wuhan - coronavirus

[Arcadia]

@happypamama@Sharon77@school17777@mom@shiloh@Carrie12345

 

“HANOVER TWP., Pennsylvania -- A grocery store in Hanover Township, Pennsylvania said in a Facebook post Wednesday that a woman purposely coughed on thousands of dollars' worth of food.

The store said she coughed on fresh produce as well as a small portion of its bakery, meat case and grocery section.

Gerrity's Supermarkets said the "twisted prank" will result in over $35,000 worth of food being thrown out.

"While it is always a shame when food is wasted, in these times when so many people are worried about the security of our food supply, it is even more disturbing," the store's co-owner Joe Fasula said in the post.

The store contacted police and the case has now been escalated to the District Attorney's Office as the state cracks down on the spreading of coronavirus.

Officials plan to determine if the woman has been tested positive for the virus.

The U.S. Department of Justice announced Tuesday that individuals who intentionally spread the virus could be charged with terrorism for the "purposeful exposure and infection of others."”

[mommyoffive]

Just now, Arcadia said:

@happypamama@Sharon77@school17777@mom@shiloh@Carrie12345

 

“HANOVER TWP., Pennsylvania -- A grocery store in Hanover Township, Pennsylvania said in a Facebook post Wednesday that a woman purposely coughed on thousands of dollars' worth of food.

The store said she coughed on fresh produce as well as a small portion of its bakery, meat case and grocery section.

Gerrity's Supermarkets said the "twisted prank" will result in over $35,000 worth of food being thrown out.

"While it is always a shame when food is wasted, in these times when so many people are worried about the security of our food supply, it is even more disturbing," the store's co-owner Joe Fasula said in the post.

The store contacted police and the case has now been escalated to the District Attorney's Office as the state cracks down on the spreading of coronavirus.

Officials plan to determine if the woman has been tested positive for the virus.

The U.S. Department of Justice announced Tuesday that individuals who intentionally spread the virus could be charged with terrorism for the "purposeful exposure and infection of others."”

 

Sick.  Whether she has the virus or not, sick.  If she does hast the virus she should be charged for sure.   But even not she should have to pay for that food.   Horrible. 

[Arcadia]

@soror

“A man suspected of plotting to blow up a Missouri hospital and was killed in a shootout with FBI agents was apparently frustrated with local government action to stop the spread of coronavirus, the FBI said Wednesday.
http://nbcbay.com/caaLN5i ”

[DoraBora]

1 hour ago, square_25 said:

That’s what the projections he’s working with are saying. I certainly hope they are pessimistic. In a few weeks, we’ll see if he was wrong. We already have about 1,000 ICU beds taken up, so I’m guessing not. But I sure hope he’s wrong.

I hope he's wrong, too, and that the mitigation strategies work.  They seem to be helping.

 

[Soror]

And now the US has past Italy in number of cases.--- And now Italy is ahead again.

Edited March 26, 2020 by soror

[Soror]

47 minutes ago, Arcadia said:

@soror

“A man suspected of plotting to blow up a Missouri hospital and was killed in a shootout with FBI agents was apparently frustrated with local government action to stop the spread of coronavirus, the FBI said Wednesday.
http://nbcbay.com/caaLN5i ”

What is wrong with people 😞

[mom@shiloh]

1 hour ago, Arcadia said:

@soror

“A man suspected of plotting to blow up a Missouri hospital and was killed in a shootout with FBI agents was apparently frustrated with local government action to stop the spread of coronavirus, the FBI said Wednesday.
http://nbcbay.com/caaLN5i ”

Because blowing up a hospital is a great way to help right now. 

[Paige]

My brother works with a company that makes toilet paper, diapers, wipes, etc., and they are still producing and shipping. He says they have never been busier and are working as much as possible. If people would chill on the hoarding, we'd have plenty of TP.

At our stores, people report seeing TP restocked every day at most stores but it's gone so quickly.

We are in an area with community spread that so far hasn't exploded but is near other areas that are more badly hit. We have plenty of food in stores but people may need to learn to shop, cook, and eat differently for a little while. 

[mathnerd]

Amazon warehouse employees in a few locations have tested positive for Covid 19.

[gardenmom5]

2 minutes ago, Paige said:

My brother works with a company that makes toilet paper, diapers, wipes, etc., and they are still producing and shipping. He says they have never been busier and are working as much as possible. If people would chill on the hoarding, we'd have plenty of TP.

At our stores, people report seeing TP restocked every day at most stores but it's gone so quickly.

We are in an area with community spread that so far hasn't exploded but is near other areas that are more badly hit. We have plenty of food in stores but people may need to learn to shop, cook, and eat differently for a little while. 

dd asked when she was at Costco (she didn't need any, just curious).  At Costco - that day, it was gone in 30 minutes.   I went with dh earlier this week (didn't need any, didn't really look) - but there was one woman with three Costco cases in her cart.  (each case has 40 rolls.)

[mommyoffive]

Just now, gardenmom5 said:

dd asked when she was at Costco (she didn't need any, just curious).  At Costco - that day, it was gone in 30 minutes.   I went with dh earlier this week (didn't need any, didn't really look) - but there was one woman with three Costco cases in her cart.  (each case has 40 rolls.)

 

I can't believe they are not limiting supplies there.

[SeaConquest]

10 hours ago, StellaM said:

 

Jeez, 18 bottles of flipping wine?! Yeah, that ought to be enough.

 

Hey, speak for yourself, Stella. 😉

[saraha]

Ohio's nonessential business shut down is a joke. The only thing it changed in our community is that the only clothing store in our county closed. My dh and those of all my neighbor's are still working, as the businesses are allowed to self determine their essentialness. Yesterday in his address the governor responded to questions about employees who feel like their place of business should not be open with the statement to take it up with your employer. I have been with him up to this point and think that on all of his other actions he has been a front runner in this, till we got to here.

[Kassia]

We have no TP in our town.  I'm so glad we have a decent supply.

 

[SeaConquest]

14 minutes ago, mathnerd said:

Amazon warehouse employees in a few locations have tested positive for Covid 19.

 

Costco too. Multiple warehouses. 😞

[vonfirmath]

20 hours ago, amyx4 said:

I don't want to encourage a run on the grocery store but I would like to share something.  I live in a state that has restrictions in place and I have more than 2.5 kids 😉

Locally, I keep being told the grocery stores are good and trucks are getting through so don't panic. However, there are a few items that no matter which store or what time of day, I have been unable to get some items. There are some items that have not been restocked since this started. (I don't have brand loyalty)

No bags of rice. No frozen veggies, not even onions. No frozen fruit. No flour, sugar, yeast. Only tiny packages of expensive name-brand organic poultry. Only store brand white bread. There are store limits on eggs and milk.

I didn't check on meat cause we get a cow. I didn't check on t.p. cause we've always ordered by case.

 

I have had trips where I couldn't find rice or frozen veggies. (I got frozen fajita mix because it was the only frozen veggie available. Luckily my husband was able to make something delicious with it) But my last trip I got brown rice and lentils. (And a single giant bag of frozen corn)

 

I haven't found chicken. But both times we went we found something pork. This latest time was a giant picnic roast. we cut it up into individual meal size portions and are freezing it that way.

 

No yeast but a friend gave me sourdough starter so I'm working on making my own bread.

 

We don't use eggs much but there was eggs available when I went and my husband got milk for us last night. We don't need tp (Got lucky and got enough before all this started that we haven't needed it) and I've gone to using more rags/towels to avoid using paper towels as often.

 

I like HEB better. But I find I have been more successful at Wal-mart so that is where i have gone the last two times.

 

[Arcadia]

19 minutes ago, mathnerd said:

Amazon warehouse employees in a few locations have tested positive for Covid 19.

It was expected, hence people stockpile. People kind of expect USPS, DHL, FedEx, UPS to have employees infected.

VTA light rail system was stopped today because a trainee driver is infected.

https://www.vta.org/blog/vta-operator-trainee-tests-positive-covid-19-light-rail-service-suspended

“Late Wednesday evening, on March 25, VTA leadership was notified that a light rail operator trainee tested positive for COVID-19. While we learn the extent of impact and exposure, we must take swift action to protect the health and safety of our employees and the public.

For these reasons, and out of an overabundance of caution, the following actions were taken immediately:

• Light rail service was shut down as of 11:30 p.m. on March 25. Six trains were in operation at the time and sweeps were made to make sure customers were not left stranded on the platforms.
• Effective March 26, light rail service has been suspended until further notice and operators are being told to shelter in place until they receive further instructions to quarantine and/or be tested.
• All light rail vehicles will remain in the operating division and undergo thorough cleaning, as well as the entire operating division itself.

A number of light rail vehicles were sanitized thoroughly and set aside for this potential scenario. However, in light of this situation and the fact that light rail ridership has decreased by 82% since the County’s shelter-in-place order, we will now focus our operational resources on bus service which is more nimble and can adapt to the various needs of our community.”

[TCB]

5 hours ago, freesia said:

That's true.  He just heard that the test was negative. Yay! So now I need to drive and get him.

I have heard of false negatives being a thing so it might be good to take precautions for the length of time they say. Some times that is to do with testing technique I think.

[Pippen]

2 hours ago, J-rap said:

We actually received word two days ago that the facility my mother is in -- a very lovely, highly-reputable facility -- has three residents now with coronavirus.  This was shocking news.  Apparently the three residents were all in the same wing.  They are being cared for in their own rooms there (each one in their own room), with a care team that only works with them, and no other residents.  All public spaces have been closed.  All residents are being kept in their rooms ~ meals are served to them in their rooms, etc.  We don't know the actual condition of the residents who have CV.   I don't know if they'd be transferred to a hospital at some point??  But for now, they're still in their rooms.

It sounds like the staff is doing everything they can do to follow health guidelines and keep everyone safe -- lots and lots of sterilizing everything, constantly.  Of course we know that in a matter of days, this could all snowball into a disaster.  Because if it had already spread to three people before they caught it, then who knows..   (And yes, we're very worried about my mother.)

 

I'm curious to know if the facility went into any kind of lock down early?  I have a friend whose parents are in a facility that locked down except for necessary employees about 3 weeks ago. If residents leave, they must self-isolate off site for 14 days. No visitors, including family. 

Best wishes for a speedy recovery to the residents in your mom's facility.

 

[Sk8ermaiden]

25 minutes ago, saraha said:

Ohio's nonessential business shut down is a joke. The only thing it changed in our community is that the only clothing store in our county closed. My dh and those of all my neighbor's are still working, as the businesses are allowed to self determine their essentialness. Yesterday in his address the governor responded to questions about employees who feel like their place of business should not be open with the statement to take it up with your employer. I have been with him up to this point and think that on all of his other actions he has been a front runner in this, till we got to here.

This is how it is in Houston too. Yesterday Dillards at the Galleria was open! Furniture stores are open, the homeschool store is open, Academy, etc. Any business that's willing to risk it has found a loophole to declare themselves essential. Luckily most people seem to be staying home, but we'll see. I wonder if more restrictive lockdowns will be coming. 

All the districts in the metro are doing curbside meals for K-12 students. HISD just stopped - citing the need to keep workers safe. HISD serves some of the highest-need kids in the area, so that really sucks. 

[prairiewindmomma]

Can I share a small bit of good news and do a victory lap?

Our area was one of the first with community spread, just behind Seattle.  We had a super spreader in one of the jr highs, and another in an elementary school.  The health department wouldn't test people without travel because they were short on tests and because of some political infighting about what the role of the public health department is versus private providers. (It is so epically stupid.) In the meantime, Facebook is blowing up because moms are reporting sick kids.  The school district is trying to keep a lid on things, but parents start pulling their kids from these schools in mass protest. I had already disenrolled my elementary aged kids, but I was fighting to keep my jr high student enrolled because he has an IEP and because he needs a long document trail for some services he can start receiving in two years. 

I applied for an in-district transfer for him to the district's online academy. I was told no.  I appealed to his IEP coordinator and our jr high principal who each asked on my behalf. I was told no again.  The online academy principal called me. I was told no again, with some longer explanation involving her boss saying no.  All of this came to a standstill when the governor shut the schools for a two week period. In the meantime, I emailed the school board. I sent a public comment to the online school board meeting which the superintendent (the online academy principal's boss) had to respond to.  I generally became a buzzing fly annoying everyone and raising good questions in the hopes that I would be a problem easily dealt with by granting my request.  (I hate being that person, but advocates gotta advocate, iykwim.)  The governor extended the school shutdown, and all fell silent.

I thought it odd that I hadn't heard from his brick and mortar school....no tech survey, no notes, nothing.

This morning we received notification of his acceptance into the online academy.  😁

-------

There are a lot of things that have not gone well this week. A drug I take and need has gone into shortage. I am not getting medical care I really need.  Like, lots of yucky.  This is one thing that has gone right! It's so nice to have something to celebrate!

 

[Pen]

2 hours ago, Arcadia said:

@happypamama@Sharon77@school17777@mom@shiloh@Carrie12345

 

“HANOVER TWP., Pennsylvania -- A grocery store in Hanover Township, Pennsylvania said in a Facebook post Wednesday that a woman purposely coughed on thousands of dollars' worth of food.

The store said she coughed on fresh produce as well as a small portion of its bakery, meat case and grocery section.

Gerrity's Supermarkets said the "twisted prank" will result in over $35,000 worth of food being thrown out.

"While it is always a shame when food is wasted, in these times when so many people are worried about the security of our food supply, it is even more disturbing," the store's co-owner Joe Fasula said in the post.

The store contacted police and the case has now been escalated to the District Attorney's Office as the state cracks down on the spreading of coronavirus.

Officials plan to determine if the woman has been tested positive for the virus.

The U.S. Department of Justice announced Tuesday that individuals who intentionally spread the virus could be charged with terrorism for the "purposeful exposure and infection of others."”

 

I personally think they should be charged with something very substantial even if they don’t have the virus.  It is still a form of terrorism, sabotage... 

I already did some government contact us forms to that effect.  I guess it is time for some more.

 

[Pen]

510, 686 confirmed cases according to Worldometer. 

[Pen]

When I look at graphs it again looks to me like cases and deaths are doubling  every ~3 days in many places in world 

Edited March 26, 2020 by Pen

[prairiewindmomma]

A great article on testing and its challenges: https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/how-coronavirus-tests-actually-work/?utm_source=pocket-newtab&fbclid=IwAR2JYQAmji3sD68OgDkAqEhD_WZApjD5Hs2NQeU-FeO404P60SSgl52zOZk

[Arcadia]

@Pen@mathnerd@square_25 effects on global economy 

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/business/china-factories-reopen-fire-workers-covid-19-coronavirus-shreds-12578824

“China's factories reopen, only to fire workers as virus shreds global trade

In the past week, requests to cancel orders or delay shipments from his European and US clients have flooded in.

Early in the outbreak, China imposed tough travel restrictions and factory suspensions to curb the spread of the virus, squeezing labour supplies and sending exporters scrambling to fulfil orders.

Now, the reverse is happening - overseas orders are being scrapped as the pandemic ravages the economies of China's trading partners.

"The unprecedented shutdown of normal economic activity across Europe, the US and a growing number of emerging markets is certain to cause a dramatic contraction in Chinese exports, probably in the range of a 20-45 per cent year-on-year drop in the second quarter," said Thomas Gatley, senior analyst at research firm Gavekal Dragonomics.

Shi said his fabric supplier in hard-hit Italy suspended operations on Sunday, meaning no fresh raw materials from May. His stockpile of fabric will last until the end of April.

Shi said he would slow production and might suspend all output soon if business does not improve.

He also told the 50-odd workers who have yet to return from Hubei province, the epicentre of the outbreak in China, to find jobs elsewhere.

"We know this year is bad and next year would be better, but the question is how many factories can make it to next year?" Shi said.

...

"The last overseas orders we received were for April," said Zhu Hongping, chairman of Hangzhou Hongli Food, a supplier of precooked food to restaurants in Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.

Normally, at this time of the year, orders can stretch to June and July, Zhu said, adding he may have to suspend production in three months.

Even when they do have orders, exporters are worried about constantly changing restrictions countries have adopted to curb the spread of the virus.

"Even if we finish the products, we don't know if the countries we are shipping to will be locked down," said Yi-Cheng Sung, who helps manage a factory that produces makeup brushes and accessories in Shenzhen.

On Tuesday, state-owned Securities Times reported Good Will Watch Case Manufacturing, a supplier to the US watch brand Fossil, would put its more than 600 workers on leave for at least three months.

...

A 23-year-old salesman at a mirror factory in Yiwu in Zhejiang province said US clients cancelled over US$500,000 of orders on Saturday alone.

Some of the factory's more than 1,000 workers have since been suspended while others are given more days off per week, the salesman said, declining to be named.

"I think the company will start to lay off people soon," he said.”

[SeaConquest]

I am crushed. My DH just called and one of our best clients is on a vent with CV19. He may not make it. He is young and fit with no comorbidities. He and his husband are lovely people. We've been fixing their boat for 10 years. I am petrified of this effing virus, and just so so sad.

[lewelma]

As for Global Trade, there are 2 things in the NZ news

1) the NZ government have just restricted all prescriptions to 1 month only.  They have said that we are a food exporter so there is plenty of food, but we are a drug importer so they have decided to control distribution.  NOT ration (yet) but they are concerned that they will not be able to bring drugs in and they don't want people hoarding prescriptions in their homes.

2) The docks are getting full with containers that cannot be unloaded to closed businesses.  By Friday, there will be no place to bring in goods.  In addition, they have to actually empty the containers of goods that no one is currently buying (non-essential businesses are required to close), because they need the containers to ship goods out.  

[Tenaj]

21 hours ago, Ausmumof3 said:

There should be quota exceptions for big families or remote people I think.  Like show your medicare card for big families or drivers license for rural 

Well, I went out this morning and had a list for us, my in-laws and my ds who lives in his own apartment.  Limit of two on milk so I did my in-laws shopping list.  Checked out, went to my car.  Came back in and did the other two lists.  So I ended up with three gallons because my mil contributed one 🙂.  No one said a word and if they did I would have shown them my list which was clearly showing three households.  If you are in a pickle with the limits I would just make multiple trips in and out on the same trip.  No guilt because otherwise you're making multiple trips per week.

[Arcadia]

😞 https://abc7.com/health/grand-princess-cruise-ship-passengers-headed-home-after-2-week-quarantine/5996768/

“March 26, 2020
11 a.m. 
Two Grand Princess passengers die at Travis Air Force Base
Two passengers who were quarantined at Travis Air Force Base after a stay on the Grand Princess cruise ship died of complications due to the coronavirus, the Department of Health and Human Services confirmed Thursday. The men died on March 21 and March 23. After disembarking the ship, the patients were transferred to local medical facilities, and later, Travis Air Force Base. Health officials have not disclosed their ages.”

[DoraBora]

42 minutes ago, Dotwithaperiod said:

 I think this is the second or third time I’ve seen you( not sure, maybe someone else) write that NYC won’t need that even at the peak, that Coumo’s overreacting, etc.

I can not find any data to prove or disprove that. Where are you getting this, just from the comments at the briefing? Did they give any data to support that? Because I feel like Cuomo is a highly intelligent guy who’s listening to a myriad of intelligent health professionals and would perhaps be in a better place to understand what’s going on in NYC.

I don't know whether someone else has also said this, but I think I said it twice in the context of one "conversation" with square.  Fwiw, I thought earlier that I should have added a comment to say he probably won't need them at the peak rather than he won't need them, because no one can be absolutely sure.  This thread moves fast and I have a lot to do, so I let it go.

I'm sure Gov Cuomo is getting solid advice about what he might need as he tries to prepare for the impact of this growing crisis for New York.  It occurred to me that he may be using the 30k number as a point of negotiation:  hoping to get that many, but knowing that isn't possible right now.  Maybe not.  If I'm very honest, I would say he might also want to inflate that number for political reasons -- long-time politicians of all stripes are always on the campaign trail.

"Just the comments at the briefing" are not insignificant, as they are based on the data collected about cases elsewhere in the world.  I suspect that people on this board will dismiss such numbers, as they were obtained from untrustworthy China, or testing-more-than-we-are South Korea, or some other nation that is handling this differently from our own.

I think Dr. Birx's point is that 30k vents at one time won't be required (and that such statements frighten people unnecessarily) because the data doesn't bear out that number of patients requiring them in the next few weeks.  She added that the mathematical models that show such a need are worst case/no mitigation models, and that they show the progress of the virus over successive waves (fall 2020, etc.). In NY, the mitigation strategies appear to be making a difference, though it takes time to know for sure, but the task force is focused on dealing with this current wave.  Of course, anything is possible.  I could be wrong, but I'm listening to Drs. Birx and Fauci. 

I humbly apologize for upsetting you.

(I also try to watch Gov Cuomo's daily briefings because I have a personal connection to NYC.  My very, very dear BIL lives on lower east side of Manhattan.  He is a former smoker.  I am concerned about him, but he is taking the directives to stay at home seriously, so I remain very hopeful.)

[TCB]

7 minutes ago, DoraBora said:

I don't know whether someone else has also said this, but I think I said it twice in the context of one "conversation" with square.  Fwiw, I thought earlier that I should have added a comment to say he probably won't need them at the peak rather than he won't need them, because no one can be absolutely sure.  This thread moves fast and I have a lot to do, so I let it go.

I'm sure Gov Cuomo is getting solid advice about what he might need as he tries to prepare for the impact of this growing crisis for New York.  It occurred to me that he may be using the 30k number as a point of negotiation:  hoping to get that many, but knowing that isn't possible right now.  Maybe not.  If I'm very honest, I would say he might also want to inflate that number for political reasons -- long-time politicians of all stripes are always on the campaign trail.

"Just the comments at the briefing" are not insignificant, as they are based on the data collected about cases elsewhere in the world.  I suspect that people on this board will dismiss such numbers, as they were obtained from untrustworthy China, or testing-more-than-we-are South Korea, or some other nation that is handling this differently from our own.

I think Dr. Birx's point is that 30k vents at one time won't be required (and that such statements frighten people unnecessarily) because the data doesn't bear out that number of patients requiring them in the next few weeks.  She added that the mathematical models that show such a need are worst case/no mitigation models, and that they show the progress of the virus over successive waves (fall 2020, etc.). In NY, the mitigation strategies appear to be making a difference, though it takes time to know for sure, but the task force is focused on dealing with this current wave.  Of course, anything is possible.  I could be wrong, but I'm listening to Drs. Birx and Fauci. 

I humbly apologize for upsetting you.

(I also try to watch Gov Cuomo's daily briefings because I have a personal connection to NYC.  My very, very dear BIL lives on lower east side of Manhattan.  He is a former smoker.  I am concerned about him, but he is taking the directives to stay at home seriously, so I remain very hopeful.)

I don't know if he will need 30K vents but I can understand him wanting to try and get them if he has been told there is a possibility they might be needed. I can also understand saying he needs them now because he knows that it is not the kind of thing that you can obtain quickly and if he were to say he will need them in so many weeks the urgency to start procuring them may be less.

I just read an account, on a healthcare workers FB group, from a ER dr in New Orleans and they are filling up bed after bed and have many intubated patients that they are expecting to have to ventilate for at least 10-11 days. I don't have TV etc so don't follow the usual news channels etc but I haven't seen too much about New Orleans in the headlines - maybe I missed it - but if they are so busy I can certainly imagine NY being extremely crazy. I should add that I can not prove that it was written by an ER dr in New Orleans but it certainly sounded genuine and in keeping with other accounts I have read about Seattle and New York and also Italy.

I think the problem is that no one can say for sure what's going to happen but as a healthcare worker I'm all for over preparing rather than premature reassurances that may not be true.

I hope your BIL is safe and stays well!

[Arcadia]

@TCB@Pen@mathnerd@BeachGal

UK, University of London (2:42mins)

 

Edited March 26, 2020 by Arcadia

[TCB]

1 minute ago, Arcadia said:

@TCB@Pen@mathnerd@BeachGal

UK, University of London (2:42mins)

 

Thanks for linking that! I saw something about it and it is great that they have come up with something so quickly and that is reliable and relatively easy to build. I'm just wondering how it will work for ARDS patients. They need to have their peak airway pressures carefully limited to prevent damage and also have their Inspiration/Expiration ratios manipulated, and I wonder if that will be possible with this mechanism. It is so encouraging to see the amazing things that we humans can do in a crisis!

[Jean in Newcastle]

Re. New Orleans specifically, and Louisiana in general. I was just reading about the explosion of cases starting there.  This is after they went ahead and had Mardi Gras.  They have never had a good history of dealing with crises there and I think that this will be even worse because they are competing with other states for supplies etc. 

[Acadie]

4 minutes ago, Jean in Newcastle said:

Re. New Orleans specifically, and Louisiana in general. I was just reading about the explosion of cases starting there.  This is after they went ahead and had Mardi Gras.  They have never had a good history of dealing with crises there and I think that this will be even worse because they are competing with other states for supplies etc. 

 

Early on, the number of cases in Ohio and Louisiana was similar. In mid-March, the governors of both Ohio and Louisiana closed schools. Ohio's primary election was postponed, and the huge St. Patrick's Day parades in Cleveland and other parts of Ohio were cancelled.   

But two weeks before that, around February 25, Mardi Gras celebrations proceeded as usual in Louisiana. Given what we know about the progression of the disease (anywhere from 2 days to 2 weeks from exposure to symptoms, and two weeks after symptoms begin to when many patients take a real turn for the worse) it stands to reason that the explosion of cases Louisiana is seeing now is related to Mardi Gras festivities a month ago. That suggests the closure of schools and other social distancing measures in LA came a couple weeks too late.

I live in Ohio, but I'm of Acadian descent and love Mardi Gras. It hurts my heart that the celebrations that are so great for community spirit and culture have such dangerous consequences right now, in terms of public health. 

[Kassia]

7 minutes ago, Acadie said:

 

Early on, the number of cases in Ohio and Louisiana was similar. In mid-March, the governors of both Ohio and Louisiana closed schools. Ohio's primary election was postponed, and the huge St. Patrick's Day parades in Cleveland and other parts of Ohio were cancelled.   

But two weeks before that, around February 25, Mardi Gras celebrations proceeded as usual in Louisiana. Given what we know about the progression of the disease (anywhere from 2 days to 2 weeks from exposure to symptoms, and two weeks after symptoms begin to when many patients take a real turn for the worse) it stands to reason that the explosion of cases Louisiana is seeing now is related to Mardi Gras festivities a month ago. That suggests the closure of schools and other social distancing measures in LA came a couple weeks too late.

I live in Ohio, but I'm of Acadian descent and love Mardi Gras. It hurts my heart that the celebrations that are so great for community spirit and culture have such dangerous consequences right now, in terms of public health. 

 

I live in Ohio and have a close friend who lives in NOLA.  Not canceling Mardi Gras was a huge huge mistake.  

[Jean in Newcastle]

1 minute ago, Acadie said:

 

Early on, the number of cases in Ohio and Louisiana was similar. In mid-March, the governors of both Ohio and Louisiana closed schools. Ohio's primary election was postponed, and the huge St. Patrick's Day parades in Cleveland and other parts of Ohio were cancelled.   

But two weeks before that, around February 25, Mardi Gras celebrations proceeded as usual in Louisiana. Given what we know about the progression of the disease (anywhere from 2 days to 2 weeks from exposure to symptoms, and two weeks after symptoms begin to when many patients take a real turn for the worse) it stands to reason that the explosion of cases Louisiana is seeing now is related to Mardi Gras festivities a month ago. That suggests the closure of schools and other social distancing measures in LA came a couple weeks too late.

I live in Ohio, but I'm of Acadian descent and love Mardi Gras. It hurts my heart that the celebrations that are so great for community spirit and culture have such dangerous consequences right now, in terms of public health. 

But I think that is true epidemiologically speaking no matter what the celebration is:  whether it was the Chinese Lunar New Year or St. Patrick's Day or Mardi Gras.  (I know that you aren't arguing with me.)  It's just that people HAVE to start thinking of this in terms of a pandemic - not just as a word bandied about in order to unlock disaster funds - but as a scientific fact.  Because if you don't start really understanding the science of epidemics and don't start  reacting appropriately to that science then disaster after disaster is going to happen all over the world including all over the United States.  It's not like there are high glass walls separating each state and region and county.  (Something I didn't understand as a child.  I was so surprised as a child that there was no wall or fence where the colored lines were on the map!) 

[Carrie12345]

1 hour ago, JanOH said:

Well, I went out this morning and had a list for us, my in-laws and my ds who lives in his own apartment.  Limit of two on milk so I did my in-laws shopping list.  Checked out, went to my car.  Came back in and did the other two lists.  So I ended up with three gallons because my mil contributed one 🙂.  No one said a word and if they did I would have shown them my list which was clearly showing three households.  If you are in a pickle with the limits I would just make multiple trips in and out on the same trip.  No guilt because otherwise you're making multiple trips per week.

I’m not worried about guilt, I’m worried about being around people.

[Pen]

4 minutes ago, Kassia said:

 

I live in Ohio and have a close friend who lives in NOLA.  Not canceling Mardi Gras was a huge huge mistake.  

 

Easter and Pascha need to be at home with own family only celebrations this year. Not church gatherings, not even outdoors sunrise services with groups attending.  Else we will have more spread from that. 

 

[Arcadia]

@mathnerd@SeaConquest@TCB@square_25
https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/coronavirus/seiu-locates-39-million-n95-masks-for-healthcare-workers-local-governments/2262072/
“Service Employees International Union United Healthcare Workers West announced Thursday that it located 39 million N95 masks and will make them available to state and local governments and health care systems that are fighting the novel coronavirus outbreak. 

The union found a distributor with the masks, which are cleared for surgical use, after pleas from health care workers as new coronavirus cases surge across the state and the country as a whole.

Union officials said they also found a supplier that can produce some 20 million protective masks per week and another that can supply millions of protective face shields. 

"We are continuing to turn over every rock to see if we can find  more personal protective equipment to make sure that healthcare workers, who  are heroically putting their own health on the line to care for patients, can  do their jobs as safely as possible," SEIU-UHW President Dave Regan said.

The supplier has already sold some of the masks to the state of California, the Greater New York Hospital Association, Dignity Health, Kaiser Permanente, Stanford Health Care, Sutter Health and Los Angeles, Riverside and Santa Clara counties.

Union representatives have connected procurement officials from each recipient directly to the supplier to arrange each transaction.  Hospitals in Arizona have also been offered 2 million masks from the supplier but have yet to accept, according to Regan.”

[Ausmumof3]

Global Times:

Vietnam, world's No.3 rice exporter, is holding back signing new rice export contracts. Experts said reducing rice imports from Vietnam could help reduce China's rice inventory, which is in surplus. 

[Pen]

10 minutes ago, Pen said:

 

Easter and Pascha need to be at home with own family only celebrations this year. Not church gatherings, not even outdoors sunrise services with groups attending.  Else we will have more spread from that. 

 

 

Also, sorry to quote myself, but I think as much as the word on this can be gotten out to powers that be, proactively, the better,  whether that’s the Pope, or local Cardinals or an EO Archbishop, or an Anglican Archbishop, or the head of a Presbyterian Synod...

as well as Government officials...

Church leaders saying Stay Home and granting dispensations would probably be more persuasive with church goers than government doing it.

Both together would be even better.

It is coming up soon, not a lot of time to start making appeals.

Otherwise it will probably be a Chinese New Year / Mardi Gras etc situation all over again.  

 

It would help more to get out and raise collective voices proactively about what’s upcoming than to spend time on Mardi Gras that has already past and too late to change that.  But it isn’t too late to make a difference for Easter and Pascha. 

And calendars of such holidays should probably be being looked at for other such events/holidays/festivals. 

[Ausmumof3]

In summary from BNO

US has overtaken China and Italy in confirmed cases

UK reports 2,129 new cases - 113 new deaths to 11,658 cases and 578 dead

Italy deaths at 8,215

Mayor in Italian city of Bergamo suggests higher death toll due to coronavirus: 446 residents died between March 1 and March 24, which is 348 above the average (98). Only 136 deaths were officially linked to coronavirus (May have been posted already?)

Recoveries from Italy over 10,000

worldwide > half a million

 

 

[DoraBora]

50 minutes ago, square_25 said:

 

It's very hard for me to believe that someone who isn't local and who's working for an administration that is extremely eager to reassure people is going to be more reliable than the governor of the state. I know NY has actually bought 7,000 ventilators on top of the 3,000 it has, so it's at least putting its money where its mouth is. 

There are currently 1,290 ICU patients in NY state <snip>

NY will also have 4k vents from the federal government's stockpile.

I don't think all Covid ICU patients are on ventilators(?).  In a JAMA article (that I can't find right now), I read that 71% have needed them.  Some are on oxygen, but not on ventilators.

I am amazed that you would distrust someone with Deborah Birx's credentials and service record.  I haven't noticed her or Dr. Fauci toeing an optimistic party line for anyone.

[Ausmumof3]

In Aus, TAL insurance has moved to modify some life insurance policies to exclude paying out for coronavirus specifically those held by higher risk patients and doctors

 

[Ausmumof3]

186 new cases in NSW - total 1,405

[DoraBora]

15 minutes ago, square_25 said:

 

I think there's pressure on them to be as positive as possible. Cuomo said that the way they are currently using the language, any bed he calls an ICU bed is a bed with a vent. I don't think that's usually true. 

I don't trust people in general, lol -- I need to be able to check their information. I just ran the numbers myself, didn't I? What's wrong with my calculations, if they are wrong? 

Yes, NY is up to something like 14,000 ventilators and they are also talking about converting anesthesia machines to ventilators and splitting ventilators. And I'm really really hoping you're right and that's actually plenty to meet the need, but I can't stress this enough: I commend Governor Cuomo for working with the pessimistic estimates (and actually, I'm not sure they are pessimistic -- he said 40,000 was the pessimistic estimate he's seen.) Doing anything else has a good chance of leading to serious loss of life. 

Well, it won't be me being right (or wrong), it will be the doctors advising the nation.  I hope they are right, too.

The two week lag is hard -- waiting for improvement resulting from current mitigation efforts.  

[chiguirre]

41 minutes ago, Pen said:

 

Also, sorry to quote myself, but I think as much as the word on this can be gotten out to powers that be, proactively, the better,  whether that’s the Pope, or local Cardinals or an EO Archbishop, or an Anglican Archbishop, or the head of a Presbyterian Synod...

 

The Pope will celebrate Holy Week liturgies without public participation due to the Covid19 epidemic:

https://www.ncronline.org/news/quick-reads/vatican-says-public-will-not-be-admitted-papal-holy-week-liturgies

[Bambam]

49 minutes ago, Ausmumof3 said:

In Aus, TAL insurance has moved to modify some life insurance policies to exclude paying out for coronavirus specifically those held by higher risk patients and doctors

 

Can you just change the policy like that? That doesn't seem fair.