news Covid19-Coronavirus updates and news

[Mister Funsky]

Having relatives and friends scattered all over the globe, I am getting an overload of input (some on the record and some off the record).

My intention for this thread is for community members from around the world to post first hand stories and/or links to information sources that, for the most part, should be reliable.

In my community, just outside a major southeastern city, 'assets' have been placed. Only because I have friends in both high and low places have I heard about some of this. At this point it is only some basic medical supplies that should be equally distributed anyway in preparation for a natural emergency (hurricane/wildfire/etc.).

I will start with posting a link to a site with current data that seems to come from an aggregate of sources and hope others will do the same as they come across similar sites/pages.

Because of the 'typhoid Mary' spread-ability of this disease, I feel we may be in for a really large spread globally which will impact the global economy and through extension, retail domain prices.

One thing is for sure...things will get worse before they get better.

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/usa-coronavirus/

 

[DanSanchez]

I just emailed the Washington State AG with examples of WA sellers price gouging on eBay.

Also found a relevant article from last fall: https://mynorthwest.com/1501485/washington-state-price-gouging-laws-mckenna/?

Next up, FL, who already does have a law on the books....

Price gouging aka making scarce products available for higher prices due to market demand. Being from Florida, I can tell you this helped my family survive a few hurricanes. People would take ALL the water and not leave any for the rest. Some stores thankfully raised the prices so we could get some. The law ruined that for most Floridians.

 

[blockhead]

Price gouging aka making scarce products available for higher prices due to market demand. Being from Florida, I can tell you this helped my family survive a few hurricanes. People would take ALL the water and not leave any for the rest. Some stores thankfully raised the prices so we could get some. The law ruined that for most Floridians.

I see what you're saying, but imho it's different when opportunists are buying out the stores and re-selling at a 5-10x markup.

The only winner is the re-seller, who makes a better profit than they would if they were selling drugs on the street.

Example: right now in FL, someone just sold 8 oz of hand sanitizer for $45. EIGHT OUNCES. That is immoral, and a great example of why these laws are put in place. Should only the wealthy be able to get ahold of hand sanitizer, etc? The stores will not be able to stock shelves for actual Floridians if this continues.

 

[DanSanchez]

I see what you're saying, but imho it's different when opportunists are buying out the stores and re-selling at a 5-10x markup.

The only winner is the re-seller, who makes a better profit than they would if they were selling drugs on the street.

Example: right now in FL, someone just sold 8 oz of hand sanitizer for $45. EIGHT OUNCES. That is immoral, and a great example of why these laws are put in place. Should only the wealthy be able to get ahold of hand sanitizer, etc? The stores will not be able to stock shelves for actual Floridians if this continues.

Well I have experienced the opposite, being an opportunist is often a good thing. For example, you are a domain opportunist. Sanitizer is not water, so it's unlikely stores will limit purchases. I took several bottles that will last months of use. If the price were higher to reflect demand, I would have taken less. Opportunists are critical in times of scarcity. Just like domainers play a crucial part in the world market, the laws just victimize a normal activity that benefits buyers and sellers. The only winner there is the state.

 

[blockhead]

Agree to disagree my friend!

No room for this in times of disaster, imho. In my view, domains are not comparable.

 

[Mister Funsky]

Example: right now in FL, someone just sold 8 oz of hand sanitizer for $45. EIGHT OUNCES.

I feel sorry for the person that paid that much...hand sanitizer is very easy and cheap to make (someone posted the formula earlier in this thread).

 

[blockhead]

Apparently the wealthy prefer to just pay up and go on with their lives.

I highly doubt that the average low-mid income citizen can afford such prices, or knows how to make proper sanitizer. I'm sure if you find the right recipe, it can work just fine, but it can also be made improperly.

Many will inadvertently follow recipes that aren't as effective as the store-bought stuff - or perhaps not effective at all. A legit hand sanitiser needs to have at least 60% alcohol to be effective. Not everyone knows that, and as we know there is TONS of bad info out there on the interwebs.

Do homemade hand sanitisers actually work? We ask the doctors

Btw the poverty rate in Florida is ~14%. Those folks can hardly afford the basic necessities in a good/normal month.

 

[Mister Funsky]

Apparently the wealthy prefer to just pay up and go on with their lives.

I highly doubt that the average low-mid income citizen can afford such prices, or knows how to make proper sanitizer. I'm sure if you find the right recipe, it can work just fine, but it can also be made improperly.

Yes, the rich. I encourage those with plenty of money to spend as much as possible...regardless of the season or the reason.

As far as hand sanitizer goes, it's pretty easy. There are several variations but this is the one used by a relief organization one of my relatives works with:

Combine in a bowl:
⅔-cup rubbing alcohol (99% isopropyl alcohol)
⅓-cup aloe vera gel.
Stir. Decant into a clean pump bottle (old soap bottle works great).

If fragrance is desired, just add a few drops of essential oil.

 

[blockhead]

Sounds simple enough. Hopefully people get proper recipes, and can find the 99% alcohol. Today at my local Ohio Walmart, the 99% stuff was completely sold out. I can't imagine it'll be much easier to find than hand sanitizer in areas of truly high demand. The secret's out!

Unfortunately, I think the poor are generally simply going to go without, which causes further problems for everyone. If this continues on, the poor are going to be left with very little food, no bottled water, no masks, no sanitizer, etc. It's a recipe for a huge disaster. In FL alone, we're talking ~3 million people in poverty. Millions more still live paycheck-to-paycheck, and on an average day have little to no extra food/water "stocked up".

 

[Mister Funsky]

Sounds simple enough. Hopefully people get proper recipes, and can find the 99% alcohol. Today at my local Ohio Walmart, the 99% stuff was completely sold out.

I've also heard it is getting hard to find it in other areas as well...but truth be told, unless there is a need to sanitize the skin for some reason (injury, etc) good old ivory soap, warm water and vigorous scrubbing is all we need to do...keeping hands/fingers away from the eyes and mouth are biggies as well. Most people do not let their hands completely dry when using the alcohol based products before touching surfaces...this can render the whole process useless....also a little squirt is not enough...the hands must be completely covered. To me it is easier to use soap...I only use the alcohol based gels when I am driving (use drive thru) or have the need to snack on something and I am too lazy to get up and wash my hands.

 

[Cal2]

Show attachment 146307

Notice there huge difference in age groups here.
Baby's don't eat meats, chicken and fish. Parents tend to go more natural like vegetables and fruits.
Those three are injected with steroids and growth hormones including antibiotics which lower our own body's abilities to fight off infections.
So the age old saying...
"Feed a cold, starve a fever.” The classic saying suggests that a cold can be squashed with adequate food intake, while a fever will burn off faster if you, well, fast. ... The idea was that eating more could help raise the body's temperature and thus kick the cold.

Might be the Vietnam cure along with oxygen saturation.

With many Chinese having lived with a lot of air pollution, I wonder how that also might have affected the illness and death #s.

https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/2/21161324/coronavirus-quarantine-china-maps-air-pollution

 

[blockhead]

Two cases of coronavirus confirmed in Atlanta Georgia

(same household; one had traveled to Milan, Italy)

We're now up to 12 US states.


Here in Ohio, they've tested a grand total of 7 people. Kinda unnerving, really.

As I was driving today I heard an ad about coronavirus on the radio. My first thought was oh great, finally a PSA about proper hand washing, etc? Nope, just another Bloomberg ad, lol.

 

[Mister Funsky]

I just decided to check my medicine cabinet to see what may or may not be there and discovered my digital thermometer will likely never give another accurate reading (my current temp, according to the device, is about 180 degrees Fahrenheit). It's probably time to get another one.

So I did a search and found this info that may be helpful:

"The best thermometers for cold and flu"
https://www.cnet.com/news/best-thermometers-for-you-and-your-entire-family/

 

[blockhead]

I just decided to check my medicine cabinet to see what may or may not be there and discovered my digital thermometer will likely never give another accurate reading (my current temp, according to the device, is about 180 degrees Fahrenheit. It's probably time to get another one.

Ha! Thanks for the reminder-- need to check mine also.

With many Chinese having lived with a lot of air pollution, I wonder how that also might have affected the illness and death #s.

https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/2/21161324/coronavirus-quarantine-china-maps-air-pollution

Could certainly see that being a factor! Though it's unnerving to see that Italy's current death rate is pretty high also at 2.5%, according to the Johns Hopkins tracker. A couple other countries currently faring even worse, but again, it's still so early that I'm not sure much can really be ascertained from the numbers yet.

China 3.67%
Iran 4.4%
USA 5.7%
France 1.57%
Germany 0%
Spain 0%
Singapore 0%
Hong Kong 2%
South Korea 0.5%

Of course, all these numbers are just preliminary, so it's hard to say what they might look like a year from now. Perhaps they could even rise in some cases, if hospitals run out of room -- or they might drop like a rock if we can narrow down effective treatments. The generally low "recovered" number is certainly a little worrisome.

 

[SirDrago]

With many Chinese having lived with a lot of air pollution, I wonder how that also might have affected the illness and death #s.

https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/2/21161324/coronavirus-quarantine-china-maps-air-pollution

Absolutely astonishing, thank you for sharing this. Keeping in mind that most manufacturers closed to prevent further spread of the virus once this gets under control they will start those pollution burning plants right back up.
As long as the USA is the number 1 buyer of their cheaply made goods we shouldn't complain.
Let's face it, the USA is leading the arguement that China is the biggest reason for pollution yet cargo ships are docking at our ports with their products as you read this.
At the end of the day it's all about the money.

"If" the numbers that address coming out of China are in fact actual, it seems they got a grasp on the spreading aspect of it.
Italy is a mess, seems that several cases can be traced to Italy. Effective today 100% of travelers coming in or out must be scanned.... Too little, too late. IMO

 

[blockhead]

New York City doctor says he has to ‘plead to test people’ for coronavirus

“I’m here to tell you, right now, at one of the busiest hospitals in the country, I don’t have it at my fingertips,” he said. “I still have to make my case, plead to test people. This is not good. We know that there are 88 cases in the United States. There are going to be hundreds by the middle of the week. There’s going to be thousands by next week. And this is a testing issue.”

“In New York state, the person who tested positive is only the 32nd test we’ve done in this state,” he said. “That is a national scandal.”

“They’re testing 10,000 a day in some countries, and we can’t get this off the ground,” McCarthy said. “I’m a practitioner on the firing line, and I don’t have the tools to properly care for patients today.”

In South Korea, health officials have tested more than 100,000 people amid an outbreak that has infected more than 4,000 people in the country and killed 22.

 

[enlytend]

Lack of testing in the US is insane. This is really scary - one high-risk individual's experience with testing (or lack thereof) in Washington state.
This person works in health care.
https://twitter.com/into_the_brush/status/1234685467682979840?s=21

I read S. Korea has drive-thru testing. I like that idea - better than putting people in a waiting room where they can spread even more germs (COVID, flu, colds ...)

Times that I'm really glad that I work remotely!

 

[SirDrago]

92,292 confirmed cases of the Corona virus world wide.

If it cost 100 million for a pharmaceutical company to create a cure that means each person would have to be charged
100,000,000 ÷ 92,292 =
1,083.5175313137
That's just a break even point.

So my question is...
How incentivized are the big pharmaceutical companies to break even?
You think they'll do it for recognition?

 

[blockhead]

Lack of testing in the US is insane. This is really scary - one high-risk individual's experience with testing (or lack thereof) in Washington state.
This person works in health care.
https://twitter.com/into_the_brush/status/1234685467682979840?s=21

Yikes! What a mess.

Sounding more and more like not only negligence, but willful negligence.

Almost sounds like our government is actually literally trying to wipe out those with so called "pre-existing conditions"

Might not be so far-fetched considering who's in charge. For one, Alex Azar (who's more or less heading up the goverment's "response") is a pharma lobbyist with a rather sordid history (if you don't know, look it up). Coincidence? I think not.

 

[Mister Funsky]

Very active day...rate drops to keep market from free falling...might or might not work. Updates have come to a crawl...things that make you go, hmmmmmm.

 

[blockhead]

Today I wrote a letter calling for purchases of items like hand sanitizer to be limited to 2 or 4 per person. Stopped by my local grocery stores and pharmacies and gave it to the managers on duty, along with examples of local residents in my town re-selling these products in bulk on eBay at 5-10x retail. All four stores I've stopped at so far were 100% out of sanitizer, with some expressing doubt as to when they will get more in.

I found that one chain in Texas is limiting such purchases- which I also printed out along with my letter.
H-E-B limits hand sanitizer purchases amid coronavirus concerns in US

I will be following up daily to see if anyone takes action. I'll also be contacting local officials and local media to bring attention to the issue.

If anyone wants to do the same in their community, I'd be happy to share my letter via PM.

 

[Mister Funsky]

I've got a friend that just called me in what can only be described as a state of shock.

He was out all morning tending to business and returned home at lunchtime (he takes care of a severely ill mother and step father with ALS) to find his mothers husbands (the stepfather) daughter and international business man husband sitting in the family room. This surprised him because they were supposed to be in Italy (where they have 3 homes in different parts of the country) and had no notice they were coming by. He was further surprised that although they both had 'allergies' that they we around those with weakened conditions. He thinks they were sick...and not have allergy issues...he has allergies and can easily tell the difference. He asked me what to do...I told him I'm not sure but our golf outing is on hold next week. Speaking of golf, there has been an official notification from the organization that 'runs' golf that I have promised not to disclose...someone may have posted it by now so a giggle search might yield something...regarding the impact to be expected. I've been in several stores today...still processing things I saw. One food store has removed the end caps by the registers...all the manager would say is they were told to expect 'items' on pallets and to leave those areas clear. Don't think this will blow over anytime soon.

 

[.X.]

Yikes! What a mess.

Sounding more and more like not only negligence, but willful negligence.

Almost sounds like our government is actually literally trying to wipe out those with so called "pre-existing conditions"

Might not be so far-fetched considering who's in charge. For one, Alex Azar (who's more or less heading up the goverment's "response") is a pharma lobbyist with a rather sordid history (if you don't know, look it up). Coincidence? I think not.

it’s not really far fetched IMO, the CDC has been refusing testing and sending people with the virus out on the streets , which is out right crazy, unless they want it to spread. Who really knows much of anything right now of what the hell is going on. A lot of makes no sense from a medical stand point as some doctors have said.

 

[.X.]

I've got a friend that just called me in what can only be described as a state of shock.

He was out all morning tending to business and returned home at lunchtime (he takes care of a severely ill mother and step father with ALS) to find his mothers husbands (the stepfather) daughter and international business man husband sitting in the family room. This surprised him because they were supposed to be in Italy (where they have 3 homes in different parts of the country) and had no notice they were coming by. He was further surprised that although they both had 'allergies' that they we around those with weakened conditions. He thinks they were sick...and not have allergy issues...he has allergies and can easily tell the difference. He asked me what to do...I told him I'm not sure but our golf outing is on hold next week. Speaking of golf, there has been an official notification from the organization that 'runs' golf that I have promised not to disclose...someone may have posted it by now so a giggle search might yield something...regarding the impact to be expected. I've been in several stores today...still processing things I saw. One food store has removed the end caps by the registers...all the manager would say is they were told to expect 'items' on pallets and to leave those areas clear. Don't think this will blow over anytime soon.

so they were in Italy when the virus hit the ground there?

 

[Mister Funsky]

so they were in Italy when the virus hit the ground there?

Yes...they have a home in one city has been hit hard and I assume that is where they were...came to US to 'get away' 3-4 days ago. Just told my friend to tell them to head to their home in Cayman until their 'allergies' subside. I'm sure that wont happen...they are likely staying in US...not sure where as they have a place in Florida, NYC and LA or San Fran.

 

[Mister Funsky]

I think the next announced case(s) will be in NC/SC...no inside info, just a hunch.

"The virus has now been confirmed in the following U.S. states: Washington, Oregon, California, Arizona, Nebraska, Texas, Florida, New York, Rhode Island and Massachusetts."

https://www.livescience.com/coronavirus-updates.html

EDIT/ADD: I just noticed Georgia was not on that list...edit #2: looks like a couple more not listed