Jinx, you must be in that state that believes in reproductive freedom*!!!!

*for COVID

I love my governor. Great article comparing his response compared to Florida. https://www.google.com/amp/s/finance.yahoo.com/amphtml/news/tale-two-governors-covid-outcomes-210000522.html

In the last two weeks the case rate per 100,000 people in my semi rural county in Oregon is over 1300! Our governor has reimposed mandatory indoor masking and outdoor in crowded situations. Yet I have seen unmasked parents with newborn babies in stores. It's pure insanity.

I’m in MD. No state wide mask mandate - governor is leaving it up to counties to decide. Several counties have reinstated mask mandates.

My county, which is also the same where our governor resides, does not have a mask mandate for private businesses, but has reinstated one for county owned buildings, like government offices, libraries, county owned indoor pool, etc. Our public school system has a mask mandate, as do most of the private schools.

Our positivity rate is 4.5% and our vaccination rate is around 70% for ages 12+. Our ICU beds are 63% full.

Majority of people are now wearing masks in stores, including me and dh.

I only have one kid left at home, a junior in private high school. Vaccines not mandated, but masks required inside at school. Her entire friend group is vaccinated thankfully.

Meanwhile, one of my kids is in college in OH. He is vaccinated but there is a big outbreak at his school. He currently has minor cold symptoms. A kid across the hall who is also in his math class just tested positive. My son is getting tested tomorrow. He had cold symptoms earlier this summer and was tested for Covid and came back negative. I’m hoping he just has a cold (flu is also going around at his school). I know he will be fine if he does have Covid, but he can’t afford to miss two weeks of class if he needs to quarantine. His school did not require vaccine initially but just mandated it after Pfizer got full approval. 79% of students are vaccinated, but many of current cases are vaccinated students. They do have a mask mandate in classrooms and all public buildings/spaces. Trying not to worry about him. He is only a freshman,

We are back to mask mandates indoors and schools are mask mandate for grade 4-12. But numbers are still climbing. Our province is going to have a vaccination passport as of Sept. 13. We'll see how that goes. Quebec just instituted theirs today.

I wouldn't mind a mask mandate. I still order groceries but go occasionally to meat and produce market (much smaller). We do go to restaurants but only outside eating or go at non-peak times and only to those we know seating is still spaced. We go to church and many more are wearing masks there now. We are able to space out - but I wish they would go back to marking off every other pew. I'm glad home is my happy place.

We are supposed to travel early October and still on the wall. We probably can stay to ourselves other than going to visit my sister and BIL, who are both vaccinated. We'll wait and see how the rates are closer to that time.

South Carolina is not doing so well looking at the latest numbers. Can’t tell by the way people are acting though.

Good to know @Iris S (SC, Zone 7b) as Charleston is where we are (maybe) headed.

Tina Marie, I am in Greenville County. So kind of at the other end. Still just mostly going for groceries, but with not quiet 50% of people vaccinated, I am seeing maybe 25% wearing masks. Haven’t seen a kids with a mask on in the store for a while. If you zoom in on the map in this article, Charleston isn’t that great either. Most businesses here have a “masks welcome, but not required” sign.

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/us/covid-cases.html

I live in a conservative county in CO. My school (K-5) started 8/10, mask optional. A mask mandate was too controversial.

All grades except K have been on some version of quarantine since about 8/15 because of covid infected staff and children. Right now we have two grades in school, K and 1.

A mask mandate started today. Supposedly all grades with be back after Labor Day. I hope 100% masking will be the key to keeping the kids in school and that we aren't closing the barn door after the horse escaped.

“My body my choice” when it comes to vaccines and masking here. However, when it comes to women’s rights and bodies, the idiotic ”leadership” of my state has decided that they have the right to control us.

Although DH and I are both native Texans, we are having serious discussions about relocating to a state with a different political climate.

No mask mandate here in MN - not statewide anyway like we had earlier. So it's like it was before we had the mandate the first time - more people in the metro area wear them and the people in the more rural area by our lake cabin pretty much don't. I imagine that correlates with all the T signs in the rural area and lack thereof in the metro. I now wear a KN95 mask and feel reasonably well protected in spite of all the unjabbed, unmasked people around me. It was interesting when we drove to NC. The farther south we got the fewer masks we saw until finally no one was wearing them but us.

Still greatly concerned about hospital capacity should one of us become seriously ill with something beyond our control - unlike all the unjabbed folks taking up the hospital beds and staff who could have taken steps to prevent their illness. I do still believe we'll see significant survival of the fittest - those with the brain power to take appropriate action will survive. Those who don't, won't. Unfortunately this interim time takes a terrible toll on everyone.

Here, students are returning to school next week. We are supposed to enter phase 5, “living with C****” the week after. Our public health officials think everyone can frolic mask-free then and that students won’t have to mask. Looking at the rest of the world, I think they’re dreaming! Looking forward to the jab reaching Emmett’s age group. I won’t feel right until then.

Another Floridian here. It's so discouraging. I'm back @ work now in person with school age kids too young for vaccines - and the rates for kids of age to receive the jab is quite low in FL, I understand.

I'm double masking with a KN95 and a 3 layer cloth mask over that when I have to be inside - like today, when it rained all day. Staff are required to wear masks, but some wear it below their nose. Hardly any of the kids wear masks, and nobody tells them to.

I have a hunch that the Federal gov't and our gov. are on the verge of a legal showdown. There is a legal challenge over the rights of students with disabilities being harmed by the lack of masking & vaccines, I believe.

And I was thinking about how Australia's response seems to reveal a very different consideration for the population's health and safety. I heard on the news that the number of deaths in Australia from COVID are about 1K, out of a population of 25 million, and they're severely locked down, while here in the USA we have over 640K deaths out of around 333 million pop., and many leaders have resisted taking protective measures.

My county in California also has an indoor mask mandate, but the enforcement is nil so you see some people in the burbs going without. There is definitely a demographic tilt to it. Cases have plateaued but v***ations lag the state average.

Just got back from France, where they had a late start to v***tion and three harsh lockdowns in the past. After the fourth wave hit, the government implemented masking and then, a controversial digital pass (proof of v****nation or negative test) to enter restaurants, bars, cafes, museums, events, theatres and large malls -- even outdoors. There have been many weekends of protests, highly publicized in certain media channels. But since the implementation the country has shot past the US, Israel and others in v****tion rate, with 72% of all people with at least one dose (that's counting ineligible kids). 94% of adults in Paris are fully v*****ed. With no further lockdowns, the infection rates have plummeted. Hospitalizations are now declining but also peaked at a lower level than in the past, because any breakthroughs are mild/asymptomatic. Spain and Portugal are doing even better (they were also not as v****e resistant/skeptic).

A friend posted this on FB from her page a day calendar - so true, especially in times like this.

And that is what freedom looks like in my books.

Carol, I wish you and your son the best. You know your gov and mine are in a contest of egos, so we are in a similar boat.

My son, a teacher here in TX, is home with covid. My SIL, another teacher, is home with covid. And several other teachers I know have already gone out with covid and I believe all of them had their shots. I know my son and SIL had the shots. My brother also has it and he not only got the shots but also had confirmed antibodies from apparently having covid in February 2020 before we knew what it was or that it was here. All these teachers were in the classroom all last year and didn't get sick, even before shots were available. The difference is everyone wore a mask last year and now less than half the kids are wearing masks. I'm not sure about the teachers. I know my son was masked in the classroom and anywhere in public.

DH and I take our second test tomorrow after being exposed to DS the night before he tested positive, but we are not feeling any symptoms.

Carol, you point out the difference in death rates, but I think that is all some people see -- "not everyone dies", "most people don't die and are fine." Well, most people don't die, but those who have to be hospitalized will likely have large bills that will also take your breath away. On top of that, I read about 2 studies that were showing 30-40% of people who get covid will have some kind of long term health impact, possibly permanent. As we approach 400 million cases, that's 12-16 million people with heart, lung, kidney problems, new onset of diabetes or other problems. So far. This is going to have a huge impact and a cost and a burden we will pay as a society for generations. Masks are going to look like freedom in the rearview mirror.

"And I was thinking about how Australia's response seems to reveal a very different consideration for the population's health and safety."

We had the advantage of being an island, so closing the national borders definitely protected us during the first wave. I think the most important thing, though, was the comparatively bipartisan and cooperative attitude of the federal and state leaders and opposition parties, and the reliance of all on expert advice from the scientific community. The Chief Medical Officers of Australia and of the individual states were and still are on TV giving briefings every time there's a breakout (they're pretty busy right now). Perhaps because the leaders of both sides of politics were singing from the same song book, and because the experts were hammering home the science, there was a greater willingness to accept the restrictions and lockdowns.

Where things went wrong was that the government became complacent and was slow to get the vaccination program rolling. It's going full speed now, at least in the affected states, especially Vic, NSW and the ACT, but it's a catchup game, trying to get 70-80% of the population vaccinated by Nov. So restrictions will ease up. And of course, we have the usual protesters and rules breakers (though none of them are in government).

We are seeing the two states with very few cases - Queensland and Western Australia- backing away from the agreement to ease off on border closures when we get to 70%, so the consensus is fracturing a bit, but NSW and Vic have both given up on eliminating Covid. Their objective now is to get the vaccination rate high enough that their medical systems will be able to cope. It's going to be another tough couple of months.

New Mexico has an indoor mask mandate. Compliance seems to be pretty consistent with the political leanings of whatever area. The more conservative, rural areas with low va***ation rates also tend to have fewer people complying. School started in early August and all children and staff are required to wear masks, regardless of va***ation status. The high school my kids attend has only had 2 positive cases thus far. Cases in the state are at about 40 per 100,000, so we do have a bit of a surge. Hospitals are pretty slammed and have unfortunately been seeing some younger people in the death reports. There are not many, but some in their 20s, 30s, and 40s without underlying conditions. Our governor has said another lockdown would be an absolute last resort. I think masks in the school are a given through at least Christmas. Our church has a small preschool and thus far the 3 and 4 year olds seem to handle mask wearing easily.

Well, the mask mandate DID NOT pass in the nearby school system. It was a 6 hour long school board meeting with that outcome, sadly.

@tishtoshnm Zone 6/NM I believe our Governor has said something similar and I know the Mayor in the city nearby (same city with the above mentioned school board mask mandate decision) has said he will absolutely not impose another lockdown. Of course if the governor were to impose the mandate, he would have to comply. Who knows? We could avoid a lockdown by following some simple measures; but it takes a majority, not a minority for these measures to help.

In BC our first dose vaccination rates are pretty decent (high 70's and climbing) and fully vaccinated is high 60's and climbing. Yesterday a bunch of anti-vaxxers and anti-maskers held a bunch of Health Freedom protests. Where did they protest? Not the office of the Public Health officer or the office of the Health Minister or the office of the Premier. Nope, they protested at the hospitals holding up ambulances, patients and those just trying to do their jobs of saving lives. It was despicable. They are about 20% of the populations and are just creating chaos and probably don't understand that they will be lucky if they don't need the help of the front line hospital workers at some point.

Also from CA. We do not have a mask mandate for vaccinated residents in our county. Unvaccinated are required to wear a mask indoors. Overall most people are wearing masks indoors. When I was at Home Depot over the weekend, probably 80% of the customers had a mask. At Costco I only saw one customer unmasked. On the other side, while we have continued to be seated outside at restaurants, I do see many more customers sitting inside, and people are not really as good at staying distant from each other. Thankfully, I read this morning that hospitializations have leveled off in our area.

“At least 100 Texas hospitals were out of ICU beds last week …”

https://www.texastribune.org/2021/08/23/texas-hospital-icu-capacity/

“The vast majority of COVID-19 patients in hospitals and ICUs are [unvaxxed].”

A stylist that I went to once but a friend goes to regularly is in the ICU. He is 32, had the V and is extremely cautious because his MIL who lives with them is immune compromised. He asks all clients to be masked but not all stylists there do nor have all had the V. Someone else's client notified them that she tested positive after her appointment. Assumption is that is where he picked it up but who knows. Masks are not perfect, he could have had a moment of lapse at just the wrong time. It almost doesn't matter except that it does. One of our local hospitals is at capacity due to covid patients and is rerouting ambulances - the other is not as forthcoming with information. Mission Hospital in Asheville reports 10 covid deaths in the last 48 hours.

My best friend's family has been living as cautiously as possible. All vaccinated, all masked, very limited trips outside the house. Last Friday, they all tested positive. Probably got it from the grandson who attends school (in a state where our schools are not allowed to issue a mask mandate). Today, her 90-year-old mother was admitted to the hospital.

My neighbor (a doctor treating covid patients) says nearly all the patients they are seeing are unvaccinated or have compromised immunity (cancer patients, transplant patients and others), but my son's GF just told me the mother of one of her friends was fully vaccinated, no known immunity or major health issues -- got covid and was dead a week later. I really didn't expect my brother to get it again. They say people who have had the disease AND get even one shot have extremely high levels of antibodies, but he has been pretty sick and in a lot of pain this past week. The longer we are dealing with Delta, the worse it looks.

My best friend's family has been living as cautiously as possible. All vaccinated, all masked, very limited trips outside the house. Last Friday, they all tested positive. Probably got it from the grandson who attends school

I'm sorry if this sound harsh, but they weren't living carefully enough if they were in contact with the grandson who is in contact with dozens of other kids, who are in contact with...

Well you get the idea.

Terriks -here's the issue. They are all vaccinated, all working from home. We live in a state with no mask mandates, including the schools. None of them have any underlying health issues and all are vaccinated. There is one grandchild, and he attends school. So yes, the family could have made the choice not to see each other for the next two years or the next five years or however long this continues. They weren't willing to give up ALL contact with each other. She and I don't visit each other, except for about twenty feet away, outdoors and masked. The only thing this family is doing is visiting each other at home. They are well within the CDC guidelines.

The reality is that unless someone wants to live in a complete bubble devoid of any human contact, there is going to be some level of risk. Sure, we can follow the CDC guidelines and use common sense to protect ourselves. But if the public isn’t all on the same page, following the same set of guidelines, it doesn’t really matter.

I was hoping that Governor Whitmer would put mask mandates in place just like she did last year, but so far she’s refrained. I hope she’s not folding to pressure that’s been posed by nay sayers. Between the attempted kidnapping and threats to her & her family I wouldn’t blame her. Unfortunately, we have so many anti mask, va**ine and pro gun militants in this state, it wouldn’t be surprising if she has.

The risk of kids too young for vaccination not being inperson at school is far greater to society than mandating masked inperson learning will be. I do nit get the anti mask movement at all.

I watched Dr, John Camobell yesterday. The German scientists bekieve this has gone from pandemic to endemic, and it is time to stop testing people who have no symptoms. They feel we are ALL going to get some version of it, whether jabbed or not, and the jabs are only being about 50% effective. We should only be testing like we do the flu, when presented at a clinic. The video was a couple of days old, so the information may be different today….

Springroz - which video? Would love to see it. I was just watching the video where he recommended masking and testing to control delta spread in schools (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FhZuziTJxIg)

Oh - I found it here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhRb5hnTseU

Germany is ending their expensive and intensive free testing program - which they were providing free of charge - for the unvaccinated - so he kind of misstated the position on testing in Germany. They are ending free testing to force unvaccinated people to pay for testing, because unvaccinated people have to show negative tests to gather indoors. So if they have to pay - it's a major incentive to get vaccinated.

"Since we can now offer vaccines comprehensively to every citizen in Germany, we will be ending the free COVID-19 tests for everyone effective on October 11," the chancellor said.

After that date, people will have to pay for their own tests where required, although children and teenagers, as well as people who cannot be vaccinated for medical reasons, will be exempt.

"Those who are not vaccinated will, in the future, need to be tested regularly when they are indoors with other people," read a draft of the decision seen by German news agencies."

There certainly will be a time when the virus is endemic and passes through the population seasonally like the flu. But testing and contact tracing absolutely needs to continue for the moment, particularly during the wave, for the sake of schoolchildren who are unable to be vaccinated.

His major takeaway to me was that everyone is gonna get it, so if you haven't been vaccinated, you definitely want to be.

There's a third word in play:

• Endemic (in a disease context) is when a disease is prevalent and here to stay. For example, saying malaria is endemic in sub-Saharan Africa, means malaria is a permanent fixture in those countries. When we say covid-19 will become endemic we mean it will be ever-present, like the common cold or flu. Before vaccination, measles and smallpox were endemic. They would have outbreaks but there was always a low level of infection present in the population.

I have always thought Covid-19 would be endemic like other coronaviruses (for example, 65% of 3.5 year olds have contracted coronavirus 229E), but soon as everyone has been exposed (through vaccination or infection) it will then much less serious to contract it.

My thing is, let's at least wait to throw up our hands until the kids have had a chance to be vaccinated. They don't have a choice right now. Then we can get on to "living with covid."

I deleted my comment above (I read ’endemic’ as ’epidemic’). Another reason to put my glasses on in the morning.

All you have to see is the completely packed college football stadiums this weekend with few if any masks to be found in sellout crowds. This includes in blue states such as Michigan, where the Wolverines sold out the Big House today against W Michigan. The Wisconsin game is packed today and the Virginia Tech game last night had one of the largest crowds I’ve seen for their stadium. Also, watch the UGA vs Clemson tonight and the Alabama vs Miami at 3. People don't believe or trust this Government on anything.

I think that may be a faulty conclusion. There are people who sincerely think the pandemic is over - or at least waning. It's very hard to believe, but a great number of adults just don't pay attention to any news at all, other than maybe sports, fashion and celebrities.

And a great many adults get their 'news' from social media.

Two of my kids are not old enough for the vacc. We were 100% virtual last year, by choice, but decided to go in person this year because mitigation strategies worked very well. Now, our county won’t issue a mask mandate but say the school district can. School district won’t do it because they claim it should come from the health department. The county recently rejected covid funding (for contact tracing, vaccine clinics etc.) because they didn’t want the ”strings attached”. Now, it is up for vote again to accept the money as long as they’re able to ban a mask mandate. All counties surrounding us have issued mask mandates for school. It’s a mess here. I feel that school will be the most high risk activity my kids have participated in since the pandemic began.

In Michigan, where as of yesterday all but two counties are at the high risk level.

Edit: schools recommend masks, but based on orientation visits, less than 5% wore masks. My kids will be wearing them and we’ve tried to prepare them that they will probably be the minority. My youngest expressed concern that he’ll be teased for it. It feels like we are being set up for failure.

AMJ, I’m in Oakland County and hadn’t heard about that. Are you up north or in the UP? The last time I checked our state stats, a large chunk of the spread was upstate, though hospitals in the Metro are filling up too. I feel terrible for what you and other parents are going through (not to mention the kids).

Ronminsouthga, I remember when your proof of who was going to win in 2020 was "all those the boat rallies filling up the lakes" for one candidate. Likewise, maybe packed college football stadiums with maskless fans aren't such a good method of determining how people feel about the government. Or of anything.

Soooo has anyone else heard about the new variant that Scientists are keeping an eye on?

https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/coronavirus/a-new-strain-of-coronavirus-what-you-should-know

Lukki - we are neighbors. I’m in Livingston. Born and raised in Oakland though.

Lukki, yes, It’s meant to be resistant to the vax. Also, being previously infected by covid offers no, zero, help. I think it was called Mu or Muu.

We are neighbors! I’m a transplant from SoCal though. Moved here over Labor Day weekend in 2005. I like Livingston it’s a very pretty county. I’m on the east side of the Oakland, north of Auburn Hills and Troy.

Hope the hospitals have room for all the new Covid cases that will come in from those brave, fearless, science-denying football fans who go crying to the doctors when they get sick.

See: Sturgis.

South Dakota’s c-19 graph looks the same as most every other state, only divided by 100 or 1000, depending on poulation. Here in KY, we are leveling off, it seems, and hopefully headed down. That downturn will occur right after we convene a special session, and ”do SOMETHING, even is it’s wrong”, and then our government will claim victory over whatever ineffectiveness they implor.

After Sturgis, I read of attendees causing rises in Covid cases back in their home towns. I should’ve clarified that, sorry.

Here is an episode of Science Friday from this most recent Friday. Her commentary on the virus, Ivermectin and the new variants is excellent.

https://www.sciencefriday.com/segments/covid-ivermectin-boosters/

Maybe we should all start private gardens now and fill our back yards with chickens. This isn’t going away, to many resistant to vax mutants out there.

Sturgis also was timed with a surge in the host county, Meade (and neighboring counties), but other cases were imported back to .

https://covid19.biglocalnews.org/county-maps/index.html#/county/46093

Germany fell behind in v******* rates, compared to their neighbors. They are now instituting charges for tests and a digital pass, similar to other EU countries that have demonstrated large amounts of success.