COVID-19 Coronavirus Containment Efforts

  • Context: COVID 
  • Thread starter Thread starter BWV
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    coronavirus covid-19
Join the discussion
Registration is free. Ask a follow-up in this thread, or start your own.
Sign up Log in
5,481 replies · 373K views
For mobile phones, something like that exists. But there are too many different 'cable' instruments/systems so I doubt that any uniform solution would exist/would be useful.

But this seems to be a bit off-topic, unless you further elaborate its relation to the discussed situation?
 
  • Like
Likes   Reactions: kadiot
Biology news on Phys.org
Let us stay with Wuhan Coronavirus.

Further digressions will have an extremely short half-life. :oldgrumpy: We have had too many. The topic is important. The NSA and citizen band radio are not germane to the topic. Therefore: Start separate threads please.

Thanks
 
  • Like
Likes   Reactions: kadiot and chemisttree
Interview with a doctor on the front lines
‘In the segregated ward, we wear level-3 protective gear. One shift is 12 hours for a doctor and eight hours for a nurse. Since protective gear is in a shortage, there is only one set for a medical staff member a day. We refrain from eating or drinking during our shift because the gear is no longer protective once we go to the washroom.’

‘The most regretful thing to me was a pregnant woman from Huanggang. She was in very serious condition. Nearly 200,000 yuan (S$39,505) was spent after more than a week in the ICU. She was from the countryside, and the money for hospitalisation was borrowed from her relatives and friends. Her condition was improving after the use of Ecmo, and she was likely to survive. But her husband decided to give up. He cried for his decision. I wept too because I felt there was hope for her to be saved. The woman died after we gave up. And exactly the next day, the government announced a new policy that offers free treatment for all coronavirus-infected patients. I feel so sorry for that pregnant woman.

https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/e...ook-life-and-death-in-a-wuhan-coronavirus-icu
 
  • Like
  • Sad
  • Informative
Likes   Reactions: kadiot, jim mcnamara, Klystron and 1 other person
kadiot said:
"It is probable that the virus originated in bats, with pangolins being the vector into humans. In past epidemics, vectors have been pigs, chickens, ducks and camels."

Taken from:

https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/art...n3zlXCxcw_kTkyVD6d9okpEaOO7ZXGKOwWrvCD4YtcRaI
If true then how did a pangolin catch it from a bat? Are pangolins eating dead bats or do they feed on bat feces?
Or is this someone trying to stop the chinese from killing this endangered species by scaring them with this plague? What’s next?

Rhino horn?
 
What? Me worry?

So I go to my neighborhood big box supermarket/clothing/pharmacy/sporting goods/outdoor/automotive/electronics/shoe/bank/nail salon/McDonalds store... I’m sure you know the type, to get some stuff. Just to check on how people in San Antonio might be reacting to the Wuhan flu, I check out the pharmacy to try and find hand sanitizer.

S’gone! Adios! Sold out!

It begins😕. A quarantine plane landed in SA on Friday, so that might be the reason.

Oh well! Here’s how to make it:

you will need:
43 mL 70% isopropyl (still available!)
0.5 g Carbopol 940
0.38 mL Triethanolamine
~7 mL DI water

Add 43 mL of isopropanol to a small cup and slowly add the powdered Carbapol 940 with stirring. Continue stirring to completely suspend the polymer. It may take 10-15 minutes. Continue stirring and add the triethanolamine dropwise with a small syringe (no needle required). Stir until triethanolamine is uniformly mixed. Add water and stir until uniformly mixed.

There you have it. 50 mL of hand sanitizer! A lot of work for only 2 ounces so you should probably scale up a bit. I’d better not see you selling this stuff on ebay!

Oh, I totally plagiarized this recipe. Hat tip to Patrick Pham.


If you want to use ethanol instead of isopropyl alcohol you will need to get some Everclear (95% ethanol) or some USP grade. Don’t use denatured ethanol since it might contain something not good for hands like jet fuel or something (darn revenuers!). If you use Everclear, use 32 mL ethanol and 18 mL of water. I don’t think Vodka is strong enough.
 
Last edited:
  • Informative
Likes   Reactions: BillTre
Whats new in this confirmation. Arent all Coronavirus airborned like the common colds?

https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/health/health-problems/coronavirus-is-airborne-chinese-official-confirms/news-story/201218c04deb601b1b144f4cbbc4d807#.m4qig
"
It comes as a Chinese official confirmed a worrying new fact about the deadly coronavirus; infections are taking place through aerosol transmission.

It was previously understood that two main ways the virus transmitted from person to person were:

• Direct transmission: breathing in air close to an infected patient who sneezes or coughs, and

• Contact transmission: when a person touches an object tainted with the virus before infecting themselves by touching their mouth, nose or eyes.

However, over the weekend, an official in Shanghai confirmed the virus also traveled through aerosol transmission, which means it can float a long distance through the air and cause infection later when it is breathed in.

“Aerosol transmission refers to the mixing of the virus with droplets in the air to form aerosols, which causes infection after inhalation, according to medical experts,” Shanghai Civil Affairs Bureau deputy head Zeng Qun said at press briefing on Saturday, the China Daily reports."
 
chirhone said:
Whats new in this confirmation. Arent all Coronavirus airborned like the common colds?

https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/health/health-problems/coronavirus-is-airborne-chinese-official-confirms/news-story/201218c04deb601b1b144f4cbbc4d807#.m4qig
"
It comes as a Chinese official confirmed a worrying new fact about the deadly coronavirus; infections are taking place through aerosol transmission.

It was previously understood that two main ways the virus transmitted from person to person were:

• Direct transmission: breathing in air close to an infected patient who sneezes or coughs, and

• Contact transmission: when a person touches an object tainted with the virus before infecting themselves by touching their mouth, nose or eyes.

However, over the weekend, an official in Shanghai confirmed the virus also traveled through aerosol transmission, which means it can float a long distance through the air and cause infection later when it is breathed in.

“Aerosol transmission refers to the mixing of the virus with droplets in the air to form aerosols, which causes infection after inhalation, according to medical experts,” Shanghai Civil Affairs Bureau deputy head Zeng Qun said at press briefing on Saturday, the China Daily reports."
Droplet - respiratory secretions can travel 3-6 feet away due to generation of aerosols when one sneezes or coughs. Since the droplets are relatively large, they don't stay in the air very long.

Airborne (technical term) - transmission via tiny aerosolized respiratory secretions that can stay in the air like smoke for sustained periods of time. There are very few diseases that need airborne precautions: tuberculosis, measles and chicken pox are the classic ones.

Hence, aerosol is NOT always equal to airborne (in the strict sense) because if the particles are large, they can just be droplet transmission. If you use "airborne" as an adjective and not as a strict technical term, then it becomes even more confusing.
 
This would explain the mist generators and smoke cannons spewing “something” into the empty streets of Wuhan. It’s maddening not having clear and accurate information coming out of China. We get these official proclamations countered by the various social media vlogs. Now we hear from the regime that nCoV can float over long distances and infect “at later times,” whatever that means. All this and people are falsely reporting SO2 plumes from the burning bodies near Wuhan, confusing forecasts with actual measurements! 😡
I can hardly wait until we get some independent observers in there.😟
 
As Deaths Mount, China Tries to Speed Up Coronavirus Testing
In Hubei, it takes hours for samples to be sent to the laboratories and days for the results to be issued. The local health department says the labs can run 6,000 tests a day, but even with staff working around the clock, there aren’t enough laboratories to keep up with the workload. The province is seeking outside help.
If they can only run 6000 tests per day in all of Hubei (?) and if that test is needed to confirm a case (?) it is no surprise that we don't see an exponential increase any more.
4000 new confirmed cases per day from 6000 tests?
 
mfb said:
4000 new confirmed cases per day from 6000 tests?
Hi. Where did you get this 4,000 from?
 
chemisttree said:
This would explain the mist generators and smoke cannons spewing “something” into the empty streets of Wuhan. It’s maddening not having clear and accurate information coming out of China. We get these official proclamations countered by the various social media vlogs. Now we hear from the regime that nCoV can float over long distances and infect “at later times,” whatever that means. All this and people are falsely reporting SO2 plumes from the burning bodies near Wuhan, confusing forecasts with actual measurements! 😡
I can hardly wait until we get some independent observers in there.😟
Sooner or later lies will be uncovered to the world.
https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/3874013?fbclid=IwAR1_0khGpdoVLkbq5cvlbTsvs7juyLNSe5m_-_XdBrlY5aZvcX4BnD-vVwg
 
kadiot said:
Hi. Where did you get this 4,000 from?
From China's official numbers (as a list here). Since February 1 the daily increase has always been ~3000-4000. This is not split by region but Hubei has the large majority of cases.
 
  • Like
Likes   Reactions: kadiot
kadiot said:
Sooner or later lies will be uncovered to the world.
My favorite crazy theory is that “Corona” being an anagram of “Racoon“ somehow proves the virus was engineered. People should instead spend their time praying for the sick and dying.
 
  • Haha
Likes   Reactions: BWV
On a practical level, has anyone been avoiding travel spots/services, such as hotels, buses, and airports, due to this virus?

I've wondered about even eating at a buffet, where you have people touching those tongs. Greater possibility of spreading germs it feels like.
 
We don’t know full picture of this highly contagious virus. Details evolving.

https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/coronavirus-new-study-finds-incubation-period-of-up-to-24-days
 
  • Like
Likes   Reactions: chemisttree
Tghu Verd said:
I am not going to deny your right to feelings of outrage, @chemisttree. I just don't share it in this case.

If you're a history buff, you might find the idea of China (or its proxy) snaffling US IP very ironic. Peter Andreas chronicles the US Government's wholesale IP theft in his book “Smuggler Nation: How Illicit Trade Made America”, though back then - the late 18th and early 19th centuries - the main victim was Britain.

Clearly, times change, but I have no doubt that if a foreign company had IP that would help America in a crisis such as this, it would be appropriated without a second thought, esp, if that might save thousands. This is clearly a hypothetical question, but I am interested in whether you would feel outrage in such circumstances.
There is also the book "Bad Samaritans" documenting how Western , now-developed countries did not respect copyright in their tespective beginnings yet now expect poor countries to do so, making it almost impossible for those countries' economies to take off.
 
To be on topic. Why does the novel Coronavirus infect the insides of lungs causing pneumonia, while the common colds cant? What receptors do the viruses lock into?
 
chirhone said:
To be on topic. Why does the novel Coronavirus infect the insides of lungs causing pneumonia, while the common colds cant? What receptors do the viruses lock into?
ACE-2 receptors. Some are saying the differences in the expression of these ACE-2 receptors in different populations is responsible for the differences seen in incubation and outcomes.
 
Is the newly suggested 24 days incubation period just an OUTLIER?
 
kadiot said:
Is the newly suggested 24 days incubation period just an OUTLIER?
No way to tell from the study.
The ONLY mention of the incubation period in the study is this:
“The median incubation period was 3.0 days (range, 0 to 24.0 days).” (pg. 11)

That’s it! No further elaboration on this very important point. Can’t tell if this was one patient or a hundred. We have to assume they are including all data from the 1,099 records they examined. Kind of infuriating!
 
  • Like
Likes   Reactions: kadiot
This study describes the variability of expression of ACE2 in various tissues, by gender, race and smoking status. The upshot is that ACE2 is correlated with infectiveness, that one or more lung tissue types express ACE2, men express it more than women, asian men more than caucasian or African men, and that smoking status is not correlated with expression.

Time will tell if this holds true or if it is important to the infectiveness and severity.
 
chemisttree said:
No way to tell from the study.
The ONLY mention of the incubation period in the study is this:
“The median incubation period was 3.0 days (range, 0 to 24.0 days).” (pg. 11)
The paper says it's not yet a peer reviewed. It is a preprint. The media should have not used it as reference in their news report like it has been validated.
 
The Quirks and Quarks science podcast has an interesting interview with assistant professor of epidemiology at the Gillings School of Global Public Health at the University of North Carolina, Timothy Sheahan, who has been testing Remdesivir. Sheahan describes his findings when it is applied to coronaviri (is that the plural? My bad if not) and offers a perspective on nCoV.
 
  • Like
Likes   Reactions: kadiot
kadiot said:
The media should have not used it as reference in their news report like it has been validated.

It would be a wonderful world if the media was only allowed to report from validated sources, @kadiot. Kind of like PF on steroids :wink:

But at least this seems a well structured report, and given validation takes time, do you see a case for rapid research to be released in the public interest from reputable experts, rather than the report being held up by the review cycle?
 
  • Haha
Likes   Reactions: kadiot
Were the hiv link, snake, pangolin, and airborne debunked already?
 
Last edited:
Topic may need to be split...
WWGD said:
There is also the book "Bad Samaritans" documenting how Western , now-developed countries did not respect copyright in their tespective beginnings yet now expect poor countries to do so, making it almost impossible for those countries' economies to take off.
Er: They are developing much, much faster than we did (their economic growth runs double or triple ours now and growth during the industrial revolution was quite slow), precisely because they benefit from our experience. Why would they even want to repeat our mistakes and our pain? Because being corrupt would allow them to develop even a little bit faster? They're trying to have it both ways.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Likes   Reactions: kadiot