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 Rain Man:
I just had to cancel a trip, and I'll say this. Southwest Airlines is awesome. While I can't get a refund directly, I can credit the amount to another trip, which is no problem.
And the Asbury Hotel in Asbury Park, New Jersey, is awesome. I'll definitely stay there in the future. They're very nice and have good customer service.
And hotels.com can go to hell. After the debacle last year where they supported criminals who were operating on their web site and wouldn't help me get my money back, I stopped using them. I did, however, have several free nights that I've been bleeding down before I leave forever, and they just stiffed me out of one of them. hotels.com is the sleaziest, most foul-smelling, flatulent, halitosis-riddled web site on the internet and I will dance on their grave when they finally go out of business.
I am flying to Texas on Tuesday and have been checking with AA every few hours waiting for something to change or for my work to finally pull travel. We will see... [Reply]
Originally Posted by jd1020:
What in the actual **** are you talking about.
If I'm inside not interacting with anyone and I dont have the virus there's a high probability that I wont get the virus. You are trying to say that if I go outside and interact with people who may have the virus that there's a lower chance I get it than if I just stayed the **** away? That makes no god damn sense.
Yeah, in that scenario you are right. If you're inside alone ,stay inside alone.
Most people aren't alone in side. It's why it goes down when schools are out and such. [Reply]
Originally Posted by OKchiefs:
Whether of fades in summer or not, Tom Hanks getting it in Australia means nothing. People still get the flu occasionally in summer here even though the flu fades once it warms up.
My point was that it’s spreading in the Australian summer. Tom Hanks was simply a well known name for the reference.
There are more identified cases in Australia than in snowy Canada. [Reply]
Originally Posted by KCUnited:
True for Montana, but won't be long. SiL is a hospitality director for a hotel chain and said people from Washington are arriving to "get away from it".
No doubt about it, it's coming. I hit Walmart this morning to grab some things and walked over to the toilet paper isle just out of curiosity. Not one roll left to be had. :-) I'm well stocked and was before all this took place, so no big deal. What amazed me was there were only a few rolls of paper towels left as well. If people are buying that as a back up to TP, my condolences to their assholes.
I walked around to check out what else was gone and 1/3 of the store was empty. I hate to see it when the 1st case does hit Montana, if it's this bad now. People have gone absolutely crazy.
When I was leaving the store, the security gal told me there was some guy selling toilet paper out of the back of his truck in the parking lot yesterday for 5X the listed price and people were buying as fast as he could take their money. WTF? [Reply]
