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 DaneMcCloud:
As I mentioned back in January, I took my family on a Road Trip to KC over the holidays. On there way to KC, I took I-40 to I-35. Once we exited California, I only saw a few Highway Patrol cars on the 40 until Oklahoma City, which was mainly due to the construction - no radar guns or cops in hiding.
We left KC the morning of December 30th and I made the (stupid) decision to take the Northern Route home because it's about 90 minutes shorter. I saw 15 Highway Patrolman on K-10 and I-70 in Kansas. They were visible on the freeway medians but it felt like they were everywhere and I saw a few of them peel out after speeders.
I saw one in Colorado, one in Utah and none in Nevada. With the speed limit in most states set at 75 mph, I didn't even bother going even 1 mph over the speed limit. It wasn't worth it for many reasons but I didn't want to stand out, especially driving a black SUV with California license plates.
Yeah, it's so much better out here. I'm sure LA is having a field day right now... the few times I've seen open highway there, people are flying by me while I'm at ~10-15mph over, and for good reason when you do get the chance.
To KC and back, I usually get off I-40 at Tucumcari, NM, taking 54/400 to Wichita... few cops and saves ~100 miles from staying on 40, but also several small towns with reduced speed limits. Probably doesn't save a ton of time in the end, but saves me one gas stop. (granted, 1-40 east of that point is infinitely better than New Mexico and Arizona, as there are shit ton of truckers and none of them seem to give a shit if they stay in the left lane for 3 hours because they can't ever get enough momentum between the hills to pass. :-) ) [Reply]
Originally Posted by Bearcat:
Yeah, it's so much better out here. I'm sure LA is having a field day right now... the few times I've seen open highway there, people are flying by me while I'm at ~10-15mph over, and for good reason when you do get the chance.
To KC and back, I usually get off I-40 at Tucumcari, NM, taking 54/400 to Wichita... few cops and saves ~100 miles from staying on 40, but also several small towns with reduced speed limits. Probably doesn't save a ton of time in the end, but saves me one gas stop. (granted, 1-40 east of that point is infinitely better than New Mexico and Arizona, as there are shit ton of truckers and none of them seem to give a shit if they stay in the left lane for 3 hours because they can't ever get enough momentum between the hills to pass. :-) )
One bonus of being a medical professional and having a wife doctor is the cops have a tendency to go easy on me .
I got stopped going 40km over with 3 year expired tags and 7 copies of expired insurance subs in the wifes car and just got a warning, it helped he as her patient. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Monticore:
One bonus of being a medical professional and having a wife doctor is the cops have a tendency to go easy on me .
I got stopped going 40km over with 3 year expired tags and 7 copies of expired insurance subs in the wifes car and just got a warning, it helped he as her patient.
I've heard that before from medical professionals... keep your work badge in the car because it can save you a ticket.
Originally Posted by Bearcat:
To KC and back, I usually get off I-40 at Tucumcari, NM, taking 54/400 to Wichita... few cops and saves ~100 miles from staying on 40, but also several small towns with reduced speed limits. Probably doesn't save a ton of time in the end, but saves me one gas stop. (granted, 1-40 east of that point is infinitely better than New Mexico and Arizona, as there are shit ton of truckers and none of them seem to give a shit if they stay in the left lane for 3 hours because they can't ever get enough momentum between the hills to pass. :-) )
I'd done that route in the past, when I was much younger, but it really only saves about 30 minutes. My biggest criteria for driving back over the holidays was to avoid any and all 2 lane highways because they can be so difficult to navigate, especially at night.
We attended an October 2019 wedding in Palo Alto, which required me to take the California 152 at night, which is a two lane freeway. It was just scary as hell because Semi's were rolling at 75 miles an hour or more on winding roads and it was all I could do to keep my vehicle in my lane to avoid an accident.
After that, I vowed to myself never to take busy 2 lane freeways, especially with my family in the vehicle. I was like 3 feet from a serious car accident a dozen or more times that night and I could barely sleep after the six hour drive because my adrenaline was still pumping. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Donger:
Numbers tracking for perhaps another (and consecutive) day of fewer new cases and deaths.
Awesome news is awesome.
People gotta keep the social distancing going. We have to treat every week as THE most important week to isolate and it will continue to pay off. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Bearcat:
Read an article about how tons of food is going to waste and to some extent it's a logistical issue.... so, the local WalMart has a limit of 1 gallon of milk and 1 carton of eggs, yet plants are throwing out shit tons of both because they're setup to distribute to restaurants and schools.
And that apparently no one eats vegetables outside of what's served at restaurants... no surprise there though.
Yeah, I've heard some terrible stories about food waste, just because of the change in demand/sources/shipping. Also, these weird food outages of specific types and stuff like the above make it pretty clear that a pretty decent portion of our society hasn't got he first damn clue about how to feed themselves through the week without outside sources. [Reply]
No clue i never drive my wife's vehicle and i guess she had forgotten to update them but as far as the speeding goes that's on me i have a heavy foot . [Reply]
My wife was coroner for a long time as well and that helped me get passed some road closures once in a while , playing hockey with 60% percent of the cops in town helps too. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Bearcat:
Read an article about how tons of food is going to waste and to some extent it's a logistical issue.... so, the local WalMart has a limit of 1 gallon of milk and 1 carton of eggs, yet plants are throwing out shit tons of both because they're setup to distribute to restaurants and schools.
And that apparently no one eats vegetables outside of what's served at restaurants... no surprise there though.
In college I ate healthy by having a combination pizza 4 times a week.
I don’t know if I ever had any other veggies. [Reply]
