Coronavirus in the US

Parent Cafe
3081

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/covid-19-testing/
Take a look at this page where they’ve been keeping track of testing stats by country.

South Korea: 109,591 tested. 2,138 per million people.
Italy: 23,345 tested. 386 per million people.
Austria: 2,120 tested. 235 per million people.
Switzerland: 1,850 tested. 214 per million people.
UK: 13,525 tested. 199 per million people.

USA*: 472 tested. 1.4 per million people.

Notice the footnote on the page for the USA. (Actually looks like it is on the website but not updated/stale.)
** as of March 1. On March 2, the “Total tested” figure was removed from CDC’s website.

3082

Yup. I saw those stories and chose not to post them. It was totally inconclusive and I didn’t want to be even a teensy part of anyone panicking about pets.

Aw, those dogs look super cute even with those doggy masks on.

3083

SOUTH KOREA - 600 (519 Daegu) new cases for a total of 4,812 and 7 new deaths bring the death toll to 29.

Daegu city alone accounts for 74.8% of the overall national confirmed cases. When combined, North Gyeongsang Province and Daegu city account for 89% of the total cases.

"President Moon Jae-in plans to inject US$25 billion into the virus response.

“The crisis in Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province reached its peak and the whole country has entered a war against the infectious disease,” Moon said.

He ordered all of the government’s organisations to shift to a “24-hour emergency situation room system”." (Guardian)

"hospitals in some of the worst-affected cities reporting shortages of beds and emergency staff collapsing from exhaustion. Patients waiting for a hospital bed to become available in the city of Daegu are dying in their homes, local medical authorities told the Chosun Ilbo newspaper. More than 1,600 people with the virus have been quarantined in their homes, but at least four have died while waiting for in-patient care. The crisis is worsening as healthcare workers tire after battling the virus for a month. " (Telegraph)

ETA: At least 31 members of the South Korean military have been infected - 17 army, 11 air force, two marines and one in the navy.

CHINA - China infections and deaths continue to drop
There were 125 new confirmed cases (114 in Hubei), and 31 new deaths (all in Hubei). The death toll now stands at 2,943, with a total of 80,151 infections. The daily update also said 47,204 people, or 59% of people diagnosed, have recovered. :slight_smile:

MOROCCO - 1st case confirmed, a Moroccan national living in Italy and is currently receiving treatment in Casablanca.

GERMANY - ended today with 35 new cases totaling 165.

3084

Someone posted that story when it just came out. So I figured that it would be nice to post an update. No, your cat or dog will not develop or give you Covid, but they can be comforting if you have to be cooped up inside.

Yup. The doggies look cute. But probably really hate those masks! :slight_smile:

3085

Authorities unable to find source of coronavirus case in Florida

"There is still no clue as to how an individual in Manatee County, Florida, acquired the novel coronavirus…According to a source with knowledge of the situation, contact tracing for the infected person has failed to reveal any potential source of infection.

They have had no travel to any affected regions, nor have they had any contact with an individual who tested positive. Although the individual lives in Manatee County, the source says they are believed to have gone to an ER at a hospital in nearby Sarasota County, Florida earlier in the week.

But the individual was only tested for the virus on Saturday, after Florida expanded its testing criteria on Friday evening. That means any healthcare worker who had been treating the patient, without the proper protection, was at danger of being exposed to the virus." (CNN)

3086

Another example of wealthier countries stepping up to help out:

"Australia and New Zealand are funding the WHO’s Pacific regional coronavirus response plan and are responding to requests from assistance for Pacific nations…

…providing personal protective equipment and medical supplies for healthcare workers in Papua New Guinea, Timor-Leste and Fiji, as well as assisting with planning, surveillance, risk communication and case management in Solomon Islands, Kiribati, Palau, Tonga, the Federated States of Micronesia and Fiji." (CNN)

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3064677/meet-major-general-chinas-coronavirus-scientific-front-line

Meet the major general on China’s coronavirus scientific front line

Chen Wei is leading an effort to understand the previously unknown pathogen in the epicentre of the epidemic

The 54-year-old virologist is building on the knowledge and skills she gained fighting Sars and Ebola

3087

Australia and NZ are in the region, it isn’t about wealth or generosity. It is about geography and risk to Australia, which has business interests in these areas, and certainly Australians will work in these countries and commute. I wouldn’t call that philanthropy. That is CYA.

3088

It can be both - self-serving and still generous. Lots of philanthropy works that way, even when not acknowledged. Not all countries are reaching out to help their “neighbors”.

3089

Yeah, Australian govt is at least as right wing and protectionist as the US today. They are protecting their interests. They also won’t want Australians and Australian businesses blocked from entry into these areas. I would add Australia to the list of countries that are not doing mass testing which makes no sense looking at the location and demographics.

3090

https://www.pharmaceutical-technology.com/news/israel-migal-covid-19-vaccine/

So my understanding is that they have been working 4 years on a very similar strain. They need to alter the genetic make up then test it out. Once successful in the lab they need to get approval to fast track it to human testing. This is just one of many articles I have read about this group.

3091

See post #3083 about Australia and its testing, and remember that Australia’s population is only about 25 million people, which means it has around 8% of the population of the US, less than Texas. So, not as much testing as Korea or Italy, but it is up there as one of the more active testers, population-wise.

3092

I just hope any vaccine isn’t “fast tracked” to the point, due to many pressures, that some error is made. Imagine that and the repercussions in a world of an increasing number of anti-vaxxers. We want it as soon as possible but as safe as possible.

3093

I remember because I also got it that first summer, and my doctor refused to test with some random excuse. I changed doctors shortly thereafter. Our whole family got it, via my oldest who was at summer camp with a lot of kids and got a mild case. It was worst for DH and me, being in that “in-between” age with the horrible pains for weeks.

That fall, everyone around us was coughing and sick and we were already immune. But I still took everyone for vaccines as soon as it was readily available, just in case.

3094

Of course. Their government won’t allow it but there is an urgency of course. Plus it seems to be a variant of a strain they put alot of research into. Which I guess is better then starting from scratch. It would be nice to get all these researchers worldwide on a panel to share their findings but at some point there is a business module behind this also…

At least this is somewhat encouraging.

3095

According to the Chinese data, about 75% of all the people-to-people transmissions occurred within families.

3096

IRAN - 835 newly confirmed cases for a total of 2,336. 11 new deaths for a total of 77.
111 recoveries reported (which seems quick relative to when Iran confirmed cases).

GIBRALTAR - 1st confirmed case, the patient, along with their partner, had recently returned from northern Italy via Malaga airport in Spain.

UKRAINE - 1ST case confirmed, identified in the southwestern city of Chernivtsi. The patient had traveled with family members to Italy.

THAILAND -

Thailand imposes compulsory self-quarantine for passengers from 11 countries and territories

“The minister’s post said Japan, Germany, South Korea, China “including its special territories Macao and Hong Kong,” Taiwan, France, Singapore, Italy and Iran have been declared as “dangerous communicable disease areas.” Anyone traveling from those places will have to self-quarantine for 14 days “with no exceptions,” Charnvirakul added. The measures imposed by the Thai government include isolating or quarantining those with temperature above 37.5 degrees Celsius (99.5 degrees Fahrenheit) or with suspicious coronavirus symptoms. Travelers who have no fever and show no symptoms will still have to enter self-quarantine for 14 days. They will not be allowed to leave their premises unless special permits from Thai authorities are obtained.” (CNN)

USA -Up to 1 million people could be tested for coronavirus in the US by the end of the week

"Up to a million people could be tested for coronavirus by the end of week, the FDA said Monday…About a quarter of the current cases were likely transmitted through US communities, officials have said, meaning they were not travel-related.

“My concern is as the next week or two or three go by, we’re going to see a lot more community-related cases,” Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said in a news conference Monday. “That’s of great concern.”…

Over the weekend, the US Food and Drug Administration further expanded who could test for the virus by allowing additional labs to develop their own tests for the virus. The move, FDA Commissioner Dr. Stephen Hahn said, would enable academic centers and private companies to develop and use tests.

He said up to a million tests will likely be conducted by the end of this week." (CNN)

CHINA -

Colleague of whistleblower doctor Li Wenliang dies of coronavirus

A Wuhan doctor, from the same department as whistleblower doctor Li Wenliang, died from coronavirus on Tuesday, according to Wuhan Central Hospital. Mei Zhongming was the 57-year-old chief doctor and deputy director of the ophthalmology department at Wuhan Central Hospital, and was Dr. Li’s superior." (CNN)

3097

Not sure if the following has been posted before about the outbreak in Washington state:

  1. 4 of the 6 deaths occurred in the Kirkland skilled nursing facility. All of them (all in their 70s and 80s) had underlying health issues. The remaining 2 deaths were males (one in his 40s and another in his 50s).

  2. All the confirmed cases in critical conditions are also in the Kirkland facility, with the exception of 3 cases (one in Burien, one in Renton, and another in Seattle). Two of those three (all males in their 50s and 60s) are in critical but stable conditions.

  3. The youngest confirmed case is a high school teenager with mild symptoms in Snohomish county.

3098

USA -

CDC is no longer reporting the number of people who have been tested for coronavirus

"A US congressman [Rep. Mark Pocan] has sent a letter of concern to the [CDC] after it stopped listing on its website the number of Americans tested for the coronavirus.

Since January, the CDC had been publishing a cumulative total of US novel coronavirus cases and the number of patients who have been tested in the United States…According to Pocan’s letter, on Sunday the CDC’s website listed how many cases were travel-rated, the number of person-to-person cases, the total number of people tested, and the number of coronavirus deaths.

But on Monday, the website no longer listed the number of people in the United States who had been tested.

“Americans are dying. We deserve to know how many Americans have perished from COVID-19 and we deserve to know how many people have been tested for it,” Pocan said in the letter.

“Knowing that CDC testing is keeping pace with the likely number of cases is imperative to maintaining public trust. With that in mind, when will you return to publicly reporting the total number of deaths and tested persons on your website?”
In an email early Tuesday morning, the CDC told CNN: “Now that states are testing and reporting their own results, CDC’s numbers may not represent all of the testing being done nationwide.” (CNN)

Seems to me, it would be easy to have a protocol in place whereby all states report in daily and those numbers could be quickly tabulated. Seems like CDC would want to know this information themselves. Weren’t US government officials scolding China last month about a need for transparency?

3099

AUSTRALIA confirms 4 new cases bringing total to 35

the new cases include:

A 39-year-old man who recently returned from Iran
A 53-year-old man who recently arrived from Singapore
A woman in her 60s who recently returned from South Korea
A woman in her 60s who recently arrived from Japan

GERMANY - So far today, 23 new cases for a total of 188, the state of North Rhine Westphalia in the west of the country the most affected with 101 cases.

“There is particular media focus on a cruise ship with 1200 Germans on board, moored in the Norwegian port city of Hausgesund. Two of the passengers who had contact with a person who had the virus are suspected of having it. Passengers are awaiting diagnosis results from Norwegian authorities who are then expected to announce whether the passengers should stay on the ship or be taken into quarantine elsewhere.”
Most of the cases in Germany so far appear to involve people who had been in Iran and Italy. Germany’s health minister, Jens Spahn, has urged doctors to “carry out too many tests rather than too few”.

The interior minister Horst Seehofer has said they should also be obligatory for people arriving in Germany on international trains and buses if there is to be any chance of interrupting the chain of the virus." (Guardian)

3100

UK/Wales -

"Currently there are not the same powers in Wales to detain people suspected of having the virus – as there are in England…

The chief medical officer for Wales, Frank Atherton, has given a briefing in Cardiff. He said:

  • 450 people have been tested in Wales. [population 3.2 million] Most of the testing has taken place in the community. Only one person confirmed to have coronavirus. That person is being treated in London. Active surveillance is taking place, which includes testing people with respiratory illnesses in intensive care units.
  • Currently in the containment phase. Next will be the delay phase to try to slow the spread of coronavirus while the NHS is under pressure. Atherton described this as a “window of opportunity for calm preparation.” May need to halt some non-urgent operations, outpatient services.
  • Atherton’s “best guess” is that no vaccine will be developed this year. Next year, maybe." (Guardian)

IRAN - “Semiofficial news agencies in Iran are reporting that the head of the country’s emergency medical services is now ill with Covid-19, and state television quoted a lawmaker as saying 23 members of parliament now had the virus.” (Guardian)