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

  • Thread starter baldgye
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Biggles
Anyone think things aren't going to get a lot worse in the US over the coming weeks? :rolleyes:

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There's similar worries here thanks to the c.15,000 eejits who hopped over to Cheltenham last week. A couple of them even tweeted that they're starting to feel the symptoms. :grumpy:
 
Famine
I saw it, but it has little merit
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That's fine, I'm not really here to argue either side, I'm not a scientist or a doctor but I felt it was important to post it due to the person commenting to The Times.
I've heard and read many stories about doctors and nurses on the front lines, not being tested, but due to my insane work schedule I'm not able to keep up with all the current news and so I don't know if that's been addressed in the last couple of days otherwise I would have included similar comments from those Doctors and health professionals.


I'm trying to keep as much info as I can in this thread. It's daily changing event and I'm working 15hr days trying to make up for people in my team being home/off so I don't have any time to dedicate to researching.
 
baldgye
I've heard and read many stories about doctors and nurses on the front lines, not being tested, but due to my insane work schedule I'm not able to keep up with all the current news and so I don't know if that's been addressed in the last couple of days otherwise I would have included similar comments from those Doctors and health professionals.
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It wouldn't surprise me. The point would be to ensure that they weren't exposed and infectious, but to achieve that you'd need daily testing of every single one of them (or every five days as a bare minimum). Instead it's better to PPE the crap out of them and only test if the PPE is breached or found ineffective - so only if they have faced direct, unprotected exposure to a confirmed case (like we do with HepC and HIV) - or if they become symptomatic.
 
Apparently San Miguel county in CO went shelter-in-place yesterday. They have zero confirmed cases. There are a few ski resorts in that area, but it's not the biggest county for the ski resort outbreak (Summit County is). I have no idea what's going on in San Miguel, but they obviously have some kind of concern. My guess would be that they're fairly isolated and have few hospital resources, but still have an influx of virus due to ski tourism.

Still... shelter-in-place with zero cases. Impressive move.

CO just closed schools for 4 weeks, which sucks for trying to get work time in.
 
Famine
No, this would be a waste of time and resources. There is not only no point in testing people who are showing no symptoms and have no reason to think they could have been exposed (beyond being in public), it's counter-productive. You waste reagents and lab time chasing down nothing, and there's bound to be a very high false positive and false negative rate at this point in time (even without sample contamination from doing too many tests). You'd also need to retest everyone who's negative every five days to see if they've become positive in the interim.

It's best to test people who meet the diagnostic criteria for COVID-19, are in a high-risk group, or have at least one person already testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 within their immediate social or work circles. That targets the people most likely to have contracted COVID-19 or most likely to require a higher level of medical intervention for their survival.
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We're experiencing this right now where I work. Our ED, urgent cares, and drive up testing areas are packed with people demanding a test even though they aren't showing symptoms, showing the wrong symptoms, haven't been around anyone who's sick, etc. While I certainly think the initial criteria of you had to have traveled to a Level 3 or 4 zone and are showing symptoms was not enough, testing everyone is way overkill and a strain on resources. Right now it's best to test people who've been knowingly exposed to COVID-19 or are showing at the very least a cough and fever. If you're sneezing and having nasal drip/congestion it's probably seasonal rhinitis and you need some cold medicine (assuming you can find it) or it's seasonal allergies and you need some Zyrtec.

With the earthquake yesterday, it ratcheted an already panicky society up to whatever is past 11. If people took a step back, took a breath (while social distancing mind you), and engaged the common sense part of their brain, things would probably go smoother.
 
killerjimbag
This is absolute BS. Toyota Cambridge Ontario plant.My wife has worked there for 30 years. They started their shift this morning,knowing someone was positive for Covid 19.
This is how greedy billion dollar companies treat employees.
DON'T BUY A TOYOTA!
https://www.google.ca/amp/s/globalnews.ca/news/6701064/cambridge-toyota-coronavirus-covid-19/amp/
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Yeh, that's toyotally unacceptable.

In all seriousness, it is not cool that they didn't keep everyone informed, but it was probably quite safe to do what they did.

There have been three confirmed cases of COVID-19 at my work and many others who have been asked to self-isolate because of their suspected or known contact with confirmed cases, and yet my work is still open and will probably remain open for the foreseeable future.

It is right to take serious precautions but it is also understandable that they may not wish to over-react - that said, there's really no excuse for the lack of communication, which at the very least my work has been very good at thus far.

I hope your wife is not too badly affected by the impending closure and disruption.
 
HenrySwanson
What's the deal with Japan?
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A combination of not testing, good hygiene and possibly the heavy use of masks. Not sure how effective the latter is on decreasing spread from the infected though.


On another note. Denmark has largely locked down too, although not to the same absurd extend as France and the like. All but the most necessary stores are closed, and gatherings are limited to 10 people at the most. Lots of horse:censored: being spilled about "community spirit". When I go shopping for groceries, I see a lot of 70 plus people out and about, taking no precautions themselves while the rest of us have to give up our daily lives for their sake. I'm amazed how quickly people were willing to give up some of their most basic rights. With Japan having voided any and all foreign visas from the coming Saturday until the end of April, the best I can hope for regarding my exchange semester is that I, and my fellow students, can start early May. This is looking very unlikely though.
 
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Masks should help in preventing spread to others if you have it but if you have it you shouldn't be outside in the first place.
 
HenrySwanson
What's the deal with Japan?
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Perhaps Japan responded quicker than Europe, and they have stricter migration policy?

Meanwhile in Russia, there are 199 confirmed cases already, and the government is on alert. They must react before there are more, and not let it turn it into Italy or Iran. Yesterday, RF closed all borders due to the epidemic situation. In Moscow, all public events gathering over 5000 people are cancelled (luckily, I managed to attend the Sabaton concert on March, 13th).

Schools are closed, most universities have switched to remote studying. The university where I work is now closed for students, but we still go to work. Our boss instructed us about the situation, and told us to "go ****ing home" if anyone even suspects oneself being sick (yes, he said it in bad language). Handshakes are now banned, too.

Some grocery stores are starting to get short on food, disinfectants and yes, toilet paper. *facepalm*
There are two types of idiots around: those who say "ah, come on, this bull**** isn't more dangerous than seasonal flu!" (I wish they tried to explain to Italians when does seasonal flu have >8% mortality) and keep acting like nothing is happening, and the other is complete opposite, screaming "AAAAhhhh we're all gonna die, gotta buy as much buckwheat and toilet paper as possible!", spreading panic around and causing supply shortage.

Fortunately, there are still sane people who understand that COVID-19 is a serious threat but don't go panicking.
 
Touring Mars
Yeh, that's toyotally unacceptable.

In all seriousness, it is not cool that they didn't keep everyone informed, but it was probably quite safe to do what they did.

There have been three confirmed cases of COVID-19 at my work and many others who have been asked to self-isolate because of their suspected or known contact with confirmed cases, and yet my work is still open and will probably remain open for the foreseeable future.

It is right to take serious precautions but it is also understandable that they may not wish to over-react - that said, there's really no excuse for the lack of communication, which at the very least my work has been very good at thus far.

I hope your wife is not too badly affected by the impending closure and disruption.
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The plant is not closed until Monday. The guy tested positive last week. There is going to be law suits moving forward. My wife just texted me. She is retired effective today. They said they need 2 weeks notice. She told them get my paper work started. You gave me no notification of an infected employee until today. She could have retired in January. That's it for her.
 
DesertPenguin
Masks should help in preventing spread to others if you have it but if you have it you shouldn't be outside in the first place.
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There's quite a large period between you being infected and contagious and knowing you're in that situation. Unless everyone starts wearing a mask just in case, but then we'll have an even larger shortage of masks everywhere.
 
zzz_pt
There's quite a large period between you being infected and contagious and knowing you're in that situation. Unless everyone starts wearing a mask just in case, but then we'll have an even larger shortage of masks everywhere.
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If only there was a way to find out whether you had it before you started presenting symptoms.
 
UKMikey
If only there was a way to find out whether you had it before you started presenting symptoms.
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DesertPenguin
If only tests were more readily available...
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Tests are more expensive than masks though right? No sure of we have enough. I'm also not sure the labs could process such high numbers of tests (if we're talking about testing everyone).
 
Trump live on Sky news now saying this drug for malaria Hydroxychloroquine has been approved by the FDA and getting shipped out to the masses asap! Fingers crossed this is the news we have all been waiting for and something to combat or slow down this virus 👍
 
zzz_pt
Tests are more expensive than masks though right? No sure of we have enough. I'm also not sure the labs could process such high numbers of tests (if we're talking about testing everyone).
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I think this is basically correct. Test kits are now being made available in large numbers. However, new bottlenecks in the process are PPE for those administering the tests, specialized nasal swabs for taking the test sample, certain reagents required for processing the samples into data, and the time and personnel required. Universities and private labs are hard at work on making faster, cheaper, easier to use test kits.
 
Mr P
Trump live on Sky news now saying this drug for malaria Hydroxychloroquine has been approved by the FDA
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In 1955. There are already 5 million prescriptions a year in the US for this drug. If it works on coronavirus patients that's brilliant, obviously, but I'm a little concerned that Trump seems to imagine that he's somehow invented or facilitated its existence.
 
killerjimbag
The plant is not closed until Monday. The guy tested positive last week. There is going to be law suits moving forward. My wife just texted me. She is retired effective today. They said they need 2 weeks notice. She told them get my paper work started. You gave me no notification of an infected employee until today. She could have retired in January. That's it for her.
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Sorry to hear that.

There is, unfortunately, only so much employers can do in these circumstances - at least they took steps to isolate the person and those who were in close contact with them... as such, there would have not necessarily been any need (or indeed legal requirement) for them to notify all personnel of a positive case in the company, but then again, I would have expected better communication, not least to tell people that the situation is in hand.

The reality is, however, that most jf not all people who become infected can function quite happily without even knowing they are infected or are already infectious for several days, which makes dealing with the outbreak very difficult.

It is a pity though that they don't seem to be overly concerned about addressing the very legitimate concerns of their employees, but I hope/expect that attitude might change rather quickly as they face more and more complaints from loyal employees they've had for many years.

I hope it works out for your wife, and meanwhile I shall not buy any Toyotas as per your suggestion.
 
Just to illusttrate how tough it is for the people who have to make the decisions for the people.
Our Minister of Health fainted during a debate yesterday evening. 30 minutes later he sent a message to all Dutchies while the debate was still going on that everything was ok and he (Bruno Bruins) would come back to the office a day later. Now 12 hours later he resigned from his job. Reason not clear yet. His personal health situation because of working too hard and too long the last couple of weeks or other reasons? We can complain a lot about our government but in this situation I do not want to trade places with him or other stakeholders in this crisis.
 
DesertPenguin
So which is it?
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Who are you going to believe?

mourinho.png
 

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