Coronavirus
#2416
BE Enthusiast




Joined: Jun 2018
Posts: 495













Covid 19 now around 11500
This was posted just over four days ago....
Covid 19 has eclipsed ebola in a little over two and a halve months...
I would not be overly surprised to see cases exceed 1 million within a week -10 days and I mean active cases not total...
This is serious it's about time everyone started taking notice...
Last edited by Phathamster; Mar 21st 2020 at 11:15 am.

#2417

Then I'm going to politely agree to disagree with you. There is literally no justification for the way Japanese and European tourism has been so heavily pushed towards the Chinese middle class over the last two decades other than profit potential. I've personally witnessed a transformation in the Japanese retail sector with Chinese signage, mandarin speaking staff and tax free deals in pretty much every department store, fashion, cosmetics and electronics chain and hordes of Chinese tour groups buying up any old shit. Meanwhile most Japanese watch those same tourists behaving with no cultural sensitivity or decency and find their presence generally objectionable.
You can argue the cultural and social benefits of mainland Chinese tourism if you like but I think people need to remember that just because the Chinese have a lot of money to throw around these days, doesn't mean they are a normal or developed country. You're still dealing with a heavily corrupt and mob-like dictatorship who knew all about this illness months ago but actively took measures to cover it up and silence anybody who was discussing it.
I completely agree that Western governments didn't respond quickly enough however should we be entirely reliant on intelligence services to discover these things so that we can take proactive measures ahead of time or would it just be easier and safer in the long run to cease any tourist visa options in the developed world for Chinese citizens indefinitely until their government finally gets its act together and starts acting with some responsibility.
You can argue the cultural and social benefits of mainland Chinese tourism if you like but I think people need to remember that just because the Chinese have a lot of money to throw around these days, doesn't mean they are a normal or developed country. You're still dealing with a heavily corrupt and mob-like dictatorship who knew all about this illness months ago but actively took measures to cover it up and silence anybody who was discussing it.
I completely agree that Western governments didn't respond quickly enough however should we be entirely reliant on intelligence services to discover these things so that we can take proactive measures ahead of time or would it just be easier and safer in the long run to cease any tourist visa options in the developed world for Chinese citizens indefinitely until their government finally gets its act together and starts acting with some responsibility.
You seem to object to the movement of anyone (apert from you) and your answer is "Stop them coming!"
Maybe, just once, putting yourself in the shoes of those moving might help - but this would suggest you develop empathy.......

#2418
BE Forum Addict







Joined: Jan 2017
Posts: 2,900












I'm so over people just not taking this seriously. Friends who I consider smart still coming out with comments like 'We're nothing like China or Italy, just carry on as normal' I don't want people I know and love to get it but Jesus wept wake the **** up!!! There are three houses down our road who are having some sort of multi car gatherings.
Where I am, people are taking it seriously, though I know that's not the case in a lot of places. It doesn't help when WA's Chief Medical Officer comes out in the West Australian this afternoon and tells everyone to go to the pub. We had pizza last night (take-away) but that's probably the last meal we will do out for a while. Still too many questions on how it spreads and cases are now mushrooming here. We'll do all home-cooked for a while, and only fruit/veg from the shops that comes in a bag or container. On the positive side, some of the local farms around us have converted their production into making hand sanitiser and they are delivering, so my area is covered now regardless of what happens at Woolies or Coles. I am told there is now Australian slang for hand sanitiser, "sanny."
There's still people in high government positions, like Gladys Berejiklian and Mark McGowan and even Morrison, who I feel are just crossing their fingers on both hands and hoping it goes away miraculously without them having to do any drastic steps. Western Australia it came out today has a different definition of "community transmission" than most people. "Community transmission" just means they don't know the source of the infection. So they are still saying there is no "community transmission" in WA even though it is now being spread person-to-person here. They know where all 90 cases of infection came from so no "community transmission." A semantics game to try and fool the public into thinking everything is still coming from overseas so maybe they won't panic and lock themselves away and stop spending.

#2419

I'm so over people just not taking this seriously. Friends who I consider smart still coming out with comments like 'We're nothing like China or Italy, just carry on as normal' I don't want people I know and love to get it but Jesus wept wake the **** up!!! There are three houses down our road who are having some sort of multi car gatherings.
In the UK, there was a government suggestion that the top-end for deaths is 250,000....... which is a lot, but nothing like the 1-1.2 million that results from the current motality rate extrapolated across the population. However, even this figure of 250,000 is too much for the UK government to accept, so they now quote 20,000, which is a mortality rate of 0.1% of those likely to be infected.
This virus has showed how ill-prepared the world has been for this pandemic - even though it has supposedly been war-gamed for decades. Like mortality estimates, the requirements to combat pandemic have been "massaged down" by successive governments, unwilling to spend the sums required for true preparation.

#2420
BE Enthusiast




Joined: Jun 2018
Posts: 495












I agree - where the virus came from, what caused it and what caused it to go pandemic are irrelevant to the fact that it is here - and, unlike the numbers suggested by politicians, the potential impact is vast....
In the UK, there was a government suggestion that the top-end for deaths is 250,000....... which is a lot, but nothing like the 1-1.2 million that results from the current motality rate extrapolated across the population. However, even this figure of 250,000 is too much for the UK government to accept, so they now quote 20,000, which is a mortality rate of 0.1% of those likely to be infected.
This virus has showed how ill-prepared the world has been for this pandemic - even though it has supposedly been war-gamed for decades. Like mortality estimates, the requirements to combat pandemic have been "massaged down" by successive governments, unwilling to spend the sums required for true preparation.
In the UK, there was a government suggestion that the top-end for deaths is 250,000....... which is a lot, but nothing like the 1-1.2 million that results from the current motality rate extrapolated across the population. However, even this figure of 250,000 is too much for the UK government to accept, so they now quote 20,000, which is a mortality rate of 0.1% of those likely to be infected.
This virus has showed how ill-prepared the world has been for this pandemic - even though it has supposedly been war-gamed for decades. Like mortality estimates, the requirements to combat pandemic have been "massaged down" by successive governments, unwilling to spend the sums required for true preparation.
It's still a lot of guess work from not a lot of data.
I'd be interested to know what extra preparations could be done?

#2421
Banned








Joined: Jul 2019
Location: jalon valley costa Blanca
Posts: 3,680












Oh yeah i can do that even a walk down to the post box even sunbath but and it is a big but.It has been raining and cloudy since sunday last.From middle of january till sunday it has been hot and sunny what a bummer .I do not know if you all heard they shut bondi beach because it was packed and nobody was practicing social spacing.Here in spain my wife has shown me footage of brit woman in hotel pool with a police officer asking her to get out she refused,So he stripped off got in and dragged her out kicking and screaming handcuffed her and taken away in a van while all the brits who were drinking at the pollbar were cheering her on which they also cleared,i am trying to think of a word that comes at the end of bunch?????

#2422

Governments should have jumped onboard weeks ago. The Australian government are still pretty much saying 'She'll be right'. The other day Scomo said borders wouldn't be closed. It's fairly obvious to a blind man that borders will be closed. Northern Territories have decided to close their borders to interstate - On the 24th. As we saw in Italy, prewarning of area closures caused stacks of possibly/probably/definitely sick people getting out before closure. They're now saying flights will possibly stop late March. Do it now, why wait? Why give people the chance to move about? Someone told me it was so people could get back to their families from wherever they are. Why are we concerned about keeping people happy? Why are countries so concerned about getting aliens out or nationals back? Lock it down now.

#2423

Perhaps also the serious shortage of beds and isolation facilities leading to normal treatments being delferred (law of secondary effects).
Epidemic modelling is not new, the likely numbers involved and the rate of infection is known..... so the failure to anticipate the peak load is telling.

#2424

Governments should have jumped onboard weeks ago. The Australian government are still pretty much saying 'She'll be right'. The other day Scomo said borders wouldn't be closed. It's fairly obvious to a blind man that borders will be closed. Northern Territories have decided to close their borders to interstate - On the 24th. As we saw in Italy, prewarning of area closures caused stacks of possibly/probably/definitely sick people getting out before closure. They're now saying flights will possibly stop late March. Do it now, why wait? Why give people the chance to move about? Someone told me it was so people could get back to their families from wherever they are. Why are we concerned about keeping people happy? Why are countries so concerned about getting aliens out or nationals back? Lock it down now.

#2425

It's funny how the English speaking countries are the slowest to react having watched it unfold everywhere. I really dread to think what happens when it takes hold in places like Mexico City, Africa etc lack of cleaning routines due to water shortages people living on top of each other and the 1st world countries will knee deep in their own issues so little to zero aid from the outside.
I appreciate that not all self-employed fall into this camp - we all know that smart-ass companies have forced "employees" to declare as self-employed in order to save themselves costs..... but I'd argue that those affected by this will tend to be at the low-end of the earnings scale, so earnings protectionlevels do not need to be high. It will be interesting to see what the response is to calls for support......

#2426


#2428

Without intervention the number of infections by a virus against which we have no protection has been calculated as rising from 1-100,000,000 in 61 days. That's the reason for the (late) knee-jerk restrictions worldwide.
This is serious - stupid comments from self-serving deniers and politicians eager to save face are not helpful.

#2429

Two years ago, I was stressed out in a serious manner. I was losing weight, and since I'm already a skinny rake, this was not good. I did everything I could to put on weight, including drinking 'Ensure'! Stress just kills my desire to eat (I know it's the opposite for many). One day, a friend introduced me to Poutine. I think Poutine was single-handedly responsible for getting me back on track! There is something entirely delightful about the dish - crispy french-fries that are at the same time soggy with gravy; crispy cheese curds, similarly soggy at the same time; tender pork; and to cap it all, literally and figuratively, a fried egg on top! Oh my. I loved it! Now, I had it first at a brew-pub, and loved it, but then tried it somewhere else and it was awful ... so it has to be prepared in just the right manner ... Haven't eaten it in over a year though ... not the kind of think you want to eat if you value your health!
I bought an espresso machine for about $400. You can pay anything from $50 to $5,000 or more for them. For $400 you get decent pressure and control, but no automation (I've had cheaper and pricier ones in the past). It's 'just right' for my taste. I was buying 2 big latte's a day at $4 each, so that's $8 per day; $2,920 per year. So paying $400 for a machine was not a bad investment! I make 3 big latte's a day for myself now ... the highlight of my day
Edit to add - the other cost is of course the coffee, but I buy bulk whole beans and grind my own. A $10 bag lasts quite a while. And then there's milk - $2 / gallon?
I bought an espresso machine for about $400. You can pay anything from $50 to $5,000 or more for them. For $400 you get decent pressure and control, but no automation (I've had cheaper and pricier ones in the past). It's 'just right' for my taste. I was buying 2 big latte's a day at $4 each, so that's $8 per day; $2,920 per year. So paying $400 for a machine was not a bad investment! I make 3 big latte's a day for myself now ... the highlight of my day

Edit to add - the other cost is of course the coffee, but I buy bulk whole beans and grind my own. A $10 bag lasts quite a while. And then there's milk - $2 / gallon?
Last edited by Ingles; Mar 21st 2020 at 1:17 pm.
