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Wuhan Virus Watch: 66% of New York State Hospitalizations are of People Who Stayed HOME

Wuhan Virus Watch: 66% of New York State Hospitalizations are of People Who Stayed HOME

Evidence mounts that outside is safer. UK & US officials warn of cyber-spying directed at COVID-19 research. Trump says Coronavirus Task Force will remain ‘indefinitely’.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVlx3oukCGs

Today’s update will begin with the shocking determination that the vast majority of coronavirus-hospitalized New Yorkers were sheltering-at-home.

The majority of people who are still being hospitalized with the coronavirus across the state of New York are staying at home and are not essential workers, new data has revealed, prompting the questions of whether or not lockdown even works or for how much longer it will be necessary.

In a study of some 1,000 new patients admitted to New York hospitals over the last week, 66 percent were staying at home and 18 percent had come from nursing homes, meaning they either became infected by going out to get groceries or other essential items, or from seeing people outside of work.

Gov. Cuomo said they were clearly becoming infected as a result of personal behavior, something that can’t be controlled by his lock-down.

…Cuomo revealed the data on Wednesday at his daily briefing. It came from a survey of hospitals conducted over the last week in an effort to drill down on why so many people were still becoming infected and who they were.

He said that while it shows the number of new infections is being caused by ‘personal behavior’ and not the lockdown, the stay-at-home order had generally thwarted the virus enough that it still a good overarching plan.

Evidence mounts that outside is safer when it comes to COVID-19

More evidence mounts that the lockdown needs to end.

Health experts say people are significantly less likely to get coronavirus while outside, a fact that could add momentum to calls to reopen beaches and parks closed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Being outside shouldn’t be seen as a completely safe space, health experts say. People should continue to avoid crowds and seek a six-foot distance from other people to stay away from the virus.

But experts are increasingly confident in evidence showing that the coronavirus spreads much more readily indoors than outdoors, a finding that could help guide policymakers seeking to figure out ways to end lockdowns that have shuttered much of the nation’s economy.

“Parks, beaches, as long as they’re not cheek to jowl, cycling, walking, this is good,” said Tom Frieden, the former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “Enjoy nature, it’s good for us, and it has very low risk of spreading the virus.”

UK & US Officials warn of cyber-spying directed at COVID-19 research

British and American officials have issued a joint warning that cyber-spies are targeting research and data related to the Wuhan Coronavirus.

UK sources say they have seen extensive activity but do not believe there has been any data theft so far.

Those behind the activity are not named in the alert but are thought to include China, Russia and Iran.

The three countries have all seen major outbreaks of the virus but have denied previous claims of involvement in such activity.

The joint advisory says the UK and US are currently investigating a number of incidents in which other states are targeting pharmaceutical companies, medical-research organisations, and universities, looking for intelligence and sensitive data, including research on the virus.

Coronavirus researcher killed over dispute about ‘intimate partner’

There was a fair amount of social media discussion regarding the murder of a coronavirus researcher who was on the brink of a significant discovery. Police suspect that the motive was not related to his scientific efforts.

The married coronavirus researcher killed in a suspected murder-suicide in Pennsylvania was gunned down over “a lengthy dispute” about an “intimate partner,” police revealed Wednesday.

A probe into the deaths of University of Pittsburgh scientist Bing Liu, 37, and Hao Gu, 46, found the pair was squabbling about a mystery companion whom Ross Township police would not identify.

“We found zero evidence that this tragic event has anything to do with employment at the University of Pittsburgh, any work being conducted at the University of Pittsburgh and the current heath crisis affecting the United States and the world,” the statement read.

Investigators forwarded their review of the case to federal authorities since the “individuals involved” are not US citizens, police said.

Detectives have previously said that Liu — a native of China — and Gu knew each other, but evidence showed the shooting had nothing to do with the assistant professor’s ongoing COVID-19 research.

Trump says Coronavirus Task Force will remain ‘indefinitely’

Now it is being reported that the Coronavirus Task Force is staying in place, despite earlier indications of it concluding later this month.

The president said in a series of tweets that the task force will now focus on safely reopening the United States amid the novel coronavirus pandemic, echoing remarks he made on Tuesday during a trip to Phoenix. Trump also said that the task force would be “very focused” on vaccines and therapeutics.

His remarks came a day after Vice President Pence signaled the White House would wind down the work of the task force, indicating a shift in those plans.

“The White House CoronaVirus Task Force, headed by Vice President Mike Pence, has done a fantastic job of bringing together vast highly complex resources that have set a high standard for others to follow in the future,” Trump tweeted Wednesday morning.

“The last four Governors teleconference calls have been conclusively strong,” Trump continued. “Because of this success, the Task Force will continue on indefinitely with its focus on SAFETY & OPENING UP OUR COUNTRY AGAIN. We may add or subtract people to it, as appropriate.

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Comments

2smartforlibs | May 7, 2020 at 9:31 am

So government edits are killing people.

Seen on the internet …

A: Coronavirus survivors will be BANNED from joining the US military
B: Why will survivors be banned from the military?
A: One person said, “our military knows something.”

    Valerie in reply to Neo. | May 7, 2020 at 10:26 am

    There have been reports that some people relapse and become infectious, again. It would be irresponsible for the US military to chance bringing in people with that alleged potential, at this time. If the reports prove erroneous, the policy will change.

      Neo in reply to Valerie. | May 7, 2020 at 11:03 am

      Most of those reports were from South Korea which recently blamed the testing for FALSE POSITIVES.

notamemberofanyorganizedpolicital | May 7, 2020 at 10:21 am

Yesterday Ann Coulter tweeted that studies show people who stay in place, at home, shelter in place, are 18.5 times as likely to be infected.

He likes the team, and will simply subtract and add skill sets as we open up. That is high praise, considering especially that a separate team to open up had been considered.

I am impressed, too. I’ve been watching our governmental responses to epidemics since Herpes Simplex II. This time, the response met the challenge. I am well pleased to see that we learned something from HIV and ebola, and that the bad public policy has been confined to the governments of States run by Democrats.

In this case, the airlines acted first, by cancelling their flights to China. The President backed them up, by closing the borders to first China, and then Europe. This action saved us many thousands of cases.

So far, I see no responsible researchers pointing to indicators that this virus is anything but naturally-occurring. Indeed, the Wuhan lab exists because the threat from, among other things, bat corona viruses, was obvious for decades before it actually emerged.

The US could, and should, fund research projects performed at the Wuhan lab, because we really do not want that dangerous research performed in the United States, if we can avoid it. If the research is done in the US, that means continual travel of highly dangerous samples across our borders. It is far better to minimize that traffic.

Models of numbers of infections based on the assumption of no mitigation are very pertinent predictors of what can happen in a population. We have seen horrifying numbers and horrifying results, where populations refuse to co-operate, with HIV and ebola in Africa, and with HIV in the United States in several limited instances.

The US is exceptional when it comes to disease response by the population, hence our spectacular ability to flatten the infection curve. The United States is also where HIV became a chronic disease, where individuals demonstrated an extended lifespan.

Speculation from researchers focused on the good nutrition (that is, no starvation) in the United States, but that does not explain it all. Even as the search for protease inhibitors continued, US patients did their own research, and took control of their own situation. They looked for, and found, supportive measures that are available over-the-counter, and used them. They also learned how to keep from spreading the virus. The US is where committed gay couples, where one person is infected do not infect the other partner.

That experience, of seeking over-the-counter theoretical equivalents of medical treatments and applying the latest findings, namely that early treatment is key, and that common deficiencies in common materials (zinc, selenium, C, and D) are associated with increased mortality from coronavirus, may yet make opening up this country smoother than any expert expects, because they are not factoring in the wily, independent nature of the American consumer.

Oh, and our cold & flu numbers are down, too.

    notamemberofanyorganizedpolicital in reply to Valerie. | May 7, 2020 at 10:54 am

    RE: “they are not factoring in the wily, independent nature of the American consumer.”

    In the newly opneed stores where I live merchandise is flying out the doors.

    However I suspect there will be a great “backlash” of decreased sales in the stores Americans have “been forced” to shop in for the last two months…..Amazon, Target, etc…..

    amatuerwrangler in reply to Valerie. | May 7, 2020 at 11:14 am

    I would be cautious with the “cold and flu numbers down” thing. It has been suggested that some jurisdictions are playing fast and loose with what constitutes “corona-related” illness, especially the deaths. Something about greater cost reimbursement for treatment of Wuhan virus than the garden-variety illnesses.

    However, the (apparently) lower numbers might be a benefit of people being more conscious things like hand-washing, using anti-bacterial wipes at stores, etc.

    I wonder what the numbers would look like if a routine “flu season” was to be reported as this Wuhan virus is: daily updates on spread and efforts to control, constant numbers of infections and deaths on every news broadcast. Something to think about. It boiling down to the idea that these are all serious illnesses that are most hazardous to old folks, especially those with existing medical problems.

    Milhouse in reply to Valerie. | May 7, 2020 at 11:43 am

    So far, I see no responsible researchers pointing to indicators that this virus is anything but naturally-occurring. Indeed, the Wuhan lab exists because the threat from, among other things, bat corona viruses, was obvious for decades before it actually emerged.

    Indeed. This needs emphasizing.

    The US could, and should, fund research projects performed at the Wuhan lab, because we really do not want that dangerous research performed in the United States, if we can avoid it. If the research is done in the US, that means continual travel of highly dangerous samples across our borders. It is far better to minimize that traffic.

    You make a good point, but there is a countervailing factor that you ignore. There is a significant likelihood that the outbreak occurred because someone at the Wuhan lab got sloppy with safety procedures.

    Now of course that sort of thing can happen at US facilities as well — and has happened — it’s far more likely at a Chinese facility, due to the inherent nature of the society. If it turns out that that is indeed what happened, nobody would be surprised, whereas in the USA it would be at least unexpected.

    Mac45 in reply to Valerie. | May 7, 2020 at 3:32 pm

    Met the challenge??? Please. There never was any challenge. The US fatality rate for the flu was 3000-6000 people per month from September 2019 to the February 2020, for a total of 23,000 people. In march, the fatality rate for flu and pneumonia dropped to almost ZERO. Wow, COVID cured the flu. But, did we shut down the entire global economy, including that of the US, for the flu? No. Not even when we had 60,000+ deaths, from the flu in the US, in the preceding two flu seasons did we take such draconian measures. Not even oin the 2013 Swine Flu season, where 80,000+ died in the US, did we shut down the economy. So why do it for the COVID virus, which we now see is little deadlier than the seasonal flu?

    Here is the truth. A virus escaped from a Chinese biolab. It infected a bunch of people in China. The Chinese authorities lied about it. It spread to other countries. The media began touting this as an apocalyptic disease, though there was no evidence to support this. Then for unknown reasons, medical “experts” began advising politicians to shut down global society and the global economy. For reasons known only to them, politicians in every nation on the planet did exactly that. In the ensuing 2-3 months there is still NO firm evidence that this did anything to control the spread of the virus. What it did do is cripple the world economy for the next decade and destroy the lives of tens of millions of people in the US and possibly hundreds of millions around the world. And for what? To combat a flu-like virus which is little more dangerous than season flu.

    The media damaged hundreds of millions of people through irresponsible or false reports. The medial profession damaged millions of people due to incompetent or false claims and actions. The politicians damaged millions of people through incompetent or malevolent actions. The jury is still out on the legal profession. But, time will tell there as well. So, all of these groups are either guilty of total incompetence or are actively stabbing the public in the back for their own gain. Who is going to make their victims whole again? So far, it looks as though these groups expect their victims to pay for that as well. Is this a wonderful country or what?

      gibbie in reply to Mac45. | May 7, 2020 at 4:18 pm

      “To combat a flu-like virus which is little more dangerous than season flu.”

      You keep saying this, but I don’t think it’s true. COVID 19 kills in an entirely different fashion than flu. If COVID deaths continue at the current rate they will greatly exceed the highest count for flu.

        Mac45 in reply to gibbie. | May 7, 2020 at 5:20 pm

        Re: the dip in the pneumonia death rate. As the graph that you supplied shows, the pneumonia rate, because it is linked to the flu rate, does dip as the number of influenza rate drops. But, it DIPS. This year it fell off the cliff to almost zero, in the matter of a few days, not over several weeks. And, it is still hovering at near zero. Why is that, do you suppose? Is it possible that anything remotely resembling COVID is being classified as a COVID death?

        Now, as to the severity of the COVID death rate. While COVID does work a little different than various flus and other corona viruses, it is essentially the same in that it is a respiratory infection. In certain groups of people, it seems to be have a higher fatality rate than most influenza strains. However, overall, it looks as though the fatality rate will be in the neighborhood of Swine Flu and other aggressive strains of corona viruses. Also, you postulate that the rate of infection will continue, unabated, through the warmer spring and summer months. Now, unless it differs markedly from influenza and other corona viruses, its rate of infection should naturally mitigate with higher temperatures and humidity levels. Also, we do not know how effective human immunity may be regarding this virus. So, extrapolating from increased data and historical trends, the actual death rate should be far less than current projections.

“Those behind the [cyber-spying] activity are not named in the alert but are thought to include China, Russia and Iran.”

This comes on the heels of China refusing to join in efforts for a vaccine, which I guess they want to steal, like everything else.

To all the petty tyrants out there: You can’t fool Mother Nature. Nature will do what it does.

Why Hospitals in NYC Have Abandoned Hydroxychloroquine
“We know now it probably doesn’t help much,” said Dr. Thomas McGinn, Deputy Physician-In-Chief at Northwell Health. “We’re not recommending it as a baseline therapy anymore. It is only in a treatment protocol in a study that we’re recommending it.”
https://www.ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/news/2020/05/07/hospitals-in-nyc-abandon-hydroxychloroquine-treatment-touted-by-trump-

    Milhouse in reply to Neo. | May 7, 2020 at 11:48 am

    We know (maybe) that it doesn’t help much when administered to people already sick enough to be in a hospital bed, and maybe even then we only know that it doesn’t help much on its own, rather than in combination with zinc and perhaps zithromax. Thus this finding doesn’t contradict Dr Zelenko’s reported success in using a triple cocktail on people who are high-risk and symptomatic, but not yet in need of hospitalization.

    beagleEar in reply to Neo. | May 7, 2020 at 3:44 pm

    Most new drugs don’t make it through testing into general use. It shouldn’t be any surprise that an antiparasitic doesn’t do much ad an antiviral. There were some early indications and it was worth trying, but it struck out. Wie’ll try 20 more things and two or three of them will work.

      gibbie in reply to beagleEar. | May 7, 2020 at 4:23 pm

      If the virus itself was the cause of death, your comment would be reasonable. However, it’s the immune system over-response which appears to be the problem.

    rdm in reply to Neo. | May 8, 2020 at 7:05 am

    They reserved it for advanced cases, where it is least effective then stopped using it because it wasn’t effective in the cases that it was said it wouldn’t be effective in, while not having used it in the cases where it would be effective.

The entire national shutdown is Cuomo’s fault. Genetics show almost all hotspots were travelers from NY.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/07/us/new-york-city-coronavirus-outbreak.html

    notamemberofanyorganizedpolicital in reply to Neo. | May 7, 2020 at 2:20 pm

    Wasn’t it a New York university that kicked it off by canceling all classes for spring and summer?

It’s clear that China purposely used infected citizens to attack the USA and the rest of the world with coronavirus. When they decided to protect the rest of China from coronavirus they chose to spread it to the rest of the world by keeping the airports open.

A member of the US Navy who serves as one of President Donald Trump’s personal valets has tested positive for coronavirus

Note that the 66% figure in the headline is merely those who were admitted from home. It doesn’t mean they stayed home, just that they were living there.

    amatuerwrangler in reply to Milhouse. | May 7, 2020 at 1:06 pm

    Exactly. I was thinking the same thing. However, isn’t almost everyone “admitted from home”? Where else would they be before they went in for testing, especially if they were no longer allowed to go to work?

    If you have a family staying home, in the house, except for one person who does all the shopping and other outside tasks,and that one person is exposed, then they will have a good chance of bringing that to the shut-ins. For 14 days that person will be shedding the virus, and maybe never show symptoms, but others in the house will be exposed and become ill. When the sick one goes to the hospital they are classified as “shelter-in-place” victims.

    And why the down vote on Milhouse here???

      Milhouse in reply to amatuerwrangler. | May 7, 2020 at 1:35 pm

      However, isn’t almost everyone “admitted from home”?

      No. And “admitted from home” doesn’t even mean they were at home when they fell ill, just that they were living there at the time. Look at the graph in the linked source. 66% of people were living at home; the other 34% were not. 18% were living in nursing homes, 4% in assisted living facilities, 2% were in “congregate” places, which I guess means dorms, hostels, etc., 2% were homeless, and 8% were “other”, whatever that means.

        GWB in reply to Milhouse. | May 7, 2020 at 1:49 pm

        If it’s really based on where they were living, then Cuomo’s statement isn’t even correct, AND the stat is utterly meaningless (in terms of a correct response to contagion).

        Which, sadly, isn’t surprising given the current state of our media.

      Milhouse in reply to amatuerwrangler. | May 7, 2020 at 1:45 pm

      There seem to be people here who downvote plain indisputable facts, just because they don’t like them. We like to make fun of those on the left who think reality cares about their feelings, and if they don’t like a fact then it isn’t so; but some of the exact same type infest this forum and make it toxic for any rational person.

        gibbie in reply to Milhouse. | May 7, 2020 at 2:19 pm

        I appreciate your posts. Don’t let the downvotes bother you. And this forum is much less toxic than most others.

          The Friendly Grizzly in reply to gibbie. | May 7, 2020 at 11:19 pm

          I just shut down my Disqus account and walked away from about five sites due to comments that were predictable, vile, or the same old clichés over and over.

          gibbie in reply to gibbie. | May 8, 2020 at 9:39 am

          Grizzly, The 66% of people sheltering from home have nothing better to do.

        healthguyfsu in reply to Milhouse. | May 7, 2020 at 2:57 pm

        Honestly man, I think they just like to downvote you. I’d love to know if public Milhouse acts the same way as online Milhouse.

        The Friendly Grizzly in reply to Milhouse. | May 7, 2020 at 11:17 pm

        We don’t have Rags to beat up on anymore.

        :-{)}}}

        And, for the record I’m not one who downticks you to be mean and I give you more upticks than down.

The Friendly Grizzly | May 7, 2020 at 1:30 pm

Being out about means fresh air and sunlight. Odd how that seems to work…

What fraction of the 66% were “staying home” in their high rise apartments and using the elevator?

File this in the ever more bulging file of worthless statistics.

“Enjoy nature, it’s good for us, and it has very low risk of spreading the virus.”
As long as “enjoy nature” doesn’t include frolicking with bats or eating them tartare, I suppose.

As to sunlight… Haven’t we known for ages – no, literally, “ages”, as in multiple millennia – that sunlight helps with disinfection and with healing from infection? We need doctors to tell us this?

    Milhouse in reply to GWB. | May 7, 2020 at 2:44 pm

    Actually I don’t think that was known for most of history. I think it’s a fairly recent discovery.

      beagleEar in reply to Milhouse. | May 7, 2020 at 3:48 pm

      It was known during the 1917 grade flu outbreak, and with use this one of the remedies. Large windows, cross ventilation, and sunlight were all recommended. Buildings started using larger windows and higher ceilings after that, those not built to the shoddiest cost.

      BierceAmbrose in reply to Milhouse. | May 7, 2020 at 5:33 pm

      I hope that’s sarcasm, but I can’t tell.

      FWIW the other replies are correct as far as they go, and they could go further.

      drednicolson in reply to Milhouse. | May 7, 2020 at 7:57 pm

      A common treatment for smallpox was relocating to subtropical climes, if one could afford the trip. A young George Washington made the trip and ultimately survived his own bout with smallpox.

      Of the three major types of pathogens (viral, bacterial, parasitical), viruses are in general the most sensitive to changes in environmental conditions.

Albigensian | May 7, 2020 at 7:54 pm

Although I don’t doubt one is much safer outdoors than in some (often poorly) ventilated building, this is New York.

The quote isn’t clear on whether “New York hospitals” means New York City or New York State, but half the state’s population lives in the New York metro area so perhaps it doesn’t make all that much difference.

Nonetheless, practically everyone who lives in the City lives in a (often large) apartment building, and “stay at home” includes essential trips for food, etc., and in such an environment it’s all but impossible to avoid touching surfaces that never get cleaned and walking through common spaces where social distancing is not possible.

Further, if these are mostly older people many of them will have some form of in-person assistance at home. And those assistants can seldom afford anything other than the subway.

So, I’m not sure this really applies all that much to those who live in suburban/exurban/rural areas.

Yeah. What portion of those people like in crowded apartment buildings with shared common spaces?