CORONAVIRUS/COVID-19 NEW MEGA THREAD

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Denial is a form of panic just as much as over-preparing.

Sure seems like it. Particularly the denial that takes the form of aggressive name-calling.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Seriously, if you guys aren’t also reading the travel thread you should - everyone over there still wants to take their spring break trip!

Welcome to elitism. God Forbid they just stay home this time.

[Anonymous]

Imagine where we would be if people said "Wow, there's a nasty deadly virus overtaking China and starting to spread. I think taking my cruise is not wise" Add to that the number of schools that took their kids to Italy DESPITE the outbreak. They brought it back as well.

My husband went straight to the top to push for work at home. Said to me "I might get fired for insubordination" I said "so be it, I'm behind you". Well, turns out the top is on the same page and they are expecting an announcement, possibly today.

Be my husband. Be bold and decisive. Take matters into your own hands. Do what's right.

[Anonymous]

The Daily podcast has a very good episode today about how and why the US is woefully behind on taking care of our population during this Pandemic. Have a listen to gain some facts.

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-daily/id1200361736?i=1000468085929

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The Daily podcast has a very good episode today about how and why the US is woefully behind on taking care of our population during this Pandemic. Have a listen to gain some facts.

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-daily/id1200361736?i=1000468085929

Can you summarize any points for those of us that can’t listen at work?

[Anonymous]

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3)Tons of patients with moderate resp failure, that overtime deteriorate to saturate ICUs first, then NIVs, then CPAP hoods, then even O2.

I don't understand that above. What are NIVs? What does it mean to saturate ICUs? Does it mean to run out of?

I think the problem is a numbers problem? Too many cases all at once that are severe?

Non Invasive Ventilation.

He is basically saying that they are running out of ICU space (saturated) and running out of backup options like cpap and oxygen.

Yes, it’s a numbers issue. Too many sick at the same time.

It does beg the question: What is up with Italy that didn't happen in Korea?

Part of the issue with this is that the pneumonia lasts a very long time. It isn't a quick couple days in the ICU and then to the intermediate unit.

System overwhelmed in Italy. Treatments are unavailable due to lack of facilities, equipment or personnel.

Korean hospitals are also close to being overwhelmed. There was a story days ago about someone who went to the hospital with a non-covid emergency, was turned away, went home and died.

How sad. Last year I went to an ER on a particularly busy night (a good hospital in a suburban area). For some reason all the ERs in the area were particularly busy that evening. I had to wait 12 hours before a bed opened up and I could get seen. ERs are generally busy already.

My husband waited three days last year for a cardiac ICU bed to open at Washington Hospital Center. Someone had to die for him to get it. By the time it opened, they need to take him there in a helicopter to save his life. Once there, he had the best care. But the wait nearly killed him, and that was just a normal time for hospitals. I can only imagine what would happen in this area if there was a rush on ICU beds. We drive by all these sophisticated and modern hospital complexes, but in our experience, there just isn't a lot of ICU space - from little hospitals like Sibley and Suburban, to mega hospital centers like Washington Hospital Center.

Another thing I remember. There are nurses on duty, day and night in shifts. They are assigned several ICU patients, and I could not believe the amount of information they had to absorb every eight hours. They are heroes, and overworked already. I have to say that sometimes to overworked. Some of them got really important things wrong, and we needed to be there as advocates to fill them in at the beginning of each shift.

I would be terrified to be at a hospital without at least one family member allowed in to advocate for me. How would that work with CV?

This crisis is really exposing a lot of flaws in our health system. Hospitals in this country operate very close to the margins and avoid excess capacity, is just-in-time supply chains, and there’s no excess capacity in the system for an event like this one.

[Anonymous]

I'm getting mixed messages about regular facemasks. The govt has been saying regular masks won't help the general public but now they say it's ok for healthcare workers to treat covid19 patients with regular masks

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Denial is a form of panic just as much as over-preparing.

+1 and this explains my 80 year old parents behavior

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm getting mixed messages about regular facemasks. The govt has been saying regular masks won't help the general public but now they say it's ok for healthcare workers to treat covid19 patients with regular masks

China makes all the face masks for 3M and since they control the production of masks, they have chosen to stop exporting them from the country. It’s a bit irrelevant since we won’t be getting new masks for months. They want to save them for the people that need them most. Clearly we need to re-evaluate what is produced overseas.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm getting mixed messages about regular facemasks. The govt has been saying regular masks won't help the general public but now they say it's ok for healthcare workers to treat covid19 patients with regular masks

The messaging on face masks has been rather poorly delivered.

Basically:

1) If you are dealing with a positive or suspected coronavirus patient in a close setting (i.e. within 6 feet) you should wear a mask. This is primarily for medical professionals and caregivers.
2) If you are sick, you should wear a mask to prevent infecting others.
3) If you are healthy and just walking down the street or to the store or the school, you do not need a mask.

The problem is compounded by the fact we have a significant mask shortage worldwide.

In Asia, everyone wears a mask but it is a cultural norm. Sick people wear masks all the time and seeing someone in a mask is an everyday event. Masks are a bit more plentiful than they are in the USA as there is a regular supply chain for production and distribution. In an outbreak, people wear masks to prevent themselves from spreading the disease and it also builds "community unity" that helps remind people to keep distance, wash hands, practice good hygiene, etc.

More on Asian countries mask culture here: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/13/opinion/coronavirus-face-mask-effective.html

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm getting mixed messages about regular facemasks. The govt has been saying regular masks won't help the general public but now they say it's ok for healthcare workers to treat covid19 patients with regular masks

The messaging on face masks has been rather poorly delivered.

Basically:

1) If you are dealing with a positive or suspected coronavirus patient in a close setting (i.e. within 6 feet) you should wear a mask. This is primarily for medical professionals and caregivers.
2) If you are sick, you should wear a mask to prevent infecting others.
3) If you are healthy and just walking down the street or to the store or the school, you do not need a mask.

The problem is compounded by the fact we have a significant mask shortage worldwide.

In Asia, everyone wears a mask but it is a cultural norm. Sick people wear masks all the time and seeing someone in a mask is an everyday event. Masks are a bit more plentiful than they are in the USA as there is a regular supply chain for production and distribution. In an outbreak, people wear masks to prevent themselves from spreading the disease and it also builds "community unity" that helps remind people to keep distance, wash hands, practice good hygiene, etc.

More on Asian countries mask culture here: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/13/opinion/coronavirus-face-mask-effective.html

Wearing a mask helps if you are sick. People can be sick and contagious for a week or two prior to feeling ill. This, everyone wearing masks is beneficial. This wouldn’t be the case if people were only contagious when they felt ill.

[Anonymous]

I've lived in Asia (HK) and travelled widely through Asia. The one thing to keep in mind is that Asian, especially Chinese/Japanese cities are very high density places. Most people live in tower blocks, use crammed public transportation and the crowds on the streets can be quite thick in the key commercial areas. The US is far less dense by comparison. Most Americans live in suburbs and drive cars to work. Even NYC is nothing compared to HK. I'm not making light of the virus but it shows why the masks are probably more effective in Asian cities where people live and work in much closer proximity than they would in the US.

[Anonymous]

DD wore a mask to school and they made her take it off.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm getting mixed messages about regular facemasks. The govt has been saying regular masks won't help the general public but now they say it's ok for healthcare workers to treat covid19 patients with regular masks

Of course, the masks help and were sold here to the general public for use in public health emergencies and approved by the FDA. The N-95 masks say that on the package.

Urging people not to buy them is more of a calming (reduce panic) and conserving (save for hospitals, drs) measure.

That said, the masks aren't foolproof and are subject to user error. And even health care workers have contracted COVID-19, so one cannot have a sense of false security.

"Regular" masks without the respirators would be less helpful but reduce the droplet spread in the sick and maybe help the well a little. NOT FDA approved for that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Denial is a form of panic just as much as over-preparing.

+1 and this explains my 80 year old parents behavior

You too! My mid-late 70s parents same way. PIL same. A day without a trip out to a store or something is a day without sunshine. Heaven forbid they chill out a few weeks.

“The young and the restless”. Makes sense now, as mutually exclusive. Anyone not “young” is in fact “restless”