Coronavirus COVID-19 - Global Health Pandemic #38

[Starry Night]

West Texas Report - I am home from having to buy new tires and getting an oil change. In normal times those two things would take 4-5 hours because of busy businesses. It took me an hour and 18 minutes. That is how bad the new oil/gas economy and the Virus are hurting businesses out here in the Oil Patch....... Everyone was practicing safe distancing except two people I saw.Only one mask and gloves being worn seen.......Stay safe and prepared to the best of your abilities, folks.....moo

Yes the oil/gas industry is suffering:
Tens of thousands losing jobs as coronavirus and an oil war slam shale fields

"Announcements are starting to trickle in. Drilling service company Canary LLC cut 43 workers last week. Recoil Oilfield Services laid off 50 workers after the water-transfer company lost all of its work with shale giant EOG Resources Inc. But the biggest blow so far came from Halliburton Co., the world’s dominant fracking-services provider, which said this week it would furlough 3,500 workers at its Houston headquarters.

The cutbacks follow a precipitous drop in the price of West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. benchmark crude, falling to as low as $20.06 this week from $52.05 just one month ago.

While workers in just about every industry are threatened by the economic slowdown, few are more at risk than those in the oil patch. The Midland-Odessa region of West Texas, where Occidental Petroleum Corp. and Parsley Energy Inc. have dominated, could be decimated, according to a report from the Brookings Institution. More than 40% of Midland’s workforce is in high-risk industries, mostly oil and gas, the highest of any region in the U.S., it said. Overall, the services workforce today stands at about 316,000, down about 30% from its peak in 2014."

 

[Trudie]

Reposting this! How great if every state gave such specifics.
Wayne County discloses first potential coronavirus exposure site: AMC Fairlane 21

Officials say a positive COVID-19 patient attended the movie theater on March 10.

The patient is identified as an adult woman with no history of domestic or international travel, and has no known contact with other presumptive positive COVID-19 cases, according to officials. The woman is currently being isolated while health officials investigate the case.

The potential exposure occurred between 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. on March 10 at the theater, located at 18900 Michigan Avenue, officials said.

According to officials, the Wayne County Public Health Division is identifying close contacts to the presumptive positive patient, in addition to any customers who visited the movie theaters at the same time.

Any individuals who were present at AMC Fairlane 21 during the time of exposure should watch for COVID-19 symptoms through March 24 including fever, cough and shortness of breath, officials said. If symptoms do occur, call a healthcare provider or hospital before going to a healthcare facility.

 

[zecats]

The high school football player’s father, Kevin Moran, insisted to the Advocate that the exact cause of death was still unclear.

“It was heart failure,” Moran said, adding, “People don’t want to let you heal … I’m so upset.”

He admitted his son had “not been ill” in the days leading up to his death before he became unresponsive and was taken to a hospital, where he died Sunday, the Advocate said. It was not clear from the report when the teen had been tested for the killer bug.

The media really wants everyone to be scared. I guess to keep people reading and clicking. I'm actually confused by their motives.

I'm not sure if you are questioning the link of CV to cardiac arrest. Here are a few more examples. BBM

13 Deaths in a Day: An ‘Apocalyptic’ Coronavirus Surge at an N.Y.C. Hospital

"In several hours on Tuesday, Dr. Ashley Bray performed chest compressions at Elmhurst Hospital Center on a woman in her 80s, a man in his 60s and a 38-year-old who reminded the doctor of her fiancé. All had tested positive for the coronavirus and had gone into cardiac arrest. All eventually died."

 

[jjenny]

So some of them died from underlying problems and not covid-19 despite having covid-19?

More people with underlying health problems died from covid than those without.

 

[Trudie]

I would suggest googling your questions. There’s a ton of factual info out here. Moo

So some of them died from underlying problems and not covid-19 despite having covid-19?

 

[JerseyGirl]

17-year-old from New Orleans dies from coronavirus disease

 

[jjenny]

I'm not sure if you are questioning the link of CV to cardiac arrest. Here are a few more examples. BBM

13 Deaths in a Day: An ‘Apocalyptic’ Coronavirus Surge at an N.Y.C. Hospital

"In several hours on Tuesday, Dr. Ashley Bray performed chest compressions at Elmhurst Hospital Center on a woman in her 80s, a man in his 60s and a 38-year-old who reminded the doctor of her fiancé. All had tested positive for the coronavirus and had gone into cardiac arrest. All eventually died."

So covid can cause cardiac arrest. When father says his son died from heart failure, maybe he is confused. Because technically someone can die from cardiac arrest, but covid caused it.

 

[gregjrichards]

"I’ve respected #DeborahBirx for years. Not sure I trust her any longer. Tonight she said everyone who needs an ICU bed or a ventilator will get one. I’d ask hospital administrators & physicians to speak out now. How close are you to maxing out on capacity?" #coronavirus
Gregg Gonsalves on Twitter

It’s the hospital Consultants, ER Drs and Nurses who are revealing the truth about what is happening in their hospitals that I believe.

Thank you, Trudie, and all you sweet peas that read my post. DS sent a message to his doctor when we found out yesterday afternoon, and are awaiting his reply. We would all feel better knowing one way or another, that's for sure. The unknown can be so frightening. Y'all mean so much to me! I never thought WS would be a place to share my personal life, but here we are!

I really hope and pray your Son’s work colleague will survive and your Son does not have the virus @SeattleStew

 

[JerseyGirl]

Teen at Harris County juvenile detention tests positive for coronavirus

All children housed on the fifth floor with the teen — there are 12 to 15 — have been quarantined. A courts official said the patient is believed to be male.

 

[zecats]

So some of them died from underlying problems and not covid-19 despite having covid-19?

It's more like CV exacerbated the underlying problems (heart disease, diabetes, etc) and accelerated death in persons who were not dying from these conditions and diseases. JMO

ETA Hence the warning to those with these conditions and diseases.

 

[Tadpole12]

Madrid is now prioritizing respirators in Madrid, and removing from those over 65 for triage on their limits/resources and giving pain and other meds for end of life.. My heart breaks. My heart pours out.

Wuhan
Lockdown easing after 9 weeks
Still using quarantine,
so people can leave Wuhan to go back to work in
Beijing, 14 day quarantine

wrt Wuhan and accepting Chinese numbers,
Dr C - I do not believe the mobilization of people that is clearly
documented by videos, that is happening,
and documented by other sources...
I don't believe the Chinese would allow this remobilization
of the population of Wuhan or atleast this increasing release of the lockdown in Wuhan if the decrease in the number of cases was not genuine

 

[Henry2326]

LOUISIANA...IMO

Coronavirus (COVID-19) | Department of Health | State of Louisiana

The issue surrounds various locations in the state that alludes to movement of people during Mardi Gra.
115 cases Shreveport
105 cases Baton Rouge
458 cases Jefferson Parish
91 cases Ascensh Parish
89 cases St. Tammney Parish
997 New Orleans

We are experiencing doubling in the US every 4 to 5 days.
Currently 1,855
So in 5 days there will be 3,710 cases.
In 10 days, 7,420 cases
In 15 days, 14,840cases
In 20 days, 29,680 cases
In 25 days 59,360 cases
In 30 days 118,720 cases
In 25 days, LA will surpass NY's current position.

Currently 676 cases are in hospital. 239 cases or 35% are on ventilators and why the Governor is screaming he needs ventilators.

IMO

 

[Trudie]

Wuhan
Lockdown easing after 9 weeks
Still using quarantine,
so people can leave Wuhan to go back to work in
Beijing, 14 day quarantine

wrt Wuhan and accepting Chinese numbers,
Dr C - I do not believe the mobilization of people that is clearly
documented by videos, that is happening,
and documented by other sources...
I don't believe the Chinese would allow this remobilization
of the population of Wuhan or atleast this increasing release of the lockdown in Wuhan if the decrease in the number of cases was not genuine

we can only hope. I’m eager to see what the results will be.

 

[astheworldfallsdown]

Coronavirus: Who did Boris Johnson meet before testing positive for COVID-19?

Boris Johnson was last seen in public on Thursday evening as he clapped outside Number 10 alongside Chancellor Rishi Sunak.

He was standing alongside Chancellor Rishi Sunak - both were clearly adhering to the two metre rule.

On Wednesday, Mr Johnson chaired a COVID-19 meeting before appearing at Prime Minister's Question's where he was sitting close to Health Secretary Matt Hancock and Home Secretary Priti Patel.

Mr Johnson has held regular cabinet meetings and emergency coronavirus sessions - however most ministers are believed to have dialled in.

He has also been seen at several of the government's televised daily briefings in where he has appeared alongside senior medical officials including England's chief medical officer, Professor Chris Whitty and the government's chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance.

Downing Street has previously confirmed that Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab would stand in if Mr Johnson was too unwell to continue.

 

[astheworldfallsdown]

Coronavirus: Madonna pays tribute to co-star Mark Blum after COVID-19 death

Mark Blum, who starred in Desperately Seeking Susan and Crocodile Dundee, died from complications from the coronavirus.

 

[margarita25]

UN issues $2 billion appeal to combat COVID-19
25 Mar 2020

“The United Nations today launched a US$2 billion coordinated global humanitarian response plan to fight COVID-19 in some of the world’s most vulnerable countries in a bid to protect millions of people and stop the virus from circling back around the globe.

COVID-19 has killed more than 16,000 people worldwide and there are nearly 400,000 reported cases. It has a foothold across the globe and is now reaching countries that were already facing humanitarian crisis because of conflict, natural disasters and climate change.

The COVID-19 Global Humanitarian Response Plan will be implemented by UN agencies, with international NGOs and NGO consortiums playing a direct role in the response. It will:

• deliver essential laboratory equipment to test for the virus, and medical supplies to treat people;
• install handwashing stations in camps and settlements;
• launch public information campaigns on how to protect yourself and others from the virus; and
• establish airbridges and hubs across Africa, Asia and Latin America to move humanitarian workers and supplies to where they are needed most.

Speaking at the virtual launch of the response plan, Mark Lowcock, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, said: “To leave the world’s poorest and most vulnerable countries to their fate would be both cruel and unwise. If we leave coronavirus to spread freely in these places, we would be placing millions at high risk, whole regions will be tipped into chaos and the virus will have the opportunity to circle back around the globe.”

Mr. Lowcock noted that countries battling the pandemic at home are rightly prioritizing people living in their own communities. “But the hard truth is they will be failing to protect their own people if they do not act now to help the poorest countries protect themselves,” he stressed.

At the launch of the response plan, the Under-Secretary-General was joined by UN Secretary-General António Guterres; Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO); and Henrietta H. Fore, Executive Director of UNICEF.

Together, they called on UN Member States to commit to stemming the impact of COVID-19 in vulnerable countries and containing the virus globally by giving the strongest possible support to the plan, while also sustaining core support to existing humanitarian appeals that help the more than 100 million people who already rely on humanitarian assistance from the UN just to survive.

“COVID-19 is menacing the whole of humanity – and so the whole of humanity must fight back. Individual country responses are not going to be enough,” the Secretary-General said.

“We must come to the aid of the ultra-vulnerable – millions upon millions of people who are least able to protect themselves. This is a matter of basic human solidarity. It is also crucial for combating the virus. This is the moment to step up for the vulnerable.”

Member States were warned that any diversion of funding from existing humanitarian operations would create an environment in which cholera, measles and meningitis can thrive, in which even more children become malnourished, and in which extremists can take control – an environment that would be the perfect breeding ground for the coronavirus.

To kick-start the response plan, Mr. Lowcock released an additional $60 million from the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF). This brings CERF’s support to humanitarian action in response to the COVID-19 pandemic to $75 million. In addition, country-based pooled funds have allocated more than $3 million so far.

This new CERF allocation – one of the largest ever made – will support: the World Food Programme to ensure the continuity of supply chains and transport of aid workers and relief goods; WHO to contain the spread of the pandemic; and other agencies to provide humanitarian assistance and protection to those most affected by the pandemic, including women and girls, refugees and internally displaced people.

Support will include efforts around food security, physical and mental health, water and sanitation, nutrition and protection.”

 

[JerseyGirl]

It's more like CV exacerbated the underlying problems (heart disease, diabetes, etc) and accelerated death in persons who were not dying from these conditions and diseases. JMO

and he most likely didn't get tested until after he died.

Again, those with the following underlying conditions WHETHER YOU ARE YOUNG OR OLD, should take extra preventative measures:

• People aged 65 years and older
• People who live in a nursing home or long-term care facility
• Other high-risk conditions could include:
  • People with chronic lung disease or moderate to severe asthma
  • People who have serious heart conditions
  • People who are immunocompromised including cancer treatment
  • People of any age with severe obesity (body mass index [BMI] >40) or certain underlying medical conditions, particularly if not well controlled, such as those with diabetes, renal failure, or liver disease might also be at risk
• People who are pregnant should be monitored since they are known to be at risk with severe viral illness, however, to date data on COVID-19 has not shown increased risk

Many conditions can cause a person to be immunocompromised, including cancer treatment, smoking, bone marrow or organ transplantation, immune deficiencies, poorly controlled HIV or AIDS, and prolonged use of corticosteroids and other immune weakening medications

Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)

 

[Trudie]

@zecats do you have friends/family living in high rise buildings? If so, how on earth do they handle the common areas? Tysm

 

[MadTing]

So covid can cause cardiac arrest. When father says his son died from heart failure, maybe he is confused. Because technically someone can die from cardiac arrest, but covid caused it.

And technically someone can die from cardiac arrest and covid did not cause it. I am not trying to argue either or , The article its self says "Officials initially had said he died of coronavirus but later said more tests were needed." i just think its important to acknowledge there are still people who are dying from other issues unrelated to covid-19 while being diagnosed with covid-19. While i am sure more people with underlying conditions are dying than those without, Its not right to assume every single person who dies while being diagnosed with covid-19 that covid-19 was the cause.

 

[margarita25]

WHO Director General's remarks Launch of Appeal: Global Humanitarian Response Plan - 25 March 2020
25 March 2020

“Your Excellencies, Secretary-General, colleagues, Mark and Henrietta.

I am pleased to join my colleagues from across the United Nations at this critical moment in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic.

I am pleased to join colleagues at this critical moment in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic.

I want to begin by reiterating the Secretary-General’s comments that now is the time for solidarity in the face of this threat to all of humanity.

As you know, the pandemic has accelerated over the last two weeks and while COVID-19 is a threat to people everywhere, what's most worrying is the danger the virus poses to people already affected by crisis.

People and communities that are already uprooted due to conflict, displacement, the climate crisis or other disease outbreaks are the ones we must urgently prioritize.

Despite their resilience they do need our help today and this new plan lays out what has to happen right now, in order to save lives and slow the spread of this virus.

I implore leaders to stand together and heed this appeal, joining the Secretary-General’s call.

Since this outbreak was identified, WHO and our partners have been ramping up surveillance and lab testing across low- and middle-income countries.

We’ve brought scientists together to boost funding in the research and development of diagnostics, treatments and a future vaccine.

We’ve communicated online, via the media and in person with many world leaders, to ensure that preparations are accelerated and populations are sensitized.

And we’ve worked with business leaders to ensure supply chains are working and bottlenecks are overcome.

The new Global Humanitarian Response Plan builds on that effort and sets a six-point action plan for how to prepare and respond to this emergency:

First, the public must be effectively prepared for the critical measures that are needed to help suppress the spread and protect vulnerable groups, like the elderly and those with underlying health conditions.

Second, ramp up surveillance and lab testing so that those with the virus can be identified quickly and isolated safely – helping to break the chains of transmission.

Third, prioritize treatment for those at highest risk of severe illness.

Fourth, slow, suppress and stop transmission to reduce the burden on health care facilities. This means safe hand washing; testing, isolating cases, and contact tracing, encouraging community-level physical distancing, and the suspension of mass gatherings and international travel.

For many on our planet following even this basic advice is a struggle but we as a global community must strive to make it possible.

Fifth, we’re building the ship as we sail and it’s critical that we continue to share learnings and innovations so that we can improve surveillance, prevention, and treatment. And ensure equitable access for the poorest to all R&D breakthroughs.

And finally, we need to protect the health and humanitarian supply chain so that our frontline workers are protected and able to travel freely as they give lifesaving care.

Our message to all countries is clear: heed this warning now, back this plan politically and financially today and we can save lives and slow the spread of this pandemic.

History will judge us on how we responded to the poorest communities in their darkest hour.

Let’s act together, right now!”

WHO Director General's remarks Launch of Appeal: Global Humanitarian Response Plan - 25 March 2020