The SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19 coronavirus

[MKSheppard]

So Evening Update on the 7th:



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Rhode Island's third case of COVID is a 60 Y/O who works at a nursery school (Smithfield Avenue Nursery School in Pawtucket, RI). She was tested because she was symptomatic and had direct, face-to-face contact in late February with a person in New York who has the disease.

There's a few more in RI and MA who were on a school trip in Italy and contracted the disease there.

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https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-ne ... ses-climb/

...Now, as global supply chains have been disrupted and the number of cases climbs, health authorities are hunting for medical supplies and have called on employees to ration.

"Limit mask use to patient only," read a Wednesday email from a Valley Medical Center (VMC) staffer to nurses, referring to surgical masks. "Staff will no longer wear masks, unless providing a care procedure requiring removal of a patient's mask."

According to the email, "Masks are in critical supply" and that "due to disaster conditions VMC will be implementing alternate standards of care to conserve masks for critical and surgical use."

About an hour after the message went out, staff objected and it was retracted....

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https://mobile.twitter.com/ColeMillerTV ... 5906516992

We were just handed this from Life Care - a breakdown of sorts. Briefing underway now #KOMONews

Press Briefing: Saturday, March 7, 2020
For More Information:
Timothy Killian, Press Liaison
press@lcca.com

Update from Life Care Center of Kirkland - March 7, 2020

We will be holding a daily press briefing at 1 pm each day until further notice.

We would like to extend our sincere thanks to the various government agencies for the staffing help that arrived today. We now have several extra nurses, two nurse practitioners and one doctor. They are working alongside our regular staff to provide needed care for our residents.

Residents:

Original Number of Residents on 2/19: 120
Number Transferred to Hospitals since 2/19: 54
Number of Deaths Since 2/19: 26
Note we are an acute care facility In a typical month, we may have between 3-7 deaths

Patients who have died in Hospitals: 15
- 13 of those 15 tested positive for COVID-19

Patients who have died in Our Facility since 2/19: 11
- We have no information on post-mortem tests of these patients

Current Number of Residents: 63
Current Number of Residents with COVID-19 Symptoms: 6
Test Kits Received for In House Testing: 45
Tests Completed: Ongoing
Test Results Reported Back to Us: 0
Total Residents Reported with Positive Test Results, Including In Hospitals: 18

Employees:
Original Number of Employees on 2/19: 180
Number of Employees Showing COVID Symptom: 70
Employees who show symptoms are no longer working in the facility

This is from a few days ago regarding the firefighters/police who responded to LifeCare:

https://komonews.com/news/coronavirus/1 ... e-symptoms

KIRKLAND, Wash. -- Twelve of 30 firefighters and police officers in Kirkland who have been quarantined after potential or direct exposure to the COVID-19 virus at the city's LifeCare facility are now showing "flu-like" symptoms, according to city of Kirkland officials.

The 30 all had been quarantined after they had responded to calls at the LifeCare Facility in the days before and during an outbreak of COVID-19 that was discovered at the center. At least five patients connected to the center have died and more remain sickened.

One firefighter has been released from quarantine after completing their 14-day period while 26 firefighters and three police officers remain.

"Twelve first responders are showing flu-like symptoms, and 19 have confirmed direct exposure," city officials said in a press release. "Most are in isolation or quarantine at home."

The city is keeping Fire Station 21 offline to house quarantined first responders and they have identified an additional building for isolation, officials said.

Meanwhile, the city says both Kirkland Fire and Kirkland Police are fully staffed and are responding to calls as normal.

There's a WSJ article locked behind a paywall that says some of the responding firefighters entered the facility wearing just gloves, with no masks of any kind.

This does seem to gel with Broomstick's photo from earlier in this thread that she posted in response to the meme image I posted:



Note how the fire/police guy doesn't have a mask on?

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LINK

Gov. Cuomo declared a state of emergency Saturday to deal with the worsening coronavirus crisis, as the number of cases jumped to 11 in the Big Apple — including a Queens cab driver — and 76 across New York

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On top of the AIPAC conference that 2/3rds of Congress attended....

BREAKING: "The American Conservative Union has learned that one of our CPAC attendees has unfortunately tested positive today for coronavirus."

ACU adds that "this attendee had no interaction with the President or the Vice President and never attended the events in the main hall."

"The Trump Administration is aware of the situation, and we will continue regular communication with all appropriate government officials."

Over 19,000 people attended CPAC last year, and 2020 also had a similar crowd.

Philip Wegmann (@PhilipWegmann)
March 7, 2020

The American Conservative Union has learned that one of our CPAC attendees has unfortunately tested positive today for coronavirus. The exposure occurred previous to the conference. A New Jersey hospital tested the person, and CDC confirmed the positive result. The individual is under the care of medical professionals in the state of New Jersey, and has been quarantined.

ACU has been in contact with the Health Department of the State of Maryland, and we will explicitly follow the guidance from government health experts.

This attendee had no interaction with the President or the Vice President and never attended the events in the main hall.

The health and safety of our attendees and participants is our top priority. Any attendee who has questions can contact ACU or the Department of Health for the State of Maryland.

Our children, spouses, extended family, and friends attended CPAC. During this time, we need to remain calm, listen to our health care professionals, and support each other. We send this message in that spirit.

The Trump Administration is aware of the situation, and we will continue regular communication with all appropriate government officials.

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Micro-Quarantine done in California:

LINK

ROCKLIN, Calif. (KMAX/KOVR/CNN) - Sacramento County Sheriff deputies and Rocklin Police, some wearing protective gloves, converged on a residential street Thursday as a sheriff’s helicopter circled overhead, ordering people to get inside.

People who live there were unclear why. Officers eventually let them come and go from their homes.

It was later learned that the first California coronavirus patient to die from the illness lived on this block.

The Placer County Health Department issued a brief statement shortly after the police presence, stating: “Law enforcement partners are currently responding to enforce a health officer’s order. We cannot share any additional information to protect patient confidentiality.”

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BREAKING: Washington, D.C. reports first case of coronavirus

This might be it:

A U.S Marine assigned to Fort Belvoir, VA tested positive today for COVID-19 and is currently being treated at Fort Belvoir Community Hospital. The Marine recently returned from overseas where he was on official business. Secretary Esper and the White House have been briefed.

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Also, it appears that the Plague Princess ship in Japan had a shared crew with the current Plague Princess II ship doing donuts of California now AND a third, un-named Plague Princess III:

WASHINGTON: The United States is tracking a cruise ship that may have shared crew members with a ship carrying people who tested positive for COVID-19, Vice President Mike Pence said on Saturday (Mar 7).

"We are tracking at this point a ship that may have shared crew with the Diamond Princess or the Grand Princess and we've taken decisive action to hold until we do a full medical assessment of the crew on that ship," Pence said after a meeting with cruise line industry officials.

//896

[MKSheppard]

Re: CPAC story:

CPAC chairman Matt Schlapp tells me he interacted with attendee who has tested positive for coronavirus. While the timeline is unknown, Schlapp shook Trump's hand on stage the last day of the conference. https://t.co/lR5DfHiy8c
Colby Itkowitz (@ColbyItkowitz)
March 8, 2020

White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham said neither Trump nor Pence was in "close proximity to the attendee," but ACU chairman Matt Schlapp told the Washington Post on Saturday he did interact with the infected at the event. The precise chronology could not be learned, but Schlapp did shake Trump's hand on the stage with Trump at the last day of the conference.

"I think we have to be calm and see what occurs here and hope our friend gets better," he said.

White House officials appeared to downplay the risk but said they were taking precautions.

"The President's physician and United States Secret Service have been working closely with White House Staff and various agencies to ensure every precaution is taken to keep the First Family and the entire White House Complex safe and healthy," Grisham said.

[MKSheppard]

Full text of the official New York State emergency declaration by GOV Cuomo

Excerpts of interest:

“This Executive Order shall be in effect until September 7, 2020”

“...permit unlicensed individuals... to collect throat or nasopharyngeal swab specimens from individuals suspected of being infected by COVID-19, for purposes of testing...”

“...permit emergency medical service personnel to provide community paramedicine, transportation to destinations other than hospitals or health care facilities...”

“...provide the Governor with the authority to regulate traffic and the movement of vehicles on roads, highways, and streets.”

[mr friendly guy]

I just checked, its really hard not to touch your face, because you unconsciously do it. I am going to make an effort not to do this. Its most probably a good habit to get into.

[loomer]

I just checked, its really hard not to touch your face, because you unconsciously do it. I am going to make an effort not to do this. Its most probably a good habit to get into.

It's particularly fun when you have a medical condition that gives you watering eyes and a runny, itchy, or sore nose at least every other day! I think I may be the one person that scene in Contagion talking about face touching rates is actually accurate for.

[MKSheppard]

Official now:

BREAKING: Italian Prime Minister Conte signs decree putting Lombardy and 14 provinces, including Milan, on lockdown to stop the spread of coronavirus

...

Italian regions now on lockdown:
- Lombardy Region
- Venice
- Modena
- Parma
- Piacenza
- Reggio Emilia
- Rimini
- Pesaro and Urbino
- Alessandria
- Asti
- Novara
- Verbano-Cusio-Ossola
- Vercelli
- Padua
- Treviso

[mr friendly guy]

With that hotel collapsed, China is reporting 2 dead and 48 rescued, which will mean another 20 still buried.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3VqMIRTj_M

And Shep, you will be pleased to know those firefighters were wearing masks.

[MKSheppard]

And Shep, you will be pleased to know those firefighters were wearing masks.

My HK friend (basically a actual CHINESE COMMUNIST) has told me repeatedly a variant of this:

"....I thought we [China] made all the mistakes so you [USA] don't have to."

[The Romulan Republic]

Re: CPAC story:

CPAC chairman Matt Schlapp tells me he interacted with attendee who has tested positive for coronavirus. While the timeline is unknown, Schlapp shook Trump's hand on stage the last day of the conference. https://t.co/lR5DfHiy8c
Colby Itkowitz (@ColbyItkowitz)
March 8, 2020

White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham said neither Trump nor Pence was in "close proximity to the attendee," but ACU chairman Matt Schlapp told the Washington Post on Saturday he did interact with the infected at the event. The precise chronology could not be learned, but Schlapp did shake Trump's hand on the stage with Trump at the last day of the conference.

"I think we have to be calm and see what occurs here and hope our friend gets better," he said.

White House officials appeared to downplay the risk but said they were taking precautions.

"The President's physician and United States Secret Service have been working closely with White House Staff and various agencies to ensure every precaution is taken to keep the First Family and the entire White House Complex safe and healthy," Grisham said.

Mmmm, taste the sweet, sweet karma.

And if anyone thinks that's douchy of me to say, let me just remind everyone that a) Trump has done just about everything humanly possible to make the crisis worse for political gain, and b) CPAC disinvited Romney after the impeachment vote on the grounds that they couldn't guarantee his safety. So, you know, fuck 'em.

[mr friendly guy]

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society ... ff17f&tc=1

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society ... -new-cases

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society ... tive-again

For those who don't have time to look through that, let me give you the highlights.

1. Vaccine might be available in April in China for emergency use.

2. Some patients have tested positive again after discharge. It appears to be most likely low level of disease rather than reinfection. One has died after discharged earlier with mild symptoms (and this might be consistent with what we see before elsewhere, ie first few days no symptoms then deterioration).

3. To combat this failed discharge, China has proposed some measures (hopefully they are already being implemented). Discharge after 3 negative PCR tests rather than 2 (previous criteria included no temp, improvement in radiology, and 2 negative tests a day apart). The statistics seem the chance of a fourth test turning positive after the third one is negative is low. Reasons speculated about the negative tests is more likely low viral load and inadequate sample, ie human error from the swab taking side rather than the lab test.

Another measure propose is testing for antibodies. Apparently China now has one but it hasn't been mass produced yet. Keep in mind, over here in Australia we are asked to store serum for suspect patients for future serology (antibody testing) when such a test becomes available.

---------------------------------------------------------
Also totally related to covid 19, Zhang Weili defeated Joanna Jedrzejczyk in MMA. Jedrzejczyk showing total class in January made an offensive instagram meme about coronavirus. I really shouldn't make fun of Joanna Jedrzejczyk being disfigured with a giant haematoma on her head after the pummelling Zhang gave her, which is fortunate, since Twitter already has. Both women were taken to hospital, I am sure Joanna didn't have any brain damage.. that would imply she had a brain to damage in the first place.

[Broomstick]

So.....if we extrapolate from Italy's first case on 20 February, this means that it's about 16 days from first case to the implementation of crisis measures to limit spreading.

South Korea had their first death on 20 February, and they've locked down the area around Deagu to limit the spread.

So....

Since Washington State's first case was on 28 February, lockdown will become a plausible potentiality around 15 March (one week from now, approximately).

That's assuming Americans will react as other nations have... with Trump denying the severity at every turn, dissing experts, and saying we already have it under control I have my doubts.

Thank goodness states have the power to impose quarantines in the US, otherwise nothing at all would be done.

[Broomstick]

I just checked, its really hard not to touch your face, because you unconsciously do it. I am going to make an effort not to do this. Its most probably a good habit to get into.

That's because it's likely an instinctive grooming movement, not that different from blinking your eyes on a regular basis.

The only people with any real chance of success at this are the hijab/abayat/burqa wearers.

[Broomstick]

"The President's physician and United States Secret Service have been working closely with White House Staff and various agencies to ensure every precaution is taken to keep the First Family and the entire White House Complex safe and healthy," Grisham said.

Mmmm, taste the sweet, sweet karma.

And if anyone thinks that's douchy of me to say, let me just remind everyone that a) Trump has done just about everything humanly possible to make the crisis worse for political gain, and b) CPAC disinvited Romney after the impeachment vote on the grounds that they couldn't guarantee his safety. So, you know, fuck 'em.

I personally think it's hilarious that the "thoughts and prayers" party of the US might have had a virus-distribution fest at their meeting. One can only hope the Denier-in-Chief gets slapped with cold hard reality. If the religious types get his with the covid plaque when godless liberals don't what does that say in regards to how pleased their god is with them?

[The Romulan Republic]

They'll just think they're being punished for not hating women and gays enough.

[mr friendly guy]

So.....if we extrapolate from Italy's first case on 20 February, this means that it's about 16 days from first case to the implementation of crisis measures to limit spreading.

South Korea had their first death on 20 February, and they've locked down the area around Deagu to limit the spread.

So....

Since Washington State's first case was on 28 February, lockdown will become a plausible potentiality around 15 March (one week from now, approximately).

That's assuming Americans will react as other nations have... with Trump denying the severity at every turn, dissing experts, and saying we already have it under control I have my doubts.

Thank goodness states have the power to impose quarantines in the US, otherwise nothing at all would be done.

I am not going to lie. If the US adopts Chinese style measures I am going to feel pretty smug, after reading things from say WaPo in late Jan how this will backfire. Italy is already doing it, and it affects a larger percentage of their population (25% vis the 3.5% those 50 million people locked down in China represents).

[The Romulan Republic]

I'm not an expert on containing pandemics, but I'm not sure what good it'll do now, honestly. The consensus from what I've read seems to be that we're probably past the point of containment, and this thing runs wild until either most of the population has got it and developed resistance to it, or they get a vaccine (probably a year+).

And you just know this is heading towards "We have to close polling stations (in states where Trump is behind) to prevent spread of the disease".

Well, I guess some attempt at containment is better than nothing. Anything that buys time, and keeps it from hitting everywhere at once.

[madd0ct0r]

I'm not an expert on containing pandemics, but I'm not sure what good it'll do now, honestly. The consensus from what I've read seems to be that we're probably past the point of containment, and this thing runs wild until either most of the population has got it and developed resistance to it, or they get a vaccine (probably a year+).

And you just know this is heading towards "We have to close polling stations (in states where Trump is behind) to prevent spread of the disease".

Well, I guess some attempt at containment is better than nothing. Anything that buys time, and keeps it from hitting everywhere at once.

As has been repeatedly said in this thread, the containment efforts are delaying tactics, designed to smear the peak of the crisis over twice as many weeks giving the medical teams less pressure.

[MKSheppard]

Mmmm, taste the sweet, sweet karma.

Gets better:

Asked about coronavirus reaching DC and getting closer to the White House, Trump just told reporters, “I’m not concerned at all.”

President added, “We’ll hold tremendous rallies,” noting that his campaign rallies will continue

So uh, President Mike "Amps" Pence?

[The Romulan Republic]

It'll be so, so fitting if that orange fucker's relentless need to feed his ego ends up putting him in hospital.

[MKSheppard]

I am not going to lie. If the US adopts Chinese style measures I am going to feel pretty smug, after reading things from say WaPo in late Jan how this will backfire.

Remember, I posted this earlier in the thread?

From 7 February 2020:

link

The US coronavirus travel ban could backfire. Here's how
Catherine Shoichet-Profile-Image
By Catherine E. Shoichet, CNN
Updated 7:37 AM ET, Fri February 7, 2020

(CNN)Experts say travel restrictions the Trump administration put in place to stop the novel coronavirus from spreading could have unintended consequences that undermine that effort.

It's been days since the US restrictions went into effect, blocking foreign nationals who've visited China in the past two weeks from coming to the US.

Details about the US travel ban's impact are still emerging. But some are already urging the US to reconsider......

At around 10 AM Eastern [on 2 March], this broke on Twitter:

Michael M. Grynbaum
@grynbaum

CNN is severely restricting all employee travel, including domestic, due to coronavirus, per memo that just went out. Intercontinental trips must be personally approved by Jeff Zucker, per memo.

Then later on Deadline:

https://deadline.com/2020/03/cnn-employ ... 202872144/

CNN Restricts Employee Travel In Wake Of Coronavirus
By Ted Johnson
March 2, 2020 8:22am

CNN is placing restrictions on employee travel in the wake of the coronavirus.

Jeff Zucker, chairman of WarnerMedia News and Sports, wrote to employees on Monday that they would ensure that staffing needs are met for coverage of major upcoming political events, debates, NBA and NCAA coverage, but will “limit any participants that are not absolutely critical to getting our content out or meeting basic revenue-generating needs.”

His note signaled the increasing concern among major corporations, including news organizations covering the spread of the coronavirus.

Zucker’s memo followed a wider announcement from WarnerMedia on travel restrictions. Zucker wrote that travel between continents will be limited to “only the most necessary, business-critical need, and must be approved in every instance by me.” He said that domestic travel in the U.S. should be done “only if absolutely necessary,” and that internal meetings “should be conducted by phone or via teleconference.” He said that meetings or gatherings that can be put on hold “for the time being or canceled altogether, should be.”

Zucker wrote that CNN’s ongoing news coverage will continue as normal, as well as sports coverage.

He also noted that CNN’s international newsgathering operations that are covering the virus “have their own set of protocols and restrictions in terms of both travel approval and staying safe.”

Zucker wrote that “while some of these protocols may seem inconvenient, they are being taken out of an abundance of caution to keep all of you safe. It is unclear how long these restrictions will remain in place, but we will continue to communicate regularly as the situation both domestically and globally changes.”

[MKSheppard]

I personally think it's hilarious that the "thoughts and prayers" party of the US might have had a virus-distribution fest at their meeting. One can only hope the Denier-in-Chief gets slapped with cold hard reality. If the religious types get his with the covid plaque when godless liberals don't what does that say in regards to how pleased their god is with them?

It's not just CPAC.

Link

A third AIPAC Policy Conference attendee has been diagnosed with the new coronavirus, a Los Angeles County Department of Public Health statement said Saturday.

The patient is a Los Angeles resident who recently returned from the pro-Israel lobby's conference in Washington, the statement said. The department did not mention whether this person contracted Covid-19 at AIPAC, or if they had already caught it before the conference, which took place from last Saturday until Tuesday and drew about 18,000 participants.

Basically 2/3 of Congress was at AIPAC (from both sides of the aisle), plus other policy wonks.

[MKSheppard]

Morning roundup for the 8th:

So on another board, someone noticed:

Of the 5800+ confirmed cases in Italy, about 2700 of them are hospitalized. (46.5% instead of the common 20% figure given from Chinese experience)

And a theory was chewed upon:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_c ... _structure

Japan: 27% over 65
Italy: 23% over 65
USA: 15.4% over 65
China: 10.6% over 65
Iran 5.4 % over 65

A workable ratio is:

Code: Select all

	Age	Hosp. Rate		Ratio
Italy	23.0%	46.5%		202.2%
China	10.6%	20.0%		188.7%
		Average	195.4% Ratio
USA	15.4%	30.1%		195.4%
Iran	5.4%	10.6%		195.4%
Japan	27.0%	52.8%		195.4%

So um. Not good.

################

AP News

The White House overruled health officials who wanted to recommend that elderly and physically fragile Americans be advised not to fly on commercial airlines because of the new coronavirus, a federal official told The Associated Press.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention submitted the plan this week as a way of trying to control the virus, but White House officials ordered the air travel recommendation be removed, said the official who had direct knowledge of the plan.

Pence and WH are vigoriously denying this. It's stupid enough that I rate it's credibility as "very plausible it happened, given prior/current actions."

///907

[Col. Crackpot]

So the CVS near my house in Cranston, Rhode Island is rationing the sale of any antibacterial products to two items per person...

[MKSheppard]

Don't worry, the Techbros will save us!

https://q13fox.com/2020/03/08/gates-fou ... ttle-area/

Gates Foundation to soon offer home-testing kits for coronavirus in Seattle area

SEATTLE -- The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has announced it will begin offering home-testing kits for people in the Seattle area for the new coronavirus in the coming weeks.

The Seattle Times reports in a story on Sunday that it's not clear when the project will launch, but it's ramping up as quickly as possible. Seattle has become the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak in the United States, with 14 deaths linked to a Seattle-area nursing home.

People who think they've been infected can fill out a questionnaire online and request a test kit if their symptoms are consistent with the illness the virus causes. The kits will be delivered within two hours and include nose swabs.

The samples will be sent to a lab at the University of Washington for testing, and results should be available in a few days. The home-testing kits mean people won't have to go to a doctor's office and possibly infect other people.

* - Saudi Arabia closes all schools, universities and education institutions until further notice.

LINK

PORTLAND, Ore. -- Governor Kate Brown has declared a State of Emergency due to the spread of COVID-19 in Oregon.

Governor Brown made the announcement at a press conference in Portland at 11:00 a.m. on Sunday. Governor Brown says she made the decision after consulting with the Oregon Health Authority. Governor Brown said "I can also assure you that local and state health officials are working around the clock to address this crisis".

The State of Emergency will remain in effect for 60 days. "It can be extended until the public health threat of the virus is contained" Gov. Brown said.

[TimothyC]

AND loose in a nursing home....!

Yeah, were I to make a prediction, this is where it is going to be the worst. The staffing level margins at senior care facilities, even the best of them, are razor thin, and most dining is communal. 99.9% of the time, you want the people to all come out and eat together so that they can interact, and you can get everyone fed in a timely, and as low staff use as possible manner (it also means that your dietary staff is keeping an eye on the patients/residents so your care staff can get a few minutes to either eat themselves, or just catch a breath). If you end communal dining, you are likely to burn your staff out inside of a week, and if you have to have extra protection measures, even faster (one day easy, but by the second meal on the second day things will start to break down - and you'd better be ready for extra money spent on plasticware). If the seniors are capable enough (oh the STD stats...) they get randy enough to self-break quarantine by days three or four, and it is very hard to keep people who have practice being sneaky apart. They will get together if they both want it, and they do want it.