Here is a case study from the New England Journal of Medicine about the first diagnosed US case:
https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2001191
He seemed to have relatively mild symptoms at first, including nausea & diarrhea, and developed pneumonia starting on day 9. He was given supplemental oxygen, but it’s not totally clear how severe his breathing issues may have been. He was finally given an experimental antiviral medicine (remdesivir) under a compassionate use clause and recovered very soon after.
Concerns are mounting about how long the novel coronavirus may survive on surfaces -- so much so that China's central bank has taken measures to deep clean and destroy its cash, which changes hands multiple times a day, in an effort to contain the virus.
CNN
https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/17/health/novel-coronavirus-surfaces-study/index.html
Note: known as 2029-nCoV acute respiratory disease caused by SARS-CoV-2, a virus closely related to the SARS Virus. It is the disease in the 2019–20 coronavirus outbreak. The term Novel (various spellings used by others) Corona virus has been intermittently as it is in this link but more frequently is now being left off it seems.
I'm expecting a package from China that I ordered before this was an outbreak. From Guangdong, I think, definitely through Hong Kong. I gave the folks at my UPS store a little heads up, and I plan to pick it up with gloves on, put it directly in a plastic bag, and open it out of doors, in my backyard, in the sun, spraying it with Lysol as I go, N95 mask on. I tried to cancel the order, but it was too late and it's a costume I need for an upcoming show.
So I appreciate any info anyone has on how long it can live on surfaces, since I have no way of knowing if the item was manufactured, handled, packed, shipped, etc. by anyone contagious.
@laura-f Current estimates indicate the virus can survive up to 9 days on hard surfaces under cold, dry conditions, but it’s not 100% certain yet. I wouldn’t worry too much about the package since it will have been in transit for some time.
Opening it outside with gloves & pointing away from your face is a reasonable precaution, and you can wipe down the product with 70 to 90% alcohol to quickly sanitize it once opened (or run it through a hot wash & dryer cycle if it’s cloth goods, depending on the exact material).
@jeanne-mayell, I think you would be interested in this video.
It is shocking.
Dr. Kentaro Iwata is a highly respected professor at Kobe University and is an expert in infectious diseases. He has helped with outbreaks of Ebola in Africa and SARS in China. He wasn't afraid of getting infected in those places because of high protocol standards. He was afraid during the one day he was aboard the Diamond Princess.
"Diamond Princess has completely inadequate infection control, and there is no professional ID person in charge. Passengeres, crews, health care professionals working inside are at risk of infection, and the practice is even worse than what I saw in Africa. Immediate action is needed to save people inside."
@lovendures I watched the video. Praying for the well being of all those passengers, and thinking that Princess Cruise Lines is going to be sued out of existence, especially after that video gets to the families on the ship. I was thinking about that ship over the last few days and wondering how anyone can bear to eat the food, given that it is so easy for crew to spread disease during food prep.
The Westerdam is a Holland America ship and also owned by the same parent company, Carnival. They had their own issues and now possibly infected passengers are roaming instead around the world instead of being quarantined after a failed checking of passengers when disembarking in Cambodia. One infected passenger tested positive shortly after leaving the ship and flying on to a new destination, exposing countless other individuals. A Strike 2. I am sure passengers will be canceling bookings for quite some time.
I think the Japanese Government is in charge of the health aspect of the Diamond Princess. While Princess is certainly at fault for a bunch of what has been happening, the Japanese Government should be in control of how it is managed once they issued the quarintine. Japan doesn't know what the heck they are doing. They have utterly failed.
If they can't figure this out, imagine what could happen if this disease is still an issue during the Olympics they are hosting. Who will come? Rio had problems attracting fans and some athletes with the emergence of Zika. Japan has just shown the world they can't handle a cruise ship with the virus, how can they handle the Olympics and all that goes with it health wise including the close quarters of athletes, transportation, public events and so forth.
(You know, we haven't gotten many visions about the Olympics during read the future nights have we? Isn't that a bit odd?)
A dentist from Hong Kong also on the ship made a video a few days ago. He knows a lot about how infection can spread and needs to use a mask and good protocol in his own practice. He stopped eating the food provided because of how he saw people handling it. The masks that were passed out were touched first by crew without gloves on, then give to passengers. He is using his own masks now and ordered a case of Ramen from Amazon I think( deliveries were allowed somehow).
Now, internationally Japan is feeling the heat.
The Financial Times has a good article about the problems on the ship.
A strong CDC warning about the problem on board the Diamond Princess comes as Japan started to release passengers from the cruise ship, with about 500 expected to disembark on Wednesday, even though US, Hong Kong and Japanese experts say they pose a risk of infection. The CDC says they are an “ongoing risk” of spreading the infection, and said quarantine on board the ship was ineffective.
Two officials involved in the quarantine have caught the disease. As of the last tally released on Tuesday, there were 542 confirmed cases of coronavirus on board the vessel, the largest outbreak outside China.
https://www.ft.com/content/91446bd6-52b8-11ea-8841-482eed0038b1
Dr. John Campbell is a Nurse Teacher and A&E Nurse based out of England. He has been giving daily updates and analysis of the coronavirus data, and has a very informative YouTube channel:
https://www.youtube.com/user/Campbellteaching/videos
His videos are an excellent source for objective analysis concerning the outbreak, and he does an excellent job of explaining stuff for laypeople such as ourselves.
Coronavirus death toll rises above 2,000 worldwide
The death toll: The novel coronavirus has now killed more than 2,000 people, all but six of them in mainland China. It has infected more than 75,000 people, with over 1,000 cases outside mainland China.
What's happening on the cruise ship: The remaining passengers aboard the Diamond Princess in Japan began disembarking Wednesday after a 14-day quarantine. A total of 624 cases of the virus are linked to the stricken ship.
https://www.cnn.com/asia/live-news/coronavirus-outbreak-02-19-20-intl-hnk/index.htm
Diamond Princess deaths: Two passengers from the Diamond Princess cruise ship have died of the coronavirus, Japan's health ministry announced today.
Both passengers were in their 80s and had been in hospital in Japan, but no further information is known about them at this stage. A total of 624 cases of the coronavirus have been found onboard the ship.
South Korea infections jump: There are now 82 cases of the deadly coronavirus in South Korea, the government reported today, after a jump of 31 additional cases overnight. Of the new cases, 23 went to the same church as a previously confirmed patient and health officials now plan to test the entire congregation for the virus.
Beijing Expells 3 Wall Street Journal Reporters over a Corona Cirus opinion piece
A controversial opinion piece criticizing China's response to the coronavirus led to the official expulsion of three journalists from the Wall Street Journal yesterday.
At a news briefing yesterday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said that the Wall Street Journal had refused to apologize over the article, entitled "China is the real sick man of Asia."
It is the largest expulsion of foreign journalists from the country since 1989.
"Confirmed Case" definition changes again in China
The drop in new novel coronavirus infections out of mainland China was sharp today, falling from 1,749 confirmed cases on Wednesday to just 394 Thursday.
This now appears to be partly due to a change in what is counted as a "confirmed case."
About a week ago, Hubei province began counting "clinically diagnosed patients" in their case numbers -- those patients who showed symptoms, even if they tested negative. It resulted in a huge spike of confirmed cases in the province, which is the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak.
However, according to the latest government guidelines, "clinically diagnosed patients" will no longer be counted. A lab based diagnosis will now be required for a case to be counted as "confirmed." All other cases will be categorized as "suspected cases."
South Korea infections jump: There are now 82 cases of the deadly coronavirus in South Korea, the government reported today, after a jump of 31 additional cases overnight. Of the new cases, 23 went to the same church as a previously confirmed patient and health officials now plan to test the entire congregation for the virus.
Death toll rises: At least 2,126 people are now dead from the virus, with all but 10 of those deaths in mainland China. The total number of infected worldwide stands at over 75,600.
https://www.cnn.com/asia/live-news/coronavirus-outbreak-02-20-20-intl-hnk/index.html