On Topic Discussion 2019 Coronavirus (COVID-19/SARS-CoV-2)

[frankfrank]

ABSOLUTELY DO NOT even think about taking ibuprofen to treat any fever, if you get one!

I do not know the truth of this, but I've heard in the last week or so that it might spike the virus...and I just saw a video of a doctor warning, in no uncertain terms, that ibuprofen is suspect in making pneumonia FAR more likely, and that a good portion of people in ICU have ibuprofen in their systems.

Instead, acetaminophen (the active ingredient in Tylenol, as well) is considered much safer. Again, I'm just saying what I've heard, but I'm starting to hear about it enough that I think there's some truth to it.

 

[travis82]

Hi.

I heard that the virus can't survive in hot conditions. The heat will kill the virus.

But it will survive in cold conditions.

If this is true, then this is a step in the right direction on how to overcome and prevent yourself from getting infected.

 

[KaraBulut]

Hi.

I heard that the virus can't survive in hot conditions. The heat will kill the virus.

But it will survive in cold conditions.

If this is true, then this is a step in the right direction on how to overcome and prevent yourself from getting infected.

What you heard is not correct, then.

It's summer in the southern hemisphere. They're having plenty of cases. New Orleans has been close to 90F during the day and they have one of the fastest growing number of cases in the world at the moment.

We don't know enough about the virus to make statements about what will happen when conditions change. We also can't make assumptions based upon how influenza behaves- coronavirus and influenza are very different viruses. What we do know is that a similar coronavirus- MERS- affected Saudi Arabia where temperatures are typically in the 90F to 120F range.

I was in a grocery store today. Other than toilet paper, everything was overflowing with bounty, including produce, dairy, eggs and meat. The upscale grocery stores, like Lunds/Byerly's had tp.

Can I email you my shopping list?

The entire dairy section was empty at my store- all milk, cheese, eggs, etc had been cleared out.

 

[rareboy]

There are active cases in many 'hot' countries right now. And of course....we aren't able to all move to a hot climate. But summer often does bring a decrease in influenza and coronaviruses. So it will be interesting to see if there is a seasonal decline.

 

[KaraBulut]

Notes from the 26-Mar-2020 press conference with NY Gov Cuomo:

Testing update:

• The sudden rise in US cases is because NY has been doing large volume testing to find and isolate virus carriers.
• NY State has done 122,104 tests for a state with 19.5 million people, that is 1 test for every 160 people. By comparison S Korea has 51 million people, they have done 300,000 tests (1 test: 170 people).
• Based upon NY's 30,811 case count yesterday, 25% of NYers tested have been positive.
• Why we should be worried: The entire US has tested about 500,000 people in a country of 330 million people. That means NY State has done 25% of all tests in the US and the rest of the country is being undertested.

Hospital Update:

• NY has 5,327 people in the hospital with coronavirus,
• Of the people who are hospitalized, 1290 are in the ICU
• The governor has ordered every hospital in the State to double their bed capacity. That means a hospital with 500 beds would be expected to double their capacity to 1,000 beds. Hospitals are setting up beds in recovery rooms, operating rooms and in tents in their parking lots.
• The state is setting up emergency field hospitals to handle 1000+ patients at each hospital. The goal is to have an emergency hospital in every borough of NYC and in each of the surrounding counties like Suffolk and Westchester.
• Early stats say that COVID-19 patients typically need ventilators for 11 to 21 days. A normal patient uses a ventilator for 2-4 days. The shortage of ventilators is not only because of the number of COVID-19 patients, it iis also because these patients stay on the ventilator 5 times as long as a typical patient would.

Economic Update:

• The loss of income and sales tax revenue will exceed $10-15 billion. This will cause a severe budget shortfall.
• No estimates were given for the State's direct cost to set up field hospitals, buy ventilators, etc.
• The stimulus package passed by the US Senate allocated $5 billion for direct COVID costs, the bill did not allocate any money for lost tax revenue.

 

[NotHardUp1]

On the human scale, Hoda Kotb, host of NBC Today, just broke down in tears on air and was unable to recover after being moved by her interview with New Orleans' Saints Quarterback Drew Brees. The player had donated $5M to the Louisiana efforts to combat the virus, and the crisis as well as the solidarity and generosity appeared to overwhelm the host.

I can't remember that happening in my lifetime, although it probably did during 9/11 or Hurricane Katrina, but I didn't see it.

Kotb has roots in New Orleans

Interesting times. The story is already published online. Digital age indeed.

Video and story here: https://www.today.com/popculture/ho...oday-show-interview-about-her-beloved-t176967

 

[NotHardUp1]

I was in a grocery store today. Other than toilet paper, everything was overflowing with bounty, including produce, dairy, eggs and meat. The upscale grocery stores, like Lunds/Byerly's had tp.

I have been in stores several times, and there were bare shelves in canned goods, fresh meats, frozen prepared foods, frozen vegetables, and others, but that was at the Wal-Mart Supercenter. Bread was low.

But, other than TP and hand sanitizer, the absolute reckoning was that supplies were low, but not absent. You could still buy meats, seafood, canned goods, and other wants, just not the usual selection. So, no real austerity.

I've also been in Kroger, Aldi, Costco, and a Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market, and some things were drawn down, but by no means anything like the austerity of rationing. To their credit, stores were limiting their sales of basic commodities like bread, milk, eggs, and TP (if present), to one per customer until they recovered. The only seeming hoarding I witnessed was a young couple in Aldi with an overflowing basket. They were heavy set, so presumably they do eat a lot, and had about four gallon jugs of milk, but seemed to have children at home from the contents of the basket, so that may not have been an excessive amount to buy in one week, however, I heard them debating a 5th gallon which the husband was arguing the need to buy for a relative or neighbor IF they needed it.

Other than that, I was days late to witness the Hoard wave as it went through, thank goodness, because I'm not cool with that.

 

[jaysizzles]

I was in Wegmans (WNY area) yesterday and the shelves were mostly re-stocked, although a few brands that I typically buy weren't available. Still no TP or paper towels though, which I'm down to 1/2 a roll of paper towels so I'd really like to get more soon.

Signs were up in the meat section saying only 2 packages of a kind are allowed. They also have a waiting line designated for cashing out (except for 7 items or less express lanes) with a clerk only allowing people to enter once a cashier's lane is available. Once at the conveyor belt, they're sanitizing the belt before you can place your items on it, and they're making you stand at the beginning of belt until all groceries are bagged...allowing you to proceed to the cashier only at the time to pay. They've been reporting on the news that plexi-glass shields are going to be installed between the cashier and customer, and some stores may have cashiers wearing a plexi-glass face shield. It wasn't a quick in and out to the supermarket!

I was surprised at the number of people in the story wearing surgical masks and scarfs over their faces too.

ps...I'm already tired of hearing "this is the new normal."

 

[KaraBulut]

27-Mar-2020:

Global COVID-19 Mortality/Morbidity
- Cases reported: 549,604 (up from 487,648) - *61,956‬ new cases yesterday
- Deaths: 24,863 (up from 22,030) - ***2,833‬ people died yesterday

US COVID-19 Mortality/Morbidity
- Cases reported in the US - 85,996 cases (up from 69,197 yesterday, ‬*‬ 16,799 new cases) 1,300 deaths


Across the globe:

• The UK had some delays in implementing preventative measures such as social distancing. In the past 24 hours both the UK Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, and Health Minister, Nadine Dorries, have tested positive.
• Italy announced that among the 8,215 dead are 45 doctors who died from COVID-19.
• China has moved to close their borders to foreign travelers. Coronavirus now poses a threat to reigniting the epidemic that is now under control on mainland China.
• Hong Kong released some of the restrictions they put in place after their initial case increase a month ago. In the past 7 days, their total cases has doubled from 256 on 20-Mar to 518 on 27-Mar. Yesterday, they had a 15% increase from 453 to 518, showing that social distancing and other measures may need to remain in effect for a longer period of time.
• In Australia, the neighborhoods around the famed Sydney beaches have the highest infection rates in the country. Australia's cases have been trending upward- from 681 on 20-Mar to 3,143 yesterday.
• One of the great mysteries of the epidemic has been why certain countries like Italy and Iran were severly affected, while others such as Turkey and Russia seem to be bypassed. It appears that the impacts to these countries were just delayed. India is at 724 cases and 17 deaths. Russia has surpassed the 1,00 case mark. Turkey went from 2,433 cases yesterday to 3,629 cases today- a 49% increase in one day.

Coronavirus cases/deaths in major countries:

• Italy - 80,589 cases (up from 74,386) - 8,215 deaths.
• Spain - 64,059 (up from 56,188) - 4,858 deaths
• Germany - 42,478 cases (up from 39,355) 285 deaths
• Iran - 32,332 cases (up from 29,406 Friday) - 2,378 deaths
• France - 29,581 cases (up from 25,604) 1,698 deaths
• Switzerland - 11,951 cases (up from 11,125) 207 deaths
• UK - 11,816 cases (up from 9,642) 580 deaths
• South Korea - 9,332 cases (from 9,241) - 139 deaths
• Netherlands - 7,469 cases (up from 6,440) 435 deaths
• Canada - 4,046 cases (up from 3,404), 184 deaths
• Australia - 3,143 cases (up from 2,810) 13 deaths
• Mexico - 585 (up from 475) 8 deaths
• New Zealand - 368 (up from 283) 0 deaths

United States updates:

• Healthcare workers and public service employees in the northeast disproportionately affected. NYPD has 500 employees who have tested positive. In Boston, over 150 healthcare workers at 4 hospitals have tested positive.
• It became official yesterday, because of the increased testing in NY and NJ, the US has more COVID-19 cases than China- now becoming the #1 hotspot on the planet.
• States with high increases in cases- Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Missouri, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Pennsyvania, Texas.
• Places to watch in the next week- NYC, New Orleans, Chicago, Detroit.

Individual States with high case counts:

• New York - 37,258 (up from 30,811) 385 deaths
• New Jersey - 6,876 (up from 4,402) 81 deaths
• Washington - 3,207 (up from 2,580) 149 deaths
• California - 3,006 (up from 2,535) 65 deaths
• Michigan - 2,856 (up from 2,294) 60 deaths
• Illinois - 2,538 cases (up from 1,865) 26 deaths
• Florida - 2,353 (up from 1,971) 28 deaths
• Louisiana - 2,305 cases (up from 1,795) 83 deaths
• Massachusetts - 2,417 (up from 1,838) 25 deaths
• Georgia - 1,643 (up from 1,387) 56 deaths
• Pennsylvania - 1,687 (up from 1,127) deaths
• Colorado - 1,430 (unchanged from 1,086) 24 deaths
• Texas - 1,424 (up from 974) 18 deaths
• Tennessee - 957 (up from 784) 3 deaths
  

Canadian Province Stats:

• Alberta - 486 (up from 419) 2 deaths
• British Columbia - 725 (up from 659) 14 deaths
• Manitoba - 36 (up from 35) 0 deaths
• New Brunswick - 33 (up from 18) 0 deaths
• Newfoundland/Labrador - 82 (up from 67) 0 deaths
• Northwest Territories - 1 case, 0 deaths
• Nova Scotia - 73 (up from 68) 0 deaths
• Ontario - 858 (up from 688) 15 deaths
• Quebec - 1,632 (up from 1,342) 8 deaths
• Prince Edward Island - 9 (up from 5) 0 deaths
• Saskatchewan - 95 (up from 86) 0 deaths
• Yukon - 3 cases (unchanged from 3) 0 deaths

There were also 13 Canadians on the Grand Princess, one of whom died.

 

[NotHardUp1]

Still no TP or paper towels though, which I'm down to 1/2 a roll of paper towels so I'd really like to get more soon.

The paper towels must be a regional problem or even Wegman's supply chain, as they have been in most places available here.

I always keep a box of rags (old cut up undershirts, stained washcloths, linens, etc.) and use them for cleaning. I also keep a large supply of dishtowels and use them except for cast iron.

My use of paper towels is very limited, but when you need one you need one, so I hope you get yours soon.

Oh, and I launder and bleach my rags once used unless they have metallic oxides or other chemicals on them that I don't want in the washing machine.

 

[KaraBulut]

I was in Wegmans (WNY area) yesterday and the shelves were mostly re-stocked, although a few brands that I typically buy weren't available. Still no TP or paper towels though, which I'm down to 1/2 a roll of paper towels so I'd really like to get more soon.

Signs were up in the meat section saying only 2 packages of a kind are allowed. They also have a waiting line designated for cashing out (except for 7 items or less express lanes) with a clerk only allowing people to enter once a cashier's lane is available. Once at the conveyor belt, they're sanitizing the belt before you can place your items on it, and they're making you stand at the beginning of belt until all groceries are bagged...allowing you to proceed to the cashier only at the time to pay. They've been reporting on the news that plexi-glass shields are going to be installed between the cashier and customer, and some stores may have cashiers wearing a plexi-glass face shield. It wasn't a quick in and out to the supermarket!

I was surprised at the number of people in the story wearing surgical masks and scarfs over their faces too.

ps...I'm already tired of hearing "this is the new normal."

Interesting information.

My grocery store has installed a plexiglass shield on the counter in front of the cashier. There is no shield at the credit card machine which is by the area where the groceries are bagged, so the person bagging the groceries doesn't have protection from droplet infection.

In the entryway, there was a clerk in gloves, plastic mask and gown wiping down the basket-carts before the customers took them.

Many of the workers in the grocery store did have on latex gloves however I didn't have the heart to tell them that the gloves wouldn't be of any value unless they were changed or washed frequently (both bacteria and viruses adhere to gloves). They might be of value as a reminder for the workers not to touch their face?

 

[Kahaih]

I was in Wegmans (WNY area) yesterday and the shelves were mostly re-stocked, although a few brands that I typically buy weren't available. Still no TP or paper towels though, which I'm down to 1/2 a roll of paper towels so I'd really like to get more soon.

Signs were up in the meat section saying only 2 packages of a kind are allowed. They also have a waiting line designated for cashing out (except for 7 items or less express lanes) with a clerk only allowing people to enter once a cashier's lane is available. Once at the conveyor belt, they're sanitizing the belt before you can place your items on it, and they're making you stand at the beginning of belt until all groceries are bagged...allowing you to proceed to the cashier only at the time to pay. They've been reporting on the news that plexi-glass shields are going to be installed between the cashier and customer, and some stores may have cashiers wearing a plexi-glass face shield. It wasn't a quick in and out to the supermarket!

I was surprised at the number of people in the story wearing surgical masks and scarfs over their faces too.

ps...I'm already tired of hearing "this is the new normal."

I've read that NY has postponed their ban on plastic bags. Until May? Is that true?

Have other States/areas done the same, I wonder.

 

[NotHardUp1]

Many of the workers in the grocery store did have gloves however I didn't have the heart to tell them that the gloves wouldn't be of any use unless they were changed frequently or washed frequently. They might be of value as a reminder for the workers not to touch their face?

I observed the same at a drive through. The cashier handed me my order wearing her gloves, rang up the order on the cash register, took my credit card, returned it, all with wearing the gloves, so all she accomplished was changing a vector of contagion from being her skin to her gloves.

In truth, I have always observed this doltishness on the part of food workers in restaurants, so have always assumed gloves were meaningless.

 

[NotHardUp1]

I've read that NY has postponed their ban on plastic bags. Until May? Is that true?

Have other States/areas done the same, I wonder.

I doubt Alabama will ever ban them. It's a really trashy state with little care about the environment unless it involves suing an oil company that has ruined the Gulf.

 

[Kahaih]

I observed the same at a drive through. The cashier handed me my order wearing her gloves, rang up the order on the cash register, took my credit card, returned it, all with wearing the gloves, so all she accomplished was changing a vector of contagion from being her skin to her gloves.

In truth, I have always observed this doltishness on the part of food workers in restaurants, so have always assumed gloves were meaningless.

The gloves do have some powder on them, to begin with, that would help to dry them, making them less apt to transmit viruses than bare, damp, absorbing hands/skin would be.

 

[jaysizzles]

I've read that NY has postponed their ban on plastic bags. Until May? Is that true?

Have other States/areas done the same, I wonder.

I haven't heard that. The plastic bag ban had already been in effect here in NY since March 1st, before the virus hit here, and I've pretty much avoided going into any store besides for groceries since it did hit...so I'm unaware if some stores did go back to using them.

 

[Kahaih]

I doubt Alabama will ever ban them. It's a really trashy state with little care about the environment unless it involves suing an oil company that has ruined the Gulf.

It's been my own assumption/observation that the places that have been banning plastic bags have only done so because they can see them along the roadsides, in the trees, etc. - not really about protecting the environment at all.

 

[Kahaih]

The gloves do have some powder on them, to begin with, that would help to dry them, making them less apt to transmit viruses than bare, damp, absorbing hands/skin would be.

As for the store crews who are wiping down equipment, they would be handling sanitizers that would most likely be sanitizing there gloves over and over, as well.

 

[belamyi]

I observed the same at a drive through. The cashier handed me my order wearing her gloves, rang up the order on the cash register, took my credit card, returned it, all with wearing the gloves, so all she accomplished was changing a vector of contagion from being her skin to her gloves.

In truth, I have always observed this doltishness on the part of food workers in restaurants, so have always assumed gloves were meaningless.

The point of the gloves for the cashier is to avoid being infected, not avoid infected others: rather the contrary than with the food case, whose success, anyway, would depend on what else is involved in the process, mainly how gloves are taken off.

 

[Zeno Lorea]

I've read that there is a lot of concern about New York city people who, every year/summer, spread out across rural US and Canada, who, this season, will be taking/spreading the fruits of their cold-hearted cluster fuck lifestyles with them.

That's exactly how it spread around Europe: both Italy and Spain announced strict lockdown measures and then failed to implement them for over 24 hours. By that time, millions of people from Madrid and Milan had gone home to their holiday homes on the beach, or the villages of their grandparents.

And the link between Spain and Italy? February 19. There was a Champions' League match, you see, between Italy's Atalanta and Spain's Valencia FC. In Bergamo of all places. A small town with a big low-cost airport. So apart from 40,000 people from all over Lombardy, there were 2,500 Spanish fans who flew in from all over Spain. The first cases in Spain were all related to that soccer club: players, fans, and sports reporters who interviewed them.

Think about that when you hear about Spring breakers coming back from Florida.