Vangrovsky

I have not kept up with the outbreaks as much as I should...

are there any cases where a non-Chinese or non-Asian person has been diagnosed as infected with the coronavirus?


by the way, I am shocked(well, maybe not so shocked) that so many people are taking advantage of the situation and hoarding/selling the respirators/masks for a ridiculous profit. I believe in karma. Making such profits on a life and death situation and causing a shortage is morally wrong.

A Little Cow

Seems like complete overkill for domestic US flights or even flights from the US to Asia. The number of potentially infected people becomes astronomically small as you go further away from Wuhan.

Might consider it though for all flights out of China and around Chinese airports though... if only to fit in better!

narvik

There's about 170000 people that made it to Beijing from Wuhan just before the shutdown happened, FWIW.
🤔

Added: Just as a small reference point. We HAVE to fill out an [almost] daily form from our local industry zone, stating if we had any visitors from Wuhan, and where our employees have traveled to during the holidays.

A Little Cow

Sure, but how many of those people made it to the US? And how many of those people who were infected weren't quarantined? It just seems like lots of small percentages all multiplied together by the time you get to domestic US flights... On the flights back to China you have even the additional step of the infected person being asymptomatic throughout their stay in the US. A lot of these mitigating factors don't come into play if you are transiting in Beijing and flying to the USA though, hence saying that I would consider taking additional protective measures there.

narvik

It's probably prudent to point out at this stage, that there an average of 130 people per DAY in the USA that die of "normal" pneumonia, and about 100 per day die of traffic accidents per day in the USA.

Aussienarelle

The two cases in Orange County announced in the press yesterday are a little close to home (SAN) for my liking. I believe in both cases the infected people had travelled from Wuhan. I tend to concur about your comment on domestic flights except for flights with gamblers, i.e. LAS.

It is not the infection rate it is the death rate that is the concern for me, and at this stage China is announcing a death rate of about 3% (81/2,700) but I am not sure the death rate is that low, and if it were I would not be concerned about traveling but the Chinese response appears over the top to me if it is a 3% rate.

I am practicing good hygiene (and it always amazes me when I travel how many people do not wash their hands upon exiting the bathroom stalls at airports). My next flight is not until later next month so watching the death rate which will determine what I choose to do then as I am going to LAS.

HNLbasedFlyer

The response doesn't surprise me. China was widely criticized over how they handles SARS - and China has much more at stake regarding their standing in the world economy than they did 20 years ago.

Vangrovsky

like the Powerball lottery(currently at almost $400 million), someone will win it... (preferably me)

unlike the Powerball, I'll take the appropriate steps to make sure that my family/friends/coworkers/neighbors and I don't become the luck ones. (within reason, of course... not gonna rent the excavator to dig a secure shelter in my backyard.. not yet anyway)

A Little Cow

Exactly... Although if I'm hit by a car it is unlikely that might cause my close friends and families to get hit by a car in the coming days/weeks :P

But, in case it wasn't clear from my posts, I agree that there is not a reason to be highly concerned or start wearing a scuba suit whenever in public.

TXJeepGuy

Just drink a few more whiskeys on the plane. Alcohol kills germs right?

physioprof

I'm very uncomfortable with this kind of grossly speculative non-expert medical advice being posted on the UA forum.

scracer14

This is spot on, and one of the few ways a mask helps prevent the spread of illness TO an individual, essentially people touch thier face and mouth less often while wearing. As an unexposed, healthy individual, double your hand washing (and not touching your face/noze/mouth would likely make more of a difference than wearing a mask.

The masks are designed to catch particulates FROM coughs, talking, and sneezing. Since they are not air tight, as a non-ill wearer they really only protect against a percentage of airborne saliva that you happen to be in close proximity to. For example, the person sitting next to you sneezes in your direction and you breathe in the particulates, a percentage of air containing saliva would get caught in the mask, and a percentage would "leak" around it.

However if the I'll person was wearing a mask while they sneezed, the velocity of the sneeze forces the particulates into the mask, and if the particulates are larger than the masks coverage, they are trapped. Hence why it's more effective for people who are ill (or potentially exposed), to wear masks, over otherwise healthy individuals to wear them.

zombietooth

You'll note that I quoted an article in Foreign Policy magazine, a quite respectable publication. If you had gone there and read the article, you would have found that the quoted passage was made by Annie Sparrow, assistant professor of population health science and policy at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mt. Sinai Hospital in NY.

In addition, the MMR vaccine is recommended for most international travelers and is quite harmless, unless you believe Jenny McCarthy.

findark

I will say, I don't know if I'm typical, but I touch my face a lot without thinking about it. So the mask could indeed help there

LAXlocal

have they figured out how long the infected cough "droplets" stay "alive" and are able to transmit the virus ?

I am amazed how many people sneeze and do not even cover their face with their hand ,

And as far as the face mask not working 100% , even if it works 80% thats a lot better since your real chances of catching this virus even if you are Wuhan today are very very small.