# 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:** 71
**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 24, 2020, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/1403 "2020-03-24T13:14:24Z")
The Tokyo Olympics has been postponed until 2021. ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2020, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/1404 "2020-03-24T13:16:49Z")
So what is going on in US hospitals? ---
**Author:** ![Harrington](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac8455/32.png) [@Harrington](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harrington)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2020, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/1405 "2020-03-24T13:22:41Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > The Tokyo Olympics has been postponed until 2021. That’s fine. I’d rather see it in full, though delayed, then whatever mess it might be if they did not delay it. The delay will give athletes time to train, which many can’t do right now. I was wondering if they were going to foolishly cling to the hope of not delaying the games, as they appeared to do early in the crisis. Summer 2021 Olympics followed a mere seven months later by 2022 Winter Olympics. Sweet. I can wait. ---
**Author:** ![DinoR](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dinor/32/2821_2.png) [@DinoR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DinoR)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2020, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/1406 "2020-03-24T13:53:02Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > The situation in Spain is even more grim than this: [Spain has started using at least one ice rink to store bodies and is using converted hotels as hospitals.](https://apnews.com/98f70ad86446fe2c3ba0bab5ab6bdf2c) The Army Corps of Engineers is working on converting hotels and college dorms into ICU like rooms too. [Cite](https://www.chron.com/news/article/Army-Corps-of-Engineers-aims-to-convert-buildings-15147448.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:** [March 24, 2020, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/1407 "2020-03-24T14:02:16Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > So what is going on in US hospitals? My daughter is a nurse working at a busy hospital in Pennsylvania near the Ohio border. They are busy af. She is working longer shifts with each day being just a bit crazier than the last. And they have been told that things will very likely continue to get worse. They are going through scrubs fast than they can be laundered. She normally wears a small, but sent me a pic of herself wearing 3-X Large, all that was available. ---
**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 24, 2020, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/1408 "2020-03-24T14:59:55Z")
Worldometer [url=][COVID - Coronavirus Statistics - Worldometer](https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/) has just added a column where you can sort deaths / million of population, so we can have a more realistic assessment of who’s being hit hardest. Here are the numbers greater than 2 deaths / 1 000 000, but with the smallest countries filtered out as statistical noise. (Edit: China, the US, and South Korea are all 2 / million, though I expect the US won’t be by the end of the day.) Italy 101 Spain 58 Iran 23 Netherlands 16 Switzerland 14 France 13 Belgium 11 Denmark 6 Iceland 6 UK 5 Sweden 4 Portugal 3 Austria 3 ---
**Author:** ![JoseB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/joseb/32/1530_2.png) [@JoseB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoseB)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2020, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/1409 "2020-03-24T15:14:21Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > I think you mean “ventilator” not respirator. > > A respirator is just like a face mask so a person cannot get or transmit germs. A ventilator is what you would be on in a hospital. Thanks for the info! Indeed, I meant a “ventilator” the whole time. In Spanish a “ventilator” is called a “respirador” (because a “ventilador” in Spanish is a fan). I just took the Spanish word and “anglified” it. Damn you, false friends! 🙂 ---
**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 24, 2020, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/1410 "2020-03-24T15:28:49Z")
The US states list doesn’t have the deaths / million, but I ran the numbers for the states with the most deaths. Six are already at 2 / million or above: WA 14.445 (roughly = Switzerland) NY 9.407 (between Denmark & Belgium) LA 7.529 NJ 3.040 (Austria & Portugal) CT 2.805 (Germany, etc.) GA 2.449 ---
**Author:** ![Grim\_Render](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a87d85/32.png) [@Grim\_Render](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grim_Render)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2020, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/1411 "2020-03-24T15:35:42Z")
Norwegian PM just having a press conference. Lockdown continues at least to April 13. Gatherings should now not be more than 5 people. Buying time they call it. Reducing virus spread while pouring resources into the health care systems intensive care capacity, and learning from other nations. Norway joining the EU medical purchasing scheme. (That will help!) They say they are “_working on_” the legality of us quarantining people from the south/Oslo. Says they want to insure we are taking care of jobs for after the virus. Still seems to be trying to push that people from Oslo are essential to jobs. Tough. Being able to quarantine everyone from the capital has been the one good thing about the virus, and I hope we can keep it going after things normalize. ---
**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 24, 2020, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/1412 "2020-03-24T15:39:45Z")
[India just announced a 21-day lockdown.](https://apnews.com/176c1393bb1d93a2fb39d2f714d04f8b) For the whole country. That’s 1.339 billion people. Over ⅓ of the planet’s human population is on some sort of lockdown/quarantine at the moment. ---
**Author:** ![mandala](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mandala/32/95_2.png) [@mandala](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mandala)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2020, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/1413 "2020-03-24T15:39:59Z")
India orders [complete lock-down](https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/24/coronavirus-indias-prime-minister-orders-nationwide-lockdown.html) for 21 days. Indian Railways has already cancelled all its 18,000+ daily train services. The police are said to be beating up people that venture out without good reason. :eek: There is still no evidence of community transmission in India, and I pray it stays that way. Maybe the heat is making the virus sleepy. ETA: Ninja’d by SnowBo ---
**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:** [March 24, 2020, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/1414 "2020-03-24T15:44:13Z")
> [@Grim\_Render](#): > > Some good news from Norway: > > In the last 24 hours, 8 757 tests were performed up from 6 858 in the period before. This has confirmed 196 new cases, down from 240 in the previous 24 hours. > [@Aspidistra](#): > > Italy just had a two day streak of new cases going down, and deaths going down at the same time. This is the first time this has happened since the start of the epidemic. Be careful about giving much meaning to a one or two-day drop, particularly around the weekend. That might be more indicative of less reporting over the weekend rather than an actual trend. ---
**Author:** ![The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_wind_of_my_soul)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2020, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/1415 "2020-03-24T16:10:56Z")
> [@Dr.Drake](#): > > Worldometer [url=][COVID - Coronavirus Statistics - Worldometer](https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/) has just added a column where you can sort deaths / million of population, so we can have a more realistic assessment of who’s being hit hardest. Here are the numbers greater than 2 deaths / 1 000 000, but with the smallest countries filtered out as statistical noise. > > (Edit: China, the US, and South Korea are all 2 / million, though I expect the US won’t be by the end of the day.) > > Italy 101 > Spain 58 > Iran 23 > Netherlands 16 > Switzerland 14 > France 13 > Belgium 11 > Denmark 6 > Iceland 6 > UK 5 > Sweden 4 > Portugal 3 > Austria 3 Thank you for posting this, as it’s something I’ve been curious about. I knew Italy was being hit the hardest of any country, but I’m still surprised at just how huge the difference is between Italy and all other countries. Does anyone know why Italy got hit so hard compared to everyone else? Did the virus come into Italy sooner than it came into the rest of Europe, maybe? ---
**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 24, 2020, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/1416 "2020-03-24T16:54:31Z")
> [@The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](#): > > Does anyone know why Italy got hit so hard compared to everyone else? Did the virus come into Italy sooner than it came into the rest of Europe, maybe? The garment industry in Italy actually employs a lot of Chinese workers locally. That was one factor. Italy also has a culture that includes a lot of touching, hugging and kissing. ---
**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 24, 2020, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/1417 "2020-03-24T16:57:09Z")
[NY Gov. Cuomo says things are accelerating despite efforts to contain the virus.](https://apnews.com/e8dacf3176e0bbf479dc05b267489f93) > [@](#): > > New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo sounded his most dire warning yet about the coronavirus pandemic, saying the infection rate in New York is accelerating and the state could be as close as two weeks away from a crisis that projects 40,000 people in intensive care. > > Such a surge would overwhelm hospitals, which now have just 3,000 intensive care unit beds statewide. > > Cuomo says the rate of new infections is doubling about every three days. While officials once thought the peak in New York would come in early May, they now say it could come in two to three weeks. > > “We are not slowing it. And it is accelerating on its own,” he said during a briefing in New York City. “One of the forecasters said we were looking at a freight train coming across the country. We’re now looking at a bullet train.” ---
**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2020, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/1418 "2020-03-24T18:53:32Z")
And of course, the chimp-in-charge thinks that we’ll be ready to ease restrictions in 19 days. > **[Trump says he wants the country 'opened up and just raring to go by Easter,'...](https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/24/politics/trump-easter-economy-coronavirus/index.html)** > > President Donald Trump says he wants the nation "opened up and just raring to go by Easter" -- a date just more than two weeks away that few health experts believe will be sufficient in containing the spread of coronavirus. ---
**Author:** ![Bootis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e8c25b/32.png) [@Bootis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bootis)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2020, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/1419 "2020-03-24T18:56:17Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > [NY Gov. Cuomo says things are accelerating despite efforts to contain the virus.](https://apnews.com/e8dacf3176e0bbf479dc05b267489f93) Any urgency that causes people to take more precautions is good, but as has been noted here often, that’s is a little misleading since there would be little noticeable evidence yet of the effects of anything that has been done during the last 10-14 days, based on what is known about incubation period and timeline from first symptoms to hospitalization, etc. And prior to the last 10-14 days, essentially nothing was done yet ---
**Author:** ![JoseB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/joseb/32/1530_2.png) [@JoseB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoseB)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2020, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/1420 "2020-03-24T19:09:47Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > The garment industry in Italy actually employs a lot of Chinese workers locally. That was one factor. > > Italy also has a culture that includes a lot of touching, hugging and kissing. There is a factor by far much more relevant than either of those two: the Italian population is _ **OLD** _. Their demographics are tailor-made for enormous mortality due to this disease. Almost 35% of the population is older than 55; people older than 65 make more than 21% of the total population. That is _ **a lot** _ of old people, the most vulnerable cohorts when it comes to this disease. (Source: [Italy Age structure - Demographics](https://www.indexmundi.com/italy/age_structure.html) ) So, it is not surprising that Italy would see a disproportionately high mortality during this pandemic. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2020, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/1421 "2020-03-24T19:24:59Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > [Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (-R) says US should get ‘back to work’](https://apnews.com/6472d703efb819614f343a396dff9ab4):eek: > [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](#): > > And of course, the chimp-in-charge thinks that we’ll be ready to ease restrictions in 19 days. > [https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/24/politics/trump-easter-economy-coronavirus/index.html](https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/24/politics/trump-easter-economy-coronavirus/index.html) Jesus died for our sins. Grandma died for the Dow. ---
**Author:** ![steronz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steronz/32/11765_2.png) [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2020, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/1422 "2020-03-24T19:33:50Z")
So China is going to lift the lockdown in Wuhan in 2 weeks. They seem to have capped the number of cases at around 81k. The US, with 1/4 the population, is probably going to surpass that in 2 days. What do we make of this? It seems that China has done more than “flatten the curve,” they _appear_ to have stopped it pretty much altogether. Were their lockdowns that effective? With several states under lockdowns now, will we see a change in the rate of new cases in a few days/weeks? (I’m hesitant to call them “similar” lockdowns, I’m in a lockdown state and things don’t seem to have changed much) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758.md?page=70) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758.md?page=72)