Coronavirus - COVID-19 - Global Health Pandemic #25

[FlossyMay]

I don't drink, but I was thinking about starting quite frankly.

 

[MJPeony]

Testing non-travellers who do not exhibit symptoms is a waste of resources. Nothing will make a huge difference to the trajectory of this virus other than shutting down workplaces, schools, gyms etc and people practising social distancing or self isolating.

That's how to slow it down or eradicate it eventually. A test at 10am on Monday is just a snapshot, you could catch the virus an hour later on the way home. It means nothing!

Scores of people have been floating around my county (I’ll speak only of my county here, although I believe it’s been shown true in other places) for weeks carrying this virus. Many of them asymptomatic at first. The sooner we could have identified them the sooner they could have been isolated to stop the spread. It is conceptually that simple.

Practically speaking, yes it is a bit harder to identify who exactly should be tested. But in the end, it’s actually still simple: 2 weeks ago Santa Clara County should have been testing anyone with flu-like symptoms that did not test positive for the flu. Period. Then you have blunted the hemorrhaging.

And here is why we failed: we did not have enough tests. Like at all. Not anywhere close. I don’t even remember the specific number at this point but I think a week ago the entire state of California had tested like 200 people. Population 39 million. 10,000 people were at the time already in “self-isolation”. Repeat: 10,000 people in self isolation at that time. And yet a couple hundred tests was all we had done.

We needed a flowing supply of tests as other countries have had so that we could test large amounts of people from the beginning. Closing everything down at this point is doing the best we can and should be helpful, but it’s not nearly as effective as having been able to isolate cases 2 weeks ago.

Testing quickly and broadly and then isolating absolutely matters. I’d say MOO, but it’s actually scientifically been shown. (too tired to provide links here- lots have been posted upthread).

 

[PommyMommy]

ARIZONA

Arizona schools to close for at least 2 weeks
Arizona’s governor and school superintendent on Sunday ordered a statewide closure of schools through at least March 27 as authorities rush to contain the outbreak of the new coronavirus.

Gov. Doug Ducey and Superintendent of Public Instruction Kathy Hoffman said they’ll work with health officials to decide whether schools should remain closed longer.

[...]

Ducey and Hoffman said they worked hard to keep schools open, but many districts are now worried about staffing and potential absences. They urged administrators to continue remote educational opportunities, such as online or printed materials sent home, as much as possible.

[...]

They said they’re working with nonprofits, religious institutions and others to make childcare options available to those who need them.

The decision affects about 1.1 million students attending Arizona’s K-12 public schools.

[...]

Meanwhile, public health officials on Sunday said Arizona had another case of the coronavirus, raising the state’s total to 13.

[...]

 

[margarita25]

“The Peace Corps is telling its volunteers around the world that it is suspending all operations globally and evacuating all volunteers in light of the spread of the new coronavirus.”

[...]

“As COVID-19 continues to spread and international travel becomes more and more challenging by the day, we are acting now to safeguard your well-being and prevent a situation where Volunteers are unable to leave their host countries,” Olsen says.


Peace Corps Evacuating Volunteers Worldwide Amid Outbreak
Published 1 hour ago • Updated 42 mins ago

 

[margarita25]

America’s Coronavirus Ground Zero

“SEATTLE—As of Friday, the coronavirus outbreak is officially a national emergency. But while most Americans are only just becoming familiar with social distancing and quarantining, Washington state has been dealing with the crisis since the first U.S. case was discovered there on Jan. 20. The Seattle area, in particular, has become ground zero in the United States after the country's first death from the pandemic on Feb. 29. Now, the buzzing birthplace of Starbucks and home of tech giants like Amazon has, in large part, shut down, foreshadowing what could come for the rest of the country.”

[...]

“Since King County officials urged employers on March 4 to allow people to work remotely, the once traffic-heavy city of Seattle has come to a near standstill.”

 

[gitana1]

Scientists isolate coronavirus strain responsible for deadly Covid-19 outbreak
[...]

Researchers from Sunnybrook Research Institute, McMaster University and the University of Toronto, all in Canada, isolated the virus from two specimens and then cultivated it in a secure containment facility.

This does not mean isolating people infected with the virus, but means scientists have successfully obtained a pure sample of the virus, which they have contained outside the human body and can then study.


The team said the lab-grown samples would help scientists in Canada and across the world develop better diagnostic testing, treatments and vaccines to fight the coronavirus.

[...]

Heroes.

 

[Richmond]

Thanks. I couldn't find any zinc but we have Airborne which has some zinc in it, and we have been taking our daily limit of that and doing other things to try to boost the immune system. We have garlic, ginger, raw honey, miso soup packets, raw apple cider vinegar, a freezer full of homemade bone broth... I looked for elderberries or elderberry syrup but couldn't get any and I wasn't about to pay the prices I saw online for them. We have most of the OTC cough and cold medicines we could need and all the basic pain relievers. I'm debating about taking some anti-malarial meds because we happen to have some on hand and I saw they were doing an early trial of those for Coronavirus treatment. Need to ask a doctor first.

I hope you and your husband don't suffer from coronavirus; but if so I hope it is mild, and that you have all the support you need.

 

[Sillybilly]

Please continue discussion at Thread #26 ... and read the Opening Posts.

This thread is now closed.