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Coronavirus: Six heartening stories you may have missed:
It's been just over two weeks since the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the coronavirus outbreak, which first appeared in the Chinese city of Wuhan in late December, a global pandemic.
[...] Infections, the rates of which have accelerated since the outbreak began, have touched nearly every corner of the world and prompted unprecedented and widespread travel restrictions and business closures that threaten a global recession. At least three billion people, including India's 1.3 billion population, have been ordered to stay home.
Even as new cases in China have dropped dramatically, leading to the easing of many restrictions, places such as Italy, Spain, Iran, and the United States have become new hot spots for the virus, for which there is no vaccine or proven treatment.
[...] WHO launches global trial of possible treatments
The WHO launched a global trial to quickly assess the most promising treatments for the virus and the disease it causes. The organisation is currently looking at four drugs or drug combinations that were developed for other illnesses and are already approved for human use and could be made widely available.
[...] UK call for volunteers exceeds expectations
United Kingdom Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Tuesday night called for 250,000 volunteers to help deliver groceries and medicine to the most vulnerable citizens who have been ordered to self-isolate.
Within 24 hours, more than 400,000 people had signed up. That number soon rose to more than half a million, according to the BBC - larger than Britain's armed forces, which currently stand at just over 192,000.
[...] Air pollution drops
A silver lining of countries locking down across the planet, grinding transport and most industry to halt, has been a marked decline in air pollution.
Satellite imagery has shown pollution in China plummeting as large swaths of the country shut down at the height of the outbreak there.
The European Environment Agency (EEA) on Wednesday confirmed that the concentration of pollutants, in particular nitrogen dioxide, which is largely caused by road transport, recently massively declined in Europe "especially in major cities under lockdown measures".
[...] Italy coronavirus outbreak 'peak' may soon be reached
Italy has so far recorded more than 8,000 deaths and over 80,000 infections.
On Saturday, Italy recorded its highest daily death toll of 793 new fatalities from COVID-19.
However, since then the daily toll, while remaining high, has not surpassed that number. Daily new cases have also leveled off.
[...] US hospitals prepare to use blood plasma as treatment
[...] The US Food and Drug Administration said it is expediting approving the use of recovered patients' plasma to treat the newly infected.
When a person gets infected by a particular virus, the body starts making specially designed proteins called antibodies to fight the infection. After the person recovers, those antibodies float in survivors' blood - specifically in the plasma, the liquid part of blood - for months, even years.
Injecting the plasma into another infected patient could boost the body's ability to fight the infection, lessening the severity of the disease and freeing up hospital resources.
[...] Cuban doctors sent to help overwhelmed Italian health system
Cuba has dispatched a brigade of doctors and nurses to Italy to aid in the fight against coronavirus, following a request from the worst-affected Lombardy region.
[...] Cuba has sent its "armies of white robes" to disaster sites around the world since its 1959 revolution. However, the 52-strong brigade of medical personnel represents the first time Cuba has sent an emergency contingent to Italy, which has been brought to its knees by the pandemic, despite being one of the world's richest countries.
(Score: 3, Redundant) by JoeMerchant on Friday March 27 2020, @07:13PM (20 children)
In a country with a population of 60 million, and an average life expectancy of 82.5 years, that indicates a normal daily death rate of 1991. So, of these 793 new fatalities, how many were among those 1991 that would be expected to die on a normal day anyway? It's an important distinction. If COVID-19 were 100% harmless, but present in 40% of the elderly and infirm population, Italy would still be experiencing 793 fatalities per day with COVID-19.
I'm not saying that COVID-19 is harmless - the best info I've seen circulating makes it out to be 10x more deadly than average influenza. However, please do keep in mind that ~8600 Italians die of normal flu in a normal year.
Stay safe, stay socially distant, don't do anything stupid out of fear.
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 2, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 27 2020, @07:46PM
Extrapolated from Saturdays daily number, that's a yearly increase of 30x. Todays figure was 919 deaths bringing the total number of Italian covid-19 deaths to 9,134 in under 2 months. Influenza season tapers off from April but there's no clear indication SARS will follow the same seasonal pattern.
(Score: 0, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 27 2020, @08:34PM
Oh, no, we can't have level-headed facts clouding the motivations for a good panic. Lockdown4evah!
(Score: 3, Informative) by edIII on Friday March 27 2020, @08:42PM (11 children)
THIS IS NOT THE FUCKING FLU!!!
You are endangering people's lives with your stubborn ignorance.
Technically, lunchtime is at any moment. It's just a wave function.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by JoeMerchant on Friday March 27 2020, @09:08PM (10 children)
I think you are endangering peoples' lives with a chicken little maximal response to an opaque situation.
I'd expect Italy's total COVID-19 deaths for the year to top 86,000 unless social distancing has significant positive impact.
The truth is: "we don't know." Everyone who is going MAX LOCKDOWN! on this reminds me of the Nancy Reagan "This is your brain on drugs, any questions?" TV campaigns - overselling something that the sellers clearly are in the dark about. If you're trying to convince the majority of the population, the over-sell is going to get backlash reactions among those who just don't believe you.
I believe there's a threat, I believe a strong response is warranted. 8+ months of lockdown? That would be an interesting social experiment, but not warranted in light of the current data.
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 1, Informative) by edIII on Friday March 27 2020, @09:38PM
Go Fuck yourself
It's not the flu, it's not the flu, it's not the fucking flu.
My chicken little? Yeah, because everything I'm saying isn't coming to pass right? Right?
Check the dead in New York you stupid fuck!!
Stop saying it's like the FLU!! This ain't NOTHING LIKE THE FLU!!!
That's a fact MOTHER FUCKER. It's not the FLU.
Technically, lunchtime is at any moment. It's just a wave function.
(Score: 0, Flamebait) by edIII on Friday March 27 2020, @09:41PM (7 children)
I will be on your stupid fucking ass everytime you spout this inaccurate stupid fucking bullshit!!
YOU people will be what gets MORE people killed. I'm not saying 8 months, that's you and YOUR chicken little bullshit mother fucker!!!!!
What we need is about 8 weeks of people fucking cooperating, and you're bullshit doesn't help! It's not constructive to be pushing arguments about how this isn't dangerous, it's just like the common cold, blah, blah, fucking blah!
FACTS MOTHER FUCKER!!! THEY MATTER!!!
Technically, lunchtime is at any moment. It's just a wave function.
(Score: 2) by SomeGuy on Saturday March 28 2020, @01:43AM (2 children)
Ok... so 8 weeks of total lockdown for the entire world... and then what?
Really? Then what? This virus isn't going to magically disappear. If it even slows down during warmer months remains to be seen. 8 weeks is not enough time to come up with a vaccine, properly test it, and make enough for the entire world.
So, what? Just keep the world locked up for all eternity?
Should I ask what your opinion is on driving cars, since thousands die in roadway fatalities every year?
(Score: 3, Insightful) by dry on Saturday March 28 2020, @06:00AM
People get sick and need hospitalization over a longer time span rather then overwhelming the medical system like Italy. If we're lucky, it mutates to a less serious variety or we get a vaccine.
(Score: 2) by Thexalon on Saturday March 28 2020, @10:28PM
The point of those 8 weeks is that if you can get everyone who has the virus to be either dead-and-not-contagious or recovered-and-not-contagious, you've won. 8 weeks is the current estimate for how long it will take for that to happen. It sucks, but it's better than millions of people dying.
The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday March 28 2020, @07:19AM (2 children)
Please, edIII, calm down. There are facts. There are the numbers above that would it make it 30x worse. Another point of view: how many times a normal flu has collapsed the ICUs of a country? If the reply is never, or at least not as fast as this one, you have that strong fact that this one is not the same and needs different handling. Which after some delays / negligence is being done. Or in case of South Korea and Taiwan, it was done rather good from the start.
The situation is becoming so grave that health authorities are not just banning contact, but even risky activities, because the system can not cope with all the Covid-19 cases even is there is no work and sport related accidents. Or other infections, lockdown is also cutting those down, yet the systems is collapsing anyway. If it is beyond the resistance of the system, that is all that matters, 30x, 3x or 300x is just a technicality at that point.
Which seems to be a fact morons do not grasp. You many put truck A on the bridge, or truck B... but only a moron will say that you can put both trucks are the same time without any kind of doubt. Maybe that is too much and the trucks will end in the river down below. Then you have no trucks... and no bridge. Which is the current case, health care people are dying too, or to follow with the "car explanation", the bridge is starting to crack.
Also, how many of the recovered end with damaged lungs for life? After flu? After Covid-19? Another fact I want to know, from news it seems this one can leave nasty damage, but never heard that about flu.
So keep on "kicking" the morons, but stay calm and use the best facts (and questions) you can find, that way it is more effective.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday March 28 2020, @03:38PM (1 child)
Really? Our local hospital chain is saying "they'll be ready when the onslaught comes". Two weeks after house arrest was ordered to "flatten the curve". A hospital in Aargau, Switzerland has stocked up and has 100 respiratory support beds set up, of which 3 are in use.
I don't know anyone personally who became sick from this virus to the degree they sought medical care. I know tens of people who are locked out of work and in danger, themselves and family, because of government action.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday March 29 2020, @02:16AM
It seems Aargau is increasing the capacity. If they knew they had enough, why increase? Other places are or did not pick up extra resources in advance... and they are or will be at the limit. Then the will cross it and have to go with whatever they can get in a rush, like using hotels or hangars as hospitals for mild cases, and deciding who gets into ICUs and who does not. Aargau seems to be preparing before, not while the worst happens. Kudos, but that proves the point that systems are not OK without extra measures.
Also compare to Taiwan or South Korea. Their approach has been different, they test and test, to contain early. They ban travel, force quarantines, whatever to contain it early. That means less grave cases, less deaths, minimal lock downs. But it means being ready anyway, not waiting and then reacting with whatever is at hand. Tests, masks, desinfectants do not magically pop up from nowhere.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday March 28 2020, @12:39PM
Take a look at this shrieking terrified idiot. This is what mainstream media and their democrat allies created.
This November, eradicate them from their positions where you can.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 27 2020, @10:24PM
I think it's too late to try and kill it, we need to be infected - slowly. The best strategy is to use distancing and other measurements to slow the spread so that hospitals can manage the load and meanwhile work fucking hard to come up with treatments that lower the mortality rate. Those in the critical group need to take extra precautions, so that they'll make it through until a good treatment is found. It's out of the box and I sure as fuck don't think we can put it back in. Us guessing doesn't help, but a good strategy will. WHO says tests tests tests and that's great for statistical purposes, but I don't see it affecting the spread of the decease, because at the point you're tested positive it's too late and you have already spread it.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by dry on Saturday March 28 2020, @06:02AM (5 children)
The Italian numbers are suspect as they're only counting deaths in hospitals and it sounds like the many are dying at home. Shit, at my age and if the hospitals were doing triage like in Italy, I'd stay home to die.
(Score: 3, Informative) by JoeMerchant on Saturday March 28 2020, @01:21PM (3 children)
"The numbers" are fuzzy at best. Even now, a crazy small percentage of the population is tested. Those who are tested are from a self-selecting group who are eligible and present for testing. Panic causes a different subset to present for testing. IMO, a large proportion (more than 50%) of the infected stay away from healthcare information collectors until they are either in dire straits, or dead. Governments skew results in both directions: for reasons both of national pride in having controlled the situation, and to scare the population into compliance with control measures. The effects are reported to be so wide ranging: from a mild fever through death, that nobody can really be sure if they do or do not, have or have not been infected.
It's bad, Hong Kong flu was bad, Norovirus was bad - I thought I might need hospitalization from Norovirus once, and another case of it years later struck so fast and hard that I barely made the 20 minute drive home from work, was weak and woozy enough I was doubting my ability to keep the car out of the oncoming lane... none of my family's Norovirus infections ever made it into CDC statistics.
We're staying as isolated as we can, but people have to eat.
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 2) by dry on Saturday March 28 2020, @03:51PM (2 children)
Yes, having to eat, it is getting weird going out and a note from my usual grocery store says that ordering food now takes 4 days for the order instead of the previous couple of hours and they're discouraging the healthy from doing it. Have to go shopping today.
The only good thing is the curve does seem to be flattening here and the 2 months of prep work by the Province's health department is paying off in having empty hospitals instead of the usual 103.5% full hospitals.
(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Saturday March 28 2020, @08:15PM (1 child)
One has to ask: if the hospitals are usually 103.5% full, how much of that filling is elective and how much is necessary healthcare?
If necessary healthcare is being kicked from the hospitals, how much negative impact is that having - both in the short and long term. I'm overdue for a colonoscopy, but skeptical of the risk/benefit of the camera on a stick approach, particularly with respect to perforation incidents... anyway... I'd like to schedule a pill-cam procedure, but I'm putting it off due to the current craziness. If this continues for months, some percentage of people like me are going to be dying of preventable cancers that weren't detected... not to mention all manner of other negative impacts.
The projected numbers are scary, but all population numbers are scary: 700,000 deaths by suicide every year - unimaginable, but that's what happens when you look at big populations.
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 2) by dry on Sunday March 29 2020, @04:06AM
I'd guess that a lot of it is healthcare that can be put off. Things like knee/hip replacements, hernia operations, and procedures like yours may be put off depending on the opinion of your Doctor. There also moving stuff out of the hospital if possible. My sister needs to spend a day in hospital every week for a blood change, that will now be done else where as it isn't that complex. At that I understand quite a bit is being moved elsewhere including patients that can be moved and some hospitals are being emptied and others filled with regular patients. One advantage that the Province owns all the hospitals.
We'll see, currently we're out testing S. Korea (by population) and infections are dropping in number but this is going to go on for quite a while and be such an economic mess. The Premier was joking about the budget which a month ago was balanced, no more.
The good thing here is the politicians are mostly working together rather then the shit show the States seem to be experiencing and the health officers are mostly in charge with the politicians handling the economic issues.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday March 28 2020, @02:06PM
They also count deaths with, not of. Cold viruses doing what they do, they spread to everyone. And hospitals are a prime breeding ground for disease.
Northern Italy has had a long running problem of miserable outcomes for respiratory diseases. Apparently the air quality is reported to be really bad, but I've lived in China, and I've seen what bad is.