May 28, 2020 · 12:30 PM

Risk assessment, part two

One more bit of sage advice from Kirbs:

Smart said the team will be educated on what they need to do to protect themselves and wanted to convey something to Georgia fans who hope to be able to see games this season whether in Sanford Stadium — where limited attendance appears likely — or on TV.

“We also as fans, as Dawgnation have a responsibility to make good decisions, to social distance,” Smart said. “I think people, the more this thing has gone, the more they’ve begun to relax and say, well this won’t affect me. The last thing we need right now if people want to have a football season or any athletic season is to have another flare-up. The biggest thing we can do is to take care of that by making good decisions, being aware.”

When we get closer to nut-cutting time, it’s going to be interesting to see how the but muh freedom crowd takes to Smart’s direction.

41 Comments

Filed under Georgia Football, The Body Is A Temple

41 responses to “Risk assessment, part two”

  1. ASEF
    May 28, 2020 at 1:19 PM

    Largest percentage case growths last week:

    South Carolina
    Alabama
    Missouri
    North Carolina
    Georgia

    Like

    • spur21
      May 28, 2020 at 1:48 PM

      Is that infections or hospitalizations or deaths. If it’s infections I would guess the increase is due to more testing – but that’s just a guess.
      That being said and being in the higher risk group I am practicing distancing and wearing a mask when out in public,

      Liked by 1 person

    • Chris
      May 28, 2020 at 2:01 PM

      While the number of positive cases is an interesting stat to track, the number of positives is going to continue to increase as testing continues to increase. More importantly, the rate of infection to the number tested has already decreased significantly, along with hospitalizations, bed utilization, and deaths. Also, the CDC updated the IFC to .26% due to the larger asymptomatic population than previously projected. But muh testing. But muh masks. #WereAllInThisTogether

      You are a victim of fake news that continues this cycle of fear casting, and are doing harm in the name of good.

      Sources:
      https://dph.georgia.gov/covid-19-daily-status-report
      https://gema.georgia.gov/document/document/sitrep-526/download
      https://dch.georgia.gov/document/document/ltc-report-5262020/download

      Click to access data.pdf

      Liked by 3 people

      • PTC DAWG
        May 28, 2020 at 2:16 PM

        Well said.

        Liked by 1 person

      • TN Dawg
        May 28, 2020 at 2:30 PM

        Dude.

        Chill and drink moar Kool-Aid.

        Like

      • illini84
        May 28, 2020 at 2:35 PM

        Gee “Fake News”, that’s catchy, where ever did you come up with that?

        Like

      • ASEF
        May 28, 2020 at 2:49 PM

        A lot of Southern states are experience a slow and steady rise in case counts. That’s a fact. Slow is better than fast, and there was a period when large expansion in testing capacity could have been confused (and was, in some corners) for a “surge” in cases. Some states are also highly erratic in their reporting. And some states until recently were lumping their virus and antibody test results. And some were putting their thumbs on the scales to make things look a little rosier.

        The context is murky all the way around, and fear casting/denier casting are both the same problem from opposite ends of the spectrum, basic but committed confirmation bias.

        To Kirby’s point, each thwarted chain of transmission increases odds of football. And each successful chain is a step in the wrong direction. We still have work to do.

        Liked by 2 people

        • Chris
          May 28, 2020 at 5:00 PM

          Eh, the context isn’t murky, it’s actually why we’re in this current situation.

          The US locked down to “flatten the curve” to keep from overwhelming our hospitals and medical personnel. At the end of the day, current hospitalization utilization is the main driver to track to see if a second, third or fourth wave is occurring.

          Per GA Dept of Public Health, as of 5/26/2020 (well after phase one opening) 4.0% of all (ER, ICU, General combined) Georgia hospital beds were occupied by a covid-19 patient. Covid-19 patients occupied 6.5% of ICU beds. Nearly half reported Covid hospitalizations since the phase one opening. 7 day average deaths are in steady decline. Of all GA Covid deaths, 94.2% of deaths were 50+ years of age. 94.7% of deaths had at least one and most had multiple underlying medical conditions. 100 (5.3%) of the deaths died solely because of contracting covid-19.

          The data shows the curve has been flattened, yet the goalposts keep on moving and the fear casting continues…

          Like

          • ASEF
            May 28, 2020 at 5:29 PM

            The data shows a lot of things, including all the questions for which we don’t have firm answers or even solid guesses yet. Some of the data is encouraging, some not so much. And all of it is being continually revised and updated.

            Like

          • Napoleon BonerFart
            May 28, 2020 at 6:52 PM

            Blah blah blah. You can post all the “data” and “facts” you want to. But those of us who care about others know that, if it saves a single life, The Greatest Depression will be a small price to pay.
            #41MillionUnemployedButSafe

            Like

        • Cojones
          May 29, 2020 at 7:56 AM

          Kirby’s program, as stated yesterday, is one of testing followed by tracing and isolating contacts to help control this virus, not just identifying the positives and not permitting them to carry this virus to more red meat. What has been missed thus far in our state and nationally is a program of complete testing and followups for positives that would have changed the entire picture back in Feb. Instead, we have fallen out of the program designed for control that would have never seen a flattening of the curve and, instead, would have peaked and headed down. That opportunity was missed due to inadequate political leadership that should have followed the path advocated by health officials, both nationally and on the state level.

          UGA’s program is going back to what should have been instituted nationally in Feb and seems to be placed as a microsystem of what should have been done nationally. Instead of dealing with the remnants of successful mitigation and control of this virus’s infectivity chain, we are opting to accept that a flattening of the curve was the end result sought. That was not and still isn’t the end-all some of you are stating and, when going back to the earliest intentions for slowing while testing caught up, we now wish to tout curve flattening as a final objective. The goalpost of flattening the curve was an intermediary milestone to the intended goalpost of controlling this virus until a vaccine could be made available.

          Flattening of the curve doesn’t achieve what has been intended as a final goal (prior to a vaccine) and has now been used as a shortcut to getting the economy started again. It’s a gamble now being taken that, if unsuccessful, will turn the economy down further past the point of many investors spurring the market on and up by simply buying stocks.

          The reporting number of infections and deaths attributed to this virus is one of the “thumbs on the scale” that you mention. I’m afraid that muddying of the water is intentional and swerving from our early objectives is a casualty. At the very least, Kirby and the medical staff are trying to ignore the logs that continually are thrown on the fire of poor intentions and to do this thing right. My fingers are crossed for the players and the staff.

          Like

    • jarviscrowell
      May 28, 2020 at 5:21 PM

      Case number is completely irrelevant due to increased testing. What matters is hospitalizations and deaths, which have both decreased significantly in every area and continue to do so

      Liked by 1 person

  2. Granthams replacement
    May 28, 2020 at 1:33 PM

    Or how the meh ministry of truth crowd handles it.

    Like

  3. Bill Glennon
    May 28, 2020 at 2:11 PM

    Perhaps people are rational enough to go out of their homes into public and exercise sound judgment to avoid COVID at the same time.

    Like

  4. W Cobb Dawg
    May 28, 2020 at 2:34 PM

    A leader comes forward! I suppose the people who thought they’d eschew masks, go about tailgating as usual, ignore social distancing, and generally do as they damn well please no matter the ramifications aren’t gonna be jumping for joy after hearing Kirby’s thoughts on a return.

    Kirby’s a good role model for the kids. Considering some of the comments I’ve seen lately from leaders and readers, more adults should emulate him too.

    Like

  5. illini84
    May 28, 2020 at 4:05 PM

    President Donald Trump tweeted a note of thanks in response to a video of a supporter of his exclaiming, “The only good Democrat is a dead Democrat.”

    On Wednesday, the president quote-tweeted a video shared by Cowboys for Trump. In the video, the group’s founder, Couy Griffin, is speaking in front of a New Mexico church, encouraging his audience to violate stay-at-home orders during the coronavirus pandemic.

    “I’ve come to a conclusion where the only good Democrat is a dead Democrat,” says Griffin, going on to add that he doesn’t mean that in a “physical sense,” but in a “political sense.”

    Cowboys for Trump tweeted the video in response to a report in The Daily Beast about the rally shown in the video — which included a clear explanation of Griffin’s actions and words — that the group decided was “fake.”

    Trump then responded to the video by thanking them and saying that he’d see the group in New Mexico.

    Like

    • Napoleon BonerFart
      May 28, 2020 at 6:55 PM

      And we know that, when he said that he didn’t mean it in a physical sense, he absolutely did.
      #FeelingsOverFacts

      Like

  6. illini84
    May 28, 2020 at 4:08 PM

    President Donald Trump claims wearing masks is about being “politically correct” during the COVID-19 pandemic, but Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) doesn’t seem to agree.

    “There’s no stigma attached to wearing a mask,” McConnell said on Wednesday during an event in Kentucky, according to Politico. “There’s no stigma attached to staying six feet apart.”

    The GOP leader said that he himself wears masks in order to set a “good example.”

    He asserted that wearing masks, which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has recommended to prevent asymptomatic people infect more vulnerable and older people, is “not too much to ask of a younger person,” who are less likely to experience the more life-threatening aspects of the virus.

    “Just because you’re 21, it doesn’t mean you don’t have a responsibility to other people, even though your chances of having a problem are pretty slim,” said McConnell.

    “I think the more we can say that the better,” he added.

    McConnell is the latest conservative to clash with Trump on wearing facial coverings, a guideline the President has publicly flouted while disparaging it as a “politically correct” measure, fueling the notion that wearing a mask is merely an anti-Trump stunt.

    On Tuesday night, Fox News host Sean Hannity urged viewers to “please wear the mask,” as have GOP governors to their constituents.

    Like

  7. chuckdawg
    May 28, 2020 at 7:01 PM

    Dont particularly care for the ” but muh freedom” shots. There have been, and continue to be, massive concerns about civil liberties and constitutional rights, there has been massive hypocrisy of leaders all over everywhere. There has been massive inconsistency in regards to essential vs safety. There has been individual bias and subjectivity into what is a essential vs nonessential versus what is safe.

    The way out of tribalism is not more tribalism. The way to compromise is not by mockery.

    And it all cracks me up bc down here it was the wild west vs ….other areas.

    Liked by 1 person

  8. Former Fan
    May 28, 2020 at 7:22 PM

    This is the first pandemic the nation has had, that it shut down on. No other pandemic in our history has government come down so hard on its citizens. It’s one thing for a school to say “social distance when you come to our games” and another thing for the governor to say “you can’t go to church” or “you can’t keep your business open”.

    Liked by 2 people