Coronavirus in the United States - news and thoughts

Yikes. I think I posted an article about this here, if not it was on FB. From a Harvard epidemiologist who addressed breaking the chain when handling packages from food shopping etc...

Don’t panic about shopping, getting delivery or accepting packages
Joseph G. Allen is an assistant professor of exposure and assessment science and director of the Healthy Buildings Program at Harvard University’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

A recent study in the New England Journal of Medicine is making people think twice about how they might be exposed to covid-19 if they open a box delivered by UPS, touch packages at the grocery store or accept food delivery.

The risk is low. Let me explain.

First, disease transmission from inanimate surfaces is real, so I don’t want to minimize that. It’s something we have known for a long time; as early as the 1500s, infected surfaces were thought of as “seeds of disease,” able to transfer disease from one person to another.

In that new NEJM study, here’s the finding that is grabbing headlines: The coronavirus that causes covid-19 “was detectable . . . up to four hours on copper, up to 24 hours on cardboard and up to two to three days on plastic and stainless steel.”

 

Thing is too, we don't know all we need to about this virus. The article I posted earlier about it was based on only an initial small study and so there needs to be much more to understand the full extent of how it is transmitted and what the risks are. That won't be known for quite some time, such is how science operates. That said, the implications are that absent knowing this full extent, but seeing the possibility (or likelihood) that it is transmitted extremely easily through aerosol and things like simply breathing, more extreme precautions should def be taken. We have masks too, a few boxes worth, but I'm fortunate since as I mentioned, this is cultural for Japanese so we didn't even have to order any

I get that about viral load and read dingy's post. I didn't think of it either. I was only thinking in terms of general risk minimization. I think early on when there were stories about how we shouldn't or don't need to use masks, this was a serious disservice to the public and runs counter to what is practiced elsewhere but here too in our hospitals. Now I get that right now, we shouldn't be trying to buy masks used as PPE for healthcare workers. But other masks, even homemade, I say f*** yes, go for it.

 

If this doctor is willing to put his life on the line, he has my attention:



It's long so start at the 7 minute mark where he explains how you get the disease.

 

Yeah, it's not hard to do. We've been doing so too. I probably wouldn't have been quite on top of things if it weren't for my wife.

 

DeSantis, for those who lack cognitive recognition capabilities yet think are clever

 

why thank you, amygatur

 

If you guys are that worried about packages, then do this:

1) Open everything outside the house and place items in a sanitized bin
2) I put our boxes in a pile out at the barn and on the weekend, I burn them. First, the time to when I burn is almost a week so chances are good the virus is already dead, but fire will definitely end those little critters fer good.
3) I sanitize my hands before coming back in.

That's the best you can do. I guess it you to be absolutely safe, you could sanitize every single item but that might be going overboard and you might even make yourself sick if any of the sanitizer gets on your food. Stay away from produce. Want veggies and fruit, buy frozen or canned or better, grow your own. It'll take a bit before you see results, but nothing is better than growing yourself. Want eggs, time to start having chickens. People are home and guess what they eat more of now - bread, eggs, milk. Can't get bread, time to buy a breadmaker and learn how to cultivate your own yeast. Well yeah milk maybe pushing it - don't want cows, but at least I narrowed my food needs to fewer items. I'm also a closet prepper and I bought 3 to 4 months of freeze dried food back in 2014 and I wished I had bought more, but as long as I can buy food, that stash isn't getting touched. For now, we are eating the fridge out, cleaning it out. Haven't seen as empty of a freezer since we bought the frig. Then we'll take from the basement deep freeze and then replenish every 2 weeks.

 

You are infectious 1 to 2 days after you infected even if you have no symptoms. That's why some in my circle think there are millions of infected in the US, not the 250K you see as the official number. New Orleans is as bad as it is because of Mardi Gras. All that mingling and hugging and kissing. Spring breakers getting kicked out and went back home and spread it further, in some cases so isolated, only they could have brought it back.

 

Sorry about the delayed reply. I wasn't literally referring to Donald Trump's personal friends although I'm sure at least some would benefit. I was referring to the type of individuals with whom Trump identifies with or associates with, specifically people likely to actually benefit from fully deducting meals and entertainment and my point was that Trump's proposal would benefit very few restaurant owners. It's mom and pop neighborhood restaurants and their employees that have been hurt the most by the mandatory social distancing and very few of those are patronized by customers who are purchase meals on expense accounts and even those upscale restaurants with expense account clients would only marginally benefit.

 

I know a few health expert folks who suspect similarly. Its' quite possible.

 

You are most welcome, Bucki

 

DeSantis De Santos, Atlantis. Whatever. He's failing miserably in protecting Floridians right now.

 

Commander of the TR relieved of command!

Didn't take long:

Washington — The captain of an aircraft carrier hit by the coronavirus was relieved of his command by the Navy on Thursday for going outside the chain of command and circulating a memo pleading for help from Washington, one which quickly became public.

Acting Secretary of the Navy Thomas Modly said he relieved Captain Brett Crozier of command of the USS Theodore Roosevelt after losing confidence in his ability to lead under the stress of dealing with the viral outbreak.

"Command is a sacred trust that must be continually earned," Modly said at a news conference at the Pentagon. "As I learned more about the events of the past week onboard the Teddy Roosevelt ... I could reach no other conclusion than Captain Crozier had allowed the complexity of his challenge with the COVID breakout on the ship to overwhelm his ability to act professionally, when acting professionally was what was needed most at the time."

Navy removes captain who raised alarm about coronavirus on aircraft carrier

 

Trump's letter to Schumer is amazing.

Read the Letter from Trump to Senator Schumer :: The Pavlovic Today

Here is page 1:

 

Almost knew that was coming.

 

Good on him for writing the letter even though he knew what was going to happen to him. His sailors were more important to him than his career and his pride.

 

Couldn't decide whether to give it a funny or a c'mon man