8 thoughts on “C-19 Chat Post – January 22 2021”

  1. Significant drop in hospitalizations nationwide. Good sign.
    Probably related to vaccinations.

    Still, need to be vigilant. This is why I disagree with Baker vehemently on loosening indoor restaurant rules. Wait a few weeks/months until we have more people vaccinated. Right now, Massachusetts vaccinate rates are appallingly low for one of the most affluent and healthcare-oriented states in the union.

    You may recall I was worried that the B117 variant is more lethal. Well, it may indeed be 30% more lethal. The UK, Spain, Portugal, and now France are countries that are seeing the most B117 variant transmission. They’re also seeing significant increases in death rates. B117 is not as widespread here, yet. But, it could be soon. Keep an eye on the numbers in the coming weeks.

    1. From what I’be been hearing, restaurants are responsible for very, very few cases. One problem is that with restaurants closing so early, those customers end up getting together at each other’s homes and making their own entertainment instead.

  2. Philip, it’s a hard-to-answer empirical question whether indoor restaurants lead to significant increases in cases. There have been many studies showing how bars and night clubs are breeding grounds if you will for transmission. But, restaurants with limited capacity are not likely to be major contributors to transmission. My issue is that Baker is lifting some of those capacity limits. I’ve been seeing relatively crowded restaurants before the capacity limits were lifted. I can only imagine what will happen after that.

    You are correct about households and household guests/visitors being major causes of transmission. We are NOT strict at all about visitors. I hardly ever hear any city, state, or federal official calling for strict limits on indoor household gatherings. Sometimes I hear the number 10 thrown around, but that’s a lot of people in a 1 bedroom or even 2 bedroom apartment! In my building just now there was a group of 4 people with suitcases who needed to get into the building. They said they were staying in Unit 5 – which is a 2 bedroom apartment. Of course, I let them in. But, the issue is that this has been going on here since the beginning of the pandemic. It’s a never-ending stream of visitors. I’ve had a grand total of 1 visitor, besides my son who lives with me. That 1 visitor is my daughter. I’d love to have more people over. But, I ain’t doing that for a few more months at least.

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