You can’t rely on politicians *anywhere/i to tell the truth and nothing but the truth. People in power generally don’t like transparency (Just ask the people in charge of college admissions). In the case of China, it’s healthy to be skeptical, but there’s no evidence so far of a cover-up, other than failure to recognize the severity of the virus initially by some politicians. Some US experts, such as Columbia’s Ian Lipkin, have already visited China recently. From China’s perspective, an official US delegation doesn’t really have much to contribute at this point. We wouldn’t have approved mass shutdowns of cities, for example, but these shutdowns have been the most effective means of containment. If they had been done a week earlier, the situation would have been much better.
My husband works in an industry that is directly affected by the coronavirus. One of his colleagues (an MD) told him to stock up on 6 months of prescription medications because most of the meds we get in the US are manufactured in China. Many of these manufacturers are (or will soon be) shut down due to the situation. There will be a shortage of prescription medications in the rest of the world soon if things don’t change. I found a post on Bogleheads that mentioned these two articles that scared the heck out of me. 
https://www.uscc.gov/sites/default/files/RosemaryGibsonTestimonyUSCCJuly152019.pdf
I don’t know if it’s even possible to get 6 months worth of meds up front. I guess the doctor would have to prescribe a 6 month supply. I doubt they’d do that, plus it would only contribute to the shortage if everyone had the same idea.
Oh my. I can only get a 90 day supply of RXs…and that’s only because my RX provider will pay for a 90 day supply. Otherwise…it’s 30 days.
And no early refilling either.
^^ Same here. It’s a dilemma.
Really? Then how do you explain people who were reporting on the virus disappearing?
Again, really? They would if China lets them. They could get stats and work on transit methods, more incubation period, etc.
I hope this crisis is a wake up and people diversify supply chains. The world is overly reliant on Chinese manufacturing. China’s monopolizing manufacturing is highly unhealthy. I guess they were using their huge market to lure companies to manufacture there promising a market share.
I wonder if fewer will attend the Olympics in Japan This summer. The team from the PRC is quite big.
Ugh, I feel for passengers stuck in interior cabins on the cruise ship. We’ve had all three types of cabins - interior, ones with windows, and ones with balconies. The interior ones are so tiny and claustrophobic! We don’t mind them in regular circumstances because we only sleep there. But I’d hate to be stuck in one of them, day after day.
^You would think they could move them to a bigger, outside cabin that are freed up.
Even before this Corona virus nightmare, I wouldn’t stay in one of those interior cabins if they gave it to me for free.
Gee, finally biotech is in the financial spotlight.
I agree about the diversification of supply chains. For national economic security and for a host of other reasons (including that our factories aren’t as polluting as those in China), essential supplies need to be manufactured in this country.
Travel to China we know is down to nothing. And I would wager that bookings for the Tokyo Olympics are on pause until the world knows just how this COVID plays out.
Sad. 
As coronavirus cases get priority in Wuhan hospitals, other patients are losing hope
Thousands of people are not getting the treatment they need because medical resources have been diverted to fight outbreak
One hospital says it can no longer offer transplant surgery as it doesn’t have enough doctors and blood products
“University student Wan Ruyi was diagnosed with acute leukaemia in May. The 21-year-old has been in the Wuhan Union Hospital for the past 10 months, and now, severely ill, she is in dire need of a bone-marrow transplant…Wan is among thousands of patients in urgent need of treatment in Wuhan who are not getting it because medical resources have been diverted to fight the coronavirus outbreak. They include people with cancer and conditions like bronchial asthma and epilepsy.”
“Yao Zelin, a sociology professor focusing on health care at East China Normal University in Shanghai, said the medical system needed to be improved at the grass-roots level. “China has emphasised the build-up of big hospitals but not the network of clinics, which means that during an emergency like the coronavirus outbreak, only the big hospitals can be used to tackle the epidemic, and the surge of patients quickly takes up all the resources,” Yao said.”
More
Vietnam blocks two cruise ships from docking to keep out coronavirus
The AIDAvita, a German-owned cruise liner, had made stops in the Philippines, Malaysia and Singapore, state media said
The Norwegian Jade was also denied permission to dock, passengers on board said in social media messages citing a letter from the captain
(SCMP)
9 newly confirmed cases in Singapore
"Nine more coronavirus cases have been confirmed here, with six linked to the Grace Assembly of God church.
The church is now the biggest cluster, with 13 confirmed cases. The first two patients there tested positive on Feb 11.
Three more new cases have also surfaced, bringing the total number of those who have been infected to 67, the Ministry of Health said on Friday (Feb 14)." (Strait Times)
https://www.vox.com/2020/2/14/21134473/coronavirus-outbreak-singapore-us-symptoms-pandemic
Good article to read. Some tidbits.
“Some people may present with abdominal pain before respiratory symptoms — and that’s not something health officials are screening for: This coronavirus is still very new, and we don’t know the entire spectrum of illness yet, but we’re learning the disease may sometimes surface in surprising ways. Though it’s a respiratory infection, a recent JAMA article found that people can present in the hospital with abdominal symptoms such as discomfort first. This means “we may not be detecting cases that do not present in the classic way with fever and respiratory symptoms,” said William Schaffner, an infectious disease expert at Vanderbilt University.”
“There are studies out of China suggesting as many as a quarter of patients need care in the ICU, for example — something that could wreak havoc on health systems and cost billions. “There’s always chance [this disease could] overwhelm health systems in a number of countries, even in countries with good health systems,” Fauci said.”
Some days ago I read that the sickest people are the elderly, people with health issues, and men over 50. Has anyone read whether or not that still holds true? According to Wikipedia, in China, 74% of men and 8% of women are smokers. Could men have more damaged lungs and therefore more likely to develop pneumonia? Would countries with more nonsmokers be in a better position to reduce deaths?
edited to fix typos. Sigh. It took three tries to write ‘typos’.
Everything I’ve read says those who have died or who are severely impacted are predominately either older or have underlying health conditions. Not 100% but the majority. But, that’s also true with flu and many illnesses.
I had read that the actual deaths were an average age of 58 or so and >60% men. That is not elderly.
US will test people with flu symptoms, in significant expansion of government response
Testing will initially be carried out by labs in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Chicago and New York, but more sites are planned, CDC says
“The US will begin testing people identified by local health authorities as having flu-like symptoms for the novel coronavirus, a senior official said Friday, a significant expansion of the government’s response to the epidemic. “CDC (Centres for Disease Control and Prevention) has begun working with five public health labs across the US to tap into their ability to conduct community based influenza surveillance, so that we can begin testing people with flu-like symptoms for novel coronavirus,” said Nancy Messonnier, a senior CDC official. The testing will initially be carried out by labs in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Chicago and New York, but more sites are planned.
More to follow …” (SCMP)