Coronavirus

[berni_mccoy]

This will soon begin to dominate the news cycle. The number of infected is nearly doubling each day and there are now well over 4.474 infected world wide. The death to recovery ratio is 2:1. 107 of the infected have died and only 63 have recovered. That means 97% of the infected are still sick.

That sample size is significant and the projections aren't good. This is why the CDC has rated this a level 3 event (the highest threat). While there are only 5 confirmed cases in the U.S. there are 110 suspected cases in the U.S. according to the CDC.

At the same time the CDC is trying to prevent panic by saying the disease is not spreading in the U.S.

I believe the CDC is doing exactly what it needs to. That said, the transmission mechanism and the highly contagious nature of this virus have many experts fearful it is not containable.

The good news is, the full genome is being analyzed and work on a cure/vaccine has begun. The threat is being taken seriously.

This is necessary because based on projections, by the Super Bowl, over 100,000 will be infected and by this time next week, half a million.

Edit to add reference for infection numbers: https://gisanddata.maps.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/bda7594740fd40299423467b48e9ecf6

[hlthe2b]

1. By "not spreading," they are accurately stating no secondary cases as of this posting.

The US cases thus far have been limited to INTRODUCED cases from overseas exposure. That is why epidemiologists of CDC, state and local health departments (which Trump admin has gleefully cut budgets to fund) are so damned important. Early detection, strong surveillance to identify those exposed, isolation and in some cases quarantine (initially at home and voluntary) and rapid confirmatory testing are so important. But so too are the basic steps the public (and in some cases health care workers) fail to do even during influenza season. Steps like staying home when you have a respiratory infection or fever. WASHING YOUR DAMNED hands and not just when you embarrassingly think someone is watching or noting how quickly you exit the bathroom.

But like the 15 million US residents who have been infected with influenza this year, including 8200 who have DIED and 140,000 who have been hospitalized, only about 45% get vaccinated for flu, (and even among health care workers, only 30% have been shown to routinely wash hands behind patients). So promoting hysteria over this virus, when Americans won't even take basic precautions against the most serious and threatening virus circulating currently is hardly the most responsible protection message.

[berni_mccoy]

2. Comparing this virus to the flu is not a valid response

The contagion rate is much higher and washing hands is not an effective measure for it. A doctor wearing protective gear (gloves and mask) was infected. Spreaders do not need to be symptomatic. Regardless of the death rate of the flu, this one is higher among normally healthy patients. And there is no vaccine yet. There is a reason the CDC has gone level 3 on this.

[hlthe2b]

3. You need to read before reflexively accusing me of downplaying the seriousness. You did not

I accurately stated that NOW at this moment in time, influenza poses the biggest threat. May that change? It surely could and thus I laid out the steps being taken by Public Health Officials and experts to prevent it. I likewise stated that the public needs to be taking routine steps to prevent respiratory viruses of all kinds and those same steps will be necessary for coronavirus, should it spread further. That they DO not, allows influenza to spread and at this moment in time, more Americans have and will be hospitalized and potentially die from flu as a result.

Panic-driven posts are not going to help anyone.

[berni_mccoy]

5. Saying the post is panic driven is the real hyperbole

That's simple and easy to derive from your response.

[hlthe2b]

6. Again you don't read thoroughly. It was a generic statement but apparently one YOU internalized.

Can you say "projection?"

[EndlessWire]

11. "Panic driven?"

Is any discussion at all of a threat panic driven? Saying that such discussion is "panic driven" is a type of suppression of news. I see no such panic in any of this.

They are bringing embassy personnel home and deplaning them in my backyard. Should I panic? No. But I want to know why they are bypassing LAX in favor of Ontario. When asked what was the plan, they said they planned to hold the people at the airport for two weeks before letting them go. Okay. That's fine. No panic. (I need to tell you that because my curiosity may be mistaken by you as panic.)

I think that the CDC is probably in high gear to fix this problem, but that they don't know everything about this virus, including whether asymptomatic carriers are present.

Something is definitely wrong in China. No panic, though. Just prudence. Evacuation of our Chinese embassy tells me that the CDC is concerned. Not panicked, just prudent. And, why can't we have a discussion and news sharing without calling each other derogatory terms, when clearly, our responsibility is to remind each other to wash our hands, cover our noses and mouths and turn away from another human when coughing?

By the way, people, you need N95 masks. No panic, just information. Best thing to do is stay home, if you can. But wash those pinkies very well. Handwashing is your new religion.

This will pass. Don't worry.

[dewsgirl]

4. Steve Lookner, the guy from Agenda Free TV on YT,

live streams about the virus, for hours every night. I'm happy he does, MSM is still largely ignoring the subject, while they can. I don't believe the numbers, the Dean of HK University thinks the number, is less like 4,500 and more like 44,000, that was two days ago, I imagine that has gone up by now.

[Sugar Smack]

7. Thanks for the tip, dewsgirl! I found this yesterday:

I'd never heard of Chris Martens before then, but he inspired my confidence.

&t=7s

[dewsgirl]

8. Thanks Sugar for video, I'm also going to check out some

of his other stuff.

[BSdetect]

9. This could become very lethal very fast

Time to upgrade our earthquake kits.

[Baclava]

10. All the major cities in China are going in lockdown mode, scary

The cat is out of the bag for the rest of the world, I'm afraid, it's spreading rapidly

[RT Atlanta]

12. Gun deaths are averaging 100 day in this country with no press

I 'get' this virus can spread, etc. but dayum - something that we should be up and alarmed about gets no press while the next virus du jour will get all the press.

Similar to the next time a pretty white girl gets kidnapped, etc. and it will dominate the press.

[berni_mccoy]

13. I don't disagree on the gun issue

This virus has the potential to kill 10s of millions world wide. That is the significance of the story.