Coronavirus Thread

[Gnomey]

Interesting article on the BBC about a potential treatment for people who suffer severe COVID-19 symptoms. Apparently, a pattern has emerged with more than 70% of patients with severe symptoms also suffer from a significant drop in T-cells within the blood (T-cells are part of the body's immune system to help fight off diseases and infections). The drop in T-cells is in the range 50%-75% which is huge. Essentially, the virus appears to be somehow hindering the body's ability to fight back. The precise mechanism for how COVID-19 achieves this is unknown but, in the meantime, this discovery has led to a trial using a drug that helps boost the body's ability to generate T-cells. The drug has already been safely trialled on patients with sepsis. Here's the article:

Immune clue sparks coronavirus treatment hope

If the trial with COVID-19 patients is successful, this could be a game-changer by providing an ability to test for those who are most at risk, and give ER professionals something to actually fight back against this virus rather that putting people on ventilators and hoping for the best (I know that's not exactly what's happening now...but a good, reliable treatment to help fight the virus has yet to be identified).

Just sharing this glimmer of hope that maybe, just maybe, the smart healthcare professionals of the world are making headway against this virus.

Indeed will be interesting to see what happens with this.

We've been looking at lymphocyte counts on bloods as a marker for COVID infection and lower levels correlate well with positive infection rates. Before now we never really took much notice of the lymphocyte counts.

 

[ThomasP]

Minnesota report, May 22
cases 19,005**, recovered 12,696, hospitalized 2,432, deaths 842**, tested 180,971*/**
fatality rate 4.4%
mortality rate 147.7 per million
test rate 31.7 per thousand*
*Test kits and reagents are becoming more available, and Minnesota's ability to test is now more than 7,000 people/day. Testing of the general population is beginning in small numbers.
**The measures used by Minnesota have reduced the rate of spread significantly, however, our rate of spread (reflected by the death rate 'curve') appears to be steady.

 

[ThomasP]

Minnesota report, May 23
cases 19,845**, recovered 13,485, hospitalized 2,432, deaths 852**, tested 189,493*/**
fatality rate 4.3%
mortality rate 149.5 per million
test rate 33.2 per thousand*
*Test kits and reagents are becoming more available, and Minnesota's ability to test is now more than 7,000 people/day. Testing of the general population is beginning in small numbers.
**The measures used by Minnesota have reduced the rate of spread significantly, however, our rate of spread (reflected by the death rate 'curve') appears to be steady.

 

[The Basket]

Speaking to someone who said they had it.

Although they were not tested so only proof is the symptoms.

A fully fit adult with no health concerns should shake it off.

A person especially with respiratory issues is in for a bad time.

 

[Vincenzo]

Italy report, 24th May 5 pm CEST, weekly changes
cases 229,858, +4,423, deaths 32,785, +877, recovered 140,479, +15,303, active cases 56,594, -11,757, tests 3,447,012, +442,052, people tested 2,198,632
fatality rate 14.3% (+0,1)
mortality rate 544 per million (+15)
test rate 57.1 per thousand (+7.3)
positive rate 10.5%* this is the true positive rate not the apparent like the previous, the apparent is 6.7% (-0.8)
test rate this week 7329 per million
apparent positive rate this week 1% (-0.1)
new case rate this week 73 per million

 

[at6]

With the way people are behaving, I expect to see a spike in cases fairly soon. I wonder how long it will be before Brazil exceeds the U. S. as the number one hot spot.

 

[ThomasP]

Minnesota report, May 24
cases 20,573**, recovered 14,115, hospitalized 2,588, deaths 869**, tested 197,964*/**
fatality rate 4.2%
mortality rate 152.5 per million
test rate 34.7 per thousand*
*Test kits and reagents are becoming more available, and Minnesota's ability to test is now more than 7,000 people/day. Testing of the general population is beginning in small numbers.
**The stay-at-home and shut down measures used by Minnesota have kept the potential rate of spread significantly below what it would have been without such measures. However, based on the hospitalization and death rates, the rate of spread is still increasing slightly with an approximate R factor of 1.035 new cases each day (ie the number of new cases each day is doubling every 20 days).

 

[wuzak]

Minnesota report, May 24
cases 20,573**, recovered 14,115, hospitalized 2,588, deaths 869**, tested 197,964*/**
fatality rate 4.2%
mortality rate 152.5 per million
test rate 34.7 per thousand*
*Test kits and reagents are becoming more available, and Minnesota's ability to test is now more than 7,000 people/day. Testing of the general population is beginning in small numbers.
**The stay-at-home and shut down measures used by Minnesota have kept the potential rate of spread significantly below what it would have been without such measures. However, based on the hospitalization and death rates, the rate of spread is still increasing slightly with an approximate R factor of 1.035 new cases each day (ie the number of new cases each day is doubling every 20 days).

Putting your numbers into perspective....

Minnesota has ~1/5 the population of Australia.
Around 3 times the number of recorded infections, and over 8.5 times the number of deaths!

Australia now has under 500 active cases.

 

[ThomasP]

Hey wuzak, unfortunately you are correct.

The first known case of COVID-19 in the United States was reported on 19 January, and confirmed on 20 January

The first known COVID-19 case in Minnesota occurred 45 days later on 5 March, and was traced to an elderly man returning home from vacation, He had been a passenger on the Grand Princess cruise liner, and had been allowed to debark before the ship's quarantine went into effect. However, it is now known (via antigen testing of people that had relatively mild symptoms at that time) that COVID-19 was present in Minnesota as early as the 3rd week of February. It is believed (via tracing at a later date) that some of the late-February cases were communicated from our neighboring state of Wisconsin, which had its first known case reported on 30 January (although it was not confirmed until February 5).

Unfortunately, Minnesota was no different than most states in the US (or most countries worldwide) and we were seriously unprepared relative to testing/tracing/isolating. Hence we also underestimated the speed at which COVID-19 was spreading. Minnesota did not issue the social distancing/stay at home order until 27 March - 22 days after Minnesota case#1. By that time there were 635 confirmed cases, and given what we now know about the percentage of people who show mild or no symptoms, there were probably at least 2x as many unconfirmed cases.

Although there were other factors, the sudden rapid increase in cases and deaths in our care facilities during the third week of March prompted immediate action. If we could have kept COVID-19 out of the nursing home/extended care/assisted living facilities (~80% of our fatalities) Minnesota's number of deaths would probably look more like Australia's, although our number of cases would still be about as high.

On the plus side, we did manage to prevent our hospitals and ICUs from being overwhelmed, though it is heartbreaking to see how the medical personnel are being affected. I mentioned up-thread that I sometimes work as a medical courier, so I spend a fair amount of time at a couple of hospitals, and during my visits I have gotten to know a lot of staff. I could be (hope I am) wrong but I suspect we will be losing a significant number of people to burnout and/or early retirement after this is over. And I do not even want to think about the amount of non-combat PTSD that will occur.

I am getting my keyboard wet so I think I will look at funny cat pictures for a while.

 

[Glider]

I used to be a Psychotherapist in a London Hospital before moving four years ago to working in a Police Force. At the hospital my clients were the medical and other staff, not the patients of the hospital. Speaking to my colleagues still working at the hospital they, not surprisingly, are having a tough time of things and my heart goes out to them.

 

[MiTasol]

Unfortunately, Minnesota was no different than most states in the US (or most countries worldwide).

The only countries that acted properly for their own citizens were Taiwan and, I REALLY hate to say this, China.

China immediately banned all travel from Wuhan to every other part of China and totally locked Wuhan down.

In hindsight that should have told every other country that this virus was dangerous and that everyone else should have banned all travel from Wuhan.

Instead everyone else allowed flights from Wuhan to transmit the disease world wide.

 

[Crimea_River]

......China immediately banned all travel from Wuhan to every other part of China and totally locked Wuhan down......

Well, that's what they said they did. Who knows what they really did.

 

[MiTasol]

Putting your numbers into perspective....

Minnesota has ~1/5 the population of Australia.
Around 3 times the number of recorded infections, and over 8.5 times the number of deaths!

Australia now has under 500 active cases.

But in Australia the Federal Feral and NSW governments are demanding that all states open their borders even though NSW, and Victoria, still have a significant number of new cases daily.

I also dislike the way the Feral government changed the statistics a couple of weeks ago so that cases are now listed by the state the victim normally resided in, not the state where the person was infected. This slashed the NSW total some 60% and artificially inflated the other states infection levels.

For those overseas the vast majority of Aus cases came from three cruise ships that the NSW government allowed to unload without any testing or quarantine and all had some level of Covid infection. One of those, the Ruby Princess, was loaded with infected people who then went home on public transport and commercial airlines and spread their illness to passengers and locals before the source was discovered. All those who were diagnosed in their home state are naturally listed as local infections when in reality they should have been listed as NSW because if NSW had tested and quarantined those people in Sydney they would never have spread their illness outside NSW.

 

[MiTasol]

Well, that's what they said they did. Who knows what they really did.

True, China and dishonesty are synonyms but there was no shortage of press reports at the time showing the lockdown of the city and closure of all roads and railways in and out of town. I am fairly sure if someone here was to check flight tracking websites for flights in and out of Wuhan internal Chinese flights will show as ceasing about the same time.

We know from other sources that Wuhans death toll was over 70,000 and the stats for the rest of China are equally suspicious but the western journalists in the rest of China were not showing major restrictions elsewhere and those deported have not changed their tune since.

 

[pbehn]

If we stop making and buying cars would that help with this car owner virus? Just an idea?

 

[fubar57]

You'll probably want this....

 

[pbehn]

You'll probably want this....

View attachment 582866​

I am already in the next town.

 

[MiTasol]

I am already in the next town.

Wow - the worlds first supersonic chicken

 

[pbehn]

Wow - the worlds first supersonic chicken

I never post without putting on the hat and coat first and have a table reserved near the door.

 

[wuzak]

But in Australia the Federal Feral and NSW governments are demanding that all states open their borders even though NSW, and Victoria, still have a significant number of new cases daily.

I also dislike the way the Feral government changed the statistics a couple of weeks ago so that cases are now listed by the state the victim normally resided in, not the state where the person was infected. This slashed the NSW total some 60% and artificially inflated the other states infection levels.

For those overseas the vast majority of Aus cases came from three cruise ships that the NSW government allowed to unload without any testing or quarantine and all had some level of Covid infection. One of those, the Ruby Princess, was loaded with infected people who then went home on public transport and commercial airlines and spread their illness to passengers and locals before the source was discovered. All those who were diagnosed in their home state are naturally listed as local infections when in reality they should have been listed as NSW because if NSW had tested and quarantined those people in Sydney they would never have spread their illness outside NSW.

Didn't the Ruby Princess depart on another cruise after having positive cases?

It wasn't just the NSW government that allowed those people to disembark and go on their merry way, the Border Farce also have responsibility in that area.

The Border Farce are also in charge of airports, where returning passengers were not screened and were herded in tight confines through the airports. After the travel bans were in place.