***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.”

[Marcellus]

A new report out of Beijing suggests the first confirmed case of the coronavirus can be traced back to mid-November, a month earlier than the Chinese government has claimed it knew about it.

Government documents seen by the South China Morning Post show the first reported case of COVID-19 surfaced on November 17. Scientists believe that a 55-year-old person from Hubei, a province in central China, could be "patient zero" though that has not yet been confirmed.

This is rather important given the timeline. Maybe this thing doesn't spread as fast as some people thought.

[displacedinMN]

We are closed Monday. Open Tuesday..unless it hits the fan.

[Frosty]

Originally Posted by displacedinMN

Unless the state legislature makes a move.

give credit for e-learning days.
Forgive the time. (minnesota reduced time last year after some schools would have had to make up 12 days for snow)


these are unprecedented times

We are at day 120 today, out of the 180 required days. My wife was telling me yesterday when Seattle shut down their schools that they were going to try to reclaim some by e-learning and home projects and they may have to forgive some of the days but I imagine that there will still be some time to be made up, if this all calms down by then.

At least she still gets paid during the down time.

[Frosty]

By the way, everyone out there stocking up for extended quarantine time should forego the rice and pasta and buy lots and lots of potatoes. They store well and you can even live on just potatoes if you had to.


(Disclaimer: I work in the potato industry. But I'm still right. )

[ShowtimeSBMVP]

A child in Rhode Island has tested positive for coronavirus after getting an autograph from one of the NBA players who have also contracted the virushttps://t.co/v8ntCZVRZj pic.twitter.com/6UYmsnTMkX

— Mike Baker (@ByMikeBaker) March 13, 2020

[007]

Shawnee county health Dept in Kansas suspended school for two weeks. Just ****ing lovely.

[Gravedigger]

Originally Posted by 007

Shawnee county health Dept in Kansas suspended school for two weeks. Just ****ing lovely.

First domino, parents should expect more to fall over the weekend.

[TLO]

Originally Posted by 007

Shawnee county health Dept in Kansas suspended school for two weeks. Just ****ing lovely.

Why is this a bad thing?

[BigRedChief]

Originally Posted by Gravedigger

First domino, parents should expect more to fall over the weekend.

yep, just about all phases of American life is going to be put on hold for at least two weeks.

[lewdog]

Dane ****ing own this thread.

I missed this so much.

[TLO]

Originally Posted by BigRedChief

yep, just about all phases of American life is going to be put on hold for at least two weeks.

And we as a collective country should be 100% ok with this. It needs to be done.

[wazu]

Originally Posted by BigRedChief

yep, just about all phases of American life is going to be put on hold for at least two weeks.

I just don't believe at all this will be 2 weeks. If we're doing it for the next 2 weeks, what will be our reason to stop after that, when the numbers are pretty much guaranteed to be substantially worse?

[BIG_DADDY]

Originally Posted by BigRedChief

[DaFace]

Originally Posted by wazu

I just don't believe at all this will be 2 weeks. If we're doing it for the next 2 weeks, what will be our reason to stop after that, when the numbers are pretty much guaranteed to be substantially worse?

Same. I can't see any reason this is gonna get better for at least a couple months. The ONLY thing could be if we get our testing machine in gear and find out that it's actually not near as prevalent as feared, which seems unlikely.

[The Franchise]

Originally Posted by DaFace

Same. I can't see any reason this is gonna get better for at least a couple months. The ONLY thing could be if we get our testing machine in gear and find out that it's actually not near as prevalent as feared, which seems unlikely.

Roche Diagnostics got FDA approval on their new test this morning and it’s being shipped out to all of their medical partners. Hopefully it helps.