Corvid-19 and its impact (name edit)

[Agema]

Decisive action and guidance early on in the outbreak can make an absolutely huge difference down the line. In a lot of countries, that just hasn't happened.

Well obviously not: it would have have been guaranteed to have cost economic activity, when they could have just crossed their fingers that they'd get away unscathed.

Although some countries potentially had no plans, or underdeveloped plans, to deal with an outbreak so spent ages flapping, thinking about what they could do instead of doing.

I look at the UK's plans, and I think the government's actions have been dictated by the fact that public services can't cope, and the government can't get them into shape fast enough to cope. A decade of cuts have run everything down to the bone, there's no capacity to cope with unexpected high demand, and it would take far more months than they have to increase capability. The government's advice is therefore essentially "suck it up": try to make us feel good about the best second-class strategy they can come up with.

My only pleasure is that lying, lightweight, colossal twat Boris Johnson looks like shit. I suspect that's because he's suddenly found he has hard and depressing work to do as PM that's he's not up to, when I think he imagined he could just swan around giving jocular press conferences to secure his place in history.

 

[Terminal Blue]

I look at the UK's plans, and I think the government's actions have been dictated by the fact that public services can't cope, and the government can't get them into shape fast enough to cope. A decade of cuts have run everything down to the bone, there's no capacity to cope with unexpected high demand, and it would take far more months than they have to increase capability.

What I find worst about this is for weeks now we have been told by a series of rotating, disposable mouthpieces that the situation is fine, that the NHS will handle it as they always have, and now suddenly we're being told that it's too late and our loved ones are going to die.

In essence, the government neglected any duty to inform or prepare people because doing so would require an admittance that the NHS is not in a fit state to deal with this kind of healthcare crisis, which would inevitably draw attention to the reasons why that is the case.

Boris Johnson will be fine, because the people of this country are fucking morons. They will blame immigrants, or benefit scroungers, or other people who suit their base prejudices and unearned sense of chauvinistic entitlement.

At this point, I just hope I live long enough to see this filthy rock sink into the sea where it belongs.

 

[CaitSeith]

I wish I had money to buy cheap stocks and wait until they go back up in price once the virus has died down.

It's still a little too early for that tho.

 

[CaitSeith]

World: Let's cancel crowded events and recommend to limit gatherings.

France: Let's break a Guinness Record with thousands of people dressed as Smurfs. There's no risk - we're Smurfs!

https://www.france24.com/en/20200310-french-mayor-defends-smurf-rally-after-outcry-over-virus

No wonder France reported 1,500 new cases since then and now is in second place in the number of cases on Europe.

 

[Silentpony_v1legacy]

I'm honestly waiting for them to close campus down after Springbreak. They're doing it across the land, so its only a matter of time before mine is closed.

 

[Saint of M]

World: Let's cancel crowded events and recommend to limit gatherings.

France: Let's break a Guinness Record with thousands of people dressed as Smurfs. There's no risk - we're Smurfs!

https://www.france24.com/en/20200310-french-mayor-defends-smurf-rally-after-outcry-over-virus

No wonder France reported 1,500 new cases since then and now is in second place in the number of cases on Europe.

Wasn?t that NBA player that started touching all the microphones after he was confirmed to have it from France too?

Yup. [https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/salvadorhernandez/nba-rudy-gobert-coronavirus-apology-instagram]

 

[Silentpony_v1legacy]

World: Let's cancel crowded events and recommend to limit gatherings.

France: Let's break a Guinness Record with thousands of people dressed as Smurfs. There's no risk - we're Smurfs!

https://www.france24.com/en/20200310-french-mayor-defends-smurf-rally-after-outcry-over-virus

No wonder France reported 1,500 new cases since then and now is in second place in the number of cases on Europe.

Wasn?t that NBA player that started touching all the microphones after he was confirmed to have it from France too?

Yup. [https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/salvadorhernandez/nba-rudy-gobert-coronavirus-apology-instagram]

It feels like people are trolling? Like here in STL we had two people, a mom and dad, deliberately break their quarantine. The mom went shopping and got her nails done, and the dad took his daughter to a father/daughter dance for her school at a huge hotel. Its like they don't care

 

[Saint of M]

A bunch of the schools in the San Francisco Bay Area are also shutting down for three weeks to ensure student and staff safety.

 

[Saint of M]

World: Let's cancel crowded events and recommend to limit gatherings.

France: Let's break a Guinness Record with thousands of people dressed as Smurfs. There's no risk - we're Smurfs!

https://www.france24.com/en/20200310-french-mayor-defends-smurf-rally-after-outcry-over-virus

No wonder France reported 1,500 new cases since then and now is in second place in the number of cases on Europe.

Wasn?t that NBA player that started touching all the microphones after he was confirmed to have it from France too?

Yup. [https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/salvadorhernandez/nba-rudy-gobert-coronavirus-apology-instagram]

It feels like people are trolling? Like here in STL we had two people, a mom and dad, deliberately break their quarantine. The mom went shopping and got her nails done, and the dad took his daughter to a father/daughter dance for her school at a huge hotel. Its like they don't care

Unfortunately for the rest of us, Darwin doesn?t work fast enough on people like that.

 

[Tireseas_v1legacy]

Currently in King County, Washington, epicenter of the largest US outbreak and highest current fatality count. The region is weirdly quiet, in large part because the tech- and administration-heavy industries large and small are all ordering workers to work from home if they are able, so more than 50,000 people aren't commuting. All noteworthy events are cancelled. Even my preferred teashop and support groups are going online to maintain engagement. Bars, restaurants, artists, and a lot of service workers are the hardest hit and even the local alternative paper (which is partially funded by essentially running a local and much less skeevey version of Ticketmaster) is putting out the tip jar [https://www.thestranger.com/].

The fact that the markets have hits their auto-stop twice this week is telling. No one who can put two braincells together think Trump is competent enough to handle this situation and the Republican solution of "cut taxes until the situation is fixed" is not being seen as a serious response to a larger public health crisis that is very quickly turning into an economic crisis that may outlast the pandemic. Global slowdowns are all but inevitable and if this year doesn't end up in at least a partial recession it would be a genuine surprise.

And I won't even have Cyberpunk 2077 to kill time.

 

[Agema]

What I find worst about this is for weeks now we have been told by a series of rotating, disposable mouthpieces that the situation is fine, that the NHS will handle it as they always have, and now suddenly we're being told that it's too late and our loved ones are going to die.

In essence, the government neglected any duty to inform or prepare people because doing so would require an admittance that the NHS is not in a fit state to deal with this kind of healthcare crisis, which would inevitably draw attention to the reasons why that is the case.

Boris Johnson will be fine, because the people of this country are fucking morons. They will blame immigrants, or benefit scroungers, or other people who suit their base prejudices and unearned sense of chauvinistic entitlement.

At this point, I just hope I live long enough to see this filthy rock sink into the sea where it belongs.

Well, I hold out some hope that people will be smart enough not to blame foreigners. But I don't hold out much hope they'll blame the fuckwit party that's been running the country for the last ten years. I suspect a certain reason they won't is that they'd have to accept they voted that incompetence into office in the first place.

World: Let's cancel crowded events and recommend to limit gatherings.

France: Let's break a Guinness Record with thousands of people dressed as Smurfs. There's no risk - we're Smurfs!

https://www.france24.com/en/20200310-french-mayor-defends-smurf-rally-after-outcry-over-virus

No wonder France reported 1,500 new cases since then and now is in second place in the number of cases on Europe.

Wasn?t that NBA player that started touching all the microphones after he was confirmed to have it from France too?

Yup. [https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/salvadorhernandez/nba-rudy-gobert-coronavirus-apology-instagram]

It feels like people are trolling? Like here in STL we had two people, a mom and dad, deliberately break their quarantine. The mom went shopping and got her nails done, and the dad took his daughter to a father/daughter dance for her school at a huge hotel. Its like they don't care

There's something of a difference between the two. The NBA player is the slightly dim action of a man who hasn't quite grasped the seriousness of the situation or is acting out some denial of his fear. The latter is the sheer, vicious selfishness of some utter cunts who decided their fun was more important than other people's health.

 

[Schadrach]

Currently in King County, Washington, epicenter of the largest US outbreak and highest current fatality count.

...and I'm in basically the reverse - Kanawha and Putnam Counties, West Virginia (depending on what time you read this - I go between them daily). There isn't a single confirmed case in the state yet. We just closed schools statewide as a precaution, since the school system is typically one of the biggest exposure vectors for infectious disease here.

 

[Kwak]

World: Let's cancel crowded events and recommend to limit gatherings.

France: Let's break a Guinness Record with thousands of people dressed as Smurfs. There's no risk - we're Smurfs!

https://www.france24.com/en/20200310-french-mayor-defends-smurf-rally-after-outcry-over-virus

No wonder France reported 1,500 new cases since then and now is in second place in the number of cases on Europe.

Wasn?t that NBA player that started touching all the microphones after he was confirmed to have it from France too?

Yup. [https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/salvadorhernandez/nba-rudy-gobert-coronavirus-apology-instagram]

It feels like people are trolling? Like here in STL we had two people, a mom and dad, deliberately break their quarantine. The mom went shopping and got her nails done, and the dad took his daughter to a father/daughter dance for her school at a huge hotel. Its like they don't care

Unfortunately for the rest of us, Darwin doesn?t work fast enough on people like that.

At Trump's latest appearance after declaring a national state of emergency, his brilliant team of geniuses then proceed to use the same microphone from which he, a man who has been in contact with confirmed cases and has not been tested, was speaking.

 

[Agema]

At Trump's latest appearance after declaring a national state of emergency, his brilliant team of geniuses then proceed to use the same microphone from which he, a man who has been in contact with confirmed cases and has not been tested, was speaking.

I've been reading through some of Trump's comments on covid-19 from his last press conference, and I can only say that him stepping back and letting Pence deal with it is one hell of a mercy for the USA.

"I don't take responsibility for it at all"... no, Mr. Trump, indeed you do not.

 

[Marik2]

I hope Donald dies from the Corona virus.

 

[Saint of M]

From some rational corner of the internet -

Some wise and sobering thoughts re. Covid-19 from Doctor Abdu Sharkawy

?I'm a doctor and an Infectious Diseases Specialist. I've been at this for more than 20 years seeing sick patients on a daily basis. I have worked in inner city hospitals and in the poorest slums of Africa. HIV-AIDS, Hepatitis,TB, SARS, Measles, Shingles, Whooping cough, Diphtheria...there is little I haven't been exposed to in my profession. And with notable exception of SARS, very little has left me feeling vulnerable, overwhelmed or downright scared.

I am not scared of Covid-19. I am concerned about the implications of a novel infectious agent that has spread the world over and continues to find new footholds in different soil. I am rightly concerned for the welfare of those who are elderly, in frail health or disenfranchised who stand to suffer mostly, and disproportionately, at the hands of this new scourge. But I am not scared of Covid-19.

What I am scared about is the loss of reason and wave of fear that has induced the masses of society into a spellbinding spiral of panic, stockpiling obscene quantities of anything that could fill a bomb shelter adequately in a post-apocalyptic world. I am scared of the N95 masks that are stolen from hospitals and urgent care clinics where they are actually needed for front line healthcare providers and instead are being donned in airports, malls, and coffee lounges, perpetuating even more fear and suspicion of others. I am scared that our hospitals will be overwhelmed with anyone who thinks they "probably don't have it but may as well get checked out no matter what because you just never know..." and those with heart failure, emphysema, pneumonia and strokes will pay the price for overfilled ER waiting rooms with only so many doctors and nurses to assess.

I am scared that travel restrictions will become so far reaching that weddings will be canceled, graduations missed and family reunions will not materialize. And well, even that big party called the Olympic Games...that could be kyboshed too. Can you even imagine?

I'm scared those same epidemic fears will limit trade, harm partnerships in multiple sectors, business and otherwise and ultimately culminate in a global recession.

But mostly, I'm scared about what message we are telling our kids when faced with a threat. Instead of reason, rationality, openmindedness and altruism, we are telling them to panic, be fearful, suspicious, reactionary and self-interested.

Covid-19 is nowhere near over. It will be coming to a city, a hospital, a friend, even a family member near you at some point. Expect it. Stop waiting to be surprised further. The fact is the virus itself will not likely do much harm when it arrives. But our own behaviors and "fight for yourself above all else" attitude could prove disastrous.

I implore you all. Temper fear with reason, panic with patience and uncertainty with education. We have an opportunity to learn a great deal about health hygiene and limiting the spread of innumerable transmissible diseases in our society. Let's meet this challenge together in the best spirit of compassion for others, patience, and above all, an unfailing effort to seek truth, facts and knowledge as opposed to conjecture, speculation and catastrophizing.

Facts not fear. Clean hands. Open hearts.
Our children will thank us for it.?

#washurhands #geturflushot #respect #patiencenotpanic

 

[Agema]

I hope Donald dies from the Corona virus.

I wouldn't generally wish death on people, but given his cack-handed response will probably contribute to the deaths of a lot of US citizens, I could make an exception. I won't though, because what I really want is for him to be voted out (ideally in disgrace), be successfully prosecuted for some of his less savoury dealings, and live long enough to witness being reviled as one of the USA's worst presidents. I can't think of a more fitting punishment for a man of his character: it will be agony for him.

I could not overstress the irresponsibility of taking virtually no action, telling everyone it's borderline harmless and a hoax, before suddenly doing a spectacular U-turn only under pressure and pulling out a load of emergency measures. Even then, apparently resisting sensible things like opening Medicaid to all under pressure whilst championing extremely dubiously useful policies like payroll tax holidays. Even when he finally took it seriously, he does the usual thing of spattering his announcements with errors and political digs, which does nothing to encourage a worried populace that the government is on top of a crisis.

The sheer lack of compassion can be summed up by the fact what finally prompted a change of course was the drop in the stock markets, and of course he cares about that because it's how he measures himself as president. We could have no greater indication of what he really cares about.

 

[tstorm823]

I could not overstress the irresponsibility of taking virtually no action, telling everyone it's borderline harmless and a hoax, before suddenly doing a spectacular U-turn only under pressure and pulling out a load of emergency measures.

Virtually no action is actually travel restrictions to epicenters. Virtually no action = quarantines on known cases and following points of contact. I bet you really think the lack of testing in the US is Trump trying to keep the numbers down, and not that early tests weren't effective enough [https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2020/3/6/21168087/cdc-coronavirus-test-kits-covid-19], and the US focused on remanufacturing them while China used tests that have frequent false negatives.

Telling everyone that it's borderline harmless is actually telling people to treat it like the flu. That's probably the dumbest "let's make Trump look bad" moment so far, when the man says he's surprised by the number of people that died from the flu, they claim he literally thought nobody died of the flu. Because otherwise they'd have to answer how someone treating it like the flu knowing the flu is deadly is making it worse with that reaction.

Telling everyone it's a hoax is literally Trump complaining about Democrats politicizing the coronavirus. Because they are absolutely doing that. You are the evidence of that right here. When US citizens came back from Wuhan and were put into immediate quarantine, I listened to a representative of the CDC on the radio explain that they were all being quarantined for a while and monitored seriously, and it may seem like extreme measures but they'd rather overreact than underreact. Every time a case pops up, they are working to track down who they might have been in contact with. There is serious response going on here, and you're being lied to, because Democrats seriously believe that they can convince people to blame Donald Trump for a virus. And some people, including right here on this forum, are excited about an epidemic and possible recession because that'd somehow be worth unseating Trump (which isn't going to happen anyway, that claim is based on the idea that the economy is Trump's only strong point, and it really isn't), even so far as wishing for Trump's death by coronavirus.

There were tons of emergency measures being activated before. There was no u-turn. It was a declared public health emergency on January 31st [https://www.phe.gov/emergency/news/healthactions/phe/Pages/2019-nCoV.aspx]. Get out of the echo chambers.

 

[Thaluikhain]

I hope Donald dies from the Corona virus.

I wouldn't generally wish death on people, but given his cack-handed response will probably contribute to the deaths of a lot of US citizens, I could make an exception. I won't though, because what I really want is for him to be voted out (ideally in disgrace), be successfully prosecuted for some of his less savoury dealings, and live long enough to witness being reviled as one of the USA's worst presidents. I can't think of a more fitting punishment for a man of his character: it will be agony for him.

One would also note that if dies, Pence becomes POTUS. He gets to stand in public and be visibly not Trump when he's POTUS, and come the election all the disasters of the last few years are the dead guy's fault and give the new guy a chance.

 

[Seanchaidh]

Telling everyone it's a hoax is literally Trump complaining about Democrats politicizing the coronavirus. Because they are absolutely doing that.

The virus is spreading because our society makes many of its people go to workplaces or lose their house, sick or not. It's not "politicized". It's political.