COVID-19 Outbreak (Update: More than 2.9M cases and 132,313 deaths in US) (25 Viewers)

[superchuck500]

The Proximal Origin of SARS-CoV-2

Pre-print (not yet peer-reviewed addressing the "virus is man-made" theories. Unfortunately, much of the content is technical and not written for the layman. Skip down to the "Theories of SARS-CoV-2 origins" section about halfway down:



This peer-reviewed paper (Nov 9, 2015) was cited after the words "previously used virus backbone". Of interest therein, the abstract which I have spoiler-boxed for length:

See more

The emergence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS)-CoV underscores the threat of cross-species transmission events leading to outbreaks in humans. Here we examine the disease potential of a SARS-like virus, SHC014-CoV, which is currently circulating in Chinese horseshoe bat populations. Using the SARS-CoV reverse genetics system, we generated and characterized a chimeric virus expressing the spike of bat coronavirus SHC014 in a mouse-adapted SARS-CoV backbone. The results indicate that group 2b viruses encoding the SHC014 spike in a wild-type backbone can efficiently use multiple orthologs of the SARS receptor human angiotensin converting enzyme II (ACE2), replicate efficiently in primary human airway cells and achieve in vitro titers equivalent to epidemic strains of SARS-CoV. Additionally, in vivo experiments demonstrate replication of the chimeric virus in mouse lung with notable pathogenesis. Evaluation of available SARS-based immune-therapeutic and prophylactic modalities revealed poor efficacy; both monoclonal antibody and vaccine approaches failed to neutralize and protect from infection with CoVs using the novel spike protein. On the basis of these findings, we synthetically re-derived an infectious full-length SHC014 recombinant virus and demonstrate robust viral replication both in vitro and in vivo. Our work suggests a potential risk of SARS-CoV re-emergence from viruses currently circulating in bat populations.

Re: your spoiler - well isn’t it convenient that the virus is basically already named SARS2.

 

[Doug B]

Coronavirus Update: 346 Americans Emerge From Quarantine At California Military Bases (NPR)

Some 346 Americans who were evacuated from Wuhan, China, amid the deadly coronavirus outbreak emerged from their quarantine at two military bases in California on Tuesday, U.S. officials say.

The group includes 180 Americans who have been living under a mandatory quarantine order at Travis Air Force Base, roughly 40 miles southwest of Sacramento, and 166 U.S. citizens who have been living at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar near San Diego.

"One person from the MCAS Miramar group who is confirmed to have COVID-19 remains under care at a local hospital," the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a statement sent to NPR.

All of the other U.S. evacuees "have been medically cleared and CDC officials have lifted their quarantine orders," said Jason McDonald, a CDC press officer.

These 346 Americans, having been in Wuhan during the outbreak and now released back to private life on American soil, are going to teach us a lot about this virus. One thing to see is if any of these 346 will end up presenting with COVID-19 after an especially long incubation period. If people really are getting sick 3 or 4 weeks after exposure (or longer), we'll soon know.

 

[Charlie Brizzown]

Coronavirus Update: 346 Americans Emerge From Quarantine At California Military Bases (NPR)



These 346 Americans, having been in Wuhan during the outbreak and now released back to private life on American soil, are going to teach us a lot about this virus. One thing to see is if any of these 346 will end up presenting with COVID-19 after an especially long incubation period. If people really are getting sick 3 or 4 weeks after exposure (or longer), we'll soon know.

Let’s hope the CDC knows their stuff. All those people went straight to the airport to go back to their homes.

 

[Doug B]

New cases in Japan popping up in various prefectures and cities.

Where did you see this?

 

[Doug B]

Coronavirus death rate in Wuhan may reflect "severe" pressure on health care system, official says (CNN, scroll down to find article)

February 18, 2020 coronavirus news

The novel coronavirus has infected more than 73,000 people around the world, mostly in mainland China. Follow our live news coverage for the latest updates.

www.cnn.com

Numbers suggesting death rates from coronavirus may be higher inside Wuhan and lower elsewhere may reflect "severe" pressure on the health care system there, Mike Ryan, executive director of the World Health Organization's Health Emergencies Programme, told reporters Tuesday.

Ryan was responding to a report published Monday by scientists with the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, showing that patient outcomes in Hubei province are a key driver of the 2.3% case fatality rate they calculated. In Hubei, that number is 2.9%; in other Chinese provinces, that number is 0.4%.

 

[superchuck500]

Where did you see this?

The BNO tracker - today's detail:

• 13:10: 1 new case in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. (Source)
• 12:03: 3 new cases in Wakayama Prefecture, Japan. (Source)
• 12:02: 1 new case in Aichi Prefecture, Japan. (Source)
• 12:01: 3 new cases in Tokyo, Japan. (Source)

Tracking coronavirus: Map, data and timeline

The table below shows cases of coronavirus (officially known as SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19, or 2019-nCoV) around the world. Each figure is verified by our team through local health departments or local media. A distribution map and a timeline with a list of recent updates can be found below the table...

bnonews.com

 

[superchuck500]

Coronavirus death rate in Wuhan may reflect "severe" pressure on health care system, official says (CNN, scroll down to find article)

February 18, 2020 coronavirus news

The novel coronavirus has infected more than 73,000 people around the world, mostly in mainland China. Follow our live news coverage for the latest updates.

www.cnn.com

Absolutely - which is why any attempt at a "mortality rate" at this point is silly.

 

[Doug B]

The BNO tracker - today's detail:

• 13:10: 1 new case in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. (Source)
• 12:03: 3 new cases in Wakayama Prefecture, Japan. (Source)
• 12:02: 1 new case in Aichi Prefecture, Japan. (Source)
• 12:01: 3 new cases in Tokyo, Japan. (Source)

That jibes with WorldOMeters reporting eight new cases in Japan today.

Just found WorldOMeters.info today ... it appears to be a really good one-stop shop, especially for country-by-country data.

 

[bclemms]

Edit: Fake news site, ignore.

Not sure about source. Never heard of them but rest of news stories look legit. Going to assume it's wrong until another source verifies.

BREAKING NEWS: Eight test positive for coronavirus in Nashville - Tennessee News Today

They have been quarantined.

cbtvn.com

 

[Doug B]

Japan does seem to be doing really well with treatment -- out of 74 cases identified to date, 20 have already recovered versus one death.

 

[Doug B]

Not sure about source. Never heard of them but rest of news stories look legit.
htt ps: / / cbtvn.com/nashville-tv-coronavirus/

Known fake news site.

 

[bclemms]

Japan does seem to be doing really well with treatment -- out of 74 cases identified to date, 20 have already recovered versus one death.

28 of those cases came in the last 3 days and 50 in the last week.

 

[bclemms]

Known fake news site.

Thanks, figured it probably was but was retweeted by a local Nashville area paper so wasnt sure.

 

[Doug B]

New American COVID-19 cases will always make immediate headline news in traditional media. You'll see it on the major TV networks' news websites, on CNN, CNBC, AP, Reuters, BBC, etc.

 

[Doug B]

Thanks, figured it probably was but was retweeted by a local Nashville area paper so wasnt sure.

Oof**

We aren't skeptics for our health, ya know. Or ... ah, you know what I mean


** not aimed at bclemms, but at the Nashville paper's Twitter staffer.