Have any of you been tested yet? Anyone test positive?

[bpo57]

I have a unique perspective as I work in government healthcare and work with my county’s public health office every day. Please stay home when possible and practice social distancing when you’re out. We are at minimum three weeks, likely longer from our peak. We must flatten the curve or else our entire health care system will be overwhelmed to a point that is unmanageable.

Agree with you 100%. Hopefully it's not much longer than three weeks or what will be flattened is our economy.

 

[CuseFaninVT]

Any idea why they have an older population? Curious if just random or actually a reason for it

Was wondering that myself. Maybe the Mediterranean diet is as good as advertised?

 

[OrlandoCuse]

I am in South Florida. I hear screaming and yelling from a house one street over (a vacation rental) at 4am for the last 8 days.

It's a complicated problem. The state has not mandated beach closures, but cities like Miami, Miami Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Daytona closed their public beaches.

The original thought was to leave the beaches open, because when people are being asked to stay home, they still think it may be a good idea for some to have a place to go for some fresh air as long as you practice social distancing. Nothing wrong with a couple or a single person going to the beach to stretch and have a walk. They didn't expect the influx of spring breakers not receding with the virus. In fact, when many universities all over extended the spring break to deal with how to switch to online classes, that promoted more students to go to Florida. Then they closed the beaches, the kids flooded to the parks, then they closed the parks, they started showing up at bars and restaurants, they closed that and they popped up in frat houses, when they closed frat houses and dorms, plus hotels and motels, then they saw things calming down.

Jeez, sounds like you just described a swarm of locusts.

 

[OrlandoCuse]

They've had a really low birth rate for awhile now as well. They are going to be looking for people to move into the country after this is all done.

They’ve already been doing that for a while. Giving free houses if you agree to fix it up and occupy it. Granting citizenship if your grandparents or even great grandparents can be traced to Italy.

 

[Jake]

Still sick. Lungs are sore. Still sleeping about half the day every day. I am a small percentage owner of a health supplement business that just sent me a big care package of remedies. I am feeling just a bit better, but far from healthy. This is my third serious lung issue in the last 4 years. So that's not good.
No diagnosis yet, but on a more positive note, one of the partners of my firm called me last night. I was kind of freaking because I'm out of vacation time, out of sick days, and not ready (or able, because of the lack of diagnosis and a "release letter" from my doctor) to return to work.

He said not to worry about sick days; I'll continue to get paid. I don't have to work from home. He said "Just worry about getting better". So at least 1 of the management committee is human. The others are still asshats, but I'm relieved.

Thanks for asking. I really appreciate the support of the board. Thank you all.

Get better Matt. That’s most important.

 

[Bayside44]

so if you play with pins in that means that everyone playing is touching the same 2in area every time you take the ball out.

you would be better off just not putting out.

They had a bumper so the ball would bounce off that instead of going in the hole. I’ve never seen so many family golf outings.

 

[cto]

They had a bumper so the ball would bounce off that instead of going in the hole. I’ve never seen so many family golf outings.

My club is using pool noodles. If your ball hits the noodle, count it as a made putt.

 

[Bayside44]

My club is using pool noodles. If your ball hits the noodle, count it as a made putt.

Yeah it looks just like that. Pretty clever whoever thought of it.

 

[Forza Azzurri]

so far I don't know anyone personally who's been tested...

Very close friends of ours live in Lodi in the province of Lombardia. Lodi was effectively one of the epicenters of the outbreak In Italy.

The father has it and has now had a fever for 17 consecutive days. He should probably be in the hospital but isn’t because there is no room.

He is mid-fifties but in good shape. Skies, bikes, hikes.

This is a nasty virus. Things are only going to get worse until they finally shut the entire country down.

Hopefully that happens sooner rather than later.

 

[DonLightfoot]

Thought I would provide an update to my previous lengthy post about here in Canada. This was as of first thing this morning.

Cases 1,331
Currently infected 1,297 (mild 1,296, critical 1)
Recovered 14
Deaths 20

I would anticipate these numbers to obviously increase as more tests are completed.

One person I know was tested positive a week or so ago, but has now been tested negative.

Not aware of any foolishness up here that was displayed on the beaches of Florida and Georgia. Each Province has issued its own state of emergency for "shelter in place". I would foresee our Federal Government issuing a formal Country wide order in the not too distant future. Stay safe my friends.

 

[miamicuse]

I would still caution to take any stats you see with several grains of salt.

Most of the stats are from somewhat limited data gathering.

Data out of China is not reliable. The real situation is much worse with fatality. Their healthcare system basically collapsed and they required everyone to stay home, shut down mass transit, which effectively took away the ability of those who are sick to even travel to the hospitals - they can't walk there or they call a phone number to request a ride and there is 1 vehicle allocated for rides per 2-3 city blocks with huge high rise buildings. This resulted in many who died in homes or on sidewalks or in hospital waiting rooms while they waited for registration when the hospitals were full. They got the relief in the hospital finally when when people realized they cannot walk there and even if they did they could not get in to get treated. They had ambulances running around getting the dead people into body bags. None of those are in the stats, they were never diagnosed nor treated.

In the USA the situation is getting serious. Again you are told to stay home. if you have mild symptoms stay home get some fluids and rest and get over it because they can't help you at the hospitals or clinics. Only the seriously sick should go to the hospitals. They are just now gearing up the testing. So the USA testing data is completely exclusive of those with mild symptoms, and when wide spread testing is available and executed then we will see a jump in numbers, not because there is a sudden jump in those infected, just realization of who's already infected but didn't know. My thinking is they will continue to not push large scale testing, because PPE is limited and knowing the real numbers may cause panic.

The more accurate and transparent data is from South Korea and Italy. There it shows the mortality rate is higher, and the young and the restless are not immune to the infection, and some do get serious sick and even death. The earlier messaging about the young being safe was IMHO not done properly, and may have partially contributed to college kids ignoring the warnings and headed to the south for spring breaks, flooding the beaches, parks, bars and frat houses.

Also, and this is not wildly reported in the USA for some reason. If you do get sick, and then recover, you are not whole again. There is damage done, permanently, to your lungs. Many fully recovered have asthma conditions, shot of breath. Everyone stay safe.

 

[Cheriehoop]

Also, and this is not wildly reported in the USA for some reason. If you do get sick, and then recover, you are not whole again. There is damage done, permanently, to your lungs. Many fully recovered have asthma conditions, shot of breath. Everyone stay safe.

I read that recovered victims had lost 20% to 30% of lung capacity about a week to 10 days ago. I was hoping that it was just an early, limited observation. Scary if time doesn’t improve that percentage and damage is permanent.

 

[orangecuse]

Italy's virus toll tops 4,000 after new one-day record

Per the article linked above:

The overwhelming majority of Italy's fatal cases involved elderly people with at least one pre-existing condition.

Cumulative coronavirus infections in Italy per region, as of March 20
The National Health Institute (ISS) said Friday that the average age of Italy first 3,200 victims was 78.5.

Almost 49 percent of them had three or more pre-existing conditions.

Just 1.2 percent of those who died had no other ailments.

 

[bpo57]

I would still caution to take any stats you see with several grains of salt.

Most of the stats are from somewhat limited data gathering.

Data out of China is not reliable. The real situation is much worse with fatality. Their healthcare system basically collapsed and they required everyone to stay home, shut down mass transit, which effectively took away the ability of those who are sick to even travel to the hospitals - they can't walk there or they call a phone number to request a ride and there is 1 vehicle allocated for rides per 2-3 city blocks with huge high rise buildings. This resulted in many who died in homes or on sidewalks or in hospital waiting rooms while they waited for registration when the hospitals were full. They got the relief in the hospital finally when when people realized they cannot walk there and even if they did they could not get in to get treated. They had ambulances running around getting the dead people into body bags. None of those are in the stats, they were never diagnosed nor treated.

In the USA the situation is getting serious. Again you are told to stay home. if you have mild symptoms stay home get some fluids and rest and get over it because they can't help you at the hospitals or clinics. Only the seriously sick should go to the hospitals. They are just now gearing up the testing. So the USA testing data is completely exclusive of those with mild symptoms, and when wide spread testing is available and executed then we will see a jump in numbers, not because there is a sudden jump in those infected, just realization of who's already infected but don't know. My thinking is they will continue to not push large scale testing, because PPE is limited and knowing the real numbers may cause panic.

The more accurate and transparent data is from South Korea and Italy. There is shows the mortality rate is higher, and the young and the restless are not immune to the infection, and some do get serious sick and even death. The earlier messaging about the young being safe was IMHO not done properly, and may have partially contributed to college kids ignoring the warnings and headed to the south for spring breaks.

Also, and this is not wildly reported in the USA for some reason. If you do get sick, and then recover, you are not whole again. There is damage done, permanently, to your lungs. Many fully recovered have asthma conditions, shot of breath. Everyone stay safe.

Excellent post. One minor quibble - the mortality rate out of South Korea is very low, unlike Italy, Spain and Iran. Just about the lowest of all of the larger nations affected by this virus.

 

[hungrychuck]

"The more accurate and transparent data is from South Korea and Italy. There is shows the mortality rate is higher, and the young and the restless are not immune to the infection, and some do get serious sick and even death. The earlier messaging about the young being safe was IMHO not done properly, and may have partially contributed to college kids ignoring the warnings and headed to the south for spring breaks."

This is only partially true. The mortality rate IS far higher in Italy, but far lower than the world and US average in South Korea, at well under 1%. The difference is that the South Koreans carried out pervasive testing, including among the asymptomatic. That ship largely appears to have sailed for us because we didn't have - and don't have - enough tests to do the job.

 

[DonLightfoot]

This is not wildly reported for some reason. If you do get sick, and then recover, you are not whole again. There is damage done, permanently, to your lungs. Many fully recovered have asthma conditions, short of breath. Everyone stay safe.

I had not come across this in the past. Scary for me given my age and an existing respiratory condition. I certainly do not need to compromise my lungs any further.

 

[CuseFaninVT]

Excellent post. One minor quibble - the mortality rate out of South Korea is very low, unlike Italy, Spain and Iran. Just about the lowest of all of the larger nations affected by this virus.

This has to be cultural.

 

[721Comstock]

This has to be cultural.

They’ve had pandemics before in S. Korea
Not their first rodeo.

Also - they jumped on this ASAP, and have the proper equipment and testing kits.
And have been using them

None of these things are true in the US.

Our #’s will likely skew closer to Italy than S. Korea.

 

[orangecuse]

Many coronavirus patients have 'ground glass' in their lung scans. Here's what that looks like.

Coronavirus patients with severe cases often have difficulty breathing. That's because their lungs fill with fluid, which shows up on a CT scan.

www.businessinsider.com.au

Those Who Recover From Coronavirus Can Be Left With Reduced Lung Function, Say Doctors

Out of 12 people in the group, two to three saw changes in their lung capacity.

"They gasp if they walk a bit more quickly," Owen Tsang Tak-yin, the medical director of the authority's Infectious Disease Centre, told a press conference Thursday, according to the South China Morning Post.

"Some patients might have around a drop of 20 to 30% in lung function" after full recovery, he said.

Tsang added, however, that patients can do cardiovascular exercises, like swimming, the improve their lung capacity over time.

While it's too early to establish long-term effects of the disease, scans of nine patients' lungs also "found patterns similar to frosted glass in all of them.

As noted, for those that have serious/severe lung/difficulty breathing symptoms, where hospitalization requires the need for a respirator, etc., it's too soon to conclude whether there will be "permanent" damage to the lung organ.

Can you get coronavirus twice?

There have been reports of people testing positive for the new novel coronavirus for a second time, but are there real chances of reinfection?

thehill.com

Scientists agree reinfection is an unlikely explanation for patients who test positive a second time, according to the Los Angeles Times, and note the possibility that testing errors, and releasing patients from hospitals too prematurely, are more likely the reason for reports of patients who retest positive.

“If you get an infection, your immune system is revved up against that virus,” Keiji Fukuda, director of Hong Kong University’s School of Public Health, told the Los Angeles Times. “To get reinfected again when you’re in that situation would be quite unusual unless your immune system was not functioning right.”

Fukuda told the paper that it’s more likely patients are being released from hospitals while carrying dormant fragments of the disease that are not infectious, but resemble the virus when tested.

“The test may be positive, but the infection is not there,” he said.

In a hearing before the House Oversight and Reform Committee on Thursday, Dr. Anthony Fauci,
director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, was asked if people who have contracted the virus might now be immune.

“We haven’t formally proved it, but it is strongly likely that that’s the case,” Fauci said. “Because if this acts like any other virus, once you recover, you won’t get reinfected.”

 

[bpo57]

This has to be cultural.

Hard to say. I agree with miamicuse that Italy and South Korea are probably transparent. China supposedly has a mortality rate somewhere between S Korea and Italy according to official figures. But as miamicuse referenced, nobody believes the data out of China.

 

[orangesox44]

so if you play with pins in that means that everyone playing is touching the same 2in area every time you take the ball out.

you would be better off just not putting out.

Great option, That will save me from my 3 missed 3 foot putts a round, I might be able to break 80 now

 

[Toga]

This has to be cultural.

That nasty kimchee might be protective.

 

[Cheriehoop]

Many coronavirus patients have 'ground glass' in their lung scans. Here's what that looks like.

Coronavirus patients with severe cases often have difficulty breathing. That's because their lungs fill with fluid, which shows up on a CT scan.

www.businessinsider.com.au

Those Who Recover From Coronavirus Can Be Left With Reduced Lung Function, Say Doctors

Out of 12 people in the group, two to three saw changes in their lung capacity.

"They gasp if they walk a bit more quickly," Owen Tsang Tak-yin, the medical director of the authority's Infectious Disease Centre, told a press conference Thursday, according to the South China Morning Post.

"Some patients might have around a drop of 20 to 30% in lung function" after full recovery, he said.

Tsang added, however, that patients can do cardiovascular exercises, like swimming, the improve their lung capacity over time.

While it's too early to establish long-term effects of the disease, scans of nine patients' lungs also "found patterns similar to frosted glass in all of them.

As noted, for those that have serious/severe lung/difficulty breathing symptoms, where hospitalization requires the need for a respirator, etc., it's too soon to conclude whether there will be "permanent" damage to the lung organ.

Can you get coronavirus twice?

There have been reports of people testing positive for the new novel coronavirus for a second time, but are there real chances of reinfection?

thehill.com

Scientists agree reinfection is an unlikely explanation for patients who test positive a second time, according to the Los Angeles Times, and note the possibility that testing errors, and releasing patients from hospitals too prematurely, are more likely the reason for reports of patients who retest positive.

“If you get an infection, your immune system is revved up against that virus,” Keiji Fukuda, director of Hong Kong University’s School of Public Health, told the Los Angeles Times. “To get reinfected again when you’re in that situation would be quite unusual unless your immune system was not functioning right.”

Fukuda told the paper that it’s more likely patients are being released from hospitals while carrying dormant fragments of the disease that are not infectious, but resemble the virus when tested.

“The test may be positive, but the infection is not there,” he said.

In a hearing before the House Oversight and Reform Committee on Thursday, Dr. Anthony Fauci,
director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, was asked if people who have contracted the virus might now be immune.

“We haven’t formally proved it, but it is strongly likely that that’s the case,” Fauci said. “Because if this acts like any other virus, once you recover, you won’t get reinfected.”

Yes this is the article I had read about a 20 to 30% decrease in lung function. Sure hopes this changes with more time elapsing allowing lungs to recover.

 

[miamicuse]

Excellent post. One minor quibble - the mortality rate out of South Korea is very low, unlike Italy, Spain and Iran. Just about the lowest of all of the larger nations affected by this virus.

Thanks for pointing that out. Yes S Korea is lower, but I think their methodology is different. Many Asian countries are doing contact tracing. In other words, once you are tested positive, they ask where you have been and who you came across days earlier. They also tested everyone early on, so the death over total tested positive ratio is lower *I BELIEVE* is due to the large denominator of those tested. We don't have the same denominator here in the USA, we haven't tested enough to have an idea of that number.

Just to give you an idea, I know someone in Shanghai China, who was visited two weeks ago by a health official, and was ordered to be quarantined for 14 days. Reason? He was at a supermarket on a particular day during a particular time, someone else in that supermarket got sick. They decided to chase down everyone at that supermarket during that 2 hour time period, employees and customers, they used the security cameras around the facility and did facial recognition and tracked everyone down. He was escorted to a test then quarantined subsequently.

We are not testing enough IMHO to compare the same numbers. I do understand the issue with testing, even if they have all the testing kits ready and available, it will not solve the fundamental problems. They don't have enough PPE to protect the workers while doing the tests, and if you tested positive with no symptoms or mild symptoms there is nothing they can actually do for you...on the flip side if the testing reveals a sudden spike of a million people positive everyone would go into panic mode. It's a rock and hard place choice.

 

[orangecuse]

Yes this is the article I had read about a 20 to 30% decrease in lung function. Sure hopes this changes with more time elapsing allowing lungs to recover.

I agree. Time will tell for those "severely" stricken...hope is good.