Here are the next steps New York is taking due to coronavirus cases
"New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced a bevy of steps being taken in the wake of new coronavirus cases in the state.
Here are some of the next steps the governor announced today:
Officials are testing “a number” of people in the New York City law firm where the patient from Westchester, New York, works. Some tests are pending but none have come back positive.
Eight employees of Lawrence Hospital, where the man first went before transferring to a New York City hospital, are being tested.
The man’s daughter attends SAR High School, which will continue to be closed. People who had contact with the individual should be on self-quarantine meaning stay at home and limit your exposure to people, through this Friday. If symptoms develop, individuals are encouraged to contact healthcare professionals.
An associated synagogue CNN previously reported on will be closed through March 8 and Cuomo said individuals should be on self-quarantine as well, pending any developments.
SAR elementary will be closed through Friday. Individuals are not required to self-quarantine.
Yeshiva University — where the man’s son goes to school — will be closed through at least this Friday." (CNN)
Cuomo’s level of communication has been good so far, IMO.
But again, to the lay audience, instead of saying novel coronavirus, 2019 coronavirus, SARS coronavirus 2, etc, associating it with the disease pathology is normal convention, i.e. COVID-19 virus.
"Israel announced a series of strict measures to combat the spread of coronavirus on Wednesday afternoon, including additional travel restrictions and limitations on large gatherings. The Ministry of Health also urged Israelis to stop shaking hands.
Foreign nationals who have traveled from France, Germany, Spain, Austria, and Switzerland will soon be barred from entering Israel, unless they are able to self-quarantine for a period of 14 days…Israelis who return from these countries will have to self-quarantine at home for 14 days from the day they return. This rule will apply retroactively for people who have already returned
Israel already prevents entry of foreign nationals who have been to China, Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Macau, South Korea, & Italy within the last 14 days. Any Israeli citizens returning from these destinations must self-quarantine for 14 days. Tourists who visited Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, and Syria in the last 14 days will not be allowed to enter the country.
…healthcare workers are forbidden from traveling overseas. International conferences are now barred from being held in Israel…Israeli citizens who attend international conferences overseas must go into self-quarantine… Israeli citizens who return from any destination abroad are not allowed to attend gatherings of more than 100 people. …those aged 60 or over, as well as those suffering from chronic diseases …to refrain from close contact with anyone who has returned from overseas.
As of Wednesday evening, Israel has 15 confirmed cases of coronavirus." (CNN)
Again, this is true only if it can be stopped from spreading - small numbers are facts now. This is why essentially everyone is trying to keep it from spreading. Increase the numbers to those affected by the flu and far more have bad effects, up to and including death.
Wouldn’t it have been great if the flu itself had been able to die out when it was new eons ago rather than having an annual death rate from it now?
If Covid-19 becomes a regular out there annually, sooner or later all of us are high risk if we aren’t killed by other things first just as flu is a concern for older folks now.
We don’t know. Different countries use different benchmarks to diagnose hypertension or obesity. Hypertension has been a risk factor for Covid-19 mortality in China, but hypertension does not tend to be as well-controlled in China as in the US.
Because this is a new virus, we don’t have data that applies perfectly. People have to rely on what we know from previous illnesses, and the info on Covid-19 in China, in order to assess risk. We will likely get more demographic information from other hard-hit countries when the WHO finishes fact finding.
I’ve said before on the thread that it is likely that there is a spectrum for each risk factor. Your risk doesn’t jump when you turn 50, it slides up incrementally as you age. The risks for conditions like heart disease and diabetes likely also vary along a spectrum depending on how severe the disease is and how well treated it is.
I think we all understand how scary the uncertainty is. That’s part of why this thread is helping me a lot. It shows me that we are gathering data and learning every day. Doctors and scientists are already studying and reporting their findings. The school closings, quarantines, isolations are a giant experiment in what works to slow this virus down. If that information is shared globally, we will not only have a better understanding of individual risk, we’ll have a much greater chance of beating Covid-19.
How the US will start proactive testing for novel coronavirus
"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.
Fauci explained what he means by proactive testing:
“Proactive means, I don’t know what’s in the community so I’m going to go to a bunch of emergency rooms and when people present with symptoms that look like they might be coronavirus, even though they have no connection with anybody who has coronavirus, they didn’t travel anywhere, and test them to see if their infected.”
Fauci explained that there aren’t enough resources to have this at every single emergency room in the country.
“So what the CDC has done, they’ve started by taking six sentinel cites and now they are expanding that to many more cities. Essentially doing sentinel surveillance in surveillance in different places. And that will give us a good idea or at least a partially good idea of what’s under the radar screen that we’re missing,” Fauci said.
CDC has said the six cities are Los Angeles, San Francisco, Honolulu, New York, Chicago and Seattle." (CNN)
CHILE - confirms second case of coronavirus, 33-year-old patient who tested positive for the novel coronavirus is a relative of the person who was the first confirmed case of coronavirus in the country. Both recently traveled to various countries in Southeast Asia as well as Spain. The patient is in good health and will be monitored in isolation at their home.
Most health insurance plans for large employers are “self funded” which means the plan doesn’t need to follow state laws. So keep that in mind, even if you are in NY.
FRANCE - 73 new cases bringing the total to 285 and 15 are in intensive care. Death toll remains at 4.
HUNGRY - 1st 2 cases confirmed, two Iranian students who are asymptomatic but have been transported to St. Ladislaus Hospital.
NORWAY- 23 new cases for a total of 56.
ICELAND - 12 new cases for a total of 26.
2 had traveled from Austria through Munich, a male and a female in their 60s who also returned from Verona, Italy through Munich. “They have what can be called traditional flu symptoms, not very sick”
FAROE ISLANDS - 1st case in the Faroe Islands: a man who had been at a conference in Paris and returned on Feb. 24.
IRAQ - 3 new cases for a total of 35, 1st death who died in a hospital in Baghdad.
BELGIUM - 10 new cases in Belgium bringing the total to 24. 9 returned from a trip to northern Italy and are now isolated at home after developing an upper respiratory infection with a relatively mild flu-like condition. 1 patient, who had not traveled but is a contact of a previous case who had traveled to Venice, developed a more severe respiratory infection and was therefore admitted to the Saint-Pierre hospital in Brussels.
The European Defense Agency (EDA) in Brussels has confirmed that one of its employees has tested positive after returning last week from a trip to Italy, where the official had a meeting with around 30 officials from other EU institutions. EDA has canceled all scheduled meetings at its premises until March 13.
SWITZERLAND - 32 new cases for a total of 90. The cases have tripled over the past 2 days.
JAPAN - 38 new cases bringing the total to 331. Doesn’t include Diamond Princess.
At least 10 people have died in Washington state from coronavirus
A 10th person has died from Coronavirus in Washington state, the state’s health department website confirmed today. The death occurred in King County.
In total, the state has reported 39 cases, up from 27 reported earlier.
Source: CNN
Not seeing details yet.
King County, Washington says it doesn’t have enough coronavirus tests
"The King County Public Health Department in Washington state does not have enough coronavirus tests to meet the current demand, the department has confirmed to CNN.
Katie Ross, spokeswoman for the department, could not immediately say what steps were being taken to correct the problem, or when it would be remedied, but she said the department is issuing guidance to prioritize the administering of available tests.
Anyone who feels they have been in contact with an infected person is encouraged to call the department’s coronavirus help line (206-477-3977)
People who have symptoms, but who haven’t had contact with someone known to be infected, are being asked to monitor their symptoms and self-quarantine, she added.
Ross noted that tests administered through the state’s public health department are free." (CNN)
SWEDEN - Sixteen new cases of the coronavirus have been confirmed in Stockholm, according to local authorities, taking the total number of cases in Sweden to 52. Region Stockholm have said:
Sixteen additional patients were found infected with Covid-19 … The infected patients are being cared for in isolation to reduce the risk of further transmission.
The causes of four of the 31 confirmed cases in the Stockholm region remain under investigation, as – unlike the rest of the cases – no clear link to infection abroad or contact with people who had been infected abroad was found, the authority says.
ALGERIA - 9 new cases bringing the total to 17. 16 cases are from one single Algerian family in the Blida province, about 30km south of the capital Algiers.
Since Saturday, the government has been saying they would have many many tests available “very shortly”. Where are the promised tests? Does anyone know? How can the epicenter of US coronavirus STILL not have enough tests?
"The death of a patient in Placer County marks the first coronavirus-related death in California.
The patient was elderly and had underlying health conditions…The patient was likely exposed during international travel from Feb. 11 to 21 on a Princess cruise ship that departed from San Francisco to Mexico, the release continues, adding that the patient was in isolation at Kaiser Permanente Roseville.
“While most cases of COVID-19 exhibit mild or moderate symptoms, this tragic death underscores the urgent need for us to take extra steps to protect residents who are particularly vulnerable to developing more serious illness, including elderly persons and those with underlying health conditions,”
Ten health care workers and five emergency workers who had contact with the patient are quarantined, but not exhibiting symptoms." (CNN)
There are 149 cases of the novel coronavirus, including 11 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 49 cases from repatriated citizens. According to CNN Health’s tally of cases that are detected and tested through the US public health systems, there are 100 cases in 13 states. Bringing the total of coronavirus cases to 149.
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 – 33 (1 fatality)
Florida - 3
Georgia - 2
Illinois - 4
Massachusetts - 2
New Hampshire – 2
New York - 6
North Carolina - 1
Oregon - 3
Rhode Island - 2
Washington state - 39 (includes 10 fatalities)
Wisconsin - 1
Official: new COVID decree measures here in Italy. All sports events - also Serie A - can only be done behind closed doors for 30 days. No more fans in the stadiums. The measures will be effective until April 3.
CDC expands coronavirus testing criteria to all US patients with a doctor’s order
"The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention dramatically expanded the testing criteria for the novel coronavirus today. The CDC formally removed earlier restrictions that limited coronavirus testing of the general public to people in the hospital, unless they had a close contact with a confirmed coronavirus case.
According to the CDC, clinicians should now “use their judgment to determine if a patient has signs and symptoms compatible with COVID-19 and whether the patient should be tested.”…
Unless a patient had close contact with a confirmed coronavirus patient, the earlier criteria limited testing to people who had been hospitalized with both a fever and respiratory symptoms.
Some context: Questions remain about whether the United States can meet a possible surge in testing demand.
Two coronavirus tests in the United States currently have Food and Drug Administration emergency use authorizations and are in use nationwide. These include CDC test kits, which have been distributed to public health laboratories across the country, and another test designed and used by New York state.
Under rules issued Feb. 29, the FDA is also allowing hospitals, private companies and laboratories to develop other diagnostic tests that can be used before the FDA issues an emergency use authorization." (CNN)
I’m glad these changes have been made. As noted in an early post about WA state, there appears to still be a shortage of test kits.