***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.”

[PAChiefsGuy]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

MLB has said they won't return with no crowds. At least that was the initial proposal agreed to between ownership and the MLBPA.

We'll see if they bend on that a little, but as it stands, MLB doesn't seem inclined to move forward if there are public health restrictions still in place.

I'm with MLB on this one. Sports with no fans would be stupid.

[Bwana]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

MLB has said they won't return with no crowds. At least that was the initial proposal agreed to between ownership and the MLBPA.

We'll see if they bend on that a little, but as it stands, MLB doesn't seem inclined to move forward if there are public health restrictions still in place.

I wouldn't be surprised if the NFL does the same thing, depending on were the numbers are at that point.

[Hammock Parties]

Originally Posted by Mr_Tomahawk

I feel like the media has been painting a more doom and gloom picture the last few days so this is refreshing to read. Thank you.

CBS used Italian footage for a NY hospital...

[BigRedChief]

Originally Posted by Loneiguana

The biggest sign will be when new deaths slow down.

Doesn't every model show that we are 10-14 days from the peak hospitalizations in the US? But, thats not even a good measure.

Okay lets say, 10-14 days the current hotspots will peak. What about the rural and smaller towns. Those rural hospitals are just not capable of handling more than one or two cases, if that. It may not be the numbers of NY but per capita and the grief will be higher. People will know each other that are dying in the smaller towns.

[penguinz]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

MLB has said they won't return with no crowds. At least that was the initial proposal agreed to between ownership and the MLBPA.

We'll see if they bend on that a little, but as it stands, MLB doesn't seem inclined to move forward if there are public health restrictions still in place.

I heard on radio the other day that the players are also wanting to be paid and accrue the years playing time even if there is not a season. That is BS.

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by PAChiefsGuy

I'm with MLB on this one. Sports with no fans would be stupid.

It would be a little surreal, but it would also give people at home something to grab onto a bit.

And man, time is unbeaten and untied. A guy like Justin Verlander or Zack Greinke or even Clayton Kershaw - those dudes are looking at just a few years left in the league. Or at/near their peaks.

Verlander has his ring(s) but Kershaw and Greinke, if you tell them that they just don't get a shot at it this year because games without fans would be weird, you're taking away one of their last, best shots at the culmination of a lifelong dream.

And then you look at cap sports like the NBA or NHL, you've got teams that made decisions with their cap for this season that are somewhat 'all-in' and now to what effect? The Lakers only have 2-3 years left with LeBron at/near this level. The Blues have pushed hard against their cap this year (likely to the detriment of the next few years) in an attempt to defend their cup.

I think if you can play games without fans in a way that doesn't pose a direct health risk to the players (rapid testing should allow for that), I think you should go ahead and play. It would be good for the national mood, IMO and it's a better solution for those players than just telling them they won't get a shot.

Everything's just a question of finding the best of bad options at this point, but I think there are enough factors weighing in favor of playing that all leagues should be looking for ways to do so.

[Loneiguana]

Originally Posted by BigRedChief

Doesn't every model show that we are 10-14 days from the peak hospitalizations in the US? But, thats not even a good measure. Okay, 10-14 days the current hotspots will peak. What about the rural and smaller towns. Those rural hospitals are just not capable of handling more than one or two cases, if that. It may not be the numbers of NY but per capita and the grief will be higher. People will know each other that are dying in the smaller towns.

That's the biggest issue in the US. We are so large and have 50 plus different reactions and timetables to this virus. NY may start to slow down, but what about one of the 10 or 9 states that havent done a thing yet?

Anyway, most of the models show that you see a leveling off when you see deaths NOT doubling every 3 days.

That's what I'm watching for.

[Marcellus]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

It would be a little surreal, but it would also give people at home something to grab onto a bit.

And man, time is unbeaten and untied. A guy like Justin Verlander or Zack Greinke or even Clayton Kershaw - those dudes are looking at just a few years left in the league. Or at/near their peaks.

Verlander has his ring(s) but Kershaw and Greinke, if you tell them that they just don't get a shot at it this year because games without fans would be weird, you're taking away one of their last, best shots at the culmination of a lifelong dream.

And then you look at cap sports like the NBA or NHL, you've got teams that made decisions with their cap for this season that are somewhat 'all-in' and now to what effect? The Lakers only have 2-3 years left with LeBron at/near this level. The Blues have pushed hard against their cap this year (likely to the detriment of the next few years) in an attempt to defend their cup.

I think if you can play games without fans in a way that doesn't pose a direct health risk to the players (rapid testing should allow for that), I think you should go ahead and play. It would be good for the national mood, IMO and it's a better solution for those players than just telling them they won't get a shot.

Everything's just a question of finding the best of bad options at this point, but I think there are enough factors weighing in favor of playing that all leagues should be looking for ways to do so.

Every ****ing bit of this.

[Donger]

Originally Posted by Mr_Tomahawk

I feel like the media has been painting a more doom and gloom picture the last few days so this is refreshing to read. Thank you.

I'd like someone better with math to confirm or correct. Italy is showing fewer daily case day over day, too.

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by penguinz

I heard on radio the other day that the players are also wanting to be paid and accrue the years playing time even if there is not a season. That is BS.

Doesn't bother me.

MLB players have guaranteed contracts and have done nothing in violation of them. Why shouldn't they get paid? The service time thing is a weird question because of how easily it can be manipulated. I don't really know how to address that one. For instance, should a guy like Wander Franco or Dylan Carlson, who were almost certainly going to end up on a 25 man rosters this year, get a full season worth of service time when teams were almost certainly going to wait until June to call them up? Luis Robert is a bit of a moot point because he signed a major league deal w/ his extension, but he'd have been another really interesting question.

And then someone like Rangel Ravelo or Austin Gomber, who are technically on the 25 man right now for STL but most assuredly would've been riding the Memphis shuttle back and forth for most of the year, should they get the full season? I think their argument would be that if they got hurt on day 1 and missed the full year, they would have, so why wouldn't this count the same way? But again, in a 'regular' world, Ravelo would've spent less time on an MLB roster this year than Carlson would've, but because Carlson isn't on the 40 man right now, he'll get nothing and Ravelo gets a full season?

Service time's just a real tricky question and I don't think there's a good answer.

[BleedingRed]

I get that doctors etc needed masks... But if everyone would have started wearing them wouldnt there be less infected, thus more PPE for medical professionals?

[Marcellus]

Originally Posted by Chief Roundup

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/us/

Scroll down about half way. You will see the graph named Daily New Cases. The graph shows that the new cases per day is slowing from the previous 10 days.

Its also worth noting that apparently yesterday's spike in deaths was related to Sunday's reporting being inaccurate due to NY not reporting completely on Sunday. If you average the 2 days its 468 and its a decrease from Saturday.

March 30 (GMT)
Due to delayed and incomplete reporting from New York State, we had to make adjustments to yesterday's totals in order to maintain the correct attribution of historical figures. US figures for Sunday, March 29 could still be incomplete.

[Bugeater]

Originally Posted by Donger

I'd like someone better with math to confirm or correct. Italy is showing fewer daily case day over day, too.

I ran the numbers and they're all looking good. EVERYONE GET YOUR ASSES BACK TO WORK NOW!

[BigRedChief]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

MLB has said they won't return with no crowds. At least that was the initial proposal agreed to between ownership and the MLBPA.

We'll see if they bend on that a little, but as it stands, MLB doesn't seem inclined to move forward if there are public health restrictions still in place.

I think the normalcy of baseball games after 9/11 did help the country move on. It was important. But, in this case, why would baseball risk it unless giving the all clear from scientists and the government to play baseball?

Question for the lawyer in ya:
If any business is open in America and not considered "essential" and your employees or customers catch coronavirus attending or patronizing their business, are they at legal risk of getting sued?

[BigRedChief]

Originally Posted by BleedingRed

I get that doctors etc needed masks... But if everyone would have started wearing them wouldnt there be less infected, thus more PPE for medical professionals?

What I've read is that you would need a BILLION masks in the USA to pull that off.