Coronavirus, anyone wearing masks or buying masks?

[disneysteve]

I work in health care, and in urgent care at that. It's literally my job to be with sick people all day every day, even more than when I was in family practice.

Am I concerned about Corona? Minimally. The odds of me being exposed to someone with it are extremely low.

However, there have already been at least 22 million cases of the flu this year with at least 12,000 deaths. And the real numbers are much higher because not everyone with the flu gets officially diagnosed and the cause of many deaths is questionable. A death certificate might say "pneumonia" but not mention that it was caused by the flu initially.

My point is that people are all panicked about Corona but pay little attention to the flu which is far more likely to get them sick or even kill them. Tons of people refuse to even get a flu vaccine. I bet if they announced today that there was a Corona vaccine, some of those same folks would rush to get it.

I do wear a mask at work when seeing patients who potentially have the flu.

[ua_guy]

I work in health care, and in urgent care at that. It's literally my job to be with sick people all day every day, even more than when I was in family practice.

Am I concerned about Corona? Minimally. The odds of me being exposed to someone with it are extremely low.

However, there have already been at least 22 million cases of the flu this year with at least 12,000 deaths. And the real numbers are much higher because not everyone with the flu gets officially diagnosed and the cause of many deaths is questionable. A death certificate might say "pneumonia" but not mention that it was caused by the flu initially.

My point is that people are all panicked about Corona but pay little attention to the flu which is far more likely to get them sick or even kill them. Tons of people refuse to even get a flu vaccine. I bet if they announced today that there was a Corona vaccine, some of those same folks would rush to get it.

I do wear a mask at work when seeing patients who potentially have the flu.

What do you think about the response, though?

By numbers common flu is more widespread and the death toll already higher. China has people under quarantine and house-arrest, cruise ships are being held, hospitals being built. The response seems disproportionate and reactionary if indeed the death rate and severity is less than the flu.

A wilderness area with a government facility behind where I used to live was just designated as an official quarantine site if it's needed. Talk about weird.

I don't consider myself a conspiracy theorist (at all) but I have to wonder if there's something unknown about it or if the Chinese Government is being selective about the data they release. Why would the response be comparatively so severe if the common flu is dropping people in the streets?

[disneysteve]

if the Chinese Government is being selective about the data they release.

I guarantee any information coming out of China is of highly questionable value.

[disneysteve]

To be fair, though, China is a whole different beast than the US. The population density is extremely high so it's far easier for things to spread. Plus healthcare isn't what it is here.

[mumof2]

My point is that people are all panicked about Corona but pay little attention to the flu which is far more likely to get them sick or even kill them. Tons of people refuse to even get a flu vaccine. I bet if they announced today that there was a Corona vaccine, some of those same folks would rush to get it.


I was just saying the same thing to my hubby the other day its like more people die from the flu so why are people up in arms...about the corona virus....we are not taking precautions other than the washing hands etc...like you would with the flu

By numbers common flu is more widespread and the death toll already higher. China has people under quarantine and house-arrest, cruise ships are being held, hospitals being built. The response seems disproportionate and reactionary if indeed the death rate and severity is less than the flu.
I know in Australia they are doing these measures to avoid the spread of the disease just like would with any disease...although there are already people here in several states that have the virus..the only way to stop a virus from spreading is to quarentine the people that have it...same as the people that have the flu you have to stay at home

[Like2Plan]

What do you think about the response, though?

By numbers common flu is more widespread and the death toll already higher. China has people under quarantine and house-arrest, cruise ships are being held, hospitals being built. The response seems disproportionate and reactionary if indeed the death rate and severity is less than the flu.

A wilderness area with a government facility behind where I used to live was just designated as an official quarantine site if it's needed. Talk about weird.

I don't consider myself a conspiracy theorist (at all) but I have to wonder if there's something unknown about it or if the Chinese Government is being selective about the data they release. Why would the response be comparatively so severe if the common flu is dropping people in the streets?

I think the risk right now is relatively low. But, that could change. I don't trust the info we are getting from the Chinese Govt, either. I do think this is something that we have to take seriously. The big problem is this is a new COVID-19 virus for which the population has not built up any immunity. This new virus seems to be pretty contagious spreading from person to person (and can spread if a person is asymptomatic). And, my sense is that a higher percentage of folks get pneumonia from it than you would expect from contracting a cold (but, who knows--as the info from China is not reliable). I don't think it is under control in China. And, we are seeing sporadic cases outside China--health providers are going after it to keep it from spreading. I don't know if anyone knows how many cases to expect from one single infection. What is being reported reference the Diamond Princess cruise ship is that 1 person was infected initially and they are up to 218 cases now. I don't know if being on a cruise ship has any additional risks. We'll have to wait and see.

If the quarantines don't totally stop it from spreading--it will give more time for CDC and other health authorities/ providers to prepare. --Like deploying the test kits to other locations than the CDC. Beefing up on supplies and so on. Developing a vaccine.

( https://www.cdc.gov/flu/pandemic-res...emic-h1n1.html )

[QuarterMillionMan]

Fearing coronavirus Las Vegas people are hoarding. Hawaii people on facebook that I know started their hoarding a few weeks ago. Is your area hoarding too? https://www.reviewjournal.com/local/...er-tp-1970620/

[mumof2]

We were trying to buy masks here in Australia...it was impossible we had to order them on the net...no we are not worried about the carona virus...actually we haven't given it a 2nd thought but hubby has cancer and it is becoming col here and almost flu season and want to protect him as much as possible but i guess over here people are worried...like everyone said more people die of the flu and don't seem worried about that

[~bs]

Nope.

The hoarding starts with clubs like costco and sams, bang for the buck. Then proceeds to department stores, walmart, target, cvs, etc. Trust me, I know. All sold out in my area.

[rennigade]

For those thinking people are raiding shelves at costco...have never been to a costco. From all the clips ive seen online, including what people had in their carts and the long lines...yeah, thats your typical costco. People are always buying mounds of rice, stocking up on TP and have cases after cases of water. Costco is almost always a cluster...and this is coming from someone who loves costco.

[Like2Plan]

I am starting to wonder if the travel bans might go the other way-- for people coming from the US... I am pretty disappointed with the CDC right now. I believe they squandered a huge opportunity. They announced surveillance testing for several major US cities back on Feb 14th, but the test kits they shipped were flawed--so, a huge delay in surveillance testing. https://www.genomeweb.com/pcr/cdc-re...k#.Xl0RIEpOmUk
(I read the reason for the initial delay in testing kits was because CDC wanted to design their own test.)

I have read that it is still too early to say about whether it is more widespread than thought, but analysis of the genome of the most recent covid-19 case in Seattle suggests that it may have been in the community (undetected) for 6 weeks. We will know soon when they are able to sequence some more cases and compare the evolutionary tree of the virus genome. Who's to say? Up until a few days ago they haven't been testing for it. Did the CDC really think the only way the disease could be spread was from someone coming from China? Really?

Now, I know there are folks on this board who are taking a fatalistic approach--if you are going to get it, you are going to get it so no point in worrying about it. That may be true, but if you are in a position to slow down the progression--maybe the health care system doesn't become overburdened with a huge influx of cases all at once. Keep in mind that you may have a light case of it--someone else might not. Maybe you are in a position of leadership--like a minister in a church and you can make changes to your service so that it reduces the rate in which the disease spreads in your congregation. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-51701039

And if you are just a regular person--I am sure there is still stuff you can do. Like if you haven't already received your seasonal flu shot--get one. It might prevent you from getting the seasonal flu and overburdening the health care system for something that you might be able to prevent. If you're sick, stay home. Wash your hands frequently. Wash your hands before eating. Always. Don't be using your iPhone while eating. And so on.

[ua_guy]

Still not wearing a mask. But I am much more vigilant about washing hands.

Hype and panic are good to a point. The people who went out this last weekend and cleared every shelf of toilet paper and bottled water - that's probably hysteria.

The death rate in vulnerable populations appears pretty high. That's another risk factor in addition to seasonal flu. While healthy people may only have mild symptoms, nobody seems to have immunity, so it could mean a lot of people sick and out of work for a while. I don't doubt that there will be some impact to the economy and at the very least, we will soon feel China's pain. Port deliveries in Los Angeles are already down 25% from China; that in and of itself is already creating supply chain issues.

[Singuy]

Official recommendation is to NOT BUY ANY MASKS. Healthy people are taking away sick people's ability to buy mask which will worsen the outbreak.

[disneysteve]

Official recommendation is to NOT BUY ANY MASKS. Healthy people are taking away sick people's ability to buy mask which will worsen the outbreak.

Exactly. Healthcare facilities are also having issues obtaining masks. Healthy people at no particular risk buying them is keeping people who actually need them from getting them.

[Singuy]

Exactly. Healthcare facilities are also having issues obtaining masks. Healthy people at no particular risk buying them is keeping people who actually need them from getting them.

Well right now people are just buying to scalp them on ebay. Good old fashion fear, got to love it.