***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]

Originally Posted by Ninerfan11

https://www.ijidonline.com/article/S...534-8/fulltext

I saw this earlier and thought about posting it.

[petegz28]

Johnson County to follow state of Kansas mask mandate
https://www.kmbc.com/article/johnson...virus/33075558

[kgrund]

Originally Posted by TLO

Which is why when you look at the serological studies, you get an estimate (even if the studies/tests are somewhat flawed) of just how many cases we missed.

The CDC itself said for every case diagnosed, 10 go undiagnosed.

Factor in that you pretty much have a coin flip chance of showing symptoms or not...

The same serological tests that have been shown to be flawed and do not take into account T cell response, which could be a significant factor is this?

[TLO]

Originally Posted by kgrund

The same serological tests that have been shown to be flawed and do not take into account T cell response, which could be a significant factor is this?

This is also a very good point.

[Imon Yourside]

Johnson County voted to uphold the ban, any idea through it's vague language when the order will be lifted?

https://www.kansascity.com/news/coro...243951982.html

Pretty much indefinite until further notice?

[petegz28]

Originally Posted by Imon Yourside

Johnson County voted to uphold the ban, any idea through it's vague language when the order will be lifted?

https://www.kansascity.com/news/coro...243951982.html

Pretty much indefinite until further notice?

The order will be lifted when they say so. Seriously. That is what they said. Unlike everywhere else that has given a date, Ks is in effect until rescinded.

[petegz28]

Originally Posted by Imon Yourside

Johnson County voted to uphold the ban, any idea through it's vague language when the order will be lifted?

https://www.kansascity.com/news/coro...243951982.html

Pretty much indefinite until further notice?

The order remains in place until it is rescinded or the statewide State of Disaster Emergency expires.

https://www.kmbc.com/article/kansas-...order/33079226

[petegz28]

Oh and the 10 outbreak areas JoCo is monitoring......I'll give you 3 guesses where all 10 are.

WTF is going on with the nursing homes?

[Imon Yourside]

Originally Posted by petegz28

The order will be lifted when they say so. Seriously. That is what they said. Unlike everywhere else that has given a date, Ks is in effect until rescinded.

I guess I should be surprised but i'm not.

[petegz28]

Originally Posted by Imon Yourside

I guess I should be surprised but i'm not.

The language of the order however does state you are exempt from wearing a mask if you are attending an event managed or held by the Kansas Legislature.

Go figure.....

[Donger]

A global study has found clear evidence that a new form of the coronavirus has spread from Europe to the US. The new mutation makes the virus more infectious but does not seem to make people any sicker, an international team of researchers reported Thursday.

The mutation affects the spike protein — the structure the virus uses to get into the cells it infects. Now the researchers are checking to see if this affects whether the virus can be controlled by a vaccine. Current vaccines being tested mostly target the spike protein.

The study, published in the journal Cell, confirms earlier work suggesting the mutation had made the new variant of virus more common. The researchers call the new mutation G614, and they show that it has almost completely replaced the first version to spread in Europe and the US, one called D614.

“Our global tracking data show that the G614 variant in Spike has spread faster than D614,” theoretical biologist Bette Korber of Los Alamos National Laboratory and colleagues wrote in their report. “We interpret this to mean that the virus is likely to be more infectious,” they add. “Interestingly, we did not find evidence of G614 impact on disease severity.”

What this means: This could be good news, said Lawrence Young, a professor of medical oncology at the UK’s University of Warwick, who was not involved in the study. “The current work suggests that while the G614 variant may be more infectious, it is not more pathogenic. There is a hope that as SARS-CoV-2 infection spreads, the virus might become less pathogenic,” he said in a statement.

About the study: The team tested samples taken from patients across Europe and the US and sequenced the genomes. They compared these genome sequences to what’s been shared publicly. Comparing these sequences helped them draw a map of the spread of the two forms.

“Through March 1, 2020 the G614 variant was rare outside of Europe, but the end of March it had increased in frequency worldwide,” they wrote.

Even when the D614 form had caused widespread epidemics, in places such as Wales and Nottingham in England, as well as in Washington state, G614 took over once it appeared, they found.

“The increase in G614 frequency often continues well after stay-at-home orders are in place and past the subsequent two-week incubation period,” they added.

The new version seems to multiply faster in the upper respiratory tract — the nose, sinuses and throat – which would explain why it passes around more easily, the researchers said. But tests on 1,000 hospitalized coronavirus patients showed those infected with the new version did not fare any worse than those who caught the original strain.

Other mutations often go along with the G614 mutation, but it’s not clear what effect they have. “The earliest sequence we detected that carried all 4 mutations was sampled in Italy on Feb. 20,” they wrote. “Within days, this haplotype was sampled in many countries in Europe.

The G614 mutation can be neutralized by convalescent serum – the blood product taken from people who have recovered from a coronavirus infection, the researchers said.

“But it will be important to determine whether the D614 and G614 forms of SARS-CoV-2 are differentially sensitive to neutralization by vaccine-elicited antibodies or by antibodies produced in response to infection with either form of the virus,” they added.

More work is needed, of course, to solidify the findings and to see what the changes mean for the epidemic and for patients, the researchers said.

[Ninerfan11]

Originally Posted by TLO

I saw this earlier and thought about posting it.

simply amazing the way the media handled that thing.

[petegz28]

Originally Posted by Ninerfan11

simply amazing the way the media handled that thing.

Expound please.....

[Donger]

As expected, the states with the highest daily deaths from yesterday:

Arizona 88
California 83
Florida 49
Texas 45

[kgrund]

Originally Posted by Donger

As expected, the states with the highest daily deaths from yesterday:

Arizona 88
California 83
Florida 49
Texas 45

Discussed yesterday, but the Arizona reported deaths is very questionable given that deaths by date of death up to yesterday in Arizona reported 78 deaths combined from the 7 days prior to yesterday. Believe we will ultimately find out this was a backlog of "suspected" COVID-19 deaths from prior weeks or months. Most people see that number and they are expecting that number to represent who died the day prior or couple of days prior. What many are finding out is a good deal of these numbers are a backlog of suspected deaths from COVID-19 from weeks and months prior.