The Covid19 thread

[mad_gater]

It doesn't seem to be a very common thing though either way, the article you linked to reported on 2 cases that could have been a reinfection but were probably just cases of people released from the hospital before the virus had actually cleared their system and they had a relapse.

A several month long lockdown would be unnecessary (and most likely unsustainable) in most places. Around 80% of people who get it, get only mild symptoms. Lockdowns or other social distancing methods really only need to last long enough to slow the spread long enough so that hospitals don't get flooded with critically ill people all at once. If necessary, the most that should be done is periodic lockdowns, like if infection rates start to soar and hospitalization rates being to rise, lockdowns or shutdowns or whatever need to start up again.

I think I read though that some people who get it even if they recover wind up with permanent reduced lung capacity and wind up needing at the very least a rescue inhaler for the rest of their lives, basically becoming an asthma patient

[mad_gater]

https://i.imgur.com/z3DbFvb.png

[Annoyed]

Good plan, those things go through our hands in nightfill every night (though, we fill full cartons where possible). ANY product you buy that you can wash, do it. We keep the back dock as clean as possible, and we sanitize our hands roughly every hour, but wear gloves if you can as well.

I don't buy many canned goods, but I've long had a habit of washing any canned goods. They are stored in warehouses, and warehouses are well known as being homes for rodents and other critters, and from time to time you see evidence of substances having been dripped onto the cans.

[Annoyed]

It doesn't seem to be a very common thing though either way, the article you linked to reported on 2 cases that could have been a reinfection but were probably just cases of people released from the hospital before the virus had actually cleared their system and they had a relapse.

A several month long lockdown would be unnecessary (and most likely unsustainable) in most places. Around 80% of people who get it, get only mild symptoms. Lockdowns or other social distancing methods really only need to last long enough to slow the spread long enough so that hospitals don't get flooded with critically ill people all at once. If necessary, the most that should be done is periodic lockdowns, like if infection rates start to soar and hospitalization rates being to rise, lockdowns or shutdowns or whatever need to start up again.

Lockdowns and this whole nightmare would have been completely unnecessary if our govt. had blocked travel from China and other infected locations back in Dec. or January, before it got a toehold here. And I mean BLOCKED.

That means everybody. No exceptions. If you're returning from such a place, mandatory 1 month quarantine before you get past the front gate. But no. We did NOTHING, and then even after the virus threat was known, we let cruise ships dock and discharge their passengers, allowed travel, etc. All because we're too afraid to piss people off these days, even if it is in defense of our nation.

I blame the federal government and its inaction for the fact that we are in this mess to begin with.

At this point, we should be looking at a several month lockdown to ensure that we do stop the spread of this. A lot of folks are whining about re-opening everything in a few short weeks 'cause they're afraid they are going to lose their shorts in the wall street casinos. Doing so would be short sighted in the extreme. All it will do is allow the virus to get an even firmer foothold. Which would result in even greater and longer disruptions as time goes by.

So, guess what we are likely to do?

[VampyreWraith]

Lockdowns and this whole nightmare would have been completely unnecessary if our govt. had blocked travel from China and other infected locations back in Dec. or January, before it got a toehold here. And I mean BLOCKED.

That means everybody. No exceptions. If you're returning from such a place, mandatory 1 month quarantine before you get past the front gate. But no. We did NOTHING, and then even after the virus threat was known, we let cruise ships dock and discharge their passengers, allowed travel, etc. All because we're too afraid to piss people off these days, even if it is in defense of our nation.

I blame the federal government and its inaction for the fact that we are in this mess to begin with.

At this point, we should be looking at a several month lockdown to ensure that we do stop the spread of this. A lot of folks are whining about re-opening everything in a few short weeks 'cause they're afraid they are going to lose their shorts in the wall street casinos. Doing so would be short sighted in the extreme. All it will do is allow the virus to get an even firmer foothold. Which would result in even greater and longer disruptions as time goes by.

So, guess what we are likely to do?

I don't think we knew about it over here until sometime in Jan. China didn't immediately announce that they had a problem, they may not have realized the severity of the issues with the virus and/or they thought that they could contain it. It was probably spreading around the world before it was known about outside of China. No one really knew how the virus worked at first. The incubation period, how quickly it would spread. No one really realized that asymptomatic people could be contagious. You could have been turning back flights from China in Jan, but letting in flights from someplace else with infected people on it.

I don't think a several month lockdown is a viable solution, especially in the US.

[Falcon Horus]

Reporting from Belgium which has been on "Lockdown light" since 2 weeks ago. Before that, we were on "social distancing and wash your hands" for 2 weeks. We have been seeing cases since the week off we had at the end of February when a lot of people who vacationed in Italy came back sick.

Those people had to self-quarantine for up to two weeks, after coming home. Mandatory rules, even if you didn't have any symptoms.

For the last 2 weeks, all non-essential stores are closed. All bars, clubs and restaurants too. Before our lockdown they were allowed to be open, taking the necessary precautions, during the week and had to close from midnight friday to monday morning. This was changed when we went into complete "lockdown light" modus.

Lockdown light = only when you have no other choice but to leave the house, you can do so, f.e. tio
We are also allowed to go for a walk or run around the block. This can be with people living under the same roof, and we're allowed to invite one other person as along as we maintain that 6 feet distance while exercising.

I work for a Human Resource company which provides services to independent workers and companies, so we are currently swamped with work. There's literally no time to be bored.

Belgium has been applauding doctors, nurses, store clerks, those who stock shelves, cashiers, mailmen, police and firebrigades... basically everyone who's working their socks of in this crisis. Every day at 8pm, and the bells of all the churches also ring during this time.

We also have white sheets or cloths or towels, hanging outside our windows in support.

And to entertain kids, there was a call to put a teddybear behind the window. The bearhunt is very popular. The organizers collected over 20,000 houses where bears can be spotted, and a lot more exist. I went bearhunting yesterday and again today.

Also, plenty of people are putting fun stuff online to do... and not get bored for those who are currently unemployed for economic reasons.

As far as infections go... the official numbers today are:
2652 people in hospital
605 in ICU
675 released from hospital
220 deaths

These numbers only count those who got tested, because not everyone gets tested. You have to be showing symptoms or suspect infection from having come in contact with someone who tested positive, or be a part of a high risk group. If you go to the ER, you do get tested when the most common symptoms fit. So the number of infections is much higher but not everyone get sick or is sick enough to warrant a stay at the hospital.

[VampyreWraith]

As of this morning:
In the US: over 65,000 cases, over 930 deaths.
Out of those cases NY state has 33,066 confirmed cases, 310 deaths. Out of those cases in NY state, NYC has 20,011 confirmed cases and 280 deaths. About 15% of cases require hospitalization. Projected hospitalization rates in NY went down the other day, on Sunday estimates showed that hospitalizations would double every 2 days, Tuesdays projections showed them doubling every 4.7 days. (I got this from multiple online articles and I'm too lazy to link them all lol).

[SoulReaver]

As of this morning:
In the US: over 65,000 cases, over 930 deaths.

that's a 1.5% death rate way below average

considering the catastrophic elitist healthcare system in that country this means they simply tested more people
(it also means the virus is a lot less deadly than we thought? if it turns out to be more like 1% that'd make it about 10x deadlier than the common flu)

[SoulReaver]

Belgium has been applauding doctors, nurses, store clerks, those who stock shelves, cashiers, mailmen, police and firebrigades... basically everyone who's working their socks of in this crisis. Every day at 8pm, and the bells of all the churches also ring during this time

gr8 idea - all of you show up at your windows at same time & let the wind do the rest

[VampyreWraith]

that's a 1.5% death rate way below average

considering the catastrophic elitist healthcare system in that country this means they simply tested more people
(it also means the virus is a lot less deadly than we thought? if it turns out to be more like 1% that'd make it about 10x deadlier than the common flu)

It's probably even lower than that, the death rates in a lot of places are so high because there's been less testing skewing the results . We have done a lot of testing in NY, Cuomo has tried to make it a priority. I don't dont know the current number of tests conducted, but at one point there were 16,000 people tested in a day. There's testing done at public hospitals, but there are a lot of people and not enough resources to test everyone, and it's also been recommended that you only get tested if your showing symptoms, so you dont acutully end up getting infected while you're going out and waiting on line at a testing site.

[VampyreWraith]

And those who have gotten it and beaten it could donate samples of their blood so that a passive immunity serum could be made

Yeah, I've read that they are going to (or probably already are) testing people for antibodies to help make a vaccine.

I think I read though that some people who get it even if they recover wind up with permanent reduced lung capacity and wind up needing at the very least a rescue inhaler for the rest of their lives, basically becoming an asthma patient

I haven't read that, that's sad, especially if their lung capacity is severely reduced.

[Annoyed]

I don't think we knew about it over here until sometime in Jan. China didn't immediately announce that they had a problem, they may not have realized the severity of the issues with the virus and/or they thought that they could contain it.

Of course China wasn't forthcoming about it. It's in their nature to be secretive. That alone ought to trigger a complete re-evaluation of our and every other country's relationship with them. IE; there shouldn't be one going forward.

Also, the more I think about it, the more I think it was an accidental (or deliberate?) release from a bioweapons facility. It seems to spread far too easily in comparison to previous outbreaks.

It was probably spreading around the world before it was known about outside of China. No one really knew how the virus worked at first. The incubation period, how quickly it would spread. No one really realized that asymptomatic people could be contagious. You could have been turning back flights from China in Jan, but letting in flights from someplace else with infected people on it.

I've read that our govt. knew something was rotten back in December. But whenever it was, we should have turned back flights from China immediately. And I wouldn't really be opposed to slamming the doors shut no matter where you're coming from. Mandatory 1 month quarantine in secure facilities that we operate for anyone entering the country.

I don't think a several month lockdown is a viable solution, especially in the US.

I think it's even less viable to not shut down for several months. If we don't, we will simply see the virus spread even further as unknowing carriers return to work and begin spreading it to people who had not been infected yet. At the point, the only way to stop it is to shut down long enough for it to run its course, which we have seen seems to be months.

And, to make matters worse still, although we aren't allowed to discuss it here, I strongly believe there are domestic political and partisan issues involved here, too, and the media is NOT neutral.

[VampyreWraith]

We're going to have to agree to disagree on a lot of that, some of it because further discussion would probably break rules.

[Annoyed]

We're going to have to agree to disagree on a lot of that, some of it because further discussion would probably break rules.

Yeah, politics is directly involved in almost everything. Not being able to discuss those aspects makes talking about anything damn near impossible.

[jelgate]

It's been awhile since I heard one Annoyed:s conspiracy theories. You owe me bacon