***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.”

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by MagicHef

My whole family got a weird disease about 2 weeks ago. Respiratory stuff, fever, exhaustion, but not much else. Now I'm wondering...

And you lived in Colorado once, right? Should we report this to someone?

[MagicHef]

Originally Posted by eDave

We are going to need a CP RIP mega thread.

Yeah, I posted this in the DC thread, but I was actually in Kirkland last Friday, but luckily not at the nursing home in question.

[MagicHef]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

And you lived in Colorado once, right? Should we report this to someone?

Yes. Is there any indication that the virus can travel backwards in time?

[BigRedChief]

Originally Posted by TLO

Something I keep hearing people talking about is this "massive outbreak" that the hospitals won't be able to handle.

Ok I suppose that this definitely is a possibility. But this thing went undetected in Washington State for 4-6 weeks. Did the hospitals gets overrun during this time? It doesn't seem like it. Yes Washington State has been the hardest hit, but the numbers aren't outrageous horrifying. (Unless you're a much older person)

Hospitals won’t be able to handle a pandemic. No chance.

The USA had 10K ventilators and ancillary supplies to run them in reserve. The plan is to use hotel rooms and portable oxygen for the ventilators for the more stable patients. The issue will be RT’s to run them. An RT runs 3-5 ventilators and manages the patents. One nurse can possibly do 3-4X times that many patients. But, your going to have 3000 licensed RT’s that are not already employed by hospitals.

And then 10K sounds like a lot of reserve but when you do the math it’s going to get dicey in an pandemic.

[Donger]

215 now. Up from 168 this morning.

[suzzer99]

There's also this case showing neurological effects and viral meningitis https://t.co/JFLiFGo9hj

— Kimberly Hall (@yangnyin) March 5, 2020

Lung inflammation + low lymphocyte counts ("#AIDS"-like immunosuppression) in #coronavirus patients presents a conundrum. Doctors sometimes use steroids to blunt the lung inflammation, but the downside is further immunosuppression.

Rock, meet hard place.https://t.co/WAAxrHBbmt

— Dr. Dena Grayson (@DrDenaGrayson) March 5, 2020

Well now I'm terrified again. Does the flu have these kinds of complications for serious cases?

[Donger]

Pretty fascinating comparison to MERS and SARS here:

https://www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...mbers-n1150321

[TLO]

Originally Posted by suzzer99

There's also this case showing neurological effects and viral meningitis https://t.co/JFLiFGo9hj

— Kimberly Hall (@yangnyin) March 5, 2020

Lung inflammation + low lymphocyte counts ("#AIDS"-like immunosuppression) in #coronavirus patients presents a conundrum. Doctors sometimes use steroids to blunt the lung inflammation, but the downside is further immunosuppression.

Rock, meet hard place.https://t.co/WAAxrHBbmt

— Dr. Dena Grayson (@DrDenaGrayson) March 5, 2020

Well now I'm terrified again. Does the flu have these kinds of complications for serious cases?

Take with a grain of salt

[eDave]

Scottsdale firefighters, ambulance crew in isolation after treating coronavirus patient

https://www.abc15.com/news/region-no...mIIJ2bo7X0Q79M

[FD]

Originally Posted by suzzer99

I don't think the US could ever lock down a whole city (the size of NYC) like China. People just wouldn't stand for it here. But it's very likely we could be doing more to slow the spread - if we had any idea how bad the spread actually is at the moment.

I feel like people would voluntarily take a lot more steps that would aid containment if they had the proper info. There is still not widespread testing and we have known about this thing for more than a month. Federal officials are still trying to downplay it rather than simply getting the info out.

[TLO]

Originally Posted by eDave

Scottsdale firefighters, ambulance crew in isolation after treating coronavirus patient

https://www.abc15.com/news/region-no...mIIJ2bo7X0Q79M

Smart

[KCUnited]

SARS + AIDS? Chiefsplanetvirus

[mr. tegu]

What is it exactly people think the tests are supposed to do? Is treatment different if you have it versus having a different strand of flu? Doesn’t really seem like it from anything I’ve seen. If you have a cold or something worse and feel the need to go to the doctor and they say you are having flu like symptoms and might have a strand of flu, the treatment is still go home and avoid people and treat the symptoms. It’s not like they say they can’t test you so you can resume activities as normal.

And if anyone with a sniffle could get tested for it then you would have way too many people taking advantage of that anyways and then truly over whelming the healthcare system.

[Skyy God]

Originally Posted by KCUnited

SARS + AIDS? Chiefsplanetvirus

Needs more antifreeze.

[Kman34]

Originally Posted by mr. tegu

What is it exactly people think the tests are supposed to do? Is treatment different if you have it versus having a different strand of flu? Doesn’t really seem like it from anything I’ve seen. If you have a cold or something worse and feel the need to go to the doctor and they say you are having flu like symptoms and might have a strand of flu, the treatment is still go home and avoid people and treat the symptoms. It’s not like they say they can’t test you so you can resume activities as normal.

And if anyone with a sniffle could get tested for it then you would have way too many people taking advantage of that anyways and then truly over whelming the healthcare system.

I stayed home from work last week a couple days with a cold.. am I going to die??