COVID-19 is starting to appear here in the Bay Area, so here are some more links that are worth checking out. (I’ve updated this post with newer information.)
The best way to prevent illness is to avoid being exposed to this virus. However, as a reminder, CDC always recommends everyday preventive actions to help prevent the spread of respiratory diseases, including:
Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth.
Stay home when you are sick.
Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash.
Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces using a regular household cleaning spray or wipe.
Follow CDC’s recommendations for using a facemask.
CDC does not recommend that people who are well wear a facemask to protect themselves from respiratory diseases, including COVID-19.
Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after going to the bathroom; before eating; and after blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing.
If soap and water are not readily available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol. Always wash hands with soap and water if hands are visibly dirty.
The virus’s high rate of transmission means containment measures — such as wearing masks, keeping a distance from infected people and implementing quarantines if people are exposed — must block more than 60 percent of transmissions in order to effectively control the outbreak, which is difficult.
I hope that everyone is taking the coronavirus seriously. It’s here in the Bay Area (tracker), and it takes up to 14 days to show symptoms, so it’s a good idea to take precautions now, because once the numbers go up, it will mean that we’ve already been in an exposed environment for a while.
Here is what the CDC says about it:
I’ve cancelled the meetups and set things up so that I can stay home and isolate myself as much as possible for most of the next two weeks, until there is more information.
Proactive social distancing during the 1918 flu pandemic made a difference in mortality rates:
I’ve been reading about it for a few days, and it seems urgently important to reduce contact so that the rate of spread slows down.
Reddit has a sub, r/Coronavirus, that is worth checking out.
There is a case in Contra Costa County:
Health officials there also warned residents 50 and over and those with serious health conditions to avoid large public gatherings.
“The risk increases with age,” said Dr. Sara Cody, Santa Clara County’s health officer. “We are recommending people at higher risk avoid mass gatherings.”
If there is anyone out there who isn’t following the coronavirus news, I recommend spending some time reading about it. Our lives might be about to change in ways we have never seen in our lifetimes. The US response has been terrible so far.
It just reached San Francisco, which means that the people were probably carrying it around without symptoms for up to 14 days.
In Washington State, there are some recommendations for people who are at higher risk:
Public Health recommends that people at higher risk of severe illness should stay home and away from large groups of people as much as possible. This includes public places with lots of people and large gatherings where there will be close contact with others. This includes concert venues, conventions, sporting events, and crowded social gatherings.
People at higher risk include people:
Over 60 years of age
With underlying health conditions including include heart disease, lung disease, or diabetes
With weakened immune systems
Who are pregnant
Caregivers of children with underlying health conditions should consult with healthcare providers about whether their children should stay home. Anyone who has questions about whether their condition puts them at risk for novel coronavirus should consult with their healthcare providers.
There are probably more cases than reported, because people aren’tbeingtested.
This is far far worse than the flu. Please don’t wait to start taking precautions.
This is a good message about social distancing, even in these early days of the situation:
There is now a #coronavirus channel in the chatroom. (If anyone reading this doesn’t have access to the chatroom, send me a private message here in the forum.)
The Twitter thread below is worth reading:
By this estimate, by about May 8th, all open hospital beds in the US will be filled. (This says nothing, of course, about whether these beds are suitable for isolation of patients with a highly infectious virus.)…If we’re wrong by a factor of two regarding the fraction of severe cases, that only changes the timeline of bed saturation by 6 days in either direction. If 20% of cases require hospitalization, we run out of beds by ~May 2nd.
I’ve been looking for 91% isopropyl alcohol to try that, but haven’t been able to find any, even online.
This article doesn’t give details, but it has some skepticism about the effectiveness of homemade hand sanitizer:
Professor Sally Bloomfield, at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, says she does not believe you could make an effective product for sanitising hands at home - even vodka only contains 40% alcohol.
