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 lewdog:
Not taking the sadness away from losing a child but I’ve yet to read a case where a child COVID death wasn’t a child with multiple medical conditions, many times severe conditions. That seems to be the only consistency with this virus, as kids under 10 are very safe from its affects.
Safe is a relative term. This is just a thought but maybe COVID will have lasting affects that are unforeseen. Like if you get chicken pox you could have shingles later in life.
Maybe a 10 year old gets infected with no symptoms but later at 50 during a stressful time a regular cold or pneumonia could trigger this virus to make things worse :-) [Reply]
Originally Posted by O.city:
So the new cdc study saying you’re only infectious about 5 days after showing symptoms. Did I read that right?
Roughly for mild-moderate cases, give or take a few days. Infectious for about 2 days prior to developing symptoms too. Can be much longer for severe cases. [Reply]
Originally Posted by lewdog:
Roughly for mild-moderate cases, give or take a few days. Infectious for about 2 days prior to developing symptoms too. Can be much longer for severe cases.
You can be shedding virus still but I think they’re finding it’s not infectious virus particles at that point even in severe cases.
Yep. That was always gonna be the case. Either you indefinitely lock it down, hammer and dance it (which will inevitably lead to more lockdowns) or you go full Sweden.
I think it should be put out there when using lockdowns and such that it’s basically to buy time for therapeutics and vaccines otherwise you’re in indefinite lockdowns and people don’t see a way out [Reply]
Originally Posted by O.city:
Yep. That was always gonna be the case. Either you indefinitely lock it down, hammer and dance it (which will inevitably lead to more lockdowns) or you go full Sweden.
I think it should be put out there when using lockdowns and such that it’s basically to buy time for therapeutics and vaccines otherwise you’re in indefinite lockdowns and people don’t see a way out
It's frustrating to me that so many people still don't understand this. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Fish:
The article doesn't really mention anything to support that. Current evidence suggests it's not a lab made virus.
I just found it interesting that the virus is armed with nsp16. Seems like this virus has a few qualities that make it an ideal human invader and spreader. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Pants:
I just found it interesting that the virus is armed with nsp16. Seems like this virus has a few qualities that make it an ideal human invader and spreader.
Isn't that basically the definition of any virus that causes a pandemic? [Reply]
Originally Posted by DaFace:
Isn't that basically the definition of any virus that causes a pandemic?
100%.
Again, I know it's dumb and I do not have enough knowledge and I'm sure it's just my anti-China bias.
It's just the more articles I read about this thing and when I go back and think about the way it was initially handled by China, that's where my mind goes. [Reply]
Again, I know it's dumb and I do not have enough knowledge and I'm sure it's just my anti-China bias.
It's just the more articles I read about this thing and when I go back and think about the way it was initially handled by China, that's where my mind goes.
It's not completely out of the question, but to me it's just a numbers game. There are probably hundreds (thousands?) of coronaviruses that make the jump from animals to humans every year, but they stop there because they're not ideal for human-to-human transmission. When one finally does, it seems very unlikely to be natural because it IS unlikely. That doesn't mean that it's definitely unnatural, though. [Reply]
Originally Posted by DaFace:
It's not completely out of the question, but to me it's just a numbers game. There are probably hundreds (thousands?) of coronaviruses that make the jump from animals to humans every year, but they stop there because they're not ideal for human-to-human transmission. When one finally does, it seems very unlikely to be natural because it IS unlikely. That doesn't mean that it's definitely unnatural, though.
