WHO declares coronavirus outbreak a public health emergency

Post by skripp » Fri, Jan 31, 2020, 1:53 PM UTC

DailyHN wrote: post #382

lopmotr wrote: post #325

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think you're a bit off the mark. Healthcare is cheap in China, but people are even poorer. Only rich people can afford the important stuff. It's common for young people from poor families to work or forgo their education to pay their sick parent's medical costs. Usually old people just die because they can't afford medical care where in the west, they would be treated. Also doctors are poorly paid and commonly supp…

> Insurance? Yes, that exists but the excess is often something like 1/3 the total cost so if you couldn't afford it yourself, you still can't afford it with insurance. In the USA or China?

Post by slumdev » Fri, Jan 31, 2020, 1:54 PM UTC

pmoriarty wrote: post #281

slumdev wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hygiene practices can prevent the spread of diseases like this. Wash your hands, don't touch your face, etc. Wear a surgical mask and limit interactions with others if you're sick. But this virus spreads via droplet transmission, so just being within 6 feet of someone who's infected (and coughs/sneezes) is enough to spread it. If you're referring to the overuse of hand sanitizer and other disinfectant agents, it migh…

"But this virus spreads via droplet transmission, so just being within 6 feet of someone who's infected (and coughs/sneezes) is enough to spread it." On the other hand, people don't seem to be symptomatic for 2 weeks, so they won't be coughing or sneezing during that time, so ordinary hygiene should be enough to prevent most infections during the incubation period. After people do become symptomatic, the widespread m…

Post by bryanrasmussen » Fri, Jan 31, 2020, 1:57 PM UTC

brigandish wrote: post #379

We all seem to be talking about guesstimates and data we can't be sure of, but I see little talk of what we can do . If this were a tech problem - a big problem that seemed insurmountable - I would break it down into chunks as best I could, look at all the parts of the chain, and ask myself which I could be most effective in tackling first. Treat it like a sprint. Which part of the chain would that be? With the cavea…

Post by cambalache » Fri, Jan 31, 2020, 2:27 PM UTC

ProZsolt wrote: post #412

kabacha wrote: post #363

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> China’s medical system is primitive by comparison. Comparison to what? Isn't US hostpitals notorious in that regard? Getting flu and either dying or being bankrupt.

At least you have options. Some countries only have the first.

Post by skunkpocalypse » Fri, Jan 31, 2020, 2:44 PM UTC

fendy3002 wrote: post #416

abhisuri97 wrote: post #18

This is (imo) the right course of action to (at minimum) alert countries wrt the gravity of this outbreak; however, I was disappointed to see the tiptoeing around potentially offending China. From the press conference, it seemed that Dr. Tedros made it painfully (maybe even unnecessarily) clear that this action wasn't faulting China for their handling of this situation. It's just weird to see that global politics is…

Seeing current situation, what positive things that can be gained from faulting China? Imo it may cause china to become hostile and turn off cooperation.