Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

posted by takyon on Thursday January 30 2020, @10:52PM   Printer-friendly
from the last-week dept.

Coronavirus declared global health emergency by WHO

The new coronavirus has been declared a global emergency by the World Health Organization, as the outbreak continues to spread outside China.

"The main reason for this declaration is not what is happening in China but what is happening in other countries," said WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

The concern is that it could spread to countries with weaker health systems.

1st Person-To-Person Spread Of Coronavirus Has Occurred In U.S., CDC Says

Coronavirus: US reports first person-to-person transmission

Chicago health officials have reported the first US case of human-to-human transmission of the deadly coronavirus.

The new patient is the spouse of a Chicago woman who carried the infection back from Wuhan, China, the US Centers for Disease Control said on Thursday.

The discovery marks the second report of the virus in Illinois and the sixth confirmed case in the US.

This paper provides early estimates of 2019-nCoV epidemiological parameters: Novel coronavirus 2019-nCoV: early estimation of epidemiological parameters and epidemic predictions (open, DOI: 10.1101/2020.01.23.20018549) (DX)

Used model does not offer much grounds for optimism.

Previously:


Original Submission #1Original Submission #2Original Submission #3

Related Stories

China Reports 3rd Death, Nearly 140 New Cases of Coronavirus 5 comments

China reports 3rd death, nearly 140 new cases of coronavirus:

China reported on Monday its third death from a mysterious new virus and nearly 140 fresh cases as the disease spread to other parts of the country, including Beijing, raising concerns about more infections as millions begin trips for the Lunar New Year.

Medical experts are still struggling to understand the new strain of coronavirus but its connection with Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome has caused alarm. SARS originated in southern China in 2002 before spreading to Hong Kong and elsewhere in the world infecting thousands and leaving more than 800 people dead.

Coronaviruses usually cause mild to moderate upper-respiratory tract illnesses, such as the common cold, but can also affect the lower-respiratory tract, causing pneumonia or bronchitis.

[...] In Wuhan, the city in central China where the new strain first emerged, 136 new cases were found over the weekend the local health commission said, without giving details about the person who died.

[...] A total of 201 people have now been diagnosed with the virus in China. In Wuhan, 170 people are still being treated in hospital, including nine in critical condition, the city health commission said.

Wuhan is a city of 11 million inhabitants that serves as a major transport hub, including during the annual Lunar New Year holiday when hundreds of millions of Chinese people travel across the country to visit family.


Original Submission

China Confirms Human-To-Human Transmission of New Coronavirus; CDC Confirms First US Case 42 comments

China confirms human-to-human transmission of new coronavirus:

Human-to-human transmission of a new coronavirus strain has been confirmed in China, fueling fears of a major outbreak of the SARS-like virus as millions travel for the Lunar New Year holiday.

Zhong Nanshan, head of the National Health Commission, said on Monday patients may have contracted the new virus without having visited the central city of Wuhan where it was discovered before spreading across China and reaching three other Asian nations.

"Currently, it can be said it is affirmative that there is the phenomenon of human-to-human transmission," he said in an interview with China's CCTV state broadcaster.

Zhong said two people in Guangdong province in southern China caught the disease from family members who had visited Wuhan.

He added that 14 medical personnel helping with coronavirus patients have also been infected.

Human-to-human transmission could make the virus spread more quickly and widely.

CDC Confirms First US Case of New Coronavirus

Public health officials have confirmed the first U.S. case of a mysterious coronavirus that has already killed at least six people and sickened hundreds of others in China, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Tuesday.

A male traveler from China has been diagnosed in Snohomish County, Washington State with the Wuhan coronavirus, according to the CDC.

Officials said the sick male, in his 30s, is “very healthy.” He is currently being isolated at a medical center in the state “out of caution” and “poses little risk” to the public, they said. The CDC said the male reached out to local health authorities on Jan. 15 once he started experiencing pneumonia-like symptoms.

Previously:
China Reports 3rd Death, Nearly 140 New Cases of Coronavirus

Original Submission

Coronavirus: Millions Quarantined in Wuhan City 36 comments

Chinese Authorities Begin Quarantine Of Wuhan City As Coronavirus Cases Multiply:

Wuhan's public health authorities say they are in a "state of war" as they quarantine the Chinese city in an attempt to halt the spread of a never-before-seen strain of coronavirus. "Strictly implement emergency response requirements, enter into a state of war and implement wartime measures to resolutely curb the spread of this epidemic," urged a committee of Wuhan's top officials. "Homes must be segregated, neighbors must be watched."

Later Thursday, health officials from the World Health Organization decided not to declare the outbreak an international health emergency. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that after two days of meetings in Geneva with the organization's Emergency Committee, the group was divided. "Make no mistake. This is an emergency in China, but it has not yet become a global health emergency," Tedros said. "It may yet become one." The WHO is not recommending any international restrictions on trade or travel, but does recommend exit screenings at airports.

Beginning at 10 a.m. local time (9 p.m. Wednesday ET), authorities in Wuhan, about 500 miles west of Shanghai, started sealing off public transportation, including its metro system, airport, train station and long-haul bus hubs. Livestreamed videos from the city show soldiers wearing face masks barricading the entrances to the city's train station Thursday morning to prevent passengers from entering and leaving the city.

Wuhan, China, is scrambling to build a hospital in just 6 days to treat coronavirus patients as its health system gets overwhelmed:

China Battles Coronavirus Outbreak: All the Latest Updates 84 comments

China Battles Coronavirus Outbreak: All the Latest Updates:

The virus thought to have originated in a Wuhan food market continues to spread as China steps up containment efforts.

[...] China is extending the Lunar New Year holiday for three days and enforcing strict containment measures in an attempt to curb the spread of a new coronavirus that has killed 80 people and infected at more than 2,700, most of them in the central province of Hubei where the virus first emerged.

The holiday season was due to end on Friday but will now be extended until February 2.

More than 56 million people in almost 20 cities, including the Hubei capital of Wuhan, have been affected by travel restrictions, introduced amid fears the transmission rate will balloon as hundreds of millions of Chinese travel during the Lunar New Year celebrations.

[...] Health authorities around the world are taking action to prevent a pandemic as more countries report cases. Confirmed cases have so far been announced in several Asiancountries, Europe and North America.

[...] The World Health Organization (WHO) has acknowledged the respiratory illness, which has been traced to the city of Wuhan, is an emergency in China but the organisation said on Thursday it was too early to declare the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern.

Previously:


Original Submission

In The Pipeline: Coronavirus 45 comments

https://blogs.sciencemag.org/pipeline/archives/2020/01/27/coronavirus

As the world knows, we face an emerging virus threat in the Wuhan coronavirus (2019-nCoV) outbreak. The problem is, right now there are several important things that we don't know about the situation. The mortality rate, the ease of human-human transmission, the rate of mutation of the virus (and how many strains we might be dealing with – all of these need more clarity. Unfortunately, we've already gone past the MERS outbreak in severity (which until now was the most recent new coronavirus to make the jump into humans). If we're fortunate, though, we'll still have something that will be worrisome, but not as bad as (say) the usual flu numbers (many people don't realize that influenza kills tens of thousands of people in the US each year). The worst case, though, is something like 1918, and we really, really don't need that.

[Ed note: The linked story is by Derek Lowe who writes a "commentary on drug discovery and the pharma industry". He is perhaps best known for his "Things I Won't Work With" blog entries which are as hilarious as they are... eye opening. I have found him to be a no-nonsense writer who "tells things as they are", holding no punches. The whole story is worth reading as he clearly explains what a coronavirus is, about the current one that reportedly originated in Wuhan, China, what could be done about it, how long that would likely take, and what can be done for those who have already been infected. --martyb]

Previous Stories Referencing Derek Lowe:

Original Submission

Plague Inc. Maker: Don't use our Game for Coronavirus Modeling 20 comments

Plague Inc. maker: Don't use our game for coronavirus modeling:

Interest in the continued spread of the coronavirus has had an unintended side effect for UK-based Ndemic Creations, makers of Plague Inc. The eight-year-old game—which asks players to shepherd a worldwide pandemic so it can destroy all of humanity—has seen a spike in popularity in recent weeks, becoming the most-downloaded iPhone app in China on January 21 and in the United States on January 23, according to tracking firm App Annie.

The surge in interest has led Ndemic to issue a statement urging players not to rely on the app for information on staying safe from the coronavirus' current spread. "Please remember that Plague Inc. is a game, not a scientific model and that the currentcoronavirus outbreak is a very real situation which is impacting a huge number of people," the statement reads, in part. "We would always recommend that players get their information directly from local and global health authorities."

[...] Ndemic points players to the WHO for up-to-date information about the coronavirus. The disease now has more than 2,800 reported cases worldwide and has led to at least 80 deaths.

Interesting educational tool: CDC: Solve The Outbreak

Previously:
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

2019-nCoV Coronavirus Story Roundup 75 comments

Multiple Soylentils have submitted stories regarding the 2019-nCoV coronavirus which is believed to have originated in the city of Wuhan, China in December 2019. Rather than have a smattering of stories appear on the site, they have been gathered here in one story. Read on if you are interested; otherwise another story will be along presently.

Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) Roundup 62 comments

Editor's Comment: The figures and statistics regarding the novel coronavirus outbreak are changing daily and there are differences between reports from different sources. The latest figures, which we believe to be from a reputable source and which are being regularly updated, can be found at the worldometers. If you have a favourite site for updated information please leave a link in the comments.

Chinese Whistleblower Doctor Dies Due to Coronavirus

Li Wenliang: Coronavirus kills Chinese whistleblower doctor

A Chinese doctor who tried to issue the first warning about the deadly coronavirus outbreak has died, the hospital treating him has said. Li Wenliang contracted the virus while working at Wuhan Central Hospital. He had sent out a warning to fellow medics on 30 December but police told him to stop "making false comments".

There had been contradictory reports about his death, but the People's Daily now says he died at 02:58 on Friday (18:58 GMT Thursday).

The virus has killed 636 people and infected 31,161 in mainland China, the National Health Commission's latest figures show. The death toll includes 73 new deaths reported on Thursday.

An AC writes:

Wuhan hospital announces death of whistleblower doctor after confusion in state media

This story has been updated to reflect the latest statement from Wuhan Central Hospital, after confusion in state media reports.

Li died of the novel coronavirus in Wuhan in the early hours of Friday morning (local time).

"Our hospital's ophthalmologist Li Wenliang was unfortunately infected with coronavirus during his work in the fight against the coronavirus epidemic," the latest hospital statement read.

"He died at 2:58 am on Feb 7 after attempts to resuscitate were unsuccessful."

Earlier on Thursday night, several state media outlets had reported Li's death, following which Chinese social media erupted in profound grief and anger.

Coronavirus Roundup (Feb. 17) 65 comments

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 (SARS-CoV-2) Roundup 2020-03-12 93 comments

Even though it has only been a short while since our last round-up there are 22 separate stories merged into this round-up. Many report duplicate news but, nevertheless, we have tried to distill the important elements of each submission.

Firstly, there is some confusion regarding the actual names that are reported for the virus, the disease that it causes, and names frequently seen in media reporting. From https://www.nature.com/articles/s41564-020-0695-z:

The present outbreak of a coronavirus-associated acute respiratory disease called coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) is the third documented spillover of an animal coronavirus to humans in only two decades that has resulted in a major epidemic. The Coronaviridae Study Group (CSG) of the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses, which is responsible for developing the classification of viruses and taxon nomenclature of the family Coronaviridae, has assessed the placement of the human pathogen, tentatively named 2019-nCoV, within the Coronaviridae. Based on phylogeny, taxonomy and established practice, the CSG recognizes this virus as forming a sister clade to the prototype human and bat severe acute respiratory syndrome coronaviruses (SARS-CoVs) of the species Severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus, and designates it as SARS-CoV-2.

In order to facilitate communication, the CSG proposes to use the following naming convention for individual isolates: SARS-CoV-2/host/location/isolate/date. While the full spectrum of clinical manifestations associated with SARS-CoV-2 infections in humans remains to be determined, the independent zoonotic transmission of SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2 highlights the need for studying viruses at the species level to complement research focused on individual pathogenic viruses of immediate significance. This will improve our understanding of virus–host interactions in an ever-changing environment and enhance our preparedness for future outbreaks.

There is much more information at the link provided.

Secondly, as this is a fusion of stories received over the last week or so take all quoted figures of casualties as possibly out-of-date. At the time of merging these stories (12 Mar 20) there have been 127,863 confirmed cases world-wide resulting in 4,717 deaths. 68,309 people have already recovered with the remainder either in self-imposed or advisory isolation, in basic hospital care and a relatively small number in critical care. The pandemic has affected 116 countries/regions. Source: https://www.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/bda7594740fd40299423467b48e9ecf6 - a graphical display produced by Johns Hopkins University (JHU).

Many countries have taken emergency measures to restrict travel or large gatherings of people. As this is a very fluid situation we suggest you refer to the media of any specific country in which you have an interest. President Trump has banned transatlantic air travel from countries in mainland Europe to the USA from Friday 2020-03-13 at 23:59 (no timezone stated) for a period initially of 30 days, and air travel within Europe is also significantly disrupted.

This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
(1)
  • (Score: 3, Offtopic) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 30 2020, @11:06PM (10 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 30 2020, @11:06PM (#951474)

    As a home-bound hermit who dislikes going outside, I have long since been prepared for this global health emergency.

    I am happy to provide tips on just staying the fuck inside, should anyone be interested in my hard-earned knowledge. :)

    • (Score: 3, Touché) by takyon on Thursday January 30 2020, @11:17PM (5 children)

      by takyon (881) <reversethis-{gro ... s} {ta} {noykat}> on Thursday January 30 2020, @11:17PM (#951476) Journal

      A traveling N95 mask salesman rings your doorbell. What do you do?

      --
      [SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
      • (Score: 5, Funny) by vux984 on Thursday January 30 2020, @11:23PM (3 children)

        by vux984 (5045) on Thursday January 30 2020, @11:23PM (#951479)

        Review the surveillance footage to see how he got past the boobytraps?

        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 30 2020, @11:46PM (2 children)

          by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 30 2020, @11:46PM (#951484)

          Careful, don't wanna be that guy who gets taken out by his own boobytraps.

          • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 31 2020, @02:27AM (1 child)

            by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 31 2020, @02:27AM (#951580)

            And just how many boobies do you trap in those traps....

            • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 31 2020, @10:20PM

              by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 31 2020, @10:20PM (#952002)

              That is determined by the quality of the fly paper you placed in her bra.

      • (Score: 2) by TheGratefulNet on Friday January 31 2020, @03:34AM

        by TheGratefulNet (659) on Friday January 31 2020, @03:34AM (#951624)

        depends.

        is he a jehova's witness, as well?

        --
        "It is now safe to switch off your computer."
    • (Score: 1) by fustakrakich on Friday January 31 2020, @12:18AM (2 children)

      by fustakrakich (6150) on Friday January 31 2020, @12:18AM (#951497) Journal

      Do you prefer above ground with natural lighting, or below ground under grow lamps?

      --
      La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
      • (Score: 2) by Hartree on Friday January 31 2020, @12:30AM

        by Hartree (195) on Friday January 31 2020, @12:30AM (#951507)

        "above ground with natural lighting, or below ground under grow lamps"

        Mushroom syndrome: Kept in the dark and fed bullshit.

      • (Score: 3, Touché) by DannyB on Friday January 31 2020, @05:32PM

        by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Friday January 31 2020, @05:32PM (#951842) Journal

        Below ground, using only the glow from the monitor.

        --
        People today are educated enough to repeat what they are taught but not to question what they are taught.
    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 31 2020, @07:46PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 31 2020, @07:46PM (#951921)

      yes, and a semi auto rifle with thousands of rounds to keep the infectious off the lawn.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 30 2020, @11:51PM (13 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 30 2020, @11:51PM (#951486)

    "The main reason for this declaration is not what is happening in China but what is happening in other countries," said WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

    The concern is that it could spread to countries with weaker health systems.

    This got me curious. Is there any global rankings of healthcare systems?

    Playing on stereotypes, I'd rather be ill in Sweden than in China, but I'd rather be ill in China than in Somalia. I wonder if there are any real metrics about health care systems qualities.

    • (Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 30 2020, @11:53PM (2 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 30 2020, @11:53PM (#951488)

      I'd rather be ill in China than healthy in Somalia.

      • (Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 31 2020, @12:10AM

        by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 31 2020, @12:10AM (#951494)

        Yes, everyone would rather get in at the beginning of the ponzi scheme, before the socialist system runs out of other peoples money.

        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somali_Revolutionary_Socialist_Party [wikipedia.org]

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 31 2020, @02:26PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 31 2020, @02:26PM (#951775)

        I'd rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 31 2020, @12:11AM (9 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 31 2020, @12:11AM (#951495)

      It sounds like they're insinuating that the US is one of those countries "with a weaker health system."

      • (Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 31 2020, @12:25AM (4 children)

        by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 31 2020, @12:25AM (#951501)

        What health system?

        • (Score: 1) by fustakrakich on Friday January 31 2020, @02:03AM (2 children)

          by fustakrakich (6150) on Friday January 31 2020, @02:03AM (#951554) Journal

          The one making all the money

          --
          La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
          • (Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 31 2020, @03:01AM (1 child)

            by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 31 2020, @03:01AM (#951603)

            That's not "the US's" health system. That's the health system used by many US citizens, but it belongs to the corporations that compose it. Well-developed nations have universal healthcare, belonging to the people of the nation (or at least the govnt), instead of private-sector, belonging to shareholders.

            This is the same difference as between "the US Army" and "Blackwater". One is a mercenary entity, and one is - ostensibly - tasked with the well-being of one aspect of a nation.

            • (Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 31 2020, @03:54AM

              by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 31 2020, @03:54AM (#951633)

              They can both f-off until they do the most obvious thing in the world and test one of these patients for vitamin c levels as far as I'm concerned. I am 100% confident I am better off at home with 10 kg of vitamin c than at a hospital full of infected people and exhausted doctors with depleted immune systems.

              Do you remember the swine flu vaccine and how only Ron Paul and another doctor in congress voted against it? Then it had to get withdrawn for making so many people sick. I bet a repeat of that is coming too.

              https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2009-apr-27-sci-swine-history27-story.html [latimes.com]
              https://quoththeraven.podbean.com/e/quoth-the-raven-171-dr-ron-paul/ [podbean.com]

        • (Score: 2) by HiThere on Friday January 31 2020, @01:18PM

          by HiThere (866) Subscriber Badge on Friday January 31 2020, @01:18PM (#951745) Journal

          Well, saying that "will ignore the problem as long as possible" is dealing with it well is a matter of categorization, but if that's what you mean...

          The thing is, so far this disease isn't that dangerous. It is, however, one of the kinds of viruses that mutate rapidly. I was told it was of the same general family as "the common cold". So maybe it's safe to pretty much ignore it, after all most people won't get that sick, and only a few will die. But this could change.

          --
          Javascript is what you use to allow unknown third parties to run software you have no idea about on your computer.
      • (Score: 2) by PartTimeZombie on Friday January 31 2020, @12:57AM (3 children)

        by PartTimeZombie (4827) on Friday January 31 2020, @12:57AM (#951518)

        I think they're more worried about small island nations, and poor countries that might not cope well with a large number of sick people.

        I'm sure the US will deal with this fine.

        • (Score: 3, Funny) by c0lo on Friday January 31 2020, @04:27AM (1 child)

          by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Friday January 31 2020, @04:27AM (#951646) Journal

          I'm sure the US will deal with this fine.

          I don't know... You make it sound like "Meh, being a zombie is not that bad, at least if you do it part time"

          (grin)

          --
          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
          • (Score: 2) by PartTimeZombie on Saturday February 01 2020, @11:13PM

            by PartTimeZombie (4827) on Saturday February 01 2020, @11:13PM (#952548)

            I wouldn't want to make a career out of it, but it's a diverting hobby. :-)

        • (Score: 3, Interesting) by sjames on Friday January 31 2020, @05:17AM

          by sjames (2882) on Friday January 31 2020, @05:17AM (#951656) Journal

          The U.S. does have some advantage due to experience. We're quite used to untreated illness and going to work while sick.

          On the other hand, that's a perfect setup for a pandemic.

  • (Score: 3, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 31 2020, @12:24AM (5 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 31 2020, @12:24AM (#951500)
    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 31 2020, @01:00AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 31 2020, @01:00AM (#951522)

      Pretty intense. Thanks for posting this.

    • (Score: 1) by fustakrakich on Friday January 31 2020, @02:10AM (3 children)

      by fustakrakich (6150) on Friday January 31 2020, @02:10AM (#951562) Journal

      Guess nobody cut off his internet yet...

      The story reads a little weird. The Andromeda Strain, maybe?

      And of course rumors are flying... [nzherald.co.nz]

      --
      La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
      • (Score: 2) by DannyB on Friday January 31 2020, @05:35PM

        by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Friday January 31 2020, @05:35PM (#951844) Journal

        I don't like it when rumors are flying.

        Rumors can be spread more quickly and efficiently over the internet.

        --
        People today are educated enough to repeat what they are taught but not to question what they are taught.
      • (Score: 2) by PartTimeZombie on Saturday February 01 2020, @11:17PM (1 child)

        by PartTimeZombie (4827) on Saturday February 01 2020, @11:17PM (#952549)

        I am amazed that the NZ Herald would dare to publish a story like that, considering the amount of dodgy Chinese money they take.

        • (Score: 1) by fustakrakich on Sunday February 02 2020, @12:34AM

          by fustakrakich (6150) on Sunday February 02 2020, @12:34AM (#952564) Journal

          They have a crowd of white nationalist that needs pandering also

          --
          La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
  • (Score: 0, Troll) by Runaway1956 on Friday January 31 2020, @12:37AM (38 children)

    by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Friday January 31 2020, @12:37AM (#951509) Journal

    Just an idea put out there by a talk show host. Did this coronavirus escape the military's biological warfare laboratories? I haven't even really worked up an opinion, but it's something to think about.

    • (Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 31 2020, @12:43AM (2 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 31 2020, @12:43AM (#951512)

      Apparently Wuhan has an animal/meat market, and they sell live wild animals, though supposed to be illegal. So they suspect some animal virus jumped to human there, but who the fuck knows.

      I'm staying away from Chinese food till this thing blows over.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 31 2020, @12:58AM (1 child)

        by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 31 2020, @12:58AM (#951519)

        Taking a break from snacking on bat penis?

        • (Score: -1, Redundant) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 31 2020, @01:13AM

          by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 31 2020, @01:13AM (#951527)

          Stir-fried bat's penis in cream sauce, yum.

          Nothing beats it (yeah) while watching a buxom blonde getting banged in the ass balls deep with a horse phallus on pornhub.

    • (Score: 4, Touché) by PartTimeZombie on Friday January 31 2020, @12:58AM (17 children)

      by PartTimeZombie (4827) on Friday January 31 2020, @12:58AM (#951520)

      I shouldn't think it is a biological warfare virus. It is not really lethal enough for that is it?

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 31 2020, @01:15AM (5 children)

        by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 31 2020, @01:15AM (#951528)

        For now, it doesn't seem more lethal than your average annual flu, does it? "Regular" flu kills thousands (millions?) annually.

        • (Score: 1) by Adam on Friday January 31 2020, @01:33AM (4 children)

          by Adam (2168) on Friday January 31 2020, @01:33AM (#951536)

          Regular flu kills 0.1% of people who catch it (these days). This coronavirus has killed ~2% of the infected at this point.

          • (Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 31 2020, @03:04AM (1 child)

            by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 31 2020, @03:04AM (#951604)

            That's inaccurate. Maybe 0.1% of a vulnerable sub-population. The 1,000 student high school by me doesn't have a death a year to influenza. Envelope check your math - a 0.1% death rate, assuming half the population catches the flu twice a year, would be staggering.

            • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 31 2020, @03:58AM

              by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 31 2020, @03:58AM (#951636)

              That's inaccurate. Maybe 0.1% of a vulnerable sub-population.

              I've got to partly agree with this. I had what I suspect was the flu once several years ago. Almost two weeks of high fever, sweating, and generalised pain. I lost more than 20lb (even after it was over and I was rehydrated I was 20lb lighter). But I didn't go to a doctor, and that case would not be recorded in any statistics, either as a flu case or as a survivor.

              Envelope check your math - a 0.1% death rate, assuming half the population catches the flu twice a year, would be staggering.

              But not with this. Assuming half get it twice per year is the same as everybody getting it every year. That is ridiculous. Wikipedia says 5 million cases per year worldwide which is a 1 in a 1400 chance of getting it each year. I think that estimate might be low due to the reason in the first part, but not by a factor of 1400.

          • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 31 2020, @07:37AM (1 child)

            by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 31 2020, @07:37AM (#951689)

            More like 2% of those who were identified to have it. Not the same as 2% of those infected.

            Not all who are infected would go to a hospital to contribute to the statistics.

            I'd only go to the hospital if I'm sick enough. If I was sick but not feeling that bad I wouldn't go to the hospital (especially at this time) - because that's where lots of people with germs, including superbugs are... So I might have the coronavirus or it could be flu or something with similar symptoms but nobody would know what it was.

            I'd stay home, load up on zinc, vitamin C, lie in bed, keep body warm and head not too warm.

            • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 31 2020, @12:53PM

              by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 31 2020, @12:53PM (#951736)

              > "I'd stay home, load up on zinc, vitamin C, lie in bed, keep body warm and head not too warm."

              Don't forget lots of fluids and chicken soup.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 31 2020, @01:28AM (3 children)

        by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 31 2020, @01:28AM (#951533)

        Why would you think the best weaponized virus is the most lethal?

        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 31 2020, @07:43AM (2 children)

          by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 31 2020, @07:43AM (#951691)

          Strawman. OP didn't say best is most lethal. It's just not lethal enough. It doesn't really appear more dangerous than the nastier flus of recent decades.

          • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 31 2020, @08:16AM (1 child)

            by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 31 2020, @08:16AM (#951700)

            I don't think you want it to be lethal at all. Zero lethality is ideal. Max morbidity causes the biggest drain on resources.

            • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 31 2020, @10:35AM

              by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 31 2020, @10:35AM (#951718)

              1) it's below par in terms of morbidity too.
              2) Max morbidity doesn't cause as much drain on resources as you think because less resources will be spent on you if you're too sick. Max resource drain might be something like a disease where you stay fairly healthy and active but you go around secretly destroying resources and infecting other people...

      • (Score: 2) by Snotnose on Friday January 31 2020, @03:05AM (6 children)

        by Snotnose (1623) on Friday January 31 2020, @03:05AM (#951608)

        I shouldn't think it is a biological warfare virus. It is not really lethal enough for that is it?

        First thing you learn is you want as long an incubation period as possible without any symptoms. If a symptom pops up (like coughing) you try to squash it ASAP, else those clever bumpkins notice your little science fair project.

        --
        Why shouldn't we judge a book by it's cover? It's got the author, title, and a summary of what the book's about.
        • (Score: 2) by deimtee on Friday January 31 2020, @06:54AM

          by deimtee (3272) on Friday January 31 2020, @06:54AM (#951679) Journal

          Username checks out.

          --
          If you cough while drinking cheap red wine it really cleans out your sinuses.
        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 31 2020, @07:52AM (4 children)

          by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 31 2020, @07:52AM (#951693)

          If I were a bioweapons researcher I'd try to make a combination weapon. e.g. you normally only die if you get infected by both viruses within a certain time period. If you get infected by one it's only like the common cold or something - e.g very contagious but doesn't kill.

          See also: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/01/170131124205.htm [sciencedaily.com]

          That way it's easier to control who dies and maybe harder to figure out what's going on. Also if one gets loose it's not as big a problem.

          • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 31 2020, @08:26AM (3 children)

            by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 31 2020, @08:26AM (#951702)

            Why would you want the enemy to die instead of continuing to consume resources in a hospital bed? The best bioweapon is probably something like HFCS...

            • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 31 2020, @10:37AM

              by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 31 2020, @10:37AM (#951719)

              Go ask the others making lethal weapons if you can't figure out why.

            • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 31 2020, @12:56PM (1 child)

              by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 31 2020, @12:56PM (#951737)

              High Fructose Corn Syrup ?

              • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 31 2020, @02:25PM

                by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 31 2020, @02:25PM (#951774)

                Yes, simply drain the enemys resources by making them so unhealthy they require constant medical care for their entire lives.

    • (Score: 2) by takyon on Friday January 31 2020, @01:27AM (5 children)

      by takyon (881) <reversethis-{gro ... s} {ta} {noykat}> on Friday January 31 2020, @01:27AM (#951532) Journal

      Canada arc:

      Chinese researcher escorted from infectious disease lab amid RCMP investigation [www.cbc.ca]
      Canadian government scientist under investigation trained staff at Level 4 lab in China [www.cbc.ca]
      Online claims that Chinese scientists stole coronavirus from Winnipeg lab have 'no factual basis' [www.cbc.ca]

      The recent indictment [justice.gov] of Zaosong Zheng and others appears to be unrelated to pathogens, but it points to ongoing efforts by China to steal biological materials (and everything else).

      This article might be discussing the radio host you heard:

      The Wuhan Virus Is Not a Lab-Made Bioweapon [foreignpolicy.com] (archive [archive.is])

      The article attempts to debunk some of the bioweapon conspiracy theories.

      The widely cited Huanan Wholesale Seafood Market is within about 20 miles from the Wuhan Institute of Virology, also referred to as Wuhan National Biosafety Laboratory, etc.:

      Inside the Chinese lab poised to study world's most dangerous pathogens [nature.com]

      The practices of the meat markets [businessinsider.com] alone could cause these issues, no bioweapon lab needed. These markets are being shuttered, at least temporarily [cnn.com].

      One point of contention is the term "bioweapon". Is an inadvertently released virus a "bioweapon" if it wasn't specifically engineered to become more deadly? Are the facilities in Wuhan for the purposes of "biological warfare" or "biosafety"?

      --
      [SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 31 2020, @01:30AM (1 child)

        by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 31 2020, @01:30AM (#951534)

        > Huanan Wholesale Seafood Market is within about 20 miles from the Wuhan Institute of Virolog

        Fake, China uses km not miles.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 31 2020, @07:54AM (1 child)

        by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 31 2020, @07:54AM (#951694)

        https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/01/wuhan-seafood-market-may-not-be-source-novel-virus-spreading-globally [sciencemag.org]

        In the earliest case, the patient became ill on 1 December 2019 and had no reported link to the seafood market, the authors report. “No epidemiological link was found between the first patient and later cases,” they state. Their data also show that, in total, 13 of the 41 cases had no link to the marketplace. “That’s a big number, 13, with no link,” says Daniel Lucey, an infectious disease specialist at Georgetown University.

        • (Score: 2) by HiThere on Friday January 31 2020, @01:31PM

          by HiThere (866) Subscriber Badge on Friday January 31 2020, @01:31PM (#951750) Journal

          There is, however, a quite reasonable explanation:
          1) Many cases of the coronavirus don't have severe symptoms, so they wouldn't be recorded.
          2) Even cases that are recorded are contagious well before the symptoms appear.

          So if a vendor of food is passing around something that infects a few people, it's quite likely that there will be no obvious link, because the first cases didn't have noticeable symptoms, or had symptoms that appeared to be something else, say a bad cold or asthma.

          --
          Javascript is what you use to allow unknown third parties to run software you have no idea about on your computer.
      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 31 2020, @03:20PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 31 2020, @03:20PM (#951792)

        preeeetttyyy sure the benign virus mutated out of of chinese PV module factories, infected a grid-tie inverter factory and became stronger in the process.
        infectious to humans happened when a team of oil and gas barons visited china and their yaw dropped to the ground after seeing the massive amount of infection ^_^

    • (Score: 2) by driverless on Friday January 31 2020, @02:08AM (2 children)

      by driverless (4770) on Friday January 31 2020, @02:08AM (#951559)

      No, it was caused by 5G, which has been widely deployed in Wuhan. Huawei has stepped in to help victims, so obviously they're behind it. Now that the initial testing has been done, they'll use it to assassinate Western politicians in countries using Huawei 5G gear.

      It's true, Alex Jones told me! Do your own research!

    • (Score: 2) by c0lo on Friday January 31 2020, @04:31AM (5 children)

      by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Friday January 31 2020, @04:31AM (#951647) Journal

      Just an idea put out there by a talk show host. Did this coronavirus escape the military's biological warfare laboratories?... it's something to think about.

      Why do you think it would even matter?

      (I'm just curious about the mechanism by which "talk show host"'s can be so successful in directing the public opinion on points irrelevant to the matter at hand. I have my hypotheses, but I'm happy to collect other data points)

      --
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 31 2020, @06:17AM (1 child)

        by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 31 2020, @06:17AM (#951670)

        What difference, at this point, does it make?

        • (Score: 2) by c0lo on Friday January 31 2020, @06:38AM

          by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Friday January 31 2020, @06:38AM (#951676) Journal

          For who?

          If it's for me, you find the explanations in the small print underneath my question - valid at any point for at least a while.

          If it's for another party, then I cannot answer.

          --
          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
      • (Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Friday January 31 2020, @07:54AM (2 children)

        by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Friday January 31 2020, @07:54AM (#951695) Journal

        The talk show host was blabbing, as all such hosts do, for the audience. He got some ears, so his speculation was successful, from his point of view.

        As for how it matters whether the bug escaped a military lab, well, world opinion and all that jazz. Note that no one speculated (as of yet) that Chine intentionally unleashed the bug. That would be an entirely different event than allowing the bug to escape through negligence or whatever.

        The fish and game market? How handy to have a scapegoat located so close at hand, ehh?

        Do I think that's what really happened? Uhhhhmmmmm, I guess I'd give it a 2 or 3% chance of being so. I mean, how many dummies are going to believe that China DOES NOT do NBC (nuclear, biological, chemical) warfare research? Hell, we've known that they've had nukes for decades now, right? Surely they do at least limited work on the B and C parts of NBC.

        • (Score: 2) by c0lo on Friday January 31 2020, @08:08AM (1 child)

          by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Friday January 31 2020, @08:08AM (#951698) Journal

          Thanks.

          (my fault, should have been more precise with the context of my question.
          I was actually targeting the final part, the "... it's something to think about." and I intended to ask "Why do you think it's important enough that we should think about? Why having me/us/public/whoever thinking about this matters at this stage?"
          I don't want to impose on your time with my reformulated question, though)

          --
          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
    • (Score: 2) by DannyB on Friday January 31 2020, @05:41PM (1 child)

      by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Friday January 31 2020, @05:41PM (#951851) Journal

      Just an idea put out there by a talk show host. Did this coronavirus escape the military's biological warfare laboratories?

      The second sentence seems the more interesting. Leaving the reader wanting more supporting facts either way.

      But the first sentence is going to draw the most attention and questions about what talk show host, what talk show, which network was it on, etc.

      --
      People today are educated enough to repeat what they are taught but not to question what they are taught.
      • (Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Friday January 31 2020, @05:52PM

        by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Friday January 31 2020, @05:52PM (#951854) Journal

        https://waltonandjohnson.com/pages/listen-live [waltonandjohnson.com]

        Walton and Johnson - or, actually not Walton and Johnson anymore, because Walton died recently. It's Johnson and Ken and Kenneth and Mr. O, and maybe Walton's ghost. A couple of odd couples, sort of, with a libertarian bent, and strong opinions on almost everything. Crazy bastids, I tell you! But they keep me laughing on the way home from work each morning. :^)

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 31 2020, @01:57AM (7 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 31 2020, @01:57AM (#951549)

    How many of these deaths have been in those that are elderly or have compromised immune systems? How many infections have there been relative to the actual number of possible exposures? How many people have contracted it and either don't get infected or suffer something not more than a common flu that passes and don't recognize it as anything other than that? How does all this compare to other pathogens, like leprosy, TB, etc we still suffer from that have existed for hundreds of years, thousands of years, and many longer than we have as a distinct species?

    You know what's also as old as time itself? Doomsayers. Religious, political, nuclear, health, environmental, any reason you can think up--someone's on it (although, I would say they're all religious, we just have new "religions" these days). And we keep listening and keep getting paralyzed by it?

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 31 2020, @02:00AM (1 child)

      by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 31 2020, @02:00AM (#951552)

      That's how these virus work, They infect, stress out the immune system to crap, and then bacteria sneak in, and finish the job.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 31 2020, @02:04AM

        by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 31 2020, @02:04AM (#951556)

        Yes, that is not an uncommon feature. It does not, alone, however tell us anything about it's risk. Only knowing answers to the questions above can tell us that.

        It's like knowing the true positives on a statistical test but not knowing the false negatives. Knowing any of those values in isolation tells you knowing.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 31 2020, @02:01AM (2 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 31 2020, @02:01AM (#951553)

      I'd be happy with a histogram of deaths by age in wuhan last year compared to this year.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 31 2020, @02:06AM (1 child)

        by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 31 2020, @02:06AM (#951557)

        They would look the same because the population is 11 million and the deaths are on the order of a few hundred (like less than 200?). Or is that your point?

        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 31 2020, @02:20AM

          by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 31 2020, @02:20AM (#951574)

          Total deaths, from any cause. Is there more than a blip?

    • (Score: -1, Offtopic) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 31 2020, @02:11AM (1 child)

      by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 31 2020, @02:11AM (#951564)
      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 31 2020, @02:18AM

        by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 31 2020, @02:18AM (#951573)

        I'm not sure what message you're trying to communicate.

  • (Score: 4, Informative) by RamiK on Friday January 31 2020, @03:00AM (5 children)

    by RamiK (1813) on Friday January 31 2020, @03:00AM (#951601)

    According to the country's National Health Commission, 9,692 cases have tested positive.

    Remember this is a disease which emerged only last month and yet there are already 7,736 confirmed cases in China and 12,167 suspected ones.

    At least 213 people have died from the virus in China.

    ( https://www.bbc.com/news/world-51318246 [bbc.com] )

    Meh. Seasonal flues still spread faster and hit harder.

    --
    compiling...
    • (Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 31 2020, @03:33AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 31 2020, @03:33AM (#951621)
      And most of the people who have died are elderly and/or have other conditions like asthma, diabetes, or heart disease that leave them more vulnerable. The original SARS of 2002-04 had a 10% death rate, and MERS was deadlier still at 40% even with proper medical care. However, it's not just about deaths. This looks like the sort of disease that might usually give you a really rough time for a week or two, where you'll need hospital care. That's still pretty bad. I don't think there are enough medical resources to care for all the sick people in Wuhan, and if someone doesn't get proper medical care their chances of dying go up quite a bit. A major outbreak is still something that can really ruin your week even if it doesn't kill you.
    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 31 2020, @04:01AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 31 2020, @04:01AM (#951639)

      Influenza kills a larger percentage of people who require hospitalization. We don't know what the overall mortality rate is, but almost certainly less because it's still very likely that most infected people recover without treatment. And it seems that transmission is not very easy either, requiring close contact. When travelers have been found to be infected, they only test the people in adjacent seats, and none have been infected. The flu probably would have infected half the people on the airplane that didn't have immunity.

      While this is a new disease and everyone gets excited about new diseases, seasonal flu still kills tens of thousands of people each year, and people have so little concern for it that many people don't even bother with a free vaccination. This has yet to kill anyone outside China and is likely much less dangerous than the flu overall.

    • (Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 31 2020, @07:36AM (2 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 31 2020, @07:36AM (#951688)

      Talk to us when the novel coronavirus has been around as long as flu, and has mutated into as many strains as flu. That's assuming you're still around to talk. Of course it's useless to panic; but it's not useless for a country to massively mobilize to prevent a global pandemic. I hope we're doing everything we can to help them. Remember, it's not where you are. It's where you're going. We don't know what this thing would be doing if China hadn't massively mobilized to fight it. I bet it wouldn't be a pretty picture.

      • (Score: 2) by HiThere on Friday January 31 2020, @01:38PM

        by HiThere (866) Subscriber Badge on Friday January 31 2020, @01:38PM (#951752) Journal

        In this case it probably is useless. It spreads before symptoms appear, it has a incubation period of a couple of weeks, and there's no easy test that's reasonably specific.

        The only way to contain it would appear to be extensive quarantines. And China is a large country with permeable borders in many places. Also, the virus has already spread to numerous countries, including, e.g., the US and Canada. Detected cases have been isolated, but there are no reasonable grounds to believe that all the cases have been detected.

        --
        Javascript is what you use to allow unknown third parties to run software you have no idea about on your computer.
      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 31 2020, @03:09PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 31 2020, @03:09PM (#951787)

        With the current Stable Genius in charge, as long as they agree to all the US trade deal terms, they'll get all the help that they need.

(1)