Coronavirus COVID-19 *Global Health Emergency* #7

[Auntie Cipation]

I hope CDC and WHO are all over this case.

Oops, quoted the reply instead of the original post -- this was in reference to the woman who said her sister died of several things including coronavirus -- I'm hoping this is a semantic issue -- COVID-19 is not the first or only disease around that is called a coronavirus. In fact I had the impression that regular influenza is a variety of coronavirus. So I'm hoping this woman just didn't realize that, rather than that her sister actually had COVID-19...

Israeli scientists: 'In a few weeks, we will have coronavirus vaccine'

Israeli scientists are on the cusp of developing the first vaccine against the novel coronavirus, according to Science and Technology Minister Ofir Akunis. If all goes as planned, the vaccine could be ready within three weeks and available in 90 days.

Wha? What about the months of trials that Dr. Fauci referred to when he said that the fastest a vaccine could be to the public would be about 18 months?

Absolutely. What about Las Vegas? Huge conference destination. San Diego too.

It's not until early September, but -- what about Burning Man? 80,000 people from all over the world (though largely from the US West) gather in the desert for a week of proximity in less-than-hygienic circumstances... Planning begins months in advance. Honestly I hope they cancel it this year. Just too many unknowns.

It seems that a runny nose is not a common symptom of Covid-19 early on in the illness, so it sounds more likely that the Pope has a cold. Not sure it's a good idea to be kissing babies with a cold, but I do wish him a speedy recovery.

Glad to read that about the runny nose. I've had one all winter, with essentially no other symptoms of illness. I was starting to wonder how I would even know if I got the CV version... (kidding)

 

[margarita25]

The Decatur County Sheriff's Office in Oberlin, Kansas, said meth purchased locally might be contaminated with coronavirus (which is not true) and they are advising drug users to get their supplies tested for free.

“If you have recently purchased meth locally, it may be contaminated with the coronavirus,” the post said. “Please take it to the sheriff's office or police department and they will test it for free." “If you're not comfortable going into an office, please contact any officer and they'll test your meth in the privacy of your home. Please spread the word!”

COVID-19: Kansas sheriff’s office will test your meth for coronavirus

 

[Simply Southern]

@Simply Southern Wanted to be sure you saw this regarding Disney since your granddaughter will be going in a few weeks. Apparently the Epcot workers were isolated due to a recent trip to Italy but they have not shown any symptoms. I'll try to remember to tag you in any Disney specific information since I can imagine how concerned you might be about your granddaughter's trip.

Disney World employees told to stay home amid coronavirus fears

Thank you so much!!! I have tried to find N95 medical grade mask for weeks, unsuccessfully.

Its front page news worldwide and radio silence from school officials.

Please, keep me in mind with your posts.

 

[margarita25]

Going back to US Soldiers:

“Humphreys is considered the biggest U.S. military base overseas, with about 27,000 servicemembers, civilian employees and family members.”

U.S. Military Families in South Korea, Italy Anxious Over Coronavirus; First U.S. Servicemember Diagnosed With COVID-19 | The Weather Channel
2 days ago

—-

“As the new coronavirus, which was first found in China, has begun to sweep through South Korea, soldiers stationed in close quarters on bases throughout the country are at particular risk. Already 20 South Korean soldiers and one American have tested positive.”

U.S. and South Korean forces face new foe in COVID-19, curtail joint exercise | The Japan Times
FEB 27, 2020

I hope more US soldiers don’t get sick.

 

[Trino]

From the above link / BBM:

“They are a citizen of New Zealand who had been to Iran and flown back to New Zealand via Bali, she said.”

Oh, no. And, so it goes on and on.

 

[margarita25]

I’d like to suggest protein shakes for the food items, if not already suggested. They go a long way. You get quantity, and you get your nutrition.

Also, @Herat, I’m doing the chocolate squirrel crack scramble in the cupboard you mentioned upstream right now with no avail, but have chocolate protein shakes to fulfill the craving.

So chocolate protein shakes are good for a few reasons, moo.

 

[Lilibet]

I’d like to suggest protein shakes for the food items, if not already suggested. They go a long way. You get quantity, and you get your nutrition.

Also, @Herat, I’m doing the chocolate squirrel crack scramble in the cupboard you mentioned upstream right now with no avail, but have chocolate protein shakes to fulfill the craving.

So it’s a good idea for a few reasons, moo.

Good idea. Shakes are good, but I hope your squirrel finds some chocolate crack in that cupboard ASAP, Mags.

 

[book-thinker]

Here in the Seattle,Washington area, the district supervisors for Bothell High school decided to close for fear a staff member returned to school on Monday after spending the holidays out of the country with a family member who began getting sick on Tuesday. The family member has been admitted to the hospital and is in isolation. The staff member is at home for 14 days. The district is awaiting for test results if this is indeed the virus. I pray it’s it’s not.

 

[margarita25]

See 2:00 @ this video of Chinese SWAT sticking a net over a guy’s head. Supposedly officials released this video to show what happens if a sick person tries to flee a checkpoint:

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Countries across the world take precautions as coronavirus spreads / 3 hours ago

 

[Lilibet]

Here in the Seattle,Washington area, the district supervisors for Bothell High school decided to close for fear a staff member returned to school on Monday after spending the holidays out of the country with a family member who began getting sick on Tuesday. The family member has been admitted to the hospital and is in isolation. The staff member is at home for 14 days. The district is awaiting for test results if this is indeed the virus. I pray it’s it’s not.

Here is a link to a story about the family member of the Bothell Highschool staff member.
Bothell High School closed over COVID-19 concern

Washington state had the first case of COVID-19 in the U.S. I hope this case turns out not to be another one.

It’s interesting to read the medical narrative in the New England Journal of Medicine dated January 31 about the first patient. How far COVID-19 has spread in a little over a month since this case first appeared!

Quoting:

An outbreak of novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) that began in Wuhan, China, has spread rapidly, with cases now confirmed in multiple countries. We report the first case of 2019-nCoV infection confirmed in the United States and describe the identification, diagnosis, clinical course, and management of the case, including the patient’s initial mild symptoms at presentation with progression to pneumonia on day 9 of illness. This case highlights the importance of close coordination between clinicians and public health authorities at the local, state, and federal levels, as well as the need for rapid dissemination of clinical information related to the care of patients with this emerging infection.
<snip>
On January 19, 2020, a 35-year-old man presented to an urgent care clinic in Snohomish County, Washington, with a 4-day history of cough and subjective fever. On checking into the clinic, the patient put on a mask in the waiting room. After waiting approximately 20 minutes, he was taken into an examination room and underwent evaluation by a provider. He disclosed that he had returned to Washington State on January 15 after traveling to visit family in Wuhan, China. The patient stated that he had seen a health alert from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) about the novel coronavirus outbreak in China and, because of his symptoms and recent travel, decided to see a health care provider.

More at link...
https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2001191

This man has recovered and is out of the hospital.
First coronavirus patient in Washington considered 'fully recovered'

 

[Lilibet]

This little cutey, the pangolin, could be the COVID-19 “middleman” between bats and humans.

In a study, the researchers discovered that the coronavirus samples taken from patients were a 99% identical match to samples of the virus taken from pangolins, according to a report from China's Xinhua news agency.

It is hypothesized that pangolins may have become coronavirus carriers due to ingesting bat saliva or feces while eating insects. If a human ate a pangolin carrying the virus, they would be exposed and likely infected.

The likelihood of this is high, since despite all eight species facing extinction, pangolins are the most illegally trafficked mammal in the world, second only to humans, and are especially popular in China and Vietnam, where their meat is considered a delicacy and scales are used as important ingredients in both traditional medicine and commercial pharmaceuticals.

Coronavirus outbreak likely caused by illegal pangolin trade, study shows

 

[Amonet]

If the virus can re-infect someone almost immediately upon recovery, that’s bad enough. But the last statement:

“Tierno said much remains unknown about the virus. "I'm not certain that this is not bi-phasic, like anthrax," he said, meaning the disease appears to go away before recurring.”

This is implying that recovered folks aren’t actually recovered at all. Basically saying the virus goes dormant, and then
re-emerges at a later time.

If you look at the graph of disease evolution in a patient on the Dr John Campbell videos, it appears to show the body struggling greatly to clear the virus...from his graph I could certainly imagine a biphasic progression if the immune system clears the worst of it and then the antibodies just break down and the virus comes back up again.

However, if this is common, shouldn't we have heard more about it occurring in other patients? Maybe it's not something that happens in everyone?

 

[Amonet]

Yeah it scares me. Especially since our president praised how China handled it.

Is that what we can expect? Trump says China is handling coronavirus 'professionally'

I think that is more of a diplomatic statement. They did do amazing to do the shutdown of Wuhan and Hubei and taking it extremely seriously once they realised how bad it was. But I see the president's words as more of a diplomatic thing to try and avoid tensions, especially given China's recent comments about the USA panicking about the virus.

 

[asyousay]

View attachment 234973

This little cutey, the pangolin, could be the COVID-19 “middleman” between bats and humans.

In a study, the researchers discovered that the coronavirus samples taken from patients were a 99% identical match to samples of the virus taken from pangolins, according to a report from China's Xinhua news agency.

It is hypothesized that pangolins may have become coronavirus carriers due to ingesting bat saliva or feces while eating insects. If a human ate a pangolin carrying the virus, they would be exposed and likely infected.

The likelihood of this is high, since despite all eight species facing extinction, pangolins are the most illegally trafficked mammal in the world, second only to humans, and are especially popular in China and Vietnam, where their meat is considered a delicacy and scales are used as important ingredients in both traditional medicine and commercial pharmaceuticals.

Coronavirus outbreak likely caused by illegal pangolin trade, study shows

These people literally eat anything and obviously didn’t learn from SARS.


This is why even though world travel is great when you have some countries ingesting food like this you realize world travel has its down falls.


IMO

 

[Amonet]

I'm not sure how to handle this. I too go to a gym regularly and use the equipment. I also attend several yoga classes per week and confess to have a (at the moment minor) fear about laying on the floor as well as being around other people who use the same blankets, bolsters, blocks...

I'm thinking to wait until a community contagious case turns up in my area...but then I don't want to be me. Paranoia vs common sense awareness. Tough choice.

I think you can try not to touch your face, maybe try to focus on just a couple of pieces of equipment and use hand sanitizer between each piece? And try to stay 2 meters away from anyone else. And if anyone starts coughing...run!

 

[CrimeAway]

This website has some (long), but very informative podcasts about Covid-19. There is one regarding the Pengolin connection, and another where they discuss in great detail, the evolution of the virus and how it isn't man-made.

www.virology.ws

I'm very new to posting, so I hope the link works and is ok.

 

[asyousay]

Has Britain become too selfish to cope with coronavirus? | Gaby Hinsliff


This is exactly what I said last night and I am glad it’s being pointed out.

 

[Amonet]

I am not a market expert, but sheesh, it sure seems like it might be better for the markets if the US acted like it had a clue and was taking more measures to control the spread and test for it!! (MOO MOO). (And that’s not intended to be political)

I would guess a lot of the financial fears reflected in the markets right now is due to uncertainty- which is exacerbated by the current bizarre US medical response (MOO MOO).

Rant over. For now. (Don’t worry, I’m heading to yoga soon...)

I think the governments are trying to give off an air of confidence for that reason. But the markets aren't just reacting to that, it's also business, trade, and manufacturing fundamentals that they're considering and how they might change over time. The markets can see airlines stopping routes to some countries, they can see how the holiday/vacation market might be affected, they can see how hotels might have fewer guests than usual. Then there are parts coming in from affected countries like China and S. Korea and how that has knock-on effects for manufacturers over here who rely on the Just In Time system for those parts to come in maybe an hour before they're required on the production line to make a car.

We already have people avoiding Chinese restaurants, what if there's an outbreak in the US that means it's not just Chinese restaurants but any restaurant? And all the posts here that are suggesting at some point there might be some places that are best avoided due to their crowded nature or the close proximity of people.

And if some of these stores are really struggling, then they default on their bills and payments...banks have to start repossessing. And if we go through lockdowns like in Hubei then who's going to be going to get a loan to start up a business in that environment? Who's going to be going to the bank for a loan for a new car or a new kitchen?

And this is how you build a recession. And it has real effects on real people, people losing their jobs and their businesses, and then some of them end up losing their homes as they now can't pay the mortgage. The person who works in the movie theater who has their hours cut now can't afford some of the things they could before, so they have to cut discretionary spending, and that's another business going down due to more lost customers, and that's more lost jobs, which means more lost homes.

The economy is like a virus as well....I think that's a saying that the economy has a cold....and if it spreads like a virus then it's like the row of dominoes falling down on top of each other...it's contagious. And it's about real people, not just big investors like Warren Buffett who can afford to lose a few million and still have a few billion in the bank.

And didn't Warren Buffett say he's not selling? That could be two things, could be a confidence thing (which is something that bothers me about all these 'buy gold' videos I see, or he's so rich that he can cope and hope that this all blows over by May/June, or he knows the stock market will be back up in ten years and he's okay playing the long game...he can cope with the paper losses in the meantime.

But what about pension companies in the stock market and all the people who's pensions just lost value and could lose a lot more if this is a long-term problem or if it comes back worse next winter?

 

[Henry2326]

Vietnam announced on Friday that it will stop issuing visas to South Korean nationals to help contain the spread of coronavirus Vietnam stops issuing visas to South Koreans

CNN International on Twitter

 

[Henry2326]

New Zealand's Ministry of Health has announced its first confirmed case of the novel coronavirus New Zealand reports its first case of coronavirus

CNN International on Twitter