Coronavirus in the US

@katliamom schools would have to prorate room and board if kids aren’t there. And it’s really starting to sound like the vast majority of the reported cases are really mild. I agree that the govt needs to get its act together so decisions can be made with facts.

A wrinkle that we haven’t discussed -

"In the US jails and prisons are on high alert, stepping up inmate screenings, sanitizing jail cells and urging lawyers to scale back in-person visits to prevent the new coronavirus from spreading through their vast inmate populations, the Associated Press reports.

There have been no reports of COVID-19 inside U.S. jails or prisons. But more people are incarcerated per capita here than in any other country in the world and prisons have become hot spots in other nations touched by the outbreak.

Coronavirus suddenly exploded in Chinas prisons last week, with reports of more than 500 cases spreading across five facilities in three provinces. Earlier this week in Iran, 54,000 inmates were temporarily released back into the country amid virus fears.

Jail operators in the U.S. are coming to the growing realization that its only a matter of time before it strikes here.

Jails are, you know, just prime opportunities for something like this to spread, said Bossier Parish Sheriff Julian Whittington, the president of the Louisiana Sheriffs Association. Im a realist and I suspect more than likely sometime its going to pop up in somebodys jail.

Health officials have been warning for more than a decade about the dangers of outbreaks in jails and prisons, which are ideal environments for virus outbreaks: Inmates share small cells with total strangers, use toilets just a few feet from their beds, and are herded into day rooms where they spend hours at a time together.

Practicing even the most simple hygiene, such as washing hands, is not a given in such environments. Hand sanitizer is often treated as contraband because it contains alcohol." (Guardian)" (Guardian)

Doubtful. Act of god and all that.

Artist2233 thank you for your comments. They are exactly how I feel. It’s so confusing.

I do not want to pay 50K for online classes. If more colleges move to that model I will be devastated for my student to lose the college experience and for me to pay full price for using a laptop.

I had a domestic trip planned with my 87 year old mother. She isn’t worried but I am. I’m not sure I can go through with it.

Thank you everyone for all the information here. Today was my lucky day I finally found a bottle of antibacterial soap.

I assume that dorms are open at UW but they are encouraged to go home and finish classes online there, if they can. You can’t just expect a college of 57,000 students to just kick them out all at once. And some students won’t be able to go back to their home countries.

@doschicos I totally disagree with you. It is the fault of the families, not the school.

The school could not stop the kids coming back until the CDC did. The two girls in question (heard through friend) traveled to Northern Italy over our Feb break. The parents came back not feeling well but did send the kids to school. Even around Feb 25th when they started back at our school there were serious concerns about Northern Italy and the parents should have erred on the side of caution. They were foolish and selfish and put all of us at risk.

My husband doesn’t want to lay anyone off. But business is off 80% (he’s in the study abroad/international student travel business, lol) and he may not have an option.

A friend owns a popular coffee shop in Denver. Her business has been decreasing steadily, and was down 60% on Wednesday. She’s cut some of her staffers’ hours.

Lots of people will have to grin and bear it as we deal with this unprecedented situation. Online classes are the least of our worries, IMO.

Sure, it sucks to have your kid take online classes instead of getting the full tuition experience.

In a situation like this, so many people are making personal sacrifices in so many ways. A few weeks of online classes (or even months) seems pretty minor in the big picture. Many will be impacted in much greater ways.

A random thing that probably won’t hit many of your radars but maybe some of your kids’.

A popular, multi billion dollar international e-game called League of Legends has canceled all live games for their Chinese and Taiwan teams for the season. The European league just announced that they’re canceling their finals which were to be held in Budapest and staying back in Berlin. This is one of the biggest sports in China. It would be like canceling the entirety of the MLB’s live games.

These players easily make 6-7 figures and they sell out HUGE stadiums. This is a huge economic hit to the games.

There’s a North American league that’s housed in California. They were planning on their finals in Texas this year - no word on whether that’s going forward.

Yes, the vast majority of cases will be mild to moderate - 80ish% if the numbers hold true and the strain hasn’t changed much from China. But 20% is still a lot of people and the goal here is to work as communities to contain and therefore slow down the spread until treatments and vaccines can be found.

The one thing I don’t get though - with E games, you CAN play online, right?. Can’t do that with soccer, basketball, etc.

UW has 70 percent or more of in-state students. A lot of commuters, and many who live in the dorms are also locals. That was one of the reasons one of our kids did not want to attend. Feels too much like being in HS. I expect the local kids would go home quickly (drive, take the bus, etc.).

Infectious disease experts urge Americans age 60 and older to reconsider their usual activities

"two top infectious disease experts with close ties to the federal government are advising people age 60 and older and people with immune issues to strongly consider avoiding activities that involve large crowds, such as traveling by airplane, going to movie theaters, attending family events, shopping at crowded malls and going to religious services.

Dr. William Schaffner, a Vanderbilt University professor and longtime adviser to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said people in these two groups “should strongly consider not doing these activities at this juncture.”

“This ought to be top of mind for people over 60, and those with underlying health problems, such as heart or lung disease, diabetes, or compromised immune systems,” he added. “I think clearly the time has come to take these steps,” said Michael Osterholm, a former state epidemiologist for Minnesota, who has served on committees advising the federal government on public health issues.

Both experts were speaking personally, and not as a representative of any government group. Both Schaffner and Osterholm, who are over age 60, say they have taken some of these steps themselves.

Take note: The CDC has not advised anyone to take such steps, but on its website the agency mentions that “social distancing” – restricting where people go and limiting large crowds – “can help slow the spread” of the novel coronavirus." (CNN)

Today’s deaths in Italy, at 49, is the highest daily tally for the country. Angelo Borrelli, head of the Italian Civil Protection Agency, said the median age of the people who have died from the virus in Italy is 81 years of age.

SIL has purchased tickets
On a cruise
Leaving from Seattle
With her 80 year old mother
Who had a quintuple bypass and has had multiple additional medical issues.

She has so far has resisted any suggestion that this may not be such a good idea and doesn’t understand why we don’t want to put down a non-refundable deposit to join them.

Not really, no. Not on a professional level.

Because of things like ping and internet issues, playing somewhere other than a studio with a single LAN game would not be fair to the teams.

The Chinese teams are currently playing from their gaming houses but they’re not really generating revenue other than stream ads - which isn’t much compared to in-studio tickets. They need to keep playing though in order to stay in competitive shape for worlds.

The equivalent would be to play MBA in someone’s driveway.

Many, many UW students commute. By moving to online classes, you remove those students and virtually all faculty from campus. Even a fair number of students who live in dorms live in the greater Puget Sound region, and I assume many of those will choose to head home now to finish off the quarter.

Because campus is still operating, staff are still working, many of them on campus.

(Edited to add: I see now that I’m basically repeating what BunsenBurner just said.)

Andrew Cuomo
:heavy_check_mark:
@NYGovCuomo
· 1h
Replying to @NYGovCuomo
There are currently ~4,000 NYers under precautionary quarantine right now.

Precautionary quarantine applies to those who:

-Returned from a country of concern but are NOT symptomatic
-Had proximate (not direct) exposure to a positive case
-Others recommended by health officials

Andrew Cuomo
:heavy_check_mark:
@NYGovCuomo
There are 44 New Yorkers under mandatory quarantine.

Mandatory quarantine applies to those who:

-Have tested positive for #Coronavirus
-Have had direct contact (within 6 ft) with person who tested positive
-Returned from country with level 2 or 3 travel notice & has symptoms

93
12:32 PM - Mar 6, 2020

There was an imbedded “Share the Facts” on who should be getting tested, but because we can’t post pictures on this, I can’t share it.

I think if you google Andrew Cuomo Twitter you can see it.

From twitter:

How Russia is getting ready for a possible coronavirus outbreak

"Moscow authorities have declared “high alert” following first confirmed cases of coronavirus in Russia’s capital.

Here are the steps Russia is taking:

Self-isolation for travelers: A decree posted on mayor’s official website yesterday said that Russians who return from China, South Korea, Iran, France, Germany, Italy and Spain and other states “with an unfavorable coronavirus situation” should self-isolate for 14 days.

Checks at work: Companies must check their employes’ temperature and facilitate sick leave if common cold symptoms are found, the decree said.

Cleaning public transit hubs: The city is also working to prevent the virus from spreading in the metro, which transports around 8 million people daily. Authorities said all 269 metro stations are being disinfected daily, with staffers cleaning door knobs, handrails of stairs and escalators, buttons on the elevators and ticket vending machines.

The measures could become stricter as the city confirms more cases. Several Russian outlets reported that Moscow authorities have drafted a plan of action in case of a massive outbreak, which involves a curfew and a lockdown." (Guardian)

Interesting to see how other countries are dealing with Covid-19. Noteworthy is Russia including France, Germany, and Spain in the self-isolation list given the huge increases seen in those countries over the past few days.