***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.”

[tk13]

Originally Posted by O.city

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-h...-idUSKCN2270RX



That’s pretty crazy. We’re under counting the shit out of this thing

I still think they're underestimating how contagious this thing is.

Only problem is a prison is so contained. If the numbers aren't that much higher than we think... it's going to be mess if we reopen too soon. That's going to be the million dollar question.

[LiveSteam]

As long as the NY Subway system stays open.
We're all safe

[dirk digler]

Originally Posted by notorious

Mother ****er.

There are going to be a lot of relieved people. There are also going to be a shitload of people pissed off from the over-reaction.

50,000+ dead in 6 weeks is an over reaction.

['Hamas' Jenkins]

Asymptomatic at time of testing does not mean asymptomatic for the entirety of illness.

[Bugeater]

Originally Posted by O.city

The biggest issue I’ve seen is not rolling with new information or actively seeking out new info. Maybe they are and it just takes time, but damn this past month has lasted a year

New information doesn't necessarily equate to accurate information. I imagine it simply takes time for them to unravel it all.



Or they're a bunch of butt****ing morons. Who knows. At this point I'll welcome anything resembling good news.

[TLO]

Originally Posted by O.city

The biggest issue I’ve seen is not rolling with new information or actively seeking out new info. Maybe they are and it just takes time, but damn this past month has lasted a year

I made a comment to my girlfriend today that the last 2 months has felt like a lifetime. I was following this way back in January when China was getting hit, just wondering if/when it would reach the US. When things started picking up steam in early March, I felt like we were in for one hell of a ride.

Wildest 2 months I've ever experienced.

[O.city]

Yeah it’s been crazy for sure

[TLO]

Originally Posted by dirk digler

50,000+ dead in 6 weeks is an over reaction.

And would it have been substantially more if we'd kept things open?

Maybe. But maybe not.

[O.city]

Originally Posted by 'Hamas' Jenkins

Asymptomatic at time of testing does not mean asymptomatic for the entirety of illness.

I would assume they’d do follow up testing in two weeks or so?

I haven’t seen the results from the navy ship testing yet and I’m interested to see how it works

[TLO]

Originally Posted by Bugeater

New information doesn't necessarily equate to accurate information. I imagine it simply takes time for them to unravel it all.

Or they're a bunch of butt****ing morons. Who knows. At this point I'll welcome anything resembling good news.

Your first point is right. The amount we've learned about this virus in 4 months is astounding.

And yet there's still so much we don't know..

[tk13]

Originally Posted by TLO

And would it have been substantially more if we'd kept things open?

Maybe. But maybe not.

Oh 1000%. That's not even a question.

I don't know what evidence you could possibly point out that this thing isn't highly contagious and spreads easily.

[TLO]

We need to be able to test people who are symptomatic, that's a given. This will still be very important moving forward.

But what we really need is mass, (ACCURATE), antibody testing. We need to see just how many people out there have already had this thing.

[dirk digler]

Originally Posted by TLO

And would it have been substantially more if we'd kept things open?

Maybe. But maybe not.

probably in the hundreds of thousands maybe a million. Even with social distancing we will probably hit 100k

[Bugeater]

Originally Posted by TLO

We need to be able to test people who are symptomatic, that's a given. This will still be very important moving forward.

But what we really need is mass, (ACCURATE), antibody testing. We need to see just how many people out there have already had this thing.

I don't know man....I think I'd be a little freaked out if I found out I was carrying it and potentially unknowingly spreading it around.

[TLO]

Originally Posted by tk13

Oh 1000%. That's not even a question.

I don't know what evidence you could possibly point out that this thing isn't highly contagious and spreads easily.

I'm going to keep a close eye on Sweden. From my understanding, they are practicing some social distancing measures and not much else.

I agree that our number of deaths would be higher at this point, but would they have been higher overall? I guess it depends on if hospitals got overrun, etc.