***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.”

[Monticore]

I think I have found something worse than models, hypotheticals.

[Monticore]

Originally Posted by BleedingRed

John, I'm going to go with option 2

You would sacrifice yourself , thank you. It would be the right thing to do.

[KCUnited]

What if 20 of the 600 were over 80?

[IowaHawkeyeChief]

Originally Posted by KCChiefsFan88

So if there is never an effective/scalable vaccine created, no mass crowds ever again?

It's bigger than that... If we can't go to a concert or a game, then there is no way you can go on an airplane, subway or bus, and the cure becomes worse than virus as travel is essential to our economy. I am confident with contact tracing and the IFR rate being much lower than previously thought, that we can have policy and guidelines in place to protect the sustainability for those over 60-65 and/or have underlying conditions.

[dlphg9]

Originally Posted by Fish

FYI... here's what they do for the swab test. Tickle your brain...

From CDC

Nasopharyngeal swab: Insert flexible wire shaft minitip swab through the nares parallel to the palate (not upwards) until resistance is encountered or the distance is equivalent to that from the ear to the nostril of the patient, indicating contact with the nasopharynx. Swab should reach depth equal to distance from nostrils to outer opening of the ear. Gently rub and roll the swab. Leave swab in place for several seconds to absorb secretions. Slowly remove swab while rotating it.

This is required for asymptomatic people, but there are other ways to test if you are symptomatic that are much more humane.

[Monticore]

Originally Posted by KCUnited

What if 20 of the 600 were over 80?

What if they were all under 9 years old.

[tk13]

Originally Posted by IowaHawkeyeChief

Not 25 million and counting for every day we are closed longer...

I don't know about that. Things are easy now because everybody can blame everything on the virus. Once everything opens up and the economy is still in the tank because people don't want to risk it, there's going to be nowhere to hide.

There is no chance the economy rebounds while this thing is still spreading easily. In some ways all this wrestling over the idea is kind of pointless.

[TLO]

What if God was one of us?

[FloridaMan88]

600 people could go unemployed for a year to supposedly prevent a single death from COVID-19 and someone in that group could get hit by a bus and die, or commit suicide due to the stresses of being unemployed, etc.

[Monticore]

Originally Posted by KCChiefsFan88

600 people could go unemployed for a year to supposedly prevent a single death from COVID-19 and someone in that group could get hit by a bus and die, or commit suicide due to the stresses of being unemployed, etc.

Or they could all get jobs tomorrow, and each person had to stab that 1 guy to death before leaving, and are now considered fugitives but now can't work.

[tk13]

Originally Posted by Monticore

Or they could all get jobs tomorrow, and each person had to stab that 1 guy to death before leaving.

Or they could have been attacked by 100 rabbit-sized horses. Or 1 horse-sized rabbit.

[SAUTO]

Originally Posted by InChiefsHeaven

Here's an article from the LA Times stating that immunity tests are showing that there was a TON more people infected by this thing before testing even began:
https://www.latimes.com/california/s...ting-la-county

It also shows that the mortality rate as a result of this data has gone way down to .1-.2%. Now, this is not peer reviewed yet, the study was done by USC. But, the prevailing attitude is that this thing was around a lot longer than January\February. FWIW.

didnt the LA mayor say that is only 4.4 percent of their population which left 95.6 percent with no antibodies?

[dirk digler]

Originally Posted by tk13

I don't know about that. Things are easy now because everybody can blame everything on the virus. Once everything opens up and the economy is still in the tank because people don't want to risk it, there's going to be nowhere to hide.

There is no chance the economy rebounds while this thing is still spreading easily. In some ways all this wrestling over the idea is kind of pointless.

Yep. There was a woman on CNN last night that owns a salon in Georgia and she said she isn't going to open up and her clients don't want her to. I think you are going to find most businesses will be like that for awhile.

These business will also have to think about all the liability issues with re-opening.

[DaneMcCloud]

Originally Posted by dirk digler

These business will also have to think about all the liability issues with re-opening.

The idea of "opening up" is really a misnomer, anyway.

Children will not return to school until the Fall at the earliest. Disneyland, concert venues and stadiums will not suddenly return to normal or open up because there will be strict Social Distancing orders in place. Restaurants will have maybe half their normal capacity and people that are currently working from home will continue to work from home.

And unfortunately, those people that are on the lower end of the wage scale will be the first to go back to their jobs but they'll be working in high risk conditions, whether they realize it or not.

It's really a sad state of affairs.

[DaFace]

Originally Posted by dirk digler

Yep. There was a woman on CNN last night that owns a salon in Georgia and she said she isn't going to open up and her clients don't want her to. I think you are going to find most businesses will be like that for awhile.

These business will also have to think about all the liability issues with re-opening.

My guess is that it'll come down to what people mean by "opening up." If we mean "packed seats 10-12 hours per day," then no, that's not happening. I'd be surprised if stylists and barbers didn't allow a couple of people at a time with enough spacing, though. Hell, throw a chair or two outside (on nice days) and do it that way.