Infectious Disease Protection, by S.A.D.

In this article I will describe how to protect yourself and your family from corona virus and other infectious diseases.

The current outbreak of the novel coronavirus is causing widespread concern and response by public and health authorities. In this article we will cover the following:

  1. What is coronavirus?
  2. How does it spread?
  3. Official response and recommendations for protection
  4. Practical, common sense recommendations for individual protection.
What is coronavirus?

The novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) is a member of Coronoviridae family. There are currently 16 full genome sequences of the virus published[1]. It is an enveloped RNA virus, one of the largest RNA viruses. The enveloped in this case means that the core of the virus (called a capsid) is surrounded by a lipid membrane with integrated viral surface protein. It is important to note that the integrity of the lipid envelope is vital for the ability to infect host cells. When infection occurs, the virus penetrates the host cell and begins to replicate itself (multiply). Eventually, the new viral particles, or progeny virus, is released from infected cell and go on to infect new cells or are released in the environment.

The 2019-nCoV causes respiratory illness similar to the common cold although it has much higher mortality rate. The symptoms can include fever, cough, shortness of breath. Right now, the information about incubation period is limited, CDC believes that the symptoms can appear between 2 and 14 days after exposure[2], although clinical guidance estimates incubation period of about 5 days (4-7 days in 95% cases)[3].

How does it spread?

There is little information on the specific mechanism of transmission of the 2019-nCoV virus[4]. The published reports suggest animal to human transmission as the origin of the outbreak, and human to human transmission as primary mechanism of infection. Other coronaviruses, and other enveloped viruses in general, often transmitted through fine aerosol generated by coughing and sneezing. In addition to direct exposure to the air-borne virus, infection is possible by touching surfaces contaminated with virus-containing aerosol particles and then touching you face, eyes and nose. The typical “dirty hands” transmission route.

One thing important to emphasize is that the 2019-nCoV is not a “super-bug” resistant to everything. It is similar to the other common viruses and the spread can be limited by following good practices.

Official response and recommendations for protection

At the time of the writing, the Chinese government put travel restrictions covering as many as 50 million people starting on January 23. In Wuhan and some neighboring cities mandatory restrictions include extension of New Year holiday to reduce travel, and a prohibition of almost all residents from leaving their houses[5]. Only one person per household can leave their residence to shop for food and medicine once in 2 days. The number of reported cases has increased to over 14,500[6] despite the measures to control the spread of infection. It is likely that based on the past issues with accurate reporting of past outbreaks, the number of infected is significantly underreported. There are also unconfirmed reports that that the under-reporting is as high as 100-fold.

2019-nCoV confirmed casesWorld Health Organization (WHO) declared 2019-nCoV outbreak a public health emergency of international concern on January 30, 2020[7]. Although they called for countries to not introduce travel and commerce restrictions, number of countries announced significant restrictions on air travel from China.

 

United States restricted travel from China as of 5:00 PM February 2, 2020[8]. The announcement reads:

Any U.S. citizen returning to the U.S. who has been in Hubei Province in the previous 14 days will be subject to up to 14 days of mandatory quarantine, to ensure they’re provided proper medical care and health screening. To be clear, this applies only to U.S. citizens who have been in Hubei Province in the past 14 days.

Any U.S. citizen returning to the U.S. who has been in the rest of mainland China within the previous 14 days will undergo proactive entry health screening at a select number of ports of entry and up to 14 days of monitored self-quarantine to ensure they have not contracted the virus and do not pose a public health risk.

Additionally, the President has signed a Presidential Proclamation, using his authority pursuant to Section 212(f) of the Immigration and National Act, temporarily suspending the entry into the United States of foreign nationals who pose a risk of transmitting the 2019 novel coronavirus.

As a result, foreign nationals, other than immediate family of U.S. citizens and permanent residents, who have traveled to China within the last 14 days will be denied entry into the U.S. for this time. Once again, these actions will become effective at 5 PM EST, Sunday, February 2.

Recommendations for protections are fairly non-specific and follow normal recommendations for airborne illnesses such as seasonal flu. The recommendations include[9]:

  • Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. Use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol if soap and water are not available.
  • Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands.
  • Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
  • Stay home when you are sick.
  • Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash.
  • Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces.

The protocols recommended for hospitals and health care practitioners include the establishment and use of Airborne Infection Isolation Room (AIIR), which are essentially a negative pressure rooms with HEPA filters to minimize the spread of infection. Other recommendations include standard procedures for infection control, cough and sneeze hygiene etc.

Practical, common sense recommendations for individual protection

As CDC recommends, the best way to prevent infection is to avoid contact. But we do live in a real world where we need to go to work, send kids to school, do some shopping etc. Therefore, just an isolation for a long period of time is not feasible.

The following suggestions are based on my personal experience working with infectious disease agents (viruses and bacteria) and common-sense risk mitigation. As a disclaimer, I am not a medical doctor. I cannot give medical advice. However, I have been working in research capacity in viral and bacterial vaccine and diagnostics development for over 25 years.

As a general rule, I do not trust bureaucracy to tell me what I should and should not do. Other people do not necessarily have your interests in mind. They are generally logical and consistent in achieving their objectives. You might just happen to be an unfortunate statistic. As the saying goes, YMMV.

The objective I have in mind is to protect my family and myself. There are several layers of protection starting with the minimization of exposure and reduction of the risk of infection. This means we need to avoid getting ill and take steps to make our home a safe, infection-free place.

First, general protection measures should include:

  1. Hand hygiene. Wash your hands with soap every time you return home from going to store, work or any other public place. It is a good practice to do this always, not just during this outbreak.
  2. Face mask. When necessary, wear one! The type of a face mask depends availability and had been covered on survivalblog.com before. Get the best mask you can get, but remember that any mask is better than no mask.
  3. Gloves: any type of disposable gloves can be used. Most single use types have limited time of protection when wet, usually about 15 min. Change gloves often, and as soon as possible after contact with liquids.
  4. Clothing: when the outbreak reaches your town or city, be careful not to bring infection on outside clothing. Take it off on the porch of the house, or in the entrance room. Wash with detergent or bleach.
  5. Limit exposure: avoid large crowds of people. If possible, use private car for transportation, avoid bus/train etc. Shopping can be done in off hours to reduce number of people around you. Use common sense! When/if situation deteriorates, we might have to stay home at all.
  6. Clean surfaces in and around your house: normal things will do such as bleach, detergent, bleach wipes, vinegar. Coronavirus is an enveloped virus, which means that is sensitive to chemicals that dissolve lipids. Ethanol or isopropanol wipes, hand sanitizer, soap or other detergents will destroy the virus. If the surface is porous, it takes longer to decontaminate. Normal practice is to leave the surface wet and let it air dry. Vinegar is likely detrimental to the virus as well. After exposure to acidic environment most enveloped viruses loose infectivity. Vinegar is better than nothing, but detergent or bleach-based cleaning solutions would be better.

Next, the situation on the ground should dictate the level of precaution. At the moment, avoiding or minimizing exposure to large crowds and air travel is prudent. Of course, if the job requires air travel, we might have little choice, then use personal protective equipment (PPE).

When the situation deteriorates so that the risk of infection becomes significant, more travel restrictions will be warranted. There is no single rule to decide when this happens, it depends on your own analysis of risks and benefits. For example, it has been reported that 2019-nCoV infects mostly adults, with average age of 59 yo, suppressed immune system is a significant risk factor. If you fall into this category, it is prudent to take precautions earlier.

In the case the situation deteriorates even more, significantly restricting outside travel might become necessary. It is better to prepare for such eventuality now, rather than later. This site has covered general preps extensively, I do not see the need to go over it again. One can always start with the Forever Preps (https://survivalblog.com/forever-preps-preparations-you) and go from there.

[1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/genbank/2019-ncov-seqs/

[2] https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/about/symptoms.html

[3] https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/hcp/clinical-guidance-management-patients.html

[4] https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/about/transmission.html

[5] https://www.foxnews.com/health/who-says-prepare-for-local-outbreaks-china-slams-us-control

[6] https://gisanddata.maps.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/bda7594740fd40299423467b48e9ecf6

[7] http://www.euro.who.int/en/health-topics/emergencies/pages/news/news/2020/01/2019-ncov-outbreak-is-an-emergency-of-international-concern

[8] https://www.hhs.gov/about/leadership/secretary/speeches/2020-speeches/secretary-azar-delivers-remarks-on-declaration-of-public-health-emergency-2019-novel-coronavirus.html

[9] https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/about/prevention-treatment.html




49 Comments

  1. Thank you for a well written article. I do have a question regarding gloves. I have 45 years experience as a Surgical RN, with the last 20 being certified. Unless practices have changed in the year since my retirement, I have never heard that gloves needed to be changed because they were wet. I suspect this recommendation comes with best practices that you are utilizing in the lab. I do realize that these gloves are only to be used in short time frames, but I also think that we could confuse a lot of lay people in usage of Personal Protective Equipment. This was very obvious in the confusion regarding reusing mask. Yes, readers, they are designed for short term usage, but you should be fine wearing them out in public and removing them after going home. As I have stated before, I will double glove as I am out in the public. It gives an added layer of protection, and is easier to remove the top gloves after touching surfaces such as ATM machines, etc. I probably will have more gloves in my car with me if I am going to different places when I am out and about. An open trash bag will go with me also, in case I can’t find a nearby trash can. You do not have to double glove. It is up to you. Just use common sense. Those of us that have used PPE for years will do what works for us. I use these gloves all the time at home, especially if I am canning or doing large food prep. I also use my surgical cap. LOL. One last thing regarding gloves. Try to find which size fits you. If your husband has large hands and you have small, you are going to be extremely frustrated trying to get by with his large or x-large gloves. PPE is not fun wearing. If we make it to summer with this, it is going to be very uncomfortable to wear. I personally hate wearing an N-95 mask.

    1. A quick search of Amazon , or a trip to your local hardware \ garden store will yield nitrile and PVC rubber etc coated impregnated gloves.

      These glove will work with your favorite hand sanitizers for re use (especially if you double glove)

      I lived with a chemist who was allowed to use them as part of her p.p.e. set up at work providing they were the right glove material for the chemicals she was handling.

      If you opt for the palm only ones you should double glove if you feel the need to go all out.

      If you opt for the full dip variety and make sure there are no holes in it then you would tuck the cuff inside your sleeve and secure with a rubber band or such (the broken rubber glove bands work well for this as does cut sock tops but sock tops need to be disinfected after each use)

      Why would you use these gloves? Why not just put on rubber or nitrile surgical ones?

      Because they are stronger less prone to punctures or tears when you are out and about.
      And they are In-fact reusable. They are also much more thermally cool to wear which means your palms sweat less in them and don’t become as waterlogged. They also have a better grip on any of your….. Personal distance assurance tools

      Do they provide the same level as surgical gloves no especially the palm only ones.

      Do they provide the same level of protection as surgical gloves for THIS Hazard

      Yes if they pass the hole test.

      How do you check to be sure…?

      You fill them with water while they are clean and see if there is any moisture out side.

      Remember this is a normal moisture (at this time) transmitted virus…. It has its limits.

      1. Yes, there are many kinds of gloves that can work. Double gloves are a good thing and can be achieved several ways. I have many options to mix and match and adapt to different situations. One option for cold weather is an 6 mil or heavy mechanics nitril glove that is XL for medium hands, or 2XL or larger for large hands. With this set up we can triple glove and stay warm and very safe. Use a large or medium nitril glove first, then an insulating layer, a glove liner or thin polyester glove, and then the XL or 2XL mechanics grade nitrile glove over all of that. I use this method with only a outter nitrile glove when processing game in cold weather. Works good. Baby power in the outter gloves facilitates the installation.

        There are other combinations as well.

    2. It is scary how quickly you can catch a cold. Last Christmas my roommate and I had headcolds for two weeks. I went out grocery shopping and my roommate did not. I got the worst flu I have had in the past ten years. I was gone no longer than 30 minutes. Wash your hands and avoid large crowds. It will save your life.

  2. Excellent article. The author’s ‘general protection measures’ make a lot of sense.

    While the extent that latest virus will harm humanity is unknown, there are powerful lessons to be learned. We already witness governments’ ability today to implement martial law type of control on their masses and the masses’ lack of resistance to their slave masters. Longer term we will experience the reality of promiscuous Washington traitors getting in bed with Communist China and global elites.

  3. I am curious if the pneumonia vaccine will offer any level of protection from this coronavirus. RNA of HIV in it pointing to being a manmade bug / bioweapon from what ive read. Seeing what the Chinese Communists are doing, it was either a purposeful release or they are just using this event to imprison political opposition. Years ago Glenn Beck predicted collapse there and mass civil unrest. Big changes are coming I wish we had a reliable media source instead of being fed propaganda. Specifically on the real fatality rate. This is going to have a real negative affect on our fragile economy I think. I pray I am wrong.

    1. Ummm….. No Greg no. This is a novel coronavirus. Not modified aids. Not phnuemonia. Not the flu. Not genetically modified. Not a government conspiracy.

      It’s a virus. It’s funny how people will use genetic shift and mutations to justify thier doom hyping …. Because it happens naturally to viral agents.

      Then when a new strain pops up (which is what novel in the name means) it’s immediately a government modified virus. As for what has what bits of DNA…. All ALL life on earth has some shared dna. From people to aemeba to killed whales to fish to trees.

      Furthermore. . …. This virus is less likely to shift since it recently underwent a shift that allowed it to infect us.

      1. Your rebuttal to me sounds fairly silly. It is not a “conspiracy” theory. It is a probabilistic hypothesis. What you said about everything living on earth having some shared DNA sequences and genetic shift is true enough. However, the only reason for these “conspiracy” theories is because the virus supposedly originated in a market in Wuhan that is about 15 miles from the only Bio-lab in all of China that works with creating biological weapons.
        There are already ample proven instances of dangerous viruses escaping from other (non-militarized) labs in China, probably because of poorer practices. https://www.the-scientist.com/news-analysis/sars-escaped-beijing-lab-twice-50137
        The “conspiracy theory” here is, what are the chances that it started right next to a lab that literally genetically modifies dangerous viruses?
        Very low. It could happen, of course, but it’s very odd.
        Your response, if you were rational, would not have been “Ummm…. No Greg no.”, and then rambling on as though you factually know one way or the other. A rational response would have been “though it’s a very improbable event that a virus such as this would have just occurred by chance, right next to a bio-lab that produces biological weapons, there is no evidence yet that this is the case”. That response would have been very accurate and rational, however your response was just made up matter-of-fact rambling, when you have no idea one way or the other.
        Also considering this is a totalitarian Communist regime that lies about everything, it only fuels the speculation. Just say “It’s seems very suspect, but at this point there’s no way to know”. That would be a very accurate and very rational response.

        1. Because I am silly mat.

          The point of view that this virus is a mutant killing machine that was released by the government and is some how connected with aids and the flu and SARS is equally silly to me as is the reports off 100s of thousands dead and people treating this as if it is some kind of radio active mutant making bug.

          This is a natural semi-life form. So far no one has died from 2019 n-cov, they have died from phnuemonia as a complication from the 2019 n-cov virus.

          Thus far 800 people have died.

          Last year phnuemonia killed 43,000 people. This year the flu has killed more than n-cov.

          So as it stands I still maintain that gathering info and learning should be prioritized.

          As far as what I’ve said everything but the government conspiracy is fact.

    2. This virus has a very high mutation rate that result in many mutations spread by a single carrier. I will not take modern vaccines, but I would prepare to combat secondary, or what is referred to as ‘opportunistic’ bacterial inflections. As recommend several times, get the book Dr. Alton’s Antibiotics and Infectious Diseases. It is an easy read. I was able to read it in one sitting as it is written for the layman. It will tell what veterinarian antibiotics to purchase at fishfloxfishmox.com, and how to diagnosis the common infections, and how to administer antibiotics. It is a must have. We are more likely to get hit with a bug than a bullet. And if you do get hit with a bullet, you will also need antibiotics anyway. We can beat this virus if we have these antibiotics, and we increase the success rate with nublizers, oxygen concentrators, and oxygen monitors, sick room protocols (negative air pressure, or simple ventilation might be best), that protect the vulnerable patient from bacteria that can be introduced by the caregiver and household.

      It is just as likely that secondary lung infections caused by one or more bacteria will be the actual cause of death. A large supply and selection of antibiotics may be needed, as several antibiotics might be used at the same time, per Dr. Alton’s protocol. Survival medicine is different style of medicine that will be performed by an educated layman without supporting tests, and equipment. This information might be helpful even to a professional.

      I would also get Dr. Alton’s Survival Medical Handbook. I got a copy at a gun show and have listen to well over 100 hours of his excellent pod casts on Blogtalk radio and American Prepper Broadcasts. Check out his store and web site. They got the good stuff. They are the best source of information, and supplies for survival medicine.

    3. RNA viruses share alot of homology amongst each other. These sequences code for functions common to many viruses and the actual amount of similarity with HIV is being very overblown. Never give credit to villainy what stupidity so clearly explains … in other words … we have these types of things throughout history. This is one of the first times we have had enough science (but not enough common sense) to attenuate the effects but ultimately I suspect it will have to run through the populations in order for us to develop herd immunity … much like influenza. The big challenge will be how our medical community can handle the spike in the need for oxygen, ventilators, and expert care. As a surgeon I also worry how I will care for the usual surgical problems that arise (ie. appendicitis) within a system overrun with respiratory patients. We take for granted how diseases 100 years ago are so easily treated in our medical systems … that may be a different case if those systems are not available or overwhelmed. I pray this pandemic is not as bad as it seems to be!

    4. The pneumonia vaccine may protect you from the pneumonia that is often associated with contracting the virus. Since it is the pneumonia that causes most of the deaths getting the pneumonia vaccine is a good idea.

  4. The math doesn’t add up. I don’t see the Chinese governments reaction of isolating their citizens, ceasing all shipping/travel and cutting off all civilian communication as a response to a bad cold. Governments are setting up expensive field hospitals to isolate people with a severe cold? The “infected chart” used in the article has been proved to be a mathematical simulation that was created and does not reflect actual infection/death rates since no numbers are coming out of China. The killer part of the infection is the pneumonia which is bad for anyone susceptible to lung issues. The article is well written with data that is currently being released by the governments. I sincerely hope we can write the end of this story soon. Isolation, PPE and disinfection seems to be the best defense for now if it shows up near you. Keep the prayers going.

  5. reminder, (as before and poo poo-ed by doctors because it does not generate any fee income), colloidal silver will kill any virus, a bottle decanted into a clean spray bottle and sprayed on your face hands and on any touched surfaces will completely kill any virus.

    1. My first true believer moments with colloidal silver were when I used it on my pets, and the recovered quickly from things like upper respiratory infection and eye infection. I and other adult members of my family have been using it for decades now, and it is very effective. I just ordered a colloidal silver generator machine from Silvergen.com, which had very high ratings for precision and simplicity. I’m sure there are many other good ways to make it but I liked the automated feature they have, it shuts itself off when optimal parts per million are achieved. I will make it myself and distribute to friends and neighbors.

      I have heard you can use colloidal silver in a nebulizer, which sounds like a great way to transport the beneficial effects to the lungs (this particular coronavirus seems to cause death by pneumonia). Nebulizers can be purchased online, no prescription seems to be needed.

      Personally, I am more worried about the potential economic collapse and supply chain disruptions than I am about dying from this disease. Thank goodness most of us have been getting ready for decades.

      1. Thanks for the additional notes about CS. I, too, have seen excellent results on our chickens and ducks, and family members have been using it when someone had a tick on them, just as a precaution.

        As far as the coronavirus, I will keep watching, listening, etc., but rather than getting in a panic, I will use common sense. I heard on a Rochester NY station one evening that was coming across the airwaves, that the state of NY had had 90,000 cases of flu this season, and we also heard that Allegheny County, PA had had 60,000 cases of flu during the previous season, and I do not recall the high number of flu-related deaths.

        The #1 action that has kept my family from most illness is soap and water handwashing EVERY time you come home from somewhere! We try to limit sugar intake, to keep the immune system up. Also, following God’s commands, and asking Him to keep and protect us from the diseases out there. He is in control of all things.

  6. An excellent article with sound recommendations!

    The writer’s message quoted here should send a strong message to readers about the need for each of us to directly and personally engage an assessment of relative risk: “As a general rule, I do not trust bureaucracy to tell me what I should and should not do. Other people do not necessarily have your interests in mind. They are generally logical and consistent in achieving their objectives. You might just happen to be an unfortunate statistic. As the saying goes, YMMV.”

    Having seen the consequences of “becoming a statistic” in up-close-and-personal kinds of ways, the members of this family would encourage great caution. Our expression goes something like this: “If you’re the one, the risk is 100%.”

    We are concerned about the news of potential super-spreaders, not that this is a new problem and unique to 2019-nCoV. …and despite international efforts to help, including the provision about nearly 18 tons of medical supplies shipped from the U.S., news indicates that China continues to struggle with shortages.

    Watching closely for news of diagnostics that may start to emerge from Africa where there were no test kits until very, very recently. It was a curious thing that there had been no positive test reports coming from the continent… Now we know why! At least one article posted to ZH indicates significant travel to and from China flows through Ethiopia which functions as a hub, and from there to other countries.

    If we do not see a significant number of cases in the U.S., it will be a near miss. We remain very concerned that these are yet coming our way.

    Within reason, without creating other cascading risk to yourselves, and in every way you can, continue to prepare.

    Remain steady. Stay well. Be safe everyone!

  7. It is true that the government does not have your well being at heart when they devise restrictions and continuously lie about the mortality rate and spread rate of a viral infection that spreads like the common cold. Every country and the EU has there own spin on this. And China is saying “nothing to see here. “

  8. “As a general rule, I do not trust bureaucracy to tell me what I should and should not do. Other people do not necessarily have your interests in mind. They are generally logical and consistent in achieving their objectives. You might just happen to be an unfortunate statistic. As the saying goes, YMMV.”

    the proverbial mouthful – take it as gospel >> the CDC has already self-ordained decided that THEY will be determining what the public is allowed as information …

    1. Zero Hedge does a great job of finding good material but they tend to come to the wrong conclusions so the story is interesting enough to generate clicks. You should always click on their links and read the original scientific papers when possible.

      Zero Hedge: “What is the most puzzling is that there have been no reports on the testing of animal samples collected in any epicenters in Wuhan, especially at the Huanan seafood market, to identify what animals might be the host or intermediate hosts of this novel Wuhan coronavirus.”

      Here’s why it would have been a complete waste of time for the Chinese to do any testing. This is a highly probable scenario of how the epidemic got started. According to most scientific papers published on this, it’s a 99% probability the virus originated in a bat, then was transferred to another wild mammal such as a civet as was the case with SARS. Let me now transfer my example to America to make it more understandable. A bat transfers the CoV to a rabbit on November 1st. On November 15th, Deadeye Dan shoots the rabbit, guts it, and sells it to Filthy Fred’s Butcher Shop in Sandpoint, Idaho. While butchering it, Filthy Fred gets infected as does his butchering block and some cuts of meat he butchers shortly thereafter. While it’s incubating inside him, he sells the rabbit to Betty who takes it home to cook for dinner. While she’s preparing it, she gets infected, as does her son who helps clean the cutting board. Several other customers also get infected who bought meat from his infected butcher block. By the time they’re all showing symptoms two weeks later on December 1st, they start passing it around to family members and neighbors. By the time Filthy Fred and Betty are feeling sick enough to go to the hospital, it’s now December 7th. The hospital figures they have the flu so they give them some meds and send them home. When they get really bad, and have to be admitted with pneumonia, now it’s December 15th, and by the time the medical people figure out they have a brand-new, never-before-seen organism on their hands, would it do any good to go back to Filthy Fred’s Butcher Shop and test all the animals there? The bat to civet transfer was almost certainly a one-time event, just like Zero Hedge points out when they mention the mutation rates of viruses would indicate a single original source. That’s why the Chinese didn’t bother to go test all the animals in the market IMO. It had nothing to do with them not bothering because they knew this was a bio-weapon.

      Zero Hedge goes on and on about rodents in the markets. Yet they cite the very scientific paper that shows that rodents are not very compatible with this particular clade of coronaviruses. You can click on the link and see the relationship charts yourself and most of the CoV’s are in bats. (link below)

      Zero Hedge also has this eyebrow-raising line: “Interestingly, Shi’s group published on bioRxiv on Jan. 23, 2020 that a new bat coronavirus that they detected in Yunnan, named BatCov RaTG13, shares 96.2 percent overall genome sequence identity with 2019-nCoV. However, this virus was never mentioned or published in their research before.” I can promise you, there’s not a scientist on the planet who would find that interesting. 99.9% of new scientific knowledge is not published. It’s mostly boring stuff that ends up in databases so others working on similar lines can use the info. When it does become useful, then it gets published, as in the article Zero Hedge quotes in this paragraph. That’s how science works.

      I could point out many other problems with their article but I’ll stop here. They do a GREAT job of finding material. I read them every day to find sources. But they often misinterpret things. They have to generate income to stay in business. Can they do that better with, “It’s a BIOWEAPON!” or, “It’s just a bunch of boring old bats.”

      Here’s one the articles ZH quotes and linked. It’s technical but I love the “genealogy chart” (phylogenetic tree) in Figure 3.

      https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)30251-8/fulltext

      1. Lots of good thoughts and perspective, St. Funogas!

        I do enjoy an engaged discussion. I also share a great appreciation for science, and a professional interest in it as well.

        I would agree that the ZH articles are not always structured in the ways I would present them if I were the writer. I would further agree that there is a lot not yet known, and a lot that may never be known — for reasons that are innocent, and maybe for reasons that are not so much so.

        All that said… I think this will turn out to be much more than a bunch of boring old rats. As they say… “We’ll see!”

        My hope is that this resolves quickly with no more loss of life or human suffering. My deep concern is that the outcome will be extraordinarily difficult, and that the consequences (health, economic, political) will be very tough indeed.

  9. Hal Turner is a fellow who has an internet radio show. I had never heard of him before three weeks ago. I get the impression that he is somewhat similar to Alex Jones of Infowars. (While Jones certainly comes with a “whole lotta baggage” for some of his work, he often comes out with things that are spot on.)

    Go to Hal Turner’s web site. Watch the video that is described as showing “thousands” of bodies in body bags being bulldozed. I can’t tell for sure. Maybe it isn’t thousands. Maybe it is “only” several hundred bodies in one place.

    Whatever it is, just as people have been saying for many days, the situation is far, far more serious than the lyin’ Chinese government has admitted. https://halturnerradioshow.com/index.php/en/news-page/world/caught-video-shows-china-bulldozing-piles-of-body-bags-into-giant-pit-photos-show-thousands-of-corpses-in-body-bags-stored-underground

    My son told me on Wednesday that his current company, a major US company in its field, gets 98% of its inventory from China. As a result of the chaos there that has interfered with manufacturing, its US inventory will be exhausted and layoffs will likely begin in April.

    Numerous large companies, like Apple, Hyundai, Kia and others have shut down production in China. Think about similar effects on so many companies who do business there. Think about all of the Chinese companies whose production is drying up. Merchandise at Walmart, Lowe’s, Home Depot and thousands of other companies will begin to disappear, and layoffs will begin here. Those suppliers can’t be replaced overnight. A huge percent of disposable medical instruments, disposable medical devices, and prescription drugs sold in the US come from China. Think of the impact on US healthcare alone.

    Many may think that they are immune to the effects of the coronavirus. Yet, even if the virus’s effects are mostly contained in China (an unlikely scenario) and there is no serious pandemic here, our economy will be wrecked if the Chinese don’t go to work.

    And while some of the less knowledgeable about the matter point to how many deaths we already have in this country each year from the normal strains of flu, if the long range effects of this virus aren’t as extraordinarily catastrophic as some say they are, please tell me when, in the “History of Ever,” any country quarantined 70 million of its citizens. This quarantine and its catastrophic effect on the Chinese economy probably tells you just about all you need to know about how serious the issue is.

    See this article about how many bodies that are being burned daily in China, a situation that is evidence of just how much the ChiComs are lying to keep the world from knowing how bad the situation is: https://www.breitbart.com/asia/2020/02/07/report-china-crematorium-funeral-homes-burning-coronavirus-patients/ In China, it is lie, lie, lie even when the truth is obvious. Saving face is paramount.

    Only an abject idiot would dismiss this situation as being no worse than a typical flu epidemic. I am not positive that what is coming should cause a panic right now, but I tend to believe that most of us will have a rough ride ahead of us. It would not surprise me to see that, months from now, someone will post an article on Survivalblog that ends by concluding that failing to prepare now for what is likely to be coming was a Darwin Test.

    1. I agree, the economic losses will be devastating. Also, medication will be an issue. My pharmacy has been out of things in the past I’ve had to wait for under normal circumstaces. Praying we will use this opportunity here to open our own pharmaceutical factories/industry for those with infections or chronic illness, etc.

      A list of coming shortages would be interesting to see.

  10. Video of the Chinese government rounding up people suspected of being infected:

    https://youtu.be/WURlVZnCoqw

    This is only a small sample of the videos on what is going on internally. Seeing believing, but first ya gotta look. This Corona virus is no ordinary flu or cold bug that many professionals have lead their audience to believe. They bought the under reported numbers, and did not properly research the topic. The Chinese consider this highly dangerous, and tell us so with their actions. The reported numbers do not justify this draconian, and brutal action by the Chinese government. There is now probably close to 75 million locked down, and then the government is sending goons, house to house to remove anyone they suspect could have been associated with anyone who was, or might be infected, regardless if they showed symptoms or not. These persons are taken by force to public facilities with bars on the widows, packed with beds, and were there are no medical personnel, or medicine. They are using 9 sports stadiums, and any large facility available. They even built 2 containment ‘hospitals’ in only 9 days. These are in-actuality death camps. These are acts of desperation. Person can check in voluntarily or forcibly, but they cannot check out. The number of beds are in the hundreds of thousands.
    Of course we cannot confirm any of this, but this information is leaking out of China, and is in video form as well. But we can confirm that at least 5 major ports are shut down. Why would they looses billions per day in commerce if they did not have serious internal problems. And now WHO is declaring that there is no pandemic! What government agency can we trust? I would not even trust the CDC. Fortunately is it practical for myself to self quarantine, so I am. I have no job, no money, and no worries. I have no economic interest, or agenda. I am totally independent. I believe there is adequate reason to believe this was bio weapon in development that escaped. This is why is it rampaging through China, and now threatens the globe. Please take it seriously and do some homework.

    Here is another Mike Adams video. He owns and operates his own labs. He speaks Chinese, is married to an Asian woman of Chinese decent (Taiwan), and has more than two business in Taiwan. I would imagine he has business contacts within China:
    blob:https://www.brighteon.com/9a9a0083-f2cf-41b3-bb69-a75b1a8aad6e

    DO THE MATH: China holds “good news” press conference, accidentally admits the coronavirus mortality rate is closer to 17 per cent
    https://www.newstarget.com/2020-02-08-do-the-math-china-press-conference-admits-coronavirus-mortality-17-percent.html

    ———————

    From Natural News (Mike Adams):

    BREAKING: China to quarantine city of Shenzhen in Guangdong Province, causing “mad rush” to Hong Kong as (infected) citizens flee to other nations
    02/07/2020 / By Mike Adams

    This is a breaking news update from Natural News, translated from the Chinese language Liberty Times Net website, which has produced some of the best reporting on the coronavirus pandemic outbreak.

    According to the report, the communist Chinese government has just announced the imminent quarantine of the city of Shenzhen in the Guangdong Province, causing a “mad rush” of Chinese citizens fleeing to Hong Kong to try to escape the quarantines before the international community blocks all flights from Hong Kong. This effort will, of course, only serve to accelerate the spread of the virus internationally.

    There are roughly 25 million people in the greater Shenzhen municipal area, so this is a significant increase in the number of Chinese citizens who will soon be living under military-enforced quarantine. (Currently over 50 million, soon to be at least 75 million and growing…)

    Here’s the translated text that explains this. Just remember, automated machine translations from Chinese to English are very difficult, so the English appears quite broken:

    Shenzhen News Network reported that the Shenzhen Municipal People’s Government said on the 7th, all communities will be 100% closed management, if there are confirmed cases of residential “hard isolation” for 14 days, and organize “regulatory service team” to do key ethnic groups tracking, where there is a history of close contact with the case 100% of the implementation of centralized isolation, households also want to take temperature and other measures.

    According to Hong Kong’s “Position News” reported that Shenzhen city from the 8th began to seal the city after the announcement of the news, 7 days from the emergence of a large number of people want to pour into Hong Kong, from the scene film can be seen at 10:28 p.m., shenzhen port before the appearance of long lines of taxis, are to load the people of Shenzhen into Hong Kong, long car long about 1 km.

    The same story also reports that the hard quarantine of Shenzhen begins on Feb. 8th (tomorrow), which is why people are panic fleeing today, while they can still get out: (another important reminder to always have a bugout bag)

    Comprehensive Chinese media reports, the Shenzhen Municipal Government announced that from February 8 on the city’s people’s vehicles fully implement control, in the “vehicle epidemic control checkpoint” vehicle control, and foreign vehicles to sacrifice “advance declaration measures”, the first time the public driving through the “vehicle epidemic prevention checkpoint”, must be at least 1 day in advance of the Internet registration declaration, approval before passing.

    1. Hey Tunnel Rabbit, Mike Adam’s math is seriously flawed. If I use his same methodology, I get a 7% death rate for flu in the United States.

      Like I keep saying, we won’t have any useful information until this spreads more in Japan which is up to 90 cases now, and elsewhere.

      Mike Adams is using hospital data from the first 41 cases as if that represented total cases of CoV. Nobody on the planet has any idea how many cases of CoV there are in China. Their published numbers are only “confirmed” cases. Our own CDC can’t even confirm cases very quickly so let’s not blame China for that. (CDC only got 20 out of 76 tested between Wednesday and Friday.) The people in the hospital are only those cases who are so sick they can hardly function. Anyone with the sniffles is probably staying home. Those first 41 cases cited in his Lancet citation had no idea there was such a thing as CoV (it hadn’t been named yet) so they were definitely very sick people, they weren’t rushing to the emergency room because they were afraid of coronavirus. So to have a mortality rate of 17% among really super sick people who felt crappy enough to go to the hospital is not surprising. That’s Mike’s calculated number, 17%. The Lancet number was 15%. Mike’s number is faulty because it is based on super-sick hospital cases, not on the total number of people who have CoV, which is an unknowable number. So, using Mike’s methodology, and his Flu numbers, if we do the percentage and calculate the death rate for Americans who get the flu and are hospitalized, 34,200 deaths divided by 490,600 hospitalizations, we come up with a death rate of 7.0%. The true death rate when you figure in a guesstimate of how many people actually get the flu using Mike’s number of 35.5 million, is just under one tenth of a percent.

      I am guessing that this year’s flu is raging everywhere in the Northern Hemisphere just like it is here in the U.S. I can’t remember a year when I’ve had so many friends and family members get it. The same must be happening in China. That would equate to over 100 million cases there if the math is the same. On top of this CoV. I am guessing China is pretty overwhelmed with everything right now. I’m not sure how much they are really hiding and how much they just don’t know.

      I am patiently waiting to get some real numbers from Japan and some of the other Asian countries where case are building. All this China speculation seems pointless to me. More reliable data is coming just around the corner from other sources.

      1. St Funogas,

        The numbers are overwhelming and not accurate, and this why from the start, I pretty much ignored the numbers, but instead, looked at how China is dealing with it. I use the numbers in comparative way, or to illustrate a point. This method likely just confuses folks who get lost in the complexity, perhaps because of denial, or more likely my poor and early attempt and presentation of a complex issue. We cannot actually know anything about this virus at this time. Experts disagree as well. Only science and history will give us a more accurate description when it is all over. Therefore, observing actions of the Chinese government in response is a priceless real world example, that is actually the most accurate, and instructive than the best numbers that will be generated in the future. And would I trust the numbers from WHO or the CDC? No way.

        The clock is ticking, it waits for no one. It will take several months to get the ‘reliable’ data most seek. While waiting for such, valuable time is lost, and unnecessary risks are taken by the complacent. In my world, it is far better to respond to a threat early and with as much as I got.
        Those who are the ‘firstest with the mostest’ in battle or elsewhere, are usually the winners. The last ‘slow boat from China’, a cargo shop filled with the supplies we’ll need, has sailed. It is better to gear up now while it is available and still affordable. In perhaps a few months, it will be hard to get, and expensive, and the virus will be then in higher and dangerous concentration in your area. The smart money is the money that moves quickly, or better yet, early. I would consider bugging out at this time. It will take time to get it together, and an early response means you’ll be at your best preparedness level once it arrives at your remote retreat.

        Because I believe it could possibly be air borne with an R0 of 15, such is the measles, and because of my age and bad health history, I’ve already isolated myself. I am fortunate to be where I am, and have the time to investigate, and the background and experience to do this effectively. I am not distracted with the usual concerns, and life that most folks must deal with. I would continue to use the Spanish Flu of 1918 as a prime example in history as a gauge to whether or not this is a serious enough pandemic that would require special attention and action. With a relative low 2% CFR, and a relatively low R0 of about 2 of the Spanish Flu, this novel Corna virus easily exceeds the threshold that the Spanish Flu set by real world example. One only needs a estimated range of these characteristics that has been discussed, to gauge the Corona virus threat. This is very easy for me, and I hope is is for others as well.
        Yet the best metric is how the Chinese are responding. That is the best and bone head way to figure this thing out….stupid simple is best.

        Thanks for listening.

      2. Exactly the numbers aren’t in yet. Not even remotely starting. We have too much else going on. That’s why my advice is to temper the reactions, to stock up on what you use and lay in some extras.

        So far the first world spread of this isn’t as bad as feared. So far the China numbered aren’t telling a super scary last minute dash to get what you can scenario yet.

        Remember Fukushima and every one buying all the iodine?

        Latter on they had tonnes of iodine and no use for it.

        Right now should be assessing your preparations. Running drills on what cha got upto as far as you have.
        You should find your weak points now.
        You should be learning knowledge is power.
        You should be acting like you purchased all that PPE and set aside the money earmarked PPE.
        You should be talking to your “group” seeing what they know.

        You should not be just rushing out to buy stuff.

        My own preps got a few things pushed forward.
        I recently moved up my time table for re acquisition of a shot gun and it’s add one.
        I just placed my order for two new knives. I pulled my most beloved hammer out of jobsite rotation. I’m backing up my information for everything… Etc.

        Above all I am watching daily for information and staying calm and reestablishing my bug out criteria.

  11. Stop and think about what china say vs what they do. This is a country that loses over a QUARTER MILLION people per year in traffic crashes. Do you think they would shutter half their population and most all of its business and factories over a few hundred deaths and a few thousand sicknesses. I have an American tourist friend stranded in Hubei Provence NW of Wuhan. He says they are going full medieval with barricades and shutdown like the plagues in past with NOTHING MOVING outside local villages and towns. That cannot last long as supply chains are gone and large local populations cannot survive without transport and commerce.

  12. Excellent article. I need to buy another box of printer paper…

    Here’s a paper that was published in a medical journal this week by Chinese opthalmologists.

    “On Jan 22, Guangfa Wang, a member of the national expert panel on pneumonia, reported that he was infected by 2019-nCoV during the inspection in Wuhan. He wore an N95 mask but did not wear anything to protect his eyes. Several days before the onset of pneumonia, Wang complained of redness of the eyes. Unprotected exposure of the eyes to 2019-nCoV in the Wuhan Fever Clinic might have allowed the virus to infect the body.

    “Infectious droplets and body fluids can easily contaminate the human conjunctival epithelium. Respiratory viruses are capable of inducing ocular complications in infected patients, which then leads to respiratory infection. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) is predominantly transmitted through direct or indirect contact with mucous membranes in the eyes, mouth, or nose. The fact that exposed mucous membranes and unprotected eyes increased the risk of SARS-CoV transmission suggests that exposure of unprotected eyes to 2019-nCoV could cause acute respiratory infection.”

    https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)30313-5/fulltext

  13. Here is another Mike Adams video. He owns and operates his own labs. He speaks Chinese, is married to an Asian woman of Chinese descent (Taiwan), and has more than two business in Taiwan. I would imagine he has business contacts within China:
    blob:https://www.brighteon.com/9a9a0083-f2cf-41b3-bb69-a75b1a8aad6e

    DO THE MATH: China holds “good news” press conference, accidentally admits the coronavirus mortality rate is closer to 17 per cent
    https://www.newstarget.com/2020-02-08-do-the-math-china-press-conference-admits-coronavirus-mortality-17-percent.html

    Video of the Chinese government rounding up people suspected of being infected:
    https://youtu.be/WURlVZnCoqw

    This is only a small sample of the videos on what is going on internally. Many of them have been scrubbed from the net, yet more leak out. Seeing believing, but first ya gotta look. This Corona virus is no ordinary flu or cold bug that many professionals have lead their audience to believe. They bought the under reported numbers, and did not properly research the topic. As Mike Adams derives, the CFR in China is approaching 17%. The Chinese consider this highly dangerous, and tell us so with their actions. The reported numbers do not justify this draconian, and brutal action by the Chinese government. There is now probably close to 75 million locked down, and then the government is sending goons, house to house to remove anyone they suspect could have been associated with anyone who was, or might be infected, regardless if they showed symptoms or not. These persons are taken by force to public facilities with bars on the widows, packed with beds, and were there are no medical personnel, or medicine. They are using 9 sports stadiums, and any large facility available. They even built 2 containment ‘hospitals’ in only 9 days. These are in actuality death camps. These are acts of desperation. Persons can check in voluntarily or forcibly, but they cannot check out. The number of beds are in the hundreds of thousands.

    Of course we cannot confirm any of this, but this information is leaking out of China, and is in video form as well. But we can confirm that at least 5 major ports are shut down. Why would they looses billions per day in commerce if they did not have serious internal problems. And now WHO is declaring that there is no pandemic! What government agency can we trust? I would not even trust the CDC.

    Because of age and medical history, I am vulnerable. Many folks who read this blog are in the same category. Fortunately is it practical for myself to self quarantine, so I am. I will still conduct business in a limited way, and at a distance, reducing the risk as much as possible. As a once popular bumper sticker said, “no job, no money, and no worries”. I am totally independent, and believe there is adequate reason to believe that this is a bio weapon in development that escaped, yet that doesn’t really matter as this virus is proving to be deadly enough. The origin of the virus is not germane. It rampaging through China, and now threatens the globe. The economic devastation to the rest of the world may cause the financial system to implode as well, or kick off a horrible depression and wars. We do not feel the full effects of price inflation, because of the very low priced merchandise coming out of China. Buy now because it simply will not be available much longer at current prices. Life saving, and OTC medications, and antibiotics would be at the top of my list. Pick up an oxygen concentrator and one of those finger tip oxygen monitors if possible. It is also easy to make your own nano-silver in lower concentrations of 5 to 10 ppm. Get ready to do battle with this virus and the opportunistic diseases that will come in behind it. If I can do it on a shoe string budget, any one can.

  14. Excellent and timely information here, not only within the article, but the comments as well.

    Pay very close attention to the number of cases within the U.S., and the health status of those patients. If the number of cases begins to rise exponentially, and/or the patients begin to die, stock up on what you know you will need to weather the coming storm (even beyond what you may have put back currently).

    Also, as Survivormann99 alluded to, the supply chain interruptions of critical items could be extremely problematic. Monitor this aspect closely as well.

  15. Sometimes what the government tells you is just as important as what they don’t. The CDC admits that 1: there are no known antivirals that are effective against coronovirus and 2: the testing kits are experiemental, and NOT available at hospitals and physician offices. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/about/testing.html

    What they DON’T tell you is that negative pressure rooms are few and far between. Typically used only for potential TB cases, most hospitals have only a handfull of them.

    So, the US is ill prepared to test, treat, or isolate potential victims.

    1. From your post: “So, the US is ill prepared to test, treat, or isolate potential victims.”

      You’re right. People in the U.S. have become so accustomed to having every need met that they are entirely unprepared for the possibility that there will be more patients than doctors can treat or hospitals can house.

      If 2019-nCoV takes serious hold here, and it may, we may face very, very difficult circumstances.

  16. Australia has had wild fires [ bush fires to Australians ] as of today , 10 feb 2020, floods from massive rainfall, many places along the east coast are having 300 mm of rain in one day ! ( equivalent to total annual rainfall ) are attributed to ” climate change by man ” now in NSW, 150,000 people are without power, and yep, you guessed it, shelves stripped bare, ( don’t you love it ? do people learn anything ?? ), also the country is having fits over the Coronavirus, NZ, Oz are having panic buying of N95/92 masks, prices have sky rocketed, E- bay is selling masks that were $5.00 AUS a few weeks ago, now selling for $60.00 and up !, panic of course is big business, the MSM are fueling it as well, the Chicoms are of course not telling those outside of China, the real figure of cases, economic impact ? of course !!!, leading to a real collapse of the fiat system ? quite easily, for me it goes back to the tired often repeated words ” prepare, prepare PREPARE ! , few do, floods, fires, drought, heat……

  17. Tunnel Rabbit, thanks for the reminder on the oxygen concentrator. I had it on my mind to get for a family member who has early COPD, but had not gotten around to it.

  18. Concerns about the Wuhan China Flu, caused by a Coronavirus is ~NOT hysteria. … The governments are isolating and quarantining travelers from Wuhan China. The possible pandemic is NOT being treated as just another Flu-Season illness.

    The USA is working to limit the number of contagious sick people dispersing into the US population. … People need to do some prudent prepping right now.

  19. First, thanks for the article. Second, events like this give all of us a chance to test our personal planning and use elements of the situation as a drill. Could our family activate our higher level of comms and make daily contact (instead of routine/weekly) ? We implemented that for this period of time. We added slightly to our stock of semi-perishable (e.g. extra eggs and whole wheat wraps that keep for a long time to supplement our non perishable supplies) ? We decided to take a 7 week (stay-in-place) process, we all work from home when we can and avoid going out. See what, if anything, we miss having or need. When we “top up” our supplies, we kept those new rotations totally separate and continued to make a day count of how long we can easily go with provisions on hand, to what extent does this seem relatively easy and not undue hardship using our menu templates ? My son went back and reviewed some of the back articles that were winners from Jim’s writing contests such as Isolation area and the like. Always a lot to learn from all of these submissions.

    1. You’re so right. We have an opportunity to continue our preparedness work because this is not an acute emergency in an “instantaneous” sense. We are receiving warning signals. We don’t know the outcome, but we are getting lots of information about the risks.

      Your strategies sound very much like our own… We are assessing and reassessing supplies and shoring those up, working remotely as much as we can, limiting contacts, working our family emergency communications. We are also monitoring ongoing news reports about the spread of the virus, conditions on the ground in areas affected, and emerging supply chain issues.

      JWRs writing contests and feature article posts have created an excellent library of resource materials.

  20. I really like SurvivalBlog, and I really like timebomb2000.com. If you want serious knowledge and news on the virus, go there and register. 265 pages of virus threads….

    My summation, lots of medical knowledge, herbal, PPE, etc.. that is quite valuable for the serious preppers found here.

    The death toll is likely no less than 50,000 and as high as a quarter million. Consider the first official death was Jan 7, just one month later the numbers are out of control. Seven crematoriums can’t keep up with the bodies. Hospitals are mortuaries. They are putting people in large areas on cots with no protection from each other, call it a petri dish. Our government knows exactly what’s going on, think satellite imagery. Yet they remain silent. I suspect a couple things. The deep state is likely not pushing this in Trumps ear, as they’d like him gone anyway. I expect Steve Bannon is though.

    Had to get thru the impeachment, check. State of the Union, check. His victory speech, check. Now we are going to hear how bad it is, and what’s going to be necessary, very soon. Or maybe some corrupt political folks are perp walked.

    Take into account Russia has stated publicly that the US was behind this release in China. China has followed that lead and is telling it’s people that the US has attacked them. I suggest one wargame this and see how easily this could spin into a nuclear exchange of magnitude.

    Then consider the Georgia Guidestones and the goal is a world population of just five hundred million. The deep state is fine with any and all of the aforementioned outcomes, as they have their ways’ to survive, elegant at that.

    It’s also quite Biblical, which states a third or more of the worlds population dies during the Great Tribulation. The White Horse of Conquest has been running hard pushing the muslims all thru the west, here and abroad. The liberal professors have ridden that White Horse hard, with the Conquest of the Minds of our youth. Now we have the Pale horse of plague out of the gate in a major way. The black Horse of famine has been running, as so many animals are dieing off due to many reasons. Now we have the locusts rampaging with tremendous potential to swarm way out the ordinary boundaries. The Red Horse of war…………………………………..

    Things are accelerating, shore up for the ride folks. God is good, he has a plan, and it is in full swing. Repent, and bring the Good Lord in closer as the time is near.

    I’d also say, thanks to James Rawles and company. All the work they’ve put into this site is quite likely to be extremely valuable very soon, or perhaps applicable in real time. Yes, applied theories and skill sets.

    With the virus the wisest move is to isolate. I’d be out buying black plastic 6 mil or so, hundred foot by eight or ten. Cases of duct tape. More canned foods. Shore up now, the prices are going to rise, availability will decrease. Could happen in a heart beat.

    God bless you all

  21. Do the math. Officially the survival rate has been given as 2% to 3%. Today the total number of deaths is 908 and the number of recovered is 3,281. The total number infected has reached 40,000 but that number doesn’t enter into the calculation because it will be several weeks before anyone knows whether they will live or die. The only way to calculate the death rate is to add the number recovered and number dead together and compare that to the number who died. The answer is a 21% death rate.

  22. Tunnel Rabbit,

    I tried to view the video. I got a message saying that it had been “removed by the user.”

    About using gas masks, they may well become the only way to avoid infection, but gas masks are absolutely no fun to wear. Each year we were required to wear the old US M17 mask for one hour. I seem to recall that this was during a warmer part of the year. By the end of one hour, it was very uncomfortable, probably, in large part, due to the heat and humidity. Still, if death is the alternative to not wearing one…

    I am curious about just how long a military filter for the Czech, Israeli, or US gas masks will last in an environment that is rich with coronavirus. I actually used one of my Czech masks during the fires that swept my area in November 2018. It worked just fine, and the night temperature was in the 50s. No problem with my brief use of it. I have no idea how long it would have taken for serious smoke particulates to compromise the filters, however.

    With the coronavirus, I cannot imagine any concern about clogging the filters, but I can imagine that the filters might accrue a serious buildup of viruses in them. Do you have any idea about this? I wouldn’t want to be in the position of determining after I came down with the coronavirus that I wore my mask one too many times.

    Gas masks may be the only choice for those who have sat on their hands so far. My Home Depot is stripped of masks now. CVS was stripped well before that. A few N95s on a prepper’s shelf will be depleted quickly.

    Perhaps if the mask’s contaminated filters must be removed, a piece of N95 mask material could be taped over the gas masks air intake ports. One N95 mask might be cut into small pieces that would seriously extend the number of times the mask could be used. Just a thought.

    If this last idea works, I hoping for a Nobel Prize in Medicine nomination. 🙂

  23. Recently, I had a whistleblower vid crash on YouTube. I backed up and tried to reload, and the video had been removed. The video only had about 260 views.

    Numbers on the vid were 175,000 infected and 23,000 dead in Wuhan as of Wednesday last week.

    Yes, it’s worse than we’re being told.

Comments are closed.