[Health] The Infectious Diseases Thread

[Isgrimnur]

Eventually it will be cheaper to carry around a bottle of Wild Turkey 101.

You need 60% content, so you'd be better off with 151 rum.

[Isgrimnur]

Three cases in Ohio.

COLUMBUS, Ohio—Three Ohioans have tested positive for the new coronavirus, Gov. Mike DeWine announced Monday afternoon.

The governor, speaking at a Statehouse news conference, said all three are from Cuyahoga County. They are all in their mid-50s.

Two are a married couple, a man and woman, who recently returned from a cruise on the Nile in Africa. One of the couple is in the hospital, although that person’s condition was unknown, DeWine said.

Oh man, this is going to result in the cancellation of Origins, isn't it.

[naednek]

So my question is, what are they going to do next week when another person in the district gets hit with the virus?

The district will go on double secret probation.

well today they just announced a kid who goes to one of the schools now has it.

[Daehawk]

Caught a small snippet but didn't hear it good ..something like of the 3000 on that cruise ship going to Oakland they tested 60 or so and 21 had it. Are they just letting those folks go home?

[Ralph-Wiggum]

Just got an email that the University of Florida has advised all classes to transition to online wherever possible. This is in a town (Gainesville) that has currently zero cases of Covid-19. Transitioning the 300+ person lecture courses to online lectures shouldn’t be too hard, but I have no idea how they will transition the lab courses online.

[Lassr]

Friday was everyone work from home day at NASA to see if the system could handle it and as far as I know it did. Today they announced someone at AMES tested positive so that center is closed and everyone but essential personnel works from home.

[Daehawk]

Starting to think it might be better if everyone who is going to get it gets it and gets it over with. You know none of this will prevent it spreading. Its just going to trickle it out.

[Holman]

My dad is in chemo for pancreatic cancer, so he's very much a high-risk case for infection.

I've been planning to visit him and mom in the next few weeks, but I feel like I need to make sure I'm not a carrier. Plus, the process of just getting there involves two flights and three airports. My sister is planning the same with the same considerations.

[Holman]

Starting to think it might be better if everyone who is going to get it gets it and gets it over with. You know none of this will prevent it spreading. Its just going to trickle it out.

Some people (including prominent media types) have suggested this, but the problem is that the number of cases would far exceed the number of available hospital (and especially ICU) beds available. In addition, hospital staff themselves would be suffering at the same time, further decreasing available care.

Trickling it out is how you keep the caseload manageable.

[stessier]

Starting to think it might be better if everyone who is going to get it gets it and gets it over with. You know none of this will prevent it spreading. Its just going to trickle it out.

If it is going to happen, you want it to trickle out to prevent overloading the health care system.

[em2nought]

Starting to think it might be better if everyone who is going to get it gets it and gets it over with. You know none of this will prevent it spreading. Its just going to trickle it out.

Some people (including prominent media types) have suggested this, but the problem is that the number of cases would far exceed the number of available hospital (and especially ICU) beds available. In addition, hospital staff themselves would be suffering at the same time, further decreasing available care.

Trickling it out is how you keep the caseload manageable.

Plus it buys time for the drug companies to trial their best "possible" preventatives.

[gameoverman]

Starting to think it might be better if everyone who is going to get it gets it and gets it over with. You know none of this will prevent it spreading. Its just going to trickle it out.

I think it's an ego trip for us humans to think we are managing it in any way. So, in effect, I think I will be infected whenever the virus gets around to my area, regardless of what anyone does. That's assuming I haven't already been infected.

As far as the stress on the medical care system, I think that is likewise out of our hands. I'm hoping something in our lifestyle or environment will render people in the US more resistant to the worst effects of this virus. That would be the one factor to reduce the pressure on the medical system that has a chance to work.

I think we still have no real idea how many people out there are infected. This means there's no reason to think that reducing the spread, via quarantine, is going to control the amount of people flooding hospitals. You might reduce spread from a hot spot with 2000 cases, but there could be five other hot spots with thousands more infected and untested. If we had a real number of who is infected and where, then a quarantine would be a winner.

[RMC]

Ohio is under State of Emergency, due to the three positive cases.

Ohio be worried

COLUMBUS, Ohio - During the Monday afternoon news conference in which Gov. Mike DeWine announced three confirmed coronavirus cases out of Cuyahoga County, he said he was going to sign a document to put Ohio under a state of emergency.

What does that mean?

“Let me be quite candid,” DeWine said. “I would not read too much into a state of emergency.”

DeWine is using a section of state law to declare the emergency. Among the provisions:

The state will be allowed to purchase medical equipment, for instance, and not have to go through the regular bidding process, which can take weeks or months because it allows many people to submit estimates and the state to vet them all. “It’s a legal necessity we have to go through if we’re going to be able to get these products quickly,” he said.
The Ohio Department of Health will create diagnostic and treatment guidelines and provide them to health care facilities across the state.
The order also allows the Ohio Department of Health to offer guidelines for restricting work and business travel if necessary.
State agencies can suspend rules or temporarily adopt new rules to help address the public health threat.
The public is urged to heed the advice of the health department and other emergency officials to protect their health and safety.
People who feel they’ve been subject to excessive costs for essential goods for coronavirus can call the Ohio Attorney General’s office at (800) 282-0515.

[Daehawk]

3 cases are an emergency? Imagine if they did this kinda knee jerk with the flu.

[Blackhawk]

Indiana did the same, and we have three cases. The point is that it allows them to begin to take advantage of money and resources to prepare for the outbreak, getting the resources in place before it explodes in their faces.

Given that the Federal government is dropping the ball, more power to 'em.

[Daehawk]

Maybe its time for a stimulus check. I remember the ones from 2008 and 2009 were a Godsend to me and my wife. They helped tremendously with things we were behind on. Little things. And they added up.

[Punisher]

My wife spoke to my tenant who has a 6-7 year old in school. The school district has already told them that they will transition the schools to online if and when they need to. I’m wondering if it might not be a bad idea to just do that permanently anyway.its what al, the future movies learned me.

[MHS]

Meanwhile, my company is planning travel just the same as they always do, because one of our biggest clients has multiple clinics in Southern California that need implementation and training on our software. And this time around I'm getting roped into going because we are too short-staffed. So I'm supposed to travel to LA or thereabouts at the end of April. Hopefully the client comes to their f'ing senses and cancels on us.

Same here. $ over health. I have a minimum of one flight per week every week until Memorial Day. I've had clients calling to ask about my health and asking if things will be cancelled but my boss hasn't even asked how I'm feeling. The difference in income to the company is $4k per day we get for onsite training vs. $795 per web-based training, plus we've already paid for my flights and in some cases, my hotels, so there's no way he's going to lose out on that revenue and those sunk costs just because of a little thing like my health.

I'd love to see the poor health worker tasked with tracking the possible circle of infection from me if I do get infected. Just in the last 10 days, I've been on 7 flights, in 5 hotels, in 3 of the busiest airports in the US, and in 2 of the largest tourist destinations.

[Lorini]

It's going to do the do as they say. I know this much, the markets will be way happier when the medical people come up with more certainty regarding transmission and death rates.

I don't know, I have expensive tickets I got through a ticket broker for the Dodgers on April 16. Thing is, since I didn't buy them from the Dodgers I'm probably not going to get a refund when they don't play the game. I don't see how sporting events can continue, they are just asking for disaster. And unlike basketball which can really be played year round, baseball has a limited window so who knows what will happen to the season.

[Smoove_B]

Same here. $ over health.

Is there any way you can speak to your medical support staff and have them advocate for you in some way? I can't imagine they want you traveling at this point either.

[Anonymous Bosch]

Same here. $ over health.

Is there any way you can speak to your medical support staff and have them advocate for you in some way? I can't imagine they want you traveling at this point either.

Yeah, something like a signed medical recommendation from a specialist -- such as your Nephrologist -- ought to carry some heft in a scenario such as this.

[gameoverman]

My wife spoke to my tenant who has a 6-7 year old in school. The school district has already told them that they will transition the schools to online if and when they need to. I’m wondering if it might not be a bad idea to just do that permanently anyway.its what al, the future movies learned me.

There are potential issues with that, not least of which is that for many parents school doubles as childcare. The idea that the kids never leave the home during the day is going to work for some, be a disaster for others.

[Blackhawk]

My wife spoke to my tenant who has a 6-7 year old in school. The school district has already told them that they will transition the schools to online if and when they need to. I’m wondering if it might not be a bad idea to just do that permanently anyway.its what al, the future movies learned me.

A big part of the learning process is socialization. That can't happen with online schooling.

[Victoria Raverna]

My wife spoke to my tenant who has a 6-7 year old in school. The school district has already told them that they will transition the schools to online if and when they need to. I’m wondering if it might not be a bad idea to just do that permanently anyway.its what al, the future movies learned me.

A big part of the learning process is socialization. That can't happen with online schooling.

Why not? If we can play games online with friends, we can online schooling with other students.

[Daehawk]

So all of Italy is locked down.

[Isgrimnur]

That’s what happens when it gets leaked that they’re going to lock down half of it.

[Blackhawk]

My wife spoke to my tenant who has a 6-7 year old in school. The school district has already told them that they will transition the schools to online if and when they need to. I’m wondering if it might not be a bad idea to just do that permanently anyway.its what al, the future movies learned me.

A big part of the learning process is socialization. That can't happen with online schooling.

Why not? If we can play games online with friends, we can online schooling with other students.

Hands on team projects, direct socialization (IE - free and organized play), casual interactions (having friends you bump in to in the hall), that sort of thing is essential to the proper development of kids, especially at the younger ages. Hell, some development requires simply seeing other people face-to-face on a regular basis, looking into their eyes, seeing their expressions in a way that a cheap webcam can't duplicate.

[Daehawk]

Got an email from Harbor Freight about how they are sanitizing often used surfaces. Welp the shit has hit the fan if harbor Freight is scared.

[The Meal]

Same here. $ over health.

Is there any way you can speak to your medical support staff and have them advocate for you in some way? I can't imagine they want you traveling at this point either.

Her best bet would be for the clients to cancel the training. Most of the clients are state agencies, so it's not unheard of that they would be directed to cancel unnecessary congregations of employees (such as in-person trainings). MHS's employer is very unlikely to be coerced/convinced to curtail her travel.

[MHS]

Same here. $ over health.

Is there any way you can speak to your medical support staff and have them advocate for you in some way? I can't imagine they want you traveling at this point either.

My next kidney check-in is scheduled for March 23, I plan to talk to them about it then so we'll see what the experts thoughts on it are. Maybe there's nothing to be concerned about and I'm just being a whiner.

On the subject, my last blood tests show me at .71 creatnine, which indicates a glomular filtration rate of 100...effectively, I have 100% healthy, normal kidney function with no trace of kidney disease or reduced kidney function based on that test. I have tears in my eyes just typing that, since I was at effectively about 16% function 2 years ago at this time. I got a hell of a good kidney!

[Daehawk]

Glad to hear you are perfect. Thats really awesome.

Im thinking of skipping my doctors appointment when my meds run out. I dont want to sit there 30+ minutes in a small waiting area with sick people.

[Smoove_B]

(1) Your employer is a wanker
(2) It's highly, highly likely that your state-sponsored clients will reschedule. I am working as a SME consultant for a local agency that is allegedly being audited in a month and I've expressed repeatedly auditing a public health agency in the middle of a pandemic response is beyond tone deaf
(3) Glad your parts are working as designed! I'd still encourage you to give them a call ahead of your visit. If for no other reason than to check in via phone first

Overall, things are about to ripple. There still isn't good data to suggest shutting down schools will have an impact on transmission (like it does for flu), but unfortunately we won't know if it was the right move until after it happens. I fully expect schools to be shut down coast to coast over the next 7-10 days for random amounts of time based on guidance from local health agencies. Once the schools shut down, that's going to kick off a need for more people to work at home and the cascade of short-term economic impacts begin.

[Smoove_B]

Also, this is likely the single most depressing thing I've read on Twitter today:

https://twitter.com/EmmaLBriant/status/ ... 9479063553

Well this is a tragic embarrassment. New York authorities say they can only shut schools during coronavirus as an absolute last resort because 114,000 of the school children are homeless & would have nowhere else to go. ⁦@nytimes⁩

[Isgrimnur]

Perhaps they should shut down the schools and use them as homeless shelters.

[Kraken]

Same here. $ over health.

Is there any way you can speak to your medical support staff and have them advocate for you in some way? I can't imagine they want you traveling at this point either.

Her best bet would be for the clients to cancel the training. Most of the clients are state agencies, so it's not unheard of that they would be directed to cancel unnecessary congregations of employees (such as in-person trainings). MHS's employer is very unlikely to be coerced/convinced to curtail her travel.

Then Shannon needs a different employer. Her job is not worth risking her life. If anybody should be hunkering down....

[Kraken]

Im thinking of skipping my doctors appointment when my meds run out. I dont want to sit there 30+ minutes in a small waiting area with sick people.

My left arm has been marginally functional for months. I had planned to go see the arm doctor for some arm medicine if my colonoscopy came up clean. Well, it did (and I had reason to think it wouldn't). But sick people go to the doctor's office. I can put off an arm transplant until this thing blows over in a few weeks.

[Kasey Chang]

Someone is spreading rumors that they found a tourist in Chinatown with COVID-19 and sent him to hospital. Now for sure NOBODY will come to Chinatown.

My Coding Bootcamp is going virtual too. They are closing the physical classrooms. Whopee-dee. In fact several bay area local universities (UC Berkeley, San Francisco State U, San Jose State U) are going online.

[gameoverman]

Also, this is likely the single most depressing thing I've read on Twitter today:

That situation exists all over, including here in So Cal. Schools serve a lot more functions besides learning your ABCs. Of course this does depend on the area and demographics. I expect there will be some clashing between the 'shut down the schools' people whose kids can skip a couple of weeks of school no problem and the people who depend on being able to send their kids to school.

[Kasey Chang]

Im thinking of skipping my doctors appointment when my meds run out. I dont want to sit there 30+ minutes in a small waiting area with sick people.

Just call and have them send the refill straight to the pharmacist, then call the pharmacist and say you want it delivered.

[Paingod]

Big news for Maine is that our state capital has been set up to test up to 200 cases per day. They've tested 3. No news on any positives.