***NON-POLITICAL COVID-19 Discussion Thread***

[JakeF]

A couple of reminders...

Originally Posted by Bwana

Once again, don't come in this thread with some kind of political agenda, or you will be shown the door. If you want to go that route, there is a thread about this in DC.

Originally Posted by Dartgod

People, there is a lot of good information in this thread, let's try to keep the petty bickering to a minimum.

We all have varying opinions about the impact of this, the numbers, etc. We will all never agree with each other. But we can all keep it civil.

Thanks!

Click here for the original OP:

Spoiler!

Apparently the CoronaVirus can survive on a inanimate objects, such as door knobs, for 9 days.

California coronavirus case could be first spread within U.S. community, CDC says
By SOUMYA KARLAMANGLA, JACLYN COSGROVE
FEB. 26, 2020 8:04 PM

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is investigating what could be the first case of novel coronavirus in the United States involving a patient in California who neither recently traveled out of the country nor was in contact with someone who did.

“At this time, the patient’s exposure is unknown. It’s possible this could be an instance of community spread of COVID-19, which would be the first time this has happened in the United States,” the CDC said in a statement. “Community spread means spread of an illness for which the source of infection is unknown. It’s also possible, however, that the patient may have been exposed to a returned traveler who was infected.”

The individual is a resident of Solano County and is receiving medical care in Sacramento County, according to the state Department of Public Health.

The CDC said the “case was detected through the U.S. public health system — picked up by astute clinicians.”

Officials at UC Davis Medical Center expanded on what the federal agency might have meant by that in an email sent Wednesday, as reported by the Davis Enterprise newspaper.

The patient arrived at UC Davis Medical Center from another hospital Feb. 19 and “had already been intubated, was on a ventilator, and given droplet protection orders because of an undiagnosed and suspected viral condition,” according to an email sent by UC Davis officials that was obtained by the Davis Enterprise.

The staff at UC Davis requested COVID-19 testing by the CDC, but because the patient didn’t fit the CDC’s existing criteria for the virus, a test wasn’t immediately administered, according to the email. The CDC then ordered the test Sunday, and results were announced Wednesday. Hospital administrators reportedly said in the email that despite these issues, there has been minimal exposure at the hospital because of safety protocols they have in place.

A UC Davis Health spokesperson declined Wednesday evening to share the email with The Times.

Since Feb. 2, more than 8,400 returning travelers from China have entered California, according to the state health department. They have been advised to self-quarantine for 14 days and limit interactions with others as much as possible, officials said.

“This is a new virus, and while we are still learning about it, there is a lot we already know,” Dr. Sonia Angell, director of the California Department of Public Health, said in a statement. “We have been anticipating the potential for such a case in the U.S., and given our close familial, social and business relationships with China, it is not unexpected that the first case in the U.S. would be in California.”

It is not clear how the person became infected, but public health workers could not identify any contacts with people who had traveled to China or other areas where the virus is widespread. That raises concern that the virus is spreading in the United States, creating a challenge for public health officials, experts say.

“It’s the first signal that we could be having silent transmission in the community,” said Lawrence Gostin, director of the World Health Organization Collaborating Center on National and Global Health Law. “It probably means there are many more cases out there, and it probably means this individual has infected others, and now it’s a race to try to find out who that person has infected.”

On Tuesday, the CDC offered its most serious warning to date that the United States should expect and prepare for the coronavirus to become a more widespread health issue.

“Ultimately, we expect we will see coronavirus spread in this country,” said Nancy Messonnier, director of the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases. “It’s not so much a question of if, but a question of when.”

According to the CDC’s latest count Wednesday morning, 59 U.S. residents have tested positive for the new strain of coronavirus — 42 of whom are repatriated citizens from a Diamond Princess cruise. That number has grown by two since Messonnier’s last count Tuesday, although the CDC was not immediately available to offer details on the additional cases.

More than 82,000 cases of coronavirus have been reported globally, and more than 2,700 people have died, with the majority in mainland China, the epicenter of the outbreak.

But public health leaders have repeatedly reminded residents that the health risk from the novel coronavirus to the general public remains low.

“While COVID-19 has a high transmission rate, it has a low mortality rate,” the state Department of Public Health said in a statement Wednesday. “From the international data we have, of those who have tested positive for COVID-19, approximately 80% do not exhibit symptoms that would require hospitalization. There have been no confirmed deaths related to COVID-19 in the United States to date.”

CDC officials have also warned that although the virus is likely to spread in U.S. communities, the flu still poses a greater risk.

Gostin said the news of potential silent transmission does not eliminate the possibility of containing the virus in the U.S. and preventing an outbreak.

“There are few enough cases that we should at least try,” he said. “Most of us are not optimistic that that will be successful, but we’re still in the position to try.”

[eDave]

Originally Posted by ptlyon

Are you practicing proper social distancing from FGs?





Sorry, had to

I am.

[Baby Lee]

Originally Posted by Donger

Yes. It's brutal, but would you rather have our healthcare workers without masks, or the general population?

I'd rather not be lied to.
Lies breed mistrust
Mistrust justifies conspiracies
Conspiracies foment unrest.

Think of everyone you've [the royal you] called, for various reasons, nutjobs and rabble rousers. Now think that all of them have concrete proof that the government lies to all of us, . . . for our own good.

[jdubya]

Originally Posted by Donger

Can you explain how/why? I mean, if she weren't wearing gloves or a mask, how does the above scenario increase her risk of infection?

Scroll up a few posts. I just described exactly why based on what I just witnesses an hour ago....

[Donger]

Originally Posted by Baby Lee

I'd rather not be lied to.
Lies breed mistrust
Mistrust justifies conspiracies
Conspiracies foment unrest.

Think of everyone you've [the royal you] called, for various reasons, nutjobs and rabble rousers. Now think that all of them have concrete proof that the government lies to all of us, . . . for our own good.

Nor would I.

I've never said that I don't think the government lies to us. Quite the contrary. And that will be my final post on the matter here, as this isn't the place for it.

[SPchief]

Originally Posted by jdubya

Scroll up a few posts. I just described exactly why based on what I just witnesses an hour ago....

He's right, how does it increase the odds?

[Donger]

Originally Posted by jdubya

Scroll up a few posts. I just described exactly why based on what I just witnesses an hour ago....

Yes, I read what you posted, and my question is the same for you.

I can see the risk of infection being the same, but why is it increased?

[jdubya]

Originally Posted by Donger

Yes, I read what you posted, and my question is the same for you.

I can see the risk of infection being the same, but why is it increased?

I would speculate that wearing gloves and mask makes her feel protected and invulnerable. She likely knew better than to not touch her face and nose with her hands but she likely believed incorrectly that her fingers were clean because she was wearing gloves while shopping. Im certain she had no clue she was contaminating the insides of her purse, car, door handles while wearing her gloves and then touching all the above after removing the dirty gloves....thus immediately contaminating her hands instantly.

[ghak99]

Middle of nowhere, Missouri, here again.

Only 1 positive test still showing for the county, but multiple people are assumed to have had it in the last few weeks that lead up to that test. They set up a drive through testing station in town, by referral only, but no one really knew why it suddenly popped up over just one case. Turns out the local hospital has several rooms of people that have been waiting on test results. I'm pretty sure the hospital only has ~20 beds in it.

Maybe it'll finally scare all the stay at home moms and methican americans away from hanging out at the stores like dumbasses.

I really wish there was somewhere I could go get tested to see if I had it a while ago.

[Donger]

Originally Posted by jdubya

I would speculate that wearing gloves and mask makes her feel protected and invulnerable. She likely knew better than to not touch her face and nose with her hands but she likely believed incorrectly that her fingers were clean because she was wearing gloves while shopping.

Well, you can't fix stupid. But again, I don't see anything in what you described that would increase her likelihood on infection, versus not wearing anything.

[TLO]

Originally Posted by ghak99

Middle of nowhere, Missouri, here again.

Only 1 positive test still showing for the county, but multiple people are assumed to have had it in the last few weeks that lead up to that test. They set up a drive through testing station in town, by referral only, but no one really knew why it suddenly popped up over just one case. Turns out the local hospital has several rooms of people that have been waiting on test results. I'm pretty sure the hospital only has ~20 beds in it.

Maybe it'll finally scare all the stay at home moms and methican americans away from hanging out at the stores like dumbasses.

I really wish there was somewhere I could go get tested to see if I had it a while ago.

I'm concerned about the backlog of testing at the major commercial labs. It sounds like they are WAYYYY behind.

[jdubya]

Originally Posted by Donger

Well, you can't fix stupid. But again, I don't see anything in what you described that would increase her likelihood on infection, versus not wearing anything.

If she wasnt wearing any gloves, I assume she would understand her hands are dirty and likely not rummage through purse casually or touching her face and hair. She then could have gone the route of using sanitizer wipes on her hands, then wipe down door handles and then use her keys to start the car.

All of this is based on the asumption she must give a shit if she is willing to put on gloves and mask in the first place.

[BigRedChief]

Originally Posted by 'Hamas' Jenkins

Are you suggesting injecting people with ACE2?

why not, better than drinking fish tank cleaner.

[FloridaMan88]

Originally Posted by Donger

Seriously people- STOP BUYING MASKS!

They are NOT effective in preventing general public from catching #Coronavirus, but if healthcare providers can’t get them to care for sick patients, it puts them and our communities at risk!
https://t.co/UxZRwxxKL9

— U.S. Surgeon General (@Surgeon_General) February 29, 2020

I think the negatives still outweigh the positives in terms of encouraging the general public to wear masks.

People are inevitably going to try to get the surgical masks and even the N95 masks that the health care professionals need.

And encouraging people to try home-made or creative options such as scarfs or bandanas will probably have limited effectiveness (and could actually give people a false sense of protection).

[Donger]

Originally Posted by jdubya

If she wasnt wearing any gloves, I assume she would understand her hands are dirty and likely not rummage through purse casually or touching her face and hair. She then could have gone the route of using sanitizer wipes on her hands, then wipe down door handles and then use her keys to start the car.

All of this is based on the asumption she must give a shit if she is willing to put on gloves and mask in the first place.

That's a different scenario, though. If she weren't wearing gloves and a mask, and had done the same things you described (sans removing the gloves and mask), I don't see why her risk of infection would go up or down. It would be the same.

I'm happy to be proven wrong, mind you.

[BWillie]

Originally Posted by jdubya

Was sitting in my car out in front of a store today watching folks coming out of the store with groceries. So many people wearing masks and gloves but 100% incorrectly. Mask and gloves give untrained people false confidence and they do stupid things. One lady was handling her cart, got to her car and opened all the doors (with her tainted gloves on), proceeded to unload all her groceries while occasionally shifting her purse that was hanging on her shoulder (contaminating her purse and hair and shirt with dirty gloves). She then decided to just put her purse away on drivers seat but not before digging around inside her purse looking for something (with her dirty gloves on) and then proceeded to walk her cart to the cart rack. Walking back to her car she incorrectly removed her tainted gloves and put them in her jeans pocket, opened her car door that she had already opened and closed with her gloves on and then dug her keys out of her purse and started car. She then removed her facemask, with her bare hands but they are likely contaminated by now anyway so it doesnt matter anymore, sets mask down on dashboard right in front of her face and starts driving away. Right on cue as she is driving past me, she wipes her nose with her thumb and index finger. This exact scenario was happening with a half dozen folks all around me at the same time.

Gloves and masks dont do shit if you use them incorrectly folks...

I don't feel like gloves are very important. For some of the reasons you say above. You are still touching things with gloves. Honestly it's better to use cloth or part of your long sleeve shirt that you don't touch very often when you do touch a door knob, a cart, etc. The virus doesn't stay on clothing or cloth near as long as hard surfaces. Nonetheless, just don't touch your face with parts of your body that you touch things with. If you do touch your face, use the back of your hand, above your wrist, inside of your shoulder, etc.

But as far as masks. They absolutely help since 80%+ new infections are caused by air droplets from being close to people talking, yelling or breathing. Even if you are wearing a scarf you limiting the spread of your droplets by far and even a less chance of being hit by SOME droplets.