Coronavirus

[Miggs]

My wife had a pretty disturbing story to tell me:

She works part time for the Dept. of Health in Plainfield, NJ. It's a poor/working class town in Central New Jersey. Her usual job is pretty mundane - she works 12 hours a week keeping track of folks who have and haven't gotten licenses for their pets; but with the current situation it's pretty much all hands on deck dealing with the virus. The number of cases in Plainfield have almost quadrupled in the past week. That's not the disturbing part.

Apparently the way it works is a person tests positive for the virus, the medical facility alerts the state and the state alerts the township and the township calls the individual to provide guidance on what they should do. They also ask them where they work and if they've been in contact with other people recently (the quarantine has been going on in NJ for about a week and a half now). Many people are refusing to answer questions, others are just flat-out hanging up the phone. Obviously these people are still functionable enough to go to work and are doing so out of fear of losing their job. Others might have a "questionable" citizenship status and are worried about getting deported.

I don't know how to editorialize this without sounding melodramatic - I see this eventually becoming a disease associated with class/status. Given the present climate I can only imagine how ugly things are going to get.

Many from our bilingual dept have gone to Plainfield in the last two years. It wouldn’t surprise me if the latter is widely affected for the reasons you’ve stated.

 

[Zombie]

My wife had a pretty disturbing story to tell me:

She works part time for the Dept. of Health in Plainfield, NJ. It's a poor/working class town in Central New Jersey. Her usual job is pretty mundane - she works 12 hours a week keeping track of folks who have and haven't gotten licenses for their pets; but with the current situation it's pretty much all hands on deck dealing with the virus. The number of cases in Plainfield have almost quadrupled in the past week. That's not the disturbing part.

Apparently the way it works is a person tests positive for the virus, the medical facility alerts the state and the state alerts the township and the township calls the individual to provide guidance on what they should do. They also ask them where they work and if they've been in contact with other people recently (the quarantine has been going on in NJ for about a week and a half now). Many people are refusing to answer questions, others are just flat-out hanging up the phone. Obviously these people are still functionable enough to go to work and are doing so out of fear of losing their job. Others might have a "questionable" citizenship status and are worried about getting deported.

I don't know how to editorialize this without sounding melodramatic - I see this eventually becoming a disease associated with class/status. Given the present climate I can only imagine how ugly things are going to get.

I mean, look at how many symptomless celebrities and sports stars have gotten tests while sick people are finding it impossible in many places. I saw an article the other day about the wealthy contacting ventilator manufacturers to purchase one for themselves "just in case." They're fleeing big cities and headed for their vacation homes in small towns to try to escape the virus, upsetting yearlong residents.

This, just like any other disease, will have an impact on the wealthy on a far different scale than the rest of us.

 

[Miggs]

Three staff members have it in just district now.

 

[LogGrad98]

COVID 19 transmits at a higher rate, there is no vaccine, and it is (very likely) more lethal, and it will overwhelm our medical capabilities if not mitigated.

Influenza does none of that.

Panic is stupid

So are the "flu is worse" analogies.

What is the evidence that COVID-19 is more lethal? Flu kills more people in wider age groups. Even the most conservatives estimates from experts on actual infection rates puts flu, with vaccines, at about twice as deadly. The evidence just isn't there to support that assertion.

 

[LogGrad98]

I don't know how you can look at what's happening in New York and Italy and still think this.

How can I think anything but? Looking at what is happening in New York it's only worse if you assume that every single case is exactly the number that is being diagnosed. Not a single expert believes that. Most believe that the actual rate of infection is minimum double, with some estimates in factors of 10 greater than actually reported cases. On that scale, even without a vaccine, it's half as deadly as the flu at it's worst, and that's with vaccines for the flu.

 

[candrew]

On a different but equally ominous note - my brother is an elevator inspector for the city of New York. Unfortunately he's still out in the field doing inspections.

He's being told "off-the-record" to skip or delay inspections in the Hasidic Jewish areas of Brooklyn - for some reason the virus is ripping through the Orthodox Jewish community. The first outbreak in the NY area was in a synagogue in Westchester County (close to where Donovan lives)

 

[LogGrad98]

I swear this is like watching a basketball game with someone and 3min in they are like "The Lakers aren't as good as everyone thinks they are. They only have 8 points. The Jazz average over 100 points per game. Obviously the Jazz are MUCH better but no one is paying attention to them because they're all freaked out over this Laker team that only has 8 points."

No it's the other way around. It's that hey this Lakers team is behind by 20 with 20 seconds left, but hey 10 seconds ago they were behind by 24 and 10 seconds before they they were behind 26, so they are doubling their scoring every 5 seconds, they will win this thing by 20 in the next 20 seconds, ignoring the obvious that there is a ticking clock, that there are efforts to stop them.

In China they have basically reversed the spread curve. And that's with the efforts of only one government and one scientific community working on it. The way everyone is talking everyone will be dead by next Wednesday so we won't have anyone alive to finish the vaccine or improved treatment, and also ignoring the true rates of both infection and mortality.

I have no doubt this will get worse before it gets better, but I do not believe it will surpass the flu in mortality before it is brought under control.

I'm not saying we don't need to take the precautions we are now. I'm not saying I don't think it's serious. I'm saying all these armchair calculations showing it escalating to world-destroying levels are exaggerated at best and feed a needlessly panicky populace.

And that will only make things worse.

 

[latin jazz]

How would they have been a disaster? Expand on this thought a bit please.

He can't. He only regurgitates tweets and news from Fox News & friends.

 

[latin jazz]

How can I think anything but? Looking at what is happening in New York it's only worse if you assume that every single case is exactly the number that is being diagnosed. Not a single expert believes that. Most believe that the actual rate of infection is minimum double, with some estimates in factors of 10 greater than actually reported cases. On that scale, even without a vaccine, it's half as deadly as the flu at it's worst, and that's with vaccines for the flu.

So, it might not be as deadly in relative terms (say it only kills 0.29% of infected people). However, it is more deadly in absolute terms as it spreads faster and undetected, ultimately collapsing the health system of a city/country, leading to greater/quicker/geographically concentrated deaths than the flu. The impact it has on a region - psychologically, socially and economically - like northern Italy - is devastating. Two nurses committed suicide yesterday in Italy due to exhaustion/depression (and one testing positive). Truly heartbreaking.

 

[latin jazz]

for some reason the virus is ripping through the Orthodox Jewish community. The first outbreak in the NY area was in a synagogue in Westchester County (close to where Donovan lives)

Not random. They are ignoring any advice:

Hasidic community ignores social distancing orders amid coronavirus
https://nypost.com/2020/03/18/hasidic-community-ignores-social-distancing-orders-amid-coronavirus/?utm_source=url_sitebuttons&utm_medium=site buttons&utm_campaign=site buttons

 

[latin jazz]

@Scat calling two nurses "Quitters" after they committed suicide is truly disgusting. It seems you realized how stupid your comment was and delete it.

 

[Scat]

@Scat calling two nurses "Quitters" after they committed suicide is truly disgusting. It seems you realized how stupid your comment was and delete it.

It was an attempt to find a little levity during such a depressing time. Apparently realizing my poor attempt and deleting the post immediately was not enough for you. Thank you for your vigelence in policing posts of poor taste on Jazzfanz. You must be a riot at social distancing parties. Oh wait....