Presumptive positive is still positive. It just needs to be “officially” double checked by the CDC. Pretty much all the cases so far have started as presumptive positive and I haven’t heard one change yet. It’s a bit of bureacracy.
Several airline stocks in there. Some have lost half their value in the past 2 weeks.
As a lifetime investment professional, a loss is a loss.
Could come back seasonally like the flu. Could mutate and become stronger or weaker. The vaccine might not provide adequate, full prevention, similar to seasonal influenza.
A second Vanderbilt student tested positive after returning from a spring break trip to Barcelona (first one had been studying abroad in Italy). This student did not return to campus but was traveling with many other students who did.
Florida congressman says he came into contact with coronavirus patient
From CNN
Rep. Matt Gaetz, who just returned to Washington from Florida traveling aboard Air Force One with President Trump, just tweeted that he “was informed today that he came into contact with a CPAC attendee 11 days ago who tested positive for COVID-19.”
In a series of tweets, Gaetz’s official account said, “While the Congressman is not experiencing symptoms, he received testing today and expects results soon. Under doctor’s usual precautionary recommendations, he’ll remain self-quarantined until the 14-day period expires this week.”
And Gaetz’s accounted also noted that his Washington office will be closed during this time. His Pensacola office will stay open.
Pool reporters also traveling aboard the presidential aircraft said they saw Gaetz disembarking from a separate entrance to the plane than the President, which is customary for most travelers aside from the President and his tight entourage.
Congressman who came into contact with coronavirus patient spent the weekend with Trump
From CNN
Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz, who says he was told he came into contact with someone who is infected with coronavirus at the Conservative Political Action Conference, spent the weekend with President Trump at his resort in Mar-a-Lago, according to two sources familiar.
Gaetz also spent Saturday evening as the president’s guest at an intimate dinner with Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro.
On Monday, Gaetz also rode in the presidential limousine in Orlando with Trump.
The men were seen sitting just feet from each other chatting in the presidential vehicle.
They both exited the presidential vehicle and boarded Air Force One on Monday for the flight back to Andrews Air Force Base.
It was aboard that flight that Gaetz "was informed today by CPAC while he was mid-flight on Air Force One that he had come in contact with the infected attendee,” according to his office. “Once he landed, he then was immediately tested” for the coronavirus.
Another White House official says once Gaetz was informed, he sat in a section of Air Force One by himself as a precaution.
CPAC head Matt Schlapp told CNN that Gaetz was informed this afternoon that he came into contact with the CPAC attendee who tested positive for the coronavirus. However, he could not say what time Gaetz was informed.
Schlapp says CPAC officials are “in regular contact with the patient and the patient’s family” to ascertain who the individual came in contact with at CPAC.
“We are getting the information and as soon as we get it we contact the individuals involved,” Schlapp said.
CNN’s Jim Acosta, Kaitlan Collins, Jeremy Diamond and Maegan Vazquez contributed to this reporting.
CANADA -1st death
11 new cases totaling 77
The victim is a man in his 80s who had underlying health issues. He is one of two residents infected in a residential care home in North Vancouver.
3 members of US Congress are now self-quarantining
From CNN
Rep. Doug Collins, the top Republican on the House Judiciary Committee, became the third member of Congress to self-quarantine after coming into contact with an individual who has been diagnosed with the novel coronavirus.
Collins announced the decision in a statement Monday afternoon, saying he was notified by the organizers of the annual Conservative Political Action Conference on Monday that they had found a photograph of Collins with the individual who tested positive for coronavirus.
“While I feel completely healthy and I am not experiencing any symptoms, I have decided to self-quarantine eat my home for the remainder of the 14-day period out of an abundance of caution,” Collins wrote.
Two aides to Collins will also self-quarantine, according to an aide familiar with the situation. The aides in question also interacted with the infected person at CPAC at the end of February, and are not experiencing any symptoms.
The Georgia Republican’s decision comes after Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Arizona Rep. Paul Gosar announced over the weekend that they would self-quarantine after coming into contact with the same CPAC attendee.
President Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and a number of other administration officials also attended the conference, but the American Conservative Union, which runs the event every year, said the infected attendee did not come into contact with the President or VP.
If this was a movie script, it would be too far-fetched.
A fifth congressman was exposed to CPAC attendee who tested positive for coronavirus
From CNN
Rep. Louis Gohmert, a Republican from Texas, was called by officials yesterday and was told he had been in proximity of the individual at the Conservative Political Action Conference who tested positive for coronavirus, according to the congressman’s aide.
According to the aide, the doctor told him that if he was Gohmert, he’d go back to Washington and observe good hygiene.
Gohmert is choosing not to self-quarantine.
There are currently five Republican members of Congress who said they were exposed to individuals who have tested for coronavirus. Gohmert is the only one to not self-quarantine.
One Democrat also came in contact with a constituent who tested positive for coronavirus has shuttered her DC office and is “self-monitoring.”
Madrid and two other Spanish cities to close all schools due to coronavirus outbreak
From CNN
Spain will close all schools, nurseries and universities in areas it has singled out as “high community transmission risk areas” for at least 15 days to avoid spreading coronavirus, Spanish Health Minister Salvador Illa said Monday.
The affected areas include Madrid, and the cities of Vitoria and Labastida in the Basque Country.
“When possible we would like the people in these areas to work from home, we would like the companies to be flexible in terms of working hours, older people should be attended at home and people who suffer from chronic illnesses or serious pathologies should limit their activities outside. People in general should avoid unnecessary travel," Illa said.
Los Angeles reports first possible case of community spread coronavirus
From CNN
Two more people have tested positive for novel coronavirus in Los Angeles County, Health Director Barbara Ferrer announced Monday.
Officials have not been able to trace the source of the first person’s infection and it may be the county’s first case of community-spread coronavirus, Ferrer said.
The second patient recently traveled to Japan. Both patients are in isolation and their close contacts will be quarantined.
A lab in Los Angeles County has tested about 60 people for coronavirus. That number does not include commercial testing, which started Friday, according to Ferrer.
Woman in her 60s dies from coronavirus in California
From CNN
A woman in her 60s is the first coronavirus-related death in Santa Clara County.
The woman, who had been hospitalized for several weeks, is believed to have contracted the virus through community transmission, according to a statement from the county’s health department.
This case was previously announced on February 28.
Most US deaths from coronavirus involve patients 70 or older
From CNN
The vast majority of US deaths from coronavirus appear to involve patients ages 70 and up, based on broad age range information provided by health authorities.
Officials provided basic age information in only 18 of the 22 US death cases.
Of those 18, seven were in their 70s, five were in their 80s, three were in their 90s, two were in their 50s and one was in their 60s.
A 19th patient was described as “elderly,” but no age range was given.
This is in line with what US Surgeon General Jerome Adams told CNN Sunday about the pandemic in general — that the average age of those who died from the global outbreak of the novel coronavirus was 80, and that the average age of those seeking medical treatment was 60.
BURKINA FASO - Burkina Faso has reported its first two cases of coronavirus, making it the sixth nation in sub-Saharan Africa to be affected by the virus.
Its health minister, Claudine Lougue, has told reporters the two patients – a husband and wife – recently returned to Burkina Faso from a trip to France and are now in isolation.
I have a question. I’ve read repeatedly that obesity is a complicating factor for the virus. Is that actually true, because something like 40% of Americans are obese, so I’m wondering why no one is making a bigger deal of that, if true?
It’s actually the pre-print industry to be more concerned about. People can post non-peer reviewed research (on BioRxiv for example) and, if on hot topic, will be reported on without most journalists realizing that the research hasn’t undergone the vetting of peer review in which scientists can call for papers to be rejected, rewritten, reinterpreted, etc before they would see the light of day (I know you know this, but for others that might not). That’s how that crazy paper of HIV-1 sequences being potentially engineered into SARS-CoV-2 got press and people assumed it was credible.
There are of course journals that have minimal review standards and essentially have a pay-to-publish model, but their viability, to an extent, also depends on not being viewed as a source of misinformation.
Many of my colleagues are infectious disease experts. Those with contacts in Milan (Lombardy) said 70% of the infectious disease docs at one of the major medical centers were positive and home under self-quarantine. The latest Italian numbers indicate a death rate of 5% (and I agree that this is somewhat inflated because they are likely undersurveilled), but part of the problem with the infection surge is not only is bed capacity overwhelmed but the health care staff also gets put out of action. And there might not be a cavalry. So quality of care diminishes and negative outcomes increase.
NASA employee tests positive for coronavirus
From CNN
Employees at NASA’s Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley have been put on a mandatory telework status after an employee has tested positive for coronavirus.
NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said although they believe the exposure at the center has been limited, they issued the order out of an abundance of caution.
“Limiting personnel at the center will allow Ames medical personnel and public health officials to determine potential contacts and assess areas that may require additional cleaning and mitigate potential exposure to center personnel," Bridenstine said. "Working with county officials, Ames leadership and medical personnel are working to trace the contacts of the employee and notifying individuals who may have had significant contact with that person.”
It is unclear whether this case is included in the state’s current count of coronavirus patients.
Marine being treated for coronavirus worked at defense agency near Pentagon, officials say
"A United States Marine who tested positive for the coronavirus worked for a defense agency whose headquarters are located near the Pentagon and returned to the Washington, DC area from a trip to Ethiopia last month, three US officials told Reuters.
The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the Marine had been working for the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA), which is headquartered in Crystal City, Virginia, just blocks away from the Pentagon." (Al Jazeera)
Portugal’s president in ‘exemplary’ self-isolation, tests negative for coronavirus
"Shouting down to reporters from his first-floor balcony, Portugal’s president declared that he would remain in voluntary quarantine for two weeks despite testing negative for coronavirus, as an “example” to Portuguese people.
“The test was negative. I’m going to keep working from home, even though it was negative, until the fifteen days are up,” broadcaster SIC showed Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa as hollering. “I want to be an example.”
The head of state, who is known for rarely missing a social gathering where he eagerly poses with people for selfies, was tested earlier on Monday after his office announced the previous day that he had suspended all engagements and trips abroad for a fortnight and would work from home." (Al Jazeera)
This is exactly what all my doc friends locally are concerned about. None of them are infectious disease experts but many of them work in one of the local hospitals in specialties ranging from cardiologist to anaesthesiologist to radiologist, etc. and all are very concerned there is not the bed or equipment capacity to deal with this, much less the healthcare workers. Heck, we already have several dozen healthcare workers out on self-quarantine after our area’s first confirmed covid 19 positive patient showed up in the hospital last week. Protective gear is in short supply and it’s reasonable that as more covid 19 positive patients show up for care, healthcare workers are going to be exposed and sick or in quarantine.
The announcement in Italy spells out the restriction of movement of more than 60 million people.
The decree provides for banning all public events, closing cinemas, theatres, gyms, discos and pubs, funerals, weddings and all sport events, including Serie A matches. All schools and universities will remain close until 3 April
Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte says he is extending restrictions on travel from the north to entire country to try to stop the spread of coronavirus.
Conte said a new government decree will require all people in Italy to demonstrate a need to work, health conditions or other limited reasons to travel outside the areas where they live.
"There won’t be just a red zone,’’ Conte told reporters referring to a lockdown of areas in northern Italy instituted over the weekend. “There will be Italy” as a protected area, he said. (Al Jazeera)
Rhode Island announces state of emergency due to coronavirus outbreak
Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo has announced a state of emergency because of the coronavirus outbreak.
Rhode Island has three confirmed cases of coronavirus.
There are at least 687 cases of novel coronavirus in the United States, according to the state and local health agencies, governments and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (CNN)
@inflorescent I wonder if your small town is the town next to my small town? A 27 year old who went to Boston conference. Awful.
The first New Orleans case (a resident of nearby Jefferson Parish) is at the VA. He was admitted last Friday. No news yet of what his exposure may have been.
As of this morning, the state department of health was proudly tweeting that 11 people had been tested, and all were found negative. A grand total of 11! This delayed testing business is a total disaster.
^ Wonder how many health care workers were exposed - once again. 
Boston cancels St. Patrick’s Day Parade over coronavirus concerns
Boston is canceling their 2020 St. Patrick’s Day Parade “out of an abundance of caution” due to concerns over coronavirus, the city’s mayor announced Monday.
Anybody else getting tired of the “abundance of caution” phrase?