***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.”

[patteeu]

Originally Posted by DaFace

My point is that it's silly to act like this is all China's fault when the U.S.'s cuisine has caused just as many issues like this.

Saying that China should do something about it is essentially saying that they should eliminate world hunger. In a perfect world, sure, but some issues can't be fixed easily.

I think the criticism that China let it go too long before admitting there was a problem is still in play though. And their densely-populated, live-animal-infested living conditions aren't reducing their risk of spawning new viruses. Both of those issues offer room for improvement.

[DaFace]

Originally Posted by patteeu

I think the criticism that China let it go too long before admitting there was a problem is still in play though. And their densely-populated, live-animal-infested living conditions aren't reducing their risk of spawning new viruses. Both of those issues offer room for improvement.

Sure. But none those issues are easy to fix. It's like saying that we should eliminate poverty.

[BigRedChief]

Originally Posted by dlphg9

So my stepdad is in the hospital recovering from the surgery to remove the cancer. He is in the ICU, has COPD, CHF, and a suppressed immune system due to the radiation and chemo. The hospital has taken measures to try and keep COVID-19 from spreading around the hospital.

Limiting the hours you can visit (7:30 am to 6:30 pm) - Im not an expert on viruses, but this seems to be a pointless tactic. I am pretty sure that the virus doesnt give a **** what time of day it is. They really should be turning all visitors away, unless they are willing to wear a mask at all times, so that in case a person has it they are limiting the chances of spreading it.

Limiting the number of visitors at a time to 2 - another pointless tactic. The visiting hours are 11 hours long. Limiting the amount of people that can be in the room doesn't really do much, especially when there are 11 hours in which they can come visit. If 2 people visit for an hour, then that means 22 people could visit in just one day. I dont think most people even have that many people visit.

Screenings at the door - I think most people know that if they are feeling sick they shouldn't visit the hospital and since you can have no symptoms for up to 2 weeks and still pass this thing around the screenings may keep a couple people from visiting.

I told my mom that she really shouldnt even be visiting because a lot more people have this than what have been tested, so if youve been out going into stores the last few days theres a chance you've been exposed to it and dont even know it. I told her to wear a mask anytime shes in the room and shes very good about washing her hands, so im not too concerned.

One thing that does concern me however is the employees. Chances are fairly good that KC has a good amount of people with this thing and just don't have the symptoms yet. These nurses and other employees of the hospital go out around town on their days off and have probably been exposed as well and since it takes awhile for the symptoms to show up some of them could unknowingly have it and give it to a patient. I asked my mom if the nurses are wearing masks while in the room and she said no and that concerns the hell out of me.

The hospital is treating the coronavirus like it is less severe than the flu. Hell during flu season if you decline to get a flu shot they make you wear a mask either all the time or during the times you interact with patients to protect the patient, just because you didnt get a flu shot. Why are they not requiring workers to wear masks for this because there is no vaccine, you dont have to even have syptoms to spread this, and it's alot more contagious. It just infuriates me that they don't have more precautions there, especially in the ICU of all places. If my stepdad happened to get this then he more than likely would die from it.

no worries about the coronavirus. Im assuming he’s already on a vent. It’s going to be no different for a patient with COPD post surgery that gets a new bug like pneumonia. They are already on a vent. It will take longer to get him off the vent because of the diminished lung capacity due to the COPD.

In my 10 years, we never lost anyone post surgery that picked up a bug post surgery and the COPD kept them from eventually walking out the door. You and the step- dad can just concentrate on kicking cancers ass.

[staylor26]

Originally Posted by DaFace

My point is that it's silly to act like this is all China's fault when the U.S.'s cuisine has caused just as many issues like this.

Saying that China should do something about it is essentially saying that they should eliminate world hunger. In a perfect world, sure, but some issues can't be fixed easily.

Eating raw wild animals is their culture.

That’s a far cry from eating cooked chicken and pork. You would think this is obvious and common sense, but apparently not.

Asking them to at least cook those wild animals isn’t too much.

Also, funny how you went from saying this isn’t dangerous to this isn’t China’s fault.

[kgrund]

Originally Posted by patteeu

I think the criticism that China let it go too long before admitting there was a problem is still in play though. And their densely-populated, live-animal-infested living conditions aren't reducing their risk of spawning new viruses. Both of those issues offer room for improvement.

Forget about not admitting a problem, they let people fly to other countries when they knew they likely were infected.

[DaFace]

Originally Posted by staylor26

Eating raw wild animals is their culture.

That’s a far cry from eating cooked chicken and pork. You would think this is obvious and common sense, but apparently not.

Asking them to at least cook those wild animals isn’t too much.

Do you think it's wealthy people who eat raw meat?

[DaFace]

Originally Posted by kgrund

Forget about not admitting a problem, they let people fly to other countries when they knew they likely were infected.

Yeah, who would leave their airports open when there's a pandemic? (Hint: Denver just infected Iceland.)

[SupDock]

Originally Posted by BigRedChief

no worries about the coronavirus. Im assuming he’s already on a vent. It’s going to be no different for a patient with COPD post surgery that gets a new bug like pneumonia. They are already on a vent. It will take longer to get him off the vent because of the diminished lung capacity due to the COPD.

In my 10 years, we never lost anyone post surgery that picked up a bug post surgery and the COPD kept them from eventually walking out the door. You and the step- dad can just concentrate on kicking cancers ass.

Your post confuses me.

Why are post-surgical patients already on a vent when they get a nosocomial infection?

You have never seen a post-op patient develop a nosocomial infection and die?

[staylor26]

Originally Posted by DaFace

Do you think it's wealthy people who eat raw meat?

I’ve seen pictures/videos that are clearly restaurants serving this. They might not be rich, but they aren’t dirt poor either.

[Chief Pagan]

Originally Posted by TLO

Above 5% out of how many cases?

It remains be seen how many people end up getting the virus.

I believe a CDC official said 20% of the population might get the virus in a plausible bad case scenario.

There are around 80 million Americans between the age of 30 and 50. If 20% of that age group get the virus and only 1% need intensive care, that is 160,000 hospital beds.

There are only around a hundred thousand ICU beds in the US and it isn't like they are mostly sitting empty during normal times.

Hence the need to slow the spread.

[Donger]

Originally Posted by DaFace

Do you think it's wealthy people who eat raw meat?

Yes, wealthy people in China eat bushmeat.

[sedated]

Arguing about what other cultures halfway around the globe should do or believe is a giant waste of time.

But I guess we are all bored afterall

[O.city]

France getting hit hard now

[Donger]

Originally Posted by sedated

Arguing about what other cultures halfway around the globe should do or believe is a giant waste of time.

But I guess we are all bored afterall

No, it isn't. Again, eating bushmeat caused SARS in 2002. It very likely caused COVID-19.

[DaFace]

Originally Posted by sedated

Arguing about what other cultures halfway around the globe should do or believe is a giant waste of time.

But I guess we are all bored afterall

Agreed.