# 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:** 14
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2020, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/261 "2020-03-03T13:33:59Z")
> [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](#): > > 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. It’s not unheard of for infections to recede, surge, recede, surge… while what you speak of is an encouraging development don’t celebrate too soon. Also, “poorly controlled region” can be surprisingly advanced/sophisticated/wealthy areas that engage in widespread denial and/or rely on “prayers” instead of science and medicine, or impoverished areas like various places in Africa, or the slums of Brazil or India. We aren’t even getting reporting from many of those places. ---
**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 3, 2020, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/262 "2020-03-03T15:07:19Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > It’s not unheard of for infections to recede, surge, recede, surge… while what you speak of is an encouraging development don’t celebrate too soon. > > Also, “poorly controlled region” can be surprisingly advanced/sophisticated/wealthy areas that engage in widespread denial and/or rely on “prayers” instead of science and medicine, or impoverished areas like various places in Africa, or the slums of Brazil or India. We aren’t even getting reporting from many of those places. Yep - it’s only been in the past few days that we’ve seen reports from anything in the Southern Hemisphere (aside from that early one from Egypt) - and you know that even in countries that don’t report, there have to have been cases. I’m surprised that South Africa, for example (which has adequate medical care available, at least in wealthier areas) has not announced any confirmed cases. I could see that lesser-travelled ereas might actually not have had much opportunity for exposure - but once it hits there, they will be woefully underequipped to deal with it. There are numerous articles about how in the US, the situation wil be worsened by our poor protections for sick workers. I don’t want this to devolve into a political argument, but the truth is there are a lot of people who will go to work if they are feeling under the weather because they can’t afford to take even a day or two off, and employers are not eager to say "stay home and we’ll pay you anyway. [An interesting article that refers to a study on the effect of paid sick leave and flu infection rates.](https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/03/03/our-lack-paid-sick-leave-will-make-coronavirus-worse/). The stoopid is definitely out there. I was on an email list some years back that dealt with freezer cooking (make-in-advance casseroles etc.). It had gone fallow - but recently there have been subscribers signing on to send out crap. A somewhat hilarious series of emails recently (I have since unsubbed): 1. “This Coronavirus thing - ZOMG. Garlic Oil will help!!!” 2. “Quit spreading the bullshit. Garlic oil will do NOTHING to help the Coronavirus” (ok so far…) but then followed by “The Coronavirus was created in a bioweapons lab and it incorporates HIV proteins!!!”. :smack::smack::smack::smack::smack: And I could probably save some money by sucking on a silver spoon from the set my late aunt left to me, versus shelling out for [this cure](https://cspinet.org/news/cspi-urges-fda-enforcement-action-televangelist-jim-bakkers-fake-coronavirus-cure-20200218). It would be equally effective. Actuallly more so, if I start doing it soon enough, as the odd behavior would keep people from approaching lest they catch the crazy from me, thus reducing the chances for exposure 😃 (Hmmm… that garlic oil might do the same - I think I’m onto something here!!! though not at the same time, the sulfur in the garlic would tarnish the silver). ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2020, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/263 "2020-03-03T15:27:53Z")
> [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > Yep - it’s only been in the past few days that we’ve seen reports from anything in the Southern Hemisphere (aside from that early one from Egypt) Egypt is not in the southern hemisphere—it lies entirely above the equator. ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2020, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/264 "2020-03-03T17:05:44Z")
> [@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. OTOH with all the cancellations some places might cut you some extra good deals. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2020, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/265 "2020-03-03T17:26:51Z")
> [@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. We’ve got a vacation booked for Morocco next month. My wife said the only way we’re not going is if the airline cancels the flights. ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2020, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/266 "2020-03-03T17:27:35Z")
Another issue with retail work is that from my experience, you are actually expected to come into work with cold symptoms as long as you can still function. The staffs are cut so low that even when all employees are there it is still a challenge to meet normal business expectations. If you have one or two callouts it is a struggle. Have half the staff sick while business significantly increases and shelves will not get stocked and lines will be very long and slow. Thus there is pressure (that unless you are “really sick”) to come in to work. And again, “really sick” means you cannot get out of bed, not that you have some of the symptoms. Add to that the requirement for “doctor’s note” from people with no insurance or ability to pay a doctor, and you can expect a lot of sick people not staying at home. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2020, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/267 "2020-03-03T17:48:39Z")
… I mean, what can you say? [Coronavirus: Student in quarantine after classmates shook hands with Mike Pence](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/coronavirus-mike-pence-quarantine-florida-sarasota-military-academy-a9372861.html) Now, to clarify, our VP did not shake hands with the person who is in quarantine for Covfefe-19 testing, but his classmates instead. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2020, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/268 "2020-03-03T18:37:58Z")
My mama told me, “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.” ---
**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, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/269 "2020-03-03T18:55:41Z")
[China reports rise in imported virus cases](https://news.yahoo.com/china-reports-rise-imported-virus-cases-055000327.html). Wow. My twisted mind immediately came up with “I guess ‘coal to Newcastle’ will now be replaced with ‘COVID to China’”. ---
**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, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/270 "2020-03-03T18:57:43Z")
> [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](#): > > 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. The problem with this line of thinking is that the disease was effectively contained largely in China, which mounted a _serious_ quarantine and isolation campaign. There is lots of evidence that, compared to China, most of the rest of the world counts as a poorly controlled region. We don’t even know how bad the situation in the US is because almost no one is being tested here. Obviously, we won’t know for sure for a few months or more, but there are lots of indications that this is just the beginning. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2020, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/271 "2020-03-03T18:58:58Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > … I mean, what can you say? > > [Coronavirus: Student in quarantine after classmates shook hands with Mike Pence](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/coronavirus-mike-pence-quarantine-florida-sarasota-military-academy-a9372861.html) > > Now, to clarify, our VP did not shake hands with the person who is in quarantine for Covfefe-19 testing, but his classmates instead. I would be filled with schadenfreude if Pence got sick with this shit. And I will send “thoughts and prayers”. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2020, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/272 "2020-03-03T19:40:09Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > My mama told me, “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.” My mama told me if you can’t anything nice, let Seth Meyers and Trevor Noah say it for you. And then laugh. Sent from my moto x4 using Tapatalk ---
**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, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/273 "2020-03-03T20:18:52Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > _Ooh, my little pretty one, my viral one > When you gonna give me some time, Corona? > Ooh, you make my fever run, my motor run > Got it coming off a cruise line, Corona! > Never gonna stop, give it up, such a deathly find > I always get it up, for the touch of the sickly kind > My, my, my, aye-aye, whoa! > M-m-m-my Corona!_ [Someone beat you to the video.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uo7HB-slsm4) ---
**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, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/274 "2020-03-03T20:45:00Z")
[And for a more mellow–and informational–take on the situation](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdWMEe6sLDY). ---
**Author:** ![nelliebly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nelliebly/32/5422_2.png) [@nelliebly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nelliebly)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2020, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/275 "2020-03-03T21:12:49Z")
[The death toll here in Washington state is now nine](https://abcnews.go.com/International/coronavirus-outbreak-slows-china-grows-world/story?id=69352520). ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2020, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/276 "2020-03-03T22:13:29Z")
> [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > Yep - it’s only been in the past few days that we’ve seen reports from anything in the Southern Hemisphere (aside from that early one from Egypt) - and you know that even in countries that don’t report, there have to have been cases. Australia is in the Southern Hemisphere and has 39 cases. Brazil has 2 cases. Argentina has 1 case. New Zealand has 1 case. Chile has 1 case. ---
**Author:** ![Tatterdemalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/43a26b/32.png) [@Tatterdemalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tatterdemalion)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2020, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/277 "2020-03-03T22:26:50Z")
I suppose it is re-assuring that there are no confirmed cases in [Madagascar](https://mg.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizen-services/security-and-travel-information/covid-19-information/). ---
**Author:** ![dogbutler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dogbutler/32/428_2.png) [@dogbutler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dogbutler)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2020, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/278 "2020-03-03T22:49:56Z")
> [@nelliebly](#): > > [The death toll here in Washington state is now nine](https://abcnews.go.com/International/coronavirus-outbreak-slows-china-grows-world/story?id=69352520). And we got our first confirmed case in Wake county, N.C. Someone who got it from Washington. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2020, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/279 "2020-03-03T23:01:05Z")
The person in SA who was positive spent a good chunk of her free time at North Star Mall, eating at the food court and shopping at Macy’s. In response, the [mall was closed](https://www.kens5.com/article/news/north-star-mall-closes-as-a-precaution-after-coronavirus-patients-visit-this-weekend/273-af6071d1-1125-4714-ae72-ab6a276fe714) so it could be ‘deep cleaned’. ---
**Author:** ![C3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/c3/32/3108_2.png) [@C3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C3)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2020, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/280 "2020-03-03T23:06:53Z")
> [@dogbutler](#): > > And we got our first confirmed case in Wake county, N.C. Someone who got it from Washington. Hey, I’m in Raleigh, too! I guess now isn’t the time for a doper meetup. [WHO is now saying global mortality rate is 3.4%.](https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/03/who-says-coronavirus-death-rate-is-3point4percent-globally-higher-than-previously-thought.html) [Grain of salt because of lack of testing, etc.] [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758.md?page=13) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758.md?page=15)