wuhan - coronavirus

[Joker]

I didn't think anyone in my very conservative Midwest area cared about the virus, but noticed yesterday that the stores here are completely out of hand sanitizer, wet ones, and rubbing alcohol. No food or tp shelves empty though.

We were supposed to leave Saturday for vacation but canceled. It was just domestic travel but we didn't want to risk picking it up and bringing it back since there are no cases yet here.

[Carrie12345]

Just a quick reminder to always read updates carefully and calmly. I just scanned a page referencing Bethlehem in the PA area. That would be the Bethlehem in the PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY, NOT down the road in Pennsylvania. Sheesh on me!

[Arcadia]

6 hours ago, Ausmumof3 said:

According to 9news in Australia there are 15 COVID19 cases in the Grand Princess

https://www.9news.com.au/national/coronavirus-latest-news-australians-grand-princess-cruise-ship-san-francisco/c999f2c8-8f93-4859-8645-ea86ee91b678

the language is slightly vague and I haven’t seen that number confirmed elsewhere so would view it with caution but likely correct.

I think we will know more today. It’s only 6.55am here and test kits haven’t been air drop yet.

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/03/05/812456413/coronavirus-cruise-ship-in-limbo-off-california-after-former-passenger-died

“Updated at 9:46 p.m. ET

The Grand Princess cruise ship is in limbo off the California coast after a former passenger became the state's first known person to die from COVID-19. Health workers say they will now test some current passengers to determine whether they might also have the respiratory virus.

"We are going to be flying testing kits to the cruise ship, and we are going to be sending those quickly back to the state," Gov. Gavin Newsom said at a news conference late Wednesday. "We'll be able to test very quickly within just a few hours." 

Eleven passengers and 10 crew members were showing symptoms of COVID-19, the governor said. He added that the number "may significantly understate" the presence of the coronavirus on the cruise ship.

Newsom declared a state of emergency in California on Wednesday, to help his state cope with its first COVID-19 death and more than 50 confirmed cases overall.

Officials believe the passenger, who was elderly, was exposed to the novel coronavirus during a trip from San Francisco to Mexico in the middle of February.”

[Arcadia]

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-southkorea-soju/wet-your-hands-not-your-whistle-south-korean-alcohol-diverted-to-sanitizers-idUSKBN20R1B9

“SEOUL (Reuters) - Makers of soju, South Korea’s national drink and one of the world’s best selling spirits, are jumping into the fight on the largest outbreak of coronavirus outside China by sharing their stockpiles of alcohol with makers of sanitizers.

... South Korean soju makers have responded to soaring ethanol demand for sanitizers by donating the alcohol that goes into the drink, a distilled spirit with 17% to 20% alcohol by volume traditionally based on rice, but now often wheat or potatoes. 

“Ethanol demand for disinfection has grown while supply is limited...we have decided to provide it,” an official of Daesun Distilling, based in the southeastern city of Busan, told Reuters. 

To banish the virus, the company has pledged to donate 32 tonnes of ethanol for use in disinfecting buildings and public places in Busan and southeastern Daegu, the city at the center of South Korea’s outbreak.

“We plan to keep donating until the coronavirus outbreak is stabilized and to donate 50 tonnes more,” added the official, who sought anonymity as he was not authorized to speak to media. 

... Whether used for liquor or disinfection, both have the same chemical structure and can break apart the virus particle, said Lee Duckhwan, a chemistry professor at Sogang University in Seoul, the capital.

... Following Daesun Distilling, Hallasan Soju, based on the resort island of Jeju, also provided 5 tonnes of ethanol to authorities on Tuesday, a company official said.”

[Pen]

3 hours ago, Kassia said:

 

My daughter works at the library and it makes me very nervous.  She's been talking about quitting due to having too much schoolwork this semester (she's full time DE) and I wish she had done it sooner because now she'll be working through March even if she gives notice soon.  She also attends two different colleges as a DE student so she's exposed to so many germs.  

 

Has she put in her notice now? 

3 hours ago, Carrie12345 said:

A new presumptive case has me on edge. My hope has been that this virus goes slow enough to get my foster/guardianship situation handled before it can be impacted. Right now, it still might be more than 2 weeks for that to happen. I’m going to lose my mind if quarantines or contact tracing holds things up. Relatives, judges, clerks, security, social workers, foster families, classmates, teachers... too many people involved for me to feel comfortable right now.

 

 

I hope it will move along well, quickly.

3 hours ago, Carrie12345 said:

My dd reported last night that all of the many automatic hand sanitizer dispensers on campus were empty yesterday, except for one.

 

Because people are using sanitizer much more? 

Or because no one does and they just are empty most of the time?

2 hours ago, Violet Crown said:

Great news: the South By Southwest music festival will go on, packing people from all over the country into crowded venues for a week, because our mayor tells us "there's no evidence cancelling SXSW makes us richer safer."

Our Interim Health Authority Spokesman says:

“We are also concerned because SXSW has been so engaged in helping us mitigate, that if we shut it down people will come to this community anyway, they are going to go to restaurants and public gatherings anyway, but we wont have the messaging, we wont have the hand sanitizer, we won’t have the additional mitigation steps SXSW has really been partners with us on.”

 

Interesting idea though—using something like that to do messaging.  And it would not be messaging to the choir since those who already understand this is a significant problem won’t be there like the smart people at places in next quote:

2 hours ago, Violet Crown said:

 

(Apple, Amazon, TikTok, Facebook, and Intel, unaccountably unconvinced, have pulled out of SXSW.)

 

Good for them! I wish that could be some messaging that would get out.  They have huge audiences of diverse age groups.  Could be better to have TikTok inform its young people typical audience who would then inform their parents...etc.  rather than journalists etc

1 hour ago, Ausmumof3 said:

The news from China seems to be very much “we’ve stopped this, the world should thank us and also it probably didn’t come from China anyway”.  

 

Say What?  

1 hour ago, Ausmumof3 said:

only the citizen journalists from Wuhan are still missing.

Ugh.  Before some things I see on YouTube there are often ads for Epoch Times (or name similar) and one little article blurb was about China killing people and using their organs and body  parts for transplants on demand. 

I had this creepy feeling that something like that could happen to citizen journalists 

1 hour ago, Plum said:

Coincidentally, they just rolled out some B Vitamin coffee beans and turmeric coffee beans yesterday. At least it was on their website. I asked ds to bring some home for me if they have any in stock. 

 

Interesting.

 I don’t know if Vitamin B does well in coffee?

 Turmeric though  is potentiated by heat (temperature and hot spices both) and oil —a turmeric infused coffee along with some cream for the oil and maybe a dab of cayenne for the added spice heat might be a good way to get turmeric.

[Carrie12345]

1 minute ago, Pen said:

Because people are using sanitizer much more? 

Or because no one does and they just are empty most of the time?

Last week, during my every-drop-off-reminder to wipe surfaces, wash hands, and sanitize, she was all about letting me know how she hits pretty much every auto dispenser she passes. It just wasn’t an option last night.  (She did have her own bottle with her.)

[Arcadia]

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/covid19-moh-mar-5-patients-discharged-new-cases-12505112

“SINGAPORE: Five new cases of COVID-19 in Singapore have been confirmed, said the Ministry of Health (MOH) on Thursday (Mar 5), with a new cluster at SAFRA Jurong reported. 

One of the new cases is an imported case while the rest are part of a cluster involving a private dinner function at SAFRA Jurong on Feb 15, said MOH in the media release.”

[Pen]

2 minutes ago, Arcadia said:

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-southkorea-soju/wet-your-hands-not-your-whistle-south-korean-alcohol-diverted-to-sanitizers-idUSKBN20R1B9

“SEOUL (Reuters) - Makers of soju, South Korea’s national drink and one of the world’s best selling spirits, are jumping into the fight on the largest outbreak of coronavirus outside China by sharing their stockpiles of alcohol with makers of sanitizers.

... South Korean soju makers have responded to soaring ethanol demand for sanitizers by donating the alcohol that goes into the drink, a distilled spirit with 17% to 20% alcohol by volume traditionally based on rice, but now often wheat or potatoes. 

“Ethanol demand for disinfection has grown while supply is limited...we have decided to provide it,” an official of Daesun Distilling, based in the southeastern city of Busan, told Reuters. 

To banish the virus, the company has pledged to donate 32 tonnes of ethanol for use in disinfecting buildings and public places in Busan and southeastern Daegu, the city at the center of South Korea’s outbreak.

“We plan to keep donating until the coronavirus outbreak is stabilized and to donate 50 tonnes more,” added the official, who sought anonymity as he was not authorized to speak to media. 

... Whether used for liquor or disinfection, both have the same chemical structure and can break apart the virus particle, said Lee Duckhwan, a chemistry professor at Sogang University in Seoul, the capital.

... Following Daesun Distilling, Hallasan Soju, based on the resort island of Jeju, also provided 5 tonnes of ethanol to authorities on Tuesday, a company official said.”

 

It is a nice public gesture.

BNut is that high enough alcohol percent to help? Or can it be further distilled to right percentage? 

I though it had to be around 60% or higher

[Pen]

1 hour ago, Renai said:

So, I'm wondering if he was fully recovered, or did it come back? It says he started feeling ill again 2 days after release, which makes me think he was still sick...

 

The send home protocol I read was to allow less than fully recovered to go home. But there could not have been any fever for 3 days, had to have improved scans of lungs, and 2 negative Tests for SARS-Cov2 virus. 

 

49 minutes ago, mlktwins said:

This school is 45 minutes from me.  Not feeling very confident in any of our airports in doing a good job, if any, screening.

 

No . The whole focus on just China thing might be part of it.  

Or just bad job of it

 

34 minutes ago, pitterpatter said:

I feel as though our government isn't actually doing preemptive quarantining...it's all reactive. 😣

 

 

We need a lot more preemptive and proactive efforts governmental, and private. 

Another disturbing thing irl I have encountered is people seeming to do more travel right now trying to get in as many trips as possible before that gets stopped—

30 minutes ago, Arcadia said:

The companies’ work from home recommendation will affect more than 100,000 people in the Seattle area, as both Microsoft and Amazon employ over 50,000 each. Facebook has more than 5,000 employees in the area. 

Seattle health authorities have urged herecompanies to allow their employees to work from home as much as possible, stagger shifts to ease commuter congestion on public transportation and avoid large work-related gatherings.”

 

I’m glad to hear this. I hope it will be followed by companies / individuals to extent possible proactively before they have a case to wake them up. 

[Arcadia]

11 minutes ago, Pen said:

But is that high enough alcohol percent to help? Or can it be further distilled to right percentage? 

I though it had to be around 60% or higher

 

Not sure how high it need to be but it can be distilled higher. Sanitizer companies are running out of ethanol but probably knows how to make use of the donated stock from the soju makers. Koreans are known for their national pride.

[Kassia]

22 minutes ago, Pen said:

 

Has she put in her notice now? 

 

Not yet.  She will see her boss at her next shift on Saturday and tell her then.  

[JadeOrchidSong]

It is amazing that so many Americans are going to still travel during the children's spring break. There may be more widespread outbreak after spring break. A friend asked people in her area if they will go travel  as planned during spring break. They all responded yes, 87 families responded. Amazing! 

Why are Americans so optimistic? 

[Matryoshka]

7 minutes ago, Plum said:

“Caffeine can cause nutrient depletion of important nutrients, like vitamin B6, and interfere with nutrient absorption of essential minerals, including calcium, iron, magnesium, and B vitamins (Escott-Stump, 2008).“

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/279923885_Effects_of_caffeine_on_health_and_nutrition_A_Review

Huh.  Didn't know that.  I wonder if that's true for people on whom caffeine does none of the 'normal' caffeine things, like making you more wakeful.  

I hypothesize that I somehow have no caffeine receptors, as as far as I can tell it does nothing at all.  But I do sometimes wonder if it could be acting in other ways I wouldn't notice, like those in the article you linked.  I avoided caffeine for years while TTC and then nursing.  But Full-caff, decaf, espresso shooters - all the same to me.  (And no, I had no 'withdrawal' when I went cold-turkey for TTC.  Nothing at all.)

I know my iron levels have always been more than fine, even though I don't take supplements...

ETA: Sorry for the non-corona digression! Lol.

Edited March 5, 2020 by Matryoshka

[Terabith]

6 minutes ago, JadeOrchidSong said:

It is amazing that so many Americans are going to still travel during the children's spring break. There may be more widespread outbreak after spring break. A friend asked people in her area if they will go travel  as planned during spring break. They all responded yes, 87 families responded. Amazing! 

Why are Americans so optimistic? 

Denial, both personal and public.  A certain percentage see the president as gospel, and he's saying it's no big deal.  

[MEmama]

5 minutes ago, JadeOrchidSong said:

It is amazing that so many Americans are going to still travel during the children's spring break. There may be more widespread outbreak after spring break. A friend asked people in her area if they will go travel  as planned during spring break. They all responded yes, 87 families responded. Amazing! 

Why are Americans so optimistic? 

I’m not sure it’s optimism.

Some of us aren’t sure that effectively stopping our regularly scheduled lives makes any sense. I assume covid is all around the US anyway—certainly our government has ensured we have no way to know—and thus I don't see any other country as inherently more dangerous than staying home, save a few hotspots. 

We have tickets to go overseas to check out colleges; if we don’t go, we are out the money for a European trip and DS won’t know if he really wants to apply to certain universities. Is it worth it to miss the opportunity? I honestly don’t know. We may very well not have another chance before he needs to apply. If we weren’t going on this particular trip, we would be touring schools around a Boston and NYC. Is that safer? We certainly aren’t planning to sit in the living room and play video games for days on end. I mean, if everyone around us is falling ill then of course we’d stay home, but that’s just not the case *right now* almost anywhere in the world. 

 

[Pen]

6 hours ago, JadeOrchidSong said:

It is amazing that so many Americans are going to still travel during the children's spring break. There may be more widespread outbreak after spring break. A friend asked people in her area if they will go travel  as planned during spring break. They all responded yes, 87 families responded. Amazing! 

 

Most people I know irl seem to be clueless about this.  Maybe noticed something in news in passing, but pretty much ignored it. Likely would continue to ignore unless some Star they care about (star in the sense of movies, or pop music) died from it.  Or personal family.

 

Some people seem to be going all out for travel ASAP because they are worried they won’t be allowed to if they wait.  Or that people will be dead.  

snip

 

Edited March 5, 2020 by Pen

[RootAnn]

1 hour ago, Renai said:

Are you sure this isn't one of those sarcastic articles, like what The Onion puts out????

I didn't see any evidence of that as it was distributed by Roll Call, which seems like a legit Capitol Hill publication.

[Pen]

 

[Arcadia]

9 hours ago, mathnerd said:

I am finally seeing cancelation of kid related public events in my area which has several reported cases of coronavirus. We got cancelation notices and money refunded for 3 events that my son was scheduled to participate in the coming weeks. This is a big change in attitude because all I encountered was people shrugging when I asked about canceling events even until 2 days ago. I also heard that many local schools are tying up with online course providers just in case of closures.

Our county twitter

“Healthy SCC

· 18h

We are generally not recommending the rescheduling of public events in the county. However, those that involve vulnerable populations should be carefully reconsidered at this time”

 

“Healthy SCC

18h

 

We are recommending that persons at higher risk avoid mass gatherings such as parades, sporting events, and concerts where large numbers of people are within arm’s length of one another. This would not include typical office environments, grocery stores, or shopping centers.”

“Healthy SCC

16h

 

(1/3) We are currently recommending schools to be very thoughtful looking at their emergency operations plans and thinking about what the schools could do if there were a large number of absences – e-learning, etc.”

[Pen]

About the mutation and the 2 forms of Covid-19. I think several of us were speculating that it may have mutated and that that was part of why it seemed so much more virulent and lethal in some places (Italy for example).  And perhaps with different progression and symptoms.

 

 

[DoraBora]

9 hours ago, Pen said:

@DoraBora - don’t watch the following video, it would probably just upset you.

Projections about world population likely to become infected with SARS-Cov2 (Covid-19)

 

 

Thank you, Pen.  (I watched it anyway.)

It is upsetting, of course.  I can face the truth about the danger, but I like to see dire projections balanced with the fact that we still don't know how bad it will get, as Dr. Lipsitch admits.  There is always hope that something will alter to improve the situation.

[Arcadia]

@mathnerd

My county published this reminder. Ignore the CDC’s face mask part. Everything else is really good advice and was helpful when my country of origin went through SARS.

“The CDC is urging families and communities to take specific steps called nonpharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) that can help slow the spread of diseases: 

- Meet with household members, other relatives, and friends to discuss what should be done if a pandemic occurs and what the needs of each person will be. 

- Discuss ways to care for those at greater risk for serious complications, if the services they rely on aren’t available. 

- If your neighborhood has a website or social media page, consider joining it to stay connected to neighbors, information, and resources. 

- Identify organizations in your community that can help. Consider including organizations that provide mental health or counseling services, food and other supplies. 

- Create an emergency contact list. Ensure that your household has a current list of emergency contacts for family, friends, neighbors, carpool drivers, health care providers, teachers, employers and other community resources. 

- Plan to have extra supplies of important items on hand, such as soap, hand sanitizer, tissues, disposable facemasks, and prescription medications. 

- Choose a room in your home that can be used to separate sick household members from those who are healthy. If possible, also choose a bathroom for the sick person to use. Plan to clean these rooms daily. Learn how to care for someone at home.
 
- Identify alternative childcare, or keep children at home and work remotely 

- Start to stock up on enough non-perishable food that will feed your family for several weeks. 

- Talk to your workplace about getting ready. Plan for telework, if possible. 

Practice good hygiene:  

- Stay home when you are sick. 
- Cover coughs and sneezes with a tissue or sleeve. 
- Wash hands with soap and water or using hand sanitizer when soap and water is not available. 
- Stay home if you have been exposed to a family or household member who is sick. 
- Don’t touch your face (nose, eyes, mouth) 

For updates and additional information, please continue to check our website: https://www.sccgov.org/sites/phd/DiseaseInformation/novel-coronavirus/Pages/home.aspx”

Edited March 5, 2020 by Arcadia

[Arcadia]

From CNBC https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/04/microsoft-tells-bay-area-puget-sound-employees-to-work-from-home.html

“Microsoft is encouraging employees in two areas hit by the coronavirus to work from home if they can for the next few weeks. The new rules affect the Puget Sound area in Washington that includes Microsoft's headquarters and California's Bay Area.”

Edited March 5, 2020 by Arcadia

[regentrude]

1 hour ago, JadeOrchidSong said:

It is amazing that so many Americans are going to still travel during the children's spring break. There may be more widespread outbreak after spring break. A friend asked people in her area if they will go travel  as planned during spring break. They all responded yes, 87 families responded. Amazing! 

Why are Americans so optimistic? 

What dos it have to do with optimism? It's basic risk calculation. The percentage of people who are infected is minuscule compared to the population of a city or country, so the probability of encountering an infected person is still extremely low. Staying home makes sense if you're infected yourself (ETA: or have been in close contact with an infected person) and want to protect others, or are at high risk and want to avoid travel to a hotspot (I would heed the CDC travel recommendations) or in general avoid germy air planes (even though almost everybody who flies on a plane is fine - the number is still tiny compared to the overall air travel volume). Travel per se isn't any more dangerous than staying put, unless you live in a  bunker. I interact with several hundred college students daily; so whether I am driving to another state for spring break is completely irrelevant.

Edited March 5, 2020 by regentrude

[teachermom2834]

We are traveling domestically next week. I’m concerned but it doesn’t feel irresponsible. My ds away at college really needs a visit from his family. We will take smart precautions and minimize risk wherever possible but I’m not cancelling my trip. I’m sure many in my community are taking much more extensive and exciting trips and will be returning and heading back to school etc. We are probably among the lowest risk to our community of all the many spring breakers.

If the whole community was bunkering down then I would likely feel differently. But I don’t see any reason to cancel my short domestic trip when so many in my community are off to theme parks and cruises etc.

[Arcadia]

@mathnerd 

Notices just put up around campus. Wasn’t there yesterday 

[Joker]

17 minutes ago, teachermom2834 said:

We are traveling domestically next week. I’m concerned but it doesn’t feel irresponsible. My ds away at college really needs a visit from his family. We will take smart precautions and minimize risk wherever possible but I’m not cancelling my trip. I’m sure many in my community are taking much more extensive and exciting trips and will be returning and heading back to school etc. We are probably among the lowest risk to our community of all the many spring breakers.

If the whole community was bunkering down then I would likely feel differently. But I don’t see any reason to cancel my short domestic trip when so many in my community are off to theme parks and cruises etc.

Yeah, I mentioned we canceled our trip but part of it was a theme park which seems silly to do at the moment. Our college kid is coming home for the weekend but we're driving down to pick him up and will spend some time there. We're not bunkering down but we are being more careful and picky in where we go and what we do.

[gardenmom5]

33 minutes ago, Arcadia said:

From CNBC https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/04/microsoft-tells-bay-area-puget-sound-employees-to-work-from-home.html

“Microsoft is encouraging employees in two areas hit by the coronavirus to work from home if they can for the next few weeks. The new rules affect the Puget Sound area in Washington that includes Microsoft's headquarters and California's Bay Area.”

this started with King county.  asking people to telecommute/work-from home whenever possible.   Northshore school district is closed for two weeks.  

traffic is down considerably this morning.  FB in the seattle area has their first case.  (amazon in seattle did two days ago.)

[BeachGal]

Coronaviruses will often correct their mutations so the two different strains might actually be two different strains.

One of the theories is that China has been experiencing smaller, more localized, milder outbreaks of disease from different strains of coronaviruses. People who have been getting these infections have probably recovered without the need for serious medical intervention. The infections are milder. So what they might be seeing are two different strains. At least that's one theory I've found online about the two strains.

[Pen]

 

10 hours ago, StellaM said:

@Pen, how's the meditation coming along? We need this bug to live in peace with us!

 

 

Uh oh.  I’ve been slacking on my 🧘‍♀️ meditation!

[Pen]

@JadeOrchidSong

“It is amazing that so many Americans are going to still travel during the children's spring break. There may be more widespread outbreak after spring break. A friend asked people in her area if they will go travel  as planned during spring break. They all responded yes, 87 families responded. Amazing!”

 

Another part of this may have to do with personal versus group risk analysis.

For any individual person traveling (not included current hot spots), the likelihood of getting Coronavirus is still fairly low right now. So if people do a very personal Me oriented calculation, then travel makes sense.  Besides which it keeps the economies of places visited flowing $. 

But, as a mass entity of human travel, the more people are traveling, the more risk there is over all.

 

 

Edited March 5, 2020 by Pen

[BeachGal]

I have been talking online to people who research vaccines and anti-virals. One of them is a researcher working for a company that is attempting to make a vaccine. Anyway, after talking to them here are the things our family plans to do besides washing our hands every 2 minutes and bathing in bleach. (just kidding!)

#1 Ozone/oxygen therapy. We might get either direct intravenous where the oxygen/ozone gas is injected directly (takes a few minutes) or autohemotherapy where about 1/2 cup of blood is withdrawn and infused with oxygen/ozone and then reinjected back in. Ozone therapy has been used safely for years. It's in the ballpark of about $100-150 per treatment. (This is not air but a mixture of mostly oxygen and a small amount of ozone.)

#2 Agarikon daily. Host Defense sells it. Just need one capsule per day. This is one awesome mushroom that is being studied as a potent anti-viral for smallpox, H1N1, etc. It is also a potent anti-bacterial.

#3 Selenium daily, 200 micrograms only. Pill should be slightly stinky.

#4 Vitamind D3 daily. Ideally, you should be in the higher range of normal.

#5 Vitamin C to bowel tolerance. We might also do an IV. It's only about $25-35 so why not. And, it bypasses the stomach.

#6 Eat a healthy diet which we do anyway. Get enough magnesium, potassium, etc.

#7 I will also use my pemf device, a Sota, daily.

#8 Sleep well.

#9 Exercise.

[BeachGal]

They make UV boxes that can be used to disinfect phones and electronics. I think a lot of places have sold out. From what I understand, the light must be no more than 2-3 cm away from whatever you're cleaning and it needs to shine for a period of time.

I use the less sophisticated and probably cheaper plastic baggies method. 😄 Just carry a few with me and change it out every now and then.

[OH_Homeschooler]

58 minutes ago, regentrude said:

What dos it have to do with optimism? It's basic risk calculation. The percentage of people who are infected is minuscule compared to the population of a city or country, so the probability of encountering an infected person is still extremely low. Staying home makes sense if you're infected yourself (ETA: or have been in close contact with an infected person) and want to protect others, or are at high risk and want to avoid travel to a hotspot (I would heed the CDC travel recommendations) or in general avoid germy air planes (even though almost everybody who flies on a plane is fine - the number is still tiny compared to the overall air travel volume). Travel per se isn't any more dangerous than staying put, unless you live in a  bunker. I interact with several hundred college students daily; so whether I am driving to another state for spring break is completely irrelevant.

 

And the other thing I consider is that I am healthy and apparently have a very strong immune system, considering the crap my kids have brought home in the past month and the fact that I never got sick. (And I spent HOURS waiting in urgent cares surrounded by sick people). So I expect that even if I caught the virus, it would be mild. 

[Arcadia]

From Yahoo Finance https://finance.yahoo.com/news/amazon-planning-vpn-test-for-all-employees-amid-coronavirus-work-from-home-concerns-170421976.html

“Amid rising concerns over the spread of coronavirus, Amazon has asked all of its employees globally to test their VPN connection on March 5 by logging in remotely, Yahoo Finance has learned.

The purpose of the test is to ensure the company’s internal system can support a scenario in which all Amazon employees work from home for an extended period of time, if need be.

The email sent to employees on Wednesday asks them to log in via VPN at any time on Thursday, for at least 10 minutes. The email does not specifically mention coronavirus or COVID-19, but multiple sources say that is the impetus of the test.”

[BeachGal]

In a small number of cases, the virus appears to be crossing the blood brain barrier. The virus enters the nose and travels up to an area near the bottom of the brain. This area is not well protected by the BBB. The virus probably moves through that spot.

Some people are saying that the virus can then affect the area of the brain that automatically regulates breathing and this might be why some patients had to really concentrate on making themselves breathe.

I've also read that a very small number of people are developing schizophrenia. That might be from inflammation and maybe over time as the inflammation dies down, the person will recover. I don't know.

 

Some of the deaths after recovering might actually be the result of medications that were used to treat the secondary bacterial infections. For example, I've read that Bayer supplied a huge amount of Avelox (moxifloxacin), a fluoroquinolone, which can cause serious problems later down the road. Same with chloroquine. I'm not sure if this is actually happening, though. It's just something I've been reading in conversations people are having. It could explain some of the recovered patients' deaths, though.

[JennyD]

5 hours ago, Violet Crown said:

Great news: the South By Southwest music festival will go on, packing people from all over the country into crowded venues for a week, because our mayor tells us "there's no evidence cancelling SXSW makes us richer safer."

Our Interim Health Authority Spokesman says:

“We are also concerned because SXSW has been so engaged in helping us mitigate, that if we shut it down people will come to this community anyway, they are going to go to restaurants and public gatherings anyway, but we wont have the messaging, we wont have the hand sanitizer, we won’t have the additional mitigation steps SXSW has really been partners with us on.”

 

 

I am not particularly panicked about this virus, but good grief, Austin authorities.  This is EXACTLY the sort of event that should be cancelled right now.

The big university where my husband is teaching here in Israel sent out a long email today detailing various restrictions on both traveling abroad and on students/faculty/staff returning from abroad.  Which is a lot of people, since everyone is coming back from break to start the spring semester in 10 days (the schedule here is different).  The university made it very clear that students would not be penalized in any way for missing classes, tests, or assignments, and that staff would be considered 'working from home' during quarantine.  

 

[BeachGal]

I think at this point, the best a person can do is to realize that a lot of people will get a mild version and recover. Others will get sicker. I think our hospitals will be overwhelmed but I hope not.

What the CDC recommends doing makes good sense. You might also want to avoid using paper bills and coins, or quarantine them, because they could carry the virus as well. It's a possibility.

Another thing I've done is to create a plan in the event someone in our house gets sick (in case my nutty ideas don't work). Everything is written down and all stuff is bought and ready to go.

[Arcadia]

@Ausmumof3

https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/san-francisco/cruise-ship-held-off-sf-for-coronavirus-testing/2248261/ Updated 31 mins ago 

“A Coast Guard helicopter was expected to deliver test kits to the Grand Princess once it reached the waters off San Francisco later in the day. Princess Cruises did not immediately disclose how many people were aboard the vessel — which has a capacity of 3,650 passengers and crew — but said fewer than 100 had been identified for testing.”

[Chris in VA]

Palestinian Aithority just closed the West Bank to tourists, and several other holy places of pilgrimage are shuttered now. Places like the Church of the Nativity, Lazarus' Tomb, and even the Holy Sepulchre in the Old City are now closed. 

[Arcadia]

https://abc7.com/health/how-paid-sick-leave-works-in-ca-as-coronavirus-fears-escalate/5987244/

“How paid sick leave works in California as coronavirus fears escalate

... But California is just one of 11 states with mandatory sick leave policies that entitles full- and part-time employees to a minimum of three paid sick days.

The Riverside County Department of Public Health does have the ability to ease some of the financial burden if someone is placed into a 14-day quarantine or isolation due to the coronavirus.

"We say they could not go to work," said Barbara Cole with the Riverside County Public Health. "They would be entitled to apply for short-term disability under paperwork submitted by Public Health. They fill it out and we endorse it."”

[Pen]

3 hours ago, Arcadia said:

I think we will know more today. It’s only 6.55am here and test kits haven’t been air drop yet.

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/03/05/812456413/coronavirus-cruise-ship-in-limbo-off-california-after-former-passenger-died

“Updated at 9:46 p.m. ET

The Grand Princess cruise ship is in limbo off the California coast after a former passenger became the state's first known person to die from COVID-19. Health workers say they will now test some current passengers to determine whether they might also have the respiratory virus.

"We are going to be flying testing kits to the cruise ship, and we are going to be sending those quickly back to the state," Gov. Gavin Newsom said at a news conference late Wednesday. "We'll be able to test very quickly within just a few hours." 

Eleven passengers and 10 crew members were showing symptoms of COVID-19, the governor said. He added that the number "may significantly understate" the presence of the coronavirus on the cruise ship.

Newsom declared a state of emergency in California on Wednesday, to help his state cope with its first COVID-19 death and more than 50 confirmed cases overall.

Officials believe the passenger, who was elderly, was exposed to the novel coronavirus during a trip from San Francisco to Mexico in the middle of February.”

 

2 hours ago, JadeOrchidSong said:

It is amazing that so many Americans are going to still travel during the children's spring break. There may be more widespread outbreak after spring break. A friend asked people in her area if they will go travel  as planned during spring break. They all responded yes, 87 families responded. Amazing! 

Why are Americans so optimistic? 

 

The top post quoted fits with my idea of individual versus group consciousness in risk assessment and decision making.

The person who picked up the SARS-CoV-2 virus would have done so despite the odds for him her doing that being small.

Then, though the individual odds of any one on that particular cruise encountering SARS2 virus were also small, it did happen.  And in planes and ships it becomes likely to spread.

[Roll 4 dice once and odds are you won’t get all sixes.  However, Roll the the dice 100 times (people encountered on airplane /in airport) and 1000 times (people on shipboard) and all sixes becomes more likely. ]

  —The virus isn’t equivalent to dice, of course, it is much much more biologically complex.  and emotionally and socially complex issues pertain to the virus.    The point is that it’s true that getting it is still statistically unlikely.  But the calculations, actions and decisions that may flow from that observation may cause the odds to change in favor of the virus.  In general. Not for a specific person, but for the wider community.

 

Optimism?

to me optimism would be deciding that a 2021 vaccine is likely and to decrease travel, participation in group events etc for one year

[Pen]

27 minutes ago, Arcadia said:

From Yahoo Finance https://finance.yahoo.com/news/amazon-planning-vpn-test-for-all-employees-amid-coronavirus-work-from-home-concerns-170421976.html

“Amid rising concerns over the spread of coronavirus, Amazon has asked all of its employees globally to test their VPN connection on March 5 by logging in remotely, Yahoo Finance has learned.

The purpose of the test is to ensure the company’s internal system can support a scenario in which all Amazon employees work from home for an extended period of time, if need be.

The email sent to employees on Wednesday asks them to log in via VPN at any time on Thursday, for at least 10 minutes. The email does not specifically mention coronavirus or COVID-19, but multiple sources say that is the impetus of the test.”

 

Warehouse workers?

or will there be robots controlled remotely?

[Arcadia]

2 minutes ago, Pen said:

Warehouse workers?

or will there be robots controlled remotely?

Office workers. 

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/04/amazon-prime-now-suffers-delays-amid-coronavirus-outbreak.html

“Amazon Prime Now and Instacart shoppers say the normally speedy services have limited delivery availability or inform users that they won’t be able to place an order until the following day. Walmart’s next-day delivery service also appeared to have limited delivery availability. 

The delivery services appear to be overwhelmed by a recent surge in orders from shoppers who have turned to online retailers amid product shortages at physical stores. Services like Prime Now and the Amazon Fresh grocery delivery service promise shoppers convenience and speed without them having to leave their homes. Many of the services offer same-day or next-day delivery on grocery items in cities across the U.S. 

... Prime Now showed a notice warning shoppers of limited delivery availability in their area in markets including Seattle, New York City, the San Francisco Bay Area, Orlando, Chicago, Miami and Boston, among other areas, CNBC found. The notices have been on Amazon’s Prime Now site and apps since at least Monday of this week.

...  Demand for Instacart services has surged 10x in the past 72 hours, while the growth rate has surged 20x in California, Washington, Oregon and New York, Instacart said. 

... The surge in online orders has meant delivery drivers are being kept busy. It has also raised questions about what steps companies are taking to make sure delivery workers are staying safe amid the coronavirus outbreak. 

Amazon has increasingly relied on its network of delivery service partners (DSP) and Flex drivers to complete last-mile deliveries. Both Flex drivers and DSPs are contract workers who use their own vehicles to deliver packages to customers’ doorsteps. As contractors, they’re also responsible for their own medical care. 

With the coronavirus continuing to spread in the U.S., Amazon has alerted Flex drivers to take extra precautions when they’re on the job.

The company sent out a notice to Flex drivers on March 3 advising drivers to stay home if they have a fever, wash their hands frequently, use tissues to cover a cough or sneeze and refrain from handshakes. The notice, which was obtained by CNBC, also urges Flex drivers to contact Amazon if they have had “close contact with a confirmed COVID-19 patient.” 

Representatives from Amazon didn’t respond to requests for comment about notices sent to Flex drivers.

CNBC also viewed emails from DoorDash, Uber and Lyft that told delivery workers and drivers they were monitoring the spread of the coronavirus and were urging workers to take the appropriate preventative measures.”

[Acadie]

6 US states are not currently testing for novel coronavirus

From CNN's Jamie Gumbrecht

 

This map shows states and territories with one or more laboratories that have successfully verified and are currently using COVID-19 diagnostic tests. Credit: APHL/CDC

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention posted a map of US states and territories with one or more labs that are using diagnostic tests for the novel coronavirus. 

All states are listed as currently testing for coronavirus, except Alabama, Maine, Ohio, Oklahoma, West Virginia and Wyoming; those states are listed as being in progress, according to the map.

Guam, Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands are all listed as being in progress, as well. The CDC says people should contact their state health departments with questions about testing. The information is provided by the Association of Public Health Laboratories, the CDC said today. 

The CDC is now generally updating coronavirus case totals by noon on weekdays. CDC’s numbers close out at 4 p.m. ET the day before reporting. The most up-to-date case counts will come from states, CDC officials have said. 

CNN’s tally relies on state totals and won’t always match CDC’s count – CNN has already counted at least 163 US cases, including 114 cases in 16 states detected through the US public health system.

According to the update Thursday by the CDC, there are now 149 confirmed and presumptive positive cases of novel coronavirus in the United States. 

Today's update from CDC includes 46 people who were aboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship, three people repatriated from China and 100 US cases.

Across the country: US cases are those detected and tested in the United States through US public health systems since January 21. Among the 100 US cases, there have been 10 deaths, according to CDC’s count.

The 100 US cases are in 13 states, according to CDC: Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington and Wisconsin.

[Arcadia]

From their Facebook post https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/coronavirus/san-francisco-announces-first-cases-of-coronavirus/2248504/

“#BREAKING: San Francisco Mayor London Breed announces the city's first two cases of the novel coronavirus.”

ETA: https://abc7news.com/health/live-coronavirus-updates-testing-kits-to-be-flown-to-cruise-ship-held-off-calif-coast/5906450/

“11 am

San Francisco announces first cases of novel coronavirus in the city, officials say

Mayor London Breed announced the first cases of COVID-19 in 2 patients from San Francisco. Officials say both are community transmitted cases and they are unrelated. A first patient is a man in his 90's who is in serious condition with underlying health conditions. The second person is a woman in her 40's who is in fair condition”

Edited March 5, 2020 by Arcadia

[brehon]

7 hours ago, Violet Crown said:

Great news: the South By Southwest music festival will go on, packing people from all over the country into crowded venues for a week, because our mayor tells us "there's no evidence cancelling SXSW makes us richer safer."

Our Interim Health Authority Spokesman says:

“We are also concerned because SXSW has been so engaged in helping us mitigate, that if we shut it down people will come to this community anyway, they are going to go to restaurants and public gatherings anyway, but we wont have the messaging, we wont have the hand sanitizer, we won’t have the additional mitigation steps SXSW has really been partners with us on.”

(Apple, Amazon, TikTok, Facebook, and Intel, unaccountably unconvinced, have pulled out of SXSW.)

Oh happy happy joy joy! Caring for the city’s coffers, oops, I mean, people is always front and center on the mayor’s and Council’s collective mind. 

[JennW in SoCal]

7 hours ago, Violet Crown said:

Great news: the South By Southwest music festival will go on, packing people from all over the country into crowded venues for a week, because our mayor tells us "there's no evidence cancelling SXSW makes us richer safer."

Our Interim Health Authority Spokesman says:

“We are also concerned because SXSW has been so engaged in helping us mitigate, that if we shut it down people will come to this community anyway, they are going to go to restaurants and public gatherings anyway, but we wont have the messaging, we wont have the hand sanitizer, we won’t have the additional mitigation steps SXSW has really been partners with us on.”

(Apple, Amazon, TikTok, Facebook, and Intel, unaccountably unconvinced, have pulled out of SXSW.)

 

Meanwhile up in Seattle, next weekend's Emerald City Comic-Con is NOT going to be cancelled or rescheduled. Yep. An event that brings in 100,000 people, crammed like sardines into the convention center, is not being cancelled in Seattle, the metropolitan area with the highest number of deaths and reported cases. Just wash your hands or don't go if you are high risk.  Most of the big publishers, like DC Comics, have pulled out as have several big vendors. I'm not sure what the big name movie stars are going to do, but most artists and writers have cancelled. 

[Terabith]

5 minutes ago, JennW in SoCal said:

 

Meanwhile up in Seattle, next weekend's Emerald City Comic-Con is NOT going to be cancelled or rescheduled. Yep. An event that brings in 100,000 people, crammed like sardines into the convention center, is not being cancelled in Seattle, the metropolitan area with the highest number of deaths and reported cases. Just wash your hands or don't go if you are high risk.  Most of the big publishers, like DC Comics, have pulled out as have several big vendors. I'm not sure what the big name movie stars are going to do, but most artists and writers have cancelled. 

That is dumb and criminal.  

[Arcadia]

My souvenir from Chick-fil-A (660 Figueroa St, Los Angeles) last fall.