***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.”

[DaFace]

Originally Posted by OnTheWarpath15

Assuming this isn't just the mother of all trolling jobs, I gotta say that if you live by this code it's amazing you ever come to a decision on anything in your life. Literally every person you've ever come in contact with, expert or otherwise has been "wrong" about something due to the situation being fluid and gaining new information.

I doubted this would become anything more than SARS-1 back in the beginning of the thread. **** me and my changing views, I guess.

[FloridaMan88]

Fauci actually said it well during his Senate testimony yesterday in terms of his big picture role... he is a scientist and he offers medical opinions, but he is not an economist and therefore his medical opinions should be just a part of a comprehensive strategy that focuses on lives AND livelihoods.

[OnTheWarpath15]

Originally Posted by DaFace

Originally it was meant to be a thread that wasn't bogged down in criticisms of the feds' response. I never would have guessed that Fauci would somehow become viewed as a political figure, but here we are.

My personal preference would be that the thread become a place to discuss evidence-based policy, but that's pretty much impossible to moderate.

Originally Posted by DaFace

If I had an easy way to do it, I'd start a thread with a different approach:

Anyone who has >100 posts in DC in the past 12 months 100% isn't allowed. No exceptions.

I have less of an issue with "politics" than I do with "people who like talking about politics." The ceaseless bickering is just exhausting for me to read.

I'd argue you at least had an idea this was coming.

[BleedingRed]

Originally Posted by DaFace

Originally it was meant to be a thread that wasn't bogged down in criticisms of the feds' response. I never would have guessed that Fauci would somehow become viewed as a political figure, but here we are.

My personal preference would be that the thread become a place to discuss evidence-based policy, but that's pretty much impossible to moderate.

[Donger]

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/wh...-virus-spreads

Americans should wear face masks as a way to help stifle the spread of COVID-19, said Dr. Anthony Fauci, one of the nation’s top doctors leading the public health fight against the coronavirus pandemic — a departure from previous government guidance to only wear a mask if you were caring for someone with the illness or had it yourself.

“If everybody does that, we’re each protecting each other,” Fauci said in an interview with PBS NewsHour anchor and managing editor Judy Woodruff.

[ChiTown]

Originally Posted by Mecca

It's basically impossible to avoid it at this point, decisions are being made based on politics.

Is it politics or economics? And no, I don’t necessarily believe they are one and the same

[DaFace]

Originally Posted by OnTheWarpath15

I'd argue you at least had an idea this was coming.

I'm, admittedly, naive when it comes to political discourse. I don't watch TV news at all. I've probably spent less than an hour total in the past year reading threads in DC. I get most of my news from scrolling Google News, which gives me news from a variety of sources, and I don't really get excited about sensationalist headlines.

It's beyond my understanding that the people who keep our water and food safe, who work to reduce substance abuse, improve mental health, improve air quality, and just generally keep people healthy, are now being politicised. I do research studies with public health departments. I can assure you that none of them are in it for the money.

So yeah, I'm pretty surprised at how this has all gone.

[OnTheWarpath15]

Originally Posted by DaFace

I'm, admittedly, naive when it comes to political discourse. I don't watch TV news at all. I've probably spent less than an hour total in the past year reading threads in DC. I get most of my news from scrolling Google News, which gives me news from a variety of sources, and I don't really get excited about sensationalist headlines.

It's beyond my understanding that the people who keep our water and food safe, who work to reduce substance abuse, improve mental health, and ensure that our communities are safe, are now being politicised. I do research studies with public health departments. I can assure you that none of them are in it for the money.

So yeah, I'm pretty surprised at how this has all gone.

Fair enough. As a mod here, I just assumed you had seen this movie before.

A lot of the same actors.

[DaFace]

Originally Posted by OnTheWarpath15

Fair enough. As a mod here, I just assumed you had seen this movie before.

A lot of the same actors.

I largely leave the mods who participate in DC to deal with DC. And by "deal with" I largely mean "ignore it."

[Monticore]

Originally Posted by petegz28

I am not going to fault Fauci for his lack of economic understanding of all this. That part is not his job. I will however point out that a few months ago he told us this was nothing for us to worry about and we would not have to change our lifestyles.Then just over a month ago he was stating that masks were really not that useful and more psychological.

People can spin why he said what he said but obviously as it turns out he was wrong. Which is why I like to hear from more than just one person on any kind of issue of this magnitude.

Do you think he went out on his own on those initial statements and didn't it run by a committee.

[DaneMcCloud]

Originally Posted by petegz28

Because he hasn't always been right.

How could anyone expect him to be 'right' 100% of the time, when this is the first time this century in which America and the world has dealt with a virus of this nature?

Again, this is science and the first time any scientists have dealt with this deadly strain.

Originally Posted by petegz28

I said we should listen to others as well.

Who? Which credible immunologist have disagreed with Fauci's advice?

Originally Posted by petegz28

You say his word isn't gospel yet you are doing just what I am talking about which is arguing with anyone who says his word isn't gospel.

No, YOU said his word wasn't Gospel, not me. Again, Gospel has been set in stone for more than 2,000 years.

Science changes every day due to new discoveries.

[MahomesMagic]

Originally Posted by DaFace

I'm, admittedly, naive when it comes to political discourse. I don't watch TV news at all. I've probably spent less than an hour total in the past year reading threads in DC. I get most of my news from scrolling Google News, which gives me news from a variety of sources, and I don't really get excited about sensationalist headlines.

It's beyond my understanding that the people who keep our water and food safe, who work to reduce substance abuse, improve mental health, improve air quality, and just generally keep people healthy, are now being politicised. I do research studies with public health departments. I can assure you that none of them are in it for the money.

So yeah, I'm pretty surprised at how this has all gone.

In the Imperial College paper that the UK and the US latched on to do the lockdown the authors stated that there were two basic ways of dealing with this. Mitigation or containment. Both have pros and cons but the public was fed containment as the only road possible. Now that the hospital systems are not overwhelmed in most of the country I believe there will be much more discussion about the road not take or even presented.

[ToxSocks]

Originally Posted by DaFace

I never would have guessed that Fauci would somehow become viewed as a political figure, but here we are.

Yeah, well, if you spend time in D.C it's easy to see how opinions of him devolved and why. Of course in this thread I'm suppose to act like i never read why opinions of him have soured in a conversation about why he's not trusted. Seems silly to me. It's like a giant elephant in the room that we're suppose to avoid because it's political, but the entire subject is rooted in politics.

If this next paragraph gets me in trouble so be it.

My opinion is that in the early goings of this, he was seen as sort of a comforting figure. You had this articulate, intelligent and good spirited man as Trump's advisor telling the public to be calm, at a time when the WH seemed rather unsure and rather dismissive of the subject.

America needed a guy that they could trust when #$%^ was bumbling his early days through this and was clear that he needed an advisor. In comes this guy that is a leading expert since Reagan, that the WH has thrown into the public and told was THE MAN on the subject. He had the charisma and intellect and most of America gravitated towards him. He comforted America, letting people feel like they had the right guy to guide us through this.

Next thing you know he's doing interviews on certain media outlets and i'm reading threads that are rather trustworthy and fond of him.

And i still remember how opinions shifted within days when...well...anything more i could say from here would be crossing the line i guess.

[TLO]

The IHME model updated again for anyone who is interested.

https://covid19.healthdata.org/

[DaFace]

Originally Posted by TLO

The IHME model updated again for anyone who is interested.

https://covid19.healthdata.org/

Any obvious changes? Looks like they keep revising the death figures upward, which isn't surprising given the relaxed restrictions.

It still shows hospital utilization as being well within capacity in the states I clicked through, so nothing terribly surprising there.