Merged 2019-nCoV / Corona virus

[portlandatheist]

You work it out:

It only takes one person unloading cargo to spread it to a dock worker.

But aren't measures like travel restrictions not meant for complete containment (which seems impossible at this point) but to slow down the spread even with the knowledge it will be everywhere eventually?

 

[Dr. Keith]

Maybe I wasn't paying that much attention but I don't recall this kind of hysteria for the H1N1 virus which apparently infected tens of millions in the US.

As one of those who had H1N1, I think the difference is the apparent higher percentage of fatal cases.

 

[Belz...]

As one of those who had H1N1, I think the difference is the apparent higher percentage of fatal cases.

I presume you mean the H1N1/09 one, not the yearly one.

 

[Skeptic Ginger]

And if you believe that....

I'm in this camp. Of course asymptomatic people are spreading it. There is a fair amount of evidence of that.

And there sure are a lot of people in China saying they were not tested despite being ill.

 

[Skeptic Ginger]

Unless you think WHO is a propaganda arm of the Chinese gov't I see no reason not to.

That's not exactly how that works.

The WHO takes great care to consider politics when they make official announcements.

 

[Skeptic Ginger]

Customers in El Salvador are asking our regional rep for Central and South America if we have any disinfectants that can be applied to a large area by fogger. The problem is that nobody reputable does. A number of years ago the EPA contacted every company with fogging directions on their labels and required them to either submit new efficacy data using a newly developed testing protocol to show their product actually worked when fogged, or remove fogging from their label. There were concerns that fogging wouldn't apply enough active ingredient to surfaces to achieve the same efficacy as direct application.
I found one product approved for fogging, but when applied by fog it only kills two specific bacteria and clostridium difficile spores. Killing viruses still requires directly applying the liquid.

Laurie Garrett** commented on this in a news interview yesterday. There were videos of workers fogging streets in China and she said she knows of no chemical that could actually kill the organisms.

During SARS they were using vinegar to disinfect surfaces and I know that doesn't work.

**Garrett, author of The Coming Plague, an excellent book and she's a well qualified expert in this field.
https://www.ted.com/speakers/laurie_garrett

 

[Skeptic Ginger]

But aren't measures like travel restrictions not meant for complete containment (which seems impossible at this point) but to slow down the spread even with the knowledge it will be everywhere eventually?

This whole sidetrack is a waste of time. A suggestion was made as to how Hawaii could isolate itself from the world. I merely mentioned one hole of many in that hypothetical plan.

Everyone is welcome to knock themselves out discussing a meaningless hypothesis. I see nothing to be gained.

 

[Skeptic Ginger]

As one of those who had H1N1, I think the difference is the apparent higher percentage of fatal cases.

One huge difference which is part of the fear formula is CoV-19 is essentially exotic. People fear what they don't know.

Everyone is familiar with flu. Ergo it is not so scary.

 

[Andy_Ross]

US isn't 'remotely prepared' to test for coronavirus, only 5 states have test kits.

As the new coronavirus continues to infect people around the world, the rush to test for the virus has taken on a new urgency. But the United States is lagging on that front, in part due to faulty test kits and strict regulations, experts told Live Science.

Currently, 57 individuals in the U.S. have COVID-19, the illness associated with the novel coronavirus. The United States has been "exceptionally fortunate to not have [had] many cases," Greninger said, but the Trump administration has wasted precious time, which could have been used to develop and disseminate tests for the virus in all 50 states.

In early February, the CDC sent testing kits to labs across the U.S., but a glitch in the kits made them unusable. Now, more than a month later, just five state health departments — in California, Illinois, Nebraska, Nevada and Tennessee — as well as the CDC, have the ability to test for the virus, known as SARS-CoV-2.

https://www.livescience.com/covid-19-coronovirus-test.html

 

[The Atheist]

Maybe I wasn't paying that much attention but I don't recall this kind of hysteria for the H1N1 virus which apparently infected tens of millions in the US.

Very easy:

H1N1 pdm09 - death rate 0.02%
Covid-19 - death rate 2%

100 times more fatal is always going to be treated a little more seriously.

The numbers today are a fraction of what you'll see next week - it looks to me as though WHO should be declaring a pandemic right now.

 

[dudalb]

Are you seriously saying that the people being dragged out kicking and screaming or being welded into houses are

"there didn’t appear to be any government pressure or presence forcing that sense of duty. People were adhering to quarantine protocols on their own"?

And yes, the idea that giant organizations like the NBA or companies like Nike, Disney or EA games will willingly regurgitate chinese government propganda and/or suck up to them but the WHO wouldn't seem silly, its the cost of doing business there, and you could even say you could morally justify it in order to at least get the WHO in or something

The WHO has a long and quite disgusting history or running apologetics and propping up chinese "medicine" quackery that causes the extinction of animals and pushing the alleged efficacy of nonsense like acupuncture.

That whole press conference really did just sound like suckup nonsense to me, I was actually pretty shocked, but the WHO so often lets me down so I guess I wasn't super surprised in the end

Edited by zooterkin: 

<SNIP>
Edited for rule 0 and rule 12.

 

[dudalb]

US isn't 'remotely prepared' to test for coronavirus, only 5 states have test kits.







https://www.livescience.com/covid-19-coronovirus-test.html

But it's all the media's fault.....I know because Dear Leader said so!

 

[marting]

I suggest stocking up on Everclear 150. 75% Ethanol. Good disinfectant and cheap. Multi-purpose. Used to mix it with Kool-Aid for parties in college.

I also like the 95% version. A bit more expensive but really good for lots of cleaning purposes. Had to drive to Arizona to get that one though.

 

[Arcade22]

The National Board of Health is keeping secret how much capacity the healthcare system has to isolate people infected with the new corona virus. "Our assessment is based on the fact that the documents contain information that could jeopardize the safety of society if they became known," writes the The National Board of Health in a decision when DN tries to access the information.

Doomed.

 

[pipelineaudio]

Edited by zooterkin: 

<SNIP>
Edited for rule 0 and rule 12.

And nevermind the doctors who were silenced for warning other scientists about this

 

[marting]

Very easy:

H1N1 pdm09 - death rate 0.02%
Covid-19 - death rate 2%

100 times more fatal is always going to be treated a little more seriously.

Exactly. Combine that with an R0 of 2 to 3 with few immune and you have a real problem.

That some media commentators are comparing it to the flu or a cold says they are either innumerate or plain lying.

I do think that once the gravity of this sinks in, which will probably be when outbreaks in the thousands occur (in America) that the R0 will drop to a bit below 1. That will put the brakes on it as schools, movie theaters, restaurants, churches, etc. shutter. It will exact a considerable economic cost and one that is ongoing until a vaccine or treatment is found, manufactured, and distributed or it declines through some other process.

 

[Arcade22]

Also Russian trolls are hard at work spreading conspiracy theories about the outbreak, such as that it is somehow connected with 5G wireless technology. Russia really dislikes 5G for some strange reason, and their bots and paid trolls push conspiracy theories about it all the time.

 

[pipelineaudio]

I was riding my bike at Lanikai park this morning and marveling that the steady stream of Japanese visitors to Lanikai beach has not seemed to slow by a single thong

 

[Venom]

Sudden Acute Respiratory Syndrome doesn't really fit this.

SARS is so named because it it gets very bad very fast. Coronavirus is more of a creeper.

I believe it was Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome.

But they are both coronavirus diseases.

 

[The Atheist]

I suggest stocking up on Everclear 150. 75% Ethanol. Good disinfectant and cheap. Multi-purpose. Used to mix it with Kool-Aid for parties in college.

Some genius had the idea that it would help hygiene in NZ prisons a few years back.

Many drunk and violent prisoners later, they had a re-think.

Exactly. Combine that with an R0 of 2 to 3 with few immune and you have a real problem.

That some media commentators are comparing it to the flu or a cold says they are either innumerate or plain lying.

I'd go with ignorance - it's more widespread than the virus at this stage.

It's the same reason people keep buying low on the sharemarket, only to see it go lower.

Once the full impact hits the west, you'll see them go from apathy to panic.

I do think that once the gravity of this sinks in, which will probably be when outbreaks in the thousands occur (in America) that the R0 will drop to a bit below 1. That will put the brakes on it as schools, movie theaters, restaurants, churches, etc. shutter. It will exact a considerable economic cost and one that is ongoing until a vaccine or treatment is found, manufactured, and distributed or it declines through some other process.

Bingo - echoing very much my thoughts.