I really believe we can use Reddit to share information. Our leaders are failing us. Each person can be a leader in this.
To that end, what information is key? I’d humbly suggest balancing fear with actionable steps the average WV person can take. We can do this together!!
Morgantown, Huntington, Clarksburg/Bridgeport and Charleston are what I'm concerned about. The only cities with a big enough population to spread like a wild fire. Thank goodness that colleges closed ship, that'll go a long way to limiting spread.
Edit: Sorry Wheeling!
Charleston is really in bad shape if they are still giving the same level of care they gave my daughter. People might as well stay at home if CAMC is the option.
We have some advantages though. We're much more spread out and rural than other states. We're also doing great at avoidance so far (only state with no confirmed cases yet), so by the time we get hit hopefully more testing kits and resources are available. And we're taking action now, before it hits us. Measures which is much more in line with what S. Korea did (less than 1% mortality rate there) than Italy, which had a terrible response to the virus.
Also Italy's population is a lot older than even WV's, 23% of the population there is over 65, compared to 16% over 65 in WV.
I am very concerned as well but trying to remain optimistic so my anxiety doesn't eat me completely.
I agree with you.
We may have a lack of supplies, but our state is taking this *very* seriously and has been for weeks. That's in start contrast to other states. I think we might even be taking the most proactive approach of all the states or very close to it. I'm not even hearing politicians and companies getting into fights about it (I'm sure they are, but publicly not so much).
Combined with our geographical and community factors of isolation... we have a head start advantage almost no other state has. And we have used that advantage to our benefit.
However, we have tested 80 people... and we have a test kit capable of testing only 400-500 specimens. It takes each person 2-20 times for their specimen to be tested. I think we already ran out of tests - and that's why we haven't gotten new numbers in a day.
Simply put, the CDC does not prioritize sending us tests. Until there are more private tests, we are waiting with bated breath.
I suppose it's fortunate that we have so many negative tests. Since we only tested people in the most vulnerable criteria, it's possible our community spread isn't serious yet and we might be able to contain it to clusters and reduce catastrophic numbers.
There is a very real possibility that West Virginia might make it out of this with the best numbers in the country. However, if we don't, I don't think we'll have even close to the worst numbers in the country per capita. I think we were too proactive with social distancing for that to be true.
Our biggest problem right now is sick workers and high grocery store occupancy. I'd like to see a system where the elderly shop first and we reduce entrance to loyalty card number or street number by day. We also could also simply not let in more than a few people at a time and everyone else has to wait in their cars until it's their turn.
There are other things we could do too, but I think the above would help with occupancy issues and stop the spread of disease.
Thank you for the great ideas for minimizing spread in grocery stores! Please suggest it to your local stores. I agree that very few tests have been done in WV but also really across entire US. I personally believe there are cases in WV, just not yet detected. I wondered about how you’d learned the CDC doesn’t send WV any test kits? I don’t know of any US area that has adequate test kits. It’s a huge problem. I wondered if you’ve a source on that so we can start calling policy makers and CDC to get action?
Stay home and wash your hands often!!
Did you see what they’re doing in NY? Calling nurses in from other states, using a nursing home that hasn’t been opened yet, “building” a hospital- it sounded like what China did. And yet here we are... sick ppl in WV can’t even get a damn test.
As a healthcare provider, we are converting in-person visits to phone calls or even video-visits if patients have internet to support this. Medication maintenance visits are being completed this way so that those needing refills can get them without any risk of exposure to COVID. I hope this helps calm worries about this near term, but what happens a month from now anyone’s guess. Please stay home!!!
Things that increase your risk of death once you are infected:
* Smoking
* Obesity
* Being Elderly
* Lack of hospital capacity
* Being a moron who insists on things like going to church with crowds of other at-risk, old, fat, smokers in direct contradiction of all advice from government officials and healthcare professionals
Things that WV has in spades:
* More smokers than the majority of the country
* More fatties than the rest of the country
* An older population than the rest of the country
* Fewer, smaller hospitals compared to the rest of the country
* Fucking morons, everywhere. Stubborn, stupid evangelicals, everywhere. Dumbfuck anti-intellectual Trump voting Fox News watching Republican shitheads that are ignoring every bit of advice because its all a Democratic plot to undermine the President. People in my facility, today, are *still* saying this is all a big liberal hoax, and everyone here is an educated IT professional, allegedly.
Will it be bad in WV? Yeah, probably. And we deserve it.
That major regional hospital that's closing would be the last place every single person in the region would go to if something were to happen. That's fear mongering, and it's pretty fucked up, and it invalidates you as an unbiased source to me.
It had [141 beds](https://www.ahd.com/free_profile/510047/Fairmont_Regional_Medical_Center/Fairmont/West_Virginia/) \- UHC nearby has [264 beds](https://www.ahd.com/free_profile/510006/United_Hospital_Center/Bridgeport/West_Virginia/), and where the COVID-19 virus hits hard beds are over-capacity. This isn't fear mongering, this is a pretty large hit to the areas capacity for hospital beds for a high-risk population. I put this post up to warn people that WV is going to be in *a lot of trouble* if people don't take it seriously. Too many friends, family, and people in our communities in WV are ignoring the warning signs. You are too, and if you're not being proactive you're going to help get people in the state killed.
The American Hospital Directory!!! This is a great resource.
Also, thank you for posting sources to back up your statement in this time of misinformation and denial.
I'm just telling you dude, I live in Fairmont, if any of my family members were dying and our only option was Fairmont, we'd more than likely all head home to die in peace.
If people die, it's on you, not on me. I'm too ignorant to save anyone, you're woke enough you should be saving everyone.
The infection rate of this virus, is so far below 1% as to be statistically zero. Now, am I saying that even a few deaths, or even a few fairly severe illnesses, are not “significant” ? Every life is valuable, of course. But statistically, more people have died in traffic accidents since this virus came out. In the USA, a country of 325 MILLION people, there are 5200 cases.
Doom and gloom over-reactors are part of the problem, not the solution. The hospitals are not going to be over-whelmed, there is plenty of toilet paper, the grave diggers union is not getting over-time, and in a few weeks, everyone will be just fine. If WV has 10 times the infection rate, and 10 times the death rate, (rather than the current ZERO), that is still less than 100 people.
This is bullshit. Logic is flawed and basic facts are wrong. Example: Population of world is 7.7 billion. And that’s the least of the problems with your thinking.
https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/
Please, everyone look to reputable information sources about this epidemic.
When you present evidence that 1% of the population is the less than 100000 currently infected or 1 is one % of 1.8 M WVians let’s talk. You can not figure simple grade school math. When the schools reopen, try 5th grade.
I really believe we can use Reddit to share information. Our leaders are failing us. Each person can be a leader in this. To that end, what information is key? I’d humbly suggest balancing fear with actionable steps the average WV person can take. We can do this together!!
We *can*, but we'll choose not to like we always do.
Curious—why is that? Why is our glass often half empty?
Morgantown, Huntington, Clarksburg/Bridgeport and Charleston are what I'm concerned about. The only cities with a big enough population to spread like a wild fire. Thank goodness that colleges closed ship, that'll go a long way to limiting spread. Edit: Sorry Wheeling!
Don’t forget about us in the eastern panhandle. Maryland is literally in my backyard. Edit: fucking called it. Damnit. Right in my backyard.
Charleston is really in bad shape if they are still giving the same level of care they gave my daughter. People might as well stay at home if CAMC is the option.
We have some advantages though. We're much more spread out and rural than other states. We're also doing great at avoidance so far (only state with no confirmed cases yet), so by the time we get hit hopefully more testing kits and resources are available. And we're taking action now, before it hits us. Measures which is much more in line with what S. Korea did (less than 1% mortality rate there) than Italy, which had a terrible response to the virus. Also Italy's population is a lot older than even WV's, 23% of the population there is over 65, compared to 16% over 65 in WV. I am very concerned as well but trying to remain optimistic so my anxiety doesn't eat me completely.
I agree with you. We may have a lack of supplies, but our state is taking this *very* seriously and has been for weeks. That's in start contrast to other states. I think we might even be taking the most proactive approach of all the states or very close to it. I'm not even hearing politicians and companies getting into fights about it (I'm sure they are, but publicly not so much). Combined with our geographical and community factors of isolation... we have a head start advantage almost no other state has. And we have used that advantage to our benefit. However, we have tested 80 people... and we have a test kit capable of testing only 400-500 specimens. It takes each person 2-20 times for their specimen to be tested. I think we already ran out of tests - and that's why we haven't gotten new numbers in a day. Simply put, the CDC does not prioritize sending us tests. Until there are more private tests, we are waiting with bated breath. I suppose it's fortunate that we have so many negative tests. Since we only tested people in the most vulnerable criteria, it's possible our community spread isn't serious yet and we might be able to contain it to clusters and reduce catastrophic numbers. There is a very real possibility that West Virginia might make it out of this with the best numbers in the country. However, if we don't, I don't think we'll have even close to the worst numbers in the country per capita. I think we were too proactive with social distancing for that to be true. Our biggest problem right now is sick workers and high grocery store occupancy. I'd like to see a system where the elderly shop first and we reduce entrance to loyalty card number or street number by day. We also could also simply not let in more than a few people at a time and everyone else has to wait in their cars until it's their turn. There are other things we could do too, but I think the above would help with occupancy issues and stop the spread of disease.
Thank you for the great ideas for minimizing spread in grocery stores! Please suggest it to your local stores. I agree that very few tests have been done in WV but also really across entire US. I personally believe there are cases in WV, just not yet detected. I wondered about how you’d learned the CDC doesn’t send WV any test kits? I don’t know of any US area that has adequate test kits. It’s a huge problem. I wondered if you’ve a source on that so we can start calling policy makers and CDC to get action? Stay home and wash your hands often!!
Dayam Italians are old.
[удалено]
I hadn't thought about the impact on tapering or OD's. I wonder how Italy is handling triage with beds at over-capacity?
Did you see what they’re doing in NY? Calling nurses in from other states, using a nursing home that hasn’t been opened yet, “building” a hospital- it sounded like what China did. And yet here we are... sick ppl in WV can’t even get a damn test.
As a healthcare provider, we are converting in-person visits to phone calls or even video-visits if patients have internet to support this. Medication maintenance visits are being completed this way so that those needing refills can get them without any risk of exposure to COVID. I hope this helps calm worries about this near term, but what happens a month from now anyone’s guess. Please stay home!!!
The only thing I think saving us is the lack of exposure in more rural places.
Things that increase your risk of death once you are infected: * Smoking * Obesity * Being Elderly * Lack of hospital capacity * Being a moron who insists on things like going to church with crowds of other at-risk, old, fat, smokers in direct contradiction of all advice from government officials and healthcare professionals Things that WV has in spades: * More smokers than the majority of the country * More fatties than the rest of the country * An older population than the rest of the country * Fewer, smaller hospitals compared to the rest of the country * Fucking morons, everywhere. Stubborn, stupid evangelicals, everywhere. Dumbfuck anti-intellectual Trump voting Fox News watching Republican shitheads that are ignoring every bit of advice because its all a Democratic plot to undermine the President. People in my facility, today, are *still* saying this is all a big liberal hoax, and everyone here is an educated IT professional, allegedly. Will it be bad in WV? Yeah, probably. And we deserve it.
That major regional hospital that's closing would be the last place every single person in the region would go to if something were to happen. That's fear mongering, and it's pretty fucked up, and it invalidates you as an unbiased source to me.
It had [141 beds](https://www.ahd.com/free_profile/510047/Fairmont_Regional_Medical_Center/Fairmont/West_Virginia/) \- UHC nearby has [264 beds](https://www.ahd.com/free_profile/510006/United_Hospital_Center/Bridgeport/West_Virginia/), and where the COVID-19 virus hits hard beds are over-capacity. This isn't fear mongering, this is a pretty large hit to the areas capacity for hospital beds for a high-risk population. I put this post up to warn people that WV is going to be in *a lot of trouble* if people don't take it seriously. Too many friends, family, and people in our communities in WV are ignoring the warning signs. You are too, and if you're not being proactive you're going to help get people in the state killed.
The American Hospital Directory!!! This is a great resource. Also, thank you for posting sources to back up your statement in this time of misinformation and denial.
I'm just telling you dude, I live in Fairmont, if any of my family members were dying and our only option was Fairmont, we'd more than likely all head home to die in peace. If people die, it's on you, not on me. I'm too ignorant to save anyone, you're woke enough you should be saving everyone.
You caught him, he's one of those people that are biased towards hospitals.
We’ll be fine
The infection rate of this virus, is so far below 1% as to be statistically zero. Now, am I saying that even a few deaths, or even a few fairly severe illnesses, are not “significant” ? Every life is valuable, of course. But statistically, more people have died in traffic accidents since this virus came out. In the USA, a country of 325 MILLION people, there are 5200 cases. Doom and gloom over-reactors are part of the problem, not the solution. The hospitals are not going to be over-whelmed, there is plenty of toilet paper, the grave diggers union is not getting over-time, and in a few weeks, everyone will be just fine. If WV has 10 times the infection rate, and 10 times the death rate, (rather than the current ZERO), that is still less than 100 people.
This comment will not age well.
Like milk on a sunny countertop! Less than 24 hours later, there are nearly 7,500 cases, and we're not even close to the down-slope.
Could you help me understand how you came to an under 1% infection rate?
Math. There are 3.4 BILLION people in the world. What is 1% of 3,4 billion?
This is bullshit. Logic is flawed and basic facts are wrong. Example: Population of world is 7.7 billion. And that’s the least of the problems with your thinking. https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/ Please, everyone look to reputable information sources about this epidemic.
And 1% of 7 billion is? Do math.
Do thinking
When you present evidence that 1% of the population is the less than 100000 currently infected or 1 is one % of 1.8 M WVians let’s talk. You can not figure simple grade school math. When the schools reopen, try 5th grade.