What's new
Fantasy Football - Footballguys Forums

Welcome to Our Forums. Once you've registered and logged in, you're primed to talk football, among other topics, with the sharpest and most experienced fantasy players on the internet.

*** OFFICIAL *** COVID-19 CoronaVirus Thread. Fresh epidemic fears as child pneumonia cases surge in Europe after China outbreak. NOW in USA (10 Viewers)

Non-China Reported Cases

2/7 - 277

2/12 - 490

2/17 - 893 reported cases -  5 dead 

2/22 - 1,834 reported cases - 19 dead

2/23 - 2,213 reported cases - 27 dead

2/24 - 2,491 reported cases - 38 dead 

2/25 - 2,931 reported cases - 48 dead

2/26 - 3,650 reported cases - 57 dead

 
We are going on Viking, and they sent an email out last week with an update.  If it gets super bad by then, I'm sure they would cancel it and issue refund/credit.

 
We are going on Viking, and they sent an email out last week with an update.  If it gets super bad by then, I'm sure they would cancel it and issue refund/credit.
They definitely will.  Cruise lines have also given refunds and credits to people who canceled due to the virus on Asian cruises that were later cancelled entirely, but I wouldn’t count on their continuing to be that generous as their businesses get killed.  Definitely hold tight and see what they do.  Keep in mind that your ports might change, though.  

 
They definitely will.  Cruise lines have also given refunds and credits to people who canceled due to the virus on Asian cruises that were later cancelled entirely, but I wouldn’t count on their continuing to be that generous as their businesses get killed.  Definitely hold tight and see what they do.  Keep in mind that your ports might change, though.  
we did a Viking river cruise two years ago and love them.

This is the notice I received:
 

February 10, 2020

As you may be aware, an outbreak of coronavirus, that causes respiratory illness, was detected in the city of Wuhan, Hubei Province, China. We are monitoring the situation closely and are heeding travel guidelines from the U.S. Department of State, the Centers for Disease Control and the World Health Organization.

Please know the safety and security of our guests and crew is always our top priority. While your journey may not be in the general vicinity of the outbreak, as a precautionary measure, we have implemented enhanced health screenings (via a health care questionnaire) for all guests boarding our vessels within the next 90 days. The questionnaire will be provided for completion at the time of embarkation.

Additionally, any guests who have traveled from or through mainland China, Hong Kong or Macau within 14 days of the beginning of their trip with us, will not be permitted to embark the ship.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding your upcoming sailing, or have recently visited China within 14 days of your itinerary, please call us at one of the following:

US and Canada: 1-855-300-3970, Monday through Friday, 4:00 AM to 9:00 PM, and Saturday to Sunday, 5:00 AM to 7:00 PM, PT.

Australian and New Zealand Guests: 138 747 (AU) or 0800 447 913 (NZ), Monday through Friday, 9:00am to 5:00 pm (AEST), or email CustomerRelationsAU@vikingcruises.com .

United Kingdom Guests: 0208 780 7900, option 1, Monday to Friday, 9:00 AM to 7:00 PM, Saturday, 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM, Sunday, 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM, or email CustomerServices@vikingcruises.com .

 
Johns Hopkins Outbreak Science & Epidemiology Professor:

"Growth in case counts in S Korea, Italy, Iran reflects testing strategy, in part. They are looking more so they are finding more. This is why expanding diagnostic capacity in the US is so urgent. We aren’t doing enough surveillance to understand when/if/how much community spread.

There is a possibility that we may someday learn we have had community transmission in the US for a while. Case counts may lappear to grow very fast, like in Italy, and it will feel overwhelming.

If that imagined scenario does come to pass, we should keep a steady hand - the numbers are about testing and reporting, not a real-time transmission ticker."

 
Korea has a test kit that is 80% accurate and does not require medical supervision.   And gives results in 15-30 minutes.   

People are smart.  

 
  • Smile
Reactions: Ned
Not to go full-on prepper, but portable solar panels can now be bought for under $100.  It wouldn't take much electricity to charge cell phones and keep a deep freezer below 32 degrees Fahrenheit.  A 10 watt usb fan would also be easy to charge and could be a lifesaver in a hot climate.  Goal Zero has high quality portable solar stuff at moderate prices.  For solar panels, it's probably more cost effective to buy cheaper panels from Amazon.  But if you want to buy a portable power station (battery), you'll probably want to invest in Goal Zero because cheaper brands are all lemons.  Having a portable solar panel is also nice to have while camping or even at the beach for the day.  And a 10 watt fan can be the difference between a good night's sleep or a sweat-drenched restless night while summer camping.

 
[icon] said:
advance grocery shopping :lol:  
That's the best way to think about it.  If a family eats 2 boxes of cereal per week on average, buying 100 boxes of cereal is a one year supply.  Not a big deal.  As long as you have a spare $1,000 to invest and the space to store, it would be foolhardy not to buy a bunch of groceries right now.   It's not money that is going to go to waste as long as it's non-perishables that you would normally buy.

 
Not to go full-on prepper, but portable solar panels can now be bought for under $100.  It wouldn't take much electricity to charge cell phones and keep a deep freezer below 32 degrees Fahrenheit.  A 10 watt usb fan would also be easy to charge and could be a lifesaver in a hot climate.  Goal Zero has high quality portable solar stuff at moderate prices.  For solar panels, it's probably more cost effective to buy cheaper panels from Amazon.  But if you want to buy a portable power station (battery), you'll probably want to invest in Goal Zero because cheaper brands are all lemons.  Having a portable solar panel is also nice to have while camping or even at the beach for the day.  And a 10 watt fan can be the difference between a good night's sleep or a sweat-drenched restless night while summer camping.
If you're over 80...this may be a good idea.  If you're 60-80 and in poor health, this might be worth considering.

For the rest of the population, there's really little reason to consider getting away from it all.  At worst, ride it out at home with utilities and go to the store when you need to.  If you get sick, do your best to take care of yourself and/or loved ones and you're highly likely to make a full recovery...also the younger you are the more likely it is you don't even know you're sick.

This isn't a high mortality rate virus across the board.  For most folks under 50 who are relatively healthy, the mortality rate is in the realm of the flu, if a bit higher.  It's at the upper ends of the age and health spectrum where things get pretty messy.

I consider "prepper" solutions to be those that kick in when the odds of dying from an infection, or the odds of social breakdown, are reasonably high. That's not this virus.

 
If you're over 80...this may be a good idea.  If you're 60-80 and in poor health, this might be worth considering.

For the rest of the population, there's really little reason to consider getting away from it all.  At worst, ride it out at home with utilities and go to the store when you need to.  If you get sick, do your best to take care of yourself and/or loved ones and you're highly likely to make a full recovery...also the younger you are the more likely it is you don't even know you're sick.

This isn't a high mortality rate virus across the board.  For most folks under 50 who are relatively healthy, the mortality rate is in the realm of the flu, if a bit higher.  It's at the upper ends of the age and health spectrum where things get pretty messy.

I consider "prepper" solutions to be those that kick in when the odds of dying from an infection, or the odds of social breakdown, are reasonably high. That's not this virus.
I wouldn't advocate buying a solar panel if it wasn't so cheap.  It can be thought of as a toy that you use 2-4 times a year while camping or charging phones/fan while having a picnic.  It'd even be fun for kids to use in the backyard to power a boombox or fan.  Kids will definitely want to use it as a novelty.  As a bonus, if the zombie apocalypse happens, your deep freezer will stay frozen.

 
There are going to be some fabulous bargains out there.  Getz, I’ve heard great things about Viking river cruises.  Hope you’ll go and have a fabulous time!
I thought I was stealing when I booked my my annual Puerto Rico trip after the earthquakes. I don’t even want to look at the prices now.  

 
:goodposting: Went to Costco this morning for exactly this reason.  Just got food since I don’t usually keep much around, and also disinfecting wipes since I’m going to be on a lot of planes in the next couple of months.
Going to Costco Friday.  Jerky, pepperoni sticks, bacon, sausage, cheese, tp, paper towels, counter wipes, butt wipes.

Went to CVS and restocked for what I feel would be our next two years of cold medicine needs.  With the following additional steps:

  • Got additional nasal flushing solution more than would otherwise need.
  • Got Walter White amount of pseudo.
People were there doing the same types of things I was, multiple people came in looking for masks.  Same response given to all, they can't keep them in stock.
Only masks at Lowes in my town today were "p95" for $12/mask.  No n95 or n99 anywhere to be seen.

Yes, how much meat we storing?
God don't bless those of us fatties with super Keto wives who wouldn't hear of eating rice or pasta if the ess hits the fan. (I'm going to buy and store some rice and canned good anyway, just in case.)

I read in another thread this morning that people in here were posting about travel insurance.  What was the verdict on this?    

I'm 6 weeks out from four days in Rome, 8 day cruise to barcelona, then four days in Spain.

Wife went to doctor yesterday for annual check up.  Doctor said we should be fine.   For wife not to panic over something like this is pretty remarkable.
The travel insurance that I provide is either in complete moratorium or has already said it won't honor Coronavirus.  

:/hipple:  Quit posting 8 pages/day jerks!

 
Last edited by a moderator:
[icon] said:
Sigh... 

i'll ask again… If n95 masks don't offer protection Against being infected by sick people, then why does the CDC demand health care workers wear them as part of PPE when treating sick people? Why did they deem them so important that they asked healthcare practitioners to save expired units rather than discarding them?

Asserting that they are "only useful to stop sick people from getting others sick" is one of the dumbest ongoing myths of this situation... Second only to  "the flu is more dangerous because it's killed more people." :lmao:
They DO offer protection...BUT the average person’s exposure risk doesn’t warrant routinely wearing a mask.

 
I imagine that the Princess cruise group could provide us with a semi-accurate "mortality rate" because it's a defined set of people who have been tested.  This should be more accurate, as opposed to the method of using a mortality rate for just one country, because in that country there will always be other cases that we don't know about.  But in the case of the princess cruise people, we have a significant group of people that have been tested many times so we know the number of people that have the virus is an accurate number, because the rest of the cruise folks would have been tested multiple times, kept under quarantine, and finally would be able to leave when it's determined they don't have the virus.

So currently there are 705 people from the Princess cruise that have this virus.  4 are dead, 36 are in "serious" condition, 10 have recovered.

4 dead puts us somewhere just over a .56% mortality rate. 7 dead would be a 1% rate, 14 a 2% rate, etc.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
The travel insurance that I provide is either in complete moratorium or has already said it won't honor Coronavirus.  
Out of curiosity how is that legal? 

I don't doubt you guys have loopholes for stuff like this but... Curious I guess 

 
They DO offer protection...BUT the average person’s exposure risk doesn’t warrant routinely wearing a mask.
Got it.. so they help. 

While I appreciate The CDC attempting to tell me my risk level isn't high enough to warrant that protection... I'm gonna go ahead and hang on to the masks I got and use them if I'm in public in places where I think I might need the protection. :)  

FTR: not attacking you, your insight has been awesome in this thread and appreciated. 

 
Out of curiosity how is that legal? 

I don't doubt you guys have loopholes for stuff like this but... Curious I guess 
"You guys" have nothing to do with me or my decision.  I have 2 travel insurance companies I can broker.  1 of them has suspended sales.  The other has a huge red banner over their sales site saying Coronavirus will not be covered.  Policies sold before the outbreak may cover this disease, but none of them since the outbreak are covering it.  I sell maybe 4 travel policies/year.  Tiny tiny part of my business.

 
JerseyToughGuys said:
For the guys on the leading edge of this stuff, do we trust the CDC or do we not trust them? 

When they say "little evidence supports the use of face masks by well persons in community settings," do we believe them are they conspiring to keep all the masks for themselves? 
Both.

 
https://us.yahoo.com/news/canceling-trip-coronavirus-travelers-insurance-000426017.html

Most Policies Won’t Cover Epidemic Concerns

While travel insurance may pay for hospitalization or quarantine interruptions, standard plans generally don’t cover preemptive trip cancellations based on concerns about an epidemic.

Say you purchased a basic cancellation policy when you booked a trip to Italy. If you decide to call off your vacation because you’re worried about contracting COVID-19, you probably won’t be eligible for coverage and will have to pay the cancellation fees and nonrefundable costs yourself. 

This typically applies even if the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issues an official travel alert.

“Almost every travel insurance policy I’m aware of excludes epidemics and pandemics,” Schreier said. “The one thing insurance companies are most scared of is concentrated exposure. An epidemic or pandemic by nature could put these companies out of business if they had to pay out millions of dollars for millions of policies.” 

If your January trip was affected by the coronavirus outbreak, you may still be eligible for some reimbursement. As an Allianz Travel Insurance advisory notes, “Customers whose plan includes the Epidemic exclusion may still have coverage for a covered loss occurring on or prior to February 3, 2020.”

‘Cancel For Any Reason’ Plans Can Help You

Although standard plans don’t cover you if you cancel a trip due to coronavirus fears, there is a more expensive option that will. And it has a pretty straightforward name.

“Since the outbreak, InsureMyTrip reports a 60% increase in travel insurance policies sold with a ‘cancel for any reason’ benefit,” Meghan Walch, a product manager at the travel insurance comparison site InsureMyTrip, told HuffPost. 

“Cancel for any reason is designed to give travelers the option to cancel a trip for ‘any reason,’” she explained. “So, unless a travel insurance company has stated otherwise, you can certainly cancel a trip out of fear of contracting the virus if you select this optional benefit.”

But There Are Restrictions

There are still some limitations on travel insurance plans with a CFAR option. For starters, they’re much more expensive, which can be prohibitive.  

“The challenge in CFAR is it may only be available to a narrow slice of the traveling market. CFAR tends to be an optional upgrade in the more premium plans. It may cost another 30% to 60% of the base price,” said Stan Sandberg, co-founder of TravelInsurance.com.

With CFAR, you usually have to insure the entire cost of the trip rather than certain elements. Another restriction is that you have to purchase your policy within a set time frame ― usually 7 to 21 days ― from your initial trip deposit.

If you do choose to cancel the trip, you may have to do so at least 48 hours before the departure date in order to qualify for reimbursement. Most versions of CFAR plans also reimburse travelers for only 50% to 75% of their prepaid nonrefundable trip cost. 

Additionally, there’s bad news for residents of New York: You can’t buy CFAR travel insurance. The New York State Department of Financial Services, which regulates the insurance industry, does not deem CFAR to be actual insurance because it “allows the purchaser to control the event that would lead to payment.” Thus, the state does not permit the sale of that benefit. 

Ultimately, it’s important to examine your chosen policy in advance to get a sense of any requirements or restrictions. 

“I always recommend people read the fine print to make sure they know what they’re buying,” said Charles Leocha, president and co-founder of the consumer advocacy group Travelers United. If anything is unclear, you can also call the insurer’s customer service line with questions. 

Credit Card Travel Insurance Probably Won’t Help 

Several credit cards offer trip cancellation and interruption insurance as a benefit when you charge travel expenses to your card or account’s rewards program. Examples include select American Express and Chase cards, including Amex Platinum, Delta SkyMiles Reserve, Chase Sapphire Preferred and Chase Sapphire Reserve. 

But as with standard travel insurance policies, concerns about the coronavirus epidemic and travel advisories do not appear to qualify as covered losses.

In fact, Chase’s policy explicitly excludes “your disinclination to travel due to an epidemic or pandemic” as a grounds for canceled trip reimbursement. (Quarantine “due to health reasons by a competent governmental authority having jurisdiction” is covered, however.)

The American Express trip cancellation benefit description states that cardholders may be reimbursed “if a Physician advises the Eligible Traveler that a Covered Trip is medically inadvisable.”

There Are Other Measures You Can Take

Even if you don’t have CFAR insurance, there are ways to cut down on the costs of a canceled trip. 

“With airfare, there’s a big price difference between getting a totally refundable ticket and nonrefundable ticket, but that’s not usually the case with the rest of your travel plans,” Leocha said. 

Consider booking refundable hotel accommodations, which often don’t cost too much more than nonrefundable rooms. The same can apply to car rentals, restaurant reservations and other activities. 

Even if you have a nonrefundable booking, try calling customer service anyway to see if they’re making an exception for coronavirus. Airlines and other travel services may offer reimbursement, waivers or credits.

“Coronavirus has created a smoky gray area in a lot of these cases,” Sandberg said.

Alternatively, it could be worth rescheduling, rerouting a flight or adding a second destination within your original trip. 

You may also want to hold off on booking flights and other expensive travel elements until there’s more concrete information available about the coronavirus epidemic. 

“With how things are looking right now, it seems like airfares aren’t jumping too dramatically,” said Leocha. “So if you’re really concerned, I would say wait.”

 
Last edited by a moderator:
You don't. People are crazy. Its good to have some food in case supermarkets are closed. 

What are some good food items to buy? Canned goods, rice, pasta...
Sweet baby Jesus, don’t buy all those carbohydrates. If you want to live forever, stock up on bone marrow and pork rinds.

 
My comment was that in the 1980s, cardiologists prescribed diets that contributed to obesity and heart disease, as well as Diabetes. That is true. You’ve conflated that comment with a flurry of accusations and things I didn’t say, and managed to insult me and the well researched diet books I’ve read. And my ignore list has a 5th member.
Ignore list or not, cardiologists never advocated diets rich in heavily processed foods and/or refined sugars/grains. They advocated low-fat diets rich in fruits and vegetables then, just as they do today.

 
What about in a circumstance where you're around a lot of people in general...airports, subways, etc.   There's really nothing magic about being a health care provider that makes wearing a mask a good idea...it's the fact of being around people who may be transmitting infection.   
Unless you are looking directly into people’s throats, listening to their lungs, etc., the proximity of interaction is different, plus the fact the people are seeing you in the context of health care increases the odds they are sick.

I’m not saying you have no risk in crowds or public places, but routinely wearing a mask is probably unnecessary for most everyday interactions.

 
Got it.. so they help. 

While I appreciate The CDC attempting to tell me my risk level isn't high enough to warrant that protection... I'm gonna go ahead and hang on to the masks I got and use them if I'm in public in places where I think I might need the protection. :)  

FTR: not attacking you, your insight has been awesome in this thread and appreciated. 
Hard to deny people spending their money how they please, but if mask shortages impact healthcare facilities, we all lose. Especially if those masks are ill-fitted/used incorrectly for individuals with virtually zero risk.

ETA: To my knowledge, no large scale randomized controlled trials have ever been performed to assess mask efficacy. Whatever data that exists certainly doesn’t include COVID-19. A lot of infection control measures are expert opinion at best.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Feel like this got completely glossed over by all of the super interesting travel insurance discussion. 

Patient was originally admitted to UC Davis on Feb 19, UC Davis requested COVID-19 testing at that time from CDC and was denied. Only after the patient became more serious was the test approved and done. 
This is what one of the DR's posted on Twitter

Bennett Penn @Penn_Laboratory

COVID-19 case just diagnosed in ICU our med center, suspected of being community acquired. I thought it'd be a while before this happened, but looks like it's time to buckle up...

 
Trump just put Pence in charge of the response for Covid-19.   The guy who said smoking doesn't cause cancer,  climate change doesn't exist and lobbied against HPV vaccines.  

We're all gonna die.
Hey, he did (maybe) say electrochok cures the gay so yeah, you are going to die painfully ;)  

 

Users who are viewing this thread

Top