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 petegz28:
Just because a person has trace amounts of a virus does not mean they ever had it enough to be deemed infected or contagious. I figured even a Donger would know that.
Yea if you have viral genetic material found by pcr you have had an infection ie viral replication. [Reply]
Originally Posted by dirk digler:
Ok I have stated my plan what is yours?
Same as it has always been, Dirk. Those that are high risk have to hunker down and take precautions, etc. Those that are not have to forge ahead with life. Perhaps JoCo is an anomaly but throughout this entire ordeal it has consistently been the people 70+ that are in the very high risk category. By in large and I mean by in large those under 60 have been able to cope with this as they would any other illness.
That I am sure is different in places but I doubt JoCo has a special bubble around it. A 20 year old can get the flu and die from the effects or other illneses it may cause but the probability is very, very low. Same as with Covid.
We have seen here and across a lot of the country that while the 70+ crowd is the lowest percentage of overall cases they are the highest death percentages.
We cannot continue to think that the virus effects someone at 30 the same as it does at 70. That's not to be insensitive it's just the facts.
There is no easy answer but that is the situation. We cannot keep shutting things down for the sake of shutting things down. Again, it's possibility vs. probability just like everything else in life. [Reply]
Originally Posted by O.city:
Yea if you have viral genetic material found by pcr you have had an infection ie viral replication.
Fair enough. I should said you aren't necessarily contagious. I don't know about now but everyone at the Dept. of Health, my Doctor's office and the doctors I work with all felt after 10 days I was no longer contagious but would still test positive.
So it's a bit of a leap to say just because someone is positive that they are automatically contagious. Especially if you have to crank the cycles of the test up to excessive levels to get a positive when you otherwise wouldn't. [Reply]
Originally Posted by eDave:
Ask me that after the vaccine is out there. But I'd ball park through the winter.
Tell you what, you pay all the bills, mortgages and salaries so people don't lose their business, jobs and homes and kids aren't purposely robbed of their education then I will support a complete lockdown. [Reply]
Originally Posted by petegz28:
Same as it has always been, Dirk. Those that are high risk have to hunker down and take precautions, etc. Those that are not have to forge ahead with life. Perhaps JoCo is an anomaly but throughout this entire ordeal it has consistently been the people 70+ that are in the very high risk category. By in large and I mean by in large those under 60 have been able to cope with this as they would any other illness.
That I am sure is different in places but I doubt JoCo has a special bubble around it. A 20 year old can get the flu and die from the effects or other illneses it may cause but the probability is very, very low. Same as with Covid.
We have seen here and across a lot of the country that while the 70+ crowd is the lowest percentage of overall cases they are the highest death percentages.
We cannot continue to think that the virus effects someone at 30 the same as it does at 70. That's not to be insensitive it's just the facts.
There is no easy answer but that is the situation. We cannot keep shutting things down for the sake of shutting things down. Again, it's possibility vs. probability just like everything else in life.
Originally Posted by Donger:
Who claimed that? Certainly not me.
Okay so this is when this thing called practicality sets in. If you aren't contagious and aren't showing symptoms then wtf are wasting time on it?
In other words if you have to have tests purposely jacked up beyond levels medical professionals say they should be to get positives then I put little stock in someone going to the hospital for a broken arm only to find out that an overly-sensitive test said they have covid.
That's the point, Donger. How much unnecessary hysteria do we need to generate?
I think there is enough that we don't need to add irrelevant or otherwise insignificant data into the mix.
If you can't test positive with a test at the cycle everyone says it should be at then perhaps we are making a hurricane out of a very light mist in some cases. [Reply]
Originally Posted by petegz28:
Okay so this is when this thing called practicality sets in. If you aren't contagious and aren't showing symptoms then wtf are wasting time on it?
In other words if you have to have tests purposely jacked up beyond levels medical professionals say they should be to get positives then I put little stock in someone going to the hospital for a broken arm only to find out that an overly-sensitive test said they have covid.
That's the point, Donger. How much unnecessary hysteria do we need to generate?
I think there is enough that we don't need to add irrelevant or otherwise insignificant data into the mix.
If you can't test positive with a test at the cycle everyone says it should be at then perhaps we are making a hurricane out of a very light mist in some cases.
The only point that I was making that even a positive test which shows "dead" virus fragments still counts as an infection and case, pete. You chose to get snooty, challenged that and got whacked. That's it. [Reply]