend the best protection possible.

“There is no incontrovertible proof that SARS-CoV-2 travels or is transmitted significantly by aerosols, but there is absolutely no evidence that it’s not,” said Dr. Trish Greenhalgh, a primary care doctor at the University of Oxford in Britain.

“So at the moment we have to make a decision in the face of uncertainty, and my goodness, it’s going to be a disastrous decision if we get it wrong,” she said. “So why not just mask up for a few weeks, just in case?”

After all, the W.H.O. seems willing to accept without much evidence the idea that the virus may be transmitted from surfaces, she and other researchers noted, even as other health agencies have stepped back emphasizing this route.

“I agree that fomite transmission is not directly demonstrated for this virus,” Dr. Allegranzi, the W.H.O.’s technical lead on infection control, said, referring to objects that may be infectious. “But it is well known that other coronaviruses and respiratory viruses are transmitted, and demonstrated to be transmitted, by contact with fomite.”

Aerosols may play some limited role in spreading the virus, said Dr. Paul Hunter, a member of the infection prevention committee and professor of medicine at the University of East Anglia in Britain.

But if the W.H.O. were to push for rigorous control measures in the absence of proof, hospitals in low- and middle-income countries may be forced to divert scarce resources from other crucial programs.

“That’s the balance that an organization like the W.H.O. has to achieve,” he said. “It’s the easiest thing in the world to say, ‘We’ve got to follow the precautionary principle,’ and ignore the opportunity costs of that.”

In interviews, other scientists criticized this view as paternalistic. “‘We’re not going to say what we really think, because we think you can’t deal with it?’ I don’t think that’s right,” said Don Milton, an aerosol expert at the University of Maryland.

Even cloth masks, if worn by everyone, can significantly reduce transmission, and the W.H.O. should say so clearly, he added.

 

[milordsloth]

More from that article since some people may not read it and understand what it is about:

Kinda scary how much is still unknown regarding exactly how the disease is transmitted.

(Not enough for me to change my plan to be at wdw next weekend...)

 

[milordsloth]

I know people who get tested weekly just for their own peace of mind... I doubt there are enough people like that to make a huge impact but there are definitely people getting tested for no other reason than because they want to.

 

[Miss Bella]

I know people who get tested weekly just for their own peace of mind... I doubt there are enough people like that to make a huge impact but there are definitely people getting tested for no other reason than because they want to.

That is certainly within their right to do that. I would do it if it was required to get into a country or state like Hawaii, but otherwise no I wouldn’t get a random test.

 

[GoofGoof]

A lot of people want to get tested that are asymptomatic and have no known exposure. This is making the lines really long and honestly it makes no sense to do that.

To get the percent positive down below 5% that means 95% of the people tested are negative. I don’t think that’s possible only testing people with symptoms. All along there was a lot of testing done on people with no symptoms. Right now with the spike in cases and more stuff open than previous high infection rate periods, people are much more likely to have a possible exposure so there is a rise in demand for testing. More testing catches more sick people who then quarantine and avoid infecting others. If testing starts to become less available people will just not get tested which leads to more infection.

 

[Miss Bella]

To get the percent positive down below 5% that means 95% of the people tested are negative. I don’t think that’s possible only testing people with symptoms. All along there was a lot of testing done on people with no symptoms. Right now with the spike in cases and more stuff open than previous high infection rate periods, people are much more likely to have a possible exposure so there is a rise in demand for testing. More testing catches more sick people who then quarantine and avoid infecting others. If testing starts to become less available people will just not get tested which leads to more infection.

How many times have you been tested? Every asymptomatic person I know that got tested it was because they had a known exposure and thats a lot of people. One person at my husbands job got it so they all got tested. I don’t know anybody that woke up one morning and decided to go get a a Covid test for the heck of it.

 

[DisneyDebRob]

How many times have you been tested? Every asymptomatic person I know that got tested it was because they had a known exposure and thats a lot of people. One person at my husbands job got it so they all got tested. I don’t know anybody that woke up one morning and decided to go get a a Covid test for the heck of it.

It’s happening around the country everyday and that’s a good thing. As has been mentioned numerous times, the more people tested the better we can trace. Going to get tested only when symptoms are there will help but not as much as massive testing.

 

[Miss Bella]

It’s happening around the country everyday and that’s a good thing. As has been mentioned numerous times, the more people tested the better we can trace. Going to get tested only when symptoms are there will help but not as much as massive testing.

Are you helping out and getting tested frequently?

 

[George]

Query - is the virus bad?

 

[disneygeek90]

Universal and Sea World had a hard enough time but now that things are being real and or spun to be worse(no matter what side you are on) WDW is going to have a harder time beginning to reopen. Since they are the main draw, it will seem like they are the bad guy because they attract a lot more than others, they are a victim of their own success and reputation in this case. And in reality, they have a hard time actually getting the numbers they think they are going to get of big money spenders outside of the AP and DVC crowds.

I think Disney had hoped back in May that July would show a significant decline and they’d be looking like the cautious company that put guest safety above money. Now, they’re planning on opening when things are at an all time worse. No fault to Disney, and I personally don’t feel they should push the open date back if they match or exceed what’s being done at Universal, but it is a rather ironic scenario.

 

[GoofGoof]

I think Disney had hoped back in May that July would show a significant decline and they’d be looking like the cautious company that put guest safety above money. Now, they’re planning on opening when things are at an all time worse. No fault to Disney, and I personally don’t feel they should push the open date back if they match or exceed what’s being done at Universal, but it is a rather ironic scenario.

I agree with this theory. Part of the reason they waited was related to logistics including setting up the reservations system, NBA/MLS hotel situation and other hurdles to get through, but I agree that a big part of the reason for the delay was related to safety and hoping the situation on the ground would be even better 6 weeks later. Instead things went the wrong way. I’m sure that’s not enough of a reason to delay at this point, but nobody at Disney can be happy about it.

 

[schuelma]

I agree with this theory. Part of the reason they waited was related to logistics including setting up the reservations system, NBA/MLS hotel situation and other hurdles to get through, but I agree that a big part of the reason for the delay was related to safety and hoping the situation on the ground would be even better 6 weeks later. Instead things went the wrong way. I’m sure that’s not enough of a reason to delay at this point, but nobody at Disney can be happy about it.

Yea I agree as well. I do not envy Disney execs right now.

 

[The Mom]

Query - is the virus bad?

 

[JoeCamel]

Query - is the virus bad?

No, the virus is what the virus is so it is not "bad".
It is "bad" to contract and can be worse if you contract it and spread it to others before you isolate but it is not "bad.
What you are looking for @George?

 

[The Mom]

No, the virus is what the virus is so it is not "bad".
It is "bad" to contract and can be worse if you contract it and spread it to others before you isolate but it is not "bad.
What you are looking for @George?

@George is just looking for trouble.

 

[Lilofan]

Yea I agree as well. I do not envy Disney execs right now.

There was previous thread on how some cast were so happy Josh D'Amaro was promoted to Parks Chairman. He will surely be making some difficult decisions moving forward.