News Worldwide impact of the novel coronavirus (covid-19)

[siniang]

Covid-19 potential drug identified by German researchers.

Yep, and Trump tried to buy them to monopolize it for the US.... :banghead:

Germany tries to stop Trump from luring away firm working on coronavirus vaccine

 

[siniang]

Really really good and important animations on the spread of infectious diseases and why social distancing works:
Dead Link Removed

 

[bellbird]

Two more things, and then I'm off to do non-coronavirus-related sciencey things.

1. Nvidia's calling on gaming PC owners to put their systems to work fighting COVID-19 | GamesRadar+ (it seems legit?)

2. Our Ministry of Health public hygiene posters now say "protect yourself against coronavirus" instead of "protect yourself against the cold/flu".

Exactly the same info.
Exactly the same graphics.
Hopefully people will actually follow them now...

 

[Mach123]

This is just my opinion about the political situation? I believe Trump may have taken power meaning, now he has the full power of the federal government at his disposal due to his declaration of a national emergency and he didn’t have it before. I’ve been wondering how it was going to happen. Now I think it has. There is historical precedent. Lincoln did it during the Civil war.

The last couple press conferences, the language they used pretty much convinced me this is the case. They kept saying, now we can do this and that, and, the full power of the federal government.

Which is considerable, now what? Anybody’s guess. Why I think this is a long story that I don’t fully understand. But I think it’s possible.

 

[Justmehere]

Grocery store workers now testing positive here. That should slow the panic buying. :(

I think this pandemic will be as defining in the US as a major war.

 

[bellbird]

Grocery store workers now testing positive here. That should slow the panic buying. :(

Short of "Good news! It was all a dream! There's no such thing as coronavirus!", ^that is probably the best means at slowing panic buying.

 

[Friday]

Short of "Good news! It was all a dream! There's no such thing as coronavirus!", ^that is probably the best means at slowing panic buying.

Well...

I usually order my groceries on Amazon Prime Now. Delivered to your door within the hour for $5, or within 2 hours for free... or choose your free delivery 2 hour window (8am-midnight) at any time over the next 2 days.

They’ve been completely out of delivery slots for days, now, and it’s expected to get worse. As the only human contact is if you’ve ordered booze & need to show ID, it’s become the hottest ticket around.

 

[blackemerald1]

I increasingly get the impression that we're incredibly lucky where we are. I watched Scomo give another press conference yesterday,

^I totally agree @Sideways I think we are so lucky because we have the capacity to socially isolate here even if it is a little tricky. And yes we have information flowing to us steadily via the national broadcaster & it's not radical or inflammatory.

I switched over to the commercial channel very briefly this morning and their tones were strident & asking dumb questions to no-one in particular. I wish they'd been briefed about the effect they have on people. Not good, couldn't handle more than 20 seconds so switched it off.

all travelers into NZ, except those who arrive from the Pacific Islands, must isolate for 14 days.

I'm very pleased about NZ doing that @bellbird because for a few hours NZ had some of the toughest restrictions in the world. Then Australia followed your country & now we have the same restrictions. All designed to slow down the infection rate. I hope it works.

Supermarkets are going to be organising a seniors/disableds hour!

^I'm really pleased for you @Sideways and yeah I think it's great that they're recognising the unique difficulties the disabled face.
I don't have any kind of 'card' for my disability so I cannot use that method to shop. But I suppose I could turn up with my dog and use her card? lol

Today on the news the infectious disease expert was warning the public about a couple of new things.

1) The tests being used may, if not used correctly, return a false positive or a false negative. So other tests should be used if in doubt and of course the major symptoms should never be ignored.

2 )If you have a heavy reliance on asthma medications or you're respiratory illness is not well managed or controlled then self-isolating could be very important. As well as contacting your doctor about getting sufficient medication in to sustain yourself.
But if you're asthma/respiratory illness is ok or stable they don't believe you're at a greater risk.

3) There's a fair bit of conflicting advice on how long this virus can live on surfaces. There have been suggestions that away from sunlight it could stay active for days. That would be one hell of a strong virus but then I'm not a scientist & this is a new virus.
So I guess the best idea is to wash or spray those surfaces or if that's not possible refrain from touching with hands?

4) There is some evidence to suggest that in some instances, fourteen days isolation may not be long enough, to stop being infectious to others. That's difficult for anyone to test I suppose because some people are spreading the virus whilst be asymptomatic themselves anyway. (Like children) But, so far the authorities are sticking with fourteen days.

5) China and South Korea have sent out stats that show a slowing and lower infection rate. They're attributing this to social isolating procedures. So that's good news.

I've got to go buy some dog food today. 20 kg of it - it's cheaper in the big bags and also lasts longer.

 

[blackemerald1]

I usually order my groceries on

it’s become the hottest ticket around.

^Same here. I mean I can see why because who wants to go face the crowds??! But my kids are urging me to see if it's just a rumour or really true. Oh boy it's going to be a long and lonely Winter for me here.

However,

I'm very lucky, I've got my dog now :) and I've got all you lovely humans out there via this forum/site.
I'm hoping you are all okay and managing as well as possible.

I've got one child who is so laid back a cattle prod wouldn't move him. Idk what I ate in my pregnancy with him?? :wtf: Off topic! But anyway, he's texted me today, checking if I'm ok and saying he will try to text me tomorrow or omg! call me on the phone!!? :wtf: :hilarious: Thank you pandemic covid19 I...think?? :cautious:

 

[Justmehere]

I had a routine screening/monitoring medical appointment tomorrow - I just canceled. Weirdly hard on me. I’ll be fine... but when chronically sick, those routine appointments keep me more medically stable over the long haul so it’s hard to miss one. But there is no way I should go. Other routine medical care is emailing to see about settling up telehealth. That’s cool and will work out for a good part of my care. Wish we could have started it sooner actually. I’m glad the insurance rules on telehealth were recently relaxed in my area.

 

[bellbird]

within 2 hours for free

I mean... this is a pretty hot ticket in non-pandemic times, too.
Here you can get groceries delivered for the low low price of $14NZD (sigh)

So I guess the best idea is to wash or spray those surfaces or if that's not possible refrain from touching with hands?

Yes. Or, if you are
-unable to wipe a surface, and
-are required to touch it
Then avoid putting your hands anywhere on your face (the mouth, nose and eyes are all entry points).

Side note: I just had to say goodbye to a friend who is (hopefully) leaving for Scandinavia next week, and will be gone likely several years, with a distanced air hug. I totally understand why, but the reality of the whole pandemic situation hit pretty hard then.

 

[Muttly]

So, our head veterinarian came in today on her day off. She happened to be at home depot and they were selling clorox wipes. We'd run out of those, so we were using the pet-product we use to de-germ (like my technical term?) after treating the animals. Heh, so, humans were safe from getting kennel cough at least. The head vet also took home a mask the other day and she was going to sew some. She said they wouldn't be as good as real masks but if we run out they will do.

I ordered some masks online. I felt guilty but with my asthma and tendency to get upper respiratory infections I want to have at least one on hand. I could only get any if I bought 100. I will check in with the older and imune-compromised folks I know and give them masks if they need and then take the rest to the clinic.

In other news we are still just as busy at the clinic. Busier for me since I've been working the front and have to clean much more than before. We get cancellations because people are self-isolating but then other people jump into their slot. There's no real sign of a slow down for us. Not sure if that will last or start to change.