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

[user27357]

I have been watching daily reports from a state source and there are occasionally corrections posted that lower the death total but more common is a death that happened weeks earlier being posted as a COVID death that adds to the total, presumably because the test just got back. I also see some deaths being moved from one county to another and even from state to state as it all gets figured out that even though they died in this county they lived in that county and so on.
just what would be the agenda of some medical professional trying to up the count? Bigger budget for the next pandemic? Put more fear into the population?

 

[Justmehere]

I'm watching what is happening in Sweden where they had zero forced lockdowns. Will voluntary self isolation work better than state enforced lockdowns in the long run? Reason

If you want Sweden to look bad, compare it to the U.S. as a whole—120 deaths per million in Sweden vs. 94 in the U.S. according to Our World in Data's April 16 numbers. If you want Sweden to look good, compare it to New York state, which is at a more similar stage to us in the virus's spread—120 vs. 580."

 

[osiris]

My Nan died last week in a care home which already had confirmed covid cases. It has not been treated as or attributed to the virus, but the likelihood of it certainly seems probable given the stats coming out. (Please don’t feel the need to say anything sympathetic. It is what it is.)
Living in Asia it has been interesting to watch the Singapore cases going crazy these last couple of weeks. If they can’t keep numbers down the rest of us have very little chance, but they are testing to an extent that this country isn’t so the numbers are coming out. Work colleagues have had symptoms but not been tested here and speaking to people with ties to the local hospital is more than enough to see going there would be a death sentence anyway.

 

[Sideways]

I'm watching what is happening in Sweden where they had zero forced lockdowns.

I reckon there's a lot of us watching Sweden with some interest, not just because of they're amazingly relaxed approach to social distancing.

They seem to be persisting with the 'herd immunity' approach, despite the absolute disaster that it had in the UK (which has since abandoned the herd immunity approach).

However, culturally and population-wise, it is a little difficult to compare Sweden and the UK.

It's even harder to compare Sweden with the US. Dealing with Covid in Utah is obviously a different beast to dealing with it in New York.

Factoring in the quality, and accessibility, of healthcare makes it even more hazy.

But there's definitely a strong socio-economic component to managing Covid that seems to be playing out in different places. It isn't just the willingness of people to adhere to social distancing rules. The ability to socially distance assumes a certain degree of wealth - you have to have people living in private residences, not slums, for example. You have to have public transport that has adequately safe space for everyone, or better still, most of the population having their own private transport. You have to have running water readily available for people to wash their hands.

It'll be interesting to see how things go for Sweden (well, I hope). But unfortunately relaxed social distancing measures in Sweden working, won't necessarily translate to anywhere else in the world.

 

[ms spock]

This was interesting.

“A few people recovered from the first time by their own immune system, but meds they use are damaging their heart tissue, & when they get it a second time, the antibody doesn’t help but makes it worse, & they die a sudden death from heart failure". https://nypost.com/2020/02/19/whistleblower-doctors-say-coronavirus-reinfection-even-deadlier/

 

[blackemerald1]

I agree with you @Sideways - there are so many variations in respect to Sweden & other countries that those stats really do need to be carefully analysed.

There is no useful comparison between Sweden & US or UK. Just the differences in the size of population & the wealth of that population will skew stats. Different health care systems & cultural habits - where do you begin.

Each country has to develop their own modelling set against their own population. Not other countries. For instance the modelling on the China experience has not been useful, partly because China has fudged it's stats from the outset & secondly vastly different cultures, demographics & responses.

Herd immunity only really works if the herd stays as roughly the same herd. Sweden has no protections from infectious incursions. Herd immunity also relies on one infection conferring some kind of immunity. That has yet to be proven.

What is voluntary social distancing anyway? The article provides no examples of the population doing that or trending towards that. Really just saying there is no forced lockdown means that the population pretty much does what it did before. Maybe they naturally physically distance from a cultural perspective? Who knows.

And the article was a little inaccurate in that the average life-span is around 85 overall, not 81. Males come in at 81 but not females. The article doesn't distinguish between the sexes. Four years shaved off the average life-span is a lot.

I think this virus can silently take a jump on populations. Look at Singapore. Brake, lift, brake, lift - that is not what they expected I suspect. It wasn't the SARS experience at least.

 

[Deanna]

This was interesting.

“A few people recovered from the first time by their own immune system, but meds they use are damaging their heart tissue, & when they get it a second time, the antibody doesn’t help but makes it worse, & they die a sudden death from heart failure". https://nypost.com/2020/02/19/whistleblower-doctors-say-coronavirus-reinfection-even-deadlier/

Covid-19 will damage heart muscle the first time too. How COVID-19 May Damage Your Heart.

Vaccine will be ready by early autumn
Dead Link Removed

 

[ms spock]

Coronavirus toll on NYC educators: more than 40 have died, according to union

Most governments around the world have temporarily closed educational institutions in an attempt to contain the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. These nationwide closures are impacting over 91% of the world’s student population. https://en.unesco.org/covid19/educationresponse

Even with 91% of schools shut down world wide teachers are being vilified for switching to online content.

WHO sees school closures as one of the three backbones of social distancing, can't remember the other two right now. Very disappointed at how teachers are being treated and portrayed.

 

[blackemerald1]

Vaccine will be ready by early autumn

^Not quite. Still got to undergo all of the usual tests & that's not done yet.

But if only that were all true! :)

 

[Ronin]

Even with 91% of schools shut down world wide teachers are being vilified for switching to online content.

Can you source this claim better please? Whose concrete statements & aimed to whom & in what context, in what location, are you referencing?

As I'd be careful with such generalizing statements. Let alone implying a whole class of people - like a whole profession - is being devalued, yet alone vilified.

I'm not really sure that's the case, and if it IS, I'd look at what basis is that claim made.

 

[lostforgottensoul]

Even with 91% of schools shut down world wide teachers are being vilified for switching to online content.

As with @Ronin, would love a source for this. Being vilifed makes zero sense as what else is there besides in person teaching or online teaching? If you can't teach in person because the schools are closed then online is the only other way besides maybe home schooling but not all parents, or even most parents, cant do that as many still have to work. Would love to know who said this, to whom, and in what context it was said.

ETA: Protest at the captial building (I believe) to re-open Florida. They were just allowed to gather in a large group (50 or so, all within a foot of each other or less), none had masks on. They say that with any other protest, they are allowed to have free speech but how is now like any other time? We have never been in a worldwide pandemic before. Ugh!

 

[somerandomguy]

Protest at the captial building (I believe) to re-open Florida.

President Trump says he stands with the protesters and that governors should open states back up completely and immediately. Interestingly, on Twitter he specifically only called out states with Democratic governors.