# 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:** 75
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2020, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/1483 "2020-03-25T18:02:28Z")
“Golden years”, my ass! ---
**Author:** ![JcWoman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jcwoman/32/2889_2.png) [@JcWoman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JcWoman)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2020, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/1484 "2020-03-25T18:24:32Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > Seeing as how it’s a known technique, stands to reason it had already been tried, and if it was a medical miracle, we would already know about it. Next dumb question: if someone has had it, got over it, and is immune, that means the virus won’t hurt them, but they could still pass it along to somebody else? Yes, it’s possible. It’s also possible for someone to have the virus in their body, have no symptoms and still pass it along to other people. See: [Typhoid Mary](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Mallon) ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2020, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/1485 "2020-03-25T18:28:32Z")
No snark intended, but is typhoid relevant, being a bacteria rather than a virus? So, this means that survivors are no more “safe” as volunteer contacts than anyone else? Well. _shit!_ ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2020, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/1486 "2020-03-25T18:32:06Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > On Italy. > > I was reading where the Italian practice of multiple generations living under one roof (which generally is a good thing) has backfired here because those elderly cannot as easily be quarantined (as they would in a US style nursing home) and are more exposed to any germs the younger people in the house could bring home. > > So do you all think the practice will change? Personally I’ve always hated the way older people are put away from families but maybe it is for the better? > > I dont know. I’ve always hated how people have to go bankrupt to pay for their own healthcare. If COVID-19 doesn’t result in universal healthcare, I fail to see why it should change the living arrangements of Italians. I don’t mean to take my frustration out you, so I apologize for my unpleasant tone. It’s just that this whole thing has laid bare all the problems in every society affected by it. So I hope every society makes changes to their cultural and economic practices after this. Especially my own. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2020, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/1487 "2020-03-25T18:37:13Z")
People living in nursing homes are also exposed to such things as visits, walks, personnel… There’s one in Spain whose personnel has moved in for the duration, but it’s one out of hundreds and note that not all families can withstand that. If any of the workers is a single parent and the children aren’t old enough to fend for themselves for several weeks, who gets called in to help? Relatives, which may even mean Grandma who doesn’t live in a nursing home. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2020, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/1488 "2020-03-25T18:39:33Z")
> [@JcWoman](#): > > See: [Typhoid Mary](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Mallon) Our company is having everyone work at home unless it’s absolutely necessary to come into the office. I shared the Typhoid Mary link with our president the other day. This is a prime example of why we need social distancing. Mary Mallon refused to socially distance herself, and as a result was confined for the rest of her life. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2020, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/1489 "2020-03-25T18:43:54Z")
They just announced that schools in the San Francisco Bay Area (6 counties) will remain closed until May 1. ---
**Author:** ![filmore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7993a0/32.png) [@filmore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmore)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2020, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/1490 "2020-03-25T18:45:49Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > On Italy. > > I was reading where the Italian practice of multiple generations living under one roof (which generally is a good thing) has backfired here because those elderly cannot as easily be quarantined (as they would in a US style nursing home) and are more exposed to any germs the younger people in the house could bring home. > > So do you all think the practice will change? Personally I’ve always hated the way older people are put away from families but maybe it is for the better? > > I dont know. I suspect that many people will choose to live with family even if it means they live a shorter life than they would by living in a nursing home. ---
**Author:** ![Chingon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chingon/32/17645_2.png) [@Chingon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chingon)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2020, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/1491 "2020-03-25T18:47:31Z")
Chef Cardoz just died…I just watched a show with and his wife and kids yesterday. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2020, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/1492 "2020-03-25T22:11:16Z")
> [@Chingon](#): > > Chef Cardoz just died…I just watched a show with and his wife and kids yesterday. Wow, hope you didn’t catch it from 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 25, 2020, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/1493 "2020-03-25T22:13:44Z")
Today in Austria: [ul] [li] A Viennese doctor was infected by a patient who had allegedly concealed the fact that he had Covid-19. The patient is now being investigated for criminal charges that carry a maximum sentence of three years’ imprisonment. He could also be found liable for civil damages, such as the doctor’s lost earnings.[/li] Two Viennese men are facing the same charges for spitting on passersby and then announcing that they themselves were infected with the coronavirus. The two men were arrested; their coronavirus test results are pending. [li] ÖBB, the national rail operator, reports that it is adding more wagons to its regional trains in order to assist passengers in social distancing. (This despite the fact that ridership is already down by 90%.)[/li] [li] Vienna’s food markets, which remain open during the pandemic, are struggling to stay afloat. This is probably due to several factors, including the absence of tourists, the unwillingness for customers to deal in cash, and the relatively cramped space compared to supermarkets. Five of the city’s 22 food markets have started offering home delivery services.[/li] [li] The Ministry of Health has set up a [COVID19 Dashboard](https://info.gesundheitsministerium.at/) that succinctly reports the total number of cases by district (_Fälle je Bezirk_), federal state (_Fälle je Bundesland_), sex (_Geschlechtsverteilung_), and age group (_Altersverteilung_). There’s also a breakdown of cases by severity: _Erkrankungen_ is the total number of cases, _hospitalisiert_ are those in hospital, _Intensivstation_ are those in intensive care, and _milder Verlauf_ are those with only mild symptoms.[/li] [li] Current statistics: 5560 confirmed infections, 31 dead, 9 recovered. So far hospital capacity is keeping up with the epidemic. In Vienna, for example, there are 500 intensive care beds available but only 12 coronavirus patients using them. In Tirol, the hardest-hit area, there are 184 intensive care beds. Only about half of these are currently occupied by patients, of which 26 have coronavirus infections.[/li] [/ul] ---
**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 25, 2020, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/1494 "2020-03-25T22:50:53Z")
> [@JcWoman](#): > > …See: [Typhoid Mary](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Mallon) My goodness. I knew about her but not the full story. I guess reference checks weren’t invented yet? Can’t imagine anyone today being able to pull off anything close to that. ---
**Author:** ![psychobunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/54ee81/32.png) [@psychobunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychobunny)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2020, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/1495 "2020-03-25T23:03:18Z")
[WHO Press Briefing](https://www.who.int/dg/speeches/detail/who-director-general-s-opening-remarks-at-the-media-briefing-on-covid-19---25-march-2020). Summary: Locking everything down is just buying time. If you don’t do something to stop this virus, it will just resurge when you stop the lockdown. ---
**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 26, 2020, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/1496 "2020-03-26T00:03:00Z")
I don’t see it on the tracker I’m following yet, but Oregon’s deaths (not cases, deaths) doubled today, from 5 to 10. Small numbers, but that curve is there whether we have enough test kits to diagnose infections or not. [COVID-19 Updates](https://govstatus.egov.com/OR-OHA-COVID-19) under Demographic Information. And Oregon is now breaking out case in age groups rather than lumping everyone 55+ together. ---
**Author:** ![peccavi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peccavi/32/388_2.png) [@peccavi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peccavi)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2020, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/1497 "2020-03-26T01:04:10Z")
I haven’t seen this site in any of the threads (though I haven’t read through them exhaustively). It plots the John Hopkins data chronologically (updated daily) and allows different views of the data. > **[An interactive visualization of COVID-19 | 91-DIVOC](http://91-divoc.com/pages/covid-visualization/)** > > An interactive, data-forward visualization of COVID-19 data by Prof. Wade at The University of Illinois. Updated daily. Some of my takeaways are (caveated by the large error bars that aren’t possible to show): [ul] [li]How _fast_ South Korea turned the exponential growth down.[/li] [li]How _anomalous_ the Japanese growth rate is[/li] [li]How _truly fucked_ New York state appears to be[/li] [li]The spread in growth rates in the various states and wondering if there is some common approach in the low growth states that accounts for their low growth.[/ul][/li] My apologies if this link has been shared in other threads. ---
**Author:** ![galen\_ubal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/galen_ubal/32/4440_2.png) [@galen\_ubal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/galen_ubal)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2020, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/1498 "2020-03-26T03:37:03Z")
The $2 trillion stimulus package has passed the US Senate - watching on C-Span. Voting is almost done, at 93 yes, 0 no. An earlier amendment to the bill, the Sasse amendment limiting the unemployment benefits in the bill, was defeated 48-48. ---
**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 26, 2020, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/1499 "2020-03-26T04:07:53Z")
471,311 confirmed infections 21,293 dead 114,642 recovered In the US: 68,367 confirmed infections 1,031 dead 394 recovered Yesterday’s numbers for comparison: > [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > 422,829 confirmed infections > 18,907 dead > 109,102 recovered > > In the US: > > 54,867 confirmed infections > 782 dead > 378 recovered The US took the top spot for active cases today and will pass Italy tomorrow for the #2 spot for confirmed infections. Based on today’s increase, the US may also pass China tomorrow for the #1 spot for most confirmed infections. ---
**Author:** ![Harrington](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac8455/32.png) [@Harrington](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harrington)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2020, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/1500 "2020-03-26T05:02:18Z")
> [@galen\_ubal](#): > > The $2 trillion stimulus package has passed the US Senate - watching on C-Span. Voting is almost done, at 93 yes, 0 no. An earlier amendment to the bill, the Sasse amendment limiting the unemployment benefits in the bill, **was defeated 48-48**. Emphasis added. The highlighted portion reminded me of this: [1968 Yale vs. Harvard football game - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1968_Yale_vs._Harvard_football_game), and I smiled. Sorry, just trying to inject a little humor into a mostly depressing thread. ---
**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 26, 2020, 11:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/1501 "2020-03-26T11:18:28Z")
> [@peccavi](#): > > Some of my takeaways are (caveated by the large error bars that aren’t possible to show): > > [ul] > [li]How _fast_ South Korea turned the exponential growth down.[/li] > [li]How _anomalous_ the Japanese growth rate is[/li] > [li]How _truly fucked_ New York state appears to be[/li] > [li]The spread in growth rates in the various states and wondering if there is some common approach in the low growth states that accounts for their low growth.[/ul][/li] > My apologies if this link has been shared in other threads. We are assuming reported numbers to be accurate. Just saying. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2020, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/1502 "2020-03-26T11:34:49Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > 471,311 confirmed infections > 21,293 dead > 114,642 recovered > > In the US: > > 68,367 confirmed infections > 1,031 dead > 394 recovered > > Yesterday’s numbers for comparison: > > The US took the top spot for active cases today and will pass Italy tomorrow for the #2 spot for confirmed infections. Based on today’s increase, the US may also pass China tomorrow for the #1 spot for most confirmed infections. I took the deaths from the past 16 days (total deaths on day N minus total deaths on day N-1), took their base 10 logs, and using days 1-16 as my X-axis points, I get a least-squares line with slope of 0.125. This line has an _r_[sup]2[/sup] of 0.96, IOW, it describes what’s been happening so far very precisely. Basically, the number of deaths per day will continue increasing by about 1/3 each day over the previous day until something stops it or slows it down, and social distancing is the only tool in the toolkit right now. It’ll take awhile for that to work, so we should hit our first 1000-death day when **Bo** records the numbers at just after 9pm PDT on March 30. And unless our social distancing starts flattening the curve by then, we could have **100,000** people dying of the coronavirus over Easter weekend (Good Friday through Easter Sunday) alone. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758.md?page=74) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758.md?page=76)