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.”
MOSCOW, April 11 (Reuters) - The Kremlin said on Saturday a "huge influx" of coronavirus patients was beginning to put a strain on hospitals in Moscow as Russia's death toll rose to more than 100.
Moscow and many other regions have been in lockdown for nearly two weeks to stem the contagion, but hospitals in the capital are still being pushed to their limit, officials said.
On Saturday a Reuters witness saw a tailback of dozens of ambulances queuing outside a hospital handling coronavirus cases in the region immediately outside Moscow, waiting to drop off patients.
One ambulance driver said he had been waiting 15 hours outside the hospital to drop off a patient suspected of having the virus.
"The situation in both Moscow and St. Petersburg, but mostly in Moscow, is quite tense because the number of sick people is growing," Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in an interview on state television, Russian news agencies reported.
"There is a huge influx of patients. We are seeing hospitals in Moscow working extremely intensely, in heroic, emergency mode."
Russia has reported 13,584 cases of the virus, and the authorities said on Saturday that 12 new coronavirus-related deaths in the last day had pushed the casualty toll to 106.
Peskov added that it would become clearer only in the next few weeks whether the country was nearing the worst point in its outbreak.
Sergei Sobyanin, the mayor of Moscow, said on Friday that the city was far from reaching the peak of the outbreak, saying it was merely in its "foothills".
The authorities in Moscow are set to begin introducing a system of permits to control movement around the city starting next week to help enforce the lockdown.
A stronger police presence was visible on the streets of Moscow on Saturday. Traffic police had set up check points on major thoroughfares on the outskirts of the city but were not systematically carrying out checks.
In the early stages epidemic, Russia recorded fewer cases of the new coronavirus than many Western European countries, but its tally began to rise sharply this month.
Until late March officials were saying the situation was under control and that there was no epidemic in the country. (Reporting by Gennady Novik, Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber, Maria Vasilyeva, Katya Golubkova and Dmitry Madorsky Editing by Tom Balmforth and James Drummond) [Reply]
Originally Posted by HonestChieffan:
this seems to have gotten lost in all the other news, or i just missed it.
HHS Statements on Authorizing Licensed Pharmacists to Order and Administer COVID-19 Tests
Earlier today, the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health issued new guidance under the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act authorizing licensed pharmacists to order and administer COVID-19 tests that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has authorized.
HHS Secretary Alex Azar issued the following statement:
"Giving pharmacists the authorization to order and administer COVID-19 tests to their patients means easier access to testing for Americans who need it. Pharmacists play a vital role in delivering convenient access to important public health services and information. The Trump Administration is pleased to give pharmacists the chance to play a bigger role in the COVID-19 response, alongside all of America's heroic healthcare workers."
HHS Assistant Secretary for Health Brett P. Giroir, M.D. issued the following statement:
"In an effort to expand testing capabilities, we are authorizing licensed pharmacists to order and administer COVID-19 tests to their patients. The accessibility and distribution of retail and independent community-based pharmacies make pharmacists the first point of contact with a healthcare professional for many Americans. This will further expand testing for Americans, particularly our healthcare workers and first responders who are working around the clock to provide care, compassion and safety to others."
OASH's Guidance for Licensed Pharmacists, COVID-19 Testing, and Immunity under the PREP Act is available here - PDF.
FDA's Emergency Use Authorizations for diagnostic and therapeutic medical devices to diagnose and respond to public health emergencies is available here.
Priorities for testing patients with suspected COVID-19 infection are available here - PDF.
Originally Posted by 'Hamas' Jenkins:
Makes sense. Hopefully they'll give them enough PPE to do it safely.
My Mom works as a retail pharmacist and said she hasn't heard anything about this up to this point. :-) [Reply]
Originally Posted by TLO:
My Mom works as a retail pharmacist and said she hasn't heard anything about this up to this point. :-)
Pretty sure it was just creating the authority for it to be done. Logistically, it will take a while to be implemented, because it needs to be done in a safe manner. You don't want a shitload of presumed positives showing up to a store when the staff doesn't have adequate PPE or a way to filter them in/out without proper disinfecting. [Reply]
Originally Posted by 'Hamas' Jenkins:
Pretty sure it was just creating the authority for it to be done. Logistically, it will take a while to be implemented, because it needs to be done in a safe manner. You don't want a shitload of presumed positives showing up to a store when the staff doesn't have adequate PPE or a way to filter them in/out without proper disinfecting.
Right. We were discussing the logistics of it, and it sounds like it would be a nightmare.
She also said she'd have no idea how to do the nasal swab correctly, though she said she'd be willing to learn. [Reply]
If not for the drain on the health care system and the risk to everyone these idiots eventually come in contact with, I'd be rooting for these assholes to contract the virus.
Originally Posted by :
While many churches across the nation plan to hold their Easter services online Sunday, a Louisiana pastor says his church near Baton Rouge is expecting a crowd of 2,000 or more despite federal coronavirus guidance advising social distancing.
“Satan and a virus will not stop us,” Rev. Tony Spell told Reuters. “God will shield us from all harm and sickness. We are not afraid. We are called by God to stand against the Antichrist creeping into America’s borders. We will spread the Gospel.”
Spell has gained attention in recent days for insisting on holding in-person services as the coronavirus pandemic has left more than 14,700 dead in the United States and as cases nationwide top 431,000.
“Like any zealot or like any pure religious person, death looks to them like a welcome friend. True Christians do not mind dying. They fear living in fear,” Spell told TMZ in an interview this week.
Spell was arrested on March 31 and charged with six misdemeanors for violating an executive order by Gov. John Bel Edwards (D) banning gatherings of more than 50 people. Central, La., Police Chief Roger Corcoran said Spell's decision to continue in-person services was “reckless and irresponsible.”
His arrest took place just a day after Florida megachurch Pastor Rodney Howard-Browne was also arrested for holding services at his church, the River at Tampa Bay, amid the COVID-19 outbreak.
President Trump and Vice President Pence have both acknowledged that, while it's not the same as going in person, they will both be attending virtual Easter services this year and have encouraged other Americans to follow suit.
Federal officials are advising people not to gather in large groups, maintain distance, wash hands and, when possible, avoid leaving home. Health experts also advise wearing cloth masks when possible.
Most states have issued their own independent stay-at-home orders, and some have even imposed fines for violators.
Was just reading that in New York right now they have 124 hospitalizations per 100,000 adults. The national average is currently 24. In my state, which is in lockdown like most states, it's < 4.
The median age of a COVID death here is currently 88 [Reply]
