Coronavirus COVID-19 *Global Health Emergency* #15

[Strangeworld]

If you can purchase the sanitizer, that is. Furthermore, just advising people to wash their hands often ignores the fact that coronva virus is transmitted through respiratory droplets. So all the hand sanitzer in the world might not help you.

Absolutely, sanitiser is hard to come by now. But that's where there is choice. Hand-washing it doesn't mean the scientists stop working on a vaccine, or we ignore the respiratory droplets because the experts are asking us to wash our hands. But it's an effective preventative strategy that is the most simplest and easily accessible to implement across large populations.

I don't know, I just don't get why people are even questioning hand-washing or sanitising lol - it's bizaare!

 

[mommadukes]

So true. I was raised to not miss a day of school or work unless you really, truly could not get out of bed. To this day, I hate not showing up for anything and feel guilty if I call out sick for anything. It's a hard thing to change, I agree.

jmo

My parents must have been friends with your parents lol.

My husband gets really mad at me and says I was trained to prioritize responsibilities over self-care.

 

[Lilibet]

And I have some pieces of rebar handy and hubby has the machete in case of Zombies.

Then you’ve got all you need!

 

[Inthedetails]

I had the flu about 2 months ago. No one could have paid me enough to get off the couch, let alone leave the house. I felt way way too poorly.

It is a distressing point though that one can be asymptomatic at first with CV and still be a contaminant. Hard to know, in that case, when to stay home. JMO

I had the flu last year and it was so awful that I clearly understood how flu can be deadly. It took weeks to be able to feel human and a couple of months to regain full strength and to lose the cough/shortness of breath. I lost my hearing for three weeks, which was frustrating and sent me into a very down period. I didn't know the flu could make you lose your hearing, but it did for me. My hearing came back, though I don't know if it's "full strength." I honestly think I could've died in my bed - and I would've been content to go - if my husband wasn't such an incredible caregiver (he is truly a healer, which you'd never guess unless you know him. He comes off a bit gruff).

That experience was the first time I felt vulnerable to an illness. I don't wish that on ANYONE, anywhere - and I just want this COVID-19 virus to go away as quickly as we can conquer it. And I use conquer very specifically because I think it will take a plan with strong tactics and coordinated efforts to beat.

And saying "it's just the flu" is not only wrong, it's also not a comfort. The flu can be absolutely terrible.

jmo

jmo

 

[Yesiamapirate]

It might be here in Michigan now.


Check out this article from Detroit Free Press:

Possible case of coronavirus monitored by Ingham County health officials

Possible case of coronavirus monitored by Ingham County health officials

 

[KALI]

Good. Hopefully, Spring Breakers have parents to advise them how to stay safe.

Local news showed the beaches here on Florida's west coast packed, and local businesses stated that they haven't noticed a decline in business as of yet.

 

[jjenny]

Good. Hopefully, Spring Breakers have parents to advise them how to stay safe.

But they rarely listen to parents, don't they?

 

[weepingangel]

Goodlord

BREAKING: Coronavirus patient visited Rockville retirement community event, with about 70 to 100 people Coronavirus patient attended Rockville retirement community event

A Montgomery County resident who tested positive for coronavirus on Thursday attended an event at a retirement home in Rockville last weekend, along with between 70 and 100 people, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan announced Friday night.

Frances Phillips, the deputy secretary for public health services for the state, said people who were at the event — residents, staff and visitors — are being monitored, but no one has reached the level of showing symptoms that require testing

 

[margarita25]

Canada:

Coronavirus live updates: Canadians being advised to stay away from cruises, self-monitor after travel

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/coronavirus-bc-update-march-6-1.5488650

Coronavirus live updates: Canadians being advised to stay away from cruises, self-monitor after travel

Coronavirus: What to know about the 1st Canadian ‘community case’ of COVID-19

ETA, Public Health Site

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19): Being prepared - Canada.ca

Finally, an official directive to stay away from cruises from someone. Figures it’s the smart Canadians. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, Canada has their stuff together, always has moo.

Canadians, feel free to correct me if you feel otherwise. But I’ve been so impressed with them from day 1.

 

[KALI]

Big question... is this entire area still in quarantine, or, are they back to work?
For heavens sake, are there no reporters?
If everyone is out and about and their cases are down, this is great news.
If, they're all locked up, this is bad news. Which is it, dammit!?!

The new coronavirus has now infected more than 100,000 people around the world, but in mainland China the number of new cases fell on Saturday to just 99 – the first time since January 18 that fewer than 100 cases were recorded.

China’s National Health Commission said 74 of the new infections were reported in Hubei’s provincial capital Wuhan, with the remainder occurring in other provinces. This is the second day there were no further cases elsewhere in Hubei province where the outbreak began.

Coronavirus: China cases fall below 100 as world total climbs over 100,000

 

[Betty P]

It's an estimate based on China. They have tested a lot of people (unlike US).

Like most countries, China provides health care to all its citizens, so, unlike the US and other countries with high numbers of uninsured, people are less likely to get sick and die of it without being under a doctor's care.

 

[StarrChance]

There has been another toilet paper fight in Sydney, what worries me if people are fighting over tp what would happen if there was genuine (or perceived) food shortages...

 

[Henry2326]

Trevor Bedford

There is continued interest in "L" vs "S" strains of #SARSCoV2 proposed in the manuscript On the origin and continuing evolution of SARS-CoV-2. Please consider this thread to be a public peer review of this work. 1/8
Trevor Bedford on Twitter

We've recorded 145 different single amino acid mutations among sequenced viruses in the #COVID19 pandemic. This manuscript focuses on a particular change from leucine ("L") to serine ("S") at site 84 in the ORF-8 gene of #SARSCoV2. 2/8

This mutation appears to have happened very early on in the outbreak while the virus was still in Wuhan, China. Viruses with "L" and viruses with "S" have spread from Wuhan to the rest of the world. Visible at auspice. 3/8 Trevor Bedford on Twitter

Generally, the expectation among virologists is that a random single amino acid change will have little impact on virus behavior. My "null" model would be that this mutation just happened to occur on an early branch on the tree and any "impact" is due solely to epidemiology. 4/8


We had a similar story with Ebola virus in West Africa where a possibly impactful mutation occurred, but distinguishing between virological and epidemiological effects was hugely difficult. https://t.co/9SE9er3vQG 5/8

Any differences in apparent severity between these two genetic variants are most likely due to sampling of market-associated severe cases in Wuhan and missing the bulk of mild cases in this setting. 6/8
Richard Neher on Twitter

That said, we will continue to monitor spread of these two variants to look to see how frequencies behave over time and to look for possible differences in clinical outcomes, though at this point we don't see one variant outcompeting the other. 7/8 Trevor Bedford on Twitter

In summary, I don't think the strong conclusions of the manuscript are warranted. We will monitor these two genetic variants, but I see no reason to conclude they have important functional significance at this point. 8/8

 

[Inthedetails]

Big question... is this entire area still in quarantine, or, are they back to work?
For heavens sake, are there no reporters?
If everyone is out and about and their cases are down, this is great news.
If, they're all locked up, this is bad news. Which is it, dammit!?!

Once the virus spread outside of China in large numbers, the coverage of China really dropped, it seems. And tbh, I don't believe much that comes out of China on this topic anyway. It's a bummer to have unreliable information - makes it easy to tune out completely.

It is still important what is happening there because the info could help countries in the rest of the world manage their cases, by seeing what to expect, what worked or didn't work, etc.

jmo

 

[Lilibet]

There has been another toilet paper fight in Sydney, what worries me if people are fighting over tp what would happen if there was genuine (or perceived) food shortages...

That is certainly a valid concern.

 

[Henry2326]

The City of NY just raised its threat assessment for #COVID19 due to increase in testing and discovery of more community transmission. @NYCMayor says prepare your family and workplace.

Laurie Garrett on Twitter

 

[Betty P]

Dear gregjrichards,

This is extremely hopeful to hear! It is the containment which is paramount right now.

Thank you so much for posting this!

Yes, it really gives us some hope that the US can pull out of this, too. We have hard days ahead of us, but hopefully they'll get it under control.

 

[Henry2326]

Sources: The NBA has sent a memo to its franchises explaining that, due to coronavirus outbreak, teams should be preparing to play games without fans in attendance and identifying “essential staff” present for these games -- should it be necessary.
Shams Charania on Twitter

 

[Henry2326]

Two federal health screeners at Los Angeles International Airport have tested positive for coronavirus, according to an email sent to their colleagues today and seen by Reuters Coronavirus | Reuters Reuters on Twitter

Reuters: "At this time, we cannot confirm where these two screeners were exposed,” said the email, which was sent by a senior CDC official. “Let us keep our colleagues in our thoughts during this period.”
Vincent Lee on Twitter

 

[jjenny]

Two federal health screeners at Los Angeles International Airport have tested positive for coronavirus, according to an email sent to their colleagues today and seen by Reuters Coronavirus | Reuters Reuters on Twitter

So I am assuming they screened people who were not yet showing symptoms but were still contagious? And that's how they picked it up?