I agree with you and I am sure most do, on this statement.

For what it's worth, my daughter's neighbor who is a doctor at NIH told her that he expects that there will be many school closings in April.

So, you can get something right, every now and then:1rotfl::1rotfl::1rotfl:

I don't want to see it happen, but I guess it's inevitable.

Maybe, maybe not.

These viruses tend to do one of three things:

a) Fizzle out
b) Continue for a while but at a steady rate
c) Grow exponentially.

They all look like they are growing exponentially at the beginning, after all 1-2-4-8-16 is growing at 100% in whatever time frame. But even as more people are infected, the virus starts to run into barriers to continued exponential growth---natural immunity, social and geographic barriers, human intervention such as quarantine, etc. This one seems to have a long prodromal period and a low fatality rate, so it may be around for a while. Contrast this with Ebola, which has a short prodromal period and an extremely high fatality rate, so even in Africa it tends to fizzle out quickly.

:duck: rumor has it at my grandchildrens school is they will probably close in June

I think it is easy to cross over to unnecessary panic. Even if there were 12 cases, at this time, that would be .00005% of the population of Florida. As mentioned in post # 4, there are some safe guards that can be taken and if someone is at high risk as is one of my relatives, then being more cautious is advised. We have family flying in tomorrow and I have no concerns about going to the airport. I have hand sanitizer in the car, and I will use hand sanitizer offered in public places. I will make sure to get lots of rest and personally, I am certainly taking vitamins and herbs that I think will help keep my immune system strong as well as making sure I eat as healthy as possible. Some people think we are over reporting to the point of creating a panic and others believe information is being hidden so really what any of us can do is to do the best we can to stay healthy and those choices will be different for each of us depending on our personal situations.

I just received an e-mail from the Villages Rec & Parks Dept. A generic notice, letting us know they're in communication with the Florida dept of health, and the same standard precautionary advice given in the media; wash hands 20 seconds or more, sneeze into tissue and throw tissue away, avoid sick people, etc.

So the Villages Rec & Park department acknowledges it's a concern. Still no need to panic, but we should all be aware that it is, in fact, a concern, and we do, in fact, need to take precautions more than before this strain of coronavirus existed (coronavirii is not new - just this strain of it).

Facts? Or irresponsible posting??
 

What is this information based on? It sounds more like “let’s fault the governor” than anything based on factual information.

Ironic how you quoted President Lincoln at the bottom of the post. President Lincoln closed down over 300 newspapers in order to censor their opinion. I guess folks have been attacking the media for a long time.

For those of you who think this is a hoax, senator ted Cruz, republican of Texas, is now in self quarantine

I don't know how to get picture links to show up. . ..
https://twitter.com/iv_technicals/st...878784/photo/1

It’s an evil conspiracy!!!
 

Nobody has been more more upfront and open about Covid 19 in FL than Governor De Santis. I suggest you expand your news options past MSDNC or CNNLOL.

Where did you get that from? I don't know anyone who even remotely considers the coronavirus a hoax.

The Villages is a community of over 100,000 senior citizens. To say the flu kills more is to downplay the fact that the flu is not a novel virus....the flu shot helps and our continued exposures to flu over the years helps. COVID19 is a novel virus so none of us have a immunity. I would say there is a considerable number of our community with heart disease, diabetes, copd, etc. so more at risk. I shudder to think what the consequences would be if it started spreading here. While I believe in common sense, I also believe in minimizing my risks right now. Should I hear about any cases in The Villages, I will up my vigilance. My hope is that we will be told if there are cases diagnosed here but I'm concerned that news may not be shared because of the potential economic impact.

If you have any evidence of a lack of transparency, or the intention to be non-transparent, by either Federal or State Health Officials then please state the evidence.

I said it is MY concern, (as a former govt. employee I have witnessed instances where "facts" have been spun) but I'm not speaking for anyone else. However, I feel there has been ample evidence by the administration to downplay the possible severity of the problem because of the impact on the stock market and to protect some industries.

from a Fox News site: Dr. Peter Hotez, dean of tropical medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, this week warned U.S. lawmakers against minimizing the viruses risk for vulnerable people. During a Congressional hearing, he said the coronavirus “is like the angel of death for older individuals.

per Ron DeSantis: “If you’re elderly or you have a serious, underlying medical condition, don’t get on a cruise ship right now. Don’t get on a long flight where you could be exposed to the virus. Take certain steps to do what they call social distancing,” DeSantis said.

So at least DeSantis is going beyond the party line regarding flying. Although the administration denies it, it has been reported (again even on Fox News) that the CDC recommended all seniors not fly if it could be avoided but the White House did not want to say that (and Pence tweeted that was not true)....it's up to everyone to decide which they believe.
”
heck even Tucker Carlson said this: “People you trust, people you probably voted for, have spent weeks minimizing what is clearly a very serious problem,” Carlson said, later adding, “They’re wrong. The Chinese coronavirus is a major event. It will affect your life, and by the way, it’s definitely not just the flu. In a typical year, the flu in this country has a mortality rate of about 1 in 1000. The overall death rate for this virus, by contrast, is as high as 3.4 percent.”

I'm simply saying that an outbreak here could be devastating....it could easily overwhelm available respirators and ICU beds. Heck the Villages Hospital (per many posts here) has never been a bastion of great care, I can't imagin it over run by critical cases.

but again, I'm motivated by an abundance of caution.

You're the one who stated that Republicans thought it was a hoax then just went on to prove you were wrong.. Good job.. :coolsmiley:

This was posted three hours ago. It is a breakdown of covid-19 cases throughout the US. Whoever said Florida is second is wrong.
404

I think the link is not working. Google Where are the Florida covid cases, and it should come up.

Coronavirus in the US: Map, case counts and news | Live Science

You expressed that your concern was because of economic issues. Saying that there is evidence is not the same as actually providing evidence. Again, please provide evidence, not opinions.

Did anyone else watch CNN reporting from Lake Sumter(The Villages - filmed yesterday ?) about the crona virus this afternoon around 3PM (wife viewed it then) . As my wife watches CNN all of the time (I don't) , she says (CNN said) that most people here are not living in fear but enjoying life no matter what comes their way.

Found the news clip -> CNN - Florida retirees say they are going on with normal life amid coronavirus threat | Facebook

I know you are speaking the truth. I appreciate your post. I was super concerned the first few day but now that some time has passed and information has been shared. Whoever said that at Lake Sumter is/was/will be living longer just from not stressing! Thats not my go to channel but I give them credit for coming to get the story! I'm gonna leave it there! :pray:

Well I do not plan to run out and purchase a cemetery lot before the prices go up because demand is so great. However, I am not taking any unnecessary commercial flights as I think it prudent to avoid airports and commercial aircraft at this time. Better safe than sorry. I still go about my daily activities without concern.

Making unsubstantiated charges like "suppressing" etc simply adds to people's tendency to panic ... not helpful

If you want a first hand story of a survivor, please read this from a 40 year old

Coronavirus Patient Recounts Coming ‘One Inch From Death’ - WSJ

Coronavirus Patient Recounts Coming ‘One Inch From Death’ - WSJ

I am not sure that I want to actually test my body's anti bodies

sportsguy

I tried to read this, but WSJ wouldn't show more than a couple of paragraphs unless I subscribed. Maybe you could paraphrase the article?

Marc Thibault was groggy and surrounded by beeping machines, but he was alert enough to know what it meant when he looked up and saw a priest, wearing protective gear, by his bedside at the Miriam Hospital in Rhode Island.
“Holy cow,” he thought to himself. “I’m 48 years old and I’m getting my last rites.”
Mr. Thibault, one of the first Americans diagnosed with the novel coronavirus, recounted days of pain and fear in his first interview Tuesday, speaking from the intensive-care unit at the Providence hospital where he has been for 13 days, fighting the illness that attacked his lungs.
“I was one inch from death,” he said, his voice weary. “No doubt about it. No doubt about it.”

Roughly 80% of Covid-19 cases tend to be mild or moderate, and more than 62,000 people globally have recovered. Older people or those with underlying health conditions are at a higher risk.
Mr. Thibault’s ordeal began with a much-awaited school trip abroad, a journey to Europe from Feb. 14 to 22 that went through Italy. Two others from the trip also tested positive, although they weren’t hit as hard as Mr. Thibault.

The married father of two is the popular vice principal of student life at San Raphael Academy, a private Catholic school in Pawtucket, a suburb of Providence. He knew travel would expand his students’ minds and was thrilled to chaperone the nine-day adventure that began in Milan and ended in Barcelona.
When the group of 38 people left the U.S., coronavirus was certainly in the news but there “were no cases of community-spread coronavirus in Italy and no CDC travel warning in effect,” the school said in a previous statement.
When the group landed in Milan, Mr. Thibault thought it was strange to see people in hazmat suits in the airport, but everything seemed calm. The group headed to Cinque Terre on the Italian Riviera, and began what would be just two days of sightseeing in Italy.
But just in that short period, he began to hear about Italy cordoning off some towns, and by the time they left for the French Riviera he was relieved to be leaving Italy.
It was apparently too late. Italy would become one of the hardest-hit places for the virus.

A self-described germaphobe, Mr. Thibault isn’t sure exactly how he became infected. He said he used hand sanitizer constantly on the trip. But the group’s local tour guide said he felt like he was coming down with the flu, and he and Mr. Thibault passed a microphone back and forth to talk to the students. Mr. Thibault is unsure if the tour guide ever tested positive.
Mr. Thibault had no symptoms during the trip, but he felt unusually sluggish on the flight back to the U.S.
“Something is wrong,” he told his wife when he finally got home to Rhode Island near midnight on Saturday, Feb. 22. He went straight to bed, and then the next day, went to a walk-in clinic. Mr. Thibault has asthma, but he exercises everyday and said he rarely gets sick.
He said he told the clinic he had been to Italy and wondered aloud if he could have the novel coronavirus. He was told he didn’t fit the criteria at the time for the test because he didn’t really have the symptoms, which can include a fever or shortness of breath.

He stayed home from work, but just got worse, with growing fatigue, a dry cough and something that resembled bronchitis. He went to a hospital but was again told he didn’t meet the criteria for the test, he said.
Doctors there were concerned, however, and Mr. Thibault said he quickly got a call from the Rhode Island Department of Health, which told him to get tested immediately.

A health department spokesman said the agency can’t comment on any specific patient, but noted that the CDC’s guidance for testing has evolved. “We have reviewed each Rhode Island case carefully,” the spokesman said. “In each of those instances, the health-care facilities involved all responded appropriately.”
By later in the week, Mr. Thibault was at the Miriam Hospital, where was admitted. He tested positive for the virus.
He says the virus now hit him “like a hurricane.” He was weak and had trouble breathing. The hospital whisked him into the ICU, where nurses donned hazmat-style suits to enter his room.
They inserted a breathing tube, and put another tube down his throat for medicine to deal with pneumonia that developed in his lungs, he said.
Gagging and coughing, Mr. Thibault said he felt scared. His lungs would fill with saliva and nurses would dash in and clear them out, only to have to do it again two hours later.
“The feeling of choking. That was the worst part,” he said. “You feel like you’re asphyxiating, and you’re panicking because you can’t breathe.”
The agony went on for days.
His wife, and his two children, ages 20 and 15, were unable to visit, lest they become infected, too.
“Just get through the next hour, the next hour, the next hour,” Mr. Thibault told himself. “It’s just one time you quit and then you’re dead.”
Even though he was partially sedated, his mind kept spinning.
Last week, he forced himself to write a note to his wife, telling her that if his lungs collapsed, to not keep him on life support.
“I just didn’t want to have that on my wife’s shoulders. I just didn’t want her to do that,” he said. “I’m glad she never had to read that note.”
Slowly he began to get better. The doctors took out his breathing tube and to his relief, his lungs picked up the pace. When he could speak, he thanked the nurses.
“What these people did for me in that last two weeks, I’m forever indebted to them,” he said.
He said he is “coming through this” and hopes to be able to leave the hospital by the weekend. He said he has turned on the television and caught up on the news of the escalating virus. He is worried some people don’t realize how serious it can be and hopes people are taking the recommended safety steps, from washing hands frequently to staying home when sick, to avoid community spread.
“It almost killed me,” he said. “It’s alarming when I hear people minimize it as a simple cold. It was no simple cold for me.”

source ?

Up to 9 DAYS not hours

My then-20 year old son got seriously ill from H1N1 Swine Flu in 2009 and my cousin’s 24 year old daughter died from seasonal influenza in 2018. Both were very healthy and neither had previously ever been hospitalized.

If it severely infects you or your loved ones, it will change the way you think about health and illnesses forever (if you survive) no matter which illness you had.

The population density of seniors in TV and other retirement communities means drastic prevention is needed.

If transmission rates can remain controlled long enough, there may be an effective treatment and eventually possibly even a vaccine.

It would be better to be a live “alarmist” than to be a dead “denier”

BTW did you know Trump’s Grandfather died in the Spanish Flu pandemic?

I wonder if that’s why he seems dismissive about Coronavirus. Coronavirus would seem like a sniffle by comparison to 1918 H1N1 Spanish Flu when hundreds of millions of previously young, healthy people globally were dropping over dead, many within in a matter of hours. Don’t look to any officials to keep you safe. You must take care of yourself. Officials have to walk a very fine line as they try to give factual information without inciting fear and panic. However, if it is you or your loved one who gets severely ill or dies, statistics won’t matter. One will seem like far too many.

Please take this Coronavirus COVID-19 seriously. Use your (understandable) nervous energy to take all the preventative steps you can and check on your friends and neighbors welfare online or by phone. Be prudent by avoiding gatherings & crowds for awhile.

The State of Florida Health Department does provide statistics, updated daily, including number of coronavirus confirmed cases by County, number tested, number being monitored, deaths and much more. All you have to do is look at the website: COVID-19 | Florida Department of Health

Wall Street Journal, March 10, 2020. See post 105. I mentioned that you couldn't open the article unless you were a subscriber, so poster copied and pasted it.

Not to mention the MAJORITY of Chinese smoke! ANY respiratory illness and smoking + aged = HUGE RISKS!

Thank you

More like 17 million worldwide; 500,000 in the US, many among troops fighting WWI in Europe at a time that there were no antibiotics. And not even Ebola can kill you in "a matter of hours", (unless you mean 96-168 hours)

"Be prudent by avoiding gatherings & crowds for awhile. "

Good advice.

I intend to do just that until we see the extent of COVID-19 transmission.

I wonder if counties are required to notify the dept. of health.....I'm going to ask at my dr. appt. today.

My understanding is that they are reporting definitive and presumptive cases---ie: those who test positive for COVID-19. The lab running the test may very well be under a reporting requirement as well.

so, since there have been no test kits available until now, there could be cases that have not been reported with people just being told to self isolate.

Yes, and there could be cases that were just diagnosed as influenza A or B, or there could people with just mild symptoms that never sought medical attention, or there could be asymptomatic carriers, or there could be people who just arrived here 6 hours ago, or, or ,or...….

Bottom line---just follow CDC recommendations and don't panic. BTW, nobody needs to stock 12,000 rolls of toilet paper (except maybe the guy in front of Katie Belle's)