My family’s personal experience with a potential Coronavirus infection - not good

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:That was an interesting video. Doctor sounded very certain that there would be school closings and that people should not believe what the Trump administration is telling us about how this will all pass.

On the good news front, the doctor thinks that the fatality rate is lower than current estimates.

He took that lower CFR from current data the S. Korea cases. S Korea is still on the very early side of the outbreak so all their fatalities haven't happened yet. Also their healthcare systems are still working so they are able to save some of the critical and severe cases. But they are starting to burn out.

I *just* read this morning though that nurses in the most heavily affected city are quitting in droves and they are bringing in newly licensed nurses from the military to help out. Also the prime minister has declared a 24-7 all out war footing on this virus. Also they have closed all the schools. So Korea has just begun to fight in earnest!

https://www.yna.co.kr/view/AKR20200303036100504?section=politics/defense

75 new nursing officers of the 60th Korea Military Nursing Academy will be headed to Daegu National Army Hospital immediately after completing the 3rd graduation and ceremony.

They will provide medical support for the new coronavirus infection (Corona 19) at the ROK Daegu Hospital, which will be converted to a local infectious disease hospital.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/not-enough-doctors-in-daegu-as-virus-cases-rise-south-koreas-response-is-criticized-11582547600

In the hard-hit city of Daegu, hospitals warned that they don’t have enough doctors, nurses and investigators to keep up with the constant stream of infected and at-risk patients. Government measures aimed at reducing the risk of infection, like discarding bedsheets and blankets after a single use, have instead depleted critical supplies. Employees are quitting as their families beg them to resign.

“We can’t last long like this. All medical staff will burn out,” said Nam Sung-il, a doctor treating patients at two Daegu hospitals. Space is so scarce at one of them, Dr. Nam said, that nurses have nowhere else to rest but on the floor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is the US under-testing so we can pretend it isn’t here?

So CDC can pretend they did not bungle the test kits.

And some day someone can explain to us why they didn't allow any healthcare providers to test for themselves in their own labs. It doesn't take a lot of development research to test. Hospital labs all over the world started testing pretty much overnight.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The COVID19 test is not really a single test, it is a series of molecular biology experiments that typically take 1-2 days for a skilled laboratory scientist to perform (RNA extraction, RT-PCR, gel electrophoresis). Add in additional steps for self-protection and equipment/lab decontamination, the whole testing process becomes enormously time-consuming, costly, and complicated. Probably due to fears of contamination, the US only allows this test to be performed by a limited number of specially certified labs. And it sounds like a patient may need multiple tests for a conclusive result. Given all that, I'm not surprised that testing isn't more available.

I'm sorry though for all you and your family have gone through. I'm sure everyone involved wishes that tests were more readily available. I know if I were in your shoes, I would want COVID19 testing done too.

Then how are other countries able to test so many more people more quickly?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What would they do differently if it was coronavirus and not some other virus?

Exactly. OP just wants the clout of being able to say her family member has conavirus. Just do the same things you would do whenever you have any other type of mild illness, which is all coronavirus really is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I had similar last winter. An adenovirus. Wiped me out

Yes, I've had similar illnesses too. No biggie.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is the US under-testing so we can pretend it isn’t here?

I think it's just because we were unprepared and don't have enough testing capacity.

AND while we are at it we will pretend that it’s no big deal.

Because it's not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’ve never felt this way in my life but think the government isn’t allowing testing because they want to hide the actual number of cases. Sadly I think it all goes back to the stock market and re-election prospects.

I don't think so. During the last flu that freaked everyone out - Swine flu? Don't specifically remember what the last one was. But anyways, I was pretty sure I had it, but when I went to get treated, they didn't specifically test me for it even though I asked. I remember reading articles at the time, stating that many people were very upset because they wanted to be tested for this particular type of flu that was getting so much attention, and for some reason (don't remember why) health care providers weren't typically testing for it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:He has had a fever, sweating, chills and fatigue for 9 days. Cough started on day 5. Diagnosed with pneumonia today (day 9). When at the doctor earlier this week, he inquired about Coronavirus because his flu test was negative and this came on within a week of being with a group in which several members had just returned from travel in Europe. Furthermore, he spent time in a US resort over Pres. Day with a lot of tourists from all over the east coast. Doctor said prob not Coronavirus if he hasn’t been exposed to a known infected person and since he hasn’t been to China.

Returned to doctor today because fever and illness continues and pushed harder on the Coronavirus question and she said it’s feasible to be concerned but there isn’t anything she can do other than advise him to call the county health department. She can’t test and has been told only to use screening procedures which inquire about recent travel (as if that even matters anymore).

He called the county health department immediately after leaving doctor and they said that he doesn’t sound high risk because he hasn’t been out of the country. He pushed back and said that that doesn’t seem to matter anymore, and they didn’t budge.

So basically, a person who is legitimately concerned about this is on their own. Good luck getting help.

I’m FURIOUS.

What exactly would you like them to do differently?

Advise us how to proceed to be tested and to take this seriously. Mainly so we know if he needs to be quarantined to protect others. Lastly, two of his family members are immunocompromised, so it would be beneficial to know.

[b]Why don’t you just keep him away from those family members and have him self quarantine. Everyone wins.

New poster. You and some other PPs are totally ignorant of the entire point of getting test results for coronavirus. It is NOT just about the one patient, and saying "just have him self quarantine" is not helpful, nor is the poster who said why bother to test, just treat the pneumonia. The country needs to track ALL coronavirus cases and getting test results is the only way to do that.

If OP's child has the virus, that is a data point in the tracking of the disease and what's more, health departments need to know who else has had contact with him, his family needs advice on how to self-quarantine the ENTIRE family (not just the one child), the parents have to tell their employers they are going into quarantine. Health care workers/doctor/nurses/others in doctors' waiting rooms with him previously need to be told and tracked because they were exposed to him.

How do so many posters on DCUM utterly fail understand that it is a huge risk to many, many more people to think like this: "It doesn't matter if it's coronavirus, don't worry about testing, just treat the pneumonia and everyone else in the household goes about their daily lives." That's a recipe for a cluster of cases affecting the family and possibly every patient, doctor and nurse who has been around him. The OP is entirely right to be concerned for both son, the whole family AND the larger community.

I find OP's experience so far very, very disturbing. Especially the part where the health department said the son didn't meet criteria for testing. I had heard that the CDC had lowered the bar on testing so that people did not have to be showing big-time symptoms or pneumonia etc. to be tested. Sounds like that is not the case, or the news has not trickled down to local health departments.

OP, please -- when you have more news, let us know. Both about your dear son and about your progress or lack of it with the health authorities.

Because what people are losing sight of is that actually getting coronavirus is really no big deal. It kills a slightly higher number of people than the flu. It's no more dangerous (and probably less so than getting pneumonia. This isn't the black plague people. Personally I couldn't give a f**k if I got Coranivirus.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The COVID19 test is not really a single test, it is a series of molecular biology experiments that typically take 1-2 days for a skilled laboratory scientist to perform (RNA extraction, RT-PCR, gel electrophoresis). Add in additional steps for self-protection and equipment/lab decontamination, the whole testing process becomes enormously time-consuming, costly, and complicated. Probably due to fears of contamination, the US only allows this test to be performed by a limited number of specially certified labs. And it sounds like a patient may need multiple tests for a conclusive result. Given all that, I'm not surprised that testing isn't more available.

I'm sorry though for all you and your family have gone through. I'm sure everyone involved wishes that tests were more readily available. I know if I were in your shoes, I would want COVID19 testing done too.

Then how are other countries able to test so many more people more quickly?

One example, France, news magazine article from February 28 (Google translated):

The test in question was developed by the Institut Pasteur in late January. "We have disseminated the technique to hospital laboratories which are in reference health establishments. Today, around thirty hospitals are performing it, and we are going to deploy it again in hospital laboratories", specifies Sylvie Behillil, assistant manager at National Reference Center (CNR) for respiratory viruses at the Institut Pasteur.

However, only a day after that article, a newspaper article said that parisian hospitals are so overwhelmed with cases by now (i.e. with those cases that are severe are require a lot of medical care to not die) that Parisian hospitals have pretty much given up testing mild suspected cases, just sending them home with a doctor's note to self-isolate for 2 weeks and come back if they can't breathe. Just like in China. In the US, we seem to have pretty much skipped over the step where we try to stop the early spread by testing and doing contact tracing. We are broadening testing a month late, and we'll likely have to give it up soon.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The COVID19 test is not really a single test, it is a series of molecular biology experiments that typically take 1-2 days for a skilled laboratory scientist to perform (RNA extraction, RT-PCR, gel electrophoresis). Add in additional steps for self-protection and equipment/lab decontamination, the whole testing process becomes enormously time-consuming, costly, and complicated. Probably due to fears of contamination, the US only allows this test to be performed by a limited number of specially certified labs. And it sounds like a patient may need multiple tests for a conclusive result. Given all that, I'm not surprised that testing isn't more available.

I'm sorry though for all you and your family have gone through. I'm sure everyone involved wishes that tests were more readily available. I know if I were in your shoes, I would want COVID19 testing done too.

Then how are other countries able to test so many more people more quickly?

One example, France, news magazine article from February 28 (Google translated):

The test in question was developed by the Institut Pasteur in late January. "We have disseminated the technique to hospital laboratories which are in reference health establishments. Today, around thirty hospitals are performing it, and we are going to deploy it again in hospital laboratories", specifies Sylvie Behillil, assistant manager at National Reference Center (CNR) for respiratory viruses at the Institut Pasteur.

However, only a day after that article, a newspaper article said that parisian hospitals are so overwhelmed with cases by now (i.e. with those cases that are severe are require a lot of medical care to not die) that Parisian hospitals have pretty much given up testing mild suspected cases, just sending them home with a doctor's note to self-isolate for 2 weeks and come back if they can't breathe. Just like in China. In the US, we seem to have pretty much skipped over the step where we try to stop the early spread by testing and doing contact tracing. We are broadening testing a month late, and we'll likely have to give it up soon.

So no contact tracing, no testing, no quarantines.

Our hospitals/medical providers are screwed. Plus the people who will die without getting the care they need (a la Wuhan).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The COVID19 test is not really a single test, it is a series of molecular biology experiments that typically take 1-2 days for a skilled laboratory scientist to perform (RNA extraction, RT-PCR, gel electrophoresis). Add in additional steps for self-protection and equipment/lab decontamination, the whole testing process becomes enormously time-consuming, costly, and complicated. Probably due to fears of contamination, the US only allows this test to be performed by a limited number of specially certified labs. And it sounds like a patient may need multiple tests for a conclusive result. Given all that, I'm not surprised that testing isn't more available.

I'm sorry though for all you and your family have gone through. I'm sure everyone involved wishes that tests were more readily available. I know if I were in your shoes, I would want COVID19 testing done too.

Then how are other countries able to test so many more people more quickly?

One example, France, news magazine article from February 28 (Google translated):

The test in question was developed by the Institut Pasteur in late January. "We have disseminated the technique to hospital laboratories which are in reference health establishments. Today, around thirty hospitals are performing it, and we are going to deploy it again in hospital laboratories", specifies Sylvie Behillil, assistant manager at National Reference Center (CNR) for respiratory viruses at the Institut Pasteur.

However, only a day after that article, a newspaper article said that parisian hospitals are so overwhelmed with cases by now (i.e. with those cases that are severe are require a lot of medical care to not die) that Parisian hospitals have pretty much given up testing mild suspected cases, just sending them home with a doctor's note to self-isolate for 2 weeks and come back if they can't breathe. Just like in China. In the US, we seem to have pretty much skipped over the step where we try to stop the early spread by testing and doing contact tracing. We are broadening testing a month late, and we'll likely have to give it up soon.

Addition: the first article linked says the test takes between 2 and 4 hours.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The COVID19 test is not really a single test, it is a series of molecular biology experiments that typically take 1-2 days for a skilled laboratory scientist to perform (RNA extraction, RT-PCR, gel electrophoresis). Add in additional steps for self-protection and equipment/lab decontamination, the whole testing process becomes enormously time-consuming, costly, and complicated. Probably due to fears of contamination, the US only allows this test to be performed by a limited number of specially certified labs. And it sounds like a patient may need multiple tests for a conclusive result. Given all that, I'm not surprised that testing isn't more available.

I'm sorry though for all you and your family have gone through. I'm sure everyone involved wishes that tests were more readily available. I know if I were in your shoes, I would want COVID19 testing done too.

Then how are other countries able to test so many more people more quickly?

One example, France, news magazine article from February 28 (Google translated):

The test in question was developed by the Institut Pasteur in late January. "We have disseminated the technique to hospital laboratories which are in reference health establishments. Today, around thirty hospitals are performing it, and we are going to deploy it again in hospital laboratories", specifies Sylvie Behillil, assistant manager at National Reference Center (CNR) for respiratory viruses at the Institut Pasteur.

However, only a day after that article, a newspaper article said that parisian hospitals are so overwhelmed with cases by now (i.e. with those cases that are severe are require a lot of medical care to not die) that Parisian hospitals have pretty much given up testing mild suspected cases, just sending them home with a doctor's note to self-isolate for 2 weeks and come back if they can't breathe. Just like in China. In the US, we seem to have pretty much skipped over the step where we try to stop the early spread by testing and doing contact tracing. We are broadening testing a month late, and we'll likely have to give it up soon.

So no contact tracing, no testing, no quarantines.

Our hospitals/medical providers are screwed. Plus the people who will die without getting the care they need (a la Wuhan).

A la Wuhan. I woke up this morning begging my brain to come up with some rational reasons why we'll fare better than Wuhan. Rather than find any, I made myself some coffee.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:He has had a fever, sweating, chills and fatigue for 9 days. Cough started on day 5. Diagnosed with pneumonia today (day 9). When at the doctor earlier this week, he inquired about Coronavirus because his flu test was negative and this came on within a week of being with a group in which several members had just returned from travel in Europe. Furthermore, he spent time in a US resort over Pres. Day with a lot of tourists from all over the east coast. Doctor said prob not Coronavirus if he hasn’t been exposed to a known infected person and since he hasn’t been to China.

Returned to doctor today because fever and illness continues and pushed harder on the Coronavirus question and she said it’s feasible to be concerned but there isn’t anything she can do other than advise him to call the county health department. She can’t test and has been told only to use screening procedures which inquire about recent travel (as if that even matters anymore).

He called the county health department immediately after leaving doctor and they said that he doesn’t sound high risk because he hasn’t been out of the country. He pushed back and said that that doesn’t seem to matter anymore, and they didn’t budge.

So basically, a person who is legitimately concerned about this is on their own. Good luck getting help.

I’m FURIOUS.

What exactly would you like them to do differently?

Advise us how to proceed to be tested and to take this seriously. Mainly so we know if he needs to be quarantined to protect others. Lastly, two of his family members are immunocompromised, so it would be beneficial to know.

[b]Why don’t you just keep him away from those family members and have him self quarantine. Everyone wins.

New poster. You and some other PPs are totally ignorant of the entire point of getting test results for coronavirus. It is NOT just about the one patient, and saying "just have him self quarantine" is not helpful, nor is the poster who said why bother to test, just treat the pneumonia. The country needs to track ALL coronavirus cases and getting test results is the only way to do that.

If OP's child has the virus, that is a data point in the tracking of the disease and what's more, health departments need to know who else has had contact with him, his family needs advice on how to self-quarantine the ENTIRE family (not just the one child), the parents have to tell their employers they are going into quarantine. Health care workers/doctor/nurses/others in doctors' waiting rooms with him previously need to be told and tracked because they were exposed to him.

How do so many posters on DCUM utterly fail understand that it is a huge risk to many, many more people to think like this: "It doesn't matter if it's coronavirus, don't worry about testing, just treat the pneumonia and everyone else in the household goes about their daily lives." That's a recipe for a cluster of cases affecting the family and possibly every patient, doctor and nurse who has been around him. The OP is entirely right to be concerned for both son, the whole family AND the larger community.

I find OP's experience so far very, very disturbing. Especially the part where the health department said the son didn't meet criteria for testing. I had heard that the CDC had lowered the bar on testing so that people did not have to be showing big-time symptoms or pneumonia etc. to be tested. Sounds like that is not the case, or the news has not trickled down to local health departments.

OP, please -- when you have more news, let us know. Both about your dear son and about your progress or lack of it with the health authorities.

Because what people are losing sight of is that actually getting coronavirus is really no big deal. It kills a slightly higher number of people than the flu. It's no more dangerous (and probably less so than getting pneumonia. This isn't the black plague people. Personally I couldn't give a f**k if I got Coranivirus.

How is a virus that have overwhelmed the medical care system in multiple cities not a big deal?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:He has had a fever, sweating, chills and fatigue for 9 days. Cough started on day 5. Diagnosed with pneumonia today (day 9). When at the doctor earlier this week, he inquired about Coronavirus because his flu test was negative and this came on within a week of being with a group in which several members had just returned from travel in Europe. Furthermore, he spent time in a US resort over Pres. Day with a lot of tourists from all over the east coast. Doctor said prob not Coronavirus if he hasn’t been exposed to a known infected person and since he hasn’t been to China.

Returned to doctor today because fever and illness continues and pushed harder on the Coronavirus question and she said it’s feasible to be concerned but there isn’t anything she can do other than advise him to call the county health department. She can’t test and has been told only to use screening procedures which inquire about recent travel (as if that even matters anymore).

He called the county health department immediately after leaving doctor and they said that he doesn’t sound high risk because he hasn’t been out of the country. He pushed back and said that that doesn’t seem to matter anymore, and they didn’t budge.

So basically, a person who is legitimately concerned about this is on their own. Good luck getting help.

I’m FURIOUS.

What exactly would you like them to do differently?

Advise us how to proceed to be tested and to take this seriously. Mainly so we know if he needs to be quarantined to protect others. Lastly, two of his family members are immunocompromised, so it would be beneficial to know.

[b]Why don’t you just keep him away from those family members and have him self quarantine. Everyone wins.

New poster. You and some other PPs are totally ignorant of the entire point of getting test results for coronavirus. It is NOT just about the one patient, and saying "just have him self quarantine" is not helpful, nor is the poster who said why bother to test, just treat the pneumonia. The country needs to track ALL coronavirus cases and getting test results is the only way to do that.

If OP's child has the virus, that is a data point in the tracking of the disease and what's more, health departments need to know who else has had contact with him, his family needs advice on how to self-quarantine the ENTIRE family (not just the one child), the parents have to tell their employers they are going into quarantine. Health care workers/doctor/nurses/others in doctors' waiting rooms with him previously need to be told and tracked because they were exposed to him.

How do so many posters on DCUM utterly fail understand that it is a huge risk to many, many more people to think like this: "It doesn't matter if it's coronavirus, don't worry about testing, just treat the pneumonia and everyone else in the household goes about their daily lives." That's a recipe for a cluster of cases affecting the family and possibly every patient, doctor and nurse who has been around him. The OP is entirely right to be concerned for both son, the whole family AND the larger community.

I find OP's experience so far very, very disturbing. Especially the part where the health department said the son didn't meet criteria for testing. I had heard that the CDC had lowered the bar on testing so that people did not have to be showing big-time symptoms or pneumonia etc. to be tested. Sounds like that is not the case, or the news has not trickled down to local health departments.

OP, please -- when you have more news, let us know. Both about your dear son and about your progress or lack of it with the health authorities.

Because what people are losing sight of is that actually getting coronavirus is really no big deal. It kills a slightly higher number of people than the flu. It's no more dangerous (and probably less so than getting pneumonia. This isn't the black plague people. Personally I couldn't give a f**k if I got Coranivirus.

It kills a significantly higher number of people than the flu. And a significantly higher number of those with coronavirus need to be hospitalized. And there’s no vaccine for coronavirus.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:He has had a fever, sweating, chills and fatigue for 9 days. Cough started on day 5. Diagnosed with pneumonia today (day 9). When at the doctor earlier this week, he inquired about Coronavirus because his flu test was negative and this came on within a week of being with a group in which several members had just returned from travel in Europe. Furthermore, he spent time in a US resort over Pres. Day with a lot of tourists from all over the east coast. Doctor said prob not Coronavirus if he hasn’t been exposed to a known infected person and since he hasn’t been to China.

Returned to doctor today because fever and illness continues and pushed harder on the Coronavirus question and she said it’s feasible to be concerned but there isn’t anything she can do other than advise him to call the county health department. She can’t test and has been told only to use screening procedures which inquire about recent travel (as if that even matters anymore).

He called the county health department immediately after leaving doctor and they said that he doesn’t sound high risk because he hasn’t been out of the country. He pushed back and said that that doesn’t seem to matter anymore, and they didn’t budge.

So basically, a person who is legitimately concerned about this is on their own. Good luck getting help.

I’m FURIOUS.

What exactly would you like them to do differently?

Advise us how to proceed to be tested and to take this seriously. Mainly so we know if he needs to be quarantined to protect others. Lastly, two of his family members are immunocompromised, so it would be beneficial to know.

[b]Why don’t you just keep him away from those family members and have him self quarantine. Everyone wins.

New poster. You and some other PPs are totally ignorant of the entire point of getting test results for coronavirus. It is NOT just about the one patient, and saying "just have him self quarantine" is not helpful, nor is the poster who said why bother to test, just treat the pneumonia. The country needs to track ALL coronavirus cases and getting test results is the only way to do that.

If OP's child has the virus, that is a data point in the tracking of the disease and what's more, health departments need to know who else has had contact with him, his family needs advice on how to self-quarantine the ENTIRE family (not just the one child), the parents have to tell their employers they are going into quarantine. Health care workers/doctor/nurses/others in doctors' waiting rooms with him previously need to be told and tracked because they were exposed to him.

How do so many posters on DCUM utterly fail understand that it is a huge risk to many, many more people to think like this: "It doesn't matter if it's coronavirus, don't worry about testing, just treat the pneumonia and everyone else in the household goes about their daily lives." That's a recipe for a cluster of cases affecting the family and possibly every patient, doctor and nurse who has been around him. The OP is entirely right to be concerned for both son, the whole family AND the larger community.

I find OP's experience so far very, very disturbing. Especially the part where the health department said the son didn't meet criteria for testing. I had heard that the CDC had lowered the bar on testing so that people did not have to be showing big-time symptoms or pneumonia etc. to be tested. Sounds like that is not the case, or the news has not trickled down to local health departments.

OP, please -- when you have more news, let us know. Both about your dear son and about your progress or lack of it with the health authorities.

Because what people are losing sight of is that actually getting coronavirus is really no big deal. It kills a slightly higher number of people than the flu. It's no more dangerous (and probably less so than getting pneumonia. This isn't the black plague people. Personally I couldn't give a f**k if I got Coranivirus.

It kills a significantly higher number of people than the flu. And a significantly higher number of those with coronavirus need to be hospitalized. And there’s no vaccine for coronavirus.

I mean the rate is higher, not the actual number (so far)