***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.”

[staylor26]

Originally Posted by 'Hamas' Jenkins

Maybe they could like...run outside or do some pushups, or look at one of thousands of home workouts available on YouTube, or get a Peloton, or one of hundreds of other options and still get exercise.

I understand that, but I also don’t you get to tell people how the **** they have to live their lives. Maybe they’ve tried that way and it’s just not the same for them and not going to the gym makes it hard for them to get motivated. Maybe they were overweight a year ago and did a lot of work with their personal trainer and they need that back again to get on track. Maybe the personal trainer and gym owners have family to support and the member also wants to support their favorite gym/trainer again too.

Either way, if they did their part in flattening the curve like all of us were lead to believe was the goal, you and anybody else shaming them for moving on with their lives can go **** yourselves.

You might as well shame people for driving, having unprotected sex, not practicing social distancing during flu season etc.

It’s utterly ridiculous.

['Hamas' Jenkins]

Originally Posted by staylor26

You all move goalposts like nobody I’ve ever seen.

News flash:

Corona isn’t car accidents either. They’ve killed way more people and will continue to kill way more people than Corona ever will.

Stop driving or shut the **** up you condescending moron.

If only there were things we did to limit car fatalities, like crumple zones, air bags, seat belts, speed limits, driving laws...

[Monticore]

Originally Posted by Bowser

Not going to argue that.

But in the case of what I asked, how bad will the flu season be in fall/winter of '20 with other ailments not C-19 when our immune systems are potentially weakened from distancing? Pretty bad I would imagine, and I'm afraid all the doom and gloomers will use it for their own reasons to harp about C-19 and further lockdown and distancing policies (worse case scenario admittedly, but the point stands).

The flu season would be better if everyone got the flu shot , making it easier to deal with covid , but if we go into the fall with exponential growth already it would make things harder, we should be better prepared to deal with it during a second wave hopefully.

I am not saying to keep everything locked down till the just maybe do things in moderation .

[staylor26]

Originally Posted by PAChiefsGuy

Practicing social distancing for a few months isnt comparable to never driving again you idiot

A few months?

It’s been a few months. You want them to practice social distancing for a year until there’s a vaccine because this isn’t going away.

I understand that asking to stop driving forever is even more unrealistic. Maybe you should only drive you when you have to then. Don’t ever go for a ****ing ride. Don’t ever drive on a vacation then. How about that? No matter where you try and go with this you’re a ****ing hypocrite.

No matter where you put your goalposts, expecting the entire world to practice social distancing for months on end is and always will be UNREALISTIC.

[Donger]

Originally Posted by staylor26

A few months?

It’s been a few months. You want them to practice social distancing for a year until there’s a vaccine because this isn’t going away.

I understand that asking to stop driving forever is even more unrealistic. Maybe you should only drive you when you have to then. Don’t ever go for a ****ing ride. Don’t ever drive on a vacation then. How about that? No matter where you try and go with this you’re a ****ing hypocrite.

No matter where you put your goalposts, expecting the entire world to practice social distancing for months on end is and always will be UNREALISTIC.

Do you wear a mask in public?

[petegz28]

Originally Posted by staylor26

A few months?

It’s been a few months. You want them to practice social distancing for a year until there’s a vaccine because this isn’t going away.

I understand that asking to stop driving forever is even more unrealistic. Maybe you should only drive you when you have to then. Don’t ever go for a ****ing ride. Don’t ever drive on a vacation then. How about that? No matter where you try and go with this you’re a ****ing hypocrite.

No matter where you put your goalposts, expecting the entire world to practice social distancing for months on end is and always will be UNREALISTIC.

Just "2 more weeks".......

[staylor26]

Originally Posted by 'Hamas' Jenkins

If only there were things we did to limit car fatalities, like crumple zones, air bags, seat belts, speed limits, driving laws...

But those things don’t stop 1.35 million people form dying every year, so we need to do more.

No more driving unless you’re going to work, taking your kids to school, etc.

I mean if you don’t agree you’re basically a piece of shit that’s ok with 1.35 million people still dying every year.

['Hamas' Jenkins]

Originally Posted by staylor26

I understand that, but I also don’t you get to tell people how the **** they have to live their lives. Maybe they’ve tried that way and it’s just not the same for them and not going to the gym makes it hard for them to get motivated. Maybe they were overweight a year ago and did a lot of work with their personal trainer and they need that back again to get on track. Maybe the personal trainer and gym owners have family to support and the member also wants to support their favorite gym/trainer again too.

Either way, if they did their part in flattening the curve like all of us were lead to believe was the goal, you and anybody else shaming them for moving on with their lives can go **** yourselves.

You might as well shame people for driving, having unprotected sex, not practicing social distancing during flu season etc.

It’s utterly ridiculous.

How do you not realize that people not following these guidelines are affecting how thousands of other people will live the entirety of the rest of their lives because they're going to die of a disease they didn't have to catch?

It's not always about you. If this disease was a plasmodium that you couldn't spread to others, then the rules would be different. If this disease was bloodborne, the rules would be different. If this was exposure to high dose radiation, the rules would be different.

But it's none of those things.

You need to think about the predictable consequences of your actions. If I swerve in front of someone and they run off the road and I don't, I'm not immune to criticism just because it didn't physically harm me.

[staylor26]

Originally Posted by Donger

Do you wear a mask in public?

I wear it when I have to.

[petegz28]

Social distancing only works where it can be enforced and that is less places than people think. While I agree it is probably the most effective means of mitigation and much, much, MUCH more effective than masks, it simply is not practical on a large scale for any length of time for very many places.

[jdubya]

I wonder how many think tanks are out there observing how far people are willing to be told what to do before soft civil disobedience to real civil unrest? Interesting times indeed

[dirk digler]

This is the CDC's definition of social distancing. I don't see how this is such a huge deal for a few months. Yeah it would suck for sports but they can play games with a few fans at least.

This doesn't mean you can't go back to work or shopping just stay away from people and super huge groups. And wear a mask please.

Social distancing, also called “physical distancing,” means keeping space between yourself and other people outside of your home. To practice social or physical distancing:

• Stay at least 6 feet (about 2 arms’ length) from other people
• Do not gather in groups
• Stay out of crowded places and avoid mass gatherings

[staylor26]

Originally Posted by 'Hamas' Jenkins

How do you not realize that people not following these guidelines are affecting how thousands of other people will live the entirety of the rest of their lives because they're going to die of a disease they didn't have to catch?

It's not always about you. If this disease was a plamodium that you couldn't spread to others, then the rules would be different. If this disease was bloodborne, the rules would be different. If this was exposure to high dose radiation, the rules would be different.

But it's none of those things.

You need to think about the predictable consequences of your actions. If I swerve in front of someone and they run off the road and I don't, I'm not immune to criticism just because it didn't physically harm me.

I’m clearly talking about people who did their part for months now and want to continue with their lives because the mortality rate doesn’t justify continuing on like this. Many of us were led to believe that this was all about flattening the curve and preventing the hospitals from being overrun.

Now it’s looking like you all want everybody to just stop living until we have a vaccine or this goes away neither of which is happening for a long time.

I’m not saying I’m not willing to follow reasonable social distancing measures. I’m speaking to people like PA that think anybody that wants to go to the gym or get a haircut is a POS.

[Donger]

Originally Posted by staylor26

I wear it when I have to.

Does mean that if the public location doesn't require you to wear one, you do not?

[Donger]

Originally Posted by staylor26

Many of us were led to believe that this was all about flattening the curve and preventing the hospitals from being overrun.

That was part of it, yes. The primary goal was to minimize cases.