# 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:** 72
**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 24, 2020, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/1423 "2020-03-24T20:08:21Z")
> [@steronz](#): > > 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) I guess we’ll have to wait for Dear Leader to tell us what it means in his daily briefing. 😃 ---
**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 24, 2020, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/1424 "2020-03-24T20:08:50Z")
China’s version of a lockdown vs. a US state version of a lockdown is a lot more stringent. China also locked down a lot sooner than any US state. I think we’ll get some positive effects from our lockdowns, but the results won’t be in a few _days_, it will take at least two weeks to start seeing results. ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2020, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/1425 "2020-03-24T20:13:26Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > China’s version of a lockdown vs. a US state version of a lockdown is a lot more stringent. > > China also locked down a lot sooner than any US state. > > I think we’ll get some positive effects from our lockdowns, but the results won’t be in a few _days_, it will take at least two weeks to start seeing results. China was separating infected people from their families (same with South Korea). For the most part, US is allowing infected people to infect the rest of their family unless they do require hospitalization. They were also very proactive by checking temperature before leaving your home, before entering your office building, etc. I don’t know of any of that happening here. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2020, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/1426 "2020-03-24T20:31:29Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > Jesus died for our sins. Grandma died for the Dow. Remember when the Republicans were pretending to be outraged by ACA ‘death panels’ supposedly putting Granny out on an ice floe? And I’m sure all those pro-life evangelicals are burning up the phone lines to express their outrage to their GOP Congresscritters. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2020, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/1427 "2020-03-24T20:34:45Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > I think we’ll get some positive effects from our lockdowns, but the results won’t be in a few _days_, it will take at least two weeks to start seeing results. Two weeks from now, really, since the spring-break crowd has only just gotten back home from partying in Florida. By which time the coronavirus death rate should be up around a couple thousand a day. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2020, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/1428 "2020-03-24T21:07:51Z")
Stock markets rally in biggest one-day jump in nearly a century. > **[Stock market news live: Dow skyrockets to best day since 1933; markets bet on...](https://finance.yahoo.com/news/stock-market-news-live-updates-march-24-2020-221411642.html)** > > Stocks surged Tuesday and recovered some losses as market participants anxiously awaited further fiscal stimulus measures from policymakers to combat the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. I wish they’d stop yo-yoing themselves based off of each turning event, crashing and jumping by thousands of points day by day. Just steady yourselves, folks… ---
**Author:** ![John\_Bredin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@John\_Bredin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Bredin)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2020, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/1429 "2020-03-24T21:24:46Z")
I wish they’d declare stock trading a non-essential business for the duration. The banks are essential because we all need payments to move, we don’t need to sell shares for a couple of weeks. ---
**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 24, 2020, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/1430 "2020-03-24T21:27:45Z")
> [@John\_Bredin](#): > > I wish they’d declare stock trading a non-essential business for the duration. The banks are essential because we all need payments to move, we don’t need to sell shares for a couple of weeks. B-b-b-b-ut that’s Dear Leader’s scorecard. How will he know if he’s doing a fantastic job unless the DOW goes up every single day except when it goes down and then it goes \*\*\*gloriously \*\*\*back up? ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2020, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/1431 "2020-03-24T21:28:44Z")
> [@John\_Bredin](#): > > I wish they’d declare stock trading a non-essential business for the duration. The banks are essential because we all need payments to move, we don’t need to sell shares for a couple of weeks. What about people who own stock, and are now on furlough or laid off because of the pandemic? ---
**Author:** ![John\_Bredin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@John\_Bredin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Bredin)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2020, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/1432 "2020-03-24T21:32:14Z")
I see your point, but the day-by-day yo-yo-ing over every scrap of good or bad news is tiring, and adds another level of anxiety for many. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2020, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/1433 "2020-03-24T22:13:45Z")
> [@Bootis](#): > > 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 As somebody noted (was it Dr. Fauci?) it’s like observing events on a distant star: Actions we’ve taken 2 or 3 weeks ago will just be starting to be visible now; while actions we take now will start becoming visible 2 or 3 weeks from now ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2020, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/1434 "2020-03-24T22:48:08Z")
> [@RioRico](#): > > T… Meanwhile, [CDC says coronavirus survived in Princess Cruise ship cabins for up to 17 days after passengers left](https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/23/cdc-coronavirus-survived-in-princess-cruise-cabins-up-to-17-days-after-passengers-left.html). How about a little more space-sterilization, kids? Oh, crap. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2020, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/1435 "2020-03-24T22:52:51Z")
> [@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. Yes; thanks. “Ventilator” implying artificial help with lung function. ---
**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 24, 2020, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/1436 "2020-03-24T22:53:07Z")
Today in Austria: [ul] [li] Vienna has ramped up its coronavirus testing capacity, from 400 tests per day to 1800 tests per day. Of this new capacity, 600 tests per day are reserved for health care workers. Nationwide, the goal is to do 15,000 tests per day. Tests currently take about 24 hours to process, though faster tests are in the works.[/li] [li] The interior minister reports that public transit usage is down 90%, and private car use is down 50%. Theft is down, but online crime is up.[/li] [li] The chancellor was asked whether the movement restrictions would ease after Easter. He refused to promise anything, saying that it was too early to be making concrete plans. He said that maybe by this Friday there would be enough information to start addressing that question, but warned of the possibility that the restrictions would have to be tightened rather than eased.[/li] [li] My friends in London horrify me with reports about how supermarket shelves are still empty, and how despite the new lockdown, Tube trains are still packed like cattle cars. In Vienna the panic buying was confined to a single day over a week ago, and it’s now rare for me to see any buses or streetcars with more than two passengers. (I haven’t tried riding the subway here for a couple weeks, but I doubt many people are using it.)[/li] [li] 138,000 people have registered as unemployed since the start of the crisis. (By contrast, at the end of February the total number of unemployed workers was 400,000.) About 7000 of these unemployed people have now registered for work in the agricultural and food processing industries. The need here is particularly great, since much of this work is normally performed by seasonal migrant workers, who can now no longer travel to Austria. The minimum salary for full-time work, according to the collective agreement, is €1500 per month. [A dedicated website for recruiting such workers](https://www.dielebensmittelhelfer.at/) has been set up.[/li] [li]Several days ago the government decreed that the few shops that could remain open must close no later than 19:00. Now Hofer, one of the country’s major supermarket chains (known outside Austria as Aldi), has announced that its stores would be closing at 18:00. It says this move is to protect the health of its employees. Perhaps other chains will follow suit.[/li] [li] Current statistics: 5233 infected, 28 dead, 9 recovered. In case anyone is wondering about why the “recovered” numbers in Austria are always so low, it’s because here someone is counted as recovered only after showing no symptoms for three weeks.[/li] [/ul] ---
**Author:** ![Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/try2b_comprehensive/32/65_2.png) [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Try2B_Comprehensive)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2020, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/1437 "2020-03-24T22:53:44Z")
> [@John\_Bredin](#): > > I see your point, but the day-by-day yo-yo-ing over every scrap of good or bad news is tiring You don’t stop trading stocks just because you’re tired, son. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2020, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/1438 "2020-03-24T23:29:28Z")
Do human beings even trade stocks any more, or is it all just algorithms? ---
**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 25, 2020, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/1439 "2020-03-25T00:16:14Z")
Are you saying Mr. Gorithm isn’t a real person? ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2020, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/1440 "2020-03-25T00:43:53Z")
Taiwan has been holding out relatively well. Taiwan’s 216 cases to date consist of 178 imported and 38 local cases, with only a handful of cases of untraceable infections. There have only been two deaths so far. More and more Taiwanese are returning from Europe and the US so they expect to keep getting new infections for the next couple of weeks. Taiwan got hit hard with SARS and really learned its lesson. Other news: In industrial parks across northern Taiwan, a team of some 100 technicians has spent the last six weeks assembling 92 surgical face mask production lines that will boost the country’s daily production capacity from 4 million to 13 million masks. Taiwan confirmed its first COVID-19 case on Jan. 21. Within days, surgical face masks disappeared from store shelves, amid panic buying over the country’s perceived vulnerability to an outbreak. In response to the shortages, the government banned face mask exports on Jan. 24 and took control of mask distribution from the private sector on Jan. 31. On Feb. 6, it launched a rationing system through the National Health Insurance Administration, limiting people to two masks per week. To increase production, the government invested NT$200 million (US$6.66 million) to purchase new supply lines, and began recruiting a team of about 100 technicians to assemble them at requisitioned manufacturing facilities. ---
**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 25, 2020, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/1441 "2020-03-25T00:52:11Z")
> [@The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](#): > > 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? The understanding is that yes it did. It would also interesting to have those numbers somehow normed to age distribution of sorted by age group at least. But that might be too much to hope for. ---
**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 25, 2020, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/1442 "2020-03-25T01:01:49Z")
> [@TokyoBayer](#): > > Other news: In industrial parks across northern Taiwan, a team of some 100 technicians has spent the last six weeks assembling 92 surgical face mask production lines that will boost the country’s daily production capacity from 4 million to 13 million masks. > [@TokyoBayer](#): > > In response to the shortages, the government banned face mask exports on Jan. 24 and took control of mask distribution from the private sector on Jan. 31. > > On Feb. 6, it launched a rationing system through the National Health Insurance Administration, limiting people to two masks per week. > > To increase production, the government invested NT$200 million (US$6.66 million) to purchase new supply lines, and began recruiting a team of about 100 technicians to assemble them at requisitioned manufacturing facilities. Now THAT is a fantastic, strong government response to a looming crisis. Good job, Taiwan! btw, was Freddie Lim involved in any noticeable way, do you know? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758.md?page=71) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758.md?page=73)