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riversedge's JournalWhy you should upgrade your mask as the Omicron variant spreads
Why you should upgrade your mask as the Omicron variant spreads
https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/24/health/cloth-mask-omicron-variant-wellness/index.html
By Kristen Rogers, CNN
Updated 11:28 AM ET, Fri December 24, 2021
Why experts recommend a N95 mask to stop Covid spread
(CNN)As the highly contagious Omicron coronavirus variant continues to spread, some experts say it's past time to reconsider your face mask options -- especially if you're still wearing the cloth variety.
"Cloth masks are little more than facial decorations. There's no place for them in light of Omicron," ...........................
"This is what scientists and public health officials have been saying for months, many months, in fact," Wen added in a separate phone interview.
Omicron is now the dominant strain of coronavirus in the US, according to the CDC
"We need to be wearing at least a three-ply surgical mask," she said, which is also known as a disposable mask and can be found at most drugstores and some grocery and retail stores. "You can wear a cloth mask on top of that, but do not just wear a cloth mask alone."
Ideally, in crowded places, "you should be wearing a KN95 or N95 mask," which can be as inexpensive as a few dollars each, Wen added. By having a better fit and certain materials -- such as polypropylene fibers -- acting as both mechanical and electrostatic barriers, these masks better prevent tiny particles from getting into your nose or mouth and must be fitted to your face to function properly.
Changing guidance[/b
During the first several months of the pandemic, health experts discouraged the general public from buying N95 masks, since medical professionals were facing a shortage of personal protection equipment. But it has "been many months since supply of N95s (has been) an issue," Wen said.
Yet the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's most recent guidance on selecting, properly wearing, cleaning and storing face masks recommended people avoid N95 masks and instead choose masks with two or more layers of washable, breathable fabric -- which Wen called "a major mistake."
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lets and the smaller aerosols or particles potentially laden with airborne virus if infected people are present, Bromage said. A cloth face covering also has 75% inward and outward leakage, which the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists defines as the "percentage of particles entering the facepiece" and the "percentage of particles exhaled by a source exiting the facepiece," respectively.
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https://twitter.com/moonbreeze2/status/1475806215234068485?s=20
Trump Advisor Peter Navarro Lays Out How He and Bannon Planned to Overturn Biden's Electoral Win
Source: daily beast
Jose Pagliery - 1h ago
Aformer Trump White House official says he and right-wing provocateur Steve Bannon were actually behind the last-ditch, coordinated effort by rogue Republicans in Congress to halt certification of the 2020 election results and keep President Donald Trump in power earlier this year, in a plan dubbed the “Green Bay Sweep.”
In his recently published memoir, Peter Navarro, then-President Donald Trump’s trade advisor, details how he stayed in close contact with Bannon as they put “Green Bay Sweep” in motion with help from members of Congress loyal to the cause.
But in an interview last week with The Daily Beast, Navarro shed additional light on his role in the operation and their coordination with politicians like Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) and Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX).
“We spent a lot of time lining up over 100 congressmen, including some senators. It started out perfectly. At 1 p.m., Gosar and Cruz did exactly what was expected of them,” Navarro told The Daily Beast. “It was a perfect plan. And it all predicated on peace and calm on Capitol Hill. We didn’t even need any protestors, because we had over 100 congressmen committed to it.”
Read more: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/trump-advisor-peter-navarro-lays-out-how-he-and-bannon-planned-to-overturn-biden-s-electoral-win/ar-AASc0DQ?cvid=0b14872c927e40b2b9390afdf6e473ad&ocid=winp1taskbar
https://img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net/tenant/amp/entityid/AASc540.img?w=612&h=344&m=6&x=252&y=0&s=379&d=377
Photo Illustration by The Daily Beast/Getty
© Provided by The Daily Beast
US has reunited 100 children taken from parents under Trump [A happier Christmas for these families]
https://twitter.com/NickNYIslesMets/status/1474603448930820099?s=20
US has reunited 100 children taken from parents under Trump
A Biden administration effort to reunite children and parents who were separated under President Donald Trump’s zero-tolerance border policy has made increasing progress as it nears the end of its first year
By BEN FOX Associated Press December 23, 2021, 2:57 PM
3:13
Family forcibly separated at the border speaks out
High school senior Yovany and his mother Leticia fled Guatemala in the fall of 2017, but...
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON -- A Biden administration effort to reunite children and parents who were separated under President Donald Trump's zero-tolerance border policy has made increasing progress as it nears the end of its first year.
The Department of Homeland Security announced Thursday that 100 children, mostly from Central America, are back with their families and about 350 more reunifications are in process after it took steps to enhance the program.
“I would have loved to have this happen much more quickly. But we are making progress and I feel like we’re gaining momentum," said Michelle Brané, executive director of the administration's Family Reunification Task Force.
President Joe Biden issued an executive order on his first day in office to reunite families that were separated under the Trump administration's widely condemned practice of forcibly separating parents and children at the U.S.-Mexico border to discourage illegal immigration.........................
Search for a COVID-19 Test Means Sold-Out Signs, Long Lines
There were no testing kits at my local pharmacy in mid WI yesterday.
Search for a COVID-19 Test Means Sold-Out Signs, Long Lines
In the United States, infections average around 149,000 a day, up from 75,000 a day at the start of November[/b
https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/coronavirus/search-for-a-covid-19-test-means-sold-out-signs-long-lines/3466333/?_osource=SocialFlowFB_NYBrand&_osource=taboola-recirc
By Jim Mustian, Jeffrey Collins and Candice Choi • Published December 23, 2021
6:52
We Need Better Masks and More Testing to Fight Omicron
President Joe Biden promised to distribute hundreds of millions of free COVID-19 tests and to open more testing sites to fight surging infections, but the stepped-up efforts will not come in time for people who want to find out if they are infected before the holidays.
Americans have been searching drugstores for scarce home tests or waiting hours in chilly temperatures at testing facilities across the country.
“Not everyone can take three hours off work to get tested, but it feels like it’s the only thing we have the power to do,” said Jordan Thomas, who waited nearly four hours for a test this week in the Brooklyn borough of New York City.
In Atlanta, drugstores ran out of home tests, and police shut down testing sites as traffic backed up a half-mile or more. A drive-thru testing site in Columbia, South Carolina, that for months had quicker lines than some nearby Chick-fil-A restaurants had waits of an hour or more days before Christmas. Workers warned that results could take longer than the typical 24 to 36 hours.....................................
Search for a COVID-19 Test Means Sold-Out Signs, Long Lines
Covid case average exceeds delta's peak as omicron spreads through U.S.
Source: nbc news
The number of new confirmed cases reached 242,186 on Wednesday, while reported deaths across the country totaled 2,030.
Dec. 23, 2021, 9:47 AM CST / Updated Dec. 23, 2021, 4:03 PM CST
New cases of Covid-19 climbed above 242,000 in the U.S. on Wednesday, according to data compiled by NBC News, pushing the seven-day average to 167,683 — higher than the peak of the delta variant in early September.
The number of new confirmed cases reached 242,186, while reported deaths across the nation Wednesday totaled 2,030, according to the NBC News tally. The country has not had more than 2,000 deaths two days in a row since early October.
But there was at least one positive development Thursday. The Food and Drug Administration signed off on Merck's antiviral pill to treat Covid for emergency use, giving the U.S. another weapon in the battle against the virus.
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The omicron variant has been confirmed in all 50 states roughly three weeks after it was first detected in the U.S., according to an NBC News tally.........................
Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/covid-case-average-exceeds-deltas-peak-omicrons-spread-us-rcna9778
I did a little Christmas shopping today. Most I did online.
I was So disappointing to see so FEW with masks. I hurried in and out of the store.
https://media-cldnry.s-nbcnews.com/image/upload/t_fit-1240w,f_auto,q_auto:best/rockcms/2021-12/211223-covid-test-line-jm-1021-6be2ba.jpg
People wait in line as city workers hand out take-home Covid-19 test kits in lower Manhattan on Dec. 23, 2021, in New York.
People wait for take-home Covid test kits in lower Manhattan on Thursday.Spencer Platt / Getty Images
@SecretaryPete tweets Shelves are stocked. While Andrea Mitchell screams "EMPTY SHELVES" ......
Really, msnbc needs to show Andrea the door [but they won't]!!
@SecretaryPete
Shelves are stocked.
Retailers anticipate their best year ever.
That's because workers, businesses - and our President & administration - stepped up. 
https://twitter.com/bberwager/status/1473705859901534218?s=20
MEANWHILE:
@mfrctaz
·
9h
Chyron across MSNBC screen this morning with Andrea Mitchell screams “EMPTY SHELVES” literally right after President Biden said the shelves are all stocked at 90% and pre-pandemic they were at 91%. What a misleading headline. MSM will not give him a break.
https://twitter.com/mfrctaz/status/1473695250430504968?s=20
Andrea NEVER misses an opportunity to knock down Hillary!!
https://twitter.com/minnesotamaryo/status/1473710946040352776?s=20
https://twitter.com/i_am_mzleathers/status/1473715961194762247?s=20
https://twitter.com/LivviesJam/status/1473708366514077696?s=20
Climate Change Is Going to Be Gross: The thick layer of mucilage that covered the Sea of Marmara fo
I have to wonder if Bidens plan for mitigating global warming is going anywhere. It will be a start--that I hope.
Climate Change Is Going to Be Gross
The thick layer of mucilage that covered the Sea of Marmara for weeks was an unsettling glimpse of climate change’s more oozy effects.
By Jenna Scatena December 18, 2021
My first sight of it came one morning in June, as I rode the ferry through the Bosporus strait: a toxic glint on the sea’s surface. I initially thought it was oil, spilled from one of the many large container ships that pass through Istanbul via the Bosporus. Yet as we neared the glint, a sallow sludge marbled the water around the boat. In some areas, it was as thick and buoyant as fiberglass insulation. Its surface, coated with foamy bubbles and viscous puddles, was littered with balloons, bread crusts, and Styrofoam food containers.
It’s called marine mucilage, but the world knows it better as “sea snot,” thanks to the tsunami of stories that went viral when it overtook the Sea of Marmara in May. The internet marveled at the mess and moved on, but here in Istanbul, the sea snot hijacked the summer. Its unearthly, unavoidable presence closed down beaches and dominated conversations. For some of us, it was more profoundly unsettling.
This isn’t what I imagined global warming would look like. I was braced for bigger wildfires and rising seas; I wasn’t ready for sea snot. If the story of the Sea of Marmara in the summer of 2021 is a preview of what’s to come, the effects of climate change will be not only terrifyingly destructive but also weird, uncomfortable, and unbearably gross...........................................................................
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Eventually, the phytoplankton began to run out of nutrients, causing the cells of some species to exude a sticky substance. As these cells died, they collided and stuck together, aggregating into globs that hovered in the warmest layer of the stratified water. With time and exposure, the globs turned into a submerged mat of mucus that trapped nearly everything around it—bacteria, fish larvae, dead cells, debris. Bacteria thrived on the dead phytoplankton, adding to the mat’s mass. “At that point, it takes on a life of its own,” Mustafa Yucel, a marine-science professor at Middle East Technical University’s Institute of Marine Science, told me. With increasing water temperatures, he said, we should prepare to see more extreme reactions in our seas—including invasive-species outbreaks and massive algal and seaweed blooms....................................
https://cdn.theatlantic.com/thumbor/xt6JUtw3j91wTkPYE-M83fUiFfk=/0x0:4999x2812/1536x864/media/img/2021/12/01/crop_AP21163701171718/original.jpg
A view of the sea with people swimming, on the Asian side of Istanbul. (Kemal Aslan / AP)
Planet
Rep. Madison Cawthorn announces that he and his new bride are already getting divorced.
A whole 8 months. I would love to hear the wife's side of this breakup.
Question. Was Crawford the one who missed a lot of votes because of his husband duties [he tweeted something along these lines at the time].
https://twitter.com/notabot87654321/status/1473794594001227776?s=20
Madison Cawthorn announces that he and his new bride are already getting divorced.
https://twitter.com/RonFilipkowski/status/1473794029758337029?s=20
https://twitter.com/RonFilipkowski/status/1473794648128774154?s=20
https://twitter.com/mblehrhoff/status/1473795237587951619?s=20
Biden Announces 500 Million Free COVID-19 Tests To Be Delivered As Omicron Wave Rises
Source: huff post
U.S. households will be able to request at-home rapid coronavirus tests through a website and have them shipped free by the Postal Service.
12/21/2021 05:00am EST | Updated 11 hours ago
WASHINGTON ― President Joe Biden announced Tuesday that half a billion free at-home COVID-19 tests will be distributed to Americans who want them starting next month, one of several new steps to combat the rapidly spreading omicron variant of the coronavirus.
A website under development will let Americans request rapid tests for their use, at no cost to them, that will be delivered through the U.S. Postal Service, according to a senior administration official who spoke to reporters late Monday.
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“Testing in this country is a lot better than it was. But there’s more to do, and we’re taking action now,” the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The 500 million government-provided tests are in addition to the 50 million Biden already announced would be distributed to clinics earlier this month. Further, insurance companies would be required to cover the costs of at-home tests for their customers, also starting in January.........................
Read more: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/biden-at-home-coronavirus-tests-covid-omicron_n_61c12213e4b0d637ae856d7e
Good job Mr. President
Menominee Cty, #WI w/ 78.5% vaccination rate, continues to have the lowest new #COVID-19 case rate
https://twitter.com/moonbreeze2/status/1473537460550479874?s=20
Menominee County, with 78.5% vaccination rate, continues to have the lowest new COVID-19 case rate in Wisconsin.
Frank Vaisvilas
Green Bay Press-Gazette
KESHENA - Menominee County, which is also the Menominee Nation Reservation, has had the lowest new COVID-19 case rate in the state the last few weeks during the Omicron variant surge.
With 10 new cases reported out of its population of 4,556 residents, Menominee County’s rate during the last seven days was 219 out 100,000 as of Dec. 15, according to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services.
“I believe that correlates very well to our high vaccination rates,” said Dr. Amy Slagle of the Menominee Tribal Clinic.
As of Dec. 15, DHS reported that Menominee County had the second-highest COVID-19 vaccination rate in the state with 78.5% of residents receiving at least one dose. Dane County, with a population of 552,000, reported a vaccination percentage of 79.7%. The third most-vaccinated county is Door, with 76.1%....................................
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