Coronavirus - worldwide breaking news, discussion, stats, updates and more

[SheilaNaGig]

No, the story isn’t originating in the White House, it’s being repeated by the White House.

Or rather it’s being repeated by the Trump administration.

This rumour started on Fox News in February.

Inside the Viral Spread of a Coronavirus Origin Theory

A Wuhan biosafety laboratory, bat blood, a wet market, scientists, pangolins, politicians looking for someone to blame: the perfect ingredients for a story that won’t go away.

www.vanityfair.com

Please take this discussion to the conspiracy thread, it’s already a topic on there.

 

[Yossarian]

Well without spending too much time repeating myself, reasons why I would consider myself to be foolish if I ruled out lab accident at this stage include:

The lab in Wuhan was famous for researching SARS-like viruses, including being the team who found bats in a cave in another province that had coronaviruses similar to SARS, and spent 5 years taking anal swabs from those bats.

The main SARS outbreak was in 2003. But later in 2003 and a couple of times in 2004, small clusters of cases popped up elsewhere that were traced back to lab workers accidentally getting infected and then spreading it to some other people. The Wuhan lab was not one of these, it was not even built at the time, but it demonstrates the ability for these sorts of viruses to pose biosecurity issues.

These things are not evidence of anything, they are background info that forces me to keep an open mind on the subject, regardless of what dodgy politicians and media may do with the theory.

Yep, I'm no fan of tinfoil-hattery but the fact that the outbreak began in the same city as a lab that collected bat viruses from across China, tested them on animals, and was allegedly lax about safety measures seems like too big a coincidence to dismiss - and covering up a lab accident would hardly be out of character for a regime that put a million Muslims in brainwashing camps and claimed they were "vocational training centers." Since executing whistleblowers or sending them to gulags would also be typical behaviour from the regime, we may never know for certain.

Unfortunately, the association with Trump may mean the Wuhan lab gets less attention than it deserves - the man's a paranoid, ranting racist who has trouble distinguishing Chinese citizens from the Chinese regime and whose allies promote more far-fetched theories about the virus being an engineered bioweapon, so he's going to be ignored by a lot of people even if he's on the right track about something for once.

 

[planetgeli]

And just a bit more on Ecuador. Article here suggesting 8,000 probable coronavirus deaths in Guayas, the district including the second city Guayaquil, in 6 weeks. Guayas has a population of about 3 million, Guayaquil 2.3 million. The area accounts for 70% of all cases in Ecuador. I wonder (and don't know) why this should be as the capital is Quito which would be the major transport hub for visitors from abroad (although its population is smaller at 1.7 million).

Ecuador's death rate soars as fears grow over scale of coronavirus crisis

Mortalities in one province leap from 3,000 to 11,000 in six weeks, with health and mortuary services overwhelmed

www.theguardian.com

 

[elbows]

Japan:

In one recent case, an ambulance carrying a man with a fever and difficulty breathing was rejected by 80 hospitals and forced to search for hours for a hospital in downtown Tokyo that would treat him. Another feverish man finally reached a hospital after paramedics unsuccessfully contacted 40 clinics.

Japan lacks enough hospital beds, medical workers or equipment. Forcing hospitalization of anyone with the virus, even those with mild symptoms, has left hospitals overcrowded and understaffed.

The "collapse of emergency medicine" has already happened, a precursor to the overall collapse of medicine, the Japanese Association for Acute Medicine and the Japanese Society for Emergency Medicine said in a joint statement. By turning away patients, hospitals are putting an excessive burden on the limited number of advanced and critical emergency centers, the groups said.

"We can no longer carry out normal emergency medicine," said Takeshi Shimazu, an Osaka University emergency doctor.

New wave of infections threatens to collapse Japan hospitals - The Mainichi

TOKYO (AP) -- Hospitals in Japan are increasingly turning away sick people as the country struggles with surging coronavirus infections and its emerge

mainichi.jp

 

[FabricLiveBaby!]

News from Krakow, liiks like there's been a bit of promising research coming from the university! (the most highly regarded in Poland).

Site is in Polish, but I've done a bit of Google translate so you don't have to.

Przełom?! Krakowscy naukowcy opracowali substancję, która skutecznie hamuje zakażenie koronawirusem - KRKnews

Czy to przełom w walce z koronawirusem? Zespół naukowców z Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego w Krakowie ogłosił, że stworzył substancję, która silnie hamuje zakażenie koronawirusem SARS-CoV-2. Krakowscy badacze są zdania, że wyniki są obiecującym pierwszym krokiem na drodze do przygotowania leku. –...

krknews.pl

Has there been a breakthrough in the fight against coronavirus? A team of scientists from the Jagiellonian University in Krakow have announced that they have created a substance that strongly inhibits the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus infection.

Krakow researchers believe the results are a promising first step on the way to creating a drug
"The substance we've developed is innovative on a global scale" - said on the Polish Radio 24 prof.

Professor Krzysztoff Pyrć is head of the Laboratory of Virology at the Malopolska Center of Biotechnology of the Jagiellonian University.

The substance created by scientists of the Jagiellonian University is a chemical compound called HTCC. It strongly not only inhibits SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus infection, but also its no less dangerous cousin MERS-CoV.

Currently, scientists from Krakow are at the stage of looking for a partner who will help in further research on the future drug. In the current situation, when companies are throwing millions more to fight the coronavirus, this should be a formality.

When can the medicine be ready?

"I have no idea when such a medicine might be available. It all depends on how this substance will behave under different conditions, whether any changes will be necessary. However, I hope that this time will be calculated in months, not in years, as it normally looks" - added prof. Pyć.

 

[elbows]

Looks to me like they have actually been looking at HTCC for years, here is a 2016 paper on the subject from the same people:

HTCC: Broad Range Inhibitor of Coronavirus Entry

To date, six human coronaviruses have been known, all of which are associated with respiratory infections in humans. With the exception of the highly pathogenic SARS and MERS coronaviruses, human coronaviruses (HCoV-NL63, HCoV-OC43, HCoV-229E, and HCoV-HKU1) ...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

 

[teqniq]

 

[weltweit]

Well, it is in the hands of their govenors now - if they relax measures or not, and time will tell if the right decisions are made.

 

[weltweit]

Japan

Japan doctors warn of health system 'break down' as cases surge

Doctors in Japan have warned that the country's medical system could collapse amid a wave of new coronavirus cases.

Emergency rooms have been unable to treat some patients with serious health conditions due to the extra burden caused by the virus, officials say.

One ambulance carrying a patient with coronavirus symptoms was turned away by 80 hospitals before he could be seen.
..
Doctors have complained of a lack of protective equipment, which suggests Japan has not prepared well for the virus. This is despite the fact it was the second country outside China to record an infection, way back in January.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has been criticised for not introducing restrictions to deal with the outbreak sooner for fear they could harm the economy.
..
Last month it conducted just 16% of the number of PCR (polymerase chain reaction) tests that South Korea did, according to data from Oxford University.

And unlike South Korea - which has brought its outbreak largely under control through a programme of large-scale testing - the Japanese government said that carrying out widespread testing was a "waste of resources".

from 18/04/2020 Japan doctors warn health system may 'break down'

And

Japanese medical workers fear the worst as coronavirus cases spike

In the past few weeks, Japan's coronavirus cases have spiked -- dashing hopes that the government's initial virus response had succeeded in controlling its spread. As of Friday, Japan had 9,787 confirmed cases, including 190 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University. On March 1, the country had 243 cases.
..
Earlier this week, a team of government experts warned that Japan could have more than 400,000 coronavirus-related deaths if measures such as social distancing are not taken.

But most deaths, they warned, could result from a lack of ventilators.

The shortage of medical supplies became clear this week when Osaka mayor Ichiro Matsui urged people to donate unused raincoats for health workers to use as personal protective equipment, after they'd been forced to wear trash bags.

from 18/04/2020 Japanese medical workers fear the worst as coronavirus cases spike

 

[zahir]

Migrant workers in the gulf states.

Amnesty International has interviewed 20 migrant workers from Nepal who say they were rounded up – along with many others – by Qatari police and then deported after being tricked into thinking they were just being given coronavirus tests.

Saudi Arabia is planning to deport 200,000 Ethiopian migrants, Reuters news agency reported earlier this week. So far, 2,870 of them have been expelled from the kingdom.

Middle East coronavirus updates: Migrant workers bear the brunt of the Gulf's epidemic

Migrant workers are bearing the brunt of the coronavirus epidemic in the wealthy Gulf states. Often living in over-crowded accommodation, they are at particular risk of infection. Many are now also jobless. Some have been deported. Thousands more want to return home – but can't. India rejects...

al-bab.com

 

[teqniq]

You couldn't make this up:

 

[teqniq]

And there's more:



Lemmings

 

[two sheds]

You have to let them do it though. As long as they don't go breathe on the rest of the people, if they want to express their liberty then fair play to them. Just don't look for a bed in intensive care when the time comes. Or when it comes to vote.

 

[Boru]

I think immunity after surviving infection was a great hope of everyone.

"Senior WHO epidemiologists warned despite the hopes governments across the world have piled on antibody tests, there is no proof those who have been infected cannot be infected again."

'No evidence' of immunity in recovered patients - WHO

There is currently no evidence to support the belief that people who have recovered from coronavirus then have immunity, the World Health Organization has said.

www.rte.ie

 

[littlebabyjesus]

It's utterly moronic, but in the scheme of things, they're still relatively small groups and they are at least outside. That said, yelling is a very effective way of projecting droplets. I wouldn't be anywhere near them.

I'm not even sure those pics of the beaches are such a worry. Again, outside, not exactly packed, and beaches are generally windy so will disperse any infected aerosols.

tbh I'd be much more worried about the church services still going on in the US in terms of potentially dangerous virus-spreading events. We know from South Korea that groups of people gathered close together inside, and singing their hearts out, are potentially a very dangerous thing as in those particular conditions it's not just the larger droplets you need to worry about but also aerosols. Outside, not so much.

 

[LDC]

And there's more:



Lemmings

I do like to think of myself as not easily surprised by the idiocy of some humans, but the 'social distancing = tyranny' thing going on in the US is really very special.

 

[Dogsauce]

Well, it is in the hands of their govenors now - if they relax measures or not, and time will tell if the right decisions are made.

It‘s just another blame-deflecting strategy really, probably quite a good one. Make it appear all the economic pain (which has resulted from the government not getting a grip) is down to democratic state governors keeping stuff closed down. No blame for the man that put them in this situation.

 

[Dogsauce]

. I wouldn't be anywhere near them.
.

if I thought I had Covid and was well enough to go out I think I would. Lessons to be learnt.

(would actually be quite funny to have some kind of hidden audio speaker somewhere on the protest route playing loud coughing, just to watch the panic)

 

[littlebabyjesus]

I do like to think of myself as not easily surprised by the idiocy of some humans, but the 'social distancing = tyranny' thing going on in the US is really very special.

= COMMUNISM

 

[weltweit]

I think immunity after surviving infection was a great hope of everyone.

"Senior WHO epidemiologists warned despite the hopes governments across the world have piled on antibody tests, there is no proof those who have been infected cannot be infected again."

'No evidence' of immunity in recovered patients - WHO

There is currently no evidence to support the belief that people who have recovered from coronavirus then have immunity, the World Health Organization has said.

www.rte.ie

But to be clear, what WHO said is that there is no evidence, not that the phenomena does not exist, and then they went on to comment on the herd immunity idea and said they expected governments hoping to find lots of their populations who had been infected and were now immune - were likely to be disappointed because they did not expect the number of people who had been infected to be as high as governments were hoping.

 

[littlebabyjesus]

But to be clear, what WHO said is that there is no evidence, not that the phenomena does not exist, and then they went on to comment on the herd immunity idea and said they expected governments hoping to find lots of their populations who had been infected and were now immune - were likely to be disappointed because they did not expect the number of people who had been infected to be as high as governments were hoping.

But truth is still a great big 'fuck knows' about a hell of a lot of this. Only way to find out is to develop the tests and get them out there asap.

One of my biggest disappointments in all of this has been the lack of international collaboration. This is the single biggest thing the human world needs to do right now. Resources should have been pooled and efforts coordinated ages ago.

 

[JimW]

If communism could be achieved by failing to socially interact normally I'd be introducing my ninth five year plan already.

 

[The39thStep]

I know that Portugal aside from emergemcy admissions does targeted testing in its identify and trace initiative , havent a clue what the others do.

 

[littlebabyjesus]

I know that Portugal aside from emergemcy admissions does targeted testing in its identify and trace initiative , havent a clue what the others do.

View attachment 207504

This is good. Learning lessons. And putting much richer countries like France and the UK to shame. tbh I'm almost surprised the UK is as high as 20th. Useless twats.

 

[planetgeli]

But truth is still a great big 'fuck knows' about a hell of a lot of this. Only way to find out is to develop the tests and get them out there asap.

One of my biggest disappointments in all of this has been the lack of international collaboration. This is the single biggest thing the human world needs to do right now. Resources should have been pooled and efforts coordinated ages ago.

It’s a global world eh?

Eh?

 

[weltweit]

The39thStep interesting table, where did you get it? Interesting Korea is so low yet doing so well in supressing the virus.

 

[littlebabyjesus]

The39thStep interesting table, where did you get it? Interesting Korea is so low yet doing so well in supressing the virus.

Korea doesn't need to test much now, cos they've got so few people falling ill. Their testing has mostly shifted to making sure every person entering the country gets one. At the start, they were testing like fuck.

 

[The39thStep]

The39thStep interesting table, where did you get it? Interesting Korea is so low yet doing so well in supressing the virus.

Robert Preston posted it on Twitter , he says the table is by Julian Ozanne but doesnt say where

 

[keybored]

tbh I'm almost surprised the UK is as high as 20th.

That's 20th out of 20 countries, I believe.

 

[littlebabyjesus]

Robert Preston posted it on Twitter , he says the table is by Julian Ozanne but doesnt say where

The figures look about right. The UK one is right because the govt proudly boasts about it every day. The German one is a little out of date - it will be a bit higher now. But from the various sources I've been spending way too much time looking at, the table looks mostly sound.