# 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:** 174
**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:** [June 9, 2020, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/3471 "2020-06-09T13:14:09Z")
> [@Hermitian](#): > > [COVID spread by people with no symptoms ‘appears to be rare,’ WHO official says.](https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/08/health/coronavirus-asymptomatic-spread-who-bn/index.html) > > So maybe that explains why so much spread is by “super spreaders.” When normal people get symptoms and they stay home. Super spreaders (aka "idiots) go out anyway and cough all over everyone. > > This sounds huge to me. This means if we are aggressive with weeding out those with symptoms, then opening things up should be more achievable. I agree. This is big and seems like very positive news-- something to work with. Dear God, I’m desperate for something positive. > [@](#): > > Also, who knew zoos had noses? You learn something new every day. I want one of those noses for my mask. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2020, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/3472 "2020-06-09T14:28:00Z")
> [@Hermitian](#): > > [COVID spread by people with no symptoms ‘appears to be rare,’ WHO official says.](https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/08/health/coronavirus-asymptomatic-spread-who-bn/index.html) > So maybe that explains why so much spread is by “super spreaders.” When normal people get symptoms and they stay home. Super spreaders (aka "idiots) go out anyway and cough all over everyone. > > This sounds huge to me. This means if we are aggressive with weeding out those with symptoms, then opening things up should be more achievable. > Also, who knew zoos had noses? You learn something new every day. It seems huge to me too, and yet I don’t want to get carried away. People are gonna go away thinking that this research has debunked earlier findings rather than just refining them. “Asymptomatic” folks are different from “presymptomatic” folks. The former never show symptoms. The latter do. This research found that the former aren’t important sources of infection. But presymptomatic folks still can be. Which makes sense to me. You wake up with symptoms one day and you go to the hospital for a COVID-19 test. The doctor asks when your symptoms started, and you say something like “Well, I felt feverish and light-headed a couple of days ago. But before that I swear I felt fine.” But you’re forgetting the coughing fit you had the day before your fever or the slightly queasy stomach you had a couple of days before that. You might have had one or two signs of sickness for several days, but they didn’t register as OMG SYMPTOMS! until you had a critical number of them. So I disagree that you have to be an idiot to be a super spreader. You may just be someone who isn’t paying close enough attention to what’s happening to your body to know with any accuracy when your symptoms actually began. Or a super spreader could be someone like me–suffering from seasonal allergies in addition to having a nascent COVID infection. I’ve been sneezing and coughing for the past three months. I’ll be a super spreader for sure if I wind up getting infected. ---
**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:** [June 9, 2020, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/3473 "2020-06-09T14:50:25Z")
> [@Hermitian](#): > > [COVID spread by people with no symptoms ‘appears to be rare,’ WHO official says.](https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/08/health/coronavirus-asymptomatic-spread-who-bn/index.html) > > So maybe that explains why so much spread is by “super spreaders.” When normal people get symptoms and they stay home. Super spreaders (aka "idiots) go out anyway and cough all over everyone. > > This sounds huge to me. This means if we are aggressive with weeding out those with symptoms, then opening things up should be more achievable. > Also, who knew zoos had noses? You learn something new every day. Then there’s this: **[The Health 202: WHO says asymptomatic people usually don’t spread coronavirus. Experts doubt that.](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/paloma/the-health-202/2020/06/09/the-health-202-who-says-asymptomatic-people-usually-don-t-spread-coronavirus-experts-doubt-that/5ede874a88e0fa32f82355d4/?itid=hp_hp-top-table-main_who-powerpost-930am%3Ahomepage%2Fstory-ans)** > [@](#): > > It would be great news for the prospect of containing the coronavirus pandemic if only people with symptoms typically spread the virus, as the World Health Organization said yesterday. > > \*\*But the WHO’s announcement was immediately met with skepticism and pushback from prominent health and medical experts – underscoring how the scientific community is still far from consensus over how the novel coronavirus operates. \*\* > … > > \*\*But key experts in the United States say the WHO’s conclusion presents some big problems. \*\* > > It’s not that asymptomatic people don’t spread the virus — but that contact tracing is simply bad at detecting it, they argue. The studies cited by WHO relied on only a small number of people in China who claimed to have gotten sick from someone who had symptoms – which is not exactly a rigorous scientific experiment. > > They also worry that their findings will lead to confusion. There’s a difference between people who truly never showed symptoms of coronavirus and people who were “pre-symptomatic," who had not yet developed symptoms but eventually would. Then, of course, there are “low-symptomatic” people who are experiencing effects of coronavirus so mild they might not be noticed. > … > > \*\*The critics also noted that coronavirus infections have continued spreading even as people with symptoms were largely isolating at home – indicating that asymptomatic and pre-symptomatic people were spreading it. \*\* > … (Bold in original) The upshot: maybe not such good news, after all. There’s plenty we don’t know about this virus. ---
**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:** [June 9, 2020, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/3474 "2020-06-09T14:51:23Z")
I think this is terrible news. WHO was grossly irresponsible in the way they described it. People will get the idea that they can’t spread it unless they’re really sick - the difference between asymptomatic and presymptomatic is too nuanced for most people. So why keep a distance, why wear a mask? I feel fine! All the work to encourage physical distancing and mask wearing is out the window. ---
**Author:** ![Hermitian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hermitian/32/470_2.png) [@Hermitian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hermitian)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2020, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/3475 "2020-06-09T14:54:17Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > “Asymptomatic” folks are different from “presymptomatic” folks. The former never show symptoms. The latter do. This research found that the former aren’t important sources of infection. But presymptomatic folks still can be. [This article](https://www.forbes.com/sites/mattperez/2020/06/08/who-says-asymptomatic-spread-of-coronavirus-very-rare-but-experts-raise-questions/#7159ef4843d0) points out the complication with their word chose and the confusion because of it. > [@monstro](#): > > Which makes sense to me. You wake up with symptoms one day and you go to the hospital for a COVID-19 test. The doctor asks when your symptoms started, and you say something like “Well, I felt feverish and light-headed a couple of days ago. But before that I swear I felt fine.” But you’re forgetting the coughing fit you had the day before your fever or the slightly queasy stomach you had a couple of days before that. You might have had one or two signs of sickness for several days, but they didn’t register as OMG SYMPTOMS! until you had a critical number of them. > > So I disagree that you have to be an idiot to be a super spreader. You may just be someone who isn’t paying close enough attention to what’s happening to your body to know with any accuracy when your symptoms actually began. Maybe initially before the pandemic, but for the last two months how can anyone feverish and not immediately think “I might have COVID!” ---
**Author:** ![filmore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7993a0/32.png) [@filmore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmore)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2020, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/3476 "2020-06-09T14:59:48Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > I think this is terrible news. WHO was grossly irresponsible in the way they described it. People will get the idea that they can’t spread it unless they’re really sick - the difference between asymptomatic and presymptomatic is too nuanced for most people. So why keep a distance, why wear a mask? I feel fine! All the work to encourage physical distancing and mask wearing is out the window. Yeah, this is a good point about all the information presented about the virus. The experts should realize that what they say is going to be interpreted by people will all different levels of comprehension and understanding about the context of the message. I would bet that the vast majority of Americans won’t understand the difference between the terms asymptomatic and presymptomatic in order to make smart decisions. I agree that many people will take this news as implying that someone is contagious only if they have symptoms, and therefore precautions are not necessary unless you feel bad. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2020, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/3477 "2020-06-09T15:20:33Z")
> [@Hermitian](#): > > [This article](https://www.forbes.com/sites/mattperez/2020/06/08/who-says-asymptomatic-spread-of-coronavirus-very-rare-but-experts-raise-questions/#7159ef4843d0) points out the complication with their word chose and the confusion because of it. > > Maybe initially before the pandemic, but for the last two months how can anyone feverish and not immediately think “I might have COVID!” Yeah, and how many people will assure that person they’re just being a silly hypochondriac? It is possible to not know you have a fever. Hence, why they sell thermometers at the store. If it was always obvious when a person has a fever, thermometers would be rather pointless. [Also, not everyone with COVID has a fever.](https://www.vdh.virginia.gov/coronavirus/coronavirus/what-to-do-if-you-have-confirmed-or-suspected-coronavirus-disease-covid-19/) Finally, go back and read my post. You missed the nuance there. A person will likely recognize that they might have COVID-19 once they exhibit a fever. But they may not recognize the queasy stomach that preceded it by a few days as a COVID-19 symptom. They may think the coughing fit they had before they started feeling poorly was just them “swallowing wrong”. So if the doctor asks them when they started having symptoms, they will likely give the doctor the date when they first became feverish and not mention all the other stuff. You don’t have to be an idiot to not be able to remember every single weird thing that has happened to you over the past two weeks. ---
**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:** [June 9, 2020, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/3478 "2020-06-09T20:04:02Z")
Today in Austria: [ul] [li] The **border with Italy** will, at long last, be fully open in both directions on 16 June. Travel to and from Croatia and Greece will also be permitted from that date without the need for self-isolation on arrival.[/li][li] Since the end of May, 200,000 **furloughed employees** have returned to work. 1,181,000 employees remain on furlough.[/li][li] Current statistics: 16,979 confirmed infections, 672 deaths, 15,875 recovered.[/li][/ul] ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2020, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/3479 "2020-06-10T02:16:28Z")
[WHO walks back claim about ‘very rare’ asymptomatic coronavirus transmission](https://nypost.com/2020/06/09/who-walks-back-claim-about-asymptomatic-coronavirus-transmission/) ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2020, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/3480 "2020-06-10T03:39:45Z")
The President of Burundi has died, presumably of coronavirus. > **[Burundi president dies of illness suspected to be coronavirus](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jun/09/burundi-president-dies-illness-suspected-coronavirus-pierre-nkurunziz)** > > Government describes Pierre Nkurunziza’s ‘unexpected’ death as a heart attack ---
**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:** [June 10, 2020, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/3481 "2020-06-10T04:30:09Z")
7,323,761 total cases 413,731 dead 3,603,893 recovered In the US: 2,045,549 total cases 114,148 dead 788,862 recovered Yesterday’s numbers for comparison: > [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > 7,200,059 total cases > 408,737 dead > 3,536,721 recovered > > In the US: > > 2,026,493 total cases > 113,055 dead > 773,480 recovered ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2020, 7:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/3482 "2020-06-10T07:18:08Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Second, Panama has been very aggressive about measure to control mosquitoes and mosquito-borne diseases since Canal construction days, including spraying and getting rid of standing water where they breed. Seconded. Panama takes mosquito control very seriously. Years ago, when I lived in the countryside, they had inspectors come by the farm now and then. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2020, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/3483 "2020-06-10T13:14:57Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > … > Or a super spreader could be someone like me–suffering from seasonal allergies in addition to having a nascent COVID infection. I’ve been sneezing and coughing for the past three months. I’ll be a super spreader for sure if I wind up getting infected. No you won’t, if you exercise reasonable caution - wear mask in public, distance and avoid crowds/contact, etc. From another seasonal snot-monster. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2020, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/3484 "2020-06-10T18:33:51Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > It seems huge to me too, and yet I don’t want to get carried away. People are gonna go away thinking that this research has debunked earlier findings rather than just refining them. “Asymptomatic” folks are different from “presymptomatic” folks. The former never show symptoms. The latter do. This research found that the former aren’t important sources of infection. But presymptomatic folks still can be. > > Which makes sense to me. You wake up with symptoms one day and you go to the hospital for a COVID-19 test. The doctor asks when your symptoms started, and you say something like “Well, I felt feverish and light-headed a couple of days ago. But before that I swear I felt fine.” But you’re forgetting the coughing fit you had the day before your fever or the slightly queasy stomach you had a couple of days before that. You might have had one or two signs of sickness for several days, but they didn’t register as OMG SYMPTOMS! until you had a critical number of them. > > So I disagree that you have to be an idiot to be a super spreader. You may just be someone who isn’t paying close enough attention to what’s happening to your body to know with any accuracy when your symptoms actually began. > > Or a super spreader could be someone like me–suffering from seasonal allergies in addition to having a nascent COVID infection. I’ve been sneezing and coughing for the past three months. I’ll be a super spreader for sure if I wind up getting infected. On the issue of pre/A/symptomatic. What I have read suggests that lots of asymptomatic people aren’t really actually asymptomatic. Rather the symptoms are so slight, they don’t really register as anything beyond daily aches and pains and coughs. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2020, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/3485 "2020-06-10T19:21:53Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > On the issue of pre/A/symptomatic. What I have read suggests that lots of asymptomatic people aren’t really actually asymptomatic. Rather the symptoms are so slight, they don’t really register as anything beyond daily aches and pains and coughs. I wonder how many people with chronic pain or respiratory problems can’t tell they are infected because their symptoms are occurring against the background of pre-existing problems. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2020, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/3486 "2020-06-11T04:06:38Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > I wonder how many people with chronic pain or respiratory problems can’t tell they are infected because their symptoms are occurring against the background of pre-existing problems. Right now we’re experiencing the worst seasonal allergy season _in decades_. Some claims are that the pollen count hasn’t been this bad since sometime in the 50s. And some of the [symptoms of a mild covid-19 infection](https://www.newsday.com/news/health/coronavirus/pollen-allergies-symptoms-covid-1.44832280) can be: a runny nose, nasal congestion, shortness of breath\* and mild cough. Millions of us could potentially have it and mistake it for allergies right now. - those of us with both allergies and allergy-induced/aggravated asthma experience occasional shortness of breath as part of hay fever woes ---
**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:** [June 11, 2020, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/3487 "2020-06-11T04:22:01Z")
7,458,646 total cases 419,020 dead 3,751,971 recovered In the US: 2,066,401 total cases 115,130 dead 808,494 recovered Yesterday’s numbers for comparison: > [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > 7,323,761 total cases > 413,731 dead > 3,603,893 recovered > > In the US: > > 2,045,549 total cases > 114,148 dead > 788,862 recovered ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2020, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/3488 "2020-06-11T11:34:35Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > Right now we’re experiencing the worst seasonal allergy season _in decades_. Some claims are that the pollen count hasn’t been this bad since sometime in the 50s. And some of the [symptoms of a mild covid-19 infection](https://www.newsday.com/news/health/coronavirus/pollen-allergies-symptoms-covid-1.44832280) can be: a runny nose, nasal congestion, shortness of breath\* and mild cough. Millions of us could potentially have it and mistake it for allergies right now. > > - those of us with both allergies and allergy-induced/aggravated asthma experience occasional shortness of breath as part of hay fever woes Seasonal allergies have been pretty much steadily been getting worse for years. Jon Stewart did a funny bit on it: > **[Along Came Pollen - The Daily Show with Jon Stewart | Comedy Central US](https://www.cc.com/video/kjc2ca/the-daily-show-with-jon-stewart-along-came-pollen)** > > According to the media, the pollen count has hit catastrophic heights. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2020, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/3489 "2020-06-11T11:59:38Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > Right now we’re experiencing the worst seasonal allergy season _in decades_. I can believe it! I haven’t been so full of mucus for such a sustained period of time in my whole life. [My right ear has been crackling](https://familydoctor.org/condition/eustachian-tube-dysfunction/) for the past week and it’s driving me bananas. I can’t wait for this “season” to be over. ---
**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:** [June 12, 2020, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/3490 "2020-06-12T04:24:47Z")
7,597,341 total cases 423,844 dead 3,841,537 recovered In the US: 2,089,701 total cases 116,034 dead 816,086 recovered Yesterday’s numbers for comparison: > [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > 7,458,646 total cases > 419,020 dead > 3,751,971 recovered > > In the US: > > 2,066,401 total cases > 115,130 dead > 808,494 recovered [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758.md?page=173) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758.md?page=175)