Coronavirus (COVID-19)

[Platypus Rex]

9 hours ago, Impmk2 said:

One of your own examples shows the idiocy and power of naming diseases after places. The Spanish flu almost certainly did not originate in Spain. Nor was it particularly worse there than anywhere else.

Spain simply wasn't under the WW1 press censorship most of the rest of Europe was. So it was freely reported on there and the name stuck. But 100 years later and people still link it to there.

Censorship is stupid of course, and often deceptive.  But some name's got to stick at some point.  But I'm guessing that the name that will ultimately stick here will not be "COVID 19".  Maybe I'm wrong, but it just does not seem like that kind of name that will stick.

[KingintheNorth4]

A new case in my home state.

 

 

[Which Tyler]

Guardian does some COVID-19 myth busting: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/feb/29/worse-than-flu-busting-coronavirus-myths

Claim: ‘It is no more dangerous than winter flu’

Claim: ‘It only kills the elderly, so younger people can relax’

Claim: ‘Face masks don’t work’

Claim: ‘You need to be with an infected person for 10 minutes’

Claim: ‘A vaccine could be ready within a few months’

Claim: ‘If a pandemic is declared, there is nothing more we can do to stop the spread’

 

[The Anti-Targ]

25 minutes ago, Which Tyler said:

Guardian does some COVID-19 myth busting: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/feb/29/worse-than-flu-busting-coronavirus-myths

Claim: ‘It is no more dangerous than winter flu’

Claim: ‘It only kills the elderly, so younger people can relax’

Claim: ‘Face masks don’t work’

Claim: ‘You need to be with an infected person for 10 minutes’

Claim: ‘A vaccine could be ready within a few months’

Claim: ‘If a pandemic is declared, there is nothing more we can do to stop the spread’

 

All true? All false? Some true, some false?

[Pebble thats Stubby]

52 minutes ago, The Anti-Targ said:

All true? All false? Some true, some false?

All not true.    Although there is partial truth to a couple. 

For most healthy young people its like having the flu, but there is still increased risk of more sever symptoms.

face masks  do work in the right circumstances.   If your just wearing around town they are unlikely to make a difference.  If you are spending a reasonable amount of time and contact with infected people, they are essential.

[divica]

53 minutes ago, The Anti-Targ said:

All true? All false? Some true, some false?

It is basically a flu with 10 times higher mortality rate.

Younger people are less likely to have serious problems but can inflect elderly people so they should also take precautions.

masks are good, but you still need to take the precautions you usuallly do against a flu like washing you hands...

 

[maarsen]

1 hour ago, divica said:

It is basically a flu with 10 times higher mortality rate.

Younger people are less likely to have serious problems but can inflect elderly people so they should also take precautions.

masks are good, but you still need to take the precautions you usuallly do against a flu like washing you hands...

 

Masks work only if you are properly trained in how to put them on and take them off. Droplet precautions also require you to wear a gown so your clothes do not carry droplets. And yes there is a special way to remove the gown and gloves so as not to contaminate yourself. Handwashing helps but most people don't know how to do this properly either. Hospitals spend a huge amount of time teaching staff how to do all of these properly. 

[Zorral]

Some grimdark reading.

"Coronavirus rumors and chaos in Alabama point to big problems as U.S. seeks to contain virus
Rumor mill, lack of communication by federal officials undermines trust in plan to relocate quarantined patients"

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/03/01/quarantine-alabama-conspiracy-chaos-coronavirus/

It's always all about enabling his crimes and power, never right, legal, intelligent, competent, or even safe.

"Inside Trump’s frantic attempts to minimize the coronavirus crisis"

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/inside-trumps-frantic-attempts-to-minimize-the-coronavirus-crisis/2020/02/29/7ebc882a-5b25-11ea-9b35-def5a027d470_story.html

Quote

....Trump did not, however, name a single “czar,” as some previous administrations have done during health emergencies. The president decided against that option after worrying that bringing in a person from outside the administration might be seen as a failure — and wondering whether such a person would be loyal to him, according to those familiar with the debate....

 

[RhaenysBee]

On 2/29/2020 at 12:54 PM, HelenaExMachina said:

The U.S. has a truly awful labour system. See also at-will employmemt. Just a wiki page but does the job of giving you a cursory overview

Like I said, barbaric... 
 

Still no infection here so far. 

For a moment, earlier today, I had thought there was a coronavirus protest blocking my sister from walking home, but no, there was a commemorative demonstration for the 100th anniversary of instating a quite controversial governor from our history. Would you have thought that people go out into the rain on a Sunday afternoon for such cause? Me neither. In turn, there were several demonstrations throughout the city to demonstrate against the first demonstration. I feel like this is still better than coronavirus demonstration, as it signals that people aren’t yet panicked enough to forget their political allegiances. 
 

My father flew to Spain today, he promised to wear a mask at the airport and use the hand sanitizer I gave him. I suppose this played out the same way as his using SPF usually does. I hope he will be fine, there isn’t an epicenter in the region he traveled to so unless they are terribly unlucky at the airport, they should be all right. 

I did manage to talk my mother out of a trip to Baden Württemberg in the upcoming weeks.

I hope my trip to Belgium won’t be out of the window, there’s still a lot of time till June. And virus epidemics do tend to calm down as the weather gets milder, a few articles tell me. We shall see. 

 

[Fragile Bird]

74 cases in the US now. I'm not sure if that includes the cruise people.

The most recent cases in Washington state are almost identical to the very first case in the US, so it appears it has been spreading around the community ever since. The estimate is that as many as 1500 people could be infected, but 1500 people have not shown up in hospitals, so they may be very mild cases.

[Platypus Rex]

41 minutes ago, Fragile Bird said:

74 cases in the US now. I'm not sure if that includes the cruise people.

It includes at least some people from the Diamond Cruise ship.  Specifically, it includes many Americans who were evacuated from the Diamond Cruise ship, transported to the USA, and then found to be infected on further testing.

I'm not sure it includes Americans from the Diamond Cruise Ship who were found to be infected while they were still on the ship.

41 minutes ago, Fragile Bird said:

The most recent cases in Washington state are almost identical to the very first case in the US, so it appears it has been spreading around the community ever since. The estimate is that as many as 1500 people could be infected, but 1500 people have not shown up in hospitals, so they may be very mild cases.

Two of the most recent Washington State cases are in critical condition.  This is a fair indication that we might be dealing with the tip of a larger iceberg of milder cases that tend to go unnoticed.

[Zorral]

Will the increasing numbers of Syrians, out of Turkey, seeking to gain entrance to European nations, massed at the borders, impact the covid-19 outbreak?

Meanwhile, here at home, panic arrived, judging only by my very own eyeball visits to the stores around here, which are all packed with people filling the carts.   Empty shelves of all sorts of items. Toilet paper, canned soup, power bars and ramen, not to be found.

However, our state and city are well prepared with both plans and supplies, which include masks, gloves, suits, isolation facility beds and permission from CDC to conduct tests for possible covid-19 infections here, in our own lab.  Of course, city and state have been stockpiling and thinking of these matters ever since 9/11, as we are an ongoing primary terrorist target.  Still, the FEDERAL GOVERNMENT should have been doing all this too, and thanx to bedbug, instead people got fired and programs and supply fund got cut as needless waste of money, which should go building walls that people tunnel under, climb over, and saw through. Nevermind though -- his buddies make shyte loads of tax payer dollars and he gets his kick-backs.

 

 

[Fragile Bird]

8 minutes ago, Zorral said:

Will the increasing numbers of Syrians, out of Turkey, seeking to gain entrance to European nations, massed at the borders, impact the covid-19 outbreak?

Meanwhile, here at home, panic arrived, judging only by my very own eyeball visits to the stores around here, which are all packed with people filling the carts.   Empty shelves of all sorts of items. Toilet paper, canned soup, power bars and ramen, not to be found.

However, our state and city are well prepared with both plans and supplies, which include masks, gloves, suits, isolation facility beds and permission from CDC to conduct tests for possible covid-19 infections here, in our own lab.  Of course, city and state have been stockpiling and thinking of these matters ever since 9/11 , as we are an ongoing primary terrorist target.  Still, the FEDERAL GOVERNMENT should have been doing all this too, and thanx to bedbug, instead people got fired and programs and supply fund got cut as needless waste of money, which should go building walls that people tunnel under, climb over, and saw through. Nevermind though -- his buddies make shyte loads of tax payer dollars and he gets his kick-backs.

 

 

Hmmm, that wouldn't by any chance have been partly the work of, uh, a certain Mayor Bloomberg, would it?

[Zorral]

50 minutes ago, Fragile Bird said:

Hmmm, that wouldn't by any chance have been partly the work of, uh, a certain Mayor Bloomberg, would it?

 He wasn't governor, then, or ever. These are state agency policies, in cooperation (then) with the federal government agencies), which then are mandated for regions, cities, etc.  The 9/11 policies went into effect immediately. Also Hurricane Sandy enforced then, from both federal and state levels.  As you know, NYC isn't New York state, which state is large, with many sections and cities, parts of which border Canada.

bloomb wasn't mayor then either.  But he did do a tremendous amount for the real estate and financial industries, at the cost of more ordinary folks, so there is that accomplishment. 

[Fragile Bird]

8 minutes ago, Zorral said:

 He wasn't governor, then, or ever. These are state agency policies, in cooperation (then) with the federal government agencies), which then are mandated for regions, cities, etc.  The 9/11 policies went into effect immediately. Also Hurricane Sandy enforced then, from both federal and state levels.  As you know, NYC isn't New York state, which state is large, with many sections and cities, parts of which border Canada.

bloomb wasn't mayor then either.  But he did do a tremendous amount for the real estate and financial industries, at the cost of more ordinary folks, so there is that accomplishment. 

Gee whiz, golly, me dumb Canadian! Bloomberg was mayor from 2002 to 2013. I would swear that was after 9/11.

Quoting you: "of course city and state have been stockpiling..."

I'd swear New York City was, you know, a city. One that you live in.

You just can't give any good credit can you?

 

[Zorral]

6 minutes ago, Fragile Bird said:

Gee whiz, golly, me dumb Canadian! Bloomberg was mayor from 2002 to 2013. I would swear that was after 9/11.

Quoting you: "of course city and state have been stockpiling..."

I'd swear New York City was, you know, a city. One that you live in.

You just can't give any good credit can you?

 

He wasn't mayor in 2001.  You don't remember / know what it was like here immediately 9/11.  I do.  But you want to be silly, you probably need to be, since your portfolio has been poofing.  

You just must give him credit for something that isn't stop and frisk and moving whole populations out of parts of the city where they families lived for generations, and making it too expensive for just everyone without a massive portfolio, while palling around with international billionaires -- and yes, even the bedbug, as much as he denies it now.  He did NOTHING for the city's safety net -- except, and this I will give credit for, and making time for it to come to other cities -- getting smoking out of public spaces.

But homeless, hungry and sick without health insurance and money -- nada.

In the meantime, right this minute, it is mayor de Blasio, in cooperation with Gov. Cuomo, who ha -- without any assistance financial or otherwise from the bedbug.  So given them the credit they are due

[Fragile Bird]

17 minutes ago, Zorral said:

He wasn't mayor in 2001.  You don't remember / know what it was like here immediately 9/11.  I do.  But you want to be silly, you probably need to be, since your portfolio has been poofing.  

You just must give him credit for something that isn't stop and frisk and moving whole populations out of parts of the city where they families lived for generations, and making it too expensive for just everyone without a massive portfolio, while palling around with international billionaires -- and yes, even the bedbug, as much as he denies it now.  He did NOTHING for the city's safety net -- except, and this I will give credit for, and making time for it to come to other cities -- getting smoking out of public spaces.

But homeless, hungry and sick without health insurance and money -- nada.

In the meantime, right this minute, it is mayor de Blasio, in cooperation with Gov. Cuomo, who ha -- without any assistance financial or otherwise from the bedbug.  So given them the credit they are due

Uh, go back and re-read your own post. "Ever since 9/11". Like, you know, after 9/11? Or are you saying Guilliani was responsible for all the emergency preparedness that happened after 9/11? Did Bloomberg appoint him to run the city agency responsible for Emergency Preparedness?

And no, it's not the State of New York, you know, that largish state south of Lake Ontario and that borders Canada, that prepares NYC's emergency preparedness plan. It's the city of NYC that prepares it's plans. And when Hurricane Sandy exposed the weaknesses of the plan, because they were largely focused on 9/11 type emergencies after 9/11, it was Bloomberg and the city council who passed a series of bills to change the way the NYC agency responsible for Emergency Preparedness operates to make sure the Sandy issues were not repeated.

In Ontario, the province tells the City of Toronto to have a plan in case of large-scale emergencies, just like it tells every other city in the province to have a plan. Oh, just like the state of New York!  So, no, it is not the State of New York, which Bloomberg was not the governor of (hey, me dumb Canadian knew that, imagine!) that wrote the emergency preparedness plan.

 

[The Anti-Targ]

11 hours ago, Pebble thats Stubby said:

All not true.    Although there is partial truth to a couple. 

For most healthy young people its like having the flu, but there is still increased risk of more sever symptoms.

face masks  do work in the right circumstances.   If your just wearing around town they are unlikely to make a difference.  If you are spending a reasonable amount of time and contact with infected people, they are essential.

You need the right kind of face mask, and there are different opinions by medical folks on how good they really are including. A surgical face mask is about useless at stopping you from getting C-19, but if you have C-19 it's good at reducing the risk you will give it to others because it will catch most droplets you cough, sneeze or breathe out. So it's good for keeping things in, but not great for keeping things out. The N95(?) mask is better, but again not wholly protective, just reduces the risk, the mask only has a 3 micron filter, which is fine for stopping virus that's attached to dust or water particles, but as the virus is about 100 times smaller than the filter so if the virus is free floating in the air even the best commercially available mask is only somewhat protective. Also if droplets / aerosol make contact with the eyes you can get infected, so mouth+nose masks won't stop that. So I think it's more true that masks are not highly protective and you shouldn't assume that just because you are wearing one you will be fine if you are walking through a haze of S-C-2 virus. If you want to be fully protected you need to be wearing one of those bio-hazard suits, any other protective equipment is only going to reduce risk by some percentage and plain surgical masks by not a very high percentage. I think it's not a good idea for people to get a false sense of security from masks

[The Anti-Targ]

Not sure I believe there are only 5 cases in the whole of Africa in only 3 countries. And it's really hard to believe there are no cases at all in Saudi Arabia but there are cases in 6 of the countries bordering Saudi Arabia. I guess I can believe there are no positive diagnoses in almost all of Africa and in several other countries because of a lack of confirmatory testing. But that just means there is a substantial risk that these places will become incubators of the virus.

[Jeor]

First case reported in NYC, and some confirmations trickling in from other US states. Now that the testing has been released to individual hospitals (and doesn't have to go centrally through the CDC) I expect we'll see a lot more cases, although most of them will probably be quite mild.

Stock market in Australia has almost recovered (less than 1% drop) after cratering big in the morning. I still get the sense that there are more shoes to drop, but it may be after a few more weeks it will become more normalised and people won't be panicking as much.