Coronavirus in the US

Parent Cafe
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Los Angeles County already has a a couple of confirmed cases, one of which is in West LA. The patient in WLA, sought treatment at Kaiser and was apparently sent home to self-quarantine!

From NBC News:

The second Los Angeles County case of coronavirus was confirmed Tuesday by Kaiser Permanente in West Los Angeles, which said it was overseeing the care of a patient “who is home in self-isolation and being treated on an outpatient basis.”

The announcement came hours after the county Department of Public Health announced plans for a news conference to discuss the spread of coronavirus and the response.

“We are in touch with and monitoring the patient,” Kaiser Permanente said in a statement. “We are focused on delivering excellent care while ensuring the protection of our members, physicians and staff.”

This from LA Times

'The most recent pandemic flu — caused by the H1N1 virus that emerged from pigs in 2009 — caused between 152,000 and 575,000 deaths around the world. An estimated 12,500 of those fatalities occurred in the U.S. during the first year of the outbreak; an estimated 60.8 million nationwide were infected.

The new coronavirus could wind up somewhere in between, said Dr. Otto Yang, an infectious disease expert at UCLA. Based on what’s known right now, his best guess is that it might resemble the pandemic flu of 1968, which killed about 1 million people globally, including 100,000 in the U.S. That time, the fatality rate for those infected was about 0.03%.’

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“We’re planning to have the Games as planned,” says Tokyo 2020 Olympic boss

"There is no current threshold that could derail the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, organizing committee CEO Toshiro Muto told CNN…When asked if there was there had been discussion with the IOC …about a tipping point that could lead to the cancelation or postponement of this summer’s Games, Muto said: “No not at all, we are planning to have the Games as planned. We are doing our utmost to make it happen.”

Tokyo Olympic organizing committee chairman Yoshio Mori acknowledged public opinion surrounding the coronavirus, saying that it is important to listen and take that into account in what he called a “constantly changing situation.”

Responding to Japan’s Olympic Minister’s Tuesday statement outlining the potential for postponement of the Games, Mori responded: “I don’t know, I’m not a god.”

At the news conference on Wednesday, the organizing committee also assured that it will take all necessary steps to prevent the spread of the coronavirus among runners, spectators and staff as the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Relay begins on March 20.

The group said they would make decisions based on the status of infection in the prefectures where each leg is being run. Tokyo 2020 is due to officially begin on July 24." (CNN)

Beijing trials “subway by appointment” to reduce virus risk

"Beijing’s public transport network plans to experiment with “subway by appointment,” starting on Friday morning.

The transit operator said on Thursday that passengers were encouraged to make an appointment to enter two commuter-heavy stations during morning rush hours. Using one of five authorized apps, passengers will be able to make an appointment for a spot to enter one of the two stations the next day. They will receive a QR code on their smartphones if they complete the process successfully. The code is valid for half an hour around the time chosen by the passengers.

The aim is to reduce crowding in stations and on trains during the outbreak, as well as waiting time outside stations, according to the subway operator.

Beijing Subway is the busiest in China with a daily ridership of over 10 million." (CNN)

"Israel’s chief rabbi has advised Jews to forego the traditional touching of the “mezuzah”, a decorative case containing a small holy scroll that is attached to many doorposts in the country.

In an advisory published on Wednesday, the rabbi, David Lau, said there was no religious obligation to carry out the practice, and it was enough for Jews to reflect on the scroll’s message when entering or leaving a home.

“During these days, when we are witness to the spread of a serious disease, there is no doubt that one should not kiss the mezuzah or touch it at all,” Lau wrote." (Guardian)

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Italy has closed all schools & universities until mid-March in attempt to curb spread of coronavirus which has killed at least 79 in Italy & sickened over 2,500.

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“cover up” is pretty strong words. Do you really think that amoung the thousands of CDC employees, there is not one whisteleblower?

But the point about avoiding “panic” is spot on, as noted in the first quote. (not trying to call out posters, bcos I do believe that many feel that this is really scary and it represents a (small?) proportion of the US.)

Most should be like:

unless you are immuno-suppressed and/or elderly (or has relatives who are).

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UK - 34 new cases for a total of 85.

29 cases had recently traveled from “recognised countries or recognised clusters which were under investigation.”

Three additional patients contracted the virus in the UK and it is not yet clear whether they contracted it directly or indirectly from an individual who had recently returned from abroad.

FRANCE -

"Health officials in France say around 8,300 masks and 1,200 bottles of sanitising health gel have been stolen from Paris hospitals.

Another 2,000 surgery masks have disappeared from a hospital in Marseilles.

The French government says it will take legal measures to rein in the soaring prices being demanded for bottles of hand gel.

Anyone wanting to buy masks from a pharmacy will have to get a medical prescription." (Guardian)

AUSTRALIA - 2nd death - a 95-year-old woman who died in a Sydney hospital on Tuesday night has been confirmed to have had coronavirus.

11 new cases for a total of 50.

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There are now at least 130 cases of novel coronavirus in the US

(CNN)

There are 130 cases of the novel coronavirus, including nine deaths, 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, there are 82 cases in 13 states. Bringing the total of coronavirus cases to 130.

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

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

Arizona – 2
California – 27
Florida - 3
Georgia - 2
Illinois - 4
Massachusetts - 2
New Hampshire – 2
New York - 6
North Carolina - 1
Oregon - 3
Rhode Island - 2
Washington state - 27 (includes 9 fatalities)
Wisconsin - 1

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I have seen references to it being discussed and proposed. Do have a link that it has actually happened?

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Headline is misleading since body of posts says has not been confirmed, but this is from CNBC.

8:39 am: Italy orders schools to close for two weeks

The Italian government has ordered schools nationwide to close for the next two weeks to limit the spread of the coronavirus, but the country’s education minister says a final decision on the closure not yet been confirmed, according to Italian media reports. State-run RAI, the ANSA and LaPresse news agencies reported that Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte had agreed on the closure during a cabinet meeting. But Education Minister Lucia Azzolina told reporters that nothing is final yet. Italy has seen its virus caseload explode since the first positive test was registered in northern Lombardy on Feb. 19. Since then, more than 2,500 people in Italy have tested positive, and 79 have died. Italy is the epicenter of Europe’s outbreak. —Associated Press

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https://www.thedartmouth.com/article/2020/03/dhmc-employee-with-coronavirus-broke-isolation-second-person-infected

A person who had been (ordered or asked) to self-isolate, broke isolation to attend a social event. Now another person who was there has been diagnosed with COVID-19.

Are there (should there be) penalties for this? I cannot believe how irresponsible this person was! At the least, the second person infected has a civil lawsuit against the man who broke isolation (assuming he has any assets to go after). Unbelievable.

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I sort of want to follow this thread and sort of don’t. Anyone else feel like that? I mean, it’s good to be informed of course but I don’t know that anything is going to change for most of us. Maybe it just makes people more paranoid to update themselves multiple times per day?

College students are going to come home for spring break or go on trips. I highly doubt classes would be cancelled for the rest of the semester. That’s never happened. Younger kids continue to go to school. One can still travel and take precautions or choose to not travel. I don’t know that any “new” info is going to change many people’s lives.

Hopefully those who are compromised or elderly have already decided to be more cautious while this all plays out.

@TatinG And, yes, that’s annoying that that person broke isolation. What on earth was so important that he had to go to that meeting at Tuck? It also makes me think that, if he’s infected and has symptoms, then he’s not feeling all that sick. And let’s hope that anyone who is higher risk wasn’t at that meeting. Dartmouth says that no one at the meeting is considered under risk now even though he was there. That’s the kind of message I think it’s also important to hear. If you go out, and someone is sick, it’s doesn’t mean everyone in the room is going to come down with the virus.

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Not everyone in the room is going to get sick, but they likely will be required to self quarantine. That can be very difficult for some due to jobs and other responsibilities, including child care and elder care.

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US auto union suspends air travel by staff

"The United Auto Workers union announced it has suspended all travel by staff members, both internationally and domestically.

"This is a precautionary action not meant to elicit concern, but to help in dealing with the spread of this epidemic,” said UAW President Rory Gamble. Road travel by staff is still permitted.

In addition, the union has canceled a conference scheduled to be held in San Antonio, Texas from March 8 to 13 that had been expected to draw 1,000 of the union’s financial officers." (CNN)

This kind of stuff will kill airlines.

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So it turns out the 2 cases in Atlanta are not a husband and wife, but a dad and his 15 year old son. But as I mentioned earlier, the children in this family are home-schooled, so there are not current concerns in the county school system.

https://www.ajc.com/news/fulton-county-dad-son-test-positive-for-coronavirus-after-italy-trip/TVxwBFVVER7qporup2kLvJ/

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US should be proactive in testing for novel coronavirus, health official says

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said the United States should be proactive when it comes to testing for the coronavirus.

On Wednesday, during a House Appropriations Committee hearing on a budget request for the National Institutes of Health, Fauci was asked by Rep. Mark Pocan if we should be proactive with testing for novel coronavirus in hospitals, rather than waiting for people to come and be tested.

Fauci definitively replied, “Yes. The answer is yes and I feel strongly about that.”

Earlier in the hearing, Fauci explained that the new guidelines for testing are a good thing.

“The major issue that I find and many of my colleagues find problematic is that if you’re looking for people in the community who don’t have a recognize link to a test, we call it community transmission, then you’ve gotta withdraw the restrictions that in order to get a test, you have to have a link to something. It’s almost inherently contradictory. " (CNN)

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According to the article, the people at the Tuck meeting were not told to self quarantine.

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Coronavirus mortality rate is about 2%, health official says

"Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said the mortality rate for novel coronavirus is about 2% if “you just do the math.”

"If you look at the cases that have come to the attention of the medical authorities in China, and you just do the math, the math is about 2%. If you look at certain age groups, certain risk groups, the fatality is much higher. But as a group it’s going to depend completely on what the factor of asymptotic cases are. So if you have asymptotic cases that are a lot, it’s going to come down,” Fauci said on Wednesday during a House Appropriations Committee hearing on NIH’s budget. On Tuesday, World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said globally the rate is about 3.4%.

Speaking about the WHO’s higher number, Fauci said, “What we’re hearing right now, on a recent call from the WHO this morning is that there aren’t as many asymptotic cases as we think. Which made them elevate, I think, what their mortality is.”

Fauci warned, “You know as well as anybody that the mortality for seasonal flu is .1% so even if it goes down to 1% it’s still 10 times more fatal." " (CNN)

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@homerdog – While the thought of schools closing for the remainder of term may seem far-fetched, I think we may still see it.

My son’s college sent an email to the students on Monday in advance of the two week spring break that starts this weekend. In addition to standard travel warnings to high risk areas, they said:

“If you will be traveling home for spring break, consider bringing any items you will want with you if your return to campus is delayed.” The email also referenced an earlier email (I don’t see this as a parent) reminding students “You may want to bring anything home that you no longer plan to use for the rest of the term.”

No diagnosed cases in CT yet, but that is probably just a matter of time.

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Actually, that’s not what the article says. The first person is a Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center employee. Yes, that person disregarded the instructions to self-isolate, and then attended a private social event held by Tuck Business School. But the second person diagnosed is also a Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center employee. That would suggest to me that it’s much more likely that patient #2 was exposed to the virus through a workplace contact, not at the business school event.

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Has anyone posted this yet?

Los Angeles-area officials declare emergency after confirming six new coronavirus cases over 48 hours

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/04/los-angeles-area-officials-declare-local-emergency-confirm-new-coronavirus-cases.html

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There are six new coronavirus cases in Los Angeles county

The LA County Department of Public Health confirmed 6 new cases of coronavirus, county officials said in a news conference.

This brings the count to 7 cases for the county.

Vice President Pence says new guidance coming for US nursing homes after coronavirus outbreak

"Vice President Mike Pence said that the administration is sending new guidance for nursing homes on the coronavirus, after a nursing home outside of Seattle became a hotbed of infections.

Pence made the announcement during a meeting with airline industry leaders and President Trump.

“Even earlier today, at your direction, we met with leaders of our nursing home industry to talk about the increased measures to prevent the spread of infectious disease,” Pence said to the President.

“We’ve sent new guidance out to nursing homes,” he said, and added that the administration will be announcing “priority of inspections for infectious diseases.”"

Better late than never but should have been done already as we knew from China that older people were very vulnerable.