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The Next Pandemic: SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19


Hedge

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11 hours ago, Hedge said:

@Buffalo_Gal hopefully you don't get caught up in the craziness while overseas!

 


Thanks, @Hedge  We are in Spain, not Italy, although we do keep up with the news. While our location wouldn't be a bad place to get quarantined (on the Mediterranean ?) supplies are low or never existed here. You cannot get Purell (although you could home brew your own as rubbing alcohol is easy to come by), I have seen nothing like Lysol in the stores, Kleenex is difficult to find, etc.  Europe is fabulous, but there aren't the supplies like in the United States.

Italy's tourism industry has to be decimated, and after spending six weeks there last fall (covering a great deal of the country) I can say with a fair amount of certainty that it will severely hurt their economy, and people are going to be hurting for years to come. Italy is extremely dependent on tourism dollars.

The economic impact of South Koreas not traveling is hurting Spain. We went to
Alhambra the other day (absolutely fabulous) and it was pretty empty. Our tour guide made mention that it is normally packed with Asians, specifically South Koreans. I know in Italy, not only is South Korean tourism huge, they advertise wedding packages in Italy specifically to South Koreans. It is big business. 

We live in a very interconnected world.


 

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10 hours ago, Gary Busey said:

San Jose Sharks cancelling home games in March

fake news. no such thing has happened. Santa Clara has put the kibosh on gatherings larger than 1000 people. this does not mean the games were cancelled. the games could still be played without fans in attendance or even moved to another arena. the Sharks are simply not going to forfeit these games.

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1 hour ago, Foxx said:

fake news. no such thing has happened. Santa Clara has put the kibosh on gatherings larger than 1000 people. this does not mean the games were cancelled. the games could still be played without fans in attendance or even moved to another arena. the Sharks are simply not going to forfeit these games.

 

Thanks for the specifics foxxy man that are three posts above. 

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28 minutes ago, Foxx said:

 

How in the hell is this a dem vs repub issue?  This is more of a divide between cautious vs careless, imo.  The cautious are not the foolish ones, imo. 

 

There seems to be this bravado among a lot of folks that this is nothing to fear and that they are not going to change their behavior.    This mindset is going to cost lives.  You may be strong and healthy and if you get the virus, you may have a 99% chance of beating it.  You may not even feel the symptoms.  That is good news for you.  Congrats.  

 

The problem though is that this bravado of yours endangers others.  You may be fine but how many others will you have exposed?  How many others are now in danger because you felt brave enough to go out and get the virus and carefree enough to spread it around in all your brave travels?  Consider how you would feel when it dawns on you that your 'bravery' has resulted in your elderly friend, neighbor, or relative passing away.

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NONSENSE, RESPONSIBILITY IS FOR EVERYONE ELSE:

 

 Dr. Drew On Coronavirus: Media ‘Hurting People,’ ‘Need To Be Held Accountable’ For Causing Panic.

 

 

 

USA TODAY COLUMN: Coronavirus closings: There are substantial benefits to not dilly-dallying around. 

 

“In short, we face a variant of the old medical adage that in the early stage, diseases are easy to treat but hard to diagnose, while in the later stages they are easy to diagnose but hard to treat. Right now, things aren’t bad enough to make closing the obvious action. The trouble is, by the time things get that bad, it’ll be too late for closing to do as much good.”

 

 

.

 
 

 

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4 minutes ago, Bob in Mich said:

 

How in the hell is this a dem vs repub issue?  This is more of a divide between cautious vs careless, imo.  The cautious are not the foolish ones, imo. 

 

There seems to be this bravado among a lot of folks that this is nothing to fear and that they are not going to change their behavior.    This mindset is going to cost lives.  You may be strong and healthy and if you get the virus, you may have a 99% chance of beating it.  You may not even feel the symptoms.  That is good news for you.  Congrats.  

 

The problem though is that this bravado of yours endangers others.  You may be fine but how many others will you have exposed?  How many others are now in danger because you felt brave enough to go out and get the virus and carefree enough to spread it around in all your brave travels?  Consider how you would feel when it dawns on you that your 'bravery' has resulted in your elderly friend, neighbor, or relative passing away.


there’s a difference between taking common sense precautions and quarantine of entire cities. 
 

if we take the latter approach, then what other threats do we “need” to take extreme measures to guard against?  Flu? Car accidents? 
 

 

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OUT: TRUMP GUTTED OUR PANDEMIC PREPAREDNESS.

 

IN:

Screen-Shot-2020-03-10-at-8.05.36-AM.png

 
 
 

 

 

TIM CARNEY ON THE UNANTICIPATED CONSEQUENCES OF SOCIAL CHANGE: 

 

Stay-at-home parents could keep us safer amid coronavirus outbreak.

 

The coronavirus is killing people and spreading rapidly. In Seattle, 14 people have died as of Friday morning amid at least 75 confirmed cases. The number of Seattle residents infected with the virus that causes COVID-19 is probably far, far higher because testing is so scarce.

 

So the area is faced with a lethal and contagious virus for which no treatment is available, and unknown hundreds or maybe thousands of people are infected.

 

That’s why the county government is telling people to “avoid bringing large groups of people together” and encouraging everyone to work from home as much as possible. If you’re curious, “large groups” are defined as gatherings of more than 10 people.

 

Yet Seattle Public Schools announced on Thursday that they are keeping schools open. While canceling all school district gatherings, they’re keeping school, childcare, and aftercare open.

 

Why would you say 12 people can’t get together but say that we should keep open schools, where hundreds of children, teachers, staff, parents all are in close proximity, eating, chewing on pencils, and using the bathroom? Ask the superintendent of schools.

 

 

School is basically daycare.

 
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100-year-old Chinese man recovers from coronavirus, the oldest patient to beat illness.

:thumbsup:

 

 

 

NEWS YOU CAN USE: Coronavirus Is Very Different From the Spanish Flu of 1918. Here’s How.

In 1918, the world was a very different place, even without the disruptive influence of World War I. Doctors knew viruses existed but had never seen one — there were no electron microscopes, and the genetic material of viruses had not yet been discovered. Today, however, researchers not only know how to isolate a virus but can find its genetic sequence, test antiviral drugs and develop a vaccine.

 

In 1918, it was impossible to test people with mild symptoms so they could self-quarantine. And it was nearly impossible to do contact tracing because the flu seemed to infect — and panic — entire cities and communities all at once. Moreover, there was little protective equipment for health care workers, and the supportive care with respirators that can be provided to people very ill with coronavirus did not exist.

With a case fatality rate of at least 2.5 percent, the 1918 flu was far more deadly than ordinary flu, and it was so infectious that it spread widely, which meant the number of deaths soared.

 

Researchers believe the 1918 flu spared older people because they had some immunity to it. They theorize that decades earlier there had been a version of that virus, one that was not as lethal and spread like an ordinary flu. The older people living in 1918 would have been exposed to that less lethal flu and developed antibodies. As for children, most viral illnesses — measles, chickenpox — are more deadly in young adults, which may explain why the youngest were spared in the 1918 epidemic.

 

Regardless of the reason, it was a disaster for life expectancy, which plummeted. In 1917, life expectancy in the United States was 51 years. It was the same in 1919. But in 1918, it was just 39 years.

The new coronavirus tends to kill older people and those with underlying medical conditions, and it does not seem to kill children. All of which means it will have far less effect, if any, on life expectancy.

To riff off Salena Zito, treat this coronavirus seriously but not hysterically.

 
 

 

 

 
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