Hotel bookings all over the world have had a sharp decline as Chinese tour groups cancel.
The death toll is over 1000 now 
(1013 deaths, over 42,500 confirmed cases reported, per CNN)
Daily Tallies, all of China and worldwide
New deaths: 108, 1,086 total in China, 1,088 worldwide
Newly confirmed cases 2,478 for 42,299 cases in China and 42,767 to 43,099 (depending on what tracker is right) cases worldwide.
Shortage of reliable detection kits: Chinese authorities issued approvals within two weeks for seven kits that employ the nucleic acid method to test for the presence of the virus
â57-year-old mother showed symptoms of a cold, then high fever and breathing difficulties, but she was not treated as a novel coronavirus case until last Thursday. The first appointment on February 1 was cancelled due to a shortage of test kits. Two days later, they secured one of the last tests in the daily quota at another hospitalâŠher condition deteriorated and after a second test she was diagnosed as positive but had to wait another day for a hospital bed.âQuite a few days have been wastedâŠFirst there were not enough diagnostic kits, then a false test.âHer condition had not improved as of Monday, Yang saidâŠhis 80-year-old grandmother, who suffers from paralysis, is also showing symptoms of being infected but cannot reach the hospital for a diagnosis. He has been calling an ambulance for days, but they are busy with confirmed cases.âThere are many cases like my grandma ⊠and theyâre not included in the official figures,â he said.â
The article goes on to discuss how nucleic acid method tests were developed during the SARS outbreak and how mucus is taken from the nose or throat. The process takes only hours but involves several steps which means there can be mistakes with any step. Another problem reported is that the accuracy is only 30-50% so it seems less than ideal but speaks to how overwhelmed the Chinese healthcare system is in dealing with NPC. The article talks about other patients being missed multiple times prior to the virus being confirmed.
âNucleic acid test kits were not available in Hubei province until January 16. Before that, samples were sent to Beijing for testing in a process that took at least three days. Now, nearly 100 labs across the provinceâŠcan conduct the test within five hoursâ
For a more thorough read:
https://www.scmp.com/tech/science-research/article/3049858/race-diagnose-treat-coronavirus-patients-constrained-shortage
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That would make todayâs mortality rate around 2.6 %. Between mortality lagging new infections and questions as to Chinaâs reporting, who knows what it really is, other than itâs likely higher.
Might just be me, but the cruise lines should just take the hit, call it a day, refund the money and reorganize under better conditions. Packing a very large number of people into a confined space (for an extended period of time) doesnât seem very wise, not at the moment.
The Public Health Minister in Thailand has now apparently refused the Westerdam; no disembarkation. And there is absolutely no evidence or even suspicion of the virus on that ship.
âA British man managed to pass on the coronavirus to at least 11 other people without ever setting foot in the epicentre of the outbreak in China, in an infectious journey that shows how the deadly virus can spread rapidly around a globalised world. The adult British citizen, who has not been named publicly, caught the virus while attending a conference in Singapore and then passed it on to several compatriots while on holiday in the French Alps, before finally being diagnosed back in the UK. Of those infected by the man, five have been hospitalised in France, five in Britain and one other man on the Spanish island of MallorcaâŠThe man attended a business conference in Singapore from January 20-22.â
Interesting read on how one person, in this global economy, can quickly spread a virus to many. Goes to conference in Singapore, goes to a ski resort in French Alps with other Brits, goes home to Britain and starts feeling poorly. Goes to hospital and infects a couple healthcare workers. Now confirmed case from this cluster in UK, France, Spain, Singapore as well presumably.
Solution to the water bottle crisis:
1 - freeze 3 bottles of water and bring them in your carry=on, right through security. Have a 1/2 bottle of water and glug it down before you get to security so you donât get dehydrated while the others thaw.
2 - buy hot tea at a coffee shop past security, but donât put the tea bag in (or put it in, whatevs). Slosh the hot water upwards at the hidden-but-might-be-crawling-with-germs water spout, then fill your empty bottles without fear. Or, pour that hot tea/water over your newly purchased water bottles in case a baby spewed on them at some point.
3- buy some duty free vodka and follow instructions for #2. Or just drink it! Drink only high proof alcohol or hot, black coffee! Fly and relax!
US confirms 13th case of virus
âReuters is reporting that the first coronavirus infection has been confirmed in San Diego, California in a person who was aboard the first US evacuation flight from Wuhan, China to a Miramar airbase. This takes the number of confirmed cases in the US to 13.â (BBC)
"China has âremovedâ several senior officials over their handling of the coronavirus outbreak - as the death toll passed 1,000.
The party secretary for the Hubei Health Commission, and the head of the commission, were among those who lost their jobs. They are the most senior officials to be demoted so far. According to state media, there have been hundreds of sackings, investigations and warnings across Hubei and other provinces during the outbreak." (BBC)
"The BBCâs correspondent in China, Stephen McDonell, has tweeted about the Chinaâs national health commission changing the way it counts confirmed cases of the virus.
The suggestion is that patients who test positive but have no coronavirus symptoms, are not counted in the daily update of confirmed cases ⊠and that this may account for the slowing growth rate of new cases. " (BBC)
The newest confirmed case in Vietnam (15th) is a 3 month old infected by her grandmother.
Well, this does not inspire confidence: âA botched test result allowed an evacuee infected with the coronavirus to leave a San Diego hospital Monday after initially being told by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that they were in the clear.â
https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/health/story/2020-02-10/san-diego-county-has-firt
It should be noted that the person was NOT released into the general population; rather, he/she was sent back to quarantine at Miramar. Still problematic, though, because the quarantined evacuees are allowed to mix with each other; itâs not like they are confined to their rooms like the cruise ship guests.
Japan to allow older passengers or those with chronic health conditions to leave cruise liner
âJapan is to allow older passengers and those with chronic health conditions to leave the quarantined Diamond Princess cruise liner, amid growing concern about onboard sanitation and the state of their healthâŠConditions aboard the vessel pose a health risk to older passengers, some of whom require medication for conditions such as high blood pressure and diabetesâŠAbout 80% of the 2,600 passengers are aged 60 or over, with 215 in their 80s and 11 in their 90sâŠThe health ministry is so far sticking with plans to allow passengers who show no signs of the virus to leave the vessel on 19 February.â (BBC)
The Public Health Minister in Thailand has now apparently refused the Westerdam; no disembarkation. And there is absolutely no evidence or even suspicion of the virus on that ship.
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If no one is tested, there wonât be any positives.
The reality is who wants to even risk the Japan scenario? If this had been Southampton UK, or Galveston Tx, the response would have been hailed as sensible.
Just read that NY Times article about conditions on the Diamond Princess. It sounds like that situation is being criminally mismanaged, with the crew mixing together and preparing food for the passengers despite having had ill crew members. Seems to me the least they could have done is to evacuate enough people at the outset to allow crew members to keep isolated in passenger cabins, and bring in meals from outside at cruise company expense. And given the number of elderly on the ship, I would expect a number to die if coronavirus becomes widespread. I wonder if they are really going to allow everyone off at the end of the 2-week period. And the advice to passengers in shared cabins to wear N95 masks day and night? What a joke!
It does seem mismanaged but it is also tough to quarantine 3,700 people elsewhere. And, given the test results, there are people that shouldnât be mingling with the masses. Just a really tough situation all around but Iâm sure the Japanese government doesnât want elderly or at risk people dying on their watch. In addition to lawsuits and just being a bad look, they have the Olympics coming up. Really unfortunate situation for ALL involved.
At the housing complex in Hong Kong that was evacuated the other day because 2 people on different floors tested positive, 4 other individuals living in the complex have tested positive. Officials are looking into an altered toilet pipe that might have caused the spread. So, back to the virus in feces discussion. Whereâs the poop emoji when you need it?
Another WOW!
"At least 500 hospital staff in Wuhan had been infected âŠleaving hospitals short-staffed and causing deep concern among health care workers⊠sources said doctors and nurses had been told not to make the total publicâŠA slide circulating online, however, reveals the scale of infections among medical workers in Wuhan. It said that by mid-January there had been about 500 confirmed cases among hospital staff with a further 600 suspected ones. A source from a major hospital in Wuhan with knowledge of the situation confirmed that the slide was authentic.
⊠A doctor from a major hospital in Wuhan, who requested anonymity, said the development had hit morale, adding that many medical workers were âdevastatedâ when they saw the CAT scans of colleagues who had been infected."
The story goes on to talk about the now constant refrain of needing more protective gear - hazmat suits, masks - to protect those on the frontline. Other factors are overwork (which can make one immunosuppressed) and the lack of awareness/understanding on the nature of contagiousness and transmission. The sickness of health care professionals further exacerbates the already short supply of doctors and nurses. Hospital clusters reported in different parts of the country, some of which have even less protective supplies than Wuhan. Many of the hospital wards arenât design to treat communicable diseases.
Then thereâs the 28 year old doctor who died of a coronary after 10 days straight on the front line of the coronavirus fight.
Details are sketchy on this one. Dying of âa coronaryâ usually refers to a âheart attack,â and a heart attack usually refers to cardiac death related to coronary artery disease, which usually is a condition that occurs over a long amount of time. âCardiac arrestâ is what pretty much everyone dies of-but what causes the cardiac arrest? End stage cancer? A congenital arrhythmia? Chronic kidney disease? Head trauma? You get the picture.
In the doctorâs case, was sudden cardiac death a function of exhaustion, did he have some kind of underlying condition, did he actually have coronavirus, etc.?
Very troubling incident and suggests a very harrowing reality over there.
About that US evacuee from Wuhan, what happens now? Does that mean the quarantine of the group should be extended? Countdown reset and starts ânowâ for another 2 weeks?
It was attributed to exhaustion although I agree itâs possible that there was an underlying cause, such as an undiagnosed heart arrhythmia, that made him especially vulnerable.
According to the reports I read heâd been working 10 days straight doing checkpoint health checks. I donât think there was any suggestion he had contracted the virus.