***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.”

[TLO]

[Eleazar]

Originally Posted by sedated

Seriously, who gives a flying fk what caused it? That is just bringing politics into something that should not be, and should never have been, political.

Were people stupid for protesting in huge numbers? Yes. Were people stupid for going to bars and every other place like nothing was wrong? Yes. Is it stupid for people to proudly boast that they will absolutely not wear a mask because this is 'merica? Yes.

JFC stop pointing fingers and put on a mask. Its insane.

Exactly. I wouldn't know why masks would be a party-line issue except that this is 2020

[Donger]

Task force briefing is in progress.

[chiefzilla1501]

Originally Posted by BleedingRed

1. Bars could reopen on May 2nd in Texas yes with limited capacity.

2. People are arguing the protest had very little to do with the spike (lol)

3. Hospitalization trends can and are being skewed because they are testing people at hospitals now no matter the reason they are coming in. So while its smart to do so, if I go to hospital because I was in car wreck and I happen to have coronavirus its not the same as people being admitted BECAUSE of coronavirus.

Texas is less aggressively testing than most states. Stricter standards on labeling things as covid. And testing does not explain away ICU beds and hospital capacity. We're not going to attribute all that to overtesting in hospitals, are we?

[KCUnited]

We moved into phase 4 today despite large protests earlier this month and current ongoing smaller protests. I'd attribute it to a slow reopening along with stringent mask requirements as the key drivers. Plus it was likely a wash. The number of people out protesting could've been offset by more people staying home because a ton of businesses were closed for a variety of reasons.

[tk13]

The reality is these states opened up about the exact same time as the protests, which muddies the waters. We aren't ever really going to know the percentages because when the doctor asks if they've been in a large gathering all these people are going to say yes. But people still want to score political points.

What looks less debatable so far at least... the virus seems to spread more easily indoors than outdoors. That's not really surprising. Just look at the nursing homes, meat plants, parties, churches, funerals. Many of the big events here in America has been a result of people being stuck indoors for a long period of time with people breathing out the virus. Going to a bar or restaurant and spending a couple hours is probably a pretty high risk activity at this point.

[displacedinMN]

Understandable and sad at the same time

HBCU Morehouse College located in Atlanta, GA will not have a 2020 football season.

They will not compete in any fall sports due to COVID-19. pic.twitter.com/SSsBnz5ebs

— CFB Home (@CFBHome) June 26, 2020

[ThaVirus]

Originally Posted by Donger

The Florida Department of Health reported 8,942 new coronavirus cases, shattering the previous daily high for positive COVID-19 infections made just two days earlier.

The state also is shutting down on-site alcohol consumption at bars, according to Florida Department of Business & Professional Regulation Secretary Halsey Beshears.

Shit. We can't say we didn't see this sort of thing on the horizon, but it's disheartening.

I read that Texas shut down elective surgeries a couple days ago as well.

[Monticore]

Originally Posted by BleedingRed

1. Bars could reopen on May 2nd in Texas yes with limited capacity.

2. People are arguing the protest had very little to do with the spike (lol)

3. Hospitalization trends can and are being skewed because they are testing people at hospitals now no matter the reason they are coming in. So while its smart to do so, if I go to hospital because I was in car wreck and I happen to have coronavirus its not the same as people being admitted BECAUSE of coronavirus.

That person could also be higher risk of developing pneumonia/clotting issues while in hospital because of COVID though.

Having COVID patients in Hospital whether it was their reason for admission is still bad for hospitals and hurts our chances of watching Mahomes throw touchdowns in the fall.

[mr. tegu]

Originally Posted by sedated

Seriously, who gives a flying fk what caused it? That is just bringing politics into something that should not be, and should never have been, political.

Were people stupid for protesting in huge numbers? Yes. Were people stupid for going to bars and every other place like nothing was wrong? Yes. Is it stupid for people to proudly boast that they will absolutely not wear a mask because this is 'merica? Yes.

JFC stop pointing fingers and put on a mask. Its insane.

It does matter. Regardless of how much people complained or followed guidelines cases were trending down basically everywhere. In those months hospitals, restaurants, and countless other businesses suffered with loss of employment and hundreds of millions of dollars. This was done with the expectation it would end up at least being somewhat worth it and things could go back to normal once the virus was more understood and better under control. Instead for many places, it was now essentially worthless. Think of all these companies and businesses now having to close again and limit income. You don’t think it’s fair for them to be upset that their sacrifices were undermined by protests? What about all the hospital workers who had to deal with cuts and the dangers of dealing with those patients for months? Now they have to do it all over again? All the surgeries that got put off and now have to be put off again? It absolutely matters that thousands of scientists said it’s acceptable to and encouraged protests completely ignoring sacrifices to date of millions of people and what it would do to them in a month. Those scientists made it political did they not?

Everyone knows and knew that reopening to normal would lead to more cases. However, these were all under assumptions of starting from a point of control with beliefs that it wouldn’t balloon as if the virus just started. However, when hundreds of thousands of people are exposed at once, then going out into the community, the amount of infections is going to be beyond what was expected or could potentially be contained. We don’t know what percentage is due to protests but it’s obviously a large factor. One that people who made sacrifices for months are going to be hard pressed to ignore.

[Monticore]

Originally Posted by ThaVirus

Shit. We can't say we didn't see this sort of thing on the horizon, but it's disheartening.

I read that Texas shut down elective surgeries a couple days ago as well.

The crowd screaming for things to open definitely couldn't see it coming.

[tk13]

Originally Posted by mr. tegu

We don’t know what percentage is due to protests but it’s obviously a large factor. One that people who made sacrifices for months are going to be hard pressed to ignore.

We don't know this. This is pure conjecture. The governor of Georgia came out today and said this literally wasn't the case, there was no major spike from the protests there. The governor of Texas says it's being spread in his state by people in bars, and from prisons.

Personally, I agree that the protests were a high risk activity. And I'm sure there are cases coming out of that. But these protests happened at the same time these states are opening up, which muddies the waters terribly.

You should probably think long and hard about why you think a group of protestors grouped together and not distancing is more likely to spread the virus than groups of people sitting inside in bars that are doing the same thing.

[mr. tegu]

Originally Posted by tk13

We don't know this. This is pure conjecture. The governor of Georgia came out today and said this literally wasn't the case, there was no major spike from the protests there. The governor of Texas says it's being spread in his state by people in bars, and from prisons.

Personally, I agree that the protests were a high risk activity. And I'm sure there are cases coming out of that. But these protests happened at the same time these states are opening up, which muddies the waters terribly.

You should probably think long and hard about why you think a group of protestors grouped together and not distancing is more likely to spread the virus than groups of people sitting inside in bars that are doing the same thing.

You should probably think long and hard about why you are making up things and claiming that I said them.

[dirk digler]

Originally Posted by mr. tegu

It does matter. Regardless of how much people complained or followed guidelines cases were trending down basically everywhere. In those months hospitals, restaurants, and countless other businesses suffered with loss of employment and hundreds of millions of dollars. This was done with the expectation it would end up at least being somewhat worth it and things could go back to normal once the virus was more understood and better under control. Instead for many places, it was now essentially worthless. Think of all these companies and businesses now having to close again and limit income. You don’t think it’s fair for them to be upset that their sacrifices were undermined by protests? What about all the hospital workers who had to deal with cuts and the dangers of dealing with those patients for months? Now they have to do it all over again? All the surgeries that got put off and now have to be put off again? It absolutely matters that thousands of scientists said it’s acceptable to and encouraged protests completely ignoring sacrifices to date of millions of people and what it would do to them in a month. Those scientists made it political did they not?

Everyone knows and knew that reopening to normal would lead to more cases. However, these were all under assumptions of starting from a point of control with beliefs that it wouldn’t balloon as if the virus just started. However, when hundreds of thousands of people are exposed at once, then going out into the community, the amount of infections is going to be beyond what was expected or could potentially be contained. We don’t know what percentage is due to protests but it’s obviously a large factor. One that people who made sacrifices for months are going to be hard pressed to ignore.

While protests undoubtedly had an impact I imagine it is a very small minority. Most of these are due to reopening and the fact that once people heard their state were opening back up they went back to normal routines with not wearing masks or social distancing.

For example here in MO, the biggest outbreak is in the southwest corner in the Joplin, OK, KS, AK area and that has nothing to do with protests. It has to do with people thinking this is all a hoax.

[Monticore]

Canada opened things later than most states and masks usage is not mandatory anywhere I don't think, only patios are opened for bars/restaurant for dining in, hairdressers opened last week. we also have stuck to 2m(6.5') distance requirement for businesses,

37m population we had 380 cases yesterday , I am worried the lack of mask usage will be an issue down the road though.