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.”
Originally Posted by Spott:
I’ll be back at the gym as soon as they open. The people that go to gyms are generally pretty good at spraying off the equipment when they get done, and I’m guessing they’ll be even more vigilant about it now.
Nobody sprays free weights or weight bars. Going to have to require people to bring disposable gloves or something. [Reply]
Can't speak for all Franchises but I do work for about 300 stores around the US. They were down 30% since all this Covid stuff started. However, since the stimulus check came out last week they are up 15%. Hopefully, that continues and isn't just a temporary jump.
Pizza Hut's in Rural areas that depend on school and dine in are by far the hardest hit. Also you can't trust a word that comes out of YUM brands mouth. I am guessing a lot of that is spin service to promote contactless delivery. [Reply]
The wife of Broadway star Nick Cordero has opened up about the surgery to have his right leg amputated two days ago as he remains in a medically induced coma battling coronavirus.
"It came down to a point where honestly it was life or leg, and we had to choose life,'' Amanda Kloots said on the "TODAY" show Monday. "I choose life."
Cordero, 41, had his leg amputated on Saturday at Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles after he struggled with blood clots while on a ventilator and an ECMO machine, which helps oxygenate the blood.
"They put the ECMO machine in him to save his life," Kloots said. "It was literally to save his life, and it did, thank God. And sometimes the repercussion of putting that machine on can cause some blood issues, and it did with his leg."
The Tony Award nominee had been starring in a production of the stage musical "Rock of Ages" in Hollywood over the winter. He ended up in the emergency room on March 30 after being diagnosed with COVID-19, and two days later he was put in a medically induced coma.
Kloots said on her Instagram story Saturday night that his surgery was successful.
"I just got a call from the surgeon. He made it through the surgery, which is really big because obviously his body is pretty weak," she said. "They’re taking him ... to recover and rest for the rest of night. So hopefully he’ll just relax and rest. But, good news."
Kloots has been at home taking care of their 10-month-old son, Elvis, while recording videos that she sends to Cordero's phone to be there for when he wakes up.
She also has been encouraging her Instagram followers to sing and dance to Cordero's songs using the hashtag #wakeupnick.
"It is honestly how I'm getting through this,'' she said. "People I don't even know all over the world are joining me every day at 3 p.m. to sing his song so he can hear us."
Kloots also posted an emotional tribute on Instagram Sunday of a video of the couple dancing on their wedding night, writing that she and her husband "WILL dance again!"
Kloots is looking forward to that day when they can be together again.
"Yes, I told him the other day because I just talked to him, I said, 'You're lucky you're married to a fitness instructor because I will get you walking,''' she said. [Reply]
Originally Posted by mr. tegu:
One potential problem with these assumptions is that the New York City area is disproportionately affecting the entire state and your numbers. Stats show that 62.5% of New York’s population (the downstate area) accounts for 91.7% of deaths in the state. NYC is so different than the rest of the state that you everything is elevated beyond a reasonable extrapolation to the rest of state and country as a whole.
You can find stats for just the lower portion, high populated area of the state, they call it downstate. I couldn’t get a picture of it here.
This small part of the state has 13165 deaths and 228908 positives. A population of about 12.5 million (62.5% population) Going by your 47% (not sure where that came from) that’s a potential of about 6 million so a fatality rate of about 0.21. So not much different than your estimate for the whole state.
But filtering them out the rest of the state has 1182 deaths, 247512 positives (huge rate difference), and about 7.5 million (37.5% population) people so a potential at 47% of 3.5 million, a fatality rate of about 0.03.
Just averaging these out, you get about a 0.12 fatality rate which I think is a much better estimate for the state as a whole even though it’s still weighted a bit towards the downstate area stats.
The positive rates are also way lower everywhere else in the state, including some of the bigger cities. They are more in line with the 15-20% rate.
So you can sort of play with those numbers in the rest of your calculations and they change a lot, but at the very least, even if we ignore all of the estimates, based on these numbers we can assume as close to factual, 62.5% of New York’s population accounts for 91.7% of deaths in the state. I just don’t think you can ignore such small geographically dense numbers and try to extrapolate them to the state, then use those in nationwide numbers.
I used the entire state population and gave the entire state a NYC-esque infection rate, with a statewide death rate which would depress the CFR. [Reply]