Coronavirus thread

Started by JBS, March 12, 2020, 07:03:50 PM

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Marc

Quote from: André on March 14, 2020, 04:26:09 PM
At the height of the epidemic electricity maintenance crews will be affected, too (why shouldn't they?). So next time there's a power outing they won't be able to repair it. All those frozen goods will go to waste...

Consequences (real, imagined and just wacky) are endless...

:laugh:

That will teach them!

Marc

Quote from: SimonNZ on March 14, 2020, 04:24:38 PM
There's probably better and more info elsewhere, but here's what that one says:

Coronavirus: Everyone coming to New Zealand must isolate for 14 days, Prime Minister Ardern says

"From midnight Sunday, everyone arriving in New Zealand will have to isolate themselves for 14 days, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has announced.

The tighter border controls were announced during an update by the prime minister on New Zealand's response to the Covid-19 outbreak on Saturday afternoon. She said while it is not realistic for New Zealand to only have a handful of coronavirus cases, the changes would slow the spread of infection.

"New Zealand has today, relative to other countries, a small number of cases," Ardern said.

"We must plan and prepare for more cases. We must go hard and we must go early. We must do everything we can to protect the health of New Zealanders."

The restrictions apply to New Zealand citizens and residents as well as international visitors.

People travelling from the Pacific Islands to New Zealand will be exempt, unless they show symptoms of coronavirus.

The new measures mean New Zealand will have the strongest border restrictions in the world, apart from Israel and some Pacific Islands, which have effectively closed their borders.

As of midnight Saturday, no cruise ships will be able to dock in New Zealand until June 30.

Strict new border exit rules to the Pacific Islands will also be put in place.

Anyone with coronavirus symptoms will not be allowed to travel there and those who have been to other overseas countries will have to wait 14 days before going to the Pacific Islands.

Close or casual contacts of confirmed cases of Covid-19 will also be barred from travelling to the Pacific Islands. All travellers' temperatures will be taken before they leave for the Pacific Islands.

Travel restrictions would be reviewed in 16 days, the prime minister said.

Ardern urged New Zealanders not to travel overseas unless it was absolutely necessary.

We have significant capacity for testing, Ardern said. "It is there and available." There are enough resources for 550 people to be tested per day.

Medical practitioners would use their clinical judgement when deciding who needed to be tested, the prime minister said.

Ardern reiterated public health messages to prevent the spread of infection. "Wash your hands," she repeated three times.

People should also stay home and avoid contact with older people if they're sick and stop greeting each other with a handshake or hongi.

Finance minister Grant Robertson will announce an economic response on Tuesday.

The Government will announce guidelines on large mass events next week too.

In the meantime, people planning on hosting such gatherings should contact their local public health authority, Ardern said.

Soon after the press conference Air New Zealand said it was reviewing the impact of the "new measures announced this afternoon on its operations and will adjust its capacity accordingly. We expect to provide an update on network changes over the next few days".

It comes after a sixth case of the novel coronavirus was confirmed in Auckland.

A man in his 60s who had recently returned from the United States tested positive for the illness on Friday night.

SO WHAT ARE THE NEW RULES FOR NZ?

* Every person entering New Zealand from anywhere in the world will be required to self-isolate for 14 days, excluding the Pacific. These restrictions will all be reviewed in 16 days' time.

* The existing travel ban for China and Iran will continue

* Cruise ships banned from coming to New Zealand, until at least June 30, 2020

* Strict new health measures at the border for people departing to the Pacific

* Measures to help those in self-isolation to be announced next week

* Government will work closely with the aviation sector to encourage airlines to remain active in New Zealand, limiting the impacts on the tourism sector and exporters

* There will be a directive on mass gatherings announced early next week

The prime minister's announcement followed a Cabinet meeting in Auckland on Saturday."

Thanks.
I just read the Dutch (more or less) equivalent message of the news.

Mirror Image

#102
I think people need to just stop panicking. One thing is for certain about this coronavirus scare --- there are many people (and companies) profiting off this pandemic and it certainly isn't us. I saw a large bottle of Purell hand sanitizer go for $200 on eBay. Absolute vultures.

vandermolen

Quote from: Mirror Image on March 14, 2020, 07:05:00 PM
I think people need to just stop panicking. One thing is for certain about this coronavirus scare --- there are many people (and companies) profiting off this pandemic and it certainly isn't us. I saw a large bottle of Purell hand sanitizer go for $200 on eBay. Absolute vultures.
+1
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

GioCar

Quote from: Florestan on March 14, 2020, 12:00:46 PM
Many happy returns! What wine will you have?

Thank you! We had a Franciacorta (Bellavista) for the initial toast, and a Vermentino di Gallura (Canayli) for the rest of the dinner. Just perfect for the sea bream.

Good luck and best wishes to you all in Romania. I see you have about one hundred cases and no deaths. I do really hope it remains the same, but in case you will change your mind. Trust me.

vandermolen

One of my daughter's flat mates works as a waitress in a restaurant in London. The clientele is mainly elderly. She said that they'd never sold so much alcohol before and that the atmosphere there reminded her of the first class lounge of the Titanic as it was going down!
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

premont

Quote from: Florestan on March 14, 2020, 02:46:42 PM
Is it really? Are you really going to tell me that the seasonal flue kills people who have no pre-existing, life-threatening condition?

You can read a bit about Primary Influenza Pneumonia here:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2811908/

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Florestan

Quote from: GioCar on March 14, 2020, 11:05:11 PM
Thank you! We had a Franciacorta (Bellavista) for the initial toast, and a Vermentino di Gallura (Canayli) for the rest of the dinner. Just perfect for the sea bream.

Great!

QuoteGood luck and best wishes to you all in Romania. I see you have about one hundred cases and no deaths. I do really hope it remains the same, but in case you will change your mind. Trust me.

Thanks, the same to all of you in Italy. 123 as I'm typing.

I repeat: the situation should be taken seriously and all regulations and restrictions must be obeyed unconditionally. What I'm opposed to is mass panic and hysteria.
Every kind of music is good, except the boring kind. — Rossini

Irons

Quote from: Florestan on March 14, 2020, 11:58:39 AM
I think the figure is greatly exaggerated.

That's valid for every seasonal flu in every country in every hemisphere.

Oh, the horror, the horror!

That is certainly true --- because, and only because, they're most likely to have pre-existing life-threatening conditions.

It could most certainly be catastrophic if mass media and governments alike will keep spreading and inducing mass panic and hysteria.

As long as you are not one among them.Then why give a toss. ;D
You must have a very good opinion of yourself to write a symphony - John Ireland.

I opened the door people rushed through and I was left holding the knob - Bo Diddley.

Florestan

Quote from: Irons on March 15, 2020, 04:46:57 AM
As long as you are not one among them.Then why give a toss. ;D

My point is that a 1% mortality rate is no reason for panic.

In Romania there are 131 confirmed cases and no deaths until now. In the context this is good news.
Every kind of music is good, except the boring kind. — Rossini

SimonNZ

Quote from: Florestan on March 15, 2020, 04:52:47 AM
My point is that a 1% mortality rate is no reason for panic.


That would depend on the infection rate, surely.


Rinaldo

Quote from: Florestan on March 15, 2020, 02:59:40 AMI repeat: the situation should be taken seriously and all regulations and restrictions must be obeyed unconditionally. What I'm opposed to is mass panic and hysteria.

You'd be hard-pressed to find someone who's pro-mass panic and hysteria. As you said, it's all about taking the situation seriously and thankfully, that's what I'm seeing all around my country and most of Europe. The UK and the States, on the other hand..

As for Czech Republic, people are stockpiling on food as we're heading for a nationwide quarantine right now – it's all about not overwhelming the medical system when the serious cases start appearing.

COVID-19, the illness caused by coronavirus, proves deadly in around 3.5 percent of confirmed cases.

While this is not the same as its mortality rate, given many people may be infected but not realise it, it is significantly higher than seasonal flu, which typically kills 0.1 percent of patients.

"There is still considerable uncertainty around the fatality rates of COVID-19 and it likely varies depending on the quality of local healthcare," said Francois Balloux, Professor of Computational Systems Biology at University College London.

"That said, it is around two percent on average, which is about 20 times higher than for the seasonal flu lineages currently in circulation."

(...)

Disease experts estimate that each COVID-19 sufferer infects between two to 3 others.

That's a reproduction rate up to twice as high as seasonal flu, which typically infects 1.3 new people for each patient.


Source: https://www.sciencealert.com/the-new-coronavirus-isn-t-like-the-flu-but-they-have-one-big-thing-in-common

SimonNZ

Gotta say: watching the news from around the world I'm not seeing much of what I'd call panic. People have been encouragingly civilised. I was about to add "long may it last" nut that wouldnt be quite the right way of expressing the sentiment.



Rinaldo

Talk about gallows humor..


premont

#116
Quote from: Florestan on March 15, 2020, 04:52:47 AM
My point is that a 1% mortality rate is no reason for panic.

What if the mortality rate in your age group is 4% or 8% or more. Well, would you still say: No reason for panic, we are all going to die eventually?
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Karl Henning

Quote from: vandermolen on March 14, 2020, 04:33:45 PM
Thanks for posting this reassuring article Karl.
:)

De nada, amigo!
Karl Henning, Ph.D.
Composer & Clarinetist
Boston MA
http://www.karlhenning.com/
[Matisse] was interested neither in fending off opposition,
nor in competing for the favor of wayward friends.
His only competition was with himself. — Françoise Gilot

drogulus

Quote from: Florestan on March 15, 2020, 04:52:47 AM
My point is that a 1% mortality rate is no reason for panic.

In Romania there are 131 confirmed cases and no deaths until now. In the context this is good news.

     Panic, at least the way the word is commonly used, is defined by no reason for it, though that might be misleading in the case of an H-bomb exploding just above you.

     The good news about Romania is that the later the pandemic develops, the more time there is to impose limits on the exponential rise in the number of cases. Here in Massachusetts we have about 138 recorded cases at last count by the failing Boston Globe.
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Karl Henning

Quote from: drogulus on March 15, 2020, 07:40:52 AM
     Panic, at least the way the word is commonly used, is defined by no reason for it, though that might be misleading in the case of an H-bomb exploding just above you.

     The good news about Romania is that the later the pandemic develops, the more time there is to impose limits on the exponential rise in the number of cases. Here in Massachusetts we have about 138 recorded cases at last count by the failing Boston Globe.

Dang "corporate media"!
Karl Henning, Ph.D.
Composer & Clarinetist
Boston MA
http://www.karlhenning.com/
[Matisse] was interested neither in fending off opposition,
nor in competing for the favor of wayward friends.
His only competition was with himself. — Françoise Gilot