International COVID-19 Updates & Discussion 2

[The_Right_Honourable_Brit]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1274304632450355201

 

[The_Right_Honourable_Brit]

There is a very long list of countries that are still showing increases in numbers. Lengthy data presentation: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-51235105

Mostly countries with bad healthcare systems, with some exceptions of course. Many governments consider healthcare investment 'unsexy' compared to infrastructure investments and other big projects where politicians can blow their own trumpets.

 

[Gordon_R]

Mostly countries with bad healthcare systems, with some exceptions of course. Many governments consider healthcare investment 'unsexy' compared to infrastructure investments and other big projects where politicians can blow their own trumpets.

Yes, that sums up the USA very well:

 

[Geoff.D]

I am fascinated by how this virus only works weekdays, Monday to Fridays. Surely by now, the authorities all over the World could have done something about reporting the figures consistently?

 

[The Voice]

Mostly countries with bad healthcare systems, with some exceptions of course. Many governments consider healthcare investment 'unsexy' compared to infrastructure investments and other big projects where politicians can blow their own trumpets.

Well the UK, with arguably the best social healthcare system on earth, is now moving from level 4 to 3 after a couple of days where deaths were finally down to double figures. This was followed by deaths in the hundreds again, with some areas in the UK now having moved to an R rate of over 1 again.

The NHS may be the best in the world, but I don't think it was sufficiently tested during the outbreak because the majority stuck to the lockdown very quickly, so our infection rate was way lower. If we come out of this too quickly now, with international travel opening up again, we're just going to be back at square one. Especially after a few cases appearing where the previously infected had developed no antibodies, even those who recovered may not actually be safe. A 2nd wave will be far worse and potentially more deadly.

 

[Paulsie]

Well the UK, with arguably the best social healthcare system on earth, is now moving from level 4 to 3 after a couple of days where deaths were finally down to double figures. This was followed by deaths in the hundreds again, with some areas in the UK now having moved to an R rate of over 1 again.

The NHS may be the best in the world, but I don't think it was sufficiently tested during the outbreak because the majority stuck to the lockdown very quickly, so our infection rate was way lower. If we come out of this too quickly now, with international travel opening up again, we're just going to be back at square one. Especially after a few cases appearing where the previously infected had developed no antibodies, even those who recovered may not actually be safe. A 2nd wave will be far worse and potentially more deadly.

The NHS the best in the world???

This article is from 2015 but describes down to a T the malaise the UK Healthcare still struggles with to this day.

The UK has 'one of the worst healthcare systems in the developed world'

Hospitals so underequipped that people are dying needlessly because of a chronic lack of investment

www.independent.co.uk

 

[The_Right_Honourable_Brit]

The NHS the best in the world?????

It was either rated 1 or 2 in ability to handle a pandemic...before a pandemic hit. Will try to find the link (note: I'm not a fan of NHS centralisation or the way it is funded. Swiss and German healthcare systems are, IMO, much better. The Financial Times had an article why Germany handled it so well and one of the features was the decentralised nature of the healthcare system). The most recent example of NHS wastefulness is the contact tracing app the NHS was going to produce. They have chucked that idea and using a free app from Apple or Google.

Edit: Here is the link: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/02/these-are-the-countries-best-prepared-for-health-emergencies/

 

[pouroverguy]

COVID-19 Antibodies Can Disappear After 2-3 Months, Study Shows

Scientists in China studied 74 people with coronavirus, half symptomatic, half asymptomatic. Eight weeks after recovery, antibody levels fell to undetectable levels in 40% of asymptomatic people.

www.medscape.com

 

[Paulsie]

COVID-19 Antibodies Can Disappear After 2-3 Months, Study Shows

Scientists in China studied 74 people with coronavirus, half symptomatic, half asymptomatic. Eight weeks after recovery, antibody levels fell to undetectable levels in 40% of asymptomatic people.

www.medscape.com

As antibodies can go into hiding after a while, the real question is, can the body use its memory and mount sufficient defence when it counts?

 

[The Voice]

The NHS the best in the world???

This article is from 2015 but describes down to a T the malaise the UK Healthcare still struggles with to this day.

The UK has 'one of the worst healthcare systems in the developed world'

Hospitals so underequipped that people are dying needlessly because of a chronic lack of investment

www.independent.co.uk

Effectively medical aid level treatment for free. I'm not one to complain.

 

[The Voice]

It was either rated 1 or 2 in ability to handle a pandemic...before a pandemic hit. Will try to find the link (note: I'm not a fan of NHS centralisation or the way it is funded. Swiss and German healthcare systems are, IMO, much better. The Financial Times had an article why Germany handled it so well and one of the features was the decentralised nature of the healthcare system). The most recent example of NHS wastefulness is the contact tracing app the NHS was going to produce. They have chucked that idea and using a free app from Apple or Google.

Edit: Here is the link: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/02/these-are-the-countries-best-prepared-for-health-emergencies/

Wastefulness is probably one of it's biggest issues. Wheelchairs, crutches, and other medical equipment is rarely returned for some reason. They're also one of the biggest clients of the company I work for. I've seen countless requests for "misplaced" Macbooks at £1000 a pop. They also tend to replace instead of repair.

Conversely in other areas they've unnecessarily hung onto legacy equipment which is way past end of life, and is very expensive to replace/repair/upgrade.

 

[Paulsie]

Effectively medical aid level treatment for free. I'm not one to complain.

I'm not challenging the "free for all" side, even though it's paid through tax. I'm challenging the effectively best in the world part.

I believe Sweden, Norway, Germany and Switzerland are just as "socialistic", if not more, with much better care overall.

Edit: even the Czech Republic has a compulsory health insurance paid through employee/employer contribution, but they can choose which medical insurance company to go with. This system is great for providing excellent care for all, while keeping prices lower through competition, while avoiding the quagmire of having a single behemoth of the likes in NHS.

 

[The_Right_Honourable_Brit]

For any UK MyBB users.

Holiday prices have been slashed by as much as 50 per cent, as travel companies try to tempt families to gamble on “air bridges” being in place by July.


Package holidays for seven nights to destinations in Spain, Portugal and Croatia in July and August have dropped below £300 per person for the first time in years.


As Portugal’s ambassador to the UK yesterday said health “conditions” were ripe for an air bridge between the two countries, holiday prices to the Algarve had some of the biggest discounts at 48 per cent. British tourists accounted for 38 per cent of all overnight hotel stays in the region last year.


The UK Government is working on potentially launching by July 4 just under 10 “travel corridors” to enable holidaymakers to sidestep the 14 quarantine on return from countries including Spain, Portugal, Italy, France and Greece.

Holiday prices slashed by 50% as firms encourage families to gamble on 'air bridges'

Package holidays for seven nights have dropped below £300 per person amid hopes of July holidays

www.telegraph.co.uk

 

[tetrasect]

Maybe it's a good thing that the virus gets out and spread in the NH especially since they now have summer. So that as many people can get immune before next winter.

"Get immune"="get covid-19"

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1274304632450355201

Those people are playing with fire...

It was either rated 1 or 2 in ability to handle a pandemic...before a pandemic hit. Will try to find the link (note: I'm not a fan of NHS centralisation or the way it is funded. Swiss and German healthcare systems are, IMO, much better. The Financial Times had an article why Germany handled it so well and one of the features was the decentralised nature of the healthcare system). The most recent example of NHS wastefulness is the contact tracing app the NHS was going to produce. They have chucked that idea and using a free app from Apple or Google.

Edit: Here is the link: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/02/these-are-the-countries-best-prepared-for-health-emergencies/

The UK was best prepared but when it actually happened they threw all their protocols out the window and went full retard.

Coronavirus: 38 days when Britain sleepwalked into disaster | News | …

archived 18 Apr 2020 18:20:37 UTC

archive.is

 

[zoozi]

I hope this helps someone, should they need it. Some of you might find this interesting, I'm not sure if it has been mentioned here.
https://www.wearebodypolitic.com/covid19

It is a support group for people who have the long term variation of the virus. I found it through this article.
For anyone who believes it's false, fake news or a load of crap
This is Paul Garner

It worries me that a lot of people are getting frustrated to the point where they "want to catch it and just be done with it". There is guarantee with this thing. It is a very scary issue to deal with and nobody knows what will happen. Yes, I think I have this. I cannot be certain as I, like more than 50% of people tested in the group, tested negative in early April after suffering with symptoms for 2 weeks. I still have repeat symptoms of varying intensity usually following mild physical exertion like the leisurely cycle to the doctor, 10 minutes away. I do not have it as bad as many others in the support group who seem to be completely floored.

I'm really interested in this too. Read a few reports like this in the media and from people with positive cases (who weren't hospitalized) on reddit in comments on /r/coronavirus and /r/covid19positive who, months after infection, continue with lethargy, shortness of breath, chest pain, urination issues etc.

Coronavirus: Calls for awareness of long-term effects

Coronavirus: Calls for awareness of long-term effects

Researchers want to establish if "post-Covid syndrome" should itself be recognised as an illness.

www.bbc.com

 

[B-1]

I'm really interested in this too. Read a few reports like this in the media and from people with positive cases (who weren't hospitalized) on reddit in comments on /r/coronavirus and /r/covid19positive who, months after infection, continue with lethargy, shortness of breath, chest pain, urination issues etc.

Coronavirus: Calls for awareness of long-term effects

Coronavirus: Calls for awareness of long-term effects

Researchers want to establish if "post-Covid syndrome" should itself be recognised as an illness.

www.bbc.com

Its nothing new a viral infection can kick your ass and leave permanent and or short term damage to your body.

Have a look at "Post-viral syndrome" or "Post-viral fatigue"

 

[Mephisto_Helix]

For any UK MyBB users.

Holiday prices slashed by 50% as firms encourage families to gamble on 'air bridges'

Package holidays for seven nights have dropped below £300 per person amid hopes of July holidays

www.telegraph.co.uk

Package hols can get stuffed ..... more expensive AND risk of Covid atm, nah, pass

 

[The_Right_Honourable_Brit]

Bloomberg - Are you a robot?

Interesting research cited in the opinion article:

Less widely appreciated is that social distancing is more effective as policy than lockdowns, as a forthcoming paper in the journal Nature shows. This is also the implication of work by researchers at Oxford’s Blavatnik School who show that there is no correlation between the stringency of government measures and containment of Covid-19. Measures designed to protect groups that are especially susceptible and vulnerable to Covid-19 -- notably the elderly, especially those with pre-existing conditions –- are also smart.

A dumb reopening eschews all such precautionary measures. So is that really what the U.S. is doing? The answer is pretty much yes. Testing has improved, but contact tracing is primitive. And social distancing and mask-wearing are least prevalent where reopening is happening fastest.

Also interesting on how risk tolerance has largely collapsed:

It was a different America, no question. For one thing, many Americans today would appear to have a much lower tolerance of risk than their grandparents and great-grandparents six decades ago. As Clark Whelton has recalled:

For those who grew up in the 1930s and 1940s, there was nothing unusual about finding yourself threatened by contagious disease. Mumps, measles, chicken pox, and German measles swept through entire schools and towns; I had all four. Polio took a heavy annual toll, leaving thousands of people (mostly children) paralyzed or dead. There were no vaccines. Growing up meant running an unavoidable gauntlet of infectious disease. For college students in 1957, the Asian flu was a familiar hurdle on the road to adulthood … We took the Asian flu in stride. We said our prayers and took our chances.

 

[Lupus]

Bloomberg - Are you a robot?

Interesting research cited in the opinion article:



Also interesting on how risk tolerance has largely collapsed:

If this was even ten years ago, there would've been no lockdown. There's just something about this time, with it's sensitivity that seems wrong

 

[Ragnarök]

Yes, that sums up the USA very well:

So when can we expect a spike in these graphs with all the rioting ?