Corona Virus

[The Feral Slasher]

This is recent guidance from Seattle area. County health dept. Lots of event cancellations starting.

https://kingcounty.gov/depts/health/communicable-diseases/disease-control/novel-coronavirus/protection.aspx

Guidance for people at higher risk for severe COVID-19 Illness

Public Health recommends that people at higher risk of severe illness should stay home and away from large groups of people as much as possible, including public places with lots of people and large gatherings where there will be close contact with others. This includes concert venues, conventions, sporting events, and crowded social gatherings.

People at higher risk include people:

Over 60 years of age
With underlying health conditions including include heart disease, lung disease, or diabetes
With weakened immune systems
Who are pregnant

Caregivers of children with underlying health conditions should consult with healthcare providers about whether their children should stay home. Anyone who has questions about whether their condition puts them at risk for novel coronavirus should consult with their healthcare providers.

Guidance for workplaces and businesses

Employers should take steps to make it more feasible for their employees to work in ways that minimize close contact with large numbers of people.

Employers should:

Maximize telecommuting options for as many employees as possible.
Urge employees to stay home when they are sick and maximize flexibility in sick leave benefits.
Consider staggering start and end times to reduce large numbers of people coming together at the same time.

[TranaGreg]

is ComicCon still going on? 100,000 people heading to Seattle?

[The Feral Slasher]

is ComicCon still going on? 100,000 people heading to Seattle?

last I heard it was still on. If it is, will be curious to see how many show up

[GwynnInTheHall]

is ComicCon still going on? 100,000 people heading to Seattle?

Yes with Previsions:

https://www.emeraldcitycomiccon.com/RNA/RNA_EmeraldCityComiccon/2020/docs/ECCC-2020-Fan-Refund.pdf?utm_source=cmv3-attendee-all&utm_campaign=COVID19-03-12-2020&utm_medium=social&utm_term=C&fbclid=IwAR1-eEEkVvovyc9KkKL6tys2HXasLD9dUkqLoTXWsgMwaVqArBGAagJQZlE

[The Feral Slasher]

Apparently 70 cases in Seattle Area now, with hundreds more likely undiagnosed. Will probably be in the thousands within about a month, which is pretty scary.

[Ken]

Apparently 70 cases in Seattle Area now, with hundreds more likely undiagnosed. Will probably be in the thousands within about a month, which is pretty scary.

I called my family in Seattle last night to discuss. My cousin who is a teacher there said they were going through some extra training on cleaning procedures at her school but otherwise it was pretty status quo, school was continuing on.

[The Feral Slasher]

I called my family in Seattle last night to discuss. My cousin who is a teacher there said they were going through some extra training on cleaning procedures at her school but otherwise it was pretty status quo, school was continuing on.

Yeah, most schools are open. One entire district is closed with a few others. They finally have the capability to test up to 1000 people a day or close to it. So I expect the count is going to rise rapidly. It does appear people are starting to make some changes (Amazon, Boeing, others recommending or imposing work from home). Very dynamic situation. Noticeably less traffic.

[heyelander]

First California death is from my town.

[The Feral Slasher]

They are even telling the Girl Scouts to quit selling cookies

[madducks]

The NBA told players to avoid high-fiving fans and avoid taking any item for autographs. Fist bumps are ok though.

[rhd]

First cases in Maryland now (all in my county!), all reportedly in home quarantine now. All 3 were returnees from a cruise ship. For the 1st time, I'm starting to consider modifying my public activities.

BTW, I just watched a YT animated documentary about the 1918 "Spanish" flu. Link to the 1st part, which should lead you to the rest:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQ9WX4qVxEo

There seem to be some striking similarities to the current situation, which is scary. It's long, in 6 parts, about 1 hour in total, but it's very well done and informative. I can only hope that the world, and particularly the US, doesn't repeat its many mistakes from that pandemic, which killed 50-100 million people.

[The Feral Slasher]

First cases in Maryland now (all in my county!), all reportedly in home quarantine now. All 3 were returnees from a cruise ship. For the 1st time, I'm starting to consider modifying my public activities.

BTW, I just watched a YT animated documentary about the 1918 "Spanish" flu. Link to the 1st part, which should lead you to the rest:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQ9WX4qVxEo

There seem to be some striking similarities to the current situation, which is scary. It's long, in 6 parts, about 1 hour in total, but it's very well done and informative. I can only hope that the world, and particularly the US, doesn't repeat its many mistakes from that pandemic, which killed 50-100 million people.

thanks for posting. I'll take a look when I have a chance. Everything I have read indicates our country is not at all prepared for this. Now is the time to do everything possible to prevent the spread and buy time until we have a vaccine, or until, if we are lucky, warmer weather helps us out.

[The Feral Slasher]

https://slate.com/technology/2020/03/coronavirus-covid19-pandemic-cause-prediction-prevention.html

Do you think there’s gonna be chaos in the next few weeks?

It depends. There’s going to be chaos at certain levels. As all of us eventually get to know someone who’s been infected, no matter how logical you are, you’ll start to get some fear and then think, how did I make contact? Am I at risk? What am I doing wrong? I think in some cases there are going to be significant outbreaks that are just seeded and moving forward. And when we find out about them, they’re going to be pretty hard to control.

There was this piece in the New York Times this weekend in which the writer advocated for more aggressive action. He was saying that in 1918, when we had a flu pandemic, the places that really shut things down—closed the schools, closed the ballgames, closed ports, had people wear masks and keep their distance from each other—were the ones that had less of an impact. Do you think we’ll need to get that aggressive in United States?

I think we’re going to see things happen that we didn’t expect would happen. I think we’re going to see a personal invasion of our daily lives that we’ve not seen for a long time. And some people disagree, and that will lead to conflicts. How far will public health services go to actually force people to change our behavior? Don’t forget, we’ve got to get ready for the long term here. School closures might work to delay things for a few days or weeks, but at some point, this thing is probably going to be around in our human population for a couple years, maybe indefinitely. At some point, we have to get back to a more-or-less normal society with schools and businesses and global trade and travel. I really hope this is a wake-up call, and that we start to get more proactive on this. But let’s talk in two years and see if that really happens.

[rhd]

thanks for posting. I'll take a look when I have a chance. Everything I have read indicates our country is not at all prepared for this. Now is the time to do everything possible to prevent the spread and buy time until we have a vaccine, or until, if we are lucky, warmer weather helps us out.

Among the many noteworthy items mentioned in the documentary, the governor of American Samoa, upon learning some details of the outbreak, closed off his country to all outside contact. Amer. Samoa was about the only place in the world, besides Antarctica, to suffer no deaths from the disease. He warned the governor of the companion territory of Western Samoa to do the same but he didn't listen and they suffered one of the highest mortality rates of any country.

[The Feral Slasher]

[QUOTE=Ken;363157]True. But that's true across numerous other surprise medical expenses that can pop up. But you are right that this is more in the news so maybe it moves the needle more for some. I guess what I'm saying is that those of us who are already inundated with medical bills, who would care the most about the healthcare topic in this election, may be nonplussed by this story. Medical care is very expensive.



I'm not sure I can agree. If someone gets the coronavirus they are scared enough that they are going to a hospital. If anything people are more cautious right now than they have been in the past. When you are faced with a life threatening choice, finances are often thrown out. You'll figure out how to pay for it later.[/QUOTE]

so just to bump this, I know people, and multiple friends of friends who are sick and worried and are told not to go to the hospital and to hang tight at home unless they are in immediate fear for their life. It sounds like the government is trying to assure people they won't have to pay for testing, but the healthcare system is either not prepared or does not want people who aren't at actual risk of dying to come in and potentially spread the disease.