There is an abundance of caution out there and it's just hit home when we received this e-mail from our Atlanta-area school system:

"Our school system has been alerted by public health officials of a confirmed employee coronavirus case within our district. The employee is currently being treated at a local hospital. We are working with public health officials to determine the impact to our local schools and community. Based on this concern, all schools and offices will be closed on Tuesday, March 10, with additional closures communicated as determined. This closure will allow us to clean and sanitize affected schools as well as share additional details of our ongoing plan. Updates regarding this concern will be shared..."

quote:

Originally posted by ridewv:
Real Impact of the Disease is on Health Care Systems: A normal flu season kills about 30,000 Americans each year. The impact of COVID 19 is not that the death numbers may eventually be higher, lower, or the same. The impact is that 20 percent of people are hospitalized, and of those hospitalized, 1 in 5 require ICU care / respirators to stay alive. Thus, the medical treatment systems get overwhelmed trying to keep people alive. There are not enough respirators. Thus, that was the craziness in Wuhan, and the construction of hospitals in 1 week etc.

This bears repeating. Society will not collapse, there will be no bodies in the street, there will still be water and electricity, and there is no need to break into the national strategic toilet paper reserve. But read this Twitter thread about conditions in Italian hospitals because the spread wasn't stomped on early and hard:

https://twitter.com/silviast9/.../1236933818654896129

Got the first two dead in Germany, an 89-year-old woman in Essen hospitalized last Tuesday with diarrhoea and blood sugar problems who died of pneumonia today, and a 78-year-old man with multiple pre-existing conditions in the county where the NRW outbreak originated who went to hospital with symptoms on Friday and died of heart failure. A 60-year-old German tourist also died in Egypt yesterday after having been hospitalized with a fever on Friday, the first COVID death in Africa. I guess we were somewhat overdue already with 1,176 cases reported as of this afternoon.

Just read where Lufthansa is getting ready to ground some of their a380s with a possibility of grounding them all and Air France is talking about it. Lufthansa is only running at 38% capacity on their a380 flights. Smh.

quote:

Originally posted by ridewv:
While the typical flue virus can survive for up to 24 hours on an object, COVID 19 virus appears able to live for 72 hours in room temperature on surfaces where it lands. So use common sense avoid touching your eyes and mouth with your hands and wash your hands often, especially after touching high touch objects in public places like door knobs, shopping cart handles, etc.

It can live up to 9 days on inanimate surfaces under the right conditions.

https://www.journalofhospitali...(20)30046-3/fulltext

quote:

Originally posted by BansheeOne:
But read this Twitter thread about conditions in Italian hospitals because the spread wasn't stomped on early and hard:

https://twitter.com/silviast9/.../1236933818654896129

Yes, for anyone who is truly interested in what can happen, it is worth the read.
The thing that had thus far been given only slight attention, though, is that “stomping” on epidemics isn’t as easy in the West as it was in China. Even when I read about Italy’s response I can only wonder how the measures they took would be received in the U.S.

What's the over under on when the hysteria will die down?
Seems to me that it's too far out of the bag with a possible 2 week incubation, to stop it at this point.
Life needs to go on at some point and let the chips fall where they may.

Just got back from a conference is San Francisco. Downtown was a ghost town last week. The organizers of the conference were on the fence for canceling, but went with it anyways. The overseas folks were on flights before their institution's travel bans. Nobody was deeply concerned, many discounted the severity of the virus, calling it overblown.

The hotel folks said that we were the last conference of the month; everyone else cancelled, including many in April. I understand the other large hotels are facing similar cancellations. I was out in North Beach and it was almost deserted, very few pedestrians and cars on Friday and Saturday nights. Popular restaurants like the Stinking Rose and House of Nanking were almost empty.

Everybody needs to get a grip.

quote:

Just got back from a conference is San Francisco.

Did you see the Grand Princess come in?

^^^^ One of my favorite books as a kid!!

Damn you guys are quick, my post was meant to mean I really liked the book Andromeda Strain

quote:

Originally posted by sigfreund:
The thing that had thus far been given only slight attention, though, is that “stomping” on epidemics isn’t as easy in the West as it was in China. Even when I read about Italy’s response I can only wonder how the measures they took would be received in the U.S.

Italy just went full Rainbow Six.

quote:

Coronavirus: Italy extends strict quarantine measures nationwide

7 minutes ago

Italy is extending its strict coronavirus quarantine measures, which include a ban on public gatherings, to the entire country.

Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said that people would only be permitted to travel for work or family emergencies.

He said the measures, which come into effect on Tuesday, were to defend the most fragile members of society.

Italy's coronavirus death toll jumped on Monday by 97 to 463. It is the worst-hit country after China

In a televised address on Monday, Mr Conte said that the best thing for the citizens of Italy was to stay at home.

He added that all sporting events - including football matches - were being suspended nationwide.

The restrictions are similar to those earlier applied to the worst affected Lombardy region, and 14 other provinces.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-51810673

These are the same people who imprisoned geologists for not being able to predict earthquakes. We're not talking about critical thinkers.

quote:

Originally posted by 220-9er:
What's the over under on when the hysteria will die down?
Seems to me that it's too far out of the bag with a possible 2 week incubation, to stop it at this point.
Life needs to go on at some point and let the chips fall where they may.

My totally un-educated and un-informed guess would be sometime in May when it warms up everywhere in the Northern hemisphere that it will die off just like the FLU normally does every year.

quote:

Originally posted by parabellum:
These are the same people who imprisoned geologists for not being able to predict earthquakes. We're not talking about critical thinkers.

Better than successfully predicting earthquakes and being burned at stake as witches!

quote:

Originally posted by wreckdiver:
^^^^ One of my favorite books as a kid!!

Damn you guys are quick, my post was meant to mean I really liked the book Andromeda Strain

Mine too. Read most of his books. Sphere was my favorite.

I swear, in my adult life, I've never seen anything as shameful and idiotic as the reactions I'm seeing to this particular coronavirus.

I just want to shake the whole earth and smack it across the face like that hysterical woman in the movie Airplane!

If you haven't been by Drudge in the last couple days, don't go. A totally manic, visual representation of hair being on fire.

quote:

Originally posted by jimmy123x:

quote:

Originally posted by 220-9er:
What's the over under on when the hysteria will die down?
Seems to me that it's too far out of the bag with a possible 2 week incubation, to stop it at this point.
Life needs to go on at some point and let the chips fall where they may.

My totally un-educated and un-informed guess would be sometime in May when it warms up everywhere in the Northern hemisphere that it will die off just like the FLU normally does every year.

It was in the mid 90's in Singapore when it sprung up there. Might be wishful thinking.

Jim

In Italy...

463 deaths from about 9000 confirmed cases.

Pretty high death rate.

They just closed the whole freakin country.