# 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:** 83
**Author:** ![2Bits](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/2/e95f7d/32.png) [@2Bits](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2Bits)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2020, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/1643 "2020-03-28T22:34:48Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Earthshaking breaking news: the Oregon Provost Marshall has temporarily set aside the requirement for Oregonians to have their gas pumped for them. I can’t wait for the first self-immolation. That seems counterproductive. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2020, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/1644 "2020-03-28T22:40:21Z")
> [@filmore](#): > > I imagine the gas pump handle is a prime spot for germ transmission. Be sure you treat it as an infected surface and dispose or immediately sanitize whatever you use to hold it. I hear fire is one of the best ways to sanitize hard surfaces. :eek: CMC fnord! ---
**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 28, 2020, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/1645 "2020-03-28T22:57:56Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Earthshaking breaking news: the Oregon Provost Marshall has temporarily set aside the requirement for Oregonians to have their gas pumped for them. I can’t wait for the first self-immolation. We Texans have been pumping our own gas for years. If we can do it, Oregonians can do it. If they’re not high. ---
**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 28, 2020, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/1646 "2020-03-28T23:07:17Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > A shout out to the grocery store workers who are exposed to crap and enforcing the rules. You’re welcome. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2020, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/1647 "2020-03-28T23:08:58Z")
When I first read this on I think Thursday, I had my doubts because it was a Fox article, but now the Wall Street Journal is also reporting… [New York Mandates Nursing Homes Take Covid-19 Patients Discharged From Hospitals](https://www.wsj.com/articles/new-york-mandates-nursing-homes-take-covid-19-patients-discharged-from-hospitals-11585228215). I guess the elderly in NY aren’t dying fast enough of the coronavirus as it is? This is like the least logical thing I’ve seen yet, even compared to going on Spring Break and March cruises. ---
**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 28, 2020, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/1648 "2020-03-28T23:11:22Z")
But having been raised in a self-service state, I look like a studly hero to my quivering Oregon relations when I pump the gas! ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2020, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/1649 "2020-03-28T23:22:54Z")
So, like I said- China is lying: > **[Urn deliveries in Wuhan raise questions about China's actual coronavirus...](https://www.foxnews.com/world/urn-deliveries-wuhan-china-coronavirus-death-toll)** > > Massive deliveries of urns in Wuhan have raised fresh skepticism of China’s coronavirus reporting. _China has reported 3,299 coronavirus-related deaths, with most taking place in Wuhan, the epicenter of the global pandemic. But one funeral home received two shipments of 5,000 urns over the course of two days, according to the Chinese media outlet Caixin._ And yes, I know- Fox? So here are more cites: [https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-03-27/stacks-of-urns-in-wuhan-prompt-new-questions-of-virus-s-toll](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-03-27/stacks-of-urns-in-wuhan-prompt-new-questions-of-virus-s-toll) > **[Report of Urns in Wuhan Raises Questions About COVID-19 Death Toll](https://time.com/5811222/wuhan-coronavirus-death-toll/)** > > Many are skeptical of China's tallies given Wuhan’s overwhelmed medical system and authorities’ initial attempts to cover up the outbreak \*But some in China have been skeptical of the accuracy of the official tally, particularly given Wuhan’s overwhelmed medical system, authorities’ attempts to cover up the outbreak in its initial stages, and multiple revisions to the way official cases are counted. Residents on social media have demanded disciplinary action against top Wuhan officials…Many people who died had Covid-19 symptoms, but weren’t tested and excluded from the official case tally, Caixin said. \* ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2020, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/1650 "2020-03-28T23:23:55Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > I guess the elderly in NY aren’t dying fast enough of the coronavirus as it is? This is like the least logical thing I’ve seen yet, even compared to going on Spring Break and March cruises. Even in normal time, hospital discharge planning is challenging. So if the right kind of family isn’t there to jump in, should they discharge recovering patients to the street? New York City ambulance calls are running as high as [7,000 calls a day, up from 4,000](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/28/nyregion/nyc-coronavirus-ems.html). If patients aren’t discharged, there is no available space in New York hospitals. And the record ambulance volume sure doesn’t give crews a few hours to deposit a patient in Pennsylvania (we’re a few weeks behind). Compared to other westernized countries, the U.S. has a lot of ICU beds, but few hospital beds overall. Google it. This means they have to discharge to allow in more patients they can save. From what I read in the New York Times, there is a crisis up there. I wouldn’t second guess without a lot more evidence than what seems logical in normal times. ---
**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 29, 2020, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/1651 "2020-03-29T00:13:25Z")
Animated [map](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNzuFT7ayxQ)showing daily progression of cases in the USA. Sorry if someone has already posted this. ---
**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 29, 2020, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/1652 "2020-03-29T00:54:47Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > When I first read this on I think Thursday, I had my doubts because it was a Fox article, but now the Wall Street Journal is also reporting… [New York Mandates Nursing Homes Take Covid-19 Patients Discharged From Hospitals](https://www.wsj.com/articles/new-york-mandates-nursing-homes-take-covid-19-patients-discharged-from-hospitals-11585228215). > > I guess the elderly in NY aren’t dying fast enough of the coronavirus as it is? This is like the least logical thing I’ve seen yet, even compared to going on Spring Break and March cruises. ??? There are those who are recovered and under any other circumstance, such as influenza, would be going home, if they had a home, or back to their nursing homes. Nursing homes have been [refusing to accept these resolved patients](https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/patient-flow/nursing-homes-refusing-to-admit-discharged-hospital-patients-amid-coronavirus-worries.html) and therefore hospital beds are not able to be opened up to take new patients who are acutely ill and in desperate need. They have been requiring that patients use up the valuable resource of testing with two negative RT-PCRs before they will accept the stable afebrile considered noncontagious by current guidelines patient back in. If the guideline of 72 hours of fever free and consistent improvement of symptoms is good enough for HCWs to return to work, it is good enough for people to return to their skilled nursing facilities and open up the bed for someone in critical need. Cohort resolved SNF patients together in one wing or floor if you want but keeping the hospital resource from another patient who is in acute need is unacceptable. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2020, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/1653 "2020-03-29T01:09:58Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > Canada has almost 4800 cases and 55 deaths. The CFR has increased somewhat, and is expected to rise due to returning Canadians and folks from cities going to cottage country. Testing remains somewhat restricted. Hospitals are low on protective supplies and awaiting promised orders. People in parks and grocery stores seem to be doing a good job of distancing. Some folks getting more frustrated, which will increase as this goes on longer. > > Canadian politicians were unhappy with the American idea of placing troops near the border. Complained. The US didn’t, not yet. Doesn’t bother me much. If anyone wants to know what’s going on in Canada, all the facts you need are here: > **[Home - Canada.ca](https://health-infobase.canada.ca/covid-19/)** > > Get quick, easy access to all Government of Canada services and information. It has blown up worse in Quebec, in part because Quebec had March break one week earlier; as a result a) Imported cases have had more time to get worse, and b) People from Quebec were likelier to have spread it after returning because the gravity of the situation was not as well understood when their vacations ended. The numbers suggest that social distancing is working, though we don’t know for sure yet. ---
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2020, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/1654 "2020-03-29T02:35:47Z")
> [@Melbourne](#): > > I know from the recent large bush fires in Aus, that expired masks have perished elastic bands. If they are carefully stored, and are only just past their expiry date, they may be OK. If they are old, they are worthless. Is it possible to just replace the elastic rather than manufacturing new masks from scratch? ---
**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 29, 2020, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/1655 "2020-03-29T03:27:51Z")
> [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](#): > > Is it possible to just replace the elastic rather than manufacturing new masks from scratch? I don’t know the answer to that question but I do know that [a very clever person is not printing the key part of the mask and if you have a 3D printer, you can too.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6sL0-sgcKrg) (3:54 video) ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2020, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/1656 "2020-03-29T03:41:37Z")
The NRA is suing Gavin Newsom for shutting down gun shops as not essential services. They claim it’s a violation of their 2nd Amendment rights, and want gun shops reclassified as essential. > **[NRA sues California Gov. Gavin Newsom and other state officials over gun...](https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/28/us/nra-sues-california-over-gun-store-closures/index.html)** > > Gun stores were deemed non-essential businesses and ordered to close during a statewide stay-at-home order to curb the spread of coronavirus. ---
**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 29, 2020, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/1657 "2020-03-29T03:43:09Z")
Guns are essential in California, abortions in Ohio are not essential. Life in America. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2020, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/1658 "2020-03-29T03:59:16Z")
> [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](#): > > Is it possible to just replace the elastic rather than manufacturing new masks from scratch? Probably, particularly if you had a large workforce of cheap dedicated labor (Vietnam?) Masks are hard to keep air-tight at the best of times. And judging by myself as a standard, people who want to use masks mostly aren’t the same people who are good at mask rebuilding. ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2020, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/1659 "2020-03-29T04:04:30Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > I don’t know the answer to that question but I do know that [a very clever person is not printing the key part of the mask and if you have a 3D printer, you can too.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6sL0-sgcKrg) (3:54 video) You mean “now printing” right? ---
**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 29, 2020, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/1660 "2020-03-29T04:05:55Z")
663,741 confirmed infections 30,880 dead 142,183 recovered In the US: 123,750 confirmed infections 2,227 dead 3,231 recovered Yesterday’s numbers for comparison: > [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > 597,267 confirmed infections > 27,365 dead > 133,363 recovered > > In the US: > > 104,205 confirmed infections > 1,701 dead > 2,525 recovered Total confirmed infections will top 1,000,000 no later than Thursday. The US will account for more than 20% of them (200,000) and have more than 5,000 people dead. ---
**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 29, 2020, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/1661 "2020-03-29T04:07:13Z")
> [@Tangent](#): > > You mean “now printing” right? Yes; obviously. The rest of the sentence doesn’t make any sense otherwise, does it? ---
**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:** [March 29, 2020, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/1662 "2020-03-29T04:07:31Z")
> [@Tangent](#): > > You mean “now printing” right? I followed the link. Yes, “now”. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758.md?page=82) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758.md?page=84)