Cozumel COVID-19 updates

[ReefHound]

Honestly, I have no idea. You’re absolutely correct - we need a uniform standardized set of data to make comparisons. As to not wanting be tested, the numbers are obviously skewed because the only people that are tested are those who think they NEED to be tested. I’ve never been tested and don’t particularly care to have a 6” Q-Tip shoved into my forehead either.

Mexican positivity data is especially skewed. Pretty much useless.

I think people are probably similar all over. Who wants to be tested if they feel they are not at risk or haven't been exposed. But aside from the deep swabbing up the nose (why can't you just cough on a test strip if it's so contagious?) there is the privacy issue. No one wants to go into a central database and forever be marked not knowing how it may be used against you later?

 

[BoundForElsewhere]

I think people are probably similar all over. Who wants to be tested if they feel they are not at risk or haven't been exposed. But aside from the deep swabbing up the nose (why can't you just cough on a test strip if it's so contagious?) there is the privacy issue. No one wants to go into a central database and forever be marked not knowing how it may be used against you later?

I hate to break it to you but everyone is already in a central database. But back to covid.... all the results seem to be skewed in favor of one agenda or another.

cover your mouth, wash your hands, don't lick anything that doesn't belong to you (or without consent), and be respectful of other people's choices. not much different than kindergarten.

 

[jfcl01]

Here is a troubling update. There are around 100 known Covid deaths on Cozumel so far. There are cases all over the island. Most are not being diagnosed or tested. The clinics that many people are going to are giving them antibiotics and telling them it is something other than covid. The doctors at the hospital are upset about this.

It gets worse.

So...is it really an estimated 100 identified Covid related deaths...or is it 41 multiplied by some corrective factor as was explained in some posts weeks/months ago...

Yesterday the guy that sells us smoothies was in Playa when they transported his father to Cancun for emergency covid treatment. This seldom or never ends well. His sister and brother in law are also very sick. He was sick two weeks ago but the clinic told him it was something else and sent him home. He refused to go to the hospital and get tested even though we put him in contact with a doctor at the hospital. He may or may not have had Covid. He was very sick but is convinced it was something else.

I have just learned of a dive master that has been exposed by cohabitation to two people that have just been diagnosed with Covid19. He doesn't have symptoms so far and is working with divers daily. Divers are not wearing masks on the boats. They are not keeping a safe distance or disinfecting surfaces and equipment. This is not an isolated case y'all. I can't tell you everything I have learned but I have told you enough.

If you are going to Cozumel to go diving and are choosing to ignore the global pandemic then you are putting the island at risk and the island is putting you and your family at risk. People should not be playing fast and loose with this disease but they are and the people on the island are paying the price. If you are worried about their income then do as I am doing. Send them your dive money and stay home. These are not normal times and we can't pretend that they are. It will get people killed and many of those that don't die will be forever compromised. Lung damage is bad news for divers. Live to dive another day.

Cheers?

 

[tridacna]

..,who knows how the group think might turn in the future.

Aah “the future”. It just seems such a long way away! Pining for Cozumel in my future.

 

[cozcharlie]

We don’t know what the long term effects are and how prevalent they will be. Covid has only been around 8 months. Anyone who thinks they have the long term effects (or lack thereof) pinned down is kidding themselves. Most people will likely be fine in the short and long term , but even single digit percentage chances of medium/long term effects matter a lot when people are infected by the millions or tens of millions

An example of something that may matter (or not): I have a friend who is normally in excellent shape but who had a mild case of Covid in June. His symptoms cleared up 6 weeks ago, but even today his resting pulse is 20 bpm higher than normal for him (and oddly his normal wasn’t low for a person in good shape, so it is really high now for a resting pulse ). His blood pressure is also elevated. It may go away in another few months is what his doctors hope , but they don’t know.

Link to nice article in Science about long term effects is below. Gist seems to be not as many lung problems as once feared (but clearly some ), a lot more heart problems than expected , and bunch of random stuff out of nowhere. The problem is they don’t have enough data to try to put percentages on the various outcomes yet (some high level statistics of medium term effects are scary , but they may include a very wide range of outcomes that aren’t that severe and may not persist ). There are a bunch of studies that are in early stages Once again, we just don’t know since there isn’t much data yet because the virus is too new

[From ‘brain fog’ to heart damage, COVID-19’s lingering problems alarm scientists]

 

[Snoweman]

Here is a troubling update. There are around 100 known Covid deaths on Cozumel so far. There are cases all over the island. Most are not being diagnosed or tested. The clinics that many people are going to are giving them antibiotics and telling them it is something other than covid. The doctors at the hospital are upset about this.

It gets worse.

Yesterday the guy that sells us smoothies was in Playa when they transported his father to Cancun for emergency covid treatment. This seldom or never ends well. His sister and brother in law are also very sick. He was sick two weeks ago but the clinic told him it was something else and sent him home. He refused to go to the hospital and get tested even though we put him in contact with a doctor at the hospital. He may or may not have had Covid. He was very sick but is convinced it was something else.

I have just learned of a dive master that has been exposed by cohabitation to two people that have just been diagnosed with Covid19. He doesn't have symptoms so far and is working with divers daily. Divers are not wearing masks on the boats. They are not keeping a safe distance or disinfecting surfaces and equipment. This is not an isolated case y'all. I can't tell you everything I have learned but I have told you enough.

If you are going to Cozumel to go diving and are choosing to ignore the global pandemic then you are putting the island at risk and the island is putting you and your family at risk. People should not be playing fast and loose with this disease but they are and the people on the island are paying the price. If you are worried about their income then do as I am doing. Send them your dive money and stay home. These are not normal times and we can't pretend that they are. It will get people killed and many of those that don't die will be forever compromised. Lung damage is bad news for divers. Live to dive another day.

Cheers?

Are you departing early and canceling dives?

 

[RayfromTX]

I am not in Cozumel. I came home in March. Going to Cozumel wouldn't be prudent at this juncture. I do speak with people there daily and am supporting a few people financially as needed.

 

[ggunn]

The false positives may be even higher.

Why would that be? A false negative means that the bugs were there but didn't get captured by the swab in large enough numbers to trigger the positive result. A false positive means that somehow the sample got contaminated.

It seems a lot more likely to me that a test would miss finding something that is there than it would find something that isn't there.

 

[ReefHound]

Why would that be? A false negative means that the bugs were there but didn't get captured by the swab in large enough numbers to trigger the positive result. A false positive means that somehow the sample got contaminated.

It seems a lot more likely to me that a test would miss finding something that is there than it would find something that isn't there.

There are many ways results could be listed as positive. It could be sloppy record-keeping, as indicated by numerous Florida labs reporting 100% positive test rates. Reports that positive antigen tests have been recorded as positive viral tests abound. Maybe some tests are reacting to other coronavirus strains causing common cold.

Perhaps the most accurate test kit we have is a trained dog.
These dogs are trained to sniff out the coronavirus | EarthSky.org

 

[RayfromTX]

I don't know and all you said is also true of every other country. It was not my intent to say we've done enough. My point is that it is easy to second-guess the coach after the game - that we can clamor about "not enough testing" when by all numbers we have done more testing than anyone else - but how about instead saying what we should do before the game? Before you simply say "test every single person every single day" we must consider if that would even be physically and logistically possible.

Please watch this video and consider what this type of testing could mean for travel, school, work and other face to face activities. 1-2$ each. Results in 10 minutes.

Tests that give results in 7-10 days have limited value, not none, but limited.