Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19)

Discussion in 'General OT' started by imart, Jan 28, 2020.

  1. imart

    imart PhilMUG Addict Member

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    Check out this online tracker for Wuhan Coronavirus, showing 4,474 cases and 107 deaths as of writing time.

    https://gisanddata.maps.arcgis.com/...kBOrqgvixPw#/bda7594740fd40299423467b48e9ecf6

    Our office has also taken serious measures to ban travel to China, including Hong Kong and work from home might be triggered as necessary. Mandatory self-quarantine has been imposed to those who flew to China for the holidays. Quiet times ahead. And I'm yet to own a surgical mask, which sells faster than bubble tea.

    Screen Shot 2020-01-28 at 10.52.46 AM.png
     
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  2. raypin

    raypin PhilMUG Addict Member

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    Mm...estimated r nought is 1.5 to 3, one infected person can infect up to 3 vs. Measles with an r nought of up to 10. Not as contagious as measles. Fatality rate is up to 3%. Not as deadly as ebola at 90%.

    Chinese scientists have said that a carrier may be asymtomatic. WHO is trying to confirm this. If it becomes confirmed, it will render temperature checks at border crossings or airports USELESS. Airborne human to human transmission of the virus, meaning just being near an infected person will be enough to catch the virus.

    Vaccines are many months ahead. No cure. People with compromised immune systems are more at risk.

    Scary.
     
    #2 raypin, Jan 28, 2020
    Last edited: Jan 28, 2020
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  3. shaft

    shaft Well-Known Member

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    Yup, plus the symptoms can take 1 to 14 days before manifesting. The Wuhan lockdown was good but it was after the fact that 5M have left already (CNN) according to the Mayor who wants to resign. One good thought though is that those who have been infected and detected and quarantined internationally didnt seem to infect others whom they have made some sort of contact with along the way eg; cab driver, cashier, etc...... so far (Maybe still in the incubating period). Usually close relatives are the ones infected. (maybe longer exposure is needed). Keep safe everyone.
     
  4. hitme64

    hitme64 PhilMUG Addict Member

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    Ebola was scarier. And it still is. But it’s way lower than a pandemic that killed nearly 3/4th of the human population in the Middle Ages. To be alive in that time, nary the wars then, is a miracle.

    This new disease, despite a sprawling social media campaign, is relatively unknown, which makes it formidable. It’s like it came from a laboratory experiment and released to the wild to determine human response. Kinda like SARS but don’t quote me on that. :whistle:
     
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  5. raypin

    raypin PhilMUG Addict Member

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    Mm....bring and wear N95 masks with you everywhere you go and use them in crowded places such as malls, elevators, supermarkets etc. Bring alcogel with you. AVOID China, HK or Macao even as transit points for travel to your final destination.

    In China: from fewer than 250 confirmed cases to 4,500 confirmed cases in just ONE week. Those are the official figures. Somevare doubting that. Actual cases may be far higher. Outside of China, there has not been an outbreak yet (for countries with confirmed cases).

    Simple arithmetic: from 250 cases to 4500 cases represents a 17 fold increase or 1700% increase....in one week. If this hold through, one week from now, the number jumps to 76,500 cases. From there and if control measures completely fail, there could be hundreds of thousands of cases by the end of February.
     
    #5 raypin, Jan 28, 2020
    Last edited: Jan 28, 2020
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  6. shaft

    shaft Well-Known Member

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    could be, i read on a tweet that just 8 miles from Wuhan is the only Virus lab in China. Hmm i just googled it and apparently looks about right. Theyve been warned since 2017 that they may accidentslly release a SARS like virus. Coincidence or not? (insert Psycho soundtrack here :)) )
     
  7. ice

    ice PhilMUG Addict Member

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    Sentosa and Jewel (was able to eat at A&W without queuing) was quieter than usual last CNY weekend... MBS/Merlion Park were business as usual. - had family from Aus who visited.

    Was lucky to get a box of surgical masks over the weekend to use flying back. But nice ones were all out of stock, the one available at Unity had to be tied behind the head :mad:
     
  8. raypin

    raypin PhilMUG Addict Member

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    Mm..I was in HK Jan 10 to 15. Wore one of those flimsy foam mask part of the time. It was also that time when ashfall from Taal reached Metro Manila. So, I started looking for 3M N95 masks but most pharmacies were out of stock. My quick-thinking friend was able to locate several online sellers through carousell HK. Bought 3 boxes of N95 at double the usual price. Will come in handy once this virus hits us.

    I m still not out of the 14 day incubation period but so far, no symptoms.
     
    #8 raypin, Jan 28, 2020
    Last edited: Jan 28, 2020
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  9. imart

    imart PhilMUG Addict Member

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    It wasn't even a surgical mask (i.e. N95 type) but sells like 68 and 88 sgd per box (20 pcs) in 2 brands from a nearby anaps store. Crazy. I hope the watsons cashier nearby would really send me a message once the stock arrives later.

    i was also reluctant to go for my weekly song fa bak kut teh because, one, the cook is always a suspect to me. Plus, more than 50% are tourist-diners are, well, from China. If only they could serve the meal with disposable spoons and sticks.

    And speaking of disposable, I have started thinking about not dining using the washable utensils in especially in food courts. Either I'll bring mine or avoid these places for now.

    Might as well go to shake shack if the hell of a queue doesn't exist for now. I have never had a burger from that part of the world. :D
     
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  10. ice

    ice PhilMUG Addict Member

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    I've read somewhere that unlike SARS, 2019-nCoV can spread even within the 14 day incubation period.

    I'm also purchasing 6 months worth of Vitamin-C for the whole family... Amazon prices are changing almost everyday.
     
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  11. raypin

    raypin PhilMUG Addict Member

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    Mm....the best what-if movies about virus outbreaks to watch:

    Outbreak (Dustin Hoffman) and Contagion (Matt Damon, Kate Winslet).
     
  12. yehey9

    yehey9 PhilMUG Addict Member

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  13. yehey9

    yehey9 PhilMUG Addict Member

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    I just hope one thing will come out of this, I hope they don't eat endangered animals or exotic animals anymore.

    They've killed thousands of Rhinos just for its horn thinking it would prolong their life. Why don't they just bite their nails since its just about the same thing.

    I'd like to think that some PETA advocate sprayed pathogens over those exotic animals just so people who would eat them get sick.
     
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  14. Juice

    Juice PhilMUG Addict Member
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    As a transplant patient like me, I feel like "F**k, we're vulnerable!". But, all these years being immunocompromised, I haven't gotten seriously sick yet. Another good thing about it is, I've become comfortable wearing an N95 mask. Just be mindful of your surroundings. I really hope, that bug will not reach our shores. We have a dense population and it's easy to spread around quickly.
     
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  15. raypin

    raypin PhilMUG Addict Member

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    Mm...it is also a cultural thing: to impress your boss, serve exotic meats to gain “face.”

    Banning the trade will not stop it. Suppliers of these exotic meats bypass the markets and deliver directly to restaurants (where exotic meats are very lucrative dishes to serve) or they are declared as farmed meats hence “safer.”

    That is how SARs started (animal to human) 17 years ago. It appears they have not learned yet.
     
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  16. Ghibli

    Ghibli PhilMUG Addict Member

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    [​IMG]

    "The Department of Health today updated its 2019-nCoV case tracker and revealed that as of January 28, 2020 (12:00) DOH has recorded a total of 27 Patients Under Investigation (PUIs) broken down as follows:

    RITM screening results pending: 18
    VIDRL (Australia) confirmatory results pending: 6
    Discharged but under monitoring: 3
    Confirmed cases: 0"


    Apparently there were 6 PUI cases that were positive with the screening tests; subsequently the "positive" results were forwarded to Australia for confirmatory testing for verification. Correct me if I'm wrong. In any case, just be prepared for the worst. The infection rate of the virus has been accelerating, with 4,600 cases reported at this time of writing (experts say this is under-reported), and it's only a matter of time before the Philippines announces its first confirmed case. Fortunately, the virus is not as lethal as SARS based on its current case fatality rate (which is currently evolving). WHO has not yet declared "PHEIC" or "public health emergency of international concern" hence WHO must seem satisfied with how China and the other affected countries are handling the outbreak.
     
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  17. hitme64

    hitme64 PhilMUG Addict Member

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    My favorite apocalyptic outbreak is Stephen King’s The Stand, both the novel and the limited series (which I have on DVD years ago).
     
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  18. guwapito

    guwapito Well-Known Member

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    relaying of information is good, but I really do hope fake news aren't being spread around to scare people. to those who frequent our airports, how is it right now, trying to find out what the real situation is out there before cancelling or going through with the vacation.
     
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  19. raypin

    raypin PhilMUG Addict Member

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  20. piedad

    piedad Well-Known Member

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    The theory of this virus escaping from a biolab (worker) in Wuhan sounds plausible given the 1) verified existence of a level 4 (most dangerous) biolab in Wuhan 2) the incident last year of chinese scientist in Canada's level 4 biolab being "escorted out" of the facility and permanently banned from going back due to "administrative" (read - espionage) concerns and then same person going to Wuhan to work there 3) the Lancet analysis of coronavirus outbreak pointing to a single person virus "jump" to human and from there its been human-to-human 4) the quick acknowledgement of Chinese big bosses of the gravity of this virus (maybe they knew what they were developing).
    Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction?
    the lancet analysis: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)30183-5/fulltext
     
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