***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.”

[Pitt Gorilla]

Originally Posted by DaFace

Eh, that's going too far from my perspective. From a different vantage point, people say the same thing about people being "afraid" of COVID in the first place.

Be afraid of covid/don't be afraid of covid, it doesn't really matter. It's going to kill/hospitalize a bunch of people and alter lives pretty significantly. The vaccines, OTOH, are safe. Period.

What additional level of fear must one harbor to be afraid of something that safe?

What else could it be (other than cowardice), given the data? Willful ignorance? What causes that, if not extreme fear?

[DaFace]

Originally Posted by Pitt Gorilla

Be afraid of covid/don't be afraid of covid, it doesn't really matter. It's going to kill/hospitalize a bunch of people and alter lives pretty significantly. The vaccines, OTOH, are safe. Period.

What additional level of fear must one harbor to be afraid of something that safe?

What else could it be (other than cowardice), given the data? Willful ignorance? What causes that, if not extreme fear?

Probably some combination of 1) willful ignorance, 2) stubbornness, 3) selfishness, and 4) a general distrust of authority (where "the data" comes from).

[jdubya]

Originally Posted by Chris Meck

Well yeah, but the mask mandates are an attempt to protect the unvaccinated, which is incredibly frustrating because they don't seem to care enough to protect themselves by and large.

Meanwhile, I'm dissolving my small production company next month and selling off all the equipment for pennies on the dollar because the plague has now cost me two years of work.

Just get the damned shots, people.

Was it the plague and unvaxxed people that cost you your company or the intentional shut down of the economy implemented by agencies?

[Chris Meck]

Originally Posted by jdubya

Was it the plague and unvaxxed people that cost you your company or the intentional shut down of the economy implemented by agencies?

That's not really a serious question is it?

In year one, it was the plague, and there were no responsible ways in which to gather en mass, so no events, no gigs, no money.

In year two, it is the plague, and due to the hospitals being overfull despite the vaccine being readily available for almost 6 months to the general public, there is not really a responsible way to gather in large groups. So only a couple of outdoor events with restrictions, few gigs, little money.

I'm really not interested in making money if the result is that people die. I guess that makes me a bad capitalist.

At this point, it's going to be another year probably of few events, little money, so my partner and I are going to cut our losses. Storing the equipment has cost us much more than we've made on it the last two years, and will continue at least another.

It is what it is.

You can blame shutdowns, masks, and restrictions, although that is all an effort to keep people from dying. You can argue about how much you personally feel any of that helps. None of that matters.

What matters is, large numbers of people are dying, and that hasn't be necessary for several months now.

Utter madness.

[O.city]

https://twitter.com/jamesward73/stat...389184516?s=21

[BigBeauford]

Originally Posted by Chris Meck

That's not really a serious question is it?

In year one, it was the plague, and there were no responsible ways in which to gather en mass, so no events, no gigs, no money.

In year two, it is the plague, and due to the hospitals being overfull despite the vaccine being readily available for almost 6 months to the general public, there is not really a responsible way to gather in large groups. So only a couple of outdoor events with restrictions, few gigs, little money.

I'm really not interested in making money if the result is that people die. I guess that makes me a bad capitalist.

At this point, it's going to be another year probably of few events, little money, so my partner and I are going to cut our losses. Storing the equipment has cost us much more than we've made on it the last two years, and will continue at least another.

It is what it is.

You can blame shutdowns, masks, and restrictions, although that is all an effort to keep people from dying. You can argue about how much you personally feel any of that helps. None of that matters.

What matters is, large numbers of people are dying, and that hasn't be necessary for several months now.

Utter madness.

This breaks my heart to hear Chris. I'd like to think 30 years from now when my grandkids are reading about this event in their social studies books, there will be a special section detailing people who made big sacrifices like yourself to keep others safe. It's not the early 20th century by any stretch in terms of what our country asked of its citizens, but I have never seen so many selfless people in my lifetime.

[Chris Meck]

Originally Posted by BigBeauford

This breaks my heart to hear Chris. I'd like to think 30 years from now when my grandkids are reading about this event in their social studies books, there will be a special section detailing people who made big sacrifices like yourself to keep others safe. It's not the early 20th century by any stretch in terms of what our country asked of its citizens, but I have never seen so many selfless people in my lifetime.

I think I'm just being a decent person. That ought to be bare minimum.

The real sacrifices are being made by the medical personnel.

The real thing that gets me is how so many people just will NOT do anything at all to help others.

[Nirvana58]

Originally Posted by Pitt Gorilla

Be afraid of covid/don't be afraid of covid, it doesn't really matter. It's going to kill/hospitalize a bunch of people and alter lives pretty significantly. The vaccines, OTOH, are safe. Period.

What additional level of fear must one harbor to be afraid of something that safe?

What else could it be (other than cowardice), given the data? Willful ignorance? What causes that, if not extreme fear?

What about the data showing people who have already have had covid being protected and don't need the vaccine?

[jdubya]

Originally Posted by Chris Meck

That's not really a serious question is it?

In year one, it was the plague, and there were no responsible ways in which to gather en mass, so no events, no gigs, no money.

In year two, it is the plague, and due to the hospitals being overfull despite the vaccine being readily available for almost 6 months to the general public, there is not really a responsible way to gather in large groups. So only a couple of outdoor events with restrictions, few gigs, little money.

I'm really not interested in making money if the result is that people die. I guess that makes me a bad capitalist.

At this point, it's going to be another year probably of few events, little money, so my partner and I are going to cut our losses. Storing the equipment has cost us much more than we've made on it the last two years, and will continue at least another.

It is what it is.

You can blame shutdowns, masks, and restrictions, although that is all an effort to keep people from dying. You can argue about how much you personally feel any of that helps. None of that matters.

What matters is, large numbers of people are dying, and that hasn't be necessary for several months now.

Utter madness.

I believe one can argue that the weak and infirm were/are the most susceptible to this virus and what is arguable is how much the masking/restrictions/shutdowns really played a part in the numbers we have. Im not being a dick as I am immunocompromised and have taken the vaccines and am not arguing about that.....I am stating policies mandated by governors, health departments and employers are more culpable in businesses getting killed than those who didn't get vaccinated. Is that a bit clearer?

[Pitt Gorilla]

Originally Posted by Nirvana58

What about the data showing people who have already have had covid being protected and don't need the vaccine?

What about the data? I have no idea what question you're attempting to ask here.

[OnTheWarpath15]

Originally Posted by Nirvana58

What about the data showing people who have already have had covid being protected and don't need the vaccine?

What data is that?

Because the CDC has said that a person who's had COVID is twice as likely to be reinfected as someone who's been vaccinated.

[Nirvana58]

Originally Posted by Pitt Gorilla

What about the data? I have no idea what question you're attempting to ask here.

You are going on another one of your rants about the unvaccinated. Well what about people who have covid. Plenty of data showing they don't need the vaccine.

So if someone has had covid and doesn't want to get vaccinated. Current data supports there position. You know follow the science and all.

[Nirvana58]

Originally Posted by OnTheWarpath15

What data is that?

Because the CDC has said that a person who's had COVID is twice as likely to be reinfected as someone who's been vaccinated.

https://www.news-medical.net/news/20...nic-study.aspx

Here is one article on the subject.

[jdubya]

Originally Posted by BigBeauford

This breaks my heart to hear Chris. I'd like to think 30 years from now when my grandkids are reading about this event in their social studies books, there will be a special section detailing people who made big sacrifices like yourself to keep others safe. It's not the early 20th century by any stretch in terms of what our country asked of its citizens, but I have never seen so many selfless people in my lifetime.

I hope my grandchildren are shown the statistical analysis of what policies worked and didn't work. Not useless hyperemotional virtue signaling

[Chris Meck]

Originally Posted by jdubya

I believe one can argue that the weak and infirm were/are the most susceptible to this virus and what is arguable is how much the masking/restrictions/shutdowns really played a part in the numbers we have. Im not being a dick as I am immunocompromised and have taken the vaccines and am not arguing about that.....I am stating policies mandated by governors, health departments and employers are more culpable in businesses getting killed than those who didn't get vaccinated. Is that a bit clearer?

Well, I mean the hospitals are full.

The virus is spread through droplets into the respiratory system. If you reach a high enough viral load, you spread it whether you're sick or not. If you're vaccinated, you're unlikely to get sick enough to be hospitalized, and almost certainly won't die. That's good, but...

I don't see how just having big concerts full of vaccinated or unvaccinated people indoors with no masks or social distancing is a good idea. Even vaccinated people can get a high enough viral load to transmit it to someone else.

It seems to me that if every eligible adult got vaccinated then we'd be back to our lives in a relatively normal way. We're trying to NOT kill people who won't take care of themselves and their neighbors at this point. It's really frustrating. I've lost 90% of my income the last two years. To make it up, I've painted on a paint crew. I'm working in a restaurant that is keeping half hours at half capacity. Just trying to eat. Good thing my house is paid off.