Corona Virus Now Spreading

Xraystyle

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Hey all, yeah, things really blew up around here due mostly to one very tight-knit religious organization that had a huge service which lasted more than two hours.

The status on the ground is that the students at our school are going to have a week off before starting the next semester (next week) while us teachers will still be coming in to school to do work. It was either that or give up our summer holiday. It's really unfortunate that so many cases erupted from just a few, but that's kind of the cost of living in a society that emphasizes the group! The worst part is, is that because we're between semesters, all of the new teachers just arrived in the country to start training and it's like, hi, welcome to Asia, put on this mask and let's hope the school doesn't have to totally shut down. The next week will be key!
 

Mia6

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Hey all, yeah, things really blew up around here due mostly to one very tight-knit religious organization that had a huge service which lasted more than two hours.

The status on the ground is that the students at our school are going to have a week off before starting the next semester (next week) while us teachers will still be coming in to school to do work. It was either that or give up our summer holiday. It's really unfortunate that so many cases erupted from just a few, but that's kind of the cost of living in a society that emphasizes the group! The worst part is, is that because we're between semesters, all of the new teachers just arrived in the country to start training and it's like, hi, welcome to Asia, put on this mask and let's hope the school doesn't have to totally shut down. The next week will be key!
Stay safe!!!!
 

denice

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Global markets seem to be going into a freefall because of this. The CDC is warning the U.S. that chances are good that there will be community outbreaks in the U.S.
 

donutte

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A friend of mine made a valid point about this - we can't just be concerned with the number of deaths, but also the number of hospitalizations. Apparently it's 15% in some places, and that can mean hospitals run out of beds very quickly if it hits a given area. Even with all the hospitals we have in our area, they are often running out of beds.
 

Jem

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Even with all the hospitals we have in our area, they are often running out of beds.
We already have what has been coined "hallway healthcare" where I live. Literally, some people have been kept in the hallways until a bed opens up for them, sometimes for several days at a time. It's not bad at the moment, but it would not take much to push us over the edge again. Thankfully, the risk of an outbreak in my area is not high, although obviously not impossible.
My co-worker returned from Thailand a week ago....so far so good.....
 

Jem

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Now that's something. Virus can relapse.
I wonder if this virus has the pathogenesis as viruses such as zoster or herpes simplex virus where by once infected it stays dormant in the body forever. Or worse yet if it has the pathogenesis like HIV, where your infected for life and contagious for life, but in this case, transmitted thru basic human touch rather than blood and sexual secretions.
Maybe we now have our own human version of Feline Herpes Virus. Always there and during periods of immune weakness or stress when a "flair up" happens, you are contagious to others.
 

kittyluv387

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I wonder if this virus has the pathogenesis as viruses such as zoster or herpes simplex virus where by once infected it stays dormant in the body forever. Or worse yet if it has the pathogenesis like HIV, where your infected for life and contagious for life, but in this case, transmitted thru basic human touch rather than blood and sexual secretions.
Maybe we now have our own human version of Feline Herpes Virus. Always there and during periods of immune weakness or stress when a "flair up" happens, you are contagious to others.
Maybe not even with touch. That northern Californian woman seemed to have picked it up casually from her community. Other cases as well. But I hope it's not like HIV or herpes.
 

denice

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The Corona virus that affects cats can mutate and interact with the immune system and become FIP. I know this virus is close to one found in bats rather then the one found in cats but we just don't know enough about this virus. This virus is also in a very real way a brand new virus because it has mutated when it made the jump to humans.
 

Jem

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Maybe not even with touch. That northern Californian woman seemed to have picked it up casually from her community.
I misspoke...or rather..mistyped? Anyway, what I was trying to say was transmitted thru droplet? I guess...whatever the term is for transmission of the common cold for example, where the virus transmits in the air (cough, sneeze) or on surfaces (door handles etc..)....hence why I said "basic human touch"....whether that means touching a person, something they touched or close contact with their "air space"....
Not that it really matters..I just wanted to clarify....I'm so tired, I can't think straight right now...I don't even know if my "clarification" makes sense :lol::paperbag:....sorry.
I think I need to stick to watching cat videos for the rest of the night instead of trying to have even a semblance of an intelligent conversation with anyone...;)
 

Xraystyle

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Yeah it can be transmitted through droplets such as when you sneeze or cough. I would say about 99% of people here are wearing masks when they are out in public. We get proximity alerts wherever we are if there has been a newly identified case.

It's kind of bizarre the situation here to be honest. Thankfully or unfortunately, the majority of cases are all traceable to the Christian cult, Shincheonji. The problem is is that their members are trying to keep themselves a secret, so it's hard to track every single person. Korea has a bad history of using names on lists against the people on those lists (ie former rebels, communists, even musicians and artists), which means a group like this cult are doubly secretive.

There have also been a couple of outbreaks at hospitals which is not good as both patients who are already ill and their caregivers are catching it. Almost all the deaths have been people who were already in the hospital, including a young Mongolian guy who came to Korea for an organ transplant.

Younger people with stronger immune systems are actually less likely to infect others as it's really the coughing that is spreading it and people in good health don't show strong symptoms, ie they are not coughing as much. However, one thing I notice missing from all of the public health posters that have been put up is telling people to stop spitting and smoking/vaping in public. I think people are spitting less just because they are wearing masks, but the smoking man! When you breathe out cigarette smoke, I would assume your germs probably go with it???

Anyway, life is still happening here. Honestly, I'm trying to go out more and spend money to help the small businesses stay afloat. A bunch of concerts and things have been canceled, but some of these small clubs can't afford to not have people in them during the weekend. Korea's economy was already in a slump and now that tourism money has almost completely dried up, it's gonna be a hard year.

School-wise, kids are being kept out of school until next week. I work at a private academy and we are having our teachers film video lessons to send to the kids.
 

donutte

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We already have what has been coined "hallway healthcare" where I live. Literally, some people have been kept in the hallways until a bed opens up for them, sometimes for several days at a time. It's not bad at the moment, but it would not take much to push us over the edge again. Thankfully, the risk of an outbreak in my area is not high, although obviously not impossible.
My co-worker returned from Thailand a week ago....so far so good.....
Might as well call us "halfway healthcare" too then because one time mom was admitted, she had to wait over 24 hours in a holding area of the ER, and other people were in the halls outside the rooms of the ER itself. I was told it has been worse than that at times. If we're already having this kinda thing, might as well have universal healthcare to help with paying for it! (I know, different convo for a different thread) And this was all pre-outbreak!

"Potentially making it even harder to eradicate, a growing number of discharged coronavirus patients in China and elsewhere are testing positive again, sometimes weeks after being allowed to leave the hospital."

Now that's something. Virus can relapse.

Global downturn looms as countries struggle to contain coronavirus outbreak
Now THAT is kinda freaky.
 

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denice

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I just saw that we have the first death in the U.S. in Washington State. I also saw that they have the second case in California that is not related to someone that had been or had close contact with someone who had recently been in China.
 

vyger

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There were some interesting studies done on the 1918 Spanish flue that were forensic in nature. In other words they applied modern science and took a look back in history. One of the very significant things they discovered was that many of the people who died from it had TB, some progressive, active and apparently some cases that had not even become detectable. If you google it you can find a lot of articles on it such as this one. The 1918 influenza pandemic hastened the decline of tuberculosis in the United States: An age, period, cohort analysis

It is probably to early to know yet but something that would be a possible risk factor in the mortality of this virus could be smoking and vaping. Vaping has already created it's own medical crisis. If / when these people get hit with this virus it will likely be them that are at higher risk of dying from it. Maybe quitting smoking now would be a good idea so you can have enough time to heal up before this virus hits in force.
 
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