Nice article with simulations that show how social distancing can save people from getting sick.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/world/corona-simulator/
Rudy Gobert has pledged $500,000 for COVID-19-related relief.
A sampling of countries showing some sizable increases in cases today, overall or percentage wise.
GERMANY - 924 new cases totaling 4,599 and 1 new death totaling 9.
FRANCE - 808 new cases totaling 4,469 and 12 new deaths totaling 91.
USA - 589 new cases totaling 2,836 and 8 new deaths totaling 57.
SWITZERLAND - 236 new cases totaling 1,375 and 2 new deaths totaling 13.
UK - 343 new cases totaling 1,140 and 10 new deaths totaling 21.
NORWAY - 113 new cases totaling 1,109 and 2 new deaths totaling 3.
SWEDEN - 147 new cases totaling 961 and 1 new death totaling 2.
NETHERLANDS - 155 new cases totaling 959 and 2 new cases totaling 12.
BELGIUM - 130 new cases totaling 689 and 1 new death totaling 4.
AUSTRALIA - 151 new cases totaling 655.
CANADA - 54 new cases totaling 252.
AUSTRALIA - 49 new cases totaling 248.
CZECH REPUBLIC - 48 new cases totaling 189.
SLOVENIA - 40 new cases totaling 181. 1st death.
ICELAND - 27 new cases totaling 161.
IRELAND - 39 new cases totaling 129 and 1 new death totaling 2.
“There are many anecdotal stories of people ignoring the social distancing guidelines laid out on Thursday. We are in an unprecedented global situation. Everyone in the country must play their part in protecting the most vulnerable and slowing down the spread of the disease" said Deputy chief medical officer Dr Ronan Glynn
ESTONIA - 36 new cases totaling 115.
1st confirmed cases - Equatorial Guinea, Mayotte, Rwanda, Eswatini, USVI
Some comments from the Italian press translated and shared by Worldometers:
"We’re close to the point of no return for intensive care beds in Lombardy. We have 15 to 20 intensive care beds left. With 85 new people entering ICU every day and 2 or 3 leaving, we’re close to the point of no return. “There are no more ambulances” - Lombardy Welfare Councilor Gallera added - “and therefore someone will have to wait late in the evening.”
732 patients are currently treated in intensive care in Lombardy, and 76 new deaths were reported in the region today
In Bergamo, “deaths have quintupled from a week ago. There is a burial every half hour” said Councilor for Cemetery Services Giacomo Angeloni. “There are many elderly people at home with breathing difficulties. They are not hospitalized because the hospitals are full” said the mayor of Alzano Lombardo Carmelo Bertocchi
Santa Clara County prohibits gatherings of more than 100 people and restricts gatherings of 35 to 100 people.
https://www.sccgov.org/sites/phd/DiseaseInformation/novel-coronavirus/Pages/COVID-19-Guidance-031320.aspx
The definition of “gathering” includes normal operations of restaurants and the like:
https://www.sccgov.org/sites/deh/Documents/2020-03-13_COVID-19_Notice.pdf
I.e. restaurants will be limited to (100 - #employees) customers at any one time. If the number of people is 35 to 100, then there must be enough space for them to be at least 6 feet apart, among other restrictions. However, it is unlikely that many restaurants are hitting these limits now, since restaurant patronage has fallen greatly already.
I’m curious as to who is in favor of more mandatory social distancing in their state or community, even the country? Have you reached out to your legislators, local leaders?
Personally, I’d like to see more things temporarily closing and more people contact being limited, slowing down the spread.
This makes sense, and yet social distancing did not flatten the curve for Italy, I forgot who published the article, DH told me. The slope has not changed, still the same rate 2 weeks before and after the social distancing implemented in Italy. He said the only explanation is people cheat (not everyone stops socializing).
Speaking of restaurants, I got an email from Open Table, the reservation app, that included some volume stats and some suggestions. Here’s the relevant part:
A letter from Andrea Johnston, Chief Operating Officer of OpenTable
Our thoughts are with you as we all work to navigate this challenging time. As the COVID-19 (coronavirus) continues to make headlines, even the best-laid plans are up for last-minute changes. Those changes are hitting restaurants hard as they struggle with the effects of reduced travel and government calls to avoid large gatherings.
Looking at comprehensive data from restaurants on our platform — across online reservations, phone reservations, and walk-ins — we note sharp declines over the last week. In the United States and United Kingdom, we see a 20 percent reduction in total seated diners vs. last year. Mexico and Canada are down 15 to 17 percent. At the city level, diners are down approximately 45 percent in Seattle, 40 percent in San Francisco, 30 percent in New York, and 25 percent in London, Los Angeles, and Chicago. (All declines cited here are on a year-over-year basis.)
To support the restaurants we all love, we’d like to share a few simple things you can do to help your favorite restaurants weather this storm:
If you have a change of plans, please let the restaurant know as soon as possible so they can plan accordingly. Even cancelling the same day is better than not showing up.
Order take-out or delivery. It gives the restaurant business and keeps you well fed.
Many restaurants that don’t usually offer these options are making exceptions.
Re-book for a future date—it will give everyone something to look forward to.
Consider purchasing restaurant gift cards if they’re offered.
Tip generously if you can afford it. Tipped workers are some of the first to suffer in times of economic distress.
Son in Law (physician) is right now in the process if admitting his first suspected Covid patient. ?
It hasn’t been even a week since the broader restrictions have been in place. Like Washington, the opinion of many is that Covid-19 was circulating around a lot more and more broadly than thought, definitely more so than the area that was covered by the initial “red zones”. The expansion of the lockdown to northern Italy happened the morning of Monday, 3/9, after being leaked and then people scrambling all over the country. The total lockdown didn’t happen until the morning of 3/10 and even then it took at least a day to put into place. Therefore, I think it is too early to judge the effectiveness given incubation periods and other factors. And, yes, there are reports of people cheating.
I would like it if the managers at my workplace encouraged working at home for everyone who can do so. Even if the organization stays open, the people still working in the building will be safer if fewer people are there.
Yes, several experimental medications have shown some promise, and of course for the most critically ill patients the medical team will try just about anything, especially when a patient’s status is worsening despite all conventional treatments. But this disease is just too new to have effective, established treatment protocols yet.
And even once there are effective treatments, they will be of no use if/when our medical system doesn’t have the capacity to treat all the sick patients. As Italy is showing us, THAT’S the bigger concern here.
Thanks @doschicos that makes me feel better. You are right the official locked down only started on the 10th. Idk what that article was talking about the 2 weeks then. I’ll find the article and read it for myself.
It’s awful what’s happening at ohare. I won’t be shocked if Chicago has an uptick in cases. That’s a freaking Petri dish. This could’ve been avoided if the travel ban had been made more clear. Everyone thought it was an all out ban so they rushed to get back not knowing that US citizens could come back at any time.
Also, some people may be able to work at home some days even if they cannot do so every day. Even that would reduce opportunities for viral spreading.
The other problem, IMO, is it proves it is totally new process for CBP. Weren’t they supposed to be screening people coming from certain countries already at many of these airports? Isn’t that what we were told weeks ago, even before this restriction on the Schengen countries? Because, I can tell you it definitely wasn’t happening. You could have come into the US from Italy a few days ago and CBP would not have asked you questions, checked you for fever, nor given you any info on self-quarantining. NOTHING was being done.
@rosered55 If you have like minded coworkers, perhaps a group can suggest it.
Hoboken NJ imposes strict curfew and bans restaurants from serving food
From CNN’s Paul Murphy
The New Jersey city of Hoboken is implementing a city-wide curfew and new restrictions, starting Monday, in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
Hoboken is located right next to New York City’s Manhattan, just across the Hudson River.
Residents must stay home from 10 p.m. until 5 a.m., unless they have to work during those hours, according to a statement from Mayor Bhalla.
The statement also announced drastic new restrictions on the city’s restaurants and bars, effectively banning them from serving food within their venues - meaning they can only serve food through delivery and takeout.
“All bars and restaurant establishments, with and without a liquor license, are no longer permitted to serve food within the restaurant or bar. If a bar does not currently offer food, they will no longer be permitted to operate and are no longer permitted to serve alcohol, effective March 15 at 11 a.m,” said the statement.
“The time is now to enact proactive policies that will help save lives in the long run,” said Bhalla in the statement. “We must all now do our part.”
Google now says it is developing a coronavirus website with the US government, after denying it yesterday
After confusion and contradicting claims yesterday, Google now says it is working with the federal government to develop a nationwide website containing information about coronavirus symptoms and testing.
The company did not give a time frame of when the website would be up.
Google Communications
@GoogleComms
· 3h
Replying to @GoogleComms
“Google is partnering with the US Government in developing a nationwide website that includes information about COVID-19 symptoms, risk and testing information. (2/6)
Google Communications
@Google_Comms
“This is in addition to other measures we are taking, including: a Google “home page promotion” to promote greater awareness of simple measures citizens can take to prevent the spread of the disease; (3/6)
This comes after a previous denial: On Friday, after President Trump claimed Google was developing this website, the company said it would not be publishing a national-scale website for coronavirus testing anytime soon.
Instead, a health-focused subsidiary owned by Google’s parent company, Alphabet, said it intended to launch a small-scale website next week to begin to triage California-based patients. The website would aim to serve a broader population only “over time” — not “very quickly.”
In a different tweet Saturday night, the company did also mention the pilot website in the San Francisco area.
“No one seems prepared” at US airports: Long lines, no hand sanitizer and communal pens
Courtesy Katherine Rogers
Even as the US government declares a national emergency and restricts travel from countries worldwide, there is confusion and apparently few preventative measures in place at airports nationwide.
Five hour lines in Chicago: Katherine Rogers arrived at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport after flying in from Paris and through London. At O’Hare, she has been in line for a mandatory coronavirus screening for five hours – and is told there’s an hour left to go.
Ann Lewis Schmidt says she flew into O’Hare from Iceland, and has been in line for an-hour-and-a-half.
“Very close quarters,” Schmidt said. “So if we didn’t have the virus before, we have a great chance of getting it now!”
Rogers and Schmidt both say they’ve not seen any hand sanitizer stations.
“No one seems prepared,” Rogers says. “To take us off planes from all over the world and put us together for hours seems counterproductive.”
CNN has reached out to O’Hare International Airport and Customs and Border Patrol but has not yet received a response. [ I think they’re busy. ]
Sharing pens in New York: Katelyn Deibler landed at New York’s John F. Kennedy airport from Ukraine on Saturday. It took over 2.5 hours to go through passport control and customs.
Deibler says she was given forms about symptoms and travel history upon arrival – but there weren’t enough forms for all passengers, so they had to wait for more.
“They didn’t have pens and told us to share,” she says. “Which sounds like a great thing in the middle of the pandemic.”
Nick Carlin, another passenger, confirmed that they were told to share pens. He also says there was no hand sanitizer at JFK.
This is very encouraging if it holds up!
From Twitter feed of Florian Krammer:
From the primary source: