Coronavirus - COVID-19 - Global Health Pandemic #24

[Lilibet]

The point is that the Kirkland Fire Department should not have been calling the shots about what was needed. That wasn't their job, it was the job of the local and state health departments which were coordinating care everywhere else. The Princess cruise passengers were being sent to quarantine at military facilities with close coordination with the CDC. No fire department should be determining the primary care for a nursing home. That's not their job.

At the beginning, before the Kirkland Fire Department knew what it was dealing with, local and state health departments were not coordinating care everywhere else. This was ground zero. No one, including the health departments, knew it was COVID-19 during the earliest calls to the nursing home. The Diamond Princess passengers were known to have COVID-19.

It absolutely is the job of Fire Department EMT first responders to determine whether to transport a patient from a nursing home or assisted living facility or whether the patient can be treated in their room. I’ve watched many ambulances come and go, and I’ve even been transported to the hospital in one. Thank goodness for those EMTs who are trained to “call the shots” under normal conditions...which this seemed to be, initially.

 

[Curious Me]

Some people will be fine.
Some people will have lung damage for the rest of their life. Some people will die.

I already know I won't survive if I get it. I appreciate the warnings and protective measures being taken, but sure, I wonder if this much alarm is necessary. But hey, it might save my life so I'm not going to complain. Would it seem worth it if it saved your parent's life, your grandparent, your aunt or uncle's life, your child's life?

 

[Sweetsbeach]

Bumping Tricia's post from earlier in these CoVid19 threads ...

Thank you. I was going to do the same. Every time I read a post of someone not taking this seriously, I can feel my bp rising. More people will die because of this mentality. PERIOD.

 

[Squinchy]

Welcome to Websleuths @Squinchy Thank you so much for joining us.

Thank you

 

[PinkPrincessPoop]

People have been coming together in my community for days. They are determining how to distribute school lunches, volunteering to do child care, offering to purchase groceries for the elderly.

Very good! As long as it's not in large groups of 50 or more.....

 

[jjenny]

Some people will be fine.
Some people will have lung damage for the rest of their life. Some people will die.

I already know I won't survive if I get it. I appreciate the warnings and protective measures being taken, but sure, I wonder if this much alarm is necessary. But hey, it might save my life so I'm not going to complain. Would it seem worth it if it saved your parent's life, your aunt or uncle's, your child's?

On a bright side, with all the lysol, clorox and hand sanitizer sold out, people who bought it should be a lot cleaner. Unless they are hoarding it for resale.

 

[gitana1]

People have been coming together in my community for days. They are determining how to distribute school lunches, volunteering to do child care, offering to purchase groceries for the elderly.

That's true. It’s happening in my community as well and everywhere. However, when the US cases start mimicking whats happening in Europe, Iran and what happened in China, everything is going to halt. States will start to close “non-essential businesses” like they have in France and Italy.

 

[Lilibet]

Thank you. I was going to do the same. Every time I read a post of someone not taking this seriously, I can feel my bp rising. More people will die because of this mentality. PERIOD.

I was going to bump it also, for the second time, so thanking SB too. Today I talked to a friend who is over 80 and who has a home helper once a week provided by the state. My friend mentioned that her helper doesn’t think this is a big deal. I didn’t want to upset my friend, but I asked her if she is aware that it is a big deal. She said she is. As much as I like her helper, I’m really annoyed at her for minimizing this and possibly not taking necessary precautions. She works in other homes too.

 

[gregjrichards]

Please remember to let the important people in your life know how much you love them and that you are there for them no matter what.

Thank you to all of you for being here. I’m very grateful I can post with you all about this terrible, extremely serious and very tragic crisis.

 

[gitana1]

On a bright side, with all the lysol, clorox and hand sanitizer sold out, people should be a lot cleaner. Unless they are hoarding it for resale.

They are. The wife of a friend’s co-worker works at a health clinic and says that the usual number of flu cases is down by more than 50% due to all the handwashing.

 

[Sillybilly]

Am I inferring correctly, that they are holding this man in quarantine in his own home against his will?

You are inferring correctly. It is a very serious offence to violate laws relating to quarantine.

In Canada, under Section 18 of the Quarantine Act, individuals failing to abide by quarantine instruction are subject to arrest:

Arrest without warrant

18 A peace officer may, at the request of a screening officer or quarantine officer, arrest without a warrant and bring to a quarantine officer any traveller who the peace officer has reasonable grounds to believe has refused to be isolated or refuses to comply with a measure under subsection 15(3).

In the US, as per the CDC, Legal Authorities for Isolation and Quarantine states:

Enforcement
If a quarantinable disease is suspected or identified, CDC may issue a federal isolation or quarantine order.

Public health authorities at the federal, state, local, and tribal levels may sometimes seek help from police or other law enforcement officers to enforce a public health order.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection and U.S. Coast Guard officers are authorized to help enforce federal quarantine orders.

Breaking a federal quarantine order is punishable by fines and imprisonment.

Federal law allows the conditional release of persons from quarantine if they comply with medical monitoring and surveillance.

In the rare event that a federal order is issued by CDC, those individuals will be provided with an order for quarantine or isolation. An example of a Quarantine Order for Novel Coronavirus (print-only) pdf icon[PDF – 5 pages] is provided. This document outlines the rationale of the federal order as well as information on where the individual will be located, quarantine requirements including the length of the order, CDC’s legal authority, and information outlining what the individual can expect while under federal order.

 

[gregjrichards]

Hoboken announces night curfew

The US city of Hoboken, across the Hudson River from New York City, has announced a night curfew starting 16 March and ordered bars and restaurants to conduct only delivery services amid the ongoing coronavirus outbreak.

Coronavirus latest updates: all arrivals in Australia must self-isolate for 14 days, says PM

 

[Deleted member 39678]

Very good! As long as it's not in large groups of 50 or more.....

Where do you get the number 50 from?

Most news reports I've seen is that it's recommended that groups of 250 people or more should be canceled/avoided.

 

[gitana1]

Those numbers are miniscule. Truly.
Feeling very sad for the Life Center patients and staff.

But you are aware that we aren’t testing in large numbers, right? I mean how on earth can we know when even people who are symptomatic with serious effects aren’t being tested?

As a result, this could explode with ferocity in just a couple weeks.

 

[Amonet]

The part I’m having a difficult time with is that you are pointing to the facts presented by the CDC as a way to discredit the very group that presented the facts you’re trying to use as evidence against them.

Simple

One thing that concerns me is when people look at the current stats and point at them as if they're a fixed number, like the number of flu cases last year is a fixed number. If you point at the first week or month's flu stats, they don't look the same as at the end of a season. At one point Hubei had fewer cases than the US has now. At one point Italy had fewer cases than the US has now. Last week the US had fewer cases than the US has now.

Sure, the US hospital system can cope with having X number of flu admissions per year. Shouldn't we try to do something to ensure that the Covid-19 admissions aren't x * 2 or x * 10, seeing as the hospitals wouldn't be able to cope with that number of admissions?

Or do we just keep on saying, "but look at the current figures!" As two weeks ago the then current figures were even lower and they were good enough then to prove that this is 'just a flu', can we just keep pointing at the same figures to prove the same point? If the point is valid, then we should be able to point to the exact same figures the whole way through.

We don't just point at the first week's flu stats, we look at the stats for the whole season. Then we look at average stats for multiple flu seasons. And these figures guide governments and healthcare facilities to prepare for an average season.

They can't just look at the first week's figures and say, "there you go, nothing to worry about". They have to look at how epidemics can grow over time, they have to understand how many cases they might see at the peak of a season.

If the end of season figures for Covid-19 turn out to be the same as the average year's flu numbers, but it happens at the same time as the flu peak, then you've now got x * 2 needing hospital treatment. What if we do nothing, no social distancing, then could the figures end up being more than the health system can cope with?

Italy banned air traffic from China. Look at Italy now. Look at the measures Hubei took, and their cases weren't coming from outside Hubei, and look how overrun they were even with the new hospitals and quarantine facilities when their Covid-19 cases peaked?

There might only be a fraction of a percent of cases in the whole world right now, but that doesn't really help northern Italy does it? Because their cases are in one area, not spread out all over the globe. They only have the number of hospitals in their area to deal with their cases, they don't have the power of all the hospitals in the world.

 

[PingTheRouter]

You are inferring correctly. It is a very serious offence to violate laws relating to quarantine.

as of midnight tonight Australian time it is a serious offense to disobey a mandatory quarantine issued by the government as well

 

[Curious Me]

On a bright side, with all the lysol, clorox and hand sanitizer sold out, people should be a lot cleaner. Unless they are hoarding it for resale.

True!

Plus, maybe now, my young doctor won't resent when I avoid the hand shake she insists on offering. I used to offer a fist bump instead, but from now on I'm strictly a elbow bumper.

 

[Lilibet]

Please remember to let the important people in your life know how much you love them and that you are there for them no matter what.

Thank you to all of you for being here. I’m very grateful I can post with you all about this terrible, extremely serious and very tragic crisis.

We certainly do need to make sure people know how much we care and will be there to help. Today we heard from our young friend (about your age! ) who is away on a business trip for exactly that reason. He wanted to make sure he could arrange for help here if we need it. We felt loved!

Thank YOU for being here! You bring so much humanity to the thread.

 

[PinkPrincessPoop]

Where do you get the number 50 from?

Most news reports I've seen is that it's recommended that groups of 250 people or more should be canceled/avoided.

My own county, your mileage may vary depending on exactly where you live!

 

[PinkPrincessPoop]

Is anyone else being more aware of prepping? I've never really prepped before in my life. And I do *not* want to confuse it with all-out hoarding! But I do now want to be more conscious of having a two-week supply of essentials on-hand at any given time in case of emergency. I've never had to think about it before as I've been privileged to live on this Earth so far without being caught in a natural disaster (or pandemic!).