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 BigRedChief:
remember that Monday when people started taking this seriously, Tom Hanks announced he was positive and the sports leagues started shutting down.
Not the way I remember it... nba was on a Wednesday night iirc...
Originally Posted by PAChiefsGuy:
Dr. Fauci is probably best resource anyone can have right now and he does Q&As all the time. Id listen to him more than anyone.
My current thoughts are to follow him and any MD that is fighting this thing on the front lines, such as Craig Smith, MD as shown below.
But, there are certainly MD's and biologists and economic geniuses that think we are being too paranoid.
I guess my point was the back and forth is simply exhausting.
The NY govenor was saying if he can even get the N95 mask, he paid 95 cents before is now $6.75 because Florida, Illinois,Cali are willing to pay that. We are also competiting with other countries. Why are these companies allowed to price gouge these states in this crisis?
We are supposed to all in this together but we are forcing states to compete with each other for basic medical supplies that will save life’s.
The federal government needs to step in here. [Reply]
Originally Posted by LiL stumppy:
This is my exact point, I suppose. From day 1, I've believed this to be severe and worth keeping an eye on. Maybe that was just my anxiety, or the fact weeks before this took off, I watched the Netflix original show Pandemic and how one is inevitable, at any point. I still maintain the stance that this is much more severe than the flu and needs to be handled as such.
But the economic impact will be significant and I don't think anyone can downplay that. Personally, I would much rather be poor, sharing a house with my entire family if they are alive and healthy than to lose a few family members to this disease.
It's just the same frustrating cycle that we see in the scientific community and politics. Your background, your career, your ethnicity, and socioeconomic background are probably curtailing your view on this pandemic more than the facts...
But the real concern. What are the facts, who do we trust and who do we follow? Because there's a whole lot of people on both sides of this thing.
Originally Posted by ThaVirus:
These are the same ****ers who built one of the greatest empires in human history. The **** is happening over there?
I have family in Italy and I can tell you that it was something of a perfect storm that was amplified by being one of the first to go through it. Italians are very family/friend oriented, with large dinners and gatherings happening more than any other country I’ve ever been to. There is also an endemic lack of concern for just about everything. The most common reaction you’ll see is a dismissive shrug.
So it’s a combination of culture and attitude with an older population further skewing it. I know it’s hard to believe but people are STILL going out there. They’ve brought out the military in the north to provide additional pressure to stay home but, again, Italians will just try to talk their way past such road blocks and they frequently let people through! Especially on the Swiss/Italian borders. It’s crazy.
Now they just have so many cases that their health care systems are completely overrun. 90% of the new cases that become critical are going to die because there simply aren’t ventilators to keep people alive. Same problem NYC will be facing soon. [Reply]
Originally Posted by mr. tegu:
Can you elaborate? Where did you go? Letting in certain amounts of people?
I am going to go out on a limb and say he went to Costco :-)
That being said they started last week by letting only a certain number of people in at one time, restricted cash registers down to 1 master line that feeds into about 6 guided lines as you get to the register.
Also they are limiting TP, paper towels, and water to 1 per customer.
I was in a line Friday that literal wrapped around the inside square of the building to do a checkout and I was through the line in about 15 - 20 minutes. [Reply]
