General Coronavirus chit chat thread - non-travel specific

[juddles]

Hi all,

I think this whole corona thing is big enough that it justifies many threads throughout AFF - as per those that have been created specifically to cancellations/modification of travel, the corona racism thread, Qantas and status, etc. But as AFF is my preferred means of generally engaging and sharing with the wider community, I often feel that I want to say something that does not fall into those other threads. So not wishing to contaminate those specific-purpose threads, I thought it a good idea to create a new general chit chat thread about this virus and effect on general aussie life....

Take my example from today:

I just feel that in general we are way behind the eightball in responding, or inappropriate in our response. I have two daughters - one at uni, one at school. Over the past week we have all sufferred some sort of virus - generally quite benign, but wearying and with some coughing associated with it. So my youngest has had the past few days off school - we feel as parents that it is good to keep "sick" youngsters home - and we have the ability through not being a dual-working couple to do so. So all good - the little one stays at home and we all get actually a little more family time But this afternoon (a Friday afternoon) we get an email from the school saying that anyone who has been sick in any way that involves a cough CANNOT RETURN to school without getting a medical clearance!!

The other daughter, the one studying at uni, who although only having a mild ailment, also thinks it prudent to avoid non-essential attendance at the local uni, decided to instead watch a class today via the video version online that they offer - but when she tried to download it it demands that to be given access she must provide, you guessed it - a medical certificate from a GP!!

I sort of understand the school requirement, in that they are suddenly trying to play safe. But barring anyone who has had a cough from returning (even if they no longer have any symptoms of anything) until they get a medical clearance??? And a uni that is forcing, through the economic and resources cost of seeing a GP for a trivial issue, their students to get into a close-contact room full of students when the same educational content can be easily done online???

I consider perhaps one of the most significant challenges that the overall health system will face is the heavy load it will place on medical staff - starting at your local GP. And to force someone who was a tad unwell, but now very much ok, to have to go into a medical facility and be in close contact with other sick people??? And to force someone else who is fine, but wants to help reduce transmission through unnecessary large/close gatherings, to do the same??

Maybe I am wrong, but this seems so very un-clever in this allegedly clever nation or ours....

 

[juddles]

To those with knowledge of the medical industry out there:

At the moment, in general Australia (ie outside super-hospitals), is there availability of Corona testing? Can the local GP do it? If not, how is Corona being monitored at this point??

 

[teammongo]

To those with knowledge of the medical industry out there:

At the moment, in general Australia (ie outside super-hospitals), is there availability of Corona testing? Can the local GP do it? If not, how is Corona being monitored at this point??

Juddles,

Most large (public and private) labs can do it with real time PCR. It takes about 4-6 hours to run the test.
Just remember the test ain't perfect - and may give false negatives and late (maybe) false positives. (not because of the test - but more that the sample does not have viral RNA in it)

 

[juddles]

But can the corner GP get this done? Who is doing real tests these days, and under what circumstances (in Australia)

Part of the reason I ask is that in my neck of the woods (Sunshine Coast - SE Qld) we are now getting cases known but only through the major hospitals...

 

[teammongo]

Eventually that will be the case.
I don't think they will be too keen on testing you (as a suspected SARS-CoV2 patient) if they dont have PPE. I think the GPs and the AMA have been sleepwalking into this disaster. They should have been on it months ago. But we know there are massive shortages of PPE, and no doubt health care workers will get sick or not come to work (as they consider the workplace unsafe).

The only way the many tens of thousands will be tested is via private labs in conjunction to public labs, and for that to happen, the test must be medicare rebatable. Even that is not worked out yet..
A tiered government is just to slow to react to this given state and federal funding of hospitals, and the behemoth that is medicare.

 

[drron]

Actually GP organisations and the AMA have been asking the Government for proper PPE supplies to be released.
Quite frankly testing should be done at major hospitals where there is the proper equipment.Fragmenting the testing between hundreds of GP surgeries and private pathology centres is insane.

 

[juddles]

So essentially we are no better than China or Iran or the USA? As much as many have bagged China for dodgy stats, we dont even test for it ?

 

[teammongo]

I disagree. There is no point in patients heading to major hospitals to have a nose swab and sent home (as in >80% cases), essentially for home quarantine. They do not need hospital services, and if anything will decrease the ability to provide high end services.

Fever clinics are the logical first step, where details are recorded and sample taken. Eventually it will be widespread, a the asymptomatic refill prescription patient with SARS-cov2 will roll in thru the gp’s door. What then..

regarding private pathology - this is the model promoted by the cdc and fda, as essentially government cannot do this alone.i know for a fact that the major government labs will struggle if projections are remotely accurate. Hospital labs are mainly designed to serve the hospital population - not the broader community, which is several orders of magnitude larger.

gp’s will have to step up and getting ppe out to them is a priority. Unfortunately I doubt if there has been any significant training..

 

[juddles]

the Gp's I know have told me they have had no formal or otherwise instruction from the authorities at all.

Today a bloke was found to be positive and is now in one of the major hospitals - but there is zero info on how long or where he was within the Sunny Coast community.

What I am understanding is that as of now there is ZERO testing outside major hospitals. Hardly confidence building....

 

[teammongo]

That is correct. They will probably be setting up the fever clinic model in the next few weeks, when this thing really takes off.

 

[juddles]

......

regarding private pathology - this is the model promoted by the cdc and fda, .....

I may be wrong and would absolutely love to be corrected, but I understand that in the USA testing costs the patient, and god help them if they are positive, as that costs them far more.... hence my reluctance to admire anything the cdc or fda is saying

 

[TheRealTMA]

I may be wrong and would absolutely love to be corrected, but I understand that in the USA testing costs the patient, and god help them if they are positive, as that costs them far more.... hence my reluctance to admire anything the cdc or fda is saying

Vote for Bernie!

 

[drron]

The situation is totally different in major centres than in regional and rural Australia.And I work in regional australia.

 

[juddles]

Vote for Bernie!

Why, when they will suffer trump again?

Post automatically merged: Mar 6, 2020

The situation is totally different in major centres than in regional and rural Australia.And I work in regional australia.

Agreed. And my understanding is that there is no actual testing yet in regional aussie?

 

[teammongo]

Juddles, that is the American healthcare system in a nutshell. You need to pay for everything, and pay A LOT ..

 

[TheRealTMA]

Why, when they will suffer trump again?

Under Bernie, you get your Coronas for free!

 

[juddles]

For the first few weeks of this pandemic, "we" criticized China for their scant or unreliable stats. Yet we really have no system in place in Australia today to have any idea what the real numbers are. I admire the aussie officials for saying (without saying) for many days that they essentially beleive it will be a global pandemic despite the recalcitrance of the WHO to admit this. But now we are as guilty as everyone, China through to Iran and Italy - we are not actually testing for COVID-19. apart from specific cases in airports and major hospitals, even though it has clearly broken those hotspots...

 

[teammongo]

There are lots of people rocking up to big hospitals and asking to be tested. These are patients who have an extremely low risk of having SARS-cov2 currently. So are not tested, as it just wastes resources. When it is established in the community, and you present with the same symptoms you will be tested, as your pretest risk is significant. When to switch between these two scenarios will be a difficult call.

remember, China shut down and quarantined a major city of over 19 million people on Jan23. And only now are we are making preparations.. bravo scomo..

 

[juddles]

There are lots of people rocking up to big hospitals and asking to be tested. These are patients who have an extremely low risk of having SARS-cov2 currently. So are not tested, as it just wastes resources. When it is established in the community, and you present with the same symptoms you will be tested, as your pretest risk is significant. When to switch between these two scenarios will be a difficult call.

remember, China shut down and quarantined a major city of over 19 million people on Jan23. And only now are we are making preparations.. bravo scomo..

I completely agree with the risk of wasting resources. So my take is that australia is running a show / plan where they know it will hit everyone, but want medical tests/treatment restricted to only the most severe patients. Why cant they be honest with this? Is it because of stupid outer effects like dunny paper hoarding?

 

[Tropic]

"Bravo ScoMo..."

Run. To. The. Hills...

Geese how good is this sco-mo bloke...he seems to be responsible for everything that is bad in the world but still has time to be prime minister of a great country and stay reasonably upbeat.... Of course if Albo was running things instead of spending all his time disinfecting paper bags for his mates, this virus thing would be fixed already... but really, lets keep the politics out of this cos we all in this together...peace
Ps. I like this barossa ink, great fruit driven barossa shiraz...