The COVID-2019 Thread

[harrybarracuda]

A little harsh.

Upstarts.

"Meanwhile a third tourist who arrived in New Zealand yesterday [16/03, no time given] is also facing deportation after officials found she had no clear plans to self-isolate amid escalating coronavirus fears.

The woman checked in to Rucksacker backpackers hostel in Christchurch last night wearing a face mask.

She did not show any flu symptoms nor had she mixed with other hostel residents, it's understood."

When was this requirement published and the definition of what "self-isolate" includes/demands?

"The New Zealand Government's travel restrictions, which took effect at 1am Monday,[16/o3] require all international travellers arriving in this country to self-isolate for 14 days"

Have NZ authorities and any other countries published, their "self-isolation plans/required documentation" to airlines etc. So these types of disappointments can be avoided?

Ever tried travelling into Thailand on a one-way plane ticket?

Have NZ airports immigration officers not been asking what incoming travellers are doing to comply with the new requirements?

"But this morning [17/03], Ministry of Health officials arrived at the hostel to question the woman about her self-isolation plans, before police officers showed up to take her away."

Have the tourist hotels etc. been issued guidelines to ensure their own compliance?

"The hostel manager, who asked not to be named, said the woman, who was apparently travelling on her own for a fortnight trip and had a pre-existing booking, was checked in to a private room."

Is a "private room" not considered "self isolation"?

It appears a person arrived at NZ immigration on the 16th. Was allowed in by NZ Immigration. No evidence that she was questioned by or lied to the officer. Are incoming tourists not required to state their accommodation address on the NZ immigration checked landing document.?

She arrived at her pre-booked accommodative. Are not hotel receptionists aware of the new regulations?

Has her travel itinerary from airport to hotel been disinfected, her taxi driver/bus driver and occupants quarantined?

Four people need firing, the airline check-in person, the NZ airports immigration officer, the hotel receptionist and the INZ compliance and verification general manager Stephen Vaughan.

Who said something like:

"This kind of behaviour is completely irresponsible and will not be tolerated which is why these individuals have been fired".

One hopes the NZ PM offers the lady a VIP holiday, with the same level of service/facilities, he receives whilst visiting foreign lands.

I'm guessing from your fawning that she was another arrogant chinky then.

Have NZ authorities and any other countries published, their "self-isolation plans/required documentation" to airlines etc. So these types of disappointments can be avoided?

Self Isolation is pretty fucking self evident unless you are a stupid c u n t or an arrogant arsehole.

Who gets on a plane these days expecting unfettered access at the other end?

The Director General of Health, Ashley Bloomfield, told reporters that there was a traveller in Christchurch who was unwilling to commit herself to self isolation and would be deported as a result.

Som num na and have a nice flight home, bitch.

[harrybarracuda]

Excellent briefing from the UK tonight. Decisive and honest.

And they could handle three questions at a time.

The fucking seppos with Baldy and Cinderella in charge look like a shower of shit in comparison.

Deaths will pass 8,000 tonight,

New infections have already passed 14,000 today, and will pass 200,000 overall.

The worst is most definitely yet to come, so I wouldn't be whinging about bars being closed.

[harrybarracuda]

The chinkies reckon your blood type is a factor....

People with blood type A may be more vulnerable to coronavirus, China study finds

• Research in Wuhan and Shenzhen indicates patients with the blood group had higher rate of infection and tended to get more severe symptoms
• Those with type O ‘had a significantly lower risk for the infectious disease’ compared to others

People with blood type A may be more vulnerable to coronavirus, China study finds | South China Morning Post

[harrybarracuda]

You have to laugh or you'll cry.

Vietnam 50
Cambodia 32
Thailand 135
Myanmar 0 (sure)
Laos 0 (of course)

How many of those are believable?

[David48atTD]

We need a reporter on the ground to document this.

AO / Armstrong ... you available?

The Old English Pub has been told to close so my footy party has been cancelled.

I was thinking more of Soi Cowboy transforming into ...

[GracelessFawn]

Good morning. It's another day in PI!

Entire Luzon island in home quarantine

Entire Luzon placed under home quarantine | Philstar.com

One of our senators now has it. Last week, there was a resource person invited to the Senate, who later tested positive.

Zubiri positive for COVID-19 | Philstar.com

*****

I listened to the phone interview of the senator, it was aired over a major newscast last night. Senator is asymptomatic and has been on isolation since last week, when they found out about the carrier person in the Senate.

There's a 13 year old girl & her mom infected in Quezon City, which is the biggest (area) and most populous city in the metropolis. The girl is so far the youngest known case here.

****

I don't know what will be the impact of this Luzon wide quarantine. I'll travel today to my mom's place, so that I'll be with her in case there's no public transport in the next few days. We don't have food delivery services in my hometown & I don't want her to go to the markets. I'll WFH there. Accdg to the news, supermarkets, wet markets, banks, pharmacies, hospitals should be open.

Keep safe, keep sane!

All the best to you and your mom Katie. Stay safe as you can.

I'm afraid that the Covid-19 data releases in PI is not as accurate as we would want them to be due to lack of testing kits, experts handling the samples, reliability/accuracy of the kits, etc. One would only hope for the best, but brace for the worse case scenario.

The statistics hasn't curved or flattened down. It has gone up and from the looks of it, might continue to do so. The big question is.... How high will it get, how long will it last and how many casualties will it claim.

In my job, I am in the frontline. I work for the gov't. Hired two tailors yesterday to make/sew masks for all volunteers in the frontline as there are no longer masks available everywhere. Making homemade sanitizers and handwash out of stuff for extra protection.

Hoping for the best, but statistics are not too promising.

[GracelessFawn]

Good morning. It's another day in PI!

Entire Luzon island in home quarantine

Entire Luzon placed under home quarantine | Philstar.com

One of our senators now has it. Last week, there was a resource person invited to the Senate, who later tested positive.

Zubiri positive for COVID-19 | Philstar.com

*****

I listened to the phone interview of the senator, it was aired over a major newscast last night. Senator is asymptomatic and has been on isolation since last week, when they found out about the carrier person in the Senate.

There's a 13 year old girl & her mom infected in Quezon City, which is the biggest (area) and most populous city in the metropolis. The girl is so far the youngest known case here.

****

I don't know what will be the impact of this Luzon wide quarantine. I'll travel today to my mom's place, so that I'll be with her in case there's no public transport in the next few days. We don't have food delivery services in my hometown & I don't want her to go to the markets. I'll WFH there. Accdg to the news, supermarkets, wet markets, banks, pharmacies, hospitals should be open.

Keep safe, keep sane!

All the best to you and your mom Katie. Stay safe as you can.

I'm afraid that the Covid-19 data releases in PI are not as accurate as we would want them to be due to the lack of testing kits, experts handling the samples, reliability/accuracy of the kits, etc. One would only hope for the best, but I am bracing for the worse case scenario.

The statistics hasn't curved or flattened down. It has gone up and from the looks of it, might continue to do so. The big question is.... How high will it get, how long will it last and how many casualties will it claim.

In my job, I am in the frontline. I work for the gov't. Hired two tailors yesterday to make/sew masks for all volunteers in the frontline as there are no longer masks available anywhere. Making homemade sanitizers and handwash out of stuff for extra protection as there are none to be found in the market.

Hoping for the best, but statistics are not too promising.

[bowie]

May cooler heads prevail –

Covid 19 identified in Wuhan China. Implement massive travel bans and restrictions, lock down cities and countries. A case of quick, close the barn door, there goes the horse. Yup, too late – the bug is everywhere.

150k case, 6k deaths. 80% of those infected suffer mild symptoms, 15% serious symptoms, 5% critical symptoms with about a 2.5% fatality rate. Covid 19 is a corona virus which causes SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Symptoms). The fatalities are the aged and the medically compromised.

In our typical humankind knee jerk panic attack we have the general public reacting as if you catch it and you’re a dead man. Seal the borders. Shut down the country, ban all public events. Shut down all restaurants, bars, schools, shopping malls, public meeting places… sorry folk, you’re just too late. The bug is everywhere.

Panic mode – we’ve never been here before – bullshit – a century ago we had the 1912 spanish flu pandemic. Con side differences; a much larger population and our travel is much improved (no international jetliners then). Pro side differences, our medical technology and systems are very much improved and our international communications systems are much improved.

We will have a vaccine soonest. The virus will be contained – by that I mean the new cases will decrease as folks wear face masks and wash their hands more frequently. And we will return to a semblance of normalcy.

The return to normalcy will occur rather quickly. We, humankind, cannot shut down travel, tourism, restaurants, entertainment, concerts, sporting events, etc. We cannot and will not shelter in place. People have to work, have to eat, have to resume their standard lifestyle.

This bug is merely a mild ripple in time, we ain’t all gonna die… well, yes, we all will die, but not from Covid in the short term…

[armstrong]

It's the end of times.

[Norton]

My take is we are looking at a very long term recession. At least 6 months or more if the virus is slow in containing. Millions of jobs lost worldwide, trillions spent by governments to help bail out jobless and some industries, stock market continues to fall and shortages of goods available in markets.

Expect all this to lead to political instability as folks realize their governments are simple unprepared to do what is needed PDQ to contain the virus and get the much needed money to the unemployed.

No Donald, all is not going to be well soon.

[hallelujah]

Meanwhile, in Benidorm:

Britons in Benidorm ignore Spanish coronavirus restrictions [Video]

I wonder how they've managed to get a pint and a full English if the Dog and Duck is closed?

[bowie]

Nashville tourist bars, including Tootsie’s and Kid Rock’s, defy city edict to close - AOL Entertainment
Nashville tourist bars, including Tootsie’s and Kid Rock’s, defy city edict to close

Steve Smith, the owner of nightspots like the venerated Tootsie’s and the controversial Kid Rock’s Big Ass Honky Tonk Steakhouse, issued a statement Sunday night declaring that Mayor John Smith did not have the authority to order his businesses shuttered. And as of early Monday afternoon, clubs along Lower Broadway were still in full swing — and not just the ones owned by Smith — according to local news reports.
“The music is still playing on lower Broadway,” reported Stephanie Langston of Nashville’s CBS affiliate, WKRN, Monday afternoon. “Tootsie’s, Legends, Rippy’s, Mellow Mushroom, Nudies, Layla’s Honky Tonk, Whiskey Row, Baileys and Honky Tonk Central are among the bars open for business right now.”

[HermantheGerman]

Aerosol and Surface Stability of SARS-CoV-2 as Compared with SARS-CoV-1

Copper for up to four hours,

Carton for up to 24 hours,

Plastic and stainless steel lasts for up to 72 hours.

In addition, according to the study, the coronavirus could remain in aerosols - the suspension of tiny particles or droplets in the air - for up to three hours.

https://www.nejm.org/doi/pdf/10.1056/NEJMc2004973?articleTools=true


Rubber gloves would have been interesting

SARS-CoV-2 remained viable in aerosols throughout the duration of our experiment (3 hours), with a reduction in infectious titer from 10^3.5 to 10^2.7 TCID₅₀ per liter of air. This reduction was similar to that observed with SARS-CoV-1, from 10^4.3 to 10^3.5 TCID₅₀ per milliliter (Figure 1A).

SARS-CoV-2 was more stable on plastic and stainless steel than on copper and cardboard, and viable virus was detected up to 72 hours after application to these surfaces (Figure 1A), although the virus titer was greatly reduced (from 10^3.7 to 10^0.6 TCID₅₀ per milliliter of medium after 72 hours on plastic and from 10^3.7 to 10^0.6 TCID₅₀ per milliliter after 48 hours on stainless steel). The stability kinetics of SARS-CoV-1 were similar (from 10^3.4 to 10^0.7 TCID₅₀ per milliliter after 72 hours on plastic and from 10^3.6 to 10^0.6 TCID₅₀ per milliliter after 48 hours on stainless steel). On copper, no viable SARS-CoV-2 was measured after 4 hours and no viable SARS-CoV-1 was measured after 8 hours. On cardboard, no viable SARS-CoV-2 was measured after 24 hours and no viable SARS-CoV-1 was measured after 8 hours (Figure 1A).

[katie23]

PI declared to be in a state of calamity
(small businesses, daily wage earners, tourism will take a hit)

Duterte places Philippines under state of calamity | Inquirer News

Outbound flights allowed
COVID-19 task force allows outbound flights during Luzon quarantine | Philstar.com

Utilities to give extension on payments
Water, power firms give customers 30-day extension on payment of bills | Inquirer News


Sam Miguel Corporation to make 70% ethyl alcohol for disinfecting. Food & beverage raw materials enough for 6 months... so there'll be enough San Miguel, Red Horse & Ginebra San Miguel (proletariat gin) for everybody..

No more rubbing alcohol? Ramon Ang finds a solution and it's for free | Inquirer Business

No new hotel bookings allowed



Angeles Walking Street now a ghost town



****

I wonder how topper is doing in Bacolod? They're not in Luzon, but local governments can enforce their own lockdowns.

***

Keep safe, keep sane!

[Bettyboo]

The numbers are terrible, and Europe/US are gonna be insanely high; why???

China (if to be believed) and Korea (accurate info all the way through) have it under control now - very few new cases in the last couple of weeks. The measures imposed in Korea and China should be copied (and improved with respect to quick implementation, other...) all around Europe and the US.

Here are some examples from Korea: Europe and US should have already done the same, everyone there knew what was coming:



The airport picture above is very different from the ones we've seen in the US and Europe over the last few days - it's not difficult to see why there is less spreading of the virus in Korea than Europe and the US.



AS above, schools, kindergartens and unis have been closed for over a month and continue to be so until it's safer. Is this the same all over Europe and the US? It should be, it's not as if they don't know what's coming; the evidence from China and Korea is very clear.

It seems weird that so called Europeans first world nations have Koreans (and there are similar reports from Chinese living in Europe and the US) wishing to return to supposedly lesser tier nations because they feel safer. Personally, I feel much safer in Korea than I would under the NHS in Britain...



Korea raced from under 50 to 8,000 cases in a week or so, it looked like a major disaster, but since then, the numbers have hardly grown. I don't know what will happen when restrictions are lifted and kids are back at schools?

Bars and clubs are open here - many folks are still going out drinking and socialising.

[kmart]

^China and it's draconian and totalitarian use of force is an example to us all of how to deal with this.. Manipulated much?

[Luigi]

Canada closing its doors and ordering all canucks home or face their travel insurance being N/A.

[jabir]

The UK's plan has shifted because the scientific modelling showed we were on course for a "catastrophic epidemic".

A strategy of just slowing the spread of the virus, but not trying to stop it, would have overwhelmed intensive care units.

The modelling by Imperial College London has been heavily informed by the experience in Italy and is influencing decisions at the heart of government.

Its calculations predicted 260,000 deaths in the UK.

According to Bloomberg, 20k deaths in UK would be a good result.

[Luigi]

we are looking at a very long term recession. At least 6 months or more if the virus is slow in containing. Millions of jobs lost worldwide, trillions spent by governments to help bail out jobless and some industries, stock market continues to fall and shortages of goods available in markets.

How many houses are gonna be lost by those laid-off that can't pay their mortgage.

[jabir]

the biotech firm regeneron just released a statement that they will have an antibody treatment ready for human testing by early summer.

'Human testing' doesn't mean much, just that something has been developed that might work or not; it still takes months, more than a year I've heard, to ensure, or at least reduce the chances of unwittingly injecting Thalidomide or some other wretched stuff into panicked people.

[Troy]

Interesting to note that schools were closed at the time of the outbreak in South Korea. Schools were all open in Europe and it took time for the closures because of economic impact for many double income families. It may be a factor in the speed of the spread. The other obvious difference is the use of masks and free hand disinfectants put up in all public places. That should have been done back in January, although easy to say in hindsight.

Family are all sick with colds here in Thailand...none with fever but I'm going to catch a cold soon...

[Bettyboo]

^ that's a good point, maybe Korea was very lucky with regard to timing? But, on the other hand, we have a massive amount of Chinese who come here to study and short-term (weekend) tourists.

^China and it's draconian and totalitarian use of force is an example to us all of how to deal with this.. Manipulated much?

In their situation, China did the right thing.

But, it's still very hard to believe their figures... WTO and other doctors/experts have been to China and seem to follow the line (for the most part). It's obvious in places like the Middle East that there's terrible healthcare services and it's gonna be a clusterfuk, just like Africa, South America and the Indian sub-continent. But, Europe and the US? Has the endless greed culture and crony capitalism turned them into second-tier countries when the veneer of 'success' is pulled away?

All I can say is, living in Korea, there has not been terrible restrictions or heavy handed government oppression, just good communication, regular updates, consistent advice, good governance. Looking at Europe and the US, I see none of that.

[jabir]

You have to laugh or you'll cry.

Vietnam 50
Cambodia 32
Thailand 135
Myanmar 0 (sure)
Laos 0 (of course)

How many of those are believable?

NK 0
Maybe anyone with symptoms simply disappears.

[kmart]

^ that's a good point, maybe Korea was very lucky with regard to timing? But, on the other hand, we have a massive amount of Chinese who come here to study and short-term (weekend) tourists.



In their situation, China did the right thing.

But, it's still very hard to believe their figures... WTO and other doctors/experts have been to China and seem to follow the line (for the most part). It's obvious in places like the Middle East that there's terrible healthcare services and it's gonna be a clusterfuk, just like Africa, South America and the Indian sub-continent. But, Europe and the US? Has the endless greed culture and crony capitalism turned them into second-tier countries when the veneer of 'success' is pulled away?

All I can say is, living in Korea, there has not been terrible restrictions or heavy handed government oppression, just good communication, regular updates, consistent advice, good governance. Looking at Europe and the US, I see none of that.

Fair point, BB. I was referring to China only. It is a concern that that the sweeping powers that are being implemented to deal with this temporary problem won't be rolled back after the virus is dealt with. (Increased surveillance, restrictions on travel / assembly, etc., etc.).
The old nugget of sacrificing freedoms for temporary security..

[lom]

How many houses are gonna be lost by those laid-off that can't pay their mortgage.

The virus is nondiscriminatory so it will hit the lenders and their staff as well and what would they do with all the houses they take possession of?