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 loochy:
Well, usually in a school bus, the windows have these little clips that one may squeeze in order to release the window mechanism.
Are we more afraid of a little chilly air that can be offset by jackets, hats, and fuzzy masks? Or are we more fearful of the super death virus that is coming for us all? C'mon man, we have to make sacrifices here.
I can't tell if this is sarcasm or a real response but exposing children to sub-freezing weather while sitting on a bus for 60 minutes, 10 hours per week (or in some cases, more) in order to prevent them from contracting and spreading a deadly virus?
Originally Posted by Ebolapox:
Hell if I know, I’m a teacher; they don’t tell us shit. I’m going to do in person teaching in fall bc bills to pay but the whole thing is fucked
All of our High school and Elementary school teachers got paid their salary in full. Part of that was covered by the PPP through the schools. Most of these teachers have either Tenure or on contracts. [Reply]
I have seen several mention their property taxes. I am curious do you all not use the Homestead act to get the taxes on your homes reduced by $350?
Well yeah, everyone with a brain uses that. It's kind of like going to one of those outlet stores where everything is supposedly discounted, but they really just have an outrageous initial price markup to make the end price look like a discount. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Fish:
I would be super skeptical. The problem is that it treats the air drawn into the duct. If a person infected with covid sneezes up a room, it will infect others in the room on its way back through the ventilation system, long before the air containing the infected airborne particles has a chance to reach the special filter. By the time the air recirculates to that filter, it's going to have already infected people or would be dead. It doesn't stay alive airborn long enough for this to be of practical use in my opinion. Especially for larger work areas with infinitely more air volume.
Well, yeah, a sneeze in a crowded room is basically death on horseback so you can't do much about that.
I'm remembering the study of the cruise ship, and the transmissions there were happening from cabin to cabin through the ventilation system. Something like this would stop that. If you combine it with some of the other air movement things we've been reading about on planes like the Cone of Safety, maybe it would make recirculated air safe. [Reply]
Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud:
I can't tell if this is sarcasm or a real response but exposing children to sub-freezing weather while sitting on a bus for 60 minutes, 10 hours per week (or in some cases, more) in order to prevent them from contracting and spreading a deadly virus?
Hard pass on that option.
Of course it was sarcasm....but there are huge swaths of the country that don't experience that type of weather.
A one size fits all approach won't work here. [Reply]
Originally Posted by loochy:
Of course it was sarcasm....but there are huge swaths of the country that don't experience that type of weather.
Cool. I don't know how much you've been following this thread but your post could have easily been a serious response.
Originally Posted by loochy:
A one size fits all approach won't work here.
No, it does not.
Each city, municipality and school district needs to formulate a plan that works for their students, teachers and other employees, which will vary greatly across the nation.
But the threat of losing Federal funding is throwing a wrench into what should be a District-By-District decision and clouding an already confusing future. [Reply]
Originally Posted by loochy:
Well yeah, everyone with a brain uses that. It's kind of like going to one of those outlet stores where everything is supposedly discounted, but they really just have an outrageous initial price markup to make the end price look like a discount.
Ah ok it is just people bitching about taxes to be bitching about paying taxes.
Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud:
But the threat of losing Federal funding is throwing a wrench into what should be a District-By-District decision and clouding an already confusing future.
Don't worry, it will never happen.
You need to develop a "Trump Translator". He pretty much said "let's make school openings a priority".
"“The fact is for the first time in months we have a 24-hour period where no one in this city died from the Coronavirus, it is so striking and so moving, be Blasio said at a news conference, "
“Twenty four hours where no one dies, let’s have many more days like that,” the mayor added.
Despite this good news, de Blasio also said there is a rising infection rates among people in their 20s, a trend he calls, "worrisome."
What the city is doing now: The mayor said the city will be “doubling down” on young adults by offering more mobile testing vans, outreach programs and mask giveaways.
The city, according to the mayor is issuing new guidance on face coverings, saying New Yorkers should wear a face covering as much as possible when around other people in an indoor setting that is not their home.
Mayor de Blasio said the city has set up 10 new testing sites in the Bronx, Queens and Brooklyn. [Reply]
This is a great relief for me and I'm glad it was announced 6 weeks before school starts so that the kids have ample time to adjust to the news. [Reply]
