Coronavirus

Yes there are going to be more cases and sure there is still a correlation, as you said though not directly equal to earlier waves. All pandemic response has to be weighed against a myriad of factors though. Especially after two years in a reality where it is most likely here to stay forever, keep mutating and return (which might put us back in square one as it transmits to wild animals). Which is what experts, authorities and politicians have and the dissent views, in the countries that are opening, are in minority. If there is ever a time to open up during the pandemic it is now, as per general consensus. Care here is somewhat strained but less than previous waves. Lung collapses are extremely rare now too.
 
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Yax said:
Hospitalisations, ICU care rate and deaths is what is interesting now. Cases aren't. It is a different game now. Thank H.
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All dropping in Norway. Like I already said in a previous post. If we compare with the numbers around xmas with today it's gone downhill. Number of cases however goes up. And that started despite a lot of restrictions.

We will get slightly more hospitalizations, because of the High amount of cases. As of today there are around 350 covid patients in hospitals. However only 50% of those are in hospital because of covid.

Health authorities reckon there is a capacity of around 1000 patients, so it's no problem (yet?). And I don't think it will be.
 
Poto said:
Health authorities reckon there is a capacity of around 1000 patients, so it's no problem (yet?). And I don't think it will be.
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What is the average occupancy rate of hospitals in Norway?

In Ontario, the average occupancy rate is 92%. Which means that at any given time only 1/24 beds are available for standard use. How does this work when COVID is a standard part of hospital life? Are any surgeries being delayed because hospitals have 175 COVID patients in them, that the system wasn't designed for?

Honestly, I'm highly skeptical that we have done enough to either 1) increase hospital capacity sufficiently to end all restrictions or 2) decrease the severity of COVID-related illness so that the existing systems can handle them.
 
What I am able to find is that Norway has 3,5 hospital beds per 1000. Number from late 2020. Not sure about avg occupancy rate.

Regarding increasing capacity, that hasn't been done here either. Which is outrageous considering we are two years into a pandemic.
 
One thing to comment on the ratio of positive tests:

Right now, those who have had a booster dose, or two doses and earlier confirmed covid-19, are not encouraged to get tested. Also, the overall test capacity is not being scaled up to follow the Omicron wave. This means the total number of tests - after peaking three weeks ago - are lower, and most of those who are tested are likely to test positive.

The 1000 mentioned by @Poto would be ICU patients.

In sum, if you look at the numbers for Norway, it makes sense to open up. The number of ICU patients has been on a steady decline for weeks despite the number of covid-19 cases reaching record levels (and that's confirmed cases, the ratio of positive tests indicates that the number of unregistered cases is higher than ever before as well).

As for scheduled surgeries, they have started doing them again. My mom had a tentative date for knee surgery in December which was delayed when the winter wave threatened filling up our hospitals, she has now got a confirmed date in early March.
 
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Dr. Eddies Wingman said:
One thing to comment on the ratio of positive tests:

Right now, those who have had a booster dose, or two doses and earlier confirmed covid-19, are not encouraged to get tested. Also, the overall test capacity is not being scaled up to follow the Omicron wave. This means the total number of tests - after peaking three weeks ago - are lower, and most of those who are tested are likely to test positive.

The 1000 mentioned by @Poto would be ICU patients.

In sum, if you look at the numbers for Norway, it makes sense to open up. The number of ICU patients has been on a steady decline for weeks despite the number of covid-19 cases reaching record levels (and that's confirmed cases, the ratio of positive tests indicates that the number of unregistered cases is higher than ever before as well).

As for scheduled surgeries, they have started doing them again. My mom had a tentative date for knee surgery in December which was delayed when the winter wave threatened filling up our hospitals, she has now got a confirmed date in early March.
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Thank you.

Is It 1000 ICU patients? I thought that number was much lower.
 
Poto said:
Thank you.

Is It 1000 ICU patients? I thought that number was much lower.
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I'm not sure actually, what the total ICU capacity is. They have reported numbers from a few hundred to 1200.

But I am sure they can handle more than 1000 non-critical covid-19 patients.

Anyway, the hospital numbers are not nearly at that level. 300+ in total and only slightly increasing, and as you pointed out - ICU patients decreasing every week, despite increasing number of cases for two months.

A high vaccine coverage and a generally healthy population probably contribute to a lower hospitalization ratio and the fact we aren't the most densely populated country in the world contributes to slow the spread of the virus (flattening the curve, to use a popular expression). We've got the same population size as Denmark but more than seven times the area.

But still. I am just enjoying the current relaxations ... we don't know what things will look like six months from now.
 
Dr. Eddies Wingman said:
I'm not sure actually, what the total ICU capacity is. They have reported numbers from a few hundred to 1200.

But I am sure they can handle more than 1000 non-critical covid-19 patients.

Anyway, the hospital numbers are not nearly at that level. 300+ in total and only slightly increasing, and as you pointed out - ICU patients decreasing every week, despite increasing number of cases for two months.

A high vaccine coverage and a generally healthy population probably contribute to a lower hospitalization ratio and the fact we aren't the most densely populated country in the world contributes to slow the spread of the virus (flattening the curve, to use a popular expression). We've got the same population size as Denmark but more than seven times the area.

But still. I am just enjoying the current relaxations ... we don't know what things will look like six months from now.
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www.vg.no

Dokument: Så mange intensivplasser kan Norge skaffe

Et nytt dokument viser hvordan intensivplassene kan fordeles i de ulike helseregionene ved en krisesituasjon.
www.vg.no www.vg.no

647 according to this.
 
What's the deal in the US? From what I understand the omikron wave has hit them hard. Bad public health? Lower vaccination rate amongst the elderly?
 
I infected my parents, who are both high risk group. They had recently been boostered and I know their state of health. With the booster, worst that happened was that they had to lie down for a few days. Without the booster, I'm dead certain they would have been hooked to a ventilator.
 
GhostofCain said:
The effectiveness of the Pfizer booster against Covid-19 in my household has turned out to be 0%...

The effectiveness in making the CEO a billionaire is 100% though

COVID vaccines create 9 new billionaires with combined wealth greater than cost of vaccinating world's poorest countries | Oxfam International

www.oxfam.org www.oxfam.org
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Perun said:
I infected my parents, who are both high risk group. They had recently been boostered and I know their state of health. With the booster, worst that happened was that they had to lie down for a few days. Without the booster, I'm dead certain they would have been hooked to a ventilator.
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I hope you & your families are well
 
Perun said:
I infected my parents, who are both high risk group. They had recently been boostered and I know their state of health. With the booster, worst that happened was that they had to lie down for a few days. Without the booster, I'm dead certain they would have been hooked to a ventilator.
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Good to hear you did not send your parents to an ICU!
 
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