Day 35. Friday.
Almost on cue (referring to yesterday's entry), I see an article about protecting hospital staff with hoods rather than masks, refitting CPAP machines to filter out exhaled virus, and other useful makeshifts. On the downside, the NHS is just about out of protective gowns. Clearly, we shall need to develop reusable protectives, though I don't know how; there was also an article a few days back about trials of various techniques for decontaminating an N95, using either far UV light, hot humid air, or ... I forget whether the third was a chemical poison.
The only statistical news since yesterday is that California's rise in deaths is continuing. The trends by nation and world are essentially the same as yesterday. From Stanford comes a sampling study suggesting that the county had 3% infected as of early April, rather than 0.05%. But the test they used to detect infections is itself untested. If you see what I mean. The conclusion is easy to believe, but that doesn't make the test more reliable!
The Grumpy Economist points out that an adequate supply of test kits won't mean <excuse my French (rhymes with kit)> unless there is an authority that can require people to be tested and require them to quarantine themselves should the result be positive. Across much of the USA, there is not (thanks, conspiracy theorists). In a Darwinian sense, the consequences of this will be very interesting, but I'd rather feel sure I'll live long enough to see them. Tomorrow I'll see what analysis I can find on how this emergency may tilt the balance of power.
Or perhaps not. Through my employer, I'm being encouraged to take some meditation training. Given the stress that we're going through and the (likely) more stress to come, it seems like advice worth taking.
The only statistical news since yesterday is that California's rise in deaths is continuing. The trends by nation and world are essentially the same as yesterday. From Stanford comes a sampling study suggesting that the county had 3% infected as of early April, rather than 0.05%. But the test they used to detect infections is itself untested. If you see what I mean. The conclusion is easy to believe, but that doesn't make the test more reliable!
The Grumpy Economist points out that an adequate supply of test kits won't mean <excuse my French (rhymes with kit)> unless there is an authority that can require people to be tested and require them to quarantine themselves should the result be positive. Across much of the USA, there is not (thanks, conspiracy theorists). In a Darwinian sense, the consequences of this will be very interesting, but I'd rather feel sure I'll live long enough to see them. Tomorrow I'll see what analysis I can find on how this emergency may tilt the balance of power.
Or perhaps not. Through my employer, I'm being encouraged to take some meditation training. Given the stress that we're going through and the (likely) more stress to come, it seems like advice worth taking.
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