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

  • Thread starter baldgye
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Biggles
Are places that don't have many cases of Civid-19 simple behind the curve by a few weeks?
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Basically, yes.

Italy, Iran and SK are now in the situation that Hubei province was is - lock down or face a doubling of cases every few days.

Other countries are not going to act (for fear of causing panic, crippling the economy etc.) until they too also face that stark choice.

For most places with confirmed cases already, that choice is now likely to be a matter of weeks - or even days - away.
 
MUSC4EVER
Where has this toilet paper thing come from?!

Did someone say we need to stock up?!
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Theory: People suddenly got the notion they had to "stock up". They took one look at their bare shelves, and astutely figured out rolls of paper would fill up the shelf faster than bean cans.
 
Danoff
I heard at least one person suggest that it was widespread misunderstanding that since coronavirus is "like flu" and since the flu is "the stomach flu" (meaning norovirus, not influenza) that we'd all have diarrhea.

I thought it was just because people were worried about being quarantined long enough to run out.
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Both of these are probably true.

People who are immunocompromised definitely will need to stock up on all sorts of consummables and non-perishable goods. They're going to want to be out of circulation for as long as is reasonably possible. That means bog roll, toothpaste, paste, rice, tinned goods, and of course lots and lots of alcohol. Handwash. Alcohol handwash (and wipes; I bet screen-cleaners are rocketing off the shelves too).


About 4% of COVID-19 cases involve the squits, but I reckon there's a perception that it's a lot more. People associate illness with D&V - food poisoning, norovirus/rotavirus, and so on - so they're getting the bog roll in for the whole house at treble the usual rate, for a month. They'll also see people shopping for the immunocompromised and think "Hang on, they're getting loads of bog roll, perhaps we should too".

Handily, we bought two months' supply mid-February from the wholesaler. Not on purpose because of COVID-19; we do that every two months.
 
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Danoff
From what we know about viruses in general, some of them don't spread well in certain conditions. They're affected by local humidity and temperature. Check out this animation of flu progression in the US.


THIS IS FOR FLU, NOT COVID-19, JUST IN CASE YOU'RE SCROLLING QUICKLY AND PANICKING
5a57b6cfa75e201f008b4ff8


Here's another for H1N1 Flu



You can see that it starts in areas of high moisture and population. I'm not sure why it likes the south so much.
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What surprises me about this is how few cases Utah, Idaho, and Montana get. I'm guessing it has something to do with the weather since it's cold and dry in these states during flu season. Wyoming is a bit of a mystery since there's nothing in Wyoming but a ton of cows. I get Nevada though since Vegas was made to share germs.
 
baldgye
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To tally with that terrible news, all those thousands of new CDC kits that have been sent to every corner of the land - they are all still stuck in transit or in warehouses. It is obvious the powers that be in the US have chosen to sacrifice fighting the virus to saving the economy, while the opposite is true in Italy. This troubles me greatly. I may be wrong, but I don't think it's the right choice. It's basically the same wrong choice that was made a century ago with the Spanish Flu.
 
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I had to make a couple of stops after work tonight. Next door to my work is a CVS and they didn't have any bare shelves, still had their normal supply of toilet paper and water. I was more concerned that my go to mild headache medicine Excedrin has stopped production due to something wrong in their process so now I've got to find something else.

Then I went to Walmart and I did need some paper towels which there were plenty of and the toilet paper is on the same isle. There was still plenty left just not as much as usual. I bought my usual size pack about a week and a half ago and that usually lasts me about 3 months since I live alone.
 
Heard today, a man in the county just near my work has tested "presumptive positive" for the virus, in his early 30's & recently been to California. His family is being monitored, but he himself has been self-quarantined before bringing it to attention. It's put some people at work on edge since they live in the same area.

Also had a girl just come back from a week in Italy. She has, surprisingly, told us the TSA has not changed since my trip; no health officials, just asked where she was in Italy & if she'd been around any livestock. She was immediately cleared.
 
Are the cronies upstairs in the USA afraid that this might cost them money or something? What a bunch of amateurs.
 
Since the news has finally picked this up, I can actually talk about them and show a picture.

582a104b-cd79-47d9-8853-bb7beec00a6f-medium16x9_UniversityofUtahHospitalpreparesforcoronaviruswithnegativepressuretents.AdamForgieKUTV2.JPG


They're negative air pressure tents with a rather robust air filtration system that's next to the ED. If you're experiencing symptoms and meet the criteria, you'll be instructed to go here for testing. It's to keep potentially infected people out of the ED and away from those who do not have the disease. Each tent holds something like 50 patients and functions exactly like the brick and mortar ED. They're also rated to withstand 100mph winds too.

So when I say that hospitals can easily expand their capacity, this is the sort of thing I'm talking about. We have other methods too but they haven't been activated yet.

===

McLaren
Also had a girl just come back from a week in Italy. She has, surprisingly, told us the TSA has not changed since my trip; no health officials, just asked where she was in Italy & if she'd been around any livestock. She was immediately cleared.
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Of course not, they were more concerned if she had 6oz of shampoo not in a clear bag than things that actually matter. I loathe the TSA and how inept they are. We finally have a reason to protect the country from people entering it and they're sitting on their ass.
 
Anecdotal observations, Monday morning is usually the busiest train ride to work in the morning. Standing room only after a station or two. Yesterday it was a ghost town, half the train was empty for the whole of my commute. Yesterday afternoon the government got together and decided to basically do nothing... today my train to work is very busy again.


As the whole of Italy is quarantined the British government does almost nothing to prevent the spread. Businesses and those most at risk see it as little more than seasonal flu and everyone else is stuck in the middle.
 


I think the worrying trend in a lot of the information from the government is its leading to this anti-intellectual route. Experts are saying to expect mass breakouts across the country, experts are saying not to travel and to work from home, yet the Government says just wash your hands and not to worry...
 
Preventative measures keep the number of cases down which creates a false sense of security, making people wonder why the preventative measures are needed if the number of cases is so low.

You can't win.
 
I think Singapore and Hong Kong have established an enviable record of slowing the spread within their populations.

Considering the total spread of the virus (outside of and ignoring China), the current doubling rate seems to be about 4 days.
 
I think preventive measures should be taken on an individual level at first. A lot can be avoided, probably, if people decide to stay at home more when they could be going out to a bar, or a concert, avoid touching handrails, door knobs and other highly used objects in public / public transportation, etc.

Here in Hamburg there's been 17 confirmed cases so nothing has really changed yet (that I know of). At work we just have some A4 sheets on the walls advising people not to shake hands and that's it.
 
Austria bans mass indoor and outdoor events
Austria has banned indoor events of more than 100 people and outdoor events of more than 500 people, Interior Minister Karl Nehammer confirmed.
The country has also announced a ban on people arriving from Italy.
"We are putting in place an entry ban for people from Italy to Austria, unless they have a doctor's certificate," chancellor Sebastian Kurz said on Tuesday.
Austrians in Italy will be allowed to return as long as they agree to a two-week home quarantine.
Other measures announced by the government include stopping university lectures and encouraging companies to let employees work from home.
 
Dotini
I think Singapore and Hong Kong have established an enviable record of slowing the spread within their populations.

Considering the total spread of the virus (outside of and ignoring China), the current doubling rate seems to be about 4 days.
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The smaller the locale, the easier it is to manage. It's easier to spin two plates than eight plates.

A tick in the positive column for city states, I guess.
 
zzz_pt
I think preventive measures should be taken on an individual level at first. A lot can be avoided, probably, if people decide to stay at home more when they could be going out to a bar, or a concert, avoid touching handrails, door knobs and other highly used objects in public / public transportation, etc.

Here in Hamburg there's been 17 confirmed cases so nothing has really changed yet (that I know of). At work we just have some A4 sheets on the walls advising people not to shake hands and that's it.
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This I feel is wishful thinking, at least in the UK. I'm the only person in my company to commute using public transportation but I know for a fact that I couldn't 'self isolate' without facing penalties at work.
Due to the governments inaction and lack of urgency, many of the people in charge of businesses don't see it as a big deal and the phrase that has been echoed in here many times "it's no worse than flu" rings out.

And like has also been said, if I self isolated and that prevented the office from becoming infected then they would only see it as me not working, and for no good reason.
 
Harbor freight may make some super chintzy products, and probably dont pay really well. However, I do admire their ethics. They sent out an email saying basically that they are taking precautions by cleaning high traffic areas in the stores more often. But, the part I like, any employee that either comes down sick or is otherwise unable to come to work due to lock downs/quarantines will still get paid their normal working hours.
 

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