| useruserB said: Sounds like covid19 has been spreading undetected and unchecked for quite a while. One article claims there is strong evidence suggesting that it has been spreading for the last 6 weeks in Washington state, before china even locked down their own cities. Definitely seems like it's impossible to stop and it's just a matter of time before you become infected. I wonder how skewed some of the stats on covid19 are though. Are severe cases/deaths over represented because only hospitalized patients really get tested while others with mild symptoms continue on as normal just thinking they have a cold? Testing is slow and severely limited and it's impossible to test everyone with cold/flu like symptoms. Not even sure if it's worth taking any extra preventative measures to avoid contracting it. All it takes is one unhygienic asshole not washing his/hers hands, accidentally coughing your way or in your food or playing on their germ-covered phone then going back to their job. I see it all the time, people taking their phones into the bathroom, playing on it, then not even bothering to wash their hands or just running water over them for like 5 seconds. People really can't afford to miss work and are unlikely to let minor cold-like symptoms stop them from showing up. Cash, shopping carts, doorknobs, handles, etc... So many ways to catch stuff For those that care to read the article "WASHINGTON — The coronavirus has been circulating undetected and has possibly infected scores of people over the past six weeks in Washington state, according to a genetic analysis of virus samples that has sobering implications for the entire country amid heightening anxiety about the likely spread of the disease." |
There are probably also many more cases in the world in countries that aren't testing as much. 3 new cases in San Francisco, including a couple that had recently traveled to Egypt, yet only 2 cases in Egypt. What are the odds...
My youngest has been coughing for over a week from before anything showed up in Canada, but you never know. And the policy here is, no fever, send to school. (Which is how the flu spreads so easily through schools). I tell them to wash their hands often, don't share food/drinks/candy etc. But they are kids, playing together, sitting close together all day. Meanwhile people living here commute daily to Toronto where it could have been spreading already.
https://toronto.citynews.ca/2020/03/01/4-new-cases-of-coronavirus-confirmed-in-ontario/
Another case from someone having traveled to Egypt, and some imported from Iran.
For now, risk still low, all cases linked to foreign travel, yet you can't be sure until 2 or 3 weeks later if those have not spread the virus before detecting it.
Now I hear it can maybe survive up to 15 hours outside the body while surgical masks are not effective to stop it. However the chance of catching it is still relatively low with a growth factor of 1.3. Still, yesterday had 1700 new cases outside China, in a week that's over 10K new cases daily, 2 weeks 66k daily new cases, in 3 weeks over 400k new cases daily.
