COVID-19

[Wild Bill]

US has about 600 confirmed cases now, per link below:

https://www.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashb...23467b48e9ecf6

Could get wild here in the next few weeks. Stay safe, boys.

[Henges24]

Can anyone remember an outbreak/scare like this happening?

Guy at work said he can only think of the AIDS epidemic.

[BabyIrish]

A kid in Avon IN tested positive and the school is shutting down for two weeks. I think we’re gonna see some panic in IN because of it.

[GreenGemsOmally]

First presumptive case in Louisiana just announced by the Gov, patient is being treated in Orleans Parish (my guess is at Ochsner - Jefferson Highway Campus, but could be anywhere).

I'm just hoping my workplace starts encouraging people to work remotely. We already can and do most of our job remote anyways...

[ACamp1900]

First presumptive case in Louisiana just announced by the Gov, patient is being treated in Orleans Parish (my guess is at Ochsner - Jefferson Highway Campus, but could be anywhere).

I'm just hoping my workplace starts encouraging people to work remotely. We already can and do most of our job remote anyways...

All the Deans and Chairs are having a meeting right now about this... I think our fac/staff meeting on Wednesday is going to cover when we go to this and how it looks... crazy times.

[arrowryan]

People are overreacting, if you ask me.

[BeauBenken]

Can anyone remember an outbreak/scare like this happening?

Guy at work said he can only think of the AIDS epidemic.

One that directly affected the global market in such way? Not that comes to mind for me.

Pandemics aren't new, and that is why many people still do not see the potential danger with this virus. Many people have been desensitized to a threat of a pandemic because they see it in the news all of the time: Ebola in Africa, 2009 Swine Flu, Zika Virus, West Nile Virus, etc. For many people, they have never been directly affected by these things, but they have seen them drummed up for years and so they see this and just think, "well, the flu kills tens of thousands of people every year, why should this worry me?"

I am cautiously watching this one though just because it seems to be only beginning and it seems that it's make up has made it incredibly hard to detect at times so we do not know the exact numbers. There have also been reports that should this not be largely stomped out in the US, it could become endemic.

[Blazers46]

People are overreacting, if you ask me.

Yup. I almost want the Virus just so I can be interviewed by CNN and tell everyone I survived it.

[ACamp1900]

Yup. I almost want the Virus just so I can be interviewed by CNN and tell everyone I survived it.

I mean, if the worst that happens is I get to work from home for two weeks then, bring it on. Still scary to think of my family getting it though... and feel for those who have or are going through it.

[wizards8507]

Can anyone remember an outbreak/scare like this happening?

Guy at work said he can only think of the AIDS epidemic.

Swine flu killed 12,000 Americans. This isn't that.

[Old Man Mike]

I have a few partially-baked opinions/guesses on this (the "partial" here is because one of my degrees is biochemistry and I have sort-of followed some of this virus stuff for years --- don't take the following TOO seriously though and stay being good readers.)

1. This one seems to be very contagious. You don't need a lot of contact to get it. So all the stuff about hand-washing and semi-isolation is good advice. I'm guessing is that this thing "gets" you by ultimately being inhaled or otherwise entering your mouth/lungs. It seems to especially like lungs.

2. Early "returns" MIGHT indicate that this thing is WAY more likely NOT to kill you if you are not an elderly or otherwise weakened human. The bulk of the Washington State deaths (almost all that have occurred in the US in this first penetration) have taken persons from one old persons housing facility. It makes you sick though.

3. The virus outbreak in China seems already slowing down in its growth rate. This COULD mean that sensible behavior can mitigate its spread. If this is true even in the societal chaos that is China, this is cause for optimism.

4. We WILL have growth outbreaks here and there in the world for a while. Reason: we are the stupidest "intelligent species" in the Universe, as we constantly prove. We will also have flare-ups in the US even after we get it "under control". Reason: US citizens have a 45 second attention span and consequent behavioral challenges.

5. We might get the Magic Bullet quicker than the CDC currently guesses. Reason #1: We're genetically smarter in the lab than we've ever been. Past history on times-to-vaccine might not hold. Reason #2: China is involved, and if this thing gets bad, they'll probably do one of their lovely activities --- non-voluntary human testing. Nothing like human testing to speed medical breakthroughs.

Partially-baked advice: Stay in the upper 1% of intelligent behaving humans rather than the "typical irresponsible American" range (lower 20%). Stay alert/educated for a year at least on this. Stay clean. Stay healthy. Don't panic and do dumb things with your money. These things pass. This one will.

[zelezo vlk]

I'm legit a bit worried about public Masses being canceled. But living through a plague doesn't sound all that bad.

[NDBoiler]

I mean, if the worst that happens is I get to work from home for two weeks then, bring it on. Still scary to think of my family getting it though... and feel for those who have or are going through it.

I really haven’t seen anything to be concerned about unless you are in one of the high risk categories - compromised immune system/underlying serious heath condition, elderly, infants. Even then I wouldn’t be any more worried about it than the seasonal flu, which most of us never think twice about every year. It would also be nice to see the media do some reporting on the vast majority of people who have had the virus and recovered instead of constantly stirring everyone into a frenzy. You know that’s not going to happen though because it won’t get the views the same way as inciting panic does.

[ACamp1900]

I really haven’t seen anything to be concerned about unless you are in one of the high risk categories - compromised immune system/underlying serious heath condition, elderly, infants. Even then I wouldn’t be any more worried about it than the seasonal flu, which most of us never think twice about every year. It would also be nice to see the media do some reporting on the vast majority of people who have had the virus and recovered instead of constantly stirring everyone into a frenzy. You know that’s not going to happen though because it won’t get the views the same way as inciting panic does.

I get all this,.. but if one of my girls come down with it, I know I'll be worried. My youngest had the flu last month for the record and I struggled with that too...

[Pops Freshenmeyer]

I get all this,.. but if one of my girls come down with it, I know I'll be worried. My youngest had the flu last month for the record and I struggled with that too...

Yeah 3/5 of my household had flu B and that was a rough couple of weeks. I don't know what we would have done if my wife and I didn't have jobs that lend themselves to working remotely.