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posted by martyb on Tuesday February 18 2020, @03:06AM   Printer-friendly
from the nasty-little-buggers dept.

This story is a roundup of several virus stories that were submitted over the past few days. This is a changing story, so some of what is posted below may have changed since the time of their originally being published.

What's in a name? One significant change is what the names are for everything. There is the question of what to call the actual virus and then what to call it when someone is infected.

Virus: The virus by itself is now officially referred to as SARS-CoV-2 (Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2). It was formerly known as 2019-nCoV (2019 novel coronavirus).

Disease: Those who have been infected by this virus are said to have a disease. The name of the disease is coronavirus disease (COVID-19) which is also known as 2019-nCoV acute respiratory disease.

More details are available on Wikipedia.

The six submitted stories are presented below.

NIH Official Says Coronavirus 'on the Verge' of Becoming Global Pandemic Unless Containment Improves

NIH official says coronavirus 'on the verge' of becoming global pandemic unless containment becomes 'more successful':

Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told CBS's "Face The Nation" that multiple person-to-person transmissions need to occur in multiple countries in order to reach the pandemic threshold.

[...] "Technically speaking, the [World Health Organization] wouldn't be calling this a global pandemic. But it certainly is on the verge of that happening reasonably soon unless containment is more successful than it is right now," he said.

Coronavirus Selections

To Tame Coronavirus, Mao-Style Social Control Blankets China:

Residential lockdowns of varying strictness — from checkpoints at building entrances to hard limits on going outdoors — now cover at least 760 million people in China, or more than half the country's population, according to a New York Times analysis of government announcements in provinces and major cities. Many of these people live far from the city of Wuhan, where the virus was first reported and which the government sealed off last month.

44 Americans on the Diamond Princess Cruise Ship Diagnosed with Coronavirus:

Another 70 cases of the coronavirus infection have been confirmed aboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship, currently quarantined in Japan, according to Japanese health officials.

This brings the total number of cases aboard the vessel as of Sunday to 355, the largest confirmed cluster outside mainland China. People with confirmed infections have been taken to hospitals in Japan.

Tokyo Olympics Organizers Says There is no 'Plan B' for 2020 Summer Games Amid Coronavirus Fears:

Tokyo Olympic organizers and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said there is no 'Plan B' for the upcoming summer games despite growing fears that the coronavirus could impact the event, which are set to begin in July, the Associated Press reported.

Speaking at a press conference Friday, the organizers took 11 questions, all of which were related to the virus, athletes and fans coming in from China, and the continuation of the planned events.

"Certainly the advice we've received externally from the WHO [World Health Organization] is that there's no case for any contingency plans or canceling the games or moving the games," IOC inspection team head John Coates said during the news conference, CBS Sports reported.

Coates also claimed he is "100% confident" that the Olympic games will continue as scheduled.

The White House Doesn't Trust China's Coronavirus Numbers - Here's why:

The White House said this week it does "not have high confidence in the information coming out of China" regarding the count of coronavirus cases, a senior administration official told CNBC. Meanwhile, China has reportedly been reluctant to accept help from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and has reportedly suppressed information about the outbreak from scientists that it deems alarming.

U.S. officials' mistrust of China goes as far back as the 1950s, when national authorities set unrealistic production quotas that led local officials to inflate data. Mishaps with the 2003 outbreak of SARS, which sickened 8,098 people and killed about 800 over nine months, and discrepancies in reporting of economic data over the past two decades has only hardened the U.S. government's belief that China cannot be trusted, experts say. White House advisor Peter Navarro has even called China a "disease incubator."

See also: ACE2 Expression in Kidney and Testis May Cause Kidney and Testis Damage After 2019-nCoV Infection
The possible origins of 2019-nCoV coronavirus (scrubbed or hoax preprint on ResearchGate)

China Washes Money in Bid to Stop Conovirus COVID-19

When the going gets tough the tough get washing. In a bid to stop the Coronavirus (COVID-19) China has taken to washing money using ultraviolet light or very high temperatures. This is intended to "secure the public's safety and health when using cash". This effort may not be required due to China's rising reliance on electronic payments.

Americans Trapped on Cruise Ship with Coronavirus get to go Home

Arthur T Knackerbracket has found the following story:

Approximately 400 Americans may finally get to go home after being trapped aboard a cruise ship in Japan with the largest outbreak of coronavirus outside of China.

Everyone aboard the Diamond Princess has been under quarantine on the ship in Yokohama, Japan (south of Tokyo), since February 3. At the start of the quarantine, there were 2,666 guests and 1,045 crew on board the ship. Since then, 285 cases of COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) have been identified, according to the latest figures reported by the World Health Organization.

The outbreak of COVID-19 aboard the Diamond Princess is currently the largest of any cluster outside of China. Singapore is the country with the next largest cluster, reporting 72 cases.

According to the CDC, the itinerary for the extracted Americans will go as follows: buses will move the travelers from the ship to chartered planes. Travelers will be screened for symptoms of COVID-19 prior to boarding the aircraft to prevent any symptomatic travelers from leaving Japan. They will continue to be monitored for symptoms during flight and again upon arrival in the US. They will first arrive at Travis Air Force Base in California, which is already being used as a federal quarantine site for repatriated travelers. Some travelers will then be taken onward to another federal quarantine site, Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland in Texas. The repatriated cruise-ship goers will be housed separately from others already in quarantine at both bases.

[...] During the quarantine, which was scheduled to last until February 19, passengers have largely been confined to their cabins. Some have reported problems with the delivery of food and supplies, such as diapers.

[...] The embassy noted that if any passengers "choose not to return on this charter flight, you will be unable to return to the United States for a period of time. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will make a final determination on this matter."

-- submitted from IRC

High-Tech Shortages Loom as Coronavirus Shutdowns Hit Manufacturers

There are now more than 45,000 confirmed cases of the coronavirus dubbed COVID-19 by the World Health Organization, and the disease has caused at least 1,115 deaths. The impact of the virus is now reaching way beyond public health: China is at the heart of global manufacturing, and as supply chains suffer, panic is beginning to set in.

In many provinces across China the government has urged hundreds of millions of workers to stay home to help reduce the spread of the virus. As a result, many factories have stayed closed since the Lunar New Year holiday in late January, halting the production of products and parts destined for countries around the world, including Australia.

Apple is one of the most high-profile companies affected, with its manufacturing partner Foxconn hitting a lengthy production delay, but they are far from alone.

The sectors hit hardest appear to be high-tech electronics, pharmaceuticals and the automotive industry.

Globalised supply chains and just-in-time manufacturing mean many seemingly unrelated products are vulnerable to pauses in the flow of goods from China.

It only takes one small missing part to bring entire supply chains to a standstill. If a tyre manufacturer in the United States doesn't receive valves from a supplier in China, a car plant in Germany won't receive any tyres, and therefore can't ship finished cars to its customers.

[...] For many industries the next few months will bring high levels of uncertainty, with disruptions certain to continue, before recovery programs can start to gain traction.

This is obviously a worry for many organizations, but could also be a period of new opportunity for others, as the world comes to terms with this latest global health crisis. Supply chains that are agile enough to react quicker than their competitors," or those with more robust risk management plans, might find themselves gaining greater market share as a result of this crisis.

Apple Warns Coronavirus Will Hurt iPhones Supplies

Apple warns coronavirus will hurt iPhones supplies:

Apple has warned that disruption in China from the coronavirus will mean revenues falling short of forecasts.

The tech giant said production and sales were affected, and that "worldwide iPhone supply will be temporarily constrained".

[...] "We do not expect to meet the revenue guidance we provided for the March quarter," the company said in a statement, adding that it was "experiencing a slower return to normal conditions" than expected.

With most stores in China either closed or operating at reduced hours, sales of Apple products would be lower, the company said.

Apple said that "while our iPhone manufacturing partner sites are located outside the Hubei province - and while all of these facilities have reopened - they are ramping up more slowly than we had anticipated.

"All of our stores in China and many of our partner stores have been closed," it added. "Additionally, stores that are open have been operating at reduced hours and with very low customer traffic. We are gradually reopening our retail stores and will continue to do so as steadily and safely as we can."

Previously:
MWC Barcelona 2020: "Mobile World Congress" or "Most Won't Come"?
Coronavirus Roundup
Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) Roundup
2019-nCoV Coronavirus Story Roundup
Coronavirus Declared a Global Health Emergency by World Health Organization
In The Pipeline: Coronavirus
China Battles Coronavirus Outbreak: All the Latest Updates
Coronavirus: Millions Quarantined in Wuhan City
China Confirms Human-To-Human Transmission of New Coronavirus; CDC Confirms First US Case
China Reports 3rd Death, Nearly 140 New Cases of Coronavirus

Original Submission #1Original Submission #2Original Submission #3Original Submission #4Original Submission #5Original Submission #6

 
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  • (Score: 2) by takyon on Tuesday February 18 2020, @03:35AM (21 children)

    by takyon (881) <reversethis-{gro ... s} {ta} {noykat}> on Tuesday February 18 2020, @03:35AM (#959417) Journal

    It's just a flu, bro!

    Get coughed on.

    --
    [SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
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  • (Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Tuesday February 18 2020, @03:43AM (20 children)

    by The Mighty Buzzard (18) Subscriber Badge <themightybuzzard@proton.me> on Tuesday February 18 2020, @03:43AM (#959421) Homepage Journal

    I wasn't talking about this story, I was talking about the whole global scare campaign. I've ripped farts that were more worrisome.

    --
    My rights don't end where your fear begins.
    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 18 2020, @03:58AM (4 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 18 2020, @03:58AM (#959425)

      95% of vitamin C comes from China. Get as much as possible now, use a polarizer to test each batch for purity: https://www.facebook.com/hkust/videos/606119420178477/?type=2&theater [facebook.com]

    • (Score: 4, Interesting) by takyon on Tuesday February 18 2020, @04:20AM (12 children)

      by takyon (881) <reversethis-{gro ... s} {ta} {noykat}> on Tuesday February 18 2020, @04:20AM (#959431) Journal

      https://www.cnbc.com/2020/02/15/heres-why-the-white-house-doesnt-trust-chinas-coronavirus-numbers.html [cnbc.com]

      China is definitely under-reporting infections and deaths. People appear to be spreading it during a long incubation period. Death rate can't be accurately nailed down until people start dropping dead outside of China because China's numbers can't be trusted. Even if it's just a 2% death rate, it looks like it's going to spread nicely before a vaccine is produced. Companies are already starting to lose money because of this, which would not be their first choice. The World Health Organization has bent over backwards to praise China's response and "transparency", which is not a surprise since they get a nice pile of funding from China. Here's a bonus [freedomhouse.org] from 2018 I just found. WHO is nudging social media sites to censor "misinformation" while promoting its own [voanews.com]. Mainstream media outlets are watering down their coronavirus coverage, not participating in a scare campaign. They could easily amp the fearmongering up to 11 if they wanted to.

      It was only a matter of time before a pandemic was assisted by ubiquitous air travel. Compare the situation today to the 1968 flu pandemic, for example.

      --
      [SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 18 2020, @04:24AM (1 child)

        by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 18 2020, @04:24AM (#959435)

        It is unlikely a useful vaccine will be produced. The attempts at a SARS vaccine made animals have extreme reactions when they were infected with similar viruses later: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3335060/ [nih.gov]

        One theory is China tested a SARS vaccine in Wuhan, then this virus got loose which is why things are so bad there.

        • (Score: 4, Interesting) by hendrikboom on Wednesday February 19 2020, @02:12AM

          by hendrikboom (1125) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday February 19 2020, @02:12AM (#959746) Homepage Journal

          Development of the most promising candidate for a old SARS vaccine stopped the epidemic was successfully stopped, and there was no longer funding nor opportunity to test it.

          So that's the reason there was no developed SARS vaccine for the previous SARS viruses.

          But they learned a *lot* about corona viruses then, and a researcher in the Winnipeg virus research lab says that what they learned then is enormously helpful in dealing with the present virus. But they do say it can take about a year to develop a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine. They'll have candidates sooner, but they have to be tested...

          The researcher I heard interviewed says that collaboration on this research is international, and that the Chinese researchers have been extremely cooperative. (Apparently they'd really like to have a vaccine there in China!)

          They say that the greatest obstacle to international collaboration is time zones. Thy just can't really get everyone together for discussion and planning because too many of the workers are asleep at any time of day or night.

          -- hendrik

      • (Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Tuesday February 18 2020, @04:25AM (8 children)

        by The Mighty Buzzard (18) Subscriber Badge <themightybuzzard@proton.me> on Tuesday February 18 2020, @04:25AM (#959436) Homepage Journal

        The problem with that line of thinking is that cases that have made it outside of China and the near complete lack of it spreading in any of the cases that made it out. This looks a whole lot more like a bioweapon, either intentionally or unintentionally released, that has very low human to human infection potential.

        --
        My rights don't end where your fear begins.
        • (Score: 2, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 18 2020, @04:37AM (3 children)

          by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 18 2020, @04:37AM (#959438)

          This looks a whole lot more like a bioweapon, either intentionally or unintentionally released, that has very low human to human infection potential.

          Your nutter conspiracy theory has a gaping flaw if that is the case: it's not much of a bioweapon if there is very low human to human infection potential. If you are going to spread disinformation, next time at least pay attention to what you have written.

          • (Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Tuesday February 18 2020, @01:15PM (2 children)

            by The Mighty Buzzard (18) Subscriber Badge <themightybuzzard@proton.me> on Tuesday February 18 2020, @01:15PM (#959505) Homepage Journal

            Yeah, I could see how that could confuse you if you refuse to turn you brain on. Who said it was being communicated human to human in China?

            --
            My rights don't end where your fear begins.
            • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 18 2020, @04:35PM (1 child)

              by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 18 2020, @04:35PM (#959571)

              Look, I know that it is asking rather a lot for you to read and process what others are writing. But is it really asking so much for you to read and process what you have written? Go back, reread the conversation so far. After that you may (optionally) comment further. This is your last clue.

              • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 18 2020, @04:59PM

                by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 18 2020, @04:59PM (#959584)

                He views Trump as a role model, nuff said.

        • (Score: 2) by takyon on Tuesday February 18 2020, @04:39AM (3 children)

          by takyon (881) <reversethis-{gro ... s} {ta} {noykat}> on Tuesday February 18 2020, @04:39AM (#959439) Journal

          The public has only been aware of coronavirus since January. It can incubate for weeks before symptoms appear. It's just going to take a while for it to spread in places like the U.S. and for the clusters of cases to be recognized.

          As for the infection potential, you can just look at that cruise ship. It's getting the job done.

          --
          [SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday February 19 2020, @07:50PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday February 19 2020, @07:50PM (#959978)

        what makes me nervous is if it's spreading in china with them taking the measures they are taking how is it going to spread in the US where the gov can't do shit. If the gov tries to stop people form doing what they (think they) need to do, here people are well armed to resist.

        If i'm being paranoid i would even have the idea that it would be the perfect way for a authoritarian regime to use a bioweapon. unleash it on their own people, use every measure to get through it, then watch as other countries fall apart when it gets to them. Who could accuse china of doing it on purpose when they had such a hard time of it? typical chinese. very sneaky. :)

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 18 2020, @12:15PM (1 child)

      by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 18 2020, @12:15PM (#959499)

      it's time to lay off the beans asparagus and ghost chilli combo my friend