Coronavirus - Global Health Emergency, 2019-nCoV #3

[JerseyGirl]

Brazil's Bolsonaro signs into law bill on quarantine rules for coronavirus

Two Brazilian Air Force (FAB) planes are due to arrive in Brazil on Saturday with the evacuees - who are initially expected to number around 30, although this could change. They and the military personnel involved in the operation will be quarantined at the Anápolis airbase in Goiás for 18 days. Parliament approved the quarantine rules this week after the government decided to repatriate Brazilians following a change of position by Bolsonaro, who was initially opposed to the repatriation. According Health Ministry data provided on Thursday, Brazil has 8 suspected cases of the illness, but no confirmed cases.

 

[JerseyGirl]

Coronavirus will arrive in Mexico within weeks: health specialist

 

[Medstudies]

There is one country that is (unsurprisingly) quiet about CV: North Korea.

They may not have an impact on us, but from a humanitarian standpoint, I wonder...

Understanding the China-North Korea Relationship (Council on Foreign Relations)


“China is North Korea’s most important trading partner. It has helped sustain Kim Jong-un’s regime, and has opposed harsh international sanctions on North Korea in the hope of avoiding regime collapse and a refugee influx across their 870-mile border.“...

“The two countries have expanded physical links in recent years. In September 2015, they opened a bulk-cargo and container shipping route to boost North Korea’s export of coal to China, and China established a high-speed rail route between the Chinese border city of Dandong and Shenyang, the provincial capital of China’s northeastern Liaoning Province. The same year, the Guomenwan border trade zone opened in Dandong with the intention of bolstering bilateral economic exchanges...”

And I apologize, I’m posting way too much here... and sounding too much of an alarmist.

 

[Henry2326]

There is one country that is (unsurprisingly) quiet about CV: North Korea.

They may not have an impact on us, but from a humanitarian standpoint, I wonder...

Understanding the China-North Korea Relationship (Council on Foreign Relations)


“China is North Korea’s most important trading partner. It has helped sustain Kim Jong-un’s regime, and has opposed harsh international sanctions on North Korea in the hope of avoiding regime collapse and a refugee influx across their 870-mile border.“...

“The two countries have expanded physical links in recent years. In September 2015, they opened a bulk-cargo and container shipping route to boost North Korea’s export of coal to China, and China established a high-speed rail route between the Chinese border city of Dandong and Shenyang, the provincial capital of China’s northeastern Liaoning Province. The same year, the Guomenwan border trade zone opened in Dandong with the intention of bolstering bilateral economic exchanges...”

And I apologize, I’m posting way too much here... and sounding too much of an alarmist.

No apologies needed.....we are all here to share information.

 

[Bravo]

No worries medstudies. Keep posting.

 

[dixiegirl1035]

There is one country that is (unsurprisingly) quiet about CV: North Korea.

They may not have an impact on us, but from a humanitarian standpoint, I wonder...

Understanding the China-North Korea Relationship (Council on Foreign Relations)


“China is North Korea’s most important trading partner. It has helped sustain Kim Jong-un’s regime, and has opposed harsh international sanctions on North Korea in the hope of avoiding regime collapse and a refugee influx across their 870-mile border.“...

“The two countries have expanded physical links in recent years. In September 2015, they opened a bulk-cargo and container shipping route to boost North Korea’s export of coal to China, and China established a high-speed rail route between the Chinese border city of Dandong and Shenyang, the provincial capital of China’s northeastern Liaoning Province. The same year, the Guomenwan border trade zone opened in Dandong with the intention of bolstering bilateral economic exchanges...”

And I apologize, I’m posting way too much here... and sounding too much of an alarmist.

I appreciate you often posting and hearing your opinions! I especially like to hear opinions that differ than mine to consider.

 

[dotr]

Coronavirus will arrive in Mexico within weeks: health specialist

rbbm.
''Pediatric allergy and infectious disease specialist Gerardo López said that there is some cause for alarm, however, as the country’s high rates of obesity, allergies and pollution levels make it a high-risk area for transmission of the virus.

He said that people who suffer from obesity or allergic conditions such as hay fever and asthma, especially children, are especially at risk for contracting the disease.

“We must take into account that, according to national statistics, one of every three Mexican children is obese. So the risk to this population is high,” he said.''

 

[JerseyGirl]

Coronavirus prompts North Korean trade and travel lockdown

Subscribe to read | Financial Times

State propagandists have told the country’s 25m people that stopping the virus spreading is a fight for “national survival”.

At least 150 cases have been confirmed across Liaoning and Jilin, the provinces that share a 1,420km border with North Korea, according to China’s official statistics.

No coronavirus cases have been confirmed in North Korea but analysts are anxious about the potential for an outbreak, warning that the country’s inability to handle a serious health crisis makes it particularly vulnerable.

The lockdown, which essentially cuts off North Korea from China, its most important ally and trading partner, also poses a serious threat to the economy of the country, led by Kim Jong Un.

Scores of foreign emissaries, including from the UK, were this week instructed to stay inside the drab Soviet-era concrete diplomatic compound in the capital Pyongyang.

“Right now they are pushing as hard as they possibly can to make sure it doesn’t happen. If the disease starts spreading in North Korea, things could get very, very ugly,”

One North Korean defector who has first-hand experience of the country’s healthcare system said supplies of basic preventive kits with masks and sanitiser were “very short”.

Exacerbating the country’s vulnerability are tough international sanctions imposed in response to its testing of long-range missiles and nuclear weapons. The measures constrain the sale and supply of medical equipment, including from humanitarian organisations. Health experts are now calling for pre-emptive waivers from the UN to enable supplies to be sent to authorities in Pyongyang.

Nagi Shafik, a former manager at the World Health Organization office in Pyongyang, said the situation was dire.

 

[dixiegirl1035]

rbbm.
''Pediatric allergy and infectious disease specialist Gerardo López said that there is some cause for alarm, however, as the country’s high rates of obesity, allergies and pollution levels make it a high-risk area for transmission of the virus.

He said that people who suffer from obesity or allergic conditions such as hay fever and asthma, especially children, are especially at risk for contracting the disease.

“We must take into account that, according to national statistics, one of every three Mexican children is obese. So the risk to this population is high,” he said.''

I've never read anywhere anything about obesity being a risk factor? Has anyone else read that anywhere?

 

[margarita25]

Coronavirus live updates: China pledges $10 billion to fight outbreak, UK confirms fourth case
SUN, FEB 9 2020

“U.K. health authorities announced the country’s fourth confirmed case of coronavirus Sunday, said to have been contracted from another British citizen sickened with the disease in France.

The patient has been transferred to a specialist NHS centre at The Royal Free Hospital, and we are now using robust infection control measures to prevent any possible further spread of the virus,” England’s chief medical officer Chris Whitty said in a statement.“

 

[Deleted member 158085]

I'm a bit worried, a colleague of mine returned from her month long holiday (Australia / Bali with Hong Kong stop overs) on 25th Jan. She returned to work Mon 27th Jan.
Just last week she tells us her travelling companion had become unwell / was taken to hospital last week and is being tested for Coronavirus . My colleague stated last Friday that she was starting to feel unwell also, our office isn't the biggest and I'm feeling a bit nervous.

She needs to stay home! I would!

 

[Barbieshell]

She needs to stay home! I would!

That's what I thought, but we don' t get sick pay so that's probably why she's still coming in . I'll be annoyed if we've all been put at risk, hopefully they don't have the virus (for all of our sake, I have a child at home so I'm doubly anxious).

 

[dotr]

I've never read anywhere anything about obesity being a risk factor? Has anyone else read that anywhere?

First time that i have read anything about obesity being a risk factor, will check that out a bit more.

 

[Inthedetails]

I've never read anywhere anything about obesity being a risk factor? Has anyone else read that anywhere?

That was my reaction too - that I haven't heard of this risk factor.

The original story was the elderly and people with underlying health issues where the most at risk.

Interesting?

jmo

Edited to add: It also seems the stat about childhood obesity in Mexico is off. Really that high? This probably could be fact-checked.

 

[JerseyGirl]

More spraying:

 

[Inthedetails]

That was my reaction too - that I haven't heard of this risk factor.

The original story was the elderly and people with underlying health issues where the most at risk.

Interesting?

jmo

Edited to add: It also seems the stat about childhood obesity in Mexico is off. Really that high? This probably could be fact-checked.

Well, quick search tells me that Mexico does have a high rate of childhood obesity. I had no idea.

Childhood obesity in Mexico: A critical analysis of the environmental factors, behaviours and discourses contributing to the epidemic

 

[JerseyGirl]

Sources: Five N. Koreans died from coronavirus infections - Daily NK

Daily NK sources in North Pyongan Province reported today that five people died after suffering from fevers at hospitals in Sinuiju and a nearby area, and have speculated the patients suffered from coronavirus infections.

A North Pyongan Province source told Daily NK that one of the patients went to a hospital in Sinuiju late last month with symptoms similar to a cold and was given fever reducers and anti-biotics. The patient’s fever worsened until, finally, they died.

Daily NK sources also reported that two patients at another hospital in Sinuiju two days later were given medicine to treat their high fevers, but ultimately died. Two more patients at a hospital in Wuiju County, near Sinuiju, reportedly died in early February.

Daily NK sources said that North Korean authorities have ordered public health officials in Sinuiju to quickly dispose of the bodies and keep the deaths secret from the public.

 

[dotr]

That was my reaction too - that I haven't heard of this risk factor.

The original story was the elderly and people with underlying health issues where the most at risk.

Interesting?

jmo

Edited to add: It also seems the stat about childhood obesity in Mexico is off. Really that high? This probably could be fact-checked.

Many links support that there is an obesity problem for children in Mexico, this one is an interesting read. imo.
Child obesity in Mexico

''Like many a doting mother in Mexico, she didn’t realize her son’s weight was a problem. Ubaldo stood 4 foot 9 and weighed 169 pounds, with a body mass index of 36.5 — nearly 7 points over the threshold for obesity. But to her, being gordito (a little fat, as it’s affectionately called) was better than being too thin. When Ubaldo was 5 or 6, she said, he was skinny. She constantly told him, “Eat, eat!” But around the age of 8, she remembers, he started putting on weight and didn’t stop.

By 10, Ubaldo wasn’t just overweight; he was morbidly obese. He also suffered from sleep apnea, in which breathing stops during sleep''.

 

[MJPeony]

First time that i have read anything about obesity being a risk factor, will check that out a bit more.

Hadn’t heard that either.

I just found this:
Obesity may also impact flu transmission, not just severity of illness

“Obesity increases a person's risk for severe complications from influenza, including hospitalization and even death.”


This is just about influenza mind you, but I guess there could be some truth to saying obesity would create increased risk for Coronavirus (?)

I’m not a doctor, but it does seem a bit of a stretch for the Mexican official to want to highlight this to the public (although again, article about the flu). Seems like they would also want to state that smokers are more susceptible, or people who drink too much, etc. - I could come with a few other things that would in general seem to create a weak immune system. But again, IANAD, so MOO.

That article also is interesting in that it states obese people apparently shed more virus. At least with flu.


ETA: highlighting article is about flu, not CV



MOO.

 

[JerseyGirl]

North Korea becomes the 29th country to record coronavirus as suspected patient struck in Denmark | Daily Mail Online

North Korea has become the twenty-ninth country or territory to record a case of the killer coronavirus. A native citizen returned from China before being tested positive for the deadly virus. The North Korean case has not yet been confirmed by officials, only reported by the English version of the South Korean newspaper JoongAng Ilbo.

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In other news, a woman from China has taken ill at Copenhagen Airport, Denmark, prompting a small area to be cordoned off. If tests come back positive, she would be the first case diagnosed on Danish soil.