2020 Corona Virus

[TurtleMama]

Here is an article about COVID-19’s impending impact on Africa. Note that The link is at the bottom of the article. I’m sorry about the black highlighting; I’m afraid I don’t know how to fix that! This virus will be a monster when it hits Africa. I say when, because it is a certainty that it will; over 1,000,000 Chinese nationals currently work in Africa. 

 

The coronavirus is about to hit Africa. Here are the big challenges. 

Amy S. Patterson 9 hrs ago 

The number of cases of covid-19 — the newly named coronavirus — has topped 70,000 globally, with over 1,800 deaths. The World Health Organization declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern on Jan. 30, citing the lack of scientific knowledge about the new virus, as well as the need to increase preparation in “vulnerable countries and regions.” 
As of mid-February, 29 countries have reported cases, including Egypt — with the first confirmed case on the African continent. Trade and migration between Africa and China, as well as the presence of roughly 1 million Chinese nationals on the continent, mean it is possible that other covid-19 cases will appear. 
How will Africa respond? My research in five African countries on the politics of health sheds light on how trust, power and the actions of African governments and communities could shape a future response to the virus. 
Trust matters for public health
Studies on race and health in the United States and global immunization campaigns indicate that trust is an all-important element. Without trust, people tend not to heed health information or follow treatment advice. Distrust of public health institutions meant people avoided health-care centers during West Africa’s 2014-2016 Ebola outbreak, for instance. 
Corruption within public services deepens people’s suspicions of government health actions, and it undermines health-care access. When new diseases such as Ebola in West Africa or covid-19 emerge, a lack of scientific knowledge or patient personal experience also can undermine confidence in health-care institutions. 
As my research in Ghana shows, patients may question medical approaches to health issues with “unseen” causes such as mental health disorders. A lack of confidence in public health services is one reason people with chronic conditions such as mental health disorders delay seeking care. 
Trust can depend on who delivers the health message
Surveys show that people in Africa tend to place greater confidence in traditional or religious leaders than government officials. This pattern could present a challenge with covid-19, if distrust leads citizens to discount public health authorities. 
Experience suggests that the potential for the virus to spread will be much higher if community leaders are not part of the public health response. In the West Africa Ebola outbreak, cases began to decline when religious leaders and village chiefs started to educate people about social distancing and bringing the sick to Ebola treatment units. 
Trust in outside organizations also matters
In Africa, where donors provide sizable amounts of health funding and the WHO plays a significant role in providing technical assistance and support, trust in these organizations can affect health responses. Trust relates to past actions — and many African health officials may be somewhat circumspect about the WHO’s capacity, given its perceived foot-dragging on the Ebola outbreak in 2014. 
After that outbreak, donors called for pandemic preparedness. They devised multiple programs like the World Bank’s Pandemic Emergency Financing Facility. Yet their limited financial commitments to these programs undermined trust among health experts and policymakers. The bank’s delayed release of financing for the 2019 Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo brought criticisms. Some African politicians question whether the global health security agenda is most concerned with protecting people in high-income countries from diseases that originate abroad. 
Years of donor-promoted market-based reforms that cut public health budgets and capped salaries — as well as a focus on disease-specific programs like those for AIDS — have meant less funding for primary health care. The resulting staff shortages, facility overcrowding, medication shortages and poor patient care in most African public health systems exacerbate people’s unwillingness to rely on available medical services. 
African leaders and citizens prioritize conditions such as malaria, tuberculosis, child health and AIDS in policymaking and budget allocations. Politicians must decide how to use limited resources, and they tend to respond to diseases that affect many — and are relatively easy to treat. This enables them to claim credit, which may increase overall trust in government. 
Spending money on a possible future outbreak, in contrast, has little political payoff. As one official told me, “After all, such an outbreak may never occur.” The focus on short-term political benefits also limits treatment for diabetes, hypertension and mental health disorders that affect millions across the continent but receive limited attention or resources. 
Governments are under pressure to be vigilant
If an outbreak occurs and governments are not prepared, however, there will be political backlash. Surveys across 32 countries indicate that health, education and employment are African citizens’ top priorities. 
Africans want their governments to be responsive to their needs. In addition, African leaders have to consider how donors might react if they are slow to respond to pandemics. In Tanzania in 2019, the WHO reported a possible Ebola case in the country, which the government denied. When Tanzania refused to share patient laboratory results, the United States and the WHO issued strong criticisms. 
This example illustrates how power undergirds global health. Through resources, the United States and the WHO exert the power in helping African countries be prepared for covid-19. But power also affects how we see health issues and whose expertise we value. As my colleagues and I argue, power means that issues with nascent scientific knowledge, limited advocacy and no strong government backer — such as mental health — gain little attention. Similar forms of invisible power — evident in negative portrayals of Africa in the global media and Western societies — promote the idea that African countries are not up to the task of covid-19. Global collaboration rooted in African knowledge can challenge such views. 
As Emma-Louise Anderson and I find in our research on AIDS programs in Zambia and Malawi, even when constrained by aid dependence or diplomacy, African health professionals have considerable capacity to shape health programs in locally relevant ways. For the coronavirus, African health authorities have tested and reported possible cases to the WHO. The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, created after the West African Ebola outbreak, is emerging as a regional leader with the interest and capacity for cooperative responses to outbreaks. And its efforts to build national public health institutions benefit public health beyond disease outbreaks. 
As global institutions prepare for what inevitably may be more covid-19 cases in Africa, recognizing the ability of African community groups and governments to act will be key to a successful — and collaborative — response. 

Amy S. Patterson is professor of politics at University of the South and author of “Africa in Global Health Governance: Domestic Politics and International Structures” (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2018). She studies community mobilization, citizenship and health policy priorities, with a focus on Africa.


https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/world/the-coronavirus-is-about-to-hit-africa-here-are-the-big-challenges/ar-BB107tSd?ocid=spartandhp

[Jeepers]

Heaven help Africa if the coronavirus hits there. The Lassa Fever is already emerging in Nigeria. Plus all the horrible locust infestation in eastern Africa.  

[Ambergris]

Yesterday, there were 29 confirmed cases of Covid19 in the US according to https://gisanddata.maps.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/bda7594740fd40299423467b48e9ecf6 . Today we are back to 15.  The body bags are disappearing.

 

84 confirmed

 Japan

84 confirmed

 Singapore

63 confirmed

Hong Kong Hong Kong

35 confirmed

 Thailand

31 confirmed

 South Korea

23 confirmed

Taiwan Taiwan

22 confirmed

 Malaysia

16 confirmed

 Germany

16 confirmed

 Vietnam

12 confirmed

 France

10 confirmed

Macau Macau

9 confirmed

 UK

9 confirmed

 United Arab Emirates

5 confirmed

Queensland Australia

5 confirmed

British Columbia Canada

4 confirmed

New South Wales Australia

4 confirmed

Victoria Australia

3 confirmed

 India

3 confirmed

 Italy

3 confirmed

 Philippines

2 confirmed

South Australia Australia

2 confirmed

Toronto, ON Canada

2 confirmed

 Iran

2 confirmed

 Russia

2 confirmed

 Spain

2 confirmed

Chicago, IL US

2 confirmed

San Benito, CA US

2 confirmed

San Diego County, CA US

2 confirmed

Santa Clara, CA US

1 confirmed

 Belgium

1 confirmed

 Cambodia

1 confirmed

London, ON Canada

1 confirmed

 Egypt

1 confirmed

 Finland

1 confirmed

Tibet Mainland China

1 confirmed

 Nepal

1 confirmed

 Sri Lanka

1 confirmed

 Sweden

1 confirmed

Boston, MA US

1 confirmed

Los Angeles, CA US

1 confirmed

Madison, WI US

1 confirmed

Orange, CA US

1 confirmed

San Antonio, TX US

1 confirmed

Seattle, WA US

1 confirmed

Tempe, AZ US

Edited February 19, 2020 by Ambergris

[Ambergris]

I'm told the 29 counted 14 flown in from the ship, which 14 are no longer being counted.  Hence the return to 15.

[Littlesister]

The story on this keeps changing.  Last I heard was 15 and now 29.  And yes if this gets into Africa.  It is going to really get bad. For all countries. It will spread like wildfire. I heard that Iran had 25 cases of the coronavirus and kept it quiet till 2 people died from it. Trying to find out more about this and why they would keep it boxed up.  So not sure of the story on that but they did have 2 to die from it. 

World news said Virginia has no people infected with it. But they are concerned because of the fact that you can give it to others and not know you have it. That is the scary part of all this.  My concern also is why in New York and another state I can't remember right now has all those Chinese living there and during Chinese New Year they were traveling back and forth to China and none of them have the coronavirus.  Seems a bit odd.

[TurtleMama]

I have heard that Iran has over 30 cases of the virus, but it has not been confirmed and things are being kept on a very tight leash in terms of the information coming out of there. I think it’s because there are concerns over whether people will panic over the possibility of the COVID-19 virus recombining with MERS. How’s that for a horror movie scenario? 

 

I am totally with you on being co fused over New York. HOW? That just seems so...improbable. Not impossible, but...I mean, there’s a case down the road from me in Tempe, AZ. How could it NOT be in New York City?   It just doesn’t sit right with me, especially with reports leaking that health care workers are starting to come out and anonymously say there are cases in the northeast that are not being divulged. Of course, that is unsubstantiated; I probably shouldn’t even say it. It’s spreading a rumor, and for that I am sorry. But...my gut says it’s a possibility that just may not be far from the truth. I don’t know, maybe I’m buying into the conspiracy! 

[TurtleMama]

This is intensely disturbing. A sudden and statistically incredible upsurge in cases has taken place in South Korea. I will take a gamble and say that this indicates sustained and local human-to-human-to-human transmission in that nation, much like we have seen take place on the Diamond Princess. Look for South Korea to potentially be the next area where the virus becomes a true epidemic. If, at that point, WHO does not declare Level 5, I will completely discount them as a credible source of information regarding this outbreak. 
 

https://m-en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20200220002000320?section=science/medicine

 

SEOUL, Feb. 20 (Yonhap) -- South Korea reported 31 new cases of the new coronavirus on Thursday, bringing the total number of infections in the nation to 82.

This week's surge in the number of infected people, increasing the nation's total infections by more than 50, has raised fears that the virus may have been spreading locally. 

Of the 31 new cases, 30 are in Daegu, 300 kilometers southeast of Seoul, and neighboring North Gyeongsang province. The remaining one was reported in Seoul, the Korea Center for Disease Control and Prevention said in a statement.

[Littlesister]

TurtleMama. Don't think it is conspiracy.  I just don't think they are telling the whole truth of this. Something is in the wind and it is not good. It all started in China. Japan is almost next door to them and now they have it bad. It was also one of the reasons I didn't go to the funeral of the Dr. I worked for. His family came in from Japan and things where happening then. Wasn't going to chance it with DH's issues.  As it stands now, look at the ones running for President. They all make promises and don't keep them. Trump I have to say so far has done his best to keep his and as far as I know he is a first.  So to believe that they are being truthful about this virus.  NO. I don't think so. I think it is going to get out of hand within the next month and then it will be to late for people to prepare for it. And there will be millions of clueless people. And for that reason it will spread fast.  We are as prepared as we can be. About the only thing I don't have is one of those suits. But then I won't be going out anywhere. But something to think about. We only have so much money and it just doesn't go far enough.  Right now if we had to stay home,  we are good for maybe 8 months.  I have heard them say for 30 days and some say for 3 months. 

[Littlesister]

This just in from Alerts USA.  Commander, US forces Korea implements elevated health protection measures and travel restrictions for USFK pers due to COVID-19 outbreak. Korean government just confirmed 31 new cases. Most of these are from a Church that one person had it and infected the others. They are now all undergoing a mandatory self quarantine and is highly recommended for their family members as well. All travel in and out of Daegu has been halted. All schools, day cares etc. will be closed tomorrow and they are thinking about Friday as well.

[Ambergris]

The list I posted earlier has jumped to 82 on the count for Korea.

[Mt_Rider]

Very interesting read on Africa, Turtlemom.  Hope they can get local support in place.  Lack of trust in govt and even non-profits ....well, can't blame them.  Some are excellent and some are making profit at someone else's expense!    

 

We don't even have a lot of trust here in U.S.  And that IS going to have an affect.  If folks know what they're doing and can self-care while staying away from contact with others....that's what we'd all prefer to do.  If folks don't know what they're doing with quarantine, it's not going to turn out well.   [as the Princess ship has likely demonstrated]   

 

So anywhere on this world, folks need to know the basics of how virus spreads person to person....in case we're on our own with this, or any other situation.  READ and LEARN now....how to do self-quarantine.  How to use protective gear.  Know how to create makeshift protective gear for the clothing, at least.  [trash bags and duct tape?]   Not much makeshift for N95/N100s tho. 

 

How to quarantine family member if it's merely spreading thru cough/sneeze.   KNOW what to do if it IS airborne.  Hopefully the ship's procedures were SO inadequate that this thing is NOT airborne.....just spread thru incompetence. 

 

Folks...study now.  PRINT off sheets for reference.  Let's not be that incompetent in our own homes......and pray it just doesn't even come to that. 

 

Learn how to feed a person who is very ill.  Learn what will build up a recovering person....  Have those foods/liquids on hand before you can't go get them.  Recipe for rehydration fluid.  HOW MUCH to give....and how.....   Make sure you will have water.....with or without our usual utilities. 

 

Going to start a Flu Care Data thread......share your best stuff!  We've all got data.  PRINT it. 

 

MtRider       ....oops, that's not allowed during quarantine....   

Edited February 20, 2020 by Mt_Rider

[snapshotmiki]

12 hours ago, TurtleMama said:

there are cases in the northeast that are not being divulged.

 

Can't remember if I read it here or on another forum, but read that Florida is one of the States not reporting confirmed cases.

[Ambergris]

Florida says it will report any cases that get confirmed, but that no cases have been confirmed yet.  So...do we believe this?  

[Jeepers]

Thieves Steal 6,000 masks from Japanese hospital. Another theft of toilet paper in Hong Kong.

 

Feb. 18, 2020

TOKYO (AFP) - Thieves in Japan have made off with some 6,000 surgical masks from a hospital, with the country facing a mass shortage and a huge price hike online due to the coronavirus.

 

Four boxes containing the face masks disappeared from a locked storage facility at the Japanese Red Cross hospital in the western port city of Kobe, a hospital official said on Tuesday (Feb 18). "We still have a large number of masks - enough to continue our daily operations at the hospital, but this is so deplorable," the official told AFP.

 

Police have launched an investigation as they suspect the thieves intend to resell the masks. Masks have sold out at many drug and discount stores across the nation as the number of infections from the disease, Covid-19, have increased in Japan - one of the most affected countries after China where the death toll from the virus has hit 1,800. Public anxiety has been also fuelled by headlines of hundreds of people infected with the virus on board a ship quarantined off Japan.

 

 

The theft came after knife-wielding men jumped a delivery driver and stole hundreds of toilet rolls on Monday in Hong Kong, where the coronavirus outbreak has fuelled a run on face masks, hand sanitiser and toilet paper.

 

https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/coronavirus-thieves-steal-6000-surgical-masks-in-japan-amid-shortage

[The WE2's]

4 minutes ago, Jeepers said:

surgical masks

 

From what I've read in various posts, most of the masks don't make you safe.  I told hubby...jokingly?  I think we'd better keep our motorcycle helmets instead of selling them...since we sold the motorcycle? 

[Jeepers]

If they have a face guard...heck yeah. 

[Mt_Rider]

Besides...those helmets [any helmet] is good for tornadoes....as you once said, WE2.   

 

 

 

RE:  shortage of masks. 

 

Understand that my use for surgical and N95 masks have been for 1)  wildfire smoke  2)  road dust ...since my system reacts to those particles like an allergy.   With that understanding, I have reused the masks....even washing them out with soap/water.  Both types.  Seems to clear out the particles of smoke and dust. 

 

=-==-=-==-==-=-=

 

So......  WHAT would sanitize safely for reusing masks for THIS MICROBE PURPOSE?  If you needed to reuse cuz you can't get more?  

 

Cuz........back in the hospital days BEFORE DISPOSABLE....WHAT did they use to sterilize?  Boiling water.  Bleach?  Ye olde carbolic acid? 

 

 

DH ran a lab.  To sterilize surfaces, etc ....wipe down counters, etc with 10% bleach solution....let dry.

 

The masks might not withstand the sterilization process very well.....but you might get 2 -3 uses from even the disposable ones. 

 

THIS IS NOT MEDICALLY APPROVED ADVICE.  DO YOUR OWN RESEARCH BUT.....  if you don't have lots of masks by now, they're going to be scarce. 

 

MtRider   

[The WE2's]

37 minutes ago, Mt_Rider said:

good for tornadoes

 

Sure nuff...even if people do laugh!

[Ambergris]

Humboldt County California.

[Guest Joyfilled1]

Hello all! Thanks for the well wishes for our kiddo....still congested, but the 100° temp only lasted a few hours. Praying he gets over it soon, it's not fun to see him not being able to breathe through his nose. And....yay for homeschooling... especially in this kind of situation!! 

A couple of things....one of them close to home. A KS (my state) 20 year old teacher, recently married, died this month of "just the flu". They closed the school to disinfect it. Her husband and brother are also very sick and in critical condition. Ummmmm.....does that sound like what I think it sounds like???

https://www.koamnewsnow.com/miami-woman-encouraging-others-to-get-flu-vaccine-after-her-daughter-dies-from-the-illness/

 

Also.....has anyone else heard something about something happening that you would want to be prepped for (but don't know what) before the end of the month??

 

Stay safe everyone. May God be with us.

[TurtleMama]

Oh my gosh, Joyfilled — that is horrifying!!! How terrible! My heart breaks for her and her family. It truly does not sound like “just the flu.”  
 

I am so glad your little one is recovering. 

[TurtleMama]

Information from the Middle East. What is happening in Iran is frightening. I have found information that I haven’t posted here because it cannot, at this time, be substantiated. I’m still researching. 
 

however, it does look like COVID-19 is becoming a full-blown epidemic there, likely with hundreds of cases. This article states that Lebanon has its first case. 
 

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RUB 7.79

 

 

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Lebanon reports first confirmed novel coronavirus case 

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17:56, 21 February, 2020

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 21, ARMENPRESS. Lebanon has reported its first confirmed novel coronavirus case.

The country’s healthcare minister Hamad Hassan told al-Mayadeen TV that the patient is a Lebanese woman who arrived to Beirut from Iran on an airplane Friday morning.

The patient was hospitalized in the Rafik Hariri Hospital.

On February 21, Iranian authorities said they have 18 confirmed cases of the covid-2019 in 4 cities. 4 people have died in Iran from the disease.

 

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan

 

[TurtleMama]

And there are new “confirmed” cases in Iran. I believe that these are painfully low numbers.  
 

Iran says coronavirus has spread to several cities, reports two new deaths

 

•  
•  

DUBAI (Reuters) - The coronavirus has spread to several Iranian cities, a health ministry official said on Friday, as an outbreak that the authorities say began in the holy city of Qom caused two more deaths. 

Iran confirmed 13 new coronavirus cases, bringing the total in the country to 18, with four of the total having died. 

“Based on existing reports, the spread of coronavirus started in Qom and with attention to people’s travels has now reached several cities in the country including Tehran, Babol, Arak, Isfahan, Rasht and other cities,” health ministry official Minou Mohrez said, according to the official IRNA news agency.

“It’s possible that it exists in all cities in Iran,” she said. 

The majority of coronavirus cases in Iran have been in Qom, a Shi’ite Muslim holy city 120 km (75 miles) south of the capital Tehran. 

The new cases comprised seven people diagnosed in Qom, four in the capital Tehran and two in Gilan province, Health Ministry spokesman Kianush Jahanpur said in a tweet. 

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Health officials had called on Thursday for the suspension of all religious gatherings in Qom. 

“It’s clear that new coronavirus has circulated in the country and probably the source of this illness was Chinese workers who work in the city of Qom and had traveled to China,” health ministry official Mohrez said, according to IRNA.

[Jeepers]

Speaking of Iran, Ramadan starts in April. I wonder about Muslims making a hajj to Mecca in July.   

[Littlesister]

I am starting to wonder if this virus is going to end. It just seems to be getting worse and I haven't kept up with it the past 2 or 3 days. This is one we really need to keep ahead of if possible.