4 ms·

So, assuming all that is true, why did the virus not spread worldwide earlier? That's the crux of what that person you're responding to was taking about. Can yo

by Bjartr 6y ago

So, assuming all that is true, why did the virus not spread worldwide earlier? That's the crux of what that person you're responding to was taking about. Can you share something from your knowledge of articles, posts, and anecdotes that provides some clarity on that question?

plafl 6y ago
An analysis of sewer water has detected the virus as early as 15th of January in Barcelona. See for example (in Spanish) https://www.lavanguardia.com/local/barcelona/20200607/481654145204/detectados-restos-coronavirus-covid19-aguas-residuales-barcelona-enero.html https://www.lavanguardia.com/local/barcelona/20200607/481654...
iKevinShah 6y ago
Here's a suggestion and no scientific evidence backing this. The virus might have spread worldwide earlier. There might have been deaths due to it earlier too. There was no way of knowing it until Jan 2020. No testing. Nothing. Also the fact that this virus affects people with existing conditions, there's a very good chance that initial deaths / patient 0 / index patient might have been tagged as dead under their respective conditions. As far as the symptoms go, there's no 'unique' symptom so that might have led to people saying that their coughing is due to cold or whatever.
- baddox 6y ago
  It’s not a “unique symptom” of the disease exactly, but health care disasters like we saw later in Lombardy and New York would not have gone unnoticed even if we had no particular virus test.
  - natrik 6y ago
    There was no health care disaster in New York. I assume you mean hospitals being overrun.
    - javagram 6y ago
      NYC was putting patients into hospital cafeterias, the Javits Center, and a US navy ship in the harbor if you didn’t notice. Moreover, many people who called in sick were told to stay at home because there wasn’t room in the hospital for them like there normally would have been. https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/javits-center-comfort-new-york-covid-patients/2020/04/10/edeb002e-7a82-11ea-b6ff-597f170df8f8_story.html https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/javits-center-comfor... > It was only a month ago when Cuomo and New York Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) suggested that the crisis would blow over. But as the need for more hospital beds became clear, Cuomo, at his daily news briefings, described his forceful push on the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and then his calls to President Trump, to allow covid-19 patients at the Javits Center.
    - baddox 6y ago
      I’m not playing semantic games. I consider what happened to be a healthcare disaster, and if you don’t, that’s fine. We’re still talking about the same thing.

by Bjartr 6y ago

plafl 6y ago

An analysis of sewer water has detected the virus as early as 15th of January in Barcelona. See for example (in Spanish) https://www.lavanguardia.com/local/barcelona/20200607/481654145204/detectados-restos-coronavirus-covid19-aguas-residuales-barcelona-enero.html https://www.lavanguardia.com/local/barcelona/20200607/481654...

iKevinShah 6y ago

Here's a suggestion and no scientific evidence backing this. The virus might have spread worldwide earlier. There might have been deaths due to it earlier too. There was no way of knowing it until Jan 2020. No testing. Nothing. Also the fact that this virus affects people with existing conditions, there's a very good chance that initial deaths / patient 0 / index patient might have been tagged as dead under their respective conditions. As far as the symptoms go, there's no 'unique' symptom so that might have led to people saying that their coughing is due to cold or whatever.

baddox 6y ago
It’s not a “unique symptom” of the disease exactly, but health care disasters like we saw later in Lombardy and New York would not have gone unnoticed even if we had no particular virus test.
- natrik 6y ago
  There was no health care disaster in New York. I assume you mean hospitals being overrun.
  - javagram 6y ago
    NYC was putting patients into hospital cafeterias, the Javits Center, and a US navy ship in the harbor if you didn’t notice. Moreover, many people who called in sick were told to stay at home because there wasn’t room in the hospital for them like there normally would have been. https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/javits-center-comfort-new-york-covid-patients/2020/04/10/edeb002e-7a82-11ea-b6ff-597f170df8f8_story.html https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/javits-center-comfor... > It was only a month ago when Cuomo and New York Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) suggested that the crisis would blow over. But as the need for more hospital beds became clear, Cuomo, at his daily news briefings, described his forceful push on the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and then his calls to President Trump, to allow covid-19 patients at the Javits Center.
  - baddox 6y ago
    I’m not playing semantic games. I consider what happened to be a healthcare disaster, and if you don’t, that’s fine. We’re still talking about the same thing.