Coronavirus - worldwide spread and control

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shak8 said:
According to the head of the Chinese center for disease control (a corona virus researcher with impeccable credentials: Oxford, Harvard) said that the biggest mistake the West is making is not wearing masks.

He said: The big mistake in the U.S. and Europe, in my opinion, is that people aren’t wearing masks. This virus is transmitted by droplets and close contact. Droplets play a very important role—you’ve got to wear a mask, because when you speak, there are always droplets coming out of your mouth. Many people have asymptomatic or presymptomatic infections. If they are wearing face masks, it can prevent droplets that carry the virus from escaping and infecting others.

https://www.sciencemag.org/news/202...ly_2020-03-27&et_rid=630684169&et_cid=3263545
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On a national scale, the best thing is simple surgical masks which prevent you from knowingly or unknowingly transmitting it to others. Those are cheap enough you can toss them several times a day if need be, and much less uncomfortable then a multi layer N95. The thin masks are not much good for protecting yourself, but that’s not their purpose. They are meant to protect others.

But that’s not how Americans in big cities think; in our densely packed cities it’s all about Me, attitude that may be summed as “If other people, especially people in a group I don’t identify with catch it, that’s just fine.”
You won’t get the average American to use an N95 effectively. I’ve seen people wearing them over thick beards, which makes them completely useless, or pushed down to cover their chin. To move it back you’ve got to handle it with both hands, which completely defeats the purpose.
 
spinoza577 said:
Essentially because we are short on masks right now, and the health care is in need of them.

Yes, this, with the normal simple masks you prevent that you possibly infect others.
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The GP in the family said that wearing a mask prevents other people from getting infected by her, but does virtually nothing to protect her against contamination from them.
 
Rosie said:
I wish my country will put a time limit on returning New Zealanders asap so that we can eradicate covid19 from within and then the country could just isolate from the rest of the world and eventually everyone can go back to work. Surely this could be achieved if the border is closed. Then this whole thing wont drag on and on with lockdowns, more spread and people dying.
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Hmm, yes. Of course, Great Britain is an island too, as is the island of Ireland. Logically, it ought to be possible to do it here too, albeit rather more complicated owing to the much larger population.
 
Andy said:
Ian Lipkin joins Vincent Racaniello to talk about his experience as a COVID-19 patient, and issues surrounding the disease and SARS-CoV-2 including limiting transmission, antivirals, vaccines, and much more.
http://www.microbe.tv/twiv/twiv-special-lipkin/
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Thanks @Andy . This is really superb. I highly recommend those interested in this thread listen to this. Ian Lipkin was first told about this virus in mid-December and he went to China and met with very senior scientists and Chinese Health/CDC folks. He has a 17 year strong relationship with these people and believes what they tell him. The Chinese do have the virus under control.

In addition Ian Lipkin gives a first hand account of having the virus with an underlying health condition. His latest personal update is that he thinks he is through the worst of it. I certainly hope so.

He recommends we all wear masks and gloves and treat others as if they have the virus. If you don't have a mask wrap a scarf.

Did I mention it's well worth a listen ;)
 
Andy said:
Ian Lipkin joins Vincent Racaniello to talk about his experience as a COVID-19 patient, and issues surrounding the disease and SARS-CoV-2 including limiting transmission, antivirals, vaccines, and much more.
http://www.microbe.tv/twiv/twiv-special-lipkin/
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Interesting podcast. Although I'm not very far through yet,

Lipkin says he thinks it is the most transmittable virus we have ever seen. He also commented that its not person to person transmission but person to commonly touched thing to person which is different.

He talks about in China initial isolation strategy of shutting down areas reducing the R0 to 1.3 to 1.4 but it was when they started segregating within families they brought R0 to under 1.
 
I'm just amazed that the govt isn't putting out public information broadcasts on the need to sanitise stuff (such as shopping) that you bring into your house, or telling people to cover their faces with a scarf, at least, when they go out to protect others.

We have millions of people on lockdown now who have sewing machines and who could be knocking these masks out, to a pattern provided by the govt.
 
I was listening to Talk Radio this morning between about 4 am-6 am. The presenter was interviewing a doctor (can't remember his name) who kept emphasising to the presenter that if you asked any medical student how to deal with a pandemic, they would say, test, test, isolate positive individuals and trace contacts etc. He was highly critical of the UK government scientific advisors on not advocating this right at the start (a couple of months ago). I can't go into the rest of what he was saying as it would be a breach of the no politics rule.

Edit: Just to add this doctor was highly critical of the government listening to the behaviourist advisors!
 
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Adrian said:
Lipkin says he thinks it is the most transmittable virus we have ever seen. He also commented that its not person to person transmission but person to commonly touched thing to person which is different.
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This, I find *really* interesting. I will try to listen to the podcast later to get the details and his reasoning on this. But if you’ve already listened to it, would you be able to summarise why he thinks this is the case?

If it is, I think this would mean it’s even more important that Europe and the US implement strategies done in some Asian countries, similar to what we were talking about yesterday. Eg everyone wearing masks could be an important step because that would help reduce people touching their faces, mouths, nose and then transferring those germs onto other surfaces. From what I remember in China, (Hubei), no one could even leave the house without a mask during lockdown (or they were fined heavily?).

Secondly sanitising surfaces would reduce surface contamination, and would mean other countries have the right idea- like is done in parts of Asia and like my friend said, in Dubai. Spraying outside but also indoor things too. I heard recently the Tube in the UK is being sprayed with a disinfectant that will stop coronavirus growing for 30 days. That could be sprayed regularly in all supermarkets and chemists, all the tills and touch screens and ATMS and card readers.

Outside on the crossings, where we have to press a button so it turns to the green man. Even in our block of flats, there are about 50 flats here that all use the same surfaces (buttons, door access). That could easily spread for people coming in and out of the house - yet our communal areas are only cleaned once a week and I also am not sure if they focus very well on cleaning the actual buttons and shared surfaces like door handles, more on the carpeting and floor of the lifts. There’s a lot of surfaces that could be a source of spreading disease due to being shared.
 
Jonathan Edwards said:
I have to say that this is the REAL

Science (for) MEdia Centre

The coverage that members have come up with, way ahead of the major outlets, is amazing. Top class basic science, clinical virology and logistics. With the best critiques.
Not to forget the mask making instructions from @Keela Too
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From SMC:
The lack of PPE and ITU are important factors that are contributing to our concerns about the level of exposure to psychological trauma faced by both clinicians and patients. It is in this context that we have convened an expert group of trauma specialists to coordinate advice to our colleagues up and down the country on the psychosocial response to the crisis (www.traumagroup.org).
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https://www.sciencemediacentre.org/...t-mental-health-during-the-covid-19-outbreak/

"Useful evidence-based resources for clinicians coordinating psychosocial responses to COVID"
https://www.traumagroup.org/

I can think of better things they could be doing than reading this.
 
Urns in Wuhan far exceed death toll, raising more questions about China’s tally

A single mortuary has had 5,000 urns delivered over the past two days, double the city's reported coronavirus death toll

The reliability of China’s coronavirus numbers is under question once again in view of the staggering amount of urns being distributed out in Wuhan.

According to official Chinese government data, 50,006 people were infected with the Covid-19 virus in Wuhan with 2,535 dying from the disease.

However, Chinese investigative outlet Caixin reports that when mortuaries opened back up this week in the Hubei capital, people had to wait in line for as long as five hours to receive the remains of their loved ones lost during the epidemic.
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http://shanghaiist.com/2020/03/27/u...ll-raising-more-questions-about-chinas-tally/

Edit: There is no certainty for the moment about this, and it should really be taken with a grain of salt.
 
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Sasha said:
I'm just amazed that the govt isn't putting out public information broadcasts on the need to sanitise stuff (such as shopping) that you bring into your house, or telling people to cover their faces with a scarf, at least, when they go out to protect others.
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The use of masks was one of the points that Lipkin emphasised although he was concerned about the shortage. I think on of the main points was the use helps reduce the chance that someone with the virus spreading as well as preventing people getting it.
 
lunarainbows said:
If it is, I think this would mean it’s even more important that Europe and the US implement strategies done in some Asian countries, similar to what we were talking about yesterday. Eg everyone wearing masks could be an important step because that would help reduce people touching their faces, mouths, nose and then transferring those germs onto other surfaces. From what I remember in China, (Hubei), no one could even leave the house without a mask during lockdown (or they were fined heavily?).
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There is a problem with the shortage of masks. But government called for companies to design and start making ventilators. They could have done the same for masks (and goggles). That may have been an easier thing to get into production early.
 
Sasha said:
I'm just amazed that the govt isn't putting out public information broadcasts on the need to sanitise stuff (such as shopping) that you bring into your house, or telling people to cover their faces with a scarf, at least, when they go out to protect others.

We have millions of people on lockdown now who have sewing machines and who could be knocking these masks out, to a pattern provided by the govt.
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Just saw on the news that Boris Johnson is writing to everyone in the UK to warn us to expect this to go on for a long time. He could have taken the opportunity to put the above kind of info out.
 
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