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NFT: Corona virus on the rise...

bw in dc : 2/22/2020 4:13 pm
Unfortunately, the virus is slowly gaining traction outside of China; and trying to trace it's origins and spread are becoming more and more difficult.

Cases are spreading in South Korea, Iran, Italy, Lebanon, Singapore. And you have to imagine the resources needed in many of those countries aren't great.

In a new article on Washington Post today, this is a pretty ominous point by a Hopkins health scholar:

Quote:

“I think we should assume that this virus is very soon going to be spreading in communities here, if it isn’t already, and despite aggressive actions, we should be putting more efforts to mitigate impacts,” said Jennifer Nuzzo, an epidemiologist and senior scholar the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. “That means protecting people who are most likely to develop severe illness and die.”


I think we are about to have a lot of our infrastructure and systems tested. Healthcare, transportation, employment, food, banking, etc.

Hopefully, we are up for it...


Corona - ( New Window )
Virus escaped from China's bioresearch labs?  
Steve in ATL : 2/22/2020 4:18 pm : link
NY Post was specualting on that today.
I'm not trying to put my head in the sand,  
MBavaro : 2/22/2020 4:18 pm : link
but, I've yet to see anything that indicates this is worse than the flu, aside from having a scary name and a lot of coverage.....
RE: I'm not trying to put my head in the sand,  
Zeke's Alibi : 2/22/2020 4:42 pm : link
In comment 14816309 MBavaro said:
Quote:
but, I've yet to see anything that indicates this is worse than the flu, aside from having a scary name and a lot of coverage.....


Yeah me neither, and the resources needed in many of those countries isn't great? Outside of Lebanon which ones are you talking about? It's out and out fear mongering.
The flu is going to kill more  
SFGFNCGiantsFan : 2/22/2020 4:44 pm : link
people than the Coronavirus. Just like SARS, Ebola, etc. people lose their mind over this stuff & go into full fledged panic.
You have vaccines in place for the flu  
ColHowPepper : 2/22/2020 4:53 pm : link
You don't have that for COVID19. Virologists and ID experts are still trying to assess this virus' characteristics, but there are indications that:

- this bug may be able to stay alive for ten days on inanimate surface (flu is one day)

- incubation period had not been determined can be as long as 24 days, not the 14 initially believed, which means there are likely to be far greater numbers shedding the virus who were thought to be contained.

But carry on.
incubation period *has been*  
ColHowPepper : 2/22/2020 4:54 pm : link
.
Are there healthy people dying? That is what made the 1918 flu so scar  
Zeke's Alibi : 2/22/2020 4:58 pm : link
As of now it seems like it's still the old the very young and the I'll, just like the regular flu.
RE: You have vaccines in place for the flu  
Vanzetti : 2/22/2020 5:11 pm : link
In comment 14816324 ColHowPepper said:
Quote:
You don't have that for COVID19. Virologists and ID experts are still trying to assess this virus' characteristics, but there are indications that:

- this bug may be able to stay alive for ten days on inanimate surface (flu is one day)

- incubation period had not been determined can be as long as 24 days, not the 14 initially believed, which means there are likely to be far greater numbers shedding the virus who were thought to be contained.

But carry on.


Thanks CHP

Some really irresponsible and uninformed posts on this thread

If everyone in the  
XBRONX : 2/22/2020 5:24 pm : link
world wore a mask for 24 days would the disease disappear?
Yeah. Alright.  
SFGFNCGiantsFan : 2/22/2020 5:24 pm : link
In '18-'19 flu season, 61K died. How many have died from the Coronavirus?
Lyme disease better get it's ass in gear  
Sneakers O'toole : 2/22/2020 5:26 pm : link
.
Are you mad it isn’t killing more people?  
UConn4523 : 2/22/2020 5:33 pm : link
it’s like complaining about the weatherman forecasting a blizzard and only getting a few inches. I’d rather people prepare and panic than ignore it and be fucked.

There also isn’t a vaccine yet, so if it spreads it could get ugly.
Flu death rate is 14 per 100,000 cases  
Vanzetti : 2/22/2020 5:34 pm : link
So far 2363 have died of 78,000 reported cases of Corona virus

As SF points out, last year was a particularly virulent flu but still nowhere as deadly as this corona virus.
RE: Yeah. Alright.  
bw in dc : 2/22/2020 5:35 pm : link
In comment 14816347 SFGFNCGiantsFan said:
Quote:
In '18-'19 flu season, 61K died. How many have died from the Coronavirus?


Right now, the death rate for the Coronavirus is about 15-20X > than seasonal flu.
RE: Yeah. Alright.  
bw in dc : 2/22/2020 5:35 pm : link
In comment 14816347 SFGFNCGiantsFan said:
Quote:
In '18-'19 flu season, 61K died. How many have died from the Coronavirus?


Right now, the death rate for the Coronavirus is about 15-20X > than seasonal flu.
RE: Virus escaped from China's bioresearch labs?  
Milton : 2/22/2020 5:45 pm : link
In comment 14816307 Steve in ATL said:
Quote:
NY Post was specualting on that today.

Barney Miller episode on the subject - ( New Window )
RE: Yeah. Alright.  
Scuzzlebutt : 2/22/2020 5:49 pm : link
In comment 14816347 SFGFNCGiantsFan said:
Quote:
In '18-'19 flu season, 61K died. How many have died from the Coronavirus?


It is not a matter of how many people it killed - it is the percentage of infected people that die. I believe coronavirus is considerably more deadly and based on the age of at least two of the doctors who have died in China (assuming they died of the virus) it may not be just the very old and very young that are dying from it.
Flu kills .1 percent  
Peter from NH (formerly CT) : 2/22/2020 5:51 pm : link
Corona virus somewhere between 2.3 and 2.5 % so far. I work in a boarding school where there are Chinese students. Chinese families are pretty much freaking out and viewing the US as a haven for their kids.
models predict it will continue to grow until it peaks in april  
MM_in_NYC : 2/22/2020 5:57 pm : link
according to last report on it i saw
the 1918-19 flu  
Terry in CO : 2/22/2020 6:35 pm : link
infected an estimated 1/3 of the world's population at the time. Approximately 500 million were infected an 20-50 million victims died (4-10% of those infected). The estimated death toll in the U.S was greater than 600,000.

Unlike most instances of flu, the highest mortality was among healthy adults and not young children or the elderly, which some people have suggested that mortality was actually promoted by a vigorous immune response.
RE: the 1918-19 flu  
UConn4523 : 2/22/2020 6:37 pm : link
In comment 14816384 Terry in CO said:
Quote:
infected an estimated 1/3 of the world's population at the time. Approximately 500 million were infected an 20-50 million victims died (4-10% of those infected). The estimated death toll in the U.S was greater than 600,000.

Unlike most instances of flu, the highest mortality was among healthy adults and not young children or the elderly, which some people have suggested that mortality was actually promoted by a vigorous immune response.


Those numbers are not accurate at all.
RE: RE: Yeah. Alright.  
Bill L : 2/22/2020 6:37 pm : link
In comment 14816358 bw in dc said:
Quote:
In comment 14816347 SFGFNCGiantsFan said:


Quote:


In '18-'19 flu season, 61K died. How many have died from the Coronavirus?



Right now, the death rate for the Coronavirus is about 15-20X > than seasonal flu.

The death rate is misleading. It’s about 2% in Hubei province and almost neglible everywhere else. I’m not sure what’s special about Hubei; could be air quality, could be infrastructure, who knows. But you can’t use the overall death rate to project outside of China.

It looks like it could spread, but flu is inherently more dangerous as far as we know.
SARS and MERS  
Terry in CO : 2/22/2020 6:37 pm : link
were also coronaviruses
RE: You have vaccines in place for the flu  
Bill L : 2/22/2020 6:42 pm : link
In comment 14816324 ColHowPepper said:
Quote:
You don't have that for COVID19. Virologists and ID experts are still trying to assess this virus' characteristics, but there are indications that:

- this bug may be able to stay alive for ten days on inanimate surface (flu is one day)

- incubation period had not been determined can be as long as 24 days, not the 14 initially believed, which means there are likely to be far greater numbers shedding the virus who were thought to be contained.

But carry on.

Where’s 24 days coming from? Both CDC and WHO are still reporting incubation periods of 7-10 days, as did the early publications, with them saying “in some cases up to 14 days”. They’re still using 14 days as a quarantine period. I’d be curious to see the newer data.

There’s a conference call with CDC about this on Monday that my work participates in but unfortunately I’ll miss it. (I’ll be at a conference in a Fort Collins if anyone has restaurant tips)
RE: Virus escaped from China's bioresearch labs?  
flycatcher : 2/22/2020 6:42 pm : link
In comment 14816307 Steve in ATL said:
Quote:
NY Post was specualting on that today.

That has been out there for a month, there’s a bio safety level 4 (BSL-4) facility in Wuhan, a lab designed to handle the most dangerous pathogens.
Let’s hope this is false, and that it’s an organic mutation rather than an engineered bio weapon.
RE: RE: the 1918-19 flu  
Terry in CO : 2/22/2020 6:44 pm : link
In comment 14816386 UConn4523 said:
Quote:
In comment 14816384 Terry in CO said:


Quote:


infected an estimated 1/3 of the world's population at the time. Approximately 500 million were infected an 20-50 million victims died (4-10% of those infected). The estimated death toll in the U.S was greater than 600,000.

Unlike most instances of flu, the highest mortality was among healthy adults and not young children or the elderly, which some people have suggested that mortality was actually promoted by a vigorous immune response.



Those numbers are not accurate at all.


Those are the numbers quoted by the CDC
CDC flu mortality - ( New Window )
RE: SARS and MERS  
Bill L : 2/22/2020 6:47 pm : link
In comment 14816388 Terry in CO said:
Quote:
were also coronaviruses

Hi Terry...to follow up, “Coronavirus” is a type or species rather than this specific virus. There are 4 coronaviruses that fairly commonly infect people besides this one, SARS, and MERS. There’s a ton more that are in bats awaiting potential spillover.

This one is mostly closely related to SARS, being about 85% identical genetically. In fact, it’s name is SARS-CoV-2 with the original being SARS CoV-1. But, so far, it appears far less lethal than SARS-1
Hi Bill  
Terry in CO : 2/22/2020 6:54 pm : link
Good to hear that its lethality is less than SARS-1, which I think was around 15% and higher in people over 65. I think the lethality of MERS was greater than 1/3 of those infected.
RE: Hi Bill  
Bill L : 2/22/2020 7:01 pm : link
In comment 14816398 Terry in CO said:
Quote:
Good to hear that its lethality is less than SARS-1, which I think was around 15% and higher in people over 65. I think the lethality of MERS was greater than 1/3 of those infected.

Yeah MERS is really bad. But IIRC, there’s not much human to human transmission. WRT SARS-2, like I said above, the numbers look really skewed. There’s close to a thousand cases outside China now and I think only 5 or 7 deaths.

So far, it looks like you have to be >60 and /or have some other disabling condition to be really worried.
RE: RE: Hi Bill  
Terry in CO : 2/22/2020 7:09 pm : link
In comment 14816400 Bill L said:
Quote:
In comment 14816398 Terry in CO said:


Quote:


Good to hear that its lethality is less than SARS-1, which I think was around 15% and higher in people over 65. I think the lethality of MERS was greater than 1/3 of those infected.


Yeah MERS is really bad. But IIRC, there’s not much human to human transmission. WRT SARS-2, like I said above, the numbers look really skewed. There’s close to a thousand cases outside China now and I think only 5 or 7 deaths.

So far, it looks like you have to be >60 and /or have some other disabling condition to be really worried.


I hope those low rates hold true, especially as I now meet that first risk group.
RE: RE: the 1918-19 flu  
AcidTest : 2/22/2020 7:09 pm : link
In comment 14816386 UConn4523 said:
Quote:
In comment 14816384 Terry in CO said:


Quote:


infected an estimated 1/3 of the world's population at the time. Approximately 500 million were infected an 20-50 million victims died (4-10% of those infected). The estimated death toll in the U.S was greater than 600,000.

Unlike most instances of flu, the highest mortality was among healthy adults and not young children or the elderly, which some people have suggested that mortality was actually promoted by a vigorous immune response.



Those numbers are not accurate at all.


The numbers are accurate. From Wikipedia:

Quote:
The global mortality rate from the 1918–1919 pandemic is not known, but an estimated 10% to 20% of those who were infected died (case-fatality ratio). About a third of the world population was infected, and something between 1% and 5.6% of the entire global population of over 1800 million[51] died.[2] An estimate from 1991 says it killed 25–39 million people.[52] A 2005 estimate put the death toll at probably 50 million (less than 3% of the global population), and possibly as high as 100 million (more than 5%).[53][54] But a reassessment in 2018 estimated the total to be only about 17 million,[55] though this has been contested.[56]

In the U.S., about 28% of the population of 105 million became infected, and 500,000 to 675,000 died (0.48 to 0.64 percent of the population).[67]

Most influenza outbreaks disproportionately kill the very young and the very old, with a higher survival rate for those in-between. However, the Spanish flu pandemic resulted in a higher than expected mortality rate for young adults.[8]

Link

"The Great Influenza" is an excellent book on this subject.

Link - ( New Window )
I heard  
Producer : 2/22/2020 7:10 pm : link
It's going to burn out in April, so there's nothing to worry about...
RE: Virus escaped from China's bioresearch labs?  
Bill L : 2/22/2020 7:10 pm : link
In comment 14816307 Steve in ATL said:
Quote:
NY Post was specualting on that today.

Seems really far-fetched (but t does sell papers). The Chinese published the sequence super fast and I would guess that, if it was an engineered bug, they wouldn’t have done it. The sequence is also extremely close if not identical to one already found in bats we already know that tons of diseases caused by viruses, including SARS and MERS (other pathogenic Coronaviruses) originated in bats. We know that the type of bats with this virus are endemic to Hubei. Occam’s razor says....
RE: RE: RE: Hi Bill  
Bill L : 2/22/2020 7:11 pm : link
In comment 14816402 Terry in CO said:
Quote:
In comment 14816400 Bill L said:


Quote:


In comment 14816398 Terry in CO said:


Quote:


Good to hear that its lethality is less than SARS-1, which I think was around 15% and higher in people over 65. I think the lethality of MERS was greater than 1/3 of those infected.


Yeah MERS is really bad. But IIRC, there’s not much human to human transmission. WRT SARS-2, like I said above, the numbers look really skewed. There’s close to a thousand cases outside China now and I think only 5 or 7 deaths.

So far, it looks like you have to be >60 and /or have some other disabling condition to be really worried.



I hope those low rates hold true, especially as I now meet that first risk group.
You and me both.
RE: RE: Hi Bill  
Bill L : 2/22/2020 7:14 pm : link
In comment 14816400 Bill L said:
Quote:
In comment 14816398 Terry in CO said:


Quote:


Good to hear that its lethality is less than SARS-1, which I think was around 15% and higher in people over 65. I think the lethality of MERS was greater than 1/3 of those infected.


Yeah MERS is really bad. But IIRC, there’s not much human to human transmission. WRT SARS-2, like I said above, the numbers look really skewed. There’s close to a thousand cases outside China now and I think only 5 or 7 deaths.

So far, it looks like you have to be >60 and /or have some other disabling condition to be really worried.


I should note that the number of deaths is slightly higher because 5 were just added in Iran. But Iran, like China, is a little sketchy, so, it’s hard to extrapolate that to a true mortality rate, especially in western countries.
RE: Flu death rate is 14 per 100,000 cases  
PhiPsi125 : 2/22/2020 7:20 pm : link
In comment 14816357 Vanzetti said:
Quote:
So far 2363 have died of 78,000 reported cases of Corona virus

As SF points out, last year was a particularly virulent flu but still nowhere as deadly as this corona virus.


I’m curious about these numbers. The very low Flu percentage I’m sure includes the many cases that are very treatable in the US. But I feel like the higher percentage with CV is mostly in other countries where denial is high and medical capabilities are low.

Is it possible that it’s just really hard to compare it to the flu right now? At least the death rate percentages. I feel that if there were this many cases in the US, we may find the death rate percentage to be much lower due to our medical capabilities. Not that I really want to find out. Just curious about these numbers.
RE: RE: Flu death rate is 14 per 100,000 cases  
Bill L : 2/22/2020 7:26 pm : link
In comment 14816413 PhiPsi125 said:
Quote:
In comment 14816357 Vanzetti said:


Quote:


So far 2363 have died of 78,000 reported cases of Corona virus

As SF points out, last year was a particularly virulent flu but still nowhere as deadly as this corona virus.



I’m curious about these numbers. The very low Flu percentage I’m sure includes the many cases that are very treatable in the US. But I feel like the higher percentage with CV is mostly in other countries where denial is high and medical capabilities are low.

Is it possible that it’s just really hard to compare it to the flu right now? At least the death rate percentages. I feel that if there were this many cases in the US, we may find the death rate percentage to be much lower due to our medical capabilities. Not that I really want to find out. Just curious about these numbers.

I pointed out why that death rate is misleading. As for the US specifically, it’s probably more helpful to look at absolute numbers. According to CDC so far in this season there have been a minimum of 29 million infections and a minimum of 16,000 deaths. So, if you’re just thinking about you, the risk from flu is greater and, what’s more, you can actually do something to better protect yourself from flu. Not true for SRS-2 and the chances of you being exposed to that anyway is, at least as of today and for the near future, remote.
quality of treatment can skew #'s but when the healthcare workers  
Eric on Li : 2/22/2020 7:27 pm : link
are dying after coming in contact with those infected it's a sign that this thing is way beyond the flu. Whatever the exact mortality rates end up being, who knows, but it does seem like this thing is going to be exponential more lethal than the flu. Got to hope they can keep it under control.
On the bright side,  
fivehead : 2/22/2020 7:27 pm : link
for each person whacked by the Wuhan, our carbon footprint is lessened.
RE: quality of treatment can skew #'s but when the healthcare workers  
Bill L : 2/22/2020 7:32 pm : link
In comment 14816416 Eric on Li said:
Quote:
are dying after coming in contact with those infected it's a sign that this thing is way beyond the flu. Whatever the exact mortality rates end up being, who knows, but it does seem like this thing is going to be exponential more lethal than the flu. Got to hope they can keep it under control.

We were musing about this yesterday and wondering if air quality in China might also contribute to mortality. Anecdotally, tons of people who visit come home with some sort of respiratory inflammation. Maybe people living there have some chronic distress that makes the added burden of infection more dangerous.
just like hot/cold climates, presumably other enviro factors have  
Eric on Li : 2/22/2020 7:43 pm : link
some level of impact on how susceptible the local populations are. But the anecdotal info that healthworkers are dropping is what makes the lethality seem uncommon.

Healthworkers everywhere are exposed to flu and other common ailments daily and yet they aren't in the risk groups commonly identified as most susceptible to dying from the flu. They're educated/equipped to take the appropriate precautions and some of those that have died were among the earliest trying to sound the warnings (so they took it seriously).
Which health care workers not in China  
Bill L : 2/22/2020 7:50 pm : link
Have succumbed?
I’m seeing 60,000  
UConn4523 : 2/22/2020 7:53 pm : link
Not 600,000
Although it makes sense  
Bill L : 2/22/2020 7:54 pm : link
Health care workers are always the most at risk right. They’re in close contact and hospitals in general are petri dishes. Plus in China PPE is either in short supply or of poor quality.
As the northern hemispere moves into summer  
since1925 : 2/22/2020 8:36 pm : link
and out of flu season, the Corona will naturally slow down.

That will give medical labs all over the world some breathing time to adjust vaccines and work toward a cure. Tank goodness for big pharma.

RE: Which health care workers not in China  
Eric on Li : 2/22/2020 8:42 pm : link
In comment 14816437 Bill L said:
Quote:
Have succumbed?


None out of China that I've seen.
Still think a pandemic is likely  
dpinzow : 2/22/2020 9:45 pm : link
South Korea, Italy, and likely Iran have locations where it appears localized spread is occurring.
My  
thomasa510 : 2/22/2020 10:33 pm : link
My 2c...

- Hubei province and its healthcare workers are really stressed contributing to rate of death there.

- Death rate is likely many times higher than flu but lower than the 2% because of unreported cases. In US with top notch medical care death rate will be lower yet

- warmer weather will likely do more to slow spread

- stock market will still tank from this and will play out for many more months yet
RE: Still think a pandemic is likely  
AcidTest : 2/22/2020 10:34 pm : link
In comment 14816471 dpinzow said:
Quote:
South Korea, Italy, and likely Iran have locations where it appears localized spread is occurring.


Agreed. The best hope right now is that the virus fades as summer arrives, but that is a long time from now.
RE: The flu is going to kill more  
BigBlueDownTheShore : 2/22/2020 11:49 pm : link
In comment 14816321 SFGFNCGiantsFan said:
Quote:
people than the Coronavirus. Just like SARS, Ebola, etc. people lose their mind over this stuff & go into full fledged panic.


It’s only on pace to kill 2% of the worlds population if it continues to spread.

Nothing to see here.
To put this in perspective  
Ron from Ninerland : 2/23/2020 12:21 am : link
140,000 people in the U.S. have been hospitalized with the flu in the U.S. in 2019-2020 and 8200 have died. ( Actually make that 140,001. I spent last night in the
ER ).

In 2018-2019 60,000 + died and in 2018-2019, a particularly bad year over 80,000 died. These figures are just for the U.S. Some have pointed out that the fatality rate for coronavirus is 2.5% while for the flu its a fraction of that. Those statistics are an apples to oranges comparison. China is a hotbed for contagious illnesses, as this is the third epidemic ( that we know about ) that they've started in the last 25 years. Their citizens live in rat cages and dormitories. Their air is among the most polluted in the world which makes Chinese particularly vulnerable to respiratory illnesses. Outside of China only 18 have died, including Chinese abroad. The Diamond Princess, Japan , South Korea, Italy and Hong Kong make up the bulk of case outside of China. Doing some quick math the mortality rate is 0.7%. in the U.S its zero.
RE: RE: The flu is going to kill more  
section125 : 2/23/2020 5:15 am : link
In comment 14816526 BigBlueDownTheShore said:
Quote:
In comment 14816321 SFGFNCGiantsFan said:


Quote:


people than the Coronavirus. Just like SARS, Ebola, etc. people lose their mind over this stuff & go into full fledged panic.



It’s only on pace to kill 2% of the worlds population if it continues to spread.

Nothing to see here.


Brilliant, so the whole world is going to get Corona?....more likely less than 2% of the population will get the virus, let alone die from it.
RE: RE: RE: the 1918-19 flu  
UConn4523 : 2/23/2020 7:33 am : link
In comment 14816403 AcidTest said:
Quote:
In comment 14816386 UConn4523 said:


Quote:


In comment 14816384 Terry in CO said:


Quote:


infected an estimated 1/3 of the world's population at the time. Approximately 500 million were infected an 20-50 million victims died (4-10% of those infected). The estimated death toll in the U.S was greater than 600,000.

Unlike most instances of flu, the highest mortality was among healthy adults and not young children or the elderly, which some people have suggested that mortality was actually promoted by a vigorous immune response.



Those numbers are not accurate at all.



The numbers are accurate. From Wikipedia:



Quote:


The global mortality rate from the 1918–1919 pandemic is not known, but an estimated 10% to 20% of those who were infected died (case-fatality ratio). About a third of the world population was infected, and something between 1% and 5.6% of the entire global population of over 1800 million[51] died.[2] An estimate from 1991 says it killed 25–39 million people.[52] A 2005 estimate put the death toll at probably 50 million (less than 3% of the global population), and possibly as high as 100 million (more than 5%).[53][54] But a reassessment in 2018 estimated the total to be only about 17 million,[55] though this has been contested.[56]

In the U.S., about 28% of the population of 105 million became infected, and 500,000 to 675,000 died (0.48 to 0.64 percent of the population).[67]

Most influenza outbreaks disproportionately kill the very young and the very old, with a higher survival rate for those in-between. However, the Spanish flu pandemic resulted in a higher than expected mortality rate for young adults.[8]


Link

"The Great Influenza" is an excellent book on this subject. Link - ( New Window )


Don’t know about Wikipedia but the CDC says otherwise. Posted it yesterday and I guess it got buried but:

”The CDC estimated that between 37.4 million and 42.9 million people contracted the flu during the 2018-2019 season. Those cases led to between 531,000 and 647,000 hospitalization and 36,400-61,200 deaths. These numbers may seem high, but when stacked against previous seasons reported deaths were at a decline.“

Those Wikipedia figures seem absolutely impossible to be true. So a half million people just die as last year in the US and it’s like no one noticed?
Sorry I didn’t realize you guys  
UConn4523 : 2/23/2020 7:36 am : link
we’re talking about 100 years ago, haha. But why is that relevant now?
RE: RE: The flu is going to kill more  
Bill L : 2/23/2020 7:44 am : link
In comment 14816526 BigBlueDownTheShore said:
Quote:
In comment 14816321 SFGFNCGiantsFan said:


Quote:


people than the Coronavirus. Just like SARS, Ebola, etc. people lose their mind over this stuff & go into full fledged panic.



It’s only on pace to kill 2% of the worlds population if it continues to spread.

Nothing to see here.

Once again, a misleading statement.
RE: To put this in perspective  
thomasa510 : 2/23/2020 7:44 am : link
In comment 14816531 Ron from Ninerland said:
Quote:
140,000 people in the U.S. have been hospitalized with the flu in the U.S. in 2019-2020 and 8200 have died. ( Actually make that 140,001. I spent last night in the
ER ).

In 2018-2019 60,000 + died and in 2018-2019, a particularly bad year over 80,000 died. These figures are just for the U.S. Some have pointed out that the fatality rate for coronavirus is 2.5% while for the flu its a fraction of that. Those statistics are an apples to oranges comparison. China is a hotbed for contagious illnesses, as this is the third epidemic ( that we know about ) that they've started in the last 25 years. Their citizens live in rat cages and dormitories. Their air is among the most polluted in the world which makes Chinese particularly vulnerable to respiratory illnesses. Outside of China only 18 have died, including Chinese abroad. The Diamond Princess, Japan , South Korea, Italy and Hong Kong make up the bulk of case outside of China. Doing some quick math the mortality rate is 0.7%. in the U.S its zero.


I think you are pulling your math from the same place you are pulling your comment about Chinese living in “rat cages and dormitories”.

China is a huge and diverse country and in many places the standard of living is fairly high. Despite some minor air pollution, Shanghai feels like NYC but more modern and with less of a visible rat problem. Beijing is heavily polluted but not the hovel you described. Wuhan I have never been but it was also a large city and doubt the place you believe it to be.

I’ve been to China numerous times and have found many good things, as well as undesirable and frankly disgusting practices there. However it is not that cesspool you are assuming it to be.

It is funny reading how constantly people distort facts and use statistics for their own polluted world view.

I do agree the death rate in China is overstated and the rest of the world would do better treating it. But perhaps not in containing it. Not many countries would shut down whole provinces the way China did. If it spreads beyond China’s borders in an uncontrolled way, as it is starting to in Italy and Iran, it can get scary fast
I don’t really know either  
Bill L : 2/23/2020 7:54 am : link
But linked is a story from before the outbreak.

I don’t think it’s unfair to speculate that air quality might impact the outcome of an overlaid respiratory infection. I don’t know anything about general living conditions. But I did read that they were woefully unprepared wrt medical infrastructure.
Seem like Wuhan might have some pollution - ( New Window )
Italy...  
bw in dc : 2/23/2020 8:30 am : link
went from 3 cases three days ago to 132 as of today.
I am very concerned about this  
rocco8112 : 2/23/2020 9:14 am : link
I have never seen a quarantine of 700 million people before like what China has done. It didn't stop the spread. We could never do a scorched Earth quarantine like they did in the US, and it didn't work anyway.


Hundreds of cases now in Italy, Korea and it seems it is all over Iran.

Seems to make a lot of people get sick enough to require medical intervention. I have read things say over ten percent. Ever been to an emergency room in NYC? They are very busy, if even a dozen high fever people with breathing problems show up to one ER at once needing support would be rough, picture hundreds, and all the staff starts getting it? Horrifying.

The only measure to take will be social quarantine, and I don't know if anyone is even alive today in the US knows what that is like.

Then there is the globalisation impact, China makes a lot, including medicine, the USA and China are linked, we need that country for many critical medicines and goods. What happens when nothing is being made?

Then there is this today.

https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/president-xi-jinping-says-coronavirus-is-communist-chinas-biggest-health-emergency

If the head of the CCP im China makes this statement. This admission of a problem, of errors made, of severity.

I think we are all screwed. Biggest event of our times.

Hope I am wrong, and a big shout out to the heroic people of China's healthcare system battling this.



We aren’t all screwed  
UConn4523 : 2/23/2020 9:54 am : link
but it’s unwise to not take it seriously like some on this thread are doing, which is bizarre to me given you don’t actually have to do anything other than be aware, use common sense, and try to stay away from traveling to areas that have had reported cases.
If I came across as making this out to be no big  
SFGFNCGiantsFan : 2/23/2020 10:19 am : link
deal, I apologize. That wasn't my intention. But I think it's important to keep things in perspective: more people, in all likelihood, are going to die from the flu this year than the Coronavirus & probably by a pretty big #.
RE: If I came across as making this out to be no big  
thomasa510 : 2/23/2020 10:27 am : link
In comment 14816646 SFGFNCGiantsFan said:
Quote:
deal, I apologize. That wasn't my intention. But I think it's important to keep things in perspective: more people, in all likelihood, are going to die from the flu this year than the Coronavirus & probably by a pretty big #.


That may be wrong too. Most of those who die from the flu are very young or very old.
It will sound selfish - I don't mean to underscore the severity  
jcn56 : 2/23/2020 11:06 am : link
of the disease or the loss of life - but the largest impact most people will feel will likely be economic.

China's production has cratered. They weren't in great shape before this, and now they've got people quarantined all over, factories shut down - the world's supply chain has been interrupted. Shipping companies are canceling shipments left and right. Commodity prices are probably right around the corner.

Even if this thing never steps foot on US soil beyond the handful of repatriated cases, we're definitely going to feel the rest of it.
RE: We aren’t all screwed  
bw in dc : 2/23/2020 11:23 am : link
In comment 14816625 UConn4523 said:
Quote:
but it’s unwise to not take it seriously like some on this thread are doing, which is bizarre to me given you don’t actually have to do anything other than be aware, use common sense, and try to stay away from traveling to areas that have had reported cases.


Indeed. This virus had a lot of unknowns right now. So this is THE time to ramp up a national campaign, spearheaded by the government, with the intent to be safe rather than sorry. These are the types of situations where I would rather over-react than wait too long...

And not just the US either. The rest of the world.
RE: If I came across as making this out to be no big  
UConn4523 : 2/23/2020 12:23 pm : link
In comment 14816646 SFGFNCGiantsFan said:
Quote:
deal, I apologize. That wasn't my intention. But I think it's important to keep things in perspective: more people, in all likelihood, are going to die from the flu this year than the Coronavirus & probably by a pretty big #.


I don’t think that’s putting it into perspective. More people get the flu but it isn’t nearly as deadly as corona virus.

Do you want you or your kids to get the common flu or the corona virus? That’s really what it comes down to and we all know what the answer is.
RE: RE: If I came across as making this out to be no big  
Bill L : 2/23/2020 1:16 pm : link
In comment 14816718 UConn4523 said:
Quote:
In comment 14816646 SFGFNCGiantsFan said:


Quote:


deal, I apologize. That wasn't my intention. But I think it's important to keep things in perspective: more people, in all likelihood, are going to die from the flu this year than the Coronavirus & probably by a pretty big #.



I don’t think that’s putting it into perspective. More people get the flu but it isn’t nearly as deadly as corona virus.

Do you want you or your kids to get the common flu or the corona virus? That’s really what it comes down to and we all know what the answer is.

Nobody is not taking it seriously. But there is a lot of paranoid misinformation here too. In point of fact, the flu as far as we know, actually is more deadly, than Coronavirus. That may change as more info accumulates but so far,it’s true. And we absolutely should want our kids to get coronavirus rather than flu (especially if we’re one of those ignorant irresponsible parents that didn’t get their family flu shots). SARS -2 (so far) appears to hardly affect kids. It’s almost exclusively >60 year olds who are dying and most of those have underlying health conditions.
RE: It will sound selfish - I don't mean to underscore the severity  
Bill L : 2/23/2020 1:16 pm : link
In comment 14816674 jcn56 said:
Quote:
of the disease or the loss of life - but the largest impact most people will feel will likely be economic.

China's production has cratered. They weren't in great shape before this, and now they've got people quarantined all over, factories shut down - the world's supply chain has been interrupted. Shipping companies are canceling shipments left and right. Commodity prices are probably right around the corner.

Even if this thing never steps foot on US soil beyond the handful of repatriated cases, we're definitely going to feel the rest of it.

Absolutely.
RE: RE: If I came across as making this out to be no big  
Bill L : 2/23/2020 1:18 pm : link
In comment 14816650 thomasa510 said:
Quote:
In comment 14816646 SFGFNCGiantsFan said:


Quote:


deal, I apologize. That wasn't my intention. But I think it's important to keep things in perspective: more people, in all likelihood, are going to die from the flu this year than the Coronavirus & probably by a pretty big #.



That may be wrong too. Most of those who die from the flu are very young or very old.
one of our local colleges just had a student die from flu. Even worse, since he was Chinese they turned it into a Coronavirus scare.
RE: If I came across as making this out to be no big  
Bill L : 2/23/2020 1:24 pm : link
In comment 14816646 SFGFNCGiantsFan said:
Quote:
deal, I apologize. That wasn't my intention. But I think it's important to keep things in perspective: more people, in all likelihood, are going to die from the flu this year than the Coronavirus & probably by a pretty big #.


So far, since October until today >15000 Americans have been killed by the “common” flu. The number of death in the IS due to Coronavirus? Zero.
IS = US  
Bill L : 2/23/2020 1:25 pm : link
.
So I guess you don’t know how this works  
UConn4523 : 2/23/2020 1:27 pm : link
it hasn’t spread here yet, you realize the numbers would be huge if it did, right?

Seems like you are going out of your way to be dense about this.
RE: RE: We aren’t all screwed  
Bill L : 2/23/2020 1:27 pm : link
In comment 14816691 bw in dc said:
Quote:
In comment 14816625 UConn4523 said:


Quote:


but it’s unwise to not take it seriously like some on this thread are doing, which is bizarre to me given you don’t actually have to do anything other than be aware, use common sense, and try to stay away from traveling to areas that have had reported cases.



Indeed. This virus had a lot of unknowns right now. So this is THE time to ramp up a national campaign, spearheaded by the government, with the intent to be safe rather than sorry. These are the types of situations where I would rather over-react than wait too long...

And not just the US either. The rest of the world.

I think you’re right in that we have to be aware and be prepared. It’s likely there will be a number of infections here. There are, as you said, lots of unknowns and things can change.

But, as of today, all some of us are saying is that it’s not (as others here would have you believe) the Andromeda Strain.
RE: So I guess you don’t know how this works  
Bill L : 2/23/2020 1:29 pm : link
In comment 14816760 UConn4523 said:
Quote:
it hasn’t spread here yet, you realize the numbers would be huge if it did, right?

Seems like you are going out of your way to be dense about this.

So far there have been about 29 million flu infections this season in the US. Those kind of huge numbers?
One doesnt need to  
Bill2 : 2/23/2020 2:08 pm : link
Over exaggerate the disease itself to understand the ripple effects on economies over time.

Already ships coming in and ports with raw materials are holding back.

Already the pork and other food supplies for China is affected.

Already technical jobs in the energy and chemical industry are being offered 2-3x normal overseas temp and project work and getting no takers.

Already alternative supply chains are being evaluated and re routed.

The outbreak in Italy will only increase the number of nations that shut down trade and supply routes.

Already raw materials out of Australia, Indonesia, Chile and Peru are way way down as is trade back into those countries.

Already the flood of money needed to keep the stock market inflated has accelerated.

So while not Armegedon...we should hope warmer weather helps and mutations dont take hold before that suppression takes hold.

World economies are fragile and far more interconnected than ever before. They work on expectations and projected cash flows. Doesnt take a lot to slope an economic unwind to a tougher plateau.

Is it the crash to the depression? No. But it ain't good news
Nope, forget I said anything  
UConn4523 : 2/23/2020 2:10 pm : link
no point in arguing
RE: One doesnt need to  
Bill L : 2/23/2020 2:24 pm : link
In comment 14816775 Bill2 said:
Quote:
Over exaggerate the disease itself to understand the ripple effects on economies over time.

Already ships coming in and ports with raw materials are holding back.

Already the pork and other food supplies for China is affected.

Already technical jobs in the energy and chemical industry are being offered 2-3x normal overseas temp and project work and getting no takers.

Already alternative supply chains are being evaluated and re routed.

The outbreak in Italy will only increase the number of nations that shut down trade and supply routes.

Already raw materials out of Australia, Indonesia, Chile and Peru are way way down as is trade back into those countries.

Already the flood of money needed to keep the stock market inflated has accelerated.

So while not Armegedon...we should hope warmer weather helps and mutations dont take hold before that suppression takes hold.

World economies are fragile and far more interconnected than ever before. They work on expectations and projected cash flows. Doesnt take a lot to slope an economic unwind to a tougher plateau.

Is it the crash to the depression? No. But it ain't good news

Absolutely. Been saying since the beginning that it’s the economics which will be most impactful.
RE: Nope, forget I said anything  
Bill L : 2/23/2020 2:25 pm : link
In comment 14816777 UConn4523 said:
Quote:
no point in arguing

Did you actually get your flu shot?
I'm with Walt...  
Optimus-NY : 2/23/2020 2:41 pm : link
numbers  
giantfan2000 : 2/23/2020 4:08 pm : link
Fatality rate of seasonal flu: 0.1%

Fatality rate of coronavirus: 2.3%

Coronavirus fatality rate among:

Women: 2%
Men: 3%
Age 60-69: 4%
Age 70-79: 8%
Age 80+: 15%
.  
Bill2 : 2/23/2020 4:22 pm : link
To put 2% in context:

The percentage of sudden and violent deaths in the world over the past century including industrial accidents, traffic accidents, planes, trains and automobile deaths, wars, riots, overthrows, genocides, etc. is 2%

2% is a lot. Its 120 million people

So 2% is a very high rate. I fully agree it wont last at that rate unless the virus mutates a few times.

As it relates to economic consequences the rate does not matter as much as the length and spread.

For example, Italy buys a lot of Chinese goods. Italy is in Europe - a huge Chinese trading partner without a lot of economic reserves. North Korea with its terrible health and food could be badly affected. Indonesia, sitting on the shipping lanes to the ME and Europe...not a good thing.

Northern China is a porous border with Siberia.

Most of all, if the virus slows spring planting or hog deaths increase in the breadbasket of Southern China and SE Asia...we got problems.
RE: RE: RE: We aren’t all screwed  
jpkmets : 2/23/2020 4:49 pm : link
In comment 14816762 Bill L said:
Quote:
In comment 14816691 bw in dc said:


Quote:


In comment 14816625 UConn4523 said:


Quote:


but it’s unwise to not take it seriously like some on this thread are doing, which is bizarre to me given you don’t actually have to do anything other than be aware, use common sense, and try to stay away from traveling to areas that have had reported cases.



Indeed. This virus had a lot of unknowns right now. So this is THE time to ramp up a national campaign, spearheaded by the government, with the intent to be safe rather than sorry. These are the types of situations where I would rather over-react than wait too long...

And not just the US either. The rest of the world.


I think you’re right in that we have to be aware and be prepared. It’s likely there will be a number of infections here. There are, as you said, lots of unknowns and things can change.

But, as of today, all some of us are saying is that it’s not (as others here would have you believe) the Andromeda Strain.


What concerns me is that in multiple countries governments and private actors are taking some reallly unusual steps that only make sense if they are scarred:

Italy cancels Venice’s carnival
Villages/towns quarantined in Italy, Iran, South Korea
Sporting events cancelled in Italy, Japan
China attempting to disinfect huge amounts of cash

These are just not steps that I’ve seen elsewhere. So, it strikes me as though people with knowledge are deeply concerned (obviously including China which has quarantined millions).

I’m not freaking out and doomsday prepping, but I’m certainly paying this attention.
Should read “scared”  
jpkmets : 2/23/2020 4:50 pm : link
I’m just an idiot that can’t spell
yes  
giantfan2000 : 2/23/2020 5:34 pm : link
Wonder what happens with Olympics in Tokyo ?
RE: yes  
MM_in_NYC : 2/23/2020 6:00 pm : link
In comment 14816838 giantfan2000 said:
Quote:
Wonder what happens with Olympics in Tokyo ?


interesting question. i suspect we're going to be hearing a lot about this.
I ordered a laptop from HP on President's Day  
TheMick7 : 2/23/2020 6:06 pm : link
Found out the next day the computer was being made completely in China.Went to CDC website & #2 was objects exposed to virus.Called HP & after they gave me some grief,they cancelled it on Friday for me. Might have been overkill but once I read the CDC's suggestions,I didn't want to take any chances!
No one  
rocco8112 : 2/23/2020 6:29 pm : link
is disturbed by events that, as far as I can tell have never happened before. China, with all the economic and politcal risk entailed, put Draconian quarantine measures at the epicenter and strong measured over nearly the whole country. This is more people under quarantine than live in the US more than two times over. This is to combat a glorified Flu?

Internet images videos show squads and machines spraying disinfectant all over. Standard flu protocol?

I read 1500 medical workers became ill. Doctors, some young, have died. Flu does this?

This virus is new, no one knows what is going to happen. Supply chains, including for critical goods, may become affected. The CDC warned of inevtible spread in the US. Talking of possibly having to close schools and businesses. Flu?

According to data from China, certainly under reported, has ten percent or more of people needing medical intervention like oxygen. Ten percent at least! This is something to think about. Thjs will be many many people needing a hospital and I know for a stone cold fact NYC has no chance of meeting this demand. How will people react when their loved ones can't get any treatment? Flu? The flu has already taxed the public health system, add in this new virus. Not good.

No one is slightly concerned that the Chinese president admitted they made mistakes? That it was a danger. That means they are scared shitless to me if they admit wrong doing. Their default is to hide the truth and portray constant image of strength.

Look at the expoential growth now in S Korea, lets watch Italy. God knows what is going on in Iran. Why would it not spread like wildfire here in the US and have an unknowable impact on social order.

I hope the Virus is not that virulent as it spreads, the Virus is in control now and frankly we could all be in for a problem of biblical proportions.




Honestly if we’re in for a catastrophe of “biblical proportions”  
Oscar : 2/23/2020 6:56 pm : link
Who gives a shit? If that’s the case no degree of prepping will matter anyway, you’re fucked.

I tend to think the actual impact in the US will be negligible and coronavirus is way down the list of things I’m worried about. And I live in New York and ride the subway every day.

Or who knows maybe it’ll be a global pandemic and we’ll all be dead in six months. We’ll see. Can’t worry about it.
New numbers in China...  
bw in dc : 2/23/2020 10:42 pm : link
77,150 reported cases, 2,592 virus related deaths.

Spiking the death rate to 3.4%.
COVID-19  
Percy : 2/24/2020 1:12 am : link
Ms. Market is not liking this at all, not that the market is a very good predictor, but all the same. The DOW will go off down more than 300 at the open tomorrow. Big companies are taking big hits. This is an uninformed fear response without anyone promising to tell us anything useful about where this is likely to go -- something solid that might moderate or reduce that fear. And a frightened market with no new good or reliable information coming in is going to be very hard on investors worldwide. Bill, please explain to her that our usual flu is so much worse in terms of deaths and get her to believe it.
RE: COVID-19  
rnargi : 2/24/2020 7:43 am : link
In comment 14816987 Percy said:
Quote:
Ms. Market is not liking this at all, not that the market is a very good predictor, but all the same. The DOW will go off down more than 300 at the open tomorrow. Big companies are taking big hits. This is an uninformed fear response without anyone promising to tell us anything useful about where this is likely to go -- something solid that might moderate or reduce that fear. And a frightened market with no new good or reliable information coming in is going to be very hard on investors worldwide. Bill, please explain to her that our usual flu is so much worse in terms of deaths and get her to believe it.


Futures are down nearly 700 as of 0730 this morning.
Reports from Iran are saying 50 people have died  
bubba0825 : 2/24/2020 7:57 am : link
From the virus, that would be a much higher rate than China reported. It’s got people spooked
As someone with a 1 year old child  
Metnut : 2/24/2020 8:53 am : link
this is really terrifying. I think the time to contain this has passed and the WHO and other orgs have to start shifting to mitigatoin.
RE: As someone with a 1 year old child  
rocco8112 : 2/24/2020 9:20 am : link
In comment 14817034 Metnut said:
Quote:
this is really terrifying. I think the time to contain this has passed and the WHO and other orgs have to start shifting to mitigatoin.


There is no containment, it is out and spreading and no one on Earth knows what will happen.

If there was a functional government response, an oxymoron in and of itself, there would be an admission this virus can not be contained and education would begin on what civic duties and day to day habits needed to mitigate its spread.

There would be full scale operations to increase accurate and fast testing capabilities (The CDC's first tests were crap which is a sad joke and indictment on the USA) and to increase the capacity to deliver oxygen and other services needed to treat the high number who seem to get very ill from this. The current healthcare system will collapse in under a week if hit with hundreds or thousands needing oxygen. Not to mention those already in hospitals needing care. There should be facilities planned out and equipped to prepare for this deluge of sick.

None of this is happening.

The hubris of our society will soon be coming home to roost. No one alive, even the experts, can envision thousands sick at once all over the US powered by the expoential growth of the virus. Just picture your local ER, minute clinic, Doctor's office or hospital having to suddenly treat hundreds nd then thousands all at once. Then the health-care workers themselves get sick? This is a big fucking problem and as far as I can tell there has been no official educated communication to the American people, there has been no preparation at the frontline health-care level at all. Expoential growth will ensure that it will be too late once the many are getting sick. I wish the government was like it is portrayed in movies. Skilled, driven by expert opinion, motivated and fast. It is nothing like that in real life, a clown show, this is not an indictment on the many good people who serve, but the government as a whole.

SKorea started testing everyone with flu symptoms and in a week they have nearly a 1000 cases (the US currently cant match their testing volume and speed) , no one was talking about Italy and they have nearly 400 cases and the guy from China they thought was patient zero didnt even have the virus. Iran has admitted it may be all over the country and just five days ago no one was talking about Iran.

This thing is likely in America and elsewhere already. Hopefully there are many unknown cases which means the percentage of those sick or dying from it is actually lower since there is no known number overall.

Maybe I am being crazy, but one thing is for sure, no one knows what is going to happen.
RE: RE: RE: RE: We aren’t all screwed  
Greg from LI : 2/24/2020 9:21 am : link
In comment 14816828 jpkmets said:
Quote:
What concerns me is that in multiple countries governments and private actors are taking some reallly unusual steps that only make sense if they are scarred:


I agree. People can compare this to the flu all they want - no government takes these kinds of measures to prevent the spread of the flu. I don't pretend to be particularly knowledgeable about epidemiology or anything, but we're seeing some rather extreme reactions from people who do have experts advising them.
Rocco.  
SFGFNCGiantsFan : 2/24/2020 9:35 am : link
Step away from the ledge.
from an economic point of view  
Bill2 : 2/24/2020 9:40 am : link
Cases in Italy, Lebanon and Singapore are troublesome because they are chokepoints in trade shipping lanes.

The combination of Lebanon and Italy is essentially signaling the Mediterranean is criss-crossed and in play.

And Singapore is astride the narrow choke point of the biggest trade shipping lane in the world.

The disease does not have to be proven deadly for insurance companies to raise rates on shipping companies and banks to raise rates on factoring inventory between these points or on warehouses at high volume harbors. Or crews to not sign up for certain routes or harbor loading/unloading absent much higher rates of pay
RE: RE: RE: RE: RE: We aren’t all screwed  
Bill L : 2/24/2020 10:10 am : link
In comment 14817081 Greg from LI said:
Quote:
In comment 14816828 jpkmets said:


Quote:


What concerns me is that in multiple countries governments and private actors are taking some reallly unusual steps that only make sense if they are scarred:



I agree. People can compare this to the flu all they want - no government takes these kinds of measures to prevent the spread of the flu. I don't pretend to be particularly knowledgeable about epidemiology or anything, but we're seeing some rather extreme reactions from people who do have experts advising them.


Don’t forget you’re comparing the response of year one of something not
Fully known to over a hundred years of broad exposure and response.
RE: RE: As someone with a 1 year old child  
bw in dc : 2/24/2020 10:24 am : link
In comment 14817076 rocco8112 said:
Quote:
In comment 14817034 Metnut said:


Quote:


this is really terrifying. I think the time to contain this has passed and the WHO and other orgs have to start shifting to mitigatoin.



There is no containment, it is out and spreading and no one on Earth knows what will happen.

If there was a functional government response, an oxymoron in and of itself, there would be an admission this virus can not be contained and education would begin on what civic duties and day to day habits needed to mitigate its spread.

There would be full scale operations to increase accurate and fast testing capabilities (The CDC's first tests were crap which is a sad joke and indictment on the USA) and to increase the capacity to deliver oxygen and other services needed to treat the high number who seem to get very ill from this. The current healthcare system will collapse in under a week if hit with hundreds or thousands needing oxygen. Not to mention those already in hospitals needing care. There should be facilities planned out and equipped to prepare for this deluge of sick.

None of this is happening.

The hubris of our society will soon be coming home to roost. No one alive, even the experts, can envision thousands sick at once all over the US powered by the expoential growth of the virus. Just picture your local ER, minute clinic, Doctor's office or hospital having to suddenly treat hundreds nd then thousands all at once. Then the health-care workers themselves get sick? This is a big fucking problem and as far as I can tell there has been no official educated communication to the American people, there has been no preparation at the frontline health-care level at all. Expoential growth will ensure that it will be too late once the many are getting sick. I wish the government was like it is portrayed in movies. Skilled, driven by expert opinion, motivated and fast. It is nothing like that in real life, a clown show, this is not an indictment on the many good people who serve, but the government as a whole.

SKorea started testing everyone with flu symptoms and in a week they have nearly a 1000 cases (the US currently cant match their testing volume and speed) , no one was talking about Italy and they have nearly 400 cases and the guy from China they thought was patient zero didnt even have the virus. Iran has admitted it may be all over the country and just five days ago no one was talking about Iran.

This thing is likely in America and elsewhere already. Hopefully there are many unknown cases which means the percentage of those sick or dying from it is actually lower since there is no known number overall.

Maybe I am being crazy, but one thing is for sure, no one knows what is going to happen.


I don't think you are crazy. Here's the thing - the Chinese have been through this before. So they would seem to be the most practiced at this. But they are nowhere near getting their arms around this thing. I read where they now think this is going to take "months" to settle. Months? That could be two, three, six...whatever. And has been explained many times, who the hell trusts anything they say with their history of manipulation and deceit?

As a country, we have always had the advantage of having two massive oceans between us and most of the rest of the world. I think we are getting closer and closer to the point of having to maximize that advantage. Global economy be damned for a little while...
RE: Rocco.  
rocco8112 : 2/24/2020 10:33 am : link
In comment 14817107 SFGFNCGiantsFan said:
Quote:
Step away from the ledge.


hahaI know it sounds nuts, but these events concern me very much
A helpful read  
Bill L : 2/24/2020 10:34 am : link
If anyone is interested
Link - ( New Window )
The markets are getting  
Mr. Bungle : 2/24/2020 11:36 am : link
annihilated.

NASDAQ down 3.5%.
Yeah....  
bw in dc : 2/24/2020 11:59 am : link
if you can get to a good cash base, that will set you up pretty well to buy back in when this thing finally clears...
But somebody  
Producer : 2/24/2020 12:17 pm : link
Said it's going to burn out in April...

Who was that again? I forget. Was that opinion based in science? I think whoever said that was a person of some influence. They couldn't possibly be wrong.
RE: But somebody  
MM_in_NYC : 2/24/2020 1:05 pm : link
In comment 14817443 Producer said:
Quote:
Said it's going to burn out in April...

Who was that again? I forget. Was that opinion based in science? I think whoever said that was a person of some influence. They couldn't possibly be wrong.


it wasn't burn out in april, it was peak in april
and  
MM_in_NYC : 2/24/2020 1:07 pm : link
that was only for in china. not the world
I'm pretty sure Bill L  
widmerseyebrow : 2/24/2020 2:49 pm : link
is the corona virus.
RE: I'm pretty sure Bill L  
Bill L : 2/24/2020 2:55 pm : link
In comment 14817688 widmerseyebrow said:
Quote:
is the corona virus.

Potentially. I am almost Chinese, you know.

On a related note, did anyone see the story about the off-campus UAlbany Corona Virus party? Barrels of Corona, served by guys in surgical masks, saying that they’re not afraid of Corona Virus. A college thing and I would have thought harmless. But the Asian American Alliance at the school went ballistic.
Saw this over at Yahoo News  
bw in dc : 2/24/2020 2:57 pm : link
Quote:
The World Health Organization on Monday said the new coronavirus epidemic had "peaked" in China but warned that a surge in cases elsewhere was "deeply concerning" and all countries should prepare for a "potential pandemic".


They are really comfortable saying the virus has peaked in China? Is that accurate?

sounds somewhat like  
Bill2 : 2/24/2020 3:11 pm : link
the assurances of "peaked" came from an "official" source or they mean "reported cases" have leveled off in China?

I don't believe a thing official China says about their economy or what they consider "flaws" that might reflect on the Party.

RE: Saw this over at Yahoo News  
Bill L : 2/24/2020 3:29 pm : link
In comment 14817708 bw in dc said:
Quote:


Quote:


The World Health Organization on Monday said the new coronavirus epidemic had "peaked" in China but warned that a surge in cases elsewhere was "deeply concerning" and all countries should prepare for a "potential pandemic".



They are really comfortable saying the virus has peaked in China? Is that accurate?
Id be skeptical about what China says too. They’ve already readjusted their numbers at least twice because they change how to define a case.
Ah, The Delight Of Not Knowing!  
Percy : 2/24/2020 5:37 pm : link
Unusual these days, but only because we forgot how to not know. How to begin by having no idea.
.  
Bill2 : 2/24/2020 6:05 pm : link
But only China. Its the only exception.

I think we can all continue to fully believe everything every other government and "expert" says on just about every subject.

RE: .  
Bill L : 2/24/2020 7:04 pm : link
In comment 14817955 Bill2 said:
Quote:
But only China. Its the only exception.

I think we can all continue to fully believe everything every other government and "expert" says on just about every subject.


I’m not so sure about Iran.

On a different note, keep on eye on Africa as a potential powder keg. Apparently, there’s tons of interactions with China, lots of people moving in and out of Africa from China, and in many of those places there’s terrible medical infrastructure.
Bill, are you still traveling as much as usual?  
yatqb : 2/24/2020 7:33 pm : link
Any concerns about that?

We’re thinking of a European vacation this spring but are a bit leery given that you never know who’s going to be on the plane with you.
BillL  
Bill2 : 2/24/2020 8:19 pm : link
My friend, I was being sarcastic about nations and truth

And Iran is easy to understand. Its oil fields are very populated by Chinese workers and just about its only trading partners are NK and China. Its engineering projects are contracted out to Chinese firms as well. Wuhan hub makes many of the commodities found in oil fields and pipelines so that's an easy connection to understand

Lebanon is easy to understand...it swaps Shia militants with Iran and many of its people are in merchant shipping all over the world.

Italy's manufacturing hub (where the virus is in the Genoa/Milan/Turin area) prefers Chinese goods and ships to China because it makes the same things as Germany so Europe is not a logical trading partner.

Singapore has a predominately Chinese population. It is where Western Engineering/technology firms and many banking firms come in contact with China. I would expect it to be a large transfer node with the rest of the globe.
After this virus passes,  
bw in dc : 2/24/2020 8:21 pm : link
and hopefully soon with fewer deaths, let's hope this is a wake-up call for the US and US businesses to seriously reconsider being so dependent on China for labor, supplies, manufacturing.
yatqb  
Bill2 : 2/24/2020 8:32 pm : link
I have had 3 significant bouts with the flu since December 20th. All after flights. Each time I assumed I was done and resumed normal workloads.

Each flu was different.

Currently, I have not flown for about a month...a long stretch for me.

I don't know what to say about going to Europe. You guys are healthy so there is that. Europe is cool. But flying is essentially being in a silver cigar with recycled air blowing at you for hours.

We think planes are clean. They are not. Each nozzle of air provides recycling containing contributions from the sickest person on the plane.

If you go, stay away from the British Isles and the North Sea Countries. International Energy Worker centric. Stay away from Hungary, Poland, Rumania, Bulgaria for Lebanon is Syria and Syria is refugee camps in those four places.

Northern Spain? Portugal? Iceland? Faroe Islands? Northern France? ( stay away from Southern France ( Marseilles is a major shipping port as is Hamburg and Rotterdam and Amsterdam and Stockholm))

Of course there is Ireland. The people there are impervious. Guinness kills.

Talk them into going to Yankee games?
bw  
Bill2 : 2/24/2020 8:36 pm : link
I think that is happening at a rapid pace.

And it needs to. The supply chains are vulnerable to sudden and inexplicable shifts in taxation, laws, government inspections and endless reverse engineering. It has been a hostile place for American business long before this.
'
As the transport and insurance costs go up, as risk of sudden supply changes increase, the value of the labor arbitrage shrinks.
RE: The markets are getting  
Mr. Bungle : 2/25/2020 2:41 pm : link
In comment 14817351 Mr. Bungle said:
Quote:
annihilated.

NASDAQ down 3.5%.

The markets are getting annihilated. Again.

Dow down 3.3%.

Wiping out 3 and a half months of gains in two days.
Seems like the cat is out of the bag  
bubba0825 : 2/25/2020 2:57 pm : link
And it’s only a matter of time now
Link - ( New Window )
So I am boarding a plane in Manchester, NH  
Darth Paul : 2/26/2020 2:28 pm : link
There are about 20 Asians on the flight, should I be worried?
RE: So I am boarding a plane in Manchester, NH  
Chris in Philly : 2/26/2020 2:37 pm : link
In comment 14819958 Darth Paul said:
Quote:
There are about 20 Asians on the flight, should I be worried?


No.
RE: So I am boarding a plane in Manchester, NH  
jcn56 : 2/26/2020 2:40 pm : link
In comment 14819958 Darth Paul said:
Quote:
There are about 20 Asians on the flight, should I be worried?


Depends - do they know karate?
RE: So I am boarding a plane in Manchester, NH  
Mr. Bungle : 2/26/2020 2:44 pm : link
In comment 14819958 Darth Paul said:
Quote:
There are about 20 Asians on the flight, should I be worried?

You should be far more worried about your ignorance.
For people following this  
schabadoo : 2/26/2020 2:53 pm : link
At least anecdotally, does it seem too late to pick up N95+ masks? HD, Amazon not looking good. Was wondering if specialty stores might have some, like a lumber store or arts and crafts.

Thanks.
RE: For people following this  
jcn56 : 2/26/2020 3:00 pm : link
In comment 14820000 schabadoo said:
Quote:
At least anecdotally, does it seem too late to pick up N95+ masks? HD, Amazon not looking good. Was wondering if specialty stores might have some, like a lumber store or arts and crafts.

Thanks.


You're going to pay a hefty premium. I have some because I do hobby work with fiberglass and cement. I thought of buying a few more, and the stocks in all the usual places were depleted and Amazon's prices were through the roof.
RE: For people following this  
mitch300 : 2/26/2020 5:42 pm : link
In comment 14820000 schabadoo said:
Quote:
At least anecdotally, does it seem too late to pick up N95+ masks? HD, Amazon not looking good. Was wondering if specialty stores might have some, like a lumber store or arts and crafts.

Thanks.

Do you have any facial hair? I see guys with beards wearing A mask.For a n95 to be effective you need to be fit tested. If you do not have a complete seal, it is not doing what it is intended for.
RE: RE: So I am boarding a plane in Manchester, NH  
Darth Paul : 2/26/2020 7:30 pm : link
In comment 14819987 Mr. Bungle said:
Quote:
In comment 14819958 Darth Paul said:


Quote:


There are about 20 Asians on the flight, should I be worried?


You should be far more worried about your ignorance.


Ignorance? The virus is uncontrolled in China. I was on a small plane with 18 Chinese people, I confirmed, and I cannot wonder where they came from or if there is a chance one had the virus?
I know this is no laughing matter for sure  
Milton : 2/26/2020 8:46 pm : link
But I'm reminded of this comedy routine by Kirk Fox...
Bird Flu - ( New Window )
RE: RE: For people following this  
schabadoo : 2/26/2020 11:32 pm : link
In comment 14820007 jcn56 said:
Quote:
In comment 14820000 schabadoo said:


Quote:


At least anecdotally, does it seem too late to pick up N95+ masks? HD, Amazon not looking good. Was wondering if specialty stores might have some, like a lumber store or arts and crafts.

Thanks.



You're going to pay a hefty premium. I have some because I do hobby work with fiberglass and cement. I thought of buying a few more, and the stocks in all the usual places were depleted and Amazon's prices were through the roof.


Thanks for the response. The local lumberyard had some R95s, figured I could use them anyway at some point in the future.
Here is a CDC link...  
BamaBlue : 2/27/2020 8:24 am : link
It updates status every afternoon. There are a lot of unreliable sources of information that lead to confusion and a false sense of comfort or doom (pick your poison). Facts help you to decide when it's time to panic...

At this time, there are 14 cases reported in the US. 12 of the cases are travel related and 2 cases are human-to-human transfer. this total excludes those people that were on the Japanese cruise ship...
CDC Link for COVID19 - ( New Window )
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