Coronavirus Updates

[Isabeau]

 

[Cristiano]

New CDC guidance says older adults should 'stay at home as much as possible' due to coronavirus | CNN

Amid a coronavirus outbreak in the United States, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is encouraging older people and people with severe chronic medical conditions to "stay at home as much as possible."

www.cnn.com

 

[Essence Lumin]

New CDC guidance says older adults should 'stay at home as much as possible' due to coronavirus | CNN

Amid a coronavirus outbreak in the United States, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is encouraging older people and people with severe chronic medical conditions to "stay at home as much as possible."

www.cnn.com

That sounds like a duh moment. Sure. Not always possible and the government isn't making it easier.

 

[Pancake]

Two cases now reported in my province. One a woman recently returned from a cruise. The second, recently returned from the exotic locations of Michigan, illionois and Ohio

Alberta’s 2nd presumptive case of coronavirus is in Edmonton; Calgary closes 2 ATB branches | Globalnews.ca

Alberta Health officials said Friday afternoon that a second presumptive case of the novel coronavirus had been identified — this one in Edmonton.

globalnews.ca

Edit Can’t wait to hear the jokes about closing the border from the USA.

 

[Beebo Brink]

New CDC guidance says older adults should 'stay at home as much as possible' due to coronavirus | CNN

Amid a coronavirus outbreak in the United States, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is encouraging older people and people with severe chronic medical conditions to "stay at home as much as possible."

www.cnn.com

Mrs. Beebo is scheduled for some outpatient hospital tests in Baltimore next month and we're still evaluating whether to postpone that trip. It's a follow-up test for one of her chronic conditions, so it's important, but there's some wriggle room. The prospect of driving into center-city Baltimore and hanging out in a crowded waiting room for hours does not thrill me. It's not as risky as sitting in an ER, but still....

 

[Free]

 

[Essence Lumin]

Mrs. Beebo is scheduled for some outpatient hospital tests in Baltimore next month and we're still evaluating whether to postpone that trip.

I don't think you and I take the same things into account. Nevertheless this raised some thoughts for me.

A. If it were me I would try to make it earlier since I think it can only get worse with time, a short time measured in a month or two. Who knows?

B: I have never noticed you are musical or ever posted a song on VVO or SLU. Sometimes musicians might predict the future though. Or not. For instance:

Tiny Tim 1968 -

The ice caps are melting
Oh, ho, ho, ho ho

Or Fraser and Debolt, early 70s.

My sense of time
Hell I'm a week behind
Sent a letter home
But this all takes time

Is this the way it always feels in Baltimore?

 

[Pancake]

Innula Zenovka hugged my post.

Kinda conflicted.

On one hand I don’t think she’s ever hugged me so I’m kinda tingly fangirl happy. On the other hand, it’s a post about the virus arriving in my province and Innula is the smartest most logical person I know, so it might mean she knows I’m going to die from the plague and I don’t realize it yet.

 

[Soen Eber]

We got int in Minneapolis now. Just one person so far, and it looks like it's contained ... and yes, I know it's inevitable.

 

[Kara Spengler]

Con: That DC and a lot of states have had people test positive.

Pro: That both DC cases were at AIPAC where penis, mcturtle, and other Rs were.

 

[Beebo Brink]

A. If it were me I would try to make it earlier since I think it can only get worse with time, a short time measured in a month or two.

We haven't canceled yet. If the appointment were this week, I'd be less concerned, but it's in about 4 weeks, so no telling what the situation will be by then. And without testing, we're all flying blind as to how much community transmission there may be.

B: I have never noticed you are musical or ever posted a song on VVO or SLU.

I'm probably one of the least musical people on VVO, so you nailed that one.

 

[Soen Eber]

Anyone with biochem or medical knowledge who can offer alternatives to hand sanitizer? I waited too long - last weekend there was no problem finding it, but I forgot to pick them up and had to google and to find some alternatives:

I got a couple hundred Benzalkonium Chloride hand wipes on Amazon which work as well as alcohol hand sanitizers (from what I've read); they're not sold out and came to only $13. I had accidentally stumbled on some research findings relating them to hand sanitizing, and lucked out on Amazon. Curiosly, searching Amazon for finds almost nothing the mentioned wipes, but a google search led me directly to the amazon order page for them.

I can use some cpap mask wipes in a zip-lock baggie, and lens disinfectant spray until they arive... I think they'd be effective [not sure about both of those, , I'll have to research], and they're still in stock at normal prices.

EDIT: more research: Benzalkonium Chloride is better than nothing, but isn't as effective as 60% alcohol based sanitizer. I haven't found any research papers comparing the two (my medical research skills suck). It also seems the medical field prefers alcohol-based just as much from familiarity and well-known prescribed, effective procedures over much else. If it works, don't change. Also Benzalkonium chloride promotes anti-bacterial resistance as opposed to alcohol based solutions which don't, so it can only be a bridge solution until alcohol based sanitizers are available again.

I can put 91% alcohol in a hand-sized spray bottle I guess. Rough on the hands but can't be much worse than Minnesota windchill. Maybe I can add some Aloe vera gel so long as I make sure it keeps the alcohol concentration at 60%, which means I'll be adding as little as possible to keep on the safe side of that number.

 

[Beebo Brink]

Sanitizers can be handy, but they're not essential. Wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water; temperature doesn't matter, just length of washing (at least 20 seconds). Don't touch your face (I'm doomed).

 

[Kamilah Hauptmann]

I just googled bleach as a hand cleanser. Answer: don’t.

 

[Free]

 

[Caliandris]

From the Guardian this morning
**Start quote**
In a moment that some commentators have called one of the most “disturbing” and “frightening” remarks of Trump’s response to the public health crisis, the president also said he would prefer that cruise ship passengers exposed to the virus be left aboard so that they don’t add to the number of total infections in the US.

“I like the numbers being where they are,” said Trump, who appeared to be explicitly acknowledging his political concerns about the outbreak: “I don’t need to have the numbers double because of one ship that wasn’t our fault.”

The president further implied that the coronavirus test was available to anyone who needed it, even though his own administration has acknowledged that there is currently a shortage among US health care providers.
**end quote**

I was in a quandary where to post this. He obviously hasn't been paying close attention, because the figures for the Diamond princess which was moored at Yokohama and became a floating plague ship were kept separate from the figures for Japan as a whole. The delay in allowing people to move off ship was a contributory factor to the unchecked spread of the infection - and likely to be worse this time since it seems a majority of the crew are infected and the passengers are not.

We have 1-4 infections in Lincolnshire, apparently. Probably associated with the huge number of children going to Italy at half term. But things are proceeding as normal here - people still planning to go to fairs, sports venues all open, no panic buying etc. It could be linked with the fact that we are still in 1950s here, although you'd think they'd at least open a newspaper occasionally if that's the case.

Meanwhile a 17-year-old has set up a website to co-ordinate the data coming in about coronavirus.

 

[Essence Lumin]

Bloomberg - Are you a robot?

 

[Innula Zenovka]

Coronavirus: nine reasons to be reassured

Yes, Covid-19 is serious, but context is key and the world is well placed to deal with it

www.theguardian.com

 

[Sid]

Coronavirus: nine reasons to be reassured

Yes, Covid-19 is serious, but context is key and the world is well placed to deal with it

www.theguardian.com

Yes, there is the corona virus, but there is also that constant flow of drum rolling news that makes us more fearful than needed.

That article is a great summary of the actual situation.
We don't need stacks of toilet paper, sanitizers, mouth caps or garbage bags. We need to step back from the cacophony of news and use our common sense IMHO.

 

[Beebo Brink]

But it is worth remembering the world has never had better tools to fight it, and that if we are infected, we are unlikely to die from it.

Minor quibble with the article. I fully understand that most people are unlikely to die from this coronavirus, but this blanket statement framing of the mortality glosses over the starkly different risk levels for different segments of the population. "WE are unlikely to die" makes it sound like it's just a roll of the dice, with equal chances of survival for everyone.

This is re-stated in a more accurate way in later graphs, but it's a still a sloppy intro, and the one most people are likely to read. I applaud the general attempt to reduce panic, but that shouldn't happen at the expense of the very real concerns of vulnerable populations. If you're 75 years old with emphysema, you're not part of that "We are unlikely to die" cohort, and it's important to be aware that you need to take extra precautions to avoid infection, whereas your healthy 20-year-old nephew does not.