wuhan - coronavirus

[Guest]

12 minutes ago, Pen said:

 

In your place, personally, I would be ....   you know .... taking vitamin D3, since it might help and would be unlikely to hurt.   I think iirc it’s available otc in Germany and UK—I don’t know about Austria. 

I do ordinarily take D3. I didn’t bring it with me b/c I was minimizing all the things and D3 didn’t make the cut. But I’m *hoping* I should have a good reservoir of D3 from taking it daily for the past six months. 

[Susan in TX]

My daughter is a student at the University of Dallas. They have a Rome campus. She spent a semester there two years ago. This is the situation for them now:

http://udallasnews.com/2020/02/25/romers-in-semi-quarantine-as-italys-coronavirus-cases-rise-administration-weighing-options/

Susan in TX

[TravelingChris]

On 2/19/2020 at 9:06 PM, Arcadia said:

From CNN https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/19/health/coronavirus-airport-temperature-checks/index.html

Effectiveness of airport screening at detecting travellers infected with novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV)  study mentioned in the article https://www.eurosurveillance.org/content/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2020.25.5.2000080

“While the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has screened more than 30,000 passengers in the past month, not a single US coronavirus case has been caught by airport temperature checks, according to a CNN investigation.

There has long been debate about the usefulness of airport temperature checks, but this recent experience at US airports, plus a new European study, seem to point in the direction that they don't work.

Earlier this month, British researchers published a study showing that temperature checks will fail to detect a coronavirus infection nearly half the time. 

At least one country has found airport temperature checks so unhelpful that it decided not to do them during the novel coronavirus outbreak. Israel used them in previous years for Ebola, SARS and H1N1, but found that they didn't work.

"It is ineffective and inefficient," said Dr. Itamar Grotto, associate director general of Israel's Ministry of Health.

Grotto said the problem is that a normal temperature gives "false assurance." Passengers with normal temperatures could still be in the incubation period, which means they're infected, but have yet to develop a fever.

In addition, a small number of patients with the novel coronavirus don't have fever, according to published studies.

Some experts are convinced that for these reasons, temperature checks at airports are useless.

"I don't think airport temperature checks have any major effect on stopping or even slowing down transmission," said Michael Osterholm, an epidemiologist and professor at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health. "We just don't have any good data to support that."

...

Ten passengers flew into US airports on commercial airliners and were later diagnosed with coronavirus. 

CNN's investigation shows that four of those 10 passengers went through temperature checks and were found not to have a fever or any other symptoms of the virus. Two of those passengers flew into Los Angeles International Airport and two flew into San Francisco International Airport.

...

There's another reason why airport temperature checks don't always work: human nature. 

Let's say someone's on a long-haul flight to the United States and starts to have a scratchy throat or feel tired or achy. The passenger might attribute those feelings to jet lag or dry air on the plane. Maybe they would take a pain relief medicine such as Advil or Tylenol and try to forget about it. 

"That's just human nature," said Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota. 

When the person lands, they might not have a fever because, in addition to relieving pain, Advil and Tylenol also treat fever. 

"That's why for this type of screening, there's no evidence it has any measurable impact on the ultimate course of the outbreak," Osterholm said.”

I never get a fever when sick or almost never.  I think in the last 10 years, I have had one case of elevated temperature of 101.00.  Otherwise, what i get is a slight rise from my normal of 97.2 to 98 something or sometimes even a drop.  That last time I had pneumonia- my temperature dropped to 95, which is what happens in a certain amount of pneumonia cases.

[gardenmom5]

I don't know if anyone saw this:

in addition to the 700 cases (and counting) linked to the diamond princess cruise ship

there is an even larger cruise ship (MSC Meraviglia,) that has a crew member with type-A flu - after coming from the Philippines via turkey.  Jamaica and Cayman Island have both turned it away and not allowed it to dock. 

and Westerdam - which thought it was safe, and finally able to dock in Cambodia - has had a passenger test positive after they got off.

not a good time to go on a cruise.

 

eta: the "world dream" is another one.  docked in hong kong, passengers were eventually allowed off - but the crew were told to stay behind.

Edited February 26, 2020 by gardenmom5

[gardenmom5]

6 minutes ago, TravelingChris said:

I never get a fever when sick or almost never.  I think in the last 10 years, I have had one case of elevated temperature of 101.00.  Otherwise, what i get is a slight rise from my normal of 97.2 to 98 something or sometimes even a drop.  That last time I had pneumonia- my temperature dropped to 95, which is what happens in a certain amount of pneumonia cases.

I've had pneumonia twice, neither time did I hit 101.

the only times I've had a high fever were kidney infection, and mastitis.

[El...]

1 hour ago, Quill said:

I do ordinarily take D3. I didn’t bring it with me b/c I was minimizing all the things and D3 didn’t make the cut. But I’m *hoping* I should have a good reservoir of D3 from taking it daily for the past six months. 

Quill, I just bought a vitamin d/c/zinc supplement at aldi here in Germany today. I saw similar things at DM, which is like Walgreens without the "real" meds. Can't hurt, right?  Here's a photo of the label, in case that helps you if you go to a store. 

[Pen]

@Arcadia not sure if you already linked this pre-print pre-peer review article from Los Alamos National Laboratory—

Title:

The Novel Coronavirus, 2019-nCoV, is Highly Contagious and More Infectious Than Initially Estimated

https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.02.07.20021154v1

the whole thing can be seen by clicking on tab to see the full pdf 

 

 

 

[Pen]

Singapore has had two more cases.  

I think that Singapore continues to be an excellent model of the benefits from slowing down transmission .  

At a trickle, hospitals have a chance of coping.  (Especially if a place with good hospitals to start.) 

So far no deaths in Singapore and several people have improved out of critical/severe .  

 

 

[YaelAldrich]

1 minute ago, Pen said:

Singapore has had two more cases.  

I think that Singapore continues to be an excellent model of the benefits from slowing down transmission .  

At a trickle, hospitals have a chance of coping.  (Especially if a place with good hospitals to start.) 

So far no deaths in Singapore and several people have improved out of critical/severe .  

 

 

Singapore is a highly regulated city-nation-state.  They have cameras everywhere (public and private).  People there are pretty highly educated and are high on the scale of communal identity. They have a tight leash on their citizens, which we do not have here. Sadly, I doubt we can use them as a model.

[Lanny]

First case in Latin America.  A man in Brazil went to Italy and he got it there...

https://www.foxnews.com/health/brazil-confirms-first-coronavirus-case-in-latin-america

[Pen]

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/3052495/coronavirus-far-more-likely-sars-bond-human-cells-scientists-say

 

Quote: 

Coronavirus far more likely than Sars to bond to human cells due to HIV-like mutation, scientists say

• Research by team from Nankai University shows new virus has mutated gene similar to those found in HIV and Ebola
• Finding may help scientists understand how the infection spreads and where it came from

The new 

coronavirus

 has an HIV-like mutation that means its ability to bind with human cells could be up to 1,000 times as strong as the Sars virus, according to new research by scientists in China and Europe.

[Pen]

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/02/070206100608.htm

about vitamin D and cancer — has this potentially helpful quote:

 (    @Stella  especially)

 

“the researchers underscored the importance of limiting sun exposure such that the skin does not change color (tan) or burn. For a typical fair-skinned Caucasian individual, adequate vitamin D could be photosynthesized safely by spending 10 to 15 minutes in the noontime sun on a clear day with 50 percent of skin area exposed to the sun. Darker skinned individuals may require more time in the sun, such as 25 minutes. For people with photosensitivity disorders, or anyone with a personal or family history of nonmelanoma skin cancer, any amount of extra sun exposure would be inadvisable”

 

“50% of skin area” I think probably means lying down with half (back or front) of body exposed to sun, no clothes  

Edited February 26, 2020 by Pen

[beaners]

30 minutes ago, Pen said:

@Arcadia not sure if you already linked this pre-print pre-peer review article from Los Alamos National Laboratory—

Title:

The Novel Coronavirus, 2019-nCoV, is Highly Contagious and More Infectious Than Initially Estimated

https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.02.07.20021154v1

the whole thing can be seen by clicking on tab to see the full pdf 

 

 

 

An R0 between 4.7 and 6.6 honestly makes a lot more sense than the previous predictions.

[Arcadia]

24 minutes ago, YaelAldrich said:

Singapore is a highly regulated city-nation-state.  They have cameras everywhere (public and private).  People there are pretty highly educated and are high on the scale of communal identity. They have a tight leash on their citizens, which we do not have here. Sadly, I doubt we can use them as a model.

It is a “police state”. Cellphone and internet usage tracking is assumed by the public. 

From CNA https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/covid19-coronavirus-pr-stay-home-notice-barred-12471954

SINGAPORE: A 45-year-old man has lost his permanent residency status in Singapore after breaching a Stay-Home Notice while the country battles the novel coronavirus outbreak.

He will also be barred from re-entering Singapore, the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) said on Wednesday (Feb 26).

...

On Wednesday, the Stay-Home Notice was extended to those who have travelled recently to Daegu and Cheongdo in South Korea, areas which have been hit by an outbreak of the coronavirus. 

Long-term pass holders who flout the notice's requirements will have their passes revoked, while Singaporeans and PRs may face prosecution under the Infectious Diseases Act. 

"The Government will continue to conduct regular random checks through house visits and phone calls to ensure compliance with the Stay-Home Notice, so that the well-being of the community is not put at risk," ICA said.”

From CNA https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/covid19-coronavirus-charged-false-info-moh-contact-tracing-12471894

“Hu arrived in Singapore on Jan 22 and was confirmed to have COVID-19 on Jan 31. Shi was identified as a close contact and quarantined on Feb 1.

However, MOH said the couple gave false information about their movements and whereabouts from Jan 22 to Jan 29 to health officials who were conducting contact tracing. Shi also provided false information while under quarantine, the ministry said.

“MOH was able to establish their true movements through detailed investigations,” it said.

“In view of the potentially serious repercussions of the false information given by the defendants, and the risk they could have posed to public health, MOH has served Hu and Shi charges."

The case will be heard in court on Feb 28.

If convicted under the Infectious Diseases Act, the couple face a fine of up to S$10,000 each, up to six months' jail, or both”

[Pen]

34 minutes ago, YaelAldrich said:

Singapore is a highly regulated city-nation-state.  They have cameras everywhere (public and private).  People there are pretty highly educated and are high on the scale of communal identity. They have a tight leash on their citizens, which we do not have here. Sadly, I doubt we can use them as a model.

 

I didn’t think we could use them as a model in an official way.  More like how we can choose to use Singapore math.  

(Or we can potentially, personally to extent possible, try to more emulate Singapore, not to emulate Diamond Princess .   ) 

What do you think would work?

 

Edited February 26, 2020 by Pen

[Arcadia]

From CNA https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/world/coronavirus-lockdown-the-heroes-risking-their-health-for-italy-s-12473600

“Coronavirus lockdown: The heroes risking their health for Italy's 'red zone' 27 Feb 2020 12:19AM

... With most local shops closed, and Toniolo's family running out of food, he drives 6.5 kilometres to a large supermarket to stock up.

To protect the staff, the store limits the number of shoppers let in at the same time.

"It is extremely well run," Toniolo says, after buying 300 euros (US$325) of supplies. "Everybody is very kind, they work non-stop."

Another of Toniolo's 'heroes' is Rudy Tagliaferro, a young chef who cooks bread in his kitchen and then hand delivers it for free to people in need in their red zone community.

Then there is the woman who works the local chemist. Her husband and children live in nearby Brescia but she decided to stay in the red zone to keep the pharmacy open. The town mayor found an apartment for her so she didn't have to pay rent.”

[Arcadia]

From Chronicle of Higher Education (paywall) 

“With large numbers of students and faculty members who travel internationally to study, teach, and do research, colleges could be vulnerable to outbreaks, said Sarah Van Orman, chief health officer of University of Southern California Student Health. Another risk factor is colleges’ relative density, with students studying and living in close quarters. “We’re really at the front lines,” said Van Orman, a professor of family medicine.

...

Because the number of coronavirus cases in the United States remains relatively small — there have been just 53 cases here, according to the CDC — now is the time for American colleges to put plans in place to deal with a possible outbreak, said Jean E. Chin, chair of a special American College Health Association task force on coronavirus. “While there’s still a lull, it’s the perfect time to act,” said Chin, a professor of medicine and a former executive director of the University of Georgia’s health center.

... One of the first actions colleges ought to take is to assemble a campuswide emergency-response committee, Chin and other college-health experts said. Having a crisis-management team organized ensures that college and university administrators speak with one voice, and cuts down on potential rumors or misinformation. Already, some colleges have had to act to tamp down Sinophobia and anti-Asian sentiment that have flared because of coronavirus fears.

Those committees can begin to collectively draft policies if significant numbers of students fall ill. 
...With the initial outbreak centered in the Chinese city of Wuhan, colleges at first focused on travelers who had recently been in China, screening and quarantining those who showed coronavirus symptoms. (Beginning in early February, the U.S. government blocked noncitizens who had been in China from entering the country.)

But as the disease spreads globally, it is no longer possible to concentrate only on travelers from China. Two of the most recent hot spots are South Korea, the third-largest source of international students in the United States, and Italy, the second-most-popular destination for Americans studying abroad. New York University announced on Monday it would shut down its Florence campus for at least a month, and other study-abroad programs could follow suit.

... If Covid-19 turns out to be especially infectious, colleges might consider “closing down for a block of time to reduce transmission,” Deichen said.

... College leaders have many variables to consider and choices to make. Van Orman ticked off a few: Should they pre-emptively cancel campus events to cut down on large gatherings where illness can spread? What international-travel policies should be put in place? If there’s a surge in cases, should colleges turn to online or distance education? How can they continue to provide services to ill students without putting staff members at risk? After an outbreak, how do you clean the health center, dormitories, and other campus facilities?

... Van Orman said Southern California had brought in an outside vendor to help field the 100-some phone calls that come from across the campus every time a coronavirus memo is issued. The extra help frees her and other key administrators to concentrate on more-urgent issues.”

Edited February 26, 2020 by Arcadia

[Penguin]

@Quill I have been following your lovely trip, and I am sorry that you have been presented with a cause for concern now. In my cancer-survivor-non-expert opinion, I don't think you would be considered immunocompromised. Chemo is the big immunocompromiser. And maybe the fatigue from radiation.

We currently have plans to attend our son's graduation in The Netherlands in May. At the moment, I am thinking about how to avoid ending up in a lockdown. I am thinking that renting a tiny airbnb canal house might be our best bet.

[regentrude]

28 minutes ago, Penguin said:

We currently have plans to attend our son's graduation in The Netherlands in May. At the moment, I am thinking about how to avoid ending up in a lockdown. 

I think if by May the virus is still active, it will be so widespread that they will have given up containing it with lockdown measures. 

[Penguin]

1 minute ago, regentrude said:

I think if by May the virus is still active, it will be so widespread that they will have given up containing it with lockdown measures. 

Good point. 

[Ausmumof3]

5 hours ago, 8FillTheHeart said:

I hadn't really considered that there could have been young parents on the DP who had children being watched by others for a few days (that turned into weeks) or parents of disabled adults.  It didn't occur to me until I thought about people being quarantined after flights with sick passengers or travel being restricted. Our disabled adult ds would shut completely down from anxiety if all of a sudden he knew we were quarantined somewhere and he couldn't see us.  

Yes.  I was thinking about this.  And this is why I never wanted to holiday away from the kids when they were young.  

[Ausmumof3]

16 minutes ago, regentrude said:

I think if by May the virus is still active, it will be so widespread that they will have given up containing it with lockdown measures. 

Yes I agree.  I think that’s what they’re not saying about the Olympics.

[Ausmumof3]

5 hours ago, Quill said:

@Pen is right; we are literally IN Innsbruck, Austria right now. And they just had the last day of Fasching/Karnival here in the market square last night. We are in Innsbruck until Friday. 

Ahh no way.  A bit scary.  Hopefully they are the only cases and effectively in quarantine now.

[Ausmumof3]

2 hours ago, Pen said:

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/3052495/coronavirus-far-more-likely-sars-bond-human-cells-scientists-say

 

Quote: 

Coronavirus far more likely than Sars to bond to human cells due to HIV-like mutation, scientists say

• Research by team from Nankai University shows new virus has mutated gene similar to those found in HIV and Ebola
• Finding may help scientists understand how the infection spreads and where it came from

The new 

coronavirus

 has an HIV-like mutation that means its ability to bind with human cells could be up to 1,000 times as strong as the Sars virus, according to new research by scientists in China and Europe.

Is this a different study to the discredited one that Was being used to claim it was engineered due to the chunk of HIV like DNA?  I guess so 

[Garga]

6 hours ago, Quill said:

Well, hell guys. The two cases just turning up in Austria are in Innsbruck. This is where we are, though not in that hotel. 😞

I wasn’t worried before...

 

Well, that’s bad news!  And double because we are scheduled to go out to lunch together next Wednesday.  I was really looking forward to hearing all about your trip.  Would it be irresponsible for us to get together now that you have potentially been exposed? Are you going to self-quarantine yourself for the next 2 weeks when you get back?

 

 

[Ausmumof3]

4 hours ago, gardenmom5 said:

I don't know if anyone saw this:

in addition to the 700 cases (and counting) linked to the diamond princess cruise ship

there is an even larger cruise ship (MSC Meraviglia,) that has a crew member with type-A flu - after coming from the Philippines via turkey.  Jamaica and Cayman Island have both turned it away and not allowed it to dock. 

and Westerdam - which thought it was safe, and finally able to dock in Cambodia - has had a passenger test positive after they got off.

not a good time to go on a cruise.

 

eta: the "world dream" is another one.  docked in hong kong, passengers were eventually allowed off - but the crew were told to stay behind.

Yes true.  They are currently trying Mexico.

the Westerdam passenger actually ended il testing negative - it was a false alarm I think based on miscommunication with Malaysia.

[YaelAldrich]

2 hours ago, Pen said:

 

I didn’t think we could use them as a model in an official way.  More like how we can choose to use Singapore math.  

(Or we can potentially, personally to extent possible, try to more emulate Singapore, not to emulate Diamond Princess .   ) 

What do you think would work?

 

I wish I knew what would work.  My DH was on the Red Team for the US Govt during Ebola. There were scientists of all sorts, military, and governmental agencies heads there to work on how to stop Ebola from coming over and if/when it came over what to do to slow the spread.  Obviously I don't know all he worked on while there.  But when I ask him now, he says they haven't come to a consensus on his campus in terms of study abroad students and their summer dialogues (he take students to Japan in July). So if the university is dithering on what to do (I'm guessing because of the $$$$ they have invested/spent so far), the gov't must really be worse off.

I'm monitoring my DH's temps since he got back.  I'm prepping a bit more than I had before (which is kind of hard since Passover is in six weeks and that means a complete turnover in foods for the holiday).  I bought additional filters for our Totobobo masks and more gloves.  I live in a city and have high social capital (that's what my DH studies) in our little Jewish community.  My DH can teach from home if need be.  The kids who are in school-schools can be brought home if need be and I can HS them, and the one I homeschool for pay would have to fend for himself as his parents aren't up to it and I know he won't take to video learning. The elderly neighbors can eat with us.

If it will be a harsh ride, I worry for my parents and in-laws more than us.  I worry for all the people who can't or won't prep. We'll lose some summer salary if he doesn't go to Japan.  My daughter was going to go to Japan to help with my friend's Passover meals/services, but we've held back on buying tickets.  Their kids can't go home to Japan and return to Israel.  

I was in Japan during SARS and the only thing I remember was that we had no overseas guests for several months because no one came for business or leisure.  

[Arcadia]

From abc7news https://abc7news.com/5969252/

“LOS ANGELES -- USC students studying in South Korea and parts of Italy are being told to return home due to coronavirus outbreaks in those area, the university announced Tuesday.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention "has issued a Level 3 travel advisory for South Korea, which advises against all non-essential travel. As a result, we are requiring students to leave the country, and we are working actively with them to make arrangements to travel back to USC," the university said in a statement.

Provost Charles F. Zukoski and other officials said they were also contacting students in the Veneto and Lombardy regions of Italy, where circumstances were "rapidly evolving," to arrange for their travel home.

The statement reiterated that there have been no cases of coronavirus at USC.”

[Ausmumof3]

Cnn - new US case. 

“There are now 15 confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus related to travel or close contact to travelers in the United States, according to US Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar.

“As of this morning, we still had only 14 cases of the novel coronavirus detected in the United States involved travel to or close contacts with travelers. Coming into this hearing, I was informed that we have a 15th confirmed case, the epidemiology of which we are still discerning,” Azar said.  

Azar said there are also three cases among Americans repatriated from Wuhan and 42 cases are evacuees from the Diamond Princess, bringing the total to 60 U.S. cases.”

 

 

[Arcadia]

From abc7news https://abc7.com/5968126/

“Tuesday, February 25, 2020 11:22PM

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- A Korean Air flight attendant was diagnosed with coronavirus shortly after working on a flight to Los Angeles, South Korean media is reporting.

The flight attendant worked on a flight from Incheon to Los Angeles and may have spent time in Los Angeles before boarding a return flight. The same person also had recently worked on an Incheon-Tel Aviv route.

Los Angeles County health officials said they are aware of the media reports and are awaiting confirmation from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.”

[Ausmumof3]

27 new cases in Italy. Total is 401.

other new cases from the BNO timeline

• 18:33: 1 new case in Croatia. (Source)
• 18:20: 1 new case in France. (Source)
• 18:05: First case in Georgia. (Source)
• 17:59: 1 new case in Sweden. (Source)
• 17:08: 1 new case in Pakistan. The other case mentioned was previously reported. (Source)
• 16:55: 1 new case in Lebanon. (Source)
• 16:35: 1 new case in Kuwait. (Source)
• 16:33: First case in North Macedonia. (Source)
• 16:25: First case in Pakistan. Recently traveled from Iran. (Source)
• 16:15: 1 new case in Finland. (Source)

to be honest I would assume with this level of spread it’s likely in the US and Australia on a wider lever and not picked up yet due to lack of testing.  Which means potentially travel bans etc being eased.

[Ausmumof3]

One analysis I read re China said the time to actually relax about China’s status is when kids go back to school and the parliament thingamy meets.  They will do what it takes to get workers back because they can’t afford not to but they won’t risk the safety of those two things.  So at this point the messaging saying it’s all under control outside Hubei may or may not be accurate.

Edited February 26, 2020 by Ausmumof3

[Ausmumof3]

1st case in Norway - non English language source 

https://www.vg.no/nyheter/innenriks/i/1nGp1M/fhi-coronavirus-paavist-i-norge

[Ausmumof3]

• 20:25: 1 new case in the Canary Islands, Spain. (Source)
• 20:23: 7 new cases in Bahrain. (Source)
   

bahrain is at 33 cases now.

[Matryoshka]

43 minutes ago, Arcadia said:

From abc7news https://abc7news.com/5969252/

“LOS ANGELES -- USC students studying in South Korea and parts of Italy are being told to return home due to coronavirus outbreaks in those area, the university announced Tuesday.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention "has issued a Level 3 travel advisory for South Korea, which advises against all non-essential travel. As a result, we are requiring students to leave the country, and we are working actively with them to make arrangements to travel back to USC," the university said in a statement.

Provost Charles F. Zukoski and other officials said they were also contacting students in the Veneto and Lombardy regions of Italy, where circumstances were "rapidly evolving," to arrange for their travel home.

The statement reiterated that there have been no cases of coronavirus at USC.”

Meanwhile, our local universities are having very different responses.  They were talking about it on the news this morning.  One said it wanted all their students studying in Italy home in the next 48 hours, another said their students could come home 'if they wanted; but was not requiring it, one said they cancelled a field trip to Milan but wasn't otherwise worried about them staying elsewhere in Italy, and another that had students studying in Florence and Rome said those cities were far enough away from the outbreak that they had no plans to disrupt the kids' studies at this point.

One of my dd's universities just sent out an email a day or two ago talking about expanding  its summer program in the north of Spain this summer, not even a whisper about Coronavirus.

[RootAnn]

52 minutes ago, YaelAldrich said:

I'm monitoring my DH's temps since he got back.

The reports quotes here & available elsewhere all state that monitoring temps is pretty much worthless. It isn't a useful way to monitor for the disease. Just FYI.

I'm a bit aghast at how "behind" the CDC is about this whole outbreak. But whatever. Don't want to panic people. SMH.

[regentrude]

9 minutes ago, Matryoshka said:

One of my dd's universities just sent out an email a day or two ago talking about expanding  its summer program in the north of Spain this summer, not even a whisper about Coronavirus.

If we're talking summer, I don't think pulling the program would do much good - by that time, the virus will be worldwide and it won't make a difference whether you're in Spain or the US. All this containment by restricting movement of people only works while it's still local.

[Matryoshka]

1 minute ago, regentrude said:

If we're talking summer, I don't think pulling the program would do much good - by that time, the virus will be worldwide and it won't make a difference whether you're in Spain or the US. All this containment by restricting movement of people only works while it's still local.

That's why I'm still moving forward with dd's plans to go abroad this summer... just making sure I get trip insurance!

[Acadie]

We may see more local containment measures versus travel restrictions. And Harvard epidemiologist Marc Lipsitch says there are benefits to delaying illness, both in terms of better medical care for individuals and fewer people infected overall.  

https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/02/coronavirus-seems-unstoppable-what-should-world-do-now

"Smaller scale containment efforts will remain helpful, says WHO’s Bruce Aylward, who led an international mission to China over the past 2 weeks. In a report from the mission that Aylward discussed but did not publicly release, the group concludes that the Chinese epidemic peaked between 23 January and 2 February and that the country’s aggressive containment efforts in Hubei, where at least 50 million people have been on lockdown, gave other provinces time to prepare for the virus and ultimately prevent “probably hundreds of thousands” of cases. “It’s important that other countries think about this and think about whether they apply something—not necessarily full lockdowns everywhere, but that same rigorous approach.”

Yet China’s domestic restrictions have come at a huge cost to individuals, says Lawrence Gostin, who specializes in global health policy at Georgetown University Law Center. He calls the policies “astounding, unprecedented, and medieval,” and says he is particularly concerned about the physical and mental well-being of people in Hubei who are housebound, under intensive surveillance, and facing shortages of health services. “This would be unthinkable in probably any country in the world but China,” he says. (Italy’s lockdowns are for relatively small towns, not major cities.)

China is slowly beginning to lift the restrictions in regions at lower risk, which could expose huge numbers of people to the infection, Dye says. “If normal life is restored in China, then we could expect another resurgence,” he adds.

Still, delaying illness can have a big payoff, Lipsitch says. It will mean a lower burden on hospitals and a chance to better train vulnerable health care workers on how to protect themselves, more time for citizens to prepare, and more time to test potentially life-saving drugs and, in the longer term, vaccines. “If I had a choice of getting [COVID-19] today or getting it 6 months from now, I would definitely prefer to get it 6 months from now,” Lipsitch says. Flattening the peak of an epidemic also means fewer people are infected overall, he says."

 

Edited February 26, 2020 by Acadie

[Arcadia]

abc7news posted the CDC link (https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/npptl/pdfs/FacialHairWmask11282017-508.pdf)

https://abc7news.com/health/coronavirus-beards-mustaches-can-interfere-with-face-masks-cdc-says/5969379/
“Side whiskers, handlebar and zorro mustaches are ok because the hair can remain under the facemask. But full beards and mutton chops are not recommended, says CDC.”

 

[BeachGal]

1 hour ago, Ausmumof3 said:

Yes true.  They are currently trying Mexico.

Do you know where in Mexico? I’m in Cozumel right now and I hope it’s not here. Maybe it’s a false alarm?

 

[BeachGal]

Singapore is using ozonated water to clean its airport. Smart move. Ozone is very capable of deactivating certain viruses. (Hint hint)

Edited February 26, 2020 by BeachGal

[pitterpatter]

Anyone have domestic vacation plans within the next two weeks? We have a five-day trip to Orlando booked starting March 7th. We are flying from Missouri. Airline tickets are nonrefundable. We are planning one day at the Magic Kingdom, one day at Kennedy Space Center, and the others at less-crowded venues. I will be traveling with a healthy 12-year-old and a 42-year-old immunosuppressed husband. Do you think it's still safe to travel? Anyone else vacationing in the near future?

[pitterpatter]

It's Cozumel. I just read a report. - https://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/fl-bz-miami-based-msg-cruises-ship-turned-away-because-of-virus-fears-20200226-zvbq3zqii5dkrjtk7d4kkdozhu-story.html

25 minutes ago, BeachGal said:

Do you know where in Mexico? I’m in Cozumel right now and I hope it’s not here. Maybe it’s a false alarm?

 

 

Edited February 26, 2020 by pitterpatter

[pitterpatter]

If the MSC Meraviglia cruise ship does port at Cozumel and then passengers are expected to make it back to the States from there (the ship's home port is Miami), are the governments allowing guests to fly without full passports? We've cruised several times with only passport cards, which are only good for travel by land and sea. You really just need a driver's license.

ETA: Nevermind. I thought they were looking for a place to get off the ship to return home. I see now that it's just their ports of call that they're currently having issues with. Of course, fifteen days at sea doesn't sound like much fun to me.

Edited February 26, 2020 by pitterpatter

[BeachGal]

11 minutes ago, pitterpatter said:

It's Cozumel. I just read a report. - https://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/fl-bz-miami-based-msg-cruises-ship-turned-away-because-of-virus-fears-20200226-zvbq3zqii5dkrjtk7d4kkdozhu-story.html

 

Noooooooo!!!! 

[Ausmumof3]

35 minutes ago, BeachGal said:

Do you know where in Mexico? I’m in Cozumel right now and I hope it’s not here. Maybe it’s a false alarm?

 

MSC Cruises disputes reports Mexico has denied MSC Meraviglia permission to dock at Cozumel and said they have received authorisation to dock from the Mexican Ministry of health.
 

this is from the Mirror so I’m not sure how reliable it is.

To be clear there’s no known cases on board just one crew member with flu like symptoms that the cruise line denies is Coronavirus.

[Ausmumof3]

14 minutes ago, pitterpatter said:

Anyone have domestic vacation plans within the next two weeks? We have a five-day trip to Orlando booked starting March 7th. We are flying from Missouri. Airline tickets are nonrefundable. We are planning one day at the Magic Kingdom, one day at Kennedy Space Center, and the others at less-crowded venues. I will be traveling with a healthy 12-year-old and a 42-year-old immunosuppressed husband. Do you think it's still safe to travel? Anyone else vacationing in the near future?

I think in two weeks we will have a much clearer picture of the situation if you don’t need to make any decisions right now.  

[Ausmumof3]

2 minutes ago, pitterpatter said:

If the MSC Meraviglia cruise ship does port at Cozumel and then passengers are expected to make it back to the States from there (the ship's home port is Miami), are the governments allowing guests to fly without full passports? We've cruised several times with only passport cards, which are only good for travel by land and sea.

If they can test the affected person and confirm it’s not Coronavirus I can’t see why they can’t just continue on with the cruise as planned.  

[BeachGal]

1 minute ago, Ausmumof3 said:

MSC Cruises disputes reports Mexico has denied MSC Meraviglia permission to dock at Cozumel and said they have received authorisation to dock from the Mexican Ministry of health.
 

this is from the Mirror so I’m not sure how reliable it is.

To be clear there’s no known cases on board just one crew member with flu like symptoms that the cruise line denies is Coronavirus.

Well, darn. Might have to stay here.

I’ll take flu over covid 19 any day. 😄