Coronavirus COVID-19 - Global Health Pandemic #32

[sallye818]

BBM. I was informed yesterday that an older sister is being sent home to die from a lung tumor and brain cancer. It will happen within a week. I can't fly to her. And there most likely will not be a funeral because of social distancing. We might all do a video chat if she is well enough for it.

WEST VIRGINIA

BREAKING: Bluefield College student tests positive for coronavirus
A Bluefield College student has tested positive for COVID-19. In an email to students, Bluefield College President David Olive said:

"Good evening, Campus Community –

Bluefield College leadership has been notified that a Bluefield College student has tested positive for COVID-19. The student has been home, outside of Southwest Virginia, since Thursday, March 12, 2020 and was tested by the student’s physician earlier this week. Bluefield College immediately notified the Tazewell County Health Department. Their staff has begun a tracing protocol to track the student’s movements while on our campus and determine others who could have come in contact with the student.

We ask that you not panic at this news. Instead, please take a moment to evaluate your health condition. Remember, protocols are in place to assist you in doing this. Please visit the Virginia Department of Health website for these instructions: What to do if you were potentially exposed to someone with confirmed coronavirus disease (COVID-19)? – Coronavirus.

For students who remain on campus, the Tazewell County Health Department representative said there is no need for self- or mandatory-quarantine.

[...]

ACHHH! My son's girlfriend is a student at Bluefield, and has been to our house non-stop since returning from WV. Hopefully, this person wasn't in any contact with her, as she's been here in VA since Spring Break (several weeks ago).

 

[Only4Justice]

I am 100% certain I did, after being at a casino not far from Cinci’ airport. I was tested for flu, negative! I had the most insane headache ever, for days, nothing touched it.
That was my main symptom along with fatigue, but my headache was such I could not sleep. A few times I had the feeling I was getting a sore throat but I never had a full fledged sore throat. I saw GP, then allergist. Was advised ragweed was alive & thriving, use a humidifier (I got 100% relief, immediately), rest, otc pain killers. No Rx because “you seem to have a viral infection.). A friend I was with at the casino also had similar symptoms & the muscle aches. She’s a RN & had 2-3 flu tests, all negative.
During our time at the casino, we were exposed to a very large group of tourists from an Asian country, in town/US for meetings.

i definitely feel I have had it. I started in early November with a horrible dry cough. How can we know?

 

[Herat]

I've been scouring the web for just this explanation about the swabs. Thank you so much. I had a feeling someone here would know.

Crazy that we shipped the wrong swabs (if I'm understanding you properly). And wow - the problem of re-norming the tests never occurred to me.

And wow - who knew that the sterile saline was from PR? I would have bet it was made outside the US (surely we can get some minor Pharma company to do it?)

Politics is about power and this is what happens when the fundamentals of a working democracy are abandoned. It's not about one side overpowering the other, it's about the winning side bringing everyone together into a common plan. Especially right now.

1. They weren't the WRONG swabs, they were what the virus testing protocols require. Remember, most all viral testing before COVID-19 was done for Influenza or RSV by the viral particle presence, or by serology (blood sample) for hepatitis, herpes, other anti-viral antibodies.
When a new pathogen arises, the commercial testing done by labs like Quest, LabCorps, Mayo Clinic, or by your local hospital are not available. So the CDC and State Health Labs stick to the safest, most reliable source type and method. The testing for SARS and MERS was all done the same way with nasal/throat swabs in viral transport media.

I think that part of the pandemic disaster planning that was defunded in 2018 covered items such as planning for specimen collection, mass testing, provisions for supplies, etc.

2. I'm sure the profit margin on sterile saline is extremely low so BigPharma isn;t the least bit interested in diverting their resources from the powerhouse profitable drugs. PR has a lower wage scale yet retains the "made in the USA" stamp and the lack of customs and required testing that saline from Mexico or India would require. It's about $$$. It's ALWAYS about $$$

 

[Trudie]

Breaking news,go to CNN. Link
Coronavirus: FAA had a ground stop at JFK, LaGuardia, Newark airports

 

[Boston Corbett]

This 39-year-old New Orleans woman tested for coronavirus. She died before getting her results. (nola.com)

 

[cass523]

New Up and Running for Residents of NJ


COVID-19 Information Hub

 

[pugmom]

I thought we might need a cute little news story to lift our spirits. Here's one from my local paper.
Islander teaches her 91-year-old grandma to use iPhone amid coronavirus | The Guardian

 

[BeckyF]

I’m very worried about this too. Many lives could be lost and not just the poor people who contract the virus. I think of the people who could lose or have lost their jobs, people who have severe depression, elderly people who have no one, hospital workers etc. This is a horrendous and extremely tragic crisis with a magnitude that we have never seen before.

And people could die from something else because doctors are overwhelmed. I’m sure it is a great way of

North Texas Hospital Reports Spike In Severe Child Abuse Cases; Believe Linked To Stress From Coronavirus Pandemic

This is absolutely heart breaking. I could not read the whole article. Poor kids.

This doesn't surprise me at all.

 

[otto]

On a positive note, I ordered wine online and it will be delivered at 6 PM this evening. I had no idea it could be so easy!

Where's Margarita! We need a wine party.

 

[Herat]

On a positive note, I ordered wine online and it will be delivered at 6 PM this evening. I had no idea it could be so easy!

Where's Margarita! We need a wine party.

Will you be supplying the Survival Tater Tots?

 

[pugmom]

In the crappy news category, 2 new cases in Newfoundland- 1 in Eastern Newfoundland and one in central. That makes 6 cases for them now. My parents are in Western Newfoundland so I've been watching their counts closely and begging my parents to stay home. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/covid-19-march-21-daily-update-1.5505568

 

[Herat]

And people could die from something else because doctors are overwhelmed. I’m sure it is a great way of

This doesn't surprise me at all.

Yes, heart attacks, bowel obstructions, pulmonary emboli, hip fractures, congestive heart failure, ectopic pregnancies, bacterial sepsis, urinary obstructions, kidney stones, seizures, premature deliveries, etc etc etc are not stopping just because our hospitals are overloaded and our healthcare providers are becoming ill.

 

[pugmom]

Oh no. First case confirmed in the Northwest Territories region of Canada.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/nwt-first-case-covid19-1.5505701

 

[Trudie]

And people could die from something else because doctors are overwhelmed. I’m sure it is a great way of

This doesn't surprise me at all.

It will only worsen, imo. Look how many parents look at school as a babysitter. I’m talking about stay at home parents that really don’t want to parent and shouldn’t be a parent. Now, they are forced to parent. In normal Xs during errands, I see more people exhibiting poor parenting behavior than good. Just my observation cuz I hear “shut up you GD brat, get your hands off that you blah blah”, I’m not talking poor parents either. I’m referring to upper middle class that can’t be bothered. WTH are they doing now? How many kids are locked in their bedrooms? How many are getting slapped for interrupting someone’s screen time?

 

[Tillicum]

Live presser at link.
Coronavirus in Ohio Saturday update: 3 deaths, 247 total cases reported

 

[otto]

Will you be supplying the Survival Tater Tots?

We need Margarita for the snacks!

 

[Trudie]

Here we go!

Coronavirus: FAA had a ground stop at JFK, LaGuardia, Newark airports
"A Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) air traffic controller trainee at New York Air Route Traffic Control Center in Ronkonkoma, N.Y., tested positive for COVID-19 today," the FAA said in a release shared with USA TODAY by spokesperson Arlene Salac.

The employee who tested positive has not been at the facility since Tuesday. The FAA has contacted local health authorities and is developing a plan to sanitize the affected areas.

 

[Starry Night]

Deleted by me

 

[Tony1902]

Local Walmart decided to allow seniors like myself between 0600 & 0800 to shop. By 0730 shelves were bare. I drove 1 hour to on old Lafayette LA bakery that had 150> loaves just rolled out.

And DH is in CA working as a locum physician. If the lockdown persists, he may not be able to come home in April. I don’t know whether to cry or get a bottle of white Bordeaux and then cry again and pray. If domestic travel is banned, all physicians and nurses who do locum work will not be able to.

 

[bluedivergirl]

i definitely feel I have had it. I started in early November with a horrible dry cough. How can we know?

I don't think we will know until they can test for antibodies ~ assuming we DO develop antibodies.

I think this virus has been around longer than officially recognized.