There is a lot of misinformation being spread around in my area stating the woman who has it is in (insert location) was at (specific businesses) and to stay away, wear masks, got to the doctor because you’re INFECTED. Blah blah blah
And now that the plane landed yesterday in Ontario, that’s added to the spread of more misinformation. SFO residents didn’t want them to land there so they had to redirect to one of the poorest counties... 🤨
I have to keep calming down my coworkers/friends about it and have them use their critical thinking skills.
Yes! It’s a bit crazy. My husband said there were lots of people in the city he works in wearing masks and everyone knew the person who has it was from their city and named places they were certain the person went. I had to tell him there’s no official information about the person and that all of what he was hearing was conjecture and baseless. So annoying!
Post by mrsukyankee on Jan 31, 2020 14:37:10 GMT -5
I'm at a university in London with a HUGE Asian population. I'm not really concerned. Until we end up having an actual case, I'm more worried about the flu.
Bigger deal seems to be the gross racism popping up around this illness. No vax for that.
I just saw an article that people are avoiding Chinatown in Philly for fear of coronavirus. You know, a place full of people who LIVE IN THE US. We haven't even had a confirmed case in our state.
More dim sum for me, I guess.
There's a H-Mart store next to my kitchen. One of the MAGATS I work with posted about how "disconcerting" it was to see everyone in masks at the store.
I had a conference call this week with a colleague in Shanghai. She said they (unclear if she meant Shanghai officials or just her employer) extended the new year holiday until Feb 18 to keep people home. She said she went out for supplies and there was no one in the stores.
I also still get emails from my previous employer. They have a large number of visiting scientists from Asia (mostly China), who frequently travel back and forth. They are asking people to inform them of they have recently traveled or plan to travel to affected areas of the world. I... am not sure what they plan to do with that info.
Post by omgzombies on Jan 31, 2020 15:45:04 GMT -5
I think the most interesting feature of this virus is that the pneumonia and Acute Respiratory Distress syndrome don't begin until about a week into infection. A week ago there were only a couple hundred people with the disease. It has now exponentially grown. We did not even hit 2000 confirmed patients until the 26th (people don't immediately contract this disease and then die). Which means that in the next couple days, we will actually begin to see what the mortality rates of the disease are, assuming the numbers are all accurate. There are more than a few reports of test kits running out, or people being turned away, or cause of death being misreported (usually as pneumonia). Given the fear mongering, racism, and general internet hysteria, it's really difficult to get an accurate picture of whether the numbers we are receiving are correct.
It's also worth noting that people can be completely asymptomatic for 3-14 days and still contagious. So we are going to have to wait and see what impact this has on the US and other countries.
In the meantime best practice is to do the same thing you normally do during flu season, wash your hands, eat your veggies, cough into your elbow and not touch your face with your hands. The CDC has always recommended keeping a few days worth of food, water, pet care items, and general first aid supplies. It can't hurt to use this to be pro-active in making sure that all your supplies are still fresh, or stock up on a few of the things you may need, but have been procrastinating getting.
Post by redredwine on Jan 31, 2020 15:48:19 GMT -5
I was just in China last month, Asia travel is common in my industry and among many of my peers , in fact I was in one of the top cities for some time (early December) as well as HK/Tokyo for a few weeks combined. I'm not terribly concerned, though it's raising some hairs. I actually wish more people would wear masks when they are sick in general, like they do all over Asia (before this outbreak) Also, most asian airports I've been to have thermal scanners and sometimes disinfectant mats that people have to walk in/through, etc. Not saying it's totally effective, just saying that I feel like there is always some kind of outbreak to address with such a global society these days.
My company has a large contingency all over China. My Chinese peers not only had a delayed start to CNY, but also will be working from home for an additional week, so they won't be back in office until mid-Feb. It will have some slight bumps with our business, as some deadlines will have to be missed by nature of working in manufacturing, so we'll see how it all plays out.
jinkies, my employer also asked to be informed of any travel to/from China (we have several offices in China). Ultimately, they announced that anyone returning from one of our Chinese offices would need to be quarantined (from the office) for 2 weeks.
I think the most interesting feature of this virus is that the pneumonia and Acute Respiratory Distress syndrome don't begin until about a week into infection. A week ago there were only a couple hundred people with the disease. It has now exponentially grown. We did not even hit 2000 confirmed patients until the 26th (people don't immediately contract this disease and then die). Which means that in the next couple days, we will actually begin to see what the mortality rates of the disease are, assuming the numbers are all accurate. There are more than a few reports of test kits running out, or people being turned away, or cause of death being misreported (usually as pneumonia). Given the fear mongering, racism, and general internet hysteria, it's really difficult to get an accurate picture of whether the numbers we are receiving are correct.
It's also worth noting that people can be completely asymptomatic for 3-14 days and still contagious. So we are going to have to wait and see what impact this has on the US and other countries.
In the meantime best practice is to do the same thing you normally do during flu season, wash your hands, eat your veggies, cough into your elbow and not touch your face with your hands. The CDC has always recommended keeping a few days worth of food, water, pet care items, and general first aid supplies. It can't hurt to use this to be pro-active in making sure that all your supplies are still fresh, or stock up on a few of the things you may need, but have been procrastinating getting.
This, all of this. I work with the county where the plane was rerouted and is currently on quarantine. While not enough to panic, there are a number of unknowns that are at play.
I'm at Dulles airport and have seen a few dozen people wearing face masks (out of thousands since I've been here waiting for my late flight). Not sure if it's related to coronavirus or not.
Post by ChillyMcFreeze on Jan 31, 2020 16:18:25 GMT -5
I was proud to hear a student on campus say to other students today, "if I see any of you making racist social media posts about coronavirus, you will hear from me. Get your damn flu shot and wash your hands." RESPECT.
Post by picksthemusic on Jan 31, 2020 16:33:48 GMT -5
The first confirmed case in the US is right here in my county at our local hospital. A lot of people are freaking out here, but we're plugging along. It's flu season anyway, so we're masking up and washing hands just as much as we normally do. We're getting regular updates from our health department, and we're doing what we need to do.
The only big difference I see is the folks in the waiting room are masking up much more voluntarily than normal due to the scare. But then again, I'm all for masking up when in a doctor's office since you never know what you'll pick up there.
He says they are hearing that the number affected are 10x-100x what the government is reporting.
But yes, I have no intention to stockpile.
Just to make sure I understand - does he think that the government is actively under-reporting by that magnitude, or that there are that many cases that haven't been officially diagnosed and counted?
Sorry for the delay. He thinks that the government is actively under-reporting. He says he is getting this from his doctor friend on the ground.
The first confirmed case in the US is right here in my county at our local hospital. A lot of people are freaking out here, but we're plugging along. It's flu season anyway, so we're masking up and washing hands just as much as we normally do. We're getting regular updates from our health department, and we're doing what we need to do.
The only big difference I see is the folks in the waiting room are masking up much more voluntarily than normal due to the scare. But then again, I'm all for masking up when in a doctor's office since you never know what you'll pick up there.
We must live right near each other! My mom works for the sister hospital and they are being told they might be called in to help that hospital.
Post by Dumbledork on Jan 31, 2020 16:44:21 GMT -5
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We had STEM Night at my kid’s school the other night. One of the stations was a local doctor and he was handing out face masks and gloves if kids worked through the station.
Cue oodles of kids wearing their face mask the entire rest of the event to other rooms and stations.
In the last few minutes, a mom came in and realized what the doctor was handing out and said “Oh my gosh, I thought everyone was just having a severe overreaction to the coronavirus!”
She’s an immigrant from the ME and she was ready to go off on someone about US considering other countries dirty.
Post by aprilsails on Jan 31, 2020 17:12:47 GMT -5
I was just discussing this with my Mom (she is a virologist) yesterday. She agrees that the likely number of cases is underreported since it takes such a long time to incubate. She also said for many people it is a relatively mild infection (low kill rate) and if you are healthy you will just have a worse than usual cough/cold, so there may be many people with the virus spreading it around who don’t even realize it.
She said this will go global and will likely be something we chase like the flu for decades/centuries to come. However, the big issue right now is that it is a novel virus, meaning that no one in the world’s population has existing immunity to the virus. It has a kill rate of 3% which is less than SARS at 10% but more than the flu at 1%. Long term, once you’ve had the virus once, you will build immunity and the death rate will likely drop off like the flu. That being said, it transitioned from an animal to human so it is capable of mutating like the flu, which means once it is out there it will likely be a problem forever. Particularly since it has such an extended asymptomatic incubation period.
She is mostly concerned about the global economy and what is going to happen. China is shutting down cities and factories which will have widespread economic impacts. She expects a major stock market crash as businesses can bring products to market.
DH and I lived in Wuhan for 2 years about 15 years ago, but as far as we know, no one we’re in contact with is still there. It’s eerie seeing the videos of the empty streets
I was just discussing this with my Mom (she is a virologist) yesterday. She agrees that the likely number of cases is underreported since it takes such a long time to incubate. She also said for many people it is a relatively mild infection (low kill rate) and if you are healthy you will just have a worse than usual cough/cold, so there may be many people with the virus spreading it around who don’t even realize it.
She said this will go global and will likely be something we chase like the flu for decades/centuries to come. However, the big issue right now is that it is a novel virus, meaning that no one in the world’s population has existing immunity to the virus. It has a kill rate of 3% which is less than SARS at 10% but more than the flu at 1%. Long term, once you’ve had the virus once, you will build immunity and the death rate will likely drop off like the flu. That being said, it transitioned from an animal to human so it is capable of mutating like the flu, which means once it is out there it will likely be a problem forever. Particularly since it has such an extended asymptomatic incubation period.
She is mostly concerned about the global economy and what is going to happen. China is shutting down cities and factories which will have widespread economic impacts. She expects a major stock market crash as businesses can bring products to market.
This is what I'm worried about too..I'm slowly starting to see the trickle effects in my industry as it impacts my work directly.
Post by omgzombies on Jan 31, 2020 17:36:59 GMT -5
It's also worth noting that those who are reported as serious or critical are much higher than for the flu. When I last saw numbers, the number confirmed was 7000, and that 900 or so were reported as being in serious and 300 reported as in critical condition. So 1 out 6 confirmed requiring hospitalization. Now obviously if you are not super sick you will just stay home, so this is not a number that gives a complete picture, but it is important to pay attention to.
It's also worth noting that those who are reported as serious or critical are much higher than for the flu. When I last saw numbers, the number confirmed was 7000, and that 900 or so were reported as being in serious and 300 reported as in critical condition. So 1 out 6 confirmed requiring hospitalization. Now obviously if you are not super sick you will just stay home, so this is not a number that gives a complete picture, but it is important to pay attention to.
My Mom was saying this is the case since no one has immunity. She also said this virus is particularly hard on the lungs, so lifelong smokers and those who live in polluted areas will be impacted badly. This isn’t good for China, but she expects that once it makes the jump to North America our numbers will not be as bad.
Obviously this is not good for anyone, but she seems to think as far as the new latest virus on the scene, this is not a best but certainly not a worst case scenario.
ETA: My Mom is a pragmatist who also worked on developing an Ebola vaccine in the 90s and has also done frontline work in Africa on the AIDS epidemic. So her frame of reference for a bad virus is a bit askew. She did say this doesn’t concern her nearly as much as SARS did at the time.
CNN reporting that the Trump Admin is implementing a ban on foreign nationals who have been in China in the past 14 days, and mandatory 14-day quarantine for US citizens who have been in Hubei Province in the past 14 days.
I won't lie, I'm kinda nervous but that's only because I have a two month old and a three year old at home. Otherwise I wouldn't give it much more thought than the flu as far as precautions go.
My great grandmother died during the 1918 flu outbreak after she had just had a baby, so that also floats around in the back of my mind.
I have a friend with a doctor friend in Wuhan. My friend is trying to subtly convince everyone to stockpile things. Hearing reports from friends in Asia about schools closing until March and countries that are restricting access to anyone that has been to mainland China recently. They don't think that the death toll will be high but are worried about the economic impact to the region and to the world.
To be fair, many schools in Asia normally close until March 1. I live in Seoul, my kids go to a school for foreigners so they follow a western school schedule. All of the Korean public schools, as well as university follow a schedule where the school year starts on March 1. They get a 6 week winter break and then a 4 week summer break.
my husband’s company has already brought all of their expats in China home to the U.S. He will e in the US next week on a preplanned trip. He is on immuno suppressant drugs for a disease that affects his lungs so I am glad he will be gone but not thrilled about being on an airplane.
at my kids school, anyone who either traveled to China or hosted someone from China for Lunar New Year is required to stay home until Feb 10, when the incubation period ends. My son’s teacher’s husband was in China for 2 days for business prior to the holiday so she is out until this Monday.
I’m starting to see signs on stores and restos that say “no Chinese”
This week, for the first time ever, the receptionist at the dentist took my temp before I could check in for my appointment.
I’ve noticed very reduced crowds on public transport and the streets are jammed because people are choosing to drive themselves rather than take busses or subways.
Our AQI is been extremely low for this time of year. Normally, we have several days in Jan and Feb where the kids can’t go out for recess due to high pollution. All this week, our air quality was almost at US levels. The Korean government always blames China for the pollution blowing our way but we’ve always been kind of suspect of that. Turns out, when China shuts everything down, air quality does get so much better. I know that not the point of this post, but one of the interesting side effects of this virus is that it allowed Korea to prove their point. Kind of an accidental air quality experiment, thanks to the virus.
ETA: I forgot to add that my kids school has shut down access to only staff, students and parents. There is a school play next weekend and grandparents, friends, etc. will not be allowed to attend. The school was also to host a swim meet with 600 kids from all over Asia and they backed out of that, as well. My daughter was supposed to go to Malaysia this week on a school extension trip and that has been cancelled.
I won't lie, I'm kinda nervous but that's only because I have a two month old and a three year old at home. Otherwise I wouldn't give it much more thought than the flu as far as precautions go.
My great grandmother died during the 1918 flu outbreak after she had just had a baby, so that also floats around in the back of my mind.
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Children have been largely unaffected by this virus. There has not been a death in that age group yet. It’s really interesting. I listened to NPR discuss it yesterday but this is a quick google search article.