I seriously hope that your doctors have the integrity to treat whoever in front of them has the most need. What else could it be, natural born citizens first, then naturalized citizens, then green card holders, then H1B, then tourists, then âillegalsâ?
What if they are not showing symptoms? If testing ramps up, we can test people that have possibly been in contact with sick people.
From The Economist in an article titled âCovid-19 is rapidly spreading in America. The country does not look readyâ:
Just another reason why those drive thru testing set-ups are genius. Glad to see a few communities in the US start to implement them - but you still need the testing capability. Banning people from Schengen certainly doesnât help with that.
Todayâs drop is all on Donaldâs shoulders, IMO.
Governor Newsom is calling for cancellation of all events over 250 in California, following Washingtonâs lead. https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/487179-california-governor-calls-for-cancellations-of-large-events
The private jet industry has had a big boost since Trumpâs travel ban announcement
From CNN
Private jet companies have seen a surge in demand in the hours since the Europe travel ban was announced by President Trump.
Adam Twidell, CEO of on-demand private jet charter provider PrivateFly, says the company is receiving a âsignificant number of requestsâ from Americans currently in Europe who are seeking to return to the US, as well as those who want to fly from Europe to the UK, which is exempt from the ban at present.
Last week, US-based Paramount Business Jets revealed they were experiencing anywhere from 100% to 300% increases for charter requests depending on the region
Two NBA teams are advising players and personnel to isolate themselves
At least two NBA teams have advised players, coaches and team personnel who might have been exposed to an opponent who later tested positive for coronavirus to self-isolate themselves as they await test results.
In a statement sent Thursday, the Toronto Raptors said those who traveled to play against the Utah Jazz on Monday have been tested for the virus and have all been asked to go into self-isolation for 14 days.
Since returning from Utah on Tuesday morning, team members have made two public appearances. According to Toronto Public Health, being in close contact with someone who does not have COVID-19, but was exposed to someone with COVID-19, does not constitute a risk for getting COVID-19 and does not require public health follow up. People who attended these events should continue to monitor their health, practice social distancing and hand washing, and contact a health professional should they develop symptoms.
The Washington Wizards also advised players, coaches and personnel to self-quarantine for the next three to four days.
[ contradictory how the two teams are behaving ]
More than 275,000 US public school students will be out of school due to coronavirus outbreak
From CNN
School districts in at least three states have announced long-term school closures for K-12 public school students amounting to at least 276,669 students who will be out of their schools over the coming days.
In Washington state, at least eight school districts have announced long-term school closures effecting at least 128,174 students.
Seattle Public Schools, Lake Washington School District, and Shoreline School District all begin their long term closures today.
Snohomish County School District, Edmonds School District, Riverview School District, and Bellevue School District announce closures in the coming days. Northshore School District begin online instruction earlier this week.
In Tennessee, Shelby County School District announced this morning a long term closure beginning tomorrow that will effect at least 100,000 students in their school district.
In New York, three schools in the New Rochelle School District are closed through March 25: New Rochelle High School, Albert Leonard Middle School and William B. Ward Elementary School.
From a doctor in Italy. The message is: Itâs up to all of us to protect each other. Stop traveling. Distance yourself. Itâs not about you. Itâs about the older person you might inadvertently infect. Itâs about not slamming the hospitals with more cases.
There are some things the government can do, sure. But ever one of us should be helping, not hindering these efforts.
We visited my in laws last week in their assisted living facility (they live 15 hours or so from us). People were in & out all the time. When we signed in, we had to answer a couple questions that were travel & health related. We left Saturday. By Monday, all visitors were banned & residents are not allowed to leave the facility unless it is medically necessary. My FIL had to cancel a medical appointment that was not ânecessary.â We are glad they are taking these precautions ⊠and happy that we just saw them, because it may be awhile before we can âseeâ them again. We have plans to go back for the Masters golf tournament, but the reality is that there may not be a tournament this year (just my guess).
Floridaâs Miami-Dade County suspends all mass gatherings
From CNN
One of Floridaâs largest counties is suspending all mass gatherings in an attempt to prevent community spread of coronavirus, its mayor said Thursday.
Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos A. Gimenez also recommended that smaller gatherings, âif theyâre not essential, also be reconsidered.â
âI have decided to suspend the operation of the Miami-Dade County Youth Fair, the Miami Open tennis tournament, the MIA 5K run, and all major events at the American Airlines Arena. The March 22 NASCAR race at the Homestead Miami Speedway is postponed at this time. NASCAR officials will decide whether or not to hold the race without fans.â
NHL tells hockey teams to skip morning skates, practices and meetings
North Americaâs National Hockey League has announced that teams should not hold their usual game-day morning skates, practices or team meetings.
There are ten games on the NHL schedule tonight.
âGiven the uncertainty regarding next steps regarding the coronavirus, Clubs are advised not to conduct morning skates, practices or team meetings today,â the league said in a statement. (CNN)
Czech government declares state of emergency over coronavirus
From CNN
The Czech government declared a state of emergency Thursday over coronavirus, partly closing borders to prevent people from at-risk locations from entering the country.
The state of emergency imposes a ban on gatherings of more than 30 people and puts restrictions on public places such as restaurants, libraries and gyms.
It is due to last for 30 days.
Its awful for the families. In many cases, family members are the ones that insure the elderly are coaxed into taking their medication and eating properly. The nurses can only do so much.
It must be deliberate, from some hard to fathom deep strategy.
TLDR: early testing and rapid isolating of the positive and their contacts MOST important and effective at this stage. Social distancing and teleworking comes next. Travel bans pretty useless.
Trump may sign a disaster declaration today
From CNN
President Trumpâs top economic adviser Larry Kudlow told Republicans the President may sign a disaster declaration under the Stafford Act this afternoon, three people familiar with the matter told CNN.
Aides have been weighing such a move for the past several days as a way to provide more resources for combatting the coronavirus outbreak.
US senators shut down DC offices
From CNN
At least two senators have closed their DC offices as the coronavirus outbreak continues to spread.
Republican Sen. Mitt Romney is telling his staff to work from home. He added that he has a cold.
Sen. Ted Cruz is also temporarily closing his office âto protect the health and welfare of staff, constituents, and colleagues in Congress,â his staff said in a statement.
Cruz is currently in self-isolation after he attended the Conservative Political Action Conference, where someone tested positive for coronavirus.
âSen. Cruz feels healthy and is at home in Texas, where he is completing his self-quarantine today after a brief interaction 14 days ago with someone who tested positive for COVID-19. Offices in Texas remain open, and Sen. Cruz is continuing to closely monitor the situation and take every precaution necessary to keep staff healthy and help reduce the spread of this virus to others," his office said in a statement.
NY Times offering free access to its coronavirus coverage,
https://www.nytimes.com/news-event/coronavirus?action=click&module=Spotlight&pgtype=Homepage
(my apologies if thatâs been shared already)
I have to admit that I am eating a big dish of crow. I was one of the people who thought this was not going to be that much of a deal. After all, our public heath systems have dealt with bad flu seasons, etc before.
I had faith in the Public Health departments of the government. I could have never imagined that there would be so many missed opportunities for getting a head start on fighting the disease.
edited to fix a typo
Italian cardiologist says surgical department has been shut down to make room for coronavirus patients
The head of an Italian cardiac surgery department said the coronavirus outbreak has forced his department to suspend operations to make room for coronavirus patients.
Dr. Lorenzo A. Menicanti, the head of cardiac surgery department at IRCCS Policlinico San Donato in Milan, told CNNâs Becky Anderson cardiac surgery has been âcompletely shut downâ â except for pediatric cases.
âThe big, big issue is the cardiac surgery for adults. It is completely shut down,â he said.
He added:
âSo itâs really an uneasy situation for us, for the patient, for the hospital, because to stop so large a program of cardiac surgery is really difficult because we have to think that after that we have to reopen all things and sometimes not so evident.â (CNN)
US does not have a system in place to test like foreign countries, lawmakers told
From CNN
Several members emerged from a House briefing on the coronavirus pandemic saying that they were told that tests would increase â but that the briefers acknowledged that the US system is trying to catch up to other countries like South Korea.
âI donât think anyone is going to leave that briefing satisfied with whatâs going on with testing right now," Democrat Rep. Mike Quigley said. "Bottom line, you leave that briefing and we are not where we need to be and not sure when we are going to get there. We are flying blind.â
He added: âI think the first thing they said was we donât have a system that works like it does in other countries to adequately test at this time."
Rep. Jan Schawkowsky said that they were told 7,300 tests have been conducted by the public sector and 3,800 tests by private labs.
âI think everyone leaving that briefing is feeling more confused than ever and disappointed in the numbers that we heard â that we really donât have a system that tests are being distributed and tests are being given,â Schakowsky said
[ Make America not great at testing. ]
Rest of the family tested and no corona here. But H was tested positive for the flu and didnât even notice! I thought he was looking a bit peaky and was a little more irritable, but wasnât sure whether it was the situation (keeping our quarantined kids busy and using the time to do much needed stuff around our new house) or something else, which is why I bullied him into getting tested as wellâŠ
Iâll take the kids to see my in-laws tonight - window of opportunityâŠ
I kinda enjoy the homeschooling bit of this. Iâd never want to do it long term and and itâs illegal in this country anyway, but it was fun to have them all sitting round the dining room table and discussing their schoolwork (when they werenât bickering and fighting) and being able to send them to their instruments so easily. Great musical progress in this house at this time!
Angela Merkelâs party postpones meeting to choose her successor
From CNN
German Chancellor Angela Merkelâs Christian Democrats (CDU) have postponed a key party conference scheduled for April 25 which was set to choose her successor as party leader, amid coronavirus fears.
The partyâs interim chair, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, said in a statement:
âThe CDU party conference previously planned for April 25 cannot take place. I will therefore recommend to the Federal Executive Committee to postpone the planned party conference and to hold it as soon as the epidemic situation allows.â
âFor the CDU the rule is always: first the country, then the party. The health of the people in our country has priority over everything else.â
Kramp-Karrenbauer had been Merkelâs presumed successor until earlier this year, when she announced she would not replace the leader whose term expires in 2021 â throwing Germanyâs political future into uncertainty.
South Africa reports first case of local transmission
From CNN
South Africa has confirmed its first case of local transmission of coronavirus, after a 32-year-old man came into contact with a Chinese businessman.
Until now, all other cases in the country have been patients who had traveled abroad, South Africaâs Health Ministry said Thursday.
It brings the total number of confirmed cases in the country to 17.
Top-flight Spanish football league suspended for at least two weeks
From CNN
Spainâs top division La Liga soccer league has become the latest sports association to cancel play in a bid to stem the spread of the virus.
All football matches have been suspended for two weeks, the leagueâs organizing body said in a statement Thursday.
The decision comes after Real Madrid put all of its football and basketball squad into quarantine, after one of the clubâs basketball players tested positive for coronavirus.
The football and basketball clubs share the same training facilities.
âThis is unchartered territoryâ: Ireland becomes latest European country to close schools
From CNN
Schools, colleges and childcare facilities will be closed in the Republic of Ireland from Friday as part of a nationwide effort to halt the spread of coronavirus, the countryâs Prime Minister Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said Thursday.
The closures will also apply to cultural institutions and will remain in place until March 29.
Indoor gatherings of more than 100 people and outdoor gatherings of more than 500 people will also be canceled, he said at a press conference in Washington.
âWe have not witnessed a pandemic of this nature in living memory,â Varadkar said. âAnd this is unchartered territory for us.â
[more and more countries are headed this way but we got zero direction on national containment and mitigation last night]
Ireland has 43 cases and 1 death.