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 Hammock Parties:
Small town has to kick ass.
Honestly I didn't mind it, I've had far worse jobs. I just had better things to do with my time. It saved my ass for sure.
He’s in a suburb of Jacksonville and loves it. Supposedly working within the city limits of Jacksonville is much worse. Once he got past the CCA stage and got his own route was the hardest part for him. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Spott:
He’s in a suburb of Jacksonville and loves it. Supposedly working within the city limits of Jacksonville is much worse. Once he got past the CCA stage and got his own route was the hardest part for him.
Yep being a CCA sucks ass.
I think it's one of the best jobs a young person can have, though. Teaches you a lot about responsibility and eating shit. [Reply]
Originally Posted by 'Hamas' Jenkins:
This isn't a permanent lockdown, but we need to buy enough time for the system to provide care to the people who do get it. If the healthcare system collapses, tens of thousands of people will die who could have otherwise been saved by timely interventions.
This is a triage measure.
I don't get why smart people don't understand this simple measure. Right now, Italy is having no choice to let people die because a lack of ventilators. This is a modern democracy. Doctors deciding who lives and who dies.
We are in better shape but not immune to a catastrophic outcome. To start with we have a lot more ventilators per capita. We have 12K in reserve. If 40%-70% of us get this and 2%-3% of that number need hospitalization and 1% of us need a ventilator....... do the math..... we don't have enough beds and not enough ventilators to keep people alive until the crisis passes.
People need to flatten the curve right now. Social distancing. Stay at home if at all possible. [Reply]
I just watched a thing 30 min video about what happened in Wuhan, and I have to say I don't really blame Chinese too much. When they got a mere 400 - 500 cases they locked that shit the fuck down. They built an entire new hospital. Their response was very good. It was the local authorities that somewhat muzzled that doctor who first tried to talk about it, but it didn't take long after that they were taking drastic actions to try to limit the spread.
I have a hard time of blaming a culture for something. The Spanish Flu of 1918 was accidentally created in USA, and I believe H1N1 if I'm not mistaken. [Reply]
Originally Posted by dirk digler:
You aren't going to rain on my parade today assholes :-)
When my now 6 year old was 2, I taught her 'knockdown hugs' where I'd put her in a 3-point stance and have her rocket out of it for her bedtime hugs.
Last night we taught the twins the same thing. And the boy is built like a ball-peen hammer so he'd get flying across the room, drill the 6 year old in the chest, knock her across the floor and then they'd all just sit there and laugh their asses off. Then baby girl would try to do the same, bounce off (because she's built like a twig) and also lay on the ground laughing. Then the twins chased each other around trying to tackle/hug each other and for about 10 minutes the whole house was just my 3 kids laughing hysterically while running around like idiots instead of getting ready for bed.
Then I had a scotch, watched some mindless TV, drilled a couple more cleats into the lumber rack I'm building and went to bed. This morning my wife made sure my 'alarm clock' was....quite a bit more pleasant than usual. (eds. note: I do not have an alarm clock). Today's the last day of school so it was the last 'normal' morning of making my daughter breakfast and taking her through the drop-off line.
Fuck everyone today. I'm gonna have a good day and I don't give a shit if the rest of the world wants to drown themselves in misery. Today I'm going to enjoy what I have. Maybe it'll just make tomorrow suck twice as badly, I dunno - I don't care. I'm gonna get shit done today, return the favor with the wife tonight, get to sleep by 10:30 and figure out tomorrow tomorrow.
Like you, I don't intend to let the assholes win today. They win most days already (and oft times I'm among them), but I'm not having it today. [Reply]
(Reuters) - United Airlines Holdings booked $1.5 billion less revenue in March than the same time last year and warned employees that planes could be flying nearly empty into the summer, even after drastic flight capacity cuts.
“This crisis is moving really quickly,” United Chief Executive Oscar Munoz and President Scott Kirby said in a memo to employees on Sunday.
United is cutting corporate officers’ salaries by 50% and reducing flight capacity by about 50% in April and May, with deep capacity cuts also expected into the summer travel period.
“Even with those cuts, we’re expecting load factors to drop into the 20-30% range - and that’s if things don’t get worse,” the executives said.
The airline said it was working night and day to keep as much pay as possible flowing to employees, even if the situation worsens and “demand temporarily plummets to zero.”
United, American Airlines Group and Delta Air Lines - the three largest U.S. airlines - confirmed Friday they are in talks with the U.S. government about potential assistance amid a dramatic drop-off in air travel demand due to the coronavirus outbreak.
The White House and lawmakers view the situation with increasing alarm, with an administration official saying on Saturday they want Congress to provide assistance to airlines and other industries badly harmed by the travel demand collapse.
So far there has been no talk of a full bailout like that of the auto-industry in 2009.
While no specific proposal is currently being written, a senior House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee aide said it backs tax relief talks but Republicans are “considering federal loans for the purchase of jet fuel, and possibly other operational expenses.”
Delta and American have also announced drastic schedule reductions following expanded White House travel restrictions on Europe to include United Kingdom and Ireland, leaving only a handful of daily flights to Europe.
Delta, the second-largest U.S. airline, will be flying just five flights a day to Europe starting this week, compared with 92 last year to 31 European destinations at the peak travel season.
Delta Chief Executive Ed Bastian said in a memo to employees Friday the “speed of the demand fall-off is unlike anything we’ve seen... We are moving quickly to preserve cash and protect our company. And with revenues dropping, we must be focused on taking costs out of our business.”
American said Saturday it would cancel 75% of its international flights and ground nearly all its widebody jets.
American, which previously operated 37 flights a day to Europe from the United States, will within about a week fly just two flights a day to Europe – one flight a day to London from Miami and Dallas. [Reply]
Originally Posted by BigRedChief:
I don't get why smart people don't understand this simple measure. Right now, Italy is having no choice to let people die because a lack of ventilators. This is a modern democracy. Doctors deciding who lives and who dies.
We are in better shape but not immune to a catastrophic outcome. To start with we have a lot more ventilators per capita. We have 12K in reserve. If 40%-70% of us get this and 2%-3% of that number need hospitalization and 1% of us need a ventilator....... do the math..... we don't have enough beds and not enough ventilators to keep people alive until the crisis passes.
People need to flatten the curve right now. Social distancing. Stay at home if at all possible.
I think some people are overestimating what ventilators can do. So far it sounds like the majority of people who get put on ventilators don't end up surviving, even with a ventilator. Basically, if you're so sick you need one, your odds are already pretty low. Obviously they do still save some lives, and we want to have them available to save as many people as possible. But it seems to me that ensuring all other treatment options and supplies are available would be a wiser way to prioritize resources. [Reply]
