Coronavirus. The n(in)th sequel.

[Zelig]

I don’t doubt that at all. I’m not saying it’s impossible for their measures to be effective—but what seems to me like a massive hurdle is being able to correctly detect 100% of cases knowing what we think we do about the virus.

Here’s what I mean as an example: not all cases are symptomatic, they don’t develop instantaneously, and what with some symptoms being akin to the common cold or flu, how do you go about isolating, testing, and verifying all of that within a timespan under which such measures could be effective?

New Zealand, the best other performer in terms of quashing local cases has found one turn into... 100? 150? Within like a week. That’s a small country with no land borders and quarantine-upon-arrival. So what I’m trying to figure out is that discrepancy.

If there’s a plausible explanation for it, I’m all ears, because I have no way of explaining it myself.

China has mandatory testing. In western countries, the vast majority (like 80% of infected people before you take into account pandemic fatigue) aren't getting tested.

I've never been tested, and can't imagine I ever will be, the incentives aren't set up for it.

 

[innonimatu]

Considering they managed to live normal lives for most of the past one and a half years I think people are likely to be happy to go along with the strategy of these occasional lockdowns in some places. I mean, look at the alternative the rest of the world showed...
It's just a matter of the willingness to do the investment on testing and support of people who are in lockdown. Which, I say again, comes out cheaper in resources spent that what the multiple lockdowns and continuous restrictions costed elsewhere.

2021-21 is exposing a lot of stuff about how well or how badly things are organized, around the world.

 

[Drakle]

Projections say another 100,000 COVID Deaths in the US between now and December 1st if things don't change.

That's a total of nearly 730,000.

Half that could be saved, just with mandatory mask wearing.

And of course, nearly all could be saved, if people just got vaccinated.



Also in terms of how bad it can get. Peru is off the charts in per capita deaths.

https://twitter.com/jmhorp/status/1431027036076789765

Peru is now approaching 6,000 COVID deaths per million. This is by far the worst in the world, no one is even close

That's triple the US level, and double the worst US states

If the US had as many deaths we would be approaching 2 million COVID deaths

Just horrible

And yes, it shows up in excess mortality too. It doesn't appear to be a matter of counting deaths differently

A year ago the COVID skeptics were telling us that countries would "burnout" somewhere around 500 deaths per million

Peru is 12 times that level

Peru is in carnage and desperate for vaccines, as US wastes millions of vaccines waiting on antivaxxers.

 

[Zelig]

Half that could be saved, just with mandatory mask wearing.

Saved, or delayed for a few months?

Unless there's effective enforcement, I'm also inclined to disregard mask mandates that are put in place without first trying appropriate vaccine incentives.

 

[Kyriakos]

from what my friends in china say, the government has a small "army" of testers and trackers in cities and they test and track thousands and thousands a day when they need to.

They are so advanced that they do it even without covid

 

[Snowygerry]

China has mandatory testing. In western countries, the vast majority (like 80% of infected people before you take into account pandemic fatigue) aren't getting tested.

I've never been tested, and can't imagine I ever will be, the incentives aren't set up for it.

And quarantines enforced by military force if need be - when they 'lock down' a city or province it is effectively locked down, here it is just a buzz word and people can still go about their daily business.

 

[Kaitzilla]

The Supreme Court has struck down the CDC nationwide eviction moratorium.

https://www.cnn.com/2021/08/26/politics/supreme-court-ruling-biden-eviction/index.html

Get ready for millions of evictions unless Congress does something more.


Only $4.7 billion of the $47 billion in rent relief from Congress has gone out.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/supreme-court-blocks-new-eviction-moratorium-11630028819

 

[Drakle]

The Supreme Court in a shadow docket, not an actual ruling, forced Biden to continue following the Trump Southern border policy, which uses COVID as an excuse to deport masses of people. Even though COVID is already in the US, Mexicans aren't bringing it. But thinks it is fine to turf millions of people from shelter. Despite landlords being able to claim all the money owed, but are refusing.

And I don't think Congress can act, given the Senate and filibuster. And there are probably some marginal Democrats against it as well, which is why Pelosi didn't want to hold a vote and expose them and start a news cycle aimed at Democrats, instead of the real culprits The Reactionary Court.

 

[Zardnaar]

70 case today the curve seems to be slowing.

62, 68, 70 last three days. 1-300+ in a little over a week. That we know of. All linked to existing cases and all in one city.

 

[Kyriakos]

70 case today the curve seems to be slowing.

62, 68, 70 last three days. 1-300+ in a little over a week. That we know of. All linked to existing cases and all in one city.

I appreciate the constant update on NZ. After all, if NZ falls, the world really would be in trouble :S

 

[Zardnaar]

I appreciate the constant update on NZ. After all, if NZ falls, the world really would be in trouble :S

Cautiously optimistic. My area is going down to level 3 Monday assuming no Covid turns up.

 

[The_J]

I've never been tested, and can't imagine I ever will be, the incentives aren't set up for it.

Protecting your loved ones isn't an incentive?

TBH I have no idea how somebody could not have gotten a test yet. I did recently a count, I had 6 PCR tests, 3 antigen tests, plus I think 3-5 self tests. The last one I did yesterday, since I anyways had to go to a laboratory for a blood check, and I've had just returned from a trip.
(to be fair: They were all free, besides the first 2)

 

[Snowygerry]

Well you travel a lot - then tests are pretty much mandatory, tests per day hover between 40K and 80K or so here, while that's a lot it's not enough to test everyone, I suspect some people have been tested multiple times and others never.

 

[Drakle]

I'm at home, and basically only going to the local shops, and walking outside during the pandemic at the moment. When Australia was zero cases I was doing more. Thus, I've never actually been tested (as in a proper test, not the forehead temperate thing).

Anyway, this Reddit Nursing thread is hella bleak

https://www.reddit.com/r/nursing/comments/pbvcdu/uhh_are_any_of_these_unvaccinated_patients_in/

Lots of people who technically surviving COVID, are becoming vegetables, permanently crippled, or just hanging on to die later. Its carnage, and we still have all these absolute idiots playing stupid games with vaccine denial, both on here, and in the wider world.

I don't believe that Covid was a Chinese bioweapon, but its effects are basically as if it was. China does an effective response, with minor deaths (less than 5000, maybe they downplayed it, but it likely isn't that much). Then the US just murders itself.

 

[amadeus]

China has mandatory testing.

There are still gaps—false negatives, bureaucratic errors, and cases-to-be that wouldn’t yet show up on tests.

The original, unpatched coronavirus, maybe their strategy was feasible in getting the R-level (? not a science guy) down to where it could be eliminated. This new version, I don’t know—might just be a matter of time.

 

[uppi]

Protecting your loved ones isn't an incentive?

TBH I have no idea how somebody could not have gotten a test yet. I did recently a count, I had 6 PCR tests, 3 antigen tests, plus I think 3-5 self tests. The last one I did yesterday, since I anyways had to go to a laboratory for a blood check, and I've had just returned from a trip.
(to be fair: They were all free, besides the first 2)

I have been tested exactly once, and that was because I went to Italy for vacation. If you are able to work from home, you can easily get by without doing any tests.

 

[Kyriakos]

It's true. You only are likely to take a lot of tests if
-you travel
-you have an office job

 

[Samson]

It's true. You only are likely to take a lot of tests if
-you travel
-you have an office job

Does not an office job mean a work from home job these days? It does for me and everyone I know who used to go into the office.

 

[Snowygerry]

It does here yes, although you can go to the office if you want to - more likely to be tested en masse are schools or production facilities where distance is hard to maintain...

 

[Kyriakos]

Does not an office job mean a work from home job these days? It does for me and everyone I know who used to go into the office.

There are people working in offices, although afaik there is a quota not to be exceeded.