Covid19

[j44ke]

Out of Italy:

Coronavirus: Deserted Italian street rings out with song as people lean out of windows to sing together during lockdown | The Independent

[guido]

Out of Italy:

Coronavirus: Deserted Italian street rings out with song as people lean out of windows to sing together during lockdown | The Independent

Most cool!

[Blue Jays]

"...This is fact finding. We have several people in our midst who have direct experience..."

Agree 100%. I am also seeing the political slams here.
There is that whole other OT thread for political sparring.

[WFSTEKL]

Just mumbling to myself here.......

It seems that vacant college dorms would be ideal structural resources to create additional hospital beds. A more significant challenge will be sourcing medical staff, medical equipment and medicine.

[Blue Jays]

/\/\/\

That is pretty solid outside-the-box thinking, @WFSTEKL.
Better to have and not need than the other way around.
Exploring even totally unorthodox approaches makes sense.

[thollandpe]

Just mumbling to myself here.......

It seems that vacant college dorms would be ideal structural resources to create additional hospital beds. A more significant challenge will be sourcing medical staff, medical equipment and medicine.

One of the local colleges had already mothballed a 500-bed dormitory because of financial cutbacks.

[WFSTEKL]

You're not wrong Bill. But the numbers of highly-mobile college students are relatively low compared to the number of business (and leisure) travelers already out & about. And Covid-19 arrived in New England with a group of high-schoolers returning from a February trip to Europe.

The gate is wide open. No way to close it, so wash your hands!

Well, I was wrong. The dialogue was much more fervent, and the horizon much shorter. It took just a couple of days after posting my musings before the US educational system came to a grinding halt. Disc brakes do work!

[WFSTEKL]

One of the local colleges had already mothballed a 500-bed dormitory because of financial cutbacks.

Yes, but the beds at Amherst College are still warm.

[HorsCat]

So how is this coloring his interactions with his patients? Is he providing them accurate information?

Can't speak to his interactions with patients. He's a GP, so I expect he is fielding more COVID-19 related questions than other medical professionals. He posts prolifically on Facebook (seems to get lots of his info there, too), and I read some of what he writes because it appeals to the amateur psychologist in me. Currently he is telling people not to panic, to go on with their lives, etc. Frequent references to media hype and the fact that the US mortality rate is lower if you exclude the state of Washington. Encourages people not to get political, but keeps referring to media hype and the mortality rate in the state of Washington. He probably says the same thing to patients. I would never entrust myself to his care.

[j44ke]

...I would never entrust myself to his care.

Ouch.

[Too Tall]

I have arrived at the time of year when I normally ramp up my weekly mileage to prepare for some summer and fall events. You are likely enjoying the same mileage ascent. Now I'm not so sure about how prudent it is to stress the body at this time. I do enjoy the feeling of returning home, hollowed-out, and happy as I slurp a tall glass of V-8; however, maybe I will need those reserves to survive?

Also, when the dust settles, maybe we will return to a time when our sport wasn't a promotional exercise, when it will be enough to ride shoulder to shoulder with another individual through the countryside and chat about our children, or our preference for Macintosh versus Cortland, or how good it feels to taste the sweat that settles on our mouth. Some of the best moments are the banal ones.

Cortland, Macs are for pies or better yet both together. Bubba, you ride your bike like it was the last. Hear me now?

I'm out for a ride, thanks for the reminder. Ok ok maybe I'll skip some hill repeats...damnit.

[vertical_doug]

It's not necessarily contradicting, but it's also dumbed down for media and general populace consumptions. And like I said, things are changing hourly. You are relying on a governor to relay a message about a complex process to a mass of people that can't even spell "reagent." The term "kit" is even simplified for ease of reporting. There is far more to it than that. We say kit because it's palatable to the general populace. The governor doesn't know what a kit is.

I can't directly speak for state labs (as in the state lab for each state) but they are somewhat limited in their ability to test in large volumes. They will ultimately rely on larger hospitals to help with the lifting.

There is a lot to be learned from this and it is by no means perfect, but I think "failing" is quite exaggerative.

Test or no test, continue to practice precautions recommended by the CDC.

I tend to agree with Will here. I have an employee who is self isolating with his wife because they both were in contact with a person who tested positive. They called the NHS 111 but NHS said since they are not target demographic, to just self isolate and they can't be tested at this time. NHS only has capacity for 2000/day.
Korea is up to 10,000 a day, but it has taken time for them to ramp. They have only tested 140,000 in total. I am sure both US and UK will ramp. It takes time.

[vertical_doug]

The current approach is a NEED based approach vs a WANT based approach. There is a triaging process so that the resources are used on those who need it most. You could test negative today, and then get it tomorrow. You can't test everybody every day.

Let's not forget that there are still plenty of respiratory pathogens demanding attention as well.

I'm not disagreeing with you. My point which maybe wasn't clear was for government to provide money for all the testing since some people needing to test who are uninsured or financially strapped for co-pays may just delay seeking medical attention (including other flu tests). I was more focused on government spending which instead of wasting on pork barrel stimulus should be more focused on healthcare.

I think you totally agree with that.

[EDS]

Rumor has it a national state of emergency will be declared at 3pm.

[randonneur]

Oh, how I wish the problem was CORVIDS....

Attachment 114817

Do you really though?

[randonneur]

In all seriousness though, with March break upon us our family was about to set out on a weeklong trip to Vancouver but yesterday my wife lobbied to have it cancelled, so we did. At the time, I thought she was being paranoid, but after reading the medium article that's been linked a few times, I'm coming around to her point of view. I think she must have read it as well because I recognized some of the statistics as having already been told to me. Vancouver's proximity to Washington has me concerned.

[Will Neide]

I'm not disagreeing with you. My point which maybe wasn't clear was for government to provide money for all the testing since some people needing to test who are uninsured or financially strapped for co-pays may just delay seeking medical attention (including other flu tests). I was more focused on government spending which instead of wasting on pork barrel stimulus should be more focused on healthcare.

I think you totally agree with that.

I am definitely with you on this.

[Blue Jays]

President Trump speaking now with latest updates for the country.
This also includes National Emergency classification being invoked.

[thollandpe]

[Blue Jays]

"Blue Jays"

Unsure why you quoted me above, @thollandpe.