wuhan - coronavirus

[mathnerd]

29 minutes ago, Arcadia said:

Santa Clara County Health Twitter

“Press Conference at 1 PM: Bay Area County Officials and the City of Berkeley will issue a region-wide order to slow the spread of #COVID19. The briefing will be followed by a Q&A session. Live stream available on our Facebook page: http://facebook.com/sccpublichealth.”

@mathnerd@8FillTheHeart

ETA:

“The directive begins at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday and involves San Francisco, Santa Clara, San Mateo, Marin, Contra Costa and Alameda counties — a combined population of more than 6.7 million. It is to stay in place until at least April 7. Three other Bay Area counties — Sonoma, Solano and Napa — were not immediately included.” https://www.sfchronicle.com/local-politics/article/Bay-Area-must-shelter-in-place-Only-15135014.php

Thank you. I am tuning in.

[JennyD]

2 minutes ago, Ausmumof3 said:

Nice to hear how it is there.  Seems like something is being done right to have no deaths so far.

 

I read a while back that a very seriously ill man was being treated with anti-malarial drugs.  He is since stabilized and I read another report that Israel had ordered more of those drugs but haven't seen any mention of that since.

 

[Carrie12345]

The more severe restrictions I see, the better I’m feeling. (Well, except for my current personal situation, but otherwise...)

We do know someone awaiting is COVID test results.  I don’t think dh or dds had any direct contact, but they may have been in the same building at different times.  We would all be in direct contact tomorrow night if he hand’t been able to be tested and restrictions weren’t currently in place.

[prairiewindmomma]

2 minutes ago, JennyD said:

I read a while back that a very seriously ill man was being treated with anti-malarial drugs.  He is since stabilized and I read another report that Israel had ordered more of those drugs but haven't seen any mention of that since.

 

MedCram discusses studies on hydroxychloroquine, a safer version of chloroquine.

[Acadie]

12 minutes ago, Ausmumof3 said:

Berkshire medical centre - 160 employees in quarantine 

https://www.berkshireeagle.com/stories/with-160-employees-in-quarantine-bmc-taps-54-temp-nurses,600096?newsletter=600097

 

Thanks for posting--that's right near my parents who are in their 80s. 

 

[Ausmumof3]

6 minutes ago, prairiewindmomma said:

MedCram discusses studies on hydroxychloroquine, a safer version of chloroquine.

https://mobile.twitter.com/davidasinclair/status/1238972082756648960
 

this doctor has some interesting thoughts on why chloroquine may be working.  

[Ausmumof3]

8 minutes ago, Carrie12345 said:

The more severe restrictions I see, the better I’m feeling. (Well, except for my current personal situation, but otherwise...)

We do know someone awaiting is COVID test results.  I don’t think dh or dds had any direct contact, but they may have been in the same building at different times.  We would all be in direct contact tomorrow night if he hand’t been able to be tested and restrictions weren’t currently in place.

I’m in the same boat.  I feel more relaxed now I see action being taken.  It was frustrating to watch the inevitable being ignored.

[Sneezyone]

53 minutes ago, mlktwins said:

This needs to happen here like now!  I cannot believe what I am seeing and hearing people are doing and planning to do on my FB page.  They are crazy!!!  I don't trust anyone at this point to keep my family safe.  We are not seeing anyone!

 

 

My daughter's friend signed a contract for a birthday party venue on THURSDAY. Seriously...THURSDAY. The party is slated for the week after the 2-week closure...which we all know will be extended. It's insane. DD's dress (which I allowed her to go buy yesterday) will work for fall homecoming. SMH. DD had the nerve to call me from the store to ask to spend the night. NO! Then she called from the mom's car asking if the girl could spend the night. NO! People are cray. I told DD it was her last hoorah so enjoy it but she tried to push anyway. Ugh. Social teens are HARD!

Edited March 16, 2020 by Sneezyone

[mom2scouts]

Ohio is trying to cancel in-person voting. The primary was supposed to take place tomorrow. The governor said they were receiving calls from people conflicted between their right and obligation to vote and the directive that people over 65 should not leave their house. Since the governor can't legally cancel voting, they're going to have someone file a lawsuit against the state, the state won't fight it, and they hope the judge will quickly rule to shut down in-person primary voting. They're planning to extend absentee voting until June 2.

I just can't believe how crazy this is all getting!

UPDATE: The judge has denied it! Massive confusion! The state is appealing so it could change again!

Edited March 17, 2020 by mom2scouts

[Ausmumof3]

https://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2020-03-17/research-how-bodys-immune-system-fights-coronavirus-covid-19/12059266?pfmredir=sm
 

Report on Australian research on how the immune system responds.  The article is pretty light on scientific information but basically says the response is similar to the immune response for flu.  Still unknown how long immunity will last as that will take time to follow up with patients.  They hope to be able to use markers in the blood to predict which cases are likely to be more severe.

[prairiewindmomma]

7 minutes ago, Ausmumof3 said:

https://mobile.twitter.com/davidasinclair/status/1238972082756648960
 

this doctor has some interesting thoughts on why chloroquine may be working.  

Medcram’s hypothesis is different—he believes it’s because hydroxychloroquine acts as a zinc ionosphere.

Either way the in vitro studies out of China last week are fascinating.

[Kassia]

1 hour ago, Ausmumof3 said:

Abc (us) news: “JUST IN: Ohio governor orders closure of "gyms, fitness centers, recreation centers, bowling alleys, indoor water parks, movie theaters, and trampoline parks across the state until further notice.”

 

 

I'm hoping he shuts down the BMV soon.  DH has to go in to renew his license. I don't want him to go, but I don't want him to wait until things get worse either.  I am hoping they will extend expiration dates.  

Ohio is also trying to postpone tomorrow's primary election.

[Guest]

1 hour ago, Ausmumof3 said:

@Quill

 

macron addressing the nation - new measures in France

Tagging because, I think your dd is still there?

Yes, and thank you. My daughter sent me a link earlier and I watched it. Basically total lockdown except for crucial services. 

She is still there but I do think this announcement makes her consider more coming home sooner. As pretty much any hope she had of doing travel with her bf after her contract ends is dissolving, she may figure that there’s not much point remaining there. But there are a lot of logistics that have to be figured out and even if she does come home sooner, I suppose it’s a definitive at this point that she will have to be quarantined. 

[8filltheheart]

16 minutes ago, prairiewindmomma said:

MedCram discusses studies on hydroxychloroquine, a safer version of chloroquine.

I hadn't seen this.  My dd with a congenital heart defect, Sjorgrens, and RA and my ds with Lupus (and reduced lung capacity from Lupus caused PEs that damaged his lungs) are both on hydroxychloroquine.  That would be amazing if it might help them b/c they are the 2 I am most concerned about.

[Ausmumof3]

1 minute ago, Quill said:

Yes, and thank you. My daughter sent me a link earlier and I watched it. Basically total lockdown except for crucial services. 

She is still there but I do think this announcement makes her consider more coming home sooner. As pretty much any hope she had of doing travel with her bf after her contract ends is dissolving, she may figure that there’s not much point remaining there. But there are a lot of logistics that have to be figured out and even if she does come home sooner, I suppose it’s a definitive at this point that she will have to be quarantined. 

So many kids having their education and life launching experience disrupted one way or other.  Hope she’s doing ok mentally and emotionally with it all.

[Ausmumof3]

6 minutes ago, prairiewindmomma said:

Medcram’s hypothesis is different—he believes it’s because hydroxychloroquine acts as a zinc ionosphere.

Either way the in vitro studies out of China last week are fascinating.

Interesting and way over my knowledge/comprehension level on this.  I just mostly feel happy to hear that so many ideas are being explored.  Slower this goes and the more research gets done in the meantime the better 

[vonfirmath]

39 minutes ago, square_25 said:

Yeah, it freaked me out.

 

I read the article. But it seems he's arguing the semantics, not the actions.

The people I am hearing saying flatten the curve are arguing for the same things he wants to happen -- don't go out. Don't be with other people, etc.

 

[JennyD]

With all of these lockdowns/curfews being announced, I am wondering -- do we actually know that people are catching this virus from passing each other on the street or at parks?  I mean, I understand that it is theoretically possible, but is it happening?  

Don't get me wrong, I am all in favor of shutting things down quickly to get control of this thing, but it also seems important to me that the restrictions be no more severe than realistically needed to prevent transmission.  

[73349]

Just now, JennyD said:

With all of these lockdowns/curfews being announced, I am wondering -- do we actually know that people are catching this virus from passing each other on the street or at parks?  I mean, I understand that it is theoretically possible, but is it happening?  

Don't get me wrong, I am all in favor of shutting things down quickly to get control of this thing, but it also seems important to me that the restrictions be no more severe than realistically needed to prevent transmission.  

There's no way to find out a lot because the tests are rationed here. I am sick myself and don't qualify, and I was all over my metro area in the days before symptoms started, but not around anyone I know to be ill (except DS). But the Chinese are doing intensive contact tracing & research (upthread) went so far as to pull security video from buses and establish that shared HVAC on the bus was the only way one person could have infected the other.

[gardenmom5]

An Italian mom's hindsight.

I've seen several of these, including one of "tips I wish I'd known then" by an Italian mom.

I haven't gotten everything transcribed yet - but she wishes she'd gotten all those Rx filled before the lines got long, or refills of printer cartridges because they have to have papers with them.

the first one mentions they can go to the grocery store every day - but they have to have papers on them.  - and those papers have to be printed.

[Terabith]

1 minute ago, gardenmom5 said:

An Italian mom's hindsight.

I've seen several of these, including one of "tips I wish I'd known then" by an Italian mom.

I haven't gotten everything transcribed yet - but she wishes she'd gotten all those Rx filled before the lines got long, or refills of printer cartridges because they have to have papers with them.

the first one mentions they can go to the grocery store every day - but they have to have papers on them.  - and those papers have to be printed.

I get 90 day prescriptions, but I've only got about a month left.  I'd like to get refills, but it's too early.  Sigh.

[JennyD]

Just now, whitehawk said:

T But the Chinese are doing intensive contact tracing & research (upthread) went so far as to pull security video from buses and establish that shared HVAC on the bus was the only way one person could have infected the other.

That is interesting, I did not know that.

I guess we just don't know that much about this virus right now, but looking ahead I hope we can figure out more about what strategies genuinely make a difference and when you reach the point of diminishing returns.  Because i have to think that in democratic societies, at least, there is a real tradeoff between how long various restrictions can be sustained and the severity of those restrictions.  

[Farrar]

Trump says no gatherings over 10, SF confining people to homes, Canada closing its borders... y'all, I did things over than read the news today and I'm now overwhelmed.

[gardenmom5]

5 minutes ago, Terabith said:

I get 90 day prescriptions, but I've only got about a month left.  I'd like to get refills, but it's too early.  Sigh.

some of the insurance companies are waiving the minimum day before you're out requirement so people can refill ahead of time.

[gardenmom5]

6 minutes ago, Farrar said:

Trump says no gatherings over 10, SF confining people to homes, Canada closing its borders... y'all, I did things over than read the news today and I'm now overwhelmed.

US citizens can still go to Canada, and you can still cross on land or boat.  It's international flights they shut down.

[Jean in Newcastle]

8 minutes ago, Terabith said:

I get 90 day prescriptions, but I've only got about a month left.  I'd like to get refills, but it's too early.  Sigh.

In my state there is a refill waiver on right now - ie. you can get extra filled.  You might check to see if any exceptions have been made in the current situation. 

[Terabith]

4 minutes ago, Jean in Newcastle said:

In my state there is a refill waiver on right now - ie. you can get extra filled.  You might check to see if any exceptions have been made in the current situation. 

Google doesn't come up with any for Virginia.  At any rate, I don't have refills on them, so I emailed the doctor a week ago to ask for refills.  They're ongoing prescriptions, so ordinarily I wouldn't think he'd mind.  But, he hasn't responded.  I have an appointment with him next Monday.  Hoping that isn't too late.  I need to call my oldest's psychiatrist tomorrow and ask if her stuff can be prescribed as 90 day prescriptions.  Not sure he'll go with it, but I'll try.  

[Pen]

47 minutes ago, mom2scouts said:

Ohio is trying to cancel in-person voting. The primary was supposed to take place tomorrow. The governor said they were receiving calls from people conflicted between their right and obligation to vote and the directive that people over 65 should not leave their house. Since the governor can't legally cancel voting, they're going to have someone file a lawsuit against the state, the state won't fight it, and they hope the judge will quickly rule to shut down in-person primary voting. They're planning to extend absentee voting until June 2.

I just can't believe how crazy this is all getting!

 

My state has had all mail in voting for some years, and I greatly prefer it.  I hope more places get that worked out in CV circumstances . It is easier for people with disabilities, health problems, to not have to take toime away from work that is hard to miss, or if weather or similar is a problem. I also like not feeling pressured by lines and like I can spread out the materials and think what I am doing.  

[mathnerd]

1 hour ago, Arcadia said:

Santa Clara County Health Twitter

“Press Conference at 1 PM: Bay Area County Officials and the City of Berkeley will issue a region-wide order to slow the spread of #COVID19. The briefing will be followed by a Q&A session. Live stream available on our Facebook page: http://facebook.com/sccpublichealth.”

@mathnerd@8FillTheHeart

ETA:

“The directive begins at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday and involves San Francisco, Santa Clara, San Mateo, Marin, Contra Costa and Alameda counties — a combined population of more than 6.7 million. It is to stay in place until at least April 7. Three other Bay Area counties — Sonoma, Solano and Napa — were not immediately included.” https://www.sfchronicle.com/local-politics/article/Bay-Area-must-shelter-in-place-Only-15135014.php

Thank you for alerting me to this. The brief summary is that they called my county "the epicenter" and said that the effects of the spread of this virus are the same in all the surrounding counties as well and County Health Officers from 7 counties together issued a "shelter in place" for the entire silicon valley and surrounding regions as far as berkeley. This means that grocery stores and pharmacies and other essential services will be open but we cannot go anywhere for any reason other than buying food and health emergencies. It makes me feel so much better that they are doing this to flatten the curve.

[mom2scouts]

4 minutes ago, Pen said:

 

My state has had all mail in voting for some years, and I greatly prefer it.  I hope more places get that worked out in CV circumstances . It is easier for people with disabilities, health problems, to not have to take toime away from work that is hard to miss, or if weather or similar is a problem. I also like not feeling pressured by lines and like I can spread out the materials and think what I am doing.  

I've never encountered a line while voting. We usually walk in, show ID, and get our ballot, although once I had to wait behind 2 people.😄Even better, my polling place is our city library and I have an excuse to go to the library!

[73349]

NC has put a hold on eviction and foreclosure cases to avoid crowded courthouses.

[Arcadia]

6 minutes ago, mathnerd said:

This means that grocery stores and pharmacies and other essential services will be open but we cannot go anywhere for any reason other than buying food and health emergencies. It makes me feel so much better that they are doing this to flatten the curve.

AoPS Academy Santa Clara is closed. AoPS Academy Fremont has not announced closure yet.

Costco Coleman is filled with people doing top ups grocery purchases.

[BeachGal]

2 hours ago, Bambam said:

Someone, many pages back, shared info about what to test for if you suspect a cytokine storm when someone is in the hospital. Anyone remember what it was - or what page it is on? I've tried searching, but I'm not having any luck today. 

 

 

Serum ferritin. It’s usually quite high once a cytokine storm sets in. MDs will probably suspect cytokine storm if a Covid patient is very sick, however, some are still unsure what symptoms tend to be there. You could print out the following article and bring it to the hospital, just in case. Cron wrote a medical textbook about cytokine storm.

https://www.uab.edu/reporter/know-more/publications/item/8909-here-s-a-playbook-for-stopping-deadly-cytokine-storm-syndrome

Quote

A cheap, simple test, widely available at most hospitals in the United States and worldwide, can help diagnose cytokine storm syndrome, Cron said. “A protein called serum ferritin tends to get very high in this disorder,” he said. “If you are sick enough to be in a hospital and you have a fever, you should get a serum ferritin. It typically comes back in less than 24 hours and almost every hospital can do it, and if it’s high you can work them up for cytokine storm syndrome.”

 

[Roadrunner]

If people weren’t hoarding, we wouldn’t have shortages. 
 

 

[Arcadia]

11 minutes ago, square_25 said:

Fremont isn’t in the lockdown area?

Fremont is in the “shelter in place” zone

“Alameda County is home to over 1.5 million people living in 14 incorporated cities as well as in six unincorporated communities and rural areas throughout the 813 square miles of the County.

The incorporated cities are Alameda, Albany, Berkeley, Dublin, Emeryville, Fremont, Hayward, Livermore, Newark, Oakland, Piedmont, Pleasanton, San Leandro, and Union City.”

[mathnerd]

21 minutes ago, Arcadia said:

AoPS Academy Santa Clara is closed. AoPS Academy Fremont has not announced closure yet.

Costco Coleman is filled with people doing top ups grocery purchases.

Wow! That is a real time update!  I was wondering if I should head there!

[Ausmumof3]

1 hour ago, JennyD said:

With all of these lockdowns/curfews being announced, I am wondering -- do we actually know that people are catching this virus from passing each other on the street or at parks?  I mean, I understand that it is theoretically possible, but is it happening?  

Don't get me wrong, I am all in favor of shutting things down quickly to get control of this thing, but it also seems important to me that the restrictions be no more severe than realistically needed to prevent transmission.  

The official advice here is no it requires close contact for 15 minutes or more.  But I guess it’s surface contamination they are hoping to prevent with lockdowns.

[Ausmumof3]

5 minutes ago, square_25 said:

 

Well, we aren't a pure democracy -- we don't make all of these decisions by voting, like in the Greek version ;-). In a representative democracy, we are supposed to trust our representatives to make wise decisions for us and we hope that they have the experience to lead the country. 

I think restrictions are inevitable, but in a pure democracy, they would come too late -- the people as a whole are slow to respond to changing conditions. People will clamor for lockdown and severe measures AFTER the hospitals are overrun, because that's a genuinely scary situation. What we should instead hope for is that our government makes the hard decisions early enough to make a difference. 

I think the opposite might happen here.  There was massive calls for Closing flights before it happened.  And there is now a lot of calls for closing schools.  I think people are moving fast than government on this.

[mathnerd]

@Arcadia do you know if Costco is limiting how many shoppers could be inside at one time? The westgate TJ’s has people line up outside for 30 minutes and lets in around 40 people in at a time to enforce social distancing as per county orders.

[Ausmumof3]

4 hours ago, whitehawk said:

NC has put a hold on eviction and foreclosure cases to avoid crowded courthouses.

Also probably helps reduce homelessness which is important right now.

 

keep looking at this and it’s bugging me that I said that.  Reducing homelessness is always important.  It’s just that people actually care right now.

Edited March 17, 2020 by Ausmumof3

[Arcadia]

4 minutes ago, mathnerd said:

Wow! That is a real time update!  I was wondering if I should head there!

Nope. Unless you fancy parking at USCIS 😂

Its very orderly inside and not that many people but the parking lots are filled and it’s hard to drive into and out of the compound. We parked nearer to the McDonald’s side of the compound.

The ration was:

1 pack kitchen towel

1 pack bottled water 

1 pack eggs

1 pack of something else that I can’t remember.

They didn’t restrict the number of people getting in.

 

[Arcadia]

30 minutes ago, square_25 said:

Yeah, sorry, that's what i meant. Wrong word. So I assume they can't possibly run classes?? 

I assume so too, just that their webpage has not updated https://fremont.aopsacademy.org

[Pen]

43 minutes ago, Plum said:

It sounds like my county is bringing in FEMA for drive-thru testing. 

 

What state? 

[JennyD]

2 minutes ago, square_25 said:

 

Well, we aren't a pure democracy -- we don't make all of these decisions by voting, like in the Greek version ;-). In a representative democracy, we are supposed to trust our representatives to make wise decisions for us and we hope that they have the experience to lead the country. 

I think restrictions are inevitable, but in a pure democracy, they would come too late -- the people as a whole are slow to respond to changing conditions. People will clamor for lockdown and severe measures AFTER the hospitals are overrun, because that's a genuinely scary situation. What we should instead hope for is that our government makes the hard decisions early enough to make a difference. 

 

Perhaps I was too careless in my language.  My main point is that unless you are in a police state, the government needs a fair amount of buy-in from the citizenry when handling even a serious emergency.  Here in Israel, where there are so far about 300 cases and no deaths, a caretaker government with limited credibility, and a cultural disinclination to listen to authority, there is nevertheless widespread cooperation with very stringent restrictions. (The guy today who tried to break out of hospital quarantine excepted.)  Some of this is undoubtedly religious/cultural, in that the dominant religion here -- Judaism -- is crystal clear that you are not allowed to put other people in danger and that protecting human life trumps everything else. 

But it is also that people are basically believing the experts that the restrictions are meaningful and will help to stop the spread.  Which I think is great!  This whole experience is giving me a new appreciation for powerful, unelected, democratically unaccountable government bureaucrats.  However I also think that -- especially long-term, but even short-term -- it is very important that the restrictions be clearly connected to what we know about how this virus is -- and is not -- transmitted.  Right now people are giving the government every benefit of the doubt, not least of all because everyone is operating on such limited information and we are learning more about the virus all the time.  That goodwill won't last long, though, and I think the government needs to be careful not to squander it if we are going to get this thing under control.  

 

[Pen]

7 minutes ago, Plum said:

NV

 

Oh yeah, sorry, all the info on Las Vegas!  I lose track who’s who!

[Pen]

3 minutes ago, JennyD said:

 

Perhaps I was too careless in my language.  My main point is that unless you are in a police state, the government needs a fair amount of buy-in from the citizenry when handling even a serious emergency.  Here in Israel, where there are so far about 300 cases and no deaths, a caretaker government with limited credibility, and a cultural disinclination to listen to authority, there is nevertheless widespread cooperation with very stringent restrictions. (The guy today who tried to break out of hospital quarantine excepted.)  Some of this is undoubtedly religious/cultural, in that the dominant religion here -- Judaism -- is crystal clear that you are not allowed to put other people in danger and that protecting human life trumps everything else. 

But it is also that people are basically believing the experts that the restrictions are meaningful and will help to stop the spread.  Which I think is great!  This whole experience is giving me a new appreciation for powerful, unelected, democratically unaccountable government bureaucrats.  However I also think that -- especially long-term, but even short-term -- it is very important that the restrictions be clearly connected to what we know about how this virus is -- and is not -- transmitted.  Right now people are giving the government every benefit of the doubt, not least of all because everyone is operating on such limited information and we are learning more about the virus all the time.  That goodwill won't last long, though, and I think the government needs to be careful not to squander it if we are going to get this thing under control.  

 

 

I think that buy-in is what had to happen here.  Not everyone nor even necessarily a majority, but enough people.  

[Ausmumof3]

1st case in Greenland.  World passed 180,000 cases.

[prairiewindmomma]

https://www.oregonlive.com/coronavirus/2020/03/oregon-orders-all-restaurants-bars-shut-down-to-all-but-takeout-and-delivery-to-prevent-spread-of-coronavirus.html

Oregon shuts down restaurants & bars to take out and delivery only for four weeks.  Gatherings limited to 25. She reversed herself from what she said at 10:00 am.  The whiplash on nearly every one of her announcements----saying she won't do something, only to do it a few hours later---is leading to a lot of people feeling uncertain. 

[prairiewindmomma]

Finally making it through the rest of the broadcast: Oregon has invoked anti-gouging laws. Oregon is creating a joint task force that will unify all Portland area hospitals into a system where they will share bed count, unify testing procedures, etc.   The state emergency response structure has been activated to integrate Oregon Health Authority with Office of Emergency Management. 

[AmandaVT]

VT restaurants and bars are closing tomorrow: 

https://vtdigger.org/2020/03/16/bars-and-restaurants-in-vermont-will-be-ordered-closed-at-2-p-m-tuesday-scott-admin/