Topic: Coronavirus outbreak

Even though we only have about 30 confirmed cases so far in my state (Missouri), rumours are spreading that we may be undergoing a state wide lockdown soon (although there's been no official indication).

My mother works for a grocery store and says that some of their delivery drivers have noticed checkpoints/barricades being set up on the highways and are recieving letters stating that they will be needing paperwork that indicates that they are operating on a necessity basis (apparently a nurse acquaintance of hers has recieved one of these letters as well). Even someone who stopped into my work said her boyfriend (who is some sort of driver) recieved one of these letters.

In this case the sooner the better, though.

@RR529 Georgia has just under 500 now, and 14 deaths, as of 7pm tonight. There’s been no restrictions other than the closure of the school and university systems. CDC has us listed as “community transmission; widespread”. Governor has even said yesterday he doesn’t see the need to cancel or restrict public events.
I work in essential healthcare services, so I’ll be working regardless, but there are way too many folks out and about where I’m at.
There was even a parade on Tybee Island (which is full of retirees) for St Patrick’s that drew around 2,000.

We should have been calling this the cornholio virus since everybody needs TP for their bunghole!

@RR529 They're enacting a stay-at-home mandate over here in IL starting from 5 PM tomorrow until at least (and this will very likely change) April 8th. All non-essential businesses will be closed. Anyone who can work from home is actively encouraged to do so. I anticipate this order bringing out even more panic buyers, even though grocery and most convenience stores won't be affected. It isn't much change for those of us who are already stuck at home, working or otherwise. It also isn't martial law...yet.

We have ~500 comfirmed cases right now. Many are in the Chicago area, but other counties in various areas of the state have confirmed cases as well.

@zeldafan79 not funny 😐
I'm kidding I just wanted to be a jackass

Yup, bj's wholesale, zero TP tonight. Grocery store, zero cream for some reason.

@Woomy_NNYes
I just figured in these trying times the world needs laughter! If ya gotta go, Go with a smile!😉

Looking at the global data is really interesting. It's crazy how uneven the problem is across countries. Even between very nearby and very similar countries.

Spain has over 1000 dead. Portugal has only 6 dead.

This graph is well worth viewing. South Korea’s efforts in slowing the spread certainly make for the most interesting shape. Worrying, most western counties look to follow Italy’s trajectory unless bolder measures are taken sooner. The one advantage other countries have is foresight.

If you plot the number of deaths instead, you get a very different pattern.

@Dezzy Are there any examples of said graphs floating about? I don’t doubt you (and deaths are definitely a more useful, albeit more morbid metric), but I’d like to see what a graph like that actually looks like.

I dunno if there's a graph in the same format anywhere, but here's the country-by-country data:

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/

Notice that even though the US and Spain have had a similar number of cases, Spain has had about 4 times as many deaths.

And obviously if you control for the differences in population size, that means Spain is a LOT worse off than the US. The US is doing relatively well.

There is fear mongering going on with the Coronavirus. And people really could be more civil when buying at the supermarket can be absolute chaos.

I can't believe this has gotten so nuts that people are actually fighting over toilet paper!
Of all the things to hoard why that? Why not food, medical supplies or other things that keep you alive?
This is so messed up and the news media isn't helping with their fear campaign. The other day i saw one of those weekly world news magazines and on the cover it said coronavirus will destroy the world!

They're treating it like the freaking plague! Like the end of all humanity or judgement day. For fugs sake people relax! It's not the apocalypse!

@Zeldafan79 I think some people do not handle serious situation well and make decisions that do not make sens. I saw a video of a woman pushing a shopping cart full of oil bottle and when the journalist asked why, she didn't know what to answer.

While this is not the end of the world, it would be a mistake to not take it seriously. This could lead to tragic situations like in Italy where the mortality rate is close to 10%.

I agree that the medias are not helping everywhere.

@HobbitGamer ''he doesn’t see the need to cancel or restrict public events.'' I see, the wait-until-it-is-too-late approach

@Octane Definitely sounds like "wait-until-it's-too-late approach". This lack of testing in the US has people fooled into thinking it's not in the population spreading like invisible wildfire.

Number of cases in Arizona, where I live, is skyrocketing. Well, maybe not skyrocketing, but it's increasing at a rather alarming rate. Just yesterday, JHU put # of confirmed cases at 44. Today it's almost double that, at 79. It could be due to more widespread testing, but the data COULD suggest more Arizonans than we think are walking around with the virus, even if they know it or not. Hopefully the new measures set by the AZ government can help to reduce the rate at which that number is increasing (heck, the hospital I usually volunteer at told non-essential workers not to come in until further notice).

I thought Arizona was that one U.S. state no one really cared about until retirement age... >_>

I have zero confidence in it being slowed in my area (Atlantic Canada). We have confirmed cases in our little area. I work in a retail environment and people are just out buying frivolous things, no social distancing, nothing. So many people are acting normal and actually getting upset over what few restrictions we do have.
On top of that companies aren't responding quick enough. Many have shut down (smaller ones), but others (large ones) are just too slow reacting. Many of which are just scared to be the first to make a move on restrictions and waiting for others to do it first.
We've gone from 3 cases to 15 in a couple days. Given what I see happening where I work, I fully expect it to increase quickly.

@Zeldafan79 I've been mulling over this toilet paper hoarding conundrum for several days now, and I think I've come up with the only logical answer: people are scared...

All kidding aside, though... It may not be the apocalypse, but almost 3300 dead in China and even more than that now in Italy, and several hundreds victims per country in various countries all over the world, certainly isn't anything to disregard and/or see as something not all that serious. And that for a virus that some people seem to think isn't more serious or dangerous than the common cold...

Mind you: not saying that you are one of those kinds of people, but a lot of people are either panicking or completely shrugging it off, and both are equally stupid.

EDIT:

Total worldwide death toll now stands at 12,977, making it a 12% mortality rate, where most people seem to think it's around 10%.

In case you or anyone else wants to keep up to date, here's all the info worldwide:
https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/
And per country:
https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/#countries

Recently went to a local supermarket, and I have to say that people are making some pretty irrational purchases. Apparently Pillsbury dough is an essential resource...