[COVID-19] General Discussion

[Amiga500]

No doubt China's communist leadership and Xi have a lot to answer for their handling and not shutting down those infected sooner from travelling outside of Wuhan.

To be fair to them, when the penny dropped mid-January, they moved a helluva lot quicker than any other government has since.

mid-Dec: First pneumonia-like cases reported.
10th Jan: First death, ~40 infected to the by then novel virus designated COVID-19
22 Jan: 17 dead, 571 cases
23 Jan: Lockdown

Given they were grappling with the unknown, I'd give them a bit of slack over the first couple of weeks. Yeah, doctors on the scene suspected a contagious virus by end of December - but I'm not sure that info ever made it to Beijing.

None of the "western liberal democracies" can really claim to have been caught off guard in comparison.

 

[McTallshort]

Big time fingers crossed for this.

There are now no options left on the table that don't come with an even frightful cost than what's been done already.




Simply have to - if it was relaxed now, the second wave would come straight away and with virtually no ramp up warning it'd be like a Tsunami.

Yeah imagine the traffic to the coast Easter Friday with things are lifted

 

[Bada-Bing!]

To be fair to them, when the penny dropped mid-January, they moved a helluva lot quicker than any other government has since.

mid-Dec: First pneumonia-like cases reported.
10th Jan: First death, ~40 infected to the by then novel virus designated COVID-19
22 Jan: 17 dead, 571 cases
23 Jan: Lockdown

Given they were grappling with the unknown, I'd give them a bit of slack over the first couple of weeks. Yeah, doctors on the scene suspected a contagious virus by end of December - but I'm not sure that info ever made it to Beijing.

None of the "western liberal democracies" can really claim to have been caught off guard in comparison.

i was just referring to the whole blame game. Of course China is an authoritarian government that can react a lot more quickly than western liberal democracies. And people have a right to feel angry as to why this virus has turned their lives upside down inside a month and killed so many in such a short space of time. We know the source came from Wuhan, so easy to see to point at the authorities whether it was in Wuhan or Beijing as the likely bogeymen in all of this. What good does it do right now? As accountability really has to come at a global level, which ordinary people who are suffering feel powerless right now.

 

[Which Tyler]

Apparently, the way the Germans are getting so many more people tested, is really clever.
They take a double sample from everyone, and pool the tests.
So 1 sample goes into storage, and the other is mixed with 10 other people. That batch is tested together, and if it's negative, all 10 people are negative. If it's positive, then the 10 samples are taken out of storage and tested individually.

Using up 1 test for 10 if negative (the vast majority), or 11 tests for 10 if positive.
Really smart. Really obvious. No-one else seems to have thought of it.

 

[ncurd]

Apparently, the way the Germans are getting so many more people tested, is really clever.
They take a double sample from everyone, and pool the tests.
So 1 sample goes into storage, and the other is mixed with 10 other people. That batch is tested together, and if it's negative, all 10 people are negative. If it's positive, then the 10 samples are taken out of storage and tested individually.

Using up 1 test for 10 if negative (the vast majority), or 11 tests for 10 if positive.
Really smart. Really obvious. No-one else seems to have thought of it.

Sure that's not an April Fool? I mean it sounds plausible but you'd have thought if true they'd (a) share the method (b) other countries would of adopted it.

 

[Amiga500]

i was just referring to the whole blame game. Of course China is an authoritarian government that can react a lot more quickly than western liberal democracies. And people have a right to feel angry as to why this virus has turned their lives upside down inside a month and killed so many in such a short space of time. We know the source came from Wuhan, so easy to see to point at the authorities whether it was in Wuhan or Beijing as the likely bogeymen in all of this. What good does it do right now? As accountability really has to come at a global level, which ordinary people who are suffering feel powerless right now.

Well - one thing I would (and am) f**ked off at China is - they (and we) know SARS likely came from bats - so why were the measures imposed on live markets immediately post 2003 not far more draconian and actually enforced?

I would like to think that will permanently change after this.

 

[Amiga500]

Apparently, the way the Germans are getting so many more people tested, is really clever.
They take a double sample from everyone, and pool the tests.
So 1 sample goes into storage, and the other is mixed with 10 other people. That batch is tested together, and if it's negative, all 10 people are negative. If it's positive, then the 10 samples are taken out of storage and tested individually.

Using up 1 test for 10 if negative (the vast majority), or 11 tests for 10 if positive.
Really smart. Really obvious. No-one else seems to have thought of it.

Most efficient ya?

 

[Al Bangor]

I saw this on the news last night. Just 3 dollars will pay for 10 masks to be made.

https://www.masksofhope.com/how-to-help

 

[Bada-Bing!]

Well - one thing I would (and am) f**ked off at China is - they (and we) know SARS likely came from bats - so why were the measures imposed on live markets immediately post 2003 not far more draconian and actually enforced?

I would like to think that will permanently change after this.

yep and that is a legitimate grievance and point that will certainly need to force China's authorities to confront and how the disease was allowed to happen again after SARS.

Certainly no matter how China's authorities try and spin it they have been totally humiliated by this and lost an enormous amount of Goodwill around the world.

Having said that I do think there needs to be a large amount of diplomacy to do this. To confront China aggressively on this will only force their authorities on the defensive and there are already questions on their numbers. Ultimately we all want them never to allow another occurrence of this to ever happen again and to stop unsanitary practices involving bats to make the jump to humans and effectively shut the world down for a year and half.

 

[Kiwiwomble]

yep and that is a legitimate grievance and point that will certainly need to force China's authorities to confront and how the disease was allowed to happen again after SARS.

Certainly no matter how China's authorities try and spin it they have been totally humiliated by this and lost an enormous amount of Goodwill around the world.

Having said that I do think there needs to be a large amount of diplomacy to do this. To confront China aggressively on this will only force their authorities on the defensive and there are already questions on their numbers. Ultimately we all want them never to allow another occurrence of this to ever happen again and to stop unsanitary practices involving bats to make the jump to humans and effectively shut the world down for a year and half.

You give the world more credit than I, I have this feeling that all that will be remembered is it came from China but they managed it "handle" it faster than many other countries

 

[Bada-Bing!]

You give the world more credit than I, I have this feeling that all that will be remembered is it came from China but they managed it "handle" it faster than many other countries

And South Korea, Japan, HK, Taiwan of the South East Asian democracies. Germany and perhaps Sweden of the western liberal democracies.

No doubt this has exposed a lot of flaws here in other European countries and the USA.

How about down under in Aus and NZ? I've seen a few stories but the news here has been saturated with the UK's response.

 

[ncurd]

Early to mid crisis that's certainly whats being spun X country has done well, Y country has done poorly, Z country is a dystopian nightmare. Trying to work out what the story post crisis is a ways off yet. I think we'll discover at present picture Germany being top dog as they've been able to ramp up testing whilst still having a policy of not completely locking it down.

 

[Amiga500]

To confront China aggressively on this will only force their authorities on the defensive and there are already questions on their numbers. Ultimately we all want them never to allow another occurrence of this to ever happen again and to stop unsanitary practices involving bats to make the jump to humans and effectively shut the world down for a year and half.

Not even sure that'll be necessary. Their economy has tanked too.

They'll be f**ked off with themselves that they didn't take measures on live markets earlier.

 

[profitius]

Early to mid crisis that's certainly whats being spun X country has done well, Y country has done poorly, Z country is a dystopian nightmare. Trying to work out what the story post crisis is a ways off yet. I think we'll discover at present picture Germany being top dog as they've been able to ramp up testing whilst still having a policy of not completely locking it down.

Germany doing well in treating patients but I know some Germans who drove around to eleven! shops looking for toilet paper and found none. Lol Canned food is also in short supply.

 

[Not Mike Brown's Sock]

You give the world more credit than I, I have this feeling that all that will be remembered is it came from China but they managed it "handle" it faster than many other countries

I know it may look like that but as someone who lived there for a long time and still has friends in Shanghai and Shenzhen, it is not under control. Cases still popping up all over the place and people essentially being told to ignore it

 

[Gavin]

A Northern Ireland DUP councillor.

 

[Amiga500]

A Northern Ireland DUP councillor.

Yeah, don't really agree with abortion but thats just shite from yer man.

[don't really believe there is a god either]

 

[Bada-Bing!]

Not even sure that'll be necessary. Their economy has tanked too.

They'll be f**ked off with themselves that they didn't take measures on live markets earlier.

These live markets are a cultural part of China's way of life though. Yeah of course westerners and animal rights will think it's disgusting to kill live animals and for people to buy and take them home to cook and eat, but it's part and parcel of Chinese people liking their produce as fresh as possible.

Now that isn't to condone the killing and selling of exotic species and especially if Bats are being sold in such markets. And in a country of 1.3 billion people and to keep order authorities are likely to turn a blind eye to certain practices to keep the peace. I wouldn't be surprised Whatsoever if you could still get such "Wild meat"in places if certain people wanted it even after this is over. It'll also just push it underground if they crack down on it.

 

[die_mole]

Apparently, the way the Germans are getting so many more people tested, is really clever.
They take a double sample from everyone, and pool the tests.
So 1 sample goes into storage, and the other is mixed with 10 other people. That batch is tested together, and if it's negative, all 10 people are negative. If it's positive, then the 10 samples are taken out of storage and tested individually.

Using up 1 test for 10 if negative (the vast majority), or 11 tests for 10 if positive.
Really smart. Really obvious. No-one else seems to have thought of it.

germans are really good at eradicating things in an efficient matter . . . really makes you think

 

[Ragey Erasmus]

View attachment 8142

A Northern Ireland DUP councillor.

The self-centredness of these people is staggering. Thousands and potentially millions around the world die all because N.Ireland allowed abortions? How does that fuckwit explain all the other countries that allowed abortions without sparking a global pandemic?