Okay, from the press conference. Not going to post numbers, we all know those and the inevitable lecture about masks, staying home/apart, and predictions of doom if we don't. And I apologize for any transcription errors.
Sullivan has confirmed that there are multiple "long term care facilities" with coronavirus outbreaks. He did not say which ones, but also pointed out that these are the most vulnerable people and most likely to end up in the hospital.
Talked about the vaccine and being in phase 3 trials to verify safety and rolling it out in the state. There will be 8 locations locally. He did not say which vaccine.
Flu so far looks low compared to last year. (Hopefully it follows the Australian season which was extremely mild.)
Most people who get it will be just fine; other than those who are more vulnerable to the virus. (As we all know.)
Q&A: (Volume is real low so I cannot hear the questions. Switched to a different feed with better sound after the first question.)
Whatever Bill @ WTAW asked is clearly about groups and spreading the virus and people being irresponsible. His follow up, he went off on all the people coming to town for football and other sporting events. At least Sullivan said that is not the driving factor. The virus likes to spread in close contact.
KRHD: Asks about when Brazos County could go back into lockdown, and then how the schools are doing with Allen Academy going back to online only. Sullivan pretty must passed that off to the elected officials, but clearly our local leaders are discussing it, and "at the end of the day, what has to be done has to be done." They do not see the virus spreading in the classrooms or from athletic events. Students are getting it in social situations outside of school.
KBTX: (3 Questions): Question on hospital numbers and how those look under normal conditions. Second on recent deaths; but he asked if these are from clusters at specific facilities. Third, what we've learned over the last 9 months. Rusty with a random act of journalism!
Normal hospital range is about 80% give or take. Hospitals don't run empty.
Could not give the names, but he said it is multiple locations and that is where we're seeing the deaths coming from. The more numbers in that age range, the more deaths we'll see. The state is helping these facilities.
Nothing really interesting in question 3 other than new treatments and some real specific tests that aren't done on most people, but can help identify people at risk for severe cases.
I dog KBTX a lot, but good for Rusty asking about the nursing homes. At least now it is been acknowledged by the media and the BCHD. Hopefully this helps people realize that the deaths are not just random people
The Eagle (Two Questions): What happened to cause the nursing home outbreaks since we seemed to be doing a good job since the initial outbreak? Risk of when wearing a mask and indoors for a long time?
Visitation has been allowed at some places so that could be part of it. Another could be fatigue among that staff and turnover which could allow something to get through unknowingly.
KAGS: (3 Questions) Accuracy of the tests, how long will Texas rates be high, how Biden will respond?
Sullivan says the PCR tests now are very accurate. Early tests obviously had issues, but that's been cleared up. There are always a few false positive/negative in any test, but not often. Need to wait until at least 5 days after exposure (if no symptoms are present) to get tested. Some people can test positive for a very long time, even after recovery. (This is due to the PCR test basically detecting the virus' corpse rather than the person still being sick.)
Says we must "do something different" and go back to "what we did in the summer."
Sullivan said he doesn't know, but as already mentioned on this thread, we know what Biden's people want to do and that is 4-6 week lockdown minimum.
There will be another press conference, but no date given.
"If you will not fight for right when you can easily win without blood shed; if you will not fight when your victory is sure and not too costly; you may come to the moment when you will have to fight with all the odds against you and only a precarious chance of survival. There may even be a worse case. You may have to fight when there is no hope of victory, because it is better to perish than to live as slaves." - Sir Winston Churchill
