The COVID-2019 Thread

[Bettyboo]

This is almost comedy...

30,000 deaths and 3 months too late:

[HuangLao]

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.

....nor will they ever be.

[Troy]

^^ Indeed. Have the UK enforced self-isolation at all? Have they even encouraged it? I thought that was a fundamental part of the strategy from mid March.

I was just speaking to a friend in the UK. He is queueing up in B&Q...how come these shops are even open? It's as if they are saying one thing and doing another...Sweden probably has more of a lockdown....

[harrybarracuda]

This is almost comedy...

30,000 deaths and 3 months too late:

AND it's wherever they like, which means it can be ignored.

[misskit]

China to reform disease prevention system

BEIJING (Reuters) – China will reform its disease prevention and control system to address weaknesses exposed by the coronavirus outbreak, a senior health official said on Saturday.


China has been criticised domestically and abroad as being initially slow to react to the epidemic, which first broke out on a large scale in Wuhan. The virus has since spread across the world, infecting almost 4 million people and killing almost a quarter-million from the COVID-19 disease it causes.


“This coronavirus epidemic is a big test of our country’s governance and governing ability, and it exposed the weak links in how we address major epidemic and public health systems,” Li Bin, vice minister of the China National Health Commission, told reporters.


The commission intends to build a “centralised and efficient” chain of command and reform, and modernise the disease prevention and control system, he said.


The commission also aims to make better use of big data, artificial intelligence and cloud computing to better analyse the disease, trace the virus and distribute resources.


He said the commission plans to step up research on core technology, improve medical insurance and better ensure the availability of emergency materials.


China has not seen any new deaths from coronavirus for 24 days.

China to reform disease prevention system – Thai PBS World

[Bettyboo]

[harrybarracuda]

"Not reported" is not the same as "escaped".

[HuangLao]

"Not reported" is not the same as "escaped".

How about refuse to participate?

[harrybarracuda]

How about refuse to participate?

Who cares why they are not reporting? Does it matter?

[NamPikToot]

[Troy]

^ I hear Boris will be releasing a new slogan to help combat the virus. It'll be as useful as the thoughts and prayers in the US after a mass shooting.

It's also worth noting the numbers starting to creep up in some countries that have eased restrictions...

...too soon to open restaurants, coffee shops and pubs in my opinion.

[jabir]

^^ Indeed. Have the UK enforced self-isolation at all? Have they even encouraged it? I thought that was a fundamental part of the strategy from mid March.

I was just speaking to a friend in the UK. He is queueing up in B&Q...how come these shops are even open? It's as if they are saying one thing and doing another...Sweden probably has more of a lockdown....

Overall strategy must come from the top, filtering down to ground level. The UK entered the game weeks behind others, and instead of learning from those experiences compounded the blunder by deciding it's special, too big to fail, so let's deal with issues as they arrive; much like palliative care, addressing the symptoms instead of the cause and prevention, for which they were unprepared. Sure that's also a strategy, one doomed to fail as it has.

Tbf, no country can claim to have the right strategy as we're still in the dark and don't know what we're dealing with, so best we can go on for now is hard facts in the form of dead bodies, and in this respect UK is one glorious fcukup.

[cyrille]

Even after dragging their feet, they also flip-flopped massively. We were told as recently as last Friday that there would be a considerable loosening of restrictions on Sunday, but it didn't happen.

Decisiveness is yet another Churchillian quality that BoJo lacks.

Sweden probably has more of a lockdown....

Bars and restaurants have not closed in Sweden. To suggest that the UK has fewer restrictions is nonsense.

[harrybarracuda]

^ I hear Boris will be releasing a new slogan to help combat the virus. It'll be as useful as the thoughts and prayers in the US after a mass shooting.

This one?

[harrybarracuda]

Even after dragging their feet, they also flip-flopped massively. We were told as recently as last Friday that there would be a considerable loosening of restrictions on Sunday, but it didn't happen.

Unfortunately the UK Press are falling over each other to second guess the government, and are making themselves look stupid in the process.

[harrybarracuda]

What is it with these dumb chinkies? Just greed? They are still making the same pesticides being banned even in Thailand, they are still producing CFCs despite them being banned to protect the Ozone layer, and this....

China is considering moves that would entrench its vast fur industry further into the country’s economy, raising worries over the spread of coronavirus among animals crowded together in small spaces.


The country’s agriculture ministry is proposing to reclassify mink, raccoon dogs, silver foxes and blue foxes as domestic livestock, rather than wild animals, which they are now.


Animal-welfare lobbyists say the change is to protect the industry from the global pressure to end the farming of wild species because of the coronavirus pandemic.


China breeds and kills more than 50 million animals on fur farms a year, according to Humane Society International, which has written to President Xi Jinping objecting to the plan during its consultation phase.


Coronavirus fears as China plans to protect vast mink and fox fur industry from backlash at wildlife trade | The Independent

[harrybarracuda]

^ I hear Boris will be releasing a new slogan to help combat the virus. It'll be as useful as the thoughts and prayers in the US after a mass shooting.

Oh yes, this should work.

"stay alert, control the virus, save lives".

[Topper]

The Trump Death Clock in Times Square.

[HermantheGerman]

[Cujo]

Despite a second White House staffer testing positive for COVID-19 this week, President Donald Trump has continued to undermine social distancing efforts. As the Washington Post reports, new protocols were put into place to secure the White House complex over the past two days, during which a military valet to the president and Katie Miller, the press secretary for Vice President Mike Pence, tested positive. Yet Trump was without a face mask on Friday when he met with a group of World War II veterans—all in their 90s—to commemorate the 75th anniversary of D-Day. When asked by a reporter about his choice to not wear a mask around elderly people at higher risk of the virus, Trump said no and that he “was very far away.” He added that he “would have loved to have gone up and hugged them because they’re great” and that “the wind was blowing hard in such a direction that if the plague ever reached them, I’d be very surprised.”


Trump attended the meeting less than an hour after Pence’s plane took off for Des Moines, a trip that was delayed for more than an hour as two aides who had been in close contact with Miller were removed from Air Force Two out of precaution. While the White House said Pence and the aides tested negative for the virus, the Post notes that Miller has attended almost all of the White House coronavirus task force meetings—during which almost no aides wore masks—in the Situation Room, prompting concern for who else Miller interacted with. During an event with GOP members, the president sent conflicting messages, suggesting that “the whole concept of tests isn’t great” while also claiming “I don’t worry about things” and that “we’re dealing with an invisible situation. Nobody knows.” According to several security officials, not wearing a mask—which Pence and White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows have followed suit— and gathering with guests for photo-ops at the White House speaks to Trump’s repeated efforts to minimize the public health crisis.


“This is a show of bravado,” a former security official told the Post. “If he backtracks now, and starts wearing a mask, it will contradict the red meat he’s feeding to his base
constantly. This is the first health crisis that has been politicized.”


Trump has remained confident in the safety measures that the White House has taken in the face of coronavirus, even as several members of the Secret Service have tested positive. As Yahoo News reports, Department of Homeland Security documents expose the virus to be more widespread than the administration had previously acknowledged, with 11 active cases within the agency as well as 23 members of the Secret Service who have recovered from COVID-19 and an additional 60 employees who are self-quarantining. While Secret Service spokesperson Justine Whelan said that the agency “continues to follow guidelines issued by the CDC to ensure the health and welfare of our employees and those they come in contact with,” Yahoo notes that measures taken at the White House have not necessarily followed such guidelines, with many Secret Service employees on the White House complex among those not wearing a mask. And while temperature checks have been occurring for everyone entering the White House, testing has been partial, with reporters entering the Oval Office without being required to wear masks or being given tests. This remains true even as the virus seems to spread within the White House: Yahoo reports that the press covering the event where Trump discussed Miller’s diagnosis were not given tests before being brought into the State Dining Room.

Coronavirus Cluster Blossoms At White House As Trump Continues To Minimize Threat | Vanity Fair

Oh, did you hear Fauci and the head of the CDC have quarantined themselves.

[cyrille]

Most Thais want restrictions lifted – NIDA poll

The National Institute of Development Association recently conducted a poll that asked 1,259 Thais from various walks of life about their thoughts on lifting the current Emergency Decree restrictions, such as the closure of businesses and the national curfew.


The poll was taken from Thursday to May 9 and comprised Thai nationals over the age of 18 from various backgrounds, gender and education levels.


A clear majority, over 80% indicated clear support for lifting the majority of “lockdown” measures based on the current low numbers and trends of Covid-19 cases in the country.

The answers were divided into “agree,” “strongly agree,” “disagree” and “strongly disagree.”


Only 6% said they strongly disagree with lifting lockdown measures and supported keeping the current restrictions in place for an extended period.


A recent poll conducted by The Pattaya News among over 1000 foreign readers and expats on social media displayed similar results, although slightly lower than the NIDA poll. Asked about proceeding with further easing of restrictions, 71% supported lifting more restrictions and easing the lockdown further.


The NIDA poll also asked users about confidence in businesses and consumers practicing safe hygiene and physical distancing, and the majority believed that people would.


Finally, the NIDA poll showed that, despite an overwhelming majority supporting further easing of restrictions, the majority are still concerned about the potential of a second wave of the infections in Thailand.


SOURCE: NIDA

[Jack meoff]

This one?

No. do keep up.

[Cujo]

Dr. Anthony Fauci tells CBS News he will go into "modified quarantine" following exposure to a White House staffer who tested positive for the coronavirus. Fauci says he is "low risk" based on the type of exposure he had to the staffer and is quarantining out of an abundance of caution.

Fauci, who is the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and a member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, will stay at home, work remotely via teleconference and wear a mask continually for 14 days. Fauci said he may go into his NIH office during this time, but he will be the only person there.


Fauci also said if he is asked to go the White House or appear at a Congressional hearing, he will, but wear a mask and socially distance. Fauci is currently scheduled to appear before a Senate committee hearing Tuesday.


Fauci tested negative for the coronavirus Friday.


Several White House staffers and Secret Service members have tested positive for the coronavirus over the last week. Among those who tested positive was a U.S. military aide assigned to the White House as a valet to President Trump. Both Mr. Trump and Vice President Mike Pence have been tested for the coronavirus again following news of the valet's positive result.


A senior White House official told CBS News that Pence is taking no new precautions and will not be isolating in any way.


Officials said White House senior adviser Stephen Miller, whose wife, Katie Miller, tested positive Friday, will have his movements limited and will not have any exposure to senior members of the administration such as Mr. Trump or Pence. The officials also told CBS News the number of White House personnel who will be allowed near the president and vice president will be limited going forward.


Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Robert Redfield will also be teleworking for the next two weeks after a "low risk" exposure as well. Like Fauci, Redfield will appear at the White House if his presence is requested, but will follow CDC guidelines by having his temperature screened, wearing a face covering and socially distancing.

Fauci to go into "modified quarantine"

[NamPikToot]

What is evident in this global episode that hasn't been a feature of previous ones is the impact of social media and the media in general, everyone has an opinion and it is undoubtedly clouding messaging in a detrimental way. Also there is so much debate over "Who's response method is best" , there doesn't appear to be a vanilla solution so each country must develop policy and advice to suit their circumstances - but the media keep flip flopping between who's managing it best like its some kind of competition.

[Cujo]

Trump wants to open everything up, meanwhile, the workplace you would expect to be the safest in the U.S. is inflected

Vice President Mike Pence’s press secretary tested positive for the virus Friday, forcing a delay in the departure of Air Force Two while a half-dozen other members of his staff were taken off the plane for further testing. That came only a day after word that one of the president’s own military valets had been infected.

All of which raised an obvious question: If it is so hard to maintain a healthy environment at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., the most famous office address in the world, where staff members are tested regularly, some as often as every day, then how can businesses across the country without anywhere near as much access to the same resources establish a safe space for their workers?


“The virus is in the White House, any way you look at it,” said Juliette Kayyem, a former assistant secretary of homeland security under President Barack Obama. “Whether it’s contained or not, we will know soon enough. But the fact that a place — secured, with access to the best means to mitigate harm — is not able to stop the virus has the potential of undermining confidence in any capacity to defeat it.”


The presence of the virus in both the West Wing and the residential floors of the White House brings home the dilemma facing the nation at a pivotal point in the pandemic. With more than 77,000 deaths in the United States so far and cases rising by the day, states and employers are wrestling with when and how to reopen without putting workers, customers and clients at risk.

Two White House Coronavirus Cases Raise Question of if Anyone Is Really Safe