***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.”

[BWillie]

Originally Posted by DaFace

Apparently you haven't ever had the pleasure of fighting with insurance companies. Their business model is to hunt for anything they can to deny you. Whether COVID will live out as one of those reasons I don't know, but it's not a surprise to me that some of them will try.

Nope. Insurance is not charity. The government already forces them to insure tons of things that are not profitable.

Why should an insurance company cover a pre-existing condition? Should your car insurance company cover an already wrecked car? Or pay you for your already missing front end? Of course not.

Blaming the insurance company is one way. Without getting political, there could be another way to give medical care to people. Especially considering sooo many people never have any plan to pay for their medical bills. This just makes doctors and hospitals pass on the bill to the paying typically affluent consumer causing health care costs to go up to people who actually pay for it. Lets make EVERYONE pay for it.

[loochy]

Originally Posted by BWillie

Lets make EVERYONE pay for it.

Hel yeah...especially people that have more than me!

[stumppy]

Originally Posted by BWillie

Nope. Insurance is not charity. The government already forces them to insure tons of things that are not profitable.

Why should an insurance company cover a pre-existing condition? Should your car insurance company cover an already wrecked car? Or pay you for your already missing front end? Of course not.

Apples to oranges.

[BigCatDaddy]

Originally Posted by loochy

That's because nobody knows what the F is going on. It's kind of a "learn as you go" kind of thing.




Yeah. I mean, come on...they're porous pieces of cloth. They're probably better than nothing though.

I'm shocked pulling my shirt over my nose as I run into the 7-11 isn't stopping this thing.

[BigRedChief]

Originally Posted by DaFace

Wouldn't surprise me if a wide range of events start requiring proof of either antibodies or vaccine. At least until things start to be a bit more controlled.

if average Joe can get the vaccine by April, I could see something like your talking about in place for the summer concerts. And if successful, maybe full NFL stadiums in September?

[Chief Pagan]

Originally Posted by sedated

??

If an adult doesn't want to get a vaccine why should they be required to, since they are only risking themselves and others that chose not to be vaccinated?

Even a 90% effective vaccine means you are still at risk even if you are vaccinated.

[O.city]

So if they could get rapid testing into homes where you could essentially test your whole family woth one test wouldn’t that put a halt to this?

[htismaqe]

Originally Posted by petegz28

They are in business to make a profit.

Originally Posted by BWillie

Nope. Insurance is not charity. The government already forces them to insure tons of things that are not profitable.

Why should an insurance company cover a pre-existing condition? Should your car insurance company cover an already wrecked car? Or pay you for your already missing front end? Of course not.

Blaming the insurance company is one way. Without getting political, there could be another way to give medical care to people. Especially considering sooo many people never have any plan to pay for their medical bills. This just makes doctors and hospitals pass on the bill to the paying typically affluent consumer causing health care costs to go up to people who actually pay for it. Lets make EVERYONE pay for it.

I don't expect insurance companies to forego profitability.

But I know second-hand that shenanigans and shady, unethical shit goes on behind closed doors that is screwing the consumer for MORE profit.

[Pants]

Originally Posted by petegz28

Not saying they aren't better than nothing but the rate at which cases are going up you have to wonder just how much better?

Recent study by Stanford and Northwestern results:

Full-service restaurants, gyms, hotels, cafes, religious organizations, and limited-service restaurants produced the largest predicted increases in infections when reopened,” the researchers said.

The model also explained disparities between low- and high-income neighborhoods regarding COVID-19 spread and offered a solution that can reduce transmission.

We also know that it spreads like crazy at home and at family gatherings.

What do most of these have in common?

[Pants]

Originally Posted by petegz28

They are in business to make a profit.

Sure. Ethics don't matter when all you care about is making a profit.

Doesn't sound like the greatest model for companies that provide health insurance in a society where healthcare costs more than literally almost anyone can afford without insurance, though, does it?

[BigRedChief]

140K Americans tested positive for Covid. 1200 Americans dead. Just today.

[petegz28]

Originally Posted by Pants

Sure. Ethics don't matter when all you care about is making a profit.

Doesn't sound like the greatest model for companies that provide health insurance in a society where healthcare costs more than literally almost anyone can afford without insurance, though, does it?

Ethics and business rarely go hand-hand.....

[petegz28]

Originally Posted by Pants

Recent study by Stanford and Northwestern results:



We also know that it spreads like crazy at home and at family gatherings.

What do most of these have in common?

According to the Kansas Cluster Survey that's not entirely accurate. At least for around here.....

Ahead of bars and restaurants are:

Long Term Care Facilities
Corrections
Meat Packing
Private Businesses
Colleges
School
Private Events
Religious Gatherings
Sports
Healthcare


Then

Bar or Restaurant

Just sayin....

[dirk digler]

Originally Posted by BigRedChief

140K Americans tested positive for Covid. 1200 Americans dead. Just today.

It was actually 1562.

But hey great job America (that is all I can say here jfc)

The pandemic caught the nation flat-footed in March, but epidemiologists have been warning for months of a fall and winter wave as people are driven indoors, schools resume in-person classes and Americans grow tired of months of precautions. Yet shortages of personal protective equipment are back, especially among rural hospitals, nursing homes and private medical practices that lack access to the supply networks that serve larger hospital chains.

Dr. Shikha Gupta, the executive director of Get Us PPE, a volunteer effort that matches available supplies to health care providers, said 70 percent of those requesting help from the organization last month reported being completely out of one type of critical gear. Masks, gloves and disinfecting wipes topped the list.

“Health care workers are exhausted and frustrated, and it’s really hard to believe that on Nov. 10, it feels very much like the middle of March all over again,” she said. “We’re hitting the highest numbers of caseload that we’ve ever seen, and we’re running into the same problems that we’ve been having since Day 1.”

Governors are once again competing with one another and big hospital chains for scarce gear. Nursing homes are grappling with staff shortages, which have left hospitals unable to discharge patients to their care. In Wisconsin, the situation is so severe that health officials are mulling a plan to train family members of nursing home residents to fill in at facilities that lack enough workers.

[petegz28]

The irony...all summer long we have heard "we need to be like Europe". Now Europe is locking down and people are saying "well, they never really enforced things like masks in Europe".

Here's the take. The only safe thing you can do is stay in your house, period. Don't go anywhere. Don't associate with anyone. More people are wearing masks around the globe than ever in history yet cases are shooting up faster than ever.

We keep hearing that younger people are "super spreaders" even though there a lot of studies that say quite the opposite. Especially young children.

You can wear a mask. You can wash your hands. You can socially distance. But that is all proving at this point anyway to have a minimal though better than nothing impact.

There isn't an easy answer and as many medical professionals warned "just wear a mask" is not the answer. I think it's propagated a safe feeling that was false. The media does not help at all but I won't get into that.

The other side of it is you cannot shut down the economy again. I think assignment of blame is getting placed in places that are convenient or otherwise easier to blame such as bars and restaurants. That may be the case in some parts of the country but not the case in others.

I may very well have gotten Covid from a restaurant or the gym. Then again I may have gotten it from the grocery store. We automatically rule out one because of "masks" when the reality may be that the mask does not help as much as we think.

I will say I was in the grocery store more than the gym or a restaurant in the prior week or so to my getting Covid.