I can also verify that I see political posts in "Latest Posts" and have for a while now.

What is the actual link you see if you mouseover the Latest Posts button? For me it's:

https://www.okctalk.com/search.php?do=getnew&contenttype=vBForum_Post&exclude=24

The very end is the important bit, and it functions in a fairly obvious way if you look at links in the forum and see that the Politics subforum has an ID of 24.

What is the actual link you see if you mouseover the Latest Posts button? For me it's:

https://www.okctalk.com/search.php?do=getnew&contenttype=vBForum_Post&exclude=24

The very end is the important bit, and it functions in a fairly obvious way if you look at links in the forum and see that the Politics subforum has an ID of 24.

Yes, here's the link I see for "Latest Posts" and it shows "Politics" threads


https://www.okctalk.com/search.php?do=getnew&contenttype=vBForum_Post&exclude=24

You may try clearing your browsing history and see if that helps.

Oh wow, in looking at this I managed to break it just now for myself so that Politics posts showed back up in those results, but then by fiddling with the settings Jerry mentioned I got them to go away again.


16205

I went here, made sure the "-- Politics" option was selected, and then saved changes at the bottom. So far so good with none shown.

Oh wow, in looking at this I managed to break it just now for myself so that Politics posts showed back up in those results, but then by fiddling with the settings Jerry mentioned I got them to go away again.



I went here, made sure the "-- Politics" option was selected, and then saved changes at the bottom. So far so good with none shown.

Thanks. I had to go and reselect Politics. Maybe a forum update inadvertently reset that option for some users.

I'm really hoping people smarten up this weekend in light of Mayor Holt's request that people mask up. I have seen more mask usage at grocery stores which is good to see but this holiday weekend will be a real test for us.

I'm really hoping people smarten up this weekend in light of Mayor Holt's request that people mask up. I have seen more mask usage at grocery stores which is good to see but this holiday weekend will be a real test for us.

I'll bet we get a "D" at best, but I expect an "F" when grading that test.

427 new cases today.

6 more deaths.

And 62 additional hospitalizations, which is by far the most for one day.

But currently hospitalized went down. I am not sure the lag between the 2 hospitalization #s, though.

But currently hospitalized went down. I am not sure the lag between the 2 hospitalization #s, though.

It's not just about hospital capacity.

62 additional people were sick enough to have to go to the hospital in one day, the most ever in the state.

That's significant, especially if you happen to be one of those people.

It's not just about hospital capacity.

62 additional people were sick enough to have to go to the hospital in one day, the most ever in the state.

That's significant, especially if you happen to be one of those people.

That's...not exactly what hospitalizations capture. If you are hospitalized with anything, you're going to get tested for COVID, even if you're in there for a broken arm, elective surgery, etc. So it's more that 62 people were in the hospital and tested positive for COVID, *not* that 62 people had COVID symptoms so severe they had to be hospitalized. This also probably explains why our net number of people in the hospital *decreased* in the last 24 hours, as some folks may have been hospitalized for something other than COVID but were positive and asymptomatic. Nuance matters with these stats.

^

It's safe to assume a decent percentage of those hospitalized got to that point due to the virus.

They *may* have been hospitalized for some other reason and then tested positive, but no way to know what percentage fits that description.


And regardless, the # of new hospitalizations has gone up significantly in the last week and that was not happening before even when total cases were setting new daily records. That strongly implies that the big surge in cases is now leading to more hospitalizations, allowing for the typical 1-week delay between those trends.

That's...not exactly what hospitalizations capture. If you are hospitalized with anything, you're going to get tested for COVID, even if you're in there for a broken arm, elective surgery, etc. So it's more that 62 people were in the hospital and tested positive for COVID, *not* that 62 people had COVID symptoms so severe they had to be hospitalized. This also probably explains why our net number of people in the hospital *decreased* in the last 24 hours, as some folks may have been hospitalized for something other than COVID but were positive and asymptomatic. Nuance matters with these stats.

Is that an Oklahoma policy? In Colorado, I believe they are only counting and reporting deaths and hospitalizations for those where COVID was the primary or only factor.

If there is one positive take away from ALL of this, hopefully, we can get policies for reporting standardized so god-forbid the next pandemic can be handled expediently and accurately. This real-world scenario has shown incompetency and inconsistency from all forms of government and policymakers across the world. When this is over hopefully everyone from the city level to the global level can find some sort of middle ground for reporting so we have true apples-apples comparisons.

BTW, the positive test rate for the state today was 4.5%.

Interesting, confirmed it's there on my Android phone.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8483037/Is-secret-Covid-tracker-phone.html

Interesting, confirmed it's there on my Android phone.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8483037/Is-secret-Covid-tracker-phone.htmlIt seems to have installed on I Phones with the latest IOS update. But on all that I’ve heard of it is defaulted off and has to have an additional app installed by the user to actually track.

Is that an Oklahoma policy? In Colorado, I believe they are only counting and reporting deaths and hospitalizations for those where COVID was the primary or only factor.

If there is one positive take away from ALL of this, hopefully, we can get policies for reporting standardized so god-forbid the next pandemic can be handled expediently and accurately. This real-world scenario has shown incompetency and inconsistency from all forms of government and policymakers across the world. When this is over hopefully everyone from the city level to the global level can find some sort of middle ground for reporting so we have true apples-apples comparisons.

This is a very liberal way of reporting the information. It is sad, since all these #s tend to do is fear monger. That hospitalization is most likely overstated, in terms of how many went there JUST for COVID reasons.

This is a very liberal way of reporting the information. It is sad, since all these #s tend to do is fear monger. That hospitalization is most likely overstated, in terms of how many went there JUST for COVID reasons.

How? It's showing those truly affected by COVID, and not simply someone who died in a motorcycle accident who tested positive for COVID.

How? It's showing those truly affected by COVID, and not simply someone who died in a motorcycle accident who tested positive for COVID.

Because if I go in for a hernia repair, but test positive for COVID, I get counted as a hospitalization by COVID, not the reason I went. It can make people think the virus is way worse than it seems to be, right now. Cases rise, but deaths are very, very minimally going up with them.

Because if I go in for a hernia repair, but test positive for COVID, I get counted as a hospitalization by COVID, not the reason I went. It can make people think the virus is way worse than it seems to be, right now. Cases rise, but deaths are very, very minimally going up with them.

Now we're back to deaths?

It's true that the percentage of people who test positive and then die is going down, but hundreds of people are dying every day in this country -- 670 just yesterday -- and now well over 130,000 in total.

My 72 year old neighbor fell from his ladder, unconscious, to emergency, tested for Covid-19, was negative and is home recovering. Argue the numbers, certainly people with health issues die from Covid-19 and they well could have died from their diabetes, heart disease etc., but you know, just six months ago there was nobody was dying from Covid-19, zero.

Now we're back to deaths?

It's true that the percentage of people who test positive and then die is going down, but hundreds of people are dying every day in this country -- 670 just yesterday -- and now well over 130,000 in total.

Each death is a tragedy, I understand that. But the virus appears to be weakening. Again, I wear my mask, and rarely go out. I am not advocating for loosening any restrictions. Not one bit. Just seems disingenuous that those who go for a migraine get tested and are positive, count as a COVID-induced hospitalization. That is a twisting of statistics.

Each death is a tragedy, I understand that. But the virus appears to be weakening.

There is zero hard evidence of that.

Of course health care professionals are doing a better job of preventing deaths after having absolutely zero experience to now 3 months of dealing with this.


The bigger issue is what is the risk of "making the virus seem worse than it is" vs. being cautious and not assuming these numbers don't mean what they seem to mean?

Because if I go in for a hernia repair, but test positive for COVID, I get counted as a hospitalization by COVID, not the reason I went. It can make people think the virus is way worse than it seems to be, right now. Cases rise, but deaths are very, very minimally going up with them.

Maybe you didn't read my post, but in Colorado you would not be considered a hospitalized number because you went in for one thing and tested positive. They changed that because it was inflating the numbers. I don't know why you are dragging politics into this by calling that a liberal scheme. Again, this is why this needs to be a learning experience for the whole world, we can't have mismatched datasets the next time a worldwide pandemic sweeps the globe.

Because if I go in for a hernia repair, but test positive for COVID, I get counted as a hospitalization by COVID, not the reason I went. It can make people think the virus is way worse than it seems to be, right now. Cases rise, but deaths are very, very minimally going up with them.

What I see lately is they test a couple of days in advance of those kinds of issues and if the test is positive, the hernia repair would have been canceled. If you then went into the hospital, it would 100% be for covid. Obviously there might be an issue where you went in with an emergency. I want to see some numbers about what the error rate in reported data is because it sounds like 99% smoke and attempts at obfuscation to me. My guess is it’s more like came in after a car wreck, which they would have treated and released in a day, three or week but person also had covid and needed to be hospitalized for the next month to eight weeks.

Maybe you didn't read my post, but in Colorado you would not be considered a hospitalized number because you went in for one thing and tested positive. They changed that because it was inflating the numbers. I don't know why you are dragging politics into this by calling that a liberal scheme. Again, this is why this needs to be a learning experience for the whole world, we can't have mismatched datasets the next time a worldwide pandemic sweeps the globe.

I meant liberal as in amount of volume of hospitalizations reported. Not politics, at all. And CO is doing is better than Oklahoma is, which isn't unusual.

I see so many different numbers. There is this https://www.okc.gov/residents/prepare-okc/know-what-to-do/epidemics-and-pandemics COVID-19 in Oklahoma City:
2,498 cumulative patients (+316 from July 1)
63 deaths (no change since June 28)
1,781 patients have recovered (+84 from July 1)
I think yesterday it showed +233

Then there is this https://occhd2.maps.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/2c0fbe6497004e098cdb9678f4d33cc9 It only shows 51 confirmed cases for yesterday. So what is going on

I meant liberal as in amount of volume of hospitalizations reported. Not politics, at all. And CO is doing is better than Oklahoma is, which isn't unusual.

Gotcha

I meant liberal as in amount of volume of hospitalizations reported. Not politics, at all. And CO is doing is better than Oklahoma is, which isn't unusual.

Only in the last couple of weeks. Before the recent bump in OK statistics, CO was consistently worse per capita going back to the start of the pandemic.

There is zero hard evidence of that.

Of course health care professionals are doing a better job of preventing deaths after having absolutely zero experience to now 3 months of dealing with this.


The bigger issue is what is the risk of "making the virus seem worse than it is" vs. being cautious and not assuming these numbers don't mean what they seem to mean?

Reason deaths are going down is we are doing a better job protecting our older population. It might seem weaker looking at numbers but if you really look at the numbers the deaths are really over the 65 and higher age group. We have to protect and keep protecting that age group. Only 16 deaths in 3 1/2 months under 50 in Oklahoma.

https://www.businessinsider.com/coronavirus-death-rate-us-compared-to-flu-by-age-2020-6 And i would bet these numbers are a little off cause more younger people have it never got tested and therefore not counted in the numbers. But as you can see really affecting over 65 even over 50 if you will.

Surprising. Texas has a state wide mask mandate now. I still think we will have one if our hospitalizations get as bad as down south. Lets hope that does not happen

Surprising. Texas has a state wide mask mandate now. I still think we will have one if our hospitalizations get as bad as down south. Lets hope that does not happen

I don't see how they won't go up at least some. I mean we went from a avg number of cases around 150 a day to close to 400 a day. July 4th coming up it's going to get bad. I think it's time to get tougher. 2 week mask mandate and let people know hey if this don't work then a shut down will be coming.

We need to get over the idea that doing anything for two weeks will make a dent in this virus. To have a real effect preventive measures will have to be considered permanent until a vaccine is found.

I noticed today at Sam's that mask-wearing had already dropped down to about 50%.

Texas reported almost 8,000 new cases today and is now averaging an almost 14% positive test rate.

Their hospitalizations have doubled in a month.

The U.S. headed for another record day.

Couldn’t attach the pic.


However, there is a shot showing Herman Cain sitting next to stitt, Lankfort, and Jim inhofe. He was recently hospitalized in Atlanta with covid.

This was at the rally a couple of weeks ago.

CM25, I can’t see or open your attachment.

https://twitter.com/KOCODillon/status/1278822084437848064 High case counts + hospitals going up = major problems unless we do something now. I hate to say it but Restaurants take out only. Bars, Churches, Casinos, Gyms need to be closed again. I know it will never happen on it's own but once hospitals are full they won't have a choice

I don't agree with churches being closed, just regulated down to much small amount of people in their buildings. ie add more services, very limited social gatherings. ie weddings and funerals with small groups. Close bars and Casinos. Gyms with scheduled times for members and limited amount of people at a time.. Restaurants with take out or dine outside with wide spacing. Masks when not eating, servers must wear them. Also masks in public buildings and other public spaces (not parks with distancing). Stores must enforce mask usage and social distancing. If a customer will not comply then they will be asked to leave. This is not hard folks. I am doing it but getting very tired of constantly moving away from people who will not respect my space. I do very limited shopping but at times must go into stores. I bought another pair of outside garden boots at Tractor Supply. The sole was deformed. The employee did not look at them. I did the curb side pickup and did not think to look at them until I got home. I had to do aan exchange but was required to enter the store. REally, had the receipt and just wanted another pair. No i did not have to sign anything, just come in the store and drop and at the register and put up the new pair. Could have been done in the back of my truck.grrr

Now we're back to deaths?

It's true that the percentage of people who test positive and then die is going down, but hundreds of people are dying every day in this country -- 670 just yesterday -- and now well over 130,000 in total.
For public decision making I think it’s always been about hospitalizations and deaths. Even if we see over a thousand new cases per day and way high positive percentages of tests Oklahoma and its major metropolitan areas aren’t going to do anything to mitigate the spread of the virus. If the hospitals aren’t being overwhelmed, and right now they aren’t, and we do have deaths skyrocket, and right now they’re not, then what we have is as restrictive as it’s going to be. Not saying I agree but that is how it is. I would agree with a previous post that hospital bean counters like to see 85% ICU occupants and it’s lower than that even with the COVID patients. I want this stuff over with as much as anyone. I would like to see a rollback to Phase 2 or even 1 1/2. But that’s just not gonna happen if the hospitalization/death stats aren’t overwhelming and they’re not. Not to the decision makers that must have a level in mind that would trigger more restrictions. I still think the Oklahoma new case/hospitalization/death stats are around what the experts expected at this point. So to be like a broken record it’s up to each of us to take care of ourselves.

For public decision making I think it’s always been about hospitalizations and deaths. Even if we see over a thousand new cases per day and way high positive percentages of tests Oklahoma and its major metropolitan areas aren’t going to do anything to mitigate the spread of the virus. If the hospitals aren’t being overwhelmed, and right now they aren’t, and we do have deaths skyrocket, and right now they’re not, then what we have is as restrictive as it’s going to be. Not saying I agree but that is how it is. I would agree with a previous post that hospital bean counters like to see 85% ICU occupants and it’s lower than that even with the COVID patients. I want this stuff over with as much as anyone. I would like to see a rollback to Phase 2 or even 1 1/2. But that’s just not gonna happen if the hospitalization/death stats aren’t overwhelming and they’re not. Not to the decision makers that must have a level in mind that would trigger more restrictions. I still think the Oklahoma new case/hospitalization/death stats are around what the experts expected at this point. So to be like a broken record it’s up to each of us to take care of ourselves.

But why wait until hospital start to get full? Then what oh they are now full so we have to close everything? If we have over 500 cases a day wouldn't they keep getting full? Shouldn't we be taking more action now since they are at the same levels as April and not wait until they are full.

^

The guidelines issued by the white house and followed by Stitt for reopening specifically said this:

CASES
Downward trajectory of documented cases within a 14-day period
or
Downward trajectory of positive tests as a percent of total tests within a 14-day period (flat or increasing volume of tests)

HOSPITALS
Treat all patients without crisis care
AND
Robust testing program in place for at-risk healthcare workers, including emerging antibody testing

SYMPTOMS
Downward trajectory of influenza-like illnesses (ILI) reported within a 14-day period
AND
Downward trajectory of covid-like syndromic cases reported within a 14-day period


So, we can discuss this all we want, but people are already forgetting and ignoring the standards set by the feds and state.

And there are a million points of gradiation between where we are now and complete lock-down.

But why wait until hospital start to get full? Then what oh they are now full so we have to close everything? If we have over 500 cases a day wouldn't they keep getting full? Shouldn't we be taking more action now since they are at the same levels as April and not wait until they are full.
Not saying I agree with the plan. I just think that’s what the plan is. And hospitalizations/deaths are increasing at a much lower rate than new cases. I really think new case numbers are becoming less and less relevant for decision making purposes in the eyes of the decision makers.

I really think new case numbers are becoming less and less relevant for decision making purposes in the eyes of the decision makers.

# of cases and those trends were used when it served their agenda, and in fact were the main driver.

Now, that things have gone exponentially the wrong way on that front, it's no longer a valid metric.

This is a very liberal way of reporting the information. It is sad, since all these #s tend to do is fear monger. That hospitalization is most likely overstated, in terms of how many went there JUST for COVID reasons.

Oklahoma doesn’t follow the CDC recommendations for reporting and counting cases, so our numbers are likely higher. They might catch the occasional test on someone who is in the hospital for non-COVID reasons, but they also ignore all the presumptive cases as well as rapid tested positives.

57,000 new cases today in the U.S., which is more than a 10% increase over the previous record high which was just yesterday.

And over 200K cases worldwide, another record.

Really simple and proactive approach by government of south Korea to send out care packages with masks early on
https://m.imgur.com/gallery/onbzBLS

We need a mask ordinance for OKC. Not here to criticize Holt but he has boxed himself in on this by saying it is “unenforceable.” So are marijuana laws, and seatbelt laws. Not advocating for either of those but most people will follow the law. I was encouraged to see a young man wearing a mask in the OnCue drive-thru today. I have been there once each week for the last four weeks and this was the first time I have seen someone wearing a mask. He said it is mandatory there now and that managers pull video to see if employees are complying. I thanked him for wearing one and he thanked me back for wearing one, too. The restrictions Holt put in place do not require masks from OnCue employees, but it shows the power of government and how much people listen to leaders.

Chinese wet markets are still open, so there will be another SARS/Corona style virus again. So I give up.

Chinese wet markets are still open, so there will be another SARS/Corona style virus again. So I give up.

Tough times, don't give up!

To gain control over what little we have available, at least for me, it feels like wearing a mask makes me feel like I have done what I can.

Flipside is i feel angry at others who don't wear masks.

Chinese wet markets are still open, so there will be another SARS/Corona style virus again. So I give up.

People gonna be people, and Mother Nature almost always wins (at least temporarily, until the next time, she's tireless :)), sadly. All we can do is learn from this (doubt very much learning will actually happen, though, based on *this* crisis, unless we get lots of new leaders in the US) and be prepared next time, and there will be a few "next time"s, guaranteed.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/as-coronavirus-rebounds-more-patients-are-being-hospitalized-thats-a-bad-sign/2020/07/02/62f60720-bc4f-11ea-80b9-40ece9a701dc_story.html?outputType=amp

“There’s a lag between confirmed case and hospitalization, and between hospitalization and death. So you look at the numbers and you can see how hospital capacity could quickly become strained in coming weeks,” said Saskia Popescu, an epidemiologist at the University of Arizona.

As hospitals have become overwhelmed, deaths have risen — not just among covid-19 patients who get insufficient care, but among those facing other medical crises who don’t seek care from an overwhelmed system because they think they won’t receive it.


The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that since Feb. 1, about 20,000 to 49,000 more people have died of all non-covid-19 causes than would have been expected.

The fear is that the same will soon happen in states such as Arizona, Texas and Florida as their health-care systems are strained to capacity. In Arizona, if hospitalizations push past capacity, patients will be given a score based on life expectancy and underlying conditions.

“You look at what happened in Lombardy, Italy. What happened in New York. That’s what is about to happen here. People are going to die because our system is overwhelmed,” said Will Humble, who was director of Arizona’s Department of Health Services for six years under its previous Republican governor. “It’s important for other states to learn from us. This wasn’t bad luck. It was avoidable. Don’t let this happen to you. You look back at the past few months and we’re an example of what not to do.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/as-coronavirus-rebounds-more-patients-are-being-hospitalized-thats-a-bad-sign/2020/07/02/62f60720-bc4f-11ea-80b9-40ece9a701dc_story.html?outputType=amp

“There’s a lag between confirmed case and hospitalization, and between hospitalization and death. So you look at the numbers and you can see how hospital capacity could quickly become strained in coming weeks,” said Saskia Popescu, an epidemiologist at the University of Arizona.

As hospitals have become overwhelmed, deaths have risen — not just among covid-19 patients who get insufficient care, but among those facing other medical crises who don’t seek care from an overwhelmed system because they think they won’t receive it.


The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that since Feb. 1, about 20,000 to 49,000 more people have died of all non-covid-19 causes than would have been expected.

The fear is that the same will soon happen in states such as Arizona, Texas and Florida as their health-care systems are strained to capacity. In Arizona, if hospitalizations push past capacity, patients will be given a score based on life expectancy and underlying conditions.

“You look at what happened in Lombardy, Italy. What happened in New York. That’s what is about to happen here. People are going to die because our system is overwhelmed,” said Will Humble, who was director of Arizona’s Department of Health Services for six years under its previous Republican governor. “It’s important for other states to learn from us. This wasn’t bad luck. It was avoidable. Don’t let this happen to you. You look back at the past few months and we’re an example of what not to do.”

With 526 new cases again today on July 3rd in Oklahoma. Also our hospitals are starting to get full. Maybe or leaders are wanting to see how full our hospitals can get before they decide to do something about it. SMH

526 new cases today.

3 additional deaths.

+23 hospitalizations from last night. We won't know any more hospital numbers until Monday due to the holiday. Hope people stay safe this weekend.

Another 9,500 cases for Florida today.

Arizona seems to be even worse, with 4,400 cases today on a much smaller population. If this keeps up, they will soon have more cases per capita than any other state.

Another 9,500 cases for Florida today.

Arizona seems to be even worse, with 4,400 cases today on a much smaller population. If this keeps up, they will soon have more cases per capita than any other state.

It's like watching a slow motion train crash but the conductors are too proud to hit the brakes

It's like watching a slow motion train crash but the conductors are too proud to hit the brakes

Yup.
Also, as Texas hospitalizations rise, border states can be asked to hold non emergent cases. So even if Oklahoma does everything right, our hospitals could still see increase in bed occupancy from transfers of non-Covid cases.

^
...
...
And there are a million points of gradiation between where we are now and complete lock-down.

One that seems like such a no brainer with little to no economic fallout: offices where remote work is capable should remain/return to working remotely. Maybe it doesn't even need to be made an official mandate, just "highly suggested" to get a good participation rate. Every person in my peer group that works in a large (100+) offices has reported that they've had positive cases at their place of work. Every person in the same peer group is capable of working from home, and already did, at some point during March-June.

For public decision making I think it’s always been about hospitalizations and deaths. Even if we see over a thousand new cases per day and way high positive percentages of tests Oklahoma and its major metropolitan areas aren’t going to do anything to mitigate the spread of the virus. If the hospitals aren’t being overwhelmed, and right now they aren’t, and we do have deaths skyrocket, and right now they’re not, then what we have is as restrictive as it’s going to be. Not saying I agree but that is how it is. I would agree with a previous post that hospital bean counters like to see 85% ICU occupants and it’s lower than that even with the COVID patients. I want this stuff over with as much as anyone. I would like to see a rollback to Phase 2 or even 1 1/2. But that’s just not gonna happen if the hospitalization/death stats aren’t overwhelming and they’re not. Not to the decision makers that must have a level in mind that would trigger more restrictions. I still think the Oklahoma new case/hospitalization/death stats are around what the experts expected at this point. So to be like a broken record it’s up to each of us to take care of ourselves.

I don't see how the tripling of hospitalizations in the last three weeks isn't an indication that we won't be where Texas and Arizona are in short order. Do we have more hospitals per capita than those states?

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