Novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV/COVID-19)

[pheoxs]

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This is a portable RT-PCR unit that can run one sample at a time. This is an antigen test that looks for viral RNA, so the patient needs to be shedding virus which is then sampled through a nasopharyngeal swab, just like the other tests we currently are performing. It is useful for point of care confirmation of COVID-19, but does not provide batch testing to the scale that is needed. It will be very useful for remote and rural locations or in hospitals where knowing the COVID-19 status of a patient would change their management or which ward/unit to isolate a patient into.

A serologic test looks for antibodies in the blood - which are a marker for previous or subacute infection which will give information on the % of the population who may have been exposed, with presumed immunity. It is the serological testing which will be key in making future public health decisions on how we can ease the restrictions we are currently under.

True but 1 test per hour. If you can deploy 100 of them well thats the same number of tests we ran in the last 24hrs.

They'd be handy if there's an outbreak, lets say that that food processing plant. Then you can send ahandful of machines there and test every single person in the span of a day or two. Then you can pull all the infected people out of circulation rather than waiting for symptoms and it to spread more.

[xrayvsn]

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True but 1 test per hour. If you can deploy 100 of them well thats the same number of tests we ran in the last 24hrs.

They'd be handy if there's an outbreak, lets say that that food processing plant. Then you can send ahandful of machines there and test every single person in the span of a day or two. Then you can pull all the infected people out of circulation rather than waiting for symptoms and it to spread more.

Good point. Any increased testing capacity will help isolate clusters.

We are getting 250 of these units, along with 100,000 kits. From the sounds of it, we are deploying them in remote and rural communities.

This was the AHS announcement on March 30:

https://www.albertahealthservices.ca...Page15450.aspx

”Spartan Bioscience Inc. is in the late stages of developing an innovative handheld, rapid-testing device for COVID-19, which can confirm test results for the virus in less than one hour. The technology is expected to help AHS provide additional, more expedient testing for COVID-19 in rural and remote communities, such as Indigenous communities, by eliminating the need for lab samples to travel to the nearest lab, which can be a logistical challenge.

As part of the $9.5-million contract, AHS will receive 250 handheld devices, along with 100,000 testing kits, to be distributed to healthcare facilities outside of Calgary and Edmonton. The first shipment of devices and testing kits arrives next month.”

[pheoxs]

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Good point. Any increased testing capacity will help isolate clusters.

We are getting 250 of these units, along with 100,000 kits. From the sounds of it, we are deploying them in remote and rural communities.

This was the AHS announcement on March 30:

https://www.albertahealthservices.ca...Page15450.aspx

”Spartan Bioscience Inc. is in the late stages of developing an innovative handheld, rapid-testing device for COVID-19, which can confirm test results for the virus in less than one hour. The technology is expected to help AHS provide additional, more expedient testing for COVID-19 in rural and remote communities, such as Indigenous communities, by eliminating the need for lab samples to travel to the nearest lab, which can be a logistical challenge.

As part of the $9.5-million contract, AHS will receive 250 handheld devices, along with 100,000 testing kits, to be distributed to healthcare facilities outside of Calgary and Edmonton. The first shipment of devices and testing kits arrives next month.”

I don't fully understand that. Does that mean 250 devices and you have swabs/whatever to do 100,000 tests? Or are the 100k kits seperate from the handheld devices.

[The_Rural_Juror]

20,000 tests a day in May is phenomenal.

[Xtrema]

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I don't fully understand that. Does that mean 250 devices and you have swabs/whatever to do 100,000 tests? Or are the 100k kits seperate from the handheld devices.

I think its former. Works out to be $100 per test. Sounds cheaper and faster than the lab.

Feds order 200k and Ontario ordered 1M.

Spartan Bioscience think they can deliver to all government orders by Summer and then they can start entertaining orders from Canadian corporations and only look to export afterwards.

[ZenOps]

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100% that died were men or women. If you are one of the other 49 genders you are in the clear.

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/2...-men-and-women

The numbers don't lie. It could be that men tend to be smokers more than women in many parts of the world. It could be the raw size mass of heart and lungs which when deteriorated causes all that much more dead material to flood the organs. It could the the double X chromosome itself.

But men most definitely, for whatever reason - are more likely to actually die. Much more than statistically significant.

Highest risk group is looking like: Overweight male, maybe even oversized healthy weight male (Arhnold). God help the USA, growth hormone milk may be their undoing.

https://twitter.com/arnoldworkout/st...00845126393856

[The_Rural_Juror]

WWE has been deemed as Essential Service in Florida. Things are looking up.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/13/us/ww...rnd/index.html

[mr2mike]

"Can you smell what The Rock is cooking?"
If you can't, you have Coronavirus.

[The_Rural_Juror]

Nice one.

[ZenOps]

https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/13/busin...rus/index.html

Meat processors shutting down. Get your fresh meat while you can.

[ExtraSlow]

Meat processing is hilariously manual work. Need a lot of Mexicans to run a place like that, or in Canada, Temporary Foreign Workers.
It's work white Americans and Canadians have decided is beneath them.

[killramos]

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Meat processing is hilariously manual work. Need a lot of Mexicans to run a place like that, or in Canada, Temporary Foreign Workers.
It's work white Americans and Canadians have decided is beneath them.

Unless you are a white weekend warrior / hunter where we consider it “fun”

[Buster]

25% unemployment should get a lot of seasonal crops planted in the US and meat processing done in Canada.

A nurse friend of mine from Tulsa just told me that he is going to NY to work with COVID patients. He already had it, so they are looking for those type of folk. Normally makes $70k a year. NYC is paying him $24K per MONTH.

[Supa Dexta]

Hogs are already being shot and dumped in canada too. Cattle backing up in the supply line.

If the public thinks dumping milk is bad, they really won't like what happens with chicks and piglets when the finished animals stop moving and space isn't available for the next turn over.

[killramos]

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Hogs are already being shot and dumped in canada too. Cattle backing up in the supply line.

If the public thinks dumping milk is bad, they really won't like what happens with chicks and piglets when the finished animals stop moving and space isn't available for the next turn over.

This is really surprising to me in a macro sense.

People aren’t eating anymore?

[mr2mike]

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A nurse friend of mine from Tulsa just told me that he is going to NY to work with COVID

Sorry, but I still have this pop in my head when I read this. No offense.


Sounds like he's going to be one of the few doing well during this. Hopefully his mental health can stay strong. Can't be easy.

[msommers]

The videos going around of the breakdown of healthcare workers is gut-wrenching. I've heard enough stories over the years about hard cases but I can't imagine multiple of those daily.

[dirtsniffer]

Time to send all of the TFW's home? Bring them all back in a couple years once things are (hopefully) stable.

[Xtrema]

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Time to send all of the TFW's home? Bring them all back in a couple years once things are (hopefully) stable.

Are you saying that Canadians are wiling to work the fields and process meat close to min wage?

[ercchry]

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Are you saying that Canadians are wiling to work the fields and process meat close to min wage?

If they can’t work the fields for double what professional office staff make... they might just have to