US

[ClammedupClam]

Just wandered what's happening in the US at the moment? A couple of months ago it was all in the news about case numbers spiralling, deaths starting to increase etc. As far as I'm aware they didn't reintroduce proper lockdowns, although some restrictions may have been brought back in some states. I know it will vary state by state, but does anyone know is their healthcare system/other systems struggling or have they avoided that somehow? And are their cases still rising? I guess it's interesting because we could be following their lead to some extent. Seems strange there is nothing much about the US in the news recently, apart from Trump getting Covid.

All I know is my little piece. We went down to yellow in my county, low risk of transmission. The county next door which border is red, high risk. Our governor has allowed bars to reopen, the county judges have let them do so at 50% capacity for now and will review. Schools are open with a choice of in person or virtual. 51% of our school district chose virtual to start. We have about 80 active cases out of 40k students in person school. Virtual students are starting to trickle back in as the cases are low for now.

These overall stats show it rising again

My part of the US had a surge during the summer months, more than 1000 cases a day for a week or 2. Bars were closed again but everything else remained open - restaurants, casinos, hotels etc and a mask mandate was introduced. Cases dropped and we are now holding steady at about 200-300 cases a day. hospitals coped and non elective surgeries didnt have to be cancelled during the summer surge. I had multiple dentist visits over that time with no issue.

Bars have now reopened and things feel pretty normal for now. My DD has been back at her private school for 10 weeks without issue but public schools are still closed which I think will cause massive effects on kids for years to come.

So, in summary, all the places that were supposedly on the verge of collapse over the summer (Arizona, Texas, Florida) are doing just fine now, the hospitals didn't get overwhelmed and some, such as Florida, have no restrictions at all now, and are still seeing cases falling. Other states which didn't see any big wave of cases yet now are but I'd wager they will be just fine too. No where in the US has seen their healthcare system collapse, not even New York City and that was by far the worst hit area.

@FromEden that’s shocking that state schools aren’t open. Are they doing virtual teaching or nothing at all?

I've just checked my state gov page on coronavirus and it says that 5% of our available hospital beds are occupied by suspected and confirmed cases of Covid. Total state population is around 6m.

Some of our public schools are open, some with hybrid and others more full-time. The largest district hasn't opened (full time virtual) and is now struggling to open as cases rise slowly with cold and flu season starting. DD's state school has been doing hybrid since August and has had about 3 positive cases total, no illness, no cases contracted in the school (they know this through test and trace apparently) and are doing just fine. But the districts that haven't opened seem to be waiting for a magical 'safe' time to do so which will never be 100%, so they keep putting it off and are kind of digging themselves into a hole.

We did have more of a surge in May/June but were never one of the really bad states. Our hospitals were never near being overwhelmed - we do have a lot of hospitals here tbf. They actually laid off quite a few staff as they were nowhere near as busy as expected.

Sorry, that was a bit of a mess. State and public school are the same here. And when I say 'open' I mean with children attending in person - the districts that are closed are still doing full-time virtual learning. I'm pretty sure this is the same in other states - haven't heard of any place where the schools haven't opened at all, not even online.

Quite a bit of variation by area:
mobile.twitter.com/ASlavitt/status/1316883211360849921

mobile.twitter.com/COVID19Tracking/status/1316881676035887104

Latest daily numbers for the US: 63,172 new coronavirus cases, biggest one-day increase since July

• Positivity: 6.8%
• In hospital: 37,308 (+260)
• ICU: 7,220 (+64)
• Deaths: +951
• Data: COVID Tracking Project

pbs.twimg.com/media/EkaCTI3WAAMdych?format=jpg&name=large

I think it's massively dependant on the state?

How much power does a state governor have with regards policy?

My poor friend moved to California is March. Her two boys are still doing online school and it doesn't look like even part time school will be happening until 2021. She is really struggling I think.

that’s shocking that state schools aren’t open. Are they doing virtual teaching or nothing at all?

Yes, its virtual but there are many problems with it so far. Lots of kids just don't have the resources or support at home and there are thousands of students who still haven't engaged at all since the start of the school year and who the authorities still have to contact.

How much power does a state governor have with regards policy?

The governor has all the power and its completely up to him/her what measures to take, or not

the hospitals didn't get overwhelmed

Cool story.

www.salon.com/2020/07/11/as-coronavirus-seizes-the-state-florida-hospitals-are-in-panic-mode/

www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/dozens-of-florida-hospital-icus-reach-capacity-as-coronavirus-cases-surge

www.cbsnews.com/video/hospitals-overwhelmed-as-florida-reports-record-virus-deaths/

[quote cbt944]the hospitals didn't get overwhelmed

Cool story.

www.salon.com/2020/07/11/as-coronavirus-seizes-the-state-florida-hospitals-are-in-panic-mode/

www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/dozens-of-florida-hospital-icus-reach-capacity-as-coronavirus-cases-surge

www.cbsnews.com/video/hospitals-overwhelmed-as-florida-reports-record-virus-deaths/[/quote]
Can you read? I was talking about my STATE. Which clearly isn't Florida, with a population of 6m.

You can find maps online of case counts... south is bad, east is iffy, west/middle is ok. South Dakota had a spike in cases and many areas have strain in critical care beds but nowhere is as horrendous as NYC in March got.

My folks are in California where all the rules are "advisory." Agricultural workers keep causing spikes. They don't get sick pay unemployment benefits so work on regardless.

ps: my Freshman year Uni nephew has all online learning. So he's in California 'attending' college in New Jersey. 5am start each day, I'm told.

Speaking of Florida, it can be worth following something reputable rather than general media: floridahealthcovid19.gov/

I believe CBS was mentioned upthread, so I'd just add that I was there during Hurricane Irma and those were the shower who assured us all that the state would be "uninhabitable for 6 months"

@FromEden

Florida’s cases are starting to rise rather than fall... Nothing like figures from the summer though. Still 100 deaths or so daily (equivalent to 300 per day in the U.K.)

It just doesn't seem that long since the news was sounding really bad about the US. It sounds now like a lot of states have got it back under control without full lockdown and without getting to the point of overwhelming healthcare. Surely as a country that has had a similarly poor case/death rate the UK and Europe should be trying to see what is working in the areas that have got things back under control? How is test and trace working?

In some ways comparing us US states that have got it back under control surely makes more sense than looking to countries that have gone loads better than us from the start, as it's probably a bit too late to emulate that now.

Can you read? I was talking about my STATE. Which clearly isn't Florida, with a population of 6m.

Oh, but you wrote:

So, in summary, all the places that were supposedly on the verge of collapse over the summer (Arizona, Texas, Florida) are doing just fine now, the hospitals didn't get overwhelmed

I watched a heartbreaking documentary months ago with medical staff from the hospitals and various government and public health insiders about what was happening in Florida; there were articles in quality journals and all sorts of analysis and coverage, which I did not bookmark - and rather than scan for fifteen minutes fruitlessly as I have done in the past to find these memories of another country's nightmare, when anyone can do their own searches after all, I did a fifteen second google and plucked the first three suitable items off the top of the very first page to refute your inaccurate downplaying.

Good to know everything is fine in the States. It doesn't look like it.

North Dakota looks in trouble right now when it comes to covid infections.

Oh, but you wrote:

I wrote that, not the poster you are replying to. The healthcare system wasn't overwhelmed on a statewide level. Thats a fact.

Also, yes, things are fine in many parts of the states. Not so much in others. Its a big country.

@FromEden

Oh, but you wrote:

I wrote that, not the poster you are replying to. The healthcare system wasn't overwhelmed on a statewide level. Thats a fact.

I should have checked. Sorry. The aggressiveness of the response took me back and as they were quoting my post in response to your post, I assumed it was you speaking. Makes it even madder, to see it was some random person in a rage whose post I'd never noticed!

Eeek, poor @cbt944, needing smelling salts at the phrase "can you read". I also said the hospitals weren't overwhelmed (in my state) - but yes, sorry, I was mistaken, you were replying to someone else, hope you manage to make a full recovery.

FWIW I also thought it was bad in Florida during the summer, and I thought I'd also read it was getting worse there now, but it can be hard to tell from media reports that often don't differentiate between positive cases, and deaths. There's a huge variation between states and there isn't a single correct answer to the OP's question of how it's going in the US. That's like asking how it's going in Europe.

Oh, spiteful and snide as well as aggressive.