Replies to post #321715 on Liberal Free Chat Zone (NOLIB)

[ksquared]

NYC orders nightlife shutdown while bars, restaurants go ‘take-out’ only
By Julia Marsh and Nolan Hicks March 15, 2020 | 10:21pm | Updated

Mayor Bill de Blasio announced late Sunday that the Big Apple’s nightlife will shut down and its restaurants and bars will only provide take-out or delivery service as authorities struggle to get ahead of the mounting coronavirus pandemic.

The restrictions will take effect Tuesday at 9 a.m. and are similar to measures announced in Ohio, Washington DC and across much of western Europe, all of which have been hit by the deadly virus, too.

“Our lives are all changing in ways that were unimaginable just a week ago,” de Blasio said in a statement released by City Hall, which acknowledged the step was “drastic.”

“We are taking a series of actions that we never would have taken otherwise in an effort to save the lives of loves ones and our neighbors.”

De Blasio came under intense criticism for only moving Sunday to close the city’s public schools in the face of the outbreak, a decision that came days after other major American cities shut theirs down.

Hizzoner said the action is authorized under an executive order.

The restrictions mean that bars, cafes and restaurants must close their dining rooms and will only be able to serve take-out customers or fill delivery orders.

Additionally, de Blasio is ordering that nightclubs, movie theaters, concert venues and playhouses not shuttered when authorities ordered the lights out on Broadway be closed down too.

“This virus can spread rapidly through the close interactions New Yorkers have in restaurants bars and places where we sit close together,” de Blasio’s statement said. “We have to break that cycle.”

https://nypost.com/2020/03/15/de-blasio-orders-restaurants-bars-go-take-out-only-nightlife-shutdown/

[ksquared]

86% of people with coronavirus are walking around undetected, study says
By Jackie Salo March 17, 2020 | 10:15am | Updated

“The majority of these infections are mild, with few symptoms at all,” Shaman said, Mercury News reported. “People may not recognize it. Or they think they have a cold.”

(This reinforces my belief that this whole thing is overblown. Let the folks who are worried hide, but don't force the majority into isolation.)

“Stealth” coronavirus cases are fueling the pandemic, with a staggering 86% of people infected walking around undetected, a new study says.

Six of every seven cases – 86% — were not reported in China before travel restrictions were implemented, driving the spread of the virus, according to a study Monday in the journal Science.

“It’s the undocumented infections which are driving the spread of the outbreak,” said co-author Jeffrey Shaman of Columbia University Mailman School, according to GeekWire.

Using computer modeling, researchers tracked infections before and after the Chinese city of Wuhan’s travel ban.

The findings indicated that these undocumented infections with no or mild symptoms — known as “stealth” cases — were behind two-thirds of the reported patients.

“The majority of these infections are mild, with few symptoms at all,” Shaman said, Mercury News reported. “People may not recognize it. Or they think they have a cold.”

These “stealth” cases were then able to transmit the bug that could cause severe symptoms in other people, according to the researchers.

“It will continue to present a major challenge to the containment of this outbreak going forward,” Shaman said, adding that it underscores the importance of restrictions on movement in hard-hit regions.

COVID-19 has spread across the world to 182,400 people, causing at least 7,100 deaths, according to a tally from Johns Hopkins University.

https://nypost.com/2020/03/17/86-of-people-with-coronavirus-are-walking-around-undetected-study-says/