2019 Novel Coronavirus

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Cruises are so gross. 
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Mmmm, hospital I work at has been on Tier 1 flu restrictions since around November/December.  No visitors with flu-like symptoms.  No visitors under 18.  No visitors beyong immediate family/partner/SO/or spiritual counselor.  All employees were required to have flu shot by October 1st and I think even if you had the shot, but have flu-like symptoms, you need to wear a mask in patient areas.

 
This thing is now a concern in Hawaii due to the Japanese couple from Nagoya allegedly getting infected here. What would you put in your preparedness kit (besides food, water, masks, gloves, wipes, hydrogen peroxide, alcohol, clorox)? Sambucus? Colloidal silver with nebulizer? Olive leaf extract? Vitamin C/D? Ideas appreciated!

 
i have found that wearing one of those paper masks as you walk into the grocery store keeps the girl scouts from asking you to buy their diabetes discs. And it also is effective for door to door salespeople...  #winning!

 
You don't need any of those things. Read the CDC guidance. Summary:

- wash your hands frequently and avoid touching your face. Coronaviruses (and many others) are transmitted from droplets expelled from the airways of sick people. These droplets can get on surfaces like doorknobs, money, etc. You touch these and then get infected when you touch your eyes, mouth, or nose. The good neews is the virus does not appear to live very long on surfaces.  CDC says that almost all infections they are aware of are from direct person-to-person transmittal, with very few suspected cases of anyone necoming infected from surface contacts.

- if you see anyone who is coughing, sneezing, etc. stay 6 feet away to avoid the droplet contact. That is considered a safe distance. As an alternative, give that person a mask.

- If you or a family member are sick, stay home. This is always needed to avoid spreading infections with ordinary Coronaviruses, anyway.

 
This is always needed to avoid spreading infections with ordinary Coronaviruses, anyway.
I agree with what you say but I don't think this is an ordinary coronavirus. People I know are uneasy since we recently found out that the reason we have zero cases in Hawaii is because no one has been tested yet. Our state's initial test kits were flawed and the new test kits are expected to arrive here mid-March. Also, wasn't too thrilled yesterday that Japan and Hong Kong were listed as travel advisory level 1; S. Korea must not be that far behind. China hit level 4 relatively quickly. Since Hawaii is a tourist destination, there are thousands of travelers still coming to Hawaii daily from Japan and Korea (not sure about Hong Kong).

About the only good thing here (re: coronavirus) is that the UV index here is through the roof and it is warm so any moisture dries up quickly (not that humid at present). Hopefully, this advantage is keeping the possibility of catching the virus lower.

 
I'm sure Hawaii and other US states will eventually get cases, but just because no one is being tested, that doesn't automatically mean it's spreading in the community. The US has a very robust public health surveillance program.  If coronavirus was already spreading in Hawaii,  there would be an uptick in severe respiratory and pneumonia cases. From what I understand,  that's not happening yet. 

And if and when it does, the basic precautions CDC recommends will be the most effective means of prevention. 

 
If coronavirus was already spreading in Hawaii,  there would be an uptick in severe respiratory and pneumonia cases. From what I understand,  that's not happening yet.
Was reading up on the timeline in China. If we should ever reach this uptick, it would probably be too late to take any measures for the general population. Hawaii would (possibly) become Wuhan.

Another interesting thing I have learned recently is that healthy people in China are being arrested for not wearing a face mask. Still trying to find out the reasoning for the need of healthy Chinese people to wear a face mask in public.

 
Today, Japan, Hong Kong, and now South Korea are travel advisory levels 2, 2, and 2 on both the U.S. State and CDC websites. They were 1, 1, and none yesterday on the U.S. State website, respectively.

 
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