***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.”

[Hammock Parties]

Originally Posted by Discuss Thrower

If you have to ask then you're already too late.

it's not that bad - i went out today and it was fine

but if this gets worse, i think we're edging on that territory

[Chief Roundup]

Originally Posted by Hammock Parties

how long until it's time to flee urban areas?

Has your state declared a state of emergency and called in the National Guard? If so it is to late. The government with their army of soldiers will not let people leave.

[Discuss Thrower]

Originally Posted by Hammock Parties

it's not that bad - i went out today and it was fine

but if this gets worse, i think we're edging on that territory

I think we've Wile E. Coyote ran off the edge and just spinning our legs in midair.

I don't like my odds at all but I have nowhere else to go.

[SupDock]

Originally Posted by Donger

SARS-CoV-2 is the name of the virus. The disease it causes is COVID-19.

You are being unnecessarily pedantic. I do appreciate the correction, though.

.........................

What name does WHO use for the virus?

From a risk communications perspective, using the name SARS can have unintended consequences in terms of creating unnecessary fear for some populations, especially in Asia which was worst affected by the SARS outbreak in 2003.*

For that reason and others, WHO has begun referring to the virus as “the virus responsible for COVID-19” or “the COVID-19 virus” when communicating with the public.* Neither of these designations are intended as replacements for the official name of the virus as agreed by the ICTV.

[Donger]

Originally Posted by SupDock

You are being unnecessarily pedantic. I do appreciate the correction, though.

.........................

What name does WHO use for the virus?

From a risk communications perspective, using the name SARS can have unintended consequences in terms of creating unnecessary fear for some populations, especially in Asia which was worst affected by the SARS outbreak in 2003.*

For that reason and others, WHO has begun referring to the virus as “the virus responsible for COVID-19” or “the COVID-19 virus” when communicating with the public.* Neither of these designations are intended as replacements for the official name of the virus as agreed by the ICTV.

Hi. I'm Donger. It's nice to meet you.

[displacedinMN]

Originally Posted by Hammock Parties

how long until it's time to flee urban areas?

I knew I should have been prepping on the farm.

[patteeu]

Originally Posted by Raiderhader

Let’s explore the possibilities and, I acknowledge I am talking worst case scenarios here. But if we are talking worst case scenarios for the virus then worst case scenarios for or reaction/handling of it are equally relevant.

Just today I am hearing people around me are going to start working from home. That’s great for the few who can but, most can’t. What happens when people don’t have money to pay bills, rent, morgage or buy groceries? What happens when you can’t buy groceries because stores have been closed down?

I was talking with my barber this morning about the subject and he mentioned that the government had just released money for all the people expecting it. We talked about the consequences of those people not getting that money, the riots and such that would ensue. Imagine what happens when, hell I’ll be conservative and say a quarter of the country shuts down.

The swine flu took 18,000 lives. And that is indeed tragic, but not society altering, as is obvious in how we didn’t shut down over it. A national emergency wasn’t even called until a 1,000 deaths had occurred, and even at that point there was still ****ing toilet paper on the shelves.

Are some reasonable measures like travel bans prudent? Absolutely. But cancelling life is just irresponsible and needs to be checked before it goes much further.

Do you feel like you have the expertise and the data to really know what measures are reasonable and which ones are overkill? I mean, at a general level, there's got to be a tradeoff between fighting the virus spread and maintaining adequate economic activity, but what makes you so sure of your judgment as to the specific balance in this case?

[patteeu]

Originally Posted by SupDock

I think I will listen to the people in charge of these things instead.

That was a much simpler way of saying it.

[Bugeater]

Originally Posted by Raiderhader

Let’s explore the possibilities and, I acknowledge I am talking worst case scenarios here. But if we are talking worst case scenarios for the virus then worst case scenarios for or reaction/handling of it are equally relevant.

Just today I am hearing people around me are going to start working from home. That’s great for the few who can but, most can’t. What happens when people don’t have money to pay bills, rent, morgage or buy groceries? What happens when you can’t buy groceries because stores have been closed down?

I was talking with my barber this morning about the subject and he mentioned that the government had just released money for all the people expecting it. We talked about the consequences of those people not getting that money, the riots and such that would ensue. Imagine what happens when, hell I’ll be conservative and say a quarter of the country shuts down.

The swine flu took 18,000 lives. And that is indeed tragic, but not society altering, as is obvious in how we didn’t shut down over it. A national emergency wasn’t even called until a 1,000 deaths had occurred, and even at that point there was still ****ing toilet paper on the shelves.

Are some reasonable measures like travel bans prudent? Absolutely. But cancelling life is just irresponsible and needs to be checked before it goes much further.

Absolutely. I wasn't exactly sure what you were getting at with your initial post. This is kind of along the lines as my response to Bwillie a while back, there definitely has to be a balance. It's somewhere in between freaking out and shutting down everything and doing nothing. I feel bad for people working in retail who are in contact with the general public every day, they're out there on the front lines. But we can't reasonably shut down every business out there. On a private business level, I think things have been handled pretty reasonably. I'm not aware of anything that I'd consider over the top.

[Pasta Little Brioni]

Originally Posted by eDave

It was at the Ostrich's request.

Allegedly

[O.city]

Originally Posted by Discuss Thrower

I think we've Wile E. Coyote ran off the edge and just spinning our legs in midair.

I don't like my odds at all but I have nowhere else to go.

You’re just a constant ray of sunshine around these parts

[Discuss Thrower]

Originally Posted by O.city

You’re just a constant ray of sunshine around these parts

Calling it like I see it. Watching the run on the grocery stores this week was super telling.

[Kiimo]

Originally Posted by Titty Meat

So I see cities and China were on total lockdown they've separated disinfected shit all over and Chinas death rate has dropped. Why can't we do that here? It seems as though we have no plan other than telling people to wash their hands.

this guy rules

pic.twitter.com/67pId4kC4i

— rat king (@MikeIsaac) March 13, 2020

['Hamas' Jenkins]

Originally Posted by TLO

Can you put this in simpleton terms for me?

Please someome help alleviate my concerns

The CDC does not recommend that adults without comorbidities or immune suppression get pneumonia vaccinations- they are part of regular childhood vaccination protocols.

[Donger]

Okay, now we are starting to see some serious case number increase:

1,629 yesterday
2,726 today