The testing part is key. We (US) are so far behind the curve in population testing. We have basically said that we will only test serious cases, leaving the vast majority of mild cases to keep spreading the the bug and therefore generating more severe cases of unknown provenance.
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Yep. The news about how that’s been a failure has been depressing and scary… 
I do think we’ll get news of cases here in very short order, especially now that cases have been announced with our southern neighbor. You’d think having the headquarters of the CDC here as well as an important research university with an attached research hospital (good old Emory) would have sped that along, but nope…
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As a general rule, those elderly rely on Medicare. If they can kill Obama care, they strip healthcare from a generally younger, less wealthy, somewhat more blue population. Maybe trying to even things out? Seriously, I don’t think they have thought it through that much. “Obama bad!” Is about as far as they seem to get. But, yeah, off topic here.
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Just for convenience, these guys are doing a pretty good job of keeping current updates.
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A positive test result costs $4000. Can you afford to take that risk?
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You forgot your /s
(When I realized it)
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Much worse than that. A positive result also results in at least 2 weeks lost wages (no paid sick leave) and potential lost employment, which has a myriad of follow-on penalties, not to mention being billed for your own quarantine. Lots of folks will avoid testing and take their chances. Our system seems perfectly designed to maximize pain and suffering in a situation like this.
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That narrative about China suppressing information has been debunked. Please look at the WHO report on their China mission before spreading disinformation.
China was slow to report numbers, but they’ve caught up. In particular, the WHO report notes:
China’s bold approach to contain the rapid spread of this new respiratory pathogen
has changed the course of a rapidly escalating and deadly epidemic. A particularly
compelling statistic is that on the first day of the advance team’s work there were
2478 newly confirmed cases of COVID-19 reported in China. Two weeks later, on the
final day of this Mission, China reported 409 newly confirmed cases. This decline in
COVID-19 cases across China is real.
Several sources of data support this conclusion, including the steep decline in fever clinic
visits, the opening up of treatment beds as cured patients are discharged, and the
challenges to recruiting new patients for clinical trials.
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Wash your goddamn hands, people. Not just for coronavirus, either.
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To be honest, the US health care system seems to me like it’s designed to maximize pain and suffering all the time. This time, it just might bite your country in the ass worse than ever.
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Pence on line 1…
It was probably nothing.
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and don’t touch your face!
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One of the few ways that a facemask could be of use. While the mask doesn’t prevent acquiring the virus via respiration, it could stop one from touching one’s face.
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On the news today a CDC talking head was describing how the low flu vaccination rate is impacting screening. If you had the flu vaccine and you are displaying symptoms then the flu can be ruled out. If you havent been vaccinated for flu then more complex screenings and tests are needed.
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But I thought this year’s flu vaccine didn’t get all of the variants that have ended up being dominant this flu season, so even with the flu shot, people are getting the flu.
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That is not disinformation. It has not been debunked. You are giving China a pass, as has the WHO. I would advise extreme caution with giving China a pass - they have earned no such pass. Advisable to retain a level of skepticism of what is being reported out of that country, and some others.
https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/01/asia/china-coronavirus-truth-rumors-intl-hnk/index.html
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ive heard there’s not clear evidence on that. the issue is, masks are uncomfortable. people subconsciously adjust them or fidget with them.
also, taking them on and off can be an issue: moving germs from the mask to your hands or face.
an alternative i heard was: wear lycra gloves.
gloves stop you from touching your face as well, and protects from picking viruses up or spreading your own.
( still have to be careful taking them off, wash them, your hands, etc. )
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