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 TLO:
I had a very respected nurse at my work talking to me today about her family member using Chinese herbs after being diagnosed with the coronavirus.
I don't really know what the point of this post is. I just needed to post it.
Science guy from DHS just gave some interesting data on the virus and the effects of heat/humidity/sunlight have on it. According to him it doesn't like any of those. [Reply]
Originally Posted by DaFace:
Cases lag infections, and deaths lag cases. If your death rate has peaked, you can generally surmise that you've hit your "best case" level of social distancing and can consider relaxing restrictions to see how things shift. If deaths are still climbing, you don't know if you're doing enough.
(Not that you should immediately relax restrictions at that point, but you can start thinking about it.)
I'm guessing there isn't a ton of data on places that have eased restrictions, since the data we see is ~1-2 weeks behind the initial spread.... but, the big unknown being the length of time it would take to see significant spike after easing restrictions.
For example, Phoenix... if they ease restrictions next week, would it even be possible to have another spike, assuming it's not a super virus that can survive that kind of heat?
The model of 'ease restrictions a week after the last death' seems pretty extreme.... obviously, the thought shouldn't be "well, a few more people might die, but at least we can go to the movies now', but still. [Reply]
Originally Posted by mlyonsd:
Science guy from DHS just gave some interesting data on the virus and the effects of heat/humidity/sunlight have on it. According to him it doesn't like any of those.
As is the case with most respiratory viruses. [Reply]
Millions of Americans are drinking on the job as they work from home during the COVID-19 outbreak, according to multiple worker surveys.
Beer is their drink of choice over cocktails, according to Alcohol.org, but that’s probably little consolation to corporate bigwigs.
One survey, released Monday, found 42% of nearly 13,000 workers were drinking on the clock at home, according to Fishbowl, a social network “for verified employees.”
“Advertising and marketing agency employees had the highest percentage of employees answering with ‘Yes’, with 49.14%,” Fishbowl reported.
More than half of those surveyed said they feared layoffs due to the pandemic and 60% said COVID-19 “had caused clients to pause or cancel work,” the survey said.
None of the surveys reported asking how much people were drinking, but Americans began stockpiling alcohol as cities, counties and states started announcing stay-at-home orders and restricting travel for the virus.
A 55% spike in alcoholic sales was reported in the third week of March, when panicked shoppers began hoarding alcoholic and other necessities, MarketWatch.com reports.
“Spirits like tequila, gin and pre-mixed cocktails led the way, with sales jumping 75% compared to the same period last year. Wine sales were up 66% while beer sales rose 42%. And online sales far outpaced in-store sales,” MarketWatch said.
The Alcohol.org study of 3,000 workers broke the drinking down by state. (You can see the breakdown by clicking on the link, as well as find resources for seeking help.) The figure for Minnesota was 31%, and 32% for Wisconsin. The range was 8% for Arkansas to 67% for Hawaii.
“One-fifth of respondents stockpiled alcohol for self-isolation,” the survey added.
The larger Fishbowl survey showed workers in North Carolina, Oregon and Connecticut were the biggest drinkers, each with 47% partaking on the job.
Economist Nicholas Bloom of the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research believes the “work-from-home movement ... could actually generate a worldwide productivity slump and threaten economic growth for many years,” according to a March 30 report.
“We are home working alongside our kids, in unsuitable spaces, with no choice and no in-office days. This will create a productivity disaster for firms,” he said in the report.
“I fear this collapse in office face time will lead to a slump in innovation. The new ideas we are losing today could show up as fewer new products in 2021 and beyond, lowering long-run growth.” [Reply]
Originally Posted by TLO:
I had a very respected nurse at my work talking to me today about her family member using Chinese herbs after being diagnosed with the coronavirus.
I don't really know what the point of this post is. I just needed to post it.
My wife and mom are both nurses. It is astonishing to me how many nurses espouse absolute quackery and pseudoscience. I've had to block some from social media due to antivax beliefs and essential oil promotion.
Also, as a PSA: be extremely wary of any herbal supplementation, especially with COVID given the clotting issues that are present. Ginkgo, garlic, ginseng, and ginger can all inhibit platelet aggregation (in theory you might want this, but if you're given therapeutic doses of low molecular weight heparin, it's a potential interaction). [Reply]
