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 BleedingRed:
Just remember not one single expert said the Shut Down was to keep people from getting it.
The primary reason for the extreme shutdown measures was to protect hospital capacity/supplies... that has been accomplished.
The shutdown measures are emergency/acute in their extreme nature... states/cities should be looking to transition to more sustainable approaches as soon as possible. [Reply]
Originally Posted by O.city:
I'm also interested to see the outcome of targeting lockdowns vs large scale ones. Everyone brings up Sweden but I think you could intelligently do it while lowering the IFR to a reasonable level and keeping economic levels reasonable as well.
I think that would be really interesting, although we're such a varied country, could you enforce it? Would people from New York just take off to Vermont or Florida or somewhere else?
We are not anywhere close to unified as a country as Sweden. [Reply]
Originally Posted by tk13:
I think that would be really interesting, although we're such a varied country, could you enforce it? Would people from New York just take off to Vermont or Florida or somewhere else?
We are not anywhere close to unified as a country as Sweden.
As we've seen, we aren't a large all together blob. We essentially have 50 different outbreaks and levels and such. With everyones ability to travel, yeah, It would be tough.
But I still contend that if government was fully transparent and open about it, people would follow it. [Reply]
Originally Posted by KCChiefsFan88:
The primary reason for the extreme shutdown measures was to protect hospital capacity/supplies... that has been accomplished.
The shutdown measures are emergency/acute in their extreme nature... states/cities should be looking to transition to more sustainable approaches as soon as possible.
No, it wasn't. It was to minimize the amount of infection. [Reply]
Originally Posted by ChiliConCarnage:
They started trials in Germany a few weeks back I think. Not many people though.. I think it was 12 people. I guess the first trial they just make sure no one dies from it?
And obviously make sure it stops the virus.
I see there is also another human vaccine trial that started yesterday as well here in the US. Both could be ready by September.
Pfizer and German pharmaceutical company BioNTech say their potential coronavirus vaccine began human trials in the U.S. on Monday. If the tests are successful, the vaccine could be ready for emergency use in September. From the NYT: https://t.co/MGvcTe4fOQ
That is click bait bull shit and nothing new. Not spitting venom at you for posting, but wanted the masses to know that articles all speculation and the science doesn’t add up. LA Times has to pay the bills to I guess.
Here’s a better point of view, and one that is actually all science and a great sign:
Originally Posted by DaFace:
And how do you predict how likely people will be to visit a restaurant given the fears of COVID?
(FWIW, we just did a study in Colorado, and only about a third of people say they'll go to a restaurant when they're allowed to. The rest will wait a few months.)
I'm not surprised. I think this is a direct result of allowing too much emotion to guide policy. People who regularly go to the hospital here still won't even go near it. The local movie theater, which was/is heavily subsidized, has all but said it may never reopen.
They scared the sheep so bad it did permanent damage. Anyone who dared to stop and think about the ramifications were shouted down at every step. If anything, I think this situation needed way more extremists on the other side in an attempt to slow the tide. Many of the people I would have expected to be those extremist were the first to hoard TP though, so all you could do was sit back and laugh.
Realestate agents are also noticing an interesting trend in the last few weeks. The surge in interest is coming from very specific areas codes. I damn sure would never live like rats in a cage, but I don't want the rats to flee their cages either. Many cities have dumped massive amounts of tax dollars into reviving downtown. It will be interesting to see how those areas revive their revival. [Reply]