News Worldwide impact of the novel coronavirus (covid-19)

[bellbird]

NZ has been in lockdown for two weeks now.

I just got home from the supermarket. It was my first shop since we went into lockdown, and I'm hoping I won't need to go for another till the lockdown is lifted.

Such a bizarre experience. It felt like I'd stepped into some alternate reality, or into a movie even.

Carpark rows usually filled with cars instead blocked out, with black crosses on concrete at two metre intervals indicating where people may stand as they queue, to adhere to social distancing.

A police car quietly driving by the disjointed snake-like queue of shoppers, noting all in order, and then leaving the human snake to itself again.

People adorned in bright blue gloves and coloured masks, clinging tightly to their trolleys; their only sense of physical touch in a building full of people.

Security at the front door, observing people sanitising their hands, as they entered one by one.

Government announcements sounding over the radio, in between songs that some sang out loud to.

And checkout workers nestled amongst PPE, like fish in two-sided perspex tanks.

All in response to an enemy we can't even see with the naked eye. Madness.

 

[user27357]

to those of you south of the equator, you NZ folk and Australians in particular, the governments have seemingly done the right things and strictly by the numbers you are doing better as a whole than the rest of the globe at controlling the community spread.

I want to ask you, do you think the season has anything to do with it? We are now on the warm side of the equinox, birds are mating and flowers are blooming, people with allergies are sneezing...while you are looking at fall and colder nights ahead. Our resident has told us that this is like any flu, it will stop when it warms up here in the US. What do you say?

 

[bellbird]

do you think the season has anything to do with it?

As you say, the northern hemisphere is headed into spring/summer, with allergy symptoms that may facilitate the spread of this coronavirus.

On the flipside, we in the southern hemisphere are headed into autumn/winter, a time when most people typically catch at least one cold/flu virus; again whose symptoms may facilitate the spread of this coronavirus.

In my opinion, the season that a particular area of the world is in is likely only to be a complicating factor, but as those complications can be associated with all seasons, I don't feel it's a major influence on how things play out.

Although many have speculated whether SARS-CoV-2 will die out when the northern hemisphere moves fully into summer, the reality of that seems very uncertain at the moment. MERS, for instance, was able to spread through Saudi Arabia in very warm climate.

I think the major determining factors are the decisions made by governing bodies, and compliance levels of the population.

Here in NZ, we are also working with a much smaller population (approx. 4.8 million), with Auckland making up about a third of that. So even if all countries globally have the same proportion of non-compliance, that's still going to be much fewer people here.

 

[Innordinate]

want to ask you, do you think the season has anything to do with it?

We've heard much of the same thing here, not that it will be gone because of summer but they expect it to drop off because of summer. Less to do with temperature though and more to do with activities. Summers here are when people spend more time outside, where there's air currents constantly refreshing the air we breathe. They fully expect it to come back stronger again in fall.
Our premier just announced that we "have the right to know" *insert some stupid political garbage here*. As if we didn't have the right to know a month ago when this all started here.
According to our health officials projections we aren't going to peak until mid May and then by the end of summer we could see a loosening of our physical distancing/stay home restrictions.

We're getting as bad as the states though, right now for propaganda bs and bottom line.

We apparently have a high number of cases per capita because we test more than most places in the world :rolleyes:

We've only been testing people who have travelled and people going to the hospital, switched to health care workers and people going to hospital and now opened it up to testing 60+ if they have symptoms.

Reality is that could be 10x higher - our "honest premier" neglected to mention that truth.

Why Canada hasn't taken more extreme measures I don't know- same thing as the states is my guess.

I'm currently wondering when all the people complaining that the government isn't paying them a "liveable" wage now that they're out of work will:

1) Realize that a year or two (maybe sooner) from now taxes are going to increase substantially and
2) that they're hypocrites- complaining about having to pay taxes that go towards supporting people who can't work and now complaining the govt. isn't paying them enough.
3) Mental health is no joke. Anxiety is no joke.

What I think will happen is - nothing, except getting extremely pissed off at #1. They'll go back to being their hypocritical selves, continue over spending on garbage they don't need and go back criticizing people who have mental health disorders.

But i guess even if only 1% of people grow from this experience that's better than nothing.

 

[lostforgottensoul]

Here's downtown Orlando right now:

A picture taken on my phone off the tv.

Seems so crazy. Its rush hour. Normally it would take 45 mins to drive 5 miles. Its soooo empty! I feels so unreal!

 

[anthony]

I want to ask you, do you think the season has anything to do with it? We are now on the warm side of the equinox, birds are mating and flowers are blooming, people with allergies are sneezing...while you are looking at fall and colder nights ahead. Our resident has told us that this is like any flu, it will stop when it warms up here in the US. What do you say?

I have read stuff about the virus spreading less within humid environments, due to the water in the air, however; it still spreads. So no... I don't think coming into summer is going to fix anything.

It also is not the flu. It has symptoms similar to the flu, BUT, the virus acts very differently. It is a respiratory virus that at the worst end, blocks your system taking in oxygen and passing out CO2, basically drowning you without the water.

 

[lostforgottensoul]

The White House is saying that the US might be leveling off. They didnt share numbers but that is a good thing to hear if thats true.

ETA: Though they are still talking.

Am keeping my service dog exercised and taking some walks with him away from everyone. Trying to stay out and moving as with chronic pain, the worst thing to do is to not move around. Ive only been working from home 5 days and already feeling cooped up. Will have to go to the first few pages to hear what many have done to relieve that feeling. If anyone wants to let me know what has helped them the most, I am all ears and will take any advise given.

 

[user27357]

@anthony Yeah, we hear alot of absolute garbage from one source in particular. This is not the flu.

 

[Justmehere]

It is a respiratory virus that at the worst end, blocks your system taking in oxygen and passing out CO2, basically drowning you without the water.

It causes a nasty immune inflammatory response that punches holes in the lungs, attacks other organs, and then fills up the lungs with fluid.

My docs think I likely caught it, for a variety of reasons not the least of which is that a confirmed case sneezed on me while they thought it was just allergies and would come down right it days later. When I started to suddenly go south, they put me on twice the FDA approved max doses for a couple immunosuppressants designed to stop that immune response. Within an hour I went from oximeter readings around 78-85 percent (worthy of intubation) to 90 (out of the woods.) They are continuing to blow out my immune system in hopes that it stops the damn virus.

I just can’t have *any* human contact even at a far distance for awhile now even though they believe I’m far past being contagious. I have very little of an immune system at the moment. :/

If I don’t have covid 19, well, getting it now would be hellish. I hope the gamble my docs took was right.

I have had the flu and even pneumonia before. Don’t know if this was covid 19, as my test has been sitting for a few weeks now in a backlogged clinic, but this was a totally different battle. I went from fairly ok to not being able to breathe in the time span of 2-3 hours. Hours. I have never gone from talking, walking, with a slight cough to... omg I can not breathe and no inhaler or anything is working.. so darn fast.

 

[Deanna]

also is not the flu. It has symptoms similar to the flu, BUT, the virus acts very differently. It is a respiratory virus that at the worst end, blocks your system taking in oxygen and passing out CO2, basically drowning you without the water.

Attacks the heart as well
The new health struggle for COVID-19 patients: Heart failure

 

[lostforgottensoul]

I have had the flu and even pneumonia before. Don’t know if this was covid 19, as my test has been sitting for a few weeks now in a backlogged clinic, but this was a totally different battle. I went from fairly ok to not being able to breathe in the time span of 2-3 hours. Hours. I have never gone from talking, walking, with a slight cough to... omg I can not breathe and no inhaler or anything is working.. so darn fast.

This is the main reason that whatever I have isn't Covid-19. Its not moving fast and even is getting a bit better.

Someone was in the call center with comfirmed Covid-19 before I went work at home (well before my small sore throat thing) and so that could be possible exposure. This is effecting my lungs and blood oxygen dipping into the 80s but it will come right back up with some albutorol in a nebulizer. And you said that its dry and mucus free and this has mucus.

The news just said that anyone sick should social distance from their pets. They say that right after saying there is no evidence that pets can get it. Whats that about?

 

[Justmehere]

The news just said that anyone sick should social distance from their pets. They say that right after saying there is no evidence that pets can get it. Whats that about?

1.) An abundance of caution.
2.) Basic hygiene.
3.) Pets are a surface that can hold virus and transmit to others.
4.) There is no evidence pets can catch it and become sick, otherwise many pets would have become sick, but this is also a very new situation and virus that is mutating.