Mega-Thread: Coronavirus Pandemic

[Machismo]

So is it safe to say the crisis is finally winding down?

In the past, people have warned of re-opening too soon, however there have been sweeping re-openings across the country over the past few weeks, yet the number of new cases has dropped through the floor.

My money is on there not being a "second wave"

That's not really how it works. The "second wave" wasn't really expected until Autumn.

[Elegiac]

So is it safe to say the crisis is finally winding down?

In the past, people have warned of re-opening too soon, however there have been sweeping re-openings across the country over the past few weeks, yet the number of new cases has dropped through the floor.

My money is on there not being a "second wave"

Cool, pay up.

As large parts of the U.S. ease their lockdowns against the coronavirus, public health officials in some states are being accused of bungling infection statistics or even deliberately using a little sleight of hand to make things look better than they are.

The result is that politicians, business owners and ordinary Americans who are making decisions about reopenings and other day-to-day matters risk being left with the impression that the virus is under more control than it actually is.

In Virginia, Texas and Vermont, for example, officials said they have been combining the results of viral tests, which show an active infection, with antibody tests, which show a past infection. Public health experts say that can make for impressive-looking testing totals but does not give a true picture of how the virus is spreading.

In Florida, the data scientist who developed the state’s coronavirus dashboard, Rebekah Jones, said this week that she was fired for refusing to manipulate data “to drum up support for the plan to reopen.” Calls to health officials for comment were not immediately returned Tuesday.

In Georgia, one of the earliest states to ease up on lockdowns and assure the public it was safe to go out again, the Department of Public Health published a graph around May 11 that purportedly showed new COVID-19 cases declining over time in the most severely affected counties. The entries, however, were not arranged in chronological order but in descending order.

Georgia state Rep. Jasmine Clark, a Democrat with a doctorate in microbiology, called the graph a “prime example of malfeasance,” adding: “Science matters, and data manipulation is not only dangerous, but leads to distrust in our institutions.” Democratic state Rep. Scott Holcomb likewise called the department’s presentations “purposely misleading.”

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp’s office denied there was any attempt to deceive the public.

Guidelines from the Trump administration say that before states begin reopening, they should see a 14-day downward trend in infections. However, some states have reopened when infections were still climbing or had plateaued. States have also been instructed to expand testing and contact tracing.

The U.S. has recorded 1.5 million confirmed infections and over 90,000 deaths.

Vermont and Virginia said they stopped combining the two types of tests in the past few days. Still, health officials in Virginia, where Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam has eased up on restrictions, said that combining the numbers caused “no difference in overall trends.”

In Texas, where health officials said last week that they were including some antibody results in their testing totals and case counts, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott said Monday that the numbers are not being commingled. Health officials did not respond to requests for clarification.

Georgia’s Department of Public Health also regularly publishes a graph that shows cases over time, except new infections are not listed on the day they came back positive, which is the practice in many other states. Instead, Georgia lists new cases on the day the patient first reported symptoms.

That practice can shift the timeline of the outbreak and make it appear as if the state is moving past the peak.

Kemp spokesperson Candice Broce insisted that the governor’s office is not telling the department what to do and that officials are not trying to dress up data to make Kemp look better, saying that “could not be further from the truth.”

As for the May 11 graph, Broce said public health officials were trying to highlight which days had seen the highest peaks of infections. “It was not intended to mislead,” Broce said Tuesday. “It was always intended to be helpful.”

Thomas Tsai, a professor at the Harvard Global Health Institute, said the way Georgia reports data makes it harder to understand what the current conditions are, and he worries that other states may also be presenting data in a way that doesn’t capture the most up-to-date information.

Man imagining the numbers going down when you fake them to make them look like they're going down.

[Granyala]

So is it safe to say the crisis is finally winding down?

Pretty much. Show's over for now in Germany at least.

Will it pick up again later? Nobody knows.

[Gorsameth]

So is it safe to say the crisis is finally winding down?

In the past, people have warned of re-opening too soon, however there have been sweeping re-openings across the country over the past few weeks, yet the number of new cases has dropped through the floor.

My money is on there not being a "second wave"

Your talking about the US? daily new cases are still stable so while big hotspots are winding down new ones are popping up.
No the crisis is not winding down.

[Yunru]

Pretty much. Show's over for now in Germany at least.

Will it pick up again later? Nobody knows.

There are still people getting infected (but its probaly in healthcare), but it seems to be under control.
Last reported person that got it was on 24 may. Its been 7 days with no new infections reported.

And some some retarded reason they are now flying F-16 planes over the country (and wasting taxpayers money).

[Yadryonych]

That's not really how it works. The "second wave" wasn't really expected until Autumn.

Let's just wait a bit to see how much the riots will help the coronavirus spread.

Well, given that the major right-wing talking point right now is how material possessions are more important than human life...

And ironically the rioting is more important to protestards than staying at home to stop the spreading and save lives

[Machismo]

Let's just wait a bit to see how much the riots will help the coronavirus spread.



And ironically the rioting is more important than staying at home to stop the spreading and saving lives to protestards

So was getting a haircut...

[Acidbaron]

There are still people getting infected (but its probaly in healthcare), but it seems to be under control.
Last reported person that got it was on 24 may. Its been 7 days with no new infections reported.

And some some retarded reason they are now flying F-16 planes over the country (and wasting taxpayers money).

Most of Europe is under control now and things have re-opened with some measures.

As for Air planes, those are probably just exercises happens in Belgium also every so often, luckily during the day as those things can be rather loud when flying over your house.

[Yadryonych]

So was getting a haircut...

Yeah I remember the "wrong" people protesting against lockdown being called out for putting their "freedumbs" above the public health. I wonder where did it go now when the "right" people are protesting

[Machismo]

Yeah I remember the "wrong" people protesting against lockdown being called out for putting their "freedumbs" above the public health. I wonder where did it go now when the "right" people are protesting

Why not support everyone's freedom to assemble?

If people want to protest to be able to get a haircut, let them.

[Grapemask]

Why not support everyone's freedom to assemble?

If people want to protest to be able to get a haircut, let them.

The issue here is that it's not just them or their families that are at risk. It's literally everyone in their community.

John the Protestor goes and gets COVID. He brings it home to his wife. His wife delivers mail with the post office. His wife gives it to the people at home doing their best to isolate.

Yeah, "freedumb" is probably the right term for the idiocracy that's trying to kill us.

Now, as for these new protests, at least most of them appear to be staying safe with masks. Still ill advised because it's putting the rest of us at risk. On the other hand, they're claiming that the threat to their lives by police is equal to the threat to their lives by a virus.

[Machismo]

The issue here is that it's not just them or their families that are at risk. It's literally everyone in their community.

John the Protestor goes and gets COVID. He brings it home to his wife. His wife delivers mail with the post office. His wife gives it to the people at home doing their best to isolate.

Yeah, "freedumb" is probably the right term for the idiocracy that's trying to kill us.

Now, as for these new protests, at least most of them appear to be staying safe with masks. Still ill advised because it's putting the rest of us at risk. On the other hand, they're claiming that the threat to their lives by police is equal to the threat to their lives by a virus.

That's why I have gone out of my way to alienate everyone, so they don't want to be around me.

As for protests, it's been decided that my job is to get drunk, sit in a lawn chair, and pee on anything that catches on fire.

[Gorsameth]

Yeah I remember the "wrong" people protesting against lockdown being called out for putting their "freedumbs" above the public health. I wonder where did it go now when the "right" people are protesting

So your saying you equate protesting for access to a haircut or a Starbucks frapachino the same as protesting police murder your friends in the street?

You can do without a haircut or your special coffee for a month, but its kinda hard to come back from being dead.

Ofcourse ideally there would not be large protests and riots during a viral epidemic. But it would also be kind of ideal if a black person could hear a police siren without having to fear they are about to be shot simply for being black.

[Yadryonych]

Why not support everyone's freedom to assemble?

If people want to protest to be able to get a haircut, let them.

This is a fair point, I agree

[Tuor]

Most of Europe is under control now and things have re-opened with some measures.

There are still some reinfection spots however .

As for Air planes, those are probably just exercises happens in Belgium also every so often, luckily during the day...

Yep, most likely some sort of exercise.

...as those things can be rather loud when flying over your house.

In 2010 there was a military parade in my town, i really wanted to go there and watch the parade, but that day i awaked a lot later. I waked up in the precise moment 5 F-16 flyed right over my house... tremendus noise, lol.

[Shadowferal]

So is it safe to say the crisis is finally winding down?

In the past, people have warned of re-opening too soon, however there have been sweeping re-openings across the country over the past few weeks, yet the number of new cases has dropped through the floor.

My money is on there not being a "second wave"

Show's over because the media isn't so focused on it. Hell, their likely glad that they've finally other news to cover rather than the dry numbers they've been dully reporting on.
I have to wonder if some of the re-openings are more about easing social pressures than anything else.

There will likely be a 2nd wave. Whether or not anyone cares about it is another story.

[breadisfunny]

Show's over because the media isn't so focused on it. Hell, their likely glad that they've finally other news to cover rather than the dry numbers they've been dully reporting on.
I have to wonder if some of the re-openings are more about easing social pressures than anything else.

There will likely be a 2nd wave. Whether or not anyone cares about it is another story.

that depends entirely on if there's a vaccine or not.

[Shadowferal]

that depends entirely on if there's a vaccine or not.

If nothing else, that would make the news!

[Tuor]

that depends entirely on if there's a vaccine or not.

Or, if can mass produce/distribute it.

[breadisfunny]

Or, if can mass produce/distribute it.

that is simply a matter of logistics and time.