PlagueWatch 2020-23 - Coronavirus

[Indoor66]

Looks like a Chucky genre movie.

[MChambers]

I assumed Jason was joining an ATV and dirt bike gang or joining an avant garde rap movement.

Funny! On the serious side, the CDC doesn't recommend the masks for ordinary people. If you buy some, you may end up depriving health care workers and others on the front lines: https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2020/2...masks-hoarding

[Ggallagher]

Question for the crowd:

What is the advantage of a mask like this one over the cheaper ones that come in packs of 10 for about the same price?

Slightly better coverage? Better aesthetics? It seems likely to me that the quality of filtration is not much improved, but I'm happy to be disabused of the notion by someone with better information.

Based on all the reading I've felt obligated to do lately on this subject, one downside of using a mask is that it leads people to touch their faces more frequently - which is a great way to introduce the virus into your body. So I guess I'd want to be especially careful if I had a mask like this with replaceable filters. It would seem more likely that the longer you used this mask, the more likely its surface might become contaminated.

Whereas with a disposable mask you're getting rid of whatever might have landed on its surface when you throw it away.

Either way, being mindful of keeping your hands off your face as much as possible seems to be as important as just having the mask.

[cato]

No, certainly not, but since this has gone global and outside organizations like WHO are sending in teams of doctors to assist and monitor, I suspect the stats are better.

Sort of like conducting a democratic vote in a country with a ripe history of BS elections. Sending in a team of international election monitors helps produce better results but won't solve all your problems.

I can’t think of any organization that China has not been able to bend to its will in exchange for access.

[mkirsh]

I just ordered 6 of these for the family.

https://emgeneral.com/products/anti-...YaAhd7EALw_wcB

I really hope that is $130 bucks thrown away... but I fear it is not.

Probably made in China

[Reddevil]

"Bane: No one cared who I was until I put on the mask.”

[El_Diablo]

With a confirmed case in Brazil today, the virus is now officially on 6 of 7 continents (sparing Antarctica).

[El_Diablo]

The most senior member of the IOC notes that the Tokyo Olympics may be cancelled, although the ultimate decision could be put off until May:

“In and around that time, I’d say folks are going to have to ask: ‘Is this under sufficient control that we can be confident about going to Tokyo or not?’” he said in an exclusive interview with The Associated Press.

As the games draw near, he said, “a lot of things have to start happening. You’ve got to start ramping up your security, your food, the Olympic Village, the hotels. The media folks will be in there building their studios.”

If the IOC decides the games cannot go forward as scheduled in Tokyo, “you’re probably looking at a cancellation,” he said.

https://apnews.com/58043910be7bdc6818344bdee2096bc2

[DukieInKansas]

The school I attended in Seoul and where Deslok taught*, is closed due to the virus. At the moment, they will be closed until March 9. What I find fascinating is that they already had a plan for continuity of instructions so students can continue to learn if the school has to be closed. From the school website: "In the event of a school closure due to health-related, political, or natural disaster emergency, SFS will continue to provide instruction for all learners."


*Many years after I attended.

[PackMan97]

A few countries found their first cases yesterday and today...Algeria, Brazil, Greece, Macedonia, Finland, Norway, Pakistan. Yesterday also marks a significant change...the number of new cases outside of China was higher than the number of new cases inside China. Most of these cases are folks returning from Italy, Korea or Iran.

I sure am glad that the US is putting in travel restrictions to Italy and Korea and actively testing travelers from those countries...oh wait, we are doing nothing. Well, isn't that great.

[JasonEvans]

The most senior member of the IOC notes that the Tokyo Olympics may be cancelled, although the ultimate decision could be put off until May:

https://apnews.com/58043910be7bdc6818344bdee2096bc2

This is how sporting events are going to look around the world in the next few weeks:

[OldPhiKap]

So, getting Final Four tickets in Atlanta may be easier than I was imagining just a few short months ago?

[OldPhiKap]

Per CNN, the University of Nebraska's medical center has begun human testing on a possible vaccine -- or at least treatment for those infected.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/26/us/co...ial/index.html

If I understand correctly (RSVman and others know far better) it sounds like the test medicine was previously used for Ebola, and on animals for SARS. So perhaps the time to widespread availability would be somewhat shortened from a brand new vaccine that would require (I assume) more detailed safety testing and production ramp-up.

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

So, getting Final Four tickets in Atlanta may be easier than I was imagining just a few short months ago?

Sure but if you read this forum there's no reason to get them...

[Deslok]

The school I attended in Seoul and where Deslok taught*, is closed due to the virus. At the moment, they will be closed until March 9. What I find fascinating is that they already had a plan for continuity of instructions so students can continue to learn if the school has to be closed. From the school website: "In the event of a school closure due to health-related, political, or natural disaster emergency, SFS will continue to provide instruction for all learners."


*Many years after I attended.

Yeah, international schools often have a default virtual day as practice for such a contingency. Our school in Saudi is currently exploring that option because there is discussion of the Bahrain causeway being closed with the cases discovered there.

[OldPhiKap]

Sure but if you read this forum there's no reason to get them...

True. So anyone here who has them and is looking to ditch them, just shoot me a PM.

[DukieInKansas]

Yeah, international schools often have a default virtual day as practice for such a contingency. Our school in Saudi is currently exploding that option because there is discussion of the Bahrain causeway being closed with the cases discovered there.

I was there way to early for technology to allow for this. We just got to drive pass the army folks stationed on the bridges when there was an infiltrator.

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

True. So anyone here who has them and is looking to ditch them, just shoot me a PM.

I assume your inbox is flooded. If you need help using extra tix, lemme know.

[Nick]

Virus news headlines:
* Pakistan has its first case.
* Greece has its first case.
* Somebody in Spain with no history of travel to affected areas such as Italy has tested positive.
* A man returning to the U.S. from China got a $3,500 bill for his coronavirus test.
* China has its first case imported from Iran, which is now up to 139 cases and 19 deaths.
* A South Korean flight attendant recently diagnosed with covid-19 apparently worked a couple of flights out of LAX last week.

[MChambers]

Virus news headlines:
* Pakistan has its first case.
* Greece has its first case.
* Somebody in Spain with no history of travel to affected areas such as Italy has tested positive.
* A man returning to the U.S. from China got a $3,500 bill for his coronavirus test.
* China has its first case imported from Iran, which is now up to 139 cases and 19 deaths.
* A South Korean flight attendant recently diagnosed with covid-19 apparently worked a couple of flights out of LAX last week.

Imagine how much those tests are going to cost under the US health care system!