Coronavirus 2020-22

[The Green One]

Originally Posted by Eisdrache

It IS a denial of reality. Do they think the government wants to be in this situation?

I'm not arguing that. My point is that the denial of reality isn't mainly for selfish reasons but out of financial desperation for a good majority of those people. It is unfortunate but understandable in my personal opinion.

[GDB]

It's understandable if you only look at the immediate present and short term. But missing a few months of work because of a pandemic isn't nearly as bad financially as the entire economy going belly up because nothing is done and it reaches levels that make the current situation look like a nice summer's drive.

[The Green One]

You're assuming that everyone in the world is 100% reasonable in all things at all times and always looks at the big picture for everyone rather than their own personal lives and loved ones. That's not how reality actually is.

[Eisdrache]

To be fair it's not like I can't see where the arguments is coming from. The US for example in 2018 officially had 11.8% of its citizens living in poverty and that number is argued to be too low. Missing a few months of income is fine - IF you have reserves, which these people certainly do not have. This is not accounting for sudden emergencies like medical bills.

However even they should realize that wonder drugs are nothing more than a scam.

[The Green One]

Indeed they should, but when you're looking at thousands of dollars in debt, no income and the question of how you're going to even buy food, you get desperate for an answer. ANY answer.

[kari-no-sugata II]

If you want to keep your economy open as much as possible with COVID-19 going around in a big way then you need to have a really good, really well executed plan that has a lot of public support and buy-in. You'll need very clear communication and public understanding such that people who are in very low risk categories and only live with those in low risk categories can more or less carry on as normal but others can easily and readily take appropriate levels of caution and risk avoidance depending on their own risk and those they live with.

I dunno if any country could actually do that in practice.

Countries that have tried to be as open as possible while also trying to be sensible have found that it doesn't help the death count much and doesn't help their economy much. Eg, Sweden.

What Trump is basically doing is the worst of both worlds. It's not saving the economy, it's prolonging the pain. It's not saving the people, it's making things even worse.

[ganbaru]

Originally Posted by GDB

It's understandable if you only look at the immediate present and short term. But missing a few months of work because of a pandemic isn't nearly as bad financially as the entire economy going belly up because nothing is done and it reaches levels that make the current situation look like a nice summer's drive.

A large portion of the US population was such economic situation than they couldn't afford a 400$ emergency before the crisis; for them a few months of confinement or the complete collapse of the economy pretty much equal the same thing for them.

Heck, some might even think than a collapse of the current system might have a better odd to improve their situation than a continuation of it.

[The Green One]

So apparently Trump had this to say about Corona-chan yesterday....

“Now we have tested almost 40m people. By so doing, we show cases, 99% of which are totally harmless. Results that no other country can show because no other country has the testing that we have, not in terms of the numbers or in terms of quality.”

Just..... what reality does this man live in? Seriously? How many people have to die before the message gets across? *sigh* November can't come quickly enough.

[EroKing]

Originally Posted by The Green One

So apparently Trump had this to say about Corona-chan yesterday....

“Now we have tested almost 40m people. By so doing, we show cases, 99% of which are totally harmless. Results that no other country can show because no other country has the testing that we have, not in terms of the numbers or in terms of quality.”

Just..... what reality does this man live in? Seriously? How many people have to die before the message gets across? *sigh* November can't come quickly enough.

Yea, 9% death rate so far. Also, even the moderate symptoms seem like going through hell and must have been a tough battle for most who did recover.
Mortality rate was about 2% at the end of March 2020 if I remember correctly? I don't want to imagine how bad it will get towards the end of the year. Several countries are experiencing a second wave.


If a country like Australia, which is in the middle of the ocean wasn't able to prevent a second wave; then things are only going to get far, far, worse; especially for Murica.

[Guardian Enzo]

Also of note is that the demographics for fatalities in the U.S. skew significantly younger than Europe, which is very troubling. No studies as to why that I'm aware of, but the most obvious difference is the massive number of Americans without adequate health insurance.

The "out of control" scenario is beginning to be discussed in the American context - the disease basically runs its course with no effective intervention by the authorities. This leads to an estimated 2.5 million deaths, just under 1% of the total population, which isn't hugely dissimilar to the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic numbers. With the federal government basically abdicating all response, it may not be avoidable.

[The Green One]

Wonder what tasteless behavior is next? Jokes about "solving" the over population problem? *sigh*

It's unrealistic to expect a viable cure to show up anytime soon. Unless proper safety measure are set and people are actually forced to follow them, kicking and screaming if need be, then the deaths are going to continue to pile up.

[Guardian Enzo]

The problem is that Americans are collectively behaving more stupidly than citizens of any other major nation. Yes, they take their cue from the White House but it is what it is. Every country has some people being smart about this and some being dumb, but our percentages are worse.

[OH&S]

Originally Posted by EroKing

If a country like Australia, which is in the middle of the ocean wasn't able to prevent a second wave; then things are only going to get far, far, worse; especially for Murica.

I honestly have no idea how this crept up on us.

2 weeks ago, we were handling the virus really well and were the envy of the Western world (minus NZ). Now we are facing a crisis the likes we've never seen with travel across the border of Victoria (the hot-spot state) being closed for the first time in 100 years.

Just to clarify: this is after reporting over 100 new cases in a single day in Victoria. Yet there are US states reporting new cases 100 times worse and appear to be doing less.

[kari-no-sugata II]

Reacting strongly to 100 cases might seem like an over-reaction but it's really to nip an issue in the bud, before it exponentially grows to a real problem. If people aren't currently socially distancing then it could grow very quickly. (I don't know the actual local situation there, I'm just talking in general).

Unfortunately, it's not easy to get nuance across very well in such issues.

The attitude of some in the US is basically sticking your head in the sand and pretending there is no real problem.

[Key Board]

I think the US tactic is now, “who do we blame for this problem, because it can’t be my fault”

/

[SeijiSensei]

Even when patients don't die, they're often left with long-term health problems.

https://www.vox.com/2020/5/8/2125189...fects-symptoms

[The Green One]

Every day I'm hearing stories about groups of people ignoring social distancing. It's like they just don't care. Fuck other people, I don't care what happens to them seems to be their mantra. It's just depressing to read.

[Key Board]

I suspect it's an ideological issue for some people.

Check this from 2 months ago:

https://www.npr.org/sections/coronav...r-mask-dispute

//

[Yu Ominae]

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-53306280

Xu Zhangrun has been disappeared after criticizing the CCP handling of the outbreak one too many times.

[OH&S]

Originally Posted by kari-no-sugata II

Reacting strongly to 100 cases might seem like an over-reaction but it's really to nip an issue in the bud, before it exponentially grows to a real problem. If people aren't currently socially distancing then it could grow very quickly. (I don't know the actual local situation there, I'm just talking in general).

191 new cases reported today in Victoria (+69 from yesterday); the highest single day in Australia since the pandemic began.

In addition to the border closure, Melbourne will be undergoing a 6 week lockdown (Stage 3 restrictions - stay home except for work, essential services, medical treatment or school) from midnight tonight.

EDIT: Victoria reimposes lockdowns on metropolitan Melbourne and Mitchell Shire as coronavirus cases rise by record amount

We are so screwed. If those who are infected have gotten out of the state before the border closed then Australia's going to be hit hard in a couple of weeks.