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 Donger:
Are you saying you don't think that social distancing doesn't work at all?
It will absolutely work. The masses won't believe it is working because it coincides with a dramatic increase in testing.
We are kind of half assing it though, if you arent closing schools, restaurants and the like. But all we need to do is even out the curve so that our health care system has enough capacity to handle it.
I know nobody believes China because USA USA USA, but their measures worked. They were drastic and much harsher than we would ever do. WHO has verified alot of their data. [Reply]
So my stepdad is in the hospital recovering from the surgery to remove the cancer. He is in the ICU, has COPD, CHF, and a suppressed immune system due to the radiation and chemo. The hospital has taken measures to try and keep COVID-19 from spreading around the hospital.
Limiting the hours you can visit (7:30 am to 6:30 pm) - Im not an expert on viruses, but this seems to be a pointless tactic. I am pretty sure that the virus doesnt give a fuck what time of day it is. They really should be turning all visitors away, unless they are willing to wear a mask at all times, so that in case a person has it they are limiting the chances of spreading it.
Limiting the number of visitors at a time to 2 - another pointless tactic. The visiting hours are 11 hours long. Limiting the amount of people that can be in the room doesn't really do much, especially when there are 11 hours in which they can come visit. If 2 people visit for an hour, then that means 22 people could visit in just one day. I dont think most people even have that many people visit.
Screenings at the door - I think most people know that if they are feeling sick they shouldn't visit the hospital and since you can have no symptoms for up to 2 weeks and still pass this thing around the screenings may keep a couple people from visiting.
I told my mom that she really shouldnt even be visiting because a lot more people have this than what have been tested, so if youve been out going into stores the last few days theres a chance you've been exposed to it and dont even know it. I told her to wear a mask anytime shes in the room and shes very good about washing her hands, so im not too concerned.
One thing that does concern me however is the employees. Chances are fairly good that KC has a good amount of people with this thing and just don't have the symptoms yet. These nurses and other employees of the hospital go out around town on their days off and have probably been exposed as well and since it takes awhile for the symptoms to show up some of them could unknowingly have it and give it to a patient. I asked my mom if the nurses are wearing masks while in the room and she said no and that concerns the hell out of me.
The hospital is treating the coronavirus like it is less severe than the flu. Hell during flu season if you decline to get a flu shot they make you wear a mask either all the time or during the times you interact with patients to protect the patient, just because you didnt get a flu shot. Why are they not requiring workers to wear masks for this because there is no vaccine, you dont have to even have syptoms to spread this, and it's alot more contagious. It just infuriates me that they don't have more precautions there, especially in the ICU of all places. If my stepdad happened to get this then he more than likely would die from it. [Reply]
Originally Posted by BWillie:
It will absolutely work. The masses won't believe it is working because it coincides with a dramatic increase in testing.
We are kind of half assing it though, if you arent closing schools, restaurants and the like. But all we need to do is even out the curve so that our health care system has enough capacity to handle it.
I know nobody believes China because USA USA USA, but their measures worked. They were drastic and much harsher than we would ever do. WHO has verified alot of their data.
I don't know man, there has to be a balance. Closing down schools makes more sense to me than putting a shit ton of restaurant employees out of work. Yeah, it would be great to be able to shut the world down and just have everyone hunker down at home for a month but it isn't realistic. [Reply]
So I wanted to clarify some comments I made yesterday about this disease regarding age.
Yes. The fatality rate for those under 50 might be 0.1% compared to 10%+ for those over 80.
But the point I have been trying to get across is it seems like many think that means 99.9% of those in that age group have no symptoms or a mild stay at home.
That is true for most but not all. A week or so ago I saw a chart for hospitalizations by age. I spent a little time searching today and couldn't find it again. Everyone wants to talk about death rates by age. (If anyone else finds a link I would appreciate knowing.)
But for the 30~50 the hospitalization rate was above 5% IIRC.
That is no where need as bad as those over 80. But there are more people aged 30 to 50 than those over 80. If enough get sick at the same time that can overwhelm ICUs.
And the 0.1% death rate is predicted on those that are hospitalized having good ICU care which can mean 3 weeks of intensive care including ventilator and frequent draining of liquid from the lungs.
And death rates can really go up when the system is overloaded. I found the following link for that.
The rapid increase in the number of cases of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in late 2019 highlighted how quickly health systems can be challenged to provide adequate care.1 Case-fatality proportions were 7-fold higher for patients in Hubei Province compared with those outside of the region, 2.9% vs 0.4%, emphasizing the importance of health system capacity in the care of patients who are critically ill with COVID-19.
Many places in Africa are not going to be able to provide this treatment. So unless tropical climates are mostly immune from the virus, I think Africa could have a much higher death rate in the under 50 crowd than China and Italy have had. [Reply]
Originally Posted by BWillie:
It will absolutely work. The masses won't believe it is working because it coincides with a dramatic increase in testing.
We are kind of half assing it though, if you arent closing schools, restaurants and the like. But all we need to do is even out the curve so that our health care system has enough capacity to handle it.
I know nobody believes China because USA USA USA, but their measures worked. They were drastic and much harsher than we would ever do. WHO has verified alot of their data.
China welded people shut into buildings and was rounding up people at gunpoint. [Reply]
Originally Posted by BWillie:
It will absolutely work. The masses won't believe it is working because it coincides with a dramatic increase in testing.
We are kind of half assing it though, if you arent closing schools, restaurants and the like. But all we need to do is even out the curve so that our health care system has enough capacity to handle it.
I know nobody believes China because USA USA USA, but their measures worked. They were drastic and much harsher than we would ever do. WHO has verified alot of their data.
I could finally get my garage and storage room organized, get the wallpaper stripped in the guest room...maybe do some painting as well. And if the weather cooperates I could do my spring yard cleanup and power wash the deck and house.
