Coronavirus thread

[ritter]

Why does modern man seem to always need to find someone to blame for everything, usually someone there was animosity to even before the event? Just asking...

[drogulus]

Why does modern man seem to always need to find someone to blame for everything, usually someone there was animosity to even before the event? Just asking...

    It's probably witchcraft.

[Ratliff]

(btw none of this is conspiracy, it's actual research- in mainstream news stories they say it's from the market while providing zero evidence).

They are reporting the opinion of CDC virologists that travel to China to participate in the investigation.

[greg]

     You did say:

Where's the evidence in the article? Scientists speculating it was from the market?

Imo there's not much difference between bats being eaten at a market or bats peeing on researchers in a lab. In fact, the latter is actually far more innocent.

Why does modern man seem to always need to find someone to blame for everything, usually someone there was animosity to even before the event? Just asking...

To prevent stuff from happening again, maybe?...
(and nothing modern about that)

They are reporting the opinion of CDC virologists that travel to China to participate in the investigation.

Opinion is the key word... the market and the lab are so close that it would be impossible to tell where it came from without documentation. And the primary sources for it it is online. There would be no record of what people eat at the market.

[ritter]

To prevent stuff from happening again, maybe?...
(and nothing modern about that)

A bit of a non sequitur there, I'm afraid...

[SimonNZ]

If this is supposed to be a response to my post, I don't see any connection...

It is because if YouTube Guy wants to sway us to his conspiracy theory - sorry: "research" - he needs to explain why the entire global scientific community are leaning towards a different explanation.

[greg]

It is because if YouTube Guy wants to sway us to his conspiracy theory - sorry: "research" - he needs to explain why the entire global scientific community are leaning towards a different explanation.

Predictable response from you.

You didn't watch the video, obviously. Literally no points of debate given. Not a conspiracy, and you didn't offer any counterarguments.

[drogulus]

Opinion is the key word... the market and the lab are so close that it would be impossible to tell where it came from without documentation. And the primary sources for it it is online. There would be no record of what people eat at the market.

     The researchers don't get their findings from online. The animal market hypothesis is highly probable and consistent with evidence from previous similar viruses.

     We don't have to speculate about what people eat from the animal markets. It's not a secret.

     One thing we know is this virus is newly discovered and no lab was working on it prior to the outbreak.

[greg]

We don't have to speculate about what people eat from the animal markets. It's not a secret.

I don't mean in general. I mean patient zero.
There's not going to be a record of specific purchases, so it's just a guess then (a very good, believable one).
But compare that to hard evidence of:

     One thing we know is this virus is newly discovered and no lab was working on it prior to the outbreak.

That lab was studying bats with coronaviruses right before the outbreak. The video explains that, along with the job postings for that.

[SimonNZ]

Predictable response from you.

You didn't watch the video, obviously. Literally no points of debate given. Not a conspiracy, and you didn't offer any counterarguments.

I did watch it. He says its suspicious that the lab had job openings around this time and that one lab worker cant be found. He says the job description says "we've discovered this new and terrible virus", but the all too quick screen grab says nothing of the sort - like a job description would say that anyway. He says you can no longer check his research and conclusions because all the info has been disappeared by the government. That's conspiracy theory not research - which at any rate seems to have been done exclusively on Google, and contradicts investigative reporters from around the world who are doing on the ground interviewing. Typical Youtube bobblehead amateur no-oversight or in-house verification and cross-checking "news", then. "Research" is something that gets printed in full with methodology explained so it can be examined in full and tested and verified.

I didn't offer any counterargument, because the counterargument is the global consensus of the scientific community, who despite all their differences are all reaching the same conclusions.

[greg]

The counterargument is that it wasn't genetically altered, right?

Just because bats were in a lab doesn't mean it was genetically altered. What in the official story actually disproves that patient zero was a lab researcher there? And/or proves that they were someone who ate an animal at the market instead?

There's wet markets all over Asia. Of course viruses come from there but are there always labs nearby studying bat viruses? That is one very big coincidence.

[SimonNZ]

That is one very big coincidence.

Conspiracy Theory 101

[greg]

Conspiracy Theory 101

Ok... any counter arguments?


It's literally comparing guesses. No guess of a motive is offered, so no conspiracy.

[SimonNZ]

I don't have access to the data that the global scientific community does - nor the education in that field I'd need to process it. But I trust their collective analysis of it, especially as they're all reaching the same conclusions. I don't believe at all that they're merely "guessing", they may be dealing in probabilities and likelihoods but thats not the same as mere guessing. Certainly I trust them over Youtube Guy.

[Karl Henning]

Conspiracy Theory 101

(* chortle *)

[greg]

I don't have access to the data that the global scientific community does - nor the education in that field I'd need to process it. But I trust their collective analysis of it, especially as they're all reaching the same conclusions. I don't believe at all that they're merely "guessing", they may be dealing in probabilities and likelihoods but thats not the same as mere guessing. Certainly I trust them over Youtube Guy.

You have a problem with trusting authority a bit too much without questioning anything. Being a conspiracy theorist is bad, but you gotta find some balance. Mixed with disdain for the "little guy" is not quite a good look imo.

You do realize that the official story and this story could be true at the same time?

They both got the bats from the same place, I think. The virus was already in the bats. When they are eaten or the bats bleed or pee on people is when transmission occurs.

And yes, they are also guessing until they find patient zero.

[drogulus]

     Massachusetts got whomped again today with another 33 deaths, so the total is 122.

[SimonNZ]

Coronavirus: What misinformation has spread in Africa?

"African countries are experiencing a rise in the number of new coronavirus cases, and many governments are now enforcing strict social distancing measures.

As they prepare for a surge in cases, misleading information has been spreading throughout the continent.

1. Vaccines aren't being tested on Africans

There are widely-shared social media posts claiming that African people are to be used as guinea pigs to test a new coronavirus vaccine. However, such claims are false - there is no vaccine for Covid-19 and only a number of clinical trials are taking place, none of them currently in African countries.

We're not sure where these claims originate from but they tend to focus on how African people will be given the vaccine to test it's safe for use in Western nations.

One of them includes a YouTube video of a woman speaking in French saying: "There is now a vaccine to vaccinate ALL Africans but none for Western countries, so I'm pleading with my African brothers and sisters not to take this vaccine." It currently has over 20,000 views, with many social media users offering support in their comments on the clip.

Another YouTube video is making similar claims that the vaccine will be used on African people to test if it's safe before being used in wealthier countries.

Fears about vaccines are not uncommon in some communities where there is a distrust of modern medicine. In French-speaking Africa, where rumours about the Covid-19 vaccine have spread, there were similar concerns and misinformation about the Ebola vaccine, a treatment that has contributed to tackling the disease.

2. Black skin isn't resistant to Covid-19

There have been persistent suggestions on social media about skin colour and resistance to the illness.

On 13 March the Kenyan health minister dismissed the rumours that "those with black skin cannot get coronavirus".

We spoke to Professor Thumbi Ndung'u from the Nelson R Mandela School of Medicine in Durban who said "there is absolutely no evidence to back up the idea - and indeed, we know that people with black skin are getting infected."

3. A cup of black tea does not cure coronavirus

Keeping hydrated is important for your health, but drinking black tea is not a cure or treatment for Covid-19 as has been claimed.

According to local Kenyan media reports, people there have been receiving phone calls advising them to drink tea to avoid the coronavirus - and that if they didn't they might die from the illness.

It's a myth that has been spread elsewhere and has no medical basis.

but the expectation is that one won't be ready until at least the middle of next year.

4. No, you don't need to shave your beard to protect against the virus

An old graphic created by the US health authorities about facial hair and respirators has been used incorrectly to suggest men should shave off their beards to avoid catching the coronavirus.

The Nigerian Punch newspaper's headline said: "To be safe from coronavirus, shave your beard, CDC warns"

The US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) image shows dozens of examples of facial hair and which ones to avoid when wearing a respirator mask.

Beard styles such as Side Whiskers and the Zappa are approved but the Garibaldi and French Fork can interfere with the valve and prevent the respirator working properly.

The graphic is genuine - but it was created in 2017 (well before the coronavirus outbreak) for workers who wear tight-fitting respirators. Contrary to what's been reported, the CDC has not published it recently and it does not recommend that people shave off their beards.

Similar headlines have appeared in other countries, generating thousands of shares. Australian news outlet 7News posted on Twitter: "How your beard may unknowingly increase your risk of coronavirus."

Current UK health advice is that while masks are useful for medical staff in hospitals, "there is very little evidence of widespread benefit for members of the public".

5. Nigerian preacher fighting coronavirus

An evangelical preacher who claims he can cure the virus has also been the subject of disinformation.

Stories about David Kingleo Elijah, from the Glorious Mount of Possibility Church started spreading online after a video of him saying he would move to China to "destroy" the virus was uploaded on YouTube and shared on other platforms.

"I am going prophetically to destroy coronavirus. I am going to China, I want to destroy coronavirus," he says in the video.

A few days later, reports appeared in blogs alleging that he had travelled to China but had been admitted to hospital after contracting the virus. The blogs refer to the pastor under a different name - Elija Emeka Chibuke.

The photo used to show him in hospital is actually a photo of Adeshina Adesanya, a Nigerian actor popularly known as Pastor Ajidara, who died in hospital in 2017.

6. Drinking pepper soup is not a cure.

In Nigeria, a preacher posted a video and a poster claiming that pepper soup is a cure for coronavirus. The claim was also shared on WhatsApp.

There is no cure or specific treatment for coronavirus and the claim gives few details about the medicinal properties of pepper soup - a traditional spicy Nigerian dish.

The WHO says the outbreak has caused an "infodemic" of false and misleading information.

In Cape Verde, the tiny Portuguese-speaking West African nation, a post spread on social media claiming that a Brazilian doctor had recommended fennel tea as a cure for coronavirus. It prompted a rush for the herb in local markets, reported AFP.

The Brazilian health ministry has warned people not to share an article suggesting fennel as a cure for coronavirus.

The World Health Organization says that thorough and regular hand-washing is crucial in the fight to avoid infection."

[Daverz]

3. A cup of black tea does not cure coronavirus

The Kinks wouldn't lie!

https://www.youtube.com/v/lw6qxDPmOGM

Tea in the morning, tea in the evening, tea at supper Time,
You get tea when it's raining, tea when it's snowing.
Tea when the weather's fine,
You get tea as a mid-day stimulant
You get tea with your afternoon tea
For any old ailment or disease
For Christ sake have a cuppa tea.

[JBS]

A cup of black tea will not cure the virus, but that's no reason not to have a cup of black tea.