***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.”

[Hammock Parties]

Wow.

#coronavirus News Alert: Dr. Vladimir Zelenko, a board-certified family practitioner in NY, has now treated 699 Covid-19 patients with 100% success using Hydroxychloroquine Sulfate, Zinc and Z-Pak. All symptoms of shortness of breath resolved within 4-6 hr https://t.co/siCvNg845Q pic.twitter.com/lOrUvBHp0A

— Adam Milstein (@AdamMilstein) March 29, 2020

[Mecca]

We're always going to have some issues like apparently Alabama is not going to disclose any numbers at all.

[RedRaider56]

Originally Posted by Hammock Parties

Wow.

#coronavirus News Alert: Dr. Vladimir Zelenko, a board-certified family practitioner in NY, has now treated 699 Covid-19 patients with 100% success using Hydroxychloroquine Sulfate, Zinc and Z-Pak. All symptoms of shortness of breath resolved within 4-6 hr https://t.co/siCvNg845Q pic.twitter.com/lOrUvBHp0A

— Adam Milstein (@AdamMilstein) March 29, 2020

wait a minute....I thought this stuff wasn't suppose to work.

[RedRaider56]

Originally Posted by Mecca

We're always going to have some issues like apparently Alabama is not going to disclose any numbers at all.

They have a difficult time counting in Alabama

[Hammock Parties]

2. It is important to note that New York State is participating in the trial of 4 WHO recommended COVID-19 treatment regimens which include Chloroquine/hydroxychloroquine...

Maybe one or more of those regimens is working well.

This �� is the list the regimens pic.twitter.com/iYeZSwgGbO

— Kudzai Mutisi (@KMutisi) March 30, 2020

[O.city]

Originally Posted by AustinChief

This is what I wanted from the get go. Unfortunately there is no 100% foolproof solution for that BUT I think we and local/state/Federal governments can continue to emphasize this point and do what we can individually and collectively to subsidize those that should be sequestered. That should be enough.

By caseload, I would agree with you IF we are talking those in critical condition and the US death rate. We can't use overall caseload as a metric since the vast majority of people are fine to get the virus and recover even without any treatment.

Regarding treatment, at what point do you consider a treatment effective? I am not prepared to wait 3-6 months for an entire workup on each trial. I think we are going to have to take a certain leap of faith at some point in the near future.

It takes time to know if it will work and if it’s safe. You don’t wanna mass roll out a treatment that doesn’t work or kills more people

[Deberg_1990]

Originally Posted by BigRedChief

Who could have seen this coming?




Jerry Falwell Jr., president of Liberty University, reopened the school's campus last week. By Friday, nearly a dozen Liberty students were sick with symptoms that suggest Covid-19. https://t.co/dmgBQ27pdZ

— NYT Politics (@nytpolitics) March 29, 2020

Wow.

He should be criminally charged for that decision.

[Mecca]

I just saw that Turkey is getting destroyed they have over 500,000 cases.

['Hamas' Jenkins]

Originally Posted by RedRaider56

wait a minute....I thought this stuff wasn't suppose to work.

Well, normally we make evidence-based medical decisions upon the results of randomized clinical trials and not tweets about the claims of success from a single practitioner.

[Kidd Lex]

Originally Posted by Hammock Parties

Wow.

#coronavirus News Alert: Dr. Vladimir Zelenko, a board-certified family practitioner in NY, has now treated 699 Covid-19 patients with 100% success using Hydroxychloroquine Sulfate, Zinc and Z-Pak. All symptoms of shortness of breath resolved within 4-6 hr https://t.co/siCvNg845Q pic.twitter.com/lOrUvBHp0A

— Adam Milstein (@AdamMilstein) March 29, 2020

Unlike Dane I think this may be the way home. The NY clinical trials that just started will be the key, and the fact that the FDA approved the trials is a good sign. The problem with going all in is a lot the data comes from a French study that was flawed and poorly written, but as more real data comes out by the day we will know if this is the magic elixir we’ve all been looking for.

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by Mecca

I just saw that Turkey is getting destroyed they have over 500,000 cases.

What?

They haven't even tested 100K people yet, from any available data I can see.

[Gravedigger]

Originally Posted by Deberg_1990

Wow.

He should be criminally charged for that decision.

He has money and influence, so he won't, but I agree he should. We charge people who knowingly cough on produce and lick deodorant sticks with terrorism so he shouldn't be any different, but he is.

[penguinz]

Originally Posted by Mecca

I just saw that Turkey is getting destroyed they have over 500,000 cases.

Where? Not one tracker I have seen have them over 10k

[Mecca]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

What?

They haven't even tested 100K people yet, from any available data I can see.

I saw it on reddit let me see if I can refind that...could easily be wrong.

['Hamas' Jenkins]

Originally Posted by AustinChief

I am going to again ask a question I asked a while back...

If by April 3rd(Friday) we have a solid trend of fewer deaths per day AND we have more significant data showing that the treatments we are applying are effective (let's say a 50% increased reduction of viral load compared to a control group or we can use cytokine storm reduction as the barometer), would you support starting to reduce government imposed restrictions?

If not, where do you draw the line? What metric would you use?

The way I see it, at some point WE need to make up our minds where the acceptable risk lies. There is NEVER going to be a world without risk. The flu kills 20-60k a year in the US and we don't bat an eye, we live with that risk every year. What is the acceptable risk for Covid-19?

Just to preempt anyone talking about number of cases... I will say right now I will never care about that figure it is fairly meaningless especially if effective treatments are an option. Deaths are really what matters to me when it comes to this discussion.

First, you'd need to be able to establish a reduction in viral load to an improvement in outcomes. There are tons of drugs that lead to improvements in clinical measurements but do not improve morbidity or mortality.

In heart failure with reduced ejection fraction there are three beta-blockers with evidence demonstrating a mortality benefit: metoprolol, carvedilol, and bisoprolol. Sure, other beta-blockers will reduce BP, but BP reduction is not itself always clinically significant, nor is the reduction in BP where the mortality benefit is derived from.

You guys really need to leave this to the professionals, because you're arguing about metrics that you don't understand and it is both harmful and incredibly arrogant.