International COVID-19 Updates & Discussion 2

[Lupus]

Well, I think the next few weeks are going to be interesting, especially here in the UK: we've had thousands of people protesting all over the country, going to the beaches, going to raves (yeah, they're a thing again) and from tomorrow non-essential businesses will re-open (but with social distancing measures in place). On the latter, I can tell you that the British stick to the social distancing measures outside supermarkets, but once inside, it all goes to ****.

At this rate, it's only a matter of time before the 2nd, far more dangerous peak hits.

Why would the second be far more deadly? Have we had a war? Did people starve? What would make the second wave deadlier? You can't compare this to 1918, worldwide circumstances are very different now to back then.

 

[Verde]

Subscribe to read | Financial Times

News, analysis and comment from the Financial Times, the worldʼs leading global business publication

www.ft.com

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1268450746422493184

If you don't trust the official numbers you can go here for the truth.

https://momo.isciii.es/public/momo/dashboard/momo_dashboard.html#nacional

 

[flippakitten]

Well, I think the next few weeks are going to be interesting, especially here in the UK: we've had thousands of people protesting all over the country, going to the beaches, going to raves (yeah, they're a thing again) and from tomorrow non-essential businesses will re-open (but with social distancing measures in place). On the latter, I can tell you that the British stick to the social distancing measures outside supermarkets, but once inside, it all goes to ****.

At this rate, it's only a matter of time before the 2nd, far more dangerous peak hits.

Yeah, I really don't get it. There are literally signs all over, markings on the floors but yet some people still stand close enough to lick the back of your neck.

and masks... Masks + social distancing are the best tools we have to drastically reduce the infection so we don't need to go into lock down again but no, people are still arguing they have no effect when there are literally about 10 - 20 recent studies I've come across saying they have a dramatic effect.

Just wear a dam mask, wash your hands and keep your distance. also it would help if people stop protesting and rioting.

The economy cannot and will not survive another lockdown, my kids cannot handle another full scale lockdown, just do these simple things and it will be ok.

 

[MiW]

Mutation in new coronavirus increases chance of infection: study

A specific mutation in the new coronavirus can significantly increase its ability to infect cells, according to a study by U.S. researchers.

www.reuters.com

The mutation, named D614G, increased the number of “spikes” on the coronavirus - which is the part that gives it its distinctive shape. Those spikes are what allow the virus to bind to and infect cells.

 

[The_Right_Honourable_Brit]

Lahore, Pakistan to go back under lockdown for 2 weeks.

Certain Indian states will have a hard lockdown from 19th - 30th June.

Update on Worldometer data:

Recovery / Death Split (%): 91 / 9.

 

[Gordon_R]

Thought provoking article (a few weeks ago) about the patchwork nature of the epidemic, and how this complicates the response and marshalling of public opinion. The focus is on the US (coastal versus flyover states), but equally applies to SA (W-Cape versus other provinces).

America’s Patchwork Pandemic Is Fraying Even Further

The coronavirus is coursing through different parts of the U.S. in different ways, making the crisis harder to predict, control, or understand.

www.theatlantic.com

 

[The_Right_Honourable_Brit]

Exquisite setting:

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1272442358437740544

Greece deserves plaudits....

 

[OrbitalDawn]

Cool overview of the various vaccines in development and what stages they're at.

Coronavirus Vaccine Tracker

A look at all the vaccines that have reached trials in humans.

www.nytimes.com

 

[Lupus]

Latest testing shows no big spike in COVID-19 cases due to protests, as thousands wear masks

Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan’s office says it’s seeing no evidence so far that protesters are testing positive for COVID-19 at higher rates than normal after attending protests. In an online… Read More

www.geekwire.com

So far it seems the protests haven't led to a any new spikes.

 

[OrbitalDawn]

Latest testing shows no big spike in COVID-19 cases due to protests, as thousands wear masks

Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan’s office says it’s seeing no evidence so far that protesters are testing positive for COVID-19 at higher rates than normal after attending protests. In an online… Read More

www.geekwire.com

So far it seems the protests haven't led to a any new spikes.

Still some time to go before they're out of the woods, but let's hope the trend holds.

Similar situation in Philadelphia, St. Paul and Minneapolis.

Protests in Philly haven’t meant a spike in COVID-19 cases so far, health officials report

Both hospitalizations and rates of COVID-19 positive tests remain low two weeks after major demonstrations began in Philadelphia.

www.inquirer.com

More than 3,300 protest participants in Minnesota were tested for COVID-19, and a review of 40% of those tests done in St. Paul and Minneapolis showed just 1.4% tested positive, the St. Paul Pioneer Press reported.

 

[Paulsie]

Still some time to go before they're out of the woods, but let's hope the trend holds.

Similar situation in Philadelphia, St. Paul and Minneapolis.

Protests in Philly haven’t meant a spike in COVID-19 cases so far, health officials report

Both hospitalizations and rates of COVID-19 positive tests remain low two weeks after major demonstrations began in Philadelphia.

www.inquirer.com

Is it perhaps another indication of the virus not spreading readily in open spaces?

 

[yebocan]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/06/16/coronavirus-update-us/#link-YCHLX4WYJNB7HG3ECBZHBD6DIA

what the hell NZ... international traveller has the sniffles and you just ok , come right in.

 

[The_Right_Honourable_Brit]

Just a preview of the (much worse) pain that SA will experience economically

- 600 000 jobs lost in the UK over the lockdown period (based on payroll data)
- Benefits claims reach a record 2.8m (claimants have more than doubled since March)

And note, this is while the government furlough scheme is in place, which will be wound up between August and October.

 

[Alan]

New York City Instructed Contact Tracing Team Not To Ask About Protest Participation

As public health officials warn of a new surge in coronavirus cases following mass protests in densely populated cities, the New York City mayor’s office has instructed its contact tracing team not to ask tested individuals if they participated in the crowded demonstrations.


“No person will be asked proactively if they attended a protest,” Avery Cohen, a spokesperson for Democratic Mayor Bill de Blasio’s office told The City newspaper.

 

[tetrasect]

Fauci said US government held off promoting face masks because it knew shortages were so bad that even doctors couldn't get enough

Fauci said US government held off promoting face masks because it knew shortages were so bad that even doctors couldn't get enough

Anthony Fauci said medical shortages were a reason the public was discouraged from using masks early in the coronavirus pandemic.

www.businessinsider.com

 

[The_Right_Honourable_Brit]

Coronavirus: 'Major breakthrough' as UK scientists find £5 steroid cuts COVID-19 deaths

The drug, dexamethasone, reduced death rates by a third for patients on ventilators, and by a fifth for patients needing oxygen.

news.sky.com

Some promising news out of the UK

 

[Paulsie]

Fauci said US government held off promoting face masks because it knew shortages were so bad that even doctors couldn't get enough

Fauci said US government held off promoting face masks because it knew shortages were so bad that even doctors couldn't get enough

Anthony Fauci said medical shortages were a reason the public was discouraged from using masks early in the coronavirus pandemic.

www.businessinsider.com

If ever one needed proof that, just because information comes from reliable sources or experts, such information cannot necessarily be trusted, here is such proof.

Politics and self-preservation always trumps truth, facts and public interest.

Edit: not only did they hold off promoting wearing a mask, they were actively promoting NOT wearing a mask. That's a huge difference.

 

[The_Right_Honourable_Brit]

Beijing officials describe new virus outbreaks as 'very severe'

Authorities in Beijing have described new outbreaks in the Chinese capital as "very severe" and warned residents not to travel outside the city unless absolutely necessary.

In a press conference reported by state media, City officials also said they had raised the virus risk level to their second highest category and would therefore strengthen infection controls and reinstate lockdown measures. These have included reducing passenger numbers on buses and trains and sealing off the districts considered highest risk.

In such districts, security checkpoints have been set up at the entrances to residential compounds, vehicle registrations are being recorded, while close contacts of people who test positive for the virus are now disallowed from leaving the city, the Beijing News reported. Half of Beijing’s districts reported new coronavirus cases on Monday in the country’s most serious upsurge in infections for months. Authorities announced that 79 people had been hospitalised and there were 36 new infections in the Chinese capital, a day after more than 75,000 tests were conducted in the city of 20m.

The cluster of infections linked to Beijing’s largest seafood and vegetable market has become the most serious outbreak since China said it had largely succeeded in controlling the pandemic. Life in Beijing had mostly returned to normal after more than 50 days without a confirmed case.

 

[Paulsie]

Beijing officials describe new virus outbreaks as 'very severe'

The cluster of infections linked to Beijing’s largest seafood and vegetable market.

Any chance there is a level 4 lab in the vicinity of the market???

 

[Gordon_R]

Beijing officials describe new virus outbreaks as 'very severe'

Authorities in Beijing have described new outbreaks in the Chinese capital as "very severe" and warned residents not to travel outside the city unless absolutely necessary.

In a press conference reported by state media, City officials also said they had raised the virus risk level to their second highest category and would therefore strengthen infection controls and reinstate lockdown measures. These have included reducing passenger numbers on buses and trains and sealing off the districts considered highest risk.

In such districts, security checkpoints have been set up at the entrances to residential compounds, vehicle registrations are being recorded, while close contacts of people who test positive for the virus are now disallowed from leaving the city, the Beijing News reported. Half of Beijing’s districts reported new coronavirus cases on Monday in the country’s most serious upsurge in infections for months. Authorities announced that 79 people had been hospitalised and there were 36 new infections in the Chinese capital, a day after more than 75,000 tests were conducted in the city of 20m.

The cluster of infections linked to Beijing’s largest seafood and vegetable market has become the most serious outbreak since China said it had largely succeeded in controlling the pandemic. Life in Beijing had mostly returned to normal after more than 50 days without a confirmed case.

No source?

The BBC indicates modest numbers, but a very strong response:

Coronavirus: Beijing tightens controls amid spike in local cases

The Chinese capital has seen 100 new locally transmitted coronavirus cases, the WHO says.

www.bbc.com

There were 27 new cases reported on Tuesday, bringing the total to 106 people over five days.

The fresh outbreak has been linked to the city's largest wholesale market, Xinfadi.

By Monday Beijing had set up nearly 200 testing sites and contacted about 200,000 people who had visited the market since the end of May, state news outlet Xinhua reported.