Coronavirus in the US

GERMANY - 134 new cases in the past 24 hours for a total of 578

"A leading virologist who has so far been very vocal about the virus, and the government’s handling of it, has called the German health minister, Jens Spahn, too relaxed in his approach to the outbreak, insisting that authorities should consider closing down schools, kindergartens and universities, and banning large gatherings.

Prof Alexander Kekulé, the director of the Institute for Medical Microbiology at the Martin Luther University in Halle-Wittenberg, said Spahn was “acting as if Germans were immune to the coronavirus”.

Germany, he has insisted, should follow the example of Italy and Japan and order a “14 day corona holiday, for schools, other education institutions and large events”.

He has insisted previously that “by interrupting the infection chain we could still manage to break the epidemic in its early stage”.

Kekulé said such measures could considerably reduce the number of future infections and deaths. Individual schools and kindergartens with a direct connection to the illness have been closed, but authorities have so far said it is too early to consider a blanket closure.

Lufthansa, Germany’s biggest airline, has just announced that it is to cut its flight capacity by 50 per cent in the following weeks in order to cope with a slump in demand caused by the Corona virus. Its managers said cutting the flights would help ‘’even out” the financial downturn due to a low rate of bookings and mounting cancellations." (Guardian)

16 people have recovered.

SPAIN - 104 new cases totaling 386. 2 new deaths totaling 5.

All the victims so far in the country have been people in high-risk categories, elderly or suffering from a pre-existing condition.

Madrid and the surrounding area has the highest concentration of cases, at 137, after health officials found clusters at two elderly care centres. Both have since been closed.

SWITZERLAND - 94 new cases totaling 214.

RUSSIA - 6 new cases totaling 13.

SLOVAKIA 1st case.

Question about water wells: Are most water wells in the US dependent on electrical power, with no provision for hand pumping or manual lowering of a bucket into the water and then raising it full of water?

Treatments and vaccine development do not depend on what information Pompeo gets. There are virologists all over the world who study, or want to study, coronaviruses. There would be more researchers, and they would already have antivirals and vaccines to try if they were better funded, especially by the governments of wealthy nations like the US.

The Chinese sequenced the virus and published that and many other studies for all to see. That’s how science works, and despite the rightful criticism of the Chinese government, it does highly value and support Chinese research and publication in peer reviewed journals.

IMO, Pompeo is playing a blame game. Some government officials in China doubtless tried to suppress reports of an epidemic, but what really hindered the world’s response is lack of money for sustained research into zoonotic diseases and into all potential viral, bacterial and parasitic threats.

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Sorry @Tigerle. Hope all goes well.

So sorry, @Tigerle . Where are you skiing?

Yes. Most aren’t as deep as mine (700 feet) but most are pretty deep.

Some people do by water due to doomsday fears - not enough people to man water treatment facilities. I’ve seen mentions online.

Thoughts on this:
Everyone I know and work with - and I mean everyone - has told me they believe that this is being blown out of proportion by the media who wants to cause panic to increase readership, viewership etc.
They ALL say the same thing to me - that it’s just a virus, like the flu -no big deal.
Is that a fair assessment?
Is this what people around you feel as well?
Sometimes I feel like people are in two camps with this thing - super-informed and concerned and not at all concerned and not listening to the news.

Does anyone know what is the criteria for testing?

I would think so. We also have a well. It’s a pain when the power is out. Can’t flush the toilet, take a shower, etc… But since Sandy, we have a built in generator so it shouldn’t be a problem (although we haven’t had the opportunity to put it to practice yet, nor do we want to).

Bogus. Why are so many countries taking the steps they are? A global conspiracy theory? Trust the scientists not your friends. But also put it into perspective.

Some people listen to the wrong news.

I would like everyone to take this seriously and really really follow the hygiene requests (wash hands and don’t touch your face and be careful where you cough). I am not panicked or worried about myself or my kids, but many many elderly people will get this and die. People that I care about are at risk. Still going about my life but doing what I can to help the cause (WASH HANDS). I’m not going to hug or shake peoples hands at the social event I’m going to tomorrow. But I’m still going. Please spread the word to the doubters.

I also take the flu seriously and get my flu shot. One of my kids has a chronic illness so I’m more aware than others.

I am most upset about the lack of specific information and unpreparedness by our government. We should have had a test, a plan to test (drive through) so as not to infect hospital workers, and clear and concise messaging on how this spreads. It was not clear. I always though ‘droplets’ meant someone physically coughed on you and you can see the droplets. NOT THE CASE. That was not clear. Hospitals have been a place where this has spread and that absolutely could have been prevented. People who have faith in this government no matter what will tend to think this is all a conspiracy. But this is not political and should not be treated as such. And it has been. Sad.

I want specifics from the our public health professionals on how this has been spreading between the cases here. Don’t have that. What kind of contact did the infected people have with each other? Sat on the same train? Spoke to each other? Hugged? Were in the same classroom? We have absolutely nothing, yet government says we are the best and most prepared.

A 5th person has tested positive for coronavirus in New York City
(CNN)

A 5th person has tested positive for coronavirus in New York City, an NYC Health Department spokesman tells CNN.

This brings the total count of confirmed coronavirus cases in the state of New York to 23.

No additional details about this patient have been provided at this time.

Kinda like the rest of us :wink:

None of us here are experts. Listen to what medical professionals are saying. Listen to what WHO is saying. Look at what is happening around the world. People have a hard time assessing threats that feel abstract and they become reactive only when it’s close (and often too late). This is why we need strong leadership on public health. It has to be a top down model delivering proactive information, guidance, and resources to the public. It’s been slow so far in the US, but let’s hope it ramps up.

Fingers crossed for your kiddos, @Tigerle

I think both things may be true to some extent. I’m sure the media does want to do stories on this because it brings in viewers and readers and money. But it is a serious issue and likely to keep getting worse for some time. It is not just like the flu. That’s unfortunately not true. I have been watching this thing coming for months now as my husband talked with family and friends in China and read the news in Chinese daily and been wondering why no one else seemed concerned about it coming here. Now suddenly some are concerned but I have felt like you do for about 2 months now. It seemed pretty obvious it was going to spread. Learning the US so very much underprepared and underreacted is a huge shock to me and that is what is most concerning. We let it get a good spread unmonitored by anyone. I am hopeful that now that the CDC and government are actually doing things that we might be able to slow the spread until some treatments that will help survival rates are released to the public. Hang in there. for most of the country (I’m assuming you are in the USA), things are not that bad right now. Try to focus on positive things as much as you can. Read enough to stay informed but if you are thinking about this too much it probably isn’t good (talking mostly to myself here. :slight_smile: )

It seems to me like lots of my fellow Americans think that we are somehow special and what is happening elsewhere won’t happen here.

People around me aren’t panicking but most are taking it very seriously and altering their routine, some in big ways and in others small, to try to keep germs at bay.

In our area, a regular housing subdivision, lots of wells, no one has manual capability.

The flu actually is a big deal for many each year.

And this one could affect far more if not contained, especially with the overload on medical systems.

For the young it’s not a big deal now, but the future is still coming. For those in the higher risk groups, or with loved ones in them, it certainly is a big deal.

If you hang around some folks the world is flat and all governments saying otherwise are either duped or in on the conspiracy. Consider the source and how knowledgeable they are with facts vs opinions.

According to CDC, the virus can only survive 2-3 hours on metal surfaces. Door handles are typically made of metal. On other types of surfaces, the virus can survive up to 9 days.