niman

Health Care Worker linked to NorthBay VacaValley Hospital community case transferred to UC Davis

Health Care Worker COVID Confirmed linked to NorthBay VacaValley Hospital

PUBLIC HEALTH INSIDER Official insights from Public Health – Seattle & King County staff Public Health confirms two more COVID-19 cases, bringing the total in King County to six Posted by Sharon Bogan COVID-19 test results have come back from the State Public Health Laboratory confirming two additional cases of COVID-19 in King County residents. With these two new results, the total number of cases in King County is six. This number is expected to rise as more people are tested and results confirmed. The two new cases are in: A male in his 60s, hospitalized at Valley Medical Center in Renton. The man has underlying health conditions, and is in critical but stable condition. A male in 60s, hospitalized at Virginia Mason Medical Center. The man has underlying health conditions, and his status is critical. Four other cases, already reported earlier by Public Health, include: A woman in her 50s, who had traveled to South Korea; recovering at home A woman in her 70s, who was a resident of LifeCare in Kirkland, hospitalized at EvergreenHealth A woman in her 40s, employed by LifeCare, who is hospitalized at Overlake Medical Center A man in his 50s, who was hospitalized and died at EvergreenHealth Public Health is aware that the U.S. Postal Service is reporting that one of its employees was diagnosed with COVID-19. This person was one of the four cases already reported, and is included in the six total cases. Public Health is leading the effort to as quickly as possible identify close contacts of these six confirmed cases. These close contacts may include family members, co-workers, emergency responders and other contacts. A team of CDC officials is on-the-ground working with Public Health, along with the Washington state Department of Health, our healthcare system partners and many others. The public can help: Do not go to the emergency room unless essential. Emergency rooms need to be able to serve thosewith the most critical needs. If you have symptoms like cough, fever, or other respiratory problems, contact your regular doctor first. Stay home when sick Practice excellent personal hygiene habits, including handwashing, coughing into tissue or elbow, avoid touching eyes, nose, or mouth. Stay informed. Information is changing frequently. Check and subscribe to Public Health’s website (www.kingcounty.gov/COVID) or Public Health Insider blog . Public Health will provide additional updates later today. Updated 3/1/2020 at 10:15 am

The two new cases are in: A male in his 60s, hospitalized at Valley Medical Center in Renton. The man has underlying health conditions, and is in critical but stable condition. A male in 60s, hospitalized at Virginia Mason Medical Center. The man has underlying health conditions, and his status is critical. https://publichealthinsider.com/2020/03/01/public-health-confirms-two-more-covid-19-cases-bringing-the-total-in-king-county-to-six/

Press Releases First Presumptive Positive Case of COVID-19 Identified at RIDOH's State Health Laboratories The Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH) is announcing the state's first presumptive positive case of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The person is in their 40s and had traveled to Italy in mid-February. RIDOH is coordinating closely with the hospital where this person is currently being treated and all infection control protocols are being followed. "The Rhode Island Department of Health has been preparing for weeks to ensure that we have a structure in place to, to the best of our ability, limit or prevent the spread of COVID-19 in Rhode Island. We fully anticipated having a first case of COVID-19," said Dr. Alexander-Scott. "We are not seeing widespread community transmission in Rhode Island, and the general level of risk for Rhode Islanders is still low. However, everyone in Rhode Island has a role to play in helping us prevent the spread of viruses, just like the flu. It is very important that people wash their hands regularly, cover their coughs and sneezes, and stay home if they are sick." Outreach to the people who were in direct contact with this individual has already begun, with extensive efforts underway to ensure that they undergo a period of 14 days of self-monitoring for symptoms at home with public health supervision (quarantine). As long as anyone exposed to the individual does not have symptoms outside of their home setting, the virus cannot spread to other people in the community. This individual's immediate family members have been self-quarantining at home since it was determined that, based on this person's travel history and symptoms, the individual met the criteria to be evaluated for COVID-19. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is managing contact tracing for people on this person's return flight to the United States. This individual had limited travel in Rhode Island since returning from Italy. This person had not returned to their place of work since returning from Italy. In the past few weeks, RIDOH's State Health Laboratories worked to develop the capacity to perform testing for COVID-19 virus. In response to an urgent need, the State Health Laboratories expedited the final steps of implementation to run the test that identified this first case of COVID-19 in Rhode Island this weekend. Previously, all testing for COVID-19 was done at CDC. At this time, each presumptive positive test result must still be confirmed by the CDC Laboratories. This might change in the coming days. Because human coronaviruses most commonly spread through respiratory droplets, Rhode Islanders are reminded to take the same measures that healthcare providers recommend annually to prevent the spread of the flu and other viruses. - Get your flu shot, and make sure the people around you do the same. - Wash your hands often throughout the day. Use warm water and soap. If soap and water are not available, use alcohol-based hand gel. - Cough or sneeze into your elbow. Flu is spread through coughing or sneezing on other people or into your hands. Cover your coughs and sneezes to prevent others from getting sick. - Avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth. Germs spread this way. - Get plenty of sleep, be physically active, manage your stress, drink plenty of fluids, and eat nutritious foods. - Keep surfaces (especially bedside tables, surfaces in the bathroom, and toys for children) clean by wiping them down with a household disinfectant. The CDC does not recommend that people who are well wear a facemask to protect themselves from respiratory illnesses, including COVID-19. You should only wear a mask if a healthcare professional recommends it. A facemask should be used by people who have COVID-19 and are showing symptoms. This is to protect others from the risk of getting infected. If you have recently traveled from an area with widespread or ongoing community spread of COVID-19 and you have symptoms of the disease (fever, cough, shortness of breath) reach out to your healthcare provider and call ahead before going to a healthcare facility. The healthcare provider or facility will work closely with RIDOH. There have been more than 60 U.S. cases of COVID-19 confirmed. Globally, more than 80,000 cases have been confirmed. CDC reported the first U.S. fatality on February 29th. RIDOH continues to be notified by the federal government of asymptomatic travelers who are coming to Rhode Island after having been in China in the previous 14 days. These people are doing self-monitoring for symptoms for 14 days and are limiting their movement locally. (Passengers who have symptoms or who are coming from Hubei Province are not coming to Rhode Island. They are being quarantined domestically near the international airport where they landed.) RIDOH is coordinating with other State agencies and community organizations to support anyone doing self-quarantining to ensure that people who are remaining at home have the support services they need. This includes support with everyday needs, such as prescriptions and groceries. The organizations that have offered support include agencies throughout the Executive Office of Health and Human Services (EOHHS), the Rhode Island Food Bank, the American Red Cross, and other members of Rhode Island's Voluntary Organizations Active in Disasters (VOAD). The additional preparedness steps that RIDOH has taken include: - Establishing an Incident Command System response, which is how RIDOH and other State agencies organize to prepare for (or respond to) an urgent situation that requires extensive coordination. It includes staff from the Rhode Island Emergency Management Agency (RIEMA), the Rhode Island Department of Behavioral Healthcare, Developmental Disabilities, and Hospitals (BHDDH), the Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE), the Rhode Island Department of Human Services (DHS), the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM), the Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE), and Rhode Island Commerce. It also includes staff from RIDOH's State Health Laboratories, Center for Acute Infectious Disease Epidemiology, Center for Emergency Preparedness and Response, and Center for Public Health Communication, among other areas of RIDOH. - Regularly communicating with RIDOH's Infectious Disease Epidemiology Advisory Committee (IDEAC) to track any clinical and epidemiological developments related to COVID-19. (IDEAC is a group of infectious disease physicians throughout Rhode Island that provides guidance to RIDOH leadership on emerging infectious disease matters.) - Maintaining a robust system to receive and follow up on illness reports from Rhode Island healthcare providers. - Regularly sending to local healthcare providers summaries of the national situation, criteria to guide evaluation of patients, and guidance on specimen collection, testing, and reporting. - Coordinating closely with healthcare facilities and emergency medical services (EMS) providers to ensure their preparedness. - Communicating regularly to community partners, such as schools, faith leaders, and municipal officials. More information about COVID-19 is available in multiple languages at health.ri.gov/covid. Related links Department or agency: Department of Health Online: http://www.health.ri.gov Release date: 03-01-2020

The person is in their 40s and had traveled to Italy in mid-February. https://www.ri.gov/press/view/37818

The virus may have been in Washington State for weeks. As Washington State declared a state of emergency over the new coronavirus, researchers who studied two cases in the state say that the virus may have been spreading there for weeks, suggesting the possibility that up to 1,500 people in the state may have been infected. The state became the site of the country’s first coronavirus death on Saturday, at a time when President Trump issued new foreign travel warnings and restrictions in an effort to stop the spread of the virus, while also urging calm among members of the public. The number of confirmed cases worldwide had reached nearly 87,000 as of Sunday, with more than 7,000 cases outside mainland China, where the outbreak began late last year. The virus has now been detected in at least 60 countries. With 71 cases confirmed in the United States, the Food and Drug Administration announced this weekend that testing for the coronavirus would be greatly expanded in the country, a move that is expected to improve the pace of detecting infections and help identify patterns of suspected or confirmed cases. In Washington State, researchers compared two cases in the hopes of gaining such insight. One case, which last month became the first in the United States, appeared in a patient from whom health officials took a sample on Jan. 19. Another case that surfaced in the region last week probably descended from it, based on an analysis of the virus’s genetic sequence. The findings suggest that the virus has been spreading in the community for close to six weeks, according to one of the scientists who compared the sequences, Trevor Bedford, an associate professor at the University of Washington. You have 4 free articles remaining. Subscribe to The Times If that is true, it could mean that 150 to 1,500 people “have either been infected and recovered or currently are infected now,” said Mike Famulare, a researcher at the Institute for Disease Modeling in Bellevue, Wash., who performed the analysis. Those cases, if they exist, have thus far been undetected. Many of those people might not yet be contagious, Dr. Famulare said. His estimation was based on a simulation using what scientists have learned about the incubation period and transmissibility of the virus. He characterized his estimate of community cases as a “best guess, with broad uncertainty.” Another method, based on census data and estimated sampling, produced similar results, he said. [Do you know anyone who lives or works at Life Care Center in Kirkland, Wash.? If so, please email our reporter, Mike Baker, at [email protected]. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/01/world/coronavirus-news.html

The match between the community case (17M high school student) and the first US case (35M Snohomish Co ex-Wuhan) strongly suggests SARS CoV-2 has been circulating in Snohomish County since mid-January.

Virus detail Virus name: BetaCoV/USA/WA1-A12/2020 Accession ID: EPI_ISL_407214 Type: betacoronavirus Passage details/history: Vero p1 Sample information Collection date: 2020-01-25 Location: North America / USA / Washington Host: Human

Virus detail Virus name: BetaCoV/USA/WA1-F6/2020 Accession ID: EPI_ISL_407215 Type: betacoronavirus Passage details/history: Vero p1 Sample information Collection date: 2020-01-25 Location: North America / USA / Washington Host: Human

Note: 5' end is primer sequence used Virus detail Virus name: BetaCoV/USA/WA1/2020 Accession ID: EPI_ISL_404895 Type: betacoronavirus Passage details/history: Original Sample information Collection date: 2020-01-19 Location: North America / USA / Washington / Snohomish County Host: Human

irus detail Virus name: BetaCoVUSA/WA2/2020 Accession ID: EPI_ISL_412970 Type: betacoronavirus Passage details/history: Original Sample information Collection date: 2020-02-24 Location: North America / USA / Washington / Snohomish County Host: Human

Seattle Flu Study has released at GISAID full sequence, BetaCoV/USA/WA2/2020, from Snohomish Co community spread from high school student (17M) which matches original sequence, which was first US case, BetaCoV/USA/WA1/2020. That isolate has been cloned (BetaCoV/USA/WA1-A12/2020 and BetaCoV/USA/WA1-F6/2020), each of which have 3 polymorphisms (C8782T, C18060T, and T28144C) and WA2 has all three, which includes the orf8 mutation.

The HIV started with another pre-print that claimed the SARS-CoV2 S gene had HIV inserts. The paper was based on a poorly designed Genbank search and was quickly withdrawn. However, it was used to support a conspiracy theory that SARS-Cov-2 was genetically altered to make it a bio-weapon. The sequence has no such alteration. Coronaviruses frequently recombine and small inserts or deletions are common. The polybasic cleavage site represents an insertion of 4 amino acids (2 of which are basic), which is similar to insertions that distinguish high and low path influenza or Newcastle virus. Such changes are common in nature and not due to genetic alterations by humans.

We are going keep the conspiracy nonsense off this site. The HIV reference is just click bait used by media. I am changing title to reflect the scientific report you updated as well as the title of the scientific reported cited in the SCMP media report. There are MANY sites dedicated to unscientific conspiracy theories. This is not one of them Do NOT change the title on this thread

Note that this is another study on result of a furin cleavage site (which is a polybasic cleavage site). I have edited the title of this thread to reflect the nature of the cleavage site. Acquisition of a polybasic cleavage site is in many high path viruses, including H5 and H7 influenza or Newcastle virus. The original article referenced in the SCMP report is posted here

State of Illinois Public Health Officials Announce New Presumptive Positive COVID-19 Case In Illinois 29th Feb, 2020 Patient’s presumptive positive test will be confirmed by the CDC CHICAGO – The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) and Cook County Department of Public Health (CCDPH) are today announcing that one Illinois patient has tested positive for COVID-19. The tests conducted in Illinois resulted in presumptive positives for COVID-19. The positive test results will have to be confirmed by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) lab. The patient is hospitalized in isolation and CDC protocols have been implemented. Public health officials are working to identify and actively monitor individuals who were in contact with the patient in an effort to reduce the risk of additional transmission. The state of Illinois will request CDC deploy a team to Illinois to support these efforts. Governor JB Pritzker has requested that hospitals across the state implement additional testing to improve surveillance for COVID-19. Illinois was the first state to provide COVID-19 testing and Gov. Pritzker announced two more IDPH labs in central and southern Illinois that will be able to test specimens next week. Illinois has had two previously confirmed cases of COVID-19 and both patients made a full recovery. Symptoms reported among patients have included mild to severe respiratory illness with fever, cough, and difficulty breathing. Right now, because the virus has not been found to be spreading widely in the U.S., risk to the general public remains low. Public health officials are encouraging the public to not alter their daily routines and remain vigilant about keeping germs from spreading, by covering coughs and sneezes, washing hands with warm soap and water, and staying home when sick. For more information, contact: • Illinois Department of Public Health: Call the COVID-19 Hotline at 1-800-889-3931, Email [email protected], or Visit http://www.dph.illinois.gov/topics-services/diseases-and-conditions/diseases-a-z-list/coronavirus • Cook County Department of Public Health: Call 708-633-4000 or Visit https://www.cookcountypublichealth.org/communicable-diseases/novel-coronavirus

The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) and Cook County Department of Public Health (CCDPH) are today announcing that one Illinois patient has tested positive for COVID-19. The tests conducted in Illinois resulted in presumptive positives for COVID-19. The positive test results will have to be confirmed by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) lab. The patient is hospitalized in isolation and CDC protocols have been implemented. http://www.dph.illinois.gov/news/state-illinois-public-health-officials-announce-new-presumptive-positive-covid-19-case-illinois

I am beginning to think you are correct. I thought it was breaking when I saw it, but don't see any follow up by others, so although I suspect the Pope may very well be positive, I don't think it was confirmed by Vatican (story also has 228,660 of views and was supposed to be less than a minute old)

Western Australian man becomes first person in Australia to die from coronavirus Elizabeth Daoud Saturday, 29 February 2020 8:53 pm The man was being treated in isolation at Perth’s Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital. Credit: Richard Wainwright/AAP A West Australian man has become the first person to die of coronavirus in Australia. The 78-year-old was being treated in isolation at the intensive care unit of Perth’s Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital but died in the early hours of Sunday. The man and his wife were one of the many Australians stranded on the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan. His wife has also tested positive and remains in isolation in hospital in a stable condition. WA Chief Health Officer Dr Andrew Robertson said the man’s wife had an opportunity to talk to him prior to his death. Although it’s the first death in Australia, Robertson said there is no need for public panic. “We still need to make the point very clear that there isn’t community spread within Australia,” he told reporters on Sunday. “This tragic case is still related to the Diamond Princess so the public shouldn’t be panicking at this stage. “I think people should be aware but not alarmed. “This is the time that we need to prepare for cases that may occur for the future.” The man had been in a stable condition earlier in the week but his condition deteriorated as the illness progressed.

A West Australian man has become the first person to die of coronavirus in Australia. The 78-year-old was being treated in isolation at the intensive care unit of Perth’s Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital but died in the early hours of Sunday. https://7news.com.au/travel/coronavirus/western-australian-man-becomes-first-person-in-australia-to-die-from-coronavirus-c-723547

Iran's ex-ambassador to Vatican dies of coronavirus February 27, 2020 at 5:21 pm | Published in: News St Peter's Square, Vatican [file photo] February 27, 2020 at 5:21 pm Iran’s former ambassador to the Vatican and prominent cleric Hadi Khosrowshahi died of coronavirus, local media reported on Thursday, Anadolu Agency reports. According to the semiofficial Tasnim News Agency, the 81-year-old cleric died at a hospital in Iran. Earlier in the day, Iran put the death toll in the country from the coronavirus to 26, with 245 confirmed cases. The global death toll is nearly 2,800, and China, where the outbreak originated, is the worst hit, with more than 78,000 cases and over 2,700 fatalities.

Iran’s former ambassador to the Vatican and prominent cleric Hadi Khosrowshahi died of coronavirus, local media reported on Thursday, Anadolu Agency reports. https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20200227-irans-ex-ambassador-to-vatican-dies-of-coronavirus/