A new message in hard-hit areas: Don't get tested

[Javaman]

Source: Washington Post

Health officials in New York, California and other hard-hit parts of the country are restricting coronavirus testing to health-care workers and people who are hospitalized, saying the battle to contain the virus is lost and we are moving into a new phase of the pandemic response.

More at link

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2020/03/21/coronavirus-latest-news/#link-A2WGNPYUQNG63CJCMT6YLNFDQA

[Coventina]

1. Yeah, because there are NOT ENOUGH TESTS! This is a FAILURE of TRUMP!

This DID NOT HAPPEN in S. Korea!!

[pangaia]

3. Or Taiwan, or Japan, or....

[w0nderer]

25. happening in sweden:/ same testing criteria, splains the low swe contagion numbers n/t

[Igel]

29. Details matter.

Beyond kvetching, of course. Then they're irritating. There's a rather different cultural response in the countries named--a lot more in-group loyalty and respect for authority, as well as social responsibility across partisan lines. Response in such conditions differs.

S. Korea tested a lot more people, but still less than 1% of its population as of 5 days ago. It helped that there was one particular group with very clear borders to test. It also helped that social cohesion made the group stick together, and nobody screamed "oppression" when that particular group was singled out. In fact, when that group wasn't forthcoming as to everybody in the group, criminal charges were brought. Korea's still had 108 dead as of today, as opposed to our 288. They're 1/6 the size, so they're ahead in deaths per capita.

Taiwan was special in that it's advanced and small enough for there to be two centralized databases that could be correlated. The first was everybody who saw a doctor and their symptoms. Just search for everybody with the right symptoms from 1/1/20 and you get a list of every possible COVID-19 case. Then search the database for everybody who was returned from abroad after 12/15/19 and you get a list of every citizen who might be infected while out of the country. Compare addresses for the two and you get your tier 1 suspects. You monitor that set daily as you work down the list of everybody with the symptoms and check their contacts.

It also helped Taiwan that it had an early indication that something was up. It reported its first case before the PRC did. But since it's not a legitimate, "real" country its report was ignored when China still had its doctors wondering if it was safe to report it.

Japan acted early and tracked everybody who came into the country. Testing? Sure. But they also imposed more restrictions on people who were suspected. It's also still early for them. 39 new cases so far today.

They also didn't all have that pesky HIPAA in the way. Some of these countries would have had no problem saying on the local news, "Igel tested positive for coronavirus this morning and his family is being isolated--if anybody's had contact with them in the last week, let us know immediately. Igel's daughter has yet to be located, please report her location immediately." And, instead of outrage at the invasion of privacy, people promptly turned themselves in and would have turned in the daughter fairly quickly. Just because the government asked.

[Crabby Appleton]

40. +1

[iluvtennis]

12. + 1. nt

[crickets]

16. +1000000

[Pacifist Patriot]

18. Not enough tests soon enough.

Now we can't afford to expend the PPE required to test. 😡

[unblock]

2. aaaand the morphing of america into italy has already begun

we're in for a sh*tstorm of epic proportions.

new york city has indicated they will reach max capacity as early as this weekend, maybe they can stretch it out to monday or tuesday at best.

it's going to be absolute hell inside of a month, when we're down to deciding who doesn't even get a ventilator.

[BusyBeingBest]

4. Unfortunately, we won't know how lethal this is without testing.

We won't know how contagious. I guess maybe they could develop a test for antibodies after all this is over to see how many were exposed to it and survived.

[matt819]

17. Exactly

Yes, we need to treat. But without testing we are missing critical data about the virus. Data about asymptomatic people. Data about people who may have had the virus and recovered without hospitalization. Data about mortality rates. Sure, that data may not be crucial in the moment but it will be in the aftermath and preparation for the future. Our national inability to do this does not change its importance. We should be able to deal with this on many fronts. But for the fact that trump is president and republicans are fools.

[lapfog_1]

19. there is a test already for the antibodies

we just don't have any.

Every person in the US needs this so we know how bad the next wave will be (assuming the lock down reduces the number of severe cases and we come out like China).

There will be another wave as this moves at different speed all around the world.

[OnDoutside]

28. Yes, this is so disastrous, the rest of the world will be stopping

people exiting the US, rather than stopping the rest of the world entering the US.

[paleotn]

5. Triage has begun.

[Pachamama]

6. I find this disturbing and thinks it's because there clearly aren't enough tests

They lied...Trump said that there were millions of tests...there simply are not and it’s a lie.

They are rationing the tests and prioritizing. And the exceptions seem to be VIP’s and the well connected.

I was just reading an article in the Hamburg Abendblatt newspaper. They were saying that one of the reason that Germany attributes their lower than other countries death rates is because they TEST EARLY and frequently and identify the cases and TREAT EARLY. It went on to describing how they have been testing on average 12,000 people daily.

We are in a triage situation now and not preventative or containment.

I am so furious and angry as I see this kind of messaging and that we are supposed to just accept it,

[2naSalit]

8. It's pretty obvious that

unless they can squeeze us out of our money, we'll die. They intend to kill millions of us and force us to heel. This is not ineptitude in as much as a planned disaster and a raid on the treasury at the same time.

[lunasun]

39. +all this

[SergeStorms]

22. Yet 53% of Americans think Trump is doing a damned fine job.

Sometimes I think this country is doomed, doomed because of apathy and stupidity.

[Lonestarblue]

7. Can governors order test kits from the WHO or other countries?

How are other countries finding enough tests to test everyone and some more than once?

[2naSalit]

9. I hopw so.

I hope there is a request for them.

[marble falls]

15. Why not? Trump just said he isn't our delivery boy and that the governors are on their own.

[GreenPartyVoter]

41. +1

[Brainfodder]

10. Obvious Things for 200 Alex?

Remember to thank Jared and his Bro for this?

Oscar Health scandal.

[IronLionZion]

11. Sounds like a real shithole country

Since they always promised us that America doesn't ration health care

[Igel]

32. Every country rations health care.

It's how it's rationed that differs.

We ration it by cost and geographic availability. You have money, you see a doctor faster. You're in a city, you have a shorter trip and more availability. We're set up for top 2/3 urbanites and surbanites.

Other countries ration it by specialty and location. Got the flu, see a doctor today. Need elective surgery, you have a 3 month wait, probably. Why the difference? Government tells its employees what to do first and what to postpone. And if you're a rural dweller, you're still screwed, because governments focus on dense populations.



People forget that anything requiring trained workers has a fairly inflexible short-term limit. Triple access to health care in the US for this summer? Not possible, I don't care how much money you have, the doctor/nursing staff isn't there. The government limits the number of residency slots by funding and licensing decisions, and medical schools don't have an easy job expanding their programs. Just as many state/local governments have anti-competitive programs whereby if you're a hospital and your competition wants to expand, you can force them to show that it won't undercut you and that there's a real need for that number of new beds.

Even with the ventilator issue it's the same problem. Triple the number of ventilators? Get trained first on their general use, then each make/model requires separate training. Cities with a lot of COVID-19 patients have put out the call--whatever you're job now, if you're trained for respiratory illness/treatment and the use of ventilators, let them know so you can be reassigned.

[IronLionZion]

38. Even if you can pay

when it comes to down to desperate crunch time, they will prioritize those with the highest chance of survival since there are limited resources available.

[keithbvadu2]

13. "Anybody that wants a test [for the coronavirus] can get a test."

“Anybody that wants a test [for the coronavirus] can get a test.”

Just ask your local republican org where.

https://khn.org/news/donald-trumps-wrong-claim-that-anybody-can-get-tested-for-coronavirus/

&feature=youtu.be&t=5389

[oasis]

42. Trump's lies have become lethal. nt

[patphil]

14. I think this is still about managing the numbers.

It would look bad for the Administration if the true number of infected people was known. I believe we would easily surpass China in total number of cases.
Without a accurate assessment of the number of cases, we can't tell if we're making any headway in containing the spread of the virus.
So, the total will continue to be unknown and the contagion will roll over the nation like a tsunami.

What we have here is a decision that is essentially first degree murder.

[dflprincess]

21. This

[dflprincess]

20. They are doing this in Minnesota as well

and we have not been hit as hard (yet).

And there is a shortage of PPE for medical workers as well.

[SunSeeker]

23. Yup. Here in L.A., we have no test kits. No masks, no sanitizer.

We are totally fucked.

https://ktla.com/news/local-news/l-a-county-gives-up-on-containing-coronavirus-tells-doctors-to-skip-testing-of-some-patients/

[Dem2theMax]

24. You can get a test if you are rich or famous.

Or the ambulance takes you to the ER and you are already on your deathbed.

The rest of us? Nope.

[Steelrolled]

26. I still don't see how much testing will improve our situation

given where we are.

[DrToast]

27. Testing is crucial for resuming normal life

When you have enough tests available, you can test people that are asymptotic and stop them from spreading the virus.

[OnDoutside]

31. +1000 test test test. This is Trump's biggest crime, refusing the

WHO tests. He's an accessory to murder.

[Loki Liesmith]

30. Test and trace is what we need to end lockdown

[EarthFirst]

36. For one; it helps document a lot of data points for virologists

that could help preparedness planning.

Secondly; to document the scale to which we are being lied to on the response by the White House.

[Chainfire]

33. Trump wins again!

The true scope of the virus will never be known. His numbers will remain very low.

MAGA

[Warpy]

34. I said that weeks ago and got nailed for it

If you develop a high fever, dry cough, body aches, and chest tightness, STAY HOME, Getting tested won't do a damned thing for you because there is no treatment beyond rest, Tylenol, and fluids.

If you become severely short of breath, it's time to go to the hospital, where they will likely test you as they begin treatment.

Early, widely available testing might have helped contain this thing in some areas, but probably not. It seems to be passed along by people who have no symptoms or who have such mild ones they're blowing it off as a cold or allergies.

[pnwmom]

37. But not everyone gets that sick. And if they were tested and identified, they could be ordered

to stay home, which would slow the rate of transmission and flatten the curve.

[pnwmom]

35. This is a mistake according to experts in epidemiology. Testing is still an important part

of flattening the curve. We should be doing much more testing, including people who are asymptomatic, to slow the spread of the virus.

[roamer65]

43. Not testing for antibodies is utterly stupid.

Those who have had and resolved it are potential plasma donors.

[MineralMan]

44. The only reason I can see for not testing widely is panic-prevention.

I'm sure that Trump doesn't want widespread testing, though, because it would make him look bad. He is just that small a person.