***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.”

[Saulbadguy]

Originally Posted by petegz28

Wait until all these kids need glasses from staring at a screen all day long

I'd venture to say that since I was 15, at least 75% of my waking hours were spent staring at a screen.

[MahomesMagic]

Originally Posted by O.city

Yep.

I think we got it all wrong with using the PCR test to find asymptomatic spread or potential of in that it will throw alot of "positives" that aren't really positives. It just wasn't really designed as a true public health tool.

Plus with this whole thing, the biggest issue we're having is time or lack there of. We need to identify those who are actually transmitting or shedding virus, not really those who have slight positives.

Carl Heneghan was saying 24 cycles. Others were saying 25 to 30 cycles.

Instead we are running at 37 and 40 cycles and using these results to shut down businesses. Incredible.

[petegz28]

Originally Posted by MahomesMagic

Carl Heneghan was saying 24 cycles. Others were saying 25 to 30 cycles.

Instead we are running at 37 and 40 cycles and using these results to shut down businesses. Incredible.

And the media glosses right over it.

[htismaqe]

Originally Posted by jdubya

It`s not sustainable thats for sure. The teachers know it as well but this is all new to them. My daughter is an A student but she wont be able to keep up this pace much longer. She used to run for an hour a day but she hasnt left the house in 2 weeks because she has too much work to do. Saturdays and Sundays are at least 8 hour days for homework.

PETE: My daughter has been prone to occasional migraines and now uses those "blue light" glasses when on the computer but I dont know if that makes a difference long term as far as vision.

Crap like this is why we ended up home schooling.

My oldest daughter took a couple of college classes through the high school, all of her staples through homeschooling, and still had time to work a full-time job.

She MAYBE did 3 hours of school a day (sometimes more, sometimes less, since it's all based on workload and not some predetermined schedule) and ended up with test scores in the 99th percentile and offers to attend college pretty much wherever she wants.

[O.city]

https://www.pnas.org/content/early/2.../28/2008281117

Good news on the vaccine front. Basically, none of the mutations will cause any difference in an immune response so we shouldn't have much trouble with it.

[TLO]

Originally Posted by O.city

https://www.pnas.org/content/early/2.../28/2008281117

Good news on the vaccine front. Basically, none of the mutations will cause any difference in an immune response so we shouldn't have much trouble with it.

I saw this. Great news.

I wish we could see the phase 3 data in real time.

[Donger]

I read that AstraZeneca has begun their Phase 3 trial in the US and A.

[Donger]

(CNN)A White House coronavirus task force report sent to officials in Iowa this week warns of dire new case increases across rural and urban areas of the state and calls for a mask mandate, the closure of bars and a plan from universities as the pandemic intensifies in the Midwest.

CNN has obtained the 9-page August 30 report for the state, first reported by the Des Moines Register, from the Iowa Department of Public Health. The task force releases state-by-state reports each week to governors' offices, and has so far declined to make them publicly available.

The report says that Iowa is in the task force-defined "red zone" and warns that the state has the highest rate of cases in the US, which increased by 77.4% from the previous week.

"Iowa is in the red zone for cases, indicating more than 100 new cases per 100,000 population last week, with the highest rate in the country. Iowa is in the red zone for test positivity, indicating a rate above 10%, with the 5th highest rate in the country," the report says, an increase in both cases and test positivity over the last week.

The report offers recommendations to Iowa, including strongly encouraging a mask mandate. Iowa does not currently mandate masks.

"Mask mandates across the state must be in place to decrease transmission," the report says.

It also says bars "must be closed" and indoor dining "must be restricted to 50% of normal capacity in yellow zone and 25% of normal capacity in red zone counties and metro areas."

In the report, the task force points to universities as a major factor contributing to the virus' spread.

"University towns need a comprehensive plan that scales immediately for testing all returning students with routine surveillance testing to immediately identify new cases and outbreaks and isolate and quarantine," the report says.

The three counties with the highest numbers of cases also have large student populations, including Iowa State University in Story County and the University of Iowa in Johnson County, as well as Polk County, which contains Iowa's largest metro area, Des Moines.

The report comes less than two weeks before Iowa State University will welcome crowds to its stadium for its season opener football game. Though social distancing will be observed, a letter from the school's athletic director estimated "there will be approximately 25,000 fans at the first game." The task force report suggests red zone counties should limit gatherings to 10 or fewer people.

The test positivity rate for Iowa State students in the second week of testing is 28.8%. At the University of Iowa, there have been 935 self-reported cases in students and employees since the semester began on August 18.

There are also concerns, per the task force's report, about spread in nursing homes, calling the number of nursing homes with more than one resident testing positive "concerning."

[petegz28]

This is the chart that Dr. Norman from the KDHE should have used instead of the two charts with a different axis on each chart to make one look worse than the other

[htismaqe]

Bars in the red zone counties are already closed. They've been closed, in some cases, for weeks and won't even begin to open until September 20th, if things relax. Almost all restaurants are at 50% capacity or less and maintaining 6 feet of separation. Most of the college towns already have plans in place.

This article from CNN is essentially saying we need to do things in Iowa that we're already doing.

Furthermore, it's kind of interesting that they don't mention red zone counties that don't have any college, like mine. The reason we're a hot zone is because a government-protected manufacturing entity isn't following protocol and forcing people to work while they are sick or face discipline, including termination.

[Donger]

Originally Posted by htismaqe

Bars in the red zone counties are already closed. They've been closed, in some cases, for weeks and won't even begin to open until September 20th, if things relax.

All of them?

[Donger]

Local source:

https://www.desmoinesregister.com/st...ry/3449153001/

White House coronavirus experts warned Iowa leaders Sunday, Aug. 30, that the state has the country's steepest coronavirus outbreak, and the state should close bars in 61 counties and test all returning college students for the virus.

The recommended actions are significantly stronger than ones put in place by Gov. Kim Reynolds, who last week ordered bars closed in six counties.

[MahomesMagic]

The COVID Pandemic Could Lead to 75,000 Additional Deaths from Alcohol and Drug Misuse and Suicide

Alongside the thousands of deaths from COVID-19, the growing epidemic of “deaths of despair” is increasing due to the pandemic—as many as 75,000 more people will die from drug or alcohol misuse and suicide, according to new research released by Well Being Trust (WBT) and the Robert Graham Center for Policy Studies in Family Medicine and Primary Care.

The brief notes that if the country fails to invest in solutions that can help heal the nation’s isolation, pain, and suffering, the collective impact of COVID-19 will be even more devastating. Three factors, already at work, are exacerbating deaths of despair: unprecedented economic failure paired with massive unemployment, mandated social isolation for months
https://wellbeingtrust.org/areas-of-...ring-covid-19/

[htismaqe]

Originally Posted by Donger

All of them?

The mandates they are requesting are already in place. If individual bars aren't following them, that's not necessarily something that I can personally quantify.

[htismaqe]

Originally Posted by Donger

Local source:

https://www.desmoinesregister.com/st...ry/3449153001/

White House coronavirus experts warned Iowa leaders Sunday, Aug. 30, that the state has the country's steepest coronavirus outbreak, and the state should close bars in 61 counties and test all returning college students for the virus.

The recommended actions are significantly stronger than ones put in place by Gov. Kim Reynolds, who last week ordered bars closed in six counties.

Okay, that makes more sense. The order last week closed them in only 6 counties. There's also a larger set of 22 counties that have expanded mandates in place but not necessarily ones that close all bars.

This new recommendation expands the 6 (or 22) to 61.

That makes a lot more sense now.