Mega-Thread: Coronavirus Pandemic

[Zan15]

https://www.al.com/news/2020/07/alab...-eat-them.html

In which an Alabama jail refuses to provide any kind of masks to inmates, and has unmasked guards, because...



America is a country incapable of dealing with a pandemic.

whelp there goes another few million in the prison lawsuit bucket we taxpayers pay every year because of morons

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Well in the world of "WE TOLD YOU SO" I present you with the following:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/healt...9e0_story.html

Packed elevators and crowded committee rooms. Legislators sitting shoulder-to-shoulder on the House and Senate floor. People standing close to each other and talking, sometimes leaning in to whisper, without a mask in sight.

Those were common scenes at the Mississippi Capitol in June — a month that saw a historic vote to remove the Confederate emblem from the state flag — and now at least 26 lawmakers have been diagnosed with the coronavirus in the biggest known outbreak in any state legislature in the nation.

That works out to about 1 in 7 Mississippi legislators.

Among those testing positive in the heavily Republican body are the GOP presiding officers, House Speaker Philip Gunn and Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann.

[Sorshen]

"Dr. Fauci, he's a nice man, but he's made a lot of mistakes," Trump says on Fox News. There it is, we're officially at this point.

[tehealadin]

"Dr. Fauci, he's a nice man, but he's made a lot of mistakes," Trump says on Fox News. There it is, we're officially at this point.

It would be interesting to see Trump break down what all of these mistakes were, and how they had nothing to do with him, because he understands pandemics better than anyone. Actually it would be entertaining. Well, maybe for a few minutes.

[Coolthulhu]

It would be interesting to see Trump break down what all of these mistakes were, and how they had nothing to do with him, because he understands pandemics better than anyone. Actually it would be entertaining. Well, maybe for a few minutes.

Considering how last time went, it'd be more dangerous than entertaining. Although to be completely honest I fail to feel empathy towards those who injected themselves with bleach or something among those lines - and there are bound to be people who tried. There have been, actually.

Even prior to the pandemic, I know of a guy who poured 25% sodium hypochlorite (some professional bleach he had for some reason, typically the concentration for household bleach doesn't exceed 5% or 10%, to give you an idea 10% would need about 20 liters of water to be diluted in for surface cleaning) on his manhood after an encounter with a sex worker "in order to prevent STDs". And that's not the most incredible thing I've heard from this friend of mine who works in a ER - sometimes his tales are so outlandish I have his colleagues confirm them because I don't believe him. Weirdly enough, ever since the pandemic started I haven't heard of such absurdities from him, perhaps due to the fact that people were really scared and that forced them into doing some basic research and/or ask their doctors prior to self-medicating in less-than-advisable ways.

[Coolthulhu]

Feels that relaxing measures is really not an option. Here in Greece we started relaxing some measures to hopefully get some tourism started and new cases have been increasing steadily. On one hand tourism is our biggest industry but on the other hand we did not sacrifice so many months for every other profession to let people start dying now.

Yeah, that's a quite the conundrum. On one hand, I feel like people are getting way too relaxed in the EU, and the virus sends its thanks. On the other hand the lockdowns plunged many people into poverty, forced them to close businesses (many of which are still closed and will probably remain closed, some streets look like ghost towns). For many people, it's about disregarding safety measures and restrictions or starving. Thankfully I'm not among those, but the consequences could affect everyone, especially in the wake of a hypothetical 2nd wave with more cases and more prolonged lockdowns, in which case I don't rule out the possibility of societal collapse, at least in some areas.

[Granyala]

Meanwhile, in Germany, the whole Corona shabang is pretty much a "snoozefest".

Aaanyhow, since I am about to have a vacation, per usual, my body invited the common cold for party.
Wee... employer will no doubt be delighted. <_<

[Strawberry]

Hmm. I posted recently in another forum that Sweden's lack of lockdown has caused a higher rate of infection, higher rate of death, and also worse economy -- especially when directly compared to the countries that sandwich it, which both had significant lockdowns. I'm surprised to hear it's "not much difference now vs. 1 year ago", to be honest.

Life didn't evolve by hiding in the basement.
Of course, the restaurants/bars were instructed not to allow too many, the group gatherings were cut down to 500, then 50, there was some panic and people buying all pasta and toilet paper, people from my work were sent home and are still home, but the life now is pretty much the same as it was before.

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Alright, I guess you do know more than medical experts across the globe. I mean, those suckers went to school for years and have years/decades of professional experience, but what the fuck do they know anyways, right?

Perhaps you should use common sense.
The virus doesn't discriminate. If it can be found on your face and hands, it can be found on other organic material.

There is absolutely no proof that food destroys the virus.
In fact, viruses use bacteria to reproduce. Bacteria have developed protection against many known viruses, but covid-19 is not a known virus.
Bacteria thrive on food, especially aging food. That's fucking biology.

Damage control. That's basically what WHO is all about at the moment. They would never tell you it can be found on food.

[Granyala]

The virus doesn't discriminate. If it can be found on your face and hands, it can be found on other organic material.

Sure but the question is whether there is a high enough concentration to cause an infection.
So far ALL surfaces have been considered low risk. That includes foodstuffs.

[Breccia]

Life didn't evolve by hiding in the basement.

Was...was that supposed to be a defense of Sweden's public, objective failed experiment? If so, it didn't work. Sweden's results are still worse than its neighbors. A flawed metaphor won't change that -- you do know turtles and tortoises have ridiculous lifespans, right?

[Edge-]

Perhaps you should use common sense.
The virus doesn't discriminate. If it can be found on your face and hands, it can be found on other organic material.

Perhaps I should listen to people who have dedicated their careers to science/medicine, with expertise specifically in the field of infectious disease, no?

I mean, when I needed a surgery it was done by trained professionals who spent years studying and more years practicing surgery. I'm not gonna go to my buddy and ask him to cut me open because "common sense, brah".

Damage control. That's basically what WHO is all about at the moment. They would never tell you it can be found on food.

The WHO, and literally every other medical professional around. Is this supposed to be some vast global conspiracy to...avoid some mild embarrassment or something?

[bmjclark]

https://www.ft.com/content/57834c2c-...3-8fb32cfbbf4e

Fauci honestly just sounds fed up at this point. I stand by my earlier prediction, he's "resigning" soon. I know that article is paywalled so the quote that sticks out to me most is

I have a reputation, as you probably have figured out, of speaking the truth at all times and not sugar-coating things. And that may be one of the reasons why I haven’t been on television very much lately.

That just seems like a direct shot at Trump and we know he loves those.

[Edge-]

https://www.ft.com/content/57834c2c-...3-8fb32cfbbf4e

Fauci honestly just sounds fed up at this point. I stand by my earlier prediction, he's "resigning" soon. I know that article is paywalled so the quote that sticks out to me most is
That just seems like a direct shot at Trump and we know he loves those.

He'll be fired before he resigns. He's been doing this job for decades and seems absolutely committed to it, and to serving the American people to the best of his capacity.

And while I don't think he's some sort of savvy political player and isn't trying to be one, I think that he feels a measure of security right now. He knows that he's more popular than Trump when it comes to the general view on the handling of the coronavirus, and while I doubt he's banking on that I think he's making a bit of a calculated play that Trump won't risk the absolute bipartisan and public shitstorm that would follow his firing while we're still in the middle of a pandemic.

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https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-brief...ore-people-get

I’m not as concerned as much as the number of cases — and in fact, quite honestly — I want to see more people, because we start reaching an immunity as more people have it and get through it,” Marsh said.

“I don’t want any deaths, as few as possible in the state, I get it. So those people who are susceptible to the disease, especially more serious, those with pre-existing conditions, elderly population, those folks, we need to do all we can to protect them. But I’m not concerned.”

In which, again, a member of a certain political party in the United States continues to voice dangerously ignorant opinions that would lead to the needless deaths of many more people than are already needlessly dying.

America is not capable of dealing with a pandemic.

[PhaelixWW]

Life didn't evolve by hiding in the basement.

Actually, life evolved by inculcating in its survivors a distinct sense of self-preservation.

[Edge-]

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/...onavirus-cases

Donald Trump says Dr Anthony Fauci is “a nice man, but he’s made a lot of mistakes”. Fauci says he last saw Trump on 2 June and has not briefed him in two months.

Broken record: America is not capable of dealing with a pandemic.

Edit: An addendum -

https://www.washingtonpost.com/healt...e-coronavirus/

White House trade adviser Peter Navarro is leading a Trump administration effort to demand the Food and Drug Administration reverse course and grant a second emergency authorization for the antimalarial drug hydroxychloroquine to treat covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.

Navarro, armed with a controversial new study that he says shows the drug’s effectiveness, is being cheered on by President Trump, who has long touted the drug as a “game changer” and even used himself as a possible preventive measure. Trump praised the study on Twitter earlier this week, urging the FDA to “Act Now.” The campaign also has been promoted by Rudolph W. Giuliani, the president’s lawyer, and Laura Ingraham’s show on Fox News.

The administration is going to get more people fucking killed.

[Zan15]

https://www.ft.com/content/57834c2c-...3-8fb32cfbbf4e

Fauci honestly just sounds fed up at this point. I stand by my earlier prediction, he's "resigning" soon. I know that article is paywalled so the quote that sticks out to me most is
That just seems like a direct shot at Trump and we know he loves those.

can't wait for his book.....

[Zantos]

@Zantos really? You aren’t supposed to be touching your face, or face covering, at all as your post suggests. That’s the whole no touching your face aspect combined with washy washy. And when you do remove your mask it should always be by the straps that are no where near your eyes, nose, or mouth. Your DA routine is pretty shitty when you forgot the even more basic advice we had before masks were required.

Its not crappy at all because, and heres the news flash, most people don't listen to that. Have you been out in public? have you not seen how people are Constantly fidgeting with the masks and crap? And again, how about your phone cross contaminating as well? Do you think they think about that? Heck no. This is why we need people to be educated on how to use a mask. Most are not at all in the US. Most are told, put it on and don't remove it. They aren't told not to touch it at all, or to remove it in a certain way.

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The problem in the US isn't that people are wearing bandanas, it's that they're not wearing masks at all.

We will have to agree to disagree because I have seen studies stating the opposite. That wearing a bandana or loose fitting mask is as bad, if not worse, than no mask at all. Due to the false sense of security a poorly made or fitting mask imbues its user with and thus, causing them to ignore social distancing practices.

[Strawberry]

Actually, life evolved by inculcating in its survivors a distinct sense of self-preservation.

Exactly, which is done on a microscopic level, not hiding in the basement.

[Edge-]

We will have to agree to disagree because I have seen studies stating the opposite. That wearing a bandana or loose fitting mask is as bad, if not worse, than no mask at all. Due to the false sense of security a poorly made or fitting mask imbues its user with and thus, causing them to ignore social distancing practices.

Feel free to cite them, then. I've cited one that indicates that, while much less effective, bandanas are still better than no protection at all.

Changes to behavior are a different topic than the efficacy of a face covering as well.

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Exactly, which is done on a microscopic level, not hiding in the basement.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/release...0131221348.htm

You're still painfully wrong. Mammals largely survived the K/T extinction in part because they were literally hiding "in basements" underground.

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https://www.thedailybeast.com/trumps...-start-to-rise

“In the United States we have an increase in the number of cases over the last particularly three weeks,” Birx said during a virtual COVID-19 conference. “We have not seen this result in increased mortality but that is expected as the disease continues to spread in some of our large metro areas.”

More deaths on the way. Stay safe y'all. Wash your hands. Mask up. Stay the fuck away from people. Don't be another statistic.

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https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/10/polit...ard/index.html

"Just go back to school, we can do that," Kudlow told reporters on Friday. "And you know, you can social distance, you can get your temperature taken, you can be tested, you can have distancing -- come on, it's not that hard."

America cannot effectively battle a pandemic.

Meanwhile, educators everywhere are scrambling to try to figure out how going back to school would even work given the safety needs and wildly inconsistent guidance received.

The US governments policies are going to end up continuing to lead to the needless deaths of thousands. We are not capable of fighting against a pandemic.

[beanman12345]

We will have to agree to disagree because I have seen studies stating the opposite. That wearing a bandana or loose fitting mask is as bad, if not worse, than no mask at all. Due to the false sense of security a poorly made or fitting mask imbues its user with and thus, causing them to ignore social distancing practices.

I've seen articles in regarding gloves giving a false sense of security and if not used properly being completely useless, but nothing in regards to bandana being useless or worse then useless, just less effective then other options.

Care to provide a link?

[Edge-]

And in some mixed news, Texas Governor Gregg Abbot is raising the specter of another lockdown if things don't improve - https://www.texastribune.org/2020/07...mpression=true

Upside: If it's needed, maybe Texas can stop it before it gets completely out of control.

Downside: It's bad enough that going back on lockdown is a serious consideration.