Official Thread: Coronavirus "COVID-19"

[Java Cool Dude]

It's fascinating how the right-wing mind (or lack thereof) works; no one is defending China or the Chinese government, it's well established they are a ruthless and unethical regime capable of the most cruel thing imaginable including profiteering from a global crisis that originated on their soil.
All we are asking for is a credible source, beyond an unnamed US official, that confirms the rumors that China is selling Italy its own gifted supplies.
Is that too much too ask?

[koralis]

But I also read a theory that covid-19 could be suppressing the immune system (similar to how HIV does only not as effective) which could explain why it takes so long to get rid of it.

Had read one theory that the virus binds to hemoglobin directly similar to CO poisoning, and all the symptoms are a cascade effect from that. Sounds plausible, but unproven.


Given that the original article was disappeared, I'm refraining from posting the wayback link, but used it as a starting point to see if anyone else was discussing that mechanism. This link is vaguely more reputable, but basically the same description (though the original went into a lot more detail about the molecular pathways, along with some political ranting )

https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/must-read-research-reveals-that-covid-19-attacks-hemoglobin-in-red-blood-cells,-rendering-it-incapable-of-transporting-oxygen--current-medical-protocol

Though the virus is able to attack the ACE2 receptors in the lung tissues and cause damage and also while cytokine storms are creating more damage, it is most probability of the body’s inability get enough oxygen along with carbon dioxide build up that is creating the so called ARDS symptoms and stress and current protocols could be all wrong including the usage of ventilators in a non-proper manner way that could actually aggravate already ‘injured’ and inflamed lungs.
…
The research discovered that some of these proteins are to hijack the red blod cells and remove the Iron ions from the heme groups (HBB) and replace themselves with it. This makes the hemoglobin unable to transport oxygen.

As a result the lungs are stressed out and inflamed while the rest of the organs are also being affected. The so called ARDS and subsequent organ failure could be attributed to this.

It references this paper:

https://chemrxiv.org/articles/COVID-19_Disease_ORF8_and_Surface_Glycoprotein_Inhibit_Heme_Metabolism_by_Binding_to_Porphyrin/11938173

drive-by mention of the same thing

https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2020/04/08/young-people-coronavirus-deaths/

vans said the vast majority of young people who contract the disease fare well and recover. But for a minority, it appears to cause a unique change in the blood’s oxygen-carrying hemoglobin cells.

“Young people who are otherwise fit can tolerate this longer, but at the expense of their heart and their pulmonary functions,” said Evans, who likened some of the symptoms in younger people to prolonged carbon monoxide exposure.

https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/coronavirus-pandemic-patient-care-ventilators/

But part of it may be a counter-consensus about what the virus actually does. Instead of being a pneumonia that attacks the lungs, there are some doctors theorizing that the damage COVID-19 does is to the hemoglobin in the blood, at once disabling the ability of red blood cells to carry oxygen from the lungs to other organs, and releasing iron into the body; the oxidizing effect of this may cause those “ground glass” lung pictures seen in CT scans of patients.

And interesting form LA times.. nitric oxide treatments? Mentions it being used on the previous SARS coronavirus

https://www.latimes.com/science/story/2020-04-05/viagra-discovery-could-treat-coronavirus-patients

In adults with pulmonary hypertension, inhaled nitric oxide dilates the blood vessels of the lungs without affecting blood vessels elsewhere, making it a safe way to relieve high blood pressure. The gas is also administered after heart surgery to prevent the lungs from stiffening.

“It’s a pretty remarkable drug,” Berra said, because its effect, when inhaled, is limited to the lungs. “It has a risk profile that is minimal.”

In 2004, researchers at the University of Leuven in Belgium discovered yet another property of nitric oxide: It killed coronaviruses.

More specifically, it killed the coronavirus that leapt from bats to humans and sparked the 2003 epidemic of severe acute respiratory syndrome, the disease better known as SARS.

In African green monkey cells that had been infected with the SARS coronavirus, an organic nitric oxide compound cut the virus’s ability to replicate in half. A year later, Swedish scientists confirmed the finding and found that the higher the dose, the better the gas worked to shut the SARS virus down.

“The story ended there,” Berra said. The SARS epidemic was quashed in eight months, and “nobody tested anymore.”

[jimjobob]

It's fascinating how the right-wing mind (or lack thereof) works; no one is defending China or the Chinese government, it's well established they are a ruthless and unethical regime capable of the most cruel thing imaginable including profiteering from a global crisis that originated on their soil.
All we are asking for is a credible source, beyond an unnamed US official, that confirms the rumors that China is selling Italy its own gifted supplies.
Is that too much too ask?

I thought China took the good supplies from Italy gave them for free and was selling them back defective supplies?

[Capt. Picard]

South Africa's national lockdown has been extended by 2 more weeks. Total 5 weeks. Since 26 March - 30 April 2020.

[NWR_Midnight]

I thought China took the good supplies from Italy gave them for free and was selling them back defective supplies?

No, they where selling defective supplies to other countries, with no mention of Italy being part of that fiasco.

[AllexxisF1]

What does bitching about China have anything to do with where we are now?

I could care if China has been obliterated by a tidal wave of hot dog water. What I care about is here and now.

The virus is here now and we're stuck with this moron who doesn't know the difference between a bacterial infection and a viral one.

[bill dennison]

people in Phoenix are taking social distancing way too far

was out today and noticed at red traffic lights everyone is a full car length or two away from the car in front

traffic is light but the wait at lights is longer

[Munkus]

people in Phoenix are taking social distancing way too far

was out today and noticed at red traffic lights everyone is a full car length or two away from the car in front

traffic is light but the wait at lights is longer

Didn't you know what COVID-19 can travel from car to car? Makes perfect sense.

[bill dennison]

Didn't you know what COVID-19 can travel from car to car? Makes perfect sense.

it's like 80f here today they should turn on the car heat to full be extra safe

or maybe replace the hood ornament with a microwave tube to zap all the little viruses

[Greasy]

My buddies wife who is a nurse was sick as hell this week, but tested negative. He's a deputy, so both of them are on the front line all the time. Be glad when this is all over.

He's a school resource officer, and he's either in court as a bailiff now or delivering lunches to school kids that are on the free or reduced lunch program. One hell of a guy IMO.

[xCLAVEx]

My buddies wife who is a nurse was sick as hell this week, but tested negative. He's a deputy, so both of them are on the front line all the time. Be glad when this is all over.

He's a school resource officer, and he's either in court as a bailiff now or delivering lunches to school kids that are on the free or reduced lunch program. One hell of a guy IMO.

Thing is, this may never be "over". Pandoras box has been released and this could be the new normal. The cases of infected may one day die down, but this virus is going to be in the wild from now on.

[Java Cool Dude]

Thing is, this may never be "over". Pandoras box has been released and this could be the new normal. The cases of infected may one day die down, but this virus is going to be in the wild from now on.

That's what I keep thinking; so maybe the infection and death rates will plummet due to isolating and social distancing, but then what happens when people start gradually pouring back into society? Back to square one?
I think we need a vaccine/cure before we can go back to normal, Lord knows when will that happen...

[nutcrackr]

2043* deaths for USA today. 100k deaths worldwide

Just the flu, bro

It disturbs me that some places are calling for easing of restriction when they're hitting the peak (e.g. UK). That's basically a perfect recipe for a double peak situation. Only ease restrictions when you're down to very few cases per day, which is at least 3-4 weeks for USA and UK. Even Italy and Spain are probably 2 weeks away from being in a more stable situation. And it seems that the tail is generally quite long.

[NWR_Midnight]

One thing I have also noticed is many other countries have far more who have recovered, where we are way behind on that curve. We have 1/2 million cases with only 27k or so who have been marked as recover, where even Italy has 30k recovered, and Spain has 55k recovered with 1/3 of the cases.

[SD-[Inc]]

The other thing to notice is there is no country in the world that is seeing the curve head the other way. And, the US curve is still a very steep exponential curve up. Unless a miracle happens, it seems like this is going to last a lot longer than people hope

[Crawdaddy79]

One thing I have also noticed is many other countries have far more who have recovered, where we are way behind on that curve. We have 1/2 million cases with only 27k or so who have been marked as recover, where even Italy has 30k recovered, and Spain has 55k recovered with 1/3 of the cases.

I don't trust the recovered statistic at all. I think it requires someone to get tested, proven negative after testing positive, and I don't see a lot of people going for that, especially here where the cost for the second test may come out of pocket.

[Crawdaddy79]

The other thing to notice is there is no country in the world that is seeing the curve head the other way. And, the US curve is still a very steep exponential curve up. Unless a miracle happens, it seems like this is going to last a lot longer than people hope

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/...-us-cases.html

[SD-[Inc]]

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/...-us-cases.html

Show me on that graph where it shows active cases decreasing? That's what I would look for on the downside of the curve. Active cases increasing slower is a good thing. But,no where near the end of this battle.

[NWR_Midnight]

Show me on that graph where it shows active cases decreasing? That's what I would look for on the downside of the curve. Active cases increasing slower is a good thing. But,no where near the end of this battle.

All the graph is really showing us is we have hit a bottleneck. Either it's the CPU, GPU, or lack of memory. Maybe it's a heating issue. Otherwise we would be getting better performance. Oh wait, this is not a game. (sorry, bad attempt at some humor during these dark times).

In reality, we are either being bottle necked by limit tests, and/or the ability to process those tests, as the new case count is relativity the same low 30s (thousands) each day, +/- 1000. Except the weekends when the numbers decrease for a couple days, then start back up on Monday/Tuesday, which is probably due to various parts of the process not being open on Sat/Sun. We will most likely see the same dip this weekend, and the numbers go back up to the low 30s, come Monday or Tuesday. This will go on for a few weeks until the bottleneck disappears and we will then start seeing what the Stay in place orders are doing. Problem is, once the Stay in place orders start getting lifted, we will see the daily cases go back up if we don't find a vaccine.

[kaarel]

One thing I have also noticed is many other countries have far more who have recovered, where we are way behind on that curve. We have 1/2 million cases with only 27k or so who have been marked as recover, where even Italy has 30k recovered, and Spain has 55k recovered with 1/3 of the cases.

That is because US's growth is very recent (unlike e.g Italy's) so most of the patients in US have had no time to either recover or die.

[KAC]

Gays. This shite is becoming ridiculous as you need to wear mask and gloves every time you head out. Then you have to get your temperature checked and stay in queue. Then go inside to grab a can of Diet Coke. The paranoia is real.

Also I am getting fat.

[ATI FURY-OUS]

iv been to the store here in the UK and didnt wear gloves or mask, i live near london too

[ATI FURY-OUS]

also F*** China! i hope they are found accountable!

[nutcrackr]

USA is very early and that's why active cases are high. 50% of current cases are from the last 8 days. Almost 91% are still active.

iv been to the store here in the UK and didnt wear gloves or mask, i live near london too

You should wear a mask and gloves if you can.

[nrs421]

[yt]LfOmAJ_ZpTg[/yt]




In the UK. This is ridiculous.

[Crawdaddy79]

Show me on that graph where it shows active cases decreasing? That's what I would look for on the downside of the curve. Active cases increasing slower is a good thing. But,no where near the end of this battle.

It's not showing an exponential increase, as you said we were experiencing.

[NWR_Midnight]

That is because US's growth is very recent (unlike e.g Italy's) so most of the patients in US have had no time to either recover or die.

Spain started up about the same time as the US, and they have 55k recovering.

It's not showing an exponential increase, as you said we were experiencing.

Many testing laboratories are backlogged by 160,000 tests, and that was a week ago, so that number is probably doubled or tripled by now. Some people are not getting their results for 10 days or more.

[Munkus]

IMO, if people would adhere to social distancing guidelines, the curve would be flattening by now. Obviously there are some people who can't stay home because they work at essential businesses, but the majority of us can and should.

[NWR_Midnight]

If this article has even a slight chance of accuracy, our death count is much higher:

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/more-2-200-coronavirus-deaths-nursing-homes-federal-government-isn-n1181026

[SubCog]

people in Phoenix are taking social distancing way too far

was out today and noticed at red traffic lights everyone is a full car length or two away from the car in front

traffic is light but the wait at lights is longer

It's time to do this:

[MasterGoa]

Student loans waived for 6 months:

https://www.redandblack.com/uganews/trump-suspends-student-loan-payments-for-next-6-months/article_04a57224-7b35-11ea-8d44-53fa388c5ddc.html

[shrike126]

Student loans waived for 6 months:
https://www.redandblack.com/uganews/...a388c5ddc.html

Pretty sure that's only for federally held student loans. But the nice part is that they're freezing interest on the principal during this time.

[ice]

IMO, if people would adhere to social distancing guidelines, the curve would be flattening by now. Obviously there are some people who can't stay home because they work at essential businesses, but the majority of us can and should.

Does it surprise you? People are ****ing morons. I wish the meme of Putin releasing lions in the streets was real.

If you have a legit reason, fine. If not, execute.

And I'm only half joking.

[kaarel]

Spain started up about the same time as the US, and they have 55k recovering.

That is interesting because Spain has now 76k recovered + dead combined. Yet 14 days ago they had only 49k infected. Probably it depends at what point infected people are tested. Spain probably wasn't testing enough 14 days ago. One very important statistic is missing - the percentage of how many people are infected out of all that are tested. If the percentage is high, it means that only clearly sick people are tested.

[NWR_Midnight]

That is interesting because Spain has now 76k recovered + dead combined. Yet 14 days ago they had only 49k infected. Probably it depends at what point infected people are tested. Spain probably wasn't testing enough 14 days ago. One very important statistic is missing - the percentage of how many people are infected out of all that are tested. If the percentage is high, it means that only clearly sick people are tested.

World meter has added a column showing the number of total tests. Out of the number of total tests, US has near a 20% infection rate. Spain's is near 45%.

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/#countries

We weren't testing enough 2 weeks ago, and we still aren't. I don't know if I agree with the stance that Spain is only testing clearly sick people, because that's really all that we are doing as well. Testing requires a doctor's referral, or at least that is how it is here in Washington, and they don't hand them out unless you have majority of the symptoms, and how severe the symptoms are.

[shrike126]

World meter has added a column showing the number of total tests. Out of the number of total tests, US has near a 20% infection rate. Spain's is near 45%.

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/#countries

We weren't testing enough 2 weeks ago, and we still aren't. I don't know if I agree with the stance that Spain is only testing clearly sick people, because that's really all that we are doing as well. Testing requires a doctor's referral, or at least that is how it is here in Washington, and they don't hand them out unless you have majority of the symptoms, and how severe the symptoms are.

This bothers me still, that we're only handing out Covid-19 tests to people we're already sure have Covid-19, and even then only people we're pretty severe cases. If 80% of the known cases out there are mild or even asymptomatic, then testing only the 20% that are pretty bad off means we really have no idea who has it.

[kaarel]

World meter has added a column showing the number of total tests. Out of the number of total tests, US has near a 20% infection rate. Spain's is near 45%.

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/#countries

Thanks, I didn't notice that. So Spain actually does less testing and at later stage of the infection than US. Both countries have this percentage way too high. My country has this at 4,3%. South-Korea has this number at whopping 1,9%.

[ATI FURY-OUS]

You should wear a mask and gloves if you can.

not been able to get hold of gloves or masks and i usually buy them for working on the boat for when i use chemicals

[xCLAVEx]

Texas is going to start re-opening next week.

AUSTIN, Texas — At his third press conference of the week, Gov. Greg Abbott says Texas businesses can expect an executive order from his office next week, with plans on how to begin reopening the state's economy.

Abbott says he has been in constant contact with President Trump, Vice President Pence, and Treasury Secretary Mnuchin to discuss how to proceed with beginning the process of allowing businesses to open up again.

"We have a desire to make sure it's done in a way that it's safe, understanding that if everyone were to rush the doors and go back into the job market overnight, we would see an outbreak of COVID-19 all over again. That's exactly why I'm issuing the executive order next week establishing what the statewide standards would be in the coming days about what the approach is. These are standards we've been working in conjunction with the White House on," Abbott said. "We will focus on protecting lives, while restoring livelihoods. We can and we must do this. We can do both."

This announcement came hours after Lieutenant Gov. Dan Patrick said on a town hall call with the Texas GOP that he would like to start opening businesses back up by the first week of May.

"We’re not going to open up everything immediately, but it will be done in phases, but we need to get started, and I hope that’s the first week of May, barring any unforeseen big spikes," Patrick said on the call.

Abbott says Texas will continue taking cues from the White House.

"We will be learning in more detail in the coming week what the approaches will be by the White House for the United States of America, both with regard to economic revitalization but also doing so in ways that maintain public health and safety," Abbott said.

https://cbsaustin.com/news/local/gov...easter-weekend

I was enjoying the minimal traffic for my job commute and the quiet due to the bars being closed (they can stay closed for all I care. Bars are a plague around here).

[NWR_Midnight]

Texas is going to start re-opening next week.



I was enjoying the minimal traffic for my job commute and the quiet due to the bars being closed (they can stay closed for all I care. Bars are a plague around here).

Now that Trump said that employers don't have to record COVID cases unless in the health field, it will be easier to make it appear that opening up the businesses so soon was the right call, as there will be no way to verify if those businesses are the source of spreading it again. It also opens the door for employers not to notify their employees if they have been exposed.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/osha-labor-department-coronavirus-cases-at-work_n_5e91cc70c5b6f7b1ea8218bf

And yes, it is technically P&R but people need to know what is happening.