Kind of a short entry to the Dumbass Files this morning, my friends. I’m still annoyed at the mask-less yahoos out there, especially after going to the store and the Post Office twice. And to add insult to injury the President flying into a another hotspot for another frigging rally. Poor Arizona doesn’t deserve this. [Or the San Joaquin Valley Summer is starting to get to me.]
Time to shift gears.
I have come to a conclusion: We’re all potential bio-hazards.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, the most common symptoms of Covid-19 are:
- Fever or chills
- Cough
- Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
- Fatigue
- Muscle or body aches
- Headache
- New loss of taste or smell
- Sore throat
- Congestion or runny nose
- Nausea or vomiting
- Diarrhea
This list does not include all possible symptoms. CDC will continue to update this list as we learn more about COVID-19.
Last March, before Shelter-in-Place descended upon California I had more than one of these symptoms. Of course it could have been just a regular case of the flu, and in all likelihood was. While I have not been tested, I think it is also possible, if not absolutely probable, that I could have had a mild case of the coronavirus based on available criteria. That being said, I never lost my sense of taste or smell (pro tip: having two healthy cats and a litter box are a constant reminder about your sense of smell!)
I hate indefinite words, even though they’re a large part of my stock in trade.
When it comes to asymptomatic carriers of the virus, we are still very much in the realm of “Don’t Know.” Reports have been varied and inconsistent. For instance, asymptomatic or presymptomatic?
To some, it came across as if the WHO was suggesting that people without symptoms weren’t driving spread. Some studies, however, have estimated that people without symptoms (whether truly asymptomatic or presymptomatic) could be responsible for up to half of the spread, which is why the virus has been so difficult to contain. Isolating people who are sick, for example, does not prevent the possibility they already passed the virus on to others. Some modeling studies have assumed quite widespread asymptomatic transmission.
“The WHO created confusion yesterday when it reported that asymptomatic patients rarely spread the disease,” an email from the Harvard Global Health Institute said Tuesday. “All of the best evidence suggests that people without symptoms can and do readily spread SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19. In fact, some evidence suggests that people may be most infectious in the days before they become symptomatic — that is, in the presymptomatic phase when they feel well, have no symptoms, but may be shedding substantial amounts of virus.”
That’s why common sense masking, staying at home whenever possible, and social distancing are so vital nowadays. Especially in the age of the Dumbass. He’s still loose out there, and evidence suggests that he simply doesn’t care about himself or you.
Today is an open-thread day, and here’s your topic: what most truly dumbass thing have you’ve experienced or witnessed since the pandemic came to visit the United States?
Don’t stick to topic if you don’t feel like it: let ‘er rip!
I’ve ranted enough for a while: now it’s your turn!
And as always, thanks for reading, and please stay well!