iahphx

Well, as someone who is planning on attending (but has no hotel or tickets yet), I'm cynically hoping for some fear -- and then 100% safety! There is, of course, no way to predict that outcome at this point. The Japanese response to the Diamond Princess has obviously reduced my confidence.

nk15

I think all businesses around the world will be prudent to start looking into remote, "work from home" technologies, including educational institutions and universities, as we may soon start facing city lockdowns and other commute disruptions.

invisible

Once again looking at https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/#countries

5 new deaths and 10 new cases in Iran. [Islamic Republic of Iran News Network (IRINN)]
2 new cases in the United Arab Emirates: a 70-year-old Iranian national and his wife.

Iran has according to the page above, 28 cases and 9 (!) death - 30% of rate. Number of cases should be in multiples of hundreds.

Couple of additional information, according to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visa_policy_of_Iran Iran has visa free arrival for Chinese (well...) and Turkish citizens.
And according to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visa_p...tor_statistics, 2 million Iranian visitors were in Turkey, and about 300k each in Georgia and Azerbaijan - two other counties in the region having visa free entries for Iranians. Armenia also has visa free entry for Iranians but there are no statistics on wiki page.

STS-134

[redact reference to deleted post]

https://www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...-rise-n1140371

I have never heard statements like this come out of the CDC before, aside from theoretical preparation scenarios that had nothing to do with anything that was actually happening. Have you?

GetSetJetSet

Without becoming a tinfoil hat prepper, I have some Qs for trublu and others:

1. I live in NYC, is this possible aerosolized spread a concern in all apartment buildings, or is it something about the construction in HKG that caused the spread that way?
2. If forced to self-quarantine in an apartment building, what are the best ways to safeguard against infection from people in other units?
3. Any other tips, things one might not think to stock for a lengthy self-quarantine? I imagine we won't get to end of civilization no water/power breakdown levels, but it might be necessary to avoid all contact with the outside world for a period of a few weeks to stay safe.

Thanks

Need

They should be able to verify this with all those infected cases on Diamond Princess. All of them are being treated in Japan right? They would be able to easily see if any of those 600? 700? people never show any symptoms.

How does it even work? If you never show symptoms, does it mean your body is not trying to fight the virus? Do you then just be a carrier of the virus forever?

Hoyaheel

There was just an article in our weekly work newsletter about how our Chinese partner university put together an online semester in 2-3 weeks as a response to COVID-19.....

invisible

Correct. So-called UK 'super-spreader' had exactly this situation.

STS-134

Sure but I recognize hyperbole when I see it. Even the full scale closure of schools and businesses, theme parks, etc., would be unprecedented in my lifetime, and certainly unprecedented in the age of jet travel that began in the 1950s.

nk15

I thought the same thing, apartment buildings unfortunately will be more vulnerable than houses, due to resident and apartment proximity and congestion. I am not sure how it works but there may be shared heating/cooling systems, shared bathroom vents, gaps underneath apt. doors, etc.

narvik

They simply haven't tried to [or were capable of] testing/verifying the COVID-19 cases.
Number of infected in the thousands, is my guess.

jiejie

Based on how things are going, cancellation is possible, or athletes compete without spectators (and I suspect many countries' teams may not be there). But July is still quite a way off, so we'll see.

Nor have I ever heard this either from the CDC. The tone is ominous and maybe it needs to be, to start prepping the media, institutions, and the general public for a situation we have not seen in modern times.

As an architect with hefty experience in buliding systems, answer to your #1 and #2 are "it's possible and it depends." It depends primarily on the HVAC (heating, ventilation, air conditioning) system type or types being used, particularly whether they are completely self-contained in the unit or are centralized with forced air and return ducting. I would worry less about the plumbing-related exhaust and venting (which is where the HK Amoy Gardens breakdown supposedly originated), since most US buildings are pretty ship-shape (bad pun on the DP, sorry) on this dimension. Then there is the architectural design itself of the public areas--lobbies, elevators, mailbox rooms, laundry areas, etc.--where airborne and contaminated surfaces could be a factor. Most NYC apartment buildings, unless very new and luxurious, tend to have relatively small spaces that can concentrate whatever germs are floating about.

I would guess that some people will be able to clear the virus on their own, though time to do that is unknown. Others will need antivirals or some other treatment to assist in clearing. To me, this is one of the most worrisome aspects of this virus--that asymptomatic people can unknowingly shed virus and infect others, for considerable periods of time. I don't know how you fight against a virus that can do this.

invisible

We just simply never needed it in developed world in last several decades... fortunately. But last time China-style lockdown happened in Europe was 1972 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1972_Y...llpox_outbreak

GadgetFreak

I actually really stunned by the lack of media attention to this in the US. Sure, it is getting some coverage but not a lot. Even warnings like this from the CDC and ones from NIAID aren’t getting much or in some cases, any, national news coverage from what I’ve been noticing.

GetSetJetSet

It seems prudent then to stockpile supplies at a country house with the intention of (if possible) heading there to self-quarantine then. My worry is the ability to get out of the city if things get bad. I have a car, but will roads be jammed with people trying to flee. My HVAC units are contained within my apartment, and I have a good amount of space and my own outdoor space to fend off cabin fever, but I worry about the gaps under the doors or as mentioned the vent shaft that runs through the building, might transport virus from unit to unit.