Coronavirus COVID-19 *Global Health Emergency* #10

[JerseyGirl]

Fed Worker In NJ Told To Violate Coronavirus Quarantine: Reports

A federal employee who traveled to China was recently told to return to her job in New Jersey despite the protocol that requires a 14-day quarantine period to screen for the coronavirus, according to report by The Washington Post.

The woman works at the Newark office of the US Citizenship and Immigration Services at the US Department of Homeland Security, according to NJ Advance Media.

The woman, who was not identified, had traveled to China and asked her boss if she should stay home in quarantine. Her boss, however, told her to come back to work by Feb. 10 and violate a mandatory coronavirus quarantine period of two weeks.

Ward Morrow, an attorney for the American Federation of Government Employees, which represents USCIS employees, told the Post that the union has filed a labor grievance and a complaint with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

 

[zencompass]

 

[Inthedetails]

Fed Worker In NJ Told To Violate Coronavirus Quarantine: Reports

A federal employee who traveled to China was recently told to return to her job in New Jersey despite the protocol that requires a 14-day quarantine period to screen for the coronavirus, according to report by The Washington Post.

The woman works at the Newark office of the US Citizenship and Immigration Services at the US Department of Homeland Security, according to NJ Advance Media.

The woman, who was not identified, had traveled to China and asked her boss if she should stay home in quarantine. Her boss, however, told her to come back to work by Feb. 10 and violate a mandatory coronavirus quarantine period of two weeks.

Ward Morrow, an attorney for the American Federation of Government Employees, which represents USCIS employees, told the Post that the union has filed a labor grievance and a complaint with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

I think the grievance process will solve this. Say what you will about the Fed gov, the bureaucracy of it will work in a situation like this - there are rules and policies to follow, and there are systems in place for when rules aren't followed. jmo

(I mean this about the Fed gov workplace for employees, not commenting in a political sense.)

jmo

jmo

 

[zecats]

So, everyone will have headaches from the smell...and still touch their faces.

But, I guess something needs to be done.

jmo

My daughter, my son, my SIL and my DIL will be riding to work (and home) with this smell then. I don't know what the answer it, but yes, I'm very happy NYC is being proactive in a sense. It also may be a wakeup call to commuters and residents.

 

[dixiegirl1035]

This afternoon, at 3:00 pm eastern," Ontario's chief medical officer of health is expected to give an update on the COVID-19 virus as multiple cases were announced in the province over the weekend. At least nine new cases had been reported since Friday. "

It will be streamed and I'll post link 15 minutes before presser for those interested.

 

[JerseyGirl]

Petitioners want SXSW fest canceled

A petition on Change.org to cancel the sprawling SXSW Conference and Festivals because of fears of spreading the coronavirus has swelled to more than 16,000 signatures. Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, a featured speaker, is among groups and guests that have pulled out of the event scheduled to start March 13 in Austin, Texas.

SXSW draws tens of thousands of people from around the world for 10 days of film, tech and music. Austin Public Health officials have said there are “no imminent plans to postpone to any current events,” including SXSW, which has a nearly $400 million annual economic impact on the region. SXSW has never been canceled in its 37-year history.

Coronavirus live updates: A second US death; New York gets first case

 

[zecats]

This afternoon, at 3:00 pm eastern," Ontario's chief medical officer of health is expected to give an update on the COVID-19 virus as multiple cases were announced in the province over the weekend. At least nine new cases had been reported since Friday. "

It will be streamed and I'll post link 15 minutes before presser for those interested.

A big difference in comparison of this CoVid-19 with the Influenza virus - it sure seems (IMO) to be spreading much faster. Anyone remember hearing all these updates of how many contracted the flu this winter? Or in winters past?

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

And he said in presser in NY... that the person didn't transmit during flight or in car on way home because she wasn't symptomatic. Umm, that is an issue here as it is WELL known and accepted that it can be.

WRONG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

DAMMIT they are giving incorrect information.

The accuracy and timeliness of information continues to be my primary concern about how COVID-19 will be handled. This is not meant as criticism of public officials/medical personnel. Government officials and/or medical professionals who speak publicly about COVID-19 should be well-informed with as many facts as possible so they don't provide inaccurate information that alarms or confuses the public.

 

[Herat]

I guess they are doing experiments? Hope the Chinese patient gave consent.

I'm sorry to hear of your relative's struggles. That is an immense health challenge.

When I read the article, the thought of "pre-morbid experimentation" also occurred to me.

I'd think this would be a huge hazard to all the healthcare workers, including the surgical team and all those respiratory therapists and nurses.

 

[CoverMeCagney]

A big difference in comparison of this CoVid-19 with the Influenza virus - it sure seems (IMO) to be spreading much faster. Anyone remember hearing all these updates of how many contracted the flu this winter? Or in winters past?

16,000 Americans have died from normal influenza this season, usually 25,000 - 69,000 per year.

Trump ‘shocked’ by deadliness of flu — it’s killed at least 16,000 Americans this season

 

[dixiegirl1035]

A big difference in comparison of this CoVid-19 with the Influenza virus - it sure seems (IMO) to be spreading much faster. Anyone remember hearing all these updates of how many contracted the flu this winter? Or in winters past?

Good question. The answer is yes! There is an international surveillance system which is updated all over the world. It's online. But since already endemic in US, vs. a new to the world virus... it doesn't get daily pressers. But indeed it is closely tracked all over the world and they share all the info as they are now with COVID-19. I've posted a few time, let me know if you want to view and I'll repost for US stats. (Listening to WHO right now)

 

[Betty P]

Ha....I'm with her...

"In this situation, the facts defeat fear."
NY Gov. Cuomo says his daughter called him worried about coronavirus, and told him, "'Don't tell me to relax, tell me why I should be relaxed'—which is a very big difference." Coronavirus live updates: US confirms 2nd fatality as global death toll nears 3,000 ABC News on Twitter
ABC News on Twitter

Cuomo says new cleaning protocols to be implemented in schools & on public transportation, including with bleach. #COVID19
Meg Tirrell on Twitter

His brother, Chris, a reporter on CNN has been dropping very big hints the last several days about Andrew's silence.

 

[Herat]

I was listening to BBC News this morning, and it was the piece about the South Korean government pursing charges against the religious leader for negligence or something.

They made the comment that SK had said that the average time of illness for a mild or moderate case of COVID-19 illness was 16 days.

I have to assume that would include the prodrome, when the patient is infected but not meeting the symptomatic criteria.

They also said a substantial # of infected people never had fevers.

And that there were people in confinement at home that were not considered sick enough to warrant admission to hospitals that had died at home in confinement.

So the pattern of infection, symptoms, and disease progression may not be as straight forward or clearcut as we have hoped it would be.

 

[Betty P]

Ha....I'm with her...

"In this situation, the facts defeat fear."
NY Gov. Cuomo says his daughter called him worried about coronavirus, and told him, "'Don't tell me to relax, tell me why I should be relaxed'—which is a very big difference." Coronavirus live updates: US confirms 2nd fatality as global death toll nears 3,000 ABC News on Twitter
ABC News on Twitter

Cuomo says new cleaning protocols to be implemented in schools & on public transportation, including with bleach. #COVID19
Meg Tirrell on Twitter

His brother, Chris, a reporter on CNN has been dropping very big hints the last several days about Andrew's silence.

 

[dixiegirl1035]

A big difference in comparison of this CoVid-19 with the Influenza virus - it sure seems (IMO) to be spreading much faster. Anyone remember hearing all these updates of how many contracted the flu this winter? Or in winters past?

Good question. The answer is yes! There is an international surveillance system which is updated all over the world. It's online. But since already endemic in US, vs. a new to the world virus... it doesn't get daily pressers. But indeed it is closely tracked all over the world and they share all the info as they are now with COVID-19. I've posted a few time, let me know if you want to view and I'll repost for US stats. (Listening to WHO right now)

WHO is speaking to such right now.. paraphrased. "Flu cannot be contained, cannot be stopped. Flu Can be prevented by vaccine and treatment and we understand patterns and transmission"... vs. COVID . Many of us here follow it daily. "We are giving time for the world to prepare and contain, to save lives."

Excellent presser for educational purposes today at WHO. MOO

 

[zecats]

Good question. The answer is yes! There is an international surveillance system which is updated all over the world. It's online. But since already endemic in US, vs. a new to the world virus... it doesn't get daily pressers. But indeed it is closely tracked all over the world and they share all the info as they are now with COVID-19. I've posted a few time, let me know if you want to view and I'll repost for US stats. (Listening to WHO right now)

Thanks. I’m having a lot of trouble just staying connected to WS this morning. If you get a chance to repost that’s awesome.

 

[Henry2326]

Good question. The answer is yes! There is an international surveillance system which is updated all over the world. It's online. But since already endemic in US, vs. a new to the world virus... it doesn't get daily pressers. But indeed it is closely tracked all over the world and they share all the info as they are now with COVID-19. I've posted a few time, let me know if you want to view and I'll repost for US stats. (Listening to WHO right now)

WHO is speaking to such right now. Many of us here follow it daily.

Holy cow!!!! Finally the WHO is getting annoyed with no containment in some countries....

 

[dotr]

How Iran Became a New Epicenter of the Coronavirus Outbreak
By Robin Wright

February 28, 2020
''Iran’s official counts—three hundred and eighty-eight confirmed cases and thirty-four deaths, as of Friday—may be grossly underreported. In an early analysis published on Monday, six Canadian epidemiologists calculated that Iran probably had more than eighteen thousand cases of coronavirus. Their mathematical model was based on Iran’s official death toll, the disease’s infection and mortality rates worldwide, inflections in other countries traced to Iran, flight data, and travel patterns. “Given the low volumes of air travel to countries with identified cases of COVID-19 with origin in Iran (such as Canada), it is likely that Iran is currently experiencing a COVID-19 epidemic of significant size,” they concluded. Because of the wide margin of error, the number of cases could range from as low as thirty-seven hundred to as high as fifty-three thousand. In the end, the Canadian epidemiologists settled on eighteen thousand three hundred, with a ninety-five-per-cent confidence rate. All of their estimates are many, many times higher than the figures that Iran has reported. Their model was published on medRxiv, which posts preliminary research that has not yet been peer-reviewed.

Kamiar Alaei, a widely recognized Iranian global health-policy expert who co-founded an innovative H.I.V. clinic in Tehran, also emphasized the tricky and still evolving mathematics of coronavirus contagion. “The mortality rate elsewhere is around one to two per cent, and three per cent in China,” Alaei, who is now a co-president of the Institute for International Health and Education, in Albany, told me. “Iran has announced thirty-four deaths, although some unofficial reports claim it is at least a hundred and thirty-four and even two hundred. So if the death rate is only one per cent, then the total number of cases would be between thirty-four hundred and ten thousand or even twenty thousand.”

 

[BayouBelle_LA]

Reassuring words. IMO

Manhattan Woman, 39, Is NYC’s 1st COVID-19 Case; Husband’s Test Results Are Pending

Cuomo said Monday that New York had "been through this rodeo before" with other viral outbreaks, and pointed out that the common flu poses a more widespread threat than COVID-19.

"When you look at the reality here, about 80 percent of people infected with coronavirus self-resolve," the governor added. As for some who may lean toward panic in this time, Cuomo said, "I'm a native New Yorker, we live with anxiety, but the facts don't back it up."

De Blasio echoed Cuomo's sentiments.

"The message to New Yorkers from the beginning is this is something we can handle. Go about your lives, go about your business," he said. "Our health authorities have been in a state of high alert for weeks, and we are fully prepared to respond. We will continue to ensure New Yorkers have the facts and resources they need to protect themselves."

But be smart, de Blasio added. Anyone with symptoms who has had some nexus to the outbreak, whether through travel to an affected country or other means, should act accordingly and protectively.

 

[Henry2326]

History can judge whether calling it a pandemic or not etc. is right or wrong, says fiery @DrMikeRyan. "We cannot miss this opportunity to save lives", he says. “Let's just get on with it.”

Kai Kupferschmidt on Twitter