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[Supine]

Interesting thread on how the virus works

 

[little_legs]

 

[little_legs]

Good news from Spain and a tacit acknowledgment that we are in for the long haul.
Spanish Government Aims to Roll Out Basic Income ‘Soon’

I hope their intentions become part of a broader international post-pandemic consensus!

It's about time the government here considers introducing UBI, no one would have to worry about restarting the economy. And people wouldn't have to live on a brink of a mental breakdown worrying if they'll be able to afford basics each month.

Once again, the FT appears to be nudging policy makers to change course:

 

[Anju]

It's about time the government here considers introducing UBI, no one would have to worry about restarting the economy. And people wouldn't have to live on a brink of a mental breakdown worrying if they'll be able to afford basics each month.

Once again, the FT appears to be nudging policy makers to change course:

It's just a better way of doing quantitative easing isn't it, but as a form of redistribution of tax revenue not printing new money. I don't know how accurate that is but it's time to try something new and UBI seems the best way to start.

 

[Callie]

Good point - what are the US using as fwiu they seem to work accurately and only take 14mins to provide a result?

link?

I doubt that many of the rapid kits people could use at home will have a great level of accuracy, when you are looking at pin prick blood tests performed by non lab staff in a home environment you are going to lose some of the effectiveness. These immunoassay type tests (little cards that produce lines for positive/control reactions) are never going to be great - what you gain in convenience you lose in accuracy.

 

[TopCat]

That's been known policy for some weeks now, and is the same in many countries, it's both harsh & logical.

Yeah I have been brutally aware of this hence the jokes about learning to intubate oneself.
Its terrible for the old though. Residents of care and nursing homes are just going to get palliative care at best where they are and no post mortem for the vast majority.

 

[campanula]

Residents of care and nursing homes are just going to get palliative care at best where they are and no post mortem for the vast majority.

Worse that that, Topcat. Palliative care is going to be massively hindered because of lack of some meds - morphine and diamorphine for example, plus oxygen supplies also looking problematic. The criminal negligence of the Tory govt. must not be diminished.

 

[elbows]

With the news about the likes of Austria starting to consider what some relaxations might consist of, eg reopening certain things slowly and making face masks compulsory when shopping, I started to wonder if my comment about how I'd be astonished if Switzerland relaxed anything as early as April 19th was already starting to sound a bit silly.

But it seems the data and official comments about them still point in a direction that can sustain my original feeling.

https://www.thelocal.ch/20200406/swiss-health-minister-confinement-measures-may-not-be-eased-on-april-20th

The Federal Council declared a state of emergency on March 16th, closing all shops, restaurants, bars, and entertainment and leisure facilities — with the exception of grocery stores and pharmacies— until April 19th.

However, Health Minister Alain Berset told SonntagsZeitung on Sunday that “for the moment, it seems illusory to think we will be able to relax the measures on April 20th".

"It is only when the number of infected people and hospital admissions clearly decreases that we can consider relaxing the rules," he added.

Both Berset and Daniel Koch, the head of infectious diseases unit at the Federal Office of Public Health, said that the peak of the infections has not yet been reached.

Mind you, I really should try to stick to taking things one week at a time at the moment. Lots of things can happen in 2 weeks, and unlike earlier in the outbreak I dont have knowledge in advance about the orthodox establishment approach and what they will do next, because the rule book had to be chucked out.

 

[weltweit]

Coronavirus wreaks havoc in African American neighbourhoods

Stark statistics from Chicago health officials have underscored the heavy toll of coronavirus on black Americans.

Black Chicagoans account for half of all coronavirus cases in the city and more than 70% of deaths, despite making up 30% of the population.

Other cities with large black populations, including Detroit, Milwaukee, New Orleans and New York, have become coronavirus hotspots.
..
As of 5 April, 1,824 out of Chicago's 4,680 confirmed Covid-19 cases were black residents, said city officials on Monday.

That compared with 847 white, 478 Hispanic and 126 Asian Chicagoans.

Chicago has seen a total of 98 deaths as of Sunday, with 72% of them black residents.
..
The disparity is reflected across the state, where black people account for 41% of Covid-19 deaths, despite making up 14% of the population of Illinois.
..

African Americans made up almost half of Milwaukee Country's nearly 1,000 cases as of last Friday and 81% of its 27 deaths, despite black people accounting for 26% of the population there, according to a study by ProPublica.

Some 40% of Louisiana's coronavirus deaths have occurred in the New Orleans area, where the majority of residents are black.
..

Mayor Lightfoot said diabetes, heart disease and respiratory illness were "really prevalent" in black communities.
..
Dr Cameron Webb, an African-American physician who is running for Congress in the US state of Virginia, told BBC News that US racial and economic disparities were being amplified by the pandemic.

from 07/04/2020 Coronavirus wreaks havoc in US black communities

 

[weltweit]

China reports no new coronavirus deaths, as New York figures offer cautious hope

China on Tuesday reported no new coronavirus deaths the previous day for the first time since January, offering hope for other nations still grappling with the devastating pandemic.
..
Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo (D) said Monday that the daily (NY) death toll fell under 600 for two days in a row, suggesting a “possible flattening of the curve," though the hospital system remains overwhelmed.

from 07/04/2020 https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2020/04/07/coronavirus-latest-news/

This is a Washington Post summary page, it covers many items, worth a read.

 

[lefteri]

Interesting thread on how the virus works

that’s fascinating, thanks

 

[teqniq]

 

[The39thStep]

Interesting bit in one of the local Alagarve newspapers about expats

A group created by foreign residents in the Algarve has managed to raise over €400,000 in the space of just over a week to fight coronavirus in the region.

The Helping Algarve movement has been raising funds for the Faro, Portimão and Lagos hospital group, and is today delivering a portable x-ray machine to Faro Hospital with more medical supplies set to be channelled through in the coming days.

 

[weltweit]

Why Dutch lockdown may be a high-risk strategy

The Netherlands has tried to adopt an "intelligent lockdown", but the infection is spreading rapidly and it has one of the world's highest mortality rates from the pandemic.
..
The Dutch are among the few who began by openly embracing the contentious idea of group or herd immunity. It's an approach characterised by one Dutch global health expert as cold and calculated.
..

My local florist, ironmonger, delicatessen, bakery and toy store are still serving customers. Posters on the door and sticky tape on the floor encourage people to give each other space. Staff at the tills wear surgical gloves.

Only those businesses that require touching, like hairdressers, beauticians and red light brothels, have been forced to cease trading.
..

"We think we're cool-headed," explained Dr Louise van Schaik of the Clingendael Institute of International Relations. "We don't want to overreact, to lock up everybody in their houses. And it's easier to keep the generations apart here, because grandpa and grandma don't live at home with their children."
..
When the UK's chief scientific adviser revealed a plan to develop a broad immunity across the population, within days researchers revealed it could claim a quarter of a million lives, and the UK changed course.
..

In a televised speech to the nation on 16 March, Mr Rutte outlined his approach.

"We can delay the spread of the virus and at the same time build up population immunity in a controlled manner," he said.

The bigger the group that acquires immunity, the smaller the chance that the virus can make the leap to vulnerable older people or people with underlying health issues
Mark Rutte
Dutch Prime Minister, 16 March 2020

from 05/04/2020 Why Dutch lockdown may be a high-risk strategy

I am trying to work out if they cling to herd immunity or have like the UK abandoned it. . .

 

[phillm]

This is doing the rounds on Facebook it looks real enough no idea if what he is saying is true or not which is that ventilators are killing more people than they save.

 

[editor]

How's that God working out for you, you fucking bigoted piece of shit?

Israel Health Minister Who Called COVID-19 ‘Divine Punishment’ Tests Positive For Virus
Israel Health Minister Who Called COVID-19 'Divine Punishment'Tests Positive For Virus

Gay: Israel Health Minister Yaakov Litzman, who previously claimed that the coronavirus was “divine punishment against homosexuality,” has tested positive for the virus.

Israeli Health Minister Yaakov Litzman and his wife have tested positive for coronavirus. The minister had termed the deadly coronavirus as ‘punishment for homosexuality’ last month.

According to the report, last month, Yaakov Litzman, while discussing the coronavirus, said:

It’s a divine punishment against homosexuality.

And now, earlier this month, Litzman and his wife have tested positive for the virus, forcing Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and several top government officials of the country to go into quarantine.

The Times of Israel reports Litzman ignored social distancing guidelines and in so doing endangered Israel’s leaders:

Health Minister Yaakov Litzman, who tested positive for the coronavirus late Wednesday, allegedly broke his own ministry’s guidelines on social distancing by attending group prayer services in the days before he was diagnosed, a TV report said Thursday.

Litzman, Israel’s Health Minister and a follower of the Ger Hasidic dynasty, heads Agudat Yisrael, part of the United Torah Judaism alliance in the Knesset, and has been roundly criticized in Israel for his multiple failures during the coronavirus crisis.

Outline.com

outline.com

 

[editor]

Lordy

China has demanded an explanation from Brazil after the far-right government’s education minister linked the coronavirus pandemic to Beijing’s “plan for world domination”, in a tweet imitating a Chinese accent.

In the latest incident to strain ties between the two nations, minister Abraham Weintraub insinuated China was behind the global health crisis.

“Geopolitically, who will come out stronger from this global crisis?” he wrote on Twitter Saturday. “Who in Brazil is allied with this infallible plan for world domination?”

In the original Portuguese, his tweet substituted the letter “r” with capital “L” - “BLazil” instead of “Brazil,” for example - in a style commonly used to mock a Chinese accent.


China’s embassy in Brazil condemned Weintraub’s “absurd and despicable” tweet, calling it “highly racist”. “The Chinese government expects an official explanation from Brazil,” tweeted ambassador Yang Wanming.

China outraged after Brazil minister suggests Covid-19 is part of 'plan for world domination'

Beijing demands explanation after ‘highly racist’ tweet by Abraham Weintraub suggests it is part of a geopolitical plan

www.theguardian.com

 

[Anju]

How's that God working out for you, you fucking bigoted piece of shit?

I was just coming to post this. Thought it would be good for people who were wishing Johnson would die but now it's looking very possible have changed their minds. He seems like a legitimate target for any ill will people might need to direct somewhere.

 

[Buddy Bradley]

Israel Health Minister Yaakov Litzman, who previously claimed that the coronavirus was “divine punishment against homosexuality,” has tested positive for the virus.

That's a hell of a way to come out.

 

[Concernedlocal]

First post in these types of things but am properly freaking out about this all.

You think that Johnson will get priority on some of these drugs that keep getting spoken about in the media? Seems to be a few on test right now?

 

[Concernedlocal]

Also can someone point me in the direction of unbiased news surrounding this situation? Where is best to look or has it previously been posted in here?

 

[Anju]

Really concerned about the media coverage and social media posting relating to coronavirus in Africa.

There was the story about the 2 French doctors discussing the possibility of vaccine trials in Africa. It wasn't expressed well and they probably shouldn't have mentioned HIV trials but it was clear they were talking about running the same trial as was being done in Europe. A bit reading on the trial they were referring to also makes it clear that the same trial is being conducted in Australia and that it is the BCG TB vaccine, so not exactly dangerous given decades of use worldwide.

It's being reported on as if it's a trial of a new untested vaccine only taking place in Africa. Even the WHO are taking that line.

I've looked at some Twitter stuff from Africa and seen posts on Facebook rejecting the possibility of vaccine trials there because of previous drug trials, some legitimate cases but also all the anti Bill Gates depopulation bollocks.

Lots of misinformation now spreading. Black people aren't as susceptible to it, black tea will keep you safe, let's stick to traditional remedies. Lots of anti China bioweapon conspiracy stuff. The antivaxers have clearly been doing a lot of work there as well.

There have already been attacks on coronavirus testing and treatment facilities in some countries.

I fear that by the time the virus really takes hold there, assuming it will, the amount of misinformation will have turned opinion against treatment and vaccinations.

I do understand the suspicion but the reporting seems massively irresponsible and the WHO statement makes me wonder wtf they are doing as it's lending legitimacy to all the conspiracy stuff and fueling a very dangerous fire.

 

[Teaboy]

First post in these types of things but am properly freaking out about this all.

You think that Johnson will get priority on some of these drugs that keep getting spoken about in the media? Seems to be a few on test right now?

There are loads of people out there right looking into various possible options but there has to be processes in place to make sure that they work and even if they do they don't have any horrible side affects. Unfortunately its just the way it is and Johnson can't do anything about it even if he was at his desk in No10 rather than ICU.

 

[Concernedlocal]

There are loads of people out there right looking into various possible options but there has to be processes in place to make sure that they work and even if they do they don't have any horrible side affects. Unfortunately its just the way it is and Johnson can't do anything about it even if he was at his desk in No10 rather than ICU.

What is the difference between a new vaccine and some of these others they think will help? Shouldn't they focus on the ones already out there, they all keep getting spoken about by Trump and UK government so must have legs right?

 

[cupid_stunt]

What is the difference between a new vaccine and some of these others they think will help? Shouldn't they focus on the ones already out there, they all keep getting spoken about by Trump and UK government so must have legs right?

There is no known vaccine that could help prevent it.

They are, however, testing certain drugs that could be useful in treating it.

 

[weltweit]

Economic sanctions and Iran's capacity to respond to COVID-19

Iran was one of the first countries outside China to have a rapid increase in the number of cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The country's capacity to respond to the virus is substantially impeded by unilateral economic sanctions re-imposed after the US Administration withdrew from the nuclear deal in May, 2018, and further US sanctions imposed as recently as March 18, 2020. As of March 31, 2020, the recorded number of people infected from COVID-19 in Iran was 41 495, with 2757 deaths, but these numbers are likely a substantial underestimation.

..
The COVID-19 pandemic has occurred at a time of economic crisis in Iran, in which steep increases in medicine price have affected approximately 6 million patients with complex and chronic illnesses; the situation is almost certainly worse now. This group of individuals is at particularly high risk of infection and disease progression.
As stated by the Director-General of WHO, “We're all in this together, and we can only save lives together.” He was clear that the pandemic caused by COVID-19, the spread of which is unaffected by national borders, can only be controlled by extraordinary co-operation between countries, putting political differences aside.

from 06/04/2020 https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpub/article/PIIS2468-2667(20)30083-9/fulltext

 

[weltweit]

Japan declares state of emergency over coronavirus

Japanese leader Shinzo Abe announces month of restrictions and unveils record stimulus package
..
Abe told a televised news conference a recent sharp rise in Covid-19 cases in Tokyo and other urban areas had forced him to rethink Japan’s approach towards stemming the outbreak.
..
“We are not at a stage where rapid nationwide spread is being observed, but some areas are under pressure, so

we don’t have the luxury of time,” he said, adding that the rise in infections was straining the country’s health service.

“To relieve that pressure there will have to be a transformation in people’s behaviour,” he said. “Preventing an explosion in cases, saving people in serious conditions and protecting you and your loved ones depends on how we change our behaviour.”
..

By Monday there were 1,116 confirmed infections in the metropolitan region of 14 million people. Nationwide, Japan has 3,906 confirmed cases, as well as a 712 from a cruise ship quarantined at Yokohama port near Tokyo, with 91 deaths.

While the figures are low compared to the US, China and parts of Europe, officials are concerned that Tokyo’s hospitals would be unable to cope with a surge in infections.

from 07/04/2020 Japan declares state of emergency over coronavirus

 

[Concernedlocal]

There is no known vaccine that could help prevent it.

They are, however, testing certain drugs that could be useful in treating it.

What are the existing drugs? I have seen some thrown around but keen to get some more info on them, have found a few sites but want to make sure they are legit.

 

[cupid_stunt]

What are the existing drugs? I have seen some thrown around but keen to get some more info on them, have found a few sites but want to make sure they are legit.

I hope you are not thinking of buying drugs for this, online!

Take a look at this thread...

Possible vaccines/treatment(s) for Coronavirus

A thread for hopefully positive news on the fight back against this coronavirus. I remember Chris Whitty, England's Chief Medical Officer, mentioning some exiting antiviral drugs could be effective in treatment of this coronavirus, and there are three particular ones that could be good...

www.urban75.net

 

[Teaboy]

What are the existing drugs? I have seen some thrown around but keen to get some more info on them, have found a few sites but want to make sure they are legit.

As it stands there is no vaccine for Covid-19. There are new vaccines in development but these will take many months and potentially over a year and more to actually become available.

There are a number of existing drugs which have been touted as possible treatments for Covid-19. Currently none of them have proven to work. Anyone or any company that is claiming to be able to supply any product which is either a proven vaccine or a proven treatment is making claims they cannot back up. They are most likely to be thieves and con artists looking to financially gain from people's legitimate fear.

Unfortunately at this stage the best that can happen is we continue to isolate and keep up the crucial hand washing and general good practices.