https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/02/25/809318447/health-officials-warn-americans-to-start-planning-for-spread-of-coronavirus-in-u

I'm surprised nobody has even mentioned this. Guess I will. This is not to incite panic, but gently nudge attention, since our idiot president isn't taking it seriously.

For those completely in the dark, there has been a serious pandemic happening in China and it's now spreading worldwide, known as COVID-19. Remember SARS from the early 00's? This is basically exactly that but mutated and on steroids. It began in the Wuhan district, and small outbreaks have occurred throughout Asia outside of China. Brazil just reported its first confirmed case last night. There have been 14 confirmed cases here in the States thus far. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/cases-in-us.html

The good news is most infections are mild, but the elderly and immune-compromised need to be extra cautious. Anyone with flu-like symptoms needs to stay home. Traveling abroad, stay away from anyone coughing or appears sick, and wash your hands regularly. In theory, the virus should be on the downswing come summer, but it's too early to say. Depending on its strength, it could theoretically cancel the Olympics even.

tl;dr: maintain proper hygiene and stay home if you're unwell. Elderly and and immune-compromised need to be extremely cautious. You're more likely to contract influenza or the common cold than this coronavirus strain, but the lengthy incubation period of this virus--thus exposure rate-- and impact on the global economy is what makes it a global-wide threat.

posting this here because it's just good advice. The CDC's best practices for awareness for Covid-19

CDC Coronavirus best practices to prevent further spreading There's also a minimum 2 week incubation period and some people are asymptomatic during that incubation period. Stay at home if you're feeling unwell. I've had a couple friends who after coming back from overseas vacations to the US( not from China though some have gone to other countries, Taiwan, parts of Europe) that have been practicing self-quarantine which is generally two weeks.

oof italy's been having a p rough time with it and i'm flying back there from belgium today so uh

wish me luck fellas 😂

Dang! Best of luck and stay safe out there.

Giving serious thought to cancelling my trip to Japan in June. Right now I cannot get a fee waiver but I may just screw the cost and rebook a trip elsewhere.

hnn thanks q v q there haven't been any cases in the region i live in but it's still worrying haha

like idc if i get it i've lived through worse but i live with my grandma who is 89 so you know not the best immune system

I feel like this is the only talked about thing on the news.

for anyone wanting a global tracker

hot take (not directed at people posting here, but in general): People are blowing Covid-19 out of proportion. Just because it's new doesn't make it extremely dangerous enough to warrant risking economies over. No one cares (to this level) about seasonal flu and I'm sure not everyone who should get the flu vaccine does because a) costs b) availability c) taking the vaccine for granted (plus, with flu mutations being regular, the vaccine doesn't guarantee you won't get the flu anyway since vaccine production lags behind flu mutations).

And the comparisons with the 1918 flu epidemic make me upset, because that was before the advent of antibiotics. Yes, antibiotics don't treat viruses, but the majority of deaths from the 1918 flu epidemic were from secondary bacterial infections (like bacterial pneumonia). Generally, I would hope antibiotics and general sanitary conditions have improved in 2020 v 1918. So the 1918 epidemic comparison is not even valid.

pops head out of r/coronavirus for once ive been keeping track of this shit since like the restrictions happened in China a month or so ago and just Please at least make sure you have a good supply of ur meds/enough food for at least 2 weeks. get extras of what you already eat and if insurance is a bitch who won't let you have more than a months supply at once (at least in the US) use the GoodRx app. I got 90 days of zoloft (180 of 100mg) for like $20.

like i've told my wife, at least treat this like a snow storm is coming where its like "i mean you cooould go out, but if you prep, its much safer and nicer to stay home"

then again i've had my roommates get upset at me for taking this so seriously ("just chill out there's no new reported cases here" -roommate a few days ago) and have had my wife doubt me a bit, but at least still prep

there's now 2 new cases in WA. they had a press conference tonight and that number will only get bigger from here since they're finally testing in state.

and one of the cases is in my fucking county. For-fucking-once, I believe my paranoia is justified.

It's good you're prepared. It's smart to be prepared and I like your analogy to it being a snowstorm. I just wish that mentality wasn't coupled with panic and fearmongering, which has been the case regarding news due to lack of much needed context. People are like OMG ONE CASE IS HERE, LET'S NOT TAKE THE ECONOMY INTO REGARD WHEN QUARANTINING/CLOSING EVERYTHING. And while some news is more neutral, much more pro-activeness needs to take place to allay these fears and I'm just not seeing that.

It is not the end of the world. It's not Ebola where it's present right now since like 2018 in the DRC with its mortality rate of 66% and far shittier symptoms of bleeding. It's not Ebola, folks.

I encourage everyone on here to read this. Please.

If you are not worried for yourself, be worried for others. I wash my hands frequently and use Lysol wipes to clean my office and every computers/spaces that are lent to my participants at work (in sheer hope of keeping them safe). Bathrooms are also a BIG germs and bacterias factory. If you can avoid touching locks and handles, that would be nice too (or use a drying paper if you must).

Stay safe everyone! I see this disease as any other one: I do NOT want it.

Being prepared and taking precautions isn't panic or paranoia. It's the lack of preparation that leads to panic down the road when SHTF and people aren't ready. I live in King County, WA and it's getting real here now. The county wants to open a quarantine facility literally right down the road from my house. For the first time I feel legitimized in being a bit of a prepper (and a germaphobe and a hermit who avoids social interaction lol). I'm not rushing out to the store to empty the shelves (or expose myself to the public unnecessarily) because I've already got a substantial supply of food, hand sanitizer and PPE. If only everyone, including our government and our sigh president would have been so prepared, we could have done a better job of getting ahead of this thing.

I'm super lucky to have a job where I don't interact directly with anyone and I have insurance, albeit shitty and expensive. I'm probably going to catch it eventually anyway, and I'm lucky to be young and healthy enough that I'll probably recover just fine. But I'm very worried about those who aren't positioned as well as I am. It's still up to all of us to do what we can to keep this thing as contained as possible so more vulnerable people aren't exposed. Wash your hands, cover your coughs and don't go out if you don't have to, especially if you're sick. It's just not worth it. Last month, I was actually considering going to the Seattle Comic Con but I wouldn't now, and I'm really glad it was postponed, along with many other large public gatherings. This is not an overreaction at all. COVID-19 is quite contagious. Anything we can do to put off the spread of infection until we have a vaccine is simply prudent. Don't only worry about yourselves and don't downplay it as "just the flu" (yeah I've had the flu and survived it too; not everyone does, and anyway it's not the flu). Stay safe everyone.

I'm a seattleite and I have a cold, so I'm staying TF home and using up my PTO. If need be, I know how to make hand sanitizer (I'm flat out), but 'keep calm and wash your hands' works even better.

There are 17 cases in my area....

I have asthma and work in service and see hundreds of people a day..I can't afford to miss work but I'm basically coming to terms with the fact that I'll most likely contract this either from work or public transit that I rely on. Sucks not being one of the young 'healthy' ones that will most likely recover just fine from this..

It is predicted that 60-80% of the world's population will contract it before it's over, but just practice good hygiene in the meantime and try not to fret. Influenza's also out there still, and seasonal allergies are getting ready to flare up (I'm in PA, and the weather has been so stupidly nice it scares me lol).

We're all gonna get through this together. an Internet hug is all I can give you.

oof being in italy as the whole country is under lockdown (and i'm in the centre in a town that so far doesn't even have many cases)........ yeah def recommend prepping like mad lmao

especially surgical masks bc they ran out SO QUICKLY here and what few pharmacies carry them are selling them for like €20 a pop

it's like yeah i know it's just a flu and most people recover but like.......... the situation is still p grim and depressing ;;

i live in washington state too (pierce county, which isn't the epicenter of the state's outbreak, but is fairly close). i have mixed feelings about the whole thing, but i'm coming from a privileged position because i'm not immunocompromised. i'm not scared by the possibility of contracting covid-19, but i do understand the need to be cautious out of concern for those who could have more serious complications. i also worry about my parents, who have underlying health conditions.

i work retail, and so far my life hasn't been impacted. yet(?). but working retail in america means that i can't afford to call out sick, so if i actually get sick and need to quarantine myself, well... we'll talk about that when i get to that point. business has been much slower, at the very least.

many of my friends and family are musicians, and their livelihoods have been dramatically affected, though. the governor banned group meetings of 250+ people in three counties, including mine. concerts that people have prepped for for months are now cancelled, and my mother, who works for the catholic church, just told me that masses are to be cancelled for the rest of the month. friends who are teachers are either teaching remotely, or just have to live with the fact that they won't see their kids for at least a couple of weeks, because most school districts are shutting down.

i'm supposed to go to sakura-con in seattle in april, but i have a feeling that's going to be cancelled, too.

tl;dr, daily life is mostly normal for me but hitting everyone around me very hard. it's bizarre to feel like i'm a statistic in one of my own plague inc. games, lmao.

edit: oh and my wife has been sick for more than a week now, and honestly? she has a tough immune system, yet i've never seen her this sick before. i might take her to a clinic tomorrow if she doesn't seem any better. will definitely call ahead though since i'm sure all local hospitals are swamped.

I very much appreciate that you all seem to agree that precautions need to be taken not just for yourself, but for the others around you who could be affected if you become sick. My grandmother is 95 and on oxygen, so I worry greatly for her wellbeing... I have convinced her that church may not be a good idea for a while, and reminded her that Walmart does have a pickup option if she needs something that my uncle can't get for her.

I think one of the hardest things we will likely face here in the US is folks not staying home when they're sick, either because they think "Oh, it's just a cold, I can still work", or "I cannot miss work or I will be fired" takes precedence in their minds over the consideration that going to work sick could infect dozens of others very rapidly. I definitely agree with the assertion that if you are sick and must go out, wear a mask; considering the information we have gathered so far indicates the virus is transmitted via droplets/aerosol, keeping that "under wraps" is for the best, even if it ultimately is only a cold and not the Coronavirus. (Interesting aside, I read recently that virus droplets were found in an area up to 30 minutes after an infected individual passed through. Truly bizarre compared to the usual behavior of airborne viruses.)

I also want to stress I am not trying to cause panic, or am panicking myself, but I do want to help promote information and encourage everyone to think not just about themselves, but the community they may affect. We're all in this one together, whether we like it or not, lol.

: I definitely recommend calling ahead; 1) Like you mentioned, local clinics and hospitals are probably all getting swamped, but 2) If there is any chance that your wife might possibly be infected with Covid-19, they'll want to know in advance of your arrival so they can prep their workers and a test kit for her. I'll be sending positive thoughts, even though that doesn't really help much...I'm just hoping for the best for you two!

Sidenote: I also have a hotel booked for SakCon weekend in Seattle, but for the Joe Hisashi concert, and I am very much expecting to hear that it gets cancelled any day now. It's unfortunate, and I'm trying to keep up hope on the possibility that Hey, maybe things will be a bit better by then, but I'm also preparing myself for the disappointment. Small sigh. Maybe you could arrange a local meetup if SakCon gets cancelled, though? I know it's not nearly as cool as a major convention with big stars and a dealer hall...but at least it would give you a chance to dress up and have fun with some friends. Just a thought!

I'm really hoping this blows over by summer, not least because I admit to still wanting to see the Olympics.

I'm in CA, California and Governor Newsom within the last two days banned all gatherings in the state of 250 or more which means, a) wondercon has been postponed though SDCC is still on, as it doesn't start until July.

and b) Disneyland will close for the rest of the month starting March 16 which is unprecedented. Disneyland has never closed for more than a day or two, and that includes during September 11 and during JFK's assassination which prompted 2 day closures across all Disney parks. And overall, Disneyland has never closed more than 4 times in the entire time the park has been open including this time and none were this long.

In any case, stay safe, practice good hygiene and I'm sure most people will be fine. I have a relatively healthy immune system as well so I'm not worried though I've actively avoided going to large public places because of it, but that's not the case for people without healthy immune systems though.

Dang, that was quick. Disney just closed all their parks across the globe.