My daughter-in-law's ICU recently got it's first COVID-19 case, so I want to ask my questions...

[LAS14]

... of DUers who might have medical training or be otherwise qualified, instead of pestering her. She's an ICU physician who is quite unhappy about the absence of planning at her hospital for what to do when they are overrun. So here are my questions.

1 - I've heard several times now that we expect 60% to 70% of the population to contract the virus. This leads me to believe that it must be transmissable before a person becomes symptomatic. Do we have good information about when it becomes symptomatic?

2 - In the beginning I got the impression that you had to have "a high fever" for it to be COVID-19. But I think I've heard of several cases where the fever was low and/or intermittent, at least at the beginning. Is it true that you shouldn't wait for your fever to get "high" to assume that you might have it and should self quarantine (or, better yet, in that impossible world we hope for, get a test?) The most recent confirmation of my concern is Tom Hanks' description of what he and his wife felt like. "Slight fevers." Early in the outbreak I would not have considered that I had it unless my fever got serious.

3 - If COVID-19 is transmissable through a person's breath (not coughing or sneezing) up to 6 feet away, how do PCPs protect themselves? Are they asking all patients to put on a mask? If they can find enough masks?

tia
las

[Claustrum]

1. Some links that might be useful

1) Yes, you can be spreading virus while asymptomatic. You can go up to 14 days without showing any symptoms while infected. Here is a link that might be helpful:

[link:https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/09/health/coronavirus-q-and-a-monday-march-9/index.html|

Corona virus can also survives on surface for up to 3 days.

[link:https://time.com/5801278/coronavirus-stays-on-surfaces-days-tests/|

I know the experts are saying only wear mask if you are sick. But most of the Asian countries (China, South Korea, Japan, Hong Kong) went through SARs and now coronavirus. And literally everyone who steps outside wears a mask. They must be doing something right.

[LAS14]

6. My PCP explained to me that...

... if worn too long, they can get damp and become more hurtful than helpful. I'm guessing the powers that be aren't explaining how to wear them correctly because there aren't enough and EMTs and hospital personnel need them more than the general population.

[Claustrum]

7. Yes

We would never have enough masks for everyone right now, or ever. So it's better to save it for medical staffs and people that are already sick.

I would also say, it might be good to use if you live in a city or you have a lot of in person contacts. But if you live on a farm in rural america and rarely see anyone else in your daily lives, you would definitely not need to use any masks when you are outside.

[LAS14]

9. I ordered some way at the beginning in case I or hubby get sick...

.. and have to care for each other. The sick person would wear one when the other had to be in the same room. If we had a top notch health care system, families with a sick member could be given enough masks for that purpose. Even though it was very early in the process, I had to pay a premium for the masks on Amazon. I posted about the plight of the poor who just can't do that. I was a little dismayed that the only responses were about the pros and cons of masks... not about the poor.

[LAS14]

8. Thanks! Excellent. And I'll keep watching that CNN link. nt

[Phoenix61]

2. From what I've gleaned:

1. You can transmit long before you are symptomatic. Some people, especially children, will not become symptomatic but can still transmit it.
2. I haven’t seen anything about high fever, just fever.
3. I have no idea.

[at140]

3. Hospitals have lots of experience isolating seriously communicable diseases which

are much more lethal than covid-19. My daughter works in a hospital and she told me they are well informed on how to handle the covid-19 patients in her hospital. She is less concerned than me.

[Mike 03]

4. Your first question

Initially they said it could incubate for 14 days before showing symptoms (but some people never show symptoms), but the most recent figure is that the average time from infection to presentation of symptoms if five days.

2. According to the WHO, "87.9 percent had a fever or a dry cough (67.7 percent), or both" So 12% of patients so far had no fever.

https://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local/article/most-common-symptoms-coronavirus-fever-cough-15115058.php

[lapfog_1]

5. UK Dr. Campbell

&feature=youtu.be

puts out a daily update.

1. 2 to 7 days... usually around 5 days. And, yes, you are infectious within hours of contracting the virus. This is one of the big problems.

2. A mild fever is usually one of the first symptoms. along with a dry cough. Not always. The more severe cases can start with a fever of 104F. Again, not always.

3. A matter of some debate... but, in general, patients suspected of having Covid-19 are given a mask to wear to lessen the amount of virus exhaled, sneezed, or coughed. The care givers should take their own precautions... but there is disagreement on what that should entail... the CDC believes that a full containment suit (respirator.etc) is required.

[defacto7]

10. The curren estimate for number 1 as of March 12

is 2 to 14 days according to WHO. The 5 day figure is the median estimate which is effectively useless. The range differs from the view of different organizations but no organization uses a single point reference, its always a range.

For a summay of findings from different sources:

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/coronavirus-incubation-period/