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 KCChiefsFan88:
22.2% to 26.9% of people being hospitalized for COVID-19 complications have diabetes.
If you choose to be obese and eat unhealthy shit, you are making lifestyle choices that lead to diabetes and increase your chances of getting COVID-19-related complications.
Originally Posted by 'Hamas' Jenkins:
I do think that we need to consider the impact on mental health. I know that this quarantine has been very hard on my own. However, I also believe that the excess deaths postulated from opening everything back up far surpass the mental health damage.
From a selfish standpoint, I also know that opening everything up places me at higher risk as well as my wife. I don't want her exposed any more than possible, not only for my sake, but hers.
Ultimately, I think we have to do whatever we can to stop overwhelming the healthcare system. If we end up with a surge that overwhelms our ability to protect them, it will create a shortage of providers for years that will itself lead to thousands upon thousands of excess deaths.
i agree with you totally here.
and i'm a bit selfish myself, my daughter has had a terrible fight for months (respiratory and heart) and had just gotten out of the woods a couple weeks ago (all over a pos nurse stealing her meds instead of giving them to her...) she probably wouldnt make it through another fight at this point. i'm worried for her. [Reply]
Originally Posted by 'Hamas' Jenkins:
I do think that we need to consider the impact on mental health. I know that this quarantine has been very hard on my own. However, I also believe that the excess deaths postulated from opening everything back up far surpass the mental health damage.
From a selfish standpoint, I also know that opening everything up places me at higher risk as well as my wife. I don't want her exposed any more than possible, not only for my sake, but hers.
Ultimately, I think we have to do whatever we can to stop overwhelming the healthcare system. If we end up with a surge that overwhelms our ability to protect them, it will create a shortage of providers for years that will itself lead to thousands upon thousands of excess deaths.
I don't disagree with any of this. I'm simply saying all sides have to be heard in these discussions.
You speak to the long-term impacts being felt for years, I think that will be even MORE stark in mental health instances. Or family stability. I don't think this is political but it does come in part from my ideology - I think family stability is absolutely massive in long-term health and education outcomes (which then drive further positive outcomes across the board). I think the data on that is largely unassailable. Much of this comes from families that have the financial wherewithal to provide; we all know that money troubles are HUGE forces in family instability.
When you start to impact a family's ability to provide and start to shake their family dynamics at their cores, that has immense long-term impact. Many, if not most, will eventually rebound to normalcy. But many will not. And those impacts will be felt for years. Potentially generations.
Almost certainly moreso than losing a grandparent would.
My sister's an emergency room physician in Houston. My wife's an NP at University Hospital. Shit, anyone who lives in Columbia has connections with dozens of front-line healthcare workers. Virtually every one of my friends or their spouses works in healthcare in some way (I'm hard pressed to think of a single one who doesn't at the moment). I'm well aware of the fear they're facing and certainly endorse efforts to protect them.
But again, that cannot be the only place we make policy decisions from. [Reply]
Originally Posted by KCChiefsFan88:
22.2% to 26.9% of people being hospitalized for COVID-19 complications have diabetes.
If you choose to be obese and eat unhealthy shit, you are making lifestyle choices that lead to diabetes and increase your chances of getting COVID-19-related complications.
Originally Posted by SAUTO:
i agree with you totally here.
and i'm a bit selfish myself, my daughter has had a terrible fight for months (respiratory and heart) and had just gotten out of the woods a couple weeks ago (all over a pos nurse stealing her meds instead of giving them to her...) she probably wouldnt make it through another fight at this point. i'm worried for her.
i live in a small town and i know 3 people that they are saying have it but wont test them.
our county number is still 0 for all those statistics reports though!!! yay us.
See, that's bullshit. How do they know it's Coronavirus and not the flu or a cold? That sways the numbers. And if they are doing it, how many others are counted like that. [Reply]