NON_POLITICAL China Coronavirus THREAD

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CZroe

Lifer
Jun 24, 2001
24,195
857
126
There are some videos online of TP warehouse workers laughing at the shortages followed by panoramic shots of their massive warehouses full of TP
I took this pic at Milton, GA Fry's Electronics back in January but it's looked like this since at least November:
7e9e5ec7eddcc074fe66f1fa67980aa9.jpg
 

Svnla

Lifer
Nov 10, 2003
17,986
1,388
126
I went to another Walmart (I know, there ARE A LOT of them down here) this morning and I have to say the men's restroom was clean and nice looking. The best I ever saw at WM. Maybe I was there early (before 10 a.m.) before the crazy crowd. I was able to find a bottle of 70% rubbing alcohol. Employees were stocking up water but no toilet paper still and no face mask and no hand sanitizer. And fools are still coughing out loud WITHOUT covering their mouths/faces or at least turn away from others.

In other news, hackers and scammers are in full speed of sending out emails and links/stories/etc. to scam people about this virus.
 
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Scarpozzi

Lifer
Jun 13, 2000
26,392
1,780
126
I've missed 40+ pages of this thread the past few days. I flew to HNL and the hotel I stayed in at Waikiki was 38% capacity. It was pretty awesome. Pool only had a handful of people swimming. (Social distancing is easy there)

I'm on the big island now. The same thing here....there are people around, but it's not that crowded. Luaus are going to be cancelled coming up (buffet) but that's the first sign I've seen of disruption.

The airports were interesting. I saw 30-50 people wearing masks made of many different materials....maybe 10-15 people had their noses exposed. I saw one kid with a sun hat and sheet plastic draped in front like a sneeze guard. 😛 Hand washing and sanitizer...

Are things on the mainland as crazy as the internet news stories make it sound? There haven't been any confirmed cases in my county at home, but they make it sound like people are going nuts.
 
Dec 10, 2005
29,692
15,282
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I think we could be out of shool for at least 1 month. Maybe even longer. By the 2 week mark we should start the see the large uptick with this infection.
I feel for the people who don't have the luxury to work remotely, and if they have children. This is a nightmare for them.
Dr Fauci, director of the NIH division for Allergies and Infectious Diseases said a 14-day national shutdown is warranted to help prevent the spread. Better to overreact than to end up in an Italy-type situation.
 
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Muse

Lifer
Jul 11, 2001
41,337
10,461
136
Those are the Sambucol tablets... not lozenges. The effect Dr. James Robb was suggesting zinc for kinda requires them in lozenge form. I bought the Sambucol Elderberry + Zinc lozenges at GNC but they were super expensive and I soon realized that they did not have nearly enough zinc. Supposedly you need to aim for 85mg a day but an entire $10 package of those is only 60mg (3mg per lozenge). I mentioned this earlier in the thread hoping others would learn from my mistake and avoid that brand. :(
I'm seeing maybe interesting things searching for info on this. The LA Times article here in 2010 says the customer service reported 10mg zinc per Zincam Rapidmelt. But it said zinc gluconicum was the only active ingredient. The box I bought a week ago had that (1x) and zincum aceticum (2x) and Echinacea as active ingredients. So, likely different.

Zinc gluconicum is indicated as equivalent to zinc gluconate at Wikipedia.

One question at Amazon for Zicam asked about zinc content, eliciting this response from an apparent customer: 13.3 mg. You can get more zinc from a daily supplement, depending on what your needs are. you would have to take 6 Zicam to get 80 mg. It would also be cheaper to just buy a supplement.

Of course, I cannot vouch for that! If it's true, it would be roughly the same as Cold-Eeze zinc lozenges.

Sambucol's FAQ sheds no light that I can see on the zinc content of their products.
 

Muse

Lifer
Jul 11, 2001
41,337
10,461
136
Were going to see very soon if these closures are going to work in the long run. I suspect once the Chinese get back to work there will be more cases with a similar infection rate

If this virus is as infectious as its been all of this is pointless, we cant all live at home for months. It will just have to run through the population.
Oh, it likely will "run through the population," to what extent (%?) we don't know right now, and will vary from place to place. The big question I see is how long does immunity last when you recover? That will be super important in the world recovering from this. That in tandem with possible immune therapies we can develop.
 

CZroe

Lifer
Jun 24, 2001
24,195
857
126
I'm seeing maybe interesting things searching for info on this. The LA Times article here in 2010 says the customer service reported 10mg zinc per Zincam Rapidmelt. But it said zinc gluconicum was the only active ingredient. The box I bought a week ago had that (1x) and zincum aceticum (2x) and Echinacea as active ingredients. So, likely different.

Zinc gluconicum is indicated as equivalent to zinc gluconate at Wikipedia.

One question at Amazon for Zicam asked about zinc content, eliciting this response from an apparent customer: 13.3 mg. You can get more zinc from a daily supplement, depending on what your needs are. you would have to take 6 Zicam to get 80 mg. It would also be cheaper to just buy a supplement.

Of course, I cannot vouch for that! If it's true, it would be roughly the same as Cold-Eeze zinc lozenges.

Sambucol's FAQ sheds no light that I can see on the zinc content of their products.
Right. They have several products with zinc but the doctor was specifically advocating for the lozenges at the first sign of symptom because direct application of zinc to the infected membranes disrupts replication. Doesn't sound like he's advocating for dietary zinc.
 

snoopy7548

Diamond Member
Jan 1, 2005
8,301
5,384
146
Closing down all schools until the fall would be the way to go, IMO - there are only about two months of school left until summer vacation; the last month of which nothing ever really gets done. Kids spread germs like there's no tomorrow.

People should be self-quarantining as much as possible. That means no going out to restaurants, the movies, events, and shopping for non-essentials.

If you can work from home, your employer should allow you to as much as possible. It's idiotic to let your employees come into work and just sit in a cube working on a laptop all day long. If you work in the service industry, well, keep yourself and work area as clean as possible.

We can't do everything, but we can at least get a good start on halting the spread.
 
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Muse

Lifer
Jul 11, 2001
41,337
10,461
136
I think school districts are in a tough predicament: for some children, it's the only place where they can get 1-2 proper meals per day, and parents rely on schools as a form of daycare since they may still have to work (and can't work remotely), but then at the same time, schools could serve as a central point where the virus could spread. Municipalities are playing an important role in fighting this, but the fragmented approach is not enough. You need stronger leadership from above and the resources those governments can bring to bear
Where I am in the SF Bay Area East Bay, they are closing schools but implementing providing meals regularly to combat the negative effects of the lunch (etc.?) programs lost by closures. I also saw on TV news that some child care facilities are going to be developed/provided.
 
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Muse

Lifer
Jul 11, 2001
41,337
10,461
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Right. They have several products with zinc but the doctor was specifically advocating for the lozenges at the first sign of symptom because direct application of zinc to the infected membranes disrupts replication. Doesn't sound like he's advocating for dietary zinc.
Sambucol (and Zicam) instructions are to let the tablets melt in your mouth, not chew, not swallow, so there is some bathing of the throat in zinc going on, I presume. I figure if I'm coming down with a sore throat I'll use one or the other and probably sip some diluted zinc drops for further effect. Maybe... still not clear on the zinc content of those homeopathic formulations. One thing... you don't want to exceed 150mg zinc/day... which is evidently considered the threshold for toxicity.

One thing to be aware of... direct nasal applications of zinc are said to be problematical in that they can affect your sense of smell.. temporarily or PERMANENTLY! So, I would try to keep zinc out of your nasal passages (I will!).
 
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Muse

Lifer
Jul 11, 2001
41,337
10,461
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Dr Fauci, director of the NIH division for Allergies and Infectious Diseases said a 14-day national shutdown is warranted to help prevent the spread. Better to overreact than to end up in an Italy-type situation.
Fauci may turn out to be a hero when all this is said and done (if it ever is). He's the only guy associated with this administration that I know of who knows his ass from a hole in the ground with respect to this pandemic.
 

blackangst1

Lifer
Feb 23, 2005
22,902
2,360
126
My wife is in retail management of a large chain. She told me yesterday two people stole TP out of the store's janitor closet and ran out the front door.

WTF
 
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Nov 8, 2012
20,842
4,785
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I went to another Walmart (I know, there ARE A LOT of them down here) this morning and I have to say the men's restroom was clean and nice looking. The best I ever saw at WM. Maybe I was there early (before 10 a.m.) before the crazy crowd. I was able to find a bottle of 70% rubbing alcohol. Employees were stocking up water but no toilet paper still and no face mask and no hand sanitizer. And fools are still coughing out loud WITHOUT covering their mouths/faces or at least turn away from others.

In other news, hackers and scammers are in full speed of sending out emails and links/stories/etc. to scam people about this virus.

"Hey, dude... for once you have to actually do your job and clean the restroom. For once places are being scrutinized for not being clean enough"
 
Nov 8, 2012
20,842
4,785
146
I've missed 40+ pages of this thread the past few days. I flew to HNL and the hotel I stayed in at Waikiki was 38% capacity. It was pretty awesome. Pool only had a handful of people swimming. (Social distancing is easy there)

I'm on the big island now. The same thing here....there are people around, but it's not that crowded. Luaus are going to be cancelled coming up (buffet) but that's the first sign I've seen of disruption.

The airports were interesting. I saw 30-50 people wearing masks made of many different materials....maybe 10-15 people had their noses exposed. I saw one kid with a sun hat and sheet plastic draped in front like a sneeze guard. 😛 Hand washing and sanitizer...

Are things on the mainland as crazy as the internet news stories make it sound? There haven't been any confirmed cases in my county at home, but they make it sound like people are going nuts.

Heh - but what are hotels + airliners charging there?

I mean shit - if it's that cheap I'll headout tomorrow for a mini-vacation.

Chances are these guys still have their heads up their ass though and are charging outrageous prices given the situation.

$300/night hotels should be $50 tops. Flights should be $50 each way max as well.
 
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Exterous

Super Moderator
Jun 20, 2006
20,612
3,834
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So one of the biggest PITA right now is the lack of available testing. Was on a couple of calls today and all of them had at least one "A person in this area may have had COVID-19" but was either waiting to be tested or won't be tested because they were deemed not 'high risk'. Meanwhile the hundreds of people who were in that area or around the person are like 'wtf do we do now?' "Sit at home and see if you get worse" is not a great answer but its what we have. Not to mention the logistics impact of dealing with a building that may or may not have been infected and the time wasted disinfecting it if the person wasn't really infected.
 
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Spacehead

Lifer
Jun 2, 2002
13,067
9,858
136
School closing sound like a good idea but i wonder... what's the point if parents are just going to put them in daycare? I realize not all parents will do that but...


My wife is in retail management of a large chain. She told me yesterday two people stole TP out of the store's janitor closet and ran out the front door.

WTF
Lock up your kids, money, guns & TP.

"I'll give you my TP when you can pry it from my cold, dead hands"
 

Pantoot

Golden Member
Jun 6, 2002
1,764
30
91
School closing sound like a good idea but i wonder... what's the point if parents are just going to put them in daycare? I realize not all parents will do that but...



Lock up your kids, money, guns & TP.

"I'll give you my TP when you can pry it from my cold, dead hands"
School closing also impacts all of those kids who rely on school lunches. It’s complicated for sure.
 
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Spacehead

Lifer
Jun 2, 2002
13,067
9,858
136
So one of the biggest PITA right now is the lack of available testing. Was on a couple of calls today and all of them had at least one "A person in this area may have had COVID-19" but was either waiting to be tested or won't be tested because they were deemed not 'high risk'. Meanwhile the hundreds of people who were in that area or around the person are like 'wtf do we do now?' "Sit at home and see if you get worse" is not a great answer but its what we have. Not to mention the logistics impact of dealing with a building that may or may not have been infected and the time wasted disinfecting it if the person wasn't really infected.
PA DOH - how to get tested (as of Mar.15)
Yeah, not good. Says stay home if you feel you have a mild case. Basically only testing the most severe cases.
Maybe since they allowed test kits from private companies they can get out enough to test a larger portion of the population.
 

H T C

Senior member
Nov 7, 2018
614
458
136

That about sums it up ...

Forget freedom and liberties: what good are those when you're severely infected / dead?

Contact ANY country that has had success in combating this thing and adopt WHATEVER they did. Personally, i'd suggest South Korea, but that's just me.

I'm not talking about countries that have it out of control like USA: i'm talking about ALL COUNTRIES that currently have it out of control, and that includes my own.

Think about it: if we somehow magically stopped the infection's spread TODAY, we'd still have roughly 15 TIMES more cases in 14 days from now, from those that have already been infected but are under incubation period.
 

spacejamz

Lifer
Mar 31, 2003
10,997
1,745
126
American Airlines is suspending pretty much all of their international flights...they will have 3 weekly flights to Narita Japan from DFW and one daily flight to Heathrow from DFW and one daily from Miami...all of their other international flights will be suspended as of March 16 until May...