outbreak! (ebola, sars, coronavirus, etc)

I think they are all preparing for the time when they will not be allowed to go home for fear of infecting their families.

sorry they are not admitting people i went back and it's
"They are using young nonunionized people who are not clinicians to screen people as they walk into the hospital. They are providing them with neither masks nor gloves and have told them they will be let go if they wear either. They are not having them check temperatures but instead simply ASKING people how they feel, on the assumption that everyone is presumed positive."

As a friend of mine is fond of saying, the demand for certainty greatly outstrips the supply. At this point, I trust that the technically skilled and experienced people who are responsible for the response to this outbreak (as opposed to the political figures, whose abilities are all over the map) are doing their jobs at a high level and under great duress. My job is damned simple: follow their expert advice and try not to be an obstacle to them.

yeah, she wrote a very long thing entitled The Fun with Neoliberal Healthcare Fuckery Report:

So once we get over Covid 19 how ready would anybody be for the next whatever.
Is this going to be like multi hundred year storms were a couple of years ago.

The climate crisis is still very much with us it, didn’t disappear and we are still 30-40 years behind where we need to be with this. We just turned the world on a dime to confront Corona and now have a unique opportunity to rebuild our economies in much more sustainable way. If we’re going to spend trillions on restarting the economy, we have to do it right or this will be the next thing that kills us.

If anyone says ‘now is not the time to deal with this’ or ‘it can’t be done’; the rage should and will be immense.

Just like after WW2 nations built a new social compact with their people, social safety nets were build , health services came into being... We have to build a better world than the one we dismantled in the last few weeks.

extremely otm

yep

Re: Rand Paul testing positive

The Coronavirus Hoaxhttps://t.co/BUai4gGt2d pic.twitter.com/qJ1f04jZm8

— Ron Paul (@RonPaul) March 16, 2020

Yerac that is nuts. Do you mind sharing where that is? I’m an ICU nurse in the Seattle area and not only do we have RNs screening everyone at entrance (inc temp), wearing masks and gloves, but often hospital executives are there to help out as well.

BREAKING: Harvey Weinstein has reportedly been placed into isolation in a New York prison after testing positive for COVID-19. https://t.co/4k6J8yNkfJ

— The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast) March 22, 2020

thoughts and prayers

xp you mean that the data informing the 'mortality rates' are not counting what one might expect, or that widespread testing is crucial?
Afaik only people hospitalised here (UK) are getting tested (even then I don't know if it's everyone with symptoms?). Healthcare workers, people flying in from abroad, people who are sure they have the symptoms - are not. I would have no idea how to extrapolate meaningful data with that to go on.

― kinder, Sunday, March 22, 2020 7:36 PM (two hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

I spoke to someone this evening whose friend had symptoms, only rang emergency services when they became unmanageable. was taken to hospital by paramedics, hospital examined and said that the symptoms weren't bad enough to keep them in the hospital and therefore sent them home without being tested - they only test those who are admitted. paramedics dropped her back home and said 'well yes you've got it that's clear from your symptoms'. NHS rationing the testing kits?

The reason so many of these rich scumbags are testing positive is because they're the only fuckers actually being tested!

This is how I think the last 24hrs went in Australia. The various states decided they were going to go different ways on border closures and lock downs but all further than Scotty wanted. They announced what they were going to do. They then had national cabinet Scott threw his toys out of the pram and said I’m going to announce We’re not going as far as all that. He announces and the states ploughing on regardless with more announcements this morning.

Everyone is confused. The state websites are crashing. No one seems to know what is open or not.

A least the compromise on schools is the least confused. Everyone finishes term 1 and some states have brought the end of term forward to tomorrow except where they haven’t and in those places sending you kids to school is optional.

You couldn’t fucking make it up.

The reason so many of these rich scumbags are testing positive is because they're the only fuckers actually being tested!

Pretty much, yeah. It's fucking vile.

wtev wow, that's awful but I'm guessing pretty much the new normal now? Hope she's ok.
I thought we were increasing testing to 25,000 a day, Boris

I think the tests are fairly complicated; but then again South Korea seems to be getting on with it.

per the Shithead, testing for the rich is "the story of life"

We need to revise some future chapters of that story. Near future, if possible.

jack, it's in San Diego. xpost

wtev thats currently state of play over here too

not that its a comfort, or anything, but the strictness of admission does seem to be getting applied across the board and its the current pressure point in our own battle

I think the tests are fairly complicated

For clinicians, the tests aren't complicated. A sealed sterile tube, and sterile nasopharangeal swab that they shoot all the way to the back of your sinuses, https://www.rapidmicrobiology.com/rmbdata/userfiles/suppliers/copan_diagnostics_inc/news/copan-2023h4p.jpg, which collects mucus etc to be deposited in the tube.

Sample handling at labs is difficult, because its assumed infectious, and everyone has to wear positive pressure suits and work under lab negative pressure hoods (for SARS-CoV-2, biosafety level 3 is required).

But the actual test, rtPCR, is fairly routine these days. Sample tubes are loaded into a heating block, most commonly 96 at a time. Some probably used for negative controls. Robots pipette the reagents into the tubes, the viral RNA is reverse transcribed (hence the 'rt') to singled stranded DNA, and then the whole array is cycled hot and warm, hot and warm, with each cycle doubling DNA that matches highly selective primers, until a threshold for double stranded DNA is detected by a fluorescent probe in the tubes. A high viral loading may reach a 'positive' test threshold in 26 cycles, while a lower viral loading with only one thousandth of the initial load will hit the threshold in 36 cycles. The number of cycles before the threshold is reached is common to report relative viral loads in the literature (smaller: much worse).

PCR is weird. Nobel laureate and all around cool guy Kary Mullis (who passed this August) claimed that LSD use was instrumental in its discovery.

ok look this is a very serious fuckin illness and all

but id rather fuckin die than have that picture happen me, load me up now idgaf

Yeah, I guess I just won't leave my house for the next six months if that's the alternative.

man they have to take your face off in order to test? oh shit i'm done

fwiw, I've had a long swab inserted deep into my sinuses and in the hands of an experienced and careful clinician it was not particularly unpleasant. they just need to go slow and have a clear understanding of and feeling for the physical space they are probing.

I did 2 flu studies in college where I was quarantined in a hotel for 2 weeks, one time with a catheter in my arm so they could take blood on a regular basis/in the middle of the night. We had to do nutty stuff. It was fine, the pics look worse than it is.

god bless ye both

theres ppl on the planet who pay good money to be probed all sorts of places but listen i dont judge em i can only tell you ill jumpstart a hearse get it rolling toward the graveyard fling myself into the back of it and will myself to room temperature before i become fig a in the nightmare above

not if it was my last hope

i dont like me that much

I've had five colonoscopies in the past 13 years, and I'm staying inside!

that new report about covid positive people losing their sense of taste and smell as a marker (and sometimes with no other symptoms) is kind of wild. Even if you are not congested and are breathing totally normally. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/22/health/coronavirus-symptoms-smell-taste.html

National Guard being called to CA, WA, and NY

send them here too pls

I had a swap up my urethra once for a STD test. If I could survive that I think I can do the coronavirus test.

i gag when i get the strep throat test so i think i'm just gonna lock myself in my house for the next 18 months

that new report about covid positive people losing their sense of taste and smell

For those looking for quarantine viewing, I'm of Perfect Sense (2011), an all-around pretty successful film.

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/FTjubKJlCP0/maxresdefault.jpg

I'd rather have a Corona in front of me than a COVID lobotomy.

I'm reminded of Perfect Sense.

New Zealand has gone to Level 3:

Level 3 Restrict
Heightened risk that disease is not contained.

Risk assessment

Community transmission occurring OR
Multiple clusters break out

Range of measures (can be applied locally or nationally)

Travel in areas with clusters or community transmission limited
Affected educational facilities closed
Mass gatherings cancelled
Public venues closed (e.g. libraries, museums, cinemas, food courts, gyms, pools, amusement parks)
Alternative ways of working required and some non-essential businesses should close
Non face-to-face primary care consultations
Non acute (elective) services and procedures in hospitals deferred and healthcare staff reprioritised

and is going to Level 4 in 48 hours:

Level 4 Eliminate
Likely that disease is not contained.

Risk assessment

Sustained and intensive transmission
Widespread outbreaks

Range of measures (can be applied locally or nationally)

People instructed to stay at home
Educational facilities closed
Businesses closed except for essential services (e.g. supermarkets, pharmacies, clinics) and lifeline utilities
Rationing of supplies and requisitioning of facilities
Travel severely limited
Major reprioritisation of healthcare services

Have we posted this interview with Fauci yet?

https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/03/i-m-going-keep-pushing-anthony-fauci-tries-make-white-house-listen-facts-pandemic

Q: How are you managing to not get fired?

A: Well, that's pretty interesting because to his (President Trump’s) credit, even though we disagree on some things, he listens. He goes his own way. He has his own style. But on substantive issues, he does listen to what I say.

...

Q: Most everyone thinks that you’re doing a remarkable job, but you're standing there as the representative of truth and facts but things are being said that aren't true and aren't factual.

A: The way it happened is that after he made that statement (suggesting China could have revealed the discovery of a new coronavirus three to four months earlier), I told the appropriate people, it doesn't comport, because two or three months earlier would have been September. The next time they sit down with him and talk about what he’s going to say, they will say, by the way, Mr. President, be careful about this and don't say that. But I can't jump in front of the microphone and push him down. OK, he said it. Let's try and get it corrected for the next time.

^ Shows that Fauci has the most basic political skills required to remain in the job under a Trump administration: be valuable and be extremely careful not to make Trump look bad -- because looking bad is Trump's job, not yours.

I told the appropriate people

i.e. he never contradicts Trump to his face, but uses intermediaries as buffers. Smart man.

he'll probably get fired for doing that interview

replacement Harold Bornstein

Weirdly in Australia, we have 1675 confirmed cases and only 20 people have needed ICU treatment. Not sure what to make of that, tbh.

https://www.health.gov.au/news/australian-health-protection-principal-committee-ahppc-coronavirus-covid-19-statement-on-22-march-2020

*guillotine building intensifies* https://t.co/1FORB6SqiA

— Karl Barx (@JohnMcMarx) March 23, 2020

omg

We (Australia) are testing a lot, even if testing is nowhere near universal. A lot more than many other countries, at least. Bigger population of cases detected so more mild cases detected. Although it is still a little surprising given the number of olds who travel, go on cruises and the like.

Xpsot

how much clinical research is there on the effect of vegemite on covid-19

Orban taking advantage and going for his proper dictatorship I see.

Weirdly in Australia, we have 1675 confirmed cases and only 20 people have needed ICU treatment. Not sure what to make of that, tbh.

https://www.health.gov.au/news/australian-health-protection-principal-committee-ahppc-coronavirus-covid-19-statement-on-22-march-2020🕸

At least a week behind. See the Bondi example, my neighbours had people over yesterday. It doesn’t help that the federal government and states are sending out contrary and confusing messages. States want to go more severe earlier and the feds seem more interested in keeping the economy going, even though a total shutdown might be cheaper. Per the Grattan Institute, who are generally in the progressive side of things.

I think it is hitting home today. Massive queues outside centrelink, the government website crashing due to Th w sheer weight of traffic of people looking for help.