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Coronavirus (COVID-19), 2020 and 2021

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#1 · (Edited)
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-51249208

The coronavirus appears to be spreading very quickly. Hospitals in China are over capacity.

The US State Department has closed their embassy and is evacuating their diplomats and staff and other Americans who want to leave.

President Xi is warning of a dire situation as the virus is spreading faster than expected.

There is a lot of activity underway.....they are building 2 new hospitals in a matter of weeks, quarantined millions of people, established checkpoints, banned travel, shut down the transportation system and many international brands such as McDonalds have closed their doors.
 
#4 · (Edited)
First Canadian case in Toronto.

The guy was in Wuhan, got sick on the flight home, somehow passed through the airport "screening" and went home. They don't know if he took public transit.

His family is under "self quarantine". I hope they take the danger it more seriously than he did.

Now they have to trace all the people on the flight and anyone else he may have contacted. Not everyone displays illness but can still be a carrier and must be checked.

Given the guy was sick on the flight and had been in Wuhan, how did he get through screening at the airport ?
 
#5 ·
We are not yet at peak panic but it is increasing nicely. Give it 2-3 more weeks and no one will care. The oil trade looks very interesting; the Libya outage is going to more than offset decreased demand and there may be a very quick tradeable snap back in February.
 
#7 ·
Unfortunately I don't have high hopes of airport screening. One of the reports that came out after SARS said that the airport screening was a failure, totally ineffective: https://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/sars-airport-screening-ineffective-study-says-1.485002

I hope the coronavirus amounts to nothing in the end and fizzles out, but I think this is one of those cases where fear and having our guard up is healthy.

Currently I am still planning on booking travel plans within North America and I'm speaking as a bit of a germaphobe myself. As I understand it, the main fear about this virus is the high likelihood for mutation, and becoming more deadly than it currently is. The current form does NOT appear to be tremendously deadly.
 
#9 · (Edited)
Is anyone here considering wearing a face mask during air travel?

Many in China Wear Them, but Do Masks Block Coronavirus?

The studies cited there, including from SARS, suggest that just about any mask reduces the risk of infection (the mask will prevent someone from spewing liquid droplets directly into your nose/mouth). If this bug becomes more prevalent in North America, maybe it's not a bad idea to wear a mask during travel

The risk of becoming infected with the coronavirus in the United States — where there is only one confirmed case — is “way too low to start wearing a face mask,” said Dr. Peter Rabinowitz, who is co-director of the University of Washington MetaCenter for Pandemic Preparedness and Global Health Security.

But washing hands — frequently and before eating — is universally recommended. Hand sanitizer is effective against respiratory viruses. Experts also recommend washing hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, rubbing the hands together and ensuring all parts of the hands — the palms as well as the back of the hands — are washed.

It’s also important to keep your hands away from your face,” said Dr. Vaishampayan. “Respiratory viruses don’t infect through your skin, they infect through your mucous membranes: the eyes, nose and mouth.”
That last point is very important. Scratching your nose, touching your nose, eyes, or even just touching your face is a good way to get just about any cold/virus.
 
#10 ·
The thing about flying is that aircraft are among the dirtiest places to be. The maintenance between flights is not the best, so germs are left all over the place from previous passengers.

I read somewhere that an inspection of an airplane revealed all kinds of nasties..........yuck.
 
#11 · (Edited)
A lot of misinformation right now and speculation. The picture should become much clearer as time goes on of course.

Airport screening only looks at temperature. It's like airport security screening, it won't actually stop anything, it is just there to reduce FEAR. In other words, it's a joke. An infected person may be asymptomatic including not having an elevated body temperature. The question is, when does an infected person become a potential transmitter of the virus. In the case of SARS it was AFTER they showed symptoms while in this case it appears it MAY be being transmitted BEFORE a person shows symptoms and during the incubation period of up to 2 weeks. But even that is not 100% confirmed yet. As I say, it's too early yet and not enough hard facts are known.

Wearing a mask will protect OTHERS from someone who is infected being able to transmit the virus through droplets. In other words they can't cough on you. Wearing one will not protect the wearer to any real degree. IF the virus is transmitted by droplet, it would not extend to a whole airplane cabin, only to a small area of roughly 6 feet. Transmission by contact from your hands is less likely than from someone coughing. Wearing a mask to avoid someone coughing on your mouth and nose will not protect against a droplet getting in through your eyes. You'd need a full face mask for that. As I said, a lot of misinformation is going around.

What we know is that there is a new virus that has emerged and it CAN be fatal. Some people may suffer no more than a mild flu that they get over in a week or two. Some may suffer a more acute case and of those, some may die. That's what we know. SARS was roughly 10% fatal in reported cases.

What you can do to protect yourself is the same as you can do to protect yourself from the common cold or the annual winter flu that goes around. Good hygiene including using a hand sanitizer often yes but you will always still be at risk unless you avoid people entirely until it has run its course. Avoiding large groups of people is an obvious precaution and none more so than where large groups of travellers are to be found. ie. airports. You could catch this virus in your local supermarket but the chances are higher in an airport obviously.

Depending on how things play out, I do see this as POTENTIALLY affecting my travel plans in the near future. It all depends on whether they are able to contain it and bring it to an early end or not. In the case of SARS, the first case was reported in mid-November 2002 and WHO announced it was contained in mid-July 2003. In December 2003, WHO announced there had been 8096 cases reported in total and 774 deaths. Of those, Canada had 438 cases and 44 deaths. Looking at those numbers I would say Canada had a disproportionately high number given the population of our country. Canada is a country with a higher than average percentage of people of Chinese background which probably accounts for that I would think. What it tells me though is that we are probably at higher risk than in some other countries obviously.

To my way of thinking, you are at highest risk in an airport other than if you visited China. The question of whether an individual wants to take that risk is of course up to the individual. Just remember, the guy in Toronto walked through Toronto Airport on his way home and if he had coughed on you?

The odds may be long but the potential outcome is fatal, there's the rub. It is unlikely that you will be struck by lightening but you don't go and stand under a tree in a field to find out.
 
#12 · (Edited)
It is believed the virus started by someone who ate "bat soup".

There are videos showing Chinese people eating bat soup and whole baby mice that they dip into sauces...........Cripes, what is wrong with those people.

Sorry........but I wouldn't be interested in trying the local deli food.

Sorry........I am not going to link to the videos. They are gross and people can Google them if they want.
 
#16 ·
On the news this morning was a report on all the misinformation about coronavirus that is now being fed into social media. Some of it was downright ridiculous and yet it is obvious that some people will believe anything. One item was that if you eat spicy foods, it will stop you from getting the virus. I hear that eating spicy food will also stop a woman from getting pregnant. If you believe either of those contentions, I've got a bridge I want to talk to you about buying.

These kind of things just serve to show us just how much and how bad the influence of social media is having on people today. It's not facts that matter, it's how many people on Facebook etc. repeat something that is being believed.
 
#22 · (Edited)
I think it is more than pure speculation. The Chinese closed down the market where the "food" was purchased and investigated the source of the outbreak.

The science is already clear. This type of virus is passed through animals, particularly in birds........hence the moniker "bird flu".

All of the major outbreaks of this type of dangerous virus began in China in animals or birds.
 
#23 ·
Unfortunately it is nearly impossible to avoid food products from China, as the source of the food is often hidden from consumers.

An example is apples that are grown in China but advertised as "packaged in Canada". Why don't they package the apples in China where it is cheaper to do so ?

One reason only.........people wouldn't buy them if they knew. Lord help us if the chicken we are eating comes from China.
 
#24 ·
^ Well then, isn't it supposed to be somebody's job (aka government body) to be cracking down on this false marketing/packaging?

Personally, I would avoid all "imported" foods. But then I'm also taking my chances too with food these days, bought or not, imported or not.
 
#27 · (Edited)
Some good tips on protecting yourself from this and any other virus:
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/how-to-protect-yourself-against-coronavirus-152101500.html


“One of the smart ways to approach thinking about ‘how do you protect yourself,’ is to ask, well, when somebody here in the office has a common cold, and they’re sneezing all over the place, how do you make yourself not get the cold?” asked Garrett, the author of “The Coming Plague,” a book about emerging deadly diseases.

“Social distancing; that’s step number one. Keep your distance from other people” in order to avoid contracting or spreading an infection, Garrett told “The Final Round.” Cleanliness and personal hygiene is also of utmost concern, she added.

“For yourself, think of your hands as your number one problem: anything you touch that’s a common surface,” the author said, explaining that the same principle governs why people are discouraged from sharing utensils or cups.

“Here, in New York City, we think about the subways, we think about how we move around in the city; the answer, if you’re nervous, is wear gloves. Then take your gloves and wash them at night,” Garrett said. “If it’s socially required to shake hands, wash your hands afterwards.”​


The other important thing is to avoid touching your face. Any pathogens that get on your hands should be kept away from your face/nose/eyes. For example, rubbing your eyes is a good way to get infected with anything.

Hand sanitizer is also a good measure. If you need to touch your face or eat something, first squirt onto your hands. Rub your hands evenly as the mechanical rubbing motion helps the alcohol in the hand sanitizer kill pathogens. Check that the hand sanitizer is at least 60% ethanol.

CDC guidelines for using hand sanitizer
 
#34 ·
BBC has a good overview of the misinformation about the outbreak
https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-51271037

The original source of the virus was believed to be snakes. Now there are theories that the source may have been bats, as these animals are a common source of viruses. Bats are suspected in the origins of Ebola, SARS and MERS.

CBC previously ran this story describing how bats are frequently a source of viruses such as this one:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/sars-mers-coronavirus-1.5438562

"If you want to put some money on it, you'd get a bat involved," said Fauci. "SARS went from the bat to the palm civet cat to the human, and MERS went from the bat to the camel to human. I don't have any idea what the animal is for this one but I would not be surprised if a bat was involved somewhere."
The exact animal source of this one has not yet been determined.
 
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