How China-US mistrust pushed the WHO into a coronavirus corner
“Mistrust between Beijing and Washington has tainted US offers of help to contain a deadly coronavirus outbreak, forcing the World Health Organisation (WHO) into a political corner, analysts said.”
Just as a reminder to keep all the COVID-19 statistics in perspective, here’s the US flu stats from this season:
26 million infected
250,000 flu-related hospitalizations
14,000 deaths
And we haven’t peaked yet.
This isn’t to minimize COVID-19, it’s to remind people that they need to be vigilant against real threats in the US.
Will there be a point where it is advised to wear face masks in this country? We have teachers and nurses in the family - might there be a point (soon) where this is advised?
There are no masks to be bought around here (NJ) so wondering -
^There’s a severe shortage of masks globally, online or offline.
With only 15 confirmed cases (majority infected elsewhere) in a country of 329 million people. I would worry about masks right now. Best protection against this and other viruses is thorough and frequent hand washing.
Here is a prime example of why masks will do ZIP. Yesterday, a Chinese girl stood on the bus next to me, mask covering her mouth and nose. She clearly had some sort of a cold - sniffles. No, I was not alarmed. She was traveling to work (likely, Amazon). At several times, she reached into her mask to rub her nose, then wiped her finger on the outside of the mask. She did not do it on purpose, it was obviously done automatically. If one’s nose is itching, what would the person do? Try to catch yourself touching your face and count how many times you do this per hour. You would be surprised!
A person who is not used to wearing masks and have not had any hazmat training will likely wear masks improperly. Plus, the masks that do filter out tiny particles are very uncomfortable. I use them to do drywall work and they are not fun to wear.
Wash your hands and do not touch your face or rub eyes.
I doubt 2-3 days. There has been new cases popping up every day. That mean they should restart 14 day count practically every day. If I were them, I would be gladly get off and do 14 day quarantine. That ship is a petri dish now.
If wearing a mask does nothing, why are Chinese on YouTiube for asking for more masks? And why are we paying attention when they do? It is doing nothing.
Why do Americans hoard toilet paper every time a natural disaster is about to strike? 
There will be false positives. Especially in the labs that are not well equipped to do molecular testing or labs that are overwhelmed.
Here is how a molecular test works. A segment on the viral RNA gets copied into a complementary DNA molecule. Then that DNA molecule gets replicated multiple times so that enough copies are available to get a positive signal. These copies, so called amplicons, significantly outnumber the viral nucleic acid, and must be kept strictly contained. Because if a few of them escape and get into the next test sample, guess what would happen? These amplicons will get multiplied and will produce a false positive signal!
There are also many known false negatives. That seems to be more of an issue based on reports thus far.
I would assume this passenger would be retested under the circumstances.
Additionally, the timeframe between when the ship docked in Cambodia and got an “all clear” seemed markedly short given the 2,257 passengers and crew. Only 20 were tested at the dock. We are unsure how passengers were getting tested while afloat as claimed. Was the ship really equipped to test that many passengers?
You know what happens when you assume.
Link please?
OK, found this:
https://www.bbc.com/news/health-51491763
Does not mean the tests are “flawed” so that the virus goes undetected. The link lists many possibilities why some initial tests come back negative. During a high flu/cold season, a patient with respiratory symptoms might start out with a cold and then catch this new virus in the middle of already being ill with something other than the coronavirus. So then later retesting comes back positive, but it does not mean the initial test was a false negative.
All kinds of references to false negatives have been reported over several weeks, including cases confirmed outside of China that subsequently came back positive. You can search on google but here are a few references to false negatives being an issue. Personally, I have not read any reports about false positives.
https://www.bbc.com/news/health-51491763
https://fortune.com/2020/02/12/coronavirus-cases-hubei-diagnosis-method/
Boston Mayor Marty Walsh launches campaign to support Chinatown amid coronavirus fears
"Mayor Marty Walsh launched a social media campaign Thursday encouraging people to share photos of themselves supporting small businesses in the neighborhood with the hashtag #LoveBostonChinatown…
The campaign includes a “small business bingo” card of things visitors can do in Chinatown, like trying dim sum, sipping on bubble tea, buying fresh pastries, checking out public art or taking a selfie in front of its signature gateway…
In Massachusetts, officials say anxiety has also stirred up anti-Chinese sentiment, and the state restaurant industry says there has been a “ sudden and swift ” decline in business at Chinese restaurants, not just in Chinatown."
Toilet paper does some good and you need it when disaster strikes. It is an essential while masks don’t do any good and it is essential only in your imagination according to experts on this thread…
The most likely reason for why “a person tested negative then suddenly tested positive” has been explained above. It does not mean that the test itself has unacceptable predictive values.
I know a thing or two about molecular testing tech, and amplicon contamination is considered to be a serious problem. Google it, and you will see. False positives are less likely to make the news because a positive test could wreak unnecessary havoc. Molecular labs follow strict protocols to prevent contamination, but if the people are overwhelmed, thing can go wrong. Decontamination of a molecular lab is a PITA. Not saying that this is what is going on here, just something that can easily happen. Or mislabeled samples, as we know.
Not sure anyone here claimed tests had “unacceptable predictive values” just that false negatives were coming back when people were tested. However, there does seem to be tests with flawed results as indicated by the CDC’s problem.
https://www.livescience.com/coronavirus-testing-kits-flawed.html
Test accuracy and false negatives or positives aside, I have seen no discussion of the procedures taken to assure all 2,500+ aboard the Westerdam have been adequately tested and I’m skeptical that this could be handled thoroughly while at sea onboard a ship. Did they airlift thousands of tests to the ship and set up a lab on the ship to make this happen? Even for the ship in dock in Yokohama, they haven’t tested everyone.
The CDC expressed some concerns back at the beginning of this month (my post on 2/2 above) re: test accuracy. I’ve seen similar concerns expressed by doctors and officials in China in the past month as well. I would imagine tests are getting better, and therefore more accurate, as the weeks have progressed but the concern is still there and has been expressed by experts.