***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.”

[Kman34]

Originally Posted by Bugeater

I could finally get my garage and storage room organized, get the wallpaper stripped in the guest room...maybe do some painting as well. And if the weather cooperates I could do my spring yard cleanup and power wash the deck and house.



I'm warming up to the idea to be honest.

I took some vacation time this week and just put a floor in and doing some painting.. the problem is if I need some supplies.. I just keep hand sanitizer with me when I go to LOWE’s...

[DaFace]

Originally Posted by BWillie

When you can successfully grow the virus, you can vaccinate for it.

Creating a vaccine isn't necessarily the hard part.

[TLO]

Originally Posted by Chief Pagan

So I wanted to clarify some comments I made yesterday about this disease regarding age.

Yes. The fatality rate for those under 50 might be 0.1% compared to 10%+ for those over 80.

But the point I have been trying to get across is it seems like many think that means 99.9% of those in that age group have no symptoms or a mild stay at home.

That is true for most but not all. A week or so ago I saw a chart for hospitalizations by age. I spent a little time searching today and couldn't find it again. Everyone wants to talk about death rates by age. (If anyone else finds a link I would appreciate knowing.)

But for the 30~50 the hospitalization rate was above 5% IIRC.

That is no where need as bad as those over 80. But there are more people aged 30 to 50 than those over 80. If enough get sick at the same time that can overwhelm ICUs.

And the 0.1% death rate is predicted on those that are hospitalized having good ICU care which can mean 3 weeks of intensive care including ventilator and frequent draining of liquid from the lungs.

And death rates can really go up when the system is overloaded. I found the following link for that.



The rapid increase in the number of cases of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in late 2019 highlighted how quickly health systems can be challenged to provide adequate care.1 Case-fatality proportions were 7-fold higher for patients in Hubei Province compared with those outside of the region, 2.9% vs 0.4%, emphasizing the importance of health system capacity in the care of patients who are critically ill with COVID-19.

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...rticle/2762996

Many places in Africa are not going to be able to provide this treatment. So unless tropical climates are mostly immune from the virus, I think Africa could have a much higher death rate in the under 50 crowd than China and Italy have had.

Above 5% out of how many cases?

[srvy]

Originally Posted by ping2000

Watch old episodes of Dr. Kildare or Ben Casey when they are scrubbing prior to surgery.

Wow, those are some blasts from the past.

[SupDock]

Originally Posted by 007

Got mine for $43

Mine was expected to arrive today , it just got delayed

[TLO]

Originally Posted by BWillie

It will absolutely work. The masses won't believe it is working because it coincides with a dramatic increase in testing.

We are kind of half assing it though, if you arent closing schools, restaurants and the like. But all we need to do is even out the curve so that our health care system has enough capacity to handle it.

I know nobody believes China because USA USA USA, but their measures worked. They were drastic and much harsher than we would ever do. WHO has verified alot of their data.

**** China. Maybe next they can figure out a way to keep their people from eating snakes at bats that end up causing these new strains of viruses.

[007]

Originally Posted by SupDock

Mine was expected to arrive today , it just got delayed

Yeah mine won't arrive until the end of the month right now. If ever.

[DaFace]

Originally Posted by TLO

**** China. Maybe next they can figure out a way to keep their people from eating snakes at bats that end up causing these new strains of viruses.

There's nothing inherently dangerous about their cuisine. Swine flu originated here (North America) after all.

[displacedinMN]

21 in minnesota 18 in wisconsin.


No real evidence of local spread

[BWillie]

Originally Posted by DaFace

There's nothing inherently dangerous about their cuisine. Swine flu originated here (North America) after all.

The 1918 Spanish Flu started at a farm in Kansas and killed upwards to 100 million of the worlds population.

The only reason they called it the Spanish flu is because Spanish was neutral and they were the only country giving out unbiased reports since it was the World War 1. They didn't want other countries to know their weakness.

But Kansan soldiers spread the virus and infected the world.

[Bwana]

[Donger]

Originally Posted by DaFace

There's nothing inherently dangerous about their cuisine. Swine flu originated here (North America) after all.

Can't agree with that at all. It would be nice if they at least cooked their bats, pangolins and wolf puppies some before eating them...

And, shall I post the video of the guy eating live baby mice?

[staylor26]

Originally Posted by DaFace

There's nothing inherently dangerous about their cuisine. Swine flu originated here (North America) after all.

There’s nothing dangerous about eating raw wild animals like bats, rats, etc.?

[PHOG]

Originally Posted by DaFace

There's nothing inherently dangerous about their cuisine. Swine flu originated here (North America) after all.

[DaFace]

Originally Posted by staylor26

There’s nothing dangerous about eating raw wild animals like bats, rats, etc.?

Feel free to provide evidence to the contrary. (I'm not talking about impacting a single consumer, I'm talking about the potential for passing a disease like the flu or coronavirus.)

Note that coronavirus can come from chicken. So are we eliminating those in the U.S.?