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.”
So the Husband of the woman who cuts my hair was going to get tested and he called the local hospital to set it up because they were doing drive up testing and they told him flat out on the phone that if he makes an appointment but cannot make it he will be marked as positive. I won't say what hospital it was but it is Belton, Mo. [Reply]
When my wife went to get her test, they asked if she was married,and she said yes. Asked if she lived with me. She said yes., then said they considered me a positive as well. Even though I was never tested.
So I’m no t sure if they were just telling her that or if I would be counted in any figures they report. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Pants:
I think suzzer's point was that Europe's worst was still better than our best. You showed that to be completely untrue.
Comparing Europe's worst to our best was supposed to make his point stronger.
It sounds like, currently, things are much worse in Europe on a per capita basis, while, overall, they have still done a much better job at mitigating the total damage up to this point.
Man of all the times for you guys to actually pay attention to me.
My point was that usually when you look at the big new "spike" of some country on per capita basis it's nothing compared to our usual days in the US.
I hadn't looked at France recently and didn't realize they're actually worse than their initial outbreak. I assumed it was some relative spike that was still below their April spike. My bad. [Reply]
The other thing is that IFR is way down from those early spikes - some combination of better treatment, old/at-risk isolating, masks and other measures leading to less severe infection, maybe warmer weather helps. Maybe some other stuff I'm forgetting. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Dayze:
When my wife went to get her test, they asked if she was married,and she said yes. Asked if she lived with me. She said yes., then said they considered me a positive as well. Even though I was never tested.
So I’m no t sure if they were just telling her that or if I would be counted in any figures they report.
I'm pretty sure you get counted in the official tally. I know in our county if you live with someone that is covid positive you are counted as a probable case. [Reply]
Originally Posted by petegz28:
So the Husband of the woman who cuts my hair was going to get tested and he called the local hospital to set it up because they were doing drive up testing and they told him flat out on the phone that if he makes an appointment but cannot make it he will be marked as positive. I won't say what hospital it was but it is Belton, Mo.
Well of course. With that call he became just another one of the sheep. Another pawn in the big lie. [Reply]
Originally Posted by suzzer99:
Man of all the times for you guys to actually pay attention to me.
My point was that usually when you look at the big new "spike" of some country on per capita basis it's nothing compared to our usual days in the US.
I hadn't looked at France recently and didn't realize they're actually worse than their initial outbreak. I assumed it was some relative spike that was still below their April spike. My bad.
And you would still be completely wrong with this statement unless you want to selectively pick out countries with low numbers. In general Europe is doing no better to worse than the US right now. People hate to see it because it kind of destroys the narrative we have botched this whole thing. [Reply]
Gov. Kelly’s September COVID deaths claim is grossly exaggerated
Kansas Governor Laura Kelly at yesterday’s press conference made a consciously exaggerated and deceptive claim about COVID deaths in September. She said there were “23 new deaths reported between Friday and today.” It’s understandable that most people would interpret Kelly’s statement as did Hawver’s Capitol Report, which wrote “She said there were 23 COVID-19 deaths in the state over the weekend, bringing the total to 534.”
Kelly parsed her words carefully to deceive media and citizens. Most of those deaths didn’t occur over the weekend…they were just reported over the weekend. According to their chart showing deaths by date of death, no one died on Saturday and just one person died on Sunday. The Sentinel compared deaths by date since March with the weekly change reported by KDHE…and found that most of the deaths reported in September occurred in prior months.
The Monday reports from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment reflect 39 new deaths reported for the week ended Sept. 7 and 49 more for the week ended September 14; that’s 88 COVID deaths in September. But only 29 of them occurred in September; the rest occurred in prior months according to KDHE. (At press time, KDHE hadn’t assigned dates to five deaths, so it’s possible that September deaths could be as high as 34.)
Why would Governor Kelly want people to think COVID deaths are rapidly increasing when they are actually declining? Given Kelly’s objections to being questioned about her COVID responses, one must wonder if she thinks frightened voters are easier to control and manipulate.
House Majority Leader Dan Hawkins (R-Wichita), who has had his own transparency issues with the Kelly administration, says Kansans deserve the truth, not talking points.
“The lives of hundreds-of-thousands of Kansans have been impacted in some way by the response to this pandemic. Many families have experienced extreme financial hardship as a result of lost jobs and failed businesses. Those Kansans deserve the unvarnished truth whether it’s good or bad. It is always the responsibility of state government to present accurate, easily understood information, but even more so during a time of crisis.”
Kelly’s deceptive claim about the COVID death trend is the latest in a string of her administration’s attempts to mislead.
Last month, KDHE hid a low testing rate to scare people with a claim of Kansas having a high COVID positivity rate.
The Kelly administration has a habit of ignoring media inquiries that question their narrative and rejected at least two Open Records requests, hiding behind a legal technicality that says government officials can’t be compelled to “create” a record. They don’t deny having the requested information…they just don’t want to produce it.
Even the Wall Street Journal said Kansas health secretary Dr. Lee Norman fudged data on a chart to make Governor Kelly’s mask mandate look successful.
Senate President Susan Wagle (R-Wichita) says fear and more government mandates are a disservice to Kansans.
“Science, statistics, and analysis are now painting a different picture of the impact of the virus than what was originally anticipated. The death rate in Kansas is not at the 4% rate once predicted and is instead at a low overall rate of 1.07%. Outside of long-term care facilities, the death rate is 0.6%. Kansas citizens and Kansas business owners are taking the necessary steps to stop the spread and go about their work safely. Fear and more government mandates are not helpful or necessary and only inhibits our road to economic recovery.”
