***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.”

[O.city]

Everyone freaked about about the 2nd infection of that patient in HK. But thats exactly what and how we want this thing to proceed.

The previous infection protected them from disease by keeping and clearing it asymptomatically.

[TLO]

Originally Posted by O.city

Everyone freaked about about the 2nd infection of that patient in HK. But thats exactly what and how we want this thing to proceed.

The previous infection protected them from disease by keeping and clearing it asymptomatically.

Why did Mr. Hong Kong get tested a second time for them to even find the second infection? I haven't seen that explained anywhere or skimmed over it.

[KS Smitty]

Originally Posted by TLO

Why did Mr. Hong Kong get tested a second time for them to even find the second infection? I haven't seen that explained anywhere or skimmed over it.

It was an airport screening that showed an elevated temperature I think.

[TLO]

Originally Posted by KS Smitty

It was an airport screening that showed an elevated temperature I think.

Ah okay, that makes sense

[Donger]

Great graphic showing which states are below and above 5% positivity:

https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/testing/testing-positivity

Hoping that PR and WA are, well, mistakes...

[O.city]

Originally Posted by TLO

Why did Mr. Hong Kong get tested a second time for them to even find the second infection? I haven't seen that explained anywhere or skimmed over it.

Think it was just an airport screening, he didn't have any symptoms.

[O.city]

Originally Posted by Donger

Great graphic showing which states are below and above 5% positivity:

https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/testing/testing-positivity

Hoping that PR and WA are, well, mistakes...

IIRC, some places don't report negatives.

[TLO]

Originally Posted by Donger

Great graphic showing which states are below and above 5% positivity:

https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/testing/testing-positivity

Hoping that PR and WA are, well, mistakes...

Missouri just seems kind of stuck in limbo. Not really going up much. Not really going down much.

[O.city]

Originally Posted by TLO

Missouri just seems kind of stuck in limbo. Not really going up much. Not really going down much.

Think we're about 3 weeks from dropping back down, hopefully.

[TLO]

Originally Posted by O.city

Think we're about 3 weeks from dropping back down, hopefully.

I've noted that even with the increase in positivity, our number of positive cases has remained mostly steady.

Locally we're definitely seeing a bit of an uptick in NW Missouri.

[Hawker007]

Can someone explain to me why we are using the % of positive tests as some sort of barometer? The denominator in that calculation is so subjective as to why they are even being tested that I would think the stat would be pretty useless. Maybe not completely useless but useless as a fact of what we should be doing as a state or city.

[Marcellus]

Originally Posted by Hawker007

Can someone explain to me why we are using the % of positive tests as some sort of barometer? The denominator in that calculation is so subjective as to why they are even being tested that I would think the stat would be pretty useless. Maybe not completely useless but useless as a fact of what we should be doing as a state or city.

Yea considering most testing is still done on symptomatic people I don't get the relevance either.

[Donger]

Originally Posted by Hawker007

Can someone explain to me why we are using the % of positive tests as some sort of barometer? The denominator in that calculation is so subjective as to why they are even being tested that I would think the stat would be pretty useless. Maybe not completely useless but useless as a fact of what we should be doing as a state or city.

It provides a good indication of the prevalence of the virus in the area. For example, when Arizona, Texas, Florida and others had their significant new case rises, there was corresponding positivity increase. Now that they are dropping, so are the positive rates. Well, Texas is seeing another increase, actually.

[dirk digler]

Originally Posted by Marcellus

Who has even been back to school long enough to have a school related outbreak?

Alabama has been back to school for a week or two. They screened everyone at the beginning and caught 330 cases. A week later they have 550 from teachers and staff.

[MahomesMagic]

One in four people aged 18 to 24 seriously contemplated suicide in June, according to new research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The data are the latest in a series of reports highlighting increases in anxiety, depression and suicidal ideation since the COVID-19 pandemic began.
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/...id-19-pandemic