***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.”

[mr. tegu]

Originally Posted by Donger

Of course.

So it is something we should have been worrying about on January 21. He was wrong then by your measure?

[BigRedChief]

Originally Posted by Dartgod

Ok, I see no evidence that is what he is doing. You two seem to be steering it that way though, so please drop it.

okay, dropped.

[TLO]

Originally Posted by mr. tegu

Would preventative measures have been helpful at that time?

We would have had to keep every single person from every single region of the world from entering our country. Even by that date it may have been too late. The virus was likely already here.

[Bearcat]

Originally Posted by Dartgod

Ok, I see no evidence that is what he is doing. You two seem to be steering it that way though, so please drop it.

Yeah, this is the kind of shit that makes it impossible....

jdubya - I didn't read it as political, but figured from responses there was some kind of leakage from DC. As you said, it obviously got steered that way.

BRC's "the president has no business pushing an unproven drug from the White House podium...." - I'd say it kind of toes the line, but I get how the post in itself isn't political... it's about "leadership" and I assume talking about the difference between a leader and a doctor recommending an unproven drug.... OTOH, it can also easily be steered that direction.

LiveSteam's Dr. Deepstate -- I had to google that, but yeah, obviously DC.


I really don't get why it's so ****ing hard for people.

[Donger]

Originally Posted by mr. tegu

So it is something we should have been worrying about on January 21. He was wrong then by your measure?

He was worried about it. He said it should be taken seriously. He said it wasn't a major threat "at this time." Which was when there was one case here.

No, he wasn't wrong at all.

[mlyonsd]

Originally Posted by BigRedChief

how is that political?

Saying those who are advocating for Americans to take unproven drugs is wrong is now a political statement.

okay, dropped.

[TLO]

[BigRedChief]

Originally Posted by mlyonsd

okay, dropped.

I miss you sometimes. Not often but sometimes.

[Donger]

Originally Posted by TLO

What's wrong with you!? That is NOT social distancing!

[Mr_Tomahawk]

Anyways...



Anything to take away from today’s new cases/deaths compared to the last few days? Doesn’t seem like we have deviated much, of any, from the totals over the last few days....

Could this be the beginning of the curve flattening out?

[Bowser]

Originally Posted by Mr_Tomahawk

Anyways...



Anything to take away from today’s new cases/deaths compared to the last few days? Doesn’t seem like we have deviated much, of any, from the totals over the last few days....

Could this be the beginning of the curve flattening out?

That would be a welcome sight. But didn't this happen last Sunday with the numbers, as well? *not jinxing*

[Donger]

Originally Posted by Mr_Tomahawk

Anyways...



Anything to take away from today’s new cases/deaths compared to the last few days? Doesn’t seem like we have deviated much, of any, from the totals over the last few days....

Could this be the beginning of the curve flattening out?

I can't imagine that we'll see another 10,000 new cases today. If so, that's a good day, but that's all it is. We need to see a few days to a week of decline, even with an occasional outlier day.

I've posted this before, but here's this year's flu season:



As you can see, it's not a pretty curve. But trends can be seen. And pretty much every year looks like this. I'm a freak, so I follow it every year. And that's with no mitigation.

[mr. tegu]

Originally Posted by Donger

He was worried about it. He said it should be taken seriously. He said it wasn't a major threat "at this time." Which was when there was one case here.

No, he wasn't wrong at all.

You are completely contradictory. Either you believe it was a threat and we should be worried about it on that date or you don’t. He said it “wasn’t a major threat and people shouldn’t be worried right now.” You responded he was right.

Yet you believe preventative measures on that day were needed. So you seem to disagree with him because if he was right then he would have started talking about the need to take preventative measures. So was he right then or are you right that preventative measures were needed then?

This is all moot anyways because just based on his statement, even with the “right now” qualifier you are hanging on to, he was wrong based on what we now know. It was obviously a threat at that time and we should have started worrying about it then.

[TLO]

Originally Posted by Dartgod

It's not.

Originally Posted by Bearcat

Yeah, this is the kind of shit that makes it impossible....

jdubya - I didn't read it as political, but figured from responses there was some kind of leakage from DC. As you said, it obviously got steered that way.

BRC's "the president has no business pushing an unproven drug from the White House podium...." - I'd say it kind of toes the line, but I get how the post in itself isn't political... it's about "leadership" and I assume talking about the difference between a leader and a doctor recommending an unproven drug.... OTOH, it can also easily be steered that direction.

LiveSteam's Dr. Deepstate -- I had to google that, but yeah, obviously DC.


I really don't get why it's so ****ing hard for people.

As someone who spends far too much time following this thread, we go through cycles throughout each day.

We start with doom and gloom hour.
We then get pissed with one another for a little bit. (Usually something political is brought up, but it's policed pretty well by the regulars in here)
Something optimistic is shared. We discuss theraputics and such
BRC says something about ventilators.
Sometimes at this point Austin Chief shows up and it turns into a bloodbath for a while. I stand back and don't dare get involved.
We all kind of lighten up for a while. I guess because it's lunch time.
Afternoon reports come out and we're back to doom and gloom.
Deberg or someone else random posts a random tweet that's kind of funny and takes our minds off doom and gloom.
The President has his daily press briefing and everyone gets kinda pissy again. (More borderline political stuff pops up, but again, it's usually policed pretty well)
Demonpenz pops in and says something I have to read 3 or 4 times to try and figure out what he means.
I assume people start drinking because the mood lightens. We discuss daily numbers and hope for a better outcome tomorrow.
End

[Donger]

Originally Posted by Bowser

That would be a welcome sight. But didn't this happen last Sunday with the numbers, as well? *not jinxing*

No. March 29 was the penultimate day of when the curve was going convex. Then March 31 ****ed things up, darn it.