Ivy League cancels conference tournaments due to Covid-19
And in personal news, my biggest client cancelled our meeting scheduled for tomorrow right as I was boarding the plane. On the plus side, there was practically nobody at either airport, so turning right around should be no problem.
Right here. Now I'm going to go post it on another site, and it starts spreading like a... like a... I can't think of the right analogy.
creamy JIF is what you’re looking for. Till it starts spreading like creamy JIF.
This is a crunchy Jif household and always will be.
March 10th, 2020 at 12:33 PM ^
Will be interesting to see what (if anything) happens with March Madness. There will probably be political pressure to some degree on the NCAA to do something, but there's so much money tied up in the tournament too. I don't think anyone's got the balls to cancel or significantly alter such a cash cow.
March 10th, 2020 at 12:36 PM ^
I don't see a world where it's cancelled mainly because of the money. I think they could do the games in empty arenas and at least be able to still make money from the TV rights.
March 10th, 2020 at 12:34 PM ^
Headed to Vegas for March Madness next week. Hoping to have the airport and plane all to myself.
March 10th, 2020 at 12:47 PM ^
Can't spell ivy league without vagi
user name checks out
March 10th, 2020 at 12:58 PM ^
What airport?
MSP and MKE.
EDIT: the TSA pre check line at MSP typically takes 20 minutes to get through.
There was exactly one other person in front of me today at 8:45 am.
Country's largest spine surgery conference, AAOS, canceled due to Coronavirus.
National Guard just called up in NYC to set up containment zone in the suburbs.
Italy is giving full practicing privileges to med students and setting up the sick in gyms and on gurneys. Apparently in the hardest hit province, 50% of their ICU patients are COVID-19. There isn't a single hospital in the US that has 50% utilization in the ICU, especially during flu season.
This is likely going to get worse before it gets better.
Where are you reading this?
(Not a huge fan of the source on the last one. I was hearing something very similar on NPR about 2 days ago but am unable to find that story)
I can confirm since I have a booth at the conference, but I got the AAOS email this morning saying that it is cancelled.
Also, it's not just a spine conference, its an overall orthopedic conference, the largest in the world. Pretty big deal.
Sorry, I work in spine, so that's my only exposure to it. But you're right.
Cool. May I ask what you do in spine?
(our next generation device we are developing is for the spine market)
Project engineer. Combination design engineer, project manager, test engineer, quality engineer, and really bad salesman.
I've done everything from screws and rods to interspinous nonfusion to interbodies with screws to screwless interbodies (what I'm doing right now).
Yourself?
Cool.
I focus on the tools/instruments that help surgeons implant screws. I got a cool new neuromonitoring technology I’m developing for that.
University of Colorado Hospital has canceled all non-essential travel for employees. Training, conferences etc. Friend works there.
The overreactions and hysteria over this virus has been almost shocking. Taking logical precautions to reduce one's risk of infection is one thing. But just avoiding all contact with people in areas with little or no cases, and hoarding all kinds of food/supplies like it's the end of the world is just being irrational. The panic and hysteria is going to cause far more damage than the virus ever will.
No kidding. In case any of you want to sell your water front mansions for dirt cheap so you can retreat to your cabin in the woods, PM me. I’ll throw in a bottle of purell.
This is an overreaction but likely what the Ivy league presidents wanted all along. They famously did not start a tournament until recently.
What were you doing here in the states? Are you a registered agent of Russia?
I was awarded a couple more terms today by the Duma.
How could I say no?
I accidentally used the term "corona virus" this morning, then immediately realized my mistake. I felt so last week...
Have another.... this one's on me... because ya know... beer, makes you smarter.
Sucks for the teams that otherwise had a chance to make it into the tournament but didn't win the regular season. Unfortunately this is just one of those "what can you do?" kind of situations.
Will be very interesting to see if any of the tournament games will end up being played in empty arenas, or just moved altogether? And then with the Final Four being in Atlanta, only a few miles down the road from the busiest airport in the world, will be even more interesting to see what happens with those games.
What does this virus have in common with Michigan football?
They both suck?
They are both over hyped at the start of the season. I know a lot of people consider 9 & 10 win seasons as pure garbage.
Online State University is going to undress Covid-19 in humiliating fashion on national television?
has jay bilas weighed in on what a bad break this is for poor, unappreciated tommy amaker?
I have to say, the mass hysteria about COVID-19 is unlike anything that I have ever seen. There have been less than 5,000 deaths worldwide. If you exclude China (terrible health system, disease epicenter was in very low-income province with limited resources and large number of people living in very close quarters), there are LESS THAN 1000 deaths worldwide. And, of those less than 1000 deaths, the overwhelming majority are elderly (average age of death is just over 80 years old) or those with preexisting respiratory or immune conditions.
By contrast, in the US alone, we have had between 25,000 and 35,000 deaths from the common flu.
The problem with COVID-19 is that the media is reporting literally every new case. If we did the same with the flu, and included deaths, people would go into a panic every flu season.
I'm not saying that we should simply ignore this new disease. Common sense should be exercised. We should all engage in habits that slow the spread - washing hands, not shaking hands, stay home from work when sick, etc. But, the cancelling of public events and classes, stock-piling toiletpaper, etc. is ridiculous.
The media doesn't hype the flu because it's a known quantity. It's the novelty of Covid-19 that makes it "newsworthy."
From what I have read most contagion epidemics follow a roughly bell curve pattern. The Chinese data indicates that they are already well past the peak rate of new infections (new cases/day). If we can rely on their data, that is definitely a good sign. South Korea's reports also indicate that they past their peak. A very good sign.
Also, South Korea reports a much lower fatality rate (0.6) than China (3.8).This may be related to the fact that they have a far better health care system than China. Also, some of their lower rate may be atributable to their testing many more people. China and Italy have mostly tested people who appeared likely to have the virus. S. Korea had the capability and will to test many people who were not seriously ill. Japan and Switzerland also report much lower fatality rates than China.
Of course we need to take reasonable precautions and it is still possible that the epidemic may turn out to be much worse than it looks now. However, the facts at this time do not seem to support the levels of hysteria we are seeing.
Good post - regarding the "bell curve", the phrase of the last few days has become "flatten the curve."
I think we must now assume that everyone will be exposed to the virus at some point in time.
From a mathematical POV, consider the graph where "number of people newly exposed to the virus" is on the y-axis and "time" is on the x-axis. If you assume my 2nd paragraph, that means the "area under the curve" will be the same no matter what sort of curve you have.
So what we want to do is minimize the peak of the curve. Flatten the curve.
There are only so many hospital beds in America after all. THAT is a huge consideration here.
I understand the idea of cancelling meetings (and large events) from that POV.
I'm not. Realistically speaking, I don't think flattening the curve is possible in general, and in America in particular. The measures that people are trying to enact -- everything from banning handshakes to cancelling events -- run contrary to American culture.
We have enough trouble with the basics: wash your hands, don't cough on people, stay home if you're sick, and keep the kids home if they're sick.
Well said. I made another post putting it all into perspective - the death toll is paltry compared to the flu or dying in a car accident - but just got down votes.
This media sensationalism is irresponsible. And the official response with canceling of events is an extreme overreaction. Using similar logic, we wouldn't get in our cars ever again.
Getting married in May with a lot of out of town visitors. Hell, we have to fly in because we live out of state at the moment.
Bachelor/bachelorette parties are currently up in that air.
Honeymoon was going to be in the late summer due to grad school and work but now we don't know when to buy those tickets.
To all of the people in the thread that do not find this to be a serious situation. Italy is an illustrative example of waiting until its too late to stem the number of infections without completing shutting down society. Making comparisons to influenza are pointless because seasonal flus are baked into the supply of medical care.
The dichotomy is not apocalyptic super virus that destroys society or complete non-issue. The reality is somewhere in between. The virus is taxing the supply of medical resources at a time when we already have more people in the hospital due to influenza. People are not going to receive treatment that they need because there simply are not enough resources.
Taking what seem like extreme measures to slow the spread of the virus may buy us more time to slow the spread and reduce the pressure on the health care system. We need a break with warm weather to give government and the private sector needed time to develop more infrastructure to combat this virus and knowledge about how it operates.
This virus has revealed very serious vulnerabilities in the supply chain and how under prepared the world is for a serious international crisis.
"The virus is taxing the supply of medical resources at a time when we already have more people in the hospital due to influenza" -- People that shouldn't be in the hospital anyways, because there IS NO CURE FOR EITHER... this is the problem with America, people go to the hospital for the flu when they should just stay at home rest and get better.
So wait a second, you're saying this is "NOT APOCALYPTIC"... but "requires extreme" measures... how much of a proverbial dichotomy can you be?
I'm convinced that UofM has a hash problem... because many of you are smoking it and getting onto forums like this.
The solution is to wash your fuckin' hands Marty. Furthermore, saying that this virus has "revealed serious vulnerabilities in the supply chain" is a completely thoughtless tag line for hot takes. Of course there are supply issues... IT'S A NEW STRAIN, which requires a different test than Influenza, or SARS and a cure hasn't been developed yet *derp*
Furthermore, your comment about seasonal flu being baked into the supply of medical care is also completely FALSE! How so? Just curious, because the last time I checked, there's no cure for the flu, antibiotics don't cure it, though you may be speaking of medicines which cope with symptoms; wow do they really teach this stuff at UofM, or do they just hand out crayons and a piece of scrap paper for your degrees? Seasonal tests are baked into the system, as well as supposed "flu shots" which are last years strains and do almost jack/shit for current year Influenza viruses. "Yes sir, you've got the flu, go home, sleep, eat soup, drink lots of water... there's no cure"
Acting like tests are "the cure" is so incredibly stupid its reprehensible and the fact that you're even online spouting about it is a demonstration in the failure of a fine public institution (UofM). So we hand out millions of testing kits right, and now 20k come back positive... guess what, no cure... stay at home just like the CDC tells you if/when you believe you have the flu... if you have a fever stay at home, don't spread the germs, wash your hands etc.
BTW, nothing like supporting Big Pharm with your rhetoric in your post, lemme guess lobbyist?
This is probably a good time to point out that the average Michigan fan actually doesn't have a degree in medicine from UM -- or, in fact, any degree from UM at all -- so, while I agree with much of what you're saying, taking potshots at UM's educational standards seems a little pointless.
"People that shouldn't be in the hospital anyways, because there IS NO CURE FOR EITHER... this is the problem with America, people go to the hospital for the flu when they should just stay at home rest and get better"
This is so incredibly ignorant I hardly know where to start. You apparently don't realize that people with the flu only go to the hospital when they have serious complications - such as pneumonia - and the hospital treats their symptoms, i.e. providing breathing treatments, often times saving their lives.
Also the original poster's comment about the flu being baked into the medical services of this country IS correct. Again, people can sometimes experience severe complications from the flu and need to be hospitalized. The total ICU bed capacity in this country is partially set with that in mind.
Your entire post is one of the most uneducated things I've ever read on this website. I hope you take a break and do some research and educate yourself with an open mind.
March 10th, 2020 at 10:01 PM ^
There is so much wrong with this post I am not sure why I am bothering to respond. Your posting history in this thread and overall on this site indicate that you have a very tenuous relationship with reality and facts, but here it goes.
Influenza requires hospitalization as others have said not to cure it but treat complications that result.
I did not say extreme measures were required, that was my characterization of what we are doing now because the opportunity to slow the spread has come and gone.
Supply chain did not refer to tests. The whole world has become dependent on having global travel and trade up and running with minimal disruptions. I think people should be concerned that China could be taken down by a virus and have that wreck our ability to deal with the virus a few months later. We lack the capacity to be self-sufficient for critical resources during a crisis.
The number of hospitalizations for things such as influenza are considered because we cant just build infrastructure such as hospitals in a matter of weeks. We need to use historical data and population growth to figure out how many beds a community needs. An outbreak like Covid-19 stresses the infrastructure. Hence the concern and need to reduce the increase in infections.
Nobody including me is saying tests are a cure. Tests would be useful in terms of having any data to analyze in order to make better decisions going forward.
I am not a lobbyist. I certainly wouldn't be one for pharmaceuticals.
I find it hard to understand why you insist on constantly taking shots at Michigan and also weirdly bring up that you went to Johns Hopkins. The former makes you seem like a troll who in addition to hating the football program, also hates the University. The latter indicates to me that at best you are incredibly insecure and at worst a habitual liar that is trying to use the name brand of a school to giver their opinions credibility. I am guessing you did not attend Michigan since you said your degrees. That must be why you did not learn reading comprehension.
By "client" I'm assuming you mean Donald Trump?
No, I meant biggest in terms of most important, not fattest.
LOL. This deserves a few more +1s.
Body shaming. Now you've gone too far. This aggression will not stand, man. Because standing is hard for fat people, you see.
I expect all colleges nationwide to be on line only within 2-3 weeks. Harvard is closing their whole campus this weekend for the semester. Students have 5 days to move out.
To those who still think this is just a flu like outbreak, please go to an international news site and read what is going on in Northern Italy right now at the hospitals. We are about 2 weeks behind them except their outbreak was contained to one region where ours is now in 37 states and counting.
Sadly seems many nowadays need to turn EVERYTHING into politics. Shit is so annoying on BOTH SIDES.