Wow… is there a “system” to overwhelm? If so, does it have a name?
People need to be somewhat concerned and follow local scientific advice.
I think it is prudent to put elective things on hiatus to see what happens. Ontario has decided to postpone public school for two weeks following March break. This won’t cause harm, so is prudent, in a sense. I wouldn’t have done it.
H1N1 infected over one billion people. Coronavirus is very contagious, and I agree billions may get infected. I don’t think travel bans and closures at this stage will change that that much, though I understand historical examples quoted. It’s been around since December.
The Canadian PMs wife tested positive, as did Tom Hanks and basketball players healthy enough to play. The number infected is not the major issue, I think many are already infected or have even recovered. The number sick enough to require hospitalization is much more relevant. I think it is already out there, and that if you tested fifty random people in many communities some would come back positive. Mortality rate is important, but if the denominator is much bigger than reported, fewer than predicted will be really sick.
I’m all for prudence. Postponing the NBA season needed to be done if only for reasons of liability. Heavy media saturation fosters more excessive responses. Of course, it is impossible to have the exact right level of response and no one wants to do too little. However, people feel differently about climate change and many are unwilling to rely on the science in that case.
Fear produces its own momentum. The market have their own issues and will overreact. But Trump banned European travellers for a month, but travel bans make a smaller difference than many suppose. With so much debt around, the economic reactions are very real. Fiscal stimulus in a pandemic may not be that effective.
In summary, it is a pandemic. Many will get infected. Three months in, some have died. This number will increase. Time will tell if millions of Americans die. Infectious disease experts I know personally think schools and public events should be postponed, and they have good reasons. It’s prudent. But there are signs (including paediatric effects) that may imply things, though serious, will be more or less manageable. We will see. I think life went on through H1N1, without these reactions, and most will do just fine.
I guess you all missed the part about where I said that the CDC should pay for the tests.
This video clip suggests to people that they can run to the hospital right now and demand a test. The tests are limited right now. Doctors will not test you if you don’t meet certain factors. Sure, rich people, Senators, and basketball players get the tests and pay for them, but they are a very small part of “everyone in the whole country.”
She should have let the CDC post guidelines about who should ask for a test and who will get a test. Not cause a panic rush to the already overwhelmed system by people who are starting arguments in the doctor’s office and the ER not only demanding a test, but demanding that everything that they are there for be covered for free by the government because they see this video clip and swear that they have the coronavirus, or at least they thought they did and now cannot afford the bill.
That’s all. I did not say that the CDC should not pay for these tests under the right circumstances. But I guess the Congresswoman got to flex her muscles and show her liberal street cred. That’s what we don’t need right now.
You could probably test the whole country for $20 billion. The Trump tax cuts cost us $1.5 trillion. Our problem is divvying up the profit. Again, Korea tested 160,000 people when we were still less than 500. They are testing more people every day than we have in aggregate. As an American, this is downright embarrassing.
New York Times covid coverage – paywall down. Access for all.
As Dr Paprika mentioned, our PM’s wife, Sophie, has tested positive for COVID, so the Prime Minister is self-isolating for 14 days.
You are still imagining “welfare queens” taking down the “system”. Stop it. Poor people are not the ones acting entitled no matter how much Fox news tells you they are.
For those who’ve posted about Denver’s drive-through testing facility, here’s what a friend in Denver posted on social media today:
Meanwhile, here in Washington, we’re now at about 600 cases and counting. Governor Jay Inslee has said the total could easily reach 250.000 within ten weeks.
I keep seeing that Fox News downplayed the whole COVID-19 story until a few days ago. I hope that’s not true.
You must buy your hope cheap; it’s normally somewhat expensive.
Someone brought up a point I hadn’t thought of in another thread: everyone keeps saying that the point of quarantining and social distance now is to flatten the curve so that the medical system isn’t overwhelmed all at once. But what is preventing the infections from going down, then shooting back up to pre-dip levels and overloading the medical system THEN?
I have filled up my tank. I went to the grocery store and got a two-week supply of peanuts, cheese, and cat food. I have the feeling the whole world is hunkering down for a snowstorm.
Don’t mix the cheese with the cat food. It causes hairballs.
What does it look like there? Anything more on coming home?
From the link above about the Colorado drive through testing:
So, while this is an improvement, the criteria are still pretty stiff. Excluding those that are hospitalized (who are going to be tested in the hospital anyway) you still need evidence of direct contact or visit to a high risk area along with symptoms and ruling out other infections which takes time. The President, for example, would not qualify to be tested under these conditions. Also, they say they currently have less than enough tests for 4 days and expect to get only enough for less than 7 days more and that is with ALL of the people having to have notes from their doctors.
I don’t think we have to test everybody with the sniffles, but we should be able to test anybody with significant symptoms and people at high risk with known exposure. Even as limited as this testing is, though, we need it rolled out nationwide.
ETA: I do notice that they are still making the primary provider be the gatekeeper and take the wrath of the patients who don’t qualify. However, I will gladly do it as long as I can show the patient the written requirements and I can get testing for my patients who need it.
When I wrote that, I was hoping to hope. Turns out people are stockpiling it, and it’s back-ordered. 
I saw all that but didn’t want to harsh the good buzz. You didn’t mention the very curtailed hours either.
I think the lack of staff is going to be the limiting factor, test production will eventually ramp up. They can get around the Dr. having to be the gatekeeper if they decide to.
The wife of the Canadian Prime Minister has tested positive:
134,769 confirmed infections
4,983 dead
70,388 recovered
Sorry folks; got distracted by some work being done on a different machine.
In the US:
1,762 confirmed infections
41 dead
31 recovered
Okay, everybody needs to read this article. Like, right now. Here is ALL the info you need to counteract the “It’s just flu bro, chill out” message. Graph and number geeks, this is your lucky day.
My favorite whacked-out nut-job conspiracy theory about COVID-19 is, and I quote,
From [url=]worldometer as of March 13, 2020, 08:05 GMT:
I’d have to say that’s a wee bit on the serious side. Those numbers are for closed cases. Active cases are currently numbering 59,533.
The rest of that WONJCT is just as loony.