Coronavirus Updates

[Kara Spengler]

"On the hydrochloroquine [sic], two things. I, like the President, hope it works. I don't know if it works. I'm not a doctor, but everbody hopes something works. Right? I think it would be unnatural not to hope that it works."

I would add: whether it works or not, that has nothing to do with Trump. So don't hate on the drug just because you hate Trump [or whomever]. Hating on the drug should be something separate.

My sentimental favorite drug at the moment is Ivermectin. When my viral illness was getting worse last week, I was checking out my dog's heart worm medication. Three doses for a 25 lb. dog would probably just create a resistant strain in me, if it did anything. I also don't have pin worms so didn't fancy the additional drug included.

I know that taking my dog's medication is a ridiculous idea, but being ignored by doctors until your illness is taking you under is also ridiculous.

I still can not get over donnie playing doctor telling people to just take a drug because. I have learned very well not to take ANYTHING without talking to a doctor first. Even aspirin has side effects. One of the drugs ppl were looking at can cause seizures and is bad news for epileptics so I really hope that is not the one that gets decided on as people might be in less of a rush to find an alternative drug that I could take.

 

[Kara Spengler]

What the fox, fellow Pensacolans? Escambia is no where as bad as south Florida, but I bet that changes..... stupid arses.

That has to be a setup for a joke right? Practicing for the essential industry that is the wwe?

 

[Aribeth Zelin]

That has to be a setup for a joke right? Practicing for the essential industry that is the wwe?

No clue, I mean, I know we've enough of a wrestling fan base here where the local geek con always has wrestling guests - but otherwise, our mayor has had us mostly on lock down since second week of march, I think?

 

[Free]

As the story has mostly shown up in this thread:

Navy may reinstate fired captain who asked for help with coronavirus outbreak: report

The Navy may reinstate a captain who was removed from his post earlier this month after asking for help with the coronavirus outbreak aboard his ship, The New York Times reported Wednesday. De…

thehill.com

 

[Innula Zenovka]

No matter how you crunch the numbers, this pandemic is only just getting started | William Hanage

People are understandably looking for good news. But the truth is, we’re nowhere near controlling coronavirus, says Harvard professor Dr William Hanage

www.theguardian.com

There have been more than 93,000 cases of Covid-19 identified in the UK. Let’s round that up and say it is 100,000. So if the reports from the BMJ editorial are accurate, the actual number would be that multiplied by five, in which case there would have already been half a million infections in the UK. If this really is the peak and we see as many cases on the way down as on the way up, that would total 1 million infections from the initial surge in the UK – hopefully all of those people would then be immune.

That would leave about 65 million people in the UK still without immunity.

 

[Bartholomew Gallacher]

The risk of getting a sunburn in Europe has been increased up to 20% due to less air pollution.

https://www.donnerwetter.de/wetter-aktuell/corona-sonnenbrand_cid_78748.html

 

[Innula Zenovka]

NHS in standoff with Apple and Google over coronavirus tracing

Tech firms place limitations on how tracing apps may work in effort to protect users’ privacy

www.theguardian.com

 

[Free]

The risk of getting a sunburn in Europe has been increased up to 20% due to less air pollution.

https://www.donnerwetter.de/wetter-aktuell/corona-sonnenbrand_cid_78748.html

Maybe we can get Elon Musk to start making sunscreen lotion.

 

[Stora]

Lessons from Hokkaido's second wave of infections

It was once seen as something of a success story - a region that worked to contain, trace and isolate the virus - leading to a huge drop in numbers. But Hokkaido is in the spotlight again as it struggles to deal with a second wave of infections.

In late February, Hokkaido became the first place in Japan to declare a state of emergency due to Covid-19.

Schools were closed, large-scale gatherings cancelled and people "encouraged" to stay at home. The local government pursued the virus with determination - aggressively tracing and isolating anyone who'd had contact with victims.

The policy worked and by mid-March the number of new cases had fallen back to one or two a day. On 19 March the state of emergency was lifted, and at the beginning of April, schools re-opened.

But now, just 26 days after the state of emergency was lifted, a new one has had to be imposed.

Hokkaido has acted independently of the central government, which placed Tokyo, Osaka and five other prefectures under a state of emergency last week. A nationwide state of emergency was declared on Thursday.

Lessons from Hokkaido's return to virus lockdown

 

[Eunoli]

Lessons from Hokkaido's return to virus lockdown

Testing, testing, testing..

 

[Sid]

The virus is most likely here to stay, just like the other corona type viruses that infect people every year.
We can't keep up a lock down forever. So we will have to experiment with what is possible and what not.
There can be a preventive vaccine against covid-19 next year, it can take longer , nobody knows for sure.
A medicine against it when you got infected: not in sight. If none of the existing medicines responds properly, better think in years or a decade.

For how long can we really afford to stay in lock down? Food has to be produced, packed, transported, sold.
Kids have to be educated, other goods produced..... Money to be earned.
In the end we have very little other choice IMHO, than to try to get society back to as normal as possible step by step.
Maybe sometimes one step forward and one step back again.

Almost all European countries are talking about slowly and carefully (partial) to open up again.
No one knows where it will end.

 

[Isabeau]

The virus is most likely here to stay, just like the other corona type viruses that infect people every year.
We can't keep up a lock down forever. So we will have to experiment what is possible and what not.
There can be a preventive vaccine against covid-19 next year, it can take longer , nobody knows for sure.
A medicine against it when you got infected: not in sight. If none of the existing medicines responds properly, better think in years or a decade.

For how long can we really afford to stay in lock down? Food has to be produced, packed, transported, sold?
Kids have to be educated, other goods produced..... Money to be earned.
In the end we have very little other choice IMHO, than to try to get society back to as normal as possible step by step.
Maybe sometimes one step forward and one step back again.

Almost all European countries are talking about slowly and carefully (partial) to open up again.
No one knows where it will end.

 

[Sid]

Compare that with the baseball bullshit from 45..........

 

[Beebo Brink]

No one knows where it will end.

Oh, I think we all know. It will end with a lot of dead people. The only question is whether they die in a short time frame that is majorly disruptive or in a longer time frame that we can better manage as a society.

From what we're seeing now -- but don't clearly understand -- most people aren't that badly affected, but a smaller segment are knocked off their keister and if they're too old or health-compromised, they die. I'm curious as to whether there's some kind of biological/genetic difference between those two different outcomes. If there is an underlying component, then we're in for a Great Culling as the virus takes out the vulnerable people, over and over again as they age or contract other conditions. After a few decades, when we emerge from the other side, the human population that is left standing would be fine from that time on.

 

[Fionalein]

Maybe we can get Elon Musk to start making sunscreen lotion.

if he generates more space junk that would help against sunburns

 

[Sid]

Oh, I think we all know. It will end with a lot of dead people. The only question is whether they die in a short time frame that is majorly disruptive or in a longer time frame that we can better manage as a society.

From what we're seeing now -- but don't clearly understand -- most people aren't that badly affected, but a smaller segment are knocked off their keister and if they're too old or health-compromised, they die. I'm curious as to whether there's some kind of biological/genetic difference between those two different outcomes. If there is an underlying component, then we're in for a Great Culling as the virus takes out the vulnerable people, over and over again as they age or contract other conditions. After a few decades, when we emerge from the other side, the human population that is left standing would be fine from that time on.

What I meant was, that nobody knows how far we can go back to normal (the situation before covid-19) in the next few years.

But yes, I agree there will be people that die from covid 19 every year, just like with the flu. Mainly people of old age and the ones that are more vulnerable because of other conditions. It will be less over the years when we get reliable vaccines and enough people are willing to be vaccinated. But just as with the flu shots it will not give a 100% certain protection. If the immune system is to compromised, you (general you) will loose the battle.
In the end this is the truth: Life is short and then you die.

 

[Sovereignty]

Testing, testing, testing..

Which we obviously don't do well right now. I finally got a test 14 days after my first symptoms of some viral illness. It came back negative which does not tell me a whole lot.

The UK guidelines tell people to go back to work after seven days or to wait until symptom free (John Campbell reviewing UK guidelines.), so testing 14 days in seems dubious. I wasn't symptom free but am getting better. Really I was hoping for a positive test without having to wait for an antibody test to be available.
Also see How Coronavirus (COVID-19) Is Diagnosed which states:

"If your test negative [sic]: Other factors are important to help confirm you are truly free of COVID-19, such as your symptom history and clinical examination. You may have been infected by the virus, but its presence could be undetected in your sample."

To prevent reemergence, they have to be able to test amazingly well. As the article just cited says:

"So far, experts have seen that while there are severe cases, the infection is usually mild with non-specific symptoms. And there are no trademark clinical features of COVID-19 infection."

 

[Fionalein]

Almost all European countries are talking about slowly and carefully (partial) to open up again.
No one knows where it will end.

So - as I feared - the lockdowns were pure actionism, by the politicians in charge riding the wave of fears (now that financial fears take over they change directions). If they would have been serious about their concerns for the health of each individual they would not have designated them as future sacrifices on the altar of Mammon.

 

[Veritable Quandry]

We need to have two things to go back to "normal." The first is enough immunity from natural (recovered people) and artificial (vaccinations) immunity. THe second is a fast and effective test so we can identify people who are ill and target quarantine measures where we need them.

 

[Veritable Quandry]

So - as I feared - the lockdowns were pure actionism, by the politicians in charge riding the wave of fears (now that finanicial fears take over they change directions). If they would have been serious about their concerns for the health of each individual they would not have designated them as future sacrifices on the altar of Mammon.

No. The lockdowns are preventing hospitals from becoming overwhelmed. Look at Italy and imagine 10x the cases.