@romanigypsyeyes - Did you hear that Michigan State just suspended face-to-face classes? It starts at noon today and lasts until April 20th.
A “probable case” has been linked to the MSU campus.
Wonder if the University of Michigan will follow suit.
"Robert Redfield, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), gave the House oversight committee the latest official figures on the US outbreak - 990 national cases in 38 states plus the District of Columbia, and 31 deaths in the United States.
He said the CDC diagnostic test is now in 75 US public health labs in all 50 states, with the capacity in the public health system to test up to 75,000 people.
On 2 March, the administration promised that a million tests would be available by the end of that week. Carolyn Maloney, the committee chair, wanted to know why the actual number is so much lower and why “South Korea can test more people in one day than we tested over the past two months”.
Redfield said that a test had been developed quickly but added:
We rapidly tried to expand that and scale it up with a contractor so each public health lab in this country would have that test. During that process of quality control we found that one of the reagents wasn’t working appropriately. And we had to modify that with the FDA, and that took several weeks to get that completed." (Guardian)
Louisiana up to 6 presumptive cases, all in the New Orleans area. Plus one person who tested positive after returning home from a short conference here.
I’m getting frustrated by the lack of information and the lah-di-dah attitude of some people. I’d like to know more about these 6 patients - where (roughly) do they live, where do they work, what sort of work? I think it would bring home the seriousness of this to many people if we had that sort of information and could think, “hey, I was at that restaurant 3 days ago, I’d better be careful”.
It also seems to be a state secret about the conference attendee. Why can’t we know where that person came from? And returned to? Information is helpful! What if you might have been on that flight?
One of the patients was interviewed by phone. No name, but he has underlying health issues and he works in the service industry. What part of the service industry? Where? He mentioned that it’s a problem when people don’t have paid time off. “It could get bad for Uber, Lyft, and taxi drivers”. Is he a taxi driver? I hope that he’s at least an Uber/Lyft driver so that all his riders can be tracked down.
@AnAsmom I have a child at NC State and there has not been an announcement about any classes moving to online as of yet. The school is currently on Spring Break (as is UNC and UofSC), so they are unlikely to make any decisions prior to Friday. There might be one class where the professor has moved to online, but not a single parent on the parent page has mentioned that. There is a lot of speculation that they will indeed make that decision by Friday.
On the front lines:
Bucknell is going online. It’s the school adjacent to Susquehanna, where D is a graduating senior. Her senior art show is next week. She’s so upset. I’m sure her school will close. She’s almost done setting up her photography exhibit. I told her to push to finish it so her professor can grade it. I told that will help her professor as much as herself! These poor kids. I guess they won’t have graduation ceremonies?
D2 who is a resident in a surgical specialty sent me a text this morning. One of the hospitals she rotates through is experiencing a critical shortage of surgical masks (that’s surgical masks, not n95 masks which are also in critically short supply) and is cancelling elective surgeries.
Besides the higher usage due to the need to mask every patient arriving at the hospital with respiratory symptoms, there has been a major problem with theft.
HONDURAS - 1st 2 confirmed cases. Honduras confirms first 2 cases - one involves a 42-year-old woman who traveled from Spain to Tegucigalpa, the Honduran capital. The woman, who is pregnant, was asymptomatic when she arrived March 4 and is hospitalized in stable condition.
The other case was confirmed in a 37-year-old woman who traveled from Switzerland to San Pedro Sula on March 5. Flores said she had a light illness and has been in self-isolation at home since arriving in Honduras.
SPAIN - 487 new cases totaling 2,182 and 13 new deaths totaling 49.
Madrid health authorities reported 10 new deaths linked to the coronavirus, with the total number of fatalities in the region reaching 31.
The region’s health department said the number of confirmed cases of coronavirus rose to 1,024 as of Wednesday, compared with 782 cases on Tuesday.
UK - 73 new cases totaling 456, the biggest 1 day increase.
NHS to ramp up testing capacity from 1,500 to 8,000 tests per day. They have already tested over 24K.
18 rural hospitals closed last year. I wonder what could be done to reopen them for milder or recovering cases. This could be a safety valve for other hospitals.
https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/finance/rural-hospital-closures-hit-record-high-in-2019-here-s-why.html
The closing and shortage of hospitals in rural areas will become a huge issue if the virus becomes widespread in the US. Everyday needs are already challenging.
Top US health official says NBA should consider playing games without crowds
Spectators look on as RJ Barrett of the New York Knicks walks on court during a game against the Washington Wizards, at Capital One Arena in Washington, DC on Tuesday.
Spectators look on as RJ Barrett of the New York Knicks walks on court during a game against the Washington Wizards, at Capital One Arena in Washington, DC on Tuesday. Patrick Smith/Getty Images
When asked if he thinks NBA games should go on during the outbreak, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said he would not suggest it.
“We would recommend there not be large crowds, if that means not having any people in the audience when the NBA plays, so be it,” Fauci said while speaking in front on the House Oversight Committee about the novel coronavirus response.
“As a public health official, anything that has large crowds is something that would give a risk to spread,” Fauci added. (CNN)
Beijing orders quarantine for all international arrivals
All international arrivals in Beijing must undergo two weeks of quarantine, a city official said, as China tries to limit imported cases of the coronavirus.
Beijing had already required quarantine for people arriving from severely hit countries including South Korea, Iran, Italy and Japan but Zhang Qiang, a city government official, said at a press conference that those landing from any nation would now face 14-day isolation. (Al Jazeera)
Since someone asked about Disney…
Disney says coronavirus outbreak has been “challenging”
From CNN
Disney’s executive chairman Bob Iger admitted that the coronavirus outbreak has been “challenging” for the company, but that it’s strong enough to weather any downturn.
“I think it’s fair to say that we’re all sobered by the concern that we feel for everyone effected by this global crisis,” the former CEO said at Disney’s annual investor conference.
“These are challenging times for everyone. But it’s also important to note that throughout our company’s nearly century long history Disney has been through a lot, including wars and economic downturns and natural disasters. What we’ve demonstrating repeatedly over the years is that we are incredibly resilient," he added.
How Disney has responded to coronavirus: Disney closed its parks in Shanghai and Hong Kong in January, warning that profits from its facilities in China could drop by $280 million in the current quarter.
The company has also temporarily shuttered its parks in Japan.
“Our future has always been bright, and it remains so for good reason,” Iger added. “In fact, when you think about the world today, what we create at the Walt Disney Co. has never been more necessary or more important.”
[no info on USA operations]
I did. I actually got a call from my cousin at MSU last night asking if she could come stay with us or my parents. Both her dad and sister are in frail health and her dad is near that 60 cutoff.
For those keeping score at home, I can confirm that U of M has tests. However you must have been in direct contact with a travel or quarantined person.
Fever, cough, shortness of breath isn’t enough.
The available hospital beds won’t be the issue once the staffing availability is exhausted. Closed rural hospitals won’t have trained staff on hand for ICU etc. I am amazed that all elective stuff isn’t canceled already. If I was due elective surgery I would cancel it myself. At least if all elective procedures were cancelled it would free up anesthetistic trained staff. Anyone looking at a serious hospital based procedure has the potential to be in the thick of this. Hospitals are not ready, prepared or equipped.
I’m noting their maker, Gilead Sciences, is one of the few stocks that is up in my portfolio today. While that modestly helps us financially, I’m hopeful it also means the trial looks promising. Having something to help those who are seriously affected would make a world of difference, esp with not having to wait a year and a half.
Meanwhile I’m still working to get folks on board with doing their part to help. It’s reassuring seeing so many countries and schools, etc, getting on board. Wisdom reigns in many places. This disease only lasts for a couple of weeks max outside of a host. It can be stopped if we can stop the spread and help those sick with it recover, esp while the numbers are still relatively low. Then life really would resume.
I agree with you. All non essential travel should be halted. All inbound international flights should be halted. (They should have been halted a week or more ago). All large public gatherings should be cancelled. I frankly cannot believe that some universities are still holding in person classes and some who are on spring break will have students returning on Monday from affected areas spreading the virus around even more.
Many people are doing this voluntarily. I cancelled my daughter’s trip here even though I haven’t seen her since last summer. I cancelled our trip to a very remote national park to avoid contact with other travelers.
Yeah the problem with this thinking is that we assumed that the virus just got started with international returnees, when in fact it has been silently spreading for months now before it gets to you.
But since we don’t have enough test kits I suppose they have to have some kind of criteria, risk base approach.
My boss in Belgium, her 2 younger kids have the flu and pretty severe (fever, cough, etc.) They won’t test them and said unless they have severe trouble breathing then someone will go to the house to take the sample to test at the lab.
My co-worker’s brother in law who lives in a tiny town south of Rome, has COVID. He doesn’t usually go anywhere, the town is pretty much 100% Italians with almost no immigrants. They have no idea why he got it, he went to Rome a couple of times, that’s it. Apparently he is in critical condition. This is so sad and scary.
When my kid was at Officer Candidate School for the first few weeks he wasn’t allowed to use a phone or a computer. He used to handwrite letters to his girlfriend and then she would photo the public parts and send them on to us. I imagine this could work for papers in a pinch.
Greta Thunberg urges virtual strike
(Guardian)
Greta Thunberg, who was the inspiration for the climate strikes, has urged people to switch to a “digital strike”, given the need to avoid large gatherings to minimise the chances of spreading coronavirus.
Greta Thunberg
@GretaThunberg
· 3h
We can’t solve a crisis without treating it as a crisis and we must unite behind experts and science.
This of course goes for all crises.
Now the experts urge us to avoid big public gatherings for a better chance to #flattenthecurve and slow the spreading of the Coronavirus. 1/4
View image on Twitter
Greta Thunberg
@GretaThunberg
So I personally recommend that we do as the experts say. Especially in high-risk areas.
We young people are the least affected by this virus but it’s essential that we act in solidarity with the most vulnerable and that we act in the best interest of our common society. 2/4
4,418
8:05 AM - Mar 11, 2020
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Greta Thunberg
@GretaThunberg
· 3h
Replying to @GretaThunberg
The climate and ecological crisis is the biggest crisis humanity has ever faced but for now (of course depending on where you live) we’ll have to find new ways to create public awareness & advocate for change that don’t involve too big crowds - listen to local authorities. 3/4
Greta Thunberg
@GretaThunberg
So keep your numbers low but your spirits high and let’s take one week at the time.
You can join the #DigitalStrike for upcoming Fridays- post a photo of you striking with a sign and use the hashtag #ClimateStrikeOnline !#fridaysforfuture #climatestrike #schoolstrike4climate 4/4
Hungary declares state of emergency
Hungary has declared a state of emergency in response to the coronavirus outbreak, closing universities and banning large gatherings, Index.hu reports.
It says outdoor events of more than 500 people and indoor events of more than 100 people have been banned. This includes cinemas and theatres but not workplaces and shopping malls, it reports.
There is also a ban on school trips abroad. The country has announced 13 confirmed cases so far. (Guardian)
US 'risks acting too late
Anthony Fauci, the top US official on infectious disease, testifying to the House oversight committee, urging more aggressive preemptive action in the US:
If we don’t do very serious mitigation now, what’s going to happen is that we’re going to be weeks behind, and the horse is going to be out of the barn, and that’s the reason why we’ve been saying, even in areas of the country, where there are no or few cases, we’ve got to change our behavior. We have to essentially assume that we are going to get hit. And that’s why we talk about making mitigation and containment in a much more vigorous way. (Guardian)