Coronavirus, The plague has arrived

[_priapism]

CDC announced today that wearing face masks has not been proven effective in protecting anyone from anything, and they are not recommended to prevent spread of coronavirus.  “Washing your hands frequently is a much more effective safeguard.” according to an infectious disease expert.  The persons who should be wearing face masks are sick individuals, to prevent spreading their illness to others.

[ChirpingGirl]

CDC announced today that wearing face masks has not been proven effective in protecting anyone from anything, and they are not recommended to prevent spread of coronavirus.  “Washing your hands frequently is a much more effective safeguard.” according to an infectious disease expert.  The persons who should be wearing face masks are sick individuals, to prevent spreading their illness to others.

And people think I'm being overprotective telling my kids to wash their hands constantly. 

I wash mine after handling paper money. 

[Lois]

THere goes Elvis! 

[Gunnerman19]

Haha just read an article that Coronavirus is a bioweapon. Be scared and run for the hills

[IdleBoast]

The first case was found on New Year's Eve.

In one month, corona virus has resulted in:

> 12,000 cases, numbers still climbing exponentially.
> 260 confirmed deaths, numbers still climbing exponentially.
> 20,000,000 people under military quarantine.
> 1.4 billion people with their movements restricted by law.
> Confirmed cases on four continents (UK's are Chinese tourists, but Japan has got cases in people that have never been to China).


Corona's R0 (Reproduction rate, the number of people each case will infect if nobody acts) is about 2.5, worse than Ebola and SARS. The fatality rate so far is 2%, and that's with medical treatment. For comparison, measles death rate with treatment is 0.1%, without treatment it's 1%.

So, it's currently rather bad.

However, has shared DNA information more quickly than it did with SARS, and the first stages of vaccine manufacture has happened in record time; at least one lab is already in the first testing stages of a working vaccine. If everything else goes according to plan, it will be ready to use in the field by the Summer.

[Slaggingham]

Haha just read an article that Coronavirus is a bioweapon. Be scared and run for the hills

Next time read an article by someone sane.

There are actually several different kinds of coronaviruses, this is just one type.  MERS and SARS were two other types we've already experienced.

One GOOD thing to come out of this is that QAnon is apparently claiming that drinking bleach will prevent contagion.  If you hear this from one, PLEASE don't tell any of them otherwise.  The fewer QAnon morons on Earth, the better.

[Shiela_M]

Oh.... supposed to be drinking bleach... and here I am eating tide pods like and idiot.

 

[Gunnerman19]

...Haha and what’s the fun in only reading articles by sane people?

[msslave]

Valentine's Day is near.  Please...this year take all precautions.  The plague is coming.

[Gunnerman19]

https://i.imgur.com/kmRD5jV_d.jpg?maxwidth=640&shape=thumb&fidelity=medium

Picture removed by moderator.  No images of individuals under 18 please.

[MissBarbara]

I guess the "coming plague" isn't going to come after all.

Officials in China this morning announced that new cases of the coronavirus have begin the decline, and a CNN news update I just received announced that 2,000 people worldwide have died of the virus.

Let's put that into perspective. Though I suck at math, with a worldwide population of about 7.7 billion people, that means that, thus far, 2.5974025974026E-5% of people have died of the virus. And haven't the slightest idea what that number means.

Look at it another way. Thus far, exactly one American has died of the coronavirus. And that's out of a population of about 327 million. I can't calculate that either, but it's a microscopic number. And that one American contracted the virus in Wuhan, China, ground zero of the outbreak, and she was both older and in poor health.

To roll out my favorite T.S. Eliot line, this is how the world ends: Not with a bang, but a whimper...

[_priapism]

One word.  Ebola.

[joan1984]

  I read it is not considered good behavior to attempt to switch seats on a airplane, or even public transportation, because the person next to you may be wearing a 'mask'...

  Is it OK to point a small infrared thermometer at your seat mate, just to see if you should worry at all?

[MissBarbara]

I guess the "coming plague" isn't going to come after all.

Officials in China this morning announced that new cases of the coronavirus have begin the decline, and a CNN news update I just received announced that 2,000 people worldwide have died of the virus.

Let's put that into perspective. Though I suck at math, with a worldwide population of about 7.7 billion people, that means that, thus far, 2.5974025974026E-5% of people have died of the virus. And haven't the slightest idea what that number means.

Look at it another way. Thus far, exactly one American has died of the coronavirus. And that's out of a population of about 327 million. I can't calculate that either, but it's a microscopic number. And that one American contracted the virus in Wuhan, China, ground zero of the outbreak, and she was both older and in poor health.

To roll out my favorite T.S. Eliot line, this is how the world ends: Not with a bang, but a whimper...

The thing about the threat of pandemic is that if and when it happens it will start exactly like this virus, but the numbers will just keep on going up and up. The more people who contract a virus, the more likely it is that a more aggressive strain will spread and then people other than the sick and elderly will start dying. It's easy to dismiss the incident as sensationalised in hindsight but the threat was very real.

I don't disagree that the potential threat was very real, and that it demanded attention and attending safety precautions.

But that attention should have been the focus of medical experts and epidemiologists, and not mainstream media outlets and clueless social media posters.

[Jed_]

At least the main stream media outlets consult with the experts and attempt to accurately convey the expert findings and opinions, which is one hell of a lot more the the U.S. president does.

[_priapism]

I don't disagree that the potential threat was very real, and that it demanded attention and attending safety precautions.

But that attention should have been the focus of medical experts and epidemiologists, and not mainstream media outlets and clueless social media posters.

Meanwhile, Japan permits hundreds of passengers to disembark the previously quarantined Diamond Princess, with 621 confirmed cases on board. What could possibly go wrong? People were getting into cabs, boarding trains, traveling to visit family, and announcing they wanted to “celebrate.” Do we know enough about viral transmission for this to be a good idea? But what do I know? I’m just a lawyer, not an infectious disease expert.

Health Minister Katsunobu Kato said initially on Wednesday that those disembarking with negative virus tests have fulfilled the Japanese quarantine requirement and are free to walk out and go home on public transportation. He said passengers were only asked to watch their health carefully for a few days and notify local health authorities if they have any symptoms or worries.

But after meeting with experts later in the day, he urged the former passengers to refrain from non-essential outings and try to stay home for about two weeks.

[_priapism]

[MissBarbara]

But that attention should have been the focus of medical experts and epidemiologists, and not mainstream media outlets and clueless social media posters.

Clueless social media posters, sure, but a clueless social media poster is not a credible source for any news. Couldn't disagree more about mainstream media. If the threat of pandemic is not global news then more or less nothing would qualify. If grandma spent her savings on medical masks, that's grandma's fault, not the journalist whose story she read and didn't understand.

I don't disagree with you.

But for far too many people, clueless social media posts are many people's source of "news."

I never said that the threat of a global pandemic was not news. My point was that the mainstream media coverage of the threat of a global pandemic -- well, at least in the U.S. -- was, to use your phrase, sensationalized. It wasn't informative, sober reportage, it was sky-is-falling hysteria.

And here's the thing: What if this outbreak were as dangerous as it could have been, and indeed represented a global health news. If that had occurred, it's seriousness and its genuine threat would have been utterly lost amidst the hysteria. That was the problem.

[_priapism]

I don't disagree with you.

But for far too many people, clueless social media posts are many people's source of "news."

Boomer grandmothers posting and reposting *this* this week.  That coronavirus is a deep state bio weapon developed by a US Scientist.



Debunked by Snopes...

Was Charles Lieber Arrested for Connections to Coronavirus, Wuhan Lab?

[Lois]

Yeah, I've heard those rumors.  Did not make a lot of sense.  Why mutate a coronna virus? Corona viruses are responsible for most of our common colds and our bodies already have immune strategies to fight them.

Why not work on something already really deadly?

Feline distemper has jumped the species barrier once to dogs (now known as Parvo - a virus most closely related to measles and mumps), why not engineer it so it can jump to humans? 

And if Parvo is not bad enough there is also canine distemper.  Both are highly contageous.  another to consider is rabies, if it could be engineered to be transmitted by air it would be disasterous.