More importantly, they found that many infected individuals refused to self-isolate, so the Government ‘suggested’ they move to hospitals & dorms to reduce the spreading.
I dunno about that. I’ve read several descriptions of people who had bad cases of COVID-19, but not bad enough to be hospitalized, and I wouldn’t want to go through that alone, and I wouldn’t want my son to go through that alone. Particularly if I (or my son) were one of the people who had a case that wasn’t bad enough so I (or my son) should be hospitalized, but might later get bad enough so I (or my son) should be hospitalized. I’d want someone there to watch out for the case going bad, because things can go bad in a hurry.
Many thanks to your husband and all the other posters with family who are health care workers. And thanks to all of you as you are making sacrifices as well. <3
“Suggested” = dragging people to a van while they were kicking and screaming.
“I’d want someone there to watch out for the case going bad, because things can go bad in a hurry.”
That is why we need daily phone/ video checks on positive patients with negative CXR and stable vitals on initial presentation. Pulse ox devices cost 15-17 $ and they are an easy way for each patient to check their oxygen level.
When you are faced with an epidemic, blocking much needed hospital beds with stable patients is not a wise use of the system. Telemedicine monitoring works well enough, especially these days when everybody has a smart phone.
I’ve stopped watching TV news… it’s just too intense, too bombastic and too repetitive. I read two national newspapers, check CNN online, and read this thread. That’s it.
I pulled away from media mostly to save my sanity. You have even more reason to stay on an even keel. Wishing you the best.
Are you saying that most Asian countries are not free? Which ones are not free? China and North Korea are not free democracies but what about South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Singapore, etc. Those countries tend to be cultures where people value helping society as a whole and are not as individualistic in their concern as Americans can be. So, wearing a mask so you don’t get others sick when sick is common in places like Japan (a free, democratic country). Which other Asian countries did the same things China did to control Covid 19 in terms of forcing people into quarantine?
Trump says hospitals not using ventilators will have to release them
US President Donald Trump told reporters on Sunday that hospitals not using ventilators must release them and that there was hoarding of the devices.
Brazil’s Bolsonaro tells citizens to ‘confront’ coronavirus ‘like a man, not a boy’
Since the beginning of the outbreak, Bolsonaro has downplayed the risks of COVID-19, calling it a “little flu” that largely threatens the elderly and most vulnerable. He has urged them to self-isolate, but otherwise has stressed the need to keep Brazil’s economy running.
“The virus is here, we’re going to have to confront it. Confront it like a man, not a boy!” Bolsonaro told supporters outside his official residence on Sunday. “We’re all going to die one day.”
The Brazilian Health Ministry has reported 3,904 confirmed cases and 114 deaths linked to COVID-19.
Trump touts himself ‘ratings hit’ amid coronavirus pandemic
United States President Donald Trump has taken to Twitter to highlight the viewership ratings of his near daily coronavirus press briefings.
Trump had abandoned the custom of having regular press briefings at the White House, but brought them back this month to update the public on his coronavirus task force.
Donald J. Trump
@realDonaldTrump
“President Trump is a ratings hit. Since reviving the daily White House briefing Mr. Trump and his coronavirus updates have attracted an average audience of 8.5 million on cable news, roughly the viewership of the season finale of ‘The Bachelor.’ Numbers are continuing to rise…
Al Jazeera
Of course. It’s discussed all the time. And there are no easy answers. Most of those who get the virus can get better AT HOME. Read up on self-isolation and how family members can help a sick person in their home. If your illness takes a dangerous turn, contact your doctor who may or may not recommend you get tested/go to the hospital.
Hundreds at church flout COVID-19 gatherings ban
Hundreds of people flouted Louisiana’s COVID-19 ban on gatherings, coming on buses and in personal vehicles to the first of three Sunday services at their church a day after New Orleans police broke up a funeral gathering of about 100 people.
An estimated 500 people of all ages filed inside the mustard-yellow and beige Life Tabernacle church in Central, a city of nearly 29,000 outside Baton Rouge.
More than 3,300 Louisiana residents have been diagnosed with the disease caused by a new coronavirus, and nearly 140 of them have died. Deaths include that of the first federal prison inmate - a man with “serious preexisting conditions” who was being held in Oakdale, Louisiana, the US Bureau of Prisons said Saturday.
Netherlands recalls defective masks imported from China
Spain and Turkey also complain of defective rapid testing kits ordered from Chinese companies.
Dutch officials have recalled tens of thousands of masks imported from China and distributed to hospitals battling the coronavirus outbreak because they do not meet quality standards.
They received a delivery of masks from a Chinese manufacturer on March 21, the health ministry said in a statement.
The masks did not meet their standards when they were inspected. Part of the shipment had already been distributed to health professionals, the statement said.
“The rest of the shipment was immediately put on hold and has not been distributed. A second test also revealed that the masks did not meet the quality norms. Now it has been decided not to use any of this shipment,” it said.
Future shipments would undergo extra testing.
The recall concerned nearly half of the shipment of 1.3 million masks, known as FFP2, the public television channel NOS reported.
The problem with the masks was they did not close over the face properly, or had defective filters, the station added.
Other complaints
The Netherlands was not the only country to raise concerns over faulty supplies from China.
Spain announced last week that it would return more than 600,000,000 rapid testing kits it had purchased from a Chinese company after testing on an imported batch revealed they had a 30 percent detection rate, reported Euronews.
Turkey’s health minister raised similar issues during a news conference on Friday, saying rapid testing kit samples from a Chinese company did not meet the country’s effectiveness standards. He added another Chinese firm had instead been selected to provide the kits.
France’s Health Minister Olivier Veran also announced he ordered more than a billion masks, notably from China, to help the country fight the coronavirus pandemic. It remains unclear if France will cancel its order.
Al Jazeera
There were human rights abuses there for sure. I also think that some local officials and local neighborhood monitors may have acted out of revenge in some cases than from clinical needs. There are some worse things than what you posted that I saw in videos in January-people being severely beaten by a group of officials.
TELLURIDE, Colo. (CBS4) – Blood tests are now underway in San Miguel County as a couple is paying to test everyone who wants a test for coronavirus.
The Colorado Sun reports that Mei Mei Hu and her husband Lou Reese are providing the tests created by their own company, United Neuroscience.
The tests started last week with about 650 first responders and their families. All of those tests were negative. Two weeks after the initial test, those people will get a second test. The results are available in 24 hours.
https://denver.cbslocal.com/2020/03/27/coronavirus-testing-telluride/
Good suggestions however not all have smart phones, especially among the elderly being hit the hardest.
I applaud China’s efforts to help other nations. But this is egg on China’s face. A major international PR failure.
I am not trying to minimize COVID 19 at all. I realize how serious it is and I’m in favor of shutting everything down to get it under control. And I realize how fast this is spreading and how much worse this will get.
But I’m trying to understand the 61,200 who died from the flu last year. Can someone help me put this into perspective? How are those who die from the flu different than those that die from COVID 19? Are the people who die from the flu even more likely to be elderly or with underlying health conditions than those with COVID 19?
Can someone add context?
The first thing about rationing in an epidemic is that if you are not sick enough today, you go home and we use the resources for the ones who are sick enough today. We do not admit you "just in case you may get sicker tomorrow ". There are exceptions, of course like pregnant women, patients with a lot of comorbidities but that is case by case. Hospital is not a place where you stay to be safe because, actually, hospitals are very unsafe places. You enter with corona and exit with MRSA, C diff, a blood clot, etc.
There is a lack of quality control and I’m sure sham companies trying to make a buck off this. I haven’t heard of any of it being sourced directly from the Chinese government yet. Seems to be more privately arranged transactions. Maybe I’ve missed something. I’m sure someone will correct me if I have. 
There are remedies for the flu. And there are vaccinations. Right now, we have neither for COVID-19. Which is much more infections. So if 60,000 people died over several months, imagine how many MORE would die of a virus 10 times more deadly, for which there is no effective treatment or vaccine.
** edited. Better yet, don’t “imagine.” Do the math.
If you search this thread for “flu”, you’ll find much discussion on this especially in the earlier days of this thread.
Trump extends social distancing guidelines until April 30
From CNN’s Jason Hoffman
President Donald Trump announced Sunday he is extending social distancing guidelines until April 30.
“We will be extending our guidelines to April 30, to slow the spread. On Tuesday, we will be finalizing these plans and providing a summary of our findings, supporting data and strategy to the American people,” Trump said.
Modeling shows that the peak of the death rate will likely hit in two weeks, Trump said.
“The modelling estimates that the peak in death rate is likely to hit in two weeks, so I will say it again, the peak, highest point of death rates, remember this, is likely to hit in two weeks. Nothing would be worse than declaring victory before the victory is won,” Trump said.
Trump said he hopes the country will be on its way to recovery by June 1.
“We can expect that by June 1, we will be well on our way to recovery, we think by June 1. A lot of great things will be happening,” Trump said.
[ Good to see he’s given up on the Easter talk. ]