Third US case of coronavirus confirmed in OC



Another update on the OC case. More info has spread on WeChat in Chinese. My neighbors have dutifully translated.

It is actually a woman. She KNEW she had the virus when she got on the plane!!! She told her son, who is a community college student. He told his roommate, who took off and left the apartment before she arrived. Presumably she came here to get better treatment...but they STILL went out to a likely very crowded restaurant locally. SMH. This burns me up, Just awful.
 
It feels like only a matter of time until it hits Florida, Orlando, WDW - if it has not already in light of the long incubation period. Have a trip scheduled in late Feb. and starting to consider canceling everything, which is a huge bummer, but WDW with two small kids during a pandemic sounds very ill advised and if I start canceling within 2 weeks we'll at least recover hotels and possibly some tickets etc.
 


A case was reported in the Phoenix area today. A person who was in China and is associated with ASU but not living in student housing.
 
According to NBC News, there are now five known cases of coronavirus in the U.S. All confirmed patients are individuals who were actually in China. There are no known cases of person-to-person transmission in the U.S. yet. This virus is deadly, yes, but it's mostly alarming because it's new and has gotten significant media hype. The same NBC News article states that 56 people have died in China from coronavirus. By comparison, the CDC estimates 12,000 to 61,000 influenza deaths annually, yet no one considers cancelling their travel plans each year from October to March.

By all means, use hand sanitizer frequently. Use Lysol wipes to wipe down your airplane seat (if flying) and dining tables. Wash your hands--a lot. But I don't think this is cancel-your-plans-and-hide-pandemic level worthy at this time.
 
According to NBC News, there are now five known cases of coronavirus in the U.S. All confirmed patients are individuals who were actually in China. There are no known cases of person-to-person transmission in the U.S. yet. This virus is deadly, yes, but it's mostly alarming because it's new and has gotten significant media hype. The same NBC News article states that 56 people have died in China from coronavirus. By comparison, the CDC estimates 12,000 to 61,000 influenza deaths annually, yet no one considers cancelling their travel plans each year from October to March.

By all means, use hand sanitizer frequently. Use Lysol wipes to wipe down your airplane seat (if flying) and dining tables. Wash your hands--a lot. But I don't think this is cancel-your-plans-and-hide-pandemic level worthy at this time.

It's worth pointing out that this all started with ONE patient in China about a month ago and 2000+ cases have been confirmed. It is going to spread here too, because all those people who were on those planes from China had direct, prolonged contact in an enclosed environment. In about a week or 2, cases in the US are going to blow up. You'll see. Think about how many places you go and people you have contact with in 2 weeks time. Now multiply that by several hundred people, going around thinking they are fine while incubating this virus and spreading it unknowingly.

A fair level of caution is advisable.

I just got an email letter from our school district regarding this (since a patient had contact with people in our city). The letter was very detailed about the steps they are taking and what parents need to know and do regarding symptoms their kids may exhibit. It's nothing to take lightly.
 
Appreciate folks' thoughts. I agree on both counts and think the key is to monitor closely over the next week or two. I just worry that it will start spiking right after I blow my cancellation dates, especially given the incubation period. I guess if it gets bad enough, the parks will close and refund, but I'm not sure how our hotel would handle etc. I wish I were as optimistic as some, but China has a long history of suppressing news of how bad these types of things are and there is a wide disparity between official reports and social media out of China. I've read that deaths in healthy individuals are being reported simply as complications from pneumonia without testing for coronavirus so as not to set off mass panic.
 
Agree with people that this is a very good reminder to practice good public health awareness, whether at DLR or anywhere. And teach your kids. Wash your hands (with soap! Can't believe how many people, kids and adults, I see at DLR leaving the restroom without washing their hands or without using soap... ugh.) , use hand sanitizer, wipe your table with Clorox wipes or the equivalent, and be aware of your surroundings. If you know you are not well, postpone your park visit. Disney will work with you -- you'd be surprised how willing they can be to help. DON'T be the parents who brought their little girl to DLR with chicken pox because they "didn't want to ruin her trip." (Yes, they knew she had it and they brought her anyway.)
 
Thanks. I leave for the park shortly. Hopefully the crowds aren’t as bad as they were last weekend. Will report back. Headed to the Grammys tonight so it may be awhile.

Hope you had a wonderful time at both places! Looking forward to your posts! (loaded with lots of pictures, I hope) :)
 
Another update on the OC case. More info has spread on WeChat in Chinese. My neighbors have dutifully translated.

It is actually a woman. She KNEW she had the virus when she got on the plane!!! She told her son, who is a community college student. He told his roommate, who took off and left the apartment before she arrived. Presumably she came here to get better treatment...but they STILL went out to a likely very crowded restaurant locally. SMH. This burns me up, Just awful.

Okay wow. I don't have words that I can use to explain how I feel about how absolutely selfish this was on her part without the censor kicking in. Just wow. I really hope they contacted anyone who was on the plane with her.

There's been another case confirmed in LA County now too.
 
Agree with people that this is a very good reminder to practice good public health awareness, whether at DLR or anywhere. And teach your kids. Wash your hands (with soap! Can't believe how many people, kids and adults, I see at DLR leaving the restroom without washing their hands or without using soap... ugh.) , use hand sanitizer, wipe your table with Clorox wipes or the equivalent, and be aware of your surroundings. If you know you are not well, postpone your park visit. Disney will work with you -- you'd be surprised how willing they can be to help. DON'T be the parents who brought their little girl to DLR with chicken pox because they "didn't want to ruin her trip." (Yes, they knew she had it and they brought her anyway.)

Lots of really good advice given here. I would like to add this is the perfect time to add foods that are good for you (berries-blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, citrus-oranges, tangelos, lemons, grapefruits, apples, broccoli, cauliflower, etc,) you get the idea. Feed your body good food so it can fight any virus, cold, etc. Drink water not soda. Exercise, even if its is walking from the couch, to the bathroom, to the fridge during commercials. Move.
 
It's worth pointing out that this all started with ONE patient in China about a month ago and 2000+ cases have been confirmed. It is going to spread here too, because all those people who were on those planes from China had direct, prolonged contact in an enclosed environment. In about a week or 2, cases in the US are going to blow up. You'll see. Think about how many places you go and people you have contact with in 2 weeks time. Now multiply that by several hundred people, going around thinking they are fine while incubating this virus and spreading it unknowingly.

A fair level of caution is advisable.

I just got an email letter from our school district regarding this (since a patient had contact with people in our city). The letter was very detailed about the steps they are taking and what parents need to know and do regarding symptoms their kids may exhibit. It's nothing to take lightly.
I’m not taking anything lightly. I’m advocating for awareness and careful personal hygiene and health practices. But also for perspective. Maybe you will be right (but I hope not) and in two weeks time this virus will “blow up” and death and disease will surround us. However, the 24/7 news cycle + internet makes for a terrific echo chamber, especially for anything weird or unsettlingly, and can convey a sense of full-scale national panic when there isn’t one, or doesn’t need to be. How many of us remember the swine flu? MERS? SARS? Ebola? Maybe this will be The Big One, but maybe not. That said, anyone who is truly afraid of traveling is certainly at liberty to not go.
 
Wash your hands (with soap! Can't believe how many people, kids and adults, I see at DLR leaving the restroom without washing their hands or without using soap... ugh.) , use hand sanitizer, wipe your table with Clorox wipes or the equivalent, and be aware of your surroundings.
Something else that I learned (and believe it's what has kept me from getting colds/flu even when everyone around me is getting them) is to never touch the inside of your nose or eyes without first washing your hands. Apparently, we all touch our noses and eyes much more frequently than we think. That's supposed to be a big way that viruses get in.

Sounds like this current viral scare hasn't been transmitted in the same way colds and flus spread. Hopefully, that is why the lady who knew she was infected chose to come here and expose everyone on her flight as well as everyone else she has been in contact with. It's too far fetched for me to believe that both her son and herself would expose everyone else if it transmit as easy as colds and flus. That would be criminal in my mind.
 
Lots of really good advice given here. I would like to add this is the perfect time to add foods that are good for you (berries-blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, citrus-oranges, tangelos, lemons, grapefruits, apples, broccoli, cauliflower, etc,) you get the idea. Feed your body good food so it can fight any virus, cold, etc. Drink water not soda. Exercise, even if its is walking from the couch, to the bathroom, to the fridge during commercials. Move.
It’s actually more complicated than that. The immune system fighting off the infection was a common reason why otherwise healthy people died of SARS.
 
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It's worth pointing out that this all started with ONE patient in China about a month ago and 2000+ cases have been confirmed. It is going to spread here too, because all those people who were on those planes from China had direct, prolonged contact in an enclosed environment. In about a week or 2, cases in the US are going to blow up. You'll see. Think about how many places you go and people you have contact with in 2 weeks time. Now multiply that by several hundred people, going around thinking they are fine while incubating this virus and spreading it unknowingly.

A fair level of caution is advisable.

I just got an email letter from our school district regarding this (since a patient had contact with people in our city). The letter was very detailed about the steps they are taking and what parents need to know and do regarding symptoms their kids may exhibit. It's nothing to take lightly.
One point to note here, so far, all the US patients have returned or come from Wuhan. So far, no person to person transmission in the US.

That said, hand sanitizer is your friend. And when at Disneyland, remember, you are more likely to get Norovirus than Coronavirus or food poisoning!
 

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