outbreak! (ebola, sars, coronavirus, etc)

I guess when all else fails, we still have hopes + prayers.

my good friend in NYC (she is elderly and just recovered from esophagal cancer two years ago) came down with symptoms this weekend. Her primary doctor told her to go to the emergency room right away. They told her she has pneumonia and gave her a prescription for antibiotics. No mention of corona.

Because maybe she didn't have the symptoms? (My pneumonia I had years ago was a conspicuously *wet* cough, not a the corona dry cough, and a chest x-ray clearly showed the infection). I think she'll know within a day or two whether the antibiotics are working.

i was under the impression it manifests as pneumonia? or was that only early reports. In any case, any vulnerable population especially in high density areas should be automatically tested. But I mean I know I am talking nonsense here. It's the US.

Well, I mean, at a certain point you've got to trust the diagnosis, right? Doctors should be able to tell the difference between viral and bacterial pneumonia, and if the doctor just prescribed antibiotics because what the hell, then they are a bad doctor. The corona test is there to confirm suspicion, not diagnose. That part is up to the doctor, who should be doing their due diligence.

Thought you might be curious to hear from someone who lives about 500 yards from the nursing care facility and down the street from the hospital at ground zero.

People here are actually quite calm and normal. There are grocery store runs on staples and you can’t get any hand sanitizer. As parents we feel doomed that open schools will mean inevitable spread to everyone.

The scandal is that no one is offering our community coordinated testing. We are totally in the dark about how widespread this is going to be. We are being given advice to avoid contact but go about our normal days, which is useless because it is contradictory and also it is advice given without any knowledge of the extent of the spread.

The national press briefings are clownish when people are dying a football field away from you. To hear every briefing kick off with a celebration of the President is insulting beyond belief to people living in an outbreak zone. Everyone should be hammering the administration for community wide testing and should be asking Trump right to his face when it will begin. Over and over and over again.

I assume this will pass and we’ll be fine but not because of our elected government but in spite of it. That is the shame of living under incompetency and sycophancy of this administration. It would give me hope if the press was angrier and more aggrieved at being bathed in lies about this very real crisis.

Demand testing. It’s what matters. Take it from people in an outbreak zone.

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/kirkland-washington-coronavirus-covid-19

NY's governing prince has used this opportunity to seize greater executive power.

"We understand the need to act swiftly and secure appropriate funding, but the legislation that is being considered tonight significantly expands the emergency powers of the governor, an act that should never be taken lightly," New York Civil Liberties Union Executive Director Donna Lieberman said in a statement. "Such a change requires thoughtful consideration and an open and informed debate – which has not happened."

https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Legislature-give-40m-broad-powers-to-Cuomo-15101092.php

Everything about Seattle's response is driving me fucking insane. There's some panic buying, but everyone seems to be just going about their lives as usual, and I think there's a general feeling that it would be wrong to give in to anxiety and start changing our way of life. I feel strongly that this is the time for people to start avoiding public spaces whenever possible so as to slow the spread of the virus and protect the vulnerable. But everyone's just doing their normal thing, going to the store, going to the gym, assuming someone will tell us what to do once it gets bad. No one seems to get that it's already bad, we're no safer than any of those cities we've seen on the news, and we need to adjust our way of life now.

I had a long argument about this with my housemate, whose attitude was, "Well, I can't stop going to my job, so I may as well go to all the other places I would normally go, because I'll get it no matter what." I pointed out that if he only went to his job and not to the gym, etc., he would spread it less once he got it. Housemate maintains that the CDC doesn't want us to do that, and that it won't work anyway because even if 80% of people change their routines, 20% won't, so it's not worth doing anything except handwashing.

Eventually, it will presumably get bad enough here that people start changing their routines, but by then it will be too late for it to make much difference.

Legit can’t decide whether to start working from home on my own initiative or wait until we’re told to.

at this point i think it's good that panic hasn't really set in but i guess i'm gonna catch and spread this virus so ymmv

like my workplace + the subway is basically a terrarium for disease, we're getting it

lily all of that would drive me insane too. even here in chicago, i don't understand why my workplace isn't advising everyone to work from home - something that many of us do multiple times a week anyway.

but your roommate has a reasonable take, too. all the usual authorities aren't advising to stay at home or avoid public places. even as simultaneous news keeps coming that the virus has been community spread for weeks now and is beyond containment.

most people assume that the State will provide justice and protection. but it takes competent people to do that

Our townsfolk were not more to blame than others; they forgot to be modest, that was all, and thought that everything still was possible for them; which presupposed that pestilences were impossible.

department downstairs is having a mandatory work-from-home day as practice. i still use 3g broadband so that's not going to be great for me.

I haven't left my apartment since I came back home Saturday morning and don't plan to for the full two weeks. I don't have symptoms but it's easy for me not to go anywhere and I was in a place dense with asian tourists for two months. I really would prefer not to be the person unknowingly spreading it in a country where there are currently no cases.

like my workplace + the subway is basically a terrarium for disease, we're getting it

― mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Tuesday, March 3, 2020 10:51 AM (three minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

Yes, I assume that those factors (particularly with my open-plan workplace, where we're on top of one another like goddamn sardines) + the fact that my gf is a preschool teacher = when, not if for me.

lol mookie i'm actually about to start reading the plague

speaking as a cancer patient w/ a wrecked-by-meds immune system, que sera sera

The Plague is such an amazing book, I was just thinking I should reread it today.

i've been reading magic mountain which also feels v relevant to our pandemic times (tho on top of it i'm going thru a flare-up and am on prednisone so the synchronicity is off the charts).

there's also a part about listening to records, so you're going to be so seen

i mean in five years when you get to that part

mordy get thee to the ilb magic mountain thread!

They listen to records in The Plague, too! "Saint James Infirmary" on repeat, iirc.

Also I was posting upthread that my housemate (not the one I was arguing with, one of the other four), came back from Hawaii three weeks ago with something corresponding to the symptoms of coronavirus and couldn't get tested. The last case of it in my household was about a week ago, so I'm treating myself as a potential vector just to be on the safe side. The only person who's going to be inconvenienced by that is me, so I don't see any reason not to be cautious. Given how many people in Seattle have now been exposed one way or another, I don't see why that's not the general mentality.

I hate that I'm turning into a full-on "WAKE UP SHEEPLE, THE GOVERNMENT DOESN'T WANT YOU TO KNOW HOW BAD THIS IS!" doom merchant, because I don't listen to those people either. But every time I run the calculations, that's what it adds up to.

"saint james infirmary" one of the few songs i can play well on the piano uh oh

I don't think there's anything wrong with voluntarily staying home or avoiding public places, but I wouldn't expect to see this become more widespread without specific guidance from the CDC and state health agencies that we should all be doing this. At that point, I'd expect to see more businesses and schools encouraging it where possible.

some jewish schools in NY closed including SAR which honestly based on the name seems about right

big law conference for this upcoming weekend in Eugene is canceled

http://pielc.org/coronavirus-response/

im not immunocompromised, older, or in a poor state of health and just have accepted that I'm probably going to get this (I work at a university and use transit, im around people a lot) and it'll be fine. I already wash my hands often so there's not much more I can do. maybe buy a stack of mr noodles and some ensure for when I have to take a fortnight off work I guess

i'm immunocompromised and in a poor state of health but i'm not particularly worried - i mean maybe i'll catch it and i'll die god forbid and that would suck for my family for sure but it's not really in my hands beyond washing them.

Brooklyn much quieter than usual. Generally a scary world.

Some good information in this Vox interview with Bruce Aylward, from the World Health Organization:

https://www.vox.com/2020/3/2/21161067/coronavirus-covid19-china

"I think the key learning from China is speed — it’s all about the speed. The faster you can find the cases, isolate the cases, and track their close contacts, the more successful you’re going to be. [...]

People keep saying [the cases are the] tip of the iceberg. But we couldn’t find that. We found there’s a lot of people who are cases, a lot of close contacts — but not a lot of asymptomatic circulation of this virus in the bigger population. And that’s different from flu. [...]

China got patients in treatment early and have highly sophisticated health care treatment procedures. They are really good at keeping people alive with this disease. They have a survival rate (with a mortality rate of just under 1% outside of Hubei province) for this disease I would not extrapolate to the rest of the world. What you’ve seen in Italy and Iran is that a lot of people are dying.

Panic and hysteria are not appropriate. This is a disease that is in the cases and their close contacts. It’s not a hidden enemy lurking behind bushes. Get organized, get educated, and get working."

now is a good time to buy stock in companies that support walking, since lyft and uber are bound to take a hit from this. invest now in socks, shoes, soles, and it might not hurt to buy low on the cobbler industry

I would like to panic :\

What about bionic limbs?

xp

My bf and I both don't have insurance right now so I'm going with "stock up on anti-inflammatories and batten down." Going out less, leaving the city more. I was planning to visit MI soon but my parents are "older" now and my sister has a new baby so...MAYBE NOT.

good left communist article about coronavirus http://chuangcn.org/2020/02/social-contagion/

what's the pt in panicking? why suffer now about the fear of suffering that might happen later? if it does happen you can suffer then. if it doesn't you'll have suffered for naught.

oh wait, there's no point in worry about things that might happen? good to know, that will solve anxiety and depression for so many people!

And I was literally going to go to a returns watch party tonight but this thread is making me think maybe that's a bad idea? Is this the world now?

turns out, there was no point so you just have to not do it!

honestly im kinda psyched rly

well more to the point I'd like to react to this by starting to work remotely and just sitting at home but nobody is telling me I should so I'm more anxious than if I were yielding to my instincts to overreact

That WHO person is not taking into account the direness of the US healthcare system and who is in charge of the country.

Also, I don't consider it panicking. I consider it being responsible for those around you. Like, vaccinating your kids.

oh wait, there's no point in worry about things that might happen? good to know, that will solve anxiety and depression for so many people!

you mock but i suffer/ed with anxiety for my entire life and that is one of the thoughts that has given me a lot of comfort

I think he's addressing our direness here: China got patients in treatment early and have highly sophisticated health care treatment procedures. They are really good at keeping people alive with this disease. They have a survival rate (with a mortality rate of just under 1% outside of Hubei province) for this disease I would not extrapolate to the rest of the world. What you’ve seen in Italy and Iran is that a lot of people are dying.

well if the italians cant organise against this then what hope have th no sorry i cant

xpost. Oh ha, I thought he sounded overly optimistic. I guess he was just being factual.