Funny story: A Chinese friend whom I take shopping routinely as she has no car here asked me 2 days ago if I could take her to get respirator masks. She calls back home every week and her mom and dad were very worried about her and begged her to go get a mask, so she promised she would to make them happy. So we're texting and checking inventories as it just so happened that my truck was having the wheels redone and new tires put on and would not be ready for 2 days. We found nothing. We called, no one around here had the good ones (n95 or p100). So yesterday when I was told my truck was ready, I walked to the university and caught the bus.
Home Depot is just across the street from the place my truck was at. So I had to go and talk to them. They told me that opportunists bought them all up putting them on ebay, and that their supplier is telling them they can't get them more until AUGUST. Unbelievable. Anyway, I went to get my truck and figured what the heck, these guys spray clear coat on wheels. If I did that, i'd wear a mask. I asked the guy at the counter as I paid and he didn't know so he went in the back and came out with 2 of the n95 masks! So my friend (or her parents) will be happy and I appreciated that excellent service.
Story doctor don't want to get into a contest with you but I wouldn't come to you for political advice any more than go to Alec Baldwin for Anger Management, or Brad Pitt for relationship advice. The subject of this thread is the virus best if we stick to that and not only that I watched the entire White House briefing and your reporting inaccurate
I do risk management when I do projects one key factor is the unknowns seems to me there are a lot of unknowns here when I'm in that situation I use abundance of caution
@FunCartel Please provide the reference that tells you masks won't help. My sources say that it "...can be spread from person to person through droplets in the air from an infected person coughing, sneezing or talking." https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/coronavirus/coronavirus-disease-2019-vs-the-flu
@Liamg Were you wearing your red baseball cap when you wrote that? If you're going off the White House briefing, where "oh, everything is fine" runs in direct opposition to what other countries are experiencing and the warnings coming directly from WHO, then I definitely wouldn't come to you for risk management advice.
@Liamg - you "watched the entire White House briefing" and you don't find yourself alarmed? @StoryDoctor1138 didn't say anything political, it isn't "fake news", and he spoke accurately.
This is the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. There will not be an "end" for some time, and if we are relying on the current White House, they will make profits an incentive to a cure: only those with money will be able to afford preventative measures. The rot of this administration's cronyism is on stark display.
If you're comforted by Pence leading efforts against COVID-19 through prayer, let me ask how successful he was with HIV when he was put in charge of an HIV and Hepatitis C outbreak in his home state, 2014. His political, not science-based actions/inactions cost people their lives. If you and Pence apply the same risk management principles of faith and unknowns versus relying on data, metrics, science, and medical professionals, then I highly suggest you start praying harder... and wash your hands.
https://thehill.com/changing-america/well-being/prevention-cures/485183-coronavirus-is-causing-a-worldwide-panic-about
Pretty sure I heard the same thing on a local newscast when I was up in Baltimore. They were saying masks are a good idea because some people touch their face without realizing, not because they will stop the airborne virus. Still, I have to think it would improve your chances of not contracting it if someone were to sneeze or cough nearby? I don't know. But here are some things I believe are factual. 1. CDC says the N95 masks, when fitted perfectly, block 95% (hence the model number) of tiny test particles. How tiny? No idea. I would think they'd test with particles the same size as a cough or sneeze produces, sound sensible? (shrug) What about the 5% that get through? Enough to get sick from? I'd think it would depend on a persons immune system. Just a guess though. 2. The n95 is better than "surgical masks" because they fit tighter for one thing. The blue surgical masks I've seen are quite loose.
And what if you are wearing that mask and someone's sneeze goes into your eyes?? That can't be good!
Well here's my answer...."it's complicated". Awesome
https://www.allaboutvision.com/conditions/coronavirus-and-your-eyes/
@Sideon Oh, how I wish you were wrong.
It is all a guess. I have flown several flights since this all started and even sat next to a physician on one flight who was explaining why masks are pointless. That even though it is airborne it does not necessarily mean that you contract it through inhalation. She said they believe it would be manifesting quicker if that were the case. BTW, most people—90%, are not wearing masks on flights. But by god the Clorox travel wipes are brought out by everyone...including me.
The risk of corona virus is trivial compared to the flu:
“When we think about the relative danger of this new coronavirus and influenza, there’s just no comparison,” Dr. William Schaffner, professor of preventive medicine and health policy at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, told Kaiser Health News. “Coronavirus will be a blip on the horizon in comparison. The risk is trivial.”
https://thehill.com/changing-america/well-being/longevity/480089-coronavirus-sparks-panic-as-flu-poses-greater-threat-to
Sideon brings up cogent points about the current White House approach. I think everyone there is just a bit delusional and in denial because they suffer the symptoms of Affluenza.
@11rollover Looks like the vast majority of medical opinion differs from Dr. Schaffner. Frankly, if we don't treat this as a real threat with a high risk, we put the planet in peril. If we overreact, we're just safer. If we fail to react, the virus will overwhelm us.
https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/coronavirus-expert-opinions/
There will always be contrarian experts but the safe bet is to go with the consensus.
Same for global warming. I don't personally know if humans are responsible or partially responsible so I'll go with scientific consensus. And I'm not saying a consensus of experts can't be wrong. Nutritional advice from decades ago is perhaps one example. But expert consensus is still by far the highest probability of representing the reality of a situation.
Talking about experts, you can now throw Bill Gates into the ring of those believing this virus is extremely serious.
@11rollover your link to the story from The Hill is from January 28th. It is a great example of the media playing doctor and dismissing the threat when at the time there was not enough information coming out of China to ascertain what was going on. Fast forward a month and it is a far different picture.
@FunCartel Good point. I pasted without looking at the date!
@11rollover No harm, no foul
A friend works in IT, and in January 2000 many people complained at all the money and effort that they'd spent on the Millennium Bug, which turned out to have minimal effect. Minimum "residual" effect, he kept emphasising, after all the money and effort.
At the moment, there is : an exponential growth and spread of a disease we don't understand ; and a lot of clever scientists trying to find ways to detect, prevent and cure it.
The outcome will depend on how far it has spread in numbers and geography, when the "fixes" become available ; and while we can't help the latter, we can help the former. There is a window of opportunity, which is gradually closing, unlike the many other ways we will perish, which are now widespread.
Imagine an asteroid were heading towards the earth, with an impact energy of a few Hiroshima bombs. We might say that in the big scheme of things, that's no big deal, and there are some large deserts where it wouldn't really matter. I suspect instead we would make a big effort to do something about it ; and when it has been stopped, or has hit, we then go back to worrying about everything else.
Story doctor, your comments are snide that's not what they said at the White House briefing they said prepare for the worst hope for the best a balanced message that's what they have to do The WHO is completely corrupt and you have no idea about my political affiliations. My wife is on the front lines of this and gets direct reports every single day multiple times in Chicago. Finally Washington always has under any Administration profited on crisis follow the money. Prepare for the worst hope for the best . That's all I have to say to you feel free to have the last word sounds like you need it.
@Liamg Riiiiight... you were the one who decided you would rather insult and pick a fight, but somehow I am the one who needs the last word? That absolutely WAS what was said at the White House, that we have everything under control, that this is really not worse than the flu, and that the liberal media was trying to make this seem bigger than it is. And the World Health Organization is completely corrupt??! Yes, that's what someone with a certain political bias would say to make the masses question actual news and only listen to government sources that obscure at best and lie for monetary interest at worse.
@hillbilly I just hope they updated their definition file!
Its media overload.Fear sells the news.
It's genuine worldwide news, needed not overload. The media is not creating stories about coronavirus, it's reporting them as they happen internationally.
So I read as much as I can find how many sources I could access what I'm seeing is for everything that can be said one way it can be said another which leads me to my conclusion for the present there's still a lot of unknowns. To conclude it's a problem or not a problem at this point is not a possible conclusion. Unknowns equals risk. If the threat is legitimate enough then the approach is an abundance of caution
It's not a "for every one way there is another" - the OVERWHELMING information from AROUND THE WORLD clearly indicates that the coronavirus IS a problem. Schools are being closed, international travel shut down, businesses closing offices... the threat IS legitimate. To think otherwise is simply burying your head in the sand and hoping for the best, which is foolish instead of planning for the worst. Honestly, I can't even conceive why anyone would be nonchalant about this.
@Mark Should we close this thread ? It is generating a lot of insulting posts.
I'm inclined to leave it open as it will remain in the forefront of people's minds for sometime.
I ask everyone please be respectful in your disagreements otherwise we will impose temporary forum bans.
@Mark Please leave it open as it is an urgent current event. Thank you for offering us all the chance to continue this conversation by reminding us to be respectful. I encourage people to take side arguments to DM.
Wanted to contribute this link: America’s bad paid sick leave policy could make the coronavirus outbreak worse
Trump says the Cornavirus is a conspiracy theory. I dunno about you but I get all my stats and sources of information from him - to me he's basically like a wise gandalf.
In other news Borris Johnson says we already have a cure for the Cornavirus, it's call hand washing.
And Nigel Farage has another solution - though has not yet conceded the idea as being too radical.
Gotta love leadship.