Article on ArsTechnica- WHO thinks that based on the spread in several other countries that this disease will get loose somewhere, and that making plans to work from home and/or tele-school make sense.
No panic, just planning.

The number of cases in the US went up by 20 when the Cruise Ship people came home. There are no know agents, no ""patient-zero"" in the US at this time.

There are 57 known cases in the US. 0 deaths in the US.

The US has several advantages when it comes to this.
1) we are across an ocean. YEA!! no one is walking here!
2) US population maintains a high social distance. (unlike places like Japan, where people like to talk to each other 1 foot apart, WE Americans, like to be 3 or 4 feet apart. This reduces/slows spread.




https://arstechnica.com/science/2020/02/...evere-cdc-says/

I've read that there are no known infections from surfaces; the article claimed that as far as we know it's only been spread from person to person. This makes sense to me (as a layman!) for coronaviruses in general.

Seems Wuhan medical personnel using medical journals to get around censorship.

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(20)30065-6/fulltext

Pilgrims to Muslim Holy Sites Risk Spreading Coronavirus (search on google if you don't have a WSJ subscription)

https://www.wsj.com/articles/pilgrims-to...=article_inline

Does anybody have a source for surgical masks or N95 masks? I can't find any at the local CVS or Walgreens. The Home Depot and Lowe's Hardware near me; are out of the N95 masks. Any alternative solutions? BTW I live in Hawaii.

OnedzGuy

They’re currently either unobtainable or hideously expensive on Amazon and eBay.

One time, as a child, I needed to go into a house with smoke damage. The smoke damage was affecting my breathing. Otherwise, it was safe to go in.

I made an improvised mask using Kleenex and tape. Apply the tape to all four sides to make a complete seal. In this situation, it worked. However, I can't make any claims on the effectiveness of the MacGyver mask in this situation.

Jeanette Isabelle

Going back years we’ve kept a stock of N-99 masks due to the smoke generated by the wildfires here. I’ve also had a few of the reusable (washable) masks that work quite well for smoke.

I have a few 27”x27” cotton bandanas. Bandanas have been mentioned in this forum on many occasions. They are useful if you have filter material to sandwich between the two layers when folded, but there’s still an issue of the mask fitting correctly. Smoke particles are one thing, COVID-19 aerosols are another matter entirely. The N95 Face Mask Activated Carbon Filter might work. (You need to cover your eyes too.)

Sorry for your situation in light of the COVID-19, but masks have been sold out of the brick&mortar stores for weeks and as stated Amazon is also pretty much out. Buying basic first aid and survival items is best done while the supplies are available, not after the crisis is well underway.

China has banned all exports of face masks too.

I have not noticed a great deal of 'panic' over the virus here at ETS - mostly good advice on hand washing, anti-viral products, etc. However for those here who need to reassure others this article may help.

5 Reasons to Stop Freaking Out About Coronavirus

Coronavirus is an “info-demic,” a panic caused by the spread of partial and often misleading information about a health risk, sometimes deliberately.

The virus is real, and a small number of people have been infected. But it is going to pass.

It is an unpleasant respiratory illness, but it is not an organ-destroying horror like Ebola. Precautions are being taken, a vaccine will emerge, and life will continue as usual.

Here are five specific reasons to chill out.

1. Coronavirus is a familiar illness, and not as bad as others. It is from the SARS family — and less deadly. As Ha’aretz noted, “the mortality rate from the current disease ranges from 0.5 to 2 percent, and is significantly lower than the mortality rate from the 2002 SARS outbreak (9.5 percent) and much lower than the 2012 SARS outbreak (34.4 percent). It may even be close to the mortality rate from an ordinary flu outbreak in the United States.”

2. The U.S. response has been exceptionally good. There have only been 16 cases thus far, none deadly. [I removed some political content here]

3. We are going to have a vaccine soon. There are private companies in the U.S. and around the world racing to develop a vaccine — not just because of the urgent public health need, but because whoever finds it first stands to make a lot of money. (This is where the profit motive, and the pharmaceutical industry, are so crucial [removed political content]

4. China is going to be all right. The number of cases in China sounds large — until you consider the size of China. True, the Chinese government has been duplicitous about coronavirus, as it is about everything. (Amartya Sen famously observed that India, unlike China, has never suffered famine because India has a free press.) And U.S. firms are learning a long-overdue lesson about the risks of investing there. But China will eventually pull through.

5. The same people who want you to panic about coronavirus want you to panic about everything. The news business thrives on chaos. [removed political content] Coronavirus is not a hoax, but pundits should be asked if they cared enough about flu — which kills far more people — to get their shot this year. If not, ignore them. Remember to wash your hands, and stay cool.

Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart

https://www.breitbart.com/health/2020/02/28/pollak-5-reasons-to-stop-freaking-out-about-coronavirus/