# Coronavirus COVID-19 (2019-nCoV) Thread - 2020 Breaking News **URL:** \ **Category:** The Quarantine Zone\ **Tags:** covid-quarantine\ **Created:** [February 11, 2020, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758 "2020-02-11T01:16:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 126
**Author:** ![SayTwo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e56c9b/32.png) [@SayTwo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SayTwo)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2020, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/2507 "2020-04-18T12:58:31Z")
What’s a CT? ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2020, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/2508 "2020-04-18T13:01:52Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > In the US: > > 710,021 total cases > 37,158 dead > 60,510 recovered In terms of deaths, we’re up around 1 year’s worth of traffic fatalities, or \>12 9/11’s, or about .64 Vietnams (American fatalities only). All that in a month and a half. Almost all of it just this month, actually, and there’s still plenty of month left. ---
**Author:** ![Seydell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@Seydell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seydell)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2020, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/2509 "2020-04-18T13:14:51Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > If it wasn’t engineered by humans, then how was it in the lab? Seriously, that’s a CT and should not be graced with the light of day. Get a sample of the virus from its host and put it in a culture: [https://www.stemcell.com/studying-covid-19-with-air-liquid-interface-cultures](https://www.stemcell.com/studying-covid-19-with-air-liquid-interface-cultures) ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tooth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c67d28/32.png) [@The\_Tooth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tooth)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2020, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/2510 "2020-04-18T13:30:03Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > In terms of deaths, we’re up around 1 year’s worth of traffic fatalities, or \>12 9/11’s, or about .64 Vietnams (American fatalities only). > > All that in a month and a half. Almost all of it just this month, actually, and there’s still plenty of month left. That’s, what, 20% of an Iraq? ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2020, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/2511 "2020-04-18T13:30:46Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > No one knows for sure whether the virus was accidentally released from the lab or picked up from some animal in the wet market or whether it first infected some child who was playing the bat caves. > > What we do know for sure is that it is a natural virus, not something engineered by humans. The virus has been sequenced by dozens (probably hundreds) of labs around the world. If you poke around the internet you can find graphics of all the variants that had been documents as of date X. I’m not sure why you are quoting me before your explanation. My post was refuting SlackerInc’s assursion that the CBS news claimed it was “a very strong possibility”. They said no such thing and I linked to that. > [@Monty](#): > > If it wasn’t engineered by humans, then how was it in the lab? Seriously, that’s a CT and should not be graced with the light of day. You do know that they isolate viruses and other diseases and keep them in labs all the time? > [@SayTwo](#): > > What’s a CT? [Conspiracy theory.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conspiracy_theory) ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2020, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/2512 "2020-04-18T13:44:35Z")
Taiwan has three more cases, all from Taiwanese navy ships and thought to have picked up in a foreign port in Palau, a small Pacific country comprised of several hundred small islands and most importantly, no known cases of Covid. The Taiwanese authorities believe that the cases there must be “hidden” cases, which I guess they mean asymptomatic cases. That’s one thing scary about the idea of relaxing social distancing. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2020, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/2513 "2020-04-18T14:01:47Z")
[DC-area grocery chain catering to the Hispanic community creates crowds with an ill-advised giveaway.](https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/grocery-chain-gives-away-food-staples-draws-massive-crowds/2277666/) [This location’s about a quarter mile from us.](https://www.arlnow.com/2020/04/17/breaking-food-giveaway-causes-huge-traffic-jam-on-columbia-pike) ---
**Author:** ![steronz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steronz/32/11765_2.png) [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2020, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/2514 "2020-04-18T14:30:38Z")
> [@TokyoBayer](#): > > You do know that they isolate viruses and other diseases and keep them in labs all the time? This is where the theory falls apart for me, though. If Sars-Cov-2 was isolated from a human sample, then it was already in human carriers and the “escaped from lab” element violates Occam’s Razor. The other option is that they isolated it from a bat or something. Is that even a thing? Does this lab catch wild animals and look for viruses that could potentially jump to humans? I dunno. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2020, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/2515 "2020-04-18T14:32:07Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#): > > [DC-area grocery chain catering to the Hispanic community creates crowds with an ill-advised giveaway.](https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/grocery-chain-gives-away-food-staples-draws-massive-crowds/2277666/) > > [This location’s about a quarter mile from us.](https://www.arlnow.com/2020/04/17/breaking-food-giveaway-causes-huge-traffic-jam-on-columbia-pike) I think you missed the actual story; let me help: > [@](#): > > The long lines demonstrated the profound need throughout the community right now, as so many have lost their income. Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich said the images reflect the reality of a community that is suffering. > > “We all know that we have large immigrant populations here, for example, and do not qualify for unemployment,” Elrich said. “And if they’re jobless, they’re not working and bringing home a paycheck.” > [@](#): > > Community members expressed their gratitude to Megamart, which said it plans to spend half a million dollars on the effort. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2020, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/2516 "2020-04-18T14:38:21Z")
**Bo** , you missed the fact that no relevant authorities knew about the giveaway ahead of time. That’s what made it ill-advised; they wanted to give away food and ended up creating a bunch of mini-Woodstocks when people are supposed to practice social distancing. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2020, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/2517 "2020-04-18T14:45:21Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > No one knows for sure whether the virus was accidentally released from the lab or picked up from some animal in the wet market or whether it first infected some child who was playing the bat caves. Or the pangolin caves. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2020, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/2518 "2020-04-18T14:58:19Z")
> **[COVID-19 Patients Need to Be Tested for Bacteria and Fungi, Not Just the...](https://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/observations/covid-19-patients-need-to-be-tested-for-bacteria-and-fungi-not-just-the-coronavirus/)** > > Many hospitalized victims are developing potentially lethal secondary coinfections such as bacterial pneumonia and sepsis When taken with the story last week that the coronavirus attacks T cells, this story is very scary. If this is true then this virus is worse than we thought. I am not an MD but secondary infections seems to me to be due to a compromised immune system. > [@](#): > > When these high-risk individuals end up in critical care, they are more likely to stay there for an extended period of time, increasing the risk for exposure to secondary bacterial infections. An estimated one in seven COVID-19 patients will develop a secondary infection while hospitalized. Further, a separate study found that only about 50 percent of patient deaths were due to the original viral infection, while the other 50 percent were caused by subsequent secondary infections. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2020, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/2519 "2020-04-18T15:28:37Z")
> [@excavating\_for\_a\_mind](#): > > The difference is this. If the asymptomatic are less infectious than those displaying symptoms then after the initial surge in infections, the infection rate will drop. Which is what we are seeing. Now, you may claim that the drop in infection rate is due to “social distancing”, but if the drop is actually a result of those who are highly susceptible either become symptomatic (and spread the infection) or asymptomatic (and spread the infection at a much lower rate), then this will drop off at a very rapid rate once those susceptible have either caught the disease and recovered or have perished. > > My point is that in the latter case, the entire issue will die off within two or three generations (a generation being apparently about 14 days) So the entire issue would have died off in China within 42 days, and none of this would actually be happening? Seems to me that your theory has already been thoroughly disproved. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2020, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/2520 "2020-04-18T15:38:31Z")
Pretty much same as with influenza madiscool. The major causes of death for each are secondary bacterial infections and Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS). Often both are in process at the same time. ---
**Author:** ![ratatoskK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ratatoskk/32/2987_2.png) [@ratatoskK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ratatoskK)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2020, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/2521 "2020-04-18T15:38:36Z")
Random sampling in Chelsea MA shows 1/3 have antibodies to covid-19. [Nearly a third of 200 blood samples taken in Chelsea show exposure to coronavirus](https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/04/17/business/nearly-third-200-blood-samples-taken-chelsea-show-exposure-coronavirus/). Sorry it’s paywalled, but here’s the intro: > [@](#): > > Nearly one third of 200 Chelsea residents who gave a drop of blood to researchers on the street this week tested positive for antibodies linked to COVID-19, a startling indication of how widespread infections have been in the densely populated city. > > Sixty-four residents who had a finger pricked in Bellingham Square on Tuesday and Wednesday had antibodies that the immune system makes to fight off the coronavirus, according to Massachusetts General Hospital physicians who ran the pilot study. > > The 200 participants generally appeared healthy, but about half told the doctors they had had at least one symptom of COVID-19 in the past four weeks. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2020, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/2522 "2020-04-18T15:56:03Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > Pretty much same as with influenza madiscool. The major causes of death for each are secondary bacterial infections and Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS). Often both are in process at the same time. Thank you for explaining. As if this werent bad enough. ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2020, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/2523 "2020-04-18T16:15:56Z")
> [@steronz](#): > > This is where the theory falls apart for me, though. If Sars-Cov-2 was isolated from a human sample, then it was already in human carriers and the “escaped from lab” element violates Occam’s Razor. The other option is that they isolated it from a bat or something. Is that even a thing? Does this lab catch wild animals and look for viruses that could potentially jump to humans? I dunno. Yes, lab research of coronavirus in bats certainly is a thing. In fact, researchers at the lab in Wuhan were investigating coronavirus in bats: [State Department cables warned of safety issues at Wuhan lab studying bat coronaviruses](https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/04/14/state-department-cables-warned-safety-issues-wuhan-lab-studying-bat-coronaviruses/) > [@Washington Post](#): > > Two years before the novel coronavirus pandemic upended the world, U.S. Embassy officials visited a Chinese research facility in the city of Wuhan several times and sent two official warnings back to Washington about inadequate safety at the lab, which was conducting risky studies on coronaviruses from bats. Here is a report on a similar lab in Singapore: [NBC News’ Richard Engel reports from a Singapore lab that believes bats are the source of the illness.](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=mNB8zN5CQGc) ---
**Author:** ![steronz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steronz/32/11765_2.png) [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2020, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/2524 "2020-04-18T16:41:58Z")
Interesting. Ignorance fought. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2020, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/2525 "2020-04-18T16:45:37Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#): > > **Bo** , you missed the fact that no relevant authorities knew about the giveaway ahead of time. That’s what made it ill-advised; they wanted to give away food and ended up creating a bunch of mini-Woodstocks when people are supposed to practice social distancing. I didn’t “miss” it; it’s just not the most important thing about the story IMO. None of those people should have needed to be there; they live in the most prosperous, most advanced society on the planet. “People try to survive by any means they can” & “corporation tried to help people survive” are the most important aspects of this, not “unforeseen consequences happened”. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2020, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/2526 "2020-04-18T17:16:50Z")
> [@TokyoBayer](#): > > I’m not sure why you are quoting me before your explanation. My post was refuting SlackerInc’s assursion that the CBS news claimed it was “a very strong possibility”. They said no such thing and I linked to that… Yeah, I agreed with you, sorry if it looked otherwise. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758.md?page=125) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758.md?page=127)