Coronavirus

[UltimateX]

Well, long time lurker here.

In Switzerland public awareness is slowly rising. Today the local newspaper published the following article.
It reads like a first sensibilsation of the public that there may be a shortage of ICU beds. I don't like the sound of it.
Corona-Virus: Schweizer Intensivstationen wappnen sich für das schlimmste Szenario | Luzerner Zeitung

 

[renim]

What does antibiotic-resistance have to do with a virus?

It seems from China data that Coronavius does not work alone, and antibiotics are really important
at one clinic in Wuhan, antibiotics was the single most important treatment, and sepsis the leading cause of death.
https://www.thelancet.com/action/showPdf?pii=S0140-6736(20)30566-3

 

[Sean Wagner]

Well, long time lurker here.

Hellos from Basel. Seeing what's happening in Italy, and knowing up to 10% of cases require intensive care and respirators, it seems utterly foolhardy to me not to plan for separate wards and a much higher caseload than usual. Also, the total absence of disinfectant for purchase is a critical lacuna.

Taiwan managed their response very much better up to now. Worth reading the wiki, it's quite impressive and what I would have expected here. Prudent competence paired with some foresight.

 

[Right_Said_Fred]

Italians are one of the biggest users of antibiotics. They take antibiotics for virtually every infection, no matter how small. So it is likely that a lot of people have built up some kind of resistance. That could explain the much higher Italian mortality rate (due to pneumonia, caused by the virus).

P.S. My wife is Italian, so I have some first hand insight in Italian antibiotics use.

 

[ProfTournesol]

china sends 9 medical specialist, 31 tons of equipment and plasma from recovered patients to Rome, Italy.

 

[Tslynk67]

Belgium will limit corona virus tests to hospitalized patients due to lack of testing capacity.
So our numbers will go up less dramatically.
85 new cases today adding to the 314 of yesterday. 34 new cases in a single nursing home, with a lot of residents in the nursing home showing symptoms.

He he, that nursing home is very close to where I live.

Now what amazes me is why these residents get the virus, I would have expected them to be more isolated from the virus compared to the general population. This leads me to believe that the virus is ubiquitous and the wider, younger population just don't develop symptoms, or if they do, very mild, I could be totally wrong, but I can't otherwise explain it.

The European Schools are now officially closed 16th - 29th March, rather later than I would have preferred, but it's something.

 

[aubreymcfato]

Statements like "antibiotic-resistance is one of the possible culprits" reassures me that most panicky posters don't really know what they are talking about.

You are right that that sentence was not put into context, it was my mistake.
But Google translate this article from Ilaria Capua, famous Italian virologist working in Florida now:
Coronavirus, aver preso troppi antibiotici potrebbe spiegare perché in Italia si muore di più

 

[Causalien]

If if you want to go even deeper into the conspiracy theory territory, you could posit that they specifically own healthcare stocks, and that by letting the disease get bad, they're promoting them - healthcare providers/suppliers via the short-term boosting of healthcare demands, and health insurers via killing off the elderly and chronically ill through pneumonia (a relatively quick, low-burden means) rather than a slow, expensive wasting death such as cancer.

Back out of conspiracy-land, however, I vote for incompetent face-saving as the reason. Same as for banning flight from Europe to "stop" the "foreign virus".

Sadly, my gilead stocks does not agree with this conspiracy.

 

[Causalien]

Hellos from Basel. Seeing what's happening in Italy, and knowing up to 10% of cases require intensive care and respirators, it seems utterly foolhardy to me not to plan for separate wards and a much higher caseload than usual. Also, the total absence of disinfectant for purchase is a critical lacuna.

Taiwan managed their response very much better up to now. Worth reading the wiki, it's quite impressive and what I would have expected here. Prudent competence paired with some foresight.

If this thread pushes any doctor to prep in advance, then our efforts are not in vain.

Yes read up on Taiwan and Singapore. They also invented an intubation guard. An acrylic box with two holes for hands and a display to look into the patient's throat so you don't have to bend down. This shields the medic from the most infectious moment of contact with a covid 19 patient.

 

[Highway2Heel]

From US data through this week (that also aggregated a large quantity of Chinese data), there continues to be very few concurrent or subsequent bacterial infections associated with COVID-19. As I shared a few days ago, this is unlike Influenza where secondary bacterial infections are common and a large source of additional morbidity and mortality.

 

[TheTalkingMule]

If this thread pushes any doctor to prep in advance, then our efforts are not in vain.

Captures perfectly this ridiculous moment in time.

 

[JRP3]

America on the edge of recession

 

[Cosmacelf]

I’ve gone full tin foil hat:

Us didn’t test because it wanted a US company, specifically Gilead Sciences, to sell the test. Greed will kill Americans.

Simultaneously, this will be the reason Social Security is finally killed after decades of effort. “It will be the only way to save the economy”.

We are being pillaged.

Got any proof for that? From what I’ve read, it was too many regulations stifling the production and distribution of test kits. The main one was a federal regulation prohibiting the use of non FCC approved test kits. That rule has recently been rescinded.

 

[EinSV]

Here's a "fun" one from San Mateo County (in between Santa Clara County and SF):

"Dr. Scott Morrow, the county's health officer, updated his March 5 statement about the coronavirus threat today with a new message in which he said he now has "evidence of widespread community transmission of COVID-19."​

But the health department hasn't provided any details (not yet, anyway):

"The county's health department did not respond by late Tuesday afternoon to The Almanac's phone calls and emails requesting more information about the statement."​

San Mateo County in 'state of emergency' due to coronavirus; 15 confirmed cases

So far there are 15 confirmed cases in the county.

Trump gets a lot of criticism but Jay Inslee and Gavin Newsom aren't doing nearly enough in Washington and California -- two hot spots. The response by mayors and county officials is also very weak (at least in California). Our politicans all suck. I miss Jerry Brown.

Watch Trump pivot from blaming China-->Europe-->California when this blows up.

 

[SDRick]

Watch Trump pivot from blaming China-->Europe-->California when this blows up.

Interesting that some posts in this thread highlight what we can learn from Taiwan. They were the first country to ban travel from China on January 27. Four days later on January 31 Trump bans travel from China and he's labeled a xenophobe.

 

[linux-works]

a few days ago I asked if its possible to make a DIY vent, since those are going to be in very short supply.

someone is, at least, trying:

https://hackaday.com/2020/03/12/ult...-design-and-deploy-an-open-source-ventilator/

we need more inventiveness in difficult times. (btw, hack-a-day is an excellent site for tech DIYs - stuff people, here, would probably enjoy doing).

 

[eisa01]

Norway is on practical lockdown.

Anyone arriving from outside the Nordics will be placed in home quarantine for 14 days
All restaurants etc. will have to close, travel should be restricted to what is strictly necessary (explained as going to work for essential personell in society)

 

[EinSV]

Interesting that some posts in this thread highlight what we can learn from Taiwan. They were the first country to ban travel from China on January 27. Four days later on January 31 Trump bans travel from China and he's labeled a xenophobe.

The responsibility for this disaster in the making is squarely on Trump's shoulders. His administration has taken no effective action on testing, preparedness, masks, social distancing or anything else that has any chance of being effective.

Action was and is needed on the federal level because they have the resources plus people travel across state lines all the time. One state taking action - while helpful - cannot solve the whole problem.

 

[linux-works]

I'm not sure if I should name-and-shame a company that is still not GETTING IT and refuses to let their workers WFH. worse yet, they structure their workplace to be tables end-to-end with people sitting far too close to each other.

what is the proper thing for this forum? keep the company name quiet or name them? the only reason I'd name them is to try to get them to change their behavior, for the better, during these critical times.

should I or not? its a name everyone will know and its car related.

 

[EVNow]

Assuming the government knew of the severity of this virus and assuming that they are all sociopath who only cares about their wealth and their buddies.

You don't have to be a conspiracy theorist to see what they are trying to do here. And it is not working.

President's re-election is tied to economy. High confirmed numbers will tank the economy. Also, high number of dead would be seen as a failure.