# 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:** 61
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2020, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/1203 "2020-03-21T02:50:08Z")
Thanks, both. I know it’s alarming, it’s just really hard to get a gauge on HOW alarming. The Canada map at least shows that my region is the worst in Canada, so that’s something. ---
**Author:** ![blue\_infinity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blue_infinity/32/2817_2.png) [@blue\_infinity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blue_infinity)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2020, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/1204 "2020-03-21T03:14:48Z")
And there’s the first case in [Madagascar](https://www.reuters.com/article/health-coronavirus-madagascar/madagascar-confirms-first-cases-of-coronavirus-president-idUSL8N2B98HO). Game over. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2020, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/1205 "2020-03-21T03:18:59Z")
> [@blue\_infinity](#): > > And there’s the first case in [Madagascar](https://www.reuters.com/article/health-coronavirus-madagascar/madagascar-confirms-first-cases-of-coronavirus-president-idUSL8N2B98HO). > > Game over. And it was the President who made the announcement. I bet Reuters was aware of the reference. ---
**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:** [March 21, 2020, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/1206 "2020-03-21T04:06:31Z")
276,113 confirmed infections 11,402 dead 91,952 recovered In the US: 19,640 confirmed infections 264 dead 147 recovered Yesterday’s numbers for comparison: > [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > 245,749 confirmed infections > 10,046 dead > 88,441 recovered > > In the US: > > 14,340 confirmed infections > 217 dead > 125 recovered Tomorrow we will overtake both Iran and Germany in number of confirmed infections. There is also a good chance we will leap over Spain for the #3 spot. On May 2, Iran had 1501 confirmed infections; the US had 100. It only took us 18 days to catch up to them (they have 4 more than us at the moment) and one more (tomorrow) to pass them. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2020, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/1207 "2020-03-21T13:28:49Z")
This afternoon’s update from Austria: [ul] [li] In stark contrast to the panic buying that has plagued UK supermarkets, Austrian food dealers are reporting a surplus of stock. This is attributed to the sudden closing of restaurants, cafes, and bars, which are no longer buying ingredients in large quantities. As a result, some fruit and vegetable dealers are reportedly giving their food away rather than let it spoil. I believe I may have experienced this myself: a couple days ago we ordered pizza from a local restaurant (since restaurants are permitted to stay open for delivery orders only). Though we ordered and paid for only two medium-size pizzas, they delivered two enormous, family-sized pizzas loaded up with way more toppings than usual. I guess the pizzeria is also trying to deplete its stock of ingredients before it spoils. Meanwhile it seems we are going to be eating leftover pizza for the next week.[/li] [li] The city-state of Vienna has put a temporary freeze on all evictions. No one in the city is going to lose their rented home as a result of the coronavirus crisis (at least, not while the mandatory home quarantine is in effect). Again, this is a rather stark contrast to the UK, where the government has bailed out landlords and other property owners by instituting a freeze on mortgage payments, but has not frozen rent payments or instituted any other protections for tenants.[/li] [li] The Austrian government has just allocated €22 million for medical research on the treatment of coronavirus, and €5 to support artists who cannot work during the crisis.[/li] [li] Current civilian service conscripts will have their term extended by three months. (Recall from my previous postings that Austria has mandatory conscription for all males of school-leaving age; there is a choice between military and civilian service.) 1400 former civilian service conscripts have already volunteered for further duty at the Red Cross.[/li] [li] As I previous reported, Hungary has opened its border with Austria for a second time to allow stranded Bulgarians and Romanians to transit home. Currently this has resulted in traffic on the Austrian side backed up by 30 km. (So far not as bad as the 50 km traffic jam the previous time.)[/li] [li] Latest statistics: 2664 infected, 7 dead, 9 recovered. 97,500 people have registered as unemployed since Sunday night.[/li][/ul] ---
**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:** [March 21, 2020, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/1208 "2020-03-21T14:39:58Z")
Thanks so much for these updates, **psychonaut**! ---
**Author:** ![Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiendish_astronaut/32/3295_2.png) [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiendish_Astronaut)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2020, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/1209 "2020-03-21T14:47:49Z")
From the BBC’s live reporting feed: > [@](#): > > More people have now died in Iran’s Fars province from alcohol poisoning while trying to protect themselves from the coronavirus than from the disease itself, Iranian media report. > > Mohammad Javad Moradian, the director of the province’s emergency services centre, told Isna news agency that Covid-19 had killed 13 people in Fars, while 66 have died after drinking industrial-strength alcohol. > > A persistent rumour in Iran claims that drinking alcohol helps protect individuals from contracting the virus. > > Iran has now confirmed 20,610 cases and 1,556 deaths from the disease. ---
**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 21, 2020, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/1210 "2020-03-21T16:04:20Z")
I think it’s worth emphasizing what “recovered” means. I haven’t checked out the case counting websites, but usually it means a case that tests positive and is retested again after some time with the second test coming back negative. I believe this can take 11-20 days or longer. To do tests, you need kits and testing medium and labs to do the actual testing. Canada has public labs which have a limited capacity, and has thus restricted tests to those with symptoms or a strong history of exposure with an emphasis on higher priority cases. It is asking possible cases just to self-isolate. In areas doing limited testing, doing repeat tests to show recovery often aren’t being done. If symptoms improve and the patient isolates, it is assumed. They don’t want to retest milder cases saving capacity for later, sicker patients who will require a test. The bottom line? If you did ten times as much testing in some places, you might find ten times as many cases. The number of confirmed cases is a minimum number, not a correct one. The number of recovered patients is also much lower than actual. The number of patients requiring hospitalization, ICU care or dying is of most relevance. ---
**Author:** ![RioRico](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f04885/32.png) [@RioRico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RioRico)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2020, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/1211 "2020-03-21T16:40:47Z")
> [@psychonaut](#): > > - The Austrian government has just allocated €22 million for medical research on the treatment of coronavirus, and €5 to support artists who cannot work during the crisis. Five Euros for the total community of distressed artists sounds like a US funding level. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2020, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/1212 "2020-03-21T16:45:20Z")
> [@RioRico](#): > > Five Euros for the total community of distressed artists sounds like a US funding level. 🙂 Oops—I meant to write “€5 million”. 🙂 ---
**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:** [March 21, 2020, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/1213 "2020-03-21T17:32:47Z")
[News from Africa](https://apnews.com/da6ca5326ab2d3d81bd5d9b9ba4321ce): [ul] [li]The continent now has over 1,100 confirmed infections in at least 40 of Africa’s 54 countries.[/li] [li]Nigeria is closing it’s airports for at least one month. Angola did likewise and also closed land and sea borders.[/li] [li]Despite closing all borders, Namibian media showed Angolan President Joao Lourenco at Saturday’s inauguration of Namibian President Hage Geingob. Also in attendance was President Mokgweetsi Masisi of neighboring Botswana, which this week suspended international travel by all government employees. :rolleyes:[/li] [li]Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa also was at the inauguration. :eek:[/li][/ul] ---
**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:** [March 21, 2020, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/1214 "2020-03-21T17:53:46Z")
[Puerto Rico (remember Puerto Rico? It’s still a part of the US, eh) has reported their first COVID-19 death.](https://apnews.com/a84d9bf234fd0161b692de8fb82a9131) ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2020, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/1215 "2020-03-21T18:01:02Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > 276,113 confirmed infections > 11,402 dead > 91,952 recovered > > In the US: > > 19,640 confirmed infections > 264 dead > 147 recovered > > Yesterday’s numbers for comparison:Tomorrow we will overtake both Iran and Germany in number of confirmed infections. There is also a good chance we will leap over Spain for the #3 spot. > > On May 2, Iran had 1501 confirmed infections; the US had 100. It only took us 18 days to catch up to them (they have 4 more than us at the moment) and one more (tomorrow) to pass them. Another way of looking at it: in a single day, we’ve gone from 5.8% to 7.1% of the world’s confirmed cases. (We’ve got about 4.3% of the world’s population.) And of course, we’re still having to engage in extreme rationing of testing, with people showing all the symptoms being told to go home and self-quarantine w/o testing because there just aren’t enough test kits. So the confirmed cases are just the tip of the iceberg. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2020, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/1216 "2020-03-21T18:13:32Z")
I’ve read a lot of Twitter threads about the coronavirus lately. [This is one that just brings me to tears:](https://twitter.com/JeremyKonyndyk/status/1241197397692334081) > [@](#): > > Today @realDonaldTrump claimed his administration was providing “historic support” to the states and was “very much involved in terms of getting the equipment they need.” > > I spent much of the week talking to frontline local officials and docs. Here’s what I’m hearing: > > Hospitals are very close to running out of basic supplies and PPE. Within days of exhausting their supply of gloves. > > Trying to request support from the Strategic National Stockpile but “we can’t get shit.” > > In one city, 1/3 of hospitals are on the verge of exhausting reserves. > > Officials in two different states told me today that they are so desperate for PPE that their state/local govts are calling around to family practitioners, dentists, anywhere that may have small reserves of viable PPE and asking that it be donated for hospitals. > > One said “I’ll probably spend much of next week driving around collecting PPE donations in my Subaru.” > > This is a senior official in a major US city. > > The PPE shortages jam up everything else. Need PPE to triage and treat patients; to conduct testing; to prevent infections in high-risk facilities like assisted-living homes. > > Huge, huge rate-limiter on all other aspects of the response. > > “The White House has consistently over-promised and under-delivered.” > > On testing, no one is able to scale to the level they need. > > Doc on the East Coast: “Most people I saw were symptomatic and were negative for non-COVID. Most were sent home” because they couldn’t be tested for COVID. > > State official: Still lack the kits and private lab capacity has yet to come sufficiently on line. Currently can’t get the needed reagents. > > Given the vacuum in federal leadership “we’re all competing with each other.” There isn’t one coherent homeland approach, instead “there are 50 homelands” each looking after their own needs. > > And not just competing with each other. One city tried to act on Trump’s advice that cities/states should meet their own needs directly. Tried to order PPE from suppliers and lost out multiple times to bids from…the federal government. > > This is a mess, and its about to get dramatically, dramatically worse. Case counts in most US cities aren’t yet that high; the wave is only starting to hit. > > And if states are finding it easier to get PPE from local dentists than from > @HHSGov…I don’t even know what to say. The writer is Jeremy Konyndyk ([bio](https://www.who.int/about/who_reform/emergency-capacities/oversight-committee/jeremy-konyndyk/en/)). April is going to be a disaster. ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2020, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/1217 "2020-03-21T18:18:08Z")
The president is sounding really unsound at the live presser right now. i know that kind of thing is often said about Trump but right now, watching him demonstrate complete obliviousness of the gravity of the situation this country is facing… it’s breath-taking. This is really bad. He is not a normal politician or a normal person. Saw Pence speaking the other day, away from Trump and in charge of the room. That guy is repulsive in his many of his anti-human views but damned if he didn’t sound competent addressing whatever he was talking about. Sure, he was spinning it this way and that to paint the best picture possible for the administration and himself but that’s politics as usual. He didn’t say anything earth-shaking or even especially important, but he sounded competent. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2020, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/1218 "2020-03-21T18:25:54Z")
> [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](#): > > The president is sounding really unsound at the live presser right now. i know that kind of thing is often said about Trump but right now, watching him demonstrate complete obliviousness of the gravity of the situation this country is facing… it’s breath-taking. This is really bad. He is not a normal politician or a normal person. > > Saw Pence speaking the other day, away from Trump and in charge of the room. That guy is repulsive in his many of his anti-human views but damned if he didn’t sound competent addressing whatever he was talking about. Sure, he was spinning it this way and that to paint the best picture possible for the administration and himself but that’s politics as usual. He didn’t say anything earth-shaking or even especially important, but he sounded competent. The Dems need to tell him that it’s 25th Amendment time. ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2020, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/1219 "2020-03-21T18:31:04Z")
The president is sounding really unsound at the live presser right now. i know that kind of thing is often said about Trump but right now, watching him demonstrate complete obliviousness of the gravity of the situation this country is facing… it’s breath-taking. This is really bad. He is not a normal politician or a normal person. Saw Pence speaking the other day, away from Trump and in charge of the room. That guy is repulsive in his many of his anti-human views but damned if he didn’t sound competent addressing whatever he was talking about. Sure, he was spinning it this way and that to paint the best picture possible for the administration and himself but that’s politics as usual. He didn’t say anything earth-shaking or even especially important, but he sounded competent. ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2020, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/1220 "2020-03-21T18:34:52Z")
I worried that Fauci may become a victim of all this and die. By his own hand. ---
**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:** [March 21, 2020, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/1221 "2020-03-21T18:45:21Z")
> [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](#): > > The president is sounding really unsound at the live presser right now. i know that kind of thing is often said about Trump but right now, watching him demonstrate complete obliviousness of the gravity of the situation this country is facing… it’s breath-taking. This is really bad. He is not a normal politician or a normal person. He started with “financial” and he stayed with financial news. WTF? “Walmart is making a huge profit” etc., etc. Fuck him. Fuck his administration. ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2020, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/1222 "2020-03-21T18:46:05Z")
> [@RioRico](#): > > Five Euros for the total community of distressed artists sounds like a US funding level. 🙂 I think the 5 euro is for distressed buskers. It goes directly into the guitar case. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758.md?page=60) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758.md?page=62)