Posted on 04/12/2020 4:23:31 PM PDT by Hojczyk
A 'severe flu season' may have actually been the virus moving through the population, officials say.
Though the first confirmed case of COVID-19 in the United States was declared Jan. 20, preliminary evidence from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicates that the disease may have actually been present in the United States at least a month earlier than that.
Jeff Smith, a doctor and the county executive officer of Santa Clara County, told officials in that district this week that the disease had been "freewheeling" in the Bay Area possibly "for quite some time" prior to the earliest official estimates.
Smith told officials that the CDC and local health authorities have collected data that suggest the virus may very well have been present as early as December 2019. That would be weeks earlier than the first confirmed case of the disease in the Bay Area, which was announced in late January.
California was reportedly in the grip of a severe flu outbreak up to the point that health authorities began searching for coronavirus in the state. At least some of those illnesses may have been COVID-19 spreading unaware throughout the state.
The data, if validated, may partially confirm anecdotal reports circulating on social media, that have suggested a significantly earlier spread of the virus in the United States than what has been estimated. Numerous users on Facebook and Twitter in recent months have claimed to have been stricken in December and early January by an illness with symptoms identical to those of COVID-19.
Multiple scientists and health authorities have concluded that the virus likely originated in Wuhan, China in November.
(Excerpt) Read more at justthenews.com ...
And the CDC did what about it in December?
Inquiring minds would sure as hell like to know.
Inconceivable!
Agree, if I had to place a bet on CA I would say November. Around this time is when almost everyone in northern CA was talking about a bug going around that zapped you pretty good. Everyone just chalked it up to the flu.
No runs on the hospitals, no dead lining the street, just a relatively early start to what looked to be a decent flu season.
Except that they won’t be given.
Sure. Are we talking 1-2, or are we talking hundreds of thousands? 1-2 could have been missed and died out or grown slowly enough to blend in with cases from China and Europe.
Hundreds of thousands is implausible unless we assume all of the doctors and radiologists went stupid.
Nice of them to cite the CDC without giving any information whatsoever *from* the CDC.
where are the freaking antibody tests?
Where are the freaking Corona tests for that matter?
We were hearing a rapid test was developed, then... crickets.
Heard S Korea was sending millions of their own tests, then...crickets.
Where the hell are they?
You are correct, IMO. A friend and her spouse got sick after he returned from a trip to Italy and Amsterdam in late Nov. They got sick in Dec. He wasn’t too bad off, but had symptoms of a BAD cold he could not shake with a dry cough. She, however, felt like an elephant was sitting on her chest and couldn’t climb the stairs in her house without having to sit down mid flight and take a break. Said she coughed up the most horrid stuff she has ever seen, all at once. Said her ordeal lasted about 4 weeks from start to end.
Very true AND we have a population of 40 million!!
We are in So Cal and we all had the what we called the “ICK” back in early December it made the rounds in our circle of family and friends it sucked but we all thought it the flu
I had several friends that had a very nasty flu however tested negative for flu, they missed work for 2-3 weeks eventually were well and back at work but they said they were really sick this was a couple of weeks after Thanksgiving!! I worked at a major grocery chain at the time didn’t seem to spread everywhere 5 or 6 ended up with it!!!
They said that tests conclusions would be released Friday if I recall correctly l.
This. And I’m going to withold.comment until some actual data comes in.
Its VERY possible I know a few people who swear they were infected with it, tested negative for influenza B and want the antibody test..but I just keep on thinking, I went to the mall once a week for my job, every Friday like clockwork, this particular mall in LA is a place where tourists go, from China, Italy, etc, mainly Chinese, Id walk around, go to the apple store, go to the farmers market across the street, if this virus were circulating in LA around that time, how come I didnt get it, I basically get sick from anyone who coughs within 10 feet of me, so am I immune to this or was it not as rampant in LA during that time
The alleged “influenza” season peaked on the East Side of King County (metro Seattle) in late January.
I have lived here 15 years, and during that period of time I have never encountered so many sick people coughing, sneezing, and blowing their nose as I did during that two week period.
I’m retired, and I actually thought about avoiding the mall, the grocery stores, and the outdoor track in my local park on my evening walk each night - it was that obvious!
One month later, the medical tragedy at the Kirkland, WA, nursing home began, and at least 35 residents died with the China Flu in their blood.
There is (was) a huge amount of travel between north Asia and King County.
Just in my medium sized suburban city, we have three Korean churches.
Yesterday’s numbers.
California
Cases 20,615
Deaths 609
Recoveries 307
Hospital 2,825
Today’s numbers
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020_coronavirus_pandemic_in_California#Timeline
Cases 21,794
Deaths 651
Is California not tracing contacts? Other states have been doing so, and testing reveals negatives outnumbering positives by more than ten to one. So there’s no great percentage of cases in the wild.
I know someone who had the symptoms but tested negative for flu in early Dec. A November arrival makes sense. The virus didn’t just stay in China for 2 months then just one day decide to jump to the US.
“The Ick”
That is exactly what I called it, the Ick. Lasted about a month. My son and I both had it. Like the flu, but different. Good thing the weather was warm here in Torrance.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.