new thread on covid-19 updates in your location

[grzegorz]

Hey Greg, Thanks for continuing to deliver. Personally, I refuse to buy anything online because I know some person has to bring it to me. It's as easy to be a keyboard warrior when it comes to a virus as it is when it comes to martial arts. Props to anyone who's concerned about the virus but still decides to keep on working.

Wow, that Mexico video is sad. She knows she might have been exposed but she's socializing. The US is still trying to get travelers back from overseas. Yikes.

That's good of you and more importantly it means you shop locally which I do more and more because I see how hard local businesses have it now (even without Covid 19).

I wanted to share the Mexico to show that Obrador of Mexico is handling things just like Trump and the turn out will be same but worse because they have less hospitals, resources, and supplies

[windwalker]

Most countries have some type of national ID
In Taiwan they have a national medical card. and ID card...
at any location they can view your records and health history....

Being a legal resident having used their medical system the contrast between
the US and their system is quite interesting.


Having family members who work as doctors or nurses they point out a lot
of the downsides of the system. It remains to be seen how long Taiwan can support it. .....

A national ID card has been talked about in the past in the US but never seems to make it, although
the SSN has come to serve this purpose something it was never intended to do...

[Steve James]

Yep, Mardi Gras and Spring break became hubs for people from all over the country.

New Orleans:


Miami Beach


The first covid case in Texas was a month ago.


So, yesterday the Texas governor did this.


As said, the virus was already there.

[grzegorz]

South Korea and the US had their first confirmed Covid 19 case on the same day. If people aren't criticizing the government then they aren't paying attention.

[grzegorz]

Thanks for the New Orleans video SJ.

I think the lady at the cafe had it right that at least with a hurricane you knew when it would end but not with this. With the government's inaction I imagine this will basically be 2020.

[Michael]

If Abbot follows the same thread of logic that other countries have, he will soon restrict all travel into Texas, because it's not enough to just limit direct flights from the hotspots.

[windwalker]

If Abbot follows the same thread of logic that other countries have, he will soon restrict all travel into Texas, because it's not enough to just limit direct flights from the hotspots.

it is interesting reinforcing the differences between fed and states rights

What Is a Cordon Sanitaire?
For the U.S. government to impose a cordon sanitaire — the technical term for closing off an area to stop spread of a disease — around an entire state would be unprecedented in U.S. history. It would even go beyond Chinese authorities' lockdown of Wuhan and several other cities in Hubei province, where the coronavirus pandemic originated in December 2019.

Is Banning Domestic Travel Unconstitutional?
But many legal experts question whether the federal government even has the authority to close the borders of a state, saying that such an action might be blocked by the courts as unconstitutional. Some also think it would be difficult to carry out, and not necessarily useful in protecting public health.

Internal travel restrictions are constitutionally problematic because the president does not have power to force a state to lockdown," Gostin explains via email. "The right to travel is also deemed fundamental under the Constitution."

https://people.howstuffworks.com/can-fe ... orders.htm

Does not apply the to the US border...

The Constitution states: “[t]he United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government, and shall protect each of them against invasion….” [See Article IV, Section 4] If aliens entering into a State from a foreign country constitute an “invasion,” then the federal government is constitutionally mandated by this provision to intervene and protect the State.

The set up of the US very different with clear lines of responsibility between the states and fed government
a lot of what other countries can do quite easily because of the type of system they use
is not really possible here.

[windwalker]

All states and the District of Columbia have laws, as part of their general police powers, authorizing quarantine, which is a restriction on people who may have been exposed to see if they become sick, and isolation, which is intended to stop people known to be sick from spreading a disease.

While these laws vary widely, most give governors or public health officials authority to limit public interactions in emergencies.

Will be interesting how the different states apply this....

[grzegorz]

Looks like the Pres will have his announcement soon reality TV style.

All things being equal I am glad that he is taking this seriously which is better than days ago when he wanted people to go to work.

Interesting to see how much the country needs NY and CA to work to keep the economy running.

[Steve James]

If Abbot follows the same thread of logic that other countries have, he will soon restrict all travel into Texas, because it's not enough to just limit direct flights from the hotspots.

China restricted travel in and out of Hunan, no? Anyway, it's beyond doubt that there have been covid-19 carriers in Texas for a month, at least.

What Texans do in their cities is more important than people coming there from other states. C'mon, you don't have to take a plane to get from New Orleans to Texas. No doubt some Texans went there for Mardi Gras, and went to Florida for spring break. If they don't do it, it will be on them.

And there might be a backlash if Texans need assistance from other states. It will become a competition between states. There is already a bidding war for ventilators. If NY has extra and Texas needs more, should we share?

One bit of amazing good news, the FDA has approved a covid-19 test that gives results in a few minutes. More tests will result in more opportunities to find people who are naturally resistant, as well as those who show symptoms. First thing, though, is to test health workers and people who have to deal with the public and patients.

[everything]

Those partygoers are sick or will "community spread" illness if they don't do it. Likely got it due to viral load. See this doctor's long but helpful quote on viral load on the other thread. https://rumsoakedfist.org/viewtopic.php ... 85#p488079

[Michael]

It was the city of Wuhan (woo-hahn), in the province of Hubei (hoo-bay) that was first locked down around the second week of January. There was at least 3 days lead time after the formal decree, if I remember correctly, and millions were already leaving. Perhaps half the city was empty when it was sealed. And I mean literally sealed for a lot of people in their apartments.

Based on reported symptoms, I happen to think the virus has already gone through the cities of the USA to a significant extent, but unless millions were tested, it is not measured.

EU Shengen zone suddenly found that borders can be enforced. There's not really anything like that for the USA to go back to so readily as Europe did, but it might be necessary to do so.

Lack of masks for entire populace continues to be a serious drawback to slowing the spread.

EDIT: messed up the phonetic for Hubei.

[grzegorz]

100 dead Americans.

All 50 states.

2,000 dead Americans.

[everything]

A bunch of people in my office were sick in early February. Not sure of the symptoms. We all had coughs. I know there was a traveler from Asia visiting as well. Maybe we caught mild cases already and just don't know. Part of me hopes I had it already if that helps stop it again (for myself and others).

[Steve James]

It's certain that many people have gotten the virus and gotten over it. More than 90% will. The virus has been in this country without a doubt for more than a month and a half. Doing what NYC has been doing for a month would greatly reduce the spread in any US city. However, as we know. Lost of people said/say it's just like the flu; so, there's no need to do what NYC (or Milan, or Seoul, or Wuhan) does or did. It costs too much, and the flu, car accidents, and bathroom slips and falls kill more every year.

Yep, and there will still be accidents, strokes, heart attacks, and other injuries that require hospital space. Should hospitals give priority to women giving birth, patients needing cancer treatments, operation, or dialysis or to the hundreds of covid patients? Should younger covid patients get priority over older ones? If you get sick, do you want to go to a hospital?

Oh, and afa masks. The only people who need them are health care workers and those who have to deal with the sick. 90% of humans do not have to worry about the disease afa their own health. Masks would need to be worn all the time, which would certainly reduce deaths by flu and other infectious diseases. Everything that is being done to prevent the spread of covid works as well or better for the flu. So, ya wanna save 22000 people next season, you know what to do. I don't think that Americans will be wearing masks habitually. Although, it would be extremely courteous for people who are sick to wear them, and better yet for them not to go out.

Another good thing about being exposed to the disease is that, if you don't get very sick, it's because you have strong antibodies. They're already trying to use blood plasma from recovered and asymptomatic persons as a treatment for the very sick. Yep, either a person's immune system will fight it off or not. In the hospital or at home.