outbreak! (ebola, sars, coronavirus, etc)

I just don't make eye contact with anyone

how's your arm?

Doctors in China are reporting cured patients who test positive again for the novel coronavirus days or weeks later but said they probably aren’t contagious if they remain asymptomatic.
These cases probably were false negatives earlier due to China’s patchy quality of nucleic acid testing, Tong Zhaohui, a Beijing-based infectious-disease expert, said in an online Q&A on Monday.

“My opinion is these patients likely were positive all along,” he said. “It’s just that the test came out negative. For instance, problems with the test kit, sampling or transportation could all result in negative results in a patient’s last two nucleic acid tests before discharge.”

There still isn’t comprehensive data for these “recurrent” cases in China. But in isolated studies in Wuhan, which was the epicenter of the virus outbreak, 5 percent to 10 percent of recovered patients tested positive again, with none of them found to be infectious, the state-run Life Times said last week.

Re: Orbam just catastrophic failure from the EU.

At the risk of irritating litigators:

22 Jun 2006: Six Respirator Manufacturers Warn President of Shortage of Masks

Costs of defending litigation, aside from settlements or verdicts, amount to hundreds of millions of dollars. In fact, currently, 90 to 94 percent of profits are being consumed to maintain litigation efforts.

Already, one major manufacturer has announced that it will no longer produce N-95 respirators for the industrial market. Another is seriously considering withdrawing from the market.

If I’m going into confined public space, scarf over nose and mouth, plastic/latex gloves.

I’ve noticed a lot of gloves-as-litter too.

lol grebt

yeah, I've been seeing empty shopping carts strewn with used gloves and disinfecting wipes. people so focused on self-preservation that it probably doesn't even occur to them that they might be posing an extra risk to fellow shoppers/workers/the environment

so many discarded gloves and masks on the sidewalks in brooklyn

worldometers.info's data sources are mixed local govt sources/media reporting (as well as binned in to GMT zone) so I would take all their data with a massive grain of salt.

that choir practice in WA where they didn't touch, hands were sanitized, they were spaced out and still 45 out of 60 now have covid...I mean, protect your face.

xp: (re: weekend dips in tallies which I noticed last Monday)

On a slightly unrelated note, I still have no idea what Sweden's game plan is.

*lagom plan

no idea what Sweden's game plan is.

World economic domination. For maybe a couple of weeks.

Carpe covidiem.

Speaking of, uh, Sweden, where did Fred go?

He tends to duck out for a while when he's had an especially major stint of annoying people.

California seems to be heading in the right direction...

One of the approx 1000 articles I've read very recently, like maybe this morning? said that there was decreasing evidence that ppl are getting covid from touching things, and more evidence that it's passed by inhalation. That would completely support that choir practice awfulness because people would be breathing deeply, frequently, in concert even though they weren't touching. It's horrible. Masks.

so where is everybody getting masks? I too heeded the advice that they were not necessary for the public / needed by health workers, so now I don't have one and can't think of a way to get one without going somewhere I wouldn't otherwise go

Well, I hope he’s ok - he posted itt about a member of his choir dying of covid a few days ago xps

I know most of us already do, but I feel like we all need one or more ILX buddies who can check in on us outside of the usual board parameters. Whatever the reason, radio silence at this particular time is disquieting.

old lunch go to the slack it is good

poxyfule.slack.com

clemenza (and others looking at global figures) i'd recommend you read this:

We are looking at national statistics – infections, tests, fatalities, hospitalizations. But these are likely illusory. There really is no national outbreak. There’s a big New York outbreak which still dominates the national statistics and will have its own discrete dynamics. It seems very likely you will have a series of other regional and metropolitan area outbreaks unfolding across the country in the coming weeks. So the national numbers will be misleading. In epidemiological terms the US is more like Europe as a whole, rather than any individual country, especially when states are playing such an outsized role combating the disease because of a significantly distracted federal response.

pretty much all of that applies to the world at large, to an even greater degree

like, when india's cases start ramping up, they're going to become the dominant force (unless it makes a comeback in china first, or things get worse in indonesia)

so where is everybody getting masks? I too heeded the advice that they were not necessary for the public / needed by health workers, so now I don't have one and can't think of a way to get one without going somewhere I wouldn't otherwise go

Ditto. Also I keep getting given scarves and gloves for Christmas and I hate wearing scarves and gloves so I got rid of all of them, bah!

It is also too warm for scarves and gloves, double bah

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=LD7Iw_oXnxo

m bison, do I need an invite to slack?

i dont think so, you just sign up w your preferred name and email

A lot of people are making facemasks to distribute. This has several different tutorials. https://getusppe.org/makers/face-masks/

I know people are good about keeping their own space but you can't control other people and they are definitely getting too close and disregarding you. It was impossible in the grocery store to not brush against people even.

The number of new cases in Italy is continuing to fall.
- Thursday: 6,153 new
- Friday: 5,959 new
- Saturday: 5,974 new
- Sunday: 5,217 new
- Monday: 4,050 new https://t.co/MPHgZBc8gH

— BNO Newsroom (@BNODesk) March 30, 2020

awful numbers in absolute terms still but plausibly a trendline

Fingers crossed…

The direction of travel is the thing. People dying now could have got infected a month ago. It’s good to see something better at least.

Yerac, yea I found the same when I went to Sainsbury’s earlier - it is literally impossible to NEVER be in someone’s 2m space, tho most ppl were trying

yeah, I know it's not necessary to shower/wash clothes after being outside but it just makes me feel better since people seemed to be on my ass in the store. Plus, I just like showering.

here is the direct slack link xpost. https://join.slack.com/t/poxyfule/shared_invite/zt-csm19k0n-P_w0mauC3_sXUXus~TI0mw

the italy numbers are heartening - if they can achieve a reduction even with subpar efforts

Italy has been on lockdown for close to three weeks now so it would be horrifying if cases were still climbing. Even Spain is starting to level off IIRC?

As two or three people have pointed out, I've got to stop drawing inferences from weekend data. Canada's daily cases again took a big jump today.

Worldometers is at least recognizing their reporting of flawed data now:

Due to delayed and incomplete reporting from New York State, we had to make adjustments to yesterday's totals in order to maintain the correct attribution of historical figures. US figures for Sunday, March 29 could still be incomplete.

Instructions unclear, apocalypse imminent:

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/mar/30/astrophysicist-gets-magnets-stuck-up-nose-while-inventing-coronavirus-device

Obviously didn't read the customary warning on a box of magnets: "Keep out of the reach of small children and astrophysicists".

not having enough magnets saved him.

this is happening in Ireland

Update: #Coronavirus: HSE says it is working closely with pharma firms to ensure adequate stock of arthritis/lupus drugs - hydroxychloroquine and tocilizumab - that are now being used to treat critically ill #Covid19 patients - more here: https://t.co/YU7OEB0HGS via @IrishTimes pic.twitter.com/drYB7UUhUU

— Simon Carswell (@SiCarswell) March 30, 2020

so some doctors are using this drug to treat?

It’s doctors are using little a this drug, as a treat

Get it right

noted?

https://www.mediaite.com/news/johnson-johnson-to-begin-human-trials-of-coronavirus-vaccine-by-september-could-be-ready-in-early-2021/

yall, as noted above (i think in this thread): hydroxychloroquine is not a quack treatment, there is reason to believe it may be effective, and actual trials by reputable investigators are underway