Coronavirus 2

[HerNameIsBuffy]

29 minutes ago, nst said:

Good news - she doesn't have it. 

and @HerNameIsBuffy sending virtual hugs.  I know I quip but the pain you have i am so sorry. I at least get to hang out with my parents. I will send good thoughts your way. 

I'm fine - I was just having a moment of self pity.    

[GreyhoundFan]

Melania decided to get involved. Why, I don't know: "Melania Trump Tested People With A White House Puzzle. It Did Not Go Well."

Quote

Melania Trump on Friday tweeted a White House-themed word search she declared was “a great way to bond with your loved ones,” presumably as people spend more time together amid coronavirus lockdowns.

Not everyone was happy with the puzzle, however.

Dozens of critics reminded the first lady of another kind of test that was desperately needed in the U.S., namely one to detect the coronavirus ― of which there has been a dearth.

They also accused FLOTUS of insensitivity and of attempting to distract from her husband President Donald Trump’s chaotic and widely criticized response to the pandemic that has now killed more than 37,000 people nationwide.

 

[fraurosena]

Update time.

• The downward trend of ICU patients in the Netherlands is continuing. Yesterday there were 34 less patients needing ICU care; the total number is down to 1201. It's estimated if the current trend continues we will be back to a 'normal' ICU occupancy in 6 to 8 weeks.
  A teenage patient (between 15 - 19 years) has died for the first time. The patient had underlying health issues. No further information has been made public.
  Cardiologists in the Radboud MC in Nijmegen are researching if blood pressure medication Valsertan could be used for the treatment of corona patients. Possibly Valsertan could prevent serious fluid build up in the lungs of patients, which could keep them out of the ICU. Researchers hope to have results within 6 months. 
• There were 142 new corona related deaths reported yesterday; the death toll now stands at 3601. There were 129 new hospitalisations, in line with the downward trend in hospitalisations.
• There were 585 corona related deaths in Spain, which brings their total number of deaths to more than 20.000, according to Spanish authorities. Spain is one of the worst hit countries in the world. The country has almost 192.000 confirmed cases. Only the US has more confirmed cases (almost 707.000). 
• It's certain that there are 20 confirmed cases within the Afghan presidential palace of president Ashraf Ghani. 70 year old Ghani is now holding meetings via video chat; personal meetings have been brought down to only a few confidants. An insider says that the virus entered the palace though a 'contaminated document', which purportedly was sent by another governmental agency.
• The Race for the World sim-races held by 17 Formula 1 and other racing drivers has collected more than 70.000 dollar, which will be donated directly to the WHO's corona fund. Six sim-races were held over a period of three evenings and broadcast on the drivers Twitch channels. Viewers could donate an amount during the races.
  Next Sunday 6 Formula One drivers will be sim-racing again during the Virtual Chinese Grand Prix, the official virtual alternative for the  Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai. 
• Belgium has re-opened DIY stores and garden centres. There were long queues in front of the shops early this morning. There was even a traffic jam near a DIY store. 
  Store employees are wearing face masks and gloves. Customers must use a shopping cart, that has to be disinfected before use. 
  The number of deaths in Belgium seems to be flattening. Yesterday there were 290 corona-related deaths, bringing the total up to 5453. In the past 24 hours there were 303 hospitalisations.
• American parents Kendra and Michael Berry-Stankovich in Pennsylvania haven't seen their twin daughters for five weeks. On Monday the babies, hospitalised because they were born prematurely on February 20, will be two months old. Soon after the corona outbreak occurred. The first measures in hospital came three weeks after the twin's birth. After that things became even stricter: they received a telephone call that they weren't allowed to visit anymore. "I wanted to breastfeed them and asked if I couldn't come. The answer was no. I had to pump at home and bring it to the hospital," says mom Kendra.
  Kendra and her husband are upset at the situation. But they are praising the nursing staff. "They are very sweet. They contact us often with FaceTime and send us pictures.
  It's unclear when the parents will be welcome in the hospital again. 
• The number of corona-related deaths in Italy rose with 482 yesterday. That is the lowest rise since April 12. The total number of deaths is now 23.227, the second-highest number in the world. 
  The number of new confirmed cases remained stable at 3491. 
  Although the numbers are much lower than during the peak moments in March, the downward trend is going at a much slower pace than anticipated in a country that has been in lockdown for six weeks. Nevertheless, the lockdown seems to have its effect in Tuscany and Sicily.
• The border between Canada and the US will remain closed for a further month, says prime minister Justin Trudeau. Since March 20 only essential traffic, such as freight transport, is allowed to cross the border. 
• Pakistan has lifted the ban on prayer gatherings in mosques, under the provision that people wear face masks and keep 2 meters social distance. The second strictest islamic country in the world had placed stringent restrictions for mosque visits: no more than 5 people were allowed in at the same time. Ever since the government was under extreme pressure from orthodox muslims to cancel the restrictions. Protesters in Karachi came into conflict with the police. 
  The lifting of restrictions comes shortly before the end of the ramadan, when mosques are generally fuller than usual.
  According to official reports, Pakistan has 7639 confirmed cases and 143 corona-related deaths.
• In the past 24 hrs, 888 patients died in the UK, the highest number in a week. The actual number of deaths is presumably much higher, as the official records only count those that died in hospital. The total number of official reported deaths in the UK is now 15.464. 
  The CEO of Care England says in The Telegraph that additionally there are an estimated 7500 corona related deaths in care homes. 

[Howl]

Executive order by Texas Gov. Gregg Abbott opens up Texas state parks on Monday April 20.  

1. Masks worn by everyone
2. Social distancing unless it's a family group
3. No group larger than five people

 

[Ozlsn]

6 hours ago, fraurosena said:

An insider says that the virus entered the palace though a 'contaminated document', which purportedly was sent by another governmental agency.

While stranger things have happened I suspect it entered the palace in the same way it's entered pretty much everywhere else - in a human body, probably one who was asymptomatic but infectious.

6 hours ago, fraurosena said:

American parents Kendra and Michael Berry-Stankovich in Pennsylvania haven't seen their twin daughters for five weeks

I cannot imagine how stressful that is. When my son was born prematurely I found being at the hospital - no matter how badly things were going that day - to be less stressful than being at home, because at least I was there. I hope their daughters are doing well and they can come home into lockdown together soon.

6 hours ago, fraurosena said:

the government was under extreme pressure from orthodox muslims to cancel the restrictions. Protesters in Karachi came into conflict with the police. 

Nice to see that fundamentalist morons are present on a global scale.

Australia is at 6,586 cases with 69 deaths. Three states and territories (ACT, NT and SA) recorded no new cases in the previous 24 hours, however there were 53 new cases overall.  SA is likely to see a bump in New cases as repatriation flights are quarantined there. 

A surprising amount of comment on the ABC's live blog yesterday focused on who the hell each of the hands in the following picture belonged to.

Pretty sure the one with the watch is the dog's. 

[GreyhoundFan]

This really impressed me, especially since I can't hit a tennis ball over the net on a regular court:

 

[GreyhoundFan]

I can't stand falwell. I've read so many articles about how he is horrible to the students and faculty of his little kingdom:

 

His decision to bring students back to campus has caused COVID-19 to spread terribly through the campus and surrounding area.

[47of74]

2 minutes ago, GreyhoundFan said:

I can't stand falwell. I've read so many articles about how he is horrible to the students and faculty of his little kingdom:

 

His decision to bring students back to campus has caused COVID-19 to spread terribly through the campus and surrounding area.

And he wants to use the University police as his own personal CPVPV. 

[Cartmann99]

 

[WiseGirl]

Anyone else surprised that some of those protesters were carrying signs supporting 45? (/*sarcasm)

Idiots.  This thing is going to bounce back because of their stupidity.

[Ali]

49 minutes ago, WiseGirl said:

Anyone else surprised that some of those protesters were carrying signs supporting 45? (/*sarcasm)

Idiots.  This thing is going to bounce back because of their stupidity.

There were lots of Trump signs and flags during the Michigan temper tantrum. Right-wing nuts are spreading the lie that is was only the left or imposters that were out of their cars.

[47of74]

I’ve been seeing this going around lately. 

While I’m doing the best I can to maintain social distancing that meme actually irritates me.  

I’d like to tell the geniuses that share that particular meme that while I want to live as long as my grandparents did if I kicked off earlier than expected I’d get to see my grandparents again.  And some aunts, uncles, and other friends.  And I’d never have to see or hear fuck face ever again. 

[Howl]

15 hours ago, GreyhoundFan said:

His decision to bring students back to campus has caused COVID-19 to spread terribly through the campus and surrounding area.

There's  a class-action lawsuit against Liberty University brewing so he is spinning the situation like a damn hippopotamus in a tutu. 

Liberty student files class action lawsuit against university for reimbursement of room, board and meal plans   It comes as the school is under fire for keeping campus open.

<snip>

Quote

"For all practical purposes, students who were living on Liberty’s campus, have been forced to make the difficult decision of whether to stay or return to a campus that has effectively been shut down, or to move home and sacrifice the amounts they have paid for room and board and other campus fees," the lawsuit says. "Given the fact that Liberty had moved all of its classes online and suspended campus services and activities combined with the very real health risks incumbent with remaining in the residential campus environment during the pandemic, not to mention the stay-at-home orders all around the country, including Virginia, most students chose to leave campus."

From Buzzfeed article on the same topic and quoting the lawsuit, you get an idea of the money involved

Quote

“The university’s statement that it is ‘open’ is an illusion being put forth to try to keep money that should be returned to students and their families,” says the complaint, adding that annual dining plans start at $3,780, housing begins at $4,750, and other fees, from medical care to activity centers, add thousands more.

 

[fraurosena]

Here's another update.

• Having recovered from Covid19 does not necessarily mean you are immune. A recent case reported in a Chinese peer reviewed study tells of a 68-year-old man who was infected twice after recovering from the virus. The man tested positive only to be retested after a few days' recuperation. His result was negative. The man returned home only to be retested a little over a week later. This time, the result was positive. Seven days later, he tested negative again. Then, four days after that, he tested positive again. 
  The man's yoyo diagnosis has experts concerned that even with a vaccine, the danger of reinfection could still be dangerously high.
  The man was not alone in his fluctuating test results. There have also been similar reports about a Japanese woman who appears to have caught the virus again after initially recovering. 
  Other experts have claimed that the discrepancy in test results are to do with the sampling and are not actually a sign of reinfection at all; furthermore, the possibility of false positives shouldn't be ruled out. Another explanation is that once you have the infection, it could remain dormant and with minimal symptoms, and then you can get an exacerbation if it finds its way into the lungs.
• The downward trend in the Netherlands is continuing. There were 83 reported corona-related deaths yesterday, brining the total up to 3684. The number of patients needing ICU care was reduced by 25, bringing the total down to 1176. The ICU occupancy is now at 180% of normal.
• The number of registered corona-related deaths in the US is now 40.109. That is twice as high as the country with the second highest  death rate, Italy, that has reported 23.000 corona-related deaths.
  The downward trend in New York is continuing, according to Andrew Cuomo, although now is not the time to relax by a long shot. There were 507 corona-related deaths in New York yesterday. The number of hospitalisations reduced significantly; more than 500 less than in comparison with Saturday. 
• A significant lower number of people have died corona-related deaths in British hospitals in the past 24 hours: 596, the lowest number in two weeks. The total number of corona-related deaths in the UK is now 16.060.
  Insiders have said that government has missed a number of opportunities in the prelude to the corona-crisis. A reconstruction by The Sunday Times shows that the country was ill-prepared for a pandemic and was late to come into action. Warnings from experts fell on deaf ears. Authorities made little headway in purchasing PPE's. Instead, 279.000 PPE's were sent to China when that country requested them. Another insider said that the last time government practiced a pandemic was in 2016. If they had practiced, the shortage of PPE's and ventilators would have come to light. Plans for improvement lay gathering dust in a back drawer, because all the attention went into preparing a chaotic no-deal Brexit.
• The total number of corona-related deaths in Germany is now 4400. There were 2458 new confirmed cases, bringing the total up to 139.897.
• There are now 17 confirmed cases in a refugee camp in Panama. They have been placed in isolation and the terrain has been disinfected. The camp near the Colombian border houses more than 1900 people, mainly from Haiti, Cuba and Africa. Normally the Panamanian authorities will transport refugees from Colombia to the border with Costa Rica as soon as possible as most of them want to go to the US. Because of the corona crisis this is not done at the moment. 
• Hundreds of people have protested in Brazil against the authorities' corona-measures. Protestors disagree with the strict lockdown and support president Jair Bolsonaro's scepticism.
• The highest religious council in Saudi Arabia has urged all muslims in the world to pray at home during the ramadan if a lockdown is in place in their country. The council said in a statement that he virus can spread when people gather. According to the council, saving lives is 'a great deed that brings people closer to god'. 
• Spanish prime minister Sánchez is aiming to soften the strict measures on keeping children inside at all times by April 27, so 'children can breath fresh air'.
• German minister of Development Assistance, Gerd Müller, has urged the EU to free up 50 billion euro from the EU-budget for emergency aid to developing countries in Africa and the Middle East. If the EU doesn't, he said, another refugee crisis will threaten for Europe.
• New Zealand's prime minister Jacinda Adern has urged people to keep a diary of where they have been and who they have met each day. This will make contact-research easier if a person is tested positive. "Asking someone after days to recall where they have been in a certain period is very difficult.
  New Zealand has a total of 11 corona-related deaths. Government will decide tomorrow if their corona measures need to be prolonged.
• Australia has called for an independent investigation of the pandemic. Amongst other things, the role the WHO played in the crisis needs to be looked at. There should also be clarity about how China dealt with the outbreak in Wuhan, where the virus originated. Minister of Foreign Affairs, Marisa Payne, wants details about 'the origin of the virus, the way it was dealt with and the transparency of information'.
• While almost all people in Albania were in 'weekend-lockdown', the elderly in the country enjoyed a day of freedom yesterday, albeit with some restrictions. They aren't allowed to visit other people and they aren't allowed to gather. As long as they keep to the social distancing rules, they can go for walks. 
  Police in Albania is monitoring adherence to the corona-measures with the help of drones.
  Albania has 548 confirmed cases, and 26 corona-related deaths.

Today's update is a bit later than usual. I had a pretty productive day today. First of all, I launder all our bedding on Sunday's. After I got that going, I started on Kella's much needed grooming this morning -- but as I'm no groomer*, it's slow going and I'm not done yet. Kella was getting fed up with me after about an hour and a half, so we decided to do the rest tomorrow. Then, this afternoon I finally got round to finishing my Wizard's Tower project. I'll post some pics tomorrow in the crafting thread. After that I gave son2 a much needed haircut. As he has a receding hairline, he usually has a really short buzzcut, but, feeling creative as his temporary lockdown hairdresser, I attempted a fadeout. Of course, if it hadn't worked out, we would have gone for the buzzcut, but, although far from perfect, it turned out pretty well, thankfully.

*our usual groomer is closed because of the corona-crisis

Edited April 19, 2020 by fraurosena

[Ozlsn]

2 hours ago, fraurosena said:

Australia has called for an independent investigation of the pandemic. Amongst other things, the role the WHO played in the crisis needs to be looked at. There should also be clarity about how China dealt with the outbreak in Wuhan, where the virus originated. Minister of Foreign Affairs, Marisa Payne, wants details about 'the origin of the virus, the way it was dealt with and the transparency of information'.

Interesting how they're not calling for an independent examination of who exactly was responsible for the Ruby Princess fiasco, where several thousand passengers were allowed to disembark without screening or information about quarantining. This is both a dog whistle and a smokescreen.

[Ozlsn]

Out of many, one: article looking at data on state responses and what the US federal govt should be doing.

Published 2nd April so a bit behind now, but even so the key points remain unfortunately valid.

-locking down hard for a short period now will prevent longer term economic collapse and save lives

-the federal government should be coordinating this on essentially a war footing

-this is likely to kill a lot more Republican leaning voters than Democrat leaning voters

-rural and urban are both going to suffer badly - one interesting piece of information for me was that influenza takes longer to affect rural areas than urban areas but then is as bad or worse due to fewer healthcare facilities and a generally older population with more chronic conditions.

-testing is the only long term way of controlling at this point and needs to be affordable and accessible

[Ozlsn]

Corona misinformation goes viral.

Good rebuttal of some of the conspiracies out there, including 5G, Bill Gates, man made viruses and lab escapee viruses. Goes into the information available.

Strangely doesn't cover wind farms (ffs) although that may only be circulating as a "theory" here. 

[Cartmann99]

 

[GreyhoundFan]

Fine, more vaccines for actual thinking people:

 

[clueliss]

They probably think it's a 'mark of the beast' - yes, I've been seeing that from some Christian circles.  And I'm sitting here staring at the ceiling every single time I hear/see said reference asking God how the heck these morons jump from vaccine to mark of the beast?  

[Ali]

2 minutes ago, clueliss said:

They probably think it's a 'mark of the beast' - yes, I've been seeing that from some Christian circles.  And I'm sitting here staring at the ceiling every single time I hear/see said reference asking God how the heck these morons jump from vaccine to mark of the beast?  

I have seen this too and I am baffled. I have heard numerous end times sermons. I have read most of the "Left Behind" books. I don't get it. Is it being injected in the hand or the forehead?

[HerNameIsBuffy]

22 minutes ago, Ali said:

I have seen this too and I am baffled. I have heard numerous end times sermons. I have read most of the "Left Behind" books. I don't get it. Is it being injected in the hand or the forehead?

I thought, from people irl, the mark of the beast was some kind of chip implanted in yes, hand or forehead.

What are they talking about?  

And wasn't the antichrist supposed to be here by now?  If not for the fact he was supposed to be handsome I'd wonder why they don't think it's Trump?  

I need someone to ELI5 end times to me.

[clueliss]

The more 'they' ignore that it looks like Trump = Anti-Christ - the more I believe he is.   And personally I don't think the mark will be a chip or anything else - I think it will be spiritual - but that's me.  And this comes up because they want it to be the end times and begin grasping at straws (also because apparently Orpah being the false prophet has been thrown over for Bill Gates is the Anti-Christ and he's funding stuff for the WHO blah blah blah and behind vaccines blah blah blah ) 

[clueliss]

Some interesting graphs in this one.  Including one that compares countries when the cases per million of population is factored in. 

 

[Ali]

1 hour ago, HerNameIsBuffy said:

I thought, from people irl, the mark of the beast was some kind of chip implanted in yes, hand or forehead.

What are they talking about?  

And wasn't the antichrist supposed to be here by now?  If not for the fact he was supposed to be handsome I'd wonder why they don't think it's Trump?  

I need someone to ELI5 end times to me.

Do you want to know what biblical scholars about the end times or what evangelical pastors say about the end times?