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 Demonpenz:
seems like we are having a better day than expected. Hopefully a couple more weeks like today goes by and we can get the all clear
Originally Posted by DJ's left nut:
Absorb data, then act?
CDC came out 2 weeks ago and said "hey, there's NO evidence that shutting schools down slows the spread because you're isolating low risk kids with high risk individuals and by increasing family exposure (EASILY the highest instances of transmission), you're actually increasing risk..."
Cuomo comes out yesterday and says "yeah, closing schools was probably a mistake based on the data we have available...."
I mean, nevermind the fact that you had evidence of that before you did it - you STILL won't re-open 'em because of the optics involved.
And yeah, it's easy to just shout about carriers and disease vectors and blah blah blah but again, you have to ignore the evidence that's showing that children to adult exposure is extremely rare, as are instances of children to children transfer. There's data here - friggen use it.
this is dumb to me.
closing schools put those kids with the higher risk adults ONCE, if they went to school every day they would be putting them at risk every day.
and cuomo also said in that same interview that the best thing he did was shut everything down immediately.
they all talk out both sides of their mouth [Reply]
Originally Posted by PAChiefsGuy:
Every American is recommended to have 6th months worth of rent saved before they move out. If they don't that it is their own fault and they should take ownership of it.
That being said you are exaggerating. Can't see a way to provide for his family? Lol... There's unemployment and now a stimulus package to help Americans out who lose their job due to the CoronaVirus. **** out of here with that can't provide for his family bs.
I could see if this was like 4th or 5th month of people not working but that isn't the case and you know it.
40% increase in suicide hotline/emergency service requests over last year, roughly 30% over just a few weeks ago.
You don't get to turn off human nature. If it's okay for government to act irrationally, it's also okay for people to do so.
Yes, many of them are making more of this than they should, but they're just as dead. And no, I'm not saying it's a 1 for 1 ratio, but I'm saying that you can't just hand-waive it either. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Demonpenz:
seems like we are having a better day than expected. Hopefully a couple more weeks like today goes by and we can get the all clear
Originally Posted by DJ's left nut:
One would think the "all lives are precious, we'll stop everything to save a single one..." crowd might.
Again - there's only one voice from only one perspective being heard right now. And yes, there's a calculus. If you can tell me why an 80 yr old dying of disease warrants more concern than a 30 yr old who kills himself because he can't see a way to provide for his family, I'm all ears.
All viewpoints need more consideration than they're getting.
because the 30 year old is choosing his fate? [Reply]
Originally Posted by SAUTO:
because the 30 year old is choosing his fate?
Someone with a mental illness, "chooses their fate"?
Perhaps you can say the same thing about an overweight chain smoker with diabetes/lung problems who drops dead from COVID-19 due to all of their self-induced underlying health conditions. [Reply]
closing schools put those kids with the higher risk adults ONCE, if they went to school every day they would be putting them at risk every day.
and cuomo also said in that same interview that the best thing he did was shut everything down immediately.
they all talk out both sides of their mouth
But again, there's little evidence that schools have ever been a hotbed of transmission. It's not the kind of close, intimate contact among extreme carriers that is leading to the outbreaks.
Because the boots on the ground reality is that the adults still have to go out in the world. They work in healthcare or essential industry. They go to grocery stores. Then they spend even MORE time around their children and create that prolonged intimate contact that increases transmission.
I don't see it as counter-intuitive, but even if it is - so what? You don't get to disregard data because it doesn't fit the narrative you'd already contrived.
If there's no evidence that shutting down schools slows the spread, why shut down schools? "Abundance of caution" in the face of all available evidence simply doesn't fly. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Mecca:
Well if they test less people it really tells us nothing other than there are less tests.
Sorry, but I don't agree. I'm fully aware that there are certainly more cases than 82 today. But that's the confirmed figure we have to go with at this point. [Reply]
