wuhan - coronavirus

[Aura]

@Arcadia, @Pen, et al,

It's very eye opening to see how often this is transmitted in religious events. Even here in GA, the cluster in Rome (GA) apparently started from a man who went to church on Sunday morning feeling just fine. Then by that afternoon, he was sick. 

[Arcadia]

@mathnerd @Pen

For the amount of test kits produce in Pleasanton why is our county not having larger numbers of people who want to test be tested 😞

https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/coronavirus/pleasanton-company-creates-coronavirus-test-kits/2254734/

“An East Bay company is playing a critical role in ramping up testing for the coronavirus by developing the first commercially available test to receive emergency authorization by the FDA.

Roche Labs in Pleasanton has not only developed a new coronavirus test, but those tests can deliver results in just three and a half hours. 

As testing for COVID-19 expands across the country, the demand is overwhelming. One drive-through location in Colorado was so busy it had to close early. 

At Kaiser Permanente in Redwood City an eight-person medical team processed people in about five minutes, but for many people the wait for a test continues.

... But with Roche Labs’ test kits, availability will get a boost. The FDA has approved the company to ship the kits out to the Bay Area and across the U.S.

“We already have 400,000 tests available,” said Dr. Paul Brown, Global Head of Roche Molecular Solutions. “Those are being shipped out this weekend and over the next week. We expect to send out another 400,000 tests per week.”

The highly automated molecular testing system can process as many as 960 tests in eight hours, providing the volume needed during this pandemic. 

According to the company, it expects to send out 1.5 million tests in a month.”

[math teacher]

Blessing in disguise? My church cancelled this morning due to a city wide water line problem.

[Renai]

6 hours ago, Ausmumof3 said:

On the ground news here - a local butcher had a massive order of salami and Metwurst destined for a show cancelled.  Someone else had a Royal Easter show booking that apparently cost $550,000 cancelled.  3rd hand info so I can’t verify that one.

Yes, it is affecting in big ways like that. So, I did go to the homeschool conference Thursday that was to go through Saturday. One of the boardies here told me that her hotel went from 100% occupancy to 20% due to cancellations. They had started laying people off. Then thinking of the places that usually cater to the events that cancelled, etc., the affects are wide reaching and expensive.

Our conference was shut down by the city and we were told to be out by midnight that night. (Bigger companies were allowed to return Saturday if they still needed to pack up.) It was surreal. Like another poster mentioned earlier, I had prepared physically (home back in my state, and helping parents here), but mentally and emotionally took a hit.

[Pen]

If anyone hears whether a staff worker at YMCA in Eugene, Oregon tests positive, would you please tag me on that info. 

[Pawz4me]

Walmart will be closing from 11:00 p.m. until 6:00 a.m. until further notice, to allow employees time to clean and restock. It sounds as if it applies to all locations --

 

[Arcadia]

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/coronavirus-covid-19-singapore-new-cases-imported-12539904

“14 new COVID-19 cases - the largest single-day increase in coronavirus infections in Singapore. Nine of the cases are imported.”

[Matryoshka]

10 hours ago, Pen said:

It seems self evident to me  (though I have no study to back this up) that a person who comes into unnecessary social contact  with  4 people once per week reducing that To only 1 person every 4th week is not going to help reduce spread and flatten the curve as much as a person who comes into unnecessary social contact with a different 25 member group 5 days per week and going to a 250 member church once per week reducing down to 5 select unnecessary social contacts would help. 

 

Here's a some simulations to back you up:

Simulations of spread of "Simulitis" virus with different measures (doing nothing, quarantine, various levels of social distancing)

https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/world/corona-simulator/?fbclid=IwAR0v-vzus99ofxWwU3mlXjUYaRpB3GCs_kV7DiVGgr1_PGxNm5dHKoQVrcE

Edited March 15, 2020 by Matryoshka

[Matryoshka]

2 hours ago, Pen said:

I have an odd personal theory.

Height matters.  Eyes nose mouth lower down have more contact with microscopic droplets falling from taller mouths .  Course that would not account for the basketball players with it. 

So probably just coincidence.

Or maybe the women have closer social distance or were still Social kissing more recently. 

But overall, many, many more men are dying with this.  By a very large percentage.  My guess is the PMs have it too, unless they haven't seen their wives...  (although I think my source below is mostly going by China's numbers ... we'll have to see if this changes in Western countries...).  I can't find a source for how many women vs. men are infected with it and may be less sick or asymptomatic.  Which reminds me of the meme that women are more likely to be asymptomatic spreaders so they should send us all to a tropical beach for quarantine (with cocktails, of course).

Source: https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/coronavirus-age-sex-demographics/

COVID-19 Fatality Rate by SEX:

*Death Rate = (number of deaths / number of cases) = probability of dying if infected by the virus (%). This probability differs depending on sex. When reading these numbers, it must be taken into account that smoking in China is much more prevalent among males. Smoking increases the risks of respiratory complications.

SEX	DEATH RATE confirmed cases	DEATH RATE all cases
Male	4.7%	2.8%
Female	2.8%	1.7%

*Death Rate = (number of deaths / number of cases) = probability of dying if infected by the virus (%). The percentages do not have to add up to 100%, as they do NOT represent share of deaths by sex.

Edited March 15, 2020 by Matryoshka

[Matryoshka]

7 hours ago, Ausmumof3 said:

Every now and then I have a moment of this isn’t real or this is a total overreaction.  And I kind of hope it’s true.  If we do this properly we might be through the worst of it in two months or even maybe less.  

But we are so, so, so not doing this properly. ☹️  At least not in most Western countries.  

[Pen]

12 minutes ago, Matryoshka said:

But overall, many, many more men are getting sick with this.  By a very large percentage.  My guess is the PMs have it too, unless they haven't seen their wives...

 

In China iirc close to 60% male?

but here is South Korea breakdown if it will paste— 62.7% female  

 

 

* The confirmed cases by gender and age

Classification		Cases	(%)	Death cases	(%)	Fatality rate (%)
Total		6,284	(100.0)	42	(100.0)	0.7
Sex	Male	2,345	(37.3)	25	(59.5)	1.1
	Female	3,939	(62.7)	17	(40.5)	0.4
Age	0-9	45	(0.7)	-	-	-
	10-19	292	(4.6)	-	-	-
	20-29	1,877	(29.9)	-	-	-
	30-39	693	(11.0)	1	(2.4)	0.1
	40-49	889	(14.1)	1	(2.4)	0.1
	50-59	1,217	(19.4)	5	(11.9)	0.4
	60-69	763	(12.1)	11	(26.2)	1.4
	70-79	340	(5.4)	14	(33.3)	4.1
	Above 80	168	(2.7)	10	(23.8)	6.0

 

 

[mumto2]

8 hours ago, DoraBora said:

So, is this over-70 isolation thing in the UK an official policy?  I thought it was a rumor from a tabloid journalist.

Just got back on the thread and haven’t looked at the news yet.  That said I heard about it several days ago now.........believe it was even in the Campbell update on the official policy as one of sort of the side points that will happen.  They want to hold if off a bit like school closures and it probably needs to go first imo to be effective.  

[Pen]

1 minute ago, square_25 said:

@Pen, where are getting the numbers, by the way? 

 

For South Korea? It seemed to be KCDC (Korea CDC link through from US CDC) 

[Pen]

A pediatrician in my county as an FB (?)  post that’s going viral:

 

 

 

 

 

I love our community. I grew up here, and Eugene is the only place I have ever worked, and the only place I have ever called home. It’s from that place of love that I am sharing my concern today – I believe Covid-19 is an imminent threat to our community, and we are not adequately ready. 

Today, we heard that still zero cases have been identified in Lane County. And that’s wonderful news. But people need to realize a few concerning facts:
· Test kits have been hard to come by, so the public health department has used strict guidelines on who has been allowed to be tested; thus, we have very little data in our state to help us assess where we are in this pandemic; all experts agree it will get worse – we just don’t know accurately how much worse
· Although private labs like Quest are starting to allow more testing to be done, it’s still not a large number of tests that are available. For example, Quest Labs has only 1,500 test kits for the entire west coast and ours are just now being shipped to Eugene Pediatrics from Quest headquarters
· Children are vectors of this virus – many kids worldwide have experienced mild symptoms when infected with Covid-19, but they are contagious to others in the community  
· Covid-19 is a novel virus that has infected humans for only a matter of months on this planet, so the scientific community is still discovering vital information about how easily this virus spreads, how long people remain infectious after they’re sick, etc

The data from China’s experience with Covid-19 have been published in multiple prominent medical journals, including the Journal of the American Medical Association and Lancet. The China data were used by professionals at the Lane County Public Health Dept to estimate what could happen here in Lane County. The numbers were presented to doctors in the community for the first time yesterday and repeated today. 

It is possible that: 

93,000-262,000 people in Lane County will become infected
13,000-29,000 people in Lane County will need to be hospitalized
4,700-10,500 people will need to be on a ventilator machine in an ICU
2,300-5,100 people will die from Covid-19

Our medical resources in Lane County will be overwhelmed by these numbers because our hospitals run near capacity at baseline, and we don’t have enough professionals or equipment to handle this volume of sick patients. I am sharing these numbers not to make people panic—but because I believe we need to get as ready as we can, and we need to do that now. Not by panicking – by being smart and nimble.

I am personally opposed to the Oregon Health Authority, State Board of Higher Education, and public schools stated desire to remain open even when cases of Covid-19 are found in the schools. I am immensely happy that the University of Oregon closed today. More schools should follow that model in my opinion. Social distancing is our only hope of decreasing the number of sick and dead from Covid-19. I fully recognize that the decision was complex and weighed many factors, prominently including the fact that many children rely on school for two meals a day. Nonetheless, faced with a pandemic, I feel it is wise to stop gathering our children together. 

So I personally think we need to:
- Close all schools. Now.
- Stop gathering in person for meetings, church, etc
- Cancel travel plans unless they are critical
- Get prescriptions, non-perishable food, and other provisions in case someone gets sick and needs to be quarantined at our home for a number of weeks
- Stay home if you’re sick with respiratory symptoms – and don’t go out until all symptoms have resolved (even if that is a week or more after fever is gone)
- Get healthy – take your preventive medications for asthma, high blood pressure or diabetes. Your body will need to be as strong as possible if you become sick
- Wash hands, cover coughs, change clothes upon arriving home, disinfect surfaces often
- Medical providers, community leaders, non-profit agency leaders – all need to come together to mobilize in a positive way to take care of our community
- Advocate for more testing kits to be made available by any means possible; money has been allocated by the federal government for Covid-19 and a chunk of that should go to labs that can quickly tool up for testing; South Korea is way ahead of us – let’s get moving in the USA

I am grateful to the Lane County Public Health Dept, and especially Dr. Patrick Luedtke, for daily phone updates and advocacy. I recognize that they are doing the best that they can in an extraordinary situation unlike any in our recent memory. Decisions are hard, resources are limited. They are doing their best.

First responders and medical personnel are going to be needed to care for the sick. But every single person can help take care of the rest of our community. Check on elderly neighbors, support those with medical illness and social disadvantages, get food for them, help each other in every way you can if this epidemic strikes us hard. If it doesn’t, some will say we prepared for nothing – but I believe if we are spared, it will be because we got organized and prepared.

We are a community. We are smart and loving people. We can do this together.

[Pen]

1 minute ago, square_25 said:

Ah, OK, I wasn't sure if there was a global aggregator if I should just Google. 

 

For statistics I think Korea has done enough testing of cases from asymptomatic to dead to be useful. 

[Matryoshka]

24 minutes ago, Pen said:

 

In China iirc close to 60% male?

but here is South Korea breakdown if it will paste— 62.7% female  

 

 

* The confirmed cases by gender and age

Classification		Cases	(%)	Death cases	(%)	Fatality rate (%)
Total		6,284	(100.0)	42	(100.0)	0.7
Sex	Male	2,345	(37.3)	25	(59.5)	1.1
	Female	3,939	(62.7)	17	(40.5)	0.4
Age	0-9	45	(0.7)	-	-	-
	10-19	292	(4.6)	-	-	-
	20-29	1,877	(29.9)	-	-	-
	30-39	693	(11.0)	1	(2.4)	0.1
	40-49	889	(14.1)	1	(2.4)	0.1
	50-59	1,217	(19.4)	5	(11.9)	0.4
	60-69	763	(12.1)	11	(26.2)	1.4
	70-79	340	(5.4)	14	(33.3)	4.1
	Above 80	168	(2.7)	10	(23.8)	6.0

 

 

Wow, that's super-interesting.  So it seems the meme is right  - although more women are infected overall, it's much more deadly for men (wonder if Korea has way more male smokers too??).  

[itsheresomewhere]

I didn’t see this one listed but Great Wolf Lodge has closed starting today until April 2nd to help stop the spread.

[Arcadia]

31 minutes ago, Pen said:

 

In China iirc close to 60% male?

but here is South Korea breakdown if it will paste— 62.7% female  

 

19 minutes ago, square_25 said:

 

Oh, interesting! I wonder why the discrepancy... 

 

Korea has a big cluster from the church group which might have more females attending?

Malaysia is going to have a big cluster from the mosque gathering that is likely to be predominantly male.

[Arcadia]

27 minutes ago, square_25 said:

@Pen, where are getting the numbers, by the way? 

 

24 minutes ago, Pen said:

 

For South Korea? It seemed to be KCDC (Korea CDC link through from US CDC) 

Korea CDC webpage is very good for data 

https://www.cdc.go.kr/board/board.es?mid=a30402000000&bid=0030

Edited March 15, 2020 by Arcadia

[Pen]

3 minutes ago, square_25 said:

Thinking about this one more: 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/world/corona-simulator/?fbclid=IwAR0v-vzus99ofxWwU3mlXjUYaRpB3GCs_kV7DiVGgr1_PGxNm5dHKoQVrcE

This is OF COURSE an extremely simplified model, but here's something else I'd like to see from it -- what if the people doing "social distancing," instead of staying entirely put (and being infected by all those people who are still apparently not isolating at all -- the balls bouncing around in the model), are kind of wiggling about and bumping into the people next to them? One could model this as either only bumping people in a small radius near them or as forming into small clusters that only interact between themselves. I'm curious how those would differ. 

 

I saw one like that, but can’t recall where .  It had community groups of clustered dots interacting and every oscoften a dot would go visit another community dot group and then return (possibly taking infection with it, or else bringing it back ) — it was usually much slower progressing unless the first dot to travel happened to be an infected one...   (which if CV weirdly affects people and makes them extra likely go socialize could happen)

 

[Pen]

My county has apparently closed cancelled Home and Garden show and St Patrick’s Day Parades. 

[Pen]

Probably thinking too far ahead but the Olympic Track and Field pre trials are supposed to be in my county.  I think they are going to need to be cancelled or at least be without spectators.  

Also summer Fairs. 

[gardenmom5]

While Washington has 40 deaths - most of those    are still inked to the nursing home.  And there will likely be more connected with the nursing home.

eta: and 47 workers have the virus there.

Edited March 15, 2020 by gardenmom5

[gardenmom5]

10 minutes ago, square_25 said:

Is there any evidence that it makes people more social?? I've seen some memes, but are they at all evidence-based? 

i'm on a local parent group formed as a support group for this - there are quite a few parents complaining about teens out partying even more because there's no school.  parents are encouraging other parents to "be that parent" - and say *no*.

[Arcadia]

@Pen

From their Facebook page

[Arcadia]

🇪🇸 https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/world/coronavirus-spain-covid-19-cases-death-12539944

“MADRID: Spain on Sunday (Mar 15) reported about 2,000 new coronavirus cases and more than 100 deaths over the last 24 hours, the latest spike in Europe's second-most affected country after Italy.

The new figures raise Spain's number of COVID-19 infections to 7,753 - and its death toll to 288 - after the government imposed a near-total nationwide lockdown, banning people from leaving home except to go to work, get medical care or buy food.

Spaniards hunkered down in silent cities with children's playgrounds blocked off with police tape, after the government imposed sudden, severe restrictions on public life.

Spain, the second-worst affected European country after Italy, on Saturday ordered its 47 million citizens to stay indoors except for necessary outings such as buying food and medicine. Social gatherings are banned.

Among the high-profile figures to test positive were the prime minister's wife, two Cabinet ministers and five players on top-flight soccer club Valencia.

The sudden Spanish lockdown, along with similarly abrupt moves to curtail public life in France, have astonished Western Europe this weekend, as countries follow Italy in imposing restrictions unseen in peacetime.

Public places from city streets to beaches across Spain were deserted, with a strengthened presence of police, many wearing latex gloves and facemasks, ensuring people complied with the emergency measures.

All that could be heard on the empty streets of Madrid was the sound of families behind shuttered windows. People played video games, watched TV and sat out on balconies.

All major newspapers carried a wrapper emblazoned with a government-promoted slogan "Together we'll stop this virus". Newspapers reported that police could issue on-the-spot fines of hundreds of euros for those who fail to follow the rules.

Bars, restaurants and shops selling non-essential items are shut for 15 days as the country enters a state of emergency. Schools are shut, keeping millions of children at home.”

[Guest]

8 minutes ago, square_25 said:

Cross-posted: 

Aaaaand, one of the moms in my homeschool math class that's been canceled due to the homeschool center being shut has suggested that the class instead meet at the library or her house (!!) 

Yeah, not happening. I get the sense the responses to my e-mail (which suggested that I could send kids worksheets and suggestions for games and that I could help via e-mail or Skype, but that a game-based classroom wasn't going to work well via Zoom) are going to make me angry. 

I had a mom make a similar suggestion about my science club meeting for Monday. Uh, that kind of defeats the purpose....

 

I assume you've seen the Beast Academy puzzle freebies on Teachers Pay Teachers? that might be a good option for some of your kids.

Edited March 15, 2020 by dmmetler

[Arcadia]

California

“Benefits for Workers Impacted by COVID-19

What employees are entitled to may be confusing. The purpose of this information is to make it easier to understand what resources may be available.”

https://www.labor.ca.gov/coronavirus2019/#chart

[Arcadia]

Twitter 

“Los Angeles County

@CountyofLA

19h

Public health officials recommend you #StayHome to prevent the spread of #COVID19. Some suggestions to pass the time:

Video chat with loved ones

Download an e-book/audiobook via @LACountyLibrary

Fill out your @CACensus form online: http://my2020census.gov”

[Arcadia]

https://mobile.twitter.com/USNationalGuard/status/1238878453035868160
“National Guard

@USNationalGuard

Today, National Guard members from several states are on duty supporting federal, state and local efforts to respond to COVID-19. For the latest guidance and information from the @DeptofDefense visit: https://ngpa.us/8512. : https://ngpa.us/8513”

[Arcadia]

https://mobile.twitter.com/PHEgov

“ASPR @PHEgov   Mar 14

ASPR’s Strategic National Stockpile deployed more than 230 trucks carrying medical supplies and equipment to support state needs and protect healthcare workers following the novel #coronavirus outbreak.”

https://www.phe.gov/about/sns/Pages/responses.aspx
“2020 – COVID-19 

*As of March 11, 2020

• More than 135 tons of cargo shipped to support U.S. repatriation efforts and state PPE needs
  • 57 flights transporting supplies
  • 232 trucks transporting supplies
• Assigned approximately 155 staffers to serve in the stockpile’s operation center
• Engaged nearly 35 private industry partners for medical supply chain and delivery
• Deployed six liaisons to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary’s Operations Center in Washington, D.C.”

[Arcadia]

@mathnerd

https://mobile.twitter.com/HealthySCC/status/1239233866700705793

“Update: 23 new cases of #COVID19 in Santa Clara County. This brings the total number of cases to 114. We expect numbers to grow and urge everyone to follow Public Health recommendations. For additional information, visit: http://direc.to/dY2d”

[SKL]

5 hours ago, square_25 said:

This is actually a super standard statistical error ;-). You don’t want a sample that’s a large percent of a population, you merely want a random one. They don’t have a random sample, of course, but it’s a lot closer to random (no, I can’t quantify that!) than places which are only testing really sick people.

So their data is our best bet, not because of what percent of the population they’ve tested, but because of how they are sampling.

It didn't sound to me like it was random.  Sounded like they tested a lot of people in a small community because the virus was found in that community to begin with.  Why do people assume they were targeting a random sample?

[SeaConquest]

Since we have no access to regular surgical masks like in China, what are people doing? Have you found another way to protect yourself?

[Garga]

1 hour ago, square_25 said:

 

My faith in humanity is not at an all-time high right now. Our local homeschooling community is still hosting big gathering at playspaces, too. Sigh. 

Ours cancelled some events, but is also planning other events.  Wha...?  The ones they planned were for April, so maybe they’re hoping that things will be better by then? 

It’s very hard for me not to want to poke my nose into everyone else’s business and start giving them advice on how to run their organization/lives.  

I’m disappointed in churches still meeting.  I attend a church that gets 300 people per service, 2 services on Sunday morning—so 600 people walk through there between 8 and 12.  They still had church today.  They live streamed it, and we could see a lot of empty spaces, but there were still a bunch of people there. 

I think that some churches feel that it’s showing some sort of lack in faith to God to skip the service.  My church did say, “We will take things week by week, but we already know we won’t have services next Sunday.”  However, they made that decision based on the fact that it’s hard to keep going when you don’t know which volunteers will show up (to run the sound, lights, preschool, etc.).  They didn’t make that decision based on the fact that we all need to stay apart, even if all of the volunteers agreed to show up!

I think that when the numbers start rising faster, and as of right now they’re doubling in the US every 3 days, people will naturally start taking this seriously on their own.  But it’s frustrating to watch us waste all this precious time right now.

[SKL]

Our governor is considering closing all restaurants and bars.  This (if it happens) is going to put so many people out of business/work, and some of them may not be able to come back.  I know this is the unpopular view here, but I think it's wrong to close restaurants.  If the situation is as dire as they say, there is no hope other than to keep the elderly away from everyone else.

[SKL]

Also they are saying schools might not reopen at all this year.  That part does not really surprise me.  It will be interesting to see how they do graduations etc.  Sad for kids who were in their last year at whatever school.

[SKL]

Is anyone else holding out hope that the warming of the weather will make a difference?

[gardenmom5]

14 minutes ago, square_25 said:

 

Yep. People will start taking it seriously at precisely the point where it's a lot less useful. The right time to take this seriously, frankly, was 2 months ago, and it should have been taken seriously not by citizens but by the government. 

I'm going to guess a lot of places will go into lockdown soon enough. So people won't be able to make stupid choices anymore. 

no - it needed to be taken seriously by citizens.   when everything looks hunky dory, citizens protest very loudly when the gov tries to do anything to impose any sort of restrictions. i'm in the seattle area - first case, first death, most deaths.

 

eta: and has been demonstrated by this thread - there are people in lockdown areas that are NOT taking this seriously.   those are the types of "in denial" people that will only believe it when it reaches disaster proportions in their own community.

Edited March 15, 2020 by gardenmom5

[Paige]

20 minutes ago, Garga said:

 

I think that some churches feel that it’s showing some sort of lack in faith to God to skip the service.  My church did say, “We will take things week by week, but we already know we won’t have services next Sunday.”  However, they made that decision based on the fact that it’s hard to keep going when you don’t know which volunteers will show up (to run the sound, lights, preschool, etc.).  They didn’t make that decision based on the fact that we all need to stay apart, even if all of the volunteers agreed to show up!

 

Governor Beshear recommended churches close and my FB blew up with people saying it was a violation of church/state, that we need to unite in faith, etc. Haven't they seen what happened in S Korea with one church? Beshear didn't order it either, it was just a suggestion.

[MEmama]

1 hour ago, Plum said:

 

Meanwhile, Garth Brooks sold out the opening concert for the new Raiders Stadium. 60,000 seats sold out in 70 minutes. The show is in August so maybe people think it will be gone by then. I really don't know what people are thinking.

Welllllllllll....full disclosure, DH got us **Taylor Swift** tickets for Valentines Day (!!). The concert is at the end of July and yes, I am VERY much hoping we’ll be able to go. Summer is a long way off. We can all have our dreams. 😂

(We are currently self isolating as much as possible, fwiw. I am definitely not making light of the situation).

[TravelingChris]

15 hours ago, StellaM said:

Let's test my ability to talk about antibiotics and coronavirus in a polite way.

Do NOT request or take antibiotics unless you have a diagnosed bacterial infection. Ever. Including now.

Antibiotics work on bacteria. This is not a bacterial illness. It is viral.

If viral pneumonia is present and a person develops bacterial pneumonia as well, knowing that in healthy people, antibiotics can help those with bacterial pneumonia is pointless.

Be aware that antibiotic resistance is already a significant problem.

Antibiotics are not and will not be a significant feature of treatment for those with coronavirus induced pneumonia. 

And while I'm at it, because I've seen this bit of fake news elsewhere today, no, the vaccine against pnemonia does not work against Covid-19.

 

I inevitably get a bacterial infection even if at first it is a viral.  That is because of Sjogren's which makes my mucus so thick. My doctor has twice prescribed me antibiotics before I went on a long trip.  Once I did not use them and once I did.  I have had so many infections that I know what to look for.

[Selkie]

The Illinois governor says they are “looking seriously” at closing bars and restaurants.

 

[TravelingChris]

13 hours ago, Arcadia said:

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-apple/apple-some-u-s-retailers-close-stores-to-contain-virus-idUSKBN2110A3

“Apparel retailer Urban Outfitters Inc (URBN.O), which owns brands including Anthropologie and Free People, said on Saturday it was closing all its consumer stores worldwide until at least March 28. 

Verizon Communications Inc (VZ.N) said it was temporarily closing "a number of its stores" across the United States in order to expand its work from home policy to include some of its retail employees.

T-Mobile US Inc (TMUS.O) said it will temporary close its stores that are located in a shopping mall starting March 16.”

Yesterday, when we were driving to the area where we hike (about 3.5 miles away from where we live), I was looking at the parking lots of stores at the shopping areas we were passing.  Verizon had a lot of cars in the parking lot here.

[JennyD]

Israel update:  213 cases, no deaths yet.  There was one man who nearly died a couple of weeks ago but reports are that he stabilized.  A plan to let the security services track virus patients with cellphone data is freaking people out.  There are also plans to dramatically expand testing a la SK and Taiwan, but not clear how long that will take.

We went out this morning to go to the park and it was eerily deserted.  A couple of parents with toddlers, us, and two stray dogs that ultimately chased us off the basketball court.  

Nearly all stores except for food and pharmacy were closed, with a couple of exceptions -- the bookstore was open, as was the household goods/electronics store.  A few restaurants were open but there were a lot of police cars and motorcycles roaming about and we saw the egregiously overpriced smoothie place get closed down by the police in real time.  

The supermarket was busy but not insane.  They were all out of chicken but had plenty of everything else, and we saw pallets of rice piled outside.  There was a customer giving the counter guy a hard time about the lack of chicken -- dude, we're in the middle of a global crisis here.  Eat something else.

The kids' schools have assigned work and set up some plans for online contact.  I had extremely low expectations for what they'd come up with but was pleasantly surprised.  They must have been working on this for a while.  I also brought some of our homeschooling books with us so we'll do a hodgepodge for the next however many weeks.  

And there may be a new government pretty soon.  Or not.

 

Edited March 15, 2020 by JennyD

[Pen]

2 hours ago, square_25 said:

Is there any evidence that it makes people more social?? I've seen some memes, but are they at all evidence-based? 

 

Not afaik.  At least not yet. 😆

However, There is knowledge that SARS2 fits into ACE2 receptors, which are prevalent in lungs.  There are also ACE2 receptors in central nervous system. 

 

[mom2scouts]

Our governor just announced that he's considering closing the schools FOR THE REST OF THE SCHOOL YEAR!!

I'm feeling super sad today. My son checked his emails and said, "Mr M is complaining because nobody came to the club meeting. He wrote a really angry email to all the club members." The club has mostly older members. DS has missed the past few months because of other obligations and he was planning to go this month, but he has a cold and decided not to go. An email went out and most responses were that it was best to cancel. Apparently Mr M didn't see the email. Mr M is a Vietnam vet whose kidney was damaged from the war and he has been waiting years and years for a transplant. He went for his daily 4 hour (!) dialysis, then went to a friend's funeral, and drove quite a distance to the meeting. He was really upset that nobody else showed up. I told DS that I would extend quite a bit of grace to Mr M since it seemed he had a really bad day, missed the email, and was probably really looking forward to a fun evening at the club meeting. It was probably very disappointing. I feel like crying every time I think about Mr M sitting there alone at the club meeting after his crappy day.😭 The guy never seems to catch a break.

[gardenmom5]

3 minutes ago, square_25 said:

In NYC, there's a LOT of pushback against the decision not to close schools: 

https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/coronavirus/nyc-school-debate-continues-amid-coronavirus-pandemic-four-related-deaths-in-ny-nj/2327269/

https://nypost.com/2020/03/15/coronavirus-in-ny-teachers-union-vows-to-sue-nyc-to-close-schools/

my friend's daughter  is a NYC teacher.  she posted about it yesterday - the teachers are really pushing to close schools.  

NYC is being really slow on the uptake.  I fear it will be bad when people start needing ICUs.

 

[TravelingChris]

43 minutes ago, SKL said:

Is anyone else holding out hope that the warming of the weather will make a difference?

No.Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia are all hot places with a lot of cases.

[Pen]

40 minutes ago, SKL said:

Our governor is considering closing all restaurants and bars.  This (if it happens) is going to put so many people out of business/work, and some of them may not be able to come back.  I know this is the unpopular view here, but I think it's wrong to close restaurants.  If the situation is as dire as they say, there is no hope other than to keep the elderly away from everyone else.

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/13/podcasts/the-daily/coronavirus.amp.html

The elderly are not the only people affected.  Most likely to die, yes.  But “mild” cases can be very significant, even perhaps long term debilitating.  It is hard to know for an illness that has only existed for a few months 

If the bars etc stay open Some of the workers may not be able to come back due to permanent health problems.  

I am trying to retain my cool about the if it’s already bad let’s just do basically nothing attitude you are promoting!  

I think you think you have the best interests of the waitresses etc in mind, but I think you are totally wrong. 😷