re: .025 % of Italians have tested positive. 1 out of every 4000 people.

... that's a lot of frickin ppl

I don't get the responses in this thread

1/4000

that's big numbers to me

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Embarrassing to claim your people have a “right” to healthcare yet in a span of like 1.5 weeks, you’re already rationing care

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Great fricking post

Good luck champ.

15,000 cases at a 7% death rate bc they can’t handle that many. Do you understand what the virus does when it hits people hard?

They have to be in ICU for weeks with ventilators and with nurses in haz mat suits emptying their lungs of water. For weeks. This would be a way less big deal if it killed people quickly. The problem is the number of ICU beds and ventilators and medical staff. We are not much better per capita with that stuff than Italy is. Or China. Who had the exact same problem in Wuhan.

That will happen here unless we take better and smarter action. It took about a month to a month a half for shite to hit the fan in both areas after making an initial appearance. We aren’t even at a month

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15,000 cases at a 7% death rate bc they can’t handle that many. Do you understand what the virus does when it hits people hard?

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Do you understand that very few of those 15k cases require medical attention?

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So .025% have covid...but to vast majority, it is mild symptoms...so how do the few cases overwhelm? Hysteria is cause of overwhelming, not covid

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Read up about Italy and why the healthcare system is overwhelmed. If you can just learn about flattening the curve, maybe you will understand.

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Do you understand that very few of those 15k cases require medical attention?

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What percentage?

So, all the articles on their system being overloaded in areas is just nonsense?

Let me guess, the WSJ is part of the media conspiracy.

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So, all the articles on their system being overloaded in areas is just nonsense?

Let me guess, the WSJ is part of the media conspiracy.

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"Almost" overloaded. And only in selected parts of one part of the country.

WSJ is no different than any other news organization that relies on sensationalism to make money.

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Read up about Italy and why the healthcare system is overwhelmed. If you can just learn about flattening the curve, maybe you will understand.

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They can reconnect t the dots.

We KNOW that in the states we have a lack of hospitals in rural areas. We know that they have been closing.

And we know that we have lots of uninsured people. People that will work because if they don’t they can’t pay their bills.

But they can’t comprehend that in certain areas we could be overwhelmed.

This ain’t from the WSJ. This is directly off a physician only forum I am on

“I'm not an expert on this virus or any other virus for that matter. I am a US trained OBGYN Ex-Pat living in Verona Italy (Northern Italy, in the hot zone). I was asked to share my thoughts so here goes.

We all started off thinking that this was some overblown flu, making jokes and not understanding why China was in lockdown. Then the cases began to multiply at a freakish rate. We believed this was because we were testing EVERYONE and finding cases that had no symptoms. Then the ICU’s of some parts of Lombardy (all around Milan) began to fill up and overflow. Today March 9th 2020 some hospitals in those areas have implemented a triage system as to who will be intubated and who will not (people over 70 and or with co-morbidities).

Let me back up a little. This is not a zombie apocalypse. The actual percentage of people dying is really low. Children and young adults seem to not be affected with more than flu-like symptoms. In the beginning only elderly with comorbidities or smokers were getting really sick, just like a really bad influenza outbreak. This was all great until younger (think 50’s) and relatively healthy people began to become very ill in addition to the large number of already sick.

The real problem is 3-fold here in Italy, 2 virus related. (again my opinion)

1) It seems to be stunningly infective. Surviving 12 hours on metal surfaces (that’s right, door handles and all).

2) Here, about 10% of the infected need ICU beds and around 4-5% need ventilators due to ARDS. This is the BIG BIG problem and why Italy quarantined 16 million people and why multi-billion-euro soccer games are played in empty stadiums (What is 4-5% of 16 million? We don’t have that many ventilators).

Italy is not a third world country and our hospitals are set up pretty much like the ones in the US. You might debate that we have a lower threshold for admission and longer stays vs the US but this is a RESOURCE ISSUE. There are not enough ventilators for the number of people who need them. This is due to sheer volume and THIS is the REAL problem. This is why countries are in lockdown and freaking out. This is a real medical emergency and doctors are now deciding who lives (gets intubated) and who does not. Couple this with the median age of the sick becoming younger and things get worse.

3) Italians (the people, not doctors) are undisciplined in some things. They have been given guidelines, like stay at home as much as possible and many do whatever in spite of this. The ski resorts are full for example. This helps to continue the spread of the disease. On the other hand, at the supermarket the other day, for the first time in 15 years I saw a single file line with people 3 feet away from each other without police or guns involved.

So: The faster the virus is contained the lower number of ventilators will be needed.

1. Wash. Your. Hands. Wash them so much. If you can’t wash use the gels and hand sanitizers. Maybe stop shaking hands, some kind of elbow bump would be cool.

2. Don’t pick your nose. Or put your fingers in your mouth, on your lips, or in your eyes.

3. Surgical masks seem to be enough to limit the spread AND protect you from disease. FFP2 / 3 only if you are working directly on a Covid-19 patient. Also do not put an FFP mask on a sick person, most have valves and that allows the virus OUT – provides NO protection for others.

4. Sanitize the objects that lots of other people touch,

5. Social distancing. Do it. This means keeping people apart from one another (preferably 6 feet apart, and sanitizing shared objects).

6. Travel is about to be screwed. Plan for it and around it. I would not say travel somewhere I would not be happy to be stuck at for 3-6 weeks.

7. If you are sick, stay home. For the love of all that is holy. Stay at home.

8. If school or other events are cancelled and or you are asked to limit non-essential movement. Just do it.

I didn't write this for professional purposes, I am not an expert but I do have a brain (at least I think I do). Hope this helps in some way.

I LEAVE YOU WITH: THIS IS NOT A NORMAL FLU.

Don’t panic, toilet paper will continue to be made, at the same time do not BLOW THIS OFF

J.Stefano Lehman MD, OBGYN”