The Coronavirus thread

[davidclt]

This is not a good looking chart: https://www.ft.com/content/a26fbf7e-48f8-11ea-aeb3-955839e06441  I think the slope of the US line only increases from here as we diagnose more cases in this country 

[QCxpat]

Today's Charlotte Business Journal - "Local restaurateur Jim Noble seeks donations to deliver more meals to those in need" by Jennifer Thomas

Excerpt:  "Longtime Charlotte restaurateur Jim Noble has ramped up efforts to feed the underserved and homeless populations in Charlotte amid the novel coronavirus outbreak.  His restaurant group, Noble Food & Pursuits, has shifted its focus from daily operations of serving guests after Gov. Roy Cooper ordered restaurants and bars in North Carolina to stop dine-in service earlier this week."  ...   “I’ve got labor and I’ve got food,” Noble says.   “I’m trying to make something good out of something bad.”   "About 600 dinnertime meals are being served daily through nonprofit The King’s Kitchen and the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Dream Center, part of the national Dream Center network.   The restaurant group is seeking donations to bump that number up to 2,000 meals daily.   Staff and volunteers deliver these meals directly to those in need so recipients don't have to travel in order to eat.  The organization requires an average of $7 per meal in order to do that; tax-deductible donations can be made online."

Link:  https://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/news/2020/03/20/local-restaurateur-jim-noble-seeks-donations-to.html?

http://cltdc.org/  - Charlotte Mecklenburg Dream Center

[davidclt]

Charlotte Agenda has launched a campaign to Give a Virtual Tip to a local service industry professional in need of financial assistance. Press the “Meet Your Server” button and their database will randomly select a profile that you can use to give to them directly via Venmo.

https://www.charlotteagenda.com/tipclt/

Seems to be a net good thing on the surface.

[urbanlover568]

We NEED draconian measures implemented now like China did!

 

[videtur quam contuor]

Washington and Oregon working on more beds, stat! 

Note this is beds per 1000 population age 60+. States with younger population compared to older population (Utah vs. Vermont) skew differently.

 

 

[kermit]

Closer to home we can also see that density may not play a first order role in Covid transmission. Kershaw county SC (pop 65,000, Camden is the county seat) is now the hardest hit county in the Carolinas, has less than 1% of the state’s population but, as of yesterday,  35% of all SC Covid cases (29 total diagnosed cases in Kershaw yesterday).

Drive up testing there wont begin until Monday....

https://www.thestate.com/news/coronavirus/article241330771.html

https://www.greenvilleonline.com/story/news/2020/03/20/coronavirus-america-pandemic-spreads-south-carolina-camden-has-most-cases-in-state/2873500001/

Edited March 21, 2020 by kermit

[DMann]

This is from an immunologist at Johns Hopkins University.

Feeling confused as to why Coronavirus is a bigger deal than Seasonal flu? Here it is in a nutshell. I hope this helps. Feel free to share this to others who don’t understand...

It has to do with RNA sequencing.... I.e. genetics.

Seasonal flu is an “all human virus”. The DNA/RNA chains that make up the virus are recognized by the human immune system. This means that your body has some immunity to it before it comes around each year... you get immunity two ways...through exposure to a virus, or by getting a flu shot.

Novel viruses, come from animals.... the WHO tracks novel viruses in animals, (sometimes for years watching for mutations). Usually these viruses only transfer from animal to animal (pigs in the case of H1N1) (birds in the case of the Spanish flu). But once, one of these animal viruses mutates, and starts to transfer from animals to humans... then it’s a problem, Why? Because we have no natural or acquired immunity.. the RNA sequencing of the genes inside the virus isn’t human, and the human immune system doesn’t recognize it so, we can’t fight it off.

Now.... sometimes, the mutation only allows transfer from animal to human, for years it’s only transmission is from an infected animal to a human before it finally mutates so that it can now transfer human to human... once that happens..we have a new contagion phase. And depending on the fashion of this new mutation, thats what decides how contagious, or how deadly it’s gonna be..

H1N1 was deadly....but it did not mutate in a way that was as deadly as the Spanish flu. It’s RNA was slower to mutate and it attacked its host differently, too.

Fast forward.

Now, here comes this Coronavirus... it existed in animals only, for nobody knows how long...but one day, at an animal market, in Wuhan China, in December 2019, it mutated and made the jump from animal to people. At first, only animals could give it to a person... But here is the scary part.... in just TWO WEEKS it mutated again and gained the ability to jump from human to human. Scientists call this quick ability, “slippery”

This Coronavirus, not being in any form a “human” virus (whereas we would all have some natural or acquired immunity). Took off like a rocket. And this was because, Humans have no known immunity...doctors have no known medicines for it.

And it just so happens that this particular mutated animal virus, changed itself in such a way the way that it causes great damage to human lungs..

That’s why Coronavirus is different from seasonal flu, or H1N1 or any other type of influenza.... this one is slippery AF. And it’s a lung eater...And, it’s already mutated AGAIN, so that we now have two strains to deal with, strain s, and strain L....which makes it twice as hard to develop a vaccine.

We really have no tools in our shed, with this. History has shown that fast and immediate closings of public places has helped in the past pandemics. Philadelphia and Baltimore were reluctant to close events in 1918 and they were the hardest hit in the US during the Spanish Flu.

Factoid: Henry VIII stayed in his room and allowed no one near him, till the Black Plague passed...(honestly...I understand him so much better now). Just like us, he had no tools in his shed, except social isolation...

And let me end by saying....right now it’s hitting older folks harder... but this genome is so slippery...if it mutates again (and it will). Who is to say, what it will do next.

 

This is too good to pass up:

 

[videtur quam contuor]

My veterinarian staff says this corona virus strain that we are dealing with now does not transfer to cats. Dogs, yes. Most dogs display no symptoms of the virus, perhaps runny nose and sniffles. No transfection from dogs to humans. The vets are on this, I assume. (I was there for specialty animal food supply)

[gman430]

 

15 hours ago, urbanlover568 said:

We NEED draconian measures implemented now like China did!

 

Sounds like an excuse to lock everybody in their homes for a month while implementing martial law. No thanks. I like my constitutional rights. This isn’t North Korea.

Edited March 21, 2020 by gman430

[urbanlover568]

33 minutes ago, gman430 said:

 

Sounds like an excuse to lock everybody in their homes for a month while implementing martial law. No thanks. I like my constitutional rights. This isn’t North Korea.

Well enjoy the pandemic then. As a libertarian, I realize these are exceptional times. Sad some are selfish.

[gman430]

33 minutes ago, urbanlover568 said:

Well enjoy the pandemic then. As a libertarian, I realize these are exceptional times. Sad some are selfish.

I wouldn’t call it selfish. More just wanting my freedom that the Constitution rightfully gives me. I’m in downtown Greenville and there is nobody practicing social distancing here so I guess I am not alone. Also, my employer is still making me show up to work so I can’t stay home even if I wanted to. 

Edited March 21, 2020 by gman430

[15895]

15 minutes ago, gman430 said:

I wouldn’t call it selfish. More just wanting my freedom that the Constitution rightfully gives me. I’m in downtown Greenville and there is nobody practicing social distancing here so I guess I am not alone. Also, my employer is still making me show up to work so I can’t stay home even if I wanted to. 

 

South Carolina.

[urbanlover568]

Washington Governor Inslee: "Someone asked the other day, 'what's the penalty for a young person going out to a restaurant, or hanging in a social get-together?' And it's true the penalty is that you might kill your grandparent" More true words never spoken. 

 

 

[videtur quam contuor]

https://www.uchicagomedicine.org/forefront/coronavirus-disease-covid-19/emily-landon-speaks-about-covid-19-at-illinois-governors-press-conference

Watch the whole speech but from 5:00 specifically for why this request to stay home is important.

"You may feel it is all for nothing. And if we do this right it will be. You will feel it was all for nothing. And you will be right. Because nothing happened to your family and that is what we are going for here."

The earlier part is the risk for overwhelming the medical system. 

[gman430]

42 minutes ago, urbanlover568 said:

Washington Governor Inslee: "Someone asked the other day, 'what's the penalty for a young person going out to a restaurant, or hanging in a social get-together?' And it's true the penalty is that you might kill your grandparent" More true words never spoken. 

 

 

You could say that when it comes to the flu though. Nobody stopped going to bars and restaurants due to that virus. It still just seems really odd to me that there is a mass panic and hysteria going on with this but not with the flu or H1N1.

Edited March 21, 2020 by gman430

[urbanlover568]

8 minutes ago, gman430 said:

You could say that when it comes to the flu though. Nobody stopped going to bars and restaurants due to that virus. 

Can we do something about this mods? This is trolling and disinformation.

[davidclt]

Data as of 1:43 p.m. today, the U.S. crossed the 20,000 confirmed cases threshold and surpassed Germany for confirmed cases. At 22,177, we're about 3,200 cases behind #3, Spain (and gaining quickly). I wonder how long until we pass Italy in #2 and in true form become #1 worldwide, passing China in the true spirit of American Exceptionalism?

[gman430]

3 hours ago, urbanlover568 said:

Can we do something about this mods? This is trolling and disinformation.

Even though I don’t think my posts are trolling due to them being a valid argument, i’ll calm down and won’t post about it anymore. Just go back to posting drone pics. I still stand by my statements also.

Edited March 21, 2020 by gman430

[nicholas]

Some sort of good news from today maybe? Went out for a drive just a little bit ago to get out of the house, South End was mostly empty other than the typical joggers/dog walkers out and about.  Good sign that people are staying home/keeping their distance from others.

[urbanlover568]

Elon Musk does it again! What a amazing man!

 

Elon Musk: Should Have 1000 Ventilators Next Week, + 250,000 N95 Masks For Hospitals Tomorrow

 

https://cleantechnica.com/2020/03/21/elon-musk-should-have-1000-ventilators-next-week-250k-n95-masks-for-hospitals-tomorrow-cleantechnica-exclusive/amp/

[nicholas]

2 hours ago, urbanlover568 said:

Elon Musk does it again! What a amazing man!

 

Elon Musk: Should Have 1000 Ventilators Next Week, + 250,000 N95 Masks For Hospitals Tomorrow

 

https://cleantechnica.com/2020/03/21/elon-musk-should-have-1000-ventilators-next-week-250k-n95-masks-for-hospitals-tomorrow-cleantechnica-exclusive/amp/

Like everything Musk says, I'll believe it when I actually see it....

[urbanlover568]

27 minutes ago, nicholas said:

Like everything Musk says, I'll believe it when I actually see it....

What does that mean? He's done amazing things for the world. Sad how people wants to be so negative about a man who wants to do what's right.

[Nick2]

6 hours ago, gman430 said:

Even though I don’t think my posts are trolling due to them being a valid argument, i’ll calm down and won’t post about it anymore. Just go back to posting drone pics. I still stand by my statements also.

There's a reason that even agent orange and his sycophants on Fox have completely 180'd from their original "hoax" and "new democratic impeachment" BS that they were pushing two weeks ago. Someone finally got through to them about the severity of this.

This virus isn't going to end the world but if we do nothing about it or not enough, it WILL kill millions. Preventable deaths in today's 21st century information and technology. Covid-19 is significantly more deadly and contagious than the standard flu although it does have similar symptoms.

We have a decent vaccine for the flu set up for yearly administration and even with that we still have 50k killed yearly from the standard influenza. 

The number of cases are going to absolutely skyrocket this upcoming week. Don't panic because it won't be much worse than it is, it will just be actual administered tests when there weren't any available before. 

[Neo]

Please stop the spread of misinformation. Whether or not someone thinks this virus is silly and the world's measures to 'flatten the curve' are silly, the fact is that this virus has the potential to kill more than the flu unless we contain it or limit its spread:

https://flowingdata.com/2020/03/16/possible-coronavirus-deaths-compared-against-other-causes/

[elrodvt]

∆. Thank you.