Coronavirus Part IV - 19 cases in ROI, 7 in NI (as of 7 March) *Read warnings in OP*

Miike

Some wonderful new accounts making such high quality, insightful posts in this thread.

Xertz

1800_Ladladlad wrote: »

The aul-won goes to slap her :pac: but she "got the toilet paper she wanted"

https://twitter.com/jordylancaster/status/1236187061339721730


I know its 'Murica but adults carrying on like this is sad.

Good to see the United States of America and Australia reacting in the calm, reasonable, pragmatic, logical and community spirited manner they’re so famous the world over for.

RandomName2

otnomart wrote: »

Most of the infections in Europe were caused by a single case in Germany.

"a decent fraction (10/43) of sequenced viruses sampled after Feb 1 belong to a particular genetic lineage
This lineage contains viruses sampled from Germany, Switzerland, Finland, Italy, Brazil and Mexico
At the base of this lineage lies the sample Germany/BavPat1/2020. This was "patient 1" in Bavaria who was infected by a business colleague visiting from China. "
https://nextstrain.org/ncov



This is the known timeline for Europe:

• end of January - First case in Germany (BavPat1) - linked to China
  • Article from the New England Journal of Medicine
    https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.105...d-mnX3d9F_WRzM
• 13 February in Valencia - First known death in Europe - diagnosed only this week - no known links to China
• also 13 February: first French victim from Crépy-en-Valois (with no links to neither China nor Italy) started developing symptoms. He was diagnosed after 6 days in Creil hospital.
• 20 February in Italy - first patient is diagnosed there - after 1.5 days in hospital - no known links to China

Oh poor Italy. It really wasn't their government's fault then, though the medical staff should have been way, way more alert. A relatively young man with fever and acute respiratory distress should have, by default, been subject to a test, regardless of his perceived exposure.

Mic 1972

Downlinz wrote: »

Public transportation mainly or any confined space where I'm near others for a while.

I have an NCT appointment coming up soon for example and their waiting room is tiny and always overcrowded so that seems like a good place to wear one.

If it's a generic surgical mask then probably it's as effective as a scarf over your mouth. I don't rule out the effectiveness of masks but I'm not sure if masks are the best approach to prevent contagious

PaybackPayroll

1800_Ladladlad wrote: »

The aul-won goes to slap her :pac: but she "got the toilet paper she wanted"
I know its 'Murica but adults carrying on like this is sad.

Ignoring the food...

ChurchtownMan

Darc19 wrote: »

Hospitals have no shortage of masks or any other protective equipment.

The HSE WERE proactive weeks ago and ensured a plentiful supply was in situ

It's more fake bullsh1t from morons on fakebook and the click bait "journalist" who generally tend not to be interested in the true story if it gets in the way of hysteria

The reality of this situation is that the HSE is powerless. The outcome will in no way beinfluenced by them. Or the health services of any other country for that matter.

The variable at play now is how long the process can be delayed to increase the number of survivors. The HSE, in this event at least, is no better nor worse than the health services of other European countries. Effectively non can handle what is coming to us. No service has a built in capability to handle a ramp up in demand for it services, in a period of a few months, by a factory of 300-400. None. Criticism of the HSE is entirely unjustified, and just knee jerk bitching.

Services simply will not cope. And people will die as a result. But there is simply no solution to this. The impact can only be reduced over the coming 12-18 months, by 1) reducing the number of HSE workers absent from duty at any one time due to being infected, and 2) reducing the number of the population needed hospitalisation at any one time. (as an aside, those who are diagnosed now or in the next 3-6 weeks are likely the luckiest - services may still be able to help them while numbers are only in the thousands. Those infected when the numbers reach the hundreds of thousands at the same time, will find they effectively have no health service available to them). We are likely powerless to influence either to a great degree - but it is the best course of action to attempt. At best, it will reduce cases and fatalities by a single digit percentage overall.

1641

charlietheminxx wrote: »

Mine too! I’ve always been good about washing my hands but I’m doing it more than ever and my dermatitis has flared up as a result.

Are the HSE really not updating numbers over the weekend? Are they taking the weekend off at a time like this?

They said that weekend updates would be by press release. Next press conference on Monday.

Blueshoe

1800_Ladladlad wrote: »

The aul-won goes to slap her :pac: but she "got the toilet paper she wanted"

https://twitter.com/jordylancaster/status/1236187061339721730


I know its 'Murica but adults carrying on like this is sad.

That's Australia. Coles supermarket

Funsterdelux

Miike wrote: »

Some wonderful new accounts making such high quality, insightful posts in this thread.

Sure I ignore everyone under 11 years

Whoops teeheehee

Martina1991

Miike wrote:

I wish I had more info on it to be honest. I do know that work has begun on getting this up and running but that's pretty much all I have. I assume you're working in Med Science? If you hear anything I'd love if you'd shoot me a PM on it

I am. Down the country though. Haven't heard anything about increasing testing but id say it'll be introduced across dublin hospitals first.
If i hear anything ill certainly share the news.

OneColdHand wrote:

No idea. But presumably it's not just the cost of the kit itself, its cost of the time for the doctor/nurse to do the testing, the the cost for the lab to carry out the test.

In the US they pay for every single thing from a hospital. From the medication, the xrays, the blood tests down to the alcohol wipes they rub before an injection. They even pay a few grand to ride in an ambulance. Its ridiculous.

So to pay for a COVID test that requires highly specific PCR techniques, its no surprise its costing them thousands.

Professor Moriarty

Miike wrote: »

Some wonderful new accounts making such high quality, insightful posts in this thread.

My concern would be older people with preexisting conditions who might be reading this thread.

4068ac1elhodqr

PaybackPayroll wrote: »

I read that non-woven material is best. N95 style.

Can't be self-manufactured easily and can't be washed, N95's are to be binned after a few hours due to dampness.

A washable DIY snythetic fiber, with DIY filtration (dried out wetwipes), then full DIY spashscreen on top might be as good, or better.

Ipso

Blueshoe wrote: »

That's Australia. Coles supermarket

Shh. Don’t disrupt the narrative.

joe316

At least the local committee where I live had the sense to cancel the Paddy’s Day parade, unlike some others....

Graces7

Professor Moriarty wrote: »

My concern would be older people with preexisting conditions who might be reading this thread.

I am one such, and I can differentiate between truth and fiction thankfully.. :rolleyes:

Snow Garden

Why the toilet paper obsession?

Is my bidet going to stop working when I get The Virus

Xertz

Ipso wrote: »

Shh. Don’t disrupt the narrative.

I’m not quite sure why the Australians are so worried about toilet roll for. Apparently they produce a huge amount of it and it’s one of the products they definitely won’t run out of.

endainoz

Blueshoe wrote: »

That's Australia. Coles supermarket

Equally dumb race to be fair.

Deco99

viewfromtheuk wrote: »

Here is a perfect example of the condescending nature of some posters diminishing in real time, not so confident now are we?

Still pretty confident. Better luck next time wum

banie01

Martina1991 wrote: »

At nights and weekends hospital laboratories provide an on call service.

The staff on call work in Biochemistry, Microbiology, Haematology and Blood Transfusion departments.

Testing is only performed on specimens from within the hospital.

Testing for COVID19 is only performed by the NVRL. They are only open for routine services Monday to Friday.

I dont know if they are providing testing at the weekends. But they wouldn't be able to fully staff the lab at weekends.
They would have someone on call, like hospitals do.

Thanks for outlining the process Martina.

Given the already known extant 24-48hr wait for results from the NVRL.
The Mon-Fri service doesn't bode well for the numbers of confirmed cases come Wednesday.

The sooner we can get a rapid field test kit into operation for Covid-19 the better.

martingriff

dublin99 wrote: »

Macau had 10 cases at the beginning of the outbreak and Government made masks available to everyone. They are mandatory on public transport and in casinos. They have not had another case for over one month!

You wont know who might be asymptomatic or pre-symptomatic when there are people close to you eg on a bus. A mask will stop you breathing in the droplets if they cough and sneeze. Most importantly, you will not touch your nose or mouth with your hands if you are wearing a mask.

This is a good guide to masks/ respirators and what they can do:

https://fastlifehacks.com/n95-vs-ffp/

So the maks stopped it in Macau or was it they locked down the whole island

Yes I will agree they help with breathing in but how about touching your eyes or eyes with your hands. Are you washing your hands making sure the masks you have are sterile your not touching the inside of your mask with your hands. So yes while it might decrease if used 100% as they should be they are not going to decrease it that much if you are taking common sense steps also

PaybackPayroll

Mic 1972 wrote: »

If it's a generic surgical mask then probably it's as effective as a scarf over your mouth. I don't rule out the effectiveness of masks but I'm not sure if masks are the best approach to prevent contagious

For me, my approach is:
- Avoiding people and definitely not go near crowds
- If I have to go out, then pick a small shop with not many people.
- Sanitise hands immediately after exiting any public place. Don't touch any handles.
- Constant hand washing and disinfecting everything.
- I'll soon be wearing a mask. I wonder why all the Chinese are wearing them, and also the health professionals? Anything above zero effectiveness I'll take.

^^ Note: my approach only.

jam_mac_jam

Snow Garden wrote: »

Why the toilet paper obsession?

Is my bidet going to stop working when I get The Virus

I am baffled by the Australian toilet paper frenzy

stephenjmcd

MadYaker wrote: »

Still only 18 confirmed. I expect a jump on monday but not a massive jump.

They are giving updates over the weekend just no press conference

Graces7

Deleted User wrote: »

Not one but two trolls having a field day on this thread. I despair.

The " ignore " feature is a great comfort.

stephenjmcd

Downlinz wrote: »

For those who could only find a small number of masks, how do you plan to use them?

I could only get 10 and I'll run through them fairly quickly if I'm disposing after each use.

They're no good unless your already sick to stop it spreading

Funsterdelux

PaybackPayroll wrote: »

For me, my approach is:
- Avoiding people and definitely not go near crowds
- If I have to go out, then pick a small shop with not many people.
- Sanitise hands immediately after exiting any public place. Don't touch any handles.
- Constant hand washing and disinfecting everything.
- I'll soon be wearing a mask. I wonder why all the Chinese are wearing them, and also the health professionals? Anything above zero effectiveness I'll take.

^^ Note: my approach only.

Is it patent pending?

Hamsterchops

Blueshoe wrote: »

How many cases do we have now?

Eighteen, that we know of.....

spookwoman

Skylar Mammoth Spike wrote: »

Can't be self-manufactured easily and can't be washed, N95's are to be binned after a few hours due to dampness.

A washable DIY snythetic fiber, with DIY filtration (dried out wetwipes), then full DIY spashscreen on top might be as good, or better.

Also need it to have a seal to the skin. That's was what the doc was on about the other night on bbc or one of those. The n95 respirator masks have to be fitted and when that's done they move their heads and retest the seal by spraying artificial sweetener on the masks. If they taste the sweetener they have to start over fitting it. Said no use getting them if not fitted propertly because the droplets can get in through the unsealed areas

Miike

Martina1991 wrote: »

I am. Down the country though. Haven't heard anything about increasing testing but id say it'll be introduced across dublin hospitals first.
If i hear anything ill certainly share the news.

Cheers Martina, I appreciate that.

Professor Moriarty wrote: »

My concern would be older people with preexisting conditions who might be reading this thread.

My concern is rooted in the fact people are using Twitter et al as sources of 'informed' opinions instead of trusting the worlds leading experts in this field. When the public start trusting the people who've taken up amateur epidemiology in the last few weeks over the real experts we're truly gorked.