COVID-19 Mega thread

[Penn_Quaker_Girl]

Per globalnews:

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday that he expects the coronavirus will “go away” in April when the “heat comes in,” saying the heat tends to kill viruses like this.

Viruses can be killed by heat.   But off the top of my head, this temperature (165*-215*F) is well above that of even the highest air temp ever recorded on Earth.

[Penn_Quaker_Girl]

https://mobile.twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1232058127740174339

> Stock market starting to look very good to me. 

Anybody want to tell him?

[Penn_Quaker_Girl]

https://mobile.twitter.com/FOXNashville/status/1232654100204064768?ref_src=twsrc...

President Donald Trump said early Wednesday he'll hold a 6 p.m. Eastern news conference about the coronavirus. Saying the U.S. is in "great shape," he accused media outlets including CNN and MSNBC of trying to make the outbreak look as bad as possible, "including panicking markets."

[Penn_Quaker_Girl]

https://twitter.com/jaketapper/status/1232654057824759808


Your favorite President will cure Coronavirus (and Cancer) 🙏🙏🙏

Good news everybody: President Trump is grinding away in his science lab to cure coronavirus and cancer!

[Penn_Quaker_Girl]

So just adding in my two cents (for which nobody asked) from someone who is studying tropical medicine and epidemiology -- I am, of course, not on the ground in these infected areas or an expert by any means.  I'm using what I've learned/studied.  Take this with a grain of salt and always defer to trained experts and medical professionals on the topic.

To Meclazine's credit:  yes, there has absolutely been a lot of unnecessary fear-mongering amongst the general public via the media.  No, we are likely not looking at the Spanish Flu II.  We have learned quite a bit across the past hundred years on how to deal with potential pandemics and the rise/optimization of communicative technology has greatly helped -- not to mention the vast array of medical advances.  And history has shown that viruses with are highly transmissible TEND to be less dangerous for the average healthy adult.  

Having said that, though, I have seen some claims being made that are either rooted in truth but not completely accurate or just outright misleading.  

One of the most notable misdirections is that this is simply the flu being dressed up in scary clothing to cause people to panic/tank the global economy/make Trump look bad etc. etc.  COVID-19 and the flu do share a marked number of similarities.  A major difference, though, is that COVID has demonstrated a notably longer incubation period than the flu.  In general, people only seek assistance once symptomatic, meaning that the virus has longer to spread before being addressed. During this incubation period, afflicted individuals will invariably come into contact with the very young, very old, or those with suppressed immune systems.  Also, medical professionals have had little success treating COVID with traditional flu treatments.  

In addition (and this goes for viruses in general), the early symptoms of COVID-19 outwardly resemble pneumonia and the flu.  This isn't unusual; viruses frequently evolve to cloak their identities until they can reach a point where they are viable enough to spread.  But this also ties into the potential confusion and misdiagnosis that may lead to underreporting cases (though this will probably become less of a factor as time progresses).  

Also, I've seen people touting that "a vaccine will come along in a few weeks and everybody will forget about this by the summer."  Development of vaccines is a long and costly process.  We've only just scratched the surface in this regard.  A viable, tested, and publicly available vaccine may not be available for another 12-18 months.  

I won't even begin to predict the full-scale of COVID-19's spread or if it will, indeed, reach truly pandemic expectations.  But my baseline advice is to CHECK YOUR SOURCES.  Be sure that what you're reading is reputable and backed by either actual data or expert analysis.   Also, bear in mind that data may be skewed or cooked.  

Above all else, stay calm.  As I said, if you're a healthy individual near the center of the inverted curve, your chances of sustaining long-term damage or death from COVID-19 are low (at least as we understand it now).  The Spanish Flu was a fairly unique example of a mortality curve that was high in the very young, low in children/young teens, high in adults 20-40, low in adults 41-60 and then high in adults 60+.  This is because those in the 41-60 age range had experienced a widespread illness that buffered their immune systems.  COVID-19 seems to be following a more standard curve.  

Use common sense as you would for any other bacteria, virus, etc.  

-  Wash your hands, cough into your arm if need be, stay home from work/school if you're sick (though I understand this is easier said than done), etc. etc.  

-  If COVID-19 becomes more prevalent in your country, be vigilant and pay attention to public addresses/announcements.  Believe it or not, a vast majority of these individuals aren't trying to push a political agenda or scaremonger.  They're just doing their jobs to keep the public safe. Outbreaks are one of the best examples of a "better safe than sorry" model. 

[Penn_Quaker_Girl]

WHO holding a press conference at 8:45am -- still waiting for it to start. 

https://twitter.com/bnodesk/status/1233024557839265792?s=21

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTqG3AlBuFE&feature=youtu.be

[Penn_Quaker_Girl]

The hospital at which I used to work back in Texas has been running drills in anticipation of mass admits and also to dust off those safety protocols surrounding biohazards/outbreaks. 

[Penn_Quaker_Girl]

So liberals are just going to lie down like sheep, and play straight into Trump's hands and the media's narrative that the current market downturn is based on some minor virus caused by people not washing their hands?

And not GOP economic policies?

*sigh*

Today's leftists are quite pathetic.  

Oy.  Where do I start?

[Penn_Quaker_Girl]

https://www.wsj.com/articles/fda-to-allow-labs-to-begin-use-of-high-complexity-tests-for-coronavirus-11582992472?mod=breakingnews
FDA to Allow Labs to Begin Use of High-Complexity Tests for Coronavirus
Policy means certain labs can begin immediate tests for coronavirus

The Food and Drug Administration will allow hundreds of U.S. academic hospital labs to immediately begin testing for the novel coronavirus.

The move by the federal agency means that the nation will become able virtually overnight to test thousands of patients rather than the few hundred tested so far.

“We believe this policy strikes the right balance during this public-health emergency,” FDA Commissioner Stephen M. Hahn said in a statement. “We will continue to help to ensure sound science prior to clinical testing and follow-up with the critical independent review from the FDA, while quickly expanding testing capabilities in the U.S. We are not changing our standards for issuing Emergency Use Authorizations. “

The FDA said the new policy is for certain laboratories that develop and begin to use validated Covid-19 diagnostics before the FDA has completed review of its Emergency Use Authorization requests.

The FDA estimated that between 300 and 400 academic medical centers and a few large community hospitals can immediately begin testing.

The nation has until now been limited to a relatively few diagnostic tests done so far by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Those initially had some accuracy problems, though the CDC has said those have been remedied.

A step in the right direction

[Penn_Quaker_Girl]

President Trump will hold an impromptu presser at 1:30pm EST today RE: COVID-19.

https://mobile.twitter.com/bnodesk/status/1233799949705469952?s=21

[Penn_Quaker_Girl]

President Trump will hold an impromptu presser at 1:30pm EST today RE: COVID-19.

https://mobile.twitter.com/bnodesk/status/1233799949705469952?s=21

Ok, so this can go only one of two ways.
What’s your guess? Course correction or doubling down?

"Fear not, humble citizens! All is well in the shire!"

[Penn_Quaker_Girl]

First confirmed death in the US:

https://mobile.twitter.com/business/status/1233812726230769665?s=21

There were, by my count, two known (KNOWN) cases in Washington state: a high-school student and a woman who had just returned from the Republic of Korea, though it's certainly possible that this is a new case.  

[Penn_Quaker_Girl]

Question: "You said the other day that we've got to get away from politics. You called it a hoax. Someone is now dead from this. Do you regret it?"

Trump: "No no no what Democrats are doing is the hoax, not the disease. It's a continuation of impeachment and Russia Russia Russia"

[Penn_Quaker_Girl]

https://twitter.com/jaketapper/status/1233832930025385987

I believe that WA-State officials are giving a presser at 1pm PST.  

[Penn_Quaker_Girl]

Just with regards to the mix-up on the recent fatality:

It appears that Inslee initially had "he" in his statement about the victim and then changed it to "their", indicating that the mistake was on his end.  

In any case, it'll be important to hear more about this first death and any pre-existing conditions he or she may have had.  

[Penn_Quaker_Girl]

https://mobile.twitter.com/skarlamangla/status/1233851567444414464

This is a frightening scenario if this confirms, though I should responsibly add that "symptoms" doesn't automatically convert to cases of the virus.  

[Penn_Quaker_Girl]

WA state officials just confirmed that the victim was a male in his fifties who suffered from pre-existing conditions. He was apparently associated with but not a patient of the aforementioned long-term care center.  

[Penn_Quaker_Girl]

Jeff Duchin, health officer for Seattle and King Counties, later said in a CDC press briefing that the patient was a man who had "significant, chronic, underlying health conditions."

Not surprising.  It appears that COVID-19 is following a pretty standard mortality curve that includes individuals who are immuno-suppressed, suffering from existing respiratory issues, etc.  

[Penn_Quaker_Girl]

First presumptive positive case in Rhode Island:

https://twitter.com/wpri12/status/1234115489154174978

[Penn_Quaker_Girl]

Sorry for the tweet-storm. 

https://mobile.twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1234109126864707585?ref_src=tw...

[Penn_Quaker_Girl]

Sorry for the tweet-storm. 

https://mobile.twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1234109126864707585?ref_src=tw...

God bless your Favorite President for working so hard for U-S-A! 🙏🙏🙏


It explains why # confirmed cases is relatively low compared to similar countries.

You can't have confirmed cases if you're not testing for it in a coordinated fashion. 

[Penn_Quaker_Girl]

Sorry for the tweet-storm. 

https://mobile.twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1234109126864707585?ref_src=tw...

God bless your Favorite President for working so hard for U-S-A! 🙏🙏🙏


It explains why # confirmed cases is relatively low compared to similar countries.

You can't have confirmed cases if you're not testing for it in a coordinated fashion. 

You missed "compared to similar countries" part. Or does only USA has that problem? According to Dem hoax, it is true, but I haven't seen any evidence that USA would be doing worse than the others 

You're losing me, RB. 

[Penn_Quaker_Girl]

I keep hearing about the panicking.  I've still not seen anyone wearing a mask, the stores are still full of paper towels and batteries.  I know people have stupidly bought up all the face masks so they must be somewhere, but I ain't seen 'em.  There certainly are people online being idiots with the fearmongering, but I have not seen any of it in person.

Is Omaha, as usual, just better than every place else?  Or are people not really panicking?

Only bit of prep I've seen here in University City is a few hospitals just going over their outbreak/biohazard protocols. 

[Penn_Quaker_Girl]

- It has pretty much been confirmed that the virus, besides attacking the respiratory system and the digestive system, also attacks the central nervous system (CNS). This could explain some of the sudden collapses we see-- it's not a heart attack, as you don't see people clutching their chest, they just fall down. It points to sudden loss of motor control. Critically, this is also a cause of mortality, as some people have strong lungs but their nervous system cannot move those lungs.

https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.02.22.20026500v1.full.pdf

- Study on the possible effectiveness of "Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs)" for severe cases. I am not sure what that is, if someone who is specialized in biology wants to comment please do. You will have to put this into Google Translate.

http://www.chinaxiv.org/abs/202002.00080

- Huge surge of cases in Iran. It has also affected an unusual number of high ranking government officials there, suggesting that the case count is underreported. There are also rather frightening videos emerging from Qom that are similar to what we have seen in Wuhan.

Death rate.

Officially 3,117 died and 47,945 recovered. The case fatality rate dropped to 6.1%. Overall we are in a stage where more than half of the official cases have now recovered, which means that the first "wave" is slowing, however, it is likely that there will be more "waves" coming. How bad these are remains to be determined.  

The number of confirmed cases by Region:
Total overall: 90,428
Hubei Province: 67,217 (+114)
Outside Hubei, China:  12,927 (+4)
South Korea: 4,335 (+123)
Italy: 2,036 (+342)
Iran: 1,501 (+523)
Japan: 274 (+18)

****.
Will having epilepsy (even if well controlled) significantly increase my chances of dying?
 (For context I am an otherwise healthy 18 year old male)

DISCLAIMER: Med student, not a doctor.  Always consult your PCP or a trusted healthcare professional.  

As far as I know, there has been little data concerning epileptics who contract COVID-19.  And pre-existing conditions often play a factor in how dangerous a particular affliction may be.  But in my view, though, you have little to worry about if you are young and healthy.  Be vigilant, manage your medication (stay on top of your prescriptions, any instructions given to you by your doctor, etc.), and follow common sense prevention measures. 

[Penn_Quaker_Girl]

Not sure if this belongs in the dOW thread or here, but:

https://mobile.twitter.com/CNBC/status/1234856355527352325

DOW jumped about 500 pts. between 9:56 and 10:00 EST following the announcement.