2021 Tokyo Olympics vs. COVID-19

[ArnoldRimmer]

I think in 2000 everyone knew well in advance that it was going to be a September date, so things were planned around it.

 

[ArnoldRimmer]

Lithuania is the latest country to vaccinate Olympic and Paralympic delegations.

https://www.insidethegames.biz/articles/1104287/lithuania-covid-19-vaccination-starts

Article also mentions Serbia doing it, which I wasn’t aware of, and Israel which I would’ve thought was moot considering how fast they’re going anyway.

 

[anon42999389]

Not in the middle. Cases are down 87%

 

[JaJa]

Down 87% from when? What point in time? And where?

In NY , and most of the U.S. we are down from a winter spike but way up from last summer and fall.

With the variants, at least one of which may be at least somewhat resistant to the vaccines currently being used, many experts are predicting another spike.

This thing is not over.

 

[anon42999389]

Oh boy. You’re one of THEM. LOOK AT REAL DATA. Good God.

 

[anon42999389]

[No message]

 

[Sasha]

I think you’ll find that a lot of us here are among “them”.

 

[JaJa]

Oh boy. You’re one of THEM. LOOK AT REAL DATA. Good God.

But I do look at “real data.” And your facebook posting actually supports the very point I made. At least in the U.S., and specifically NY (which is where I live and what I follow most closely) cases are significantly down from the post Christmas winter spike. But they are still very high, as are hospitalizations. Way up from last summer when they had gone down, as had been predicted they would. Vaccinations are in all likelihood driving the downward trajectory but with the UK variant which is apparently far more contagious than the original strain (so more non vaccinated people will get covid than would have from the previous strain) and this NY strain which they are worried may be largely resistant to the existing vaccinations we are far from out of the woods. We can not be on lockdown forever and life and the economy – and yes, sports and even the Olympics – should or must go on. BUT it has to go on with perhaps even extreme safety procedures in place until we get a handle on this virus.

 

[Bogwoppit]

This is not real data, it is a facebook post. Do you have real data to cite to support you argument?

Thanks

 

[RedBirdie]

North Carolina just finally dipped below our pre-Thanksgiving positive rate. And we enacted stricter restrictions to combat the big spike from people travelling for the holidays. It was just last week that we started loosening up again.

7-Day averages, new cases
Oct. 15: 1,943
Nov. 15: 2,921
Dec. 15: 5,582
Jan. 15: 8,046
Feb. 15: 3,199
March 8: 1,899 (first time below 1,900 since October 12)

Less travel, restrictions to reduce spread, and a vaccine are responsible for the decline in NC. Not magical thinking that this is just somehow going away all on it’s own. And we are only going to be able to maintain this steady decline in positives by continuing to wear masks, reduce exposure to other people, and get vaccines in every arm.

Want to know what happens when you don’t have any restrictions? You get South Dakota, which did not get hit with the brutal first wave, nor does it have the sort of population density that the urbanized Northeast has. And yet they have lost 1 in every 500 residents to Covid. Not positive. DEAD. 1 in 500, because they saw what was coming and ignored. North Dakota had more cases per 100,000 than anywhere else in the world in November. At least 1 in 9 Dakotans have tested positive. Not “suspected because we know tests aren’t catching every infection.” Absolutely confirmed through testing. This virus absolutely ripped through those states and caused tremendous suffering because their leadership refused to do things like issue mask mandate and cancel events where people gather (hello, Sturgis).

North Dakota (finally) required masking in mid-November; South Dakota never has. North Dakota saw their cases fall much faster than South Dakota. North Dakota just lifted their mask mandate. Yet The Dakotas rank 1 and 2 in total cases per 100,000 as of March 3.

One last bit of information: DC is 100% urban, and yet has one of the lowest rates in the country. They’ve been aggressive with restrictions and closures. They have just slightly less population than North Dakota. Yet largely rural ND got decimated, while tightly packed DC did not.

 

[irichluck21]

This is where you are getting your information from?

A Facebook post that is clearly biased AGAINST the CDC?
A Facebook post that states “HEADLINE” but doesn’t actually link the CDC article?

Do you have any actual source of the information you are claiming? I looked all over the CDC website and found nothing about 87% decline.

In fact, the opposite is coming from the CDC that warns against re-opening to 100% and no masks too soon as the numbers are coming down and warns that not following guidelines will cause the cases to rise again.

 

[Kittentoes]

The Tokyo qualifier being cancelled can’t be the best sign that the Olympics will happen. I know it was not going to be used for qualifying anymore, but it still would be testing the waters.

 

[RedBirdie]

I agree. Are they going to have an internal test event if the Olympics do happen? I just can’t imagine hosting an event like the Olympics in an untested venue.

 

[cats]

Is a tiny WC meet a meaningful test?

I guess I don’t really know much about what it takes to put on a meet, but it seems like a meet with a half dozen or so athletes is not similar enough to a audience-free Olympics to even bother with. Just doesn’t seem like you could stress the system enough to reveal any flies in the ointment.

 

[MRR]

Yes, the Tokyo meet will now be a domestic test event. Given the World Cup series was already cancelled, there was really no use for this event taking place, but it is a shame that no foreign athletes will get to compete in the venue beforehand.

 

[makam]

When you pick a username of anon + a string of numbers, you’ve got to be a troll, right?

 

[Sasha]

I think the OP had their account deleted at their own request. There was another thread about it yesterday.

 

[RedBirdie]

Yes, she asked to have her account deleted

 

[XMaestro]

It looks like it will be zero outside spectators.

https://www.reuters.com/article/olympics-2020-spectators-int/japan-to-keep-foreign-spectators-away-from-tokyo-olympics-kyodo-says-idUSKBN2B11F9

 

[ArnoldRimmer]

I had a feeling they might go down that route.