Well, it’s 9 cases already. I wonder what measures they’re going to take to protect us. As far as today, my children are at their respective Palo Alto schools and I’m concerned about this virus being disguised in the community. Soon it’s going to be hundreds of us and no one will know how the virus has spread.

The panic buying of food as well as hygiene products has left shelves empty and big profits for retailers that sell them.

There are petitions to close schools and petitions to bring Spring Break forward.

It is really up to us. Handwashing properly and not touching "things" with bare hands such as the water fountains, door handles, light switches, as well as the taps/faucets at sinks.

Now might not be the time to use reusable grocery bags touched by others, or to convert to anything that may have been touched by multiple people. From serving utensils at the salad bar, to the touch pads at atms and places to swipe credit cards, people are touching what you are touching.

Life will go on. If any of us get sick, it will be a bit unpleasant, but few of us will die unless we are older, have other health problems, smoke or are stupid.

Posted by Resident, a resident of Another Palo Alto neighborhood

>> Life will go on. If any of us get sick, it will be a bit unpleasant, but few of us will die unless we are older, have other health problems, smoke or are stupid.

Of course, quite a "few of us" actually "are older".

Speaking of which, do PAMF, Stanford Hospital, Sequoia Hospital, El Camino Hospital all have designated entrance locations for people with possible contagious respiratory infections? It might be nice to see an article explaining to people where they should go if they need treatment.

The most important thing we can all do is stay home if you feel sick. This applies to the common cold and flu as well as the coronavirus. What are local employers doing to keep their sick employees at home? Do they have proper sick leave policies in place, especially for lower-paid workers and customer service workers?

Schools need to be closed now. It is pointless to do it after there are more confirmed cases. Use the internet.

I was at PAMF Urgent Care in Palo Alto. I used the restroom and found no soap, no paper towels in the dispenser and the automatic flushing devices were not working... Let the games begin.

Oh, and most of the hand cleaner dispensers were empty...

When you found no soap, what did you do about it to be helpful? Did you politely mention it to a staff member so that they could fix the problem? (Consider that the soap and towels might have run out because more people than usual are using them. Mention the problem to someone who can help.

Or did you just kvetch about it on PA Online? Not so helpful.

We all play our part in helping our society work. Be helpful--not a complainer.

Let's roll up our sleeves and work together. If you see a problem, say something AND ask yourself, "How can I work with others to help make things work better?"

Greene Middle School is sending its band and other music groups to Disneyland on a bus starting Wed, returning Sat. Annual performance trip. All the kids are looking forward to it, but some parents are concerned. Is this trip wise?

Parents have to make lots of hard calls. This is your call, parent.

My husband's company, a large international corporation, has restricted all unnecessary travel, cancelled participating in conventions for an undetermined time.

It's interesting how differently people and organizations are responding.
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@Greene parent - The good news is, Disneyland is still open. The bad news is, Disneyland is still open.

@Anon.

Yes what I said was harsh, and I apologise, it was not meant as a harsh comment to those of us who are older.

What I did mean is that people do die from regular flu every year and that is not a nice thing either and many of those people are older.

None of us are as young as we used to be so my harsh comment was thoughtless.

Regarding travel, you have to make your own call. Listen to your doctor and the county health department. I think domestic travel is a lot safer than international travel these days. Infection rates seem to be a lot higher in Asia and Europe than in North America. Corporate restrictions on work travel probably mostly have to do with international travel.

And PALY is hosting a huge music/dancing event on the 13th. It will most probably gather 500+ people, all in one ballroom.
All such events should be postponed!

Do not use the actions of the stanford theater as an example of what needs to be done now.
Wrongheaded decision which I think is more financial than anything else.

As I understand this the incubation period of this virus where the victim is contagious is around 2 weeks plus or minus before people start showing symptoms. If this is correct there could be many, many victims of this virus who do not know or suspect they have the virus. This might explain the two unexplained cases of Covid-19 in CA, and others.

Please correct me or update me if my understandings are not correct.

I've also heard that having the virus does not necessarily confer immunity on the victim so that they say they cannot rule out that a person who has had and gotten over the virus could get it again.

Is there anyone who can comment on how long it takes to get over this virus, or at what point it is suggested that people seek medical attention? What is the experience of having and getting over this virus like? Is there any news from China on that?

I must confess I am not happy to hear people joking or being sarcastic about this and would very much appreciate people taking this seriously and focusing on facts and being productive with distributing facts and expressing ideas. There are lots of people in Palo Alto who work with the public every day, and just about everyone else comes in contact with them when they come home or interact with them while they are working. Let's pray and hope for the best.

The 6 deaths in Kirkland, WA really woke me up. Until now I was kind of thinking that yes its here but we'll be ok with precautions. When the first death occurred, the officials all made qualifications of that person being chronically ill. Now there's no more information about whether the new deaths were young or old or how sick.

It does seems like it spreads rapidly in proximity. Santa Clara county needs to start telling us what cities the infections are occurring in and start ratcheting up precautions in cities where we are seeing outbreaks. Agree with some of the posters that the time to contain this thing is now.

> Is this trip wise?

No. Let's say your kid comes back from the trip with a cough. Most likely, it's just a cough. But I think right now parents and families are upset enough about the coronavirus that anyone who *might* be sick is going to be socially ostracized (if not bullied) for months. And if it's some other kid on the trip who gets a virus, you may get guilt by association.

> As I understand this the incubation period of this virus where the victim is contagious is around 2 weeks plus or minus before people start showing symptoms.

The asymptomatic incubation period can be as long as 24-27 days. AFAIK, The 14-day period was based on information at the time, namely a previous virus (MERS?). Personally, I don't think 14 days is long enough.

> Schools need to be closed now.

I agree. Kids get sick at school. Kids get their parents sick at home. Parents get their co-workers sick at work. Workers who get sick at work get their kids sick at home. Repeat for the entire flu season. It's still the flu season, btw, and supposedly the worst one in a decade. Close the schools now, and you reduce the spread of influenza as well.

> Of course, quite a "few of us" actually "are older".

One of the outbreaks of the coronavirus in Washington was at a life care facility, with 20+ patients infected. "27 of 108 residents and 25 of 180 staff have some symptoms". My grandmother and others died from pneumonia caused by an influenza virus that infected her facility. The second link doesn't say much, but does say "Researchers said earlier that the virus may have been circulating for weeks undetected in Washington state."

Web Link

Web Link

Posted by Boo. Stanford theater, a resident of Downtown North

>> Do not use the actions of the stanford theater as an example of what needs to be done now.
>> Wrongheaded decision which I think is more financial than anything else.

The Stanford Theatre decision makes perfect sense to me. Why not postpone unnecessary large-numbers-of-people-close-contact events until the weather is warmer and the pandemic is declining? The announcement stated they were postponing the last two weeks but, since I missed this last weekend I'm hoping that they will repeat that one also.

Those of us who are in the high-risk category, and, that would be probably about half of the usual Stanford Theatre crowd, appreciate the consideration.

"Is there anyone who can comment on how long it takes to get over this virus, or at what point it is suggested that people seek medical attention? What is the experience of having and getting over this virus like? Is there any news from China on that?"

There is no information about the timeframe it takes for recovering, nor the aftermath for people who had recovered. Apparently, that's less important right now...
It is suggested that you stay home if you have symptoms, just like you'd do with the regular flu. However, if you start having breathing problems, it is advised you contact your health care provider immediately.

@What we each can do to help.

That's the job for the high paid managers of the clinic who are supposedly prepared for this and managing things in accordance, not patients diagnosed with a severe case of the flu. Clearly they are not managing.

Too many live threads.

Editors, please think about shutting down all old threads and just keep the latest one "live", with perhaps a link to the live thread.

The resources need to be focused first on senior citizens and those with compromised immune systems. The testing should start there. The death rate for healthy middle-age and younger people is low. These healthy people can avoid large gatherings and work from home as much as possible. Increased testing will help identify the path of the virus.

Superintendent Austin said, "As a Palo Alto resident, I see large crowds in supermarkets, parks, theaters, airports, restaurants, and public places. They are operating as usual with no call for closures," he wrote. "Closing schools at this point would not eliminate the infinite interactions our students would have beyond PAUSD. We understand the responsibility afforded to PAUSD while caring for your students and treat the work seriously. We cannot control every aspect of student or community life, which is the only way a quarantine works."

I don't believe the Superintendent is an expert on pandemics and is speaking as a layman when he suggests that there is no point in closing schools because our children would experience the same level of risk in other venues. In fact, the statement shows that the Superintendent is not well informed or well advised.

School closure is one of the primary nonpharmaceutical interventions recommended at an early stage of a pandemic and has shown to be effective in reducing the peak number of cases.

Studies conducted during the 2009 H1N1 pandemic, including: 1) a study which found H1N1 surged in many U.S. communities in fall 2009, about 2-3 weeks after schools re-opened after summer break (70); and 2) a comparison of school districts in Texas, in the beginning of the first wave of the 2009 H1N1 pandemic, which found that the odds of reporting acute respiratory illness rates were 51% lower in the community surrounding the school district that closed schools compared to the adjacent school district where schools remained open (71). In Canada, school closure was associated with reduced transmission of more than 50% among school children that may have helped attenuate the first wave of the 2009 H1N1 epidemic (72). The greater Mexico City area saw a 29%-37% reduction in H1N1 transmission following mandatory 18-day school closures and implementation of other social distancing measures (73). A comparative case study in Japan showed that full school closures reduced the impact of the pandemic more than single class closures. This same study also found that a longer duration of school closure was significantly correlated with a reduction in H1N1 incidence after classes resumed (74). In India, three school holidays that occurred between August 2009 and January 2010 had a significant impact on the spread of H1N1 influenza, reducing the transmission rate by 14%-27% in different regions (75).

The data strongly supports school closure as an effective and early line of defense against a pandemic. Check out the link below from the CDC website.

Web Link

These online petitions about closing schools or bringing forward spring break are causing hysteria. Nextdoor.com is full of irrational arguments although some people are in fear because they want to protect older people who live in the same homes.

If someone wants to keep their child home because of fear, that is understandable but the schools are not saying that. Can an individual family keep their kids home while others desperately need to send their kids to school because it would mean nobody to look after healthy children at home. One family's needs should not be more important than another family's needs.

Hysteria and panic buying of things like toilet paper and rice, pasta, frozen veg are getting rife.

What is needed is some sensible information that is not coming out.

Yes, we know that we must stay home if we are sick, but if we think we may have something other than just the regular flu what should be done next? Who do we call from the safety of our homes to find out if we can be tested? Are there people who are staying at home who are sick with Covid 19? Do these people staying at home have supposedly healthy family members who are out and about going to work/school/activities.

What about hygiene? Yes we can wash our hands frequently, but what about grocery carts, atm machines, push button pedestrian lights, cash, mail deliveries, etc. etc. All these things are being touched by hundreds of people each day. Are they being cleaned?

We need some sensible, common sense information and answers to intelligent questions. This information is not forthcoming.

I agree with DavidZ that Mr. Austin's comments are strange. There are not an "infinite" amount of community interactions. Our interactions are quite clearly finite, and limiting them is precisely how one limits disease transmission. Schools are hotbeds for any disease.

As ill-advised and out of his expertise as Mr. Austin's editorializing may be, at the end of the day PAUSD will follow the advice of higher level health authorities. They won't close unless they are told too, and that will only happen if things look desperately bad.

Parents can and perhaps should choose a more cautious approach for their own children. It does not make one crazy or hysterical to err on the side of extreme caution in a situation like this.

Please check out the WHO report for the situation in China. We can learn from their experiences. Once there is community spread, closing school is an extremely effective way to slow down viral transmission. Wearing masks is also one of the method. Of course frequent hand washing will be important. PAUSD needs to do deep cleaning of all surfaces among all their schools. Decision to close school need to be made promptly before the outbreak takes its strong grip. You will save a lot of lives. This is not only for the students, but also for their parents, grandparents. This is an unknown highly contagious virus with no effective treatment not vaccine.

I am replying to a few posts here asking more about the disease itself.
1)why is so concerning?
It is new mutated Corona virus, highly infectious, very long incubation period up to 14 days. We still don’t know if a symptomatic carrier can infect other effectively. It leads to exponential growth, and that’s why we usually see the number of cases jumps up fast, such as in China, by the thousands in a week during the peak.

2) who are the most vulnerable with the worse outcomes?
The same groups as for Flu, the elderly, smoker, people with other chronic medical illness. However, COVID-19 also infect and lead the death of all walks at this point. There is a saying online that no one is spared in front of this virus. This is a new virus, and no one has immunity.

I will post mode of transmission and prevention next post

During 2009, H1N1 epidemic, my son's elementary school classrooms were missing half of the students. Most of them had developed pneumonia. dr. skelly never considered to close the schools. It was very irresponsible.

I am replying to a few posts here asking more about the disease itself.
1) Mode of transmission, 4 types with specific interventions
A) Respiratory droplets
This is most effective mode of transmission, through coughing, sneezing and even talking. WHO agrees and recommend during community outbreak to wear masks, keep distances from each other, stay away from any gathering (no school , concert, etc.). China was slow to implement these measures initially, and lead to huge rise in confirmed cases in the thousands. They then quickly adapted these later.
Anyone sick should stay home, and please learn to cough into your elbows.
B) Contact
It’s still unclear how many days this virus can survive on surfaces. They think it’s 1-6 days based on previous studies on different types of Corona viruses. That’s why all school should at least do deep cleaning of all desks and surfaces every weekend and open all classrooms to air them for at least 1-2 hours, if they insist not to close the schools during community outbreak.
Frequent hand wash for 20 seconds is very important. Teaching our children not to touch their face, nose and eyes. Cough and sneeze into elbows or tissues, not your hands. School should really spend time teaching students these.
3) Aerosols
Respiratory droplets can turn into aerosols suspending in the air in a confined space such as classrooms. Aerosols are not as effective to transmit viral particles as respiratory droplets. They will be easily blocked by a surgical mask. Open the windows to air the room will also get rid of aerosols.
4) Fecal-Oral
This is still under investigation because the discovery of viral particles in feces among patients.
Please always wash hands well after using the bathroom and flush the toilet with the lid close.

Please check WHO report and many publications from New England Journal of Medicine.

There are maybe some controversial, however all experts agree on:

1)TAKE THIS SERIOUSLY!
2)IMPLEMENT PUBLIC HEALTH MEASURES PROMPTLY AND EARLY.
3)FREQUENT HAND WASH, WEAR MASK, KEEP PERSONAL DISTANCE (TO AT LEAST ONE METER), STAY AWAY FROM ANY GATHERING (SCHOOL CLOSING), AND SEEK PROFESSIONAL CARE ASAP
4) HEALTH CARE SYSTEM READINESS

The resources need to prioritized senior citizens and those with the status of their immune systems. They need urgent medical testing. Testing will help identify the path of the virus. If you need more information to secure each and everyone (904) 379-0234 and please visit our website Web Link

Lots of discussion here without much data. From a brand new pediatric bulletin:

best available prelim data:
• average overall mortality rate 2.3%
• history of high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, chronic lung disease, or cancer is 5-10%
• no history of chronic disease <1%
• overall men 2.8%
• overall women 1.7%

By age:
• over 80 years old 15%
• 10-19 of age 0.0018%
• 0-9 years of age ~0%

On a positive note, we can breathe a sigh of relief that our children are clearly not at significant risk.

It would seem to be rational to be concerned about kids bringing the virus home if someone else at home is in a high risk group...

I don't see the rationalle for hoarding supplies in the data either.

The number from the pediatric website are death rate, not infection rate.

If one wants to compare death rates:
Flu is 0.1%
COVID-19 is 2.5%

When we talk about public health, we talk about protecting the whole community, the young, the old and the vulnerable.

Thank you.

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NO FACE MASKS! Doctors are saying only wear a mask if sick. This prevents infecting others when sneezing or coughing. If you do have to sneeze or cough at any time (sick or not), you should do it in your arm sleeve or elbow.

The real problem is the virus getting into the eyes, nose, mouth so keep your hands washed or use hand sanitizer.

There is "no confirmed cases" in most communities. Like anything else, there are mixed emotions towards Corona Virus. Some people are panicking, some are cautious while others ignore it completely. Closing the schools, etc. seems excessive. Washing my hands well and avoiding people who are sick works for me.

I would have expected that federal govt./some agency to already have had game plan to tackle an epidemic. Each state, county and state is doing things it’s own way. Frankly I’d feel much better if there were epidemiologists that provided guidelines on when we close schools etc. e.g. when there are x infections per x sq miles or something. I hope Santa Clara county is working with some of the bright minds of Stanford or even some of the leadership talent at our companies who can help build an plan.

Based on the rush-hour traffic, many workers in Silicon Valley did not cone in. They don't want to pick up a virus. [Portion removed.]

A few important pieces of info.
First, regarding how much we can reduce transmissions. Some studies have shown 5X better protection from face masks. Masks, along with hand washing and sanitizing of surfaces, seem to greatly reduce transmission risks. We all need to change our practices.
Second, how does it’s risk compare to influenza. Current estimates are that the fatality rate is around 10X that of the flu. Transmission rates appear to be moderately higher than the flu. So that is why epidemiologists are treating it with such alarm.

Based on what I have observed, I think this virus is going to spread quickly and many of us will end up getting it.

I went to work today and everyone made light of the situation. Nobody worked from home at my company. People didn't realize that many people already have the virus. Just because there are x number of "confirmed cases" doesn't mean that dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of people in this immediate area were exposed. It's not contained to just a few people. At work people were coughing, sneezing everywhere. Nobody was washing their hands or taking any precautionary measures at all. Nothing was sanitized. Same thing out at the stores and gym. People are out and about spreading germs absolutely everywhere.

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Keep your nails short and clean.
Please don't get those acrylic fake nails.
They are unsanitary.
No food workers, or people working in food processing, pharmaceutical manufacturing, healthcare and home care should be allowed to wear them.
They can poke through gloves.
I have seen some teachers at Paly with them.
Please stop. The students notice, and you are not setting a good example.

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I am not a medical doctor, but it would seem that people who are on drugs which suppress the immune system would be considered at risk of complications from this virus.
These are the drugs which are being heavily marketed in the US right now.
Please call your doctor and ask.

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This is not a political issue.

It is a people issue. Good leadership is to prevent hysteria. Good leadership shows that sensible precautions should be taking place. Good leadership shows that even in the midst of this time of concern about Covid 19, life has to go on. Today is Super Tuesday. People should vote and not stay at home because they are afraid of catching the virus. Wash your hands as you leave the voting place.

In fact, washing hands is being said without saying when. I say, wash your hands the first thing you do when get home before touching anything else in the house. Wash your hands as you enter your work place and the last thing you do before leaving. Switch off all the airblowers and provide paper towels and use your paper towel to turn off the water and to open the door. Wash your hands as you leave the gym and then touch nothing in the gym as you leave. In fact, we need more trash cans at the exits of buildings so that the paper towels can be thrown there rather than in the restrooms.

What point is there in washing your hands and then touching things everyone else touches.

So expect leadership to prevent hysteria and put more thought into when and how you wash your hands.

I would like to know if Palo Alto high school was really cleaned . I do not think so. there still is not soap, sanitizer, paper towels in the bathrooms and sinks and doors are still filthy. Were they just sprayed with lysol and then not wiped of. Yuck.. This school needs to be cleaned for every virus and for the morale of the kids every day. Hire an actual "crew" that can actually clean now and get a better way to enforce a clean campus . ( not just for corono virus) but for every day.

The Stanford Theater has shut down because of COVID-19. Web Link Prudent or paranoid? Should other local crowded local businesses be doing this?

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Whatever you do, don't panic. Be reasonable.

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People are overreacting.

People are overreacting. It's ridiculous.

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It would be helpful if they’d disclose more information about the people infected. How do we know if we’ve been exposed??
I have the feeling all this is going in the wrong direction

Where is the superintendent of PAUSD? Why is he out of town at a time like this?

While we should all be vigilant and do all the basic protections - wash hands, don't touch your face, don't hug people, and remind the children to do the same - I think this wide spread panic is unfounded and harmful. Closing the schools would be irresponsible and pointless. And I say this as a very concerned parent, who has elderly parents with a few chronic illnesses between the two of them living in the area as well. However, looking at the current timeline - first use in Santa Clara County was reported on January 31, second on February 2 - we are now up to 11 cases, and that is a month later. I think it tells us that while the virus is indeed present in our community, it seems to be pretty well isolated at least at this time. So, lets all be vigilant, wash our hands, stay home if we are sick and check on our elderly neighbors especially if they do not have family around, but not panic. Hysteria never helped anyone ...

I think people are UNDER REACTING!

Parent said: "I think it tells us that while the virus is indeed present in our community, it seems to be pretty well isolated at least at this time. "

I would like to know how you know this? The fact that we have people in our community being infected without direct contact to someone known to be infected means that there are many more cases than we realize.

Have you considered if this is true, how many people will be infected and then based on the current estimated fatality rate how many lives are at risk?

Dear DavidZ -
I really strongly believe that even with the flawed testing that we currently have, if we had more cases of the disease we would already be aware of these cases.
It is - uncomfortably - possible that the virus has already evolved from the original one and the incubation period is longer than 2 weeks. We do not have any proof of this possibility but this is not something that could be ignored of course.
However, at least at this point in time, there is no reason to believe that we have a widespread virus in the community.
Panicing is not going to get us anywhere. We need to prepare - for instance, each person, I think, has to have a plan as to what they will do if one of their family members or friends will come down with the illness - and we need to be vigilant. But panicking and preemptively closing schools would not help but harm. Where do you think all of Paly kids going to go when there is no school, you really think they will sit quietly at home alone? Of course not, they will be in Town & Country congregating in large numbers in crowded places. And what will happen with a huge percentage of elementary school children who have two working parents that are unable to take time off?
Anyway. Lets all calm down, make mental preparations and wash our hands over and over again.

Dear Parent:

"I really strongly believe that even with the flawed testing that we currently have, if we had more cases of the disease we would already be aware of these cases. "

Then how do you explain the infections that did not involve anyone exposed to someone who was already known to be infected? The only logical conclusion is that there are infections we do not know about, which is not consistent with your strongly held belief.

"Where do you think all of Paly kids going to go when there is no school, you really think they will sit quietly at home alone? Of course not, they will be in Town & Country congregating in large numbers in crowded places."

Any place they go, other than concerts and sporting events, is much less dense than school. This is not just my feeling. This is what the data shows. School is a primary source of new infections in a community and when there is a pandemic, closing down the school has a dramatic effect on spread of the virus in the community.

Paly is still filthy and there are no emergency plans in place. Close it until these are done and approved by outside sources. Do this ! Don Austen should not be giving any statement minimizing risk when his school paly has no plan and no soap or towels and still is very dirty . They hired a firm and sent kids home and then shared no emergency plans with kids . Fancy firm but what was their take on the school level of preparedness??

Oh my, heaven forbid anyone point out how universal health care would affect this pandemic ... what a politically biased moderator you have on duty .... which is why people are coming to hate the establishment and it will only be a matter of time. The ultimate ON-TOPIC point for many lives that will be lost.

I’m away currently in a major Midwest city. Just now, novel Coronavirus worries are really hitting the news....With local angle, preparations, concerns....

+1 to Carol. I’d like to know cities and number of incidences. All other states are sharing this info. Not sure why Santa Clara county wouldn’t. Also over 50 is not very reassuring. 50 is not that advanced in age. That plus the Amazon employee catching it in Seattle would pretty much mean that the risk for those under 50 should not be dismissed either.

Mike Pence says any American can get tested for the coronavirus. "No restrictions." If you are feeling sick, get yourself tested. Don't spread the virus. CNN News report: Web Link

The PAUSD Superintendent says he is not closing the schools because there are no cases. He also said that not a single school in California has shut down and that shutting schools when the rest of the region is open would be a symbolic measure with no practical benefits.

First, the Menlo School has closed. Second, it is quite clear that there not only 11 cases, but that there are many factors including the limited availability of testing that has reduced the official number of cases. The true number of infected people is likely high, and delaying action is likely going to overburden our hospitals in a few weeks and cost lives as people unwittingly infect others.

Of course, there can be many opinions. When asking in a neutral way in the Gunn Facebook group for parents about what people thought about the Superintendent's message from March 1, it was rejected by the Gunn Administrators. I guess the administration is scared of what parents might say rather than looking for input from their constituency.

Not only are our children and risk, but we can't really self-isolate as long as our children are required to attend schools. Open discussion should be something that is encouraged and not tamped down.

Resident a resident of Downtown North posted:
> Mike Pence says any American can get tested for the coronavirus.
> "No restrictions." If you are feeling sick, get yourself tested.
> Don't spread the virus. CNN News report: Web Link

In other words the, what Bernie Sanders would call the "billionaire class"
has decided that the public only warrants health care when they are a
direct threat to their health, or their profits, but they refuse to go as far
as every other developed and civilized country on Earth to accept that
all American citizens are human beings and deserve health care all of
the time because it is a fundamental human right.

I would like the assumptions that Paly is taking the correct measures to stop. It would be better to have an outside source evaluate their cleaning protocols instead of thinking they just did. Do you think they take roll for fire drills? they say they do, but I have seen droves of kids just leaving to get a jamba juice and others just driving off.

The leadership at this school should get enforcement, not hired experts to give the workshops while our kids sit at home. They should already know all protocols as professionals.

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I still find it amazing and suspicious that there is NO statement (one way or another) on whether the students have been tested. I feel like information is being withheld and that is information parents and citizens could use to make decisions. The question is simple, "Have the two students that were removed from school been tested?" There are only 4 possible answers as far as I can tell... 1) Yes, 2) No, 3) We don't know, 4) We (know, but) are not allowed to comment. I feel that the PAUSD people know one of those 4 answers. And so saying nothing is the worst 5th choice.

And if the answer is "no, they were not tested, as they don't need to be because they only came in contact with a second removed contact" then why did they wipe down the school??

I tried to post something on the Gunn parent's Facebook group about the coronavirus and I was restricted (not allowed) by the administrator (I have his name if anyone wants it). This is clearly information control and not in the best interest of a free society trying to come together to share information and opinions about a situation like this. I want everyone to know that the schools' parent community groups on Facebook are doing this, so they are not free open forums. Someone is deciding what you can say and what you can hear.

My son is sitting in class at Paly right now; the most logical place for him to be. PAUSD is being vigilant by seeking advice from professionals and not buying into the hysteria that some community members are expressing.

The two students who were sent home (Paly and JLS) have been out in the community. The parent in question has been out in the community. This may only be anecdotal, but it underscores the fact that self isolation or keeping kids out of school (or closing school) doesn't work.

Lessons from combating covid-19 in China

Web Link

"it’s 9 cases already"

It's AT LEAST 9 cases -- they only count the ones they've found. An unknowable number are mild enough to slip below the radar.

Bottom line: We're already in this. We'll get through it.

"Lessons from combating covid-19 in China"

1 - The US utterly failed to do timely testing and now containment is no longer a workable strategy.
2 - The US cannot impose the kinds of travel and quarantine restrictions that China employed.
3 - The US has much LESS medical response capability than does China. For example many seriously ill in China were saved by using extracorporeal oxygenation - there is very little extracorporeal oxygenation capability in the US.
4 - US leadership has low credibility
5 - US leadership has devalued the media as a source of credible information.
6- no action has been taken to curtail high transmission events like schools and public assemblies

In my opinion there is a high probability that we will have a US pandemic, millions will be infected, 100s of thousands will die and the ensuing social unrest will be even more devastating

Admin is probably waiting for liability risk money loss and weighing out money loss for attendance. They could run classes virtually .

The teachers that will not let up on homework and tests limit kids sleep and immunity. Also sick kids lose gpa if they stay home. Let up. Homework and tests don’t really increase learning.

Peter Carpenter.

But on the bright side....

Do you think school trips and events should be cancelled. Graduation? No handshakes ? What are your thoughts.

New guidance issued this afternoon from Santa Clara County Dept. of Public Health:

“We are currently recommending schools to be very thoughtful looking at their emergency operations plans and thinking about what the schools could do if there were a large number of absences – e-learning, etc.”

"Peter Carpenter.

But on the bright side....

Do you think school trips and events should be cancelled. Graduation? No handshakes ? What are your thoughts."

I would wait a week to see what are the results of the intensified testing.

If the virus has spread widely then I would be inclined to stay away from crowds and to limit my travel. Each person will need to make their own choices and each responsible public agency will need to decide on its own recommendations.

Good leadership is VITAL.

To Resident -
”Editors, please think about shutting down all old threads and just keep the latest one "live", with perhaps a link to the live thread.“ How about just the viral ones!

From the Wash Post:

"NEW YORK — First, a lawyer who commutes between the suburbs and his midtown Manhattan office was diagnosed with the coronavirus. Then, his wife and two children tested positive, along with a neighbor who drove him to the hospital.

By Wednesday afternoon, another friend, his wife and three of their children were also infected.

In the span of 48 hours, what began as one family’s medical crisis had spiraled well beyond their Westchester County home, shuttering Jewish schools and synagogues and crystallizing the virus’s power to propel anxiety across a region that is among the nation’s most densely populated."

*********
This scenario is already being replicated all over the entire country. The virus is loose and it will be VERY difficult to contain. Over the next week as the long overdue testing takes place we are probably going to see a disaster unfolding.

[Post removed.]

[Portion removed.] I can’t help but come back to Peter Carpenters comments again.

It’s like he WANTS his predictions to be true. Like he’s gleefully rubbing his hands with these predictions! Because of the failings of......what. Haven’t quite figured that part out yet.

From Wall Street Journal:
"More cases of the novel coronavirus were reported globally, from Australia to South Korea, as some health officials warned it would be impossible to fully contain the pathogen now that infections are spreading within many communities."

From Wa
sh Post:
"The United States confirmed its 11th death from the outbreak on Wednesday, along with more than 150 confirmed cases. Health experts have warned that the country may struggle to rapidly test thousands of Americans. President Trump downplayed worries on Wednesday evening, telling Fox News that a 3.4 percent mortality rate announced by the World Health Organization was “false” and suggesting it was under 1 percent. “This is really my hunch,” Trump said."

So take yur choice - facts or hunches, expert predictions or planning on a miracle.

" Because of the failings of......what. Haven’t quite figured that part out yet"

Easy - because the US failed to do sound widespread testing as soon as this virus was reported the virus has now spread widely in the US - and we still do not know how widely because we are still not doing widespread testing.

Because it has spread widely containment is no longer a feasible strategy.

From The Economist:

"Yet our own analysis, based on patterns of travel to and from China, suggests that many countries which have spotted tens of cases have hundreds more circulating undetected. Iran, South Korea and Italy are exporting the virus. Now that America has begun looking, it is sure to find scores of infections—and possibly unearth a runaway epidemic. Wherever the virus takes hold, containing it and mitigating its effects will involve more than doctors and paramedics. A concerted effort is needed across the government, especially over how to protect people and companies as supply chains fracture and the worried and the ill shut themselves away.


Zanny Minton Beddoes, Editor-In-Chief"

More facts:

From Patch:
"
Health & Fitness
Shared from Los Gatos, CA
Santa Clara County Confirms 3 More Coronavirus Cases
The most recent cases brings total of confirmed infected persons in the state to 53 including one known fatality.
By Bay City News, News Partner
Mar 5, 2020 9:13 am PT

Reply
The most recent cases brings total of confirmed infected persons in the state to 53 including one known fatality according to the California Department of Public Health.
The most recent cases brings total of confirmed infected persons in the state to 53 including one known fatality according to the California Department of Public Health. (Shutterstock)
SANTA CLARA COUNTY,CA — Three more cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in Santa Clara County as of Wednesday, according to county health officials.

All three news cases are men, with one of them hospitalized, officials said.

The basis of exposure for the man in the hospital is under investigation and the other two men were close contacts of another previous case.

The California Department of Public Health confirmed the state is up to 53 cases as of Wednesday, including one person who died in Placer County.

Twenty-four of the cases are related to federal repatriation flights, and 29 aren't.

Of the other 24 cases, 12 are travel-related, 10 were contracted from person-to-person contact, 4 are from community transmission and 3 are currently under investigation.

Approximately 9,400 people who have traveled through San Francisco or Los Angeles international airports are self-monitoring "

Still no news from the PAUSD about the students removed from the school last Friday. Have they been allowed to come back? Have they been tested? It seems irresponsible to remove kids from school, wipe down the school, a WHOLE week has passed, and we have no news on the situation. If all is fine, let us know, if not, let us know, if you don't know yet, let us know. but silence is the worst form of communication.

Why on earth do people react to this virus by buying up toilet paper!

Closing the schools now is the single most effective mitigation available to us right now to slow the spread of the virus and to reduce peak load on the health care system:

Reported this afternoon:

On Thursday, Action Day Primary Plus in San Jose sent a letter to parents that the school will be closed until Monday after learning a teacher tested positive for coronavirus.

The teacher at the school's Moorpark facility was sent home and has not returned to work since Feb. 26, the school said. The teacher is receiving medical care.

County health officials told the school that asymptomatic individuals are not considered contagious, the school said.

Action Day Primary Plus officials said the closure is out of an abundance of caution and safety, and the school will conduct a deep cleaning of the entire facility. All school-related activities scheduled for Thursday and Friday were canceled.

"County health officials told the school that asymptomatic individuals are not considered contagious, the school said."

Wrong. Check out this new New England Journal of Medicine paper. Chinese researchers monitored how much virus could be found in the upper respiratory tracts — noses and throats — of 18 patients in Guangdong, China. One of the 18 never had any symptoms.

"We analyzed the viral load in nasal and throat swabs obtained from the 17 symptomatic patients in relation to day of onset of any symptoms (Figure 1C). Higher viral loads (inversely related to Ct value) were detected soon after symptom onset, with higher viral loads detected in the nose than in the throat. Our analysis suggests that the viral nucleic acid shedding pattern of patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 resembles that of patients with influenza4 and appears different from that seen in patients infected with SARS-CoV.3 The viral load that was detected in the asymptomatic patient was similar to that in the symptomatic patients, which suggests the transmission potential of asymptomatic or minimally symptomatic patients. "

In the latest guidance from Santa Clara County Dept of Public Health:

"The County Public Health Department is not recommending closing schools at this time. If a staff member or student in a specific school confirmed to have COVID-19, the Public Health Department will consider, based on the specific facts and circumstances of that case, whether closure of that school is warranted. The reason we are not recommending school closures at this time is because children have not been shown to be a high-risk group for serious illness from this virus. As much as possible, children should be allowed to carry on with their education and normal activities."

While we can be thankful that young people are at low risk, this reason to close schools is because we know, and we have strong data to support, that closing schools SLOWS THE SPREAD OF THE DISEASE IN THE COMMUNITY!

From Science magazine:

"Speed is critical in the response to COVID-19. So why has the United States been so slow in its attempt to develop reliable diagnostic tests and use them widely?

The World Health Organization (WHO) has shipped testing kits to 57 countries. China had five commercial tests on the market 1 month ago and can now do up to 1.6 million tests a week; South Korea has tested 65,000 people so far. The U. S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in contrast, has done only 459 tests since the epidemic began. The rollout of a CDC-designed test kit to state and local labs has become a fiasco because it contained a faulty reagent. Labs around the country eager to test more suspected cases—and test them faster—have been unable to do so. No commercial or state labs have the approval to use their own tests.

In what is already an infamous snafu, CDC initially refused a request to test a patient in Northern California who turned out to be the first probable COVID19 case without known links to an infected person.

The problems have led many to doubt that the official tally of 60 confirmed cases in the United States is accurate. “There have been blunders, and there could be an underlying catastrophe that we don’t know about,” says epidemiologist Michael Mina, who helps run a microbiology testing lab at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. “It’s been very complicated and confusing for everyone with almost no clarity being provided by the CDC.”
The situation may soon improve. State labs and commercial diagnostic developers hope to win approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for their own tests, and FDA and CDC on Wednesday agreed on a workaround for the faulty CDC kit—which has a problem that is not essential to its proper functioning—so that it can now be used by at least some of the state labs that have it."

I am surprised that doctors and nurses from the Stanford Hospital and from PAMF run around outside the hospital with their scrubs and nursing tops. Are they not taught in medical school that this is the best way to spread germs and viruses?
Why do they not change into civilian clothes when going outside the hospital for lunch/dinner or to/from work? I know that the excuse is lack of time, but in times like these, this can hardly be an acceptable reason.

James - If you see anybody in hospital scrubs outside the hospital walk quickly in the opposite direction.

A HUGE change in local public health advice:



Update on Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19)
March 5, 2020: New statement issued from San Mateo County Public Health Officer Dr. Scott Morrow.



Public Health Officer Statement (3/5/2020)
This is a difficult message to share, but it is important to recognize how difficult the times ahead may be and how you must now take assertive action to prepare for them. Our local situation surrounding novel coronavirus (COVID-19) is changing rapidly. COVID-19 is spreading in our community, the extent of which is unclear. It has likely been spreading for weeks, perhaps months. I have no reason to believe that how it’s spreading in other counties won’t be replicated to some degree here. We now all need to take assertive actions to inhibit the spread of this new virus. Some of those actions are described below. I advise that individuals, schools, business, and all other sectors of our community take immediate steps to change behaviors and take definitive action.

Our lives will be significantly disrupted by the measures needed to respond to a global pandemic. A pandemic is a global occurrence of an infectious disease. A pandemic is a disaster with unique characteristics. The two most important differences between a pandemic and other disasters are that the whole world is going through this disaster at the same time, and people may become fearful of other people. The current COVID-19 outbreak clearly has the potential to turn into a severe pandemic.

County Health continues to work with the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and our state and local partners to manage testing and monitoring of persons who have been exposed to COVID-19. But our focus is rapidly changing from a containment strategy (identifying cases and contacts) to one of community mitigation—taking steps to lessen the broad impact of the disease. County Health and our public and private partners are taking steps to increase our ability to respond and are planning for a sustained response to COVID-19.

How the world operates during a pandemic is different from how the world operates normally. This is not business as usual. With a pandemic comes significant disruption to supply chains (the process of how things get from where they are made to where they are used), transportation, and travel. Even if the disease is not rapidly spreading in our area, we may face difficulty obtaining the goods and services we are accustomed to, public events may be canceled, and our ability to travel might be restricted.

San Mateo County Health continues to advise that the steps to prevent the spread of flu will also guard against the spread of COVID-19: cover your cough and sneeze, wash your hands frequently, avoid shaking hands and touching your face with unwashed hands, and if you are not feeling well or are experiencing cold, flu, or other symptoms, stay home from school or work. If you are mildly ill, there is no need to contact your primary care provider as they are very busy right now. If you are significantly ill, contact your primary care provider.

Here are the most important things for you to consider to improve your personal and organizational preparedness:

What matters most is how households, neighborhoods, community groups, businesses, and other organizations prepare. What does that mean? Preparedness equals self-sufficiency. The government will help where it can, but it may have a limited ability to respond directly to you due to the scale of the disruptions.
Individual and community preparations should focus on three tasks—reducing each person’s chance of getting sick (see both individual and more general public health recommendations both above and below), helping households with basic survival needs during a pandemic, and minimizing and coping with larger disruptions in how the normal day-to-day world works.
All businesses and other organizations should now be done reviewing their continuity of operations plans for how they will operate if their employees are unable to work and how they will interact with members of the public and prepare to implement these plans soon.
All medical facilities and providers should be done reviewing their surge plans for how to handle increased numbers of patients and be prepared to implement.
Getting ready for a pandemic is largely about preparing for possible shortages. In a pandemic, supply chain disruptions are inevitable but are also unpredictable.
Since it contains vital supplies, a good start is to make sure your earthquake kit is up to date and ready to go. Of course, having supplies beyond the typical earthquake kit is a good idea. What you decide to have on hand is based on your individual and family situation and your individual preferences.
One likely shortage will be medications. You should attempt to obtain a couple of months supply for your critical medications.
If you have other critical supply needs, you should conserve them and stock up on them now.
Now is also the time to think about how you will care for loved ones at home if they or you are sick and how you would limit spread within the family.
Frequent and appropriate hand-washing is far from a perfect solution, but it’s easy, under your control, and has no significant downside.
Like washing your hands, wearing a surgical mask may help a bit, but you need to know that surgical masks don’t offer much protection when they are worn by people who are well. They are most helpful when worn by those who are already sick so that they are less likely to transmit the disease to others. Surgical masks and masks offering higher levels of respiratory protection are already in short supply and should be prioritized for use in health care settings.
You should use a barrier, such as a paper towel or tissue, to touch commonly touched surfaces, such as any door handles or elevator buttons.
Change from my previous message: I am now asking for the implementation of the activities below at this time.

All non-essential gatherings should be canceled, postponed, or done remotely. Unfortunately, at this time, I have no standard definition of “non-essential” or “gathering” to guide your decisions. Use your best judgement.
Stop shaking hands.
Increase in the amount of remote working or teleworking to the extent possible especially for those who appear at higher risk for developing the disease, those over the age of 60 and those with co-morbid conditions.
Under all circumstances, stop touching your face, eyes, nose, or mouth with your unwashed hands.
I am not asking for the implementation of these activities, but these are the types of activities we may need to implement in the future:

School closures. Schools are an essential gathering. School closings present a particularly vexing social distancing dilemma but may be necessary to protect public health. Once school closings occur, they may be extensive and extended.
Social distancing—staying at least 6 feet away from all other people—should be attempted where possible.
Rationing (a formal process of prioritizing distribution and use) of critical supplies may need to occur.
To get ourselves through the hard times that may be coming, your community may need volunteers. Think now about the skills you have and how you can help your community. Heed the call should volunteers be requested.
Other public health interventions that have been used with some effect in other countries include commandeering of both real or personal property, conscription, curfew, and cordons. It is unlikely that these interventions would be used here due to practical considerations.
Issues around testing for COVID-19. You may have received incorrect information from the federal and state government on March 4, 2020. San Mateo County does not currently have testing available independently of the state and CDC. The amount of testing that is available through the state and CDC is severely limited. Should testing become more widely available, testing will be prioritized based on healthcare infrastructure concerns, risk of exposure, and/or very sick hospitalized patients. Tests will not automatically be given upon request or by a physician’s order. This may change as testing capacity evolves over the next few months.

Scott Morrow, MD, MPH
San Mateo County Health Officer
March 5, 2020

FAQ
WHAT IS NOVEL CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19)?

Novel coronavirus is a new respiratory virus first identified in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China in December 2019. It has now spread to many other countries, including the USA. Technically, the virus is named SARS-CoV-2 and the disease it causes is called COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019). See information about 2019 Novel Coronavirus on the CDC website

HOW IS SAN MATEO COUNTY HEALTH RESPONDING?

San Mateo County Health officials are working closely with the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) and Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to respond to the outbreak of COVID-19. We are providing information to health care providers in our county on how to safely and effectively evaluate ill people who have symptoms. We continue to monitor the situation, work with our partners to identify any possible cases, provide information and consultation to ensure that possible cases are diagnosed and managed safely, as well as implement recommendations from the CDC. Additionally, we conduct full investigations, assist with logistics from transportation to accommodations with all positive cases.

WHAT CAN SAN MATEO COUNTY RESIDENTS/VISITORS DO TO PREVENT COVID-19?

Individuals can prevent illness:

Frequently wash hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds;
Always cover your cough or sneeze;
Stay home if you are sick and;
If you have recently returned from a country with ongoing COVID-19 infection, monitor your health and follow the instructions of public health officials.
Individuals can prepare for the possible disruption caused by an outbreak:
Make sure you have a supply of all essential medications for your family;
Make a child/elderly/adults with disabilities care plan if you or a care giver are sick;
Make arrangements about how your family will manage a school closure; and
Make a plan for how you can care for a sick family member without getting sick yourself.
WHERE DID COVID-19 COME FROM?

Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that are common in many different types of animals including camels, cattle, cats, and bats. Rarely, animal coronaviruses can infect people and then spread between people. The animal source of COVID-19 is not known right now.

WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS OF NOVEL CORONAVIRUS?

In confirmed coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases, reported illnesses have ranged from mild symptoms to severe illness and death. The most common symptoms are fever, cough, and shortness of breath. CDC believes at this time that symptoms of COVID-19 may appear in as few as 2 days or as long as 14 days after exposure.

HOW DOES THE VIRUS SPREAD?

The virus is thought to spread mainly from person-to-person, between people who are in close contact with one another (within about 6 feet), and via respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs or sneezes. These droplets can land in the mouths or noses of people who are nearby or possibly be inhaled into the lungs. See How Coronavirus Spreads.

IF I HAVE A FEVER, COUGH, OR SHORTNESS OF BREATH, DO I HAVE NOVEL CORONAVIRUS?

It is cold and flu season now, and many people have symptoms of illness that are not related to COVID-19. If you have fever, cough, or shortness of breath, contact your medical provider right away and tell them about your symptoms and any recent travel. Be sure to call ahead before you visit the office, clinic, or hospital, so that the medical provider can prepare for your visit.

SHOULD I GET TESTED TO SEE IF I HAVE NOVEL CORONAVIRUS?

On March 4, 2020, CDC updated their guidelines for evaluating and reporting persons under investigation (PUI) for COVID-19 to expand testing to a wider group of symptomatic patients. To avoid overburdening our local health care system this new guidance should be interpreted with caution. We are working with CDC and the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) to determine how these changes will be operationalized. Once available, we will disseminate additional guidance to medical providers San Mateo County through the routine pathways.

The updated CDC guidelines expand testing to a wider group of symptomatic patients. Clinicians should use their judgment to determine if a patient has signs and symptoms compatible with COVID-19 and whether the patient should be tested. Decisions on which patients receive testing should be based on the local epidemiology of COVID-19, as well as the clinical course of illness. Most patients with confirmed COVID-19 have developed fever and/or symptoms of acute respiratory illness (e.g., cough, difficulty breathing). Clinicians are strongly encouraged to test for other causes of respiratory illness, including infections such as influenza.

Epidemiologic factors that may help guide decisions on whether to test include: any persons, including healthcare workers, who have had close contact with a laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 patient within 14 days of symptom onset, or a history of travel from affected geographic areas* within 14 days of symptom onset.

(*Affected areas are defined as geographic regions where sustained community transmission has been identified. Relevant affected areas will be defined as a country with at least a CDC Level 2 Travel Health Notice. See all COVID-19 Travel Health Notices.)
SHOULD I BE WEARING A MASK TO PREVENT GETTING NOVEL CORONAVIRUS?

Good hand washing techniques are the most effective ways to prevent yourself from getting sick. This means washing your hands often with soap and water and rub for at least 20 seconds. If you have a fever or cough, a face mask is recommended to prevent spread of germs to others around you. Currently, there is no recommendation to wear masks. However, if you choose to wear a face mask, it is important to understand that face masks are not a substitute for hand washing which is the priority.

IS IT SAFE TO TRAVEL?

CDC currently recommends that travelers avoid all nonessential travel to China and South Korea. CDC also lists Iran, Italy, and Japan as countries where there is sustained community transmission of COVID-19 and that older adults and those with chronic medical conditions should consider postponing nonessential travel. The worldwide COVID-19 situation is evolving rapidly, and more countries may be added to these lists. Stay up to date by checking the CDC travel health notices related to this outbreak.

IS THERE A VACCINE FOR NOVEL CORONAVIRUS?

No. Efforts to develop a vaccine are underway in many places globally, but currently, there is no vaccine available to protect against novel coronavirus.

WHAT IS THE TREATMENT IF SOMEONE GETS SICK WITH NOVEL CORONAVIRUS?

The treatment right now is to take care of the symptoms. There is no specific treatment for novel coronavirus.

I’M FEELING STRESSED AND OVERWHELMED, WHOM CAN I TALK TO?

For information, referrals, and assessments for local mental health and substance use services, please contact your health insurance company to connect to a resource within your insurance company’s network. For residents insured by Medi-Cal, call Behavioral Health and Recovery Services’ ACCESS Call Center at (800) 686-0101.

For 24/7 confidential crisis support from local/national organizations, call (650) 579-0350 or 1-800-273-TALK (8255). Chat online: text “START” to 741741.

I’M A HEALTHCARE PROVIDER. WHERE CAN I FIND MORE INFORMATION?

We have information about novel coronavirus and other health alerts for clinicians here.

WHERE CAN I GET MORE INFORMATION?

You can visit San Mateo County Health’s COVID-19 page or visit the CDC’s website COVID-19 page You can also find more information by accessing the links listed below.

RESOURCES FOR COVID-19

Infographic Poster – COVID-19 Stop the Spread of Germs [Simplified Chinese] [Spanish]
Frequently Asked Questions and Answers from CDC [Simplified Chinese] [Spanish]
CDC COVID-19 Fact Sheet [Simplified Chinese] [Spanish]
CDC What to do if you are Sick with COVID-19 [Simplified Chinese] [Spanish]
CDC Infographic: COVID-19 Symptoms [Simplified Chinese] [Spanish]
Main CDC COVID-19 Website


Novedades acerca del Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Los Centros para el Control y la Prevención de Enfermedades (CDC por sus siglas en Inglés) han transferido al condado de San Mateo uno de los pacientes recientemente repatriados y cuyo test para detectar el virus ha resultado positivo. Por el momento no compartiremos ningún otro detalle al respecto.

Información actualizada por el CDC sobre el COVID-19 puede ser accedida aquí:

Web Link

Preguntas Más Frecuentes
¿Qué es el “novel coronavirus” (COVID-19)?

El “novel coronavirus” es un nuevo virus respiratorio identificado originalmente en la cuidad de Wuhan, Provincia de Hubei, China, en Diciembre del 2019. El virus se ha propagado a muchos países, incluyendo los Estados Unidos. Técnicamente, el nombre del virus es SARS-COv-2 y la enfermedad que causa se llama COVID-19 (enfermedad del coronavirus 2019 por sus siglas en Inglés.) Para más información acerca del “novel coronavirus” (COVID-19) consulte el sitio en Internet de los Centros para el Control y la Prevención de Enfermedades (CDC por sus siglas en Inglés.)

¿Qué medidas está tomando el Departamento de Saludo del condado de San Mateo?

Oficiales del Departamento de Salud del condado de San Mateo están trabajando en colaboración con el Departamento de Salud Pública de California (CDPH -siglas en Inglés) y con los Centros para el Control y la Prevención de Enfermedades (CDC -siglas en Inglés) para coordinar la respuesta al brote de COVID-19. Estamos proveyendo información a los proveedores de salud de nuestro condado sobre cómo evaluar de manera efectiva y segura a personas enfermas. Continuamos supervisando la situación de cerca, coordinando con nuestros colaboradores para identificar posibles casos de infección, proveyendo información y servicios de consulta para asegurar que los casos que se presenten sean diagnosticados y manejados de modo seguro, e implementando las recomendaciones provenientes de los CDC. Asimismo, realizamos investigaciones completas, y proveemos apoyo logístico desde transporte a hospedaje para todos los casos que resulten positivos.

¿Qué medidas pueden tomar los residentes del condado, y los visitantes, para prevenir COVID-19?

Cada individuo puede prevenir enfermedades:

Lávese las manos con jabón y agua por lo menos por 20 segundos, y hágalo frecuentemente.
Siempre cubra su boca cuando tosa o estornude.
Permanezca en su casa si está enfermo/a/x.
Si usted ha regresado recientemente de un país en el que la enfermedad COVID-19 está presente, monitoree su salud y siga las instrucciones de los oficiales de salud pública.
Cada individuo debe prepararse para la posible disrupción que un brote puede causar:
Asegúrese de tener un suministro suficiente de todos los medicamentos esenciales que su familia necesita;
Haga un plan alternativo de cuidados para menores de edad, para personas de la tercera edad y/o para personas adultas con discapacidades en caso de que usted o quienes proveen cuidados normalmente seas afectados por la enfermedad;
Haga un plan de acción para su familia en caso de que las escuelas cierren; y
También haga un plan de acción sobre cómo cuidar de miembros de su familia que se enfermen al mismo tiempo evitando contraer la enfermedad usted mismo/a/x.
¿De dónde proviene COVID-19?

Los virus llamados “coronavirus” son un numeroso grupo de virus que comúnmente afectan a distintos tipos de animales, tales como camellos, ganado, gatos y murciélagos. En raros casos, esos virus en animales pueden infectar a personas, y luego transmitirse de persona en persona. Actualmente no se sabe de qué animal proviene la enfermedad llamada COVID-19.

¿Cuáles son los síntomas del “novel coronavirus”?

En los casos confirmados de la “enfermedad del coronavirus 2019” (COVID-19 por sus siglas en Inglés,) la gravedad de las enfermedad ha variado de ligera a severa, e incluso fallecimiento. Los síntomas más comunes incluyen fiebre, tos, y falta de aire. Hasta la fecha los CDC creen que los síntomas de COVID-19 pueden presentarse entre 2 y 14 días luego de que alguien haya sido expuesto al virus.

¿Cómo se transmite el “novel coronavirus”?

El consenso actual es que el virus se transmite de persona a persona, entre personas que están en contacto cercano (unos 6 pies de distancia,) y a través de gotas muy pequeñas que emiten las personas infectadas cuando tosen o estornudan. Esas pequeñas gotas pueden depositarse en la boca o la nariz de personas que se encuentren próximas, e incluso pueden ser inhaladas y así llegar a los pulmones.

Esta es la época del año en la que el resfrío y la gripe son muy comunes, y muchas personas tienen síntomas de enfermedades que no tienen ninguna relación con COVID-19. Si usted tiene fiebre, tos, o falta de aire, llame a su proveedor de salud de inmediato y hágale saber sus síntomas y si ha realizado algún viaje recientemente. Por favor, asegúrese de llamar a su proveedor de su salud antes de presentarse en persona en su oficina, clínica, u hospital, para que el proveedor de salud se prepare por anticipado para su visita.

¿Puedo acceder a algún examen para determinar si tengo el “novel coronavirus”?

No es posible encargar un examen para determinar la presencia del “novel coronavirus.” Si su proveedor de salud lo estima médicamente necesario, él/ella ordenará los exámenes correspondientes.

¿Deberia hacer un test para saber si tengo el “novel coronavirus”?

El 4 de Marzo del 2020, los CDC actualizaron sus pautas para evaluar y reportar Personas Bajo Investigación (PUI, por sus siglas en Inglés) por COVID-19 a los efectos de expandir testeo a un grupo más amplio de pacientes sintomáticos. Estas nuevas pautas deben interpretarse cuidadosamente para evitar agobiar a nuestros sistemas de salud locales. Estamos trabajando en colaboración con los CDC y con el Departmento de Salud Pública del estado de California (CDPH, por sus siglas en Inglés,) para determinar cómo implementar estos cambios. Tan pronto como lleguemos a esa determinación, diseminaremos recomendaciones adicionales a los proveedores de salud en el condado de San Mateo a través de los canales regulares. Las pautas actualizadas de los CDC expanden el testeo a un grupo más amplio de pacientes sintomáticos. Los proveedores de salud deben utilizar su juicio profesional para determinar si un paciente presenta signos y síntomas compatibles con COVID-19, y si el paciente debe ser chequeado para detectar la presencia del “novel coronavirus.” Las decisiones acerca de qué pacientes someter a análisis deben basarse en la epidemiología local de COVID-19 y en el curso clínico de la enfermedad.

La mayoría de los pacientes con un diagnóstico confirmado de COVID-19 han tenido fiebre y/o síntomas de enfermedad respiratoria aguda (por ejemplo: tos, dificultad al respirar.) Instamos encarecidamente a los proveedores de salud que chequeen por otras causas de enfermedad respiratoria, incluyendo infecciones como la influenza.



Factores epidemiológicos que pueden ser de ayuda para decidir cuándo testear: toda persona, incluyendo trabajadores de salud, que hayan estado en contacto cercano dentro de los 14 días de la aparición de los síntomas con un paciente con diagnóstico de COVID-19 confirmado por un laboratorio, o con historial de viajes en áreas geográficas afectadas (ver abajo) también dentro de un período de 14 días desde la aparición de los síntomas.

¿Debo usar una máscara para evitar contraer el “novel coronavirus”?

Observar una buena práctica de lavado de manos es la manera más eficaz de prevenir la enfermedad. “Buena práctica” implica lavarse las manos con jabón y agua, y frotarlas durante no menos de 20 segundos. En este momento no recomendamos el uso de máscaras. No obstante, si usted decide utilizar una máscara, es importante que comprenda que la máscara no es un substituto para el lavado de manos. Lavarse las manos es la mejor estrategia. Si usted tiene fiebre o tos, se recomienda utilizar una máscara para prevenir que los gérmenes se propaguen.

¿Es seguro viajar?

La recomendación de los CDC es evitar todo viaje no-esencial a China y Corea del Sur. Los CDC mencionan a Italia, Irán y Japón como países en los que actualmente hay transmisión comunitaria sostenida de COVID-19, y recomiendan que personas de la tercera edad, así como personas con enfermedades crónicas, consideren posponer viajes no-esenciales. La situación mundial en relación con COVID-19 está evolucionando rápidamente, y es posible que más países se agreguen a la lista. Manténgase informado/a/x a través de las noticias de salud para viajeros de los CDC.

¿Existe una vacuna para el “novel coronavirus”?

No. Si bien actualmente existen varios esfuerzos para crear una vacuna en distintos lugares del mundo, actualmente no hay ninguna vacuna para protegernos contra el “novel coronavirus.”

¿Cuál es el tratamiento indicado para alguien que contraiga el “novel coronavirus”?

El tratamiento actual consiste en tratar los síntomas. No existe ningún tratamiento específico para el “novel coronavirus.”

Siento un alto nivel de estrés y agobio. ¿Qué puedo hacer al respecto?

Si busca información para acceder a servicios de salud mental y de adicción a substancias, contacte a su seguro médico. Si usted reside en San Mateo y su seguro médico es Medi-Cal, llame al (800) 686-0101 (Centro de Acceso a Servicios de Salud Mental y Recuperación de las Adicciones.)

Para recibir asistencia confidencial durante las 24 horas por parte de organizaciones locales y/o nacionales que proveen apoyo en caso de crisis, llame al (650) 579-0350 o al (800)273-8255. Para chatear online: envíe la palabra “START” al número de texto 741741.

Soy un proveedor de servicios de salud. ¿Dónde puedo conseguir más información?

Para información y alertas acerca del “novel coronavirus” para proveedores de servicios de salud, haga click aquí.

¿Dónde puedo conseguir más información?

Visite el sitio en Internet del COVID-19 del Departamento de Salud del Condado o visite el sitio en Internet de los CDC. Asimismo, puede acceder a más información a través de los enlaces listados a continuación.

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The schools in PAUSD do not have hand-sanitizer. Teachers are supplying the goods as they await the arrival of supplies. How many weeks has this health crisis been unfolding? Admn at the schools and at the District need to show that they care about students, teachers and staff.

San Mateo County Health Officer:

"I have no reason to believe that how it’s spreading in other counties won’t be replicated to some degree here. We now all need to take assertive actions to inhibit the spread of this new virus. Some of those actions are described below. I advise that individuals, schools, business, and all other sectors of our community take immediate steps to change behaviors and take definitive action."

What is hard to understand abut this?????

Thanks for posting the San Mateo guidelines, Peter. Seems like a more proactive approach than what Santa Clara has been up to so far.

palt is still dirty with limited supplies to wash hands.

One way to boost immunity is to let kids sleep. But they can’t because these teachers love homework overload . My kid has been an essay due every Friday night at 6 pm for a Friday class assigned on Friday. Also for the same class... work due on sat at 10am abs 39 pages to take notes on and a quiz on Monday.for tues they were assigned a group project with strangers to do after they got home and due wed . They had to do work all night on computers kids gave 5-7 classes How about stopping homework so kids can sleep instead of staring at computers staying up late to fill in ridiculous rubrics that have no worth.

Hello ! Canceled ! Palo Alto City Council Monday meeting. No message of reason for our town's worried people ? Like Tanaka said last week ,can't they they be present, in front of their computers with the live stream on? Close to public access the chamber hearing room. "We the people" could Skype live our concerns during public comment period. We are in the 21st Century, in the center of the virus, first county in the Nation to have a outbreak, and the second to declare a emergency. This is totally lame. Where is our leadership to help calm nerves and hear from their citizens their plan of action, prevention and mitigation. This is just wrong ! A National baseball game went on once, was broadcast live and no attendees in the stadium because of fear of gun violence. Stand up, let us be heard. At the very least post a "Due to a lack of supply of Purell supply (Costco ran out and Amazon is charging too much ) the Covid-19 response we postponed Monday's meeting. We welcome public comments by email . .. " So much emergency preparedness. I applaud the PAUSD for their continued messaging, resources, vigilance and care for our community. They appear to be the only prepared, sane ones leading on this. Is it time to call FEMA or what?

Dear Council,

This movie will soon be showing here in Palo Alto..

We need strong and visible City leadership. The County can deal with the health issues but the City will have to deal with all the social and political issues.

You have to provide visible leadership before the crisis erupts.

Peter

Web Link

The words of M. Leavitt from the DHHS are wise and ever more relevant: “Everything we do before a pandemic will seem alarmist. Everything we do after will seem inadequate.”

"Other public health interventions that have been used with some effect in other countries include commandeering of both real or personal property, conscription, curfew, and cordons. It is unlikely that these interventions would be used here due to practical considerations."

Practical considerations?

"Practical considerations?"

The guy in charge is too fearful his precious Dow average will fall further.

ie.. a 'practical' consideration.

Besides, he waited too long. Too long to test, note enough test when he promised a million tests in a week, etc..

Harvard epidemiologist is predicting 20-60% of adults will be infected. Cats out of the bag.
Also reports airport screening misses 2/3rds of cases.

Other reports ~ 90 % known cases are mild. Death rate is sure to be far lower than current estimate because so few mild cases were probably tested.

So yes, it's spreading, and yet most people have nothing to worry about. However, we obviously want to slow the spread and prevent the vulnerable population from infection prior to better treatment, a vaccine, etc.

Panic doesn't help, but prevention and containment are still necessary.

Last night it was reported Google, facebook and twitter employers in the bay area advised employees to work from home. I expect that advice to continue.

Do NOT believe what PAUSD is telling you. Kids in elementary, middle and high school -- all report NO hand sanitizer in their classrooms (except one class where the teacher brought in their own to use), no soap or paper towels in the bathrooms. The new cleaner that teachers are to use, is not kept in the classroom but has to be checked out from the office each time a teacher wants to use it, so it's not being used. RIDICULOUS!

The County says to keep arms length away from colleagues, but we stuff kids in classrooms sitting right next to each other. Multiple companies in SV are asking employees to work remotely, why are kids being forced to be close to each other, in small spaces, without hygiene products.

Research does indicate that kids are not as impacted by Covid 19, but if they are infected they are spreading the virus to their parents and other members of the community.

Student bathrooms do not have paper towels at Paly. The school has not supplied teachers with cleaning supplies, and in any given class, 2-4 students are absent due to health according to the notes in attendance.

I agree with DavidZ that due to community transmission this could spread. There are underlying health concerns that students, staff, and teachers have. PAUSD should take all these concerns into account, and close the schools down.

PAUSD is taking direction on school closure from Santa Clara County Dept of Public Health. If you think the schools should close, please contact our County Supervisor Joe Simitian: supervisor.simitian@bos.sccgov.org

Also, please leave a comment on the SCC Dept of Public Health Facebook page: Web Link or on Twitter: @HealthySCC Web Link

@Weekly
Please update the headline and story to reflect current number of cases in the county and latest advisories.

We could send them all to school and have them quarantined . The teachers could monitor them and maybe notice that they are giving them too much homework and that makes them miss sleep. Normal socializing and makes them sick. Also would be a nice break. I apologize for the joke. The virus and its affects are not funny . No risk should be taken when there is a known risk and a sure way to prevent it.

@Peter Carpenter & PAO Editors

The statement by the San Mounty County Health officer deserves to be on the front page here, not just at The Almanac. It is a sober serious attempt to get real. I don't get the sense most people are taking this seriously yet.

"The statement by the San Mounty County Health officer deserves to be on the front page here"

I have submitted it to the Forum Moderators as a new posting.

We are doomed.

From The Atlantic:

"Testing is the first and most important tool in understanding the epidemiology of a disease outbreak. In the United States, a series of failures has combined with the decentralized nature of our health-care system to handicap the nation’s ability to see the severity of the outbreak in hard numbers.

Today, more than a week after the country’s first case of community transmission, the most significant finding about the coronavirus’s spread in the United States has come from an independent genetic study, not from field data collected by the government. And no state or city has banned large gatherings or implemented the type of aggressive “social distancing” policies employed to battle the virus in Italy, Hong Kong, and other affluent places.

If the true extent of the outbreak were known through testing, the American situation would look worse. But health-care officials and providers would be better positioned to combat the virus. Hard decisions require data. For now, state and local governments don’t have the information they need."

I agree with DavidZ.

Any important public health measures, including school closure and wearing masks need to be implemented promptly and early for them to be effective.

We have the Chinese experiences ahead of us. All these methods have been studies carefully, and the evidences shows that they are extremely effective in decreasing community viral transmission during outbreak by more than 10 folds. Why do we have to wait before this illness completely overwhelm our health care system and we lose lives.

Stanford just cancelled all classes for the last two weeks of winter quarter. All exams and meetings must be done remotely.

Hmmm. Asthma is more common in young people than adults, but it tends to be much more deadly in adults than kids, especially older adults. I wonder if there are any common underlying reasons there?

Stanford has cancelled all classes for the next two weeks:


Web Link

Like I said several days ago. The time to close all schools was then. It will happen anyway. Just too late to make a difference. After all that has been proven the past three years if you are still looking with anything Federal related for guidance don't know what to tell you.

“When the story is written about U.S. preparedness for this, Chapter 1 will be called ‘Squandered Time.’ Not just on the medical side, but on the preparedness side,” she said. “What were we doing? And now, how do we make up for lost time? It’s not just the kits. It’s why this week we seemed so flat-footed and surprised by things like school closings. School closings were inevitable the second we had the first patients.”

Web Link

On the flip side. The same day with the same recommendations from county health,, Gunn kids isrnt band to New York. Is there a plan in place for possible quarantine on lanes or hotels? Plan for lawsuit if one person gets sick on this school trip. ? Or just looking for bragging rights or teeny trophy.

Exposure limits risk . The adults are responsible for their students safety. You just do not take risks that are known. You avoid them. Yes you might not get sick. But you can never say you took a risk with children

My biggest concern is not the spread of the virus, which is now inevitable, but rather our lack community preparedness for the social strains that will accompany that spread.

We need to start today to strengthen, and sadly in most cases to create, strong neighborhood support and communication networks, create protocols to deal with food and supply shortages and, most important, demand that our local leaders start leading. The County Health Officers will provide medical guidance by our Mayors, Fire Chiefs and Police Chiefs have to become very visible with clear messages so that we the people have confidence that someone is actually in charge.

If true, and I assume you are truthful, that is ridiculous about Gunn school taking a field trip now. (there is a typo in your post, so I assume that is what you are saying., right?). Our PAUSD leaders (sic) are sticking their heads in the sand. And I believe they are withholding information, and restricting information sharing (see those posts about Facebook groups being censored) and overall not allowing us (parents) to be part of the process, discussion and even have input on the decision. There will be an investigation and they will be held accountable.

Please comment on the Santa Clara County Dept of Public Health Facebook page Web Link If you feel the county should recommend school closure to slow the spread of the coronavirus in our community or if you want more information about what testing capacity we have now in our county and when more capacity will be availabile.

It is understandable that closing schools is a hardship. It is clear that Covid-19 does not impact children in the same way. HOWEVER, what about all the adults in our schools? There is absolutely no way to put in place social distancing in our classrooms and children could easily spread the virus not only between themselves, but to the teachers, aides, custodians, admins, etc in our schools. Not to mention bringing the illness home to those who are more at risk -- the elderly, the immunocompromised, etc. Are staff members who are at risk going to be allowed to "work from home" to guarantee social distancing?

Interesting. Probably teacher union should make a statement. It does seem risky to the older staff members. . Should they have to take a rusk. A

[Post removed.]

@ Huh? : “ Influenza is just as much of a threat as coronavirus”

Not true.
Coovid has an Ro of 2+. And a death rate between 2 and 3%. Flue death rates are around 0.1%.
There are flue vaccines available. There is no vaccine for Covid.
Death by Covid is essentially slow lung failure and congestion (suffocation). If you’ve ever had a loved one die from pneumonia, you would be a lot more careful about trivializing Covid risks.

*Facts: If Don Austin would pull his head out he would realize how many point employee and student contacts there are already to known cases. We will all be going back to work on Tuesday.Chew on that.
*Still waiting for hand sanitizer.
*His Twitter feed is storied up on distractions, like school districts with similiar names like ours.Really guy?
*Local site admins are sheep. BBAAAAAA
But hey, gotta keep the brand name going right?

I

If people would take everything in there life as seriously as some are taking this, there would be a less screwed up society. Just don't panic.

Interesting. They let groups go on out of state field trips on Friday even after the health department post . Did the groups go on their own and not ask ? Are trophies worth known risks? Why would district allow travel to international airports? What is thei plan if anyone gets sick or quarantined in New York?

Same plan they have for other emergencies. None. They hire people and then are still not in compliance with supplies or training but can say who they hired.

14 days ago, Italy had fewer coronavirus cases than we do today. They employed similar public health measures to us. Now they have >7000 cases (366 deaths). Unless I'm missing something, this is us in a fortnight. Hopefully, we won't wait that long before doing something more.

Still not sure what the adults in charge let the groups gi out of state . What were Gunn parents told ? Was this part of a grade? Were they given the choice to avoid risk or convinced the trip was sooo important?

"Hopefully, we won't wait that long before doing something more."

We already have waited too long. The virus is now widespread in the US.

Millions will get sick and many thousands will die.

The social stresses and unrest will be overwhelming.

Note that the number of confirmed cases in the US has DOUBLED in the last 24 hours.

That is what happens when you have a widespread virus AND you actually start looking/testing.

Infectious disease specialist Dr. Celine Gounder tells KIRO Radio’s Gee and Ursula Show that children haven’t actually gotten severely sick from the virus. That being so, there’s a different, important reason schools are closing anyway.

“The reason to close schools is actually not to protect kids,” she noted. “Kids are not the ones at risk — the reason to close schools is to protect adults.”

“Kids bringing coronavirus home to their mom maybe, who recently had breast cancer and has had chemotherapy,” Dr. Gounder continued. “Or Grandpa, who is older and in his eighties. That’s why you close schools.”

To that end, Gounder doesn’t actually recommend full closures of schools. Rather, she says a sort of “hybrid option” would be the best approach.


“Maybe in some instances, you don’t fully close the schools,” she described. “You allow whoever wants to come in to come in, and then maybe offer some remote options for kids who want to stay home and whose parents can have them stay home, and they may be doing web-based or remote kind of teaching.”

Follow live coronavirus updates here

That’s a measure she notes would be helpful especially for lower-income families, who often rely on reduced costs for school lunches, or with parents who can’t afford to take time off from work.

“If you are going to shut down the school completely, helping those parents and families with the added burden that’s going to create is really important,” said Dr. Gounder.

******************
Celine Gounder is an American medical doctor and medical journalist who specializes in infectious disease and global health. She was educated at Princeton University, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and University of Washington School of Medicine.As of 2018, Gounder practices medicine part-time while addressing her long time concerns with health issues as a medical journalist.

Paly high school is an open campus and the district is ignoring the fact the every kid has been exposed to everyone at the Town and country village who are also Stanford students, San Mateo residents and international students etc....

At the very least, close the campus. No brainer. Kids can bring their own lunch and really suffer.

Heard that the Jr high took every kids temperature to ensure that no one was sick. Did they take the adult's temps? te bus driver? I bet not. That proves nothing and probably was not done properly. Still going on the trip with the public health reccomendations was putting kids at risk for an trip that was not necessary. Disneyland? People can be contagious before a virus. Science anyone?

Have all the kids stay in first period and run remote classes for each period to make sure they are all logged in properly . This would be good to have in place for other situations too.

Also for kids who can not stay home they can be in one room a day and still have remote instruction at school
Really they have all already probably been exposed

A GREAT letter from the Mayor of Menlo Park:

Dear Menlo Park Residents,

The health and safety of all residents in Menlo Park is our highest priority. I know there is a deep concern about the spread of COVID-19, also known as coronavirus.

I want to reassure you that the City of Menlo Park is taking action to address the situation. We must come together as a city to ensure everyone’s well-being during this public health emergency.

I see us working together in three ways:
The City of Menlo Park is coordinating with our public health officials at the San Mateo County Health Department, local and regional agencies and community-based organizations. Changes and measures have been adopted in daily operations and activities in the best interests of the residents in Menlo Park. Please visit menlopark.org/coronavirus for information and resources.

As individuals, it is important for each one of us to minimize our own risk of being infected by taking preventative measures within and outside our homes. It is as simple as washing your hands frequently, not touching your face, coughing or sneezing into a tissue and then throwing the tissue in the trash, avoiding crowded places if you are at a higher risk, and staying home if you are sick. For a full list of the actions you can take, visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) coronavirus disease prevention and treatment website.

As a community, we can demonstrate values of compassion and decency by not spreading misinformation, educating ourselves, taking care of our most vulnerable residents, and not shaking hands.
As your Mayor, I will communicate with you regularly about COVID-19 in the coming weeks and months in coordination with city staff.
Mayor Cecilia Taylor portrait
My goal is to communicate accurate information, raise awareness and support your needs. I am more than hopeful we will get through this together.

Please feel free to email me with your questions and concerns. Prevention and preparedness moving forward is our best defense.

Cecilia Taylor
Mayor

With the ban on gatherings of over 1000 people banned and the sheriff and police actively looking for this, will our PAPD be spending time and effort monitoring this?

Who will be arrested? The organizers? Those 1000 people attending?

Many of our church buildings hold more than 1000 congregants. Will they be attending churches to check on numbers?

Will this stop public marches and protests?

From a purely practical point of view, how can this be implemented?

Still hoping people that minimize this will actually look at facts. The difference between .1 and 2. is big when applied to larger populations is not just 1.

You can not take a temperature, ( greene middle school for its band) and assume that no kid has or will have corona virus. This is the silliest thing I have heard and wonder who decided to do this to every kid going to Disneyland! Who would be so lacking in science ed. or just factual information regarding virus and bacterial infections.

I am flabbergasted by the PAUSD's announcement yesterday. The logic is beyond stupidy and shows a total lack of understanding on how viruses spread. Here is the key part...

"At this time, the Santa Clara County Public Health Department currently is not recommending closing schools. If a staff member or student in a specific school is confirmed to have COVID-19, the Superintendent and local public health officials will consider, based on the specific facts and circumstances of that case, whether closure of that school is warranted. The Public Health Department is not recommending school closures at this time because individuals under 18 years of age have not been shown to be a high-risk group for serious illness from this virus."

So basically they are saying that because kids are not at high risk, they can continue to co mingle in large groups (schools) and spread the virus. Never mind that they go home after school and live with parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles. Or that they then roam the community spreading the disease more.

THIS IS HOW VIRUSES SPREAD!!

Where is the science? Where is the logic?

In regard to Concerned Parent's just posted comment about the PAUSD announcement that kids are not at risk so they can go to school...

Here is a VERY well written article on how the math of virus spreading works and why taking early measures to limit the spread math pay dividends later for the WHOLE COMMUNITY.

Definitely everyone should read this. It explains it pretty clearly.

Web Link

Not that I want to be in a group of 1000+ at the moment, but isn't that a direct violation of the Constitution? Can this hold up in court?

The county has declared an emergency. Thus the ban is legal.

Could you really challenge the emergency? The case for it is compelling.

3 TSA agents from San Jose international test positive, hmmm...how many ppl traveled in and out of there in the last 14 days?

As the county itself described, testing so far has been quite selective and targeted. The LA times is reporting that thousands have been exposed to the virus in California. We need to do our own reading, educate ourselves and take our own precautions. We need to take this seriously.

It is insanity that schools are not closed. Closing schools will not halt the spread but it will greatly reduce the spread. This has been proven pretty clearly. Close schools now or do much worse later.

I mentioned this in response to another article. However, it deserves to be said again. Please use proper hygiene when you're in public.

While shopping at Costco last week, I saw three people (two men and a woman) sneeze without covering their mouths. It's baffling that people would do that. Everyone around them just looked at them and they just seemed annoyingly surprised that anyone even cared.

I suspect that the people sneezing (without covering their mouths) might have thought that they were targeted based upon their race (all three were Asian); however, it is really about taking precautions for others.

If you're going to sneeze, try to move aside (away from people) and use your arm or shoulder to mitigate the rapid spread of airborne germs.

Sacred Heart School in Atherton will close its campus starting tomorrow, and continuing until April 14th (after their Easter Break). There has been no known contact with the virus at the school, but they made the call to be proactive to help stop the spread of the virus in our area. I haven't seen this news posted anywhere, so I thought I'd share it here.

The new, Covid-19 specific, Pandemic Influenza and Respiratory Illness Preparation and Response: A Citizen’s Guide Version 3.6 has just been released.

This Citizen’s Guide was written by citizens for citizens. It contains the nitty gritty of what each individual citizen can and should do both to prepare for and respond to the oncoming Covid-19 pandemic.

This Guide was carefully vetted by the world’s leading infectious disease experts and the forward is written by Dr. David L. Heymann (Former) World Health Organization, Executive Director, Communicable Diseases.

This Citizen’s Guide is NOT a government publication but it does reflect the best available scientific and medical advice.

Please read this guide carefully and share it with your family, friends, workmates and playmates. It is FREE to all. Please post it on web sites where others may download it. One site that has the file is:

Web Link

And consider printing a copy while internet access is still easily available and you still have paper.

To check for current updates to this manual, please visit {Web Link}


Corrections and Additional Acknowledgments
If you wish to correct an error in this manual or if you find material for which the original author or source is not properly acknowledged (an increasingly common and unavoidable problem in the age of multiple postings and of extracts that do not retain identification of the original source) please document your concern and email it to info@instedd.org.

Stay Safe,

Peter Carpenter

I just want to reiterate what a couple people on these posts have said before... I tried to post a message and a question (two posts) on the Gunn Parents Facebook page and both were removed.

THIS IS CENSORSHIP

And I think it is not in the best interest of our community to not allow parents to communicate with each other freely. I am shocked and ashamed something like this would happen in America, and even more shocked in Palo Alto. Shame on the people doing this.

Parents be wary of these school controlled information sources. Clearly they don't want us talking to each other freely.

"consider printing a copy while internet access is still easily available and you still have paper."

Trying not to be cruel here. If there's someone you feel safe speaking with, please do so.

Ok keeping my kid home . Wondering if paly will find a way to punish my kid .

I think sending my kid is neglect at this point.


Paly admin and some teachers need sci lessons.

A theater dept play with only 100 guests but with multiple shows should not be allowed.

Everyone , even teachers with egos, need to limit exposure to help everyone reduce risk. This is not a necessity to do the play live at this time . Tape it .

"consider printing a copy while internet access is still easily available and you still have paper."

All of the services that we take for granted require on-going maintenance - if enough employees are absent from work that might not occur. We WILL be putting huge new demands on the limited bandwidth that is available. Both of these factors will impact our individual internet service.

As for paper - that depends on wether or not their is s perceived shortage. Look what happened last week with toilet paper.

It's a terrible new virus, particularly for the elderly. It's not the zombie apocalypse.

The vast majority of people recover, and are then immune. In a year or two, there will be a vaccine. In the meantime, telecommute, avoid stadiums, wash your hands, and keep calm.

I keep wondering who came up with the euphemisms, "community spread" and "self-quarantine". Quarantine suggests protection of the public, but the reality is that "self-quarantine" means you can go out of the house (and "self-quarantined" people have gone out of the house) for anything, not just food and essentials. "Community spread" has the pleasant-sounding word, "community" when community spread really means they not only can't track how the victim got the virus, but don't know who gave it to him, nor whether or not the person who gave it to them has him or herself been quarantine. YOYO, folks.

Mercury News: "Coronavirus: White House says Santa Clara County should ban gatherings over 250, businesses should screen all workers."

ABC 7 News: "Santa Clara County coronavirus: CDC asks county to ban gatherings 250 or more people."

the Office of Governor: "State public health experts announce that gatherings with 250 people or more should be rescheduled or canceled."

Then

(Mercury News)
"Santa Clara County issued a statement Wednesday evening saying that it would not be amending its current ban on gatherings of more than 1,000 people to meet the recommendations to cancel events of larger than 250 people."

Why?

Sixty-six cases in a county with nearly 2 million people is literally 30 times worse than the proverbial “one in a million”

Angela Merkel claims that, extending her math to us, one milllion of us will catch this bug — or it they THEM will catch us.

Fasten your seat belt boys it’s going to be a long night.
Or as Shakespeare said, eerily prescient: ay, there’s the rub. But so far all the cases could fit rub a dub dub, three men in a tub. Ok, you’d need 21 tubs.

I went to a hockey game last week and a pandemic data point broke out. They literally sent me an email that said one of our part-time workers has the virus but we’ve determined the risk to you was very very small. And then the 10 o’clock it was today repeated the same story.

I guess given the number of people who play the lottery people should be scared of this 2.

San Francisco's 113 public schools will shut Monday. No confirmed cases of the virus in any of the city’s schools, with 54k students. The school board said Thursday that it needed to be “proactive” rather than “reactive” in keeping students and their families safe amid the global pandemic.

This is what leadership looks like that wants to protect their community...

im student from fisher middle school los gatos union school district and they are closing schools in santa clara valley which means fisher as well pls stay healthy everyone PAY ATTENTION TO THE NEWS FOR UPDATES

I think we need to slow down and think about consequences of going overboard. Let's be honest this has life threatening consequences for elderly people, the rest of us may get it but will recover.

So I posit the question, to what extent do we take draconian actions to save the lives of elderly people that are ALWAYS more susceptible to contagious diseases, and especially this one I grant that.

But what are the consequences of shutting down businesses. cratering small businesses , hourly workers out of work, people with no pay check, missing rental payments .... what is the impact to them mentally long term, suicides etc

So just asking , what is the price of saving lives of most vulnerable , vs impacting the lives of some much younger forever. I know crass, but that's the question, and please don't suggest the government will fully support those in need.

YP,

The problem you should be concerned with is the total number of sick.

There are 927,000 hospital beds in America.
The current Death rate of the Virus world wide is 3%
The Ro for the virus is 2.3
In the US, at the current transmission rates, there will be millions sick in a couple weeks (without social distancing measures to slow the transmission). Check out the exponential growth rate at Web Link
and how china was successful at arresting the spread by locking down their country.

Without quarantines and social distancing, the number of sick in the US will quickly exceed the number of available hospital beds. Meanwhile, when you get in an auto accident, stroke, complications in childbirth, etc, etc, there will be no room for you at the hospital (I assume you wont get Covid, right ?). The medical systems will be overwhelmed because they are not set up to deal with hundreds of thousands of people sick all at once.

Bottom line is, they are trying to slow the rate of the virus's spread so the number of stick stay at a manageable number. They cannot stop the deaths - which does not seem to be your concern. But they can try to keep the numbers manageable so you healthy folk like you can still get treated at the hospital, when you fall and break your wrist.

The two last posters raised some good points and we do need these discussions.

However, the rate of death is probably lower than we think for the simple reason we are completely unaware of how many people have the virus. The fact that we have "confirmed" cases is because they have been tested. How many people who are staying home with a cold, feeling a little unwell, have the disease? How many healthy elderly people are staying at home with a cold have the disease? And how many people staying at home over the last month with a cold have had the disease and are now over it?

I know several people who have stayed at home with a cold just in case and are now well. They have all said that they don't think it is Covid 19, just a cold, but stayed home anyway. Who knows what they had.

We have a high rate of death because we really have no idea how many people are just recovering from it having never been confirmed as a recorded case.

Just another aspect to consider when putting the numbers together.

Resident,

Please review the data at : Web Link

Pick a country that you think would be testing the heck out of their population like Italy (which totally locked down). Italy's death rate is 7% . Their medical system is swamped.

You are welcome to wait for more data, but why not flatten the transmission curve while we wait for the Feds to get testing capabilities in place so you will have better data ? The countries for which we can plainly see the medical realities, know they waited to long to act to contain the numbers. This is just fact. Look at the data.

Allowing the virus to spread when simple steps like social distancing could slow the spread of the infection and constrain the total number of sick is... , well, just moronic.

To follow-up on Numbers, here's an explanation of the "flattening of the curve", how social distancing slows the spread of a virus so that hospitals are not overwhelmed. It's a mitigation strategy (much like how we treat mumps or influenza), rather than containment. Same practice as self-quarantine, but different emphasis.

Or as Dr. Drew Harris put it, "It's the difference between finding an ICU bed & ventilator or being treated in the parking lot tent."

Web Link

YP:
"So just asking , what is the price of saving lives of most vulnerable , vs impacting the lives of some much younger forever."

You are confused ... very confused. Those - be it older, or not - who die, those die forever. The lives of "so much younger" is not changed forever because their earnings went down.

The answer to "How many older people can we sacrifice so that the younger had their quality of life unchanged?" is "ZERO". Not one. Some may and will die but not because we chose our full paycheck over their lives.

Plus what Numbers said about the overloaded hospitals that you or "so much younger" may need badly.

Wow .... what's wrong with you. Find god, or something.

Happy St. Patricks Day!!!

2 out of the most recent 3 people announced were in their 50s. Would love to know whether there were underlying health conditions.

@ YP-

Has it occurred to you that for covid statistical tracking purposes, anyone over 60 is counted as elderly. This age group is known for having CEO's, owners of businesses which may employ dozens or hundreds of YPs, as well as physicians, scientists, and professors who are working hard to find vaccines & cures for the covid virus.

Many cultures & societies depend on the contributions of the "elderly" for childcare (for the convenience of YPs who breed) and to teach younger generations within their familial groups how to survive.

Despite your bias for youth-entitlement, experience has value & not every YP has much potential for growth or to contribute to society. Judging from your comments, I wonder how much the world would suffer if you weren't part of it.

Something doesn't add up. The county lists a day-to-day increase of only 7 more cases. But another headline states "13 San Jose firemen test positive for COVID-19". I realize these firemen might not live in Santa Clara County, but it is statistically unlikely.

Thank you, Palo Alto Online. I have gathered more useful information from here than any other places.
Deeply appreciated.

Note that the update of deaths includes a woman in her 40's, but no details of pre-existing conditions. A 39-year old woman in NY has also recently died, a school principal. No details of her health were released, but I assume she was healthy enough to work and may have exposed other school staff.

As I understand it, "community" cases mean cases untracked to a known source. But Santa Clara County acknowledged that it was completely unprepared for the tracking effort, and cannot track. Perhaps if these were tracked more than one degree we could learn something about the local sources and carriers. Surely with big data companies like Palantir can provide significant help in tracking the virus transmission.

Given the incubation time, the surge we are seeing now is mostly from infections that occurred before the full closure orders. From here on, we should start to see some leveling off from the full exponential growth. We hope. Here is my question:

Do we have enough statistics now to get any kind of sense for how we are doing? There has been such limited testing, all we, the general public, really know right now is how many cases there are now. Is there a site where we can see what the models show relative to our area(s) ?

Web Link

Click on US on the LHS and the County data are presented.

[Post removed.]

The jump in reported cases means nothing without knowing more about how much testing has increased, the impact of the delay in reporting that's referenced by the county, and the hospitalization number which the County has stopped reporting, apparently at the direction of the state because other counties were not reporting their hospitalization numbers. Instead of being more transparent, Santa Clara County has become less transparent over time. A logical conclusion is that they don't want us to know how effective our shelter-in-place measures have been so that we aren't clamoring to lift the restrictions prematurely. I think they could show us the real data and still encourage people to obey the restrictions by showing that they are having an impact, but they need to be continued to the end lest we have a renewed spike in cases. The original two-week shelter-in-place period ends today. The County owes us a comprehensive status update.

"The jump in reported cases means nothing without knowing more...."

Actually it still means something very important - we are in deep trouble and getting deeper. Exact dimensions of the trouble that we are in are yet to be determined.

[Portion removed due to deletion of referenced comment.]

How can we shorten the timeline?

How about laying off the red state blue state nonsense and take off the tinfoil hat first. Texas, the reddest of the red states has already put in place a quarantine of anyone coming from a domestic hotspot - and that includes California. We haven't even done that.

Making everything political is really tiring. If you're looking for "disinformation," maybe you should realize that the stories meant to divide us politically are probably planted stories by Chinese and Russian propaganda arms. I don't believe for a second that China has controlled the virus - and any story to show the US as having the highest number of cases as suspect as I don't trust any data from China, Russia or Iran.

Give the politics a rest. We're trying to stop a pandemic and this bleating about Democrats and Republicans is frankly stupid.

Anon: “ Given the incubation time, the surge we are seeing now is mostly from infections that occurred before the full closure orders. From here on, we should start to see some leveling off from the full exponential growth. We hope. Here is my question:”

While we all appreciate you sharing your “hunch”, the truth is we are about to see the worst four weeks ahead. We don’t peak till the 26th of April

Web Link

Aside: if you want to put out a statement like you did, cite your reference.

[Post removed.]

Posted by Competence matters, a resident of Another Palo Alto neighborhood

>> Relatives in risk groups in red states are not taking this seriously. How can we shorten this timeline if they don't? Rightwing disinformation

See this page for some actual per-state trends: Web Link

Posted by Peter Carpenter, a resident of Menlo Park

>> "The jump in reported cases means nothing without knowing more...."
>> Actually it still means something very important - we are in deep trouble and getting deeper. Exact dimensions of the trouble that we are in are yet to be determined.

In the sense that the number of cases is growing, then, yes, we are getting in deeper trouble. To the extent that the rate of growth is diminishing in some states, then, things are getting "better". That is where the "lag" comes in, though -- we don't know how we are doing immediately-- we have to wait and see what the new rate of infection is.
"Even better" would be when the number of new cases actually starts to decline. Estimates in the early phase were that the pool of infected people in the US was 10-20 times that recorded rate.


Posted by Me 2, a resident of Old Palo Alto

>> How can we shorten the timeline?
>> How about laying off the red state blue state nonsense

See the fivethirtyeight reference above, clearly showing the rate of growth per state. We need more data, but, California's rate of growth is lower than 30-some states, and, Washington state is the lowest (but not close to zero). It won't be over till it is over, and, every locale in every state has a role. But, it could be that "social distancing" and other measures actually are helping.

Posted by Old Joe, a resident of Barron Park

>> While we all appreciate you sharing your “hunch”, the truth is we are about to see the worst four weeks ahead. We don’t peak till the 26th of April

I was asking for data. And, I found some. See above. I'm still not seeing any website that ties it all together, though. Each infected individual infects some number of others. I'm not seeing any analysis for how the infection rate evolves depending on what measures (social distancing, etc.) people are taking. To stop the exponential growth, on average, individuals have to infect less than one other person. How does that infection rate vary, for example, per-state, and, with time, as behavior changes.

[Post removed.]

782,000 confirmed cases
37,000 deaths
That’s a 4.7 death rate.. what are you waiting for?
The Current rise in cases is exponential

Web Link

[Portion removed.]

Ha: "NO FACE MASKS! Doctors are saying only wear a mask if sick."

But you do not know if that person who served you as a cashier is sick. She might not know it either

And you yourself may not know if "YOU" are sick.
So the solution, giving the largest "herd" immunity is that both must wear masks.
Like in Kore.
Like in Chine.
But then we should produce a mask a day per populat5ion.
Even the Chinese are only at 300 Million a day.

And to waht number do you think our criminal, negligent GOSs in HHS aspire to?

Are we really going to virtue signal about coronavirus now? Please stop the bashing.

For people looking for comparative data on states, I like this site: Web Link You can highlight the state that you are interested in. The y-axes are log scale by default, and the graphs start at a consistent time (e.g., days since 100 cases), so easier to compare.

> Trump fired the national pandemic team - shown to be not true in the Washington Post


One notes you failed to provide a link, and we all know why - it's an OP-ED(!) by a former Trumper covering their you-know-what.

If you had provided a link, you would see this at the bottom of the page refuting the Trumpian lie:

"I ran the White House pandemic office. Trump closed it." Web Link

"Beth Cameron is vice president for global biological policy and programs at the Nuclear Threat Initiative. She previously served as the senior director for global health security and biodefense on the White House National Security Council.

March 13, 2020

When President Trump took office in 2017, the White House’s National Security Council Directorate for Global Health Security and Biodefense survived the transition intact. Its mission was the same as when I was asked to lead the office, established after the Ebola epidemic of 2014: to do everything possible within the vast powers and resources of the U.S. government to prepare for the next disease outbreak and prevent it from becoming an epidemic or pandemic.

One year later, I was mystified when the White House dissolved the office, leaving the country less prepared for pandemics like covid-19.

The U.S. government’s slow and inadequate response to the new coronavirus underscores the need for organized, accountable leadership to prepare for and respond to pandemic threats."

---

The fringe runs and hides from the truth. They utter inanities like: "this isn't time!"

Americans seek the truth so we may make better decisions in fighting this crisis. Nay, I say, we need the truth now more than ever.

Posted by Please stop the bashing, a resident of Charleston Gardens

>> For people looking for comparative data on states, I like this site:

Excellent view of the data. Thank you for pointing this one out. This does answer most of my questions.

[Post removed.]

17 new cases? The low number is more than encouraging!
Could this be due to the weekend slowness?

Seems like we've just passed the peak of the curve for new infections. That's good news, but the hospitalization and death curves are a week or two behind that one. Probably should brace ourselves.

Posted by Family Friendly, a resident of Old Palo Alto

>> Seems like we've just passed the peak of the curve for new infections. That's good news,

That is the glass is half full view. We may have passed the peak, IF, we keep to ourselves. The glass is half empty view is that we're at the highest risk yet, in terms of number of silently infected individuals out there, so, we need to be extremely careful, and not relax because new infections may be leveling out. The rate of new infections is only leveling because people are distancing. Get careless, and it is back to exponential growth again.

>> but the hospitalization and death curves are a week or two behind that one. Probably should brace ourselves.

Yes. Be very careful out there.

With about 2M people living in Santa Clara County--the infection rate is pretty low. Will be interesting to see how that is explained by Health Care Officials when the dust has cleared.

So per the April 10 update, total ER visits are down 33% from the typical volume, and not just COVID-19 ER visits are down? That's a pretty amazing number. I guess all this staying at home and not driving much, and washing our hands more, is resulting in fewer traumas and less illness. And give all these stats, I don't see how anyone can say a surge is on the way. What's the basis for that? Even flu cases are apparently down (although I guess it's near the end of flu season).

FWIW, a comparison study was done between pairs of cities that re-opened "earlier" and "later" in the pandemic 100 years ago. Web Link The result might surprise you. Now, there are a lot of differences between the health effects of these two pandemics, but, there was a real bottom line then: waiting longer, and lowered mortality, resulted in a better economy afterwards. The world was different then, but, this has been a terribly costly pandemic already. Let's minimize the cost by being cautious, not rushing to re-open bars, restaurants, public gatherings, and schools. The article is very readable.

Folks,
When they publish the number of hospital beds, ventilators, and ICU’s, that publication is the total number of units. It is not “empty” units. It is total units.

Without Covid, the beds, ventilators, and ICU’s are being used by heart attack, stroke, auto accident, Gunshot, burn, etc. victims. If the demand due to Covid is for half the available units, it does not mean the other half sit empty. If the demand due to Covid equals the available units, it means every bed, Ventilator, and ICU is consumed by Covid alone. There are no units available for anything else.

It is incorrect to look at Covid demand being less that total units and try to suggest that there is excess capacity. Everything is being used.

@Really,

If I'm reading it correctly, the dashboard is showing ICU beds available right now. I think the reason that it looks like a discrepancy is that quite a few COVID-19 patients are on ventilators in "acute" but-not-ICU beds. It looks like 175 of 185 hospitalized COVID-19 patients are on ventilators, but, "only" (imagine what that looks like in real life) 76 are in ICU beds, while 99 are in acute (with 10 in surge). The difference leaves 104 ICU beds unoccupied, with 503 ventilators available.

You are very correct that it isn't much headroom. Looking at the current trends, the peak should stay below the maximum available, but, lift the controls now and in two weeks it would overflow. The need is still there to stay under the social distancing policy for now.

From today's LA Times (oddly no coverage in local news): Web Link

SJ Mercury News is FINALLY covering this story: Web Link