Coronavirus COVID-19 *Global Health Emergency* #9

[What if...]

The part that bugs me is "3 mutations". We may be in 5 or 6 mutations by the time it crosses through the US....iMO

Ugh.... I definitely don’t like seeing that many mutations already. Hopefully the mutations make the virus less deadly, or at a minimum, don’t make it worse.....

Just Ugh.....

 

[Henry2326]

CVS and Walgreens warn there could be a shortage of hand sanitizer

U.S. drug stores, retailers and suppliers are racing to keep up with surging interest for cleaning products as fears over coronavirus intensify. CVS and Walgreens warn there could be a shortage of hand sanitizer
WCBD on Twitter

U.S. drug stores, retailers and suppliers are racing to keep up with surging interest for cleaning products as fears over coronavirus intensify.

Demand for products like hand sanitizers, face masks and cleaning wipes has spiked, according to CVS, Walgreens and others. CVS warned it may cause supply shortages.

“This demand may cause temporary shortages at some store locations and we re-supply those stores as quickly as possible,” a spokesperson for CVS said.

Bath & Body Works, owned by L Brands, said Thursday that its hand sanitizer business was growing in the wake of coronavirus.

“The hand sanitizer business is about 5% of the total business. It is presently growing at a very high rate for reasons we would all understand,” L Brands chief financial officer Stuart Burgdoerfer said on a call with analysts.

Meanwhile, cleaning goods companies are stepping up production to meet demand.

“We are taking up inventory levels [to] be prepared for the potential increase in demand for some of our bleach products,” Clorox chief financial officer Kevin Jacobsen said on a call with analysts earlier this month. Clorox is one of four S&P 500 stocks to rise this week as the rest of the market has plunged.

On Thursday, Reckitt Benckiser, the maker of Dettol and Lysol said it was investing in its supply chain to be able to prevent shortages.

“We’re continuing to make capacity investments to ensure that we don’t run out at the peak for some of these products that we have that, frankly, consumers demand and we can’t fulfill,” said CEO Laxman Narasimhan.

 

[Herat]

JMO
Whats been driving me crazy about the mask shortage is I dont understand why the state or federal governments havent already worked directly with the Hospital medical suppliers and intercept the mask supplies and make sure they get funneled to the health care workers first before any "extra" (if any) would be allowed to go to regular stores for the public.

I mean seriously.....if a hospital is relying on going to Walmart type stores to get their medical supplies, then that is not a hospital I want to go to. So why cant the government declare a state of emergency and force ALL mask suppliers to sell them the masks first (at last regular sold price) and make sure ALL the mask supplies get funneled to the medical staffs first either free or at a greatly reduced subsized rate. Use some of the tax money for something worthy like this, when its really needed like now, and intercept the supply chains and force suppliers to prioritize the masks to the right places.

Steps like this should have been taken about a week or two ago. I just dont get it at all that they keep complaining to the general public. Well, do your job and force the masks to go to the right places government officials.....please.....and like yesterday.

Medical facilities HAVE been sequestering their supplies, since the Ebola and H1N1 outbreaks. But their stocks have expiration dates and accrediting agencies won't allow expired products.

But you can imagine if every hospital in the US decides to double their order all of a sudden AND the manufacturer is shut down, then there IS going to be a shortage. And if medical facilties world-wide all do the same, well, whatever Amazon or Walmart have are not going to be sufficient, either.

 

[LaborDayRN]

A moment of levity....

CDC: To prevent coronavirus stay home, avoid physical contact and don't go into large crowds.
Introverts: I've been preparing for this moment my entire life.
Matthew on Twitter

Moment over...back at it....

 

[Henry2326]

“Indonesia’s Balitbangkes, the sole agency tasked with testing suspected coronavirus patients, has only concluded around 140 lab tests. To put things in perspective, as of Feb. 26, the United Kingdom has conducted 7,132 tests” 13 positive (at that time). Let’s not kid ourselves. Indonesia is unlikely to be COVID-19-free. And that’s not our biggest problem.
Dr Kevin Purcell on Twitter

Let’s not kid ourselves. Indonesia is unlikely to be COVID-19-free. And that’s not our biggest problem. - The Jakarta Post

 

[Herat]

Healthcare tragedy waiting to happen...

3 | Canada has fewer acute care beds per capita than most of the other universal health care OECD nations. (US has less). This is one reason why we have waiting lists. Many of our hospitals routinely run at full capacity. Which, in turn, means there are no spare beds when an epidemic comes. Bill Gardner on Twitter
Bill Gardner on Twitter

Probably the single most important headline this week:
- After just one week from the outbreak, Northern Italy is already considering expanding its hospital beds capacity because 1 in 11 patients goes in ICU
Luca Dellanna on Twitter

This, indeed, is a very significant finding.

And reflects, exactly what we have learned about the Wuhan outbreak. There may be only 14% serious cases, but if they go on to need ICU care ( ie: being intubated, on a ventilator) they will quickly consume all the ICU beds that are also needed for trauma cases, heart attacks, complicated other infections, acute gi bleeds, pulmonary emboli and such patients.

Every day every hospital in the US is doing a "musical beds" dance trying to rotate out improving patients and admit ER patients. Telemetry beds improve the situtation, but many people just cannot be moved out of ICU care level. EVERY ER has people waiting to be admitted.

 

[Henry2326]

BREAKING: Scotland reports first case of coronavirus Tracking coronavirus: Map, data and timeline
BNO Newsroom on Twitter

 

[gitana1]

I’m also in Oregon. I’ve gravely concerned about Portland and the homeless population, but also remember that we have one of the best public health departments in the country.

I have been instructed to stay home pending this new case. I can’t believe it’s here and hitting so close to home. I really thought we’d have more time to prepare.

Who is instructing you to stay home? I’ve got a trip planned to Portland in the middle of May. Ugh. Worried about travel in general.

 

[Henry2326]

This is truly a bad sign when it's easier to post the list rather than the tweets....


1 March

• 19:38: 1 new case in the United Kingdom. First case in Scotland. Patient recently traveled from Italy. (Source)
• 18:25: 30 new cases in France. (Source)
• 18:15: 2 new cases in Washington state, United States. (Source)
• 17:56: 1 new case in Iceland. Patient recently returned from northern Italy. (Source)
• 17:19: 566 new cases and 5 new deaths in Italy.
• 17:11: 4 new cases in Norway. (Source)
• 16:09: 6 new cases in Bahrain. (Source)
• 16:00: 6 new cases in Iraq. Two in Baghdad and the first 4 cases in Iraqi Kurdistan.All six recently returned from Iran. (Source)
• 15:33: 18 new cases in Spain. (Source)

Tracking coronavirus: Map, data and timeline

 

[otto]

It looks like first world countries have been rather complacent regarding public health needs.

"The US ranks high on the GHS index, but is still unprepared for a severe pandemic, should one happen. Malfunctioning coronavirus tests have frustrated public health labs and delayed outbreak monitoring. Supplies of masks, suits and other protective material for health workers are running low in the midst of a moderately severe flu season. Since the creation of a much-needed public health emergency preparedness fund in the aftermath of 9/11, its budget and the public health functions it supports have been steadily reduced"​

Epidemics expert Jonathan Quick: ‘The worst-case scenario for coronavirus is likely’ | Coronavirus outbreak | The Guardian

 

[MimosaMornings]

Of course. The 34 year old woman was infected so she booked business class flights from Iran to Qatar to Denmark to Canada. She did not wear a face mask and did not self-report. The day after she arrived in Canada, she reported that she is sick.

I find that very offensive, selfish, and consider it one of the very problematic reasons that the virus has spread around the world.

Canadians are now scrambling to track down people on all of those flights, as well as others that she was in contact with, during her reckless travels.

Holy smokes! That had to be an expensive plane ticket.
And unless she booked separate legs - there should be alerts in place for any flights originating from Iran.
So she knew she was sick prior to boarding?

 

[gitana1]

FBI orders $40,000 RUSH ORDER of Face Masks and Hand Sanitizers directly from Manufacturers.
Guess they believe the face masks work. ??

FBI orders $40K in hand sanitizer, face masks in case of coronavirus pandemic in US: The FBI is acting preemptively, ordering $40,000 of hand sanitizer and face masks "in case the coronavirus becomes a pandemic in the United States," according to an acquisition document cited by CNBC.

I mean if they can keep aerosol emissions in one would think they can keep aerosol emissions out.

 

[Chelly]

I’m worried that my city will be locked down or that I will have to isolate so I want to make sure I have some of the things I need.

Plan well in advance and you can have all the things that you need if you decide to isolate.

 

[gitana1]

My hands are already dry from the increase in hand-washing and (probably the more likely culprit) use of hand sanitizer. I haven't found a lotion I love (too greasy, too smelly, too slimy)...does anyone have a favorite that they can recommend?

Unscented lubriderm.

 

[Henry2326]

Azar told Fox News Sunday the Chicago case was one of 23 to be diagnosed in a person who had not been repatriated from Japan or China.

“Of those individuals, we’ve got cases in Chicago as well as Washington and Oregon and two in California where we do not yet know why they contracted the novel coronavirus,” Azar said.

Two other people in Illinois have tested positive for coronavirus, a husband and wife who traveled to Wuhan, China, to care for a relative. They have made a full recovery.

Coronavirus outbreak: US confirms cases in Chicago and Rhode Island | Coronavirus outbreak | The Guardian

 

[FrostOwl]

Medical facilities HAVE been sequestering their supplies, since the Ebola and H1N1 outbreaks. But their stocks have expiration dates and accrediting agencies won't allow expired products.

But you can imagine if every hospital in the US decides to double their order all of a sudden AND the manufacturer is shut down, then there IS going to be a shortage. And if medical facilties world-wide all do the same, well, whatever Amazon or Walmart have are not going to be sufficient, either.

I don't know how it's in other countries, but here in Sweden hospitals don't keep too much in stock of masks, gloves and other single-use products, as they are used to get daily deliveries of what they need from suppliers. There was a major crisis this fall here when the new supplier to five health care regions couldn't deliver enough of the single-use products as was needed at several large hospitals, and the hospitals had to stop doing elective operations. It took several weeks for the problems to get fixed, hopefully all the suppliers as well as the health care regions have learned their lessons. Brist på material ställer in operationer - Vårdfokus

 

[Henry2326]

(Reuters) - British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he expected the new coronavirus to spread further inside Britain, following the announcement of another 12 positive tests on Sunday.

"We've found about 35 people in this country have, or have had, the illness and clearly there may be more. That is likely now to spread a bit more," Johnson said during a visit to a public health facility in London.

UK PM Johnson says coronavirus likely to 'spread a bit more' in UK

 

[otto]

Holy smokes! That had to be an expensive plane ticket.
And unless she booked separate legs - there should be alerts in place for any flights originating from Iran.
So she knew she was sick prior to boarding?

She had to know that she was sick if she travelled on Feb 25/26 and then reported herself sick on Feb 27. Sick people can take medication to reduce fever and pass temperature checks. Also, by flying first to Qatar, she may have avoided being flagged as coming from Iran.

The business class tickets are what leads me to think it was a last minute booking and she really wanted to get out of Iran. When she arrived in Toronto, she didn't take a cab or a limo, she took the public shuttle bus. That's a complete mismatch.

 

[MimosaMornings]

This, indeed, is a very significant finding.

And reflects, exactly what we have learned about the Wuhan outbreak. There may be only 14% serious cases, but if they go on to need ICU care ( ie: being intubated, on a ventilator) they will quickly consume all the ICU beds that are also needed for trauma cases, heart attacks, complicated other infections, acute gi bleeds, pulmonary emboli and such patients.

Every day every hospital in the US is doing a "musical beds" dance trying to rotate out improving patients and admit ER patients. Telemetry beds improve the situtation, but many people just cannot be moved out of ICU care level. EVERY ER has people waiting to be admitted.

This is what concerns me. I am healthy with no known medical issues. BUT with elderly parents and other relatives that we care for in the home with compromised health or respiratory diseases- it is a different story. We have to watch them diligently to avoid the flu since that could create a downward health turn leading to fatality.

 

[gregjrichards]

BREAKING: Scotland reports first case of coronavirus Tracking coronavirus: Map, data and timeline
BNO Newsroom on Twitter

I have been dreading this. Thank you for your updates @Henry2326 they are much appreciated.