COVID-19 Outbreak (Update: More than 2.9M cases and 132,313 deaths in US) (20 Viewers)

[bonnjer]

Hormel is doing it right.

Anyone's company doing hazard pay or bonuses for coming in? I'd venture most aren't.

I'll have to buy some Hormel products next time I place my Walmart grocery pickup order. I really like when companies do something like. It shows they're trying to make it not completely about money.

 

[0rion]

From what I've been reading, the answer is yes. It's still too early to make predictions though.

Didn't we start closing things down a little faster than Italy? Seems like I remember Italy letting it go a little longer before finally closing things down. Will that have any measurable difference for us?

 

[Saint_Ward]

Yeah right........so you would tell your loved one, “you don’t need oxygen or a ventilator, so go home and try not to die.”

If they don't medically need a ventilator, then you'll just do damage to their lungs for no gain.

I'm sure initial treatment is some sort of inhaler, antibiotics (to stave off Pneumonia), and something for the cough or to keep the congestion loose and productive.

Intermediate, which can be done at some Urgent Care centers, would be an oxygen treatment to help "dry out" the lungs (I think it helps a bit with that), but mainly to keep your oxygen levels high, since lung function will diminish. And it's not callous to be put on an O2 Tank and lug it around, that's what the elderly with lung problems do now. It's not easy, but it's not callous.

If it's in their lungs so bad they need to be intubated and put on a ventilator, then you do it, because the damage isn't as bad as death.

The point is the American public is kinda stupid. Too many people rush to the ER for treatment that can be better handled by your own doctor, or a much cheaper urgent care center. I will say that a lung CT scan is better than a normal X-ray, but a doctor listening to your lungs is a better judge of what you need to do, than our own uneducated (Medically) selves. The last thing you want to do, if you have mild symptoms is to go to the hospital first.. all you do is expose yourself to a higher potential of COVID-19 (like if you don't actually have it, but another respiratory illness), or you risk many other people who don't it to whatever you have.

Don't wait until you're turning blue or on death's door to go though. But don't rush there either.

 

[Saint_Ward]

Didn't we start closing things down a little faster than Italy? Seems like I remember Italy letting it go a little longer before finally closing things down. Will that have any measurable difference for us?

To a degree, yes, but I don't think we're as closed down as they are, right? I guess I don't know the details.

All I know is that mostly, I'm the only one in my household out of the house.

 

[buzd]

Didn't we start closing things down a little faster than Italy? Seems like I remember Italy letting it go a little longer before finally closing things down. Will that have any measurable difference for us?

You almost have to look at each state as it's own little country with it's own curve. They are all shutting things down at different rates with different curves, different starting points, and different results. Once you add interstate travel into the mix, things get really messy.

 

[Saint_Ward]

The mainstream media gets it from both directions. They're either promoting panic and can't be trusted or they're hiding info from us to

Okay, I don't know what to believe. Not doing adequate testing is one thing, but why would the hospitals and the state possibly fudging the numbers? Or am I misreading this?

I don't think they're fudging numbers (if you're talking about cases), but that the criteria to qualify for testing is to minimize how many negative tests we get (to maximize using tests on confirmed cases, and trace), but mild cases might slip through the cracks.

 

[bonnjer]

Don't feel bad about having people shop for you. I was in the local Amish Market trying to keep my distance but watching couples taking up space needlessly. Yes, it's much more pleasant to shop with your spouse, but these are abnormal times. The fewer people there are, the less the potential for spread.

More people need to go to something like the Grocery Pickup that Walmart offers. I used it yesterday for the first time and absolutely loved it. Going into it, I was not keen on the idea of having someone else pick out my stuff, but it was a great experience. If Walmart could hire more workers to focus on this service, they could close or strictly limit the number of shoppers coming into the actual store.

 

[Saint_Ward]

I get it’s still serious and a large number especially given our shortage. I am saying that it appears that those long lines in NYC should not be happening based on the protocol we are being told to follow when we have symptoms. Do you think a good majority of the people flooding the hospitals have had high fever and/or trouble breathing?

People panic and go to the Hospital. For those without Insurance, the ER is their only option (because they can often avoid paying).

Gov't should just have free clinics set up to quickly evaluate these cases, then recommend the ER or not.

 

[bonnjer]

FWIW, there was some talk of canceling Mardi Gras just before it got underway. But, no one really knew how widespread and where the sick people were because we had done almost no testing at that point. The lack of early testing has contributed greatly to the spread and exponential growth in cases we're seeing now.

Also, I think we were greatly detached from the whole situation. We saw the reports coming from China and elsewhere, but we just didn't think it was going to get us here, so we didn't see the need to cancel something as big as Mardi Gras. Too bad we can't turn back the hands of time, as I think cancelling would have made a world of difference for the state.

 

[Saint_Ward]

More people need to go to something like the Grocery Pickup that Walmart offers. I used it yesterday for the first time and absolutely loved it. Going into it, I was not keen on the idea of having someone else pick out my stuff, but it was a great experience. If Walmart could hire more workers to focus on this service, they could close or strictly limit the number of shoppers coming into the actual store.

One stupid thing I've noticed is how they've (well Target) limited what items you can order and pick up, vs what you have to go into the store to get. You literally have to go into the store to get soap, TP, etc. It's like, don't you want us to avoid going in the stores?? Just control the inventory, only allow people to buy one of certain things, and boom.. it works out better.

 

[Xeno]

One stupid thing I've noticed is how they've (well Target) limited what items you can order and pick up, vs what you have to go into the store to get. You literally have to go into the store to get soap, TP, etc. It's like, don't you want us to avoid going in the stores?? Just control the inventory, only allow people to buy one of certain things, and boom.. it works out better.

Controlling the inventory is easier said than done online. There's nothing stopping me from using multiple VPNs, credit cards and addresses to order multiple times the max allowed per person.

 

[DaveXA]

Also, I think we were greatly detached from the whole situation. We saw the reports coming from China and elsewhere, but we just didn't think it was going to get us here, so we didn't see the need to cancel something as big as Mardi Gras. Too bad we can't turn back the hands of time, as I think cancelling would have made a world of difference for the state.

Yes, but if you look at the discussions as far back as late January, we are already talking about it coming here. The only question at that point was how bad it would be here, but we knew it was coming based on what was going on at the time.

We just got caught flat-footed and were putting off testing as long as we could, until we no longer had a choice, which by then was too late.

FWIW, as much as was made about banning travel from China, travel from elsewhere wasn't monitored any differently than normal and no additional screening took place beyond what was typical for people passing through customs. Korea's epidemic was already well underway when my brother in laws flew back to the states and they were not asked any questions or screened for temperature checks at the airport. They could have been sick and no one would have known it.

 

[bonnjer]

LOL..

 

[Dan in Lafayette]

 

[RazorOye]

You almost have to look at each state as it's own little country with it's own curve. They are all shutting things down at different rates with different curves, different starting points, and different results. Once you add interstate travel into the mix, things get really messy.

Nate Silver was breaking it down in general geographic regions and then red/blue or Clinton/Trump states and found the following.