# 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:** 159
**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:** [May 15, 2020, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/3171 "2020-05-15T19:11:46Z")
Today in Austria: [ul] [li] **Slovenia has reopened its border** with Austria to incoming EU citizens who have not been outside the EU in the last 14 days. Austria has not yet reciprocated; it is maintaining controls on travellers from Slovenia until at least the end of May.[/li][li] People in Austria have gotten very much **accustomed to wearing masks**. A recent poll showed that 98% of people wear masks in public. 26% of people even wear masks in places where it is not legally required to do so. Interestingly, only 69% people agree that it makes sense to wear masks, so a lot of people are consenting to wear them despite their own reservations.[/li][li] The **state secretary for culture resigned** today after coming under criticism from artists and cultural workers for not doing enough to support them during the pandemic. The government had established financial aid packages for artists and cultural workers, and made efforts to increase access to their works and performances online and in the media, though evidently this was not seen as enough. In response, the health minister today outlined plans to relax the restrictions on cultural events: from 29 May, events of up to 100 people will be allowed; from 1 July, events of up to 250 people will be allowed; and from 1 August, events of up to 1000 people will be allowed, subject to special security rules. Cinemas will be permitted to reopen on 1 July.[/li][li] Yesterday I reported passing through an anti-lockdown protest rally outside the federal chancellery, and said that I didn’t notice any people with signs promoting lunatic conspiracy theories. It turns out there was one such sign that I overlooked: someone was parading around with one that said “_Impfen macht frei_”. This is a play on the notorious message on the gates to Auschwitz, but with the word _Arbeit_ (“work”) replaced with _Impfen_ (“vaccination”). The incident was reported to police, who are investigating whether prosecution under the country’s laws against **extremist and anti-Semitic speech**. (My own view is that the sign may have been in poor taste by likening the “oppression” of mandatory vaccination to the oppression of the Jews under Nazi Germany, but doesn’t rise to the level of hate speech.)[/li][li] Current statistics: 16,093 confirmed infections, 628 deaths, 14,471 recovered.[/li][/ul] ---
**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:** [May 15, 2020, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/3172 "2020-05-15T20:36:49Z")
Is _TechCrunch_ a reputable online news source? They’re pretty breathless over an [antibody](https://techcrunch.com/2020/05/15/sorrento-finds-a-coronavirus-antibody-that-blocks-viral-infection-100-in-preclinical-lab-experiments/) being researched by the Sorrento company. Sorrento claims the antibody provides “100% inhibition of SARS-CoV-2 virus infection of healthy cells after four days incubation”. It’s only being discussed for the first time today, so I’m not holding my breath. ---
**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:** [May 15, 2020, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/3173 "2020-05-15T21:05:40Z")
it’s generally a reputable source, but the original source in this case is the company itself, which is one reason for tempering your hope. A bigger reason is the study was _in vitro_, and most things that show promise _in vitro_ don’t pan out _in vivo_. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2020, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/3174 "2020-05-15T21:42:08Z")
Since there is so much depressing news in this thread, it seems like we should include some amusing stuff. While not really relevant to the topic, it is fun to watch [a massive phalanx of goats](https://youtu.be/wrxh8RYWNeI) getting loose and running through the quiet streets of San Jose. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2020, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/3175 "2020-05-15T21:42:23Z")
> **[Where the U.S. Ranks in COVID-19 Deaths Per Capita - FactCheck.org](https://www.factcheck.org/2020/05/where-the-u-s-ranks-in-covid-19-deaths-per-capita/)** > > The United States has one of the highest rates of COVID-19 deaths per capita in the world. However, President Donald Trump made the false claim that “Germany and the United States are the two best in deaths per 100,000 people.” \*The United States has one of the highest rates of COVID-19 deaths per capita in the world. However, President Donald Trump made the false claim that “Germany and the United States are the two best in deaths per 100,000 people.” As of May 11, the U.S. had 24.66 deaths per 100,000 people — more than two times higher than Germany (9.24 deaths per 100,000), and the 11th highest rate out of the more than 140 countries tracked by Johns Hopkins University…Of the more than 140 countries for which data is available, the U.S. figure for deaths per 100,000 people as of May 11 was the 11th highest and Germany’s was the 18th highest. Neither is anywhere near the “lowest rung of that ladder.”\* ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2020, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/3176 "2020-05-16T01:43:42Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > Since there is so much depressing news in this thread, it seems like we should include some amusing stuff. While not really relevant to the topic, it is fun to watch [a massive phalanx of goats](https://youtu.be/wrxh8RYWNeI) getting loose and running through the quiet streets of San Jose. Thank you for that! Love it. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2020, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/3177 "2020-05-16T02:16:03Z")
> **[Coronavirus: Brazil's Bolsonaro sees second health minister quit](https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-52682358)** > > Nelson Teich resigned after disagreements with President Jair Bolsonaro, who opposes lockdown measures. > [@](#): > > Mr Teich also butted heads with the president over plans to open up the economy, saying last week that he was not consulted ahead of an order that paved the way for gyms, beauty salons and hairdressers to reopen. > > But disagreements over how chloroquine should be used was the final straw, the Globo newspaper reported. Detailed U.S.-focused context is here: [Drug promoted by Trump as coronavirus ‘game changer’ increasingly linked to deaths](https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Drug-promoted-by-Trump-as-coronavirus-game-15273945.php) ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2020, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/3178 "2020-05-16T02:29:21Z")
> [@PhillyGuy](#): > > [Drug promoted by Trump as coronavirus ‘game changer’ increasingly linked to deaths](https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Drug-promoted-by-Trump-as-coronavirus-game-15273945.php) In all fairness, we should define “game changer”. Egregious mortality seems like a game changer to me. ---
**Author:** ![smithsb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smithsb/32/12107_2.png) [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2020, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/3179 "2020-05-16T02:37:42Z")
My local Costco here in Hawaii is up to speed on toilet paper and paper towels.😃 You can play singles tennis and pickle ball. Do yogo and Tai Chi with distancing. 😃 Shopping malls have reopenned as of today. 😃 Almost all the golf courses are open. 😃 Still a 14 day quarantine for visitors and homcoming residents. ---
**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:** [May 16, 2020, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/3180 "2020-05-16T02:57:29Z")
Taiwan confirmed no new cases of the COVID-19 coronavirus for the eighth consecutive day on Friday, keeping the total at 440 since the pandemic began late last year, according to the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC). It was also the 33rd straight day with no domestically transmitted infections and the eighth day with no imported infections recorded in Taiwan, according to CECC statistics. Taiwan is starting to open up. Some 1,720 fans flocked to a baseball game played in New Taipei on Friday, one day after Taiwan’s professional baseball league began relaxing its restrictions by allowing more fans into stadiums and letting them eat and drink while watching the games. The match was between the Fubon Guardians and Rakuten Monkeys at Xinzhuang Baseball Stadium in the northern Taiwan city. The Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) on Friday detailed a plan to loosen travel and transportation restrictions as Taiwan appears to have controlled the spread of COVID-19. The three-stage plan is aimed at addressing different goals to achieve in order for the public to resume normal lives, and at reviving the economy, said Transportation Minister Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) in a statement. According to the MOTC, in the first phase between May 27 and July 31, the priority will be to form new standards for travel, with a group consisting of local tourism operators traveling along the West Coast Expressway on May 27 to demonstrate safe methods of travel. The ministry will provide guidelines to the public on how to travel safely under the threat of COVID-19, it said. Starting on June 1, passengers on the country’s regular trains and high speed rail will be able to eat onboard as long as social distancing is maintained, but they will still have to wear masks during other times, it added. In addition, starting from the June 25-28 Dragon Boat Festival weekend, standing tickets will be available again for regular trains and non-reserved seats will be available for the high speed rail, the MOTC said. ---
**Author:** ![Banquet\_Bear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banquet_bear/32/373_2.png) [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2020, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/3181 "2020-05-16T04:16:26Z")
…and in BREAKING NEWS from New Zealand, a couple of days after the country opens up the Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern[gets rejected from a local cafe because it was full](https://twitter.com/reinvention/status/1261432122784407552). (Spoiler, they quickly found room for her) [This article is paywalled](https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12332156), but IMHO is worth the $4.00 to subscribe to read. Its the inside story of how the civil service, scientists, and the government worked together in unprecedented circumstances to close the country down. Its an exhilarating, breathtaking read and I can’t help but feel proud of what they have done. Looking at the dates as well we can directly compare what we did with what is happening around the rest of the world. Some highlights from the article by Matt Nippert: > [@](#): > > ts officials drafted an order for Health Minister David Clark to bring along to the Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, January 28, to add the disease to a register recording infectious diseases worth keeping an eye on. That register reads like the inventory of a nightmare plague warehouse, including scares of yore such as mad cow disease, measles, leprosy and the more recent near-pandemic acronyms Mers and Sars. To this was added “novel coronavirus capable of causing severe respiratory illness”. > > But, not to worry, officials said: “The risk of spread to New Zealand is low”. > > This cautiously optimistic assessment would not survive the week. At 8pm on February 1, the Saturday before Waitangi Day, a highly unusual and urgent emergency Cabinet meeting took place by phone. It heard of alarming new numbers on the virus’s spread. Cases in China had increased tenfold in the previous seven days, leading the World Health Organisation to ratchet up its alert klaxon to “global emergency”. So the alarm bells in New Zealand started to sound on February 1st. > [@](#): > > Every province in China had now reported cases, Bloomfield’s briefing said, and it had already spread - albeit in low numbers - to a handful of other countries. There was a likelihood of asymptomatic spreaders, meaning reported infections were almost certainly understating the true growth in case numbers. One in five of those who contracted the virus required hospitalisation. This was clearly not the flu. > > Bloomfield urged the immediate expansion of a limited ban on travel to New Zealand from not only those who had visited Wuhan but any travellers from mainland China. It was the same policy move Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison had implemented the night before. > > The crisis was on. Multiple insiders told the Weekend Herald this marked the moment when “things started to go crazy” and\*\* concerns and decision-making at the highest level stepped up in tempo to levels never before seen\*\*. So much going on behind the scenes at this point. I remember at the time thinking we might have been going overboard. Its a good thing I wasn’t in charge. > [@](#): > > Treasury, tasked with assessing the likely economic impact of Covid here, came up with three possible scenarios ranging from short-term disruption to global recession. They moved from thinking the best-case was most likely, to the worse-case being probable in a matter of weeks. The disruption of early moves, and rebuffed protests that they were too harsh, came as New Zealand had yet to record a single confirmed case. But attitudes were hardening at the highest levels that the apparent calm was merely because we weren’t looking hard enough. Sheesh. Treasury in NZ are conservative, measured organization. But the writing was on the wall. > [@](#): > > On February 14, Bloomfield argued against border restrictions being relaxed. His briefings said he considered there to be a “high” likelihood Covid had already reached our shores and was beginning to circulate. > > While later events would appear to prove Bloomfield’s assessment wrong - it was two weeks later before New Zealand recorded its first case, a traveller from Iran and not from local transmission - his precautionary approach won out and perhaps represents a case of officials making the right decision for the wrong reason. So Bloomfield thought the virus was already here and in community spread. It appears that he was wrong on that specific point, but regardless the approach he recommended was the correct one. > [@](#): > > Events built to a head the following week. By Monday, March 9, case numbers in New Zealand reached five. Italy - where Lombardy had recorded its first case three weeks before but where the death toll was now more than 100 - began rolling out a nationwide lockdown as stresses on their health system became overwhelming. > > Outbreaks were swelling across Europe and the United States, and international stock markets began a weeks-long slide with volatility that exceeded the worst spikes of panic seen during the global financial crisis. It was about this time I was starting to get a bit worried. > [@](#): > > Treasury officials, amongst the most-cautious branch of the public service, had abandoned business as usual the previous week and were now telling ministers the rapidly developing situation meant they were effectively flying blind. > > Decisions on the need to mitigate rapidly worsening economic impacts for which there was no precedent may need to be made with incomplete information. > > “By the time it is clear that action is desirable, it may be too late to implement a timely response,” officials said. > > One Beehive official told the Weekend Herald the crisis resulted in a dramatic change of pace from the traditionally deliberate, tortoise-like rhythm of a public service that preferred inaction over policy that hadn’t been scrutinised by committee to ensure it was watertight. > > “The Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet were reaching deep into the public service at 10am saying ‘Cabinet is going to be considering this move in a meeting tomorrow and we’ll need a briefing paper in four hours,’” the source said. “The process for Cabinet papers usually, from drafting to submitting, takes three months.” > > A senior government figure said the pace with bewildering: “New information was arriving faster than we were able to make decisions, which were quickly being made obsolete.” The article makes a reference to cricket to describe what is going on here, but that might go over the head of most Americans on the board. But essentially the entire civil service and government had to pivot from a “waterfall” methodology to an “agile” one overnight. > [@](#): > > Veteran public servant John Ombler was conscripted to co-ordinate the all of government response to Covid, and one of his first reports to cabinet on March 10 noted the Covid crisis team at the ministry of health was 70-strong, growing, and working seven days a week. Its simply astonishing that the person coordinating the response to Covid-19 was a [person](https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12322009) **I had never heard** of until today. > [@](#): > > “You’re not making a decision on five cases, you’re making a decision on what’s about to happen. **And you know it’s about to happen, because it’s happened everywhere else on earth,** ” one senior government figure told the Weekend Herald. This is, of course, plainly obvious. It breaks my heart that this obvious point got ignored in so many places around the world. > [@](#): > > “Iran and Italy show dramatically what happens when action is taken too late. Their health systems are overwhelmed which is leading to alarming fatality rates,” the briefing paper said. The experts said while community transmission had yet to be detected, it was likely to be occurring in New Zealand. “If community transmission becomes widespread we will have lost the opportunity gained by closing the border. International advice is that for each case we may be missing nine.” > > **The risk of inciting public alarm was considered, and advice given to be open about the dramatic actions being contemplated. That horse, with stockpiling and dramatically reduced school attendance in the community, had already bolted. “Increasing panic is likely regardless, and without such information, communities are more likely to respond and act on rumours than official advice.”** The bolded is one of the key reasons why the New Zealand public responded so well to the lockdown. The communication from the government from all sectors was simply out-of-this-world. From the daily briefings given by the Prime Minister and Dr Bloomfield, to the little things, like how my mum got a phone call from (we still don’t know exactly what agency) to see how she was coping, and if she needed any support, to myself applying for the small business wage subsidy and having the money land in my account (a day later) before I even got the email to say the subsidy had been approved. > [@](#): > > The day before lockdown, the ad hoc committee of ministers was still cobbling together a quarantine policy, having scraped together 3300 suddenly-empty hotel rooms and 1400 campervans for use by arrivals unable to self-isolate or who showed symptoms of sickness. > > **Briefing documents from this day include many spelling and grammar mistakes and show the sense of urgency, verging on panic, that had taken hold.** > > “The rapid implementation of the approach will entail some risks given the speed, and key personal [sic] and resourcing constraints. The staggered approach of flights throughout the 26[th] will enable ongoing improvement and refinement of processing of passengers throughout the day,” the official advice read. > > **“We do not expect the first few arrivals will be a seamless experience given there is no time for a trial run.”** I’m simply in awe. All I had to do for the last six months was sit on my ass. There are so many faceless heroes here, the beancounters and suits, who ordinarily do ordinarily boring things but when a crisis arrives they have the institutional knowledge on how to “get things done.” And I think this points to yet another thing that has failed in both the American and the UK response: both countries have systematically stripped the institutional knowledge from its civil service over the last 3-4 years. And without that knowledge things “slow down” and even worse they “grind to a halt.” Its clear from the NZ response that they had assumed Covid-19 was already here and in community spread: the lockdown was the only card left to play. That they were wrong isn’t a bad thing: its the best possible thing that could have happened. We aren’t out of the woods yet of course. In a couple of weeks we will see what, if any effect of dropping to Level 2 will be. But the local bakery is open, mince-and-cheese pies are back on sale, and that makes me a happy man. ---
**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:** [May 16, 2020, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/3182 "2020-05-16T04:47:57Z")
4,628,555 total cases 308,645 dead 1,758,079 recovered In the US: 1,484,285 total cases 88,507 dead 326,242 recovered Yesterday’s numbers for comparison: > [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > 4,526,905 total cases > 303,405 dead > 1,704,268 recovered > > In the US: > > 1,457,593 total cases > 86,912 dead > 318,027 recovered Tomorrow the US will have more than 1.5 million total cases AND over 90,000 dead. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2020, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/3183 "2020-05-16T11:56:53Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > **enipla** , it occurs to me that folks who run Air BnBs (like my parents) could also offer rooms to people who have adequate technology to work from home, but find it crazy-making because of kids or what-have-you. I should tell my parents about this idea. I think in my county that it is technically illegal though. We are just trying to discourage travel/tourists. But if all you do is drive there, use their wifi for the afternoon, and then return home, I don’t see a big risk. I would not involve a lot of different people sharing the place at different times though. My neighbor is the only one that visits the place as far as I know. It would have more people going to gas stations and foraging for food away from home I suppose, but may also alleviate some of the difficulties some people have from staying home. I thought it was a clever solution. ---
**Author:** ![psychobunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/54ee81/32.png) [@psychobunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychobunny)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2020, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/3184 "2020-05-16T15:28:14Z")
Five sailors from the Roosevelt who had tested positive but were asymptomatic have now tested positive again. The story is that they underwent isolation for 14 days and had two negative tests at least 48 hours apart. After they were cleared, one developed symptoms and contact testing showed four additional positives. I see several possible scenarios. -The tests showed false negatives and the incubation period may be longer than we thought meaning that these sailors were still in the presymptomatic stage for over two weeks -The virus can exist in a latent smouldering state where the tests do not detect it but it can activate or reactivate several weeks after infection -Getting infected does not confer immunity so that reinfection can occur even shortly after recovery None of these is good. I wish we had antibody tests on these people so we would have some insight into whether they had not yet developed them or whether they had antibodies which were not protective. I keep coming back to herpes viruses and I worry that this is a virus that is never completely cleared and can keep reactivating. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2020, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/3185 "2020-05-16T16:04:57Z")
> [@psychobunny](#): > > …I keep coming back to herpes viruses and I worry that this is a virus that is never completely cleared and can keep reactivating. I am not a scientist, but I have a feeling this is what it will turn out to be. ☹ ---
**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:** [May 16, 2020, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/3186 "2020-05-16T18:27:47Z")
If one wants to consider that direction, then it might be better to look not at the Herpes family and true reactivation, but at [“persistent”](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1879625716301559) infections. You have hepatitis C and Borna virus disease as RNA viruses that can have long term persistence in some hosts, and there is “evidence that acute respiratory viruses, such as rhinoviruses [9, 10] and respiratory paramyxoviruses [11], establish persistent infections in some individuals with production of infectious virus for many weeks or months, although such infections are often, but not always, associated with immune dysfunction (see below) and/or age” And mouse hepatitis, a coronavirus, can hide out in the CNS persistently. More which have persistence with persistence defined as longer than acute, from 28 days to over a year. Going there as a hypothetical … even a very small percent being both persistent and potentially infectious while persistent would make eradication even more difficult as that would be a reservoir hard to eliminate. ---
**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:** [May 16, 2020, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/3187 "2020-05-16T19:44:34Z")
> [@](#): > > Almost half the current Covid-19 hotspots in the US are linked to meat processing plants where poultry, pigs and cattle are slaughtered and packaged, which has led to the virus spiking in many small towns and prompted calls for urgent reforms to an industry beset by health and safety problems. > > At least 12 of the 25 hotspots in the US – counties with the highest per-capita infection rates – originated in meat factories where employees work side by side in cramped conditions, according to an analysis by the Guardian. > **[US coronavirus hotspots linked to meat processing plants](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/15/us-coronavirus-meat-packing-plants-food)** > > Analysis shows meat factories a key source of virus transmission as workers and unions urge health and safety overhaul ---
**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:** [May 16, 2020, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/3188 "2020-05-16T20:43:03Z")
Today in Austria: [ul] [li] **Austrians may now travel to Germany** for the purposes of visiting relatives; attending weddings, funerals, and religious events; making use of their own real estate there; caring for animals; or attending school or training. Travel for tourism is not yet allowed.[/li][li] The **borders with the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary** will open on Sunday.[/li][li] **Austrians will be able to freely travel to Italy** from 3 June, though Austria won’t let them come back again without going through a 14-day quarantine. Croatia is likewise effectively open to Austrian tourists as of now, though Austria hasn’t lifted its quarantine restrictions from travellers entering from Croatia.[/li][li] A poll shows that 51% of Austrians are opposed to another **total lockdown in the event of a second wave** , while 41% are in support of it.[/li][li] A **postal distribution centre** in Hagenbrunn has suffered a severe outbreak, with 79 employees infected. The army has called in 250 soldiers to help with mail distribution there.[/li][li] Current statistics: 16,146 confirmed infections, 629 deaths, 14,524 recovered.[/li][/ul] ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2020, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/3189 "2020-05-17T00:34:35Z")
Activities ranked for risk: > **[The risk levels of everyday activities like dining out, going to the gym, and...](https://www.businessinsider.com/riskiest-to-least-risky-activities-during-coronavirus-pandemic-ranked-2020-5?fbclid=IwAR1CejyMD6atvjkNtuMB9e6jnMoXOsNyWyriNcpol_jbiUnlzX13-0T2jFc#low-risk-retail-shopping-12)** > > We spoke with an infectious-disease expert about how likely you are to catch the coronavirus during everyday activities — and which ones to avoid. ---
**Author:** ![SuntanLotion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suntanlotion/32/16165_2.png) [@SuntanLotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanLotion)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2020, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/3190 "2020-05-17T01:02:21Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > _Beijing Back to Campus Bulletin!_ > > It’s been a few days now since the students have returned to campus. My school’s 12th graders and 9th graders (aka “Year 12” and “Year 9” for some odd Australian and/or Chinese reason) returned to the campus, a boarding school, on Sunday, 10 May 2020 and Monday, 11 May 2020, respectively. Classes began for Year 12 students on Monday, 11 May 2020 and Year 9 students on 12 May 2020. > > This schedule required us teachers to be on the campus Sunday and Monday at 8:00 a.m. instead of 8:30 a.m. That part doesn’t bug me so much; what does is that we still stay until 5:30 p.m. each day. What I did appreciate this time, though, is the “Semester Opening Ceremony” (yeah, TIC\*) was held with just select senior staff and teachers and all of the students during the student’s evening study hall time (7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.). The staff shuttle buses therefore ran their morning routes thirty minutes early. > > Once departing the bus in the school parking lot, I noticed the line barriers (what are those thing called?) set up again. A couple of students were entering the campus and they had to do the same routine we staff did last week. > > All classes are divided into two groups: Group A and Group B. Half the classes on each floor are in Group A, the other half in Group B. Group A classes begin at the normal times (8:30 a.m. for morning classes, 1:50 p.m. for afternoon classes) and last for forty-five minutes with a ten-minute break between classes. Group B’s classes begin at the same times, but the first class in the morning and the first class in the afternoon are fifty minutes long. This is to minimize the number of students in the hallways and restrooms during the break between classes. Every restroom on campus now had an occupancy limit clearly posted at the door. In addition to that, every other stall door is bolted shut and every other urinal is covered up. Some genius decided that the western style commode on the first floor male restroom is one of the stalls to be closed–I hope he falls into the squatter. > > Each grade is now assigned a time to go the cafeteria (aka “canteen” for yet another Australian or Chinese reason). Before the pandemic, the students had the entire lunch break (12:00 noon to 1:50 p.m. for the students) to hang out and eat at any of the canteens on campus. Now they must be escorted by their grade’s senior teacher. > > Students are no longer permitted in any of the teachers’ offices. If they need to use the restroom, only one student per class may go. (Reminds me of that character in _Summer School_ who got the restroom key on the first day and returned it on the day of the final exam. Or was that _Fast Times at Ridgemont High_?) The form teachers are required to ensure no students are in the halls during classes. > > In class, we teachers have been tasked with ensuring the students do not congregate closer than one meter to each other, and that they wear their masks properly instead of the usual Chinese practice of wearing it as a sort of fashion statement (not covering the nose or even the mouth). For Group B classes, those teachers are permitted to let the students have a rest in place for the extra five minutes of the first period in the morning and the first period in the afternoon. Personally, I think that Group A should have the normal times for the morning and the fifty-minute class in the afternoon, just to make it fair. > > The school staff discovered that with all the social distancing and other pandemic prevention rules (“Pandemic prevention”? Apparently someone forgot that it’s already a pandemic now; we need to control it, not prevent it.) the students in one of the two departments in which I’m currently working simply do not have enough time to get to PE class, have PE class, clean up after PE class, and then get back to their classroom for their other subjects. This is because that department is further away from the gym than the other departments. The decision came down on Tuesday that the students in that department will all have PE in the final period in the afternoon. I suppose I should mention that there are four periods in the morning and four in the afternoon. > > The students are again [del]herded[/del] escorted to dinner by their department’s head teacher and are turned over to the form teachers for study hall, and finally to the dorm teachers at 9:00 p.m. I have no idea what the new dormitory restrictions are so I cannot report on those. > > The Beijing Municipal Education Commission and the Beijing CCP Education Committee have observers meandering around campus throughout the day to ensure the staff and students are following the new rules. > > All of the above is for private boarding schools in the city. The training centers (“cram schools”/“afterschool academies”) are still closed. > > For the public schools, the 12th graders returned a few days ealier, 27 April 2020. Their campuses have similar markings and signages throughout the campus but their control procedures are more strict. The students are stuck in the classroom for the duration of the day. During their ten-minute break, they get to rest in place. There is no leaving the classroom until lunchtime and then when it’s time to go home. I do not know if they get escorted to the cafeteria for lunch or if the food is brought to their classrooms. > > [The really big news was announced yesterday by the Beijig Municipal Education Commission!](https://www.beijing-kids.com/blog/2020/05/13/more-beijing-back-to-school-dates-announced/) The other grades, except for first, second, and third grades, are returning to campus per the following schedule: > > The very important announcement over the commission’s official WeChat account is that the summer holiday will not be postponed. I was very excited to read that, but I still have my doubts about it for the private schools. Anyway, so long as the borders are closed to foreigners retrurning, that might not be such a big issue for us foreigners in country. > > A number of foreign teachers at my school and, of course, at others are not in China now for the aforementioned ban. Some of those teachers are stranded in locales where they can neither return to China nor get to their home countries. On the foreign teachers’ WeChat group, someone stated that some teachers were told those whose contracts end this semester will not be renewed. Note that I have heard nothing from administration or senior management on that nor anything official; it’s just something one of those out-of-country teachers stated in the group. > > If true, I guess I can see the school’s side, but at the same time, it’s really looks like abandonding somene especially if that person is stranded elsewhere and has been doing the job online as directed. If not true, that’s good news for those folks. > > Speaking of contracts ending in July, mine does. I’ve already asked my department head what’s going on with that. I guess I just have to be patient. That’s getting very difficult the longer my wife is stuck oustide of the country! Oh, and her visa, just like mine, expires 31 July 2020. Actually, there’s a possibility that her visa may be void because it was issued last year. I guess we’ll discover what’s going on with that when and if China cancels the ban on foreigners returning. > > I think I did not make any spelling or grammar errors in this post. I do not mind if you find any and let me know I made such errors. > > \*TIC = _ **T** _his _ **I** _s _ **C** _hina. You typed ealier and retrurned. It gave me great joy and accomplishment to find them! 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