Coronavirus COVID-19 *Global Health Emergency* #7

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The number of people already infected by the mystery virus emerging in China is far greater than official figures suggest, scientists have told the BBC.

There have been 41 laboratory-confirmed cases of the new virus, but UK experts estimate the figure is closer to 1,700.

New Chinese virus 'will have infected hundreds'

Up to 4,500 patients in China may have caught the same strain of coronavirus that has killed two people, scientists fear.

Health officials in Wuhan – the city at the heart of the outbreak which started in December – confirmed four new cases today, taking the total to 48.

But Imperial College London researchers say this may be the 'tip of the iceberg' after analysing flights out of the city.

Experts say the fact three Chinese tourists have tested positive for the virus outside Wuhan indicates the disease toll may be higher than reported.

Scientists fear up to 4,500 Chinese patients may have caught the new coronavirus | Daily Mail Online

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COVID-19 -Media, Maps, Videos, Timelines, CDC/WHO Resources, etc. ***NO DISCUSSION***
 
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I don't know if blame is the right word. There is no stopping it per se. CDC is working with several modeling companies who are modeling the most likely areas for an outbreak with the thought to focus resources where they are needed. To just start testing people with no idea is a waste of resources.
But saying that, yes, the locals have the responsibility of submitting samples. I think a turf war. They want to test their own samples instead of sending to the CDC....IMO

Well the problem I have with thinking it’s a waste of resources to test “random” people, is that we know the US has coronavirus cases. More than currently reported/tested. We have been accepting people in from Wuhan on a daily basis until we suddenly decided to ban trips end of January.

So.... since the US knows it’s here, to think it’s wasteful to regularly test people who have flu symptoms- ESPECIALLY in California- is irresponsible IMO. (Not at all that you Henry are irresponsible! but the US govt). Because until people in the US see numbers that show the virus is yes-in-fact-here, the general public will not take it seriously. And they are indeed NOT taking it seriously right now.

Bottom line IMO: When the public doesn’t take it seriously the virus spreads like wildfire. Public needs to see tested positive numbers!

The underlying issue appears to be that the local govts get to decide to send in samples (and they are not doing it), and there are not enough “good” kits to send to local labs and local facilities. Not really sure why the local facilities are not stepping up and testing people but it’s likely due to bureaucracy. Federal government needs to intervene IMO. Faulty test kits and a bizarrely long wait to get new ones are really creating a mess.


MOO.
 
Iran announces domestic travel curbs

Health Minister Saeed Namaki said at a news conference that teams would be located at the entrance of cities "that see a lot of movement", without naming them, adding that such controls had already started.

The teams will take people's temperature and "stop those who are infected or suspected of infection", Namaki said.

All those suspected of being infected with COVID-19 would be quarantined for 14 days.

Coronavirus spreads in Middle East and beyond: Live updates
 
I personally do not think world leaders are doing enough to stop the spread of this virus by continuously allowing flights in and out of their countries. We already know it is airborne. Proper testing is needed at all airports BEFORE offboarding passengers take to the streets! All countries infected outside of China have been infected by just 1 single super spreader fresh off a flight. And still the planes are taking off and landing elsewhere, Repeat. China is a country with medicine and facilities available and still the people are succumbing to this virus. God help the citizens of less fortunate countries X
 
Updated 2:32 PM ET, Wed February 26, 2020
Coronavirus treatment: The US has started human testing of a drug to treat the novel coronavirus - CNN
(CNN)Hope for treating the novel coronavirus could be on the horizon, as the first US study of a drug to treat the illness is underway.

So far, there is no cure or vaccine for the virus, which has infected more than 80,000 people and killed more than 2,700 worldwide in the past few months.

CDC official warns Americans it's not a question of if coronavirus will spread, but when
News of the drug testing came Tuesday, just as a federal health official warned that the virus will eventually start spreading in US communities.
A clinical trial to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of the antiviral drug remdesivir in adults diagnosed with coronavirus started at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, the National Institutes of Health said.
The first participant is an American who was evacuated from the Diamond Princess cruise ship docked in Japan.''
 
Breaking..
Coronavirus concerns land 83 in voluntary isolation in Nassau County
NASSAU COUNTY, Long Island (WABC) -- Officials in Nassau County announced Wednesday they are monitoring 83 people who may have had potential exposure to the coronavirus, and test results for one resident are pending.

The 83 residents have been asked to undergo voluntary isolation, removing themselves from people, including their family members, for 14 days from the last time they were in mainland China or may have been exposed to the virus. They are required to report their temperature and any symptoms every day to Nassau County health officials.

"Should someone need medical care, we'll evaluate it and we have protocols in place to safely get them medical care," Nassau County Department of Health Commissioner Dr. Lawrence Eisenstein said during a press conference Wednesday.
 
Iraq orders closure of all public gathering places

All public gathering places such as cinemas, coffee shops and clubs will be closed from February 27 to March 7.

Schools and universities will be suspended during this period as well.

Iraq also banned citizens from traveling to China, Iran, Thailand, South Korea, Japan, Singapore, Italy, Kuwait and Bahrain.

Coronavirus spreads in Middle East and beyond: Live updates
 
I personally do not think world leaders are doing enough to stop the spread of this virus by continuously allowing flights in and out of their countries. We already know it is airborne. Proper testing is needed at all airports BEFORE offboarding passengers take to the streets! All countries infected outside of China have been infected by just 1 single super spreader fresh off a flight. And still the planes are taking off and landing elsewhere, Repeat. China is a country with medicine and facilities available and still the people are succumbing to this virus. God help the citizens of less fortunate countries X

Politicians would have been in an uproar if harsh measures had been taken in the beginning when it was evident that this would be a pandemic. All borders should have been closed when China lost control of containment. Instead, nothing was done and infected people were transported to parts of the world where there was no virus - in the form of evacuation planes. Too many people with conflicting personal priorities and agendas are making decisions that could result in millions of infected people.
 
  • Part 1 of 2 posts..
  • WHO Director-General's opening remarks at the mission briefing on COVID-19 - 26 February 2020
  • WHO Director-General's opening remarks at the mission briefing on COVID-19 - 26 February 2020
  • ''Excellencies, dear colleagues and friends,

    First of all, good morning and welcome to our weekly mission briefing on COVID-19. I’m glad that we’re maintaining these regular briefings.

    A lot has changed since we briefed you last Wednesday, which illustrates the rapidly evolving nature of this epidemic.

    As of 6am Geneva time this morning, China has reported 78,190 cases to WHO, including 2718 deaths.

    Yesterday, only 10 new cases were reported in China outside of Hubei province.

    But this is no time for complacency. This is a time for continued vigilance.

    On Monday, the WHO-China joint mission concluded its visit and delivered its report.

    As you also know, the team has traveled to several different provinces, including Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak.

    The team has made a range of findings about the transmissibility of the virus, the severity of disease and the impact of the measures taken.

    They found that the epidemic peaked and plateaued between the 23rd of January and the 2nd of February, and has been declining steadily since then.

    They have found that there has been no significant change in the genetic makeup of the virus.

    The team also estimate that the measures taken in China have averted a significant number of cases.

    The report contains a wealth of other information, highlights questions for which we still don’t have answers, and includes 22 recommendations.

    But the key message that should give all countries hope, courage and confidence is that this virus can be contained.

    Indeed, there are many countries that have done exactly that. 14 countries that have had cases have not reported a case for more than a week, and even more importantly, 9 countries have not reported a case for more than two weeks: Belgium, Cambodia, Finland, India, Nepal, Philippines, the Russian Federation, Sri Lanka and Sweden.

    But that doesn’t mean that cases may not come back to these countries. But the cases that made it before have been contained.

    Outside China, there are now 2,790 cases in 37 countries, and 44 deaths.

    Yesterday, the number of new cases reported outside China exceeded the number of new cases in China for the first time.

    The sudden increases of cases in Italy, the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Republic of Korea are deeply concerning.

    There are now cases linked to Iran in Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait and Oman.

    There are now cases linked to Italy in Algeria, Austria, Croatia, Germany, Spain and Switzerland.''
 
Part 2 0f post..
WHO Director-General's opening remarks at the mission briefing on COVID-19 - 26 February 2020
''Yesterday a joint team between WHO and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control arrived in Rome to review the public health measures that have been put in place and provide technical support.

A WHO team will travel to Iran this weekend to provide support.

The increase in cases outside China has prompted some media and politicians to push for a pandemic to be declared. We should not be too eager to declare a pandemic without a careful and clear-minded analysis of the facts.

WHO has already declared a public health emergency of international concern – our highest level of alarm.

Using the word pandemic carelessly has no tangible benefit, but it does have significant risk in terms of amplifying unnecessary and unjustified fear and stigma, and paralyzing systems.

It may also signal that we can no longer contain the virus, which is not true. We are in a fight that can be won if we do the right things.

Of course, we will not hesitate to use the word pandemic if it is an accurate description of the situation.

We are monitoring the evolution of the epidemic around the clock, 24/7 and are engaging experts internally and externally on this issue.

For the moment, we are not witnessing sustained and intensive community transmission of this virus, and we are not witnessing large-scale severe disease or death.

China has fewer than 80,000 cases in a population of 1.4 billion people. In the rest of the world, there are 2,790 cases, in a population of 6.3 billion.

Do not mistake me: I am not downplaying the seriousness of the situation, or the potential for this to become a pandemic, because it has that potential.

Every scenario is still on the table.

On the contrary, we are saying that this virus has pandemic potential and WHO is providing the tools for every country to prepare accordingly.

The primary objective of all countries with cases must be to contain the virus. As I told you, I read the list of 9 countries who have not reported cases for two weeks. We should do the same: try to contain.

At the same time, all countries, whether they have cases or not, must prepare for a potential pandemic.

Every country needs to be ready to detect cases early, to isolate patients, trace contacts, provide quality clinical care, prevent hospital outbreaks, and prevent community transmission.

There are three priorities:

First, all countries must prioritize protecting health workers.

Second, we must engage communities to protect people who are most at risk of severe disease, particularly the elderly and people with underlying health conditions.

And third, we must protect countries that are the most vulnerable, by doing our utmost to contain epidemics in countries with the capacity to do it.

To support countries, WHO has published operational planning guidelines to support country preparedness and response.

These guidelines provide a step-by-step guide, with concrete actions according to eight areas – or pillars:

Country-level coordination, planning and monitoring;

Risk communication and community engagement;

Surveillance, rapid response teams and case investigation;

Points of entry;

National laboratories;

Infection prevention and control;

Case management;

And operational support and logistics.

The guidelines also include key performance indicators, and the estimated resources needed to prepare for and respond to a cluster of up to 100 cases.

To supplement these operational guidelines, we have also published technical guidance in many of these areas, which are available on our website.

On Saturday I briefed a meeting of health ministers from African Union countries. There are now 41 countries with laboratory capacity for testing for COVID-19, using lab kits sent by WHO. We are working on sending supplies to the other AU countries. There was only one country that was able to test – now 41, but we should make sure that all countries have that capacity.

I’m also pleased to announce that we have appointed six special envoys on COVID-19, to provide strategic advice and high-level political advocacy and engagement in different parts of the world:

Professor Maha El Rabbat, former Minister of Health of Egypt;

Dr David Nabarro, former special adviser to the United Nations Secretary-General on the Sustainable Development Goals;

Dr John Nkengasong, Director of the African Centres for Disease Control and Prevention;

Dr Mirta Roses, former Director of the WHO Region of the Americas, PAHO;

Dr Shin Young-soo, former Regional Director of the WHO Region of the Western Pacific;

And Professor Samba Sow, Director-General of the Center for Vaccine Development in Mali.

We are also continuing to strengthen our coordination with the UN Crisis Management Team. Yesterday the Strategic Advisory Group on Infectious Hazards met, and this afternoon we will have our weekly call with the informal group of experts we have put together to advise us.

I would like to thank all countries and partners that have contributed to the Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan and the Contingency Fund for Emergencies: Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark, the European Union, France, Germany, Ireland, Japan, Kuwait, the Netherlands, Norway, Slovakia, Sweden the United Kingdom, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Vital Strategies and Resolve to Save Lives.

We also recognize the generous pledge of support from the United States Government to assist China and other affected countries to combat and contain COVID-19.

We are now working to distribute these funds as quickly as possible to the priority countries we have identified.

Most of the contributions made so far are pledges, so rather than waiting for funds to be received, we are using our own internal lending mechanism to accelerate the distribution of money.

We look forward to receiving monies pledged as soon as possible, because we have limited funding.

One of the biggest challenges we face is that too many affected countries are still not sharing data with WHO.

WHO cannot provide appropriate public health guidance without disaggregated data and detailed line lists.

We’re communicating with ministers directly, there is some improvement, and we urge all countries to share this data with WHO immediately.

===
Excellencies, dear colleagues and friends,

We are not just fighting to contain a virus and save lives. We are also in a fight to contain the social and economic damage a global pandemic could do.

We are working with the World Bank and the IMF to estimate the potential economic impact of the epidemic and develop a strategy and policy options for mitigation. We’re in constant contact with the heads of the two organizations.

Once again, this is a time for global solidarity – political solidarity, technical solidarity and financial solidarity.

That is the only way to prevent infections and save lives.

Thank you again for joining us.''
 
This week, the National Institutes of Health received a shipment of test doses of a vaccine candidate from Moderna Inc., in preparation for first-step safety testing in a few dozen people aimed to begin by April.

But Dr. Anthony Fauci, NIH’s infectious disease chief, cautioned reporters that in a best-case scenario, "you’re talking about a year to a year and a half” before any vaccine would be ready for widespread use.

Fauci said that while only a few cases have turned up in the U.S. from travelers outside the country, “we need to be able to think about how we will respond to a pandemic outbreak.”

Mayor de Blasio to Talk NYC Coronavirus Preps; Trump Set to Address Nation Wednesday
 
Breaking..
Coronavirus concerns land 83 in voluntary isolation in Nassau County
NASSAU COUNTY, Long Island (WABC) -- Officials in Nassau County announced Wednesday they are monitoring 83 people who may have had potential exposure to the coronavirus, and test results for one resident are pending.

The 83 residents have been asked to undergo voluntary isolation, removing themselves from people, including their family members, for 14 days from the last time they were in mainland China or may have been exposed to the virus. They are required to report their temperature and any symptoms every day to Nassau County health officials.

"Should someone need medical care, we'll evaluate it and we have protocols in place to safely get them medical care," Nassau County Department of Health Commissioner Dr. Lawrence Eisenstein said during a press conference Wednesday.

Did anyone else here know that 175 people in Nassau County in the state of New York have been in voluntary isolation?
 
Did anyone else here know that 175 people in Nassau County in the state of New York have been in voluntary isolation?

Coronavirus: 700 under voluntary quarantine in NY after China travel

and, from an article on 2/19:

California said there are more than 5,400 such people in the state.

In Washington state, 745 people have been asked to self-quarantine.

Georgia health officials identified about 200 travelers.

Michigan said more than 300 people were referred for monitoring.

In Virginia, 138 residents are being monitored.

A total of 27 people are under voluntary self-quarantine in Iowa.

North Dakota has 10.

Alabama, Indiana, Massachusetts and Texas are also monitoring travelers, but they declined to provide exact numbers, which change daily.

Thousands of Americans voluntarily self-quarantine after returning from China
 
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