*** OFFICIAL *** COVID-19 CoronaVirus Thread. Fresh epidemic fears as child pneumonia cases surge in Europe after China outbreak. NOW in USA (22 Viewers)

FreeBaGeL said:

Our lending broker is frustrated and thinks we're crazy

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snogger said:

How many of you have curtailed spending now??
I hate to be "that guy" but.....
We have estimates coming in to extend and screen in our front porch for this spring.. Cost is anywhere from $6,000 to $9,000.

But with all the uncertainty with how this is going to shake out we've decided to hold off on large purchases.
I want to think since I am in IT and our company sells applications and other items for businesses we should be ok.. But so much is unknown right now I can't justify spending that much on something that is not essential.

Which brings me back to my original question as I fear many are thinking the same thing... less buying leads to less money in the economy which leads to less buying, etc..  

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munga30 said:

For those interested in developing a self-sustaining skill while stuck at home, for several months this idea has been on my mind to try this gardening hack in the spring:  wicking tubs.

There are variations on this design that seem to scale to whatever setting and space you have through the size of the container.  But I'm going to try 1-2 of these and see how it goes.  Maybe gardening needs its own thread here?   

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shuke said:

I need my floors redone.  Last week I was planning on getting quotes on my kitchen and family room.  I don't want strangers in my house now.

Two days ago I started thinking that the next 3 weeks would be perfect time to redo the two full bathrooms.  New tile floors, vanities, sinks, etc.  But now I don't think the stores are going to be open and not sure I should be out doing non-essential shopping.

Not to mention all of the planned trips/outings/games/concerts/dinners/movies that we would typically be doing. 

This economy is screwed.

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Doug B said:

We won't be doing delivery like this at all ... but why would:

- handling the bags/containers like normal
- thorough hand-washing
- transferring food to our own plates (dumping out onto plates, using our own clean utensils, etc.)
- discarding their bags/containers, and then
- thorough hand-washing before eating 

... be any less safe? Where is the hole in the fence?

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AAABatteries said:

What's this now?

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[icon] said:

Way I see it is you have two options: 

1) Avoid touching a potentially contaminated surface altogether

2) Touch a contaminated surface and trust hand-washing to remove it. 

Nitrile gloves and wipes are plentiful and cost me about 11 cents total. 
 

Along the same lines: why wipe off a shopping cart handle when you could just wash your hands later? 
 

Like I said, YMMV  

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comfortably numb said:

In more good personal news

Seems like it took a global pandemic but I think I have my disgusting bad habit of buying my nails under control. 

Find myself picking at my cuticles and searching for rough spots with my other hand at times but even that is dwindling. 

Will nail salons be open?

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comfortably numb said:

In more good personal news

Seems like it took a global pandemic but I think I have my disgusting bad habit of buying my nails under control. 

Find myself picking at my cuticles and searching for rough spots with my other hand at times but even that is dwindling. 

Will nail salons be open?

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msommer said:

I'm sure you'll be able to buy nails later in your life  

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SoBeDad said:

First day at my work after schools shutdown. I see mothers and fathers juggling work schedules to stay with their children. Our nurse practioner will work less than 8 hours. Kids are being given homework and check-in times. The school system is delivering laptops to kids who need them. I'm not sure how they're dealing with lack of Wi-Fi. I wonder how kids from single parent homes and lower SES are doing. And those whose parents don't have work schedule flexibility. 

This is the 5th largest school district in the US, Miami-Dade Public Schools.

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Andy Dufresne said:

There was a movie called "Love In The Time Of Cholera".

I think I'll write a book called "Job Searching In The Time Of Coronavirus".

Recruiter: Would you like to work on a project in Pittsburgh?

Me: You mean hop on a plane twice a week and go from MSP to PIT?

Recruiter: Yeah, why not?

Me:

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Waingro said:

One of my buddies is an MD and has been treating Coronavirus patients for the last 72 hours. He sent out an email sharing his experience. I figure I'd share here. 


  Reveal hidden contents
Hey everyone,

I thought I would write this to shed some light on my own experience with Coronavirus over the last 72 hours in my ER. Currently I work in White plains and I was supposed to start a new position in their observation unit March 1st ( this is basically a urgent care) within the ER but they asked me if would volunteer for their "COVID" station and without hesitation I agreed. 

First of all it has been affecting all ages except people under 17 years old and the sickest patients that I have seen have been females from 20 - 40 years old with no previous medical history.

The contagiousness of a disease is recorded by something called an R value. Currently the R value of coronavirus is a 2 to 4 meaning its on the same wavelength as the FLU. Just because you have been in direct contact with someone or even sleep next to someone does not mean that you are going to acquire it. It is spread through something called droplet meaning that a regular mask will help but you need something called an N - 95 mask which lets smaller particles through for true protection. If you really want pure protection you need a PAPR( powered air purifying respirator) which is something that I wear when evaluating patients  

The virulence of the disease has been interesting to me. I have sent home multiple people with just mild cough and body aches. The persons who have been really sick have been presenting more with abdominal pain . Temperature has not really been indicative of COVID 19. Their are 2 main things I am seeing on lab values that are correlating with worse morbidity and that is lymphopenia and elevated liver functions primarily AST and alk phos. ( going back to above probably related to the abdominal pain.) 

The course of the disease is also very indolent until day 3 - 5  where a very small amount of patients are presenting with ARDS ( acute respiratory distress syndrome) this is a fancy word for meaning patients lungs are filling up with fluid due to something called interstitial capillary leak. We have intubated a handful of healthy young individuals due to this progression. We have not had any deaths at our hospital yet however we have needed the help of positive airway pressure these are those masks that people wear called BIPAP ( very similar to the CPAP masks that you use for sleep apnea. ) If you continue to need more airway pressure then you have to be intubated and  may require something called ECMO ( extra corporal membrane oxygenation : fancy word for a lung machine.) It basically bypasses your lungs and breathes for you. We have had only 1 case over the last weekend requiring this.

Overall in a 72 hour period of seeing coronavirus patients the majority of them are coming in complaining of cough / malaise ( not feeling well). Few have been healthy young adults requiring intubation.

The things we have found out about treating these patients is that NOT giving IV fluids is key ( this is something that goes against every principle about acute care medicine ) . Also some medications that have been helping are antivirals ( ketruda ) something we use for AIDS and also hydroxychloroquine something we use for rheumatological disease like arthritis. Steroids do not seem to help so far from what I have observed. 

Overall I have been asked a million questions and I made a small Q and A here :

Can children get it?

I have seen zero people under the age of 17 with coronavirus. I believe this is because the virus likes to attack mature lymphocytes which are not yet competent in children so they are not being affected.

Is the virus only affecting the elderly?

Definitely not. The sickest patients at our hospital have been young healthy women from the ages of 20 - 40

Is there medications to combat this?

no there are none currently that a proven effective however we are using 2 medications which may help. Chloroquine helps to block viral entry into the cells. Keytruda is something called a protease inhibitor used in HIV / AIDS patients to help stop the replication of the virus.

What are the most typical symptoms?

Cough and fever. There have been multiple presentations of the disease so it is hard to diagnose just by physical exam. 

Can you get tested for it? and should you get tested for it?

Yes you can get tested for it. I have tested over 50 people the last 3  days and the turnaround time was about 2 days however this will be prolonged with more tests being taken.  However testing does not change your overall outcome of the disease. If you are experiencing significant signs of shortness of breath we will admit you to the hospital. If you are experiencing typical flu like symptoms the smartest thing is to remain at home and try and ride it out.  

What is the mortality rate?

Its impossible to determine because we cannot accurately say how many people have the disease since most are walking around asymptomatic. However you can calculate the case fatality rate which is 3.4 % from multiple sources I have read 

Will hospitals be able to handle this?

yes. for now. My hospital has done a great job of creating negative pressure beds which helps stop the spread of the virus and they have given us the highest level of protective gear. They have moved out as many patients as possible to gear up for this upcoming week. 

Is there a vaccine for it?

No. Vaccines take a while for virus'

Is the Quarantine necessary ?

Yes for now. This helps hospitals not be overwhelmed especially if we need ventilators / ECMO machines to help those in real need.

How long is the quarantine?

We are mandating 2 weeks

I have included a great one page summary of Coronavirus that was forwarded to me from a friend who is currently working at an ICU in Seattle. Overall I believe the government did the right thing of shutting everything down so we could get a hold of this thing and understand its true potential. Only time will tell to see how this virus truly behaves over the next week. I hope this was insightful for those who have been worried. As of right now I am not that concerned about it but this may change... I have only been dealing with this disease for 72 hours. 

Stay safe everyone I hope this helps from my own personal experience. Feel free to share this with friends if it helps put them at ease. Also if anyone has any questions feel free to ask 

xxx xxxxxx MD
Every health care professional who is on the front lines of this thing deserve a ton of respect and applause. Stay safe everyone.  

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comfortably numb said:

Lol...just beat my edit!

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Waingro said:

One of my buddies is an MD and has been treating Coronavirus patients for the last 72 hours. He sent out an email sharing his experience. I figure I'd share here. 

Spoiler

Hey everyone,

I thought I would write this to shed some light on my own experience with Coronavirus over the last 72 hours in my ER. Currently I work in White plains and I was supposed to start a new position in their observation unit March 1st ( this is basically a urgent care) within the ER but they asked me if would volunteer for their "COVID" station and without hesitation I agreed. 

First of all it has been affecting all ages except people under 17 years old and the sickest patients that I have seen have been females from 20 - 40 years old with no previous medical history.

The contagiousness of a disease is recorded by something called an R value. Currently the R value of coronavirus is a 2 to 4 meaning its on the same wavelength as the FLU. Just because you have been in direct contact with someone or even sleep next to someone does not mean that you are going to acquire it. It is spread through something called droplet meaning that a regular mask will help but you need something called an N - 95 mask which lets smaller particles through for true protection. If you really want pure protection you need a PAPR( powered air purifying respirator) which is something that I wear when evaluating patients  

The virulence of the disease has been interesting to me. I have sent home multiple people with just mild cough and body aches. The persons who have been really sick have been presenting more with abdominal pain . Temperature has not really been indicative of COVID 19. Their are 2 main things I am seeing on lab values that are correlating with worse morbidity and that is lymphopenia and elevated liver functions primarily AST and alk phos. ( going back to above probably related to the abdominal pain.) 

The course of the disease is also very indolent until day 3 - 5  where a very small amount of patients are presenting with ARDS ( acute respiratory distress syndrome) this is a fancy word for meaning patients lungs are filling up with fluid due to something called interstitial capillary leak. We have intubated a handful of healthy young individuals due to this progression. We have not had any deaths at our hospital yet however we have needed the help of positive airway pressure these are those masks that people wear called BIPAP ( very similar to the CPAP masks that you use for sleep apnea. ) If you continue to need more airway pressure then you have to be intubated and  may require something called ECMO ( extra corporal membrane oxygenation : fancy word for a lung machine.) It basically bypasses your lungs and breathes for you. We have had only 1 case over the last weekend requiring this.

Overall in a 72 hour period of seeing coronavirus patients the majority of them are coming in complaining of cough / malaise ( not feeling well). Few have been healthy young adults requiring intubation.

The things we have found out about treating these patients is that NOT giving IV fluids is key ( this is something that goes against every principle about acute care medicine ) . Also some medications that have been helping are antivirals ( ketruda ) something we use for AIDS and also hydroxychloroquine something we use for rheumatological disease like arthritis. Steroids do not seem to help so far from what I have observed. 

Overall I have been asked a million questions and I made a small Q and A here :

Can children get it?

I have seen zero people under the age of 17 with coronavirus. I believe this is because the virus likes to attack mature lymphocytes which are not yet competent in children so they are not being affected.

Is the virus only affecting the elderly?

Definitely not. The sickest patients at our hospital have been young healthy women from the ages of 20 - 40

Is there medications to combat this?

no there are none currently that a proven effective however we are using 2 medications which may help. Chloroquine helps to block viral entry into the cells. Keytruda is something called a protease inhibitor used in HIV / AIDS patients to help stop the replication of the virus.

What are the most typical symptoms?

Cough and fever. There have been multiple presentations of the disease so it is hard to diagnose just by physical exam. 

Can you get tested for it? and should you get tested for it?

Yes you can get tested for it. I have tested over 50 people the last 3  days and the turnaround time was about 2 days however this will be prolonged with more tests being taken.  However testing does not change your overall outcome of the disease. If you are experiencing significant signs of shortness of breath we will admit you to the hospital. If you are experiencing typical flu like symptoms the smartest thing is to remain at home and try and ride it out.  

What is the mortality rate?

Its impossible to determine because we cannot accurately say how many people have the disease since most are walking around asymptomatic. However you can calculate the case fatality rate which is 3.4 % from multiple sources I have read 

Will hospitals be able to handle this?

yes. for now. My hospital has done a great job of creating negative pressure beds which helps stop the spread of the virus and they have given us the highest level of protective gear. They have moved out as many patients as possible to gear up for this upcoming week. 

Is there a vaccine for it?

No. Vaccines take a while for virus'

Is the Quarantine necessary ?

Yes for now. This helps hospitals not be overwhelmed especially if we need ventilators / ECMO machines to help those in real need.

How long is the quarantine?

We are mandating 2 weeks

I have included a great one page summary of Coronavirus that was forwarded to me from a friend who is currently working at an ICU in Seattle. Overall I believe the government did the right thing of shutting everything down so we could get a hold of this thing and understand its true potential. Only time will tell to see how this virus truly behaves over the next week. I hope this was insightful for those who have been worried. As of right now I am not that concerned about it but this may change... I have only been dealing with this disease for 72 hours. 

Stay safe everyone I hope this helps from my own personal experience. Feel free to share this with friends if it helps put them at ease. Also if anyone has any questions feel free to ask 

xxx xxxxxx MD

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msommer said:

I was hoping this was a system where I wouldn't have to water each tub individually, that it would draw the water like a wick in a lantern when required ( I actually saw a similar video a few weeks ago that refered to Leon)...

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Doug B said:

Everyone in this thread interested in COVID treatment needs to read this. There are a lot of things that "everybody knows" about COVID that are directly countered in this post.

1) COVID will present with a fever almost every time, so a fever is a good marker: Not so.

2) Under 40s have little to fear. Plus women fare better than men: This doctor's most serious patients so far have been women aged 20-40.

3) Newly hospitalized COVID patients will need the standard IVs flu patients typically get: Instead, they are finding that IVs are a bad idea. The pull quote below gives some not-widely-known info about front-line treatment of COVID.

"The things we have found out about treating these patients is that NOT giving IV fluids is key ( this is something that goes against every principle about acute care medicine ) . Also some medications that have been helping are antivirals ( Keytruda ) something we use for AIDS and also [hydroxychloroquine that] we use for rheumatological disease like arthritis. Steroids do not seem to help so far from what I have observed."

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msommer said:

Your edit is even better  

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[icon] said:

Way I see it is you have two options: 

1) Avoid touching a potentially contaminated surface altogether

2) Touch a contaminated surface and trust hand-washing to remove it. 

Nitrile gloves and wipes are plentiful and cost me about 11 cents total. 
 

Along the same lines: why wipe off a shopping cart handle when you could just wash your hands later? 
 

Like I said, YMMV  

Click to expand...

Neo said:

This is what's truly scary.  In our town we have one serious case.  Guy is 40 years old.   I know someone who knows 2 people ages 28 and 30 who are in serious condition.  It's starting to feel like this isn't an older person problem as we were led to believe.   

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Doug B said:

Everyone in this thread interested in COVID treatment needs to read this. There are a lot of things that "everybody knows" about COVID that are directly countered in this post.

1) COVID will present with a fever almost every time, so a fever is a good marker: Not so.

2) Under 40s have little to fear. Plus women fare better than men: This doctor's most serious patients so far have been women aged 20-40.

3) Newly hospitalized COVID patients will need the standard IVs flu patients typically get: Instead, they are finding that IVs are a bad idea. The pull quote below gives some not-widely-known info about front-line treatment of COVID.

"The things we have found out about treating these patients is that NOT giving IV fluids is key ( this is something that goes against every principle about acute care medicine ) . Also some medications that have been helping are antivirals ( Keytruda ) something we use for AIDS and also [hydroxychloroquine that] we use for rheumatological disease like arthritis. Steroids do not seem to help so far from what I have observed."

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timschochet said:

They know I’m on a discussion forum. But they don’t know the name of it and they certainly had no idea who Joe Bryant was. 

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munga30 said:

Each tub once per week seems like a big improvement to me but your mileage may vary. 

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Ray McKigney said:

Put a quarter in your ###. You played yourself. 

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Statorama said:

I've just noticed a pattern lately of people thinking this will definitely kill you if you get it and I'm hoping to chill some of that anxiety.

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Politician Spock said:

In the past 24 hours, % of case increases:

Pakistan 157%

Chile 107%

Columbia 59%

Sri Lanka 56%

Russia 48%

Portugal 35%

Malaysia 32%

Thailand 29%

Austrailia 25%

Netherlands 25%

Mexico 23%

USA 4%

Anyone using USA stats are using bogus numbers. The tests aren't available. 

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jamny said:

Just got a text from my wife. The plan is to close up at 3PM. 

They just signed a new client today. They even came in for a meeting! LMAO

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otb_lifer said:

could be that those younger patients had preexisting conditions, or were compromised as such with said conditions without their knowledge. 

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AAABatteries said:

I just really don't get this - how is literally every other country apparently better than us at testing for this?  It makes no sense to me.

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lod001 said:

Heck, they could have been people who were vaping. Those people are likely in serious trouble right now if they get this.

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msommer said:

Doug B said:

Everyone in this thread interested in COVID treatment needs to read this. There are a lot of things that "everybody knows" about COVID that are directly countered in this post.

1) COVID will present with a fever almost every time, so a fever is a good marker: Not so.

2) Under 40s have little to fear. Plus women fare better than men: This doctor's most serious patients so far have been women aged 20-40.

3) Newly hospitalized COVID patients will need the standard IVs flu patients typically get: Instead, they are finding that IVs are a bad idea. The pull quote below gives some not-widely-known info about front-line treatment of COVID.

"The things we have found out about treating these patients is that NOT giving IV fluids is key ( this is something that goes against every principle about acute care medicine ) . Also some medications that have been helping are antivirals ( Keytruda ) something we use for AIDS and also [hydroxychloroquine that] we use for rheumatological disease like arthritis. Steroids do not seem to help so far from what I have observed."

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In all fairness this is a tale about 72 hours if I read it right. So, should be prefaced with "preliminary observations"

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The first human trial of a vaccine to protect against pandemic coronavirus is starting in the US later on Monday, according to reports.

A group of 45 healthy volunteers will have the jab, at the Kaiser Permanente research facility, in Seattle.

The vaccine cannot cause Covid-19 but contains a harmless genetic code copied from the virus that causes the disease.

Experts say it will still take many months to know if this vaccine, or others also in research, will work.

Scientists around the world are fast-tracking research.

And this first human trial, funded by the National Institutes of Health, sidesteps a check that would normally be conducted - making sure the vaccine can trigger an immune response in animals.

But the biotechnology company behind the work, Moderna Therapeutics, says the vaccine has been made using a tried and tested process.

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AAABatteries said:

I just really don't get this - how is literally every other country apparently better than us at testing for this?  It makes no sense to me.

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AAABatteries said:

I just really don't get this - how is literally every other country apparently better than us at testing for this?  It makes no sense to me.

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otb_lifer said:

"popcorn lung" is no joke ... one doc told me it would worse than regular cigs for me because popcorn lung manifests much quicker.

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Big League Chew said:

i find myself messing with my beard and chin alot when reading . need to tie a rope around my body & arm

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Buddy Ball 2K3 said:

Rules and Regulations?? Nothing in this country gets done quickly due to the amount of red tape that's involved. 

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fruity pebbles said:

Is there a country handling this worse than the US?

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matuski said:

Distancing measures vs None.

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mcintyre1 said:

I'm sure South Korea has substantially similar regulations when it comes to medical care.

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Weebs210 said:

So I called into work today since my allergies are really bad (and I didn't want to go) now they want a doctor's note before I can go back. The last place on Earth I'm going is to any type of doctor's office. Lol. 

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