COVID-19 & US healthcare system

[SilverFang01]

So the virus has finally reached our shores with the first case of unknown origin in California and the possibility of several more cases out there thanks to the insistence of the administration in bringing people from the affected zones without proper quarantine procedures in place or even the appropriate equipment.

The president* yesterday called for a press conference where it seems he was hoping to and I quote “try to the kill the virus with pure incoherence,” and naming Vice President Mike Pence who when he was governor managed to enable an HIV outbreak, and until as recent as 2000 was still writing articles denying a link between cigarette smoking and lung cancer.

That makes me feel secure. But then again, we are witnessing the apotheosis of 40 years of conservative philosophy with regards to government, which for one led to the dismantling of the CDC pandemic response teams.

I pray that this doesn’t get worse.

[Rajvik]

alright silverfang, slow your "orange man bad" roll right there.
First, several people came back before THE DAMN CHINESE ADMITTED A DAMN THING where this virus is concerned.
second, when we did find out about it, ANY ONE COMING IN FROM INFECTED ZONES WAS QUARANTINED for the the suggested two or more weeks, even to their own complaints.
third, The quarantined people have been isolated to military bases and when showing signs of being sick, isolated even more.

Now, maybe you should find some better, (or at lest not adblocked) sites to reference because i can't read a single one of those sites without having to pay or disable my adblocker which i WONT do, but i see, Sacramento Bee, Washington Post, 2 from Vox and one from the Huffington Post. the only one there that i can't verify hates the current administration is the Sacramento Bee, and thats because i assume it's a local paper, the rest however are pretty much the top of the Hate Trump Media along with MSNBCNN

[Matrix Dragon]

Oh man, you guys are in for a bad time...

[Matrix Dragon]

Meanwhile, down here, in what is likely an attempt to fix his image after the bushfire crisis but I'll take it, our PM has activated emergency plans for a possible pandemic, along with emergency funding for organisations like the CSIRO to focus their efforts on it. So far, it appears Australias quarantine efforts are working, but a number of experts have said it's unlikely to last, given what's being discovered about how the disease works.

[Labster]

I don't know why you all are worried about the virus. President Trump already said the markets will recover.

[Labster]

And of course, the stock market lost like 1200 Dows today, the most Dows ever lost in a single day. The last three days have evaporated the gains of the last eighteen months. Meanwhile, as a proud investor in cash, I'm doing just fine. Cash: it's everything money can buy!

The Sac Bee is owned by McClatchy, which is in the bankruptcy process, and will probably be owned by the National Enquirer soon enough.

Meanwhile, I'm stocking up on food and essentials, so I can avoid going outside in the long quarantine season ahead. Working at home has its advantages. Best case scenario, I'm finally prepared for an earthquake. I probably need to get some of that cash in paper form for the worst case scenario. It's almost too late to buy masks already, but I have a few of the good ones saved from painting jobs. And just refilled all my prescription medications -- do that now if you can, you want to avoid places where the ill gather.

So prepper up everyone! We can't trust this government to handle a real crisis, so we need to rely on ourselves.

[robkelk]

It's almost too late to buy masks already, ...

Too many people are buying masks that they don't need - which means the hospitals, who do need them, can't get them because of lack of stock.

If you're going to self-quarantine, then you don't need masks at all. You won't be getting close enough to somebody to spread any bugs anyway.

Spend the money on something useful, such as an extra gallon of water or a couple of cans of food you can eat without cooking it.

[SilverFang01]

Health secretary Alex Azar won’t promise that a coronavirus vaccine would be affordable

Dear farmers and others who have to buy their own insurance, who live in states that refuse to expand Medicaid and to all who have done everything they can to preserve the "market based" healthcare system.

The Emperor appreciates your sacrifice.

[Dartz]

The public expect the healthcare system to utterly implode the moment it starts biting here.

It's basically imploding now.

So yeah.

[classicdrogn]

Well, those liberal types keep complaining about overpopulation and so on, don't they? A quick plague is a great way to cut things back as long as no one important dies. Why, if they can't afford a mere few hundred or thousand dollars for a magic needle prick, better off without 'em. Great for unemployment, and a great justification not to shake the proles' hands or kiss babies while campaigning too! /sarcasm

[Matrix Dragon]

And now he's claiming it's a political hoax, exaggerated to make him look bad. Unfortunately, it won't just be his cultist followers that get killed from listening to him.

[SilverFang01]

U.S. reports first drug shortage tied to coronavirus outbreak

The U.S. insisted on developing its own Coronavirus test, even though the WHO already had one that worked.

Then the U.S.'s test didn't work. And now, it's dangerously behind in proactively testing for an outbreak.

Key Missteps at the CDC Have Set Back Its Ability to Detect the Potential Spread of Coronavirus

Trump says the coronavirus is the Democrats' 'new hoax'

When an epidemic like coronavirus hits a country like the US, with no guaranteed paid time off for workers and bosses that can fire people for calling in sick. "Don't go to work sick" isn't that simple.

[SilverFang01]

I wish I hadn’t used my daily supply of facepalms already:
Anti-Vaxxers Are Terrified the Government Will 'Enforce' a Vaccine for Coronavirus

[SilverFang01]

The Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP) at the University of Minnesota looks like a good resource for information. The site has a section about COVID-19 with original content and aggregates additional useful information from authoritative sources. The site has information for a wide audience like the general public, businesses, and researchers

http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/covid-19

[robkelk]

We may have passed the tipping point in the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak

"I think for Canada, the place we're really connected to is the United States," [Dr. David Fisman, Professor of Epidemiology, University of Toronto] said. While he has great respect for his public health colleagues in the U.S., "Some of the politics there really looks ... from this side of the border, like it might be interfering with their outbreak response."

He also points to technical problems the U.S. Centers for Disease Control has had with testing kits, that may have hampered their ability to test as thoroughly as we're doing in Canada, which, he said, "To my mind suggests they're probably missing a lot more cases than we are."

Also, video.

[robkelk]

Washington state declares a state of emergency after one COVID-19 death

If you need to declare a state of emergency because a single person dies, your emergency response plans need a serious overhaul. (I know that declaring a SoE gets federal funds. That's a bug, not a feature - funds need to be available without needing to flip the switch that lets the government call out the Army.)

[Dartz]

My office is at one end of a corridor and shares a lift with a local clinic. A local secondary school ten minutes walk from the office has been closed due to some kid getting it. There're people walking past in masks.

Yeah. I'm going to get this.

Hail Nurgle.

[Labster]

Well, I’ll miss you. At least you won’t have to live through Trump’s second term. Always look on the bright side of life. *whistle*

[Matrix Dragon]

First fatality down here, along with confirmed cases of local human to human transmission. Fun times ahead.

[hazard]

Meanwhile, in the Netherlands; 18 confirmed cases and the approach of the Dutch health care system is 'we got this'. No boasting, no moaning, no panic. Just 'we got this', and 'while we're at it, could you make our lives easier by doing these sensible things?'

I'd link the RIVM's (roughly translated; National Institute for Public Health and Wellbeing) page on COVID-19, but it's entirely in Dutch.

[Matrix Dragon]

The Australian government is trying for that, but the mess they made of the bushfire crisis is hampering the efforts, along with their attempts to defund large parts of the medical sector over the past few years.

[Bad Moon]

Washington state declares a state of emergency after one COVID-19 death

If you need to declare a state of emergency because a single person dies, your emergency response plans need a serious overhaul. (I know that declaring a SoE gets federal funds. That's a bug, not a feature - funds need to be available without needing to flip the switch that lets the government call out the Army.)

We're at six now here in WA, first one was about twenty miles from my house

Edit: Now at 9!

[SilverFang01]

Fed makes largest emergency cut to interest rates since the financial crisis

This does not seem wise. This will give just a temporary boost to the stock market but from what I have read, analysts think that a recession will be more like the oil shock of the 70s than a credit crunch like 2008.

[robkelk]

Actually, the markets dropped after the rate cut was announced.

I don't know what that was supposed to accomplish, actually. It made sense in 2008 - dropping the interest rate got people making big-ticket purchases again. This time around, no amount of cheaper (or free) money is going to get somebody to sit in an aircraft beside someone who might be contagious.

[Dartz]

We went from 1 over the weekend to 13.

Which proves what I've been thinking. It's been scuttering around unnoticed for the last couple of weeks and was only found in the community when someone turned into hospital for unrelated reasons and didn't respond to treatment.