COVID-19/Coronavirus Information and Support Thread (see OP for useful links)

[McLaren]

The F1 race in Bahrain will be held behind closed doors. Not that it ever attracted massive crowds anyway, still pretty significant none the less. I don’t recall this happening in a race series before?

https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/148580/bahrain-gp-to-be-run-behind-closed-doors

A friend of mine who follows football told this has already been happening in smaller leagues, primarily in Italy. That the matches are going on, but no fans are allowed to watch.

The NBA has hinted here it could do the same. But, a couple players including the biggest in LeBron have said they will not play if there are no fans allowed, esp. if this pushes into the Playoffs being right around the corner.

 

[Touring Mars]

The NBA has hinted here it could do the same. But, a couple players including the biggest in LeBron have said they will not play if there are no fans allowed, esp. if this pushes into the Playoffs being right around the corner.

That makes no sense at all... the vast majority (ca. 98%) watch NBA on TV anyway. Playing behind closed doors would be safer and those who had tickets to a closed door game could probably buy a year's subscription to a sports channel for a lot less than the money they would get refunded for their ticket.

That said, I get that part of the entertainment and the buzz for the players is the atmosphere created by the fans, but denying fans the chance to watch the game at home esp. under these unusual circumstances, seems like the wrong move.

 

[Blitz24]

That makes no sense at all... the vast majority (ca. 98%) watch NBA on TV anyway. Playing behind closed doors would be safer and those who had tickets to a closed door game could probably buy a year's subscription to a sports channel for a lot less than the money they would get refunded for their ticket.

That said, I get that part of the entertainment and the buzz for the players is the atmosphere created by the fans, but denying fans the chance to watch the game at home esp. under these unusual circumstances, seems like the wrong move.

It's also an incredibly short-sighted move on LeBron's part. I get both sides of the argument, but in the end, I'd rather have the fans (and players, they are also susceptible) safe.

 

[McLaren]

That makes no sense at all... the vast majority (ca. 98%) watch NBA on TV anyway. Playing behind closed doors would be safer and those who had tickets to a closed door game could probably buy a year's subscription to a sports channel for a lot less than the money they would get refunded for their ticket.

That said, I get that part of the entertainment and the buzz for the players is the atmosphere created by the fans, but denying fans the chance to watch the game at home esp. under these unusual circumstances, seems like the wrong move.

This is my personal take, but I think it’s a dig back at the league’s recent crackdown on resting players. The was a strong argument that fans pay good money to see these guys play, and towards the end of the season, teams do start to limit how much the stars play to be fresh for the post-season. I think Minnesota was already fined for resting a player with no injury.

Maybe for LeBron, if he has to play to make the fans happy, then he sees no reason to play if there’s no fans at all.

 

[baldgye]

U.K. infection rate has again increased by a new record, infections now at 260+ I hope if/when they do any sort of lock down or travel restrictions they’re is enough notice to get home

 

[Liquid]

One case is now five in Slovakia, including two kids at the school where we have our gaelic football training.

It was nice knowing you.

 

[PocketZeven]

133 dead reported in one day in italy and the total now up to 7.375 infected. Meanwhile the netherlands already have 264 reported cases.

 

[Milouse]

no word if Lenny Bruce is afraid or not

So, that how I just learnt that Lenny Bruce isn't a fictional character of Ms Maisel TV show

 

[UKMikey]

U.K. infection rate has again increased by a new record, infections now at 260+ I hope if/when they do any sort of lock down or travel restrictions they’re is enough notice to get home

This is a new situation, isn't any increase going to lead to a record number of infected?

I'm in two minds about whetehr to cancel atttending the meet up with my old pals in London next week and the wedding I had booked to go to at the end of the month in case I infect my elderly mum. Guess my social life is on hold for the next few months.

 

[Touring Mars]

@UKMikey Tough call - I'm also mainly/only concerned with my parents' wellbeing - their natural instinct is to help out whenever and wherever possible, but in this circumstance the best thing they can do is for them to keep away and be kept away from if younger members of the family either get sick or (in the case of young children) are more likely to spread the virus.

It's still early stages here in the UK, but things can and probably will change pretty fast... infection rates are doubling about every 3 days, but there's also a lag time on that (i.e. those testing positive now were likely infected days/weeks ago) plus the fact that most infections are undetected (like at least 1 in 3), so the chances are that the real number of people with the virus right now is more likely in the thousands, not hundreds in the UK. By the end of the month, unless there is some serious containment going on (in which case you probably won't be able to go very far anyway), the numbers could be 100x higher than they are today...

 

[UKMikey]

It's not such a tough call for me. My mum lives with me as I look after her so avoiding her isn't an option. I don't really see this situation going away anytime soon though. I kinda figure they would've caught me by now if I were infected, but every day I take public transport to go to an office with thousands of people so until they start mass testing people or develop a vaccine I guess it's only a matter of time.

I should have realised when I got off the plane and no staff were around to test or screen us that the UK government has no screening in place for infected people entering the country or much of a plan to prevent the virus spreading.

 

[Touring Mars]

Even a reliable test for coronavirus will have sensitivity limits - and hence it may be the case that people who were recently infected but have a low viral load may not test positive even if they are actually infected, hence mass-testing of asymptomatic people is not likely to help much anyway.

It makes it difficult to know when to stay away from elderly family members, if that is even possible. But even if you get infected, for example, you can still protect your Mum by having a 'green zone' in your house (i.e. a room or areas where you either don't go or take extra precautions when you do) and keep contact with your Mum to an absolute minimum. Much easier said that done though...

 

[UKMikey]

Even a reliable test for coronavirus will have sensitivity limits - and hence it may be the case that people who were recently infected but have a low viral load may not test positive even if they are actually infected, hence mass-testing of asymptomatic people is not likely to help much anyway.

It makes it difficult to know when to stay away from elderly family members, if that is even possible. But even if you get infected, for example, you can still protect your Mum by having a 'green zone' in your house (i.e. a room or areas where you either don't go or take extra precautions when you do) and keep contact with your Mum to an absolute minimum. Much easier said that done though...

She has her own room and I'm keeping physical contact with her to a minimum. Would be nice to know whether I'm infected or not though. Perhaps I should try and get hold of a thermometer. Are people with a low viral load capable of infecting others to a dangerous extent?

A friend of hers just DMed me the garlic cure. When I pointed out that Italians eat a lot of garlic she replied that they don't boil it with hot water which kills the virus. I had to send her a copy of the BBC fact check to get her to stop.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-51735367

 

[baldgye]

What concerns me is how rapidly it spread in Italy.
The number of infection rates seemed to follow a similar pattern to that the U.K. is now taking... and public transportation and geography in the U.K. would make it far easier to spread than Italy (given that it has a mountain range running down the middle of it).

Like @Touring Mars said the number of actually infected people is going to be higher than the number of those reported and if the government doesn't become more pro-active than the Italian government did, I can’t see the U.K. not going down a similar route...

 

[Touring Mars]

She has her own room and I'm keeping physical contact with her to a minimum. Would be nice to know whether I'm infected or not though. Perhaps I should try and get hold of a thermometer. Are people with a low viral load capable of infecting others to a dangerous extent?

Short of getting more than one specific test done for SARS-CoV-2, you may never know if or when you ever had the virus if you don't get noticably sick.

In short, anyone who is infected can potentially infect anyone else... if you are symptomatic, you are much more likely to spread the virus unless you take precautions, but it can still be spread by asymptomatic people - it's just less likely.

The danger is more about who gets the virus - elderly people are much less capable of fighting off the infection and hence the best plan of action is to keep the likelihood of contact with any infected people (or surfaces etc.) to an absolute minimum. Of course, it is not possible to be 100% 'safe'... but it is definitely possible to substantially reduce the risk by sticking to a pre-planned hygiene routine and to keep physical contact (and social interactions) to a minimum.

@baldgye Yes... although Italy has far more cases than the UK, the rate of increase is ca. 25% each day, or doubling every 3 days... it's currently higher than that in the UK (ca. 30% increase each day). Italy, however, has introduced quarantining already... we have not. If those trends continue, then by the end of the month the UK could have at least 100 times more cases than it has now... both detected/detectable and not... in other words, quarantining in the UK will almost certainly be upon us before the month is out.

 

[PeterJB]

My grandfather's funeral is on the 23rd and there will be relatives descending on Somerset from Cardiff, London, Sheffield, Chester, Wigan and here in Wiltshire so that should be fun...

 

[TenEightyOne]

My grandfather's funeral is on the 23rd and there will be relatives descending on Somerset from Cardiff, London, Sheffield, Chester, Wigan and here in Wiltshire so that should be fun...

If it was my family they'd have done a "group booking" joke by now :\

 

[Dotini]

Even a reliable test for coronavirus will have sensitivity limits - and hence it may be the case that people who were recently infected but have a low viral load may not test positive even if they are actually infected, hence mass-testing of asymptomatic people is not likely to help much anyway.

Once the virus breaks the containment phase and is endemic, I suppose testing loses much value.
The bigger question is can the health care system handle the demand before strong quarantine and isolation measures limit the rate of spread? If the doubling rate maintains at three days, you don't have much time left. For this problem to be managed, it may be necessary to sacrifice economic activity.

 

[Touring Mars]

Once the virus breaks the containment phase and is endemic, I suppose testing loses much value.
The bigger question is can the health care system handle the demand before strong quarantine and isolation measures limit the rate of spread? If the doubling rate maintains at three days, you don't have much time left. For this problem to be managed, it may be necessary to sacrifice economic activity.

Indeed, though the point of the containment and delay phases is to try to minimise the impact on public services and economic activity.

But yes, it may well be that public services (such as emergency health care) and personal precautions be given priority over economic activity.

Already here in the UK there is talk of unprecedented contingency plans for people with experience in healthcare i.e. they will be allowed to volunteer for the NHS for several weeks without the risk of losing their present jobs.

I reckon there is plenty that both government and private business can do to help as well i.e. freeze debt repayments, write off debts, interest-free loans, payment holidays for mortgages etc. - they may not have much choice to be fair, but it is not as if there is nothing than can be done to alleviate the potential financial hardship of a 'sudden stop' to the global or regional economy that may happen to some extent or other in the near future.

 

[Dotini]

Indeed, though the point of the containment and delay phases is to try to minimise the impact on public services and economic activity.

But yes, it may well be that public services (such as emergency health care) and personal precautions be given priority over economic activity.

Already here in the UK there is talk of unprecedented contingency plans for people with experience in healthcare i.e. they will be allowed to volunteer for the NHS for several weeks without the risk of losing their present jobs.

I reckon there is plenty that both government and private business can do to help as well i.e. freeze debt repayments, write off debts, interest-free loans, payment holidays for mortgages etc. - they may not have much choice to be fair, but it is not as if there is nothing than can be done to alleviate the potential financial hardship of a 'sudden stop' to the global or regional economy that may happen to some extent or other in the near future.

How strong are your supply-chains for medicine, PPE, food, etc?

 

[Touring Mars]

How strong are your supply-chains for medicine, PPE, food, etc?

Pretty good... I know several drug dealers, I can pinch PPE stuff from work, and I have Dominos on speed dial.

Wait, did you mean the UK in general...?

 

[Dotini]

My State of Washington has almost 75% the area of the UK. But our current toll of 136 infected and 18 dead are concentrated in two counties in the Seattle area. I doubt we've tested more than few dozen people, although that number should soon be rapidly rising. At our doubling rate, I expect area hospitals to be maxed out within about two months. Our government at all levels asserts the authority to forcibly quarantine. But no sign of that, other than a few voluntary school closures.

 

[Aphelion]

What concerns me is how rapidly it spread in Italy.
The number of infection rates seemed to follow a similar pattern to that the U.K. is now taking... and public transportation and geography in the U.K. would make it far easier to spread than Italy (given that it has a mountain range running down the middle of it).

Like @Touring Mars said the number of actually infected people is going to be higher than the number of those reported and if the government doesn't become more pro-active than the Italian government did, I can’t see the U.K. not going down a similar route...

I suspect that people have been spreading the virus for a good while now, potentially weeks before Italy even confirmed the first case. All these “new cases” are more than likely just “now confirmed officially” cases.

 

[UKMikey]

Short of getting more than one specific test done for SARS-CoV-2, you may never know if or when you ever had the virus if you don't get noticably sick.

In short, anyone who is infected can potentially infect anyone else... if you are symptomatic, you are much more likely to spread the virus unless you take precautions, but it can still be spread by asymptomatic people - it's just less likely.

The danger is more about who gets the virus - elderly people are much less capable of fighting off the infection and hence the best plan of action is to keep the likelihood of contact with any infected people (or surfaces etc.) to an absolute minimum. Of course, it is not possible to be 100% 'safe'... but it is definitely possible to substantially reduce the risk by sticking to a pre-planned hygiene routine and to keep physical contact (and social interactions) to a minimum.

Unfortunately this just sounds like advice I've already heard. Either I'm living with my mum or I'm not. Unless I know whether I have the virus or not there seems little point in changing my daily interactions around her provided I don't develop symptoms. It just seems like all this panic, cancelling social engagements etc isn't going to do much to prevent me from contracting a virus which is potentially lethal to her.

But I already know pretty much all of what you've said above which is why I asked the specific questions I did.

 

[Touring Mars]

Unfortunately this just sounds like advice I've already heard. Either I'm living with my mum or I'm not. Unless I know whether I have the virus or not there seems little point in changing my daily interactions around her provided I don't develop symptoms. It just seems like all this panic, cancelling social engagements etc isn't going to do much to prevent me from contracting a virus which is potentially lethal to her.

You can only minimise your chances of getting the virus and minimise your chances of passing it on... but that is far better than doing nothing. Unfortunately it is not possible to eliminate the possibility of your Mum contracting the virus, but her chances of staying healthy are drastically improved by you being able to look after her, even if you yourself have or get the virus... provided you are careful, there's no reason to be too worried about infecting your Mum. The main thing would be to make a plan and make sure both you and your Mum stick to it as much as is practical - and if that involves cancelling social things, avoiding contact with people unless it is essential and for you to do stuff like shopping etc., then you should be fine.

It's also worth remembering that even if your Mum does contract the virus, the numbers are still very much in favour of survival/no serious illness.

I'm also just going on what I personally think - my Mum is also my main concern, and it is difficult to convey the potential risk to both her and the rest of my family without sounding too alarmist or like I'm over-reacting.

 

[TJ13]

2nd confirm case in Minnesota.
Carver County.
Man in 50s
Like the other one that is confirmed.

 

[Blitz24]

My parents have been advised to celebrate the holiday of Purim (Jewish festival) at home and not go to synagogue as they are in a vulnerable group. I'm wondering if when Passover comes, there will still be restrictions.

 

[Liquid]

My parents have been advised to celebrate the holiday of Purim (Jewish festival) at home and not go to synagogue as they are in a vulnerable group. I'm wondering if when Passover comes, there will still be restrictions.

You just struck me with an unusually uninteresting thought.

For any extreme advocates of religious gatherings and observations, who would more likely be from a vulnerable demographic, a pandemic such as this presents a unique battle between a conviction towards religious duty, and personal health and safety.

It's as close to a legitimate battle between religion and science (medicine) as is feasibly possible.

 

[Blitz24]

You just struck me with an unusually uninteresting thought.

For any extreme advocates of religious gatherings and observations, who would more likely be from a vulnerable demographic, a pandemic such as this presents a unique battle between a conviction towards religious duty, and personal health and safety.

It's as close to a legitimate battle between religion and science (medicine) as is feasibly possible.

There have been multiple items put out stating that due to the risk of life, at-risk congregants should abstain from attending synagogue and can utilize virtual options. Granted, there is some limitation to safety, but I would be lying if I didn't notice any huge differences this past Sabbath and that it's increasingly likely that Passover (April 8th to 16th) could pose it's own problems.

 

[baldgye]

It seems as though just testing in parts of the US is an issue at the moment:



Makes you wonder about what the infection rate could be compared to what’s been confirmed...