The COVID-2019 Thread

[panama hat]

Why does Vietnam have so few cases. Early planning or fudging the numbers?

They took the NK approach and simply sealed off a whole area where there were found to be infections - in the north.

[lom]

Are those people sitting quietly at home with a cup of cocoa or are they all in intensive care?

If you look at the worldometer site (linked to some 10 posts up) then you'll see that there are around 7,000 cases out of those 40,000 that are listed as "serious critical" so we have to assume they are in intensive care but the site doesn't tell where the other 33,000 are.

Maybe they are under your bed together with another 50,000 that have such mild symptoms that they don't know they are infected..

[OhOh]

85 countries.

Been travelling lately.

So many countries, so little time to complete your target.

One hopes you have a daily test kit with you.

Spreading the "word", one province, country, one continent at a time. That's the plan eh?

Virus mules more lucrative than drug mules eh?

[bowie]

http://www.news24.com/World/News/pet-dog-infected-with-covid-19-hong-kong-authorities-confirm-20200304

The canine, which belongs to a 60-year-old woman patient, had repeatedly tested "weak positive" for the new coronavirus since Friday, when it was quarantined at an animal centre.

The city's Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) said repeated tests suggest the dog - a pomeranian - has "a low-level of infection".
The pomeranian has not shown any novel coronavirus symptoms the AFCD said.

Since last Friday, all pets of people in Hong Kong infected with the coronavirus are to be quarantined for 14 days. Two dogs are already in isolation.



Now this should be an extremely distressing development. If, in fact, dogs can be infected, then they can obviously become carriers. If this infection spreads through the population of dogs and they show "No Symptoms" well, just how do you protect yourself against infection from your or your friends pet?

[baldrick]

just how do you protect yourself against infection from your or your friends pet?

1 - stop kissing them

[jabir]

http://www.news24.com/World/News/pet-dog-infected-with-covid-19-hong-kong-authorities-confirm-20200304

The canine, which belongs to a 60-year-old woman patient, had repeatedly tested "weak positive" for the new coronavirus since Friday, when it was quarantined at an animal centre.

The city's Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) said repeated tests suggest the dog - a pomeranian - has "a low-level of infection".
The pomeranian has not shown any novel coronavirus symptoms the AFCD said.

Since last Friday, all pets of people in Hong Kong infected with the coronavirus are to be quarantined for 14 days. Two dogs are already in isolation.



Now this should be an extremely distressing development. If, in fact, dogs can be infected, then they can obviously become carriers. If this infection spreads through the population of dogs and they show "No Symptoms" well, just how do you protect yourself against infection from your or your friends pet?

Carrier dogs would be bad enough, would cause havoc if it attached to birds.

[harrybarracuda]

Carrier dogs would be bad enough, would cause havoc if it attached to birds.

Yes, imagine if there were a "bird flu"....

[harrybarracuda]

A cruise ship is being held off the coast of California after two recent passengers were found to have developed COVID-19 after disembarking the ship on February 21st. One of these people has since died, becoming the first U.S. death outside of Washington State and the first for California, prompting the governor to declare a statewide emergency.
Passengers on the Grand Princess cruise ship which can hold up to 3,750 passengers and crew, were sent an advisory notice on Wednesday morning saying that the CDC were investigating a small cluster of COVID-19 cases with connections to the previous voyage of the ship. 21 people are reportedly displaying symptoms of COVID-19, but have not yet been formally tested or diagnosed. Guests who sailed on the previous voyage were asked to remain in their staterooms and await a visit by medical teams.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/victoriaforster/2020/03/04/a-second-princess-cruise-ship-is-affected-by-coronavirus-this-one-is-off-the-coast-of-california/#c11ccf53e2e0

[harrybarracuda]

That's the Aussie teams out of Chiang Mai then.

The new travel restrictions mean that any foreign traveller who has been in China, Iran and South Korea - all countries that have reported large outbreaks of the coronavirus - within two weeks of arriving in Australia will be turned away. The bans will be reviewed on a weekly basis.
Australian nationals and residents are exempt from the bans, but are required to self-isolate for two weeks on their return to Australia.

Australia extends bans on travel from coronavirus hotspots to slow spread - Reuters

[harrybarracuda]

First airline to go, although in fairness it was on life support.

One of Britain's biggest regional airlines is expected to be placed into administration this week, with the company's boss citing the impact of coronavirus as sounding the death knell for the group.

Flybe has been operating more domestic flights within the United Kingdom than any other airline since 1979.

The company attempted to stave off a collapse in January this year, engaging in negotiations to secure additional funding to keep planes running.

However, in an email sent to staff, Flybe chief executive Mark Anderson confirmed the airline "is shortly being put into administration".

"Despite every effort, we have no alternative – having failed to find a feasible solution to allows us to keep trading," British news outlet Devon Live quoted Mr Anderson's staff email as saying.

Coronavirus Flybe Britains largest regional airline collapses over virus fears

[Dillinger]

just how do you protect yourself against infection from your or your friends pet?

I'd be more worried about all those soi dogs pissing it all around the place

[harrybarracuda]

"The cytokine storm's a-comin'".

China has approved the use of Swiss drugmaker Roche’s anti-inflammation drug Actemra for patients who develop severe complications from the coronavirus as it urgently hunts for new ways to combat the deadly infection that is spreading worldwide.
China is hoping that some older drugs could stop severe cytokine release syndrome (CRS), or cytokine storms, an overreaction of the immune system which is considered a major factor behind catastrophic organ failure and death in some coronavirus patients.
Actemra, a biologic drug approved in 2010 in the United States for rheumatoid arthritis (RA), inhibits high Interleukin 6 (IL-6) protein levels that drive some inflammatory diseases.
China’s National Health Commission said in treatment guidelines published online on Wednesday that Actemra can now be used to treat coronavirus patients with serious lung damage and high IL-6 levels.

Separately, researchers in the country are testing Actemra, known generically as tocilizumab, in a clinical trial expected to include 188 coronavirus patients and running until May 10.
Roche, which donated 14 million yuan ($2.02 million) worth of Actemra during February, said the trial was initiated independently by a third party with the aim of exploring the efficacy and safety of the drug in coronavirus patients with CRS.
It added that there was currently no published clinical trial data on the drug’s safety or efficacy against the virus.

https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/in-bid-to-cure-coronavirus-decade-old-actemra-drug-emerges-as-hope/story-2yi0Ks9AnO5AOHzxn1uhLJ.html

[Dillinger]

Strange how France has twice the number of covid19 patients of Thailand and Malaysia combined, if that's to be believed.

[harrybarracuda]

Strange how France has twice the number of covid19 patients of Thailand and Malaysia combined, if that's to be believed.

The operative word being "if", of course.

[PAG]

[baldrick]

should they re-purpose the GT-200 detectors to screen the masses ?

[OhOh]

Starting to get a tad serious

Chinese scientists studying the new coronavirus have found two new primary strains of the disease - one of which appears to be far more aggressive.

The researchers, from Peking University's School of Life Sciences, discovered a milder "S-type" strain, and an "L-type" which is highly infectious and currently accounts for around 70% of cases, according to The Telegraph. The researchers cautioned that their preliminary findings looked at a limited number of cases (103), and that follow-up studies with larger data sets are needed to better understand the virus's evolution.

A genetic analysis of the coronavirus found in a man who tested positive in the United States on January 21 also showed that it's possible to be infected with both strains.

Scientists Discover More Aggressive Strain Of Coronavirus Responsible For 70% Of Current Infections | Zero Hedge


or

Coronavirus has mutated into more aggressive disease, say scientists

Coronavirus has mutated into two strains, one which appears to be far more aggressive, scientists have said, in a discovery which could hinder attempts to develop a vaccine.

Researchers at Peking University's School of Life Sciences and the Institut Pasteur of Shanghai, discovered the virus has evolved into two major lineages - dubbed ‘L’ and ‘S’ types.

The older ‘S-type’ appears to be milder and less infectious, while the ‘L-type’ which emerged later, spreads quickly and currently accounts for around 70 per cent of cases.

Genetic analysis of a man in the US who tested positive on January 21, also showed it is possible to be infected with both types.

The finding comes just days after government health experts warned that the virus could hit Britain in ‘multiple waves’, and led to fears that some vaccines might not work on mutated strains....

Coronavirus has mutated into more aggressive disease, say scientists



Awaiting Porton Down's announcement of two more unannounced variants.

One from a crew member from a French fishing boat sheltering in Poole harbour. Off Brownsea Island - home of the Boy Scout's spring jamboree.

The second from Russian tourist who became ill and hospitalised in the local NHS A & E corridor, after eating pizza in a Wiltshire restaurant.

[panama hat]

I'd be more worried about all those soi dogs pissing it all around the place

Not that many in Malaysia, luckily . . . anyway, not to worry, the acid ij the urine should kill the virus

[NamPikToot]

Remainers on London Tube buy into Thai based bucket virus headgear, inventor cashes in and no longer relies on pies.

[PlanK]

[Bettyboo]

There is an inevitable media focus on the number of cases and the number of deaths. And good to see 51,000 recovered. I am interested to know about the other number, about 40,000 confirmed cases who are neither deceased nor recovered.

Are those people sitting quietly at home with a cup of cocoa or are they all in intensive care?

Recent reports seem to suggest that about 20% of total cases are serious, needing ICU; of those, probably under a quarter (hopefully, a lot under a quarter) are gonna be fatal - it really depends on the context: if a large number of healthy students at a school are infected, it probably won't be serious at all; if a large number of folks in a hospice are infected then it's gonna be bad for them...

[baldrick]

^ stop kissing your dog

[Bettyboo]

^ stop kissing your dog

We will see, but I suspect there is no CoronaVirus jumping from people to dogs or dogs to people; there may be some folks who have the virus kissing their dogs and leaving traces of the virus on the dog...

[Dragonfly]

you look as gay as your dog, betty

[Luigi]

I'm not sure where one ends and the other begins.