CovidTalk

[Unknown Screenwriter]

And the HITS just KEEP ON COMIN'...

Tracking Our COVID-19 Response

July 10 - BRUISED RED - Updated Color Scale
As a country we've reached a record number of cases. We've added a new color to the scale: "Bruised Red". There were extremes that were not captured in our original scale. Our scale also has been adjusted to put more weight on "new cases per million" and "positivity". You can see our definitions and criteria here.

 

[mlesemann]

Wow, that bruised red is horrible. I'm in NJ, and we were very very red, but now green and working hard to stay there.

 

[Blaney]

I have no concerns at all about violence (I live in southern New Jersey), which might be at least in part because I have many friends, colleagues, and acquaintances who have been involved in the protests and continue to be. I AM concerned by people who won't wear masks, which fortunately are required here at all indoor public facilities. I'm also reassured by our governor, who pulled back on the idea of allowing indoor restaurant dining.

I'm expecting to settle in for a long haul, although I hope to be able to see my mother in her assisted living facility very soon - she lives near me and the virus itself is much better contained here, and they've had no cases in several weeks.

I doubt there will be a vaccine widely available any sooner than next spring, and I think even that's optimistic. With even Mexico closing the border to Americans, I feel like I'm just putting one foot forward, day after day, going straight ahead. I feel like I'm in the middle of a maelstrom, and just trying to control my own tiny space in the center of it.

Like you, I'm more concerned about people not wearing masks. It is annoying. If only everybody did then eventually the infection rate would be so low that even high risk things like going to the theatre, cinema, conventions, pubs and basically anything indoors would be relatively fine as there'd be such a low % of infected people that the risk would be super low. But we'd still have to wear masks even then, and continue until a vaccine came along (which will be easily a year away at least I believe). Hoping more and more people do wear masks as I want to go back to the theatre and cinema... sooner rather than later. Like I always say, it's not the end of the world... climate change is .

 

[Unknown Screenwriter]

The COVID Tracking Project data

Everything is going UP except deaths... So at least there's that.

For now.

 

[mlesemann]

On a rolling 14 day basis, deaths went from -30% about 10 days ago to now +25%.
Of course, the rise is now from a lower base, but it's not good to see.

 

[directorik]

I got my first gig in nearly four months!

Starting on the 14th (July) I'm doing 3 days for Disney Broadcast
Services shooting for an on-line "Welcome Back" promo piece for
the Disneyland Resort. They still have no opening date but I guess
they want to be ready.

Both directing and shooting!

 

[Alcove Audio]

I got my first gig in nearly four months!

Starting on the 14th (July) I'm doing 3 days for Disney Broadcast Services shooting for an on-line "Welcome Back" promo piece for the Disneyland Resort. They still have no opening date but I guess they want to be ready.

Both directing and shooting!

Congrats!

Work still looks like a long way off for me. Two of my biggest clients are now out of business, and I'm still trying to figure out how to fill the gap.

 

[jax_rox]

I got my first gig in nearly four months!

Nice! Going back to work would be daunting in some ways I can imagine. We’ve just gone back into six weeks of lockdown, so it’s going to be another little while before we can get back to work..

Can you share any details on the COVID protocols?

I love Disneyland, always wanted to shoot for them!

 

[directorik]

Nice! Going back to work would be daunting in some ways I can imagine. We’ve just gone back into six weeks of lockdown, so it’s going to be another little while before we can get back to work..

Same in California. We just went back into a severe lock-down again. I
was surprised to get the gig. I'm a freelance day-hire for them.

Can you share any details on the COVID protocols?

They were quite strict and very safe. Temperature checks for everyone,
masks, lots of sanitizing stations. All of the on-screen talent were DLR
employees.

But...

They pretty much canceled the shoot. We did some B-roll and shot some
of the exec's and office folks. They had brought on a few ride operators so
we shot a little around some rides. We had a few costumed characters so
we shot them in the parks. But everything else like merchandise and food
service weren't in the parks. They are not gearing up to open at all. Off the
record, they don't think the California parks will open until October at the
earliest.

We did some generic B-roll of empty parks on the 14th and half-day on
the 15th. Today (16th) was canceled.

I love Disneyland, always wanted to shoot for them!

I've been with Broadcast Services for several years now. Part-time for
a while then day-hire. I've done work in Tokyo and Euro Disney and quite
a bit of shooting in Florida parks. But mostly special events and live broadcast
events for the Anaheim parks. I love it!

 

[Unknown Screenwriter]

Watched this video today... I'm curious as to your take on this:

Why Face Masks DON'T Work, According To SCIENCE

 

[sfoster]

Watched this video today... I'm curious as to your take on this:

Why Face Masks DON'T Work, According To SCIENCE

Masks are a huge deal and the most important factor for a population to control covid.

The reason there is so much confusion about this issue is because our health officials lied to all of us.
Bunch of assholes.

Here is video of the surgeon general admitting he lied to the public about masks

Here is video of dr fauci admitting he lied to the public about masks

 

[mlesemann]

WEAR A FACE MASK. Period.

Are they perfect? No.

Are they the best defense we have now? YES.



"What may have finally convinced the CDC to change its guidance in favor of masks were rising disease prevalence and a clearer understanding that both pre-symptomatic and asymptomatic transmission are possible – even common. Studies have found that viral load peaks in the days before symptoms begin and that speaking is enough to expel virus-carrying droplets.


“I think the biggest thing with COVID now that shapes all of this guidance on masks is that we can’t tell who’s infected,” said Chin-Hong. “You can’t look in a crowd and say, oh, that person should wear mask. There’s a lot of asymptomatic infection, so everybody has to wear a mask.”"

 

[Unknown Screenwriter]

In New Mexico, we've been mandated by our governor to wear masks in public which of course, I do. I worry however, that people watch these videos... There are a lot more than just the one and end up deciding NOT to wear them. I see videos of the beaches in the Los Angeles and San Diego area and am shocked as to how many people are hanging out there... WITHOUT MASKS. In high number groups.

Like everyone else? I want this crap to END. It's seriously ruined my usual routine of getting work accomplished. I'm ready to go back to what it was but from everything I see and read? We're really no closer to that happening than when we had to begin staying home.

I would think that people could see how... With the use of masks, some states are flattening the curve and would want to do likewise in their state but it sure doesn't seem to be that way.

With so much information floating around FOR and AGAINST along with crap like @sfoster pointed out above? I'm thinking this is going to keep going on for the rest of the year at least.

Maybe longer.

 

[mlesemann]

I agree - at least well into the first quarter of 2021, and maybe until we get a reliable vaccine that's readily available.

And while I recognize that there's good progress being made on a vaccine, I still think Q1 2021 is the absolutely earliest something will be available to the public, and more likely mid-year.

My state of NJ plus neighboring NY state are the best evidence that masks are effective. If people don't want to believe scientists (I DO). The tremendous progress both states have made with made with mask mandates since we were the epicenter in March & April should be enough to convince people (but isn't, I know).

 

[Alcove Audio]

It's a very complex topic. We tend not to talk politics here on IndieTalk, but the Covid-19 situation cannot be divorced from it.

There was a great deal of confusion at the beginning of the outbreak, from those of us living everyday lives all the way up to those in control of countries. The reasons for that have numerous causes, and politicians & the media on both sides seem to want to play the blame game rather than focusing on facts and solutions.

What many people refusing to wear masks believe is based upon the idea that the government - at least here in the United States - may not compel you to do anything. If I accept this now, what else are you going to force upon me in the future? The infamous, notorious "slippery slope." There are many holding this position who would wear a mask if asked to and given at least some good reasons to do so, but the second you tell them that they must do so by law they are going to take the mask off and tell the world "F*** YOU!!!!" And there are those who don't trust or believe what they are told. And, of course, there are some who just don't give a rodents anus.

Another issue is the huge amount of conflicting information out there, and the highly polarized political situation. Wearing a mask doesn't really help, wearing a mask is essential. Lock-downs are essential, no they are not. This politician or pundit is a moron, that one is a genius. The debates rage on and on without any consensus, even among scientific types, some of who have even contradicted themselves. The political polarization puts some people in distrust of both sides, while others become raging fanatics of one position or another. So many of us have no idea who to believe.

I HATE wearing a mask. It gives me that "I can't breath" feeling, a sense of being too closed in, and it fogs up my glasses. On top of that, I can't see peoples faces. So I do not want to wear a mask. However, it does make some sense to do so when indoors and when packed tightly with others outdoors, although social distancing makes that situation sort of moot at this time.

So where does all this lead us? I don't know. So I'll unhappily wear a mask when the situation requires it and hopelessly hope that common sense, common courtesy and logic prevail.

 

[Unknown Screenwriter]

I hear ya loud and clear. My whole thing is, "Why take chances?" Damn near everything around here is closed anyway except for convenience stores, fast food restaurants (drive-thru), grocery stores, and Walmart. I want to LIMIT my personal exposure to ALL these places until things get back to normal which means I am IN and OUT as fast as possible. You won't see me in Walmart shopping for an hour. So of course, I wear a mask. On top of that? Our governor has mandated it anyway.

On the flip side... Based on the Tracking Our COVID-19 Response site, I see Maine is also green. It's flattening the curve from what I understand yet I have two friends living in Maine in completely different parts of Maine who constantly tell me, "Nobody's wearing a mask!" I wondered how that can be true if they are in fact flattening the curve yet here's a survey of the top 5 states that are anti-mask:

Survey: Idaho among top five states for anti-mask activity

Then I stumbled on this piece: Don’t govern in fear

Seems like some conflicting mandates going on... Crazy. Making me wonder if something like THIS is going on in most of the states that are still out of control. I know Maine is doing fine for now but who knows.

Crazy times. If anything? It shows me that, as a country? We were never ready for something like this.

 

[directorik]

I found this quite interesting:
CDC on Masks from May 2020

"Disposable medical masks (also known as surgical masks) are loose-fitting devices that were designed to be worn by medical personnel to protect accidental contamination of patient wounds, and to protect the wearer against splashes or sprays of bodily fluids (36). There is limited evidence for their effectiveness in preventing influenza virus transmission either when worn by the infected person for source control or when worn by uninfected persons to reduce exposure. Our systematic review found no significant effect of face masks on transmission of laboratory-confirmed influenza."

And...

"In pooled analysis, we found no significant reduction in influenza transmission with the use of face masks"

I am not suggesting no one wear a mask. Only that the CDC found that their
use doesn't do much in preventing the transmission of a flu virus like Covid.

My personal opinion is Fauci was correct in March and he became political
more recently so he change is advice.

 

[sfoster]

Yup the fact that we have to question if our dr was lying then or if he is lying now is undoubtedly an enormous failure of leadership

 

[directorik]

I don't think he was lying - saying something he knew to be false. I think
we was telling us what the science was saying. But he hasn't been in the
public eye so he was unprepared for the excoriating he got. He liked being
invited to speak on the news shows so he backed off from the science a bit
to be more accepted. Wearing a mask certainly doesn't hurt so it's not a
lie to suggest people wear a mask at all times.

While I'm on the subject...

How are people being infected?

We see the numbers of new infections daily. But we are not being told how.
Is it passive contact? For example; I'm infected and I'm walking my dog without
a mask. You walk past me wearing a mask. Assuming I don't sneeze or cough
as we pass can I infect you during those few seconds we pass outside on the street?

What about the same scenario in a store? I'm infected and not wearing a mask – you
pass me in the canned good isle. Assuming I don't sneeze or cough as we pass can
I infect you? What if we both are not wearing a mask? Can you get the virus from me
by passing me in a supermarket isle?

Here in California our governor has mandated those in church cannot sing or chant.
I wonder how many people in California have contracted the virus in a church that
allowed singing.

These are, I think, legit questions. I would love to know the science of transmission
of this virus. Not what is possible but exactly how people who got the virus got the virus.

 

[sfoster]

I don't think he was lying - saying something he knew to be false. I think
we was telling us what the science was saying. But he hasn't been in the
public eye so he was unprepared for the excoriating he got. He liked being
invited to speak on the news shows so he backed off from the science a bit
to be more accepted. Wearing a mask certainly doesn't hurt so it's not a
lie to suggest people wear a mask at all times.

While I'm on the subject...

How are people being infected?

We see the numbers of new infections daily. But we are not being told how.
Is it passive contact? For example; I'm infected and I'm walking my dog without
a mask. You walk past me wearing a mask. Assuming I don't sneeze or cough
as we pass can I infect you during those few seconds we pass outside on the street?

What about the same scenario in a store? I'm infected and not wearing a mask – you
pass me in the canned good isle. Assuming I don't sneeze or cough as we pass can
I infect you? What if we both are not wearing a mask? Can you get the virus from me
by passing me in a supermarket isle?

Here in California our governor has mandated those in church cannot sing or chant.
I wonder how many people in California have contracted the virus in a church that
allowed singing.

These are, I think, legit questions. I would love to know the science of transmission
of this virus. Not what is possible but exactly how people who got the virus got the virus.

What? Did you watch the link I posted? He straight up admits he lied. Therefore he either just then lied about lying. Or he is telling the truth that he lied. One has to be a lie. Either way he is a liar.