Re:How the 1918 Flu Spread Across America (2017)
by dmix on Friday February 28, 2020 @01:24PM
(#22445013)
The CDC is (allegedly) already working on expanding the criteria for who gets tested and who doesn't. Making the conditions less strict. They are also working hard on getting the testing kits available broadly in every region of the country which is no easy task (apparently a bit part of the supply chain for the actual testing kits is coming from China, which is ironic in a way).
Previously only people who were in contact with infected people showing symptoms or were in China (previously Wuhan) would be allowed to get tested. This may be missing a ton of aystompatic people walking around who don't know they have it, and may be spreading it to other people [1]. Your friend most certainly should have been tested and possibly self-quarinited.
Fun story, an area in northern Italy, Lombary decided to test more broad, not just the people showing symptoms and they found 600 people (only roughly 200 showing symptoms). It seems that no one really cares about the other 400 infected people walking around because "they aren't coughing and spreading it like a symptomatic person".
The funny part is a bunch of other Italian areas got mad at Lombardy for testing broadly and spiking the total number of infected in Italy. It's like shooting the messenger. The Lomary official had a great quote (this comes from [2]):
> Lombardy officials said they preferred to know who had the virus.
> “Either you hide problems under a carpet, or you lift the carpet and you clean the floor,” Attilio Fontana, the region’s president, said in an interview in his office, with views over a foggy and eerily quiet Milan, 29 floors above the virus hunters.
Previously only people who were in contact with infected people showing symptoms or were in China (previously Wuhan) would be allowed to get tested. This may be missing a ton of aystompatic people walking around who don't know they have it, and may be spreading it to other people [1]. Your friend most certainly should have been tested and possibly self-quarinited.
Fun story, an area in northern Italy, Lombary decided to test more broad, not just the people showing symptoms and they found 600 people (only roughly 200 showing symptoms). It seems that no one really cares about the other 400 infected people walking around because "they aren't coughing and spreading it like a symptomatic person".
The funny part is a bunch of other Italian areas got mad at Lombardy for testing broadly and spiking the total number of infected in Italy. It's like shooting the messenger. The Lomary official had a great quote (this comes from [2]):
> Lombardy officials said they preferred to know who had the virus.
> “Either you hide problems under a carpet, or you lift the carpet and you clean the floor,” Attilio Fontana, the region’s president, said in an interview in his office, with views over a foggy and eerily quiet Milan, 29 floors above the virus hunters.
[1] https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/26/health/coronavirus-asympt...
[2] https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/27/world/europe/italy-corona...