The COVID-2019 Thread

[HermantheGerman]

I have checked-in but it is still 50-50 whether I am allowed to fly tomorrow, and the odds are decreasing by the hour.

...still think it better to self isolate in Nakhon Nowhere than where I am now though. I am normally in and out of Bangkok within 4 hours if they let me in.

Wish you the best of luck! Hope everything works out the way you want it.

[harrybarracuda]

Italy has declared just shy of 3,500 cases today.

What a mess.

[Chittychangchang]

The US is to extend its European coronavirus travel ban to include the UK and Republic of Ireland.
The ban will begin at midnight EST on Monday (04:00 GMT Tuesday), Vice-President Mike Pence announced.

[harrybarracuda]

Excuse the bad translation: The Indonesian Transport Minister has got it.

Jakarta, CNN Indonesia - State Secretary Pratikno announced that Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi was positively infected by the corona virus . Budi is currently being treated at the Gatot Subroto Army Hospital.

" With the permission of the family submitted by the Head of RSPAD, Mr. Budi is the work of Sumadi," Pratikno said at the State Secretariat Building, Jakarta, Saturday (3/14).

The statement of practice was justified by RSPAD Gatot Subroto, who said he had treated a cabinet minister, Joko Widodo. Budi works treated with patient number 76.


"At the moment we are treating him at the Army Hospital. There has been improvement," said Deputy Head of the Presidential Hospital of Gatot Subroto Hospital, Albertus Budi Sulistya.

Istana: Menhub Budi Karya Positif Corona

[harrybarracuda]

Trump has added the UK and Ireland to his travel ban.

But the good news is he's been tested for Covid19.

The bad news is the result isn't back yet so we don't know if he's got it.

[beachbound]

The bad news is the result isn't back yet so we don't know if he's got it.

Harry, I think we should all think positive.

[Troy]

Visa restrictions for citizens from VoA and high-risk countries effective March 13th"


"Thailand’s Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha and Interior Minister Anupong Paojinda have signed an announcement which temporarily suspends the visa on arrival facility for citizens of 18 countries and visa free entry for citizens of three COVID-19 high-risk countries, effective from March 13^th.

The Prime Minister called an urgent meeting this morning with Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai, Interior Minister Anupong and director-general of the Consular Services Department, to discuss the visa restrictions, after concerns were raised that they may breach bilateral agreements with some of the countries involved.

The Prime Minister also signed an order appointing a committee to manage the Centre for the Management of the COVID-19 Situation, chaired by the Prime Minister.

The committee comprises 16 ministers, the national police chief, the secretary-general of National Security Council, secretary-general to the Prime Minister and the permanent secretary of the PM’s Office.

Visa restrictions for citizens from VoA and high-risk countries effective March 13th – Thai PBS World

They'll probably issue a list of the countries in due course.

The list was published on the IATA travel document news website. It covers 6 countries where a valid virus free certificate and health insurance is required and some where visa exception no longer available. Germany wasn't on that list. Italy is on the list. Restrictions do not apply to Thai citizens.
Also for non Thai flights, the crews must self isolate during their stopover.

[PlanK]

Latest update from The Government. Status: Shitshow

[Troy]

^ Green owed...

[misskit]

PM Abe asks all of Japan schools to close over coronavirus

https://teakdoor.com/thailand-and-as...ml#post4072804 (The COVID-2019 Thread)


Also, this article states there is a first case of reinfection...

A woman working as a tour bus guide was reinfected with the coronavirus, testing positive after having recovered from an earlier infection, Osaka’s prefectural government said. Her case, the first known of in Japan, highlighted how much is still unknown about the virus even as concerns grow about its global spread.

[David48atTD]

Meanwhile, in Lulu Land (Italy)

Sing, sing a song
Sing out loud,
Sing out strong
Sing of good things not bad
Sing of happy not sad
Sing, sing a song Make it simple

[David48atTD]

With all this forced self quarantine, working from home, I wonder if there will be a population boost in about 9 months time.

Oh ... my Corona

[David48atTD]

Analysis

Coronavirus COVID-19 testing levels in the United States are the lowest per capita. Here's why



The United States, a nation with a population of 327 million, has tested roughly 11,000 people for coronavirus.

South Korea, population 51 million, tests nearly 20,000 people per day.
Oh, and the two countries announced their first known cases of COVID-19 just hours apart.


1. Right now, they couldn't get a test even if they wanted one

The first confirmed case of COVID-19 came on January 21, three weeks after the news about the virus's hold on Wuhan spread globally.

2. They may fear it will cost them thousands

News of a $US 3,000 bill for testing went viral last week.
It was a believable sum given the generally high cost of healthcare in the US.

3. Many Americans don't trust their health system

The lack of testing means it's impossible to know the full extent of the disease's spread in the US.

Coronavirus COVID-19 testing levels in the United States are the lowest per capita. Here's why - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

[Chittychangchang]

It's a sorry state of affairs across the pond and it's only gonna get worse.

Head for hotter climes. ..

[GracelessFawn]

Manila is in community lockdown from March 15 - April 14. Air, sea and land travel are being cut/restricted. It's still not clear if the lockdown covers cargo ship/planes, but if it does there will be shortages of essential day to day commodities like tissue, rubbing alcohol, shampoo, soap, canned goods, milk, meds, etc in Palawan. Palawan is mainly an agricultural/tourism zone so there is minimal to none existence of manufacturers here.

I've been in panic buying mode yesterday and have purchased close to 25k in groceries and what not. Planning to do another round of shopping today to pick up items I've missed.

As for face masks, they are all sold out, but I managed to find some in another town at 5x the regular price. Bought ten or something for the kids and myself. I'm not really going about town wearing mask yet, but it's nice to have them at hand in case worst comes to worst.

As for rubbing alcohol, the entire Palawan is already out of stock. People have been suggesting to use holy water, but I lean towards using gin and whisky.

[David48atTD]

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Trump tests negative for coronavirus, White House doctor says

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[David48atTD]

Apple to close all stores outside of China until March 27 in response to coronavirus


Key Points

• Apple said it will close all of its stores outside of greater China until March 27 to reduce the risk of the coronavirus spreading.
• Its online store will remain open as well as its “Apple Store” app.
• Apple said it had learnt lessons from the outbreak in China and that “the most effective way to minimize risk of the virus’s transmission is to reduce density and maximize social distance.”

Coronavirus: Apple to close all stores outside of China until March 27

[naptownmike]

KFC temporarily stops describing its chicken as 'finger lickin' good'








DAVID MOYE
Mar 13th 2020 9:14PM






Turns out KFC’s longtime stance on finger lickin’ isn’t the best public health ​advice right now.
The fast food chain announced Friday it would suspend a U.K. ad campaign focused on its famous “finger lickin’ good” slogan in light of the coronavirus pandemic.
As health officials all over the world stress the need for hygiene and hand-washing to prevent the spread of the virus, KFC reconsidered whether it was a good idea to show people licking their fingers after eating the company’s flagship product, according to the Independent.
“It doesn’t feel like the right time to be airing this campaign, so we’ve decided to pause it for now ― but we’re really proud of it and look forward to bringing it back at a later date,” a spokesperson said.

The campaign had already received 163 complaints, a spokesperson for the Advertising Standards Authority, a self-regulatory agency focused on the British advertising industry, told the paper.
The decision to temporarily retire “finger lickin’ good” comes just weeks after the chain announced a search for a “professional finger licker” willing to show off their skills on billboards across Britain.
KFC did not immediately respond to HuffPost’s request for comment. However, the company insisted to the New York Post that “finger lickin’ good” wasn’t being kicked to the curb permanently.
KFC isn’t the only corporation forced to ditch long-planned ad campaigns as a result of COVID-19.
Both Coors Light and Hershey have also canceled ads that showed people hugging each other or joking about working from home, The Washington Post noted.
Meanwhile, Spirit Airlines apologized on Thursday after sending out a mass email with the subject line, “Never A Better Time To Fly,” according to Business Insider.

[Bettyboo]

The US starting to pick up, and it's gonna go insane there over the next week or so.

Europe continue to impress, they now have more than half the total Chinese cases (or at least the offocial figures which are probably somewhere between half and a tenth of reality...).



Korea might be out of the top 10 within a week...

You remember when folks were telling me to take my tin foil hat off, and I was saying how they just hadn't experienced it as we have in Korea yet - well those folks are backpeddling rather quickly now...

That ad uploaded by Plan B is very good.

[PlanK]

That ad uploaded by Plan B is very good.

It's funny but also a little bit sad that the most informed, balanced coverage of Covid-19 is done by a piss-take video.
Says a lot about the state of current media industry.

[baldrick]

the herd immunity people need to sit down and reflect on what is actually known and not their guesses

Francois Balloux
@BallouxFrancois
https://twitter.com/BallouxFrancois/...37158007447558


I should be qualified to comment on the covid-19 pandemic. I'm a computational/system biologist working on infectious diseases and have spent five years in a world class 'pandemic response modelling' unit. In this thread, I will summarise what I believe I (don't) know. (1/12)

After having spent considerable time thinking how to mitigate and manage this pandemic, and analysing the available data. I failed to identify the best course of action. Even worse, I'm not sure there is such a thing as an acceptable solution to the problem we are facing. (2/12)

I believe that the covid-19 pandemic is the most serious global public health threat humanity faced since the 1918/19 influenza pandemic. There are major differences between the two events but I suspect there will also be similarities that may emerge once we look back. (3/12)

The most plausible scenario to me is for the covid-19 pandemic to wane in the late spring (in the Northern hemisphere), and come back as a second wave in the winter, which I expect could be even worse than what we're facing now. Pic below is what happened in 1918/19. (4/12)



Predictions from any model are only as good as the data that parametrised it. There are two major unknowns at this stage. (1) We don't know to what extent covid-19 transmission will be seasonal. (2) We don’t know if covid-19 infection induces long-lasting immunity. (5/12)

Seasonality is difficult to predict without time-series. Comparison between regions for the covid-19 pandemic suggests some seasonality, but likely less than for influenza. This would be roughly in line with other Coronaviridae (common cold and MERS). (6/12)

How long immunity lasts for following covid-19 infection is the biggest unknown. Comparison with other Coronaviridae suggests it may be relatively short-lived (i.e. months). If this were to be confirmed, it would add to the challenge of managing the pandemic. (7/12)

Short-lived immunisation would defeat both ‘flattening the curve’ and ‘herd immunity’ approaches. Devising an effective strategy would be even more challenging under low seasonal forcing. It would also considerably complicate effective vaccination campaigns. (8/12)

The covid-19 pandemic is an extremely challenging problem and there are still many unknowns. There is no simple fix, and poorly thought-out interventions could make the situation even worse, massively so. (10/12)

The covid-19 pandemic is not just an epidemiological problem. It is a ‘Global Health’ problem, that can only be tackled with an integrated and global approach. For example, there is no such thing as a choice between managing the pandemic vs. protecting the economy. (11/12)

Health and the economy are closely linked. The correlation between per-capita GDP and health (life expectancy) is essentially perfect. If the covid-19 pandemic leads to a global economy collapse, many more lives will be lost than covid-19 would ever be able to claim. (12/12)

[David48atTD]

^ Good read Bladders

[Chittychangchang]

A ray of sunshine is Balders.

[jabir]

...As for rubbing alcohol, the entire Palawan is already out of stock. People have been suggesting to use holy water, but I lean towards using gin and whisky.

Don't knock it, holy water may be expensive but it works, they used to spray it over sick people in the old days and millions of them recovered.

[katie23]

In PI: 111 confirmed cases, 8 deaths... (and counting)

Philippines COVID-19 cases surpass 100

Lockdown in Metro Manila already in place. There are checkpoints for vehicles entering the metropolis

Authorities, public feel each other out early in Metro Manila quarantine | ABS-CBN News

Mayors asking malls to close during the lockdown. Ppl would just congregate in malls since there's no school or work, which would defeat the purpose of a lockdown. Pharmacies, supermarkets to remain open.


Metro Manila mayors ask malls to close during coronavirus lockdown

*****

I'm not too worried re: goods & services since I'm not from MM. However I did buy groceries last Friday evening, and there were loads of ppl! No more 70% alcohol (but not really a problem for me, since I stocked up in late January when the first covid case in PI was confirmed). Had to wait in line for ~1 hour to pay for my groceries. My bill was ~2k pesos, only a little above my weekly average. Nowhere as near as Graceless Fawns's 25k! But yes, I can understand her panic buying since she lives in Palawan and it's a bit isolated.

I've told my mom to limit going out. Said I'll visit her more often to buy stuff for her. She has a garden & grows some vegs, so she's ok in terms of food.

No toilet paper shortage here - most ppl use the "tabo" (dipper) and some homes have bidets. Good ol' soap & water, and the almighty tabo!