***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.”

[BIG_DADDY]

Originally Posted by R Clark

Lol I’ve noticed most people who are wearing masks are Asian

Chinese. Serves them right for China creating this shit in the first place.

[SuperBowl4]

What impact will COVID-19 have on PROSTITUTION(the worlds oldest profession)? Will rates go down? Will masks be required? Will a STD be the least of your worries?

[DaFace]

Originally Posted by eDave

The WHO sent 25 international experts to China and here are their main findings after 9 days:

https://www.reddit.com/r/China_Flu/c...erts_to_china/

This is encouraging.



Love or hate China, they certainly are able to mobilize a huge response to this kind of thing.

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by eDave

The WHO sent 25 international experts to China and here are their main findings after 9 days:

https://www.reddit.com/r/China_Flu/c...erts_to_china/

It sounds like the Chinese did a pretty good job.

[TLO]

Something I keep hearing people talking about is this "massive outbreak" that the hospitals won't be able to handle.

Ok I suppose that this definitely is a possibility. But this thing went undetected in Washington State for 4-6 weeks. Did the hospitals gets overrun during this time? It doesn't seem like it. Yes Washington State has been the hardest hit, but the numbers aren't outrageous horrifying. (Unless you're a much older person)

[BWillie]

Originally Posted by BIG_DADDY

If I have to cough or sneeze I try to hold it until I can stand right next to one of those people wearing a mask and then I really let it fly.

Why would you do that?

[TLO]

ER doctor: Americans must live their lives, 98 to 99% of people who get coronavirus will 'do just fine'

In the face of rapidly spreading coronavirus anxiety, Americans must continue to live their lives, said emergency room physician Dr. James Phillips.

In an interview Tuesday on "America's Newsroom" with host Ed Henry, Phillips stressed that the vast majority of the public is "going to do just fine."

"Most of us are going to get this virus. It's undeniable. You won't find a single expert out there who is saying that this is going to be contained," said Phillips, who serves as the George Washington University School of Medicine's operational medicine fellowship director.

"And, the more we learn about it, the more we see that the spread is going to be global and, for the most part, that's OK because the data we know from China shows that roughly 98 to 99 percent of us are going to do very, very, well," he told Henry.

Thus far, there are over 95,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus and over 3,300 deaths worldwide. Of those cases, there are at least 129 cases and 11 deaths recorded in the United States. Washington state has been hit especially hard by the virus, with nine deaths at a nursing home near Seattle. The death rate is about 3.4 percent.

Most of those taken by the COVID-19 virus are older, infirmed, or those with weak immune systems and Phillips conceded that there is a "certain percentage" of Americans who are "going to get more sick than others.

"The way that this virus tends to make people sick is really by giving people pneumonia. So, a lower respiratory illness as opposed to most colds that cause upper respiratory infections," he told Henry.

Phillips said coronavirus presented itself like pneumonia in its hosts, but the strength of the virus depends on the proximity from it and the amount of time spent around it.

"The problem with pneumonia is pneumonia itself can be deadly," he said.

Phillips' advice during the outbreak?

"Everyone," he said, "should take a deep breath."

[loochy]

Originally Posted by eDave

The WHO sent 25 international experts to China and here are their main findings after 9 days:



https://www.reddit.com/r/China_Flu/comments/fbt49e/the_who_sent_25_international_experts_to_china/

Interesting read.



I'll post this tidbit:

That means: If you have direct personal contact with an infected person, the probability of infection is between 1% and 5%.

and this:

Much of the global community is not yet ready, in mindset and materially, to implement the measures that have been employed to contain COVID-19 in China. These are the only measures that are currently proven to interrupt or minimize transmission chains in humans. Fundamental to these measures is extremely proactive surveillance to immediately detect cases, very rapid diagnosis and immediate case isolation, rigorous tracking and quarantine of close contacts, and an exceptionally high degree of population understanding and acceptance of these measures.

[suzzer99]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

It sounds like the Chinese did a pretty good job.

China can now produce 1.6 million test kits for the novel coronavirus per week. The test delivers a result on the same day. Across the country, anyone who goes to the doctor with a fever is screened for the virus: In Guangdong province, far from Wuhan, 320,000 people have been tested, and 0.14% of those were positive for the virus.

Meanwhile in the US we're turning people away w/o testing whom doctors are 99% sure have the virus.

[TLO]

Originally Posted by loochy

Interesting read.

I'll post this tidbit:

Is it me, or does that not seem all that high?

[suzzer99]

Originally Posted by TLO

Is it me, or does that not seem all that high?

It also doesn't necessarily jibe with the first bullet point.

When a cluster of several infected people occurred in China, it was most often (78-85%) caused by an infection within the family by droplets and other carriers of infection in close contact with an infected person.

Maybe close contact vs. close extended contact?

[loochy]

Originally Posted by TLO

Is it me, or does that not seem all that high?

No, it doesn't. The numbers just seem huge because of 1) the massive population of china makes the overall numbers seem high 2) Wuhan's hospital capacity shortage:

Healthcare system: 20% of infected people in China needed hospital treatment for weeks. China has hospital beds to treat 0.4% of the population at the same time - other developed countries have between 0.1% and 1.3% and most of these beds are already occupied with people who have other diseases. The fatality rate was 5.8% in Wuhan but 0.7% in other areas of China, which China explained with the lack of critical care beds in Wuhan.

[BIG_DADDY]

Originally Posted by BWillie

Why would you do that?

Just trying to have a good time.

[loochy]

Originally Posted by BIG_DADDY

Just trying to have a good time. " smilieid="71" class="inlineimg" />

YEAH THAT SEEMS SO FUN

HOW ABOUT I SNEEZE ON YOUR UNVACCINATED PIT BULL?

[dlphg9]

Yeah for as much shit as China received for their reaction to this it seems they actually did a very good job of containing this. If these reports of people showing up to the ER with several different reasons to think they have coronavirus, but are being sent away, then this is gonna spread pretty rapidly in the US. I don't believe stories like that most of the time as they are filled with half truths and sensationalized, so who knows.