Coronavirus Updates

[Dakota Tebaldi]

Don't buy this. Francis Boyle seems to be the origin of the conspiracy theory that Covid-19 was engineered; but he said (literally) the exact same thing about Ebola during its most recent outbreak, and scientists who actually studied the virus immediately said that it was a baseless theory and that the differences in the strain were readily apparent to have been the results of simple evolutionary processes; and they also said that if the virus had been engineered it wouldn't simply have some minor, easy-to-expect changes, but rather it would have some readily-identifiable components of other viruses mixed in that scientists would recognize.

Boyle seems to have learned from that episode, because this time he's specifically claiming that "parts of HIV" are present in the virus. But Boyle is not actually working in any laboratories that are studying Covid-19 right now; he is NOT a source of real information about the virus. He's reading stuff off the internet and drawing conclusions from it.

He's also a frequent guest on Alex Jones' show.

 

[Kamilah Hauptmann]

Not sure, I’d be real popular with the neighbours after they see me roboting down the street chucking toilet paper at the birds, but it’s worth a try.

Don’t throw the TP! Throw the french fries!

 

[Caete]

Don't buy this. Francis Boyle seems to be the origin of the conspiracy theory that Covid-19 was engineered; but he said (literally) the exact same thing about Ebola during its most recent outbreak, and scientists who actually studied the virus immediately said that it was a baseless theory and that the differences in the strain were readily apparent to have been the results of simple evolutionary processes; and they also said that if the virus had been engineered it wouldn't simply have some minor, easy-to-expect changes, but rather it would have some readily-identifiable components of other viruses mixed in that scientists would recognize.

Boyle seems to have learned from that episode, because this time he's specifically claiming that "parts of HIV" are present in the virus. But Boyle is not actually working in any laboratories that are studying Covid-19 right now; he is NOT a source of real information about the virus. He's reading stuff off the internet and drawing conclusions from it.

He's also a frequent guest on Alex Jones' show.

So COVID-19 doesn't actually mean China Origin Virus International Deployment (model)19? ;-)

 

[Maggy Hazelnut]

I saw someone tonight in SL wearing a tshirt that said "Straight Outa Wuhan" and sorry but it made me laugh. haha Dark humor I know!

 

[Caliandris]

Don't buy this. Francis Boyle seems to be the origin of the conspiracy theory that Covid-19 was engineered; but he said (literally) the exact same thing about Ebola during its most recent outbreak, and scientists who actually studied the virus immediately said that it was a baseless theory and that the differences in the strain were readily apparent to have been the results of simple evolutionary processes; and they also said that if the virus had been engineered it wouldn't simply have some minor, easy-to-expect changes, but rather it would have some readily-identifiable components of other viruses mixed in that scientists would recognize.

Boyle seems to have learned from that episode, because this time he's specifically claiming that "parts of HIV" are present in the virus. But Boyle is not actually working in any laboratories that are studying Covid-19 right now; he is NOT a source of real information about the virus. He's reading stuff off the internet and drawing conclusions from it.

He's also a frequent guest on Alex Jones' show.

Oh lord, I had no idea. That does put a different cast on anything he might say. I obviously didn't research him first and should have done, apologies.

Loo roll mania has reached Lincolnshire. It may be an indication of English priorities that at present it seems to be longlife milk, loo roll and pasta which is selling out. There are constant news stories about people stocking up and getting enough for two weeks, and that seems to be driving people to buy a lot more than usual. Stories about panic buying in stores is leading people to buy more stuff in case it sells out.

 

[Dakota Tebaldi]

 

[Brenda Archer]

In the Phoenix area I haven’t seen runs on toilet paper, but I can’t find hand sanitizer or rubbing alcohol, although I could find disposable gloves. There’s plenty of hand soap.

I have to go to the doctor tomorrow for a nuclear heart study, and I will use up the last of my hand sanitizer. I still have some rubbing alcohol.

I have had flu like symptoms, but nothing serious. I can hear my housemate coughing and puking constantly. Not for the first time, I’m glad I don’t smoke.

 

[Tracer]

I just realized St. Patrick's Day is next week and it seems that many cities, including Boston, are not cancelling the parades.

Edit: now they've cancelled the Boston parade.

 

[Katheryne Helendale]

runs on toilet paper

Eww!

(Okay, Kat, grow up...)

I haven't seen any TP shortages around here yet, at least not at my favorite store. Haven't checked Costco yet. It has been on our local news, though, so it seems nearby Fresno and Clovis may be experiencing shortages.

There has been shortages on hand soap and sanitizer, though. This is good, in that it means people are (hopefully) washing their hands. But that bugs me: Why does it take threat of a global pandemic of a potentially deadly virus to get people to wash their damned hands?

 

[Katheryne Helendale]

And I really don't understand why, of all our daily necessary commodities, why toilet paper is flying off the shelves faster than it can be stocked. Does coronavirus cause explosive diarrhea? I'm really failing to see the connection.

 

[Kamilah Hauptmann]

(Okay, Kat, grow up...)

Same problem here.

 

[Dakota Tebaldi]

And I really don't understand why, of all our daily necessary commodities, why toilet paper is flying off the shelves faster than it can be stocked. Does coronavirus cause explosive diarrhea? I'm really failing to see the connection.

No, it's a respiratory illness, there won't be any GI symptoms with it AFAIK

What happened is somebody who didn't know that panicked and started buying lots of it, and other people saw that and started doing it too, thinking maybe this person knew something they didn't.

The Corvid-19 quarantine period is two weeks, but people are buying a heck of a lot more than two weeks' worth of toilet paper.

 

[Dakota Tebaldi]

Same problem here.

Not here!

 

[Kamilah Hauptmann]

Not here!

 

[Brenda Archer]

 

[Brenda Archer]

 

[Bartholomew Gallacher]

Here's the reason why despite the Corona pandemic there is not much less air traffic:

Airlines are wasting thousands of gallons of jet fuel running empty ‚ghost‘ planes during the Coronavirus outbreak, due to European rules forcing operators to lose their flight slots if they keep their planes on the grounds.
Demand for flights has collapsed across the globe amid growing fears over the coronavirus pandemic.
However, under existing European rules airlines operating out of the continent must continue to run 80% of their allocated slots or risk losing them to a competitor.
This has led to some operators flying empty planes in and out of European countries at huge costs, the Times of London newspaper reported.

Airlines are burning thousands of gallons of fuel flying empty 'ghost' planes so they can keep their flight slots during the coronavirus outbreak

Airlines are running empty "ghost" flights because of European rules forcing operators to run their allocated flights or risk losing their slots.

www.businessinsider.de

 

[Brenda Archer]

For anyone who can get into the technical nitty gritty:

Novel 2019 coronavirus

From this tweeter:

 

[Dakota Tebaldi]

From a clinical point of view this is kind of neat (*wince*). Because the virus obviously mutates a tiny bit every time an infected host copies it, this kind of history-map can be drawn using viral DNA, accurately enough that they can say someone from Washington state - or at least, someone who was there - brought the infection to the Grand Princess cruise ship, and that somebody who got off that ship subsequently infected other people in California.

 

[Dakota Tebaldi]

Gates-funded program will soon offer home-testing kits for new coronavirus

Testing for the novel coronavirus in the Seattle area will get a huge boost in the coming weeks as a project funded by Bill Gates and his foundation begins offering home-testing kits that will allow people who fear they may be infected to swab their noses and send the samples back for analysis.

Results, which should be available in one to two days, will be shared with local health officials who will notify those who test positive. Via online forms, infected people can answer questions about their movements and contacts, making it easier for health officials to locate others who may need to be tested or quarantined, as well as to track the virus’ spread and identify possible hot spots.

The goal is to eventually be able to process thousands of tests a day, said Scott Dowell, leader of coronavirus response at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The project is ramping up as quickly as possible, but it’s not clear exactly when it will launch, he added. Among other things, software needs to be upgraded to handle the expected crush of requests, and a detailed questionnaire finalized for people who request tests.

“Although there’s a lot to be worked out, this has enormous potential to turn the tide of the epidemic,” Dowell said.

Oh GOD yes, please. Local hospitals don't test people because the CDC refuses to let them, because there are so few "official" federal test kits they don't want to "waste" any on people they deem unlikely to have it. But once these guys get running they can just mail a freaking test to your door so you can do it your damn self and send it in.