Scary that the guy in the bus infected someone 4.5 meters away and that the virus can be in the air for 30 minutes and live on surfaces for hours and days!
This is simply incredible. Who in the world even thinks of making up something like this and says, âWell sure, thatâs a good idea that should work.â
I really wish common sense were more common.
New York City transit chief: âIf you can get around without riding the subway, do itâ
From CNN
The head of New York Cityâs public transit system is advising anyone with health issues to avoid taking the subway, if they can.
Metropolitan Transit Authority Chairman and CEO Patrick Foye gave this advice to riders experiencing symptoms like fever or respiratory issues and those who have compromised immunity or other serious health issues:
"If you can get around without riding the subway, do it.â
At a news conference today, he insisted âthe subways remain safe.â
âThat being said, if you experience symptoms like fever or respiratory issues or have compromised immunity, or other serious health issues, itâs good advice always, to avoid large crowds,â he added.
The authorityâs full fleet is being disinfected every 72 hours, Foye said. All stations and transit centers are being disinfected daily.
CYPRUS - Cyprus reported its first two confirmed cases of coronavirus, including a public health professional who had contact with medical patients before he reported his symptoms to authorities. Both patients â males â had traveled from abroad. The first case involved a 25-year-old man who had returned from northern Italy and the second, the health professional, a 64-year-old who returned from Britain on March 3. Health Minister Constantinos Ioannou said it was âregrettableâ that the second patient, who developed symptoms on March 3, only reported to authorities on Sunday. âThis does complicate efforts by the ministry on the tracing we need to do on the contacts he had over the past five days,â he said. The health professional works at a public health facility in the capital Nicosia. (CNBC)
BRUNEI and CHANNEL ISLANDS - Both reported 1st cases today.
found out that as of today my Family Doctors office can run the test I believe I just have a cold , but will be going in tomorrow to get tested since I was in Washington State 10 days ago. Working from home right now, but concerned that my kid is home for spring break. Trying to stay away from him.
I am skeptical. With so many infected folks in that area, I have no idea HOW the researchers controlled for other factors to attribute the transmission strictly to being with 4.5 meters. Really.
Israel is requiring all international arrivals to quarantine for 14 days.
Colleges should consider canceling international student travel programs, US health officials say
From CNNâ
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention urged colleges and universities to considering canceling study abroad trips and other international travel for students.
Institutions of higher education âshould consider asking current program participants to return to their home country,â the center said in a statement, noting that "students may face unpredictable circumstances, travel restrictions, challenges in returning home or accessing health care while abroad.
Schools should work with public health officials to determine the best way to transport students home.
âAll plans for returning study abroad students should be designed to protect participants from stigma and discrimination,â the CDC said.
[ @Madison85 perhaps you should notify CIEE 
]
"Romaniaâs government has announced that all schools and kindergartens across the country will be closed from March 11 until March 22, with the option of extending it further.
âOur concern is to prevent children from any risk of contamination that may arise during courses organised at school,â Prime Minister Ludovic Orban said during a press conference on Monday evening. Companies and institutions will be required to allow employees to work from home, where possible.
Romania has had 17 confirmed cases of coronavirus, of which five have already been discharged from hospital. There have been no fatalities reported in the country so far, related to the virus.
The country has also suspended all flights to and from Italy until at least March 23. Romania has a large diaspora community in Italy, which is struggling to contain the virus." (Guardian)
Italian Patient 1:
" good news comes from the hospital in Pavia where Mattia, the Italian patient 1 [age 38 male] hospitalised since February 21, is breathing autonomously and has been discharged from intensive care.
According to the reconstruction of events of the manâs wife, Mattia had met an Italian friend, a manager of Castiglione DâAdda, who had returned from Wuhan, on January 21. After some research, the manager, suspected of being patient zero, was tracked down, but incredibly, he was found to be negative for coronavirus." (Guardian
New York City mayor says 24 people are in mandatory quarantine
"There are now 24 people in mandatory quarantine and 2,019 in voluntary isolation across New York City, according to Mayor Bill de Blasio.
The mayor said city officials have evidence that those in quarantine are âhonoring those quarantines.â
The mayor said there will be no public school international trips through the end for the school year and nurses are being added to every public school building this week. No international travel is permitted for city employees." (CNN)
The French culture minister, Franck Riester, has tested positive, his staff have told the Agence France-Presse news agency. Theyâve said heâd spent a few days at the AssemblĂ©e Nationale â the lower house of the French parliament â last week, where âseveral cases have been confirmedâ.
Thereâs a sizable Chinese population in Milan and Frato, Italyâs textile manufacturing centers. It is likely that some of the Chinese population had returned from China after the Lunar New Year holiday and some of them may have been infected, though this is not the only source.
The top Italian designersâ labels want to protect the Made in Italy branding, they donât want the world to know that the goods are Made in Italy by Chinese.
Just heard from a prof friend - Fordham has closed. Classes going online.
@HImom Iâm also surprised and worried by that news. But I have to wonderâŠjust because the bus passenger infected people meters away, that doesnât prove that it is airborne. The infected one could have touched seat backs, rails, that the other people touched on their way out.
All Fulton County GA schools are closed tomorrow because an employee tested positive for Covid19.
Seattle Schools are closed too.
Iâm trying hard to understand the school closings. So, they close for a certain amount of time and then I assume theyâll open again. Whose to say that, when they open, there arenât a whole slew of teachers and students who go back to school and are silent carriers? How does taking a short break help? I suppose it maybe just helps the schools take a break and get a grip in hope that some new info will come our way while school is taking a break and then it will be easier to make an educated decision about when to resume class?
@homerdog the closing is to disinfect the place, not so much for quarantine. At least with k-12 schools.
Thereâs no way of knowing if theyâre silent carriers - the schools have to make case by case decisions. It makes a difference if itâs one student/teacher/etc vs a cluster.
Iâm assuming itâs to give time to assess the situation over the next couple of weeks, but also, during that time IF there is any contamination within the school (lingering germs), they will die via nature. This latter part esp applies to schools where known carriers were inside, but I can see schools that even remotely have suspected carriers want to do the same.
Our school has sent out a letter telling parents there is no suspected case around us as of yet, so weâre staying open. However, if they suspect anything they will close to reassess. They also reminded parents that no student with a fever should be sent to school. That last part isnât new. Itâs been in the student/parent handbook forever.
@homerdog a number have said they are closing to deep clean.
Others are closing in conjunction with holiday break and therefore schools will be closed for 2 weeks.
In all cases I know of, anyone who is traveling to an area of concern must self quarantine for 14 days.
Our school district is not closing, but every single sick kid must now go to the health room when they return to school.
The idea also is to reduce group contact as much as possible.
Berkeley has no confirmed cases on campus at this time. But they will
-Suspending most in-person classes and will offer on-line as of March 10.
-Professors who do not have remote learning processes in place are given 2 days to come up with the on-line process
-Physical classes (Lab, studio, physical ed, performing art) are allowed to have in-person classes but encouraged to minimize as appropriated.
I heard Stanford closed their campus entirely.
Reduced contact = slower spread. Cleaning surfaces that could have been infected and hold a transmittable form of the virus can be done while the school buildings are closed. Looking at what has been done elsewhere in the world, this is something with data to support doing in order to slow the spread and help get control of things.
3 coronavirus cases confirmed in patients from Cuyahoga County; state of emergency declared in Ohio
https://www.cleveland19.com/2020/03/09/cases-coronavirus-confirmed-ohio-state-emergency-declared/
I personally am more concerned over the stock market.