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.”
New COVID-19 infections rising, but new deaths flat as younger patients recover
Some public health policy experts fear spreading unfounded alarm about rising infection rates risks deep harm to Americans' livelihoods and mental health due to prolonged, widespread shutdowns.
Even though new coronavirus infections are rising in America and around the world, new coronavirus deaths are largely flat, a trend largely missing from most mainstream media coverage.
Experts say the fact that new coronavirus deaths appear to remain flat is driven by more younger patients getting infected and recovering amid reopenings as the worst of the pandemic passes.
On Wednesday evening, the Washington Post issued a breaking news email alert headlined "New coronavirus cases in the U.S. soar to highest single-day total."
"Across the United States," reported the Post, "more than 36,000 new infections were reported by state health departments on Wednesday — surpassing the previous single-day record of 34,203 set on April 25."
Yet the article failed to mention that even while new infections are on the rise, new COVID-19 deaths are not.
This vital information gap in the media is causing some health policy experts to worry that fear about the coronavirus — evidenced, for example, by Wednesday's sharp stock market drop — is not founded in facts, particularly about how the virus disparately impacts different age groups. The spreading of unfounded alarm, the experts fear, could risk deep harm to Americans' livelihoods and mental health due to a prolonged, widespread shutdown.
The coronavirus has ravaged elderly populations in nursing homes and those with underlying comorbidities, but now the virus appears to be striking those who are younger and healthier and more able to withstand the disease and return to life normally.
Vanderbilt University School of Medicine professor Dr. William Schaffner, who specializes in preventive medicine and infectious diseases, noted in an interview with Just the News that for example, in Florida, reports indicate that it is middle-aged and younger adults now being hit with COVID-19.
Data from Oxford University show that even though the confirmed daily reported COVID-19 cases have been ticking up in the United States in recent days, daily confirmed deaths have not risen.
Similar trends are seen worldwide, according to Oxford: Daily confirmed cases have been rising, but daily confirmed deaths have not
"The data has made it clear that the impact of COVID-19 on those in long-term care facilities or older adults with underlying conditions has been devastating, and more cautious policies are suggested," Joshua Archambault, a senior fellow in healthcare policy at the Foundation for Government Accountability, told Just the News. "But for younger adults, if local hospital capacity is not an issue, then more open policies can be recommended, as long as they are paired with the common-sense best practices that most know to follow already."
Archambault recommended that to find a sustainable "new normal" leaders should analyze data daily or weekly to update any advice to citizens, instead of blanket recommendations or mandates for citizens based on older data.
"Without nuance, individuals' economic lives are ruined, and the negative impacts of isolation can set in, leading to more domestic violence, and suicide," Archambault said. "There are two sides to pandemic shutdowns. This will mean different recommendations for different groups and will reflect local concerns related to hospital capacity. That is why looking at just one data source is not enough. Leaders should be looking at running averages for hospital admission rates, mortality rates, and infection rates by different groups to make recommendations."
Yes young people are getting this and not dying as much but no one knows the long term impact on their health. Many younger people have gotten this and have had lung problems, blood problems, heart problems, strokes etc... You don't want this virus.
People need to go back to Social distancing and it should be mandatory to wear a mask in public until further notice. [Reply]
Originally Posted by DaFace:
To be fair, there's a decent amount of evidence that new infections are trending younger, so cases alone don't worry me THAT much.
The issue is that hospitalizations are increasing rapidly as well.
Yes, and I hope that's the "good" thing about the increase in cases. But, since we are apparently no where near an R0 below 1, they are going to infect others who may not be young.
Originally Posted by dirk digler:
Yes young people are getting this and not dying as much but no one knows the long term impact on their health. Many younger people have gotten this and have had lung problems, blood problems, heart problems, strokes etc... You don't want this virus.
Eh, there's also not a lot evidence that there ARE long-term impacts either. Plenty of people have had major short-term impacts and generally feel fine a month or two later.
That's not to say that there AREN'T long-term issues, but we just haven't seen enough to say one way or the other. [Reply]
Originally Posted by DaFace:
Eh, there's also not a lot evidence that there ARE long-term impacts either. Plenty of people have had major short-term impacts and generally feel fine a month or two later.
That's not to say that there AREN'T long-term issues, but we just haven't seen enough to say one way or the other.
Those seem like they are a very small percentage of cases. [Reply]
Originally Posted by DaFace:
Eh, there's also not a lot evidence that there ARE long-term impacts either. Plenty of people have had major short-term impacts and generally feel fine a month or two later.
That's not to say that there AREN'T long-term issues, but we just haven't seen enough to say one way or the other.
Until evidence suggests to the contrary, what is more likely: that the long-term health effects are a product of an previously unknown preexisting condition or are such long-lasting effects a true consequences of a C-19 infection? [Reply]
when we were closed places weren't closed that should have been. Should have been mandatory for some factories to be closed so we could get on top of things. We half assed the close down, then re-opened to early with little to no restrictions. This is what you get. No football this year. [Reply]
Originally Posted by DaFace:
To be fair, there's a decent amount of evidence that new infections are trending younger, so cases alone don't worry me THAT much.
The issue is that hospitalizations are increasing rapidly as well.
Yup, and increasingly rural. Also concerning [Reply]
