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 BIG_DADDY:
We are supposed to have 5 Wuhan's going by now. How can the skies be filled with the smoke and stench of all the burning bodies if we don't at least have that many? We can't really get into the 3.3M deaths needed to meet that minimum 1% threshold unless we really get this ball rolling.
Originally Posted by DaFace:
It's all about balance. If, years from now, we look back at this and see that the CFR was around 0.5%, some people will say that the response was a complete overreaction.
Yep. And since we have locked down, we'll never know how bad it would have gotten if we hadn't. [Reply]
Originally Posted by BigRedChief:
there are still today, hospitals and nurses using the same PPE’s for a whole shift or in some cases multiple days. Google it. It’s a fact. Today, not a month ago. I would have got fired for doing this once. I understand it’s a crisis. I worked for 10 years in an environment that was always in crisis. For instance, I know the best way to get human brains out of a lab coat.
The PPE shortage is an American nationwide problem. Why would I not use the term that it shouldn’t be happening in America?
Because what gives you that high ground?
It's your position that every western nation should be prepared for a global pandemic? Again - NOBODY is ready for this. And according to Mayo the US was more prepared for it than anyone in the world.
It's the moral grandstanding that I find off-putting. Our nation, like every nation in the world, has made decisions over time that attempt to balance planning with immediate needs. And in the process, we're no more immune than anyone to frivolity.
In a boxing match every fighter will acknowledge that no matter how great he is, no matter how quick, he can't avoid every punch. So in concert with his defense he makes sure he can absorb the punch and if he CAN'T absorb the punch that he's able to get off the mat.
The US, in many ways, was as good at anyone in defending the punch but in the end, they were ALWAYS going to get hit. Just as everyone else has. And where we're seeing the US strength is in our ability to absorb a few punches and get ourselves off the mat. That's where the industrial response and ever-increasing surge capacity is coming in. [Reply]
Originally Posted by DJ's left nut:
And what's going to continue to have to happen is that supply will have to follow demand.
It's odd to me that their ICU is packed unless they're just a small hospital. MU has something like 80 critical care beds and as of last night they had 3 in ICU, despite some of the best testing rates in the region.
And yeah, sharing PPE isn't great. It's a stop-gap that is being addressed on a daily basis. And while sharing PPE goes against protocol, protocol is also ideal situation stuff. Doing things like layering a basic surgical mask over an N95 mask and then swapping out the surgical masks between patients isn't the best thing to do...but it's not a facially awful thing to do either. If ideal scenarios yield a 95% reduction in transmission and the 'layered' approach yields a 70% reduction - clearly the former is what you base your protocol on.
But the latter isn't shite. Nor is it permanent.
At this point we can't let perfect be the enemy of good. Supply chains and manufacturing capabilities are being ramped up on a wartime scale. It's coming. The concerns are heard and are being addressed.
She works in one of the largest hospitals in KC and it isn't being addressed at all. They have been dealing with this for weeks. She told me today, dad this is a warzone and this is just the beginning.
Hell in my local hospital here doctor's and nurses have started using bandanas that people have made.
This has been a total failure in leadership. [Reply]
Originally Posted by DJ's left nut:
I've seen a handful at 30-40%.
But whatever the case may be, it does appear there are loads of people who got this and showed very little. The question becomes at that point whether they have developed sufficient antibodies to actually come out of the carrier pool.
And those antibody tests are still a ways behind in terms of volume, speed and efficacy.
If you had it, you'll have antibodies to it. Even if asymptomatic.
I don't know how strong that response is and they're still looking into it. But based on everything I've read, it would make sense. [Reply]
Originally Posted by dirk digler:
She works in one of the largest hospitals in KC and it isn't being addressed at all. They have been dealing with this for weeks. She told me today, dad this is a warzone and this is just the beginning.
Hell in my local hospital here doctor's and nurses have started using bandanas that people have made.
