# 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:** 276
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2020, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/5524 "2020-11-16T01:12:27Z")
Michigan is dire and we just received a 3-week partial shutdown from the Governor. High schools shut, K-8 still open(I teach in one). Many businesses and other buildings closed. It will, I think, extend more than 3 weeks. Thanksgiving gatherings will happen and things will worsen. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2020, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/5525 "2020-11-16T01:33:49Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > It would be nice to put some numbers to this … how many of the elderly are worth sentencing to solitary confinement of an unknown length, possibly the rest of their lives, per freed up one hospital bed for a week or so? > > **How many should die as a result of that isolation to free up that bed? How many should suffer?** **Moderating** This, and other discussion of visiting old people, doesn’t really belong in the Breaking News thread. Please take this discussion to a different thread. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**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:** [November 16, 2020, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/5526 "2020-11-16T01:50:42Z")
I did not bring it up in this thread and you long ago forbade me from discussing it in the thread that it belongs best. But alrightee. Yo da mod. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2020, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/5527 "2020-11-16T02:01:11Z")
Washington State is back to tight restrictions for at least 4 weeks beginning Monday night: > **[Inslee orders new restrictions on indoor gatherings, restaurants, bars, gyms...](https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/health/gov-inslee-orders-sweeping-restrictions-on-indoor-gatherings-restaurants-bars-gyms-as-covid-19-cases-surge-in-washington-state/)** > > Gov. Jay Inslee on Sunday announced sweeping restrictions on social, economic and cultural life, set to go into effect in the next two days. They are the strictest the state has seen since the emergency stay-at-home order in March. > Social, economic and cultural life in Washington will slow to a crawl at 11:59 p.m. Monday night, as Gov. Jay Inslee orders broad restrictions and [shutdowns for restaurants](https://www.seattletimes.com/life/food-drink/inslee-announces-the-shutdown-of-indoor-dining-at-restaurants-in-washington-state-as-covid-19-numbers-spike/), theaters, gyms and all indoor gatherings in an effort to slow the state’s burgeoning coronavirus epidemic. > > Inslee on Sunday morning ordered restaurants and bars to shut down indoor service and to limit outdoor service to parties of five or fewer. Indoor gyms and fitness centers must also shut down. Same with movie theaters, bowling alleys and museums. Indoor gatherings with people outside your household will be prohibited unless participants have quarantined for at least a week and tested negative. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2020, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/5528 "2020-11-16T02:57:54Z")
(Quick advocacy for my IMHO thread for this and similar topics: [How selfish can people be before you consider them morally bad? - #21 by Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-selfish-can-people-be-before-you-consider-them-morally-bad/925600/21)) ---
**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:** [November 16, 2020, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/5529 "2020-11-16T03:07:07Z")
[https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-italy-timing/coronavirus-emerged-in-italy-earlier-than-thought-italian-study-shows-idUSKBN27V0KF](https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-italy-timing/coronavirus-emerged-in-italy-earlier-than-thought-italian-study-shows-idUSKBN27V0KF) > [@](#): > > the Italian researchers’ findings, published by the INT’s scientific magazine Tumori Journal, show that 11,6% of 959 healthy volunteers enrolled in a lung cancer screening trial between September 2019 and March 2020, had developed coronavirus antibodies well before February. > > A further specific SARS-CoV-2 antibodies test was carried out by the University of Siena for the same research titled “Unexpected detection of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in the pre-pandemic period in Italy”. > > It showed that four cases dated back to the first week of October were also positive for antibodies neutralizing the virus, meaning they had got infected in September, Giovanni Apolone, a co-author of the study, told Reuters. > > “This is the main finding: people with no symptoms not only were positive after the serological tests but had also antibodies able to kill the virus,” Apolone said. ---
**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:** [November 16, 2020, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/5530 "2020-11-16T04:32:16Z")
I’ll quote these as well because I think it’s important: > [@](#): > > “It means that the new coronavirus can circulate among the population for long and with a low rate of lethality not because it is disappearing but only to surge again,” he added. > > Italian researchers told Reuters in March that they reported a higher than usual number of cases of severe pneumonia and flu in Lombardy in the last quarter of 2019 in a sign that the new coronavirus might have circulated earlier than previously thought. ---
**Author:** ![Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heffalump_and_roo/32/7691_2.png) [@Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heffalump_and_Roo)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2020, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/5531 "2020-11-16T04:52:51Z")
> **[Doctors Are Calling It Quits Under Stress of the Pandemic (Published 2020)](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/15/health/Covid-doctors-nurses-quitting.html)** > > Thousands of medical practices are closing, as doctors and nurses decide to retire early or shift to less intense jobs. This is actually less about doctors quitting under the stress of patient load and more about the doctors who have their own practice who are going out of business because there aren’t enough patients and PPE to stay afloat. In some cases, covid plays a part because some medical professionals have retired because they don’t want to get sick. > [@](#): > > Many other doctors are also calling it quits. Thousands of medical practices have closed during the pandemic, according to [a July survey](https://physiciansfoundation.org/research-insights/2020physiciansurvey/) of 3,500 doctors by the Physicians Foundation, a nonprofit group. About 8 percent of the doctors reported closing their offices in recent months, which the foundation estimated could equal some 16,000 practices. Another 4 percent said they planned to shutter within the next year. > . . . > Another analysis, from the Larry A. Green Center with the Primary Care Collaborative, a nonprofit group, found similar patterns. Nearly a fifth of primary care clinicians [surveyed in September](https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5d7ff8184cf0e01e4566cb02/t/5f75da37bde1f0691fc28b0d/1601559097041/C19+Series+21+National+Executive+Summary.pdf) say someone in their practice plans to retire early or has already retired because of Covid-19, and 15 percent say someone has left or plans to leave the practice. > . . . > The clinicians also painted a grim picture of their lives, as the pandemic enters a newly robust phase with record case counts in the United States. About half already said their mental exhaustion was at an all-time high. Many worried about keeping their doors open: about 7 percent said they were not sure they could remain open past December without financial help. ---
**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:** [November 16, 2020, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/5532 "2020-11-16T05:16:04Z")
54,818,004 total cases 1,324,526 dead 38,140,211 recovered In the US: 11,367,214 total cases 251,901 dead 6,937,236 recovered Yesterday’s numbers for comparison: > [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > 54,328,752 total cases > 1,318,278 dead > 37,871,087 recovered > > In the US: > > 11,226,038 total cases > 251,256 dead > 6,891,015 recovered ---
**Author:** ![JaneDoe42](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/janedoe42/32/14104_2.png) [@JaneDoe42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JaneDoe42)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2020, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/5533 "2020-11-16T05:24:30Z")
My Doctor has moved from private practice to some sort of group practice/billing company. I do not like the changes. Script refills are delayed, billing is delayed, the temp check thingy you are supposed to use before entering is broken (my temp was 82f) and while patients are wearing masks, none of the front desk staff are. Oh, yeah, no sneeze guard things either. I know she had to do this to keep afloat, and I know she has been doing her best. She has taken good care of me for the last 20 years, I really don’t want to break up with her now, and I also know that if I did, things would be even suckier. ---
**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:** [November 16, 2020, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/5534 "2020-11-16T11:39:06Z")
A few days ago, Austria became the second worst-hit autonomous territory in the world in terms of daily new cases per capita. (The worst was French Polynesia.) This is despite a moderate lockdown imposed by the government about a week before, and which I had covered in an earlier post here. So on Saturday, the government announced a strict new three-week lockdown, to take effect on Tuesday, 17 November. The terms are almost the same as the original lockdown that was imposed back in March: - All shops and services are closed except for grocery and drug stores, pharmacies, clinics and hospitals, and the like. Those stores that remain open must close every day by 19:00. - Everyone is expected to work at home where possible. - Schools at all levels are closed for in-person instruction. Parents who have no other choice may send young children to schools and day cares to be looked after during the day. - Visits to people in hospitals and care home visits are severely curtailed, and require a negative coronavirus test. - A 24-hour curfew is in effect. There are only nine legally enumerated grounds for leaving one’s home; among them, to work, to shop for essentials, to receive medical care, to exercise alone or with members of one’s own household, and to provide care to the homebound. - It is required to wear face coverings and to keep one’s distance from others in all indoor spaces, apart from one’s own home. - Most public gatherings are banned. Exceptions are made for demonstrations and funerals. Following similar campaigns in Iceland and Slovakia, the government has also announced plans to give the entire population of the country (some 9 million people) coronavirus tests the weekend before Christmas. This will allow asymptomatic carriers to be identified and isolated, and hopefully check further spread of the disease. ---
**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:** [November 16, 2020, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/5535 "2020-11-16T12:45:03Z")
> [@JaneDoe42](#): > > none of the front desk staff are. This is nuts! ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2020, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/5536 "2020-11-16T13:56:33Z")
New seven-day average highs in new cases occurring on November 15, 2020 Alaska New Hampshire Vermont Maine Massachusetts (highest since April 17) Minnesota North Dakota South Dakota Montana Washington Oregon Nevada Wyoming Indiana Ohio Pennsylvania New Jersey (highest since April 4) Delaware Maryland Colorado Utah Tennessee Oklahoma Alabama Puerto Rico Idaho, Kentucky, Arkansas, North Carolina, and West Virginia hit new highs on Nov 14 So over the weekend over half the states (and one territory) reached new highs. I’m especially surprised at New Jersey and Massachusetts, which had been doing very well for quite a while. The current surge has them reaching highs they haven’t experienced since the spring, and they both appear to still be rising exponentially, and will undoubtedly go higher still. ---
**Author:** ![teelabrown](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/teelabrown/32/8412_2.png) [@teelabrown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teelabrown)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2020, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/5537 "2020-11-16T14:08:00Z")
Moderna is releasing the results of its vaccine: [94.5% effective against the virus](https://www.cnn.com/2020/11/16/health/moderna-vaccine-results-coronavirus/index.html). And it doesn’t need a super-cold freezer like Pfizer’s does. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2020, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/5538 "2020-11-16T14:24:14Z")
Outstanding news. Key points: - Moderna plans to apply to FDA for authorization of its vaccine later this month. - Fauci expects vaccinations to begin the latter part of December - Initially, there won’t be enough vaccine for everyone. The highest priority groups, which include health care workers, the elderly, and people with underlying medical conditions, will get the vaccine first. - General public towards end of April & that will go into May, June, July. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2020, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/5539 "2020-11-16T15:41:25Z")
> **[Texas nurse describes ‘The Pit,’ a room where COVID-19 patients are sent to die](https://nypost.com/2020/11/16/nurse-describes-horrific-conditions-inside-el-paso-texas-hospital/)** > > A traveling nurse on assignment in Texas described “horrific” conditions for patients with COVID-19 as hospitals reach max capacity amid a dramatic surge in local cases. Among the most … > In response to Rivers’ allegations, University Medical Center [told local station KVIA-TV in a statement](https://kvia.com/health/2020/11/13/traveling-nurse-says-el-pasos-covid-crisis-is-worse-than-it-was-new-york-city/) that although it sympathizes with the medical professional, it “cannot fully verify the events expressed.” > > “We empathize and sympathize with the difficult, physical and emotional toll that this pandemic takes on thousands of healthcare workers here and throughout our country,” the statement read. Reading between the lines, I think it’s safe to assume the nurse is telling the truth and the hospital knows it. ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2020, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/5540 "2020-11-16T16:02:42Z")
My sister-in-law’s brother is a retired doctor who come out of retirement to help out in small city hospital in Nebraska because there wasn’t enough staff there due to positive tests. Hopefully he doesn’t get infected. But nothing to worry about, it’s fine. ---
**Author:** ![SayTwo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e56c9b/32.png) [@SayTwo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SayTwo)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2020, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/5541 "2020-11-16T17:01:27Z")
It’s just a hard, hard thing to control. > **[Internal email reveals 65 virus cases among WHO Geneva staff](https://apnews.com/article/65-virus-cases-who-staff-geneva-4e133325afec1d3f309ab184138e6f73)** > > GENEVA (AP) — The World Health Organization has recorded 65 cases of the coronavirus among staff based at its headquarters, including five people who worked on the premises and were in contact with one another, an internal email obtained by The... > GENEVA (AP) — The World Health Organization has recorded 65 cases of the coronavirus among staff based at its headquarters, including at least one cluster of infections, an internal email obtained by The Associated Press shows, despite the agency’s past assertions that there has been no transmission at the Geneva site. > > The revelation comes amid a surge of cases in Europe, host country Switzerland, and the city of Geneva, in particular, and the email said about half of the infections were in people who had been working from home. But 32 were in staff who had been working on premises at the headquarters building, indicating that the health agency’s strict hygiene, screening and other prevention measures were not sufficient to spare it from the pandemic. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2020, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/5542 "2020-11-16T17:16:16Z")
The Moderna vaccine is theoretically the same as the Pfizer vaccine – both use a lipid-encapsulated bit of RNA to prompt some of your cells to produce a slightly damaged “spike protein”. (source: MIT’s class on covid, last week’s lecture, and several news articles about the Pfizer vaccine.) So the odds were they would have similar effectiveness – and it appears they do. This is excellent news – since they are so similar, it’s sort of like a larger, meta study. ---
**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:** [November 16, 2020, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/5543 "2020-11-16T20:08:44Z")
Agreed that it’s excellent news. teelabrown is correct, though, that Moderna’s vaccine has [a significant advantage](https://www.cnn.com/world/live-news/coronavirus-pandemic-11-16-20-intl/h_3c91c6f3b13c0b6d96bd126d9cda9018) over Pfizer’s: > Pfizer’s vaccine has to be kept at minus 75 degrees Celsius — or about minus 103 degrees Fahrenheit. No other vaccine in the US needs to be kept that cold, and doctors’ offices and pharmacies do not have freezers that go that low. > > Moderna’s vaccine can be kept at minus 20 degrees Celsius, which is about minus 4 degrees Fahrenheit. Other vaccines, such as the one against chickenpox, need to be kept at that temperature. Sincere question: what’s the difference between the two vaccines that one requires a drastically lower storage temperature? I can’t imagine Pfizer’s would be in widespread use since it requires equipment few facilities have and is no more effective than Moderna’s. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758.md?page=275) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758.md?page=277)