Conoravirus ...

[IrieMon]

Rich - so sorry this happened to you.... how long did they say the test results take ? Most people in my circle who were tested took 7 days+ to get results. There is a drive-up primary-care clinic which, for $80, has a test which takes 24-48 hrs. I am still researching the accuracy of the test (initial research indicated 70% accuracy... with others touting 99%).

Might research if any are available in AA County.... would be worth the $80 to get back home sooner.

Anyone have the skinny on the new testing coming out and how to determine which are the best ?

[Ajax]

Irie-

I have no idea who "Patient X"is. That is the person being tested, not me or my office mate.

I spoke to my supervisor this morning. He wouldn't tell me much except that the person will be tested but hasn't been tested yet. I'm probably looking at quite a delay in getting the results.

My supervisor had no clear guidance as to whether I should go to work or stay home. He didn't care either way. All I know for sure, is that Patient X's doctor thinks they have bronchitis but they're testing to make sure.

My office mate had prolonged, close contact with Patient X. I've been cooped up with my office mate for 4 work days in an office meant for one occupant.

Office mate gets paid sick leave. I don't get anything. If Patient X is positive and my co-worker ends up positive, I will claim direct contact and push for paid sick leave for the duration of my quarantine or illness, whichever happens. If everyone ends up negative, then I'll eat the personal leave I'm using.

If I have it, it's probably too late and I've exposed my wife but if there is even a small chance that I haven't exposed her, I should take it and stay away for the next 13 days. She's right up the street and I have everything I need.

Really, Joel? Camp in the back of a rusty, cold 5-ton truck bed or live in my beautiful boat with all the amenities and the wonders of nature all around me? I think the boat has plenty of room.

[TheOffice]

But the cab has a heater!

[Ajax]

But the cab has a heater!

Pssht, my neighbors would kill me for idling in the driveway before any virus gets me.

I have a Mr. Buddy propane heater on the boat. I fired it up this morning when I woke up to take the chill off. I've gone up to the house and grabbed an electric space heater out of the garage and brought it down to the boat.

I made eggs, Scrapple and coffee for breakfast. Now I'm cutting up pink foam board to double insulate the icebox. In the far flung future, I'll buy more foam and use these as templates to make neat, tidy panels.

The solar panel is producing more power than the fridge is consuming, which is nice.

[Jamie]

Oh, I miss scraple...

[Panope]

Tough break, Ajax. I'm sure being couped up alone is hard but it seems like the prudent thing to do.

During my families' scare, all three of us became sick at the same time and with similar symptoms so we chose to not isolate from each other. Maybe that was a dumb move. When I was sick in bed with a fever, and had thoughts of doom in my head, being alone would have been very difficult.

Steve

[Ajax]

https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/02/health/a ... index.html

JFC, are you kidding me? Now they're saying it can be spread by talking or just breathing?
I would NOT have consented to working in my shared office if I'd known this.

Steve, my non-medical opinion is, if you all have the same symptoms, being together isn't going to harm anything.
I'm on the boat because no one is showing any symptoms yet and I don't know how quickly you become infectious after exposure. I have a possibility of not being sick and I have a possibility of being sick but have not infected my wife.

Only the test result from Patient X or 13 more days of quarantine will answer that.

Oh- if my wife exhibits symptoms but I don't, I will go home because she could only have been infected by me. She's been totally isolated while I've been going to work. She hasn't even run any errands.

[Ajax]

Oh, thank Christ. My boss just called, Patient X tested negative. Much faster than I'd dare to hope.

Love being on the boat and all, but not while sweating the possibility of getting Ranger M sick.

[Benno von Humpback]

https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/02/health/aerosol-coronavirus-spread-white-house-letter/index.html

JFC, are you kidding me? Now they're saying it can be spread by talking or just breathing?
I would NOT have consented to working in my shared office if I'd known this.

This is not news. Exposure has always meant spending time with an infected individual, not being coughed or sneezed on. However, the droplets from coughing or sneezing are much larger than the the particles exhaled by normal breathing and travel much further. There are also probably dose effects, such that you are more likely to get sick and may even get sicker if you get a large dose of virus. Everything is a matter of degree and there is no way to avoid the risk entirely.

Oh, and great to hear about your colleague.

[Ajax]

Damn news hype. They're making it confusing and scary for us non medical people.

[Benno von Humpback]

Damn news hype. They're making it confusing and scary for us non medical people.

Us too.

[BeauV]

One thing to keep in mind. This virus is moving to “Community Spread” in pretty much any area where there are more than a few isolated cases, even in “little St Mary’s County” with 110K residents and 23 cases, we declared that it is now community spread yesterday afternoon. Probably doesn’t help that probably 2/3 of the working adults are in essential businesses. Even with max telework and a stay home order, there are a lot of people out and about. You don’t need to have direct contact to catch it. People (and businesses) need to pay lots of attention to cleaning and other precautions.

Larry, this is certainly true of our town Santa Cruz = 60,000 population, and county Santa Cruz County= 270,000. We have only had 54 cases and 1 death; which is 19.7/100,000 people. I don't think folks understand that these are just the "confirmed cases". The real population of infected people is at least 7 times this number, according to W.H.O. and CDC data.

[Olaf Hart]

OH, can you direct me to any credible concrete information on survival rates for intubated patients with COVID-19? I'm having trouble turning up sources I trust. I'm also dubious about analogies with SARS1.

Early figures from China, better survival rate in intubated patients, but survival only around 20%

[BeauV]

OH, can you direct me to any credible concrete information on survival rates for intubated patients with COVID-19? I'm having trouble turning up sources I trust. I'm also dubious about analogies with SARS1.

Early figures from China, better survival rate in intubated patients, but survival only around 20%

I asked my UCSF buddies yesterday and they said the US was running at about 50% survival after intubation.

[Olaf Hart]

Those were the early Seattle figures as well, but another third could not come off a ventilator.

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-sho ... 9-patients

[BeauV]

Those were the early Seattle figures as well, but another third could not come off a ventilator.

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-sho ... 9-patients

Ah, me.... well that's a sobering article. Sigh.

[Ajax]

What kind of life does a person have after the ventilator? My impression is that a patient is left with lungs full of ground glass and permanently reduced respiratory capacity. Any truth to this?

I just received an email from my project manager. A person on my floor was infected and has been self-isolating since March 13th. Their work spaces have been cleaned and sanitized. Our site will not close down and will continute working. The wording of the email makes it sound like the PM has known about this the entire time and is only just now informing the workers.

That's 2 close calls in 2 weeks. I'm going to finish working today, and tell my supervisor I'm out until April 30th or until the situation significantly improves.

[Olaf Hart]

Ajax, the inflammatory changes are so severe in people needing ventilation that they will inevitable have scar tissue throughout their lungs at an alveolar level, so gas exchange will be permanently affected.

[Ajax]

Damn, that's awful. Non-medical people tend to discuss this virus in absolutes of mortality and survivors, downplaying the severity.
When you take into account the number of survivors who may permanently need ventilation or who function at a greatly reduced capacity for the rest of their lives, it becomes a much more serious problem.

[Olaf Hart]

In an ideal situation, ventilation would achieve much better results if we had an effective antiviral medication.

The emphasis on ICU and ventilators is a red herring, the only effective management here is old school public health measures until then.

[Tim Ford]

Ajax, the inflammatory changes are so severe in people needing ventilation that they will inevitable have scar tissue throughout their lungs at an alveolar level, so gas exchange will be permanently affected.

Did not know that. So then a "full recovery" from a severe case is unlikely?

Dang, I guess I better start being more careful...as a mildly asthmatic, too.

[LarryHoward]

Ajax, the inflammatory changes are so severe in people needing ventilation that they will inevitable have scar tissue throughout their lungs at an alveolar level, so gas exchange will be permanently affected.

Did not know that. So then a "full recovery" from a severe case is unlikely?

Dang, I guess I better start being more careful...as a mildly asthmatic, too.

So stay upwind of the neighbors during that beach volleyball game.

[Ajax]

I spoke to my Deputy PM and he swears that they just found out about this positive case yesterday. Apparently the infected employee couldn't get tested right away and there was a considerable delay in getting results. None of that is any surprise.

I've commandeered our network lab as my personal work space. No more office mates. I've sanitized everything in here. It's hot, cramped and windowless, but at least I'm alone.

[Benno von Humpback]

I spoke to my Deputy PM and he swears that they just found out about this positive case yesterday. Apparently the infected employee couldn't get tested right away and there was a considerable delay in getting results. None of that is any surprise.

I've commandeered our network lab as my personal work space. No more office mates. I've sanitized everything in here. It's hot, cramped and windowless, but at least I'm alone.

We have shut down all nonessential work, but for anyone who has to go in there is a strict 1 person/room at all times policy with leadership walking around to make sure. We have to submit names of any staff who will be working a week in advance for approval and are officially supposed to get them to issue statements that they are doing so voluntarily.

I have gone in a few times to fix computer issues for my people, all of whom are working from home. The place is very quiet.

[Ajax]

I have gone in a few times to fix computer issues for my people

I'm sorry, but I laughed inwardly at this. I never had you pegged as IT support. Bravo!

[Benno von Humpback]

I have gone in a few times to fix computer issues for my people

I'm sorry, but I laughed inwardly at this. I never had you pegged as IT support. Bravo!

Less paperwork that way and I know they're not farting around and putting themselves or others at risk (not that this crew would). I spend most of my time being clinical support, copy editor, etc. Might as well add low-level IT to my PD.

[BeauV]

In an ideal situation, ventilation would achieve much better results if we had an effective antiviral medication.

The emphasis on ICU and ventilators is a red herring, the only effective management here is old school public health measures until then.

OH, thanks yet again for the straight facts on this. Like the rest, I hadn't thought much about the lung damage. In digging into this, the only analog we have for it is the World War 1 veterans who came home from the front with massive lung damage from gas attacks. This is really bad news for us all long term.

On a more positive note, reading has turned up a theory I'd like your thoughts on: If the "viral load" a person is subjected to is small enough, do they develop immunities without becoming seriously infected? I may be suffering from the fallacy of the converse here: knowing that a large viral load suffered by healthcare workers is bad, can a very small viral load allow someone to develop immunity slowly and safely??

[BeauV]

I have gone in a few times to fix computer issues for my people

I'm sorry, but I laughed inwardly at this. I never had you pegged as IT support. Bravo!

Less paperwork that way and I know they're not farting around and putting themselves or others at risk (not that this crew would). I spend most of my time being clinical support, copy editor, etc. Might as well add low-level IT to my PD.

It's happening to a lot of us. I'm writing tip-sheets for how to use video-conferencing, use of drop-box, searching for lost emails....

[Benno von Humpback]

In an ideal situation, ventilation would achieve much better results if we had an effective antiviral medication.[url][/url]

The emphasis on ICU and ventilators is a red herring, the only effective management here is old school public health measures until then.

OH, thanks yet again for the straight facts on this. Like the rest, I hadn't thought much about the lung damage. In digging into this, the only analog we have for it is the World War 1 veterans who came home from the front with massive lung damage from gas attacks. This is really bad news for us all long term.

On a more positive note, reading has turned up a theory I'd like your thoughts on: If the "viral load" a person is subjected to is small enough, do they develop immunities without becoming seriously infected? I may be suffering from the fallacy of the converse here: knowing that a large viral load suffered by healthcare workers is bad, can a very small viral load allow someone to develop immunity slowly and safely??

Many infectious agents have apparent dose effects and there is some anecdotal feeling that it's true here. However, "viral load" refers to the burden of virus a sick patient has, not the size of the exposure.

https://www.cebm.net/covid-19/sars-cov-2-viral-load-and-the-severity-of-covid-19/

[LarryHoward]

I have gone in a few times to fix computer issues for my people

I'm sorry, but I laughed inwardly at this. I never had you pegged as IT support. Bravo!

Less paperwork that way and I know they're not farting around and putting themselves or others at risk (not that this crew would). I spend most of my time being clinical support, copy editor, etc. Might as well add low-level IT to my PD.

It's happening to a lot of us. I'm writing tip-sheets for how to use video-conferencing, use of drop-box, searching for lost emails....

Our Owner/CEO is mid 80's and not even a novice IT user. Consequently almost all meeting are in person with the remote guy (me) dialing in. Finally got them to buy a decent conference phone for the Board Room which is better than the "use the deck phone on speaker" but even with that the acoustics are terrible and folks don't observe even basic teleconference protocol. Side bar conversations, Our Procurement VP like to tap his pen on the table, folks don't project. I've actually hung up on a few meetings as a waste of my time. Now that we have convinced the owner to stay home, it's improving somewhat and I've been trying to politely remind folks that they need to take turns, don't interrupt, mute when not actually talking. You know -that stuff you were taught in kindergarten. The joys of a small, sole proprietorship.