Coronavirus in the US

Parent Cafe
4001

Restaurants up preventative measures

"Delivery drivers shouldn’t be eating customers’ fries, but as the number of virus cases rises in the U.S., restaurants are trying even harder to make sure that doesn’t happen. CapitalSpring, a restaurant investment firm with about 4,000 locations nationwide in its portfolio, is deploying tamper-proof packaging for food delivery orders for its restaurants.

Nationwide, restaurants are responding to the outbreak. McDonald’s, Dunkin’ and Starbucks are among the chains stepping up their in-store cleanliness efforts and creating crisis teams. In a time when labor costs have put pressure on profit margins, restaurants are adding more staff or extending hours to ensure that employees can keep up with increased cleaning efforts." (CNBC)

Wall Street traders head to the suburbs

“Hundreds of Wall Street traders are changing their commutes. Starting Monday, Citigroup is sending traders and salespeople from its headquarters in downtown Manhattan to a backup facility in Rutherford, New Jersey in contingency plans tied to the coronavirus, according to a person with knowledge of the situation. JPMorgan Chase told traders yesterday that some of them can expect to work from locations in New Jersey and Brooklyn, while Morgan Stanley has begun to send some employees to its Purchase, New York office, according to people with knowledge of the plans.” (CNBC)

New York Gov. Cuomo says CDC coronavirus response is ‘absurd and nonsensical’

New York Gov. Cuomo criticized the federal government’s response to the COVID-19 outbreak, calling it “absurd and nonsensical.”

Officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were slow to initially test people for the virus, he said, before — “in a tardy fashion” — changing the policy to allow states to test…management of the outbreak isn’t just “bad government and poor planning,” Cuomo said at a press conference, but will also “increase the fear.”

Local and state officials across the country have criticized the CDC’s testing criteria, scarcity of tests and poor communication" (CNBC)

4002

^@homerdog If you have Netflix you might find the new documentary “Pandemic” very interesting, and might explain why the world, the medical community, the financial markets are acting the way they are now.

https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2020/feb/05/pandemic-netflixs-new-series-about-global-outbreaks-is-eerily-timed-and-moved-me-to-tears

4003

Sounds like they’re moving a lot of people in Cambridge, MA from a hotel to a hospital after the Biogen meeting spread. Sixty people?

https://www.universalhub.com/2020/road-behind-brigham-and-womens-shut-so-it-can-be

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Iran warns it could use ‘force’ to halt travel amid virus

Iranian authorities warned they may use “force” to limit travel between cities…Health Ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour did not elaborate on the threat to use force, though he acknowledged the virus now was in all of Iran’s 31 provinces. The threat may be to stop people from using closed schools and universities as an excuse to go to the Caspian Sea and other Iranian vacation spots. Semiofficial news agencies in Iran posted images of long traffic lines as people tried to reach the Caspian coast from Tehran, despite authorities earlier telling people to remain in their cities. Iran on Thursday announced it would put checkpoints in place to limit travel between major cities, hoping to stem the spread of the virus. —Associated Press

‘False hope’ coronavirus will disappear in the summer like the flu, WHO says

“It’s a “false hope” that coronavirus will be seasonal and subside in the summer, like the flu, the World Health Organization said Friday. “We have to assume that the virus will continue to have the capacity to spread,” Dr. Mike Ryan, executive director of WHO’s health emergencies program, said at the agency’s headquarters in Geneva. “It’s a false hope to say, yes, that it will disappear like the flu.” Earlier in the outbreak, U.S. health officials said there was a hypothesis among mathematical modelers that the outbreak “could potentially be seasonal” and relent in warmer conditions.” (CNBC)

Honestly, you’re the one worrying about something that hasn’t happened yet. Converting in person to online classes might make complete sense for WA State and the Seattle area especially given what is going on there. It’s not IL or ME.

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@PetraMC No.

But S19 said that the kids heard rumblings about how Bowdoin is preparing their profs to teach class online “just in case”. I guess they just want to be ready for anything? In a long email to parents, Clayton Rose just told parents about the programs cancelled to Level 3 countries, and that students passing through any of those countries during break will need to fill out paperwork letting the school know. There was no info in the email about kids self quarantining. It did say that, if kids are sick, please don’t return to campus until they feel well.

With places like MIT cancelling admitted student days and then UW closing, I think lots of college kids (and parents) are now just wondering what would have to happen in the next two weeks for colleges to make the decision to elongate spring break and keep kids home.

I think a poster who has a student at UMD said her son was told to bring home what he might need for a little longer stay just in case.

I hope I’m just worrying about something that won’t happen but, apparently, some posters here seem to think it’s a realistic possibility that kids won’t go back after break.

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Of course it’s a valid reaction. But one that may not garner a whole lot of sympathy from people who have seen a big drop in their incomes – or lost their jobs altogether. Which WILL happen if this crisis continues long enough.

https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/03/05/coronavirus-famed-silicon-valley-vc-firm-tells-companies-to-think-about-cutting-jobs/

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A 15th person has died in the USA, according to a hospital in Washington state – the worst-hit in the union. EvergreenHealth Medical Center in the Seattle suburb of Kirkland has reported the state’s 12 death.

Kirkland is the site of an outbreak at a nursing facility, where at least six people have died.Google internal emails reveal how execs are prepping employees for coronavirus response (Guardian)

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@TatinG

I know you usually go to IW so posting FYI

Measures that will be taken in Indian Wells :

Following the direction and guidance of Dr. David Agus, Professor of Medicine and Biomedical Engineering at the University of Southern California, and Martin Massiello, Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer, Eisenhower Health, the BNP Paribas Open is taking action to continue prioritizing the health and safety of the fans, athletes, and everyone involved with the tournament.

First and foremost, any patron that has purchased tickets directly from the tournament may request a refund for the 2020 tournament, or a credit for the 2021 tournament. Patrons can visit www.bnpparibasopen.com/coronavirus to request a refund or credit.

Additional actions include:

More than 250 hand sanitizing stations have been placed throughout the facility
Players will be required to manage their own towel on court and ball kids will not touch or move player towels. A chair will be placed at the back of the court for them to place their towel on for usage during the match.
Ball kids will wear gloves
Restaurant and food supply workers will wear gloves
Volunteers taking tickets at entrances will wear gloves
N95 masks are being secured for first aid and health personnel to be prepared for any circumstances that would necessitate the use thereof
Organized player and fan interaction will be limited at the tournament
All common areas throughout the facility will be cleaned daily with an antiviral application
Coordinating with local hospital and CDC approved testing for all individuals with symptoms
Further actions are being considered and evaluated on a daily basis in order to continue to ensure the safety of everyone associated with the event.

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Preparing contingency plans is the prudent thing to do for ANY business. Even more so, I’d argue with thousands of young lives in their hands and in residence. You should be happy about that. I’d be really concerned if I was a parent and college administration wasn’t planning and communicating.

Everyone hopes it won’t happen but looking at the rapid changes from day to day, it isn’t out of the realm of possibility any longer so everyone should prepare - including mentally, IMO.

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@homerdog OK. They are doing the same thing at my kids’ schools. I guess I’m not too worried about it unless it throws them off track for graduation, which it won’t.

It would be disappointing, for sure.

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"Alphabet’s top executives are urging employees to stay motivated to run Google’s global infrastructure amid coronavirus fears. Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai said the company’s security and “resilience” teams are running a 24-hour command center to help executives monitor updates in real-time and coordinate across the company. It’s “kicked off a number of workstreams to prepare for how the virus could affect the welfare of our community,” Pichai said. The company told employees Thursday that all Bay Area employees would have the option to work from home on Friday “if roles allow,” a company spokesperson confirmed to CNBC. The company has several offices and thousands of employees across the region. By having a mostly-remote work day, Alphabet said it hopes to test its “business continuity processes.” (CNBC)

COLOMBIA - 1st confirmed case.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-canada-testing/in-canada-doctors-broadened-coronavirus-testing-and-made-an-unlikely-save-idUSKBN20T2NZ

"Canada’s official guidance on the novel coronavirus has been to test patients who recently traveled to affected areas, but some doctors and hospitals have expanded testing on their own, finding the first in a series of patients linked to Iran before the scale of the Iranian outbreak was known.

The Canadian approach, which let front-line staff exercise judgment in looking for the virus, diverged from the United States, which said only on Tuesday that any American could be tested.

One unlikely catch was British Columbia’s sixth patient, a woman in her 30s whose test results were announced on Feb. 20. She had recently traveled from Iran, but as the country had only disclosed its first cases on Feb. 19, she would not have been flagged under federal guidelines in use at the time. But the woman had been on multiple international flights, so a clinician in Vancouver tested anyway, said the province’s health officer Bonnie Henry at a recent press conference.

“We have always said that if a clinician has a concern about somebody and they have symptoms that could be COVID-19, that we would allow that testing,” she said.

The day after the case was found, Theresa Tam, Canada’s chief medical officer, told reporters “imported cases linked to Iran could be an indicator that there is more widespread transmission than we know about.”" (Reuters)

Read the article for more.

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katliamom please I am not asking for sympathy. This is a place where people express information, thoughts, feelings, concerns etc. Grace. A little grace that’s all. We’re all in this together.

4013

Lots of can happen it two weeks. Let me put it in perspective. The first death in Italy occurred on February 22, not even two weeks ago.

Imagine Washington State or NYC in two weeks …

4014

Yes and more perspective: 66 days ago there were 27 known cases in Wuhan. There are now over 100,000 worldwide.

4015

No they don’t.

I’m from Ohio. On May 3, 1970 ALL public universities in Ohio closed. Students were given 24 hours to get out of town with whatever they could carry…and that’s it. Buses were provided to major metro areas so students could then travel home.

There were about 4 weeks left in the spring quarter…no ability to do online anything…including exams. Basically the term came to a screeching halt. After some deliberation, the schools decided just to award credit for the courses…with the grade the student had at the time of the closing…or a Pass grade.

Students were able to return to campuses to get their dorm stuff on a scheduled day in June. No choice there either.

You know…if the colleges feel it’s better to be closed, then so be it. I have no issue with a college making a decision that they feel will put students and staff in a safer position. This is what I expect the colleges to do. Put the safety of the students and staff first.

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It has been postponed until summmer. Per local paper.

https://www.seattletimes.com/entertainment/events/emerald-city-comic-con-being-postponed-until-summer-2020-due-to-coronavirus-concerns/

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I’d rather have my child at a school that didn’t put his life in danger in order to attend class, so I would be relieved and appreciative of the decision, personally. And I am not thinking that 3 1/2 person who the WHO say will die of the disease are expendable or 'oh, well!'s people. I think personally it is worth some sacrifice collectively as a society to keep as many of those people around and alive with us.

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And it would be many, many more if the Chinese government and a few others since hadn’t take very drastic actions and treated it like “just like the flu” and “not many people get very sick”.

4019

DS#2 was supposed to attend the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society conference in Orlando next week. Its now cancelled. DH was supposed to be at a womens empowerment presentation today at work (Women’s day is Sunday). Also cancelled. I know DS#2 is working from home today Assume DS#1 is as well (both in Silicon Valley). Really glad to see efforts to curtail the spread are being done so.

4020

France to close schools in areas worst hit by coronavirus for 15 days

PARIS (Reuters) - France will close nurseries and schools for 15 days from Monday in the two areas most hit by coronavirus infections, one north of Paris and the other in the northeastern part of the country, its prime minister said on Friday.

Edouard Philippe stopped short during a press briefing of raising the emergency response to the virus to “Phase 3”, the highest there is, but suggested it was only matter of time before the government would do so.

“We’re still in Phase 2. The virus is circulating, but it’s not all over the country,” Philippe said, one day after French president Emmanuel Macron deemed it “inevitable” that the coronavirus outbreak would develop into an epidemic in France.

“Measures specific to Phase 3 will be launched when necessary, not before,” the prime minister added.

“I would like to downplay the switch to “Phase 3”, which merely reflects the virus circulating widely among the population… something which is now inevitable.”

Speaking shortly after Philippe, the head of the public health service Jerome Salomon said France now had 613 confirmed cases of coronavirus, an increase of 190 from a day earlier." (Reuters)