Is The Virus Weakening?

I learned that I was asymptomatic last Monday from a test conducted the Friday before. My company paid for everybody's test (about 200) which was nice, and the lab came right to our truck terminal. All the ground crews were tested out on the various job sites. The ground crews being out doors all day I think helps, and us Quint Axle drivers are pretty much inside our trucks all day.

There are 12 positives and nobody is sick thankfully. The lab that conducted the told us that we had a much lower percentage compared to the companies they have tested in the area.

About the only symptom I have had so far was a mild sore/scratchy throat last Monday and it wasn't really all that noticeable unless I happened to be thinking about it.

I have been reading a few article with some doctors reporting that the cases are not as severe as a few months ago.

Coronavirus mutation found in one sample could signal it's getting weaker | Daily Mail Online

COVID-19 is weakening, could die out without vaccine, specialist claims - The Jerusalem Post

Coronavirus is weakening, could disappear on its own: Italian doctor

Some doctors say people with COVID-19 don’t seem to be getting as sick, and that people recently tested are showing a lower viral load compared to those who tested positive for COVID-19 a few months ago.

I hope it does go by the way of the SARS virus and disappear.

I'm going to want to see something from someplace other than tabloids before I start dancing around.

avatar said:

I'm going to want to see something from someplace other than tabloids before I start dancing around.

Click to expand...

Good, but go ahead and dance around anyway. It's good for ya.

humbolt said:

Good, but go ahead and dance around anyway. It's good for ya.

Click to expand...

I'll stick to bicycles thanks.

avatar said:

I'll stick to bicycles thanks.

Click to expand...

Yeah. I don't dance either, but I probably would if I could.

I have read some reports that there are indications the virus is becoming less lethal, but more contagious. Time will tell the story.

humbolt said:

Yeah. I don't dance either, but I probably would if I could.

I have read some reports that there are indications the virus is becoming less lethal, but more contagious. Time will tell the story.

Click to expand...

I have read similar reports, but alas, none of them came from what I'd consider scientific peer reviewed sources. Our world is full of what if and maybe because the internet gives voice to everyone no matter what their credentials are.

Personally I'd rank it with reports that covid gives a lifetime immunity. Wishful thinking.

RetiredUSN said:

I learned that I was asymptomatic last Monday from a test conducted the Friday before. My company paid for everybody's test (about 200) which was nice, and the lab came right to our truck terminal. All the ground crews were tested out on the various job sites. The ground crews being out doors all day I think helps, and us Quint Axle drivers are pretty much inside our trucks all day.

There are 12 positives and nobody is sick thankfully. The lab that conducted the told us that we had a much lower percentage compared to the companies they have tested in the area.

About the only symptom I have had so far was a mild sore/scratchy throat last Monday and it wasn't really all that noticeable unless I happened to be thinking about it.

I have been reading a few article with some doctors reporting that the cases are not as severe as a few months ago.

Coronavirus mutation found in one sample could signal it's getting weaker | Daily Mail Online

COVID-19 is weakening, could die out without vaccine, specialist claims - The Jerusalem Post

Coronavirus is weakening, could disappear on its own: Italian doctor

Some doctors say people with COVID-19 don’t seem to be getting as sick, and that people recently tested are showing a lower viral load compared to those who tested positive for COVID-19 a few months ago.

I hope it does go by the way of the SARS virus and disappear.

Click to expand...

Certainly possible but I suspect that it is because there are fewer other respiratory illnesses during the warmer months to cohort with. We are also getting better at treating it after much trial and error. Doctors are starting to use fewer ventilators and only as a last resort. We know to watch out for storm syndrome. Some doctors are putting patients on blood thinners to prevent the random clotting issues.

RetiredUSN said:

I learned that I was asymptomatic last Monday from a test conducted the Friday before. My company paid for everybody's test (about 200) which was nice, and the lab came right to our truck terminal. All the ground crews were tested out on the various job sites. The ground crews being out doors all day I think helps, and us Quint Axle drivers are pretty much inside our trucks all day.

There are 12 positives and nobody is sick thankfully. The lab that conducted the told us that we had a much lower percentage compared to the companies they have tested in the area.

About the only symptom I have had so far was a mild sore/scratchy throat last Monday and it wasn't really all that noticeable unless I happened to be thinking about it.

I have been reading a few article with some doctors reporting that the cases are not as severe as a few months ago.

Coronavirus mutation found in one sample could signal it's getting weaker | Daily Mail Online

COVID-19 is weakening, could die out without vaccine, specialist claims - The Jerusalem Post

Coronavirus is weakening, could disappear on its own: Italian doctor

Some doctors say people with COVID-19 don’t seem to be getting as sick, and that people recently tested are showing a lower viral load compared to those who tested positive for COVID-19 a few months ago.

I hope it does go by the way of the SARS virus and disappear.

Click to expand...

The virus isn't weakening, people are still dying from covid-19 every day. SARS killed about 10% of people it infected. So far, epidemiologists are still trying to determine exactly how deadly covid-19 is. More and more, scientists are learning that the severity of covid-19 differs from person to person depending on the viral load -- the amount of the virus that is contracted.

Mayor Keisha Lancer Bottoms of Atlanta tested positive with covid-19 yesterday, her husband and one of her children also tested positive. She was shocked because her family has been very careful. She has seasonal allergies so she thought that was bothering her. She had a headache and scratchy throat. Her husband's symptoms were extreme fatigue and he slept for 4 days. It could be that they all got a low viral load because they were wearing masks, social distancing and hand washing and subsequently had only minor symptoms.

Dr. Jodie Dionne-Odom, Asst. Professor of Infectious Diseases at the University of Alabama, states that 80% of cases will be mild, 15% will require hospitalization and 5% of those hospitalized will need ICU and put on a ventilator.

The degree to which you become ill depends on the viral load you've received. It makes sense, the more virus particles you receive, the sicker you will become.

How much of the coronavirus does it take to make you sick? - STAT

A high infectious dose may lead to a higher viral load, which can impact the severity of Covid-19 symptoms.

Viral load is a measure of virus particles. It is the amount of virus present once a person has been infected and the virus has had time to replicate in their cells. With most viruses, higher viral loads are associated with worse outcomes.

“The more viral particles that get into the lungs, the more damage to the lungs that is probably happening,” said Hardy.

avatar said:

I have read similar reports, but alas, none of them came from what I'd consider scientific peer reviewed sources. Our world is full of what if and maybe because the internet gives voice to everyone no matter what their credentials are.

Personally I'd rank it with reports that covid gives a lifetime immunity. Wishful thinking.

Click to expand...

I have no idea. I would note that infections have been rising, but so far deaths have not increased significantly. That may change over the next few weeks. As I said, time will tell. We can only react, and take reasonable precautions.

I agree that herd immunity is wishful thinking. Continuous mutation makes such immunity unlikely.

HumblePi said:

The virus isn't weakening, people are still dying from covid-19 every day. SARS killed about 10% of people it infected. So far, epidemiologists are still trying to determine exactly how deadly covid-19 is. More and more, scientists are learning that the severity of covid-19 differs from person to person depending on the viral load -- the amount of the virus that is contracted.

Mayor Keisha Lancer Bottoms of Atlanta tested positive with covid-19 yesterday, her husband and one of her children also tested positive. She was shocked because her family has been very careful. She has seasonal allergies so she thought that was bothering her. She had a headache and scratchy throat. Her husband's symptoms were extreme fatigue and he slept for 4 days. It could be that they all got a low viral load because they were wearing masks, social distancing and hand washing and subsequently had only minor symptoms.

Dr. Jodie Dionne-Odom, Asst. Professor of Infectious Diseases at the University of Alabama, states that 80% of cases will be mild, 15% will require hospitalization and 5% of those hospitalized will need ICU and put on a ventilator.

The degree to which you become ill depends on the viral load you've received. It makes sense, the more virus particles you receive, the sicker you will become.

How much of the coronavirus does it take to make you sick? - STAT

A high infectious dose may lead to a higher viral load, which can impact the severity of Covid-19 symptoms.

Viral load is a measure of virus particles. It is the amount of virus present once a person has been infected and the virus has had time to replicate in their cells. With most viruses, higher viral loads are associated with worse outcomes.

“The more viral particles that get into the lungs, the more damage to the lungs that is probably happening,” said Hardy.

Click to expand...

That was highly educational. Thank you for taking the time to post this.

humbolt said:

Yeah. I don't dance either, but I probably would if I could.

I have read some reports that there are indications the virus is becoming less lethal, but more contagious. Time will tell the story.

Click to expand...

Here in Indiana, with tests and new cases sky rocketing, the death counts continue remain comparatively low as the pandemic continues.

The methodologies for collecting the data are changing. Impacts reflected by the data also seem to show a changing response to the virus. Could be just the result of the changing methodology or the result of an actually changing virus.

Reading the end result numbers does not require a medical degree. Apparently, being confused by the numbers can happen to those with or without a medical degree.

Looking back, the advice and direction outside of common sense coming from the experts seems to have been weak in some cases and hurtful in others.

code1211 said:

Here in Indiana, with tests and new cases sky rocketing, the death counts continue remain comparatively low as the pandemic continues.

The methodologies for collecting the data are changing. Impacts reflected by the data also seem to show a changing response to the virus. Could be just the result of the changing methodology or the result of an actually changing virus.

Reading the end result numbers does not require a medical degree. Apparently, being confused by the numbers can happen to those with or without a medical degree.

Looking back, the advice and direction outside of common sense coming from the experts seems to have been weak in some cases and hurtful in others.

Click to expand...

Objectively separating data offered to induce panic from the rest is an acquired discipline, but easily available to anyone of sound mind. Otherwise, some people end up ingesting fish tank cleaner.

There have been contrary directives and statements. I've concluded that the best approach is to take reasonable precautions, stand back, and just observe. I have read that virus mutations generally trend toward increasing virulence and decreasing lethality. We'll see. I think predicting mutations is just a mildly educated guess. We're stuck with reacting only at this point. Hopefully we can be more aggressive in a few months if it's necessary.

RetiredUSN said:

I learned that I was asymptomatic last Monday from a test conducted the Friday before. My company paid for everybody's test (about 200) which was nice, and the lab came right to our truck terminal. All the ground crews were tested out on the various job sites. The ground crews being out doors all day I think helps, and us Quint Axle drivers are pretty much inside our trucks all day.

There are 12 positives and nobody is sick thankfully. The lab that conducted the told us that we had a much lower percentage compared to the companies they have tested in the area.

About the only symptom I have had so far was a mild sore/scratchy throat last Monday and it wasn't really all that noticeable unless I happened to be thinking about it.

I have been reading a few article with some doctors reporting that the cases are not as severe as a few months ago.

Coronavirus mutation found in one sample could signal it's getting weaker | Daily Mail Online

COVID-19 is weakening, could die out without vaccine, specialist claims - The Jerusalem Post

Coronavirus is weakening, could disappear on its own: Italian doctor

Some doctors say people with COVID-19 don’t seem to be getting as sick, and that people recently tested are showing a lower viral load compared to those who tested positive for COVID-19 a few months ago.

I hope it does go by the way of the SARS virus and disappear.

Click to expand...

It will go the way of most every other virus before it.

My blood test last week came back negative for the antibodies.

Besides the virus weakening, slowly but surely the herd immunity grows.

HumblePi said:

The virus isn't weakening, people are still dying from covid-19 every day. SARS killed about 10% of people it infected. So far, epidemiologists are still trying to determine exactly how deadly covid-19 is. More and more, scientists are learning that the severity of covid-19 differs from person to person depending on the viral load -- the amount of the virus that is contracted.

Mayor Keisha Lancer Bottoms of Atlanta tested positive with covid-19 yesterday, her husband and one of her children also tested positive. She was shocked because her family has been very careful. She has seasonal allergies so she thought that was bothering her. She had a headache and scratchy throat. Her husband's symptoms were extreme fatigue and he slept for 4 days. It could be that they all got a low viral load because they were wearing masks, social distancing and hand washing and subsequently had only minor symptoms.

Dr. Jodie Dionne-Odom, Asst. Professor of Infectious Diseases at the University of Alabama, states that 80% of cases will be mild, 15% will require hospitalization and 5% of those hospitalized will need ICU and put on a ventilator.

The degree to which you become ill depends on the viral load you've received. It makes sense, the more virus particles you receive, the sicker you will become.

How much of the coronavirus does it take to make you sick? - STAT

A high infectious dose may lead to a higher viral load, which can impact the severity of Covid-19 symptoms.

Viral load is a measure of virus particles. It is the amount of virus present once a person has been infected and the virus has had time to replicate in their cells. With most viruses, higher viral loads are associated with worse outcomes.

“The more viral particles that get into the lungs, the more damage to the lungs that is probably happening,” said Hardy.

Click to expand...

Exactly! After only 5 months we're starting finally to talk about viral load. The more people who are sick and the longer they spend indoors, the higher the viral load. The higher the viral load, the more virus they'll shed. The more virus they shed the higher the viral load to the people they infect and so on. And the virus becomes more dangerous with every spread.

In other words there could be a yet another benefit to social distancing measures. Not only does social distancing reduce the number of transmissions, encourage economic growth, and lessen the impact to the health care system, but social distancing may reduce the severity of the disease. And if it doesn't then social distancing is even more important because we'll be back to a 3-5% death rate.

It is difficult to tell if the virus is weakening or if the treatment is improving, but something is happening.
The number of infections has climbed quit a bit, while the number of deaths has declined.
texas covid 19 cases - Google Search
texas covid 19 cases - Google Search
Even though the new cases have been raising for about a month, the number of deaths has been falling!

RetiredUSN said:

I learned that I was asymptomatic last Monday from a test conducted the Friday before. My company paid for everybody's test (about 200) which was nice, and the lab came right to our truck terminal. All the ground crews were tested out on the various job sites. The ground crews being out doors all day I think helps, and us Quint Axle drivers are pretty much inside our trucks all day.

There are 12 positives and nobody is sick thankfully. The lab that conducted the told us that we had a much lower percentage compared to the companies they have tested in the area.

About the only symptom I have had so far was a mild sore/scratchy throat last Monday and it wasn't really all that noticeable unless I happened to be thinking about it.

I have been reading a few article with some doctors reporting that the cases are not as severe as a few months ago.

Coronavirus mutation found in one sample could signal it's getting weaker | Daily Mail Online

COVID-19 is weakening, could die out without vaccine, specialist claims - The Jerusalem Post

Coronavirus is weakening, could disappear on its own: Italian doctor

Some doctors say people with COVID-19 don’t seem to be getting as sick, and that people recently tested are showing a lower viral load compared to those who tested positive for COVID-19 a few months ago.

I hope it does go by the way of the SARS virus and disappear.

Click to expand...

I'm glad you're asymptomatic and I hope that you continue to be so. You're right that there's a chance that the virus could mutate and become less severe. That is one possible explanation, there are others. Maybe you're one of the the lucky 30%. Maybe the test you took has a high false positive rate (6% of a random population testing positive without any illness seems high). Maybe there was a low dose exposure event. There's a ton of uncertainty, especially considering the two weeks it takes from exposure to detection. It's very difficult to find a signal in the noise.

If we're going to make intelligent policy decisions we need to consider the widest range of possibilities and their relative likelihood. And fortunately the best course of action is relatively straight forward. No indoor bars restaurants or churches. Properly spaced outdoor gatherings, preferably with masks are safer, especially once the number of infections are small. This lets other businesses operate much more safely. If the virus is going to mutate and become weaker then we need to give it time. If its viral load that's important than we need space. If vaccines or therapeutics are the key then the longer we can hold off getting infected the better. And if nothing at all works, then spacing the disease out over a larger time frame so that the economy can factor it in rather than as one shot is probably best.

humbolt said:

Objectively separating data offered to induce panic from the rest is an acquired discipline, but easily available to anyone of sound mind. Otherwise, some people end up ingesting fish tank cleaner.

There have been contrary directives and statements. I've concluded that the best approach is to take reasonable precautions, stand back, and just observe. I have read that virus mutations generally trend toward increasing virulence and decreasing lethality. We'll see. I think predicting mutations is just a mildly educated guess. We're stuck with reacting only at this point. Hopefully we can be more aggressive in a few months if it's necessary.

Click to expand...

Scientists are finding out more each day about covid-19 simply because there are more infections every day. This has been a learning experience since the first death on March 2nd in New York. Back then, and it seems like years, there were no test kits, lack of personal protection equipment, the mode of transmission was unknown, CDC recommendations were sketchy and the recommendations changed frequently, people were dying at an alarming rate.

Fast forward two months and the virus had burned through New York pretty much and new infections started to decline. That's because they got it figured out that covid-19 was highly contagious but less lethal than SARS. The CDC came to a solid consensus that the virus is airborne and depending on a person's immune system, and the degree to which they had been infected and the viral load received. How close was a person to someone they came in contact with and how long was the virus either suspended in the air or remained on the surface of an object. All those things come into play.

All people have different immune systems, some are weaker than others of course. If two people, one age 30 and one age 70 come into contact with the active virus with the exact same amount of viral load, the chances that the 70 year old will require hospitalization is higher than the 30 year old simply because a 30 year old has a much stronger defense system, their body can more easily develop antigens that trigger an immune response to combat the virus.

Undoubtedly, both the 30 and 70 year old victim of covid-19 would have been better protected against acquiring it in the first place if they were both wearing a facial mask, didn't touch their face with their hands, washed their hands often and stayed at least six feet from others.

The factors add up like this. Covid-19 is highly infectious but in order to become infected you have had to catch covid-19 from another person who either breathed, coughed, talked or sneezed into the air within six feet or up to 20 feet of the 'host' person. Or a person has touched a surface with virus contaminated aerosol and transferred that to their mouth or nose. The virus has two primary routes to enter our body, the mouth and nose. It's less likely to enter through the mucosa of the eyes as previously thought. If you're wearing a mask, it will be much difficult to breathe in the virus particles.

Final consideration is viral load. If someone sneezes directly at someone else without their mouth covered and they have covid-19, the person in the line of that sneeze will most certainly contract the virus and possible have a very high viral load inhaled. This person will have a tremendously bad reaction, the body cannot produce enough antigens to fight off such a heavy viral load. Think back to a time when you had a horrible chest cold. You were in bed with fever, cough, headache, etc. But your wife or child caught it from you but they only got a stuffy nose, dry throat and felt tired. The viral load they received from you was less than the viral load you received, that made the difference.

Mask, distancing, hand-washing. The science is pretty clear and straightforward now, light-years ahead of where it was back in March in New York. It really doesn't take very much to avoid it when you come down to it. As the comment above states, "take reasonable precautions, stand back, and just observe". Not only will you be protected, but you will be helping to bring down the numbers of new infections in others.

longview said:

It is difficult to tell if the virus is weakening or if the treatment is improving, but something is happening.
The number of infections has climbed quit a bit, while the number of deaths has declined.
texas covid 19 cases - Google Search
texas covid 19 cases - Google Search
Even though the new cases have been raising for about a month, the number of deaths has been falling!

Click to expand...

There's an actual point there if you don't muck it up with BS. Daily COVID deaths in Texas are ****INCREASING*** and have been since the first week in June. They are not decreasing. Please do not say that they are decreasing when it's very clear that they are increasing.

What is true is that the relationship between the number of new cases and the number of deaths 2-3 weeks later appears to be different than it was in April and May.

RetiredUSN said:

There are 12 positives and nobody is sick thankfully.

Click to expand...

how many humans did you and the other 11 infect? how many humans did those people infect?

Mithros said:

Exactly! After only 5 months we're starting finally to talk about viral load. The more people who are sick and the longer they spend indoors, the higher the viral load. The higher the viral load, the more virus they'll shed. The more virus they shed the higher the viral load to the people they infect and so on. And the virus becomes more dangerous with every spread.

In other words there could be a yet another benefit to social distancing measures. Not only does social distancing reduce the number of transmissions, encourage economic growth, and lessen the impact to the health care system, but social distancing may reduce the severity of the disease. And if it doesn't then social distancing is even more important because we'll be back to a 3-5% death rate.

Click to expand...

I really believe that if our entire country, every single state, was ordered to lock-down entirely, nobody out on the street, stores closed, no public gatherings, etc., for six to eight weeks max., that we would be looking at covid-19 in the rear view mirror today. But that would have been impossible, because we're a democracy and it becomes a political tug-of-war over a simple thing like wearing masks. A total lock-down would have been out of the realm of reality.

But they have done this in several large cities in Colombia. The mayor of the city of Medellin ordered a lock down on March 23rd. All flights in and out of the country were stopped, everyone was ordered to remain inside their homes. When people were allowed to come out of their home, masks were mandatory and enforced. People were assigned a specific day to be allowed to come out, do their shopping and buy groceries or pharmacy supplies, then return home for another week. So far, because of these drastic steps, the city suffered little damage from the pandemic.

To put this bluntly, democracy is by far the best form of government, but it does have a negative side when it comes to dealing with a pandemic. Democracy ends up self-defeating because a democracy cannot control what people do, say or where they go.

Colombia’s Medellin Emerges as Surprise COVID-19 Pioneer | Voice of America - English
As coronavirus cases surge in Latin America, the Colombian city of Medellin is defying expectations and managing to keep numbers remarkably low.

Months into the pandemic, there are just 741 confirmed cases citywide and only 10 patients hospitalized in ICUs with COVID-19. The metropolis recently went five weeks without a single COVID-19 death.

“Medellin can be considered a best-case scenario,” said Dr. Carlos Espinal, director of Florida International University’s Global Health Consortium.

Mithros said:

There's an actual point there if you don't muck it up with BS. Daily COVID deaths in Texas are ****INCREASING*** and have been since the first week in June. They are not decreasing. Please do not say that they are decreasing when it's very clear that they are increasing.

What is true is that the relationship between the number of new cases and the number of deaths 2-3 weeks later appears to be different than it was in April and May.

Click to expand...

The links I posted were for the entire US, I got to the site by looking at Texas, but adjusted the scope for New cases and deaths for the US.
Deaths from Covid-19 in Texas have been cycling between 10 and 58 deaths per day, since May 14.
texas covid 19 cases - Google Search

But US deaths from Covid-19 have been dropping!

longview said:

The links I posted were for the entire US, I got to the site by looking at Texas, but adjusted the scope for New cases and deaths for the US.
Deaths from Covid-19 in Texas have been cycling between 10 and 58 deaths per day, since May 14.
texas covid 19 cases - Google Search
But US deaths from Covid-19 have been dropping!

Click to expand...

That's under the assumption that Texas records Covid deaths correctly.....

Sent from my Honor 8X

PeteEU said:

That's under the assumption that Texas records Covid deaths correctly.....

Sent from my Honor 8X

Click to expand...

Why would they not? The counties doing the counting are democrat controlled, while the Governor is a Republican,
The Counties will report as many deaths as possible, to make the Governor's policies look bad!

HumblePi said:

Scientists are finding out more each day about covid-19 simply because there are more infections every day. This has been a learning experience since the first death on March 2nd in New York. Back then, and it seems like years, there were no test kits, lack of personal protection equipment, the mode of transmission was unknown, CDC recommendations were sketchy and the recommendations changed frequently, people were dying at an alarming rate.

Fast forward two months and the virus had burned through New York pretty much and new infections started to decline. That's because they got it figured out that covid-19 was highly contagious but less lethal than SARS. The CDC came to a solid consensus that the virus is airborne and depending on a person's immune system, and the degree to which they had been infected and the viral load received. How close was a person to someone they came in contact with and how long was the virus either suspended in the air or remained on the surface of an object. All those things come into play.

All people have different immune systems, some are weaker than others of course. If two people, one age 30 and one age 70 come into contact with the active virus with the exact same amount of viral load, the chances that the 70 year old will require hospitalization is higher than the 30 year old simply because a 30 year old has a much stronger defense system, their body can more easily develop antigens that trigger an immune response to combat the virus.

Undoubtedly, both the 30 and 70 year old victim of covid-19 would have been better protected against acquiring it in the first place if they were both wearing a facial mask, didn't touch their face with their hands, washed their hands often and stayed at least six feet from others.

The factors add up like this. Covid-19 is highly infectious but in order to become infected you have had to catch covid-19 from another person who either breathed, coughed, talked or sneezed into the air within six feet or up to 20 feet of the 'host' person. Or a person has touched a surface with virus contaminated aerosol and transferred that to their mouth or nose. The virus has two primary routes to enter our body, the mouth and nose. It's less likely to enter through the mucosa of the eyes as previously thought. If you're wearing a mask, it will be much difficult to breathe in the virus particles.

Final consideration is viral load. If someone sneezes directly at someone else without their mouth covered and they have covid-19, the person in the line of that sneeze will most certainly contract the virus and possible have a very high viral load inhaled. This person will have a tremendously bad reaction, the body cannot produce enough antigens to fight off such a heavy viral load. Think back to a time when you had a horrible chest cold. You were in bed with fever, cough, headache, etc. But your wife or child caught it from you but they only got a stuffy nose, dry throat and felt tired. The viral load they received from you was less than the viral load you received, that made the difference.

Mask, distancing, hand-washing. The science is pretty clear and straightforward now, light-years ahead of where it was back in March in New York. It really doesn't take very much to avoid it when you come down to it. As the comment above states, "take reasonable precautions, stand back, and just observe". Not only will you be protected, but you will be helping to bring down the numbers of new infections in others.

Click to expand...

My situation is certainly not unique, but it is extremely simple for me to take reasonable precautions. There is no virtue involved.

humbolt said:

My situation is certainly not unique, but it is extremely simple for me to take reasonable precautions. There is no virtue involved.

Click to expand...

It's extremely simple for everyone. Why has it been made so difficult? It doesn't take any virtue or altruism just to do something as simple as wearing a mask.