Coronavirus in the US

Parent Cafe
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UK -

"Infections in UK would peak three months after first sustained transmission
The government is working on the basis that it will take between two and three months after the first sustained human to human transmission for the outbreak to peak.

That potentially key point on timeframes was spelled out by Britain’s chief scientific adviser, Sir Patrick Vallance.

After that, it would take another two to three months for it to taper off. " (Guardian)

OLYMPICS - Japan’s Olympic 2020 contract allows postponement

"Tokyo’s Olympic 2020 contract allows it to postpone the Games until the end of the year, Japan’s Olympics minister has said, amid concern the coronavirus could disrupt the event.

“The contract calls for the Games to be held within 2020. That could be interpreted as allowing a postponement,” Seiko Hashimoto said in a session of Japan’s parliament.

However, Japan’s government and host city Tokyo were still committed to hosting the Games, due to begin on July 24, she added. And under the hosting agreement, the right to cancel the Games belongs to the IOC." (Guardian)

"Super-spreaders” – what are they and how are they transmitting coronavirus?

As explained by the Guardian’s health editor, Sarah Boseley, not everybody is equal when it comes to the transmission of infectious diseases.

In fact, it has been established for at least two decades that there is something called the 20/80 rule – that a small core group of about one in five people transmit infections to far more people than the majority do.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/feb/27/what-are-super-spreaders-and-how-are-they-transmitting-coronavirus

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USA -

"A lack of training and communication have led to fears of medical facilities in the US becoming overwhelmed with an influx of cases.

All hospitals have a pandemic preparedness plan that they should brief all their employees on as the illness becomes more serious in the US…But some nurses in the medical field say that training and information has not come in a timely manner.

A survey of 1,000 California nurses from National Nurses United, the largest nurses’ union in the country, found that 47% of nurses were unsure if their hospital had a plan in place to isolate patients with possible novel coronavirus infection.

Almost half were unsure if their hospitals have enough personal protective equipment, such as masks, to protect staff in the case of a rapid surge of cases."

MORE…
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/03/coronavirus-us-healthcare-preparedness-guidelines

IRAN - 8% of Iran’s parliament has tested positive for coronavirus, official says

Twenty-three members of Iran’s 290-member “Majlis” or parliament have tested positive for the novel coronavirus, according to Iran’s Deputy Parliament Speaker Abdul Reza Misri. (CNN)

"India, the world’s main supplier of generic drugs, has restricted the export of 26 pharmaceutical ingredients and drugs made from them, including paracetamol, as concern mounted the coronavirus outbreak could turn into a pandemic.

Indian pharma companies get almost 70% of the active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) for their medicines from China, Reuters reports.

Already, the coronavirus outbreak has disrupted businesses dependent on Chinese supplies and industry professionals say Indian generic drugmakers are likely to face supply shortages from China if the epidemic drags on.

“Export of specified APIs and formulations made from these APIs… is hereby ‘restricted’ with immediate effect and till further orders,” " (REUTERS)

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Pope tests negative <3

"Pope Francis, who canceled a Lent retreat for the first time in his papacy because he is suffering from a cold, has tested negative for coronavirus, the Italian newspaper Il Messaggero reported on Tuesday. " (Guardian)

@romanigypsyeyes

ITALY - @TatinG commented yesterday on the number of older people in Italy and the possible effect on the Covid-19 death rate. This info supports that.

"Italy’s large elderly population poses a challenge in slowing the number of coronavirus deaths in the worst-affected country in Europe, a health specialist has said.

The virus has killed 52 people in Italy, all aged between 63 and 95 with underlying serious illnesses.

The Guardian’s Lorenzo Tondo and Angela Giuffrida report that the death toll, provided by officials on Monday night, marked an increase of 18 in 24 hours. Twenty-three per cent of the Italian population is over 65, making it the oldest in the world after Japan.

Prof Massimo Galli, the director of infectious diseases at Sacco hospital in Milan, said: “Italy is a country of old people. The elderly with previous pathologies are notoriously numerous here.

I think this could explain why we are seeing more serious cases of coronavirus here, which I repeat, in the vast majority of cases start mildly and cause few problems, especially in young people and certainly in children.”" (Guardian)

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2nd Confirmed Case in New York

Man who lives in Westchester County and works in Manhattan. “The patient, who has an underlying respiratory illness, is hospitalized, Cuomo said on Long Island News Radio. Initial review of the man’s travel does not suggest any direct connection to China or countries on the watch list, however he did go to Miami, Cuomo said. “It would be what we call a community spread case,” he said.” (CNN)

GERMANY -

"A letter posted on social media by an emergency doctor has gone viral in Germany, where he said he felt medical staff had been “left in the lurch” by authorities.

Falk Stirkat, an emergency doctor on call from Erlangen said: “We are in no way whatsoever prepared for the current situation.”

“We’re being sent to the people who have had contact with someone with Corona in order to get samples from them. But we’re not being provided with any sort of proper protective clothing. I have been told to just go to the patients without any protection.”

“One colleague was forced to use a pair of diving goggles she brought from home to protect her and others from the spread of the virus.”

In further signs that authorities are overwhelmed with the situation, people have been reporting huge difficulties in finding who to turn to if they suspect they or their children might have the virus.

One woman told the tabloid ‘Bild’, she spent four and a half hours on the phone trying to find someone to help her, but was “sent from pillar to post” and has since been told to stay at home." (Guardian)

in German: https://www.bild.de/bild-plus/regional/nuernberg/nuernberg-news/arzt-spricht-corona-klartext-wir-sind-in-keinster-weise-vorbereitet-69163946,view=conversionToLogin.bild.html

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"There are 106 cases of the novel coronavirus in the United States, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as well as state and local governments.

According to the CDC there are 48 cases from repatriated citizens. According to CNN Health’s tally of US cases that are detected and tested in the United States through US public health systems, there are 58 cases in 12 states. Bringing the total of coronavirus cases to 106.

This includes presumptive positive cases that tested positive in a public health lab and are pending confirmation from the CDC, and confirmed cases that have received positive results from the CDC. " (CNN)

Here’s the state-by-state breakdown of the cases:

Arizona – 1

California – 20
Florida — 2
Illinois — 4

Massachusetts — 2
New York — 2
Oregon — 3
Rhode Island — 2

Washington state —18 (includes 6 fatalities)

Wisconsin — 1
New Hampshire — 1
Georgia — 2

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I’m not interested in posting every school closing but felt this one deserved mentioning in the “unfortunate name” category. We need to find humor where we can in this mess. :slight_smile:

"A New York City school has said it would be closed on Tuesday after a suspected case of coronavirus was detected in its community.

The SAR Academy and SAR High School is an orthodox Jewish school in Riverdale, in the Bronx borough. It said in a statement the closure was a precautionary measure and that it was in touch with the New York City Department of Health and following its guidelines." (Guardian)

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Presented without comment:

https://nypost.com/2020/03/02/trump-says-coronavirus-shows-need-for-better-flu-shot/

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Purdue just sent a lengthy email update about the virus and what the university is doing. New highlights -

  • Cancelling visitors/profs/speakers to campus from impacted countries
  • Working to ensure that students from impacted countries can remain on campus instead of returning home for the summer
  • Discussed the containment and quarantine plan
  • Discussed the continuity of course plan in the event of an outbreak on campus (basically that students will be able to finish out the semester online).
  • Implemented a new website for information and FAQ
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So what is the consensus about visiting Seattle the first week of April??

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^I would go and not give it a second thought.

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As with so much these days, wait and see when closer. Things are changing day to day. I know it sounds unhelpful but I think it is the honest, pragmatic answer.

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We have tix to Chicago in July. We are holding off on booking travel the the metro NYC area and SF.

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Saw this elsewhere:

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Professor at Brown who couldn’t get tested after exposure/illness

https://www.browndailyherald.com/2020/03/02/brown-professor-says-requested-coronavirus-test-trip-europe/

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UK’s attempts at containment phase: According to the UK’S Department for Health and Social Care twitter, 13,911 people in the UK have now been tested for the virus and 51 cases have been detected, up 12 today.

SPAIN - 33 new cases for a total of 153.

Medical students rafted in

"In Basque Country region in northern Spain, authorities have put out a special appeal for medicine graduates to come forward so that a standby list of doctors can be drawn up…It comes after it emerged that 100 health professionals are among the 220 people currently in isolation in the region due to possible infection. This number includes at least 30 doctors. In the city of Vitoria, the capital of Basque Country region, five positive cases of coronavirus have been registered in two hospitals.

Coronavirus cruise concerns

"Myanmar has stopped a cruise boat carrying some 400 tourists from docking in the country, a senior tourism official said on Tuesday, citing fears passengers could be carrying the coronavirus.

The Silver Spirit, a luxury liner operated by Monaco-based Silversea Cruises, last docked at the Thai island of Phuket and was scheduled to stop at Thilawa, outside Myanmar’s commercial capital of Yangon on Wednesday.

“We have informed the … port authorities that the entry of this ship should not be allowed,” Khin Maung Soe, deputy permanent secretary of the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism, told Reuters by phone.

He said he did not know whether any of the passengers were showing symptoms of the virus:

"Even if passengers haven’t shown the symptoms so far, they might when they arrive in Myanmar and it will be difficult for the country to control.

“If things get worse, our people might get affected.”" (Telegraph)

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@doschicos
See post #3083 about Australia and its testing, .

[/quote]

I don’t see Australia in that link at all? Am I missing it?

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Google just cancelled their conference in early April in San Francisco. I travel for work all the time, and now it seems like my travel has come to an abrupt halt. I wonder what the airlines will do for status , since I was on target to reach platinum and if all the conferences in April and May are cancelled then it will not happen . this is likely to happen for many business travelers. It seems like there will be an uptick in spread and then come summer my thoughts are that it will die down. It seems as if we dont hear from Singapore about cases anymore and they had a few at the beginning. From what I understand its very hot there.

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I don’t see Australia in that link at all? Am I missing it?

[/quote]

Oh my, big mistake by me. :smiley: My apologies!

I did find this though:
"Since 6 February, South Australian GPs have been able to test people with flu-like symptoms for both the novel coronavirus and the flu.

‘Novel coronavirus testing will become part of routine respiratory infection testing, resulting in a more efficient and streamlined process for GPs,’ SA Health said in a statement at the time.’

“Around 10,000 people have been tested for coronavirus in Australia, with 35 confirmed cases. Fifteen of those have now recovered.” So that’s a very high rate of testing given the population size.

Story from within the past day:
https://www1.racgp.org.au/newsgp/clinical/should-australia-be-testing-more-broadly-for-the-c

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NYS was just given permission on Saturday from the Federal govt to do there own testing, using their own test and using their own labs to process the test.

During the Governor’s press conference yesterday he said they are ramping up testing.

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The US Federal Reserve has slashed US interest rates in an emergency measure to protect America’s economy from the financial impact of the coronavirus.

In an unscheduled move, the Fed is cutting its benchmark rate to between 1% and 1.25% – down from 1.5% to 1.75%.

The Fed says:

The fundamentals of the U.S. economy remain strong. However, the coronavirus poses evolving risks to economic activity. In light of these risks and in support of achieving its maximum employment and price stability goals, the Federal Open Market Committee decided today to lower the target range for the federal funds rate by 1/2 percentage point, to 1 to 1-1/4 percent.

The Committee is closely monitoring developments and their implications for the economic outlook and will use its tools and act as appropriate to support the economy. (Guardian)