So, If We Are In The Middle Of A "Pandemic," Why Are Healthcare Workers Getting Furloughed?

[tankasnowgod]

As Captain Murdoch (as portrayed by William Shatner) once said



Yes, "Irony can be pretty Ironic sometimes."

Hospitals Furloughing Staff, Altering Physician Pay Due to COVID-19

10 hospitals furloughing staff in response to COVID-19: Many U.S. hospitals and health systems have suspended elective procedures to save capacity, supplies and staff to treat COVID-19 patients.

Hundreds of thousands of workers have recently been furloughed—here's exactly what that means

US health care workers furloughed, quarantined due to coronavirus exposure

During a Pandemic, an Unanticipated Problem: Out-of-Work Health Workers

Utah health providers announce pay cuts and furloughs during the coronavirus pandemic

Trinity Health Michigan to furlough 2,500, cut executive pay due to COVID-19

Doctors and nurses are getting hit with pay cuts, layoffs, and furloughs even as they fight the coronavirus pandemic

COVID-19 Hits Some Health Care Workers With Pay Cuts And Layoffs

Thousands of US medical workers furloughed, laid off as routine patient visits drop during coronavirus pandemic

Why Are Health Care Providers Forced to Downsize Just When We Need Them Most?

More than 12,000 Iowa health care workers laid off, furloughed by coronavirus pandemic

After all, shouldn't the simple law of "Supply and Demand" dictate that medical workers, especially doctors and nurses, be being hired at a blistering pace?

Which, of course, raises a second question. Why, if we are in the middle of a "Pandemic," are so many hospitals empty?



Infowars (video can't be embedded)

I wouldn't want to call Alanis Morrisette while it's raining on her wedding day, but seeing as how most weddings have been cancelled, I'll be giving her a call tomorrow.

 

[S.Seneff]

Because incompetent workers are worse than the absence of it.

 

[tankasnowgod]

Because incompetent workers are worse than the absence of it.

.... or there really isn't any demand right now........

 

[S.Seneff]

Because all the sick people die fast due to covid-19 ? Or all have already commit suicide ?

 

[thomas00]

what reason do we have to think this thing is lethal? I'm not seeing it.

 

[Giraffe]

It happens in Germany, too. Some hospitals plan to furlough part of their staff. Hospitals have postponed surgery in anticipation of a huge number of Covid-19 patients. Now the tsunami is keeping us waiting, there aren't many patients in the hospitals. Hospitals at the moment get a payment for each empty bed to compensate for lost revenues. Without this compensation more hospitals would send their staff home.

 

[Peatogenic]

In NYC it's the opposite. Healthcare workers are being forced to help ICU.

Here in Houston, top medical field in U.S., I've heard anecdotes from healthcare workers that hospitals are ghost towns (including COVID units). Because non critical services have been cancelled. I guess that could explain some furlough. Many of the articles you posted actually explain this. (?)

This feels right up your alley, but quarantining means less people are driving, out doing things that can cause injury, kind of in a bubble. Even trauma injuries are remarkably low, according to one anecdote I read here. Less worksite injuries.

 

[Whichway?]

So Peat said in his latest podcast that he expected Covid-19 would only kill 3,000 during the whole flu season. You are already up to 8,407 deaths, but you are saying that there really is no pandemic because they are standing down some staff due to elective surgeries and consultations not being able to occur?

 

[thomas00]

Did you listen to the bit where Peat was talking about how the test is non specific to Corona virus strains, that it is not necessarily detecting covid 19?

From “CDC 2019-Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) Real-Time RT-PCR Diagnostic Panel” [1]:

“Detection of viral RNA may not indicate the presence of infectious virus or that 2019-nCoV is the causative agent for clinical symptoms.”

Translation: A positive test doesn’t guarantee that the COVID virus is causing infection at all. And, ahem, reading between the lines, maybe the COVID virus might not be in the patient’s body at all, either.

From the World Health Organization (WHO): “Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) technical guidance: Laboratory testing for 2019-nCoV in humans” [2]:

“Several assays that detect the 2019-nCoV have been and are currently under development, both in-house and commercially. Some assays may detect only the novel virus [COVID] and some may also detect other strains (e.g. SARS-CoV) that are genetically similar.”

Translation: Some PCR tests register positive for types of coronavirus that have nothing to do with COVID—including plain old coronas that cause nothing more than a cold.
Corona: creating the illusion of a pandemic through diagnostic tests « Jon Rappoport's Blog

 

[thomas00]

Nobody appears to have any meaningful data about this supposedly lethal virus.

 

[charlie]

"My dad’s an ER doctor. He just got off of a conference call. His hospital is cutting his salary - and everyone else’s that works on the front lines - because they’re losing money from non-COVID patients. Cutting medical personnels’ salaries right now. I mean... what the ****?"

CameronNBeach on Twitter

 

[Jing]

This whole thing is just ridiculous , people calling for full lockdown, people calling for police to fine people over £1000 for leaving the house . Bunch off idiots.

 

[Giraffe]

In NYC it's the opposite. Healthcare workers are being forced to help ICU.

Here in Houston, top medical field in U.S., I've heard anecdotes from healthcare workers that hospitals are ghost towns (including COVID units). Because non critical services have been cancelled. I guess that could explain some furlough. Many of the articles you posted actually explain this. (?)

This feels right up your alley, but quarantining means less people are driving, out doing things that can cause injury, kind of in a bubble. Even trauma injuries are remarkably low, according to one anecdote I read here. Less worksite injuries.

I heard that though the US in average has plenty ICU beds per capita, New York City has less beds than Italy.

The Countries With The Most Critical Care Beds Per Capita [Infographic]

 

[pepsi]

The hospital I work for has been slower. They keep stressing for us to schedule any paid time off we need ASAP because they are
expecting it to get very busy in the next month or so due to COVID and they may not allow any PTO at that time.
The calm before the storm, I dont know what to believe.

 

[Whichway?]

Did you listen to the bit where Peat was talking about how the test is non specific to Corona virus strains, that it is not necessarily detecting covid 19?

From “CDC 2019-Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) Real-Time RT-PCR Diagnostic Panel” [1]:

“Detection of viral RNA may not indicate the presence of infectious virus or that 2019-nCoV is the causative agent for clinical symptoms.”

Translation: A positive test doesn’t guarantee that the COVID virus is causing infection at all. And, ahem, reading between the lines, maybe the COVID virus might not be in the patient’s body at all, either.

From the World Health Organization (WHO): “Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) technical guidance: Laboratory testing for 2019-nCoV in humans” [2]:

“Several assays that detect the 2019-nCoV have been and are currently under development, both in-house and commercially. Some assays may detect only the novel virus [COVID] and some may also detect other strains (e.g. SARS-CoV) that are genetically similar.”

Translation: Some PCR tests register positive for types of coronavirus that have nothing to do with COVID—including plain old coronas that cause nothing more than a cold.
Corona: creating the illusion of a pandemic through diagnostic tests « Jon Rappoport's Blog

Reading through Jon Rappaports blog I don’t agree with the conclusions (translation points) he reaches, and I feel he is jumping to conclusions that just aren’t correct.

For example, the first translation he says a Covid diagnosis doesn’t guarantee it is causing a patients infection AND it may not be in the body at all. He’s wrong. PCR is very sensitive and capable of detecting very small amounts of DNA, so the PCR test can detect if you have Covid-19 DNA in your test sample. The caveat has to do with do you have enough active virus to be causing the symptoms that you may be presenting to the doctor with? The PCR doesn’t tell you how much active virus you have in your body, only that it is there. Then the physician has to make a judgment as to whether your symptomology and your PCR test mean you have it currently, or whether your symptoms may be caused by something other than Covid-19 but you have enough of the virus to be detectable. If Covid -19 DNA was present it depends on which part of the virus cycle you are in. You could have a sinus infection which is giving you fever and headache, or a root canal tooth that has gone bad and is draining into your lymph nodes in your throat causing it to be sore, but 3 days ago your asymptomatic wife gave you Covid-19. PCR says you have it. Is it causing your current symptoms? No. Will it cause you symptoms or make you sick? This PCR test can’t tell you that. You have to wait a few more days for before you’ll know. So the caveats are there to ensure medical staff keep their minds open to other possibilities, and to use the positive PCR test with the known symptomology of the virus to make an accurate diagnosis.

 

[thomas00]

PCR is very sensitive and capable of detecting very small amounts of DNA, so the PCR test can detect if you have Covid-19 DNA in your test sample. The caveat has to do with do you have enough active virus to be causing the symptoms that you may be presenting to the doctor with? The PCR doesn’t tell you how much active virus you have in your body, only that it is there.

My understanding of PCR is that the amount that a substance is detected within a sample is largely irrelevant. The issue is what is being detected and that it can't actually detect viruses themselves. This would explain the caveats, if I am understanding it correctly.

 

[Serene]

Because it is being completely blown out of proportion. The hospitals are empty.

www.filmyourhospital.com

#filmyourhospital on twitter

Journalist assaulted as #filmyourhospital goes viral

 

[S.Seneff]

CDC developpe 3 test for sars-cov 2. For mock test, the first detect nothing, the second had a 12 percent false positive and the third, which have been discard, had 63 percent false positive. One of the chinese test was bull**** as the last. One of the first test developpe in Germany was low sensitive (so you detect nothing and you have the lowest mortality rate). But your test could be very good if you want it.

 

[yerrag]

.... or there really isn't any demand right now........

Or it's because everyone's afraid of going to the hospital. They'd rather put off going to the out-patient clinic, or even the ER. They'll weather whatever issue they have, which they deem minor, or even inconsequential, when they fear that going to the hospital will expose them to the virus, and it will get them ICU-level sick, which is the equivalent of hell on earth these days.

This would reveal the absurdity of doctor consultations or ER visits in most cases, as most of the visits are made possible by having it paid for by insurance. When you don't have insurance enabling free visits, these visits will just disappear. The free visits are just like a cheap inkjet printer, the refills are expensive, the refills being the prescribed drugs.

In an insurance-less health system, the really sick go to hospitals. And with less doctor visits, the less bad advice and less harmful drugs used, leading to better health. With better health, the less visits to clinics and ER's even. Less complications as well in childbirth, leading to more home births using midwives. Better health leads to less hospital stays, and even less need to use ICUs. Old people will just die at home in their sleep - a peaceful death.

In this scenario, hospital behemoths with many wings will become like a decayed mall. Or maybe even converted to a large paintball center.

 

[tankasnowgod]

Or it's because everyone's afraid of going to the hospital.

In some instances, it may be that they AREN'T ALLOWED to go to the hospital. Insane? Sure, but it looks like it's happening-

The Curve Is Already Flat

"Fifteen months ago, I was diagnosed with a tumor in my liver. Because of its location, the risk/benefit of performing a diagnostic biopsy on the mass was too low to justify proceeding, so my oncologist took a watch-and-wait approach. Six months ago, I was relieved by a follow-up scan that indicated it had not grown. Nonetheless, in the last two weeks, I have developed GI symptoms that are consistent with the tumor spreading. As of now, I am unable to get a scan to rule out the possibility of metastasis of my disease because the imaging necessary to monitor my liver is considered “elective”. And when the healthcare system does finally come back online, the backlog of patients like me will result in even more delays to access."

"The current cumulative total of hospitalized COVID patients in my home state of Arizona as of this writing, and for which all of these sacrifices are being made, is 228. And that’s the cumulative number than has been accruing since March 24th, not the number currently hospitalized. Arizona has 14,790 hospital beds.

Our curve is flat.

My family is making mandated sacrifices in order to reserve capacity in the healthcare system for COVID patients who do not currently (and likely will never) exist — all because the COVID curve predicated on an inaccurate seed date says that the overwhelming surge is just barely beginning."