Seattle health care providers scramble to ration medical supplies as coronavirus cases climb

The Seattle Times ^ | March 7th, 2020 | By Evan Bush

[Mariner]

Less than a week after diagnosed cases of COVID-19 grew rapidly in the Seattle area, health care providers say medical supplies are growing scarce, threatening to further stress a system already scrambling to control the coronavirus outbreak.

The state Department of Health (DOH) has confirmed 79 cases of the disease in four counties, and as of midday Friday, at least 15 deaths have been linked to the illness in Washington.

Now, as global supply chains have been disrupted and the number of cases climbs, health authorities are hunting for medical supplies and have called on employees to ration.

“Limit mask use to on the patient only,” read a Wednesday email from a Valley Medical Center (VMC) staffer to nurses, referring to surgical masks. “Staff will no longer wear masks, unless providing a care procedure requiring removal of the patient’s mask.”

According to the email: “Masks are in critical supply” and that “due to disaster conditions VMC will be implementing alternate standards of care to conserve masks for critical and surgical use.”

[Mariner]

Since rescinded after employees raised hell.

Duh.

Still I hope this is not a sign of things to come...

[Karl Spooner]

Ebay must be in charge.

[PAR35]

alternate standards of care

The mask has two sides. After it has been used once, just turn it around and use the other side. Cuts the need for maskes in half

No one said the 'alternate standards of care' had to be as good as the current standards.

[SaxxonWoods]

There are currently only three threads on the “Most Recent” page at FR.

Current FR coronavirus hysteria rating: Low.

[nascarnation]

Can masks be sterilized by baking in the oven?
Just curious.

[Mariner]

“Current FR coronavirus hysteria rating: Low.”

It’s always been low.

Except for those who have frantically reacted with derision to those who are interested in it.

[Dave Wright]

79 cases of flu and their medical system collapses. Give me a break.

[Mariner]

Even if it was the flu they should be in masks.

[SaxxonWoods]

Right, go with that.

[House Atreides]

Can masks be sterilized by baking in the oven?
Just curious.
********************************************
There are UV lights that are designed for and effective at sterilizing things such as masks. Users must be very cautious how these lights are used to avoid damage to vision.

[DannyTN]

I didn’t think about using UV lights on masks.

Great idea.

[Polynikes]

“using UV lights on masks.

Great idea.”
I knew this was going to happen. I am no longer looked at as crazy prepper. LOL.
City water departments use UV lights among other things. One of the things I got early on well before the panic set in was.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07Z5PH4YS/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

It was considerably cheaper then. Its out of stock but supposedly will be back 3/20/20

[Madam Theophilus]

A friend’s daughter-in-law is a critical care doctor in Eugene, OR. They had a whole shipment of medical supplies stolen from their storage area. So it’s not just the supply chain but black marketeers at work.

[DannyTN]

I’ve got a couple of UV lights.

I’ve been recommending that Airplanes, all buildings, and cruise ships install UV lights in their air ducts to kill pathogens.

I actually did this once in a home I owned.

[null and void]

Ordinary seasonal flu ping...

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.

[FreedomPoster]

As a result of reading up on it, I bought a couple Honeywell UV lights for putting in your HVAC ductwork. I don’t think it will matter on coronavirus, but it might be useful for more mundane stuff like mold and run of the mill viruses.

[WildHighlander57]

Polynikes wrote:
“
“using UV lights on masks.
Great idea.”

I knew this was going to happen. I am no longer looked at as crazy prepper. LOL.
City water departments use UV lights among other things. One of the things I got early on well before the panic set in was.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07Z5PH4YS/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

It was considerably cheaper then. Its out of stock but supposedly will be back 3/20/20”

How much was it before the panic?

[Polynikes]

It was around $90 but its about $130 now.

[Jane Long]

79 cases of flu and their medical system collapses. Give me a break.

---

6 - 10% of confirmed require ICU.

Count the number of ICU beds, in this area/county/city/state.

(Then, for fun, find out how many ICU beds are in your area/state/country. These numbers have been calculated, on many of the cv related threads. FYI....existing ICU beds are already about 60% occupied, in most areas.)

[21twelve]

I got a UVC light and a ozone generator on Amazon on Jan. 24th. The next day I bought a UVC + ozone bulb for my son, and one UVC bulb for each of my other kids. Plus a spare for me. (Wuhan went on lockdown on the 23rd.)

I lined a cardboard box with tinfoil and put a wire rack in the box. Put the cell phone, keys, wallet, packages on the rack and turn on the light for 5 minutes. (I think it only takes one minute though to destroy the virus).

The ozone generator (still can be bought on Amazon) I used after coming back from the grocery store. Leave all the stuff in the car (including my coat and hat), put the machine in the car and let it run for 45 minutes. (That might have been a bit long - it smelled like bleach. They say it should smell like after a thunderstorm).

I would like to know what China and others are using in the garden sprayers to spray down people while they are wearing their clothing. I would think hydrogen peroxide or bleach would damage the clothing.