COVID COVID-19 Coronavirus Containment Efforts

[jbriggs444]

I find this problematic because Covid-19 is deadly to elderly, the very young and those with medical conditions. We can't tell the number of people who actually died in Covid-19 out of the total number of deaths.

It is the same for many diseases. They are deadly to the elderly, to the very young and to those with certain medical conditions. But regardless of this, with only two putative "positive" events, one is not going to improve the trustworthiness of a statistical measure greatly by carefully determining whether a particular death was or was not caused by Covid-19. One is going to improve the measure by waiting for an increased sample size.

 

[bhobba]

Local news said we should wait till next year (18 months required)

I know - there is differences in views on this. I have heard highly qualified immunologists saying the same. This is the timetable UQ is working to - we will see who is right. Fingers crossed UQ is right because everyday we seem closer to a pandemic.

Thanks
Bill

 

[eachus]

Just a post to defend (real) statistics. Computing the mortality of an epidemic by computing deaths/number of cases is wrong. Especially early in an outbreak, deaths will trail confirmed cases significantly. There are two ways to compute a reasonable estimator. If you have good data on patient recoveries you can use Deaths/(deaths+number of recoveries). If deaths occur relatively early compared to recoveries, you need an ARIMA (time series) model with different lags for deaths and recoveries.

Where does this lead for Covid-19? Given the data here: https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/ the death rate is around 9.4%. Around 10% is probably a better statement that takes into account all the variables in the figures.

 

[Ygggdrasil]

It must be tried to give us the time to develop the silver bullet - the vaccine. Groups around the world are working around the clock to get the best one. They already have it (evidently a number of groups do including the UQ group I posted about which has the patent for a fast track technique being used - but this is a global effort - when a possible pandemic is at stake who holds the patent goes out the widow - as it should)- it's just determining effectiveness and safety. The time-table is April for a vaccine to be used by first responders, then June - July for general distribution. I listen to what the UQ says on the matter - even highly credentialed immunologists saying years do not seem to be up with the latest technology we now have.

Do you have sources for these timetables? A recent press release from the university suggests that they don't expect the vaccine to be ready for clinical testing until after the middle of the year:

The group continues to work to a much-accelerated timetable to keep on track for investigational clinical testing after the middle of the year.

https://www.uq.edu.au/news/article/2020/02/significant-step’-covid-19-vaccine-quest

Testing can take a while, so it will be a while after testing begins before the vaccine is available for general distribution. This also doesn't take into account the time needed to scale manufacture of the vaccine. For example, Science reports that the UQ team would need 6 months to produce 200,000 doses of the vaccine (far fewer than would be needed to contain a worldwide pandemic).

 

[mfb]

If UQ alone can produce 200,000 in 6 months, how much can we produce globally? Several millions would cover the most critical medical staff.

 

[Ygggdrasil]

Just a post to defend (real) statistics. Computing the mortality of an epidemic by computing deaths/number of cases is wrong. Especially early in an outbreak, deaths will trail confirmed cases significantly. There are two ways to compute a reasonable estimator. If you have good data on patient recoveries you can use Deaths/(deaths+number of recoveries). If deaths occur relatively early compared to recoveries, you need an ARIMA (time series) model with different lags for deaths and recoveries.

Where does this lead for Covid-19? Given the data here: https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/ the death rate is around 9.4%. Around 10% is probably a better statement that takes into account all the variables in the figures.

This approach is also wrong. Infection with the Covid-19 virus results in many mild cases which are not reported, so your approach greatly overestimates the mortality of the disease. The WHO has cited a few studies which try to model the proportion of mild cases and estimate that the mortality of the disease (or more precisely, the infection fatality ratio or IFR) to be 0.5-1.0%. For more information, see these studies (though note that only the first has been published in a peer reviewed journal):
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0383/9/2/523
https://www.imperial.ac.uk/media/imperial-college/medicine/sph/ide/gida-fellowships/Imperial-College-2019-nCoV-severity-10-02-2020.pdf
https://institutefordiseasemodeling...ality_rates_and_pandemic_risk_assessment.html

 

[Ygggdrasil]

If UQ alone can produce 200,000 in 6 months, how much can we produce globally? Several millions would cover the most critical medical staff.

From the Science piece I cited earlier:

Even when experimental vaccines work in clinical trials, mass producing them quickly is inevitably a huge challenge. If Moderna devoted all of its vaccine manufacturing capabilities to one product, it could make 100 million doses in a year, Bancel says. Inovio can only produce 100,000 doses a year now, but is “actively speaking with a larger manufacturer,” Kim says, which could increase their output to “multimillion” doses. The Queensland team says it could make 200,000 doses in 6 months.

https://www.sciencemag.org/news/202...te-new-coronavirus-vaccines-they-may-come-too

I don't know enough about the specifics of the vaccines produces to know how easily it would be for one facility to produce a vaccine based on another group's specific vaccine technology.

 

[chemisttree]

Local news said we should wait till next year (18 months required)

During the 2009 swine flu outbreak, several countries (Australia, Great Britain and the US) promised to fulfill export orders and donations (US promised to export 10%) only to withdraw those offers until their own domestic needs were met. In the US there were manufacturing problems that seriously curtailed supply to the point that there wasn’t enough vaccine to go around for our healthcare workers. We didn’t receive vaccine from offshore until mid October, which was too late to be effective in stopping the outbreak in the US.
I believe that unless you have a domestic production capacity sufficient to fill domestic needs and they don’t have problems, not much can be guaranteed as far as projected delivery. If a country has little to no domestic production, like most of Africa, it is at the mercy of those that do. Let's hope we don’t have a repeat of 2009 here.

 

[OmCheeto]

To @chemisttree and @OmCheeto ,

@Ygggdrasil is correct in that mortality from respiratory disease is not uniform across populations. People who are elderly or with pre-existing medication conditions have much higher mortality rates from all respiratory diseases (including the common flu) than younger people or people who are in good health.

The 2 deaths in Italy as far as we know were among those who were elderly, and it may well be possible that they had other medical conditions that would have made them especially at risk from any serious respiratory infections, not just COVID-19. So we cannot conclude that somehow COVID-19 is more virulent or deadly based on such limited data.

Seems reasonable.
Btw, did you notice the odd demographics of the Singapore "confirmed infected"?
They're missing a very large age group.

I just checked the latest numbers, and there's still no one in the 3-24 age group.
I also checked the age demographics at wiki. Age groups seem fairly evenly distributed.
Anyone have a clue or guess why there is no one in that age group that is infected?

 

[chemisttree]

OVERHEARD: "When a pandemic is declared, stringent containment measures will be abandoned and priorities will shift to efficient case management and mitigation of transmission. Travel bans may still remain but will be less essential to the response."

Is it true?

I think that’s what we’re seeing in China now where positive cases are being warehoused in military barracks and convention centers. Even those emergency hospitals look suspiciously like containment facilities rather than hospitals.

https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/3870468

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.nytimes.com/2020/02/06/world/asia/coronavirus-china.amp.html

 

[chemisttree]

Btw, did you notice the odd demographics of the Singapore "confirmed infected"?
They're missing a very large age group.

View attachment 257620
I just checked, and there's still no one in the 3-24 age group.

Anyone have a clue or guess why there is no one in that age group that is infected?

It could be due to the superspreader’s contacts at church.

 

[chemisttree]

To @chemisttree

So we cannot conclude that somehow COVID-19 is more virulent or deadly based on such limited data.

Yes, I believe one of the deaths was a cancer patient. I’ve seen firsthand what treatment does to the immune system.

I said,” # of critical cases ratio to total cases approaching 40%! Something is not right there. CFR is ~5%. Not right at all.”

 

[dRic2]

Lets hope we don’t have a repeat of 2009 here.

I don't really know what happened because I was like 12 at that time. Btw I've been to the doctor today for a regular check up and at the end of the visit she said something like: "Next week we are getting it. At least I am." But she didn't seem too worried. A little bit, but not very much. Don't know if she was pretending to make me feel safer though...

 

[chemisttree]

...at the end of the visit she said something like: "Next week we are getting it. At least I am." But she didn't seem too worried. A little bit, but not very much. Don't know if she was pretending to make me feel safer though...

That is the best news I’ve heard since the beginning of this thing. If things get dire and you need something that I might be able to ship, PM me.

 

[kadiot]

Seems reasonable.
Btw, did you notice the odd demographics of the Singapore "confirmed infected"?
They're missing a very large age group.

View attachment 257620
I just checked the latest numbers, and there's still no one in the 3-24 age group.
I also checked the age demographics at wiki. Age groups seem fairly evenly distributed.
Anyone have a clue or guess why there is no one in that age group that is infected?

We need to protect our elderly from this virus. Younger people will probably just have what looks like a bad cold. Older people with chronic illnesses have a much higher risk of dying based from China CDC first major report dated February 14, 2020. Avoid unnecessary travel especially if you are above 60 years old.

 

[kadiot]

China CDC released on 14.02.2020 their first major report on Covid-19 based on 72,314 patient records & 44,672 confirmed cases in Mainland China as of 11.02.2020. The paper shows that the fatality rate gradually increases with age. For example, there were no deaths among children aged nine or younger while it stood at 0.2 percent for people aged between 10 and 39. It increased to 3.6 percent in the 60-69 age bracket before rising to 8 percent among those aged 70 to 79 and 14.8 percent among people in their 80s or older.

 

[kadiot]

Any one have a clue why there are no deaths aged nine or younger? Interesting...

 

[Rive]

Not exactly new, but interesting: Two thirds of COVID-19 cases exported from mainland China may be undetected

It would be able to explain the explosive rise in cases in the early phase once a new territory conquered.

 

[kadiot]

Not exactly new, but interesting: Two thirds of COVID-19 cases exported from mainland China may be undetected

It would be able to explain the explosive rise in cases in the early phase once a new territory conquered.

Very interesting indeed.

There's a good news. This a breakthrough. Singapore discovered an important link today between two existing COVID-19 clusters — the Grace Assembly of God church (our biggest cluster) and the Life Church and Missions church.

Cases 83 and 91 had only mild symptoms earlier, and had not been diagnosed with COVID-19. But a new serological test — which detects antibodies in the blood, instead of the virus itself — done subsequently confirmed that they had been infected earlier, and linked the two clusters together.

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/new...uVhflU9azrd2KmWk3Wd3eEtDl2vreS49luhwA1_Zm8I5I

 

[kadiot]

Anyone know where available the Mobile App which alerts you once you are near a person contracted the covid19?

 

[hagopbul]

What moderate drinking or smoking doing to its spreading inside human body

 

[mfb]

Any one have a clue why there are no deaths aged nine or younger? Interesting...

Can be just statistics. Example: If 1 in 20 infected people is 9 or younger and they have 0.1% death rate, then we expect 1 in 20,000 infections to lead to a death in that age range. Quite possible that this didn't lead to a death yet.

 

[OmCheeto]

Can be just statistics. Example: If 1 in 20 infected people is 9 or younger and they have 0.1% death rate, then we expect 1 in 20,000 infections to lead to a death in that age range. Quite possible that this didn't lead to a death yet.

It's a lot more apparent when you see the source numbers.

[ref]

 

[chemisttree]

To @chemisttree and @OmCheeto ,

@Ygggdrasil is correct in that mortality from respiratory disease is not uniform across populations. People who are elderly or with pre-existing medication conditions have much higher mortality rates from all respiratory diseases (including the common flu) than younger people or people who are in good health.

Although that’s true in COVID-19, it isn’t always the case. Swine flu 2009 had this mortality distribution:

https://www.cdc.gov/H1N1FLU/images/graphs/qa_graphC.gif

 

[morrobay]

Is there any information/data about people who are exposed to this virus but are not infected? I suppose this applies to any pathogen: That being in good health, not smoking would decrease infections from exposures. And on that subject eating a lot of raw garlic is in order.

 

[kadiot]

Is there any information/data about people who are exposed to this virus but are not infected? I suppose this applies to any pathogen: That being in good health, not smoking would decrease infections from exposures. And on that subject eating a lot of raw garlic is in order.

I have no data about people who are exposed to this virus but are not infected. I agree that smoking increases infection. The greater percentage of men compared with women with COVID-19 have died in China, and this may have been partly because more males smoke in China.

 

[kadiot]

Whether the WHO calls the Coronavirus outbreak a pandemic, however, is somewhat moot because the measures taken to prevent its spread and treat its infection remain the same no matter the label.

https://fortune.com/2020/02/25/coro...uaxvDY2QDKUg5YU9d05IlzpUo6kkOySX6legj1YhPjKTw

 

[kadiot]

Is it true that Covid-19 update shows mortality rate up to 3% the past 3 days? Anyone please share your stats?

 

[chemisttree]

I wouldn’t trust early data in recently infected areas. It takes a significant event, like unusual death rates, to diagnose a new respiratory death at the height of flu season. Over time the CFR will likely be in line with the ~2% rate of diagnosed cases unless mass testing is done like what is happening now in S Korea. When mild cases are included, that number will likely fall much closer to 1%.

 

[Mary Conrads Sanburn]

Homeland Preparedness News

U.S. braces for spread of Coronavirus on home turf
Tuesday, February 25, 2020 by Kim Riley

The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on Monday night sent Congress a total $2.5 billion emergency supplemental spending request to fight the Coronavirus outbreak, which top U.S. government officials warned will inevitably spread across the nation.

“The administration believes additional federal resources are necessary to take steps to prepare for a potential worsening of the situation in the United States,” wrote Russell Vought, acting director of OMB, in a Feb. 24 letter sent to U.S. Vice President Michael Pence, in his capacity as president of the U.S. Senate, and copied to several federal lawmakers.

[ . . . ]

###
https://homelandprepnews.com/featured/44777-u-s-braces-for-spread-of-coronavirus-on-home-turf/

 

[OmCheeto]

Is it true that Covid-19 update shows mortality rate up to 3% the past 3 days? Anyone please share your stats?

I've decided to go with the "mainland China w/o Hubei" stats, as the newbies are throwing off the "world w/o mainland China" numbers.

[ref: confirmed]
[ref: dead]

 

[Rive]

Any one have a clue why there are no deaths aged nine or younger? Interesting...

It just hit me yesterday that we have very little knowledge about the statistics what a 'common cold' would produce in a population without previous immunological experience - with other words: without that specific age group (without much mortality in this case) having contracted every possible germ in circulation.
Interesting. Maybe this one will become just another 'cold' on the long run?

 

[kadiot]

I think the takaway from this report is the following...

“The fact that asymptomatic persons are potential sources of 2019-nCoV infection may warrant a reassessment of transmission dynamics of the current outbreak. In this context, the detection of 2019-nCoV and a high sputum viral load in a convalescent patient (Patient 1) arouse concern about prolonged shedding of 2019-nCoV after recovery. Yet, the viability of 2019-nCoV detected on qRT-PCR in this patient remains to be proved by means of viral culture.”

This is an interesting quote (albeit wordy for me non-virologist/biologist) on rt-PCR. I have read a news article saying that 14% of recovered Covid-19 Patients in Guangdong Tested Positive Again. In layman's term, once a patient cured of the disease is unlikely to get reinfected. His body develops immunity against that virus.

That's how vaccine works. Vaccine is just a less toxic form of the virus that doctors introduce into us to induce the body to recognize the virus and learn to identify it quickly and kill it. Once the body recognize the virus it has resistance to it, and we call that "immunity".

So a cured patient is reinfected wasn't really reinfected, but possibly human errors in testing infections.

I think the true test of whether someone is "reinfected" or is a real virus carrier is through the use of rt-PCR and viral culture, which is way harder for me to understand. Can anyone explain rt-PCR and viral culture a bit further?

 

[bhobba]

Do you have sources for these timetables? A recent press release from the university suggests that they don't expect the vaccine to be ready for clinical testing until after the middle of the year:

I do not remember the source, but I recall reading after initial, not as rigorous testing, they hope to have a vaccine first responders can use by April and one for everyone, tested to accepted CDC standards, by June-July. When it reaches that stage the issue is producing enough. I think UQ said they could do about 200,000 doses in the following 6 months. That will of course be prioritized for Australians. So producing a world wide supply, and even a supply for just Australians, is an issue. But UQ is not the only facility that could be called upon to produce the vaccine. That IMHO is the real issue - how are we going to ramp up production for everyone. I think its solvable, but the details need to be elucidated.

Thanks
Bill

 

[bhobba]

For example, Science reports that the UQ team would need 6 months to produce 200,000 doses of the vaccine (far fewer than would be needed to contain a worldwide pandemic).

That's likely correct - I seem to recall UQ itself saying it. It's a problem for sure. Fingers crossed its solvable - I think it is - but my opinion is only as good as anyone else's. Anyone fancy a holiday in St Lucia Brisbane where the UQ is - I can tell you where the lesser known tourist hot spots (eg Mt Tambourine etc) are and the best Aussi wines to keep your spirits up (pun intended) eg (in typical wine critic over the top prose - 99 points btw - if it matters):

'The colour is an astounding density. A myriad of dried fruit panettone, lapsang, five-spice, hoisin and roasted walnut doused in espresso and bitter chocolate, reel from a core of thoroughbred intensity. An immense wine that dichotomously, despite its sheer weight, almost evaporates from the tip of the tongue and surfaces of the cheeks, while lingering endlessly.'

I have imbibed far too much of that wine over the years - its amazing.

Thanks
Bill

 

[russ_watters]

Although that’s true in COVID-19, it isn’t always the case. Swine flu 2009 had this mortality distribution:

https://www.cdc.gov/H1N1FLU/images/graphs/qa_graphC.gif

In old/weak people it is obvious that being sick usually carries more risk than in young, otherwise healthy adults. Why that sometimes reverses is less obvious:

My understanding is that what typically kills you with these sorts of diseases isn't the disease itself, it's the immune system response; fever, congestion, etc. Sometimes a disease triggers a stronger immune system response, and otherwise healthy peopl have strong immune systems, capable of more extreme responses. Therein lies the danger.

 

[jim mcnamara]

@russ_watters - what you are describing is called a cytokine storm. Ebola, a haemorrhagic infection, is an extreme example.

Somewhat technical link: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3294426/
Less jargon: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/02/140227142250.htm

 

[kadiot]

This is one of the BEST articles of the COVID19 illness. Many points are raised here, some of which I have been thinking of but didn’t feel like I was qualified to discuss.

https://www.uml.edu/news/stories/2020/coronavirus-ethics-evans.aspx?fbclid=IwAR2ykc_UDOLjbc2tHzO5YtKSLbFofqwC9yOC6DWywvjCFk7KyZ7V1Yf3Aco

 

[Rive]

This is one of the BEST articles of the COVID19 illness. Many points are raised here, some of which I have been thinking of but didn’t feel like I was qualified to discuss.

All of the resources China has deployed to impose and maintain the mass quarantine would be better invested in increasing the capacity for testing, bringing in more health workers and setting up more isolation units to treat people confirmed with the disease.

Well, I think the only reason why the authorities could reallocate the necessary equipment/personnel and maintain this was because they could partially contain the pandemic - by the enforced quarantine.

And I have a bad feeling that Europa would/will not be able to repeat this trick at this point anymore.

 

[kadiot]

@russ_watters - what you are describing is called a cytokine storm. Ebola, a haemorrhagic infection, is an extreme example.

Somewhat technical link: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3294426/
Less jargon: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/02/140227142250.htm

cytokine is a word that comes from cyto meaning "cell" and kinin meaning 'hormones'.

Cytokine is a term that is applied to protein or polypeptide mediators which is synthesized and released by cells of he immune system during the inflammation.

Cytokines are secreted by white blood cells as well as variety of other cells (fibroblasts, endothelial cells, epithelial cells, etc.) in the body in response to inducing stimuli.

There major functions are to mediate and regulate immune response and inflammatory reactions.

 

[kadiot]

Well, I think the only reason why the authorities could reallocate the necessary equipment/personnel and maintain this was because they could partially contain the pandemic - by the enforced quarantine.

And I have a bad feeling that Europa would/will not be able to repeat this trick at this point anymore.

Here are my thoughts on this:

1. Most likely, the majority of the world will get COVID19. With how fast it has been spreading, it will be a matter of time before most of the world’s population will be exposed.
2. COVID19 is seen to take its place among the other corona viruses, as in it’s “cold, flu, COVID19 season.” Meaning, unlike the very fatal H1N1, or the MERS / SARS viruses, it will be another mainstay corona virus the way the common cold and flu are.
3. Containment will not help, and will actually harm the world when we need rapid exchange of resources and information. Borders should not be closed.
4. A vaccine is being developed, but it’s in its earliest stages, and may take a year or two before it will be released.
5. Many patients in the Diamond Cruise showed they had COVID19 in their blood, but exhibited no symptoms, which is why unlike H1N1 and other deadly viruses that were quickly contained because patients were too ill to walk around, COVID19 infected patients will spread the virus without knowing as many of them are asymptomatic.
6. The world’s governments and the world’s foremost scientists are doing their best—seriously, cut them some slack.
7. This is not China’s problem—this is the world’s problem. The sooner we realize that, and quit blaming and isolating China, the sooner we can fix this.
8. Live your life. Be cautious but don’t stop living your life.

 

[bhobba]

Just watched an interview with Professor Nigel McMillen, Program Director, Infectious Diseases & Immunology, Griffith University on the Gold Coast. He confirmed UQ has given the CSIRO the vaccine so mass production can commence ASAP. His exact words were what the UQ did was literally a gold medal effort. We now just need to confirm safety and efficacy. Amazing - so maybe we will get it sooner than we think - fingers crossed.

Thanks
Bill

 

[StatGuy2000]

Here are my thoughts on this:

1. Most likely, the majority of the world will get COVID19. With how fast it has been spreading, it will be a matter of time before most of the world’s population will be exposed.
2. COVID19 is seen to take its place among the other corona viruses, as in it’s “cold, flu, COVID19 season.” Meaning, unlike the very fatal H1N1, or the MERS / SARS viruses, it will be another mainstay corona virus the way the common cold and flu are.
3. Containment will not help, and will actually harm the world when we need rapid exchange of resources and information. Borders should not be closed.
4. A vaccine is being developed, but it’s in its earliest stages, and may take a year or two before it will be released.
5. Many patients in the Diamond Cruise showed they had COVID19 in their blood, but exhibited no symptoms, which is why unlike H1N1 and other deadly viruses that were quickly contained because patients were too ill to walk around, COVID19 infected patients will spread the virus without knowing as many of them are asymptomatic.
6. The world’s governments and the world’s foremost scientists are doing their best—seriously, cut them some slack.
7. This is not China’s problem—this is the world’s problem. The sooner we realize that, and quit blaming and isolating China, the sooner we can fix this.
8. Live your life. Be cautious but don’t stop living your life.

I agree largely with the above points. All of the information about COVID-19 that we have available indicates to me that this outbreak will more closely resemble the flu, as opposed to MERS and SARS, in terms of fatality rates and the severity of the disease (despite the fact that COVID-19 comes from the Coronavirus family like MERS and SARS).

It's also worth noting that the CFS rate (that is used to estimate fatality, and is currently estimated to be around 2-3%) is based on the number of deaths out of confirmed cases of COVID-19 infection. Since the evidence is strong that many people infected exhibit no symptoms or only very mild symptoms (and thus escape detection) the true infection fatality rate (IFS) is likely far lower - again, more in line with the common flu. And there does not seem to be any evidence indicating that the virus is mutating to become either more virulent or more severe in terms of illness.

The one area where I disagree is the value of containment. Containment at this stage is still useful to slow the spread of the illness (to reduce the possibility of a more virulent mutation that could emerge) and to give more time for researchers to develop vaccines or more effective antiviral treatments for those at greatest risk of developing severe illness, even if complete containment is not possible.

 

[russ_watters]

It's also worth noting that the CFS rate (that is used to estimate fatality, and is currently estimated to be around 2-3%) is based on the number of deaths out of confirmed cases of COVID-19 infection. Since the evidence is strong that many people infected exhibit no symptoms or only very mild symptoms (and thus escape detection) the true infection fatality rate (IFS) is likely far lower - again, more in line with the common flu.

I totally agree, and I think this point gets lost in the media hype over the issue. 2-3% overall mortality would be really scary, but 2-3% of people already hospitalized is not.

Google might be able to guess whether I've ever had the flu, but I'm pretty sure my doctor has no idea.
[edit] Er; google shares that with the CDC, and with time to digest the CDC probably has a better picture of the mortality rate of the flu vs coronavirus.

[edit 2]
The Diamond Princess may be a good self-contained test. As of today, 705 cases and 4 deaths, or 0.6%. I would assume everyone onboard was tested, so the number of cases is probably reasonably solid.

One caveat is the population is not a good cross section, it leans toward high risk, with an older than typical population, at least for the passengers.

 

[Rive]

1. Most likely, the majority of the world will get COVID19. With how fast it has been spreading, it will be a matter of time before most of the world’s population will be exposed.

I do agree that with that: based on the observed behavior this virus is able to, and most likely will do that.

However, to control the spreading and limit the amount of hospitalized people to manageable amount is a must, since based on the observed behavior without control the virus is perfectly able to drown all the existing hospitals and completely jam up healthcare.

 

[kyphysics]

Is anyone here AVOIDING public places and staying home more due to this virus?

My state's primaries are coming up - lots of people going to be there in a tightly packed place...

Wondering how this things will affect elections (NO, not tryiing to get into politics - but more of a practical question and just wondering if people will abstain from stuff is all)?

I'm avoiding public bathrooms (unless emergency) and hotels now. Cancelled a trip already!

 

[bhobba]

This is not the interview I saw but is the same professor saying pretty much the same thing:
https://www.2hd.com.au/2020/02/25/b...el-mcmillan-on-the-spread-of-the-coronavirus/

BTW, as he makes clear, do not buy face masks they are 100% useless, unless you are infected in which case you should be isolated for 14 days anyway.

Thanks
Bill

 

[bhobba]

Is anyone here AVOIDING public places and staying home more due to this virus?

I am not. I am doing exactly what Professor McMillen said - wash your hands frequently, try not to touch your face, and gross things like pick your nose. And for heavens sake forget face masks - they are useless.

Thanks
Bill

 

[Rive]

Is anyone here AVOIDING public places and staying home more due to this virus?

Well, something like that. More organized shopping, no movies/concerts, less crowded trains.

Regarding face masks: only, when/if I have to visit any medical/healthcare facility - regardless if I feel sick or not.
I do know that in general use I would just mess up the rules, so it would be useless - especially since I'm not in any of the high-risk groups.

 

[StatGuy2000]

Is anyone here AVOIDING public places and staying home more due to this virus?

My state's primaries are coming up - lots of people going to be there in a tightly packed place...

Wondering how this things will affect elections (NO, not tryiing to get into politics - but more of a practical question and just wondering if people will abstain from stuff is all)?

I'm avoiding public bathrooms (unless emergency) and hotels now. Cancelled a trip already!

Absolutely not. It's important to keep in mind that the risk of someone contracting COVID-19 in the US and Canada is very low. So @kyphysics , you are not at high risk. So long as you practice basic hygiene, such as washing your hands and avoid touching your face, you should be fine.

As for the effect on elections -- that depends on how COVID-19 will play out, but I don't see much of an impact at all in the US.

And for goodness sake, there is no reason to avoid hotels or public bathrooms or cancelling your trip! That's an overreaction.

Speaking of myself, I'm living my life in exactly the same way as I've done before. No change.