Emergence of a Deadly Coronavirus

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I read an interesting article this morning:

Today, the only thing reliable about the collective media – both American and international – is how unreliable they are. Even on vital issues, like the coronavirus, they succumb to sensationalism and conspiracy theories. Is it any wonder, then, that more people are turning away?

So why are the media still struggling? Because we aren’t getting fact-based, honest reporting. From politics to public health, the media are presenting a highly distorted, exaggerated version of reality.

We specialize in public health, so we will focus there. The single biggest topic today is the coronavirus outbreak. People are rightly concerned. Yet, instead of acting as guides that can walk the public through a confusing landscape, the media are guilty of spreading sensationalist nonsense.

Take Bloomberg and The Guardian, for instance, both of which just reported that about two-thirds of the planet could become infected by coronavirus. That hypothetical number came from an epidemiologist in Hong Kong.

Here’s the truth: Any projection about what coronavirus is going to do in the future is little better than wide-eyed speculation. Previous coronavirus outbreaks followed very different trajectories.

SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) appeared suddenly in 2002 and soon disappeared. Ten years later, MERS (Middle East respiratory syndrome) emerged and stuck around. A handful of cases still occur each year.

Given how far the Wuhan coronavirus has spread already, it is reasonable to conclude that it might continue, especially in poor countries with inadequate healthcare. But it’s also equally valid to conclude that China will get the outbreak under control and the virus will stop dead in its tracks inside wealthy countries. Or, the virus could become seasonal, like influenza.

The truth is that we just don’t know. What we do know is this: Globally, influenza infects hundreds of millions of people each year and kills 300,000 to 500,000, giving a case-fatality rate of about 0.1%. Even though the Wuhan coronavirus is currently thought to have a case-fatality rate of 2% (which would make it 20 times deadlier), it’s unlikely that it will rack up a similar annual death toll because – at least for the time being – it is not going to infect hundreds of millions of people.

If the media want to be responsible, therefore, they will put the coronavirus in the context of other deadly diseases – then remind people to get a flu shot.

But that’s not what we got. Instead, we got xenophobia and blatant racism. According to U.S. News & World Report, a French newspaper described the coronavirus as “The Yellow Peril,” and the widely renowned German weekly Der Spiegel ran a cover story titled “Made in China,” which used the virus as an excuse to denounce globalization.

Not to be outdone by its continental counterparts, the UK’s Daily Mail played a large role in circulating the myth that the Wuhan coronavirus was caused by a woman eating a bat. However, as Foreign Policy notes, the video took place in Palau, and bats are not eaten in Wuhan. Despite being unambiguously debunked, the Daily Mail story is still posted.

Also still posted is another debunked story published by the Washington Times that said the Wuhan coronavirus may be a clandestine biological weapon. This conspiracy theory is based on the fact that Wuhan hosts a biological safety level 4 (BSL-4) laboratory, similar to the one that exists at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. These labs study dangerous microbes; they do not engineer them. Yet, Fox News's Tucker Carlson just repeated the myth.

The moral of the story is clear: Even during a legitimate public health crisis, much of the media are not just unreliable but actively spreading misinformation. Indeed, one study showed that nearly half of the top 100 most viral health stories in 2018 were at least partially misleading.

Source: The Media Fail Miserably At Coronavirus Coverage

Condensed version of a blog I read somewhere:

Prevention

These are things we can do to reduce our risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection (there is no cure in sight).

• Stay at least 2m away from obviously sick people. We're trying to avoid receiving a cough/sneeze in the face, shaking hands, or being in the range of droplet splatter and the “drop zone”

• Wash your hands for 20 seconds & more frequently than you do now Soap and water and then dry, or an alcohol-based hand rub, and air dry

• Try not to touch your face. There is a chance your unwashed fingers will have a virus on them and if you touch/rub your mouth, nose or eyes, you may introduce the virus and accidentally infect yourself. Practice this; get others to call you out when you forget. Make it a game.

While a mask seems like a good idea, and when used by professionals it does protect from infection, it can actually give inexperienced users a false sense of security. There isn't a lot of good evidence (still!) that shows a mask to reliably prevent infection when worn by the public at large. They are useful to put on a sick person to reduce their spreading of the virus.

Stocking Up

Below we list things we'll need to have in case of a more major interruption to supply; a stock that will last 2 weeks. Some of these things will last much longer and include items that may not be a top priority for authorities to keep stocked:

• Alcohol-containing hand rub
• Batteries for anything that needs batteries
• Cereals, grains, beans, lentils, pasta
• Dried fruit and nuts
• Extra prescription medications, asthma relief inhalers (Some of these may be a problem, so talk to your doctor soon)
• Family pack of toilet paper
• Feminine hygiene products
• Household cleaning agents (i.e., Bleach, floor cleaner, toilet cleaner, surface cleaning spray, laundry detergent)
• Oil, spices and flavours
• Over-the-counter anti-fever and pain medications (i.e., paracetamol and ibuprofen can go a long way to making us feel less sick)
• Soap
• Soft drink or candy/chocolate for treats
• Tinned food (fish, vegetables, fruit)
• Tissues, paper towel
• Ultra-heat treated or powdered milk
• Vitamins (In case food shortages limit the variety in your diet)

The Last-Minute Fresh List

In a more severe pandemic, supply chain issues may mean fresh food becomes harder to get. So this list is an add-on to the one above, and its items should be the last things to buy if you have a hint of when supplies might slow or stop for a (hopefully short) time.

• Bread, wraps
• Eggs
• Meat for freezing
• Milk
• Vegetables, fruit
• Yogurt

And...

• Fuel for your car (e.g., keep the tank filled)

It looks like another cruise ship made the news today. This was the ship MSC Meraviglia. This ship offers Caribbean cruises. One of the crew members came down with the common cold. [“He developed symptoms of common flu and tested positive to Type A influenza after he visited the ship’s 24/7 Medical Center while already on board. He has no other symptoms.”] The ship departed Miami on Sunday and was scheduled to complete a 15-day cruise of Jamaica, the Cayman Islands, Mexico, Bahamas, Belize and Honduras, returning to Miami on March 8. The ship was denied permission to dock in Ocho Rios, Jamaica and Georgetown, Cayman Islands.

As others have said - San Francisco Mayor London Breed has declared a local emergency amid coronavirus fears. A STATE OF EMERGENCY

O.K. what does that mean!

First of all - there are still zero confirmed cases in San Francisco residents. So I wonder if she is jumping the gun.

San Francisco’s declaration, effective immediately, will be in place for seven days and will be voted on by the Board of Supervisors on March 3. This doesn't sound like an emergency. Why wait 7 days? If it is an emergency then wouldn't you gather the Board of Supervisors together and act on it immediately?

So is this real or a political stunt? What will San Francisco do to prepare?
The decree will allow the city to allocate resources around coronavirus mitigation efforts. Such efforts include staffing, the coordination of agencies throughout the city, the allowance of future reimbursement by the state and federal governments and increased awareness throughout the city on coronavirus preparation methods.

I am looking for concrete steps and concrete actions. I don't see much here.

Fear and ignorance ... ignorance and fear ... that's how you keep people in line ...

The truth about coronavirus 19: If you catch it, most likely you will have a bad case of the flu and recover.

Masks and beards .

https://www.independent.co.uk/life-styl ... 1582744566

Health officials on New York’s Long Island said 83 people in Nassau County are being monitored over coronavirus concerns, but added that, as of Wednesday, there were no confirmed cases of the illness in the area, and that the individuals aren’t necessarily exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19.

These individuals recently came from an area where there are confirmed cases. The individuals are being asked to quarantine themselves for a period of 14 days based on flight logs.

Source: Coronavirus concerns on New York's Long Island see 83 being monitored

Following in the footsteps of San Diego County and the city of San Francisco, Orange County (California) officials today declared a local health emergency in response to the coronavirus.

Michelle Steel, chair of the county Board of Supervisors, and board Vice Chair Andrew Do announced the declaration at an early afternoon news conference. Nichole Quick, county health officer, and Richard Sanchez, director of the Orange County Health Care Agency, also attended.

There has only been one confirmed case of the virus in Orange County.



Source: This Orange County Register Article

And now the fear is where I live
Coronavirus concerns on New York's Long Island see 83 being monitored

I do think the world is making such a big thing out of this. Yes it can be dangerous to the elderly or those with illnesses but so can about 500 other viruses and diseases that people die of every day. You can never be too careful. Yes, be hygienic and warn the public not to go out if they think they may have the coronavirus, but shutting schools and doctors surgeries or keeping people on a cruise ship for days just because a person sneezed is really going over the top in my opinion.

Only 445 people have been tested in the US:

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-nc ... in-us.html

Now there's a report of an additional individual who tested positive today, and they had no connection with the wet market in Wuhan.

I'm guessing a lot of people have been falling through the cracks here in the US.

Trump is giving a live address on the matter shortly:

https://www.cnn.com/specials/live-video-1