Are you personally worried about getting the Coronavirus?

[Hawk1960]

A couple weeks ago I posted some analysis of the top 10 "sunny states" vs. the top 10 "cloudy states" and the drastic difference in COVID death rates. Below is an update based on the most recent data from worldometer.

TOP 10 SUNNY STATES:

Total COVID Deaths = 6651
Total Population = 90.6 million
COVID Deaths per Million = 73.4

TOP 10 CLOUDY STATES:

Total COVID Deaths = 43,591
Total Population = 75.8 million
COVID Deaths per Million = 575.5

So as of today, for every COVID death in the sunny states there has been 7.8 deaths in cloudy states. This ratio is down from 8.6x in my original numbers.

It's possible the cloudy states, which tend to be further north, have reduced the gap now as the number of daylight hours in these northern latitudes grows faster than the southern latitudes as we move toward the summer solstice. People in the north are probably also getting outside more with the warmer weather, even if it's in their own yard.

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/us/

 

[PCHawk]

Yep, there have been many other studies weeks ago that found the same results. Get some sunlight if you can. If not, eat some fatty fish, egg yolks or mushrooms!

My wife has liquid vitamin D already so we've been hitting that stuff up every day.

 

[PCHawk]

A couple weeks ago I posted some analysis of the top 10 "sunny states" vs. the top 10 "cloudy states" and the drastic difference in COVID death rates. Below is an update based on the most recent data from worldometer.

TOP 10 SUNNY STATES:

Total COVID Deaths = 6651
Total Population = 90.6 million
COVID Deaths per Million = 73.4

TOP 10 CLOUDY STATES:

Total COVID Deaths = 43,591
Total Population = 75.8 million
COVID Deaths per Million = 575.5

So as of today, for every COVID death in the sunny states there has been 7.8 deaths in cloudy states. This ratio is down from 8.6x in my original numbers.

It's possible the cloudy states, which tend to be further north, have reduced the gap now as the number of daylight hours in these northern latitudes grows faster than the southern latitudes as we move toward the summer solstice. People in the north are probably also getting outside more with the warmer weather, even if it's in their own yard.

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/us/

Those are really good numbers. My question is are they skewed really bad because of the New York area that was going to get hit hard regardless of how sunny it is? My guess is it skews it quite a bit but there would still be a noticeable difference without it. And remember, sunlight doesn't stop the spread, it just weakens the symptoms, which means the more low risk people who get infected this summer the better. Assuming it's true that vitamin D helps that much.

 

[GoHawks12345]

I honestly don't know if it's even feasible to mass produce enough tests to go that route. Maybe it is by now. But could it have been in time to make a difference? I really don't know that answer. But I do know that 330,000,000 people is a shit ton of people.

The sooner you start, the less total number you need.

For instance, I was never tested for Ebola or H1N1.

As far as people not wearing masks go. Companies can make it mandatory to wear masks when you go in. Sure you will get the random people who make a huge deal of it. But a huge majority of the people who fall into the "won't wear a mask" crowd would just mumble to themselves and put it on. Once again, the goal is to prevent mass spread, not have no spreads at all. That goal would be impossible.

I thought I saw a report of compliance of businesses that re-opened in Texas, with the government guidelines.

I thought it said businesses are not requiring masks. Actually doing the opposite, prevent employees from wearing masks.

It's reasonable to understand that a business owner worried about the failure of his business would most want to believe the pandemic is just a big overreaction. And these people set policy for their employees and rules for customers.

So very few businesses yet require masks. You might start seeing a change once big companies adapt. Companies that exist in both red and blue states.

Because people will avoid businesses that don't have a mask policy. Not sure who will win out. Restaurants might only cater to those who don't want to wear a mask. As the mask crowd will just not eat out. Unless local ordinances require it.

This is literally history repeating itself from San Francisco during the Spanish flu. I posted about it. Wearing a mask became a huge debate. The ordinance to require a mask lost I believe. Public health suffered. But I'm no historian.

 

[PCHawk]

Good day, y'all. The thread will stay open through Sunday. When I get to it Monday morning, it will be locked. If that disappoints you, sorry. This is a Hawkeye Sports Discussion site with message boards. It's not for politics, religion, etc.

Yes, there are music and BBQ threads. That's not the same. And I had to kill the Friday Funnys thread because tk felt it was ok to make that political. It's posters like him that do whatever they want on here regardless of the rules that ruin it for everybody else. For example, I deleted the post he made on the doctor yelling at democrats above and then he just reposted it. He's been warned and continues to do whatever the hell he wants. His days here are numbered.

Anyway, as some of you have pushed back on me shutting down this thread, I decided to go back one week, to last Friday, and count everybody's post in this thread. That was when HawkMN posted:

This shatshow thread is still going?

That got me thinking whether or not this had run its course.

Here's my count from that post forward:

uihawk82 - 50
PCHawk - 34
Hawk1960 - 33
HawkGold - 33
tksirius - 31
thedukeofearl - 22
Ree4 - 19
Northside - 18
HawkPrdatr40 - 17
EstronHawkKing - 15
HuckFinn - 9
MelroseHawkins - 8
judzeehawk - 7
okeefe4prez - 6
GoHawks12345 - 6
haydensly - 3
Kicker22 - 4
Stanzi, ssckelley - 2
KCRC, Xerxes, HawkeyeWalker, tailgater371, racerhawk, hawkdrummer, hawkinduckland, #dihardhawk, Denverhawk1, CP87 - 1

This is my 27th post in this thread during the last week. Most of mine the last few days have been about why I'm locking up the thread. Seeing that there really aren't a lot of people on here posting in the thread, I'm comfortable with my decision.

I'm not overly concerned about traffic because revenue from programmatic ads has plummeted with this economy. My goal was to give HN users a chance to discuss the unprecedented goings on in the world. I would like to be able to continue doing that but this thread has become a social issues debate too often, which I guess can be expected with this topic. It's be nice to focus on data and stories from the virus and provide information for people, but as you can see throughout this thread, people can find websites with what they want to believe all over the internet. And some of that misinformation is dangerous to me and I don't want it on this site.

As I mentioned in one of my recent posts, you guys that want to continue this discussion, and for the most part, it's a pretty small group, you can find a place to do that. I'd feel some remorse if this was the only place to discuss it. It's not.

Again. You can easily start your own FREE message board to discuss these topics. And again, here's the LINK

BTW, if you're thinking, hey, he's going to lock this thread on Monday so I'm going to get everything off my chest before he does, don't do it. I won't put up with it.

I'm still disappointed about this because it's so much easier to just come here, but I do appreciate you leaving it open this long and going out of your way to link us to another place.

If anyone is interested in continuing on that link, I'd like to as long as someone else sets it up. I suck at technology.

 

[kicker22]

Good day, y'all. The thread will stay open through Sunday. When I get to it Monday morning, it will be locked. If that disappoints you, sorry. This is a Hawkeye Sports Discussion site with message boards. It's not for politics, religion, etc.

Yes, there are music and BBQ threads. That's not the same. And I had to kill the Friday Funnys thread because tk felt it was ok to make that political. It's posters like him that do whatever they want on here regardless of the rules that ruin it for everybody else. For example, I deleted the post he made on the doctor yelling at democrats above and then he just reposted it. He's been warned and continues to do whatever the hell he wants. His days here are numbered.

Anyway, as some of you have pushed back on me shutting down this thread, I decided to go back one week, to last Friday, and count everybody's post in this thread. That was when HawkMN posted:

This shatshow thread is still going?

That got me thinking whether or not this had run its course.

Here's my count from that post forward:

uihawk82 - 50
PCHawk - 34
Hawk1960 - 33
HawkGold - 33
tksirius - 31
thedukeofearl - 22
Ree4 - 19
Northside - 18
HawkPrdatr40 - 17
EstronHawkKing - 15
HuckFinn - 9
MelroseHawkins - 8
judzeehawk - 7
okeefe4prez - 6
GoHawks12345 - 6
haydensly - 3
Kicker22 - 4
Stanzi, ssckelley - 2
KCRC, Xerxes, HawkeyeWalker, tailgater371, racerhawk, hawkdrummer, hawkinduckland, #dihardhawk, Denverhawk1, CP87 - 1

This is my 27th post in this thread during the last week. Most of mine the last few days have been about why I'm locking up the thread. Seeing that there really aren't a lot of people on here posting in the thread, I'm comfortable with my decision.

I'm not overly concerned about traffic because revenue from programmatic ads has plummeted with this economy. My goal was to give HN users a chance to discuss the unprecedented goings on in the world. I would like to be able to continue doing that but this thread has become a social issues debate too often, which I guess can be expected with this topic. It's be nice to focus on data and stories from the virus and provide information for people, but as you can see throughout this thread, people can find websites with what they want to believe all over the internet. And some of that misinformation is dangerous to me and I don't want it on this site.

As I mentioned in one of my recent posts, you guys that want to continue this discussion, and for the most part, it's a pretty small group, you can find a place to do that. I'd feel some remorse if this was the only place to discuss it. It's not.

Again. You can easily start your own FREE message board to discuss these topics. And again, here's the LINK

BTW, if you're thinking, hey, he's going to lock this thread on Monday so I'm going to get everything off my chest before he does, don't do it. I won't put up with it.

It's unfortunate that this thread is getting shut down, but definitely understand why. That said, I think it took off the way it did is because unfortunately there is absolutely nothing else going on, including Hawkeye sports, and people are looking for anything at this point. I'm just concerned how threads, in general, from this point on, as there are no sports and the majority of sports related topics will be largely about the how to move forward with sports. I'm just not sure how you deviate from the topic of the corona virus when it has a strangle hold on sports as we know them. That said, I'm ready for the next topic.

 

[RobHowe]

It's unfortunate that this thread is getting shut down, but definitely understand why. That said, I think it took off the way it did is because unfortunately there is absolutely nothing else going on, including Hawkeye sports, and people are looking for anything at this point. I'm just concerned how threads, in general, from this point on, as there are no sports and the majority of sports related topics will be largely about the how to move forward with sports. I'm just not sure how you deviate from the topic of the corona virus when it has a strangle hold on sports as we know them. That said, I'm ready for the next topic.

I thought about that. When sports are returning and how they return will intertwine with discussion on the virus and where we're at with it at a given point. I full expect some of that discussion on here.

That said, if a thread and posts turn political or into social issues, it will be shut down as well. We're not going to have people posting crap like the plandemic video. Ain't happening. Dangerous. Take it elsewhere.

 

[PCHawk]

The sooner you start, the less total number you need.

For instance, I was never tested for Ebola or H1N1.



I thought I saw a report of compliance of businesses that re-opened in Texas, with the government guidelines.

I thought it said businesses are not requiring masks. Actually doing the opposite, prevent employees from wearing masks.

It's reasonable to understand that a business owner worried about the failure of his business would most want to believe the pandemic is just a big overreaction. And these people set policy for their employees and rules for customers.

So very few businesses yet require masks. You might start seeing a change once big companies adapt. Companies that exist in both red and blue states.

Because people will avoid businesses that don't have a mask policy. Not sure who will win out. Restaurants might only cater to those who don't want to wear a mask. As the mask crowd will just not eat out. Unless local ordinances require it.

This is literally history repeating itself from San Francisco during the Spanish flu. I posted about it. Wearing a mask became a huge debate. The ordinance to require a mask lost I believe. Public health suffered. But I'm no historian.

I guess I was talking about the federal government mandating people wear masks inside public buildings. That would be the best way to keep the curve flat at this point.

 

[kicker22]

I thought about that. When sports are returning and how they return will intertwine with discussion on the virus and where we're at with it at a given point. I full expect some of that discussion on here.

That said, if a thread and posts turn political or into social issues, it will be shut down as well. We're not going to have people posting crap like the plandemic video. Ain't happening. Dangerous. Take it elsewhere.

We got to get sports back soon lol. Our sanity depends on it.

 

[okeefe4prez]

Wow, I'm amazed the amount of truthful information you can give out. While still being completely partisan.

From all of this, the only criticism you have of our federal government, is that the CDC wasted 50 billion budget they had over the last decade?

Despite the CDC's successful response to Ebola and H1N1 during that time? Look at how many trillions of stimulus we've passed. I think 50 billion to tackle two infections deceases is a great ROI.

And you don't blame the president because he only does macro planning.

None of this looks like a macro problem to you? Should we start building fallout bunkers in our back yard again? Because the president only deals with the Macro. Nuclear fallout would be a local issue.

I really don't think it is productive to sit around laying blame. It is petty and does nothing. I was responding specifically to a question of whether Cuomo or DeBlasio, two guys who I vehemently disagree with politically, should have closed the NYC subway sooner. Those guys aren't at fault. Sometimes, pal, shit happens and it really isn't any one single person's or entity's fault, and the politicization of this issue is the most asinine, ridiculous shit I have ever seen.

At the end of the day the subway in NYC argument is not materially different than international travel. Trump imposed substantial restrictions at the end of January. He was met with a chorus of complaints about xenophobia and virtue signalling as political opponents encouraged people to go to Chinatown or the movies or whatever. Now, people bitch that he didn't do enough. It's just ridiculous. It is a fluid situation with imperfect information available and actions like completely closing the border on January 1 to everyone or shutting down the subway, which in hindsight likely would have mitigated this thing, have widespread implications and can't just be made in a vacuum.

Ultimately, the issues that this pandemic have created are evident in a lot of Western society. Industrialized countries in East Asia have developed around extremely crowded conditions and are better equipped at dealing with shit like this than the West. The first and foremost is the realization among their public that people need to wear masks in high germ season when they are in crowded quarters. I made this point in mid March on this very thread. The government can't protect you from every bad thing that may happen. We need to scream from the rooftops that tightly packed in businesses need mask rules.

Do you remember that little flood that we had in Iowa in 1993? I remember going to see President Clinton at the Water Works. Some knucklefuck, probably you, yelled "WHY DIDN'T YOU BUILD THE LEVY HIGHER?" I will continue to advocate for mask usage and reassure insecure folks that their manhood won't be impacted if they wear a mask into Home Depot to buy a new chainsaw. Filling the proverbial sandbags, while you sit there bitching about the President. The fact is, there is a shit sandwich in front of us and everyone has to take a bite. At this point, just like pretty much every point leading up to this, there are only a series of choices that will have negative impacts. The introduction of The Germ in the US and its spread are both the result of our incredibly free society. Freedom ain't free.

 

[GoHawks12345]

I'm still disappointed about this because it's so much easier to just come here, but I do appreciate you leaving it open this long and going out of your way to link us to another place.

If anyone is interested in continuing on that link, I'd like to as long as someone else sets it up. I suck at technology.

I originally only started posting about this because I thought there was some value to speaking out against the cold/flu people when the Pandemic was ramping up here in the United States.

Rob posted the number of posters. But I just assume there is a lot more eye balls on this thread than that. Probably not anymore... But maybe early on.

I wasn't ever trying to convince TK that he is wrong. Rather, to demonstrate to anyone listening, that TK and the cold/flu crowd were wrong.

 

[PCHawk]

I thought about that. When sports are returning and how they return will intertwine with discussion on the virus and where we're at with it at a given point. I full expect some of that discussion on here.

That said, if a thread and posts turn political or into social issues, it will be shut down as well. We're not going to have people posting crap like the plandemic video. Ain't happening. Dangerous. Take it elsewhere.

Can I suggest deleting posts instead of threads? At least the first couple times or so? At some point if a thread keeps going there then you should shut it down. But sometimes there might be a good thread going and it would suck for the entire thread to go away because one guy posts something wrong.

Also i get that it's your website, your rules, but the most extreme guys on each side here have been TK and 82. Both have been equally deserving of scolding but only one has. I assume it's because he's opinion doesn't align with yours. It would be nice if both sides of extreme posts faced the same consequences. Again, I get that you may not want it that way and it's fine if you don't.

 

[EstronHawkKing]

Off topic: It's May 8th and it's snowing in parts of Wisconsin & Michigan and record lows for Iowa tonight into tomorrow morning with a frost alert. By around 5am tomorrow it's suppose to be 31 degrees for a high. Did I mention that it's May 8th?!?!

 

[Hawk1960]

Off topic: It's May 8th and it's snowing in parts of Wisconsin & Michigan and record lows for Iowa tonight into tomorrow morning with a frost alert. By around 5am tomorrow it's suppose to be 31 degrees for a high. Did I mention that it's May 8th?!?!

Perfect football weather.

 

[GoHawks12345]

I really don't think it is productive to sit around laying blame. It is petty and does nothing. I was responding specifically to a question of whether Cuomo or DeBlasio, two guys who I vehemently disagree with politically, should have closed the NYC subway sooner. Those guys aren't at fault. Sometimes, pal, shit happens and it really isn't any one single person's or entity's fault, and the politicization of this issue is the most asinine, ridiculous shit I have ever seen.

Holding your government responsible you might call "laying blame", like it is some petty thing to do. I do not think it is petty. I think it is vital.

Trump is accountable, regardless of your thoughts on Cuomo/DeBlasio.

At the end of the day the subway in NYC argument is not materially different than international travel. Trump imposed substantial restrictions at the end of January. He was met with a chorus of complaints about xenophobia and virtue signalling as political opponents encouraged people to go to Chinatown or the movies or whatever. Now, people bitch that he didn't do enough. It's just ridiculous. It is a fluid situation with imperfect information available and actions like completely closing the border on January 1 to everyone or shutting down the subway, which in hindsight likely would have mitigated this thing, have widespread implications and can't just be made in a vacuum.

Test, Track, Isolate. That is what you do, first thing.

Shutdowns are a bad option. So yes, when you starting shutting things down, without tests, people will be like "WTF?".

And yes, I'll say it again. We did not do enough testing. And that is the #1 thing.

All of life is a fluid situation. Step 1 of handling a infectious disease is not a fluid situation.

Ultimately, the issues that this pandemic have created are evident in a lot of Western society. Industrialized countries in East Asia have developed around extremely crowded conditions and are better equipped at dealing with shit like this than the West. The first and foremost is the realization among their public that people need to wear masks in high germ season when they are in crowded quarters. I made this point in mid March on this very thread. The government can't protect you from every bad thing that may happen. We need to scream from the rooftops that tightly packed in businesses need mask rules.

None of the above is wrong. But to suggest "scream from the rooftops" while you lead off with "sitting around blaming" not doing any good...

But yes, people were wrong about recommendations about masks. Some thought maybe to prevent buying up all the PPE when hospitals need them. But I don't know. But recently you have the VP refuse to wear one to Mayo, him disobeying the hospital policy.

I know (or assume) you are a librarian. But if you were to allow us to have a functioning responsible government, they can actually do some good. It might mean more taxes. But it might also mean avoiding seeing trillions in stimulus fly out the door with little oversight.

Do you remember that little flood that we had in Iowa in 1993? I remember going to see President Clinton at the Water Works. Some knucklefuck, probably you, yelled "WHY DIDN'T YOU BUILD THE LEVY HIGHER?" I will continue to advocate for mask usage and reassure insecure folks that their manhood won't be impacted if they wear a mask into Home Depot to buy a new chainsaw. Filling the proverbial sandbags, while you sit there bitching about the President. The fact is, there is a shit sandwich in front of us and everyone has to take a bite. At this point, just like pretty much every point leading up to this, there are only a series of choices that will have negative impacts. The introduction of The Germ in the US and its spread are both the result of our incredibly free society. Freedom ain't free.

The federal response to this has been such a failure. All defenses need to lead to "there was nothing that could have been done anyways".

Everything else is a windy road to get there.

 

[Ree4]

I guess I'm curious if the people who suggest that the government would be overreaching by requiring to wear masks also complain about it being illegal to drive drunk? Both are choices, both put others at risk, both infringe on freedom of choice.

To the original poll that was posted weeks ago, I answered Yes. Not because I was worried that I would get really sick or die from it, but because I could potentially pass it on to my parents. They are in good shape, but they are over 70. My mom beat cancer last year. I interact with older folks all the time at work, I couldn't live with myself if I was careless and ended up costing somebody else their life. I have friends and neighbors that I hang out with regularly. If I gave it to them, they could give it to their parents or their co-workers.

This is a new era, this might be the new normal. We don't know if we will be able to eradicate this disease or if we will live with it forever. Please be considerate of others and think about how one simple action could affect others and their families in a huge way.

 

[RobHowe]

Can I suggest deleting posts instead of threads? At least the first couple times or so? At some point if a thread keeps going there then you should shut it down. But sometimes there might be a good thread going and it would suck for the entire thread to go away because one guy posts something wrong.

Also i get that it's your website, your rules, but the most extreme guys on each side here have been TK and 82. Both have been equally deserving of scolding but only one has. I assume it's because he's opinion doesn't align with yours. It would be nice if both sides of extreme posts faced the same consequences. Again, I get that you may not want it that way and it's fine if you don't.

It's not about aligning with me or what I agree with. This isn't a competition but that's the lens through which our country views things these days. We become more divided by the day. For some folks, it's not about beating the virus, it's about proving who is right about how to overcome it.

Again, if you don't like how I moderate this topic or find it unfair, I'm not going to change your mind. And I posted early on in this thread that people aren't going to change their minds based on what's posted here. I think that's held true.

The good thing, again, is you guys have an option. You can create a place to discuss social issues and politics.

Here, we will talk about Hawkeye sports. I'm OK with music and BBQ discussion. If it's innocuous, that's fine. But even the funnys thread couldn't be clear of politics.

Here's an article a recommend on how misinformation that is posted on here is dangerous and why I don't want to be a party to it:

LINK

 

[EstronHawkKing]

It's not about aligning with me or what I agree with. This isn't a competition but that's the lens through which our country views things these days. We become more divided by the day. For some folks, it's not about beating the virus, it's about proving who is right about how to overcome it.

Again, if you don't like how I moderate this topic or find it unfair, I'm not going to change your mind. And I posted early on in this thread that people aren't going to change their minds based on what's posted here. I think that's held true.

The good thing, again, is you guys have an option. You can create a place to discuss social issues and politics.

Here, we will talk about Hawkeye sports. I'm OK with music and BBQ discussion. If it's innocuous, that's fine. But even the funnys thread couldn't be clear of politics.

Here's an article a recommend on how misinformation that is posted on here is dangerous and why I don't want to be a party to it:

LINK

why don't you create an Off Topic forum? You could move the music thread there, this thread, funnies thread ect......A movies thread would be cool as well along with others

 

[EstronHawkKing]

Answer this question: The virus is still going strong with more cases every day being reported. If there was an Iowa home football game this Saturday (tomorrow) would you go and tailgate with friends and then go to the game in a sold out Kinnnick Stadium? I don't think I would chance it.

 

[HuckFinn]

It's not about aligning with me or what I agree with. This isn't a competition but that's the lens through which our country views things these days. We become more divided by the day. For some folks, it's not about beating the virus, it's about proving who is right about how to overcome it.

Again, if you don't like how I moderate this topic or find it unfair, I'm not going to change your mind. And I posted early on in this thread that people aren't going to change their minds based on what's posted here. I think that's held true.



The good thing, again, is you guys have an option. You can create a place to discuss social issues and politics.

Here, we will talk about Hawkeye sports. I'm OK with music and BBQ discussion. If it's innocuous, that's fine. But even the funnys thread couldn't be clear of politics.

Here's an article a recommend on how misinformation that is posted on here is dangerous and why I don't want to be a party to it:

LINK

Thank you for the link. As I read the article carefully, I contemplated a detailed response, mostly in agreement. Then I thought, nope. Instead, Mark Twain:

“There is nothing more irritating than a good example.”

“Better to remain quiet and be thought a fool than to open one’s mouth and remove all doubt.”