Coronavirus - are you afraid?

Started by Beorning, February 24, 2020, 12:13:48 PM

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Mr Quixotic

Quote from: Orval Wintermute on June 26, 2020, 12:17:19 PM
There are several countries with contact tracing apps, the difference appears to be how you define "functioning" the German version might not have a great enough uptake for it to be effective. Where as the UK won't ever be effective regardless of how great the uptake is, which is why it's been ditched.

https://fullfact.org/health/coronavirus-track-and-trace-app-boris-johnson/

We have a functional Covid tracing app here in Australia..latest numbers I could find were 6.1 million downloads as of June 1; approximately 25% of our population. A 40% take-up was the iniital target set by the Chief Health Minister
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gaggedLouise

Just when you thought we had enough trouble - a new strain of pig flu virus that's able to spread to humans and could cause another pandemic has been found in - drumroll - China. :(

Quote from: BBC NewsThe researchers are concerned that it could mutate further so that it can spread easily from person to person, and trigger a global outbreak.

While it is not an immediate problem, they say, it has "all the hallmarks" of being highly adapted to infect humans and needs close monitoring.

As it's new, people could have little or no immunity to the virus.

https://www.bbc.com/news/health-53218704

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gaggedLouise

EU to US: "You keep knockin' but you can't come in!" ;)

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Missy

"I heard you been sleeping round with Putin, I'm busy and you can't come in"

gaggedLouise

Quote from: Missy on June 30, 2020, 03:21:11 PM
"I heard you been sleeping round with Putin, I'm busy and you can't come in"

That too, pure meme material. :)

The global tourism industry is expected to lose 3.3 trillion $ this year due to Covid-19 and the thundering halt to travel - and the US is the country set to lose the most in this.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-tourism/global-tourism-stands-to-lose-up-to-3-3-trillion-from-covid-19-u-n-study-idUSKBN2425YI

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Orval Wintermute

There are rumors circulating about 30+ regions in the UK that might have to go into localized lock-downs, which is bizarre as there is a grand release of the national lock-down on July 4th. Also not a good time to find yourself in the top 10.

https://news.sky.com/story/coronavirus-bradford-and-london-boroughs-among-36-at-risk-areas-that-could-be-just-days-away-from-local-lockdowns-12018594

gaggedLouise

Quote from: Orval Wintermute on July 01, 2020, 09:22:08 AM
There are rumors circulating about 30+ regions in the UK that might have to go into localized lock-downs, which is bizarre as there is a grand release of the national lock-down on July 4th. Also not a good time to find yourself in the top 10.

https://news.sky.com/story/coronavirus-bradford-and-london-boroughs-among-36-at-risk-areas-that-could-be-just-days-away-from-local-lockdowns-12018594

True - or a good time to deliberately risk a hard no-deal Brexit and trade chaos in six months from now... :(

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Mechelle

Some of the local authorities, including Leicester, have complained about how difficult it has been to get accurate information, and that the government sat on what they knew.

These flare-ups seem to be very localised. My own borough has a very low rate indeed, while the likes of Oldham and Rochdale, not too far away, are considerably higher, although well behind Leicester.

Weddings are permitted now, but with few guests and no food or music. I was amused by Conservative Sayeeda Warsi's tweet that she wished her children would want to get married right now as it would save so much money.

Orval Wintermute

One of the neighbors decided to take to our WhatsApp to point out that all areas with high infection rates have significant Asian communities. Trying to work out how to point out that largest infected demographic is young & stupid and not brown skinned also that none of the bacon factory workers were Asian, all without resorting to the words "you racist asshole".

Twisted Crow

Question: How safe have these protests been regarding the curve? I see some pictures of them wearing masks but I can't imagine it being too easy to keep a safe distance from people when you're trying to group together on the street or something.

Zaphod

Quote from: Dallas on July 02, 2020, 02:56:26 PM
Question: How safe have these protests been regarding the curve? I see some pictures of them wearing masks but I can't imagine it being too easy to keep a safe distance from people when you're trying to group together on the street or something.

Here you go.

https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/black-lives-matter-protests-haven-t-led-covid-19-spikes-n1232045

Twisted Crow

Eh, the headline contrasts with what the actual article says. The headline basically says: "No, it absolutely hasn't" while the article begins and continues with "We don't have any clear evidence on whether it is affecting anything or not, yet."

Things like this also make my spider sense tingle:

Quote
The paper, which was posted online and is not yet peer reviewed, looked at data from 315 cities across the country. Of those, 281 cities had protests and 34 did not.

It answers some questions, but just leaves me with more of others, I'm afraid. *shrug*

Still... my thanks for linking that!  :-)


Zaphod

Read the research paper linked in the article. Or at least the abstract. It was authored by NBER, a top 5 economics and social sciences, probably second only to Brookings. It could answer some of the questions that you may have.

From the abstract

Sparked by the killing of George Floyd in police custody, the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests have brought a new wave of attention to the issue of inequality within criminal justice. However, many public health officials have warned that mass protests could lead to a reduction in social distancing behavior, spurring a resurgence of COVID-19. This study uses newly collected data on protests in 315 of the largest U.S. cities to estimate the impacts of mass protests on social distancing and COVID-19 case growth. Event-study analyses provide strong evidence that net stay-at-home behavior increased following protest onset, consistent with the hypothesis that non-protesters’ behavior was substantially affected by urban protests. This effect was not fully explained by the imposition of city curfews. Estimated effects were generally larger for persistent protests and those accompanied by media reports of violence. Furthermore, we find no evidence that urban protests reignited COVID-19 case growth during the more than three weeks following protest onset. We conclude that predictions of broad negative public health consequences of Black Lives Matter protests were far too narrowly conceived.

Twisted Crow

That is something at least. I mainly keep getting stuck not having any solid argument against people with that point. And it is doubly frustrating when I detest many common journalism practices. The whole "studies have shown..." argument when they could be referring to a survey or other collection of data. It's still data, but it's not a study. And journalists seem to love doing that.

Beguile's Mistress

In my opinion any picture with more than one person is a suggestion of danger and if they aren't wearing masks and standing six feet apart there is the possibility of infection.  The US is becoming a pariah and its travelers are being banned by the EU because we are not following pandemic restrictions and the numbers of infected and dying are increasing daily.  It takes people coming together to spread COVID-19 and the protests are a prime example of people associating.  For example, I know six people who stayed safe during the beginning months of the pandemic and now, after participating in the first protests, are now infected.  One is in the hospital on a respirator and the others are in quarantine along with their families who have just been tested.  Too many people have ignored the possibility of becoming infected or spreading the disease.  Every person who came into contact with one of my six friends who attended the protest without masks is in danger of getting six and dying.

This isn't a study or a data collection.  It's fact!

Twisted Crow

No argument from me there. I just generally have a tough time trusting journalists.   :-)

Zaphod

Quote from: Dallas on July 02, 2020, 03:41:59 PM
That is something at least. I mainly keep getting stuck not having any solid argument against people with that point. And it is doubly frustrating when I detest many common journalism practices. The whole "studies have shown..." argument when they could be referring to a survey or other collection of data. It's still data, but it's not a study. And journalists seem to love doing that.
Most news orgs, unless they are highly partisan, try to play both sides of the equation in an attempt at neutrality. NBER is a highly credible, 100+ year old organization. Most of their researchers are multiple PhD holders from premier institutions. Their research is used by most major orgs including the US Federal Reserve as inputs for policy decisions. They don't put out half assed research for the sake of publicity. You can quote them during your next argument. :-)

This doesn't mean that we are free to congregate everywhere without masks. Like the paper says, the aggregate effects were minimal because a large number of people stayed indoors during the protests. Wearing a mask and staying indoors as much as possible is still the best way to beat this virus.

AzureRain

Quote from: Beguile's Mistress on July 02, 2020, 03:44:34 PM
In my opinion any picture with more than one person is a suggestion of danger and if they aren't wearing masks and standing six feet apart there is the possibility of infection.  The US is becoming a pariah and its travelers are being banned by the EU because we are not following pandemic restrictions and the numbers of infected and dying are increasing daily.  It takes people coming together to spread COVID-19 and the protests are a prime example of people associating.  For example, I know six people who stayed safe during the beginning months of the pandemic and now, after participating in the first protests, are now infected.  One is in the hospital on a respirator and the others are in quarantine along with their families who have just been tested.  Too many people have ignored the possibility of becoming infected or spreading the disease.  Every person who came into contact with one of my six friends who attended the protest without masks is in danger of getting six and dying.

This isn't a study or a data collection.  It's fact!

I suppose my response to this would be... some things are just worth risking your life for.

Of course, no one is saying that the protests are good for infection control. No one should be going if they themselves, or anyone they closely associate with, are elderly or immunocompromised or otherwise at elevated risk. But the general demographic that tends to attend protests (not just this protest, but all protests) are younger, healthier adults who are at low risk of getting sick themselves. I don't have much sympathy for people out there protesting about their favorite beach or salon being closed, but clearly, the BLM protests are a totally different topic entirely and everyone is entitled to their first amendment right here in the US, pandemic or not.
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It does make it difficult for me. I am elderly, immunocompromized, plus have COPD and acute asthma. I have to gear up with extra equipment to go to town for groceries one day a month. I don't like the feeling that I am risking my life to get food.

We learned to wear seat belts, people can learn to wear a flimsy piece of cloth over their face during times of medical emergency. /rant

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blue bunny sparkle

Quote from: AzureRain on July 02, 2020, 05:50:39 PM

But the general demographic that tends to attend protests (not just this protest, but all protests) are younger, healthier adults who are at low risk of getting sick themselves.

I would have to politely disagree, in regards to my county. The highest age bracket of those who have contracted covid here where I am, are in the 21 to 30 age bracket. The second highest age bracket are the 31 to 40 year old group.  These are groups that are not social distancing at all because they believe they are safe. They believe as you said, that they are younger and healthier. They aren't any longer.

Beguile's Mistress

Quote from: AzureRain on July 02, 2020, 05:50:39 PM
I suppose my response to this would be... some things are just worth risking your life for.
But the general demographic that tends to attend protests (not just this protest, but all protests) are younger, healthier adults who are at low risk of getting sick themselves.

However, this is the group reports are showing as those where the numbers of infections are increasing and where the deaths are going to occur.  Here in Allegheny County we stopped drinking in bars and restaurants earlier this week and are now closing those bars and restaurants because of the type of young patrons and the increasing numbers of infections and deaths among young people.

Oniya

Quote from: AzureRain on July 02, 2020, 05:50:39 PM
But the general demographic that tends to attend protests (not just this protest, but all protests) are younger, healthier adults who are at low risk of getting sick themselves.

I've been seeing a lot of images from protests on my feed.  The BLM protestors are - in large part - doing a lot of mask-wearing.  The people protesting beaches etc, generally aren't.  Also worth noting that since Trump's rallies, numerous staffers, Secret Service members, and notable guests have tested positive.  In today's news, Herman Cain - who attended the rally last month in Tulsa - was hospitalized with COVID-19..  Mr. Cain recently tweeted that masks would not be required at Friday's event at Mt. Rushmore, because 'people are fed up'.

I think that the 'demographic' is people who believe in science vs. people who don't.
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Quote from: Oniya on July 02, 2020, 11:52:32 PM
I've been seeing a lot of images from protests on my feed.  The BLM protestors are - in large part - doing a lot of mask-wearing.  The people protesting beaches etc, generally aren't.  Also worth noting that since Trump's rallies, numerous staffers, Secret Service members, and notable guests have tested positive.  In today's news, Herman Cain - who attended the rally last month in Tulsa - was hospitalized with COVID-19..  Mr. Cain recently tweeted that masks would not be required at Friday's event at Mt. Rushmore, because 'people are fed up'.

I think that the 'demographic' is people who believe in science vs. people who don't.

Okay. I can get most of the cabinet are opportunistic idiots.. but I though Cain was smart enough to understand how things worked..

Guess I was wrong.

CrownedSun

Honestly, I was frightened enough of this before Florida started to become a hot spot, and now it's quietly terrifying.

At least more people are wearing a mask at Publix, but if anything, that's only making me more annoyed at the people who don't.

It's a daily structure to now yell at someone and demand to know why they're trying to kill my grandmother.

*sighs*

AzureRain

Quote from: Beguile's Mistress on July 02, 2020, 11:25:50 PM
However, this is the group reports are showing as those where the numbers of infections are increasing and where the deaths are going to occur.  Here in Allegheny County we stopped drinking in bars and restaurants earlier this week and are now closing those bars and restaurants because of the type of young patrons and the increasing numbers of infections and deaths among young people.

I will refer you to Zaphod’s posts above, which refute the idea that protests are responsible for the increase in COVID infections. It’s a bit silly to try to blame any one thing anyway, when thousands of factors are at play. Agree with Oniya that mask-wearing is a much more important factor, and we have seen a bit of a differential in this between protests.
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