OT - The New Coronavirus

[rommel222]

Greetings to All,
NY state now has two confirmed cases of the Corona Virus:
https://www.wamc.org/post/ny-confirms-f ... oronavirus
https://www.wamc.org/post/second-new-yo ... s-covid-19

I teach online astronomy at a small college in Albany, NY and just received the college's pandemic plan in case of Corona Virus outbreak on campus.
Currently, there are students in Italy & South Korea in Study Abroad programs who are now returning home and will undergo isolation and testing.
We are on Spring break this week with students gone home. Will see what happens when they return.

Foxnews update on NY state Corona Virus:
https://www.foxnews.com/health/new-york ... t-positive

[rommel222]

Greetings to All,
NY state now has 11 confirmed casea of Corona Virus.
https://www.wamc.org/post/cuomo-11-new- ... oronavirus

My son-in-law is a private contractor for carpentry and plumbing in Saratoga NY.
One of his employees went to Italy on vacation two weeks ago with wife. She became ill there and did not get tested for Corona virus.
They both returned home to Saratoga NY and still did not get tested because they did not want to pay for it.
The employee wants to come back to work but my son-in-law says no way. Told the employee that he and his wife must be tested for Corona Virus first.
In NY state Gov. Andy Cuomo has ordered health insurance companies to waive the fee for Corona Virus testing. So employee and sick wife will not have an out of pocket expense for testing.
But in the meantime he and his wife have been shopping at stores and socializing with friends and relatives.

[RangerJoe]

The Problem With Telling Sick Workers to Stay Home

Even with the coronavirus spreading, lax labor laws and little sick leave mean that many people can’t afford to skip work.

https://www.theatlantic.com/health/arch ... ket-newtab

[z1812]

ORIGINAL: rommel222

Greetings to All,
NY state now has 11 confirmed casea of Corona Virus.
https://www.wamc.org/post/cuomo-11-new- ... oronavirus

My son-in-law is a private contractor for carpentry and plumbing in Saratoga NY.
One of his employees went to Italy on vacation two weeks ago with wife. She became ill there and did not get tested for Corona virus.
They both returned home to Saratoga NY and still did not get tested because they did not want to pay for it.
The employee wants to come back to work but my son-in-law says no way. Told the employee that he and his wife must be tested for Corona Virus first.
In NY state Gov. Andy Cuomo has ordered health insurance companies to waive the fee for Corona Virus testing. So employee and sick wife will not have an out of pocket expense for testing.
But in the meantime he and his wife have been shopping at stores and socializing with friends and relatives.

Unfortunately there are a lot of people who are, at best foolish, and at worst irresponsible, when it comes to being thoughtful about their part in controlling these type of contagions.

Sadly, authorities often wait until affairs are in crisis before making difficult decisions that may be unpopular.

[RangerJoe]

ORIGINAL: z1812

ORIGINAL: rommel222

Greetings to All,
NY state now has 11 confirmed casea of Corona Virus.
https://www.wamc.org/post/cuomo-11-new- ... oronavirus

My son-in-law is a private contractor for carpentry and plumbing in Saratoga NY.
One of his employees went to Italy on vacation two weeks ago with wife. She became ill there and did not get tested for Corona virus.
They both returned home to Saratoga NY and still did not get tested because they did not want to pay for it.
The employee wants to come back to work but my son-in-law says no way. Told the employee that he and his wife must be tested for Corona Virus first.
In NY state Gov. Andy Cuomo has ordered health insurance companies to waive the fee for Corona Virus testing. So employee and sick wife will not have an out of pocket expense for testing.
But in the meantime he and his wife have been shopping at stores and socializing with friends and relatives.

Unfortunately there are a lot of people who are, at best foolish, and at worst irresponsible, when it comes to being thoughtful about their part in controlling these type of contagions.

Sadly, authorities often wait until affairs are in crisis before making difficult decisions that may be unpopular.

True, when people are sick they should be selfish and not share.

Some authorities want crisis situations so they can do things that ordinarily would not be possible for them.

My question is, how can governor Cuomo order private industries to waive a cost? Is he having the state pay for the testing?

[rommel222]

Greetings z1812,
How right you are!

[rommel222]

RangerJoe you must not live in NY state or else you would know that an all NY democratic house (AOC & Gerry Nadler) & senate (Kirstan Gillibrand & Chuck Schumer) allow Emperor Cuomo to issue executive orders. The capital of NY state is Albany NY, which is also a sanctuary city and the reason i moved to Saratoga which is not. NY state used to always be the number 1 highest income taxed state in the union. However, it has fallen to number 2 after California since last year.

There are safety nets for workers that are sidelined by illness in NY state (another reason income taxes are so high = tax payer funded).
https://www.fisherphillips.com/resource ... -the-covid
http://www.wcb.ny.gov/content/main/TheB ... -sheet.pdf
https://www.workcompcentral.com/news/ar ... d60a2b2008

[chesalyn]

It is high time for all of us to be alert. Be protective. That is the only way we can prevent ourselves from this deadly disease.

[RangerJoe]

ORIGINAL: rommel222

RangerJoe you must not live in NY state or else you would know that an all NY democratic house & senate (Kirstan Gillibrand & Chuck Schumer) allow Emperor Cuomo to issue executive orders. The capital of NY state is Albany NY, which is also a sanctuary city and the reason i moved to Saratoga which is not. NY state used to always be the number 1 highest income taxed state in the union. However, it has fallen to number 2 after California since last year.

There are safety nets for workers that are sidelined by illness in NY state (another reason income taxes are so high = tax payer funded).
https://www.fisherphillips.com/resource ... -the-covid
http://www.wcb.ny.gov/content/main/TheB ... -sheet.pdf
https://www.workcompcentral.com/news/ar ... d60a2b2008

You guessed that correctly, I do not live in NY state. It sounds like it is run by a dictator.

[RFalvo69]

ORIGINAL: RangerJoe
My question is, how can governor Cuomo order private industries to waive a cost? Is he having the state pay for the testing?

This is what happens in countries with UHC. Some countries, like Poland and Germany, make you pay 125 Euro. Here in Italy the test is free.

Obviously sick people all around the World that cannot afford the cost (possibly because they cannot work, too) will not be tested - unless you make it make mandatory by law. I don't know how much you have to pay in the US for a test. I hope that the expense is low enough to allow tests on all suspected cases.

[Erik Rutins]

ORIGINAL: rommel222
My son-in-law is a private contractor for carpentry and plumbing in Saratoga NY.
One of his employees went to Italy on vacation two weeks ago with wife. She became ill there and did not get tested for Corona virus.
They both returned home to Saratoga NY and still did not get tested because they did not want to pay for it.
The employee wants to come back to work but my son-in-law says no way. Told the employee that he and his wife must be tested for Corona Virus first.
In NY state Gov. Andy Cuomo has ordered health insurance companies to waive the fee for Corona Virus testing. So employee and sick wife will not have an out of pocket expense for testing.
But in the meantime he and his wife have been shopping at stores and socializing with friends and relatives.

I'm sorry, but that's incredibly irresponsible on their part. There needs to be communication from all levels of government and citizenry to make sure folks like this get tested to avoid larger outbreaks which will kill many people. Unfortunately, it is looking like a lot of people have their head in the sand and just think the virus will somehow behave differently here. Frankly, your son should call the health department and make them aware.

Regards,

- Erik

[Erik Rutins]

https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/medica ... r-BB10MtVb

[Erik Rutins]

Taiwan set an example:

https://healthpolicy.fsi.stanford.edu/n ... oronavirus

[TulliusDetritus]

A lot of folks with the head in the sand... I wish they were correct but if it's not the case, they are spreading false information... for some sordid reasons... and this might kill unaware people (the this is a flu ridiculous brigade)

Global mortality rate is around 3%. That's what WHO says. I personally think numbers or variables are necessarily unknown. In China and elsewhere. To get the mortality rate you need the correct number of infected. And to get that number you need to do tests aka who has the covid-19 errr Houston, we have a logistical problem here: not enough devices and personnel... aren't we missing lots of infected? [;)]

Tests:

China = tens of thousands every single day
South Korea = 10.000 every single day
UK = 7.000 every single day


These are the countries' numbers that I do trust (no matter what the trolls might think) simply because they put the money where the mouth is.

NOW...

I want to be optimistic. China was obviously overwhelmed + unpreparedness but in the end they did a massive job (that's what WHO says, so pay attention). Not sure their numbers describe reality though. It's South Korean numbers that might matter. These numbers suggest death rate is around 0,53%. Remember: massive daily tests (10.000 as per above).

Flu mortality rate is around 0,1%- 0,2%. What I am trying to say is that 2%-3% will be a very huge massacre if let's say 50% of humanity is infected. Spanish Flu 2.0 if not worse. A [SK] 0,53% is still deadlier than flu but we would be dodging a bullet imho.

I would love it even better if even SK numbers were incorrect, because they might still be missing more infected = mortality rate would be in fact lower than that 0,53% [;)]

Time will tell.

PS I'm also assuming the other variable (deaths) is accurate too.

PPS mortality rate will also depend on the healthcare system. The states with universal healthcare aka China, Europe, SK, Japan, Anzac, Canada are much better prepared. The rest (no healthcare worth that name + the poor states)... good luck... [;)]

[rico21]

Whatever the country where you live, protect yourself so as not to get sick so as not to clog up the hospitals (which will no longer be able to treat current urgent cases ...) because it will be the beginning of a hecatomb, it is haunting of all governments.

https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandso ... 3429393910

[rommel222]

Greetings to All,
NY state Corona Virus cases doubled overnight from 11 to 22:
https://www.wamc.org/post/22-infected-c ... york-state

[RangerJoe]

Still, as a percentage of the population did it really change?

[Erik Rutins]

From Italy:

"At this moment in time, we believe it is important to share our first impressions and what we have learned in the first ten days of the COVID-19 outbreak.

We have seen a very high number of ICU admissions, almost entirely due to severe hypoxic respiratory failure requiring mechanical ventilation.

The surge can be important during an outbreak and cluster containment has to be in place to slow down virus transmission.

We are seeing a high percentage of positive cases being admitted to our Intensive Care Units, in the range of 10% of all positive patients.
We wish to convey a strong message: Get ready!"

https://mailchi.mp/esicm/the-future-of- ... ar-1009715

[OldSarge]

On the lighter side of Corona Virus news, it looks like the sales of Ding Dongs and Twinkies are on the rise as people stock up for a potentially long stay at home.

Coronavirus outbreak may have unleashed panic buying of Hostess Twinkies and Ding Dongs

Twinkies will last well into the zombie apocalypse! [8D]

[RangerJoe]

ORIGINAL: OldSarge

On the lighter side of Corona Virus news, it looks like the sales of Ding Dongs and Twinkies are on the rise as people stock up for a potentially long stay at home.

Coronavirus outbreak may have unleashed panic buying of Hostess Twinkies and Ding Dongs

Twinkies will last well into the zombie apocalypse! [8D]