Coronavirus and Walt Disney World general discussion

[PandoraPreview]

People die every day.

Such a brave post.

People are unexpectedly dying and have financial hardships directly related to what is closing the theme parks. Perhaps don't worry about park maintenance during this closure?

 

[englanddg]

The numbers I've seen suggest that 10-20% of cases of corona virus require hospitalization and that this hospitalization often lasts 2-6 weeks. So yeah, you're right that in 80% of cases where some has coronavirus the person shouldn't go to the ER and they probably don't even need to see a GP. But 10-20% of people do. This means that if a large number of people become infected quickly then there won't be enough hospital beds and ventilators for people that need them and the fatality rate will jump up quite a bit. Wuhan has a much higher fatality rate than everywhere else because it spread too quickly and overwhelmed their healthcare system. This lack of capacity was the reason China built two new hospitals in Wuhan over the course of just a couple days.

Earlier showed a graph showing the number of new daily infections have decreased dramatically in China. You do realize that this is because of the extreme measures China has taken, right? China has been literally welding people's apartment doors closed to prevent them from infecting others. In some regions people are only allowed to have one member of their family leave their apartment twice a week to purchase food.

If we want to avoid overwhelming our healthcare system we have to take action to prevent slow the spread of corona virus.

What numbers have you seen?

Do you have links?

 

[GinaD613]

The Mice seem surprisingly unconcerned . . .

 

[techgeek]

This evening the CDC has published a "targeted community mitigation strategies" for the entire state of Florida. Previously, the only specific communities called out were the localities of Santa Clara CA, Seattle WA, and New Rochelle NY.

Main CDC Page:

Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)

Find links to guidance and information on all topics related to COVID-19, including the COVID-19 vac

www.cdc.gov

Florida Mitigation Strategies: (PDF warning)

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/downloads/FL_Community_Mitigation.pdf

Top summary:

Bottom Line Up Front: Florida has had several COVID-19 confirmed cases and exposures related to ports of entry, including shipping ports and airports. Additionally, Florida is a large tourism hub and has an older age population. However, at this time there is not widespread transmission. Due to the current level of COVID-19 transmission in the United States, and Florida’s large older adult population, CDC recommends certain community mitigation activities to help slow the spread of COVID-19 into the community and to protect vulnerable members of the community.

BOLDED specific recommendations from the "Every community and faith based organization" chart:

• Cancel large gatherings (e.g., >250 people), and smaller gatherings that may bring persons together from multiple parts of the country.
• Consider screening persons at smaller gatherings.
• Conduct fever and respiratory screening of staff working at theme parks
• Limiting the number of visitors to theme parks

Looks like Disney had a prompt this was coming out and acted on it early.

 

[ifan]

I suspect most people aren't doing any of that.

I also suspect the ERs are overrun with people doing exactly that.

This is insane. Stop contributing to the insanity.

1) It is exactly what is happening. Read the stories in Seattle, NYC, Chicago, etc. People are calling the hotlines first. It is surprising to me, as well, but they are. It's been fantastic and really helped mitigate further spread.
2) ED's in the US are not overrun yet (im sure it will happen - but it also isn't unusual for an ED to be in this situation with lots of non-emergency situations.) ICU's are preparing for "surges" - Hospitals have put in place guidelines are ready to go! But there is no surge yet (at least in the top 5 population US major city that I'm in.)

 

[englanddg]

And still none of this should be panic.

 

[englanddg]

1) It is exactly what is happening. Read the stories in Seattle, NYC, Chicago, etc. People are calling the hotlines first. It is surprising to me, as well, but they are. It's been fantastic and really helped mitigate further spread.
2) ED's in the US are not overrun yet (im sure it will happen - but it also isn't unusual for an ED to be in this situation with lots of non-emergency situations.) ICU's are preparing for "surges" - Hospitals have put in place guidelines are ready to go! But there is no surge yet (at least in the top 5 population US major city that I'm in.)

No.

The last thing the ER needs are people overwhelming it with nonsense. It already happens enough in day to day. Just wait, go see your GP or go to a local urgent care.

If you don't know how to google "urgent care", type in "urgent care near me".

Stop this.

 

[Parker in NYC]

So, back to my thread title. WDW’s closing. Staff will be paid. And scene (for now).

 

[larryz]

Hey, everyone -- please stop typing! I'm only on page 162 and I need to get some sleep or I might get sick...

 

[englanddg]

BLUF
Bottom Line Up Front

Whoever wrote this was ex-mil.

 

[ifan]

No.

The last thing the ER needs are people overwhelming it with nonsense. It already happens enough in day to day. Just wait, go see your GP or go to a local urgent care.

If you don't know how to google "urgent care", type in "urgent care near me".

Stop this.

This is not the correct advice and not what health departments around the US are recommending. Here is the example from my local one on what to do if you have symptoms:
"Call your doctor: If you think you have been exposed to COVID-19 and develop a fever and symptoms of respiratory illness, such as cough or difficulty breathing, call your healthcare provider immediately.

Do not walk into a healthcare facility, urgent care clinic, or hospital before calling. Discuss your symptoms with your doctor. If your doctor believes that you need to be tested for COVID-19, your doctor should call the xx Health Department Communicable Disease program to arrange for you to be assessed."

GP's have no current ability to order tests for this - they are working with local health departments, and at least my current city, tests are being run at major hospitals only. I'm sure this will change shortly as more tests become available and guidelines change.

 

[21stamps]

Also (just from random stories seen on social media, so take this with a HUGE grain of salt), I've been reading that actually getting tested is not nearly as simple or easy as one would think it would be.

There are also criteria we and patients have to meet before testing someone. It’s not as simple as testing anyone with a symptoms. That may change next week but not right now.

I can personally attest to this. They will not test unless you fit extremely specific criteria.

 

[21stamps]

This is not the correct advice and not what health departments around the US are recommending. Here is the example from my local one on what to do if you have symptoms:
"Call your doctor: If you think you have been exposed to COVID-19 and develop a fever and symptoms of respiratory illness, such as cough or difficulty breathing, call your healthcare provider immediately.

Do not walk into a healthcare facility, urgent care clinic, or hospital before calling. Discuss your symptoms with your doctor. If your doctor believes that you need to be tested for COVID-19, your doctor should call the xx Health Department Communicable Disease program to arrange for you to be assessed."

GP's have no current ability to order tests for this - they are working with local health departments, and at least my current city, tests are being run at major hospitals only. I'm sure this will change shortly as more tests become available and guidelines change.

Correct.

 

[englanddg]

This is not the correct advice and not what health departments around the US are recommending. Here is the example from my local one on what to do if you have symptoms:
"Call your doctor: If you think you have been exposed to COVID-19 and develop a fever and symptoms of respiratory illness, such as cough or difficulty breathing, call your healthcare provider immediately.

Do not walk into a healthcare facility, urgent care clinic, or hospital before calling. Discuss your symptoms with your doctor. If your doctor believes that you need to be tested for COVID-19, your doctor should call the xx Health Department Communicable Disease program to arrange for you to be assessed."

GP's have no current ability to order tests for this - they are working with local health departments, and at least my current city, tests are being run at major hospitals only. I'm sure this will change shortly as more tests become available and guidelines change.

"Do not walk into a healthcare facility, urgent care clinic, or hospital before calling"

Thanks for proving my point.

Do not use the ER.

 

[Cantor]

What numbers have you seen?

Do you have links?

Washington Post

Italy has been conducting extensive testing for coronavirus, including testing people who do not exhibit any symptoms of covid-19, the disease it causes. As of Tuesday evening, 2,263 people had tested positive. Of those, 1,263 were hospitalized, including 229 cases in intensive care. Seventy-nine people had died.

China CDC Weekly: 13.8% of cases are severe with 4.7% critical

 

[21stamps]

And so, the only people being tested are those with severe symptoms.

I just want to put a slight addendum on this. It’s not just symptoms either. I was diagnosed with pneumonia last week. My fever never went under 102.3 for 5 days. I was prescribed a steroid, zpack, and inhaler. I did not leave my bedroom for 6 days. I’m still not completely back to normal but my fever has been gone since Sunday night.

However, I do not have any other medical conditions such as heart issues or autoimmune.. and most importantly, I could not say that I was exposed to COVID-19. Although I do have a coworker who just returned from a highly infected area, he was not showing any symptoms... so they would not test.

 

[ifan]

"Do not walk into a healthcare facility, urgent care clinic, or hospital before calling"

Thanks for proving my point.

Do not use the ER.

You have no insight into the situation on how hospitals are handling this. People are not walking into the ED. They are following CDC and local health department guidelines and calling either state hotlines or their doctor. A person over the phone (nurse) is asking questions and trying to determine if they fit the criteria to get tested. If a test is approved, they may be sent to a hospital setting (ED.) However, the patient will NOT go in the normal entrance etc. Many hospitals have set up tents or other triage capabilities separate from the waiting room and can either be tested there or, if needing hospitalization, taken directly to a isolated ICU room, bypassing the ED.

Anyway, back to focus on Disney Parks.

 

[englanddg]

You have no insight into the situation on how hospitals are handling this. People are not walking into the ED. They are following CDC and local health department guidelines and calling either state hotlines or their doctor. A person over the phone (nurse) is asking questions and trying to determine if they fit the criteria to get tested. If a test is approved, they may be sent to a hospital setting (ED.) However, the patient will NOT go in the normal entrance etc. Many hospitals have set up tents or other triage capabilities separate from the waiting room and can either be tested there or, if needing hospitalization, taken directly to a isolated ICU room, bypassing the ED.

Anyway, back to focus on Disney Parks.

Please share with me your insight.

Is it just your assertion? Or do you have links?

Because, I strongly suspect people are "walking into the ED" and are not following "CDC and local health department guidelines"...because they never do.

 

[Cantor]

What numbers have you seen?

Do you have links?

I have a post with links waiting for moderator approval.

There's an article from China CDC weekly with lots of data showing, among other things, that 13.8% of cases are severe and 4.7% are critical. The article is called "Vital Surveillances: The Epidemiological Characteristics of an Outbreak of 2019 Novel Coronavirus Diseases (COVID-19) — China, 2020"

There's a Washington Post article called "Coronavirus in Italy fills hospital beds and turns doctors into patients" that says:

Italy has been conducting extensive testing for coronavirus, including testing people who do not exhibit any symptoms of covid-19, the disease it causes. As of Tuesday evening, 2,263 people had tested positive. Of those, 1,263 were hospitalized, including 229 cases in intensive care. Seventy-nine people had died.

 

[Rteetz]