Corona Virus/COVID19: Local Impact

[JDax]

No, not food for thought. This is how it works. The scientific community isn’t particularly surprised by what we’re seeing. What happens in a pandemic is that there’s different levels of community spread in different places. It’s not this smooth, spread-all-over thing. It’s on all continents, with community spread. That’s a pandemic.

That makes sense...

 

[milehighgolfer]

I've been searching for the total number of those hospitalized for Covid-19. Can't find that number. Several reports of total cases and total deaths but no report of how many required a hospital bed. Or even a percentage of cases who require hospitalization.

 

[mpeterson]

For those under a rock, one of the main issues is supplies for docs, namely masks because all the dips*** preppers bought most of the supply that WAS here up, or in the case of my wife’s hospital pts have been stealing them for over a month.

My wife is an OB/GYN, not on the front lines as other specialties are, but let this sink in, she delivers babies and her clinic has EIGHT of the good masks left to last. So they are actually bringing sewing machines up to MAKE their own masks, that wont really protect the docs from anything.

This is one of the major issues and why flattening the curve is a must or else the infrastructure in place in the medical field will crumble.

And to follow-up on Dax’s last post, this is one main reason you’re seeing worse outcomes in some places than others. If the health system is overwhelmed, people aren’t getting the care they need. You’re also seeing more illness in the people responding, which results in even less capacity.

 

[milehighgolfer]

And to follow-up on Dax’s last post, this is one main reason you’re seeing worse outcomes in some places than others. If the health system is overwhelmed, people aren’t getting the care they need. You’re also seeing more illness in the people responding, which results in even less capacity.

This goes to my previous question. Is the system being overwhelmed by those showing up with symptoms and then being sent home or are they being admitted as critical cases?
I feel they need to educate the public better on who needs tested and who needs to go to a hospital.

 

[Vortex]

In addition the Lombardy region has over 100,000 Chinese workers who brought the virus in directly.

Ding, ding, ding.

Current status casts a new light on this social experiment from 5-6 weeks ago.

 

[JDax]

Ding, ding, ding.

Current status casts a new light on this social experiment from 5-6 weeks ago.

Thank you ... I just think the Italy comparison to the US isn’t valid because of all of these various factors and variables that aren’t close to being the same.

Let me be clear , I’m not down playing the seriousness of this virus, my wife has Lupus (I’ve been working at home for over a week). I hope we are able to flatten the curve and beat this thing...

 

[SquirrelyDave]

I wonder how/if this affects people using cash for things? Picked up dominoes for lunch yesterday, and they're doing some intense social distancing, you can't enter the store, they bring the order out to your car and set it on your car and then back off. Makes sense, good practice and all, but I wonder if they've stopped accepting cash and are only accepting pre-paid online orders. I could see that spreading out more and more.

 

[TheHeez]

Somewhat old news here in Central CA, but yesterday afternoon they announced a shelter in place for our county, effective this afternoon. Basically following much of the rest of CA. Only 7 confirmed cases in the county but up from 1 on Monday.

Strange times we find ourselves in THPers. Let’s all try and be good to the folks in our communities. Let’s get through this on the strength of our resolve and dedication to do what is right for all.

 

[arydolphin]

I've been searching for the total number of those hospitalized for Covid-19. Can't find that number. Several reports of total cases and total deaths but no report of how many required a hospital bed. Or even a percentage of cases who require hospitalization.

CDC put up an update yesterday: https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/wr/mm6912e2.htm?s_cid=mm6912e2_w

“Among 508 (12%) patients known to have been hospitalized, 9% were aged ≥85 years, 26% were aged 65–84 years, 17% were aged 55–64 years, 18% were 45–54 years, and 20% were aged 20–44 years. Less than 1% of hospitalizations were among persons aged ≤19 years (Figure 2). The percentage of persons hospitalized increased with age, from 2%–3% among persons aged ≤9 years, to ≥31% among adults aged ≥85 years. (Table).”

Put another way: almost 40% of patients known to have COVID 19 that were hospitalized were UNDER 54 years of age. That’s for the crowd that says this only hits the elderly.

 

[Jman]

No, not food for thought. This is how it works. The scientific community isn’t particularly surprised by what we’re seeing. What happens in a pandemic is that there’s different levels of community spread in different places. It’s not this smooth, spread-all-over thing. It’s on all continents, with community spread. That’s a pandemic.

This this this.

 

[Jman]

CDC put up an update yesterday: https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/wr/mm6912e2.htm?s_cid=mm6912e2_w

“Among 508 (12%) patients known to have been hospitalized, 9% were aged ≥85 years, 26% were aged 65–84 years, 17% were aged 55–64 years, 18% were 45–54 years, and 20% were aged 20–44 years. Less than 1% of hospitalizations were among persons aged ≤19 years (Figure 2). The percentage of persons hospitalized increased with age, from 2%–3% among persons aged ≤9 years, to ≥31% among adults aged ≥85 years. (Table).”

Put another way: almost 40% of patients known to have COVID 19 that were hospitalized were UNDER 54 years of age. That’s for the crowd that says this only hits the elderly.

Hope you’re hanging in there Amol.

 

[GoldenBuff]

One thing I notice in isolation mode: time moves slowly. One week ago I was on a video conference project review panel meeting because the in-person meeting was canceled late Monday. I canceled my Wed flight on Tues. That in itself felt extraordinary. Now Julie and I are in day 4 of working at home and day 6 of isolation with only one very careful shopping excursion. Everything has changed. The big STOP button was pressed. The panel meeting feels like it was months ago. Cars sit in garage and the only thing we do outside the home is go for long walks with dogs in the crappy winter weather we have right now.

And late last night the university sent out a communication that students on spring break were discouraged from coming back. They were even advised to not come back for their stuff. They decided to move to online teching last week, but this is remarkable.

 

[CBaker]

Apparently, a pandemic is great for Little Debbie sales. Talked to my sister tonight. Her and husband own a LD distributorship. They are having to get their drivers to restock stores 2-3 a day!

Glad we're staying healthy in times like this!

 

[CBaker]

CDC put up an update yesterday: https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/wr/mm6912e2.htm?s_cid=mm6912e2_w

“Among 508 (12%) patients known to have been hospitalized, 9% were aged ≥85 years, 26% were aged 65–84 years, 17% were aged 55–64 years, 18% were 45–54 years, and 20% were aged 20–44 years. Less than 1% of hospitalizations were among persons aged ≤19 years (Figure 2). The percentage of persons hospitalized increased with age, from 2%–3% among persons aged ≤9 years, to ≥31% among adults aged ≥85 years. (Table).”

Put another way: almost 40% of patients known to have COVID 19 that were hospitalized were UNDER 54 years of age. That’s for the crowd that says this only hits the elderly.

as a new parent these stats do provide some level of comfort that the #'s for very young kids have stayed fairly consistently low. We're not taking anything lightly, but there is enough my wife is freaking out about.

 

[arydolphin]

This goes to my previous question. Is the system being overwhelmed by those showing up with symptoms and then being sent home or are they being admitted as critical cases?
I feel they need to educate the public better on who needs tested and who needs to go to a hospital.

When you hear about health care systems getting overwhelmed, it’s mainly talking about inpatient resources, so those are people that are getting admitted. But there is no doubt that ERs are also seeing more people with symptoms that are concerning for this virus.

Even in a pediatric hospital, which is where I work, I’ve been told to wear personal protective equipment (PPE) for every patient with fever and cough. That adds up over time, and that’s not something we normally do.

Then think about a patient that is admitted and has a test for COVID 19 pending. All of the medical providers have to wear PPE until the test is negative. Really sucks when it’s taking 3-4 days at times to get the test results back. The lack of testing available isn’t just an issue for figuring out how much this has spread in the community, it has an impact on patients already in hospitals.

Will try to chime in more in between being on Dad duty today while my wife is WFH. There’s only so much Youtube that my son can watch.

 

[arydolphin]

Hope you’re hanging in there Amol.

Physically, I’m fine.

Mentally is another story. I just can’t turn my brain off right now, thinking about what could happen down the road.

Luckily, I have one more shift tonight and then I’m off for 2 weeks because we had an international trip planned. I’m hoping not to get called into work during that 2 week break, but we’ll see what happens.

 

[GraniteRoost]

One thing I notice in isolation mode: time moves slowly. One week ago I was on a video conference project review panel meeting because the in-person meeting was canceled late Monday. I canceled my Wed flight on Tues. That in itself felt extraordinary. Now Julie and I are in day 4 of working at home and day 6 of isolation with only one very careful shopping excursion. Everything has changed. The big STOP button was pressed. The panel meeting feels like it was months ago. Cars sit in garage and the only thing we do outside the home is go for long walks with dogs in the crappy winter weather we have right now.

And late last night the university sent out a communication that students on spring break were discouraged from coming back. They were even advised to not come back for their stuff. They decided to move to online teching last week, but this is remarkable.

Time is moving slowly already especially with kids... trying to setup a new normal routing is a grind. Working from home, while daughter schools from home, and Mom and 4yo trying to stay entertained and my daughters from killing each other or destroying the house. I am hoping we can use this a learning experience in how to appreciate each others in close quarters. With spirited kids, patience is going to be a virtue.

 

[CBaker]

My point was that the demographics of that region of Italy made it ripe to be over run by this type of virus, because of the amount of people that have preexisting conditions...

This has been evident the whole time with the China data. I never said that the virus was just killing old people, or those who drank, or those that were obese. But the data suggests that you will have a way tougher time fighting this off if you are in that demographic.

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Doesn't our country have a massive issue with obesity and heart problems though? I would think those factors alone make the US one of the worst places for this to hit.

 

[Jman]

Physically, I’m fine.

Mentally is another story. I just can’t turn my brain off right now, thinking about what could happen down the road.

Luckily, I have one more shift tonight and then I’m off for 2 weeks because we had an international trip planned. I’m hoping not to get called into work during that 2 week break, but we’ll see what happens.

We have been lucky, Amanda had vacation planned this week to coincide with my spring break, so she’s not been in the office/hospital yet. It’s all that’s on our minds already.

 

[baylrballa]

Thank you ... I just think the Italy comparison to the US isn’t valid because of all of these various factors and variables that aren’t close to being the same.

Let me be clear , I’m not down playing the seriousness of this virus, my wife has Lupus (I’ve been working at home for over a week). I hope we are able to flatten the curve and beat this thing...

Social media is the worst sometimes, trying to look at the facts and be reasonable and find a middle ground is met with such vitriol that most everything out there ends up with this with me or against me mindset.

 

[tequila4kapp]

For those under a rock, one of the main issues is supplies for docs, namely masks because all the dips*** preppers bought most of the supply that WAS here up, or in the case of my wife’s hospital pts have been stealing them for over a month.

My wife is an OB/GYN, not on the front lines as other specialties are, but let this sink in, she delivers babies and her clinic has EIGHT of the good masks left to last. So they are actually bringing sewing machines up to MAKE their own masks, that wont really protect the docs from anything.

This is one of the major issues and why flattening the curve is a must or else the infrastructure in place in the medical field will crumble.

My wife works in the OR at the largest hospital in the state (and only medical university in the state). They have a 40 day supply for gowns, masks and gloves. Sounded like a lot to me but she says it’s actually a very short supply.

 

[GoldenBuff]

Time is moving slowly already especially with kids... trying to setup a new normal routing is a grind. Working from home, while daughter schools from home, and Mom and 4yo trying to stay entertained and my daughters from killing each other or destroying the house. I am hoping we can use this a learning experience in how to appreciate each others in close quarters. With spirited kids, patience is going to be a virtue.

My heart goes out to you guys with kids. That has to be quite challenging. You have a good attitude, and that's great to see. The neighbors across the street have 4 boys all in the 5-11 age range. The parents look like they are about to explode. As soon as Julie and I get the all clear (we hope) that her boss doesn't have COVID-19 (he was at a meeting run by a guy who was one of the first two in Montana to have it), I will start checking in on neighbors and see if we can help.

 

[Lions81]

Time is moving slowly already especially with kids... trying to setup a new normal routing is a grind. Working from home, while daughter schools from home, and Mom and 4yo trying to stay entertained and my daughters from killing each other or destroying the house. I am hoping we can use this a learning experience in how to appreciate each others in close quarters. With spirited kids, patience is going to be a virtue.

Definitely a lot of us right here with you. The last week has felt like a month. My kids are too young to understand any of it, which makes it tough, and they just need constant attention while both my wife and I are trying to get as much work done as we can, and realize we are fortunate to both still be working.

 

[GraniteRoost]

Definitely a lot of us right here with you. The last week has felt like a month. My kids are too young to understand any of it, which makes it tough, and they just need constant attention while both my wife and I are trying to get as much work done as we can, and realize we are fortunate to both still be working.

Pretty much nailed it. My wife getting laid off yesterday landed home like a ton of bricks... this went from 0-WTF really quick. One foot in front of the other time to do work as a society.

 

[tequila4kapp]

CDC put up an update yesterday: https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/wr/mm6912e2.htm?s_cid=mm6912e2_w

“Among 508 (12%) patients known to have been hospitalized, 9% were aged ≥85 years, 26% were aged 65–84 years, 17% were aged 55–64 years, 18% were 45–54 years, and 20% were aged 20–44 years. Less than 1% of hospitalizations were among persons aged ≤19 years (Figure 2). The percentage of persons hospitalized increased with age, from 2%–3% among persons aged ≤9 years, to ≥31% among adults aged ≥85 years. (Table).”

Put another way: almost 40% of patients known to have COVID 19 that were hospitalized were UNDER 54 years of age. That’s for the crowd that says this only hits the elderly.

i don’t really see people saying it only hits the elderly as much as I see people saying the death rates are disproportionately affecting the elderly.