***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.”

[BWillie]

Originally Posted by 'Hamas' Jenkins

Deaths are not going to continue to drop. Looking at record death numbers in states like California and Arizona should make that painfully obvious.

They might. It appears more of the cases being reported to Worldometers, etc are less severe cases than those earlier in the year.

I would imagine the reason for that is more availability of testing and more younger ppl acquiring the virus vs older. Perhaps the virus has mutated to a less deadly disease? What is your idea of why more cases now are less severe than before?

If all things were equal from the reported cases from Mar, April etc then we would expect to see 2500+ deaths a day in a few weeks. I don't think we are going to see near that much, although there will be an uptick.

[Donger]

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed an executive order on Thursday mandating face coverings in public places "in counties with 20 or more positive COVID-19 cases, with a few exceptions," according to a statement.

This order will currently impact about 67% of Texas counties, according to state data.

The text of the executive order says that failing to comply is punishable by a fine.

The statement also said Abbott issued another proclamation that gives mayors and county judges the ability to restrict some outdoor gatherings with more than 10 people. The proclamation also mandates "people cannot be in groups larger than ten and must maintain six feet of social distancing from others."

"Wearing a face covering in public is proven to be one of the most effective ways we have to slow the spread of COVID-19,” Abbott said in the statement. “We have the ability to keep businesses open and move our economy forward so that Texans can continue to earn a paycheck, but it requires each of us to do our part to protect one another — and that means wearing a face covering in public spaces."

"I urge all Texans to wear a face covering in public, not just for their own health, but for the health of their families, friends, and for all our fellow Texans," the statement added.

The latest numbers: Texas reported at least 8,076 new Covid-19 cases yesterday, the state's highest number of cases in a single day.

[loochy]

Originally Posted by Donger

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed an executive order on Thursday mandating face coverings in public places "in counties with 20 or more positive COVID-19 cases, with a few exceptions," according to a statement.

This order will currently impact about 67% of Texas counties, according to state data.

The text of the executive order says that failing to comply is punishable by a fine.

The statement also said Abbott issued another proclamation that gives mayors and county judges the ability to restrict some outdoor gatherings with more than 10 people. The proclamation also mandates "people cannot be in groups larger than ten and must maintain six feet of social distancing from others."

"Wearing a face covering in public is proven to be one of the most effective ways we have to slow the spread of COVID-19,” Abbott said in the statement. “We have the ability to keep businesses open and move our economy forward so that Texans can continue to earn a paycheck, but it requires each of us to do our part to protect one another — and that means wearing a face covering in public spaces."

"I urge all Texans to wear a face covering in public, not just for their own health, but for the health of their families, friends, and for all our fellow Texans," the statement added.

The latest numbers: Texas reported at least 8,076 new Covid-19 cases yesterday, the state's highest number of cases in a single day.

Good. It's such a simple thing that can help, even if just a little bit. Mask usage appeared to be down near 20% over the last month or so, but people have complied well lately with our county driven order. The only exception I've seen was yesterday by a man that claimed it was illegal to wear a mask while doing concealed carry. He said that he got in trouble from a cop yesterday because of it.

[dirk digler]

Originally Posted by Donger

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed an executive order on Thursday mandating face coverings in public places "in counties with 20 or more positive COVID-19 cases, with a few exceptions," according to a statement.

This order will currently impact about 67% of Texas counties, according to state data.

The text of the executive order says that failing to comply is punishable by a fine.

The statement also said Abbott issued another proclamation that gives mayors and county judges the ability to restrict some outdoor gatherings with more than 10 people. The proclamation also mandates "people cannot be in groups larger than ten and must maintain six feet of social distancing from others."

"Wearing a face covering in public is proven to be one of the most effective ways we have to slow the spread of COVID-19,” Abbott said in the statement. “We have the ability to keep businesses open and move our economy forward so that Texans can continue to earn a paycheck, but it requires each of us to do our part to protect one another — and that means wearing a face covering in public spaces."

"I urge all Texans to wear a face covering in public, not just for their own health, but for the health of their families, friends, and for all our fellow Texans," the statement added.

The latest numbers: Texas reported at least 8,076 new Covid-19 cases yesterday, the state's highest number of cases in a single day.

Didn't he say a few weeks ago he didn't have the power to do this? I guess he does now.

[petegz28]

Originally Posted by kgrund

Discussed yesterday, but the Arizona reported deaths is very questionable given that deaths by date of death up to yesterday in Arizona reported 78 deaths combined from the 7 days prior to yesterday. Believe we will ultimately find out this was a backlog of "suspected" COVID-19 deaths from prior weeks or months. Most people see that number and they are expecting that number to represent who died the day prior or couple of days prior. What many are finding out is a good deal of these numbers are a backlog of suspected deaths from COVID-19 from weeks and months prior.

And Az is back to 37 deaths at the moment....

[Demonpenz]

Serious question. I don't know how you would test this...but what if the virus just had killed so many of the old people that it didn't have any old people left to feed on. Is there anyway to tell that the virus isn't getting weaker or we aren't doing a better job with masks, it's just killed everyone it could.

[DaFace]

Originally Posted by Demonpenz

Serious question. I don't know how you would test this...but what if the virus just had killed so many of the old people that it didn't have any old people left to feed on. Is there anyway to tell that the virus isn't getting weaker or we aren't doing a better job with masks, it's just killed everyone it could.

That's a form of the herd immunity theory that O.City has been big on. In theory, even if the entire population isn't "immune," clusters of people (like those in hospitals and nursing homes) have either gotten it already or won't.

The antibody testing makes it seem unlikely that that's happening, but if there's any truth to the idea that a significant portion of people are naturally immune (e.g., because they got a related coronavirus recently), it's theoretically possible as far as I understand it.

[Demonpenz]

Originally Posted by DaFace

That's a form of the herd immunity theory that O.City has been big on. In theory, even if the entire population isn't "immune," clusters of people (like those in hospitals and nursing homes) have either gotten it already or won't.

The antibody testing makes it seem unlikely that that's happening, but if there's any truth to the idea that a significant portion of people are naturally immune (e.g., because they got a related coronavirus recently), it's theoretically possible as far as I understand it.

i just wonder if we start getting way up there in deaths if the virus dies out because there is no one around to spread it to. They are all frozen semi-trucks.

[petegz28]

TP is starting to get hoarded again. WTF is wrong with people?

[Bearcat]

Originally Posted by petegz28

TP is starting to get hoarded again. WTF is wrong with people?

I still have some from early March and I wasn't hoarding at the time.

[petegz28]

Wife says she heard on the radio that the JoCo mask rule is going to match with KC which would end July 12th. I have not seen that anywhere myself.

[petegz28]

Do as we say, not as we do, right???

Kelly’s order doesn’t apply to the Legislature’s meetings or to the courts, but the Kansas Supreme Court on Thursday ordered masks to be worn in judicial proceedings.

https://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireSt...-work-71576176


How convenient of her to exclude herself from wearing a mask at work.

[petegz28]

Originally Posted by TLO

This is also a very good point.

Thought we might break the 637 level as Worldometers was at 615 but then I actually watched it go down to 608.....we might actually pull under.

[Shiver Me Timbers]

Originally Posted by petegz28

TP is starting to get hoarded again. WTF is wrong with people?

Shit happens

[petegz28]

All this chatter about Florida and Texas, people need to be looking at CA who just hit 100 deaths for the day.

While everyone has been focused elsewhere the last 2 weeks, CA has passed NJ in total cases and is starting to look not very good at all.