General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsThe Official Coronavirus Numbers Are Wrong, and Everyone Knows It
We know, irrefutably, one thing about the coronavirus in the United States: The number of cases reported in every chart and table is far too low.
The data are untrustworthy because the processes we used to get them were flawed. The Centers for Disease Control and Preventions testing procedures missed the bulk of the cases. They focused exclusively on travelers, rather than testing more broadly, because that seemed like the best way to catch cases entering the country.
Just days ago, it was not clear that the virus had spread solely from domestic contact at all. But then cases began popping up with no known international connection. What public-health experts call community spread had arrived in the United States. The virus would not be stopped by tight borders, because it was already propagating domestically. Trevor Bedfords lab at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, which studies viral evolution, concluded there is firm evidence that, at least in Washington State, the coronavirus had been spreading undetected for weeks. Now different projections estimate that 20 to 1,500 people have already been infected in the greater Seattle area. In California, too, the disease appears to be spreading, although the limited testing means that no one is quite sure how far.
In total, fewer than 500 people have been tested across the country (although the CDC has stopped reporting that number in its summary of the outbreak). As a result, the current official case count inside the United States stood at 43 as of this morning (excluding cruise-ship cases). This number is wrong, yet its still constantly printed and quoted. In other contexts, wed call this what it is: a subtle form of misinformation.
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https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2020/03/how-many-americans-really-have-coronavirus/607348/?utm_source=digg
Lindsay
(3,276 posts)I think. It's deliberately downplaying a very serious health concern for the country. Because Trump lies about everything, and instructs everyone else to lie about everything. But we knew that.
central scrutinizer
(11,639 posts)Entry to their countries? The risk is unknown so err on the side of caution.
muriel_volestrangler
(101,295 posts)The move came to light in a letter sent to all NHS organisations on Tuesday by Prof Keith Willett, the senior doctor co-ordinating NHS Englands efforts against the virus. In it he told trusts: In recent days, new Covid-19 infections have been diagnosed in intensive care units in a number of European countries, without any epidemiologial links to high risk areas.
Nosocomial [hospital-acquired] transmission has occurred in these units affecting other patients and staff. It is essential that we detect cases admitted to intensive care at the earliest opportunity. We are requesting that all intensive care units and severe respiratory (Ecmo) centres commence case detection.
Adult and paediatric ICUs should test any patient whose presenting condition is an acute community acquired respiratory infection of any kind, regardless of known or suspected causative pathogen and clinical features, the nine-page letter said.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/03/thousands-of-intensive-care-patients-to-be-tested-for-covid-19
Volaris
(10,269 posts)And in another 10-15 business days, this little fucker is gonna start exploding all over everywhere.
The Ides of March is gonna be a real bad week for TrumpCo, and hopefully also for the dumb fuck cadre of Senate Republican dipshits that left his ass in power.
littlemissmartypants
(22,628 posts)Kid Berwyn
(14,857 posts)It may already be too late to isolate those exposed from contaminating the entire country.