Coronavirus - worldwide spread and control

I hope you feel better very soon @shak8 It does sound like you have flu with the muscle aches. I can only recall ever having one flu and it was a severe one too with aching bones.

 

Just started a thread on what PwME should do to prepare for a stay in hospital, given the coronavirus threat.

In that thread, I recommend an excellent article on the psychology and potential usefulness of initially 'over-reacting' to a distant but growing threat.

 

Here in Washington State SARS-Cov-2 (Covid-19) is no longer a 'distant threat'. We had the first ever confirmed Covid-19 case in the United States and now we have claimed the title of first ever confirmed Covid-19 death in the United States. Sad day. Now our state officials are saying that a long-term nursing facility near Seattle may have up to 50 people who are infected with the virus (half patients & half staff).

And to top it off a group of scientists here in the state sequenced the virus genome from one of the people here who was infected via 'community spread' and after analyzing the data one of the scientists involved (Trevor Bedford) publicly stated the following a few hours ago .....

"This case, WA2, is on a branch in the evolutionary tree that descends directly from WA1, the first reported case in the USA sampled Jan 19, also from Snohomish County. This strongly suggests that there has been cryptic transmission in Washington State for the past 6 weeks. I believe we're facing an already substantial outbreak in Washington State that was not detected until now due to narrow case definition requiring direct travel to China."



here is a link to the Twitter account of the scientist quoted above.
https://twitter.com/trvrb

 

We have had 4 additional Covid-19 deaths here in Washington State today (bringing our total number of deaths to 6). The majority of the deaths have been in one single nursing home. No other state in the US has yet to report a death. Be safe people.

 

Regarding risk factors again:

E.g. diabetes and heart disease. I know they often can go undetected for a long time when they don't cause symptoms. But when they are treated/addressed properly, are they still considered a risk factor in pneumonia?

 

In Stockholm, Sweden, a taxi driver for Färdtjänst (the "mobility service"?) went to work despite being sick, drove customers around all day, and it has now been confirmed he has the corona virus

https://www.expressen.se/nyheter/coronasmittad-chauffor-jobbade-nar-han-var-sjuk/

What's the word in English for "taxi service for people with disabilities"? It's sometimes translated as "mobility service" or "transport service", I think? It's a complement to public transportation, something you have to apply for. It's kind of a taxi service but cheaper, and you often have to share the ride with other people which often means a lot of waiting and sometimes long detours. Lots of people with ME regularly use this kind of service.

 

I would assume so. Otherwise you'd think they would refer specifically to "untreated diabetes and untreated cardiovascular disease".

 

My mum watched the news just now and reports to me that even though the PM in the UK has a “plan” for the future, nothing is actually going to be put into place right now. It will only happen in late spring or early summer at the earliest, when it peaks. Ie no restrictions right now on gatherings, crowds, shaking hands, working from home instead of in offices etc. Only thing we need to do apparently is wash our hands and sing god save the queen. Even shaking peoples hands is totally fine. I checked newspaper reports and it seems quite accurate.

“If the virus takes hold, social distancing strategies could include school closures, encouraging greater home working, reducing the number of large scale gatherings and closing other educational settings.” https://www.independent.co.uk/news/...pdate-map-cases-china-uk-deaths-a9371196.html

Note.. “if the virus takes hold”. Ie we have to wait for it to “peak”. By which point vulnerable and elderly would have died. But that’s fine isn’t it, according to our govt, as we are clearly expendable.

 

I think they know the virus will peak and are hoping they can ride it out until the winter season is over.

A&Es can barely cope with the average influx of winter related ailments anyway, so if the peak happens once that's over maybe the NHS won't implode.

Also if the peak coincides with Easter, or better yet, summer school holidays then they avoid being seen as having to shut things down.

Playing the odds.... I concede I'm a cynical old trout.

Edit - spelling.

 

Lovely.

Then again, if he's a contractor, he might only earn money for the hours he actually works or even by the journey. So, if he has a family to feed and is already struggling he may have no choice.

This self isolation business is all very well, but poorer workers on zero hour contracts simply can't afford to turn down work whether they're feeling ill or not. If they do turn down work they often find that employer simply doesn't offer them work in the future, or only the most inconvenient hours that nobody wants.

UK statutory sick pay (approx £95 per week) only kicks in after 3 days. With Covid 19 you're advised not to go to GPs or Health Centres, so if you just feel unwell but don't get a doctor's note you can't prove you were sick. What do they expect lower paid employees to do?

Edit -spelling

 

I couldn't agree more Luna, it's disgusting imo.

This

 

Someone has complained to the MHRA about Myhill's (quite frankly bizzare) coronavirus page. See the attached screenshot.

https://drmyhill.co.uk/wiki/Coronavirus_–_it_is_not_a_death_sentence!_What_do_you_need_to_do_for_viral_survival

 

the more you buy the better the chance you won't die!!!

 

Corona virus and post-

Just caught a part of an interview with an expert on the BBC.

Apparently virii (?) don't survive very long on absorbent material like paper and envelopes and probably die off within a few hours at most. So unless it has been contaminated very shortly before you receive it, chances are it's not a high risk source of infection.

Who knew there are advantages to delivery drivers just dumping your stuff outside the door for you to accidentally discover hours later?

 

My understanding is survival is more about not having a too aggressive immune response that damages the lungs. Anything that increases the immune attack on infected lung tissue might be a problem. I vaguely recall reading that advanced treatment of these kinds of lung infections involve paralytics and abnormal lying posture, to minimise lung aggravation.

Guaifenesin for example might help by decreasing coughing, though there I would expect coughing does have some benefit by coughing up fluid. Its a balancing game.

A strong factor seems to be whether or not you are a smoker. I am not sure that is limited to cigarette smoke either ... weed might be just as bad for this particular risk. Smoking and lung infections is a bad combination.

Asthmatics should probably review their regime with their doctor.

 

We have two test-positive cases in my town.
I'm in a vulnerable age group (over 65).

So, in order to decrease my stress level, I don't plan to be around people or the surfaces they may contaminate.

Some things are positive: I will set up online a grocery delivery service, finally.

And, for a brief time, CO 2 emissions were down. Gaia's revenge!

 

We can do with more of that.

I think us old 'uns can probably keep away from this thing with a bit of care. Keep away from chalet cooking, seafood banquets and cruise ships and you are well on the way to being OK.

 

this has been making the rounds online in more than one place, seemingly. i get it second hand, so make of it what you will. the virus stays on surfaces for a week? hmm.

===
HOW TO AVOID GETTING THE FLU

Dear Colleagues, as some of you may recall, when I was a professor of pathology at the University of California San Diego, I was one of the first molecular virologists in the world to work on coronaviruses (the 1970s). I was the first to demonstrate the number of genes the virus contained. Since then, I have kept up with the coronavirus field and its multiple clinical transfers into the human population (e.g., SARS, MERS), from different animal sources.

Here is what I have done and the precautions that I take and will take. These are the same precautions I currently use during our influenza seasons, except for the mask and gloves.:

1) NO HANDSHAKING! Use a fist bump, slight bow, elbow bump, etc.
2) Use ONLY your knuckle to touch light switches. elevator buttons, etc.. Lift the gasoline dispenser with a paper towel or use a disposable glove.
3) Open doors with your closed fist or hip - do not grasp the handle with your hand, unless there is no other way to open the door. Especially important on bathroom and post office/commercial doors.
4) Wash your hands with soap for 10-20 seconds and/or use alcohol or peroxide on your hands whenever you return home from ANY activity that involves locations where other people have been.
5) If possible, cough or sneeze into a disposable tissue and discard. Use your elbow only if you have to. The clothing on your elbow will contain infectious virus that can be passed on for up to a week or more!


What I have stocked in preparation for the pandemic spread to the US:
1) Latex or nitrile latex disposable gloves for use when going shopping, using the gasoline pump, and all other outside activity when you come in contact with contaminated areas.
Note: This virus is spread in large droplets by coughing and sneezing. This means that the air will not infect you! BUT all the surfaces where these droplets land are infectious for about a week on average - everything that is associated with infected people will be contaminated and potentially infectious. The virus is on surfaces and you will not be infected unless your unprotected face is directly coughed or sneezed upon. This virus only has cell receptors for lung cells (it only infects your lungs) The only way for the virus to infect you is through your nose or mouth via your hands or an infected cough or sneeze onto or into your nose or mouth.
2) Stock up now with disposable surgical masks and use them to prevent you from touching your nose and/or mouth (We touch our nose/mouth 90X/day without knowing it!). This is the only way this virus can infect you - it is lung-specific. The mask will not prevent the virus in a direct sneeze from getting into your nose or mouth - it is only to keep you from touching your nose or mouth.
3) Stock up now with alcohol or peroxide and latex/nitrile gloves (get the appropriate sizes for your family).
4) Stock up now with zinc lozenges. These lozenges have been proven to be effective in blocking coronavirus (and most other viruses) from multiplying in your throat and nasopharynx. Use as directed several times each day when you begin to feel ANY "cold-like" symptoms beginning. It is best to lie down and let the lozenge dissolve in the back of your throat and nasopharynx. Cold-Eeze lozenges is one brand available, but there are other brands available.

I, as many others do, hope that this pandemic will be reasonably contained, BUT I personally do not think it will be. Humans have never seen this snake-associated virus before and have no internal defense against it. Tremendous worldwide efforts are being made to understand the molecular and clinical virology of this virus. Unbelievable molecular knowledge about the genomics, structure, and virulence of this virus has already been achieved. BUT, there will be NO drugs or vaccines available this year to protect us or limit the infection within us. Only symptomatic support is available.

I hope these personal thoughts will be helpful. You are welcome to share this email. Good luck to all of us!
James Robb, MD FCAP
===

 

Snopes reached out by email, and apparently the guy, Dr Robb, did indeed write this note, however it was only intended for close friends and family, not widespread public distribution. He said he may not have quite understood the modern meaning of the word ‘share’. One thing that I think we now know he got wrong is the thing about snakes, that’s been refuted. No idea how effective zinc lozenges are, but probably won’t do any harm (unlike zinc nasal spray where there have been reports of loss of sense of smell).

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/zinc-lozenges-coronavirus/