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 BigCatDaddy:
He isnt saying shut it down either.
I like his quote about you arent stopping deaths just changing the dates. You can nitpick that a bit but in general he is correct given most places arent even close to over burdening the health care facilities.
I didn't say he was arguing to shut it down. He's arguing for a middle ground that isn't "Liberate" and isn't "hunker down and don't leave the house until we have a vaccine." That's not an especially provocative statement, nor is it an unpopular or lightly-held view. He also said that the Sweden approach was too far toward "just let everyone get it," and they have distancing measures in place currently.
I don't know of any epidemiologists or other health experts that recommend sheltering in place until a vaccine is developed and rolled out. What I have seen plenty of is people arguing to open up to an extent that would effectively wash away the sacrifice and progress of the previous six weeks.
You'd do well to actually listen to the sources that you post instead of just excerpting a single quote, and he didn't say a single thing about overburdening facilities in that interview. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Bugeater:
We don't just "let people die" under any circumstances. But if we're being reasonable, we have to understand we can't save everyone. That's not even happening with the lockdown.
Add to that how there are no coronavirus vaccines to begin with.... [Reply]
Originally Posted by Monticore:
I have no issues with that the problem is we need to lock up stupid people as well because if we have to rely on the average person to not put at risk people in jeopardy it usually doesn't end well.
That's a valid concern with no easy solution. And it's not even necessarily stupid people, it's also young people who have a sense of immortality and don't see this as a threat. Yesterday was a very nice day here and as I was out and about I saw numerous cars loaded up with teenagers roaming about. They don't have anything to do and they're getting restless. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Bugeater:
That's a valid concern with no easy solution. And it's not even necessarily stupid people, it's also young people who have a sense of immortality and don't see this as a threat. Yesterday was a very nice day here and as I was out and about I saw numerous cars loaded up with teenagers roaming about. They don't have anything to do and they're getting restless.
They also have virtually nothing to personally worry about from this virus unless they have at-risk individuals in their home. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Monticore:
We shut down our district before we had 1 cases within 100km from us or any community acquired cases. we have 16 total 14 recovered , no deaths and no new cases in over 5 days, was it luck? having measures in place before infestation? we are awesome and better than everybody else? the disease is not as bad as people expected?
My vote is having measures in place early but some might disagree.
Had a lockdown been instituted in New York two weeks earlier the death rate would have been 80-90% lower, yet people are bitching about there not being enough hospitalizations and deaths in their locales.
I don't even know how this is an argument. [Reply]
Originally Posted by wazu:
They also have virtually nothing to personally worry about from this virus unless they have at-risk individuals in their home.
I personally know of a physician that spread this to 11 other people, all of whom were high risk and none of them lived in his home. [Reply]
Originally Posted by wazu:
They also have virtually nothing to personally worry about from this virus unless they have at-risk individuals in their home.
Exactly. And good luck trying to control them. Any parent of a teenager can tell you how that's going to go... [Reply]
Originally Posted by 'Hamas' Jenkins:
I personally know of a physician that spread this to 11 other people, all of whom were high risk and none of them lived in his home.
You understand that. I understand that. Try getting it through a teenager's thick skull. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Bugeater:
You understand that. I understand that. Try getting it through a teenager's thick skull.
The point is more that transmission doesn't just occur in the confines of a home. It is more likely there due to time and proximity, but it's far from the only place this virus gets spread, and that's true regardless of who the carrier is. [Reply]
Originally Posted by O.city:
Everything or atleast damn near everything we do requires physically being there with the patient. It would take a massive under taking for that to change
“Yeah you have a cavity, here’s how you wanna hold the drill, don’t worry I’ll walk you thru it”
Going to the dentist just for an Ahh, yep, take these for a week and come back always felt like a massive waste of time though. If someone could throat a cam and email it or live cam, they could avoid driving 20 miles, sitting in a waiting room for 20 minutes, wasting his half hour, and then driving back home 20 miles. I would assume it should be cheaper as well, but I'm not sure it would.
It doesn't really seem to be much cheaper for my dad when he does his occasional Dr. consult online. Which is a serious wtf because that doctor avoids driving at least 4 hours to the satellite location, yet bills basically the same as far as I can tell. Dad still has to drive to the stylite location. [Reply]
Originally Posted by DaFace:
Not saying that this is my preferred approach, but the answer to your question is that we hunker down and wait for a vaccine. If the goal is to save lives no matter the cost, that's the right decision. If your goal is to save the economy at some level but let people die, it's obviously more nuanced.
If we can just get a very good therapeutic in the interim we could all get back to our lives for the most part I believe. [Reply]
Originally Posted by wazu:
They also have virtually nothing to personally worry about from this virus unless they have at-risk individuals in their home.
Inflammatory damage to the body is not always seen instantly. Who knows if covid damage done in a young person today doesn’t come back to haunt then down the road . [Reply]