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 Donger:
US Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams gave a "somber" message to the nation while speaking on NBC this morning,
"I want America to understand — this week, it's going to get bad," Adams told NBC's Savannah Guthrie, adding that some people have not been properly practicing social distancing.
"This is how the spread is occurring. So we really, really need everyone to stay at home," Adams said. "I think that there are a lot of people who are doing the right things, but I think that unfortunately we're finding out a lot of people think this can't happen to them."
Saw where 5 students from University of Tampa came back from spring break with CV. 4 out of 5 went back to campus upon their return. [Reply]
Originally Posted by keg in kc:
Every morning I wake up with a dry cough. For years. It goes away as I get moving.
Now I'm like, "oh shit, where did I go 2 days ago? Is this it?"
It's funny how the mind works before it's really in gear.
Yeah, allergies, that I get every year at this time, are kicking my butt this morning. But, there’s a little voice in my head that says “well crap”. [Reply]
"I do want to share what I consider to be positive news from our office in Shanghai. Our peers in Shanghai have recently been through what we are all experiencing today. While some restrictions are still in place in the city and there is voluntary social distancing, our Shanghai staff is back working in the office, and after five weeks of disruption, business is nearly back to normal. And for the fourth straight day there are no new cases of COVID-19 being reported in China. This is wonderful news! " [Reply]
Originally Posted by Mr_Tomahawk:
A bit from an email today from my firm's CEO:
"I do want to share what I consider to be positive news from our office in Shanghai. Our peers in Shanghai have recently been through what we are all experiencing today. While some restrictions are still in place in the city and there is voluntary social distancing, our Shanghai staff is back working in the office, and after five weeks of disruption, business is nearly back to normal. And for the fourth straight day there are no new cases of COVID-19 being reported in China. This is wonderful news! "
Originally Posted by displacedinMN:
3M said Sunday it is now producing nearly 100 million N95 respirators per month with more than 90% designated for health care workers.
Yes, and legislation passed last week to allow them to be sold to healthcare workers, where they weren't before...
Originally Posted by BWillie:
Why can't we get people those suits you see on TV for outbreaks? Sure the fixed cost is high, but just disinfect and clean them daily. Also much more comfortable and safe for the workers.
Cost and time. The actual cost of the equipment. And the time to get in and out of the equipment. We had a TB outbreak in KC. There was studies done that the PPE we were using wasn't safe. They refused to get the better PPE citing cost and lost production time.:-)
Originally Posted by dirk digler:
Yep and read the measures they are taking. We would never do this currently.
We cant enforce the orders that have been given if people ignore them. We going to ask police, the national guard to lock up any that venture out? That aint happening in this country.
FTR, our governor in Florida really let down the people for not closing the beaches. He took the $'s of spring breakers and now we are already seeing them infect their classmates returning to colleges around the USA, who are in turn going to infect others.
AND what about spreading the virus to all the old people we have down here. That mistake is going to put Florida up there with Cali, Washington, NY as epicenters of this outbreaks. [Reply]
Reports suggest a loss of sense of smell and taste might (emphasis on might) be an early sign of #COVID19. We reported March 13 on a study that noted this rare symptom. https://t.co/OMELjvTBA1
Reports suggest a loss of sense of smell and taste might (emphasis on might) be an early sign of #COVID19. We reported March 13 on a study that noted this rare symptom. https://t.co/OMELjvTBA1
People infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes the disease, may test positive for the virus both before and after they have symptoms. But a new study of nine people who contracted the virus in Germany suggests that people are mainly contagious before they have symptoms and in the first week of the disease.
Infectious viruses were isolated from about 17 percent of nose and throat swabs and more than 83 percent of phlegm samples during that first week, researchers report March 8 in a study posted at medRxiv.org.
Patients produced thousands to millions of viruses in their noses and throats, about 1,000 times as much virus as produced in SARS patients, Clemens Wendtner, director of infectious disease and tropical medicine at Munich Clinic Schwabing, a teaching hospital, and his colleagues found. That heavy load of viruses may help explain why the new coronavirus is so infectious.
But there’s encouraging news, too. Plummeting numbers of infectious virus after antibody production turns on “means that after about 10 days or so, you’re not likely to be infecting other people,” Khan says. Other studies also suggest that people with very mild or asymptomatic infections don’t shed as much virus and aren’t as likely to infect other people as people with more severe cases, he says. [Reply]
