Neverending Covid-19 Coronavirus

RenegadeMonster said:
Just saw on the local news that a lab in the Boston area is only able to complete 9 tests a day currently. They are hoping to be able to complete up to 36 tests a day in the near future.

The issue is the machine they use for testing had to be adapted. And special cartridges need to be used to test for COVID-19 and there simply are not enough cartridges available.

Due to the amount of time it takes to run a test and the labs capacity with the machines they use, a maximum of 36 tests a day is all they can manage.

And unless we get a rapid test in the near future, there is no way our current healthcare system can handle the need for tests.

They said the issue is this virus is a completely new microbe. Something that has never been tested for before. And we as a system, were not prepared for that.
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this seems incorrect.
one single lab here in Dublin is running approximately 300 tests a day and planning to start working 24/7 to increase their testing capacity.

I cannot confirm if the issue reported above is specific for the Boston lab in question, but there seems no issues with testing globally, since the tests are developed with standard equipment in mind.

The only issue in relation to the volume of testing possible is, apart from the tests turnaround time, the availability of testing kits.
Here in Ireland, the standard testing turnaround time is of 36 hours, slightly higher than what possible due to the existing backlog.
 
panino said:
this seems incorrect.
one single lab here in Dublin is running approximately 300 tests a day and planning to start working 24/7 to increase their testing capacity.

I cannot confirm if the issue reported above is specific for the Boston lab in question, but there seems no issues with testing globally, since the tests are developed with standard equipment in mind.

The only issue in relation to the volume of testing possible is, apart from the tests turnaround time, the availability of testing kits.
Here in Ireland, the standard testing turnaround time is of 36 hours, slightly higher than what possible due to the existing backlog.
Click to expand...
Except we aren't using the same tests as the rest of the world, for no good reason. Unless we've recently started using them, we refused them initially in favor of waiting a couple of weeks to develop our own.
 
panino said:
this seems incorrect.
one single lab here in Dublin is running approximately 300 tests a day and planning to start working 24/7 to increase their testing capacity.

I cannot confirm if the issue reported above is specific for the Boston lab in question, but there seems no issues with testing globally, since the tests are developed with standard equipment in mind.

The only issue in relation to the volume of testing possible is, apart from the tests turnaround time, the availability of testing kits.
Here in Ireland, the standard testing turnaround time is of 36 hours, slightly higher than what possible due to the existing backlog.
Click to expand...

No, sadly it's correct. It has a lot to do with the US has developed their own test instead of using the same tests as the rest of the world. We have a shortage of tests and can't meet demands.

Until yesterday, they were still control tests where you only qualified one if you have come in direct contact with someone who tested positive, or traveled to 1 of 5 different countries They expanded this to include anyone who is showing severe symptoms yesterday.

The lab in Boston as of yet still can't get enough tests from the federal government to run at full capacity.

Also, this lab is not designed to be running tests like this. They had to adapt existing equipment to be able to do it. Which is the case for many private labs. And the type of equipment they have and how much they have that they have adapted is what is creating these crazy limitations on max capacity. They were not prepared for anything like this.
 
RenegadeMonster said:
No, sadly it's correct. It has a lot to do with the US has developed their own test instead of using the same tests as the rest of the world. We have a shortage of tests and can't meet demands.

Until yesterday, they were still control tests where you only qualified one if you have come in direct contact with someone who tested positive, or traveled to 1 of 5 different countries They expanded this to include anyone who is showing severe symptoms yesterday.

The lab in Boston as of yet still can't get enough tests from the federal government to run at full capacity.

Also, this lab is not designed to be running tests like this. They had to adapt existing equipment to be able to do it. Which is the case for many private labs. And the type of equipment they have and how much they have that they have adapted is what is creating these crazy limitations on max capacity. They were not prepared for anything like this.
Click to expand...
thanks to you and @dhodo for clarifying.
looking at the number of tests done in the US, as of 3 days ago... the numbers are still awfully tiny.
3000 tests done daily for a country of approximately 300M people.
shocking.
 
wokeupnew said:
Things you love to see



no idea if this would be only once/monthly/quarterly? but it's a step in the right direction for universal basic income
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Yeah I wonder if this would be at the individual level or household level

ranbalam said:
A friend texted me that he was going golfing today. I am having the weirdest mix of emotions, none of them particularly healthy. I guess I'm a little envious because he apparently has little fear of going out and I'm certainly headed the other way...I barely want to go to the store. It's a beautiful March day in Michigan and I can't find the joy, and wondering how others can. I realize this is my issue, not his. Golf should be a relatively safe activity right? You're outdoors and can easily stay 6 feet or more away from others.
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Next week was my scheduled PTO for a Boston vacation that was cancelled. Weather permitting, I fully plan on getting in multiple rounds of golf. It's nice exercise and gets me safely outside without having to interact with anyone.
 
New York City's Mayor is verge of making the call to shelter in place like the Bay Area. There is one major hurdle to accomplish this. He is at odds with the Governor who may not allow this.

New York was one of the last states to Close Schools. While everyone else was closing schools last week New York and Massachusetts were recommending leaving it up to individual distracts. While both states found themselves closing schools this week statewide, they were making a different call than most other states at first..
 
I guess the concern with a shelter in place order is there is a concern that this will costs many jobs and people won't be able to make ends meet. There are concerns families will not be able to provide enough food for their families and make rent facing possible evisions.

There is also a fear that up to 20% of jobs may not comeback after the shelter in place order is lifted.
 
RenegadeMonster said:
I guess the concern with a shelter in place order is there is a concern that this will costs many jobs and people won't be able to make ends meet. There are concerns families will not be able to provide enough food for their families and make rent facing possible evisions.

There is also a fear that up to 20% of jobs may not comeback after the shelter in place order is lifted.
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The scariest thing about s shelter in place is that there's no idea how long it would last. Italy will probably be the best data on that in a couple of weeks.
 
RenegadeMonster said:
Just saw on the local news that a lab in the Boston area is only able to complete 9 tests a day currently. They are hoping to be able to complete up to 36 tests a day in the near future.

The issue is the machine they use for testing had to be adapted. And special cartridges need to be used to test for COVID-19 and there simply are not enough cartridges available.

Due to the amount of time it takes to run a test and the labs capacity with the machines they use, a maximum of 36 tests a day is all they can manage.

And unless we get a rapid test in the near future, there is no way our current healthcare system can handle the need for tests.

They said the issue is this virus is a completely new microbe. Something that has never been tested for before. And we as a system, were not prepared for that.
Click to expand...
panino said:
thanks to you and @dhodo for clarifying.
looking at the number of tests done in the US, as of 3 days ago... the numbers are still awfully tiny.
3000 tests done daily for a country of approximately 300M people.
shocking.
Click to expand...
dbarila said:
Here's what I don't understand about the confirmed numbers. If you are experiencing mild symptoms and you self isolate and recover, there's a very good chance no one would even know that you have it. With lack of tests available would they really make a person like that get tested?
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As someone who's taken a few epidemiology classes, this is so scary because we aren't reporting credible numbers at all, but our rate of spread for the numbers we do have is on par with Italy. This means that although our testing capabilities are severely limited, we are still showing trend similar to a hotbed of infection.

If you are experiencing mild symptoms, we are told to self isolate, but without something like drive thru testing, we don't get to count these numbers effectively which means that all of our math is wrong--or to be more precise, all of our math is understated. I read a very scary article that said there are many, many people who are experiencing COVID-19 symptoms and these people are being denied a COVID test. This means that we might not be counting all the deaths either.

New Orleans is now a hotbed of cases. It's all because we didn't shut things down soon and fast enough.
 
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