***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.”

[petegz28]

Originally Posted by Bearcat

So, you don't think if there was a large umbrella-like thing between your hand and the drywall, that it wouldn't make a difference in the amount of dust headed towards your face?

A large umbrella thing? Be kinda hard to sand drywall with a large umbrella thing in front of me, wouldn't it???

[petegz28]

Originally Posted by TLO

I haven't really looked at much of the research on masks. Is there anything that says even basic cloth or surgical masks can block the intake of droplets from others?

Wearing them to protect you from intake is not going to do much. People will claim it will and if used in a very, very strict way it could. But between gaps in the masks, people touching the mask with their hands, the mask sitting up close to your eyes, etc.....in all practical terms it won't help much unless the droplets are big.

[KS Smitty]

Originally Posted by petegz28

A large umbrella thing? Be kinda hard to sand drywall with a large umbrella thing in front of me, wouldn't it???

Which is why it's a silly comparison.

[Bearcat]

Originally Posted by Bugeater

I have no idea if it was dumb or not. If I covered my face with a cloth mask and sanded drywall for an hour and my mouth and nose were full of dust when finished, I'd say it's a valid point.

My 2 cents would be...
- You're blasting your face with dust, so even if your mask only lets in 10% of everything, that 10% is going to be significant. It's still blocking 90% of it.

- You're probably not getting blasted with Covid like you would with drywall dust.

- As allewded to (see what I did there), if Covid dude's mask is blocking even 50% of things leaving his mouth with a mask, and you're blocking another 50 or 60 or 95% of things going into yours... it's going to help. Maybe it reduces the risk from 20% to 10% or whatever, for that particle to fly into your mouth.

[Bearcat]

Originally Posted by petegz28

A large umbrella thing? Be kinda hard to sand drywall with a large umbrella thing in front of me, wouldn't it???

via GIPHY

[lewdog]

Watch to see how far droplets travel in various masks.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/abc13.c...demic/6287825/

I can’t embed video for some reason.

[Bugeater]

Originally Posted by petegz28

A large umbrella thing? Be kinda hard to sand drywall with a large umbrella thing in front of me, wouldn't it???

I'm thinking about trying it...

[tk13]

Originally Posted by TLO

I haven't really looked at much of the research on masks. Is there anything that says even basic cloth or surgical masks can block the intake of droplets from others?

Everything I've seen has said it's much less about blocking intake than blocking output. These guys used a basic washcloth and showed how it blocked a large amount of particles coming out of the guy's mouth. There's even a video.

https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMc2007800

[petegz28]

Originally Posted by lewdog

Watch to see how far droplets travel in various masks.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/abc13.c...demic/6287825/

I can’t embed video for some reason.

So if it's blocking that much on the way out, how much air do you think it's blocking on the way in?

I can tell you now since we have had to wear these more and more at work and such after about 15-20 mins of a mask on, even a surgical one, I start getting a sore throat. Not terribly sore or enough to make me pull the mask off but noticeable.

[petegz28]

Originally Posted by tk13

Everything I've seen has said it's much less about blocking intake than blocking output. These guys used a basic washcloth and showed how it blocked a large amount of particles coming out of the guy's mouth. There's even a video.

https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMc2007800

It is about blocking but when I brought that up a few weeks ago suddenly Donger and a few others started the whole "it goes both ways" argument.

[lewdog]

Originally Posted by petegz28

So if it's blocking that much on the way out, how much air do you think it's blocking on the way in?

I can tell you now since we have had to wear these more and more at work and such after about 15-20 mins of a mask on, even a surgical one, I start getting a sore throat. Not terribly sore or enough to make me pull the mask off but noticeable.

You’re a ****ing pussy then. We wear them 8+ hours a day. Pregnant woman nurses in full PPE gear.

If wearing a mask causes you that many problems, you shouldn’t be leaving the house in a pandemic because you’re clearly not healthy.

[petegz28]

Originally Posted by TLO

We're gonna be under that by a lot.

We cracked the 50k mark so the media is creaming themselves. But yes, it looks like we are going to be under the 819 by well over 100 deaths.

[petegz28]

Originally Posted by lewdog

You’re a ****ing pussy then. We wear them 8+ hours a day. Pregnant woman nurses in full PPE gear.

If wearing a mask causes you that many problems, you shouldn’t be leaving the house in a pandemic because you’re clearly not healthy.

Well you're a ****ing tough guy......how'd those masks work out for you again?

Sorry, you made me go there with the pussy remark. Now go have a Manhattan and before you get the ring hand.

[loochy]

Originally Posted by lewdog

You’re a ****ing pussy then. We wear them 8+ hours a day. Pregnant woman nurses in full PPE gear.

If wearing a mask causes you that many problems, you shouldn’t be leaving the house in a pandemic because you’re clearly not healthy.

He clearly has a Planet Fitness-esque work ethic and pain tolerance.

[lewdog]

Originally Posted by petegz28

Well you're a ****ing tough guy......how'd those masks work out for you again?

Sorry, you made me go there with the pussy remark. Now go have a Manhattan and before you get the ring hand.

And since then we’ve tightened our PPE use even further, now including masks and face shields. Even wearing them in our therapy office, which is how we probably shared it last time because we were laxed around each other.