Based on viral load and transmissions confirmed through epidemiological investigation, most Omicron cases were infectious for several days before being detectable by rapid antigen tests.
This is obviously concerning, because of the implications for transmission. However, it’s not quite as bad as it sounds compared to the pre-omicron situation. Even with previous variants, detection by RAT was often delayed by 24 to 48 hours compared to PCR tests.
Ultimately, anyone who suspects that they have COVID should be isolating/quarantined until they know that they don’t.
To quote me, from multiple posts, “There are a number of choices, every single one is wrong, and each family has to figure which kind of wrong they can live with.” There is no answer that is even least wrong for everybody. I have kids who are thriving on virtual school and never want to go back (mostly those with good internet connections and supportive parents who have sufficient resources to have someone stay home with them) and others who are desperate for return to in-person schooling and experiencing profound depression and anxiety from the isolation and uncertainty. That’s before you get to the kids who are in a position of the teenager babysitting the younger kids because the parents are essential employees and can’t work remotely. “It’s complicated” is the pithiest way to put it, and that just isn’t what most parents want to hear. But it is, and I do not think any of them will emerge unscathed form it.
We need to fix that. It seems ppl with disabilities need internet access the most. Along with our other societal ills
In the case of the free tests, the article says there “the administration will also set up a phone number so those without access to computers or high-speed internet can place orders.”
Not sure how they’ll get the number out. Hopefully all the pharmacies will post flyers. That might help.
oregon hasn’t been tracking self reported infections, though when i went to find the article, turns out they just changed that…
first on my search results was:
this is still an interesting quote:
“At this point in the pandemic, our health department does not need to know about every COVID test result,” says department spokeswoman Kate Yeiser. “Test data that gets reported to us from labs includes both positive and negative, so we get a decent snapshot of disease activity in the community. As cases become very common due to Omicron, we will be watching indicators like hospitalizations to see how we are doing. We don’t anticipate a change to this approach, because it is a step toward living with COVID.”
They’ve moved on from the horse paste, apparently.
Of course, the serious side effect of this might be shortages of these medications if the idiots are using them to treat a disease that there are several effective treatments and vaccines for already.
At this point, they don’t have a choice. There’s just not enough tests, time, and resources to manage what’s going on following preventative rules for healthcare workers in florida. It sucks, it’s of their own making, but it’s the only chance they have now to stay in any level of control.
