The COVID-2019 Thread

[misskit]

*Sigh* Do we even have a functioning federal government now?


USA: The government still doesn't know how many nursing homes have coronavirus outbreaks


The lag in data collection is just one of a number of bottlenecks in the effort to slow the virus' deadly spread in nursing homes across the U.S.

The government still doesn'''t know how many nursing homes have coronavirus outbreaks

[NamPikToot]

Russia is doing really well

Coronavirus Cases:

187,859

Deaths:

1,723

Recovered:

26,608

[harrybarracuda]

An article from 'Arry's favourite Indian "news source" saying the EU is being a lightweight as per usual...

Boo, are you fucking stupid or something?

[harrybarracuda]

Some conflicting reports about the Turkish PPE that the UK bought which, according to the government, is shit. According to the Turks, it isn't. According to the British Ambassador to Turkey, it's only a few bits. He seems to be somewhat flapping in response.

A cabinet minister has confirmed that 400,000 gowns from Turkey to protect medics from coronavirus have been impounded because they were poor quality, but he insisted “strong supplies” were now coming through to the frontline.

The personal protective equipment (PPE) from Turkey was heralded by ministers several weeks ago as “a very significant” shipment that would ease a shortage of gowns in the NHS, but the delivery turned into a shambles after it was repeatedly delayed.

In a final blow to the government, Brandon Lewis, the Northern Ireland secretary, acknowledged on Thursday that the gowns had in fact been useless for medical purposes.

Downing Street said the NHS was now in negotiations to get new gowns sent, or it would ask for a refund from the supplier. It would not give any details on the cost of sending an RAF plane to fetch the items.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/07/government-confirms-400000-turkish-gowns-are-useless-for-nhs

The Turkish version:

Presidential Communications Director Fahrettin Altun has criticized the media outlets that have embraced and published a false news story claiming that the personal protective equipment (PPE) purchased by the U.K. from Turkey was "useless," without confirming details of the story.

Altun said it is a pity that some media outlets have shown great interest in allegations that personal protective equipment (PPE) purchased in the U.K. from Turkey was "useless."

He said on Twitter that the mentality of those who relied on the anti-Turkish news without determining its accuracy and reliability highlighted the importance of independent, impartial, credible and responsible media.
Altun said that both U.K. and Turkish officials rejected the baseless allegations and revealed the truth.

If the media stops chasing the truth by being drawn into a vortex of lies, superstition and sensation, there could be no defense of democracy, he added.

"Stories in the U.K. media that 400K items of PPE sent from Turkey are unusable are untrue," Dominick Chilcott, the U.K.'s ambassador to Turkey, said Thursday.

https://www.dailysabah.com/politics/communications-director-slams-false-news-about-ppe-uk-bought-from-turkey/news

Dominick Chilcott's version:

Dominick Chilcott

@DChilcottFCO

Stories in the UK media that 400K items of PPE sent from Turkey are unusable are untrue. A small number of gowns from a private supplier have failed tests. But more gowns from that supplier have passed tests and are suitable for use in the NHS.

9:08 PM · May 7, 2020·

[harrybarracuda]

If there are any from here in Kuwait, you're about to go back into Lockdown from May 10th to May 30th.

Total Lockdown from 10th May to 30th May - ARAB TIMES - KUWAIT NEWS

[Cujo]

Pences press secretary (Stephen Millers wife) has tested positive.
It's circling. I bet Trump is freaking out.

[sabang]

Let's hope so.

[cyrille]

James O'Brien on the response to Covid-19.

Absolutely spot on.

[cyrille]

An article from 'Arry's favourite Indian "news source" saying the EU is being a lightweight as per usual...

The story is about a lack of freedom of information in China.

From an Indian perspective.

And how the EU's diplomatic response has been...well...diplomatic.

[OhOh]

*Sigh* Do we even have a functioning federal government now?

When did you ever?

according to the government

+

*Sigh* Have we ever had a functioning government now?

= Piss Poor Performance.

Not buying "sight unseen + gold up front".

That's a ameristani emotionality.

Which has and continues to be exploited, consistently and ruthlessly by those "cunning foreign devils from the Orient".

[jabir]

Some conflicting reports about the Turkish PPE that the UK bought which, according to the government, is shit. According to the Turks, it isn't. According to the British Ambassador to Turkey, it's only a few bits. He seems to be somewhat flapping in response.

Dominick Chilcott's version:

This sounds like the PPE that Turkey offered on the open market for $20m, first to pay gets it, which panicked the unprepared and desperate Brits into sending real money on the offchance that some of it might be useful. At the time I was accused of racism, having chuffed that it would end up as expected when fools rush into dealing with Turkey. The EU were also scammed several times, in one case paying 5m euro up front to a Turk firm that didn't even exist.

Easy money for opportunists, but the money in these and many other cases is trivial compared with the volume of professionally organised fraud that will be chewing away at multiple trillions being flushed into the global market.

[Klondyke]

Apart of the fact whether the PPE from that or those country are defect or not, nobody is wondering why the 3rd world countries have to rescue the most developed countries with their "HiTech" supplies? Not speaking about the doctors who are offered to help...

Or did I miss some news?

Shouldn't it be in opposite way during such a horrible world turmoil? What are the superpower so rich for?

(But mind my poor English if some haven't understand what I am saying...)

[Troy]

I was surprised to see a BBC report stating that Italy has the most deaths due to the Corona virus in the EU. True, since the UK is no longer part of the EU, but still very misleading headline. The UK having a higher death toll gets a "by the way" mention.

[lom]

The UK having a higher death toll gets a "by the way" mention.

They don't if you take the population size into the equation but Italy with a flattening curve is some weeks ahead of Britain where cases and deaths are still on the rise.
Britain is likely to pass Italy mid-to-end of next week.

[OhOh]

They do if you take the "top tier vineyard" size into the numbers

FIFY.

[Troy]

They don't if you take the population size into the equation but Italy with a flattening curve is some weeks ahead of Britain where cases and deaths are still on the rise.
Britain is likely to pass Italy mid-to-end of next week.

That's fair enough but the headline is;
Coronavirus: Italy death toll tops 30,000, highest in EU.

[Bettyboo]

I was surprised to see a BBC report stating that Italy has the most deaths due to the Corona virus in the EU. True, since the UK is no longer part of the EU, but still very misleading headline. The UK having a higher death toll gets a "by the way" mention.

The BBC do turn out some crap. Britain is doing terribly...

[HermantheGerman]

It's time to face grim Covid-19 reality

Another coming round to the reality that the cure is killing more than the disease.

I just hope that he didn't receive any money for this bullshit article.
I guess that's the reason why Germany/World never quotes any Thai Newspapers.

[harrybarracuda]

I was surprised to see a BBC report stating that Italy has the most deaths due to the Corona virus in the EU. True, since the UK is no longer part of the EU, but still very misleading headline. The UK having a higher death toll gets a "by the way" mention.

Not a very misleading headline when they explicitly state:

Italy has the third highest number of officially recorded coronavirus deaths in the world, after the United States and the UK - which is no longer a member of the EU.

Perhaps you should just accept things have changed. Had they said Europe, yes it would have been misleading.

[cyrille]

^ Exactly.

Sorry Troy, but you've got that one wrong.

Looking at who's on your side about it is a clue.

[Dragonfly]

That's fair enough but the headline is;
Coronavirus: Italy death toll tops 30,000, highest in EU.

yeah, misleading. Was the UK ever part of Europe? it's a bunch of islands before the start of the mainland

[harrybarracuda]

Researchers from the Netherlands, Israel, and Japan have synthesized strong antibodies that have neutralized the virus in lab conditions. The next step is testing the creations on humans in clinical trials. If the drugs are effective and safe, they could hit mass-production soon and become standard COVID-19 therapies.

A Dutch team at Utrecht University came up with a monoclonal antibody called 47D11 that was modeled for human use for its correspondent in genetically modified mice that were infected with the virus. 47D11 targets the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2, or the critical component of the virus that lets it latch onto ACE2 receptors on cells. Without those spike proteins, the virus would not be able to replicate and the infection can be beaten.

What’s interesting about 47D11 is that it can also fight off the precursor of the novel coronavirus, or SARS, which the virus that caused its own pandemic in the early 2000s.

“Such a neutralizing antibody has potential to alter the course of infection in the infected host, support virus clearance or protect an uninfected individual that is exposed to the virus,” Utrecht researcher Berend-Jan Bosch told The Guardian. Clinical trials will have to prove that the antibody is effective in humans.

The study describing the new 47D11 antibody is available in Nature.

The Guardian also reported similar work coming out of the Israel Institute for Biological Research (IIBR), a state-run lab that claims it created antibodies that can defeat the virus. Researchers are already moving forward with patenting the drug, and they’re looking to mass-produce it. Defense minister Naftali Bennett said the antibody is a “significant breakthrough” and that IIBR scientists believe the normal process of testing can be shortened to several months. The Israeli antibody doesn’t have a name yet.

Researchers from the Kitasato University in Japan worked with Kao and biotech startup Epsilon Molecular Engineering to develop an antibody candidate they call VHH, per Nikkei. VHH is apparently derived of camelids that are one-tenth the size of conventional antibodies and cheaper to produce. Kao used microorganisms to produce the antibody after Epsilon identified the sequence information for VHH. Kao has used microorganisms for detergent manufacturing before, the report notes.

The researches say the new antibodies can suppress the infection with the novel coronavirus. It’s unclear how long it’ll take for the drug to pass regulatory hurdles and reach production, but clinical studies are still required.

Other countries are working on monoclonal antibodies of their own. Korea plans to have a drug ready early next year. At least five teams in the US are developing similar drugs, and the most promising candidate might be ready this summer, according to a recent report.

Should any of these multiple antibodies work in human trials, the world could get fast access to drugs that can improve recovery time and reduce mortality rates before vaccines begin to arrive.

https://bgr.com/2020/05/08/coronavirus-treatment-monoclonal-antibody-drugs-47d11-vhh-others/

[harrybarracuda]

Meanwhile, in BongoBongoland:

Tanzania says it has received its first shipment of Madagascar's self-proclaimed, plant-based "cure" for coronavirus, despite warnings from the World Health Organization that its efficacy is unproven.

The announcement on Friday came days after Madagascar said it would begin selling the herbal concoction - known as Covid-Organics - and that several African countries had already put in orders.

"Tanzania today received the support of coronavirus medicine from Madagascar," government spokesman Hassan Abas said on Twitter.

The purported remedy is a drink derived from artemisia - a plant with proven efficacy in malaria treatment - and other indigenous herbs.

Last month, Madagascar's President Andry Rajoelina launched the remedy at a news conference, drinking from a sleekly-branded bottle filled with an amber liquid which he said had already cured two people.

Madagascar has since been giving away thousands of bottles of the product, developed by the state-run Malagasy Institute of Applied Research, to countries across Africa.

Earlier this week, the East African island nation told the Reuters news agency it would begin selling the drink, which domestically can be bought for around 40 US cents per bottle.

Along with Tanzania, Equatorial Guinea, Central African Republic, the Republic of the Congo, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Liberia and Guinea-Bissau have already received thousands of doses of Covid-Organics free of charge.

Guinea-Bissau has received more than 16,000 doses which it is distributing to the 14 other African nations.
Liberia's Deputy Information Minister Eugene Farghon said this week there was no plan to test the remedy before distribution.

"It will be used by Liberians and will be used on Liberians," he said, noting that the WHO had not tested other popular local remedies.

"Madagascar is an African country ... Therefore we will proceed as an African nation and will continue to use our African herbs."

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/05/tanzania-madagascar-anti-coronavirus-drink-disputed-200508164354282.html

[HuangLao]

After careful observation, coming to believe that this is Mother Nature's revenge package directed towards those cultures that have done the most damage.....and perpetuate these ethos historically.

Akin to a nasty kharma thing.
All the while don't have the simple ability to recognize themselves as such.

[OhOh]

Meanwhile, in BongoBongoland:

Deeply grateful if it works would a better opinion to express.

Some are suggesting those from the Lucy branch, the "pale skins", are not cured.