# 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:** 20
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2020, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/381 "2020-03-07T18:56:07Z")
Is the cruise ship in international waters? If it is within 3 miles of California’s coast, it is technically in the US and its sick passengers should definitely be counted. If China was pulling a stunt like this, we’d all be saying, “Well, that’s an authoritarian government for you!” Well, that’s what we have. A government that is OK with _causing_ the suffering of hundreds of people because the homeland’s image must be protected at all costs. It makes me wonder, if this thing is no worse than the flu, there shouldn’t be any problem letting these people get off the ship. If it’s a just bunch of mild symptoms, the president should let them disembark and treat them like you’d treat anyone else with mild symptoms, right? The longer he keeps those people out there, the more folks are gonna start noticing the glaring contradiction in podium doublespeak and action. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2020, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/382 "2020-03-07T19:08:37Z")
> [@susan](#): > > Trump should be concerned about the welfare of the people. No doubt he’ll jump right on that any day now. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2020, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/383 "2020-03-07T19:21:38Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > No doubt he’ll jump right on that any day now. Oh, I’m sure. And perhaps he’ll go onboard and kiss them hello. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2020, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/384 "2020-03-07T19:26:25Z")
> [@susan](#): > > Oh, I’m sure. And perhaps he’ll go onboard and kiss them hello. He may even grab some of them by the … well, never mind. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2020, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/385 "2020-03-07T19:34:37Z")
Statements like “this is no worse than the flu” aren’t great, because they may mean vastly different things to different people. And it may not be true. Time will tell. I think time will show the response to be excessive, but that doesn’t make the responses unjustifiable, unreasonable or without lessons for the next outbreak in the world of media saturation. That said, cruise ship incubators are harder to justify than following proper procedures, including appropriate tests and sequelae. ---
**Author:** ![filmore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7993a0/32.png) [@filmore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmore)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2020, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/386 "2020-03-07T19:35:36Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > That doesn’t seem to be the case with the Grand Princess infections. He’s more worried about how the US looks in terms of numbers of cases, so he won’t let the 21 people who tested positive on that (most of whom are crew, as I understand it) on land to be treated. So he’s going to let those people sit out there and suffer (and also spread their viruses to others) just so he looks better. It’s important to note those 21 positive cruise passengers are from a total of 46 passengers that were tested. Not all passengers were tested. There are 3500+ people on the ship and the rest of them need to be tested. ---
**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:** [March 7, 2020, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/387 "2020-03-07T22:17:15Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > … Influenza kills hundreds of thousands each year. Many children get sick. Those who die often have other health problems or live in countries where care is suboptimal. But by no means always - reasonably healthy people can also be severely affected by influenza. > > This outbreak has a number of features suggesting the number of cases is severely under diagnosed. It is also odd that, unlike “flu” (a number of viral families other than influenza cause similar symptoms), children don’t seem to be much affected at all. … > [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > Statements like “this is no worse than the flu” aren’t great, because they may mean vastly different things to different people. … IF the study I linked to is accurate in the least, then the statement that children are not much affected at all needs a great deal of qualification. They may be infected at least as much as adults, but with such mild disease that they do not get counted. That has significant implications for controlling the spread and for the overall CFR. Statements like “this is no worse than the flu” aren’t great, but statements like, “this has much greater mortality rates than the flu” are at least as bad. And we hear that a lot more, as people fail to hear the usual expert qualification of “may be” … By both CFR and absolute mortality rates this may be not bad for kids at all. Influenza is not so bad for kids either. Across this country a bad influenza season (such as 2017-18) kills under 700 under 19 years old, while that in that same season about 51,000 65 years old and greater died due to influenza. This MAY be that pattern maybe even exaggerated a bit. The point being that your point is very important. The impact of this may be very different on different groups of people. Many many kids infected with mild disease may lower the overall CFR by an order of magnitude or more, making it less even than seasonal influenza… but the _age-specific CFR_ for those 65+ or with significant chronic illnesses may still be worse. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2020, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/388 "2020-03-07T22:31:14Z")
[Passengers held on Carnival Cruise Line ship in Long Beach](https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2020/03/07/coronavirus-live-updates/#link-B6OGGHNBUNDVPGZ3TACWB7AXW4) As the coronavirus-stricken Grand Princess cruise ship waits off the coast near San Francisco, another liner is stuck near Long Beach, Calif., while a passenger undergoes coronavirus testing “out of an abundance of caution,” its company says. [Matt Gaetz made light of coronavirus by wearing a gas mask. Now one of his constituents has died.](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/03/07/matt-gaetz-coronavirus-florida/) Days after Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) wore an enormous gas mask during a House floor vote on an emergency funding package for the coronavirus response, the congressman announced that a resident in his northwestern Florida district had died of covid-19. [Trump ‘didn’t know people died from the flu.’ It killed his grandfather.](https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2020/03/07/flu-trump-grandfather-death-coronavirus/) In 1918, Friedrich Trump was a successful, 49-year-old businessman, husband and father of three living in Queens, according to Gwenda Blair in her 2001 book “The Trumps: Three Generations That Built an Empire.” One day in May, he came home from a stroll feeling sick. He died almost immediately. He was a victim of the first wave of the Spanish flu pandemic. A second, deadlier wave hit in the fall. All told, the pandemic killed at least 50 million people worldwide and 675,000 in the United States, according to the CDC. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2020, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/389 "2020-03-07T22:56:03Z")
[Coronavirus Live Updates: New York Declares Emergency as Northern Italy Faces Possible Lockdown](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/07/world/coronavirus-news.html) > [@](#): > > Italy’s government is considering the extraordinary step of locking down entire sections of the country’s north, restricting movement for a quarter of the population in a sweeping effort to fight the coronavirus not seen outside of China… > > Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo declared a state of emergency in New York on Saturday as the state’s number of confirmed cases rose to 76, 11 of them in New York City, the latest of which is an Uber driver. ---
**Author:** ![steatopygia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steatopygia/32/3132_2.png) [@steatopygia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steatopygia)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2020, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/390 "2020-03-07T22:57:58Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > The guys currently in charge are not the people I voted for in 2016. So I did my best to NOT elect our current government. > > Please do not tar me with whatever form of collective guilt you are feeling. You and all of us are collectively guilty. We have had three and a half years to try and remove or at least muzzle the idiot our system elected. We have had three and a half years to convince the people that voted for him that they were wrong. We have done nothing. A shift in the House, big whoop. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2020, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/391 "2020-03-07T23:06:56Z")
Latest WHO numbers from today’s situation report: New cases and deaths in China continue to show steady decline (102 new cases 28 new deaths). If this is correct, it looks like China has managed to stamp it out, using quite harsh means of ordering factory closures, and isolating hot spots. New cases in the rest of the world are starting to enter an exponential phase. (3633 new cases, 78 new deaths) 5 new countries. 93 countries in total have reported Covid-19. The cat is officially out of the bag. More cases on cruise ships. It’s going to take a while for this industry to come back. I continue to believe that there are WAY more cases in the US, but are unknown because of the complete Screw-up with testing. It’s too late now for testing. You need to assume that the virus is all over the community, and is over every public surface. That guy who sneezed on you in the supermarket? Thanks buddy, you just gave me the virus. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2020, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/392 "2020-03-07T23:21:13Z")
The American Hospital Association is advising its members on what to expect over the next two months: Basically 10x a normal flu season: > [@](#): > > American Hospital Association “Best Guess Epidemiology” for #codiv19 over next 2 months. > > 96,000,000 infections > 4,800,000 hospitalizations > 1,900,000 ICU admissions > 480,000 deaths > > vs flu in 2019: > > 35,500,000 infections > 490,600 hospitalizations > 49,000 ICU admissions > 34,200 deaths > **[One slide in a leaked presentation for US hospitals reveals that they're...](https://www.businessinsider.com/presentation-us-hospitals-preparing-for-millions-of-hospitalizations-2020-3)** > > The spread of the novel coronavirus in the US could push the healthcare system to its limits. ---
**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 7, 2020, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/393 "2020-03-07T23:22:22Z")
> [@steatopygia](#): > > You and all of us are collectively guilty. > We have had three and a half years to try and remove or at least muzzle the idiot our system elected. We have had three and a half years to convince the people that voted for him that they were wrong. We have done nothing. A shift in the House, big whoop. I see. Because I couldn’t physically force someone else to vote the way you want them to I’m guilty. Really? Sorry, no - WTF are you expecting people to do? Or are you one of the folks who _want_ a civil war and damn the consequences? I feel no guilt about the current BS in the US Federal government because I have done everything that I personally could do. I’m sorry it wasn’t effective, but I don’t feel guilty. And I refuse to take the blame for this bullshit because the blame all belongs are the Republicans who elected these assholes and the people who continue to enable them. It’s a hair’s breadth from the Republican habit of blaming “the Democrats” for anything and everything bad whether or not there is a basis in truth. Sorry, not playing that game. I do _fear_ that there may be consequences I have to suffer for the “crime” of being born in this country because there are a lot of bigots out there that will hold all of a category responsible for the crimes of a few of that category. Sorry, not having much personal power there’s not much I can do about that either, but if an opportunity arises I’ll take advantage of it. Not holding my breath though. ---
**Author:** ![steatopygia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steatopygia/32/3132_2.png) [@steatopygia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steatopygia)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2020, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/394 "2020-03-07T23:28:10Z")
China, population 1.3 billion. Deaths 3000 or so. US, population 327 million. 480,000 deaths? Straight up nonsense. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2020, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/395 "2020-03-07T23:37:36Z")
> [@steatopygia](#): > > China, population 1.3 billion. Deaths 3000 or so. > US, population 327 million. 480,000 deaths? Straight up nonsense. Are the Chinese data accurate? ---
**Author:** ![filmore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7993a0/32.png) [@filmore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmore)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2020, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/396 "2020-03-08T00:00:31Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > New cases and deaths in China continue to show steady decline (102 new cases 28 new deaths). If this is correct, it looks like China has managed to stamp it out, using quite harsh means of ordering factory closures, and isolating hot spots. One thing I haven’t heard a lot about is plans to prevent re-emergence of the virus after it has been contained. Even if China has contained the outbreak in certain areas, there’s no guarantee that the virus won’t make it back into that area later on. Even if countries put large areas under quarantine, what are they going to do to prevent an infected person from going into that community after the quarantine is over? ---
**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 8, 2020, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/397 "2020-03-08T00:37:21Z")
Well, ain’t [this](https://news.yahoo.com/hotel-collapse-traps-70-eastern-china-154017056.html?.tsrc=bell-brknews) just dandy? > [@](#): > > More than 40 people have been rescued following the collapse of a hotel used as a coronavirus quarantine facility in eastern China on Saturday, state media reported. > > Officials said around 70 people were initially trapped when the building first crumbled. More at the link. ---
**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:** [March 8, 2020, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/398 "2020-03-08T01:15:19Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > The American Hospital Association is advising its members on what to expect over the next two months: > > Basically 10x a normal flu season: > > [Presentation: US Hospitals Preparing for Millions of Hospitalizations - Business Insider](https://www.businessinsider.com/presentation-us-hospitals-preparing-for-millions-of-hospitalizations-2020-3) The article you cite is very clear. > [@](#): > > As part of the presentation to hospitals, Dr. James Lawler, a professor at the University of Nebraska Medical Center gave his “best guess” estimates of how much the virus might spread in the US. … > > … “The AHA regularly hosts webinars and conference calls that include a variety of voices and opinions that seek to provide relevant information to professionals at hospitals and health systems that are on the front lines of preparing for and protecting their patients and communities,” a spokeswoman for the AHA told Business Insider in an emailed statement. “The slides you shared reflect the various perspectives of field experts and should not be attributed to the AHA.” So - 1. This is _one_ individual presenter’s opinion, \*not \*anything that this trade and lobbying organization is presenting as their perspective. 2. The AHA is a trade and lobbying organization, not an expert body. 3. Reality is that hospitals _should_ have plans for such a surge demand occurrence, even if the likelihood of such occurring is very low. ---
**Author:** ![This\_Just\_In\_2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@This\_Just\_In\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/This_Just_In_2)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2020, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/399 "2020-03-08T03:19:16Z")
> [@steatopygia](#): > > China, population 1.3 billion. Deaths 3000 or so. > US, population 327 million. 480,000 deaths? Straight up nonsense. Fixed it for you. China, population 1.3 billion. Confirmed Cases - 80,000 or so. US, population 327 million. Confirmed Cases - Straight up nonsense. ---
**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 8, 2020, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/400 "2020-03-08T04:50:31Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > Unfortunately, Trump’s thinking is probably along the lines of: > > “Will this thing kill more Democrat voters than my voters? If so, then that’s terrific. Let 'er rip.” I don’t know if Trump is that heartless, but surely that thinking would be wrong, right? Old people vote Republican. I think he’s just surrounded by yes-men and used to (mostly) self-inflicted problems he can spin. But viruses don’t give a shit about PR. The idea that there are tons of mild cases out there seems at odds with [the data out of South Korea](https://www.cdc.go.kr/board/board.es?mid=a30402000000&bid=0030&act=view&list_no=366485&tag=&nPage=1). They’ve done _lots_ of testing, and they’ve done plenty of contact tracing through the religious group that it spread widely through. They’re showing a 0.7% fatality rate so far. I can’t find data on the number of people who require hospitalization. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758.md?page=19) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758.md?page=21)