Coronavirus COVID-19 - Global Health Pandemic #31

[Henry2326]

Seeing some of the perennial outbreak rumors and speculation swirling on mutations and virulence. Probably bc of the latest data indicating younger people are not actually as invincible as it seemed. Few things to keep in mind:

1) Mutations do not, by any stretch, automatically mean increased virulence.
2) In fact, pathogens tend to become, if anything, less virulent over time bc they adapt to the host.
3) Scientists are tracking the virus and its evolution as it moves around the world.
4) So far, there is no indication that different strains are at play in one country vs. another.
5) If anything, there are some variants that differ by, at most, a few basepairs.
6) That may well change in weeks ahead. But even if it does, it will not mean new mutant, exceptionally virulent, strain.
7) So let's all just stay calm, shall we. This stuff plenty scary without embellishment.

Jeneen Interlandi on Twitter

 

[10ofRods]

More data (from 181 patients) confirming what we knew earlier on in the pandemic about the incubation period of #COVID19.
It's about 5 days.
Also important: "97.5% of those who develop symptoms will do so within 11.5 days...of infection."
The Incubation Period of COVID-19 From Publicly Reported Confirmed Cases | Annals of Internal Medicine | American College of Physicians

Isaac Bogoch on Twitter

Thank you so much for this. And while I'm here, I want to say that you are amazing. I appreciate your posts so much. I have a resource to DM you, will do so in a few minutes.

You kept me company during my nightly CV anxiety attack.

 

[drama_farmer]

This is terrifying. I keep thinking, what if China has lied to the entire world about the true number of the dead there? What if the death rate is much higher and they mostly only reported the deaths of the "old people" in order to "save face"? Western journalists were kicked out of China and they continue to be locked down last I read. How would the world know if their cities are literal ghost towns now? Horrifying. May God be with us all. MOO.

But, but, but. . .doesn't the U.S. have a substantial "intelligence" arm of the government, with all of those "alphabet" agencies that are tasked with info gathering, surveillance, communications monitoring, satellite imagery, etc. Professional "spies" for lack of a more precise term. . .

So, IMO, regardless of the "official" numbers that are coming from China, all of the intelligence resources of the U.S. government should have more realistic numbers. If they do, and they're worse than what we've been told, I doubt the true figures will be shared with U.S. citizens at large.

 

[Henry2326]

This is terrifying. I keep thinking, what if China has lied to the entire world about the true number of the dead there? What if the death rate is much higher and they mostly only reported the deaths of the "old people" in order to "save face"? Western journalists were kicked out of China and they continue to be locked down last I read. How would the world know if their cities are literal ghost towns now? Horrifying. May God be with us all. MOO.

The World Health Organization has several teams there...all is good. Much better than the US. They kicked out the journalists, IMO, as a punch to US politics who continue to point blame for a pandemic. IMO, the US has enough to blame themselves for not being prepared instead of throwing stones. As well, they have fully squandered 2 months of time given to us by the Chinese.

Also, my niece has been there through it all. She is doing great.

 

[MaryG12]

OK I knew Publix was an awesome supermarket chain, but this is going above and beyond:


Publix hiring thousands of employees during coronavirus pandemic

The company encourages submissions from people in service, manufacturing, warehousing and other industries who have recently found themselves unexpectedly without work, the company says in a news release. Interested individuals should fill out an online application here.

 

[katydid23]

SITTING ON MY HANDS......AND BITING MY LIP....

President Trump does not think a national lockdown order is needed as the US continues to deal with the coronavirus outbreak. Trump doesn't think a national lockdown order is "necessary"

I think it should be up to the Governors, and not to the President. I would not like the President to try and overrule each Governor and take control of each State government. I think there would be a lot of blowback and controversy if the President gave a National Order of total lockdown. That is unprecedented.

The Governors should be the ones to make that decision, in my opinion.

 

[Gardener1850]

I just went to all 3 stores in my town. Dollar General, Family $, and our Kroger affiliate. I *think* I can hobble together my pandemic versions of white chili and beef vegetable soup. Personal photo attached of lunchmeat area which includes lunchmeat (packaged), lunchables, and breakfast meat.

@Tricia we need a recipe thread in the pandemic section please. "Buy 4 random cans of food and eat for a week."

Picture too large. The whole section is essentially empty.

A recipe thread or a "what we're eating today" thread would be awesome.
I like the website Supercook.com
You put in all the food items you have and it suggests recipes you can make from many different sites. There's an app for your phone too.

 

[Legally Bland]

Man.

I wonder what the highest numbers of cases reported in one day was in China. We followed them everyday but I can’t remember off the top of my head what that was.

And remember whatever that number is you can take with a grain of salt, moo.

Oh yeah there was that time when they changed to using a “clinical” diagnosis, then the numbers soared, then they changed that system again.

This is so terrible to see Italy. Just incredible and I fear for our future based on that.

That’s why it was SO important to heed what Doc T was preaching over and over about the “Window of Opportunity”.

These numbers are terrifying.

Those poor people in Italy.

I fear for the US (and other countries, UK, etc.).

See I’d have more hope if we would’ve locked things down earlier and people took it more seriously.

The last few weeks in the US of people out running around are going to account for a HUGE spike and multiplication factor MOO.

Man. Those are terrible terrible numbers.

How do those compare to China numbers?

Did we ever find patient zero in Italy?

I had surmised initially it could have been via cruiseship influx in Venice, etc...

I’d like to see a chart of everyone’s numbers over time if anyone has any handy, please.

Each country is different and has many variables as related to their case numbers, but remember Hubei had extreme and barbaric containment measures and they still had CV cases popping up for over 4 months.

We are just now more recently getting into stronger containment and mitigation phases...

We’ve lost a lot of time MOO.

Damn it.

Grrrrrrrrr.

Can’t cry over spilled milk, heck there’s not even any milk to cry over. (I do have a carton in my freezer though, there was no dried milk available.)

This is 5 hours old so probably already answered, the official highest daily death toll for China was 150, less than a 1/4 of Italy's figure today.



China Coronavirus: 80,967 Cases and 3,248 Deaths - Worldometer

 

[WideOpen]

I'm just coming in to Websleuths for the day and this is my town, my neighborhood. I just heard this on our local 5 news. I have been SIP but went for meat and fruit/veg today at the neighborhood HT. I'll update that trip when I can later.
jmo

SOUTH CAROLINA
3 church officials at St. Andrew's in Mount Pleasant have fallen ill, the church confirmed, with 1 testing positive for coronavirus.
Associate rector at Mount Pleasant's St. Andrew's Church tests positive for coronavirus

 

[Ray_of_hope]

"Among patients infected with SARS-CoV-2, viral loads in the upper respiratory tract are high; as a consequence, respiratory secretion in the form of aerosols (<5 μm) or droplets (>5 μm) is likely, the authors note.

van Doremalen and colleagues used nebulizers to generate aerosols. Samples of SARS-CoV-1 and SARS-CoV-2 were collecting at 0, 30, 60, 120, and 180 minutes on a gelatin filter. The researchers then tested the infectivity of the viruses on Vero cells grown in culture.

They found that SARS-CoV-2 was largely stable through the full 180-minute test, with only a slight decline at 3 hours. This time course is similar to that of SARS-CoV-1; both viruses have a median half-life in aerosols of 2.7 hours (range, 1.65 hr for SARS-CoV-1, vs 7.24 hr for SARS-CoV-2)."
BBM
Coronavirus Stays in Aerosols for Hours, on Surfaces for Days

 

[MyBelle]

Illinois governor orders all residents to stay home.

Pritzker issues 'stay-at-home' for entire state of Illinois; what does that mean?

They don't want people out and about shopping or eating out in other towns, possibly getting infected without realizing it and then returning home to transmit it.

JMO

 

[Gardenista]

Andy Cohen announces he’s tested positive for coronavirus

Hillary Clinton was on “WWHL” earlier this month and Cohen also posted a photo of himself with James Taylor on March 4. He also recently posted a photo with his good friend Sarah Jessica Parker and her husband Matthew Broderick, who’s sister recently tested positive as well.

https://pagesix.com/2020/03/20/andy-cohen-announces-hes-tested-positive-for-coronavirus/

 

[Henry2326]

I think it should be up to the Governors, and not to the President. I would not like the President to try and overrule each Governor and take control of each State government. I think there would be a lot of blowback and controversy if the President gave a National Order of total lockdown. That is unprecedented.

The Governors should be the ones to make that decision, in my opinion.

The problem is that they are not in many states...they are leaving it up to the locals. Many many people are going to die....from inaction.

 

[kathiev]

I think it should be up to the Governors, and not to the President. I would not like the President to try and overrule each Governor and take control of each State government. I think there would be a lot of blowback and controversy if the President gave a National Order of total lockdown. That is unprecedented.

The Governors should be the ones to make that decision, in my opinion.

They are doing it one by one.

 

[Ray_of_hope]

First of all, do masks work? Yes, they do.
Guidance against wearing masks for the coronavirus is wrong – you should cover your face - The Boston Globe

I couldn't agree more @jjenny Especially since this Medscape article was delivered to my email today. And it scares me to death that I was not masked while in Walmart today. Wish I'd read this sooner.
Coronavirus Stays in Aerosols for Hours, on Surfaces for Days

 

[JerseyGirl]

I think it should be up to the Governors, and not to the President. I would not like the President to try and overrule each Governor and take control of each State government. I think there would be a lot of blowback and controversy if the President gave a National Order of total lockdown. That is unprecedented.

The Governors should be the ones to make that decision, in my opinion.

New Jersey, New York, Connecticut and Pennsylvania are coordinating efforts together. It gives me a sense of security as it seems they are the only governors taking this virus seriously.

In my world, that's shutting down the entire nation. I'm glad their shutting down all non-essential businesses this "early". The rest of you are on your own. Without a coordinated effort, people will cross state lines. Just because your state's numbers aren't high, doesn't mean the virus is going away. Shut it down now before it spreads.

New York's Cuomo took note of that early on when he shut down bars and restaurants, then New Yorker's just came over to Jersey to party.



N.Y., N.J., Pennsylvania, Connecticut jointly announce more business closures

 

[bluedivergirl]

DeSantis (Florida) is giving a live new conference. I can't find a link yet, but he stated Covid-19 is in two assisted living facilities in Broward Co. Apparently food and maintenance workers who were sick were permitted to work in the building.

I can't tell you how frustrating this is to me.

Too late to edit ~ it was Brevard Co, not Broward. I've only lived here 5 years. . .

 

[Henry2326]

All public officials in all countries should refrain from talking about the medical aspects of this crisis when they do not have any medical knowledge or expertise. They need to leave talking about the medical aspects of the crisis to the medical experts. It is absolutely critical they do not give false or misleading information to the general public.

Only Tony will tell the king he doesnt have on any clothes....IMO

 

[kathiev]

What is considered an essential employee in a business? I work in a mortgage department in a bank. We are not paperless so can't work from home. How important is getting a loan at this point? I am not sure. would love to hear your thoughts

 

[afitzy]

CT - Non Essential Businesses Ordered to Close:

THE LATEST: Gov. orders all non-essential businesses to close

Quotes from article:

Coronavirus is impacting the entire country, including Connecticut. Below is a breakdown of developments as they happen:

The number of confirmed cases stood at 194 as of Thursday afternoon, according to state leaders.

A breakdown by county of where they are can be seen here.


March 20

3:30 p.m.

Governor Ned Lamont announced the fourth coronavirus-related death in the state. The number of positive cases has risen to 194: 122 in Fairfield County; 29 in Hartford County; 8 in Litchfield County; 23 in New Haven County; 8 in Middlesex County; 4 in Tolland County; 1 in New London County, 2 in Windham County.

40 people have been hospitalized in connection to the virus.

Gov. announces Stay Safe, Stay Home policy, ordering non-essential businesses to close, those over 70 to stay home. Essential businesses would include: food, grocery stores, healthcare, pharmacies, gas stations

2:30 p.m.

West Hartford confirms first case of COVID-19. The patient is between the ages of 20 and 30 years old

1 p.m.

The State Department of Public Health reported a positive case of COVID-19 in Haddam, a resident over age 70 who has had very limited contact with others. The resident has been self-isolating. He is recovering from the infection. His symptoms are improving daily.

East Lyme reports first case of COVID-19. The patient is a 44-year-old female

11:40 a.m.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo ordered all non-essential workers in the state to stay home in an effort to stop the spread of the coronavirus.

He issued an executive order for that.

"New York State on pause," Cuomo called it.

11 a.m.

Griffin Health was approved to provide a drive-up collection facility for COVID-19 testing by the Department of Public Health. It'll happen on the Griffin Hospital campus in Derby.

Only people with a valid order from a licensed health care practitioner can be tested. Those with an order can scheduled an appointment at 203-437-6815.

Testing will be done Monday-Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

9 a.m.

Central Connecticut State University announced that it moved its 2020 spring commencement and joined it with the winter 2020 commencement. This comes after the CSCU system announced earlier this week that all commencements were canceled.

6:15 a.m.

Cases amount to 244,500 with more than 10,000 deaths worldwide. More than 86,000 people have recovered, mostly in China.

U.S. death toll topped 200 with more than 14,000 people infected.

March 19

10 p.m.

The Stratford Health Department announced the second presumptive case of COVID-19 in a Stratford High School student is reported to be negative.

6:30 p.m.

Governor Ned Lamont has announced a third coronavirus-related death in the state. A man in his 80s from New Canaan died from the virus. This is the second person from New Canaan to die.

6 p.m.

A member of the CT House of Representatives has tested positive for COVID-19. Rep. Jane Garibay confirmed she tested positive and is self-quarantining at home.

5 p.m.

63 more residents test positive for COVID-19, bringing total to 159.

Enfield announced the first confirmed case of COVID-19 in the town. The patient is a 26-year-old Enfield resident.

Bloomfield closes town offices to the public until further notice

3 p.m.

Four Hartford police officers, who returned from international travel on March 10, have tested positive for COVID-19. A fifth officer was in contact off-duty with one of the officers prior to receiving test results. All are under self-quarantine at home.

The officers were on personal leave and traveled to Spain, which was not on the CDC's list of countries with coronavirus advisory at that time.

2 p.m.

Gov. Lamont announces the state's presidential primary will now be on June 2.

1:40 p.m.

Gov. Lamont said he will issue an executive order on Thursday directing the closure of establishments like nail salons, barber shops, and hair salons

12:09 p.m.

Meriden confirms first case of COVID-19. Officials have reached out to close contacts of the patient and will quarantine for 14 days

8:35 a.m.

A 91-year-old man in New Canaan was the state's second coronavirus-related death, Gov. Ned Lamont reported. The man had been hospitalized at Norwalk Hospital with the virus. The death was announced at a City Council meeting on Wednesday night.

8:30 a.m.

The Chinese city of Wuhan reported no new homegrown infections of COVID-19.

6 a.m.

University of Connecticut students are allowed to move off campus early as the remainder of the spring semester moves to online classes.