Coronavirus Thread

[dtm1997]

 

[Deleted member 2897]

https://thehill.com/opinion/finance...veals-financial-irresponsibility-of-americans

Yep. It’s a lesson we’re using now to illustrate to our kids. When I graduated from Tech, I had an engineering degree and a job in hand. I had hardly any expenses - I didn’t buy anything. I rented a meager apartment, and slept on a mattress on the floor. I saved $500/month (a lot for back then) until I had nearly a year of expenses saved up, then I started buying things and living like a more normal person. We didn’t learn anything from the dot com explosion and the Great Recession. It’s likely we won’t learn anything this time either.

 

[Deleted member 2897]

Testing here still lagging but really coming on now. About 4 days ago, South Korea (probably the leader in testing) had tested 290,000. We crossed 250,000 yesterday. We’re about 14 days behind them in the disease.

The Surgeon General said that our testing from Monday to Friday increased tenfold.

5 university of Tampa students tested positive after returning from spring break. Our worst fears about these idiots is coming true. Those folks all spread it among themselves down there, and then they dispersed back out across the country. Sad.

Surgeon General also said vaping could be a reason why so many more younger people in the US are ending up in intensive care.

 

[FredJacket]

Quoting from an op-ed of NC health pros. I like the concise and straight-forward messaging.
Politicians and media need to decide:
1) Stick to this messaging/guidance; or....
2) Shut UP!

On behalf of our Board and Past Presidents, I would like to share this op-ed from six past NC State Health Directors, particularly lifting up the third point

If you’re not sick enough to need medical care, a positive COVID-19 test will not change what you or your doctor do. Anyone who has fever and signs of respiratory illness including cough should stay home until at least 7 days after the first day of illness AND until they have been without fever for three days and other symptoms are improving.

Three Steps to Slow COVID-19

With the cases of COVID-19 increasing across our state, and the images we are seeing from other countries, concerns about the potential impacts to North Carolina are high. At the same time, with so much information circulating, people can feel overwhelmed without a clear sense of how to best fight this pandemic. We have been fortunate in our state to have the leadership of Governor Roy Cooper, Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mandy Cohen, and our State Health Director Dr. Betsey Tilson who have acted decisively to help protect our citizens during these challenging times.

As six former State Health Directors for North Carolina, we are speaking with one voice to urge each North Carolinian to take three critical steps to slow the spread of COVID-19. We acknowledge that for many, these recommendations may be more difficult to follow. Barriers like lack of health insurance and paid sick leave and limited telework options can create additional hardships for many families.

Step One: Join the #StayHome movement. Do your best to limit contact with others by only going out for food, medicines, to exercise, or to take care of essential concerns.

Step Two: Stay informed from reliable sources like www.ncdhhs.gov/coronavirus and www.cdc.gov. Listen to your public health leaders at the state, local and national levels and your health care providers.

Step Three: Don’t seek testing for COVID-19 if you have a mild illness. We know this recommendation may come as a surprise. However, the vast majority of people who get COVID-19 will have mild illness and recover at home. When people leave their home for testing, they could expose themselves to COVID-19 if they do not already have the infection. If they are infected, they can expose someone in the community, including people who are at high risk, or a health care worker. We need to reduce the chances for further spread and protect our health care system, so it is there when people need it most.

If you’re not sick enough to need medical care, a positive COVID-19 test will not change what you or your doctor do. Anyone who has fever and signs of respiratory illness including cough should stay home until at least 7 days after the first day of illness AND until they have been without fever for three days and other symptoms are improving. People who have been in close contact with an ill person are urged to stay home as much as possible and monitor themselves for signs of illness. During this phase of the outbreak, testing is most important for severely ill patients, health care workers, and persons in nursing homes and other vulnerable populations.

Testing also places significant strain on supplies like masks and gowns that we will need to meet the expected rise in COVID-19 patients requiring hospitalization. We have a deep gratitude to the health care workers, first responders, and public health workforce who are working around the clock to keep others well. We need to do our part by not adding to the overwhelming caseloads they are beginning to face by taking these three critical steps: stay home, stay informed, and seek medical care and testing only if you have significant symptoms.

The COVID-19 pandemic reminds us that we are all interconnected and that we must commit to actions that keep our communities healthy. Together we will make it through these challenging times and emerge stronger and more prepared.

This commentary was signed by former N.C. State Health Directors Robin Gary Cummings, MD, Leah Devlin, DDS, MPH, Jeff Engel, MD, Laura Gerald, MD, MPH, Ron Levine, MD, MPH and Hugh Tilson, MD, DrPH

 

[dtm1997]

https://thehill.com/opinion/finance...veals-financial-irresponsibility-of-americans

Yep. It’s a lesson we’re using now to illustrate to our kids. When I graduated from Tech, I had an engineering degree and a job in hand. I had hardly any expenses - I didn’t buy anything. I rented a meager apartment, and slept on a mattress on the floor. I saved $500/month (a lot for back then) until I had nearly a year of expenses saved up, then I started buying things and living like a more normal person. We didn’t learn anything from the dot com explosion and the Great Recession. It’s likely we won’t learn anything this time either.

I think we did learn from the Great Recession, but did people have the means to create a rainy day fund?

Some did, some didn't. Many of those that didn't are among those that likely lost their jobs with immediate effect this past week.

 

[Deleted member 2897]

I think we did learn from the Great Recession, but did people have the means to create a rainy day fund?

Some did, some didn't. Many of those that didn't are among those that likely lost their jobs with immediate effect this past week.

Nearly everyone has the ability. It’s all about priorities. Nearly 100% of children living in poverty have iPhones. Think about the monthly fees their families spend. Their parents have them too. You live with your parents, you share a place with roommates. Life is full of choices.

 

[sidewalkGTfan]

I think we did learn from the Great Recession, but did people have the means to create a rainy day fund?

Some did, some didn't. Many of those that didn't are among those that likely lost their jobs with immediate effect this past week.

As a whole, people suck at living within their means. I'm in real estate, I see it everyday. They can afford payments, as long as they have an income, but don't have two nickels to rub together when the **** hits the fan.

 

[dtm1997]

Nearly everyone has the ability. It’s all about priorities. Nearly 100% of children living in poverty have iPhones. Think about the monthly fees their families spend. Their parents have them too. You live with your parents, you share a place with roommates. Life is full of choices.

As a whole, people suck at living within their means. I'm in real estate, I see it everyday. They can afford payments, as long as they have an income, but don't have two nickels to rub together when the **** hits the fan.

I'm not disagreeing that many still make bad choices and not living within their means.

I guess I was trying to say that more have learned the lesson relative to how many were in a bad spot during the Great Recession.

 

[Deleted member 2897]

Welp. Just visited
https://www.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/bda7594740fd40299423467b48e9ecf6

They updated the page so that when you click on a country, you can see their total cases in a chart on the far bottom right. Most countries, sadly even Italy, haven't seen any flattening of the curve yet.

Then I clicked on South Korea. Damn. While they are not on an exponential growth curve like everyone else, they are actually seeing kind of a second curve of growth.

South Korea COVID-19

I'm not a healthcare expert, but I'd guess they would say a regular, predictable growth of cases like that is infinitely more manageable than an exponential growth curve. But its still a bit depressing to see that even in the most strict of environments, nobody has been able to contain it yet.

I checked in on Iceland again today. They are just kind of a unique personal point of focus for me. Their population density is only 1/10th of us, they only have 600,000 inhabitants, and they're literally on an island in the middle of nowhere. If there was ever a place for a case study on being able to isolate yourself, it would be them. They are now at a US-population equivalent of 325,000 positive cases. Just crazy. We talk about a 0.1% mortality rate for the Flu - 0.1% of their entire population now has it.

Iceland COVID-19

 

[sidewalkGTfan]

China - 81,500 cases...population of 1.5 B
Italy - 59,000 cases...population of 60 M
USA - 35,000 cases...population of 327 M

I'm still trying to understand the response when compared to the math...

 

[Deleted member 2897]

China - 81,500 cases...population of 1.5 B
Italy - 59,000 cases...population of 60 M
USA - 35,000 cases...population of 327 M

I'm still trying to understand the response when compared to the math...

I would advise you that China's data is not real. So I would remove them from the equation.

Second, we are about 2 weeks behind Italy. Italy was at 35,000 cases just like 3 days ago. You just wait - we should be beyond 100,000 cases by the end of this week.

Italy issued a rule this weekend that anybody over the age of 60 will no longer get a ventilator. Too many of them die. They can use them for younger people that have a much better chance at recovery. So if you're older than 60 over there right now, you get put on drugs to help sedate you while you suffocate to death. In 1 single day they had just as many die from COVID-19 as they had from this season's flu across the entire Nov/Dec/Jan/Feb.

 

[Deleted member 2897]

A note to younger people in good health with no underlying health conditions:

https://dnyuz.com/2020/03/23/im-26-coronavirus-sent-me-to-the-hospital/

 

[kg01]

I would advise you that China's data is not real. So I would remove them from the equation.

Second, we are about 2 weeks behind Italy. Italy was at 35,000 cases just like 3 days ago. You just wait - we should be beyond 100,000 cases by the end of this week.

Italy issued a rule this weekend that anybody over the age of 60 will no longer get a ventilator. Too many of them die. They can use them for younger people that have a much better chance at recovery. So if you're older than 60 over there right now, you get put on drugs to help sedate you while you suffocate to death. In 1 single day they had just as many die from COVID-19 as they had from this season's flu across the entire Nov/Dec/Jan/Feb.

What more do people need to see to be convinced the "over-reaction" is necessary to keep us from getting to this point?

 

[YellowJacketFan2018]

If COVID-19 keeps going through the summer there could be a worldwide depression that would make 1929-1939 seem like a walk in the Park

 

[GT_EE78]

Quoting from an op-ed of NC health pros. I like the concise and straight-forward messaging.
Politicians and media need to decide:
1) Stick to this messaging/guidance; or....
2) Shut UP!

On behalf of our Board and Past Presidents, I would like to share this op-ed from six past NC State Health Directors, particularly lifting up the third point

If you’re not sick enough to need medical care, a positive COVID-19 test will not change what you or your doctor do. Anyone who has fever and signs of respiratory illness including cough should stay home until at least 7 days after the first day of illness AND until they have been without fever for three days and other symptoms are improving.

Three Steps to Slow COVID-19

With the cases of COVID-19 increasing across our state, and the images we are seeing from other countries, concerns about the potential impacts to North Carolina are high. At the same time, with so much information circulating, people can feel overwhelmed without a clear sense of how to best fight this pandemic. We have been fortunate in our state to have the leadership of Governor Roy Cooper, Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mandy Cohen, and our State Health Director Dr. Betsey Tilson who have acted decisively to help protect our citizens during these challenging times.

As six former State Health Directors for North Carolina, we are speaking with one voice to urge each North Carolinian to take three critical steps to slow the spread of COVID-19. We acknowledge that for many, these recommendations may be more difficult to follow. Barriers like lack of health insurance and paid sick leave and limited telework options can create additional hardships for many families.

Step One: Join the #StayHome movement. Do your best to limit contact with others by only going out for food, medicines, to exercise, or to take care of essential concerns.

Step Two: Stay informed from reliable sources like www.ncdhhs.gov/coronavirus and www.cdc.gov. Listen to your public health leaders at the state, local and national levels and your health care providers.

Step Three: Don’t seek testing for COVID-19 if you have a mild illness. We know this recommendation may come as a surprise. However, the vast majority of people who get COVID-19 will have mild illness and recover at home. When people leave their home for testing, they could expose themselves to COVID-19 if they do not already have the infection. If they are infected, they can expose someone in the community, including people who are at high risk, or a health care worker. We need to reduce the chances for further spread and protect our health care system, so it is there when people need it most.

If you’re not sick enough to need medical care, a positive COVID-19 test will not change what you or your doctor do. Anyone who has fever and signs of respiratory illness including cough should stay home until at least 7 days after the first day of illness AND until they have been without fever for three days and other symptoms are improving. People who have been in close contact with an ill person are urged to stay home as much as possible and monitor themselves for signs of illness. During this phase of the outbreak, testing is most important for severely ill patients, health care workers, and persons in nursing homes and other vulnerable populations.

Testing also places significant strain on supplies like masks and gowns that we will need to meet the expected rise in COVID-19 patients requiring hospitalization. We have a deep gratitude to the health care workers, first responders, and public health workforce who are working around the clock to keep others well. We need to do our part by not adding to the overwhelming caseloads they are beginning to face by taking these three critical steps: stay home, stay informed, and seek medical care and testing only if you have significant symptoms.

The COVID-19 pandemic reminds us that we are all interconnected and that we must commit to actions that keep our communities healthy. Together we will make it through these challenging times and emerge stronger and more prepared.

This commentary was signed by former N.C. State Health Directors Robin Gary Cummings, MD, Leah Devlin, DDS, MPH, Jeff Engel, MD, Laura Gerald, MD, MPH, Ron Levine, MD, MPH and Hugh Tilson, MD, DrPH

>That criteria for testing does seem to be widespread in the US. It is also concerning when considering the following:
"Scientists have been unable to agree on what role asymptomatic transmission plays in spreading the disease."
The approach taken by China and South Korea of testing anyone who has had close contact with a patient – regardless of whether the person has symptoms – may explain why the two Asian countries seem to have checked the spread of the virus.
A third of coronavirus cases may be ‘silent carriers’, Chinese data suggests. 43,000 uncounted who tested positive.
S. Korea - 20 per cent asymptomatic cases
Nishiura put the proportion of asymptomatic Japanese patients evacuated from Wuhan in China, at 30.8 per cent
(Diamond Princess) quarantined for weeks in Japan. All were tested, with 712 people testing positive – 334 of whom were asymptomatic
In Hong Kong, 16 of the 138 confirmed cases as of March 14 were asymptomatic or presymptomatic (thas around 10%)
A UT-Austin study estimates 10% (of chinese) asymptomatic or presymptomatic at time of transmission ( much lower than above china data)
.
.
> seems like a mess so I hope they understand this better soon
> for now if u need a test (and are tall enough) probably the best way is to cough in the face of an NBA player and wait for his results.
https://www.scmp.com/news/china/soc...virus-cases-may-be-silent-carriers-classified

 

[GT_EE78]

The Polish council responsible for recommending drugs for treatment of specific illnesses approved Arachin for use on coronavirus patients nationwide.The drug contains chloroquine (chloroquini phosphas), originally prescribed for treating malaria and rheumatic fever, which testing has shown is also useful for treating the coronavirus family of viruses. https://rmx.news/article/article/this-polish-drug-helps-treat-coronavirus
Polands infection rate looks exponential so it will be interesting to see if their recovery rate does any better over the next several weeks/months
https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/poland/

 

[forensicbuzz]

No offense to anybody, but a family with stable jobs making $100k or whatever - they don’t need money like a family that used to make the same but are both now laid off.

It's not about how much you make, it's about how much you have once you've paid all of your expenses.

 

[flounder]

Good news from Italy for a change. New cases and deaths both down two days in a row.

 

[Deleted member 2897]

The main website I look at has gotten real chunky in that the numbers don't seem to be updated very often anymore. But I noticed they just added over 5,000 more positive cases in a few minutes ago. It says we're at 41,000 in the US. NYC now has 11,000. The map was recently updated to show instead of only by state, but metropolitan breakdown.
https://www.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/bda7594740fd40299423467b48e9ecf6

 

[BleedGoldNWhite21]

You think all those UGA players get paid if there is no season?