***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.”

[KS Smitty]

Glad to see all the good news on vaccines. We've been pretty lucky here til recently, some comments from local hospitals:

Via Christys hospital president in Manhattan says "The number of people in the hospital with coronavirus here is surging, but so far the hospital’s capacity hasn’t been stretched too far. The big question, according to the hospital’s leader, is whether staff members start getting sick." Full article https://themercury.com/news/hospital...b09768ebb.html

The 2 hospitals in Pott County request commissioners to reverse course and adopt the governor’s executive order mandating the wearing of facial coverings in public.
The rising number of COVID-19 cases in the county has strained hospital resources and wearing masks is the best means of stemming the spread of the virus, administrators said.
“It’s basically an issue of staff and resources to run our hospitals and clinics,” said Todd Willert, CEO of Community HealthCare System, headquartered at Onaga.
The strain on hospitals also has affected people receiving care for other matters. EMS Director Hal Bumgarner said patient transfers are taking much longer due to the lack of ICU beds in communities such as Manhattan and Topeka. Last week, patients were transferred as far away as El Dorado and Nebraska, he said.
Steve Land, administrator of Wamego Health Center, said the rate for those tested positive for the virus has skyrocketed in the past two weeks — from 5% to 9% to 26%.
Leslie Campbell, Pott County health director, supported the position of the hospital administrators and said masks should be worn in public at all times.
“We’re having lots of transmission,” Campbell said. “We’ve had 50 new cases since Friday and there are probably another 150 cases we don’t know about.”
“Everyone’s being affected,” Campbell went on. “There have been more people in the hospital in the last three weeks than the whole time (since this started). Right now, wearing a mask would be the best thing."
FYI Pott County has never enacted a mask mandate only a mask recommendation.
https://themercury.com/news/pott-cou...002a70179.html

Stormont Vails CEOs press release includes: "We have hope that with vaccines on the horizon, we can eventually stop living this COVID-19 nightmare. But the next few weeks and months promise to be a continuation if people don’t wake up, realize that we are in a crisis and respond appropriately. Our healthcare team members need the help of everyone – and it starts with recognition that we are in a full-blown pandemic crisis and all of us set aside whatever it is that prompts us to act dangerously and commit to responsible behaviors. They aren’t difficult. Just do it! Wear a mask, social distance, wash your hands, avoid crowds and stay home when you can. Now." This was posted on Facebook so no linky-dink

[dirk digler]

Originally Posted by DaFace

Well, since your daughter says it, that settles it.

She works on the front line on a Level 1 Trauma\Covid unit in KC so she would know what they try to do. Research gets the all the cases others can't handle.

[Pants]

Originally Posted by dirk digler

She works on the front line on a Level 1 Trauma\Covid unit in KC so she would know what they try to do. Research gets the all the cases others can't handle.

Your daughter sounds awesome and you should be a really proud father. I know I would be. Please let her know that she is appreciated by people like us and we are very grateful for heroes like her. I'm being serious.

At the same time, she probably did not have much experience with SARS1 so I am not sure why the comparisons are even happening. SARS1 was very deadly but it did not spread like wildfire.

[DaFace]

Originally Posted by dirk digler

She works on the front line on a Level 1 Trauma\Covid unit in KC so she would know what they try to do. Research gets the all the cases others can't handle.

Just saying that I don't trust your anecdotal stories any more than I trust Pete's. My grandpa's doctor thinks COVID is largely overblown, for example.

[LTL]

Originally Posted by dirk digler

No it doesn't act the same otherwise they would know how to treat it but they really don't. My daughter deals with it every day and she tells me the doctor's\nurses are throwing shit against the wall to see if it sticks.

I dunno about acting the same just know your daughter is right about docs n nurses are throwing alot of different stuff at it to see what sticks.

[dirk digler]

Originally Posted by Pants

Your daughter sounds awesome and you should be a really proud father. I know I would be. Please let her know that she is appreciated by people like us and we are very grateful for heroes like her. I'm being serious.

At the same time, she probably did not have much experience with SARS1 so I am not sure why the comparisons are even happening. SARS1 was very deadly but it did not spread like wildfire.

Thanks. Maybe the better response would be yes maybe the virus acts the same but our bodies immune response doesn't.

Originally Posted by DaFace

Just saying that I don't trust your anecdotal stories any more than I trust Pete's. My grandpa's doctor thinks COVID is largely overblown, for example.

Well I thought it would be useful to hear from someone who is actually in the shit.

Just so I could explain better they go through their normal treatment protocols, but each patient is different, some work, some don't, it is largely a guessing game...still

[Chris Meck]

Originally Posted by htismaqe

Do you think the music scene will eventually recover?

We've lost a few well-known venues over the last few weeks. Things are looking bleak for people that do this for a living. My gig is only part-time so it's more just frustrating to me not being able to play but I've got a buddy that is doing construction work and things aren't looking good.

Man, I don't know.

This is going to string out until at least summer, and I doubt many venues are going to be able to float it that long to be honest.

Things will for sure look a lot different. Probably a lot more pop-up events and non-traditional venue shows. Probably a lot less bigger events and established venues.

[htismaqe]

Originally Posted by Chris Meck

Man, I don't know.

This is going to string out until at least summer, and I doubt many venues are going to be able to float it that long to be honest.

Things will for sure look a lot different. Probably a lot more pop-up events and non-traditional venue shows. Probably a lot less bigger events and established venues.

There's a handful of venues around here that are really the "Crown Jewels" of the Des Moines scene, for whatever that's worth.

My daughter had played a few shows last winter leading up to what was going to be a one night festival at one of those venues.

That show got canceled and over the summer, they announced they would be closing forever.

Now she has to basically start over from the bottom and work her way up again. She's probably off to college by then, so the window has kind of passed her by.

[LTL]

Originally Posted by Chris Meck

Man, I don't know.

This is going to string out until at least summer, and I doubt many venues are going to be able to float it that long to be honest.

Things will for sure look a lot different. Probably a lot more pop-up events and non-traditional venue shows. Probably a lot less bigger events and established venues.

Fat thumb caused me to hit downvote. Didn't mean that at all

[Chris Meck]

Originally Posted by htismaqe

There's a handful of venues around here that are really the "Crown Jewels" of the Des Moines scene, for whatever that's worth.

My daughter had played a few shows last winter leading up to what was going to be a one night festival at one of those venues.

That show got canceled and over the summer, they announced they would be closing forever.

Now she has to basically start over from the bottom and work her way up again. She's probably off to college by then, so the window has kind of passed her by.

Yeah. It's not a high margin business to begin with; and anyone still hanging on at this point is barely doing so.

Places with low overhead have the best chance, obviously. But at this point it's going to be well over a year between 'normal' operating levels.

[BigCatDaddy]

Originally Posted by LTL

Fat thumb caused me to hit downvote. Didn't mean that at all

Why do you hate Chris's post?

[htismaqe]

Originally Posted by Chris Meck

Yeah. It's not a high margin business to begin with; and anyone still hanging on at this point is barely doing so.

Places with low overhead have the best chance, obviously. But at this point it's going to be well over a year between 'normal' operating levels.

One of the venues she played is a secondary business across from the owner's record / music store. It's the most likely one to recover once the lockdowns end but it's also one of the smallest venues on her list.

[LTL]

Originally Posted by BigCatDaddy

Why do you hate Chris's post?

Don't hate it at all. Was scrolling and my thumb pressed to hard. Didn't mean to. Nothing more to it

[Chris Meck]

Originally Posted by htismaqe

One of the venues she played is a secondary business across from the owner's record / music store. It's the most likely one to recover once the lockdowns end but it's also one of the smallest venues on her list.

Yeah I think the bigger, nicer the venue the less likely it's going to survive.

For example-

here in KC, a place like The Brick, which is a small, neighborhood bar and grill that does live music on the weekends-will make it because the owner owns the building and does a solid restaurant business during normal times. She's not dependent on the live music aspect. Kind of like your record store venue. The shows are secondary.

Knuckleheads probably makes it because it's in a low priced real estate area and I think Frank owns the building. I'm not certain of that, but I believe it's the case. Anyway, it's in the east bottoms. It's not a high priced real estate situation.

I'm very concerned about The Record Bar; that rent cannot be cheap. They've been doing social distanced outdoor shows in a parking lot behind Voltaire down in the west bottoms, but it can't be all that lucrative.

The rent in the Crossroads area has skyrocketed in the last decade and I'm concerned about anything down there surviving to be honest.

Westport from what I've seen has just largely ignored that there is a plague. I avoid that shitshow anyway for the most part. I feel bad for The Saloon, but the rest of it can all turn into a giant Pickleman's for all I care. The rent is sky-high in that district.

[KCUnited]

Feel the venues most likely to survive here are part of an ownership group, similar to bars/restaurants. There's been a big #saveourstages push, as well as, fundraisers and such, but its getting dire.