Coronavirus/Covid 19

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Xue Sheng

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Interesting development

Per relatives in China...the Coronavirus comes form America
Per other contacts in China....spreading rumors will now get you arrested and.....Truth is what the government tells you it is....that is all
 
D

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Yup, that's the same kinda stuff we're talking about. Not as good as soap and warm water.

Putting a better or worse tag on it seems incorrect, they both work. The gel is far more convient and easier for people to use than soap and water though, by far.

To get into specfics would be a brand and product by product analysis. Same way as telling somone who lives in Flint michigan to wash their hands would be a bad idea. :p
 

geezer

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Wearing a mask will not in any way prevent you from getting sick.

Wearing a mask that is thick enough and tight fitting enough to do any good is hot and very uncomfortable for any long period of time and best left to medical personnel who actually need them. At least that is the position of the CDC.

On the other hand, properly used, masks do potentially offer reduced risk of both spreading and contracting disease, which is why medical personnel use them in the first place.

1. A properly fitted "n95" mask will reduce the likelihood of inhaling the micro-globules or the mist-like droplets of fluid that people expel when they sneeze or cough. Similarly, a mask worn by an infected person may to a limited degree reduce the amount of the virus transmitted into the air.

2. People may be less likely to pass the virus from hand to mouth or nose if there is a mask covering their face.

On the other hand, as the Surgeon General pointed out, the discomfort caused by masks may well result in people fussing with them constantly, thus increasing the amount of contact between hands and face, and quite possibly increasing exposure to the virus. Not to mention that if there is a run on medical masks (like in China) they will be in short supply for the medical practitioners who really need them.

So, in short, I'm just going to forget about masks and just take the simple and commonsense precautions already mentioned. Oh, and of course I'll wearing the outfit pictured below:


118063798-plague-doctor-costume-isolated-on-white-background-3d-illustration.jpg
 

skribs

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Putting a better or worse tag on it seems incorrect, they both work. The gel is far more convient and easier for people to use than soap and water though, by far.

To get into specfics would be a brand and product by product analysis. Same way as telling somone who lives in Flint michigan to wash their hands would be a bad idea. :p

You are confusing convenience with effectiveness, something you seem to do a lot. Just like with training. It's more convenient to train on your own, thus you think it's just as effective. It's more convenient to use the gel than actual soap and water, so you say it's just as effective.

The comparison to Flint is unfair, because most places in 1st-world countries have clean running water. Even if you don't, washing your hands in sterilized water is better than washing your hands with hand sanitizer. This isn't an opinion. It's medical fact.

I think it's a good thing you don't train martial arts in a class. Because your hygiene habits might make it unsafe for others to train with you. Please note this isn't a joke. What you are doing is dangerous to those around you. Dirty hands spread diseases.
 
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Not to mention that if there is a run on medical masks (like in China) they will be in short supply for the medical practitioners who really need them.

I am pretty sure hospitals and the like have a **** load of them all ready and would be first come first serve, especially in a emergency.

And this is why you stockpile O2 tanks and buy yourself some SCBA , never know when it can come in handy!
 

Monkey Turned Wolf

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Putting a better or worse tag on it seems incorrect, they both work. The gel is far more convient and easier for people to use than soap and water though, by far.

To get into specfics would be a brand and product by product analysis. Same way as telling somone who lives in Flint michigan to wash their hands would be a bad idea. :p
This is incorrect. Hand sanitizer is less effective than soap and water. Convenience doesn’t play into that, especially when hand washing isn’t a particularly tough or inconvenient thing to do.
 

Monkey Turned Wolf

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I am pretty sure hospitals and the like have a **** load of them all ready and would be first come first serve, especially in a emergency.

And this is why you stockpile O2 tanks and buy yourself some SCBA , never know when it can come in handy!
Some hospitals are already running low on them.
 
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This is incorrect. Hand sanitizer is less effective than soap and water. Convenience doesn’t play into that, especially when hand washing isn’t a particularly tough or inconvenient thing to do.

Given washing stations are located in the toilets, unless you work in a hopstial (where both toilets and gel dispensers are everywhere) It could become a issue of convience.

And i am firmly placing it down to brand specfics and product specfics of effectiness, they wouldnt be reccomened as a viable alternative if they were defacto ****. I will go on a browse for any studies, but do you poesses any for this subject?

Some hospitals are already running low on them.

That i know, still sure they get priority even if its just down to economic ability. Which ones though? as i know the chinese ones have been running low on them and the supply is drying up. (at least for generic citizens)

Edit: and this is still all the more reson to stock up for edventualities and get some SCBA. :p
 

skribs

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Given washing stations are located in the toilets, unless you work in a hopstial (where both toilets and gel dispensers are everywhere) It could become a issue of convience.

And i am firmly placing it down to brand specfics and product specfics of effectiness, they wouldnt be reccomened as a viable alternative if they were defacto ****. I will go on a browse for any studies, but do you poesses any for this subject?

Do you not have convenient access to toilets where you come from?

They are not recommended as a viable alternative. It's a supplement. Nobody says you should stop washing your hands and just use hand sanitizer. Would you spray on deodorant so you don't have to take a shower?
 
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ShortBridge

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OP here.

Rat, thanks for stopping by. We're good.

I appreciate the general dialogue here and I realize we're not all going to conclude the same things about it. The facts are we (I) don't know what I don't know about this virus yet. I also recognize that, at least in the US this is becoming a political issue and though I can kind of guess some of your leanings based on your replies, I appreciate that we've left that overtly out of the discussion. The facts are not entirely in evidence as of yet and I think we'll know more in a matter of weeks.

Between now and then:

  • I teach in the county that leads the US in Covid 19 deaths so far. They are most or entirely from a concentrated group of people with less stable health circumstances, so it's not quite apples-to-apples with my class.
  • But, I personally have a (well managed) auto-immune disease, so I am probably at higher risk than average.
  • My kwoon is in Seattle's Chinatown and roughly 1/2 of my students are Asian and roughly 1/2 of them have traveled internationally in the last 6 months. Others work in kitchens and close quarters environments.
  • My employer has asked us all to work from home for the time being. We are an international company and people travel frequently in and out of the office.
  • Our kwoon is in a very small space with poor ventilation. We're all responsible and hand wash and clean equipment off and such, but the physical circumstances of our environment are what they are.
  • The style we practice involves a lot of physical contact person to person.
  • We have a strong culture of not missing training because of a minor injury or sniffle, but have agreed not to come if we feel sick in any way.
I neither aspire to be paranoid nor irresponsible. I do think that there in a hotspot and are doing things that increase our likelihood of exposure. I appreciate the dialogue and knowing what other people in similar circumstances are thinking and doing, whether they align with my current thoughts or not.
 

Monkey Turned Wolf

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Given washing stations are located in the toilets, unless you work in a hopstial (where both toilets and gel dispensers are everywhere) It could become a issue of convience.

And i am firmly placing it down to brand specfics and product specfics of effectiness, they wouldnt be reccomened as a viable alternative if they were defacto ****. I will go on a browse for any studies, but do you poesses any for this subject?
Here you go. Straight from the center for disease control. Show Me the Science – When & How to Use Hand Sanitizer in Community Settings | Handwashing | CDC

That i know, still sure they get priority even if its just down to economic ability. Which ones though? as i know the chinese ones have been running low on them and the supply is drying up. (at least for generic citizens)

Edit: and this is still all the more reson to stock up for edventualities and get some SCBA. :p


The ones in new york, at the very least. Where there haven't even been any cases. There are painters who aren't getting the masks they need for work specifically because of the hysteria, I'm sure they'll be flooding the hospitals soon with breathing problems.
 

dvcochran

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Today my Master said no more shaking hands after class. He also stressed that if you feel sick, stay home. And we've got a public hand sanitizer station now.
Yes ma'am.
It's shocking how many places allow people to walk in the restrooms barefooted or wear their mat shoes and then return to the mats without any type of sanitizing them!! Then they are rolling or wrestling or doing takesdowns rubbing their faces on the places that have been stepped on by those feet or shoes. We've never allowed shoes that have been worn outside or in the restrooms without being sanitized first onto the mats.
Shoes are left on the shelf at the door. Hard rule.
 

Tez3

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What is friction drying soap?

Never heard of that, and just for fun Googled it. It didn't know what it was either but I do now know there's 7 causes of dry penis skin!!!! Sometimes, Google helps, at other's just...NO! I could have lived the rest of my life quite happily not knowing that.
 

skribs

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OP here.

Rat, thanks for stopping by. We're good.

I appreciate the general dialogue here and I realize we're not all going to conclude the same things about it. The facts are we (I) don't know what I don't know about this virus yet. I also recognize that, at least in the US this is becoming a political issue and though I can kind of guess some of your leanings based on your replies, I appreciate that we've left that overtly out of the discussion. The facts are not entirely in evidence as of yet and I think we'll know more in a matter of weeks.

Between now and then:

  • I teach in the county that leads the US in Covid 19 deaths so far. They are most or entirely from a concentrated group of people with less stable health circumstances, so it's not quite apples-to-apples with my class.
  • But, I personally have a (well managed) auto-immune disease, so I am probably at higher risk than average.
  • My kwoon is in Seattle's Chinatown and roughly 1/2 of my students are Asian and roughly 1/2 of them have traveled internationally in the last 6 months. Others work in kitchens and close quarters environments.
  • My employer has asked us all to work from home for the time being. We are an international company and people travel frequently in and out of the office.
  • Our kwoon is in a very small space with poor ventilation. We're all responsible and hand wash and clean equipment off and such, but the physical circumstances of our environment are what they are.
  • The style we practice involves a lot of physical contact person to person.
  • We have a strong culture of not missing training because of a minor injury or sniffle, but have agreed not to come if we feel sick in any way.
I neither aspire to be paranoid nor irresponsible. I do think that there in a hotspot and are doing things that increase our likelihood of exposure. I appreciate the dialogue and knowing what other people in similar circumstances are thinking and doing, whether they align with my current thoughts or not.

Because of these factors, I don't think you're paranoid if you take extra measures.
 

Monkey Turned Wolf

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Given washing stations are located in the toilets, unless you work in a hopstial (where both toilets and gel dispensers are everywhere) It could become a issue of convience.
I didn't fully process this earlier. Are you not going to the bathroom in actual bathrooms, or are you talking about when you're out and get your hand dirty some other way. If the first, that might be a bigger issue. If the second, you can't be that far from a bathroom/sink in your everyday life, and if you are the traditional advice I've been given is: if your hands are dirty and you've got hand sanitizer handy-use that first, and then wash your hands when you can.
 

Buka

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Working the airport of a popular world tourist destination is challenging in times like this, that's for sure. You prepare, take as many precautions as you can and do what you always do - help people and do your job.

Unfortunately, I am the perfect target for this corona thing - old, with a suppressed immune system. I've always washed my hands at work dozens of times each day, but these days I wash them more than I can accurately count. I make it a habit not to touch my face. I have masks handy in case travellers want them, explaining that they might not be of any help, I have rubber gloves, alcohol wipes and bleach wipes that I give out if people ask. It's impossible to keep a distance from folks, the place is lousy with them, and people always need help with something. And some times people cause trouble causing you to get up close and personal.

But you do what you can for everyone's sake, try to help anyone who needs it, prepare and hope for the best. I'm actually more concerned for my fall trip to Boston - which we may cancel depending on how this develops - than I am working my airport. I have a better control over our environment here than I do other places.

Everybody please stay safe. Wash those hands, get enough sleep, eat well, try not to stress, keep your health as strong as you can.
 

Flying Crane

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From what I am hearing on the news, this novel virus seems to be showing a 2.5% mortality rate so far. The problem is, there are a whole lot of unknowns right now, including how many people are actually infected. As this information is brought to light, that mortality rate may change. One health expert who I saw discussing it on the news suggested it may level out at approximately 0.8%.

In contrast, the flu has a mortality rate of approximately 0.1%. Hundreds of thousands of people die around the world from the flu each year. But many millions get the flu. With corona, we just don't know yet.

Either way, if it is at 2.5% or 0.8% or anywhere in between or above that or below that, it is potentially very serious.

The other real problem is that it seems to be showing a 14 day incubation period, during which an infected person feels no symptoms and does not know yet that he/she is sick, but is already contagious. I cannot imagine anybody is able to accurately trace everybody that they have come into contact with and every location they have visited in the last 14 days, in order to map transmission and attempt to get it under control. People who they may have gotten close enough to in order to transmit the disease, or items they may have touched that could be contaminated by someone who passed by earlier. We do not yet know how long the virus remains viable, sitting on surfaces, where someone may touch them later and transfer them into their body. So this is a real issue, with real concerns and an admittedly difficult prognosis to combat it.

Good personal hygiene seems to be the advice of the day, and there is no reason for everyone to panic. However, it may be prudent to gather some supplies that can be put into storage, incase anyone needs to self-isolate if suspected contamination, and cannot get to the grocery store for more. Another possibility is that a local outbreak may cause the local authorities to close services down, stores may decide to close for the safety of employees and the public, once again making sense to have some food stashed away just in case. Small steps like that make sense to me, in addition to keeping sanitation supplies.
 
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