Coronavirus COVID-19 - Global Health Pandemic #34

[Spartygirl]

MISSOURI

BREAKING: St. Louis Mayor announces the city’s first death due to COVID-19, a woman in her 30s who tested positive yesterday - KSDK
Breaking911 on Twitter

 

[PingTheRouter]

it is scary seeing all the people my age dying it is frightning just terrifying i hope i dont get it

 

[Spartygirl]

Ha ha, when was the last time we ever saw gas prices at $2.00 a gallon?! WTH?!

LOL-- ours is at $1.69 right now.

 

[happyday]

New blood tests for antibodies could show true scale of coronavirus pandemic | Science | AAAS

Labs and companies around the world have raced to develop antibody tests, and a few have been used in small studies and received commercial approval, including several from China. But so far, large-scale data from such tests—for example showing what fraction of people in the hard-hit city of Wuhan, China, might now be immune—is still lacking or at least not public.....

Krammer says he and his colleagues are already using their test in their New York City hospital to better understand how quickly COVID-19 patients start to develop antibodies to the virus. In the future, it could also help identify recovered patients who could then donate their SARS-CoV-2 antibody-rich serum to help treat critically ill patients. Another key application, Krammer says, would be to identify people who have developed likely immunity to the virus. They might be able to treat patients safely or take on other front-line jobs during the pandemic.

Widespread antibody testing could also provide key data for efforts to model the course of the pandemic. Current predictions vary so widely, causing some scientists to question the need for severe containment methods such as lockdowns and social distancing. By indicating how much of the population is already immune because of mild infections, antibody data could offer a key to how fast the virus will continue to spread.

Such data could inform practical issues such as whether and how to reopen schools that have been closed. Relatively few cases have been diagnosed among children, but it isn’t clear whether that’s because they don’t get infected or because their infections are generally so mild that they go unnoticed. Testing children for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies should resolve that.

My parents’ county in CO is doing a study starting this week w/a biotech company who has a blood antibody test. They are sheltering in place, everyone in county will be tested this week , then tested again in 14 days. It’s fascinating. I think everyone’s hoping they test positive both times b/c that would mean they’ve had it and possibly some immunity. I am so curious to find out once this is all in our past if they find out this thing has been circulating a lot longer than we think. I know many people (including myself) who think it’s possible they had it in the fall or winter. The research will tell us so much!

 

[afitzy]

CT - Updated information a/o 3/23/2020: 415 positive COVID19 cases, 10 deaths and 54 hospitalised.

4500 tests done via State Lab and Private Labs.

THE LATEST: COVID-19 cases rise to 415, 10 people have died

March 23

4:45 p.m.

The first Connecticut Department of Correction employee has tested positive for COVID-19. The employee was assigned to the Garner Correctional Institution in Newtown and has been self-monitoring at hoe.

The employee last entered the institution on Tuesday, March 17.

Starting Monday, DOC employees will have to pass a wellness screening check before entering a facility.

4 p.m.

Gov. Lamont said there are now 415 positive COVID-19 cases in the state, and 10 deaths, and 54 are hospitalized

• See a town-by-town breakdown as of Monday afternoon, here.

As of Monday afternoon, 4,500 tests have been conducted statewide

Lamont said schools in the state could be reopening on April 20, at the earliest, but this is not a firm date



https://portal.ct.gov/-/media/Coronavirus/CTDPHCOVID19summary3222020.pdf?la=en

 

[zecats]

Travelers flying from New York to Florida will be placed under 14-day quarantine, Gov. DeSantis says

What about travelers (spring breakers and snowbirds) flying FROM Florida? Should work both ways... IMO

 

[Tillicum]

LOL-- ours is at $1.69 right now.

$1.50 here.

 

[Knitty]

https://www.pnj.com/story/news/loca...usiness-shutdown-sheltering-place/2897321001/

Instead, he announced that all airline passengers coming to Florida from New York and New Jersey — but not car or rail passengers — will be ordered to self-quarantine for 14 days.

"Given our circumstances, it isn't advisable. It's a blunt instrument," DeSantis said of a stay-at-home order, in a surprise afternoon press briefing in his office at the Florida Capitol, to which a select number of reporters were invited to attend.

An hour later, the Department of Health posted that 1,227 people had tested positive for the coronavirus, 80 of them from out of state, and there were 18 deaths related to COVID-19.

Meanwhile in my part of the state . . .

Two-year-old confirmed with coronavirus in Santa Rosa County, Escambia County cases rise to 9

A 2-year-old boy is the fourth person confirmed to have the coronavirus in Santa Rosa County, making the child one of the youngest known cases in Florida.

I have a not-yet-two-year-old granddaughter, whose mother, my daughter-in-law, teaches VPK and is pregnant, due in July.

 

[Henry2326]

LAURA GAO.....supports no cases in Wuhan right now....read below.

Laura Gao on Twitter

1/ Got on a phone call with my grandparents in Wuhan tonight. Asked them how things were holding up now that the things have improved alot for the city. Here's some cool findings
2/ While Wuhan city proper is still in lockdown, people are allowed to take walks outside only within their own "neighborhood". For context, most people live in "neighborhoods" comprised of several high rise apartments in a compact area w/ a shared green space (see pic). Laura Gao on Twitter
3/ My relatives who live in a rural town within Wuhan area but not in city proper said surrounding areas with no sick cases are now allowed to walk outside freely. Transportation to and from these areas has opened again but under heavy inspection and scrutiny.
4/ I asked how they get supplies as two 80-yo who cannot leave the apartment. They said the govt has assigned an official for each "neighborhood" to be a supply runner. They take grocery orders from everyone via an online form, buys them at the supermarket, and delivers them.
5/ While supplies aren't rationed (ppl can buy as much as they want), to max efficiency, supermarkets have created grocery bundles that ppl can only buy. If someone has a special request for an item not in the package, they have to add it in the form (e.g. extra meat, a snack).
6/ My grandparents are tech-illiterate so my uncle helps fill out their online form. The govt official assigned to their "neighborhood" also has their phone # and will call frequently to check in. He not only does supply runs but can order taxis ASAP if they need medical care.
7/ Fun fact: Because all taxis are state-owned and all public transportation is shut down, the govt has repurposed all taxis as emergency vehicles to drive people to the hospital during quarantine.
8/ Many relatives have not worked for 3 months now bc of quarantine. They said the govt mandated employers must still pay salaries while they're in quarantine. As a reaction, some employers are requiring workers to make up this pay once they come back... effectively a loan.
9/ Lastly, my grandparents heard about the overwhelming support from Twitter about the Wuhan comic and wanted to say thank you for thinking of them and their city! They constantly have neighbors asking how their family in the US is doing. Goes to show how selfless ppl are

 

[MyBelle]

Yep....floors not open yet....but all the rest of hospitals are maxed too. Husband is paramedic in Atlanta for Grady.

It's unfortunate leaders in such highly populated areas haven't issued shelter-in-place orders.

JMO

 

[Henry2326]

OT, but Grady paramedics and other staff gave my sister great care. Emory did too, but she passed anyway (not of COVID-19). Please give him my thanks and wishes for his continued safety.

Thank you my friend and very sorry for the loss of your sister. We are lucky to have the hospital system in Atlanta.

 

[branmuffin]

Travelers flying from New York to Florida will be placed under 14-day quarantine, Gov. DeSantis says

What about the other way around?

 

[otto]

What about travelers (spring breakers and snowbirds) flying FROM Florida? Should work both ways... IMO

Everyone who travels needs to do 14 days immediate self-isolation, no grocery shopping on the way home.

 

[Wicked Strong]

$1.50 here.

Gas Buddy reports my station is at $2.13, but I paid $2.50 yesterday because I don't put ethanol in my car.

 

[Henry2326]

GEORGIA......WHY??

Rest areas on highways throughout GA remain open. Restrooms will be regularly deep cleaned throughout the day between the hours of 7am-11pm. The lobbies of Georgia’s 9 Welcome Centers are closed until further notice, but outside restrooms will remain available at all times. Georgia DOT on Twitter
Georgia DOT on Twitter

 

[Yvettea]

For some reason, when I try to access this thread a screen pops up and blocks all but one member’s comment. Sometimes there is an arrow by the user name that allows me to escape the window but not usually.

Does anyone know a way around this?

 

[MyBelle]

Everyone who travels needs to do 14 days immediate self-isolation, no grocery shopping on the way home.

while it is nice in theory it is impossible to monitor or enforce.

JMO

 

[MyBelle]

GEORGIA......WHY??

Rest areas on highways throughout GA remain open. Restrooms will be regularly deep cleaned throughout the day between the hours of 7am-11pm. The lobbies of Georgia’s 9 Welcome Centers are closed until further notice, but outside restrooms will remain available at all times. Georgia DOT on Twitter
Georgia DOT on Twitter[/QUOTE]
Truckers need rest room facilities.

JMO

 

[afitzy]

CT - How a Hotspot Developed from a Dinner Party - 41 Cases now in Westport CT

From the Ground: What IMO was absolutely stunning about this situation was that the State Board of Health Director when initially questioned by the Press about the dinner party knew NOTHING about it! Word hadn't made it from Westport to Hartford it appears and seemed to take them 4-5 days to figure out what was going in Westport.

No leadership from Hartford for the Southern Portion of the State which is so vulnerable. Towns are on their own to figure out how to cope and address the situation with COVID19.

So sad to be watching this play out in real time.

Party Zero: How a Soirée in Connecticut Became a ‘Super Spreader’

 

[Lynetta]

Personal update

My daughter's continuous glucose monitor arrived today. I'm so happy, it should last 90 days. I did bring the box inside from the porch but I did it with plastic bags on my hands, and then wash them afterwards. I'm not going to touch again or open it until at least Friday to be safe.

In other personal news my DH has to return back to work tomorrow evening (He's been on his scheduled days off since last Friday) He works at a food and feed processing plant so he is considered an essential business worker.

His little "office" room has 8 guys in it per shift, so last week they started to find places to seperate them. They moved my DH into a broom closet. He still has to share it with the people from the previous/next shifts, but at least he isn't sitting next to 7 other guys for 12 hours during his shift. He does still has to go down into the actually plant at least 2-6 times a day to collect samples and there are still lots of people working on the plant floor.

On one hand I'm happy that we still have a pay check coming and our medical insurance is safe, but on the other hand I hate that he has to leave the house, I want him to self isolate to keep himself safe but most importantly to keep our 10 year old T1D daughter safe.