Re: COVID-19 response

[Allison Schinagle <schnaigs gmail com>]

The Catholics,
https://www.bostoncatholic.org/news/march-13-2020-cardinal-authorizes-temporary-suspension-mass-response-covid-19-outbreak
and
the whoever these guys are, https://www.sneucc.org/newsdetail/13441459, 
have
both endorsed and recommended complete suspension of Mass and public
worship for at least the next two weeks. Schools and libraries in Cambridge
and Somerville are closed as well.

I'm surprised and disappointed that The Episcopal Diocese hasn't followed
suit. Based on reports floating around my personal echo chamber, including
https://www.endcoronavirus.org/, I think ringing should probably be
cancelled entirely for at least the next two weeks.

Allison


On Sat, Mar 14, 2020 at 6:03 PM Gregory Russell <gfr10598 gmail com> wrote:

> A big problem is that apparently people have only been tested if they can
> trace exposure to another infected individual.  Consequently, community
> transmission by definition couldn't be detected.
>
> Don't have a source for this but will forward if I find one.
>
> Things may change quickly now that some hospitals can do their own tests.
>
> On Sat, Mar 14, 2020, 5:59 PM Ken Olum <kdo cosmos phy tufts edu> wrote:
>
> > Hi, all.  Probably I should have kept my mouth shut instead of saying
> >
> >     In my opinion it would be prudent to follow the CDC guidelines, but
> >     there is no need to go beyond them.  As I understand them, these
> >     guidelines depend critically on whether or not there is community
> >     spread, meaning people who are turning up sick with no connection 
> > to
> > any
> >     known case.  In that case it is probably appropriate to cancel most
> >     events.  Otherwise CDC recommends only ordinary precautions
> > (handwashing
> >     etc.)  At the moment, Massachusetts has community spread only in 
> > the
> >     Berkshires, so it seems that we can go on with our lives here at
> least
> >     for now.
> >
> > On Thursday, a Tufts student tested positive for COVID-19.  At this
> > moment Tufts does not know how this student was infected.  I inquired
> > and they sent me a rather ambiguous message: "At some point we may be
> > able to track the source, but it's not clear right now."  So perhaps we
> > do have community transmission in the Boston area.
> >
> > A closer look at CDC's classifications says that this is still "None to
> > Minimal" community transmission, and it doesn't trigger any different
> > recommendations.  On the other hand, CDC seems to be an outlier in 
> > their
> > conservative recommendations.  Even in the case of Seattle, which has
> > widespread community transmission, they don't go as far as saying that
> > you should cancel all meetings and close schools.  Many epidemiologists
> > have recommended far more stringent restrictions.  So maybe CDC is not
> > really to be trusted to be recommending sufficient action.
> >
> >                                         Ken
> >
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