All things Chinese CoronaVirus

[old salt]

Based on today's presser -- sounds like testing will be limited to those clinically diagnosed.
No mention of systematic testing/sampling to map undiagnosed community spread.

In my amateur analysis, 3 US hot spot clusters @ now :
1. Seattle, WA area
2. New Rochelle, NY
3. Santa Clara Co, CA

[jhu72]

Spoke with my wife to get an update of what is going on in the local medical community. She was rounding at local hospitals all day today.

All the hospitals are setting up triage tents outside their emergency rooms. Geared specifically for CV.

She has her first possible CV patient scheduled for tomorrow. Child of someone who flew and had a layover in South Korea. She doubts there is an issue, but that's the history. No fever, mild cough. Problem is, given CDC and state health department policy on testing, that is not a possibility. Basically she can check vitals and send the kid home. Her major mid-Atlantic HMO, will not have access to tests for another two weeks, she has been told.

PS: In thinking about the problem for a few seconds, just this simple case, multiplied many times over by overly concerned parents of small children could flood hospitals. If you have never dealt with the worried parent of a "sick" (real or not) child, it is an experience. These parents will put major pressure on the primary care physician, pediatrician, to authorize a hospital visit when none is called for. At some point the primary physician gives in and makes the patient the referred hospital's problem. I am expecting a very stressed out wife over the next few months.

We live in interesting times.

Won't the referring docs be able to send them directly to a private lab like Quest or LabCorp ?

Don't know. Traditionally her organization has its own lab and done the work themselves. At this writing they have no choice but to send them to CDC or the MD DoH (preferentially). They have to get permission from those organizations to do that. It may change. This is their third protocol (CDC mandated) in 3 weeks.

[old salt]

I don’t understand how defunding Soc Security and Medicare fights this virus.

Counting on COVID19 mortality in recipients to balance the books.

[Typical Lax Dad]

Based on today's presser -- sounds like testing will be limited to those clinically diagnosed.
No mention of systematic testing/sampling to map undiagnosed community spread.

In my amateur analysis, 3 US hot spot clusters @ now :
1. Seattle, WA area
2. New Rochelle, NY
3. Santa Clara Co, CA

We got the D team on it:

[old salt]

Some states are starting to use private labs for testing.

https://www.michiganradio.org/post/two- ... t-covid-19

[youthathletics]

Based on today's presser -- sounds like testing will be limited to those clinically diagnosed.
No mention of systematic testing/sampling to map undiagnosed community spread.

In my amateur analysis, 3 US hot spot clusters @ now :
1. Seattle, WA area
2. New Rochelle, NY
3. Santa Clara Co, CA

We got the D team on it:

Ask your wife if she believes there is possibility that the testing at smaller rural locals (not CDC) could be false positives for covid19, considering we are also not getting active updates of conventional seasonal flu as normal.

Maybe, just maybe, they are blended.

[jhu72]

British Minister of Health has COVID-19. She attended a reception at Boris Johnsons residence.

[Typical Lax Dad]

Based on today's presser -- sounds like testing will be limited to those clinically diagnosed.
No mention of systematic testing/sampling to map undiagnosed community spread.

In my amateur analysis, 3 US hot spot clusters @ now :
1. Seattle, WA area
2. New Rochelle, NY
3. Santa Clara Co, CA

We got the D team on it:

Ask your wife if she believes there is possibility that the testing at smaller rural locals (not CDC) could be false positives for covid19, considering we are also not getting active updates of conventional seasonal flu as normal.

Maybe, just maybe, they are blended.

What’s blended?

[youthathletics]

Based on today's presser -- sounds like testing will be limited to those clinically diagnosed.
No mention of systematic testing/sampling to map undiagnosed community spread.

In my amateur analysis, 3 US hot spot clusters @ now :
1. Seattle, WA area
2. New Rochelle, NY
3. Santa Clara Co, CA

We got the D team on it:

Ask your wife if she believes there is possibility that the testing at smaller rural locals (not CDC) could be false positives for covid19, considering we are also not getting active updates of conventional seasonal flu as normal.

Maybe, just maybe, they are blended.

What’s blended?

Combination of cv19 and seasonal flu diagnosis.

[MDlaxfan76]

Based on today's presser -- sounds like testing will be limited to those clinically diagnosed.
No mention of systematic testing/sampling to map undiagnosed community spread.

In my amateur analysis, 3 US hot spot clusters @ now :
1. Seattle, WA area
2. New Rochelle, NY
3. Santa Clara Co, CA

We got the D team on it:

Ask your wife if she believes there is possibility that the testing at smaller rural locals (not CDC) could be false positives for covid19, considering we are also not getting active updates of conventional seasonal flu as normal.

Maybe, just maybe, they are blended.

What’s blended?

Combination of cv19 and seasonal flu diagnosis.

no, two different tests.

[Typical Lax Dad]

Based on today's presser -- sounds like testing will be limited to those clinically diagnosed.
No mention of systematic testing/sampling to map undiagnosed community spread.

In my amateur analysis, 3 US hot spot clusters @ now :
1. Seattle, WA area
2. New Rochelle, NY
3. Santa Clara Co, CA

We got the D team on it:

Ask your wife if she believes there is possibility that the testing at smaller rural locals (not CDC) could be false positives for covid19, considering we are also not getting active updates of conventional seasonal flu as normal.

Maybe, just maybe, they are blended.

What’s blended?

Combination of cv19 and seasonal flu diagnosis.

Like combining measles and chicken pox?

[youthathletics]

Yea, like peanut butter and jelly.

[Typical Lax Dad]

Yea, like peanut butter and jelly.

I am going to ask.

[jhu72]

Based on today's presser -- sounds like testing will be limited to those clinically diagnosed.
No mention of systematic testing/sampling to map undiagnosed community spread.

In my amateur analysis, 3 US hot spot clusters @ now :
1. Seattle, WA area
2. New Rochelle, NY
3. Santa Clara Co, CA

We got the D team on it:

Ask your wife if she believes there is possibility that the testing at smaller rural locals (not CDC) could be false positives for covid19, considering we are also not getting active updates of conventional seasonal flu as normal.

Maybe, just maybe, they are blended.

What’s blended?

Combination of cv19 and seasonal flu diagnosis.

no, two different tests.

Yup, most flu testing is now done point of care with a single purpose test. Takes 15 minutes tops, a child could do it, I am told. Unlikely flu test will false positive for COVID, they are not in the same family of bugs. Bigger concern is flu test false negative (you have flu and the test comes back negative). At present no small rural labs are doing COVID-19 testing. They aren't getting the kits.

[ardilla secreta]

Arsenal’s game against Manchester City on Wednesday has been postponed and Arsenal players put in self isolation as a result of coming in contact with the owner of Olympiacos, who has become ill, during their game on 2/27.

[DocBarrister]

Oh boy ... 752 confirmed cases, with 26 dead. We will hit 1,000 cases within two days. So far, mortality rate has been close to the global rate of 3.5%

Not good. Coronavirus is not anywhere near being well-managed in the U.S.

DocBarrister

Two days?!?

Try one day. The United States just crossed the 1,000 case mark.

As I write this, 1,025 confirmed cases.

https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

DocBarrister

[jhu72]

A really good overview of the effects of COVID-19. As it turns out, underlying conditions are more important than age in determining outcomes.

[OCanada]

At least three countries now have drive thru testing on demand. Number I saw last night for USA under 7,000 tested. Epic fail and

[Bart]

Based on today's presser -- sounds like testing will be limited to those clinically diagnosed.
No mention of systematic testing/sampling to map undiagnosed community spread.

In my amateur analysis, 3 US hot spot clusters @ now :
1. Seattle, WA area
2. New Rochelle, NY
3. Santa Clara Co, CA

We got the D team on it:

Ask your wife if she believes there is possibility that the testing at smaller rural locals (not CDC) could be false positives for covid19, considering we are also not getting active updates of conventional seasonal flu as normal.

Maybe, just maybe, they are blended.

What’s blended?

Combination of cv19 and seasonal flu diagnosis.

no, two different tests.

Yup, most flu testing is now done point of care with a single purpose test. Takes 15 minutes tops, a child could do it, I am told. Unlikely flu test will false positive for COVID, they are not in the same family of bugs. Bigger concern is flu test false negative (you have flu and the test comes back negative). At present no small rural labs are doing COVID-19 testing. They aren't getting the kits.

From my understanding, week as it is, the current COVID-19 tests are real time PCR tests looking at distinct nucleic acid sequences in the Virus DNA. These are not simple finger prick blood tests that are looking at IgG/IgM antibodies to the virus. The machine used to do real time PCR while not all that complicated to run, is a specialty piece of equipment. I would wonder how many small rural labs would have them, I'd hope all would but I do not know. I would also doubt there would be any cross over between the flu and COVID-19 in these tests. I could see false positives, depending on the stringency of the primer used in the PCR.

[Trinity]

Last Night from Tufts President:

". . . Following a decision of the NESCAC presidents, the NESCAC league and championship play are canceled. Further, Tufts, like many of our NESCAC colleagues, will not have any spring sports for the remainder of the semester."