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To reiterate what others said, it is long past containment in the United States. In Canada early on the cases were people who came from known hot spots. Now it

To reiterate what others said, it is long past containment in the United States. In Canada early on the cases were people who came from known hot spots. Now it is almost entirely people coming from the United States, from places with no known cases. Clearly there are clusters throughout the United States. Unconfirmed, unrecognized clusters. And with the adversity of many to utilizing health care, it seems impossible to deal with now. It's also worth noting that this flight ban applies only to non-Americans, just as the Wuhan restriction before did. During the prior travel restriction dozens of flights a day were going to and from Wuhan -- they just had Americans on them, who apparently aren't susceptible to the foreign virus. This new restriction is identical, allowing Americans to march the globe with their COVID-19, but at least they kept out the foreigners. Instead of any actual efforts it is again mere security theater. And again Trump will pat himself on the back for his very-close-to-useless theatrics.

nomel 7y ago
I think elementary/high schools are how this will spread through communities with the most efficiency. Collect a person from each family, mix them together with the poorest respect for hygiene, then send them home, 5 times a week. Here's the perspective of a San Jose public high school [1] proving that containment isn't a concern: > Oak Grove High School officials said they were not considering school closures because “children have not been shown to be a high-risk group for serious illness from this virus.” The Centers for Disease Control said last week that limited reports showed child COVID-19 patients in China had generally presented with mild symptoms. > “As much as possible, children should be allowed to carry on with their education and normal activities,” school officials said. Related, a family member received a "exposure notice" from her child's school that one of the students tested positive. No closure. There's no attempt for containment in the US. My hunch is that it's not needed as much as is being suggested by some. I guess we'll see. [1] https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/03/08/oak-grove-high-school-student-under-quarantine-for-covid-19-school-undergoing-weekend-deep-cleaning/ https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/03/08/oak-grove-high-school...
- nomel 7y ago
  Correction: The bay area schools have shut down for 3 weeks. :)
unishark 7y ago
> It's also worth noting that this flight ban applies only to non-Americans, just as the Wuhan restriction before did. During the prior travel restriction dozens of flights a day were going to and from Wuhan -- they just had Americans on them, who apparently aren't susceptible to the foreign virus. This new restriction is identical, allowing Americans to march the globe with their COVID-19, but at least they kept out the foreigners. Well presumably they'll always allow non-Americans to leave. As for americans, they would still have to wade through quarantine or whatever restrictions the other country requires. For entry into the US, does the govt even has the power to keep americans and permanent residents from entering? Seems like every country will at worst only quarantine its own people.
- endorphone 7y ago
  The US can't restrict its own citizens from returning (although it could certainly impose a quarantine), and I didn't claim or imply that they should. The point is that the action is farce. Those flights to and from Wuhan were always full of primarily Americans, and continued unabated. Just as Americans can still fly to and from Europe, though obviously carriers are going to drastically cut the flight counts. Regardless, it is without an ounce of doubt that COVID-19 is spreading, completely uncontrolled, throughout the US. Italy is a week or so ahead of the United States, but sadly the most probable outcome is a catastrophe in the near future.
  - unishark 7y ago
    I agree we are maybe 1.5 weeks behind Italy. Though hopefully it never explodes quite as fast in most of the US due to lower population density and other cultural differences. But as for travel bans, the complaint is that they only slow the spread, in return for economic and other downsides. But I'll take that. The flatter the curve is the better.

nomel 7y ago

I think elementary/high schools are how this will spread through communities with the most efficiency. Collect a person from each family, mix them together with the poorest respect for hygiene, then send them home, 5 times a week. Here's the perspective of a San Jose public high school [1] proving that containment isn't a concern: > Oak Grove High School officials said they were not considering school closures because “children have not been shown to be a high-risk group for serious illness from this virus.” The Centers for Disease Control said last week that limited reports showed child COVID-19 patients in China had generally presented with mild symptoms. > “As much as possible, children should be allowed to carry on with their education and normal activities,” school officials said. Related, a family member received a "exposure notice" from her child's school that one of the students tested positive. No closure. There's no attempt for containment in the US. My hunch is that it's not needed as much as is being suggested by some. I guess we'll see. [1] https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/03/08/oak-grove-high-school-student-under-quarantine-for-covid-19-school-undergoing-weekend-deep-cleaning/ https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/03/08/oak-grove-high-school...

nomel 7y ago
Correction: The bay area schools have shut down for 3 weeks. :)

unishark 7y ago

> It's also worth noting that this flight ban applies only to non-Americans, just as the Wuhan restriction before did. During the prior travel restriction dozens of flights a day were going to and from Wuhan -- they just had Americans on them, who apparently aren't susceptible to the foreign virus. This new restriction is identical, allowing Americans to march the globe with their COVID-19, but at least they kept out the foreigners. Well presumably they'll always allow non-Americans to leave. As for americans, they would still have to wade through quarantine or whatever restrictions the other country requires. For entry into the US, does the govt even has the power to keep americans and permanent residents from entering? Seems like every country will at worst only quarantine its own people.

endorphone 7y ago
The US can't restrict its own citizens from returning (although it could certainly impose a quarantine), and I didn't claim or imply that they should. The point is that the action is farce. Those flights to and from Wuhan were always full of primarily Americans, and continued unabated. Just as Americans can still fly to and from Europe, though obviously carriers are going to drastically cut the flight counts. Regardless, it is without an ounce of doubt that COVID-19 is spreading, completely uncontrolled, throughout the US. Italy is a week or so ahead of the United States, but sadly the most probable outcome is a catastrophe in the near future.
- unishark 7y ago
  I agree we are maybe 1.5 weeks behind Italy. Though hopefully it never explodes quite as fast in most of the US due to lower population density and other cultural differences. But as for travel bans, the complaint is that they only slow the spread, in return for economic and other downsides. But I'll take that. The flatter the curve is the better.