# 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:** 13
**Author:** ![eenerms](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/cdc98d/32.png) [@eenerms](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eenerms)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2020, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/241 "2020-03-02T20:16:23Z")
Off to Bologna tomorrow. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2020, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/242 "2020-03-02T21:13:01Z")
> [@eenerms](#): > > Off to Bologna tomorrow. In light of the post just before yours… [My! Bologna!!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hxLaFJf9Jk) (warning. Youtube) i dropped my husband off at the nearby Metro station this morning - and the only time I’ve seen it that uncrowded has been on weekends. Even late evening there are usually more cars passing through. I have to assume it’s due to people staying home to avoid transit. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2020, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/243 "2020-03-02T21:36:29Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > **squeegee** , yes three weeks. Granted I do not have enough food to have five-course meals every day. I have just enough shelf-stable milk, cereal, soups, rice, oatmeal, dried fruit, and juice to get me through illness and quarantine (self-imposed or otherwise). These are the kind of foods I eat anyway, so it’s not like they will go to waste if nothing should come to pass. > > I’m not anticipating that my big-ass city will be shut down (though I’m not ruling it out either). I am just expecting frenzy and pandemonium. I would hate to find myself having to deal with frenzy and pandemonium when I am well, let alone when I’m super sick. Interesting, and thanks for replying. If you count things like dried pasta and rice and canned soup, I probably always have a couple of weeks’ food if I can’t go out. I did just swing by the grocery store and it was pretty busy. Not mobbed, but very busy for noon on a Monday. It seems people are stockpiling already. ---
**Author:** ![Tatterdemalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/43a26b/32.png) [@Tatterdemalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tatterdemalion)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2020, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/244 "2020-03-02T22:13:06Z")
> [@squeegee](#): > > Interesting, and thanks for replying. If you count things like dried pasta and rice and canned soup, I probably always have a couple of weeks’ food if I can’t go out. I did just swing by the grocery store and it was pretty busy. Not mobbed, but very busy for noon on a Monday. It seems people are stockpiling already. I was at the Costco this weekend, and it was a mob scene. They were rationing the bottled water. I heard the cashier tell the woman ahead of me that she was only allowed to buy 3 cases at a time. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2020, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/245 "2020-03-02T22:21:59Z")
[There is a fair bit of panic buying already.](https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/03/02/grocery-stores-coronavirus-panic-buying/) I was at Costco Saturday and it wasn’t noticeably more crowded than usual, though I wasn’t looking for bottled water and we have plenty of toilet paper :D. They didn’t have much in the way of canned soup so I’ll probably hit a grocery store this week and get a few cans - not out of panic, per se, but just to have something fairly brainless to warm up (or even eat cold if need be). We’re not panicking, but I am higher risk (60, several underlying health issues including asthma) so I’m watching things carefully. I’ve already told my husband that if one of us gets sick, the other moves to the guest room. I mostly work remotely but need to go to the client from time to time (usually via Metro - though I’m rethinking that) and my husband does commute via Metro routinely. Dweezil is home from college for spring break this week; I’ve suggested he make sure to have a few cans of soup at his school apartment, and keep his car at least half full of gas in case they send everyone home. Note that the nearest case is in NYC, 250 miles away from us, so I really doubt it’ll be an issue for him down there (small town 50 miles from anything): it’s much likelier we’ll see infections here in the DC metro area what with the density and people from all over. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2020, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/246 "2020-03-02T23:43:51Z")
Well, much as I hate to do it, I’ve cancelled our trip to WDC later this month. I don’t respond to fear-mongering; it’s just common sense. I’m in my 70s and diabetic, which means a compromised immune system, so spending hours/days on airplanes, in airports, hotels, restaurants and on public transportation just seems like asking for trouble unnecessarily. ---
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2020, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/247 "2020-03-02T23:54:34Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Well, much as I hate to do it, I’ve cancelled our trip to WDC later this month. I don’t respond to fear-mongering; it’s just common sense. I’m in my 70s and diabetic, which means a compromised immune system, so spending hours/days on airplanes, in airports, hotels, restaurants and on public transportation just seems like asking for trouble unnecessarily. I didn’t know that diabetes also comprised one’s immune system. Interesting. My sisters are diabetic and always sick with something. StG ---
**Author:** ![Sefton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Sefton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sefton)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2020, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/248 "2020-03-03T00:05:48Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > _M-m-m-my Corona!_ Bravo! ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2020, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/249 "2020-03-03T00:10:05Z")
> [@Tatterdemalion](#): > > I was at the Costco this weekend, and it was a mob scene. They were rationing the bottled water. I heard the cashier tell the woman ahead of me that she was only allowed to buy 3 cases at a time. People are nuts. Bottled water seems like the least important supply to stock up for in an _upper respiratory pandemic_. It’s not like a flood or an earthquake or a hurricane where the tap water might not be safe to drink. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2020, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/250 "2020-03-03T00:15:06Z")
> [@iamthewalrus\_3](#): > > People are nuts. > > Bottled water seems like the least important supply to stock up for in an _upper respiratory pandemic_. It’s not like a flood or an earthquake or a hurricane where the tap water might not be safe to drink. Shhhh… Don’t tell them. Most people don’t have adequate supplies in case of a natural disaster, so if this encourages them to better stock their emergency kit, all the better. ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2020, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/251 "2020-03-03T00:43:16Z")
We have two vacations planned and booked, flights and all, for 2020. One to Washington state, and one to Oahu. My husband just texted me and said he wants to cancel them. I know what’s going on. He’s working from home nowadays, and once he signs off, he starts reading the damned tabloids online, and he’s freaking out at the news. He goes in to work once or twice a week, and hopefully he can talk to other people and get more of a balanced outlook. I’m damned if I’m going to eat the cost of two sets of flights, as well as have no vacations this year. I have to think of a well-reasoned discussion to have with him tonight. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2020, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/252 "2020-03-03T00:53:48Z")
I was going to see friends in Tokyo right about now, visit during the sakura bloom, and they asked me to cancel (I hadn’t booked anything yet), because of the uncertainty. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2020, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/253 "2020-03-03T01:03:09Z")
> [@teela\_brown](#): > > We have two vacations planned and booked, flights and all, for 2020. One to Washington state, and one to Oahu. My husband just texted me and said he wants to cancel them. > > I know what’s going on. He’s working from home nowadays, and once he signs off, he starts reading the damned tabloids online, and he’s freaking out at the news. He goes in to work once or twice a week, and hopefully he can talk to other people and get more of a balanced outlook. > > I’m damned if I’m going to eat the cost of two sets of flights, as well as have no vacations this year. > > I have to think of a well-reasoned discussion to have with him tonight. The airline might give you credit for the flights, minus the fee for cancellation. You would then have a year to use the credit. ---
**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:** [March 3, 2020, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/254 "2020-03-03T04:58:16Z")
90,936 confirmed infections 3,117 dead 47,995 recovered ---
**Author:** ![Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/half_man_half_wit/32/21766_2.png) [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Half_Man_Half_Wit)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2020, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/255 "2020-03-03T06:42:00Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > 90,936 confirmed infections > 3,117 dead > 47,995 recovered So, I’m missing some crucial element of the story. These numbers seem, in total, rather low—the 2009 H1N1 outbreak killed 150,000 - 475,000 [[1]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_flu_pandemic), and the annual death toll from influenza is between 12,000 - 61,000 in the US alone [[2]](https://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/burden/index.html#:~:text=CDC%20estimates%20that%20influenza%20has,61%2C000%20deaths%20annually%20since%202010.), 250,000 - 500,000 worldwide [[3]](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6815659/). True, the mortality rate of seasonal influenza is only about 0.1%; estimates about the mortality rate for coronavirus range between 0.4% to 2.9% (the latter, apparently, only in Hubei). Also, it appears that the coronavirus is more infectious, with transmission to 2 to 3 people from a single infected case, compared to about 1.3 for influenza [[4]](https://www.livescience.com/new-coronavirus-compare-with-flu.html). Still. Both overall numbers and worldwide infection rates seem rather low, at this point. To my eyes, the response seems wildly disproportionate—but it’s not just coming from the usual tabloid sources (see, for one, the multi-page threads here). So, what’s different? Where’s all the noise coming from? Or is this just a case of the true epidemic being that of social media facilitated panic? ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2020, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/256 "2020-03-03T07:04:10Z")
> [@teela\_brown](#): > > We have two vacations planned and booked, flights and all, for 2020. One to Washington state, and one to Oahu. My husband just texted me and said he wants to cancel them. > > I know what’s going on. He’s working from home nowadays, and once he signs off, he starts reading the damned tabloids online, and he’s freaking out at the news. He goes in to work once or twice a week, and hopefully he can talk to other people and get more of a balanced outlook. > > I’m damned if I’m going to eat the cost of two sets of flights, as well as have no vacations this year. > > I have to think of a well-reasoned discussion to have with him tonight. Washington State might not be a bad one to delay given the current outbreak. Viruses don’t like heat or sunlight. Which means Oahu sounds pretty good and Seattle not so much so (it is overcast and rainy here much of the year until the 5th of July when summer effectively starts) ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2020, 9:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/257 "2020-03-03T09:17:42Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > 90,936 confirmed infections > 3,117 dead > 47,995 recovered [Here is the tally board I’m following religiously for the latest COVID-19 numbers](https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/). ---
**Author:** ![Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/half_man_half_wit/32/21766_2.png) [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Half_Man_Half_Wit)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2020, 11:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/258 "2020-03-03T11:13:38Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > [Here is the tally board I’m following religiously for the latest COVID-19 numbers](https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/). Thanks, that’s reassuring. The number of active cases has been steadily declining since mid-February, so it seems that the measures taken to contain the outbreak are effective, and barring some large-scale outbreak in a poorly controlled region, we should be through the worst soon. ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2020, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/259 "2020-03-03T12:47:35Z")
> [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](#): > > Still. Both overall numbers and worldwide infection rates seem rather low, at this point. To my eyes, the response seems wildly disproportionate—but it’s not just coming from the usual tabloid sources (see, for one, the multi-page threads here). So, what’s different? Where’s all the noise coming from? Or is this just a case of the true epidemic being that of social media facilitated panic? From the [CDC](https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-nCoV/summary.html): > [@](#): > > More cases of COVID-19 are likely to be identified in the coming days, including more cases in the United States. It’s also likely that person-to-person spread will continue to occur, including in communities in the United States. **It’s likely that at some point, widespread transmission of COVID-19 in the United States will occur.** > > **Widespread transmission of COVID-19 would translate into large numbers of people needing medical care at the same time.** Schools, childcare centers, workplaces, and other places for mass gatherings may experience more absenteeism. **Public health and healthcare systems may become overloaded, with elevated rates of hospitalizations and deaths.** Other critical infrastructure, such as law enforcement, emergency medical services, and transportation industry may also be affected. \*\*Health care providers and hospitals may be overwhelmed. At this time, there is no vaccine to protect against COVID-19 and no medications approved to treat it. \*\* [Bolding mine] ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2020, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/260 "2020-03-03T12:55:34Z")
> [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](#): > > Thanks, that’s reassuring. No problem! > [@](#): > > The number of active cases has been steadily declining since mid-February, so it seems that the measures taken to contain the outbreak are effective, and barring some large-scale outbreak in a poorly controlled region, we should be through the worst soon. I think that, while not poorly controlled, the United States is ill-prepared for this. [Here is an article about only one fourth of Americans are preparing for it](https://www.yahoo.com/news/quarter-americans-arent-preparing-coronavirus-205700501.html). You’ll note the ironic contradiction of one person interviewed using the term _common sense_ at the same time they’re spewing nonsense. Of course I’m stressing over this because my wife is in Busan and her return to Beijing is delayed until further notice. The stress is because it’s gotten very serious in South Korea. They had 851 new cases today. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758.md?page=12) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758.md?page=14)