***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.”

['Hamas' Jenkins]

Originally Posted by Kidd Lex

As a Birmingham resident, this is certainly concerning.

I read a few days ago that Montgomery was diverting to you due to lack of ICU space.

[petegz28]

Originally Posted by Mecca

If you have a shitty immune system yes you should be concerned but to watch everyone lose it is sad. A friend of mine is such a dumbass he wants to lock his children in the house because he thinks everyone is going to die.

Some people watch way to much news.

How far you have come from the beginning of this thread.......

[KCUnited]

Maybe some Comm electives with an emphasis on self awareness could compliment science degrees. Thanks for all the cures and stuff though.

[Fish]

[Bugeater]

Originally Posted by Fish

Sure, in a perfect world. But ours is far from that.

[Fish]

Originally Posted by Bugeater

Sure, in a perfect world. But ours is far from that.

No, this applies in every world. An imperfect world is not justification for ignoring how the scientific process works.

[BucEyedPea]

The problem with expertise is that it can be too narrow without considering economic, and issues of rights and freedoms. That's where people get to have a pov and no they do not have to take orders like they are some slave. You can advise, but you don't still get to run the world or a country by demanding everyone else follow what you recommend without question. Particularly, when you fall on the fallacy of "the science says" or it is "evidence based science." Those are mere assertions that something is the case.

So yes, people do get to have a pov about experts and their opinions, just as a jury does in a case where each side brings in their own experts. That there reveals the omitted issue, of having experts that don't agree with every expert. But some would have them shuttered and they're just a scientific. Experts can and have been wrong in the past. They are not perfect or infallible. Your viewpoint, fish, is very much that of what is called a "technocrat." Technocracy is rule by experts. That is unacceptable in a free country.

[Bugeater]

Originally Posted by Fish

No, this applies in every world. An imperfect world is not justification for ignoring how the scientific process works.

Unfortunately it doesn't exist in a vacuum, in this situation it's closely tied to politics which breeds mistrust.

[Kidd Lex]

Originally Posted by Fish

No, this applies in every world. An imperfect world is not justification for ignoring how the scientific process works.

[Bugeater]

Applaud all you want, but I damn well know the total number of people in this world who have my best interest in mind is 1.

[Kidd Lex]

Originally Posted by 'Hamas' Jenkins

I read a few days ago that Montgomery was diverting to you due to lack of ICU space.

They have been for the last week, and it’s getting worse by the day although Jefferson County (Birmingham proper) isn’t up a ridiculous amount like some surrounding areas. Alabama doesn’t have the capabilities to handle an explosion of cases. Hoping this is an anomaly and the peak starts to plateau and then drop down again.

[BucEyedPea]

Originally Posted by Bugeater

Applaud all you want, but I damn well know the total number of people in this world who have my best interest in mind is 1.

[Fish]

Originally Posted by Bugeater

Unfortunately it doesn't exist in a vacuum, in this situation it's closely tied to politics which breeds mistrust.

It DOES exist in a vacuum. That's essentially the point of the scientific process. It's independent of any single person's opinion. And it's subject to peer review, which means it must prove itself to other people's testing who want nothing more than to prove the claim untrue. That's the entire point. The scientific process is dependent on the entirety of information. If it can be proven untrue, it deserves to be and every effort should be taken to do so.

[BleedingRed]

Anyone wanna talk about coronavirus in Minn?

[Kidd Lex]

Originally Posted by Bugeater

Applaud all you want, but I damn well know the total number of people in this world who have my best interest in mind is 1.

Fair enough, and meant no disrespect to you. I personally operate under the mindset to seek to learn the vast amount I don’t know and surround myself with people of varying strengths & perspectives. Wisdom is not knowing all the answers, but being sage enough to see problems through different perspectives and with that knowledge make good decisions. Too many people throw the science to the side and say “my freedom means I’m not wearing a mask in Costco” or wherever. Right but the most recent science says you increase the odds of infecting others if you don’t wear the mask, and we can decrease 80% of infections if everyone plays along so wear the mask. Im all for ending the lockdowns to open the economy, but we have to do it responsibly and in a manner that limits risks to others, or we will regress with poor outcomes.