Corona virus in Italy

[smbdyiam2]

May have to have amazon deliver canned food and then spray Lysol on them and let set out in sun for couple days before bringing in.* Same way for mail. we don't use phone cause saw we can get it from phones. my internet has anti virus. anything else.?

[Euge]

Originally Posted by Montanan

Indeed medical care capacities could be challenged due to a large influx of in patients and intensive and critical care patients;, medical staff becoming exhausted and illness depletes the available work staff. Mind you, it takes considerable amount of time to just gown up and to gown down, which is why many nurses and doctors in China wear adult diapers so that they don't have to regown due to a nature call.

There is currently no treatment recommended for coronavirus infections except for supportive care as needed.

Definitely would closely evaluate your health insurance arrangements as to providing for care in foreign countries and as to providing for repatriation, albeit repatriation of someone with a contagious infectious disease would be difficult to arrange, not likely to be able to find private transport, more likely requiring nation state engagement as has already occurred with the return flights from Wuhan and from the cruise ship that had the vast number of infections.

Italy’s hospitals reach breaking point as Rome boosts funding to help virus-hit economy
PUBLISHED TUE, MAR 3 20204:21 AM ESTUPDATED TUE, MAR 3 20205:20 AM EST

As of Tuesday morning, there were 2,041 confirmed cases of the coronavirus in the country and 52 deaths. Hospitals in the region of Lombardy — the epicenter of Italy’s outbreak with 1254 cases of the virus, 38 deaths and where 10 towns remain under lockdown — are struggling to cope and have called on the private health sector to come to their aid.

Private hospitals in the region have been asked “lend” beds in their intensive care units to the public healthcare system, creating “mini-wards” for patients who have tested positive for Covid-19, newspaper La Repubblica reported Tuesday. One lead virologist in Milan described Lombardy’s hospitals as being close to breaking point, in “severe crisis” and registering an “overload” of patients, Italian news agency ANSA reported.

Meanwhile, Milan’s Mayor Beppe Sala called on the Italian government, and Europe, for financial assistance. “Milan is a city that has always given, at this moment it must be in a position to ask,” he said in the City Council Monday, the newspaper Il Giorno Milano reported.

The impact of the virus has felt the most in Italy’s wealthiest regions of Lombardy and Veneto, where the financial hub of Milan and the tourism hotspot of Venice are located. Italy’s lucrative tourism industry is expected to be particularly badly hit, with mass hotel cancellations reported and several countries, including the U.S., advising against travel to Italy.

Throwing cash at the problem
On Sunday, Italy’s Economy Minister Roberto Gualtieri announced that 3.6 billion euros (around $4 billion) would be injected into the economy to help sectors such as tourism and the logistics and transport industry, which have been badly impacted by the virus.

The measures will include tax cuts, tax credits for companies that reported a 25% drop in revenues, and more money for Italy’s healthcare system. The government is currently finalizing the measures which could be signed off by Italy’s Council of Ministers by Friday.

The latest spending plan is in addition to the 900 million euros of support that was unveiled on Friday. Announcing the aid package, Economy Minister Roberto Gualtieri tweeted that Italy “must face the emergency with determination, cohesion, and trust.”

The leader of the opposition Lega Party, Matteo Salvini, has said that the 3.6 billion euros is not enough, likening it to giving “aspirin to people with bronchial pneumonia,” Italian news agency ANSA reported. He argued that at least 50 billion euros was needed.

“Tourism is on its knees, the cancellations for Sardinia and July are already arriving,” Salvini said Monday. “The problem does not only concern those 10 municipalities in Lombardy and Veneto, but is national”. Hence the request not to “suspend taxes, but to cancel them.”

Hey Montanan,
Thank you so much for taking the time to research the latest information, I appreciate it an I’m sure many other members do to.
Euge

[Montanan]

Originally Posted by Euge

Hey Montanan,
Thank you so much for taking the time to research the latest information, I appreciate it an I’m sure many other members do to.
Euge

Euge: We are in the same boat, a rising tide of Coronavirus raises all ships, or sinks some.

As to the impact of exposures, do note that first responders and medical staff can become very much incapacitated as to having to become self-quarantined and taken away from their job tasks, as persons can be contagious even when not having any symptoms.

This past week an outbreak of the coronavirus occurred at a senior citizen's home in Kirkland Washington. The responders have had to go into quarantine and now are beginning to exhibit illnesses, not certain that they have the coronavirus or another illness, but it certainly has depleted the ranks of those first responders. Five persons who were residents of the senior citizens home has died, in the last two days.

"Twelve of 30 firefighters and police officers in Kirkland, Washington, who were quarantined after potential or direct exposure to COVID-19 are showing flu-like symptoms, city officials confirmed.

One firefighter was released from being quarantined at a fire station after waiting for 14 days, officials said.

Among the remaining 29 first responders, 19 confirmed they had direct exposure to the virus while responding to calls at a care facility." The other eleven first responders where exposed to the 19 who confirmed they had direct exposure to the virus while responding to calls at the care facility.

You can see how quickly the healthcare and emergency services personnel and facilities can become overwhelmed and understaffed.

Early in my career, I had the privilege to work at a biotechnology company for seven years, a portion of the scientists at that company worked on developing vaccines for animals, cats, horses and cattle. The company aided the World Health Organization WHO in coming up with a vaccine for rinderpest virus [cattle-plague], a particularly nasty disease.

Rinderpest (also cattle plague or steppe murrain) was an infectious viral disease of cattle, domestic buffalo, and many other species of even-toed ungulates, including buffaloes, large antelope, deer, giraffes, wildebeests, and warthogs. The disease was characterized by fever, oral erosions, diarrhea, lymphoid necrosis, and high mortality.

Death rates during outbreaks or rinderpest were usually extremely high, approaching 100% in immunologically naïve populations. The disease was mainly spread by direct contact and by drinking contaminated water, although it could also be transmitted by air. Initial symptoms include fever, loss of appetite, and nasal and eye discharges. Subsequently, irregular erosions appear in the mouth, the lining of the nose, and the genital tract.
Acute diarrhea, preceded by constipation, is also a common feature. Most animals die 6-12 days after the onset of these clinical signs.

The disease is believed to have originated in Asia, later spreading through the transport of cattle. Other cattle epizootics are noted in ancient times: a cattle plague is thought to be one of the 10 plagues of Egypt described in the Hebrew Bible. By around 3,000 BC, a cattle plague had reached Egypt, and rinderpest later spread throughout the remainder of Africa, following European colonization.

Rinderpest virus (RPV), a member of the genus Morbillivirus, is closely related to the measles and canine distemper viruses. Like other members of the Paramyxoviridae family, it produces enveloped virions, and is a negative-sense single-stranded RNA virus. The virus was particularly fragile and is quickly inactivated by heat, desiccation and sunlight.

Measles virus evolved from the then-widespread rinderpest virus most probably between the 11th and 12th centuries. The earliest likely origin is during the seventh century; The rinderpest virus (RPV) was closely related to the measles and canine distemper viruses. The measles virus emerged from rinderpest as a zoonotic disease between 1000 and 1100 AD, a period that may have been preceded by limited outbreaks involving a virus not yet fully acclimated to humans.

In June 2011, the United Nations FAO confirmed the disease was eradicated, making rinderpest only the second disease in history to be fully wiped out (outside laboratory stocks), following smallpox. In June 2019 the UK destroyed its stocks of rinderpest virus, held at the Pirbright Institute in Surrey, which were most of the world's retained samples.

[Montanan]

Italy set to close cinemas and ban public events - draft decree

Italy’s government is set to close cinemas and theatres and ban public events across the whole country to try to contain the coronavirus outbreak, according to a draft decree drawn up on Wednesday.

The decree, seen by Reuters, orders “the suspension of events of any nature... that entail the concentration of people and do not allow for a safety distance of at least one metre (yard) to be respected.”

It also tells Italians to avoid hugging and shaking hands to prevent as much as possible a further spread of the potentially deadly illness which has been mainly concentrated in the country’s northern regions.

There was some confusion earlier when the Italian news agency Ansa said schools and universities were to close in Italy until mid-March as the country battles to control the coronavirus.

Italian education minister Lucia Azzolina said that the decision had not yet been taken but would be decided “in the next few hours”.

This isn't rocket science, when there is no vaccine for an infectious disease the only real method of inhibiting its transmission rate to a sustained rate below One, is via isolation. Isolation in the form of social contact which means enforcing social distancing, and / or, isolation in the form of disinfection [hand washing, surface cleaning, protective equipment [gloves, air filters, etc.].

It is evident that is simple routine activities are being requested or required to be inhibited [such as schooling, entertainment, sports] then one should utilize self constraint in your personal activities. Dispensing with non-critical travel and interaction is appropriate, that includes recreational activities wherein one may come into contact or one may travel and become a vector inadvertently. Basically, this is a time to not go cruising or touristing. You can chose to aid in reducing your exposure and the exposure to others. A reasoned and moral choice would be to shelter in place for the interim period and / or to aid in mitigating the disease effects.

One should expect closures of most all places of major gatherings, and events, particularly as to places or happenings of not vital requirement. This inhibition of routine affairs, kind of tells you that recreational travel is not encouraged and should not be practiced.

Reality Check: Self isolation is the only method of inhibiting disease transmission when there is no vaccine. Self isolation breaks the chain of transmission. Self isolation would provide for staying aboard your boat, but not debarking to a dock.

The goal of dealing with infectious diseases is to reduce the transmission rate below 1 so as to allow the disease to mitigate. Any and all things that could increase the transmission rate should be inhibited. This is just basic epidemiology.

One can opt to do your part in mitigating this disease as to exposure to self and to others or one can opt to not aid in mitigating the spread.

You are either a part of the solution or part of the problem. That is the harsh fact. And yes such truth is not a convenient truth.

[Montanan]

Euge:

Keep an eye on the travel arrangements between Australia and Italy, especially as to northern Italy.

Many airlines are drastically cutting back or have cancelled service to Italy. A fluid situation but restarting flights will take considerable time as they don't rebook flights for several weeks so as to allow the seats to become sold to be near or above profitable capacities.

The domestic airlines in the USA are also winding back their flight schedules between USA cities, e.g, about 10 to 20% as demand for non-essential travel begins to drop rapidly.
So far there still seems to be flights from the USA to Rome, not sure about from Australia to Italy.

Reference: https://www.thelocal.it/20200302/cor...-milan-flights

"The most-affected Italian airports are those in the north of the country: Milan, Bologna, Bergamo, Venice and Turin.

Airline industry experts have predicted that the impact of the coronavirus outbreak on travel plans could put financially-troubled airlines such as Italian carrier Alitalia out of business."

[Euge]

Originally Posted by Montanan

Euge:



Keep an eye on the travel arrangements between Australia and Italy, especially as to northern Italy.



Many airlines are drastically cutting back or have cancelled service to Italy. A fluid situation but restarting flights will take considerable time as they don't rebook flights for several weeks so as to allow the seats to become sold to be near or above profitable capacities.



The domestic airlines in the USA are also winding back their flight schedules between USA cities, e.g, about 10 to 20% as demand for non-essential travel begins to drop rapidly.

So far there still seems to be flights from the USA to Rome, not sure about from Australia to Italy.



Reference: https://www.thelocal.it/20200302/cor...-milan-flights



"The most-affected Italian airports are those in the north of the country: Milan, Bologna, Bergamo, Venice and Turin.



Airline industry experts have predicted that the impact of the coronavirus outbreak on travel plans could put financially-troubled airlines such as Italian carrier Alitalia out of business."

Thank you Montanan. We were flying out on the 6th April but will look at rebooking for the end of May in anticipation this will get better.
Cheers

[yeloya]

This an article from french Le Monde newspaper. If you don't read french, you can skip the text but underneath there is a very interesting graph showing how contagious is Corana on the X axis and what was the mortality rate on the Y axis vs. all other contagious ilness .

Cheers

Yeloya


https://www.lemonde.fr/les-decodeurs...6_4355770.html

[securmarbologna]

good morning to all of you
I'm italian
I advise you to update yourself on these sites:
Viaggiare Sicuri
https://www.guardiacostiera.gov.it/
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019...med-cases.html

for information contact me, my boat is located. Porto Garibardi / Ravenna
Yours sincerely, to all of you.

[Euge]

Originally Posted by yeloya

This an article from french Le Monde newspaper. If you don't read french, you can skip the text but underneath there is a very interesting graph showing how contagious is Corana on the X axis and what was the mortality rate on the Y axis vs. all other contagious ilness .

Cheers

Yeloya


https://www.lemonde.fr/les-decodeurs...6_4355770.html

Hey Atila,
From what I understand this is changing daily, restrictions placed on traveling from one region to the next with 2 week quarantine placed on boats when arriving into ports. We are going to wait till this stabilises and then come over.
Cheers

[yeloya]

Originally Posted by Euge

Hey Atila,
From what I understand this is changing daily, restrictions placed on traveling from one region to the next with 2 week quarantine placed on boats when arriving into ports. We are going to wait till this stabilises and then come over.
Cheers

Hi Euge,

One of our charter clients from downunder who had booked a cat for 3 weeks a year ago called me this morning asking what to do. They still want to come but as there are no direct flights from Australia to Turkey, the question was "what about if they put us in quantine even if we are in transit in Singapour or UAE ?"

What a mess.. I still hope this will be over in April, let's wait and see..

Cheers

Yeloya

[Montanan]

Travel restrictions remain very fluid and one needs to expect that you can get stuck between places, not be able to even go to places or to return from places. That is to say, a VERY uncertain time, definitely not circumstances wherein one can realistically be confident in making a plan or a schedule. There being what one may desire and then there is a big ?????? regarding what one will be able to do.

Today's news regarding Australia travel bans and restrictions.

At this time Australia is still allowing repatriation of its citizens back to their homeland but invoking 14 days of self quarantine upon return. That could easily change to merely denial of reentry - a "we love you still, but come home later." Your choice to travel to a risky region can result in you being unwelcomed. And note that return travel may be cancelled by the airlines.

"Australia has banned travel from South Korea and will more thoroughly screen travellers from Italy in a bid to curb the spread of the new coronavirus.

The travel ban from late Thursday follows similar bans on travel from China and Iran.

Australian citizens and permanent residents are exempt from the ban. Those returning from Korea are asked to self-isolate for 14 days when they return home."


Recommend you check with Smart Traveller Advice
The Australian government has issued advice through its Smart Traveller site. https://www.smartraveller.gov.au/new...virus-covid-19

https://www.smartraveller.gov.au/destinations

Example of how precarious travel arrangements can be.
Note the travel restriction could arise from regulatory agencies, or just by the travel providers, that is to say, airlines will not subject their personnel to risks, or their staff could become ill precluding travel by the employees, or do to lack of demand, or simply because they accept to participate in social contract to aid in reducing the R Naught level.

"Korean Air has announced flight suspensions and schedule reductions from South Korea to Hawaii and 12 cities in the U.S., along with dozens of cities around the world due to the new coronavirus outbreak.

The airline on Tuesday posted a schedule on its website listing cancellations of service beginning this week between Incheon International Airport, near Seoul, and cities in Australia, Russia and Europe.

Korean Air suspended service last month from several airports in South Korea to Beijing and other cities in China, Japan and Asia.

According to the new schedule, direct flights will stop by next Monday to Boston, New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Los Angeles and Seattle. It expects service to resume to many cities in late April, depending on how the contagion progresses.

Reductions in flights were announced for service to Honolulu, Chicago, Washington and Atlanta, as well as Vancouver and Toronto."

We all are sharing in the risks of this novel disease and we all can [and should] do our part to reduce the risk to ourselves and to others. Given there is no vaccine and likely will not be one for 14 to 18 months, our ability to contribute to reduction of the disease transmission is well established.

The standard metric for infectiousness is what’s called the reproduction number, or R0. It is usually pronounced “R naught,” and the zero after the R should be rendered in subscript, but it’s a simple enough concept. An R0 of one means each person with the disease can be expected to infect one more person. If the number dips below one, the disease will peter out. If it gets much above one, the disease can spread rapidly.

Copied below are a list of R0s for some of infectious diseases. These are rough approximations, in most cases the midpoints of quite-large ranges. But they do give a sense of relative infectiousness.

This helps explain why public health authorities want everybody to get vaccinated against the measles [measles being derived from the Rinderpest virus]. Measles is not all that deadly a disease, but once it gets going in an unvaccinated population, everybody gets it.

"With Covid-19, “it seems that it can transmit quite a bit before symptoms occur,” Buckee says. How much is still up in the air. World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has been arguing this week that pre-symptomatic transmission appears to be low enough that Covid-19 can be controlled in ways that the flu cannot. “If this was an influenza epidemic, we would have expected to see widespread community transmission across the globe by now,” he said Monday, “and efforts to slow it down or contain it would not be feasible.”

To understand how the spread of such a disease can be contained, it helps to break R0 down to its constituent parts. A simple formula that I got from Buckee is:

The probability of infection given contact with an infectious person (b), multiplied by the contact rate (k), multiplied by the infectious duration (d)

In some cases you can shorten the infectious duration with treatment. Quarantining people once you know they’re infected effectively shortens it, too. Variables b and k, meanwhile, are clearly dependent on behavior. The probability of infection is reduced by things like frequent hand-washing, replacing handshakes with fist bumps and such. The contact rate is reduced by staying home. By putting much of the country on lockdown, Chinese authorities reduced the contact rate enough that Covid-19’s R0 in the country fell below one. They also incurred huge economic and social costs. Now, as China begins to go back to work, the big question is whether a less-draconian approach can keep the disease in check or whether it will just start spreading again.

That’s the big question in the U.S., Europe and pretty much everywhere else on earth too. It can’t be answered entirely by professional epidemiologists, either. Weighing whether the costs of a particular intervention are worth the benefits is at heart a political decision. So it’s actually good that politicians are moonlighting as amateur epidemiologists. Some of them may just need to study a little harder."

It is easy enough to just Do The Math, and to figure out which factors one can aid in reducing the probability and to then implement such disease prevention activities as part of your self preservation responsibilities and your social contract for the well being of others responsibilities.

The simple moral question to ask and to answer is: How can I help reduce the R Naught?

Having had the seven years working at a biotechnology company which had a part of its research and development efforts targeting the development of
three vaccines, the mystery of how diseases develop and spread has been lifted for me and the social responsibilities as to patient compliance are very clear. For example, everyone should get vaccinated so as to protect themselves but also so as to not become vectors of transmission to others. Equally everyone should contribute to pursuing proper hygiene to disinfect and to engage in social isolation until such time as effective vaccines can be developed and administered to the billions of persons on this planet we share. As to the determination to travel, at this time one should be basing the consideration on the need to travel and not a desire to travel. That need should be a necessity and be of a nature of an urgent necessity.

[Montanan]

https://www.yahoo.com/news/pays-ther...181957893.html

Who Pays if There's a Coronavirus Outbreak and You Get Quarantined on Vacation?
Jamie Ducharme
TimeMarch 5, 2020, 11:19 AM MST


The COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak has understandably made people nervous about travel. In response, public-health officials and experts have issued lots of advice for travelers, including the directive to only visit places you wouldn’t mind ending up quarantined.

That advice, often given half-jokingly, is something travelers should actually consider. About 1,000 people were quarantined at a hotel in Spain’s Canary Islands after guests who stayed there tested positive for COVID-19, and travelers in countries including China, Italy, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the Philippines have also reportedly been quarantined in their hotels. Passengers have also gotten stuck on several cruise ships due to COVID-19 concerns. Even actor Tom Cruise got sequestered in an Italian hotel due to an outbreak there.

For non-celebrities, these incidents prompt an obvious question: Who pays if you get quarantined on vacation?

“Each circumstance is unique,” a U.S. State Department representative tells TIME. “In the case of several cruise ships in East Asia that underwent quarantine, the cruise lines themselves assumed the cost of accommodations. In most other cases, individual travelers are responsible for managing their self-quarantine.”

Two guests involved in mandatory hotel quarantines, however, said they did not end up on the hook for extra expenses. Sophie Smith, an Australia-based freelance journalist who traveled to the UAE to cover a professional cycling race, ended up quarantined in her Abu Dhabi hotel room for days due to possible exposure to coronavirus at the event. (She eventually tested negative and was cleared to fly home on Monday.) “There was just no communication,” Smith says. “No one had information. It’s surreal. You’re on your own in a small hotel room.”

Given the chaos of the situation, Smith says she’s not entirely sure who paid for her extra time and meals in the hotel, or for her rebooked flight home. She thinks the local sports council paid, but all she knows for sure is that it wasn’t her. (TIME could not reach the Abu Dhabi Sports Council for confirmation.)

The Canary Islands hotel placed under quarantine, H10 Costa Adeje Palace in Tenerife, also seems not to be charging guests. Lilia Kovka, who lives in Berlin, says her parents are staying at the hotel, and have not yet been asked to pay for anything. “Nobody knows at this moment who is going to pay at the end,” she says. “The German and Spanish governments need to pay and provide the flight back. We will all protest if not.”

In a letter to guests obtained by the Guardian, hotel representatives wrote that, “We are providing customers and hotel staff all the necessary care and attention so that, despite the inconveniences this situation may cause, they are taken care of in the best way possible.” TIME could not reach the hotel for further clarification.

The situation may be even stickier for travelers staying in home-shares, since they could feasibly end up quarantined in someone else’s residence. Airbnb did not respond to TIME’s request for comment about quarantine, but the company posted on its website that travelers planning to visit heavily affected areas such as China and South Korea may be able to cancel their trips for free. Guests with individual risk factors or obligations related to COVID-19 may also meet Airbnb’s extenuating circumstances cancellation policy.

The U.S. State Department recommends that people monitor its travel guidelines as well as those posted by governments of their planned destinations. But given the volatility of the outbreak, it’s virtually impossible to predict where the next case or cluster will pop up. Purchasing trip insurance can protect against unexpected costs, the State Department says.

Julie Loffredi, a spokesperson for travel protection company InsureMyTrip, says some travel insurers cover quarantine situations, but notes that there are still ambiguities. Coverage could depend on whether the quarantine was ordered by a doctor, or on whether an entire ship or hotel, versus an individual, is ordered into quarantine, she says.

Quarantine costs don’t only apply to hotel guests. The New York Times reported that a Pennsylvania man living in China and his toddler daughter were required to stay in a California pediatric hospital’s isolation unit after being evacuated from Wuhan, China by the government, along with dozens of other Americans flown home as the coronavirus outbreak there intensified. They then faced almost $4,000 in unexpected medical bills for the mandatory stays, as well as for services such as ambulance transport and radiology scans, the Times reported. The hospital, when contacted by the Times, said the bills were sent in error.

There are legal provisions that authorize the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to pay for medical expenses associated with quarantine, but only after payers such as insurers, employers and the government have contributed however much they are obligated to the total bill. The CDC did not respond to questions about its financial contributions when asked by the Times.

[Montanan]

Originally Posted by yeloya

Hi Euge,

One of our charter clients from downunder who had booked a cat for 3 weeks a year ago called me this morning asking what to do. They still want to come but as there are no direct flights from Australia to Turkey, the question was "what about if they put us in quantine even if we are in transit in Singapour or UAE ?"

What a mess.. I still hope this will be over in April, let's wait and see..

Cheers

Yeloya

Excellent question.

Reference article: https://www.marketwatch.com/story/sh...of2&yptr=yahoo


Travelers mull over plans in light of COVID-19. Some are going ahead, while others are staying home. ‘My trip is not as important as someone else’s health’

Where are you traveling and how are you getting there?

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has advised that Americans avoid any non-essential travel to China, Iran, Italy and South Korea because of the large numbers of cases in those countries. Additionally, the CDC advised people traveling to Japan to take extra precautions to remain healthy.

The CDC has also suggested that all travelers reconsider any cruise trips to or within Asia as the outbreak continues. Despite these warnings about international travel, government officials have not put out any guidance advising people to avoid travel domestically.

Traveling to a country where community spread of the novel coronavirus will put you at an elevated risk of contracting the virus. Additionally, health officials in the U.S. may require people returning from those countries to undergo extensive health screenings or self-quarantine for 14 days when they get back, as has been the case for people returning from certain parts of mainland China, including the Hubei province where the virus likely originated.

Do you have a layover in another country as part of your travel itinerary?
Another consideration: Do you have a layover in another country as part of your travel itinerary? Other countries have instituted their own bans on people entering their borders because of the outbreak, which could complicate travel arrangements. (Flying direct as an alternative, of course, can cost more money.)

If you are feeling sick, you should obviously not travel. There is evidence of community spread in many parts of the U.S., meaning that people are contracting the virus even if they haven’t knowingly come into contact with someone who contracted the virus overseas. Anyone with potential coronavirus symptoms, such as a fever, headache or cough, stay home to avoid potentially spreading the virus, health officials say.

The fatality rate among those who have coronavirus varies widely based on age and health. Currently, data regarding coronavirus deaths suggest that people over the age of 70 are more likely to have severe symptoms and/or die from the illness than younger people. Fatality rates are also higher for those with pre-existing conditions such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, chronic respiratory disease, hypertension and cancer.

. . .

Not all travelers are cancelling their trips outright. Some are rebooking for later dates or amending where they will go. Kelsey O’Brien, a 28-year-old social media manager and content creator in San Francisco, said she and her husband have changed where they will go for their honeymoon.

The couple married in late November and had decided to hold off on their honeymoon so they could save more money and spend more time planning the trip after their wedding. They had settled on a trip to Italy because of affordable airfares to Rome.

This week, the couple decided instead to go on a vacation to Hawaii to avoid the potential complications that could arise from traveling internationally, particularly to a country where there could be a larger outbreak of the virus.

Even with the change of location, O’Brien said she has concerns about how risky it is to travel right now. “It’s been really hard as a consumer to understand is this a Level 10 emergency and I should cancel any plans and just stay here, or do I not need to cancel my plans at all,” O’Brien said. “I try to come at it from a place of compassion. My trip is not as important as someone else’s health.”

[Montanan]

Italy to Lock Down Milan Region in Bid to Contain Coronavirus Outbreak
Alberto Brambilla and John Follain
BloombergMarch 7, 2020, 1:03 PM MST


The Italian government is set to lock down the Milan region and several other northern areas to fight Europe’s worst coronavirus outbreak, according to a draft decree seen by Bloomberg.

The measures, in force until April 3, will ban entering or exiting the area and also movement inside it won’t be allowed if not for “undeferrable” business or health reason, the draft said. In the so-called “security zone” restrictive measures will include schools closures and suspending skiing and public events, and closing museums, swimming pools and theaters, according to the draft. Bars and restaurants will have to maintain a distance of at least a meter between people or will be closed. Work meetings have to be suspended.

With Italy’s economy already at risk of recession before the outbreak, the crisis has all but paralyzed business activity in Lombardy -- home to major companies including carmaker Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV.

The number of fatalities has risen to 233, with total cases increasing to 5,883, the third-highest in the world after China and South Korea. Civil protection chief Angelo Borrelli told reporters the jump in the number of currently infected patients was in part due to more than 300 cases in the Lombardy region dating over several days from a laboratory in the town of Brescia that had not been counted previously.

More measures will apply across Italy, with nightclubs closed as well as pubs and betting halls, and bans on parties and public events. Newspaper Corriere della Sera reported earlier on the draft, which is expected to be approved by the government late Saturday or on Sunday.

[Euge]

Originally Posted by Montanan

Italy to Lock Down Milan Region in Bid to Contain Coronavirus Outbreak

Alberto Brambilla and John Follain

BloombergMarch 7, 2020, 1:03 PM MST





The Italian government is set to lock down the Milan region and several other northern areas to fight Europe’s worst coronavirus outbreak, according to a draft decree seen by Bloomberg.



The measures, in force until April 3, will ban entering or exiting the area and also movement inside it won’t be allowed if not for “undeferrable” business or health reason, the draft said. In the so-called “security zone” restrictive measures will include schools closures and suspending skiing and public events, and closing museums, swimming pools and theaters, according to the draft. Bars and restaurants will have to maintain a distance of at least a meter between people or will be closed. Work meetings have to be suspended.



With Italy’s economy already at risk of recession before the outbreak, the crisis has all but paralyzed business activity in Lombardy -- home to major companies including carmaker Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV.



The number of fatalities has risen to 233, with total cases increasing to 5,883, the third-highest in the world after China and South Korea. Civil protection chief Angelo Borrelli told reporters the jump in the number of currently infected patients was in part due to more than 300 cases in the Lombardy region dating over several days from a laboratory in the town of Brescia that had not been counted previously.



More measures will apply across Italy, with nightclubs closed as well as pubs and betting halls, and bans on parties and public events. Newspaper Corriere della Sera reported earlier on the draft, which is expected to be approved by the government late Saturday or on Sunday.

Thank you Montanan!