Would The U.S. Health System Be Ready For A Surge In Coronavirus Cases?

WFAE ^ | February 13, 2020 | By PATTI NEIGHMOND

[DannyTN]

... But if something changes and large numbers of people get infected in the U.S., is the country's health system prepared to cope with a surge of patients from this virus, or any future pathogen? ...

[DannyTN]

Interesting article on the state of preparedness. Takeaways

• Health care system is stressed for capacity
• Surge capacity plans exist but are likely stale.
• Protocols exist thanks to SARS and Ebola
• Can use Telemedicine and/or other facilites. (nursing homes? ugh)
• "The strategic national stockpile, says Greene, holds "millions of face masks, and supplies of respirators, gloves and surgical gowns that could potentially be deployed if state and local supplies are diminished during this current outbreak."

[reasonisfaith]

Things will be fine after around April, don’t worry.

[webheart]

Let’s get excited! Even better, mass panic. It won’t accomplish much but it is fun to watch.

[Rapscallion]

That may explain why the Defense Department is making three US military bases into emergency disease centers.

[DannyTN]

"Things will be fine after around April, don’t worry."

It's 80 degrees in Singapore and things are not fine there. It's spreading. Map of Singapore looks like the country has a bad case of measles.

Certainly hope you're right, but I don't think we've seen evidence this will necessarily go away in summer like the common cold.

[null and void]

There can't be a vast surplus of unused ICU beds.

Bring Out Your Dead

Post to me or FReep mail to be on/off the Bring Out Your Dead ping list.

The purpose of the “Bring Out Your Dead” ping list (formerly the “Ebola” ping list) is very early warning of emerging pandemics, as such it has a high false positive rate.

So far the false positive rate is 100%.

At some point we may well have a high mortality pandemic, and likely as not the “Bring Out Your Dead” threads will miss the beginning entirely.

*sigh* Such is life, and death...

If a quarantine saves just one child's life, it's worth it.

[DannyTN]

I understood 11.

[Oscar in Batangas]

“What difference, at this point, does it make anyway”?

[Bell Bouy II]

and why I cant find a dust mask(or any other) to use in the wood shop

[Vendome]

We are fine

In 60 days we will be on to the next world ending disaster....

[null and void]

I suspect cold weather isn’t the issue, perhaps it’s people are outside not being cooped up with sick people, and maybe more importantly they are busy turning sunshine into vitamin D?

[DannyTN]

Let’s not talk about it, until it’s too late.
Stick our heads in the sand.
Make no preparations.
All will be fine.
Flu is much worse (it isn’t).

Some preparations are being made.
Government using quarantines for first time in 50 years.
Government is preparing quarantine centers for thousands.
We have a national strategic stockpile of medical equipment, who knew?
I think I can go 3 months without venturing out of the house, provide work allows me to work from home.

[Jewbacca]

On the bright side, this could really end the housing problems in big cities.

Heck, the Black Plague was very effective at concentrating capital in Europe and made the survivors relatively rich.

It also eased up the burden of caring for vulnerable populations.

(Yes, being morbidly sarcastic.)

[DannyTN]

Thank you agent K

[GnuThere]

I think I discarded some respirator masks from the garage - my logic being I didn’t anticipate doing any projects that would need it.
Maybe I could have sold them one by one on Craig’s List!

[hardspunned]

It appears Trump is doing everything possible to prepare us for the worst. If this passes without having to fully implement the plans developed, it will serve as great learning tool if something worse comes along later. The worst case scenario in any epidemic is a democrat administration.

[DannyTN]

That would be funnier if I wasn’t in the demographic this thing hits the hardest. :)

[Jewbacca]

Well, the tradition for all plagues is to blame (and kill) the Jews, so I’ve got that going for me.

[RushIsMyTeddyBear]

No. Our area hospitals are full of regular flu cases and have been for 2 months.

[plain talk]

I don’t know what happens with this coronavirus and we will just have to see.

But I do think its a wake-up call. This country isn’t close to being prepared to deal with something like this. Not so much the clinic and hospital impact but the mass quarantine requirements.