How COVID-19 is affecting society

[Innula Zenovka]

The 'lockdown sceptics' want a culture war, with experts as the enemy | Peter Geoghegan & Mary Fitzgerald

It’s Brexit all over again for the high-profile contrarians, say Peter Geoghegan and Mary Fitzgerald of openDemocracy

www.theguardian.com

 

[Innula Zenovka]

Ofcom: Christian TV network aired Covid-19 conspiracies

LoveWorld News broadcast ‘potentially harmful statements’ about the virus

www.theguardian.com

Yet another example of why I'm so glad I live in a country where freedom of speech is a qualified, rather than an absolute, right -- the government can't regulate TV, but the independent regulator, OFCOM, can, within the framework of the Human Rights Act and the ECHR.

I started thinking about the traditional "marketplace of ideas" response to this that I often see repeated by US legal commentators like Ken White at Popehat, for whom I have a very high regard indeed -- don't censor nonsense, but debunk it instead -- but I think that analogy breaks down, in that marketplaces need to be regulated too, to prevent people selling fake or hazardous goods.

We don't, after all, allow people to sell cars with faulty brakes, or food with particular carcinogenic additives, or highly flammable furniture, and allow the market to sort out which are safe to use and which aren't, so why should the marketplace of ideas not be in some way subject to various standards?

 

[Aribeth Zelin]

Ofcom: Christian TV network aired Covid-19 conspiracies

LoveWorld News broadcast ‘potentially harmful statements’ about the virus

www.theguardian.com

Yet another example of why I'm so glad I live in a country where freedom of speech is a qualified, rather than an absolute, right -- the government can't regulate TV, but the independent regulator, OFCOM, can, within the framework of the Human Rights Act and the ECHR.

I started thinking about the traditional "marketplace of ideas" response to this that I often see repeated by US legal commentators like Ken White at Popehat, for whom I have a very high regard indeed -- don't censor nonsense, but debunk it instead -- but I think that analogy breaks down, in that marketplaces need to be regulated too, to prevent people selling fake or hazardous goods.

We don't, after all, allow people to sell cars with faulty brakes, or food with particular carcinogenic additives, or highly flammable furniture, and allow the market to sort out which are safe to use and which aren't, so why should the marketplace of ideas not be in some way subject to various standards?

Well.... have you paid attention to how all those regulations are getting dismantled in the US?

 

[Innula Zenovka]

‘They don’t give him enough credit’: the voters who back Trump, even through the pandemic

Support for the president in Pennsylvania has not wavered despite his coronavirus missteps, and could be key to him winning reelection

www.theguardian.com

 

[Kara Spengler]

US lockdown protests may have spread virus widely, cellphone data suggests

Devices associated with protesters travelled up to hundreds of miles after rallies where few precautions were taken

www.theguardian.com

But I thought they were all protesting in their home states?

 

[Free]

But I thought they were all protesting in their home states?

 

[danielravennest]

Where TF did they get that 99.85% figure? Eh, probably Faux. Or "Q".

If everyone in the US was exposed to the virus, we might have a 0.15% death rate (it's currently 0.0276%). But 0.15% is 500,000 people dead, which is a horrifying number to contemplate. We currently have a case mortality rate of 5.95% (deaths vs official case count), but from antibody blood tests it seems a lot more people have minimal or no symptoms and don't get counted as cases.

 

[danielravennest]

Mid-May... fast forward some 3-4 weeks for symptoms to take hold and deepen .... so mid-June should be interesting.

‘This feels great’
A preview from Georgia about how America might reemerge from the coronavirus: Eating, drinking, touching and throwing caution to the wind

You can view the official state data if you are interested.

Although the state is nominally re-opening, schools and colleges are still closed, so a lot of parents are staying home, and a lot of people are still working from home. Many people are leery of doing things they used to do, like going out to eat and drink. Air travel is down 90% at the moment, and we have the world's busiest single airport in normal times. That means the 450,000 local jobs that depend on that traffic (airport, airline, hotel, food, etc.) are mostly not back to work yet. We are very far away from being back to normal.

[EDIT] TSA traveler checkpoints

Dining:

Hotel occupancy:

 

[Romana]

If everyone in the US was exposed to the virus, we might have a 0.15% death rate (it's currently 0.0276%). But 0.15% is 500,000 people dead, which is a horrifying number to contemplate. We currently have a case mortality rate of 5.95% (deaths vs official case count), but from antibody blood tests it seems a lot more people have minimal or no symptoms and don't get counted as cases.

Everyone should be tested for antibodies, then we'd have a better idea. But the"muh freedumbs" people would never cooperate.

 

[Kara Spengler]

You can view the official state data if you are interested.

Although the state is nominally re-opening, schools and colleges are still closed, so a lot of parents are staying home, and a lot of people are still working from home. Many people are leery of doing things they used to do, like going out to eat and drink. Air travel is down 93% at the moment, and we have the world's busiest single airport in normal times. That means the 450,000 local jobs that depend on that traffic (airport, airline, hotel, food, etc.) are mostly not back to work yet. We are very far away from being back to normal.

That makes the whole 'reopening' idea pretty pointless. People who actually trust numbers will still work at home if they can. Because we are not out and about businesses will have less reasons to open retail fronts yet [especially if it is to restrictions on how many customers can be served at a time]. Meaning there will be less things to do for the people that insist on going out.

It will be years before we are at 2019 levels of things. Smart businesses would retool to this reality (maybe offering more nocontact at home services) than try to beat their heads against a wall.

From seeing youtubes posted here it looks like I am not the only one who knows who Louis Rossman is. Hopefully he is planning for more laptops to be shipped to him for repairs but less foot traffic.

 

[Zaida Gearbox]

I will still be working from home because I always work from home.... I'm about half a step removed from being a hermit.

I don't get the bruhaha over masks. Let's say there is absolutely no benefit to wearing masks. But, if they give people a small sense of security as they go out to do things like grocery shop or whatever they need to do - then what's the fucking problem?

And are there really people who are so stupid that they don't know cloth masks need to be washed EVERY DAY? Hubman and I each have 5 masks - I'd like to have a few more. We never wear the same mask two days in a row - unless it's been washed. Every couple of days I do a load of laundry that include any masks we have worn and wash them in hot water. But, I guess we are talking about the same population that had to be told that washing your hands is a good idea in fighting the virus.

 

[Innula Zenovka]

More about Georgia -- charts that seem to show a sharp decrease in the number of cases in that state are deliberately deceptive -- laughably so.

Only in America is Sunday the day after Thursday

Last week, Georgia’s Department of Public Health released a graph showing a dramatic, steady decline in cases, deaths and hospitalizations in the state’s five most affected counties, from a peak on April 28, just before the state’s restrictions were eased, to near zero two weeks later.

But on closer inspection, the dates on the chart showed a curious ordering: April 30 was followed by May 4; May 5 was followed by May 2, which was followed by May 7 — which in turn was followed by April 26. The dates had been re-sorted to create the illusion of a decline. The five counties were likewise re-sorted on each day to enhance the illusion.

Only in Brian Kemp’s Georgia is the first Thursday in May followed immediately by the last Sunday in April. And only in President Trump’s America would we have the producers of such flimflam leading the reopening of our national economy.

 

[Aribeth Zelin]

More about Georgia -- charts that seem to show a sharp decrease in the number of cases in that state are deliberately deceptive -- laughably so.

Only in America is Sunday the day after Thursday

That's the GOP for you.... and Georgia, for that matter.

 

[Kamilah Hauptmann]

Despite food shortages, grocery stores report massive surplus of gluten free products

EDMONTON - While the COVID-19 quarantine has resulted in some grocery stores dealing with food shortages, availability of gluten-free products remains at an all-time high.

www.thebeaverton.com

 

[NyteWytch]

Despite food shortages, grocery stores report massive surplus of gluten free products

EDMONTON - While the COVID-19 quarantine has resulted in some grocery stores dealing with food shortages, availability of gluten-free products remains at an all-time high.

www.thebeaverton.com

Boy not in my neck of the woods...low carb and gluten free were first to be out of stock and stay gone. Maybe that is why errybody needed so much TP

 

[Kamilah Hauptmann]

“Following the pandemic”

 

[Kara Spengler]

“Following the pandemic”

Idiots.

 

[Bartholomew Gallacher]

It is not only American.
We have a bible belt in the Netherlands too, with very conservative churches. Nothing open on Sunday there, One group doesn't even drive a car, watch tv or cook food then. Only 2x to the church for a service and then at home reading the bible and sing psalms and contemplate.
But praise the Lord, they are divided, so we have 3 tiny parties with 1 or 2 seats each (out of 150) in parliament. One party was even declared unconstitutional because they did not allow women to get elected for their party. I think they have one city councilor in Amsterdam now (because progressive people voted for her, just to screw that party). A lot of them don't vaccinate their kids. In their beliefs it is the will of God when you get ill.

Well I do remember this old saying: one Dutch - a Christian. Two Dutch - a church. Three Dutch - a schism.

 

[Innula Zenovka]

The FT look at the UK's excess death rate

 

[Innula Zenovka]

Eli Zaretsky | Culling the Herd: A Modest Proposal

Under slavery, the masters had an interest in maintaining the health and even longevity of the slaves, who were their...

www.lrb.co.uk

Eli Zaretsky | Culling the Herd: A Modest Proposal · LRB 14 May 2020

14 May 2020 Culling the Herd: A Modest Proposal Eli Zaretsky 15 Anyone who has studied the history of plantation slavery understands that the management of the modern labouring classes was modelled ...

www.evernote.com