Pbmom's Blog

Coronavirus (COVID-19): Where We Are Worldwide Feb 29, 2020

As of Friday evening, the US has only tested 460 people. South Korea has run more than 35,000 tests (see more about their drive-through testing process). The test the CDC developed was defective; the labs running the tests are not confident with the results. Now the state of New York is going to be making its own coronavirus test after the CDC’s has repeatedly failed.

The first person, as far as we know, who died of coronavirus in the United States: Dr. Robert Redfield of the CDC said the person had no known travel disease. The only one in Washington State with no known travel history was a teenager. Trump said, in the same conference, that the person who died was a woman in her 50’s that was medically high risk. Will you all PLEASE GET YOUR MESSAGING STRAIGHT? We don’t have much confidence in your handling in this if you can’t get your stories straight in the same news conference. Deepest sympathy to the family and friends of that individual. (Update 3/1:  The person who died was a man in his 50’s).

How is the rest of the world handling this:

According to Kaiser Health News:

South Korea: There were 28 cases of the coronavirus in South Korea on Feb. 13. Four days had passed without a new confirmed infection. President Moon Jae-in predicted that the outbreak would “disappear before long,” while the prime minister assured people that it was OK not to wear surgical masks outdoors.

As it turns out, the virus had been rapidly spreading at the time through a large, secretive church in Daegu, where it has since mushroomed into the largest epidemic of the coronavirus outside China, with 2,022 cases, including 13 deaths.

Now the president is facing a political backlash over his response as the number of cases continues to climb — 505 new infections on Thursday alone. One million South Koreans have signed an online petition for his impeachment.

BUT: From inside their cars, people can be checked by medical staff in protective clothing and goggles who will lean in through the window at a new drive-thru coronavirus clinic in South Korea. The entire procedure took less than 10 minutes. One individual tested said this was easier than the 1-hour wait at a clinic. (1-hour wait???—let that sink in for all of America who can count on a 6-hour wait during normal hours with no epidemic in any ER of any hospital in this country).

Japan: Apparently closing the schools in Japan shocked parents after weeks of bungling their response to this virus.

USA: We already know that the uninfected people on the cruise ship were placed onto a plane with infected people on the same cruise ship by the Trump administration over the deep objections of the CDC. And thanks to the whistleblower in HHS, we found out that they were allowed to move freely on and off the bases [with infected people on site] and at least hotel and leaving California on a commercial flight. They were visiting Travis Air Force Base. The Safety protocol training did not happen until 5 days after their assignment.

Then we got word that a woman with no known travel history got the virus. Guess where she was living? In the same county as Travis Air Force Base. She was first treated at a hospital 15 minutes from Travis Air Force base. You can bet that infection occurred when someone who was unprotected from that HHS group went into the general public and crossed paths with this woman.

On Thursday, point man VP Pence was in Florida at a $25,000 a plate fundraiser for congressional Republicans and on Friday repeated a Rush Limbaugh theory that the coronavirus was like “the common cold.” It is NOT.

A woman in Florida went in to get the coronavirus test; she had insurance; her insurance refused to pay it; it was $3000. This is a public health crisis; no one should be getting any bill.

Myths and Facts

Myth: This is just like the flu.
Truth: The symptoms are flu-like, but the mortality rate is 15-20 times higher than the flu. (per Dr. McCarthy)

Myth: Trump keeps repeating that there are only 15 cases.
Truth: As of last night, there were 62 confirmed; according to Dr. Matt McCarthy there are probably a lot more infected that just don’t know it because we aren’t testing in mass volumes.

Myth: Trump says it will disappear like a miracle in April.
Truth: That is not what the CDC expects.

Myth: Trump is saying that this is a conspiracy by the Democrats to take his presidency down; that its another hoax.
Truth: This affects everyone; this virus isn’t going to ask your brain what your party designation is. It’s up to his administration to show leadership competence or not. Competence would probably get him re-elected; incompetence will most surely seal his fate otherwise.

The world and of the US updated Feb 29, 2020