Coronavirus thread

[Papy Oli]

A great sadness to read of the death of veteran British comedian Tim Brooke-Taylor from the virus: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-52262490.  Perhaps not an international star, but greatly loved at home.  I will make a pilgrimage to Mornington Crescent tube station at the earliest opportunity.

Love that idea  ... Will you be timely using 12 stations to get there ? 

Saw him with Osman, Hawks, Dee, and Jupp on the live Clue tour in January for my birthday present... What a night...He was hilarious.

[Irons]

A great sadness to read of the death of veteran British comedian Tim Brooke-Taylor from the virus: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-52262490.  Perhaps not an international star, but greatly loved at home.  I will make a pilgrimage to Mornington Crescent tube station at the earliest opportunity.

Yes, I was sorry to hear that, he came over as a nice feller.

[vandermolen]

Yes, I was sorry to hear that, he came over as a nice feller.

Me too although, as a long standing Chelsea FC fan I was very sad to hear of the death of legendary goalkeeper Peter Bonetti - a hero of my youth and beyond, although his death was not due to the virus.

In terms of this thread I'm glad that Jeffrey (the other one) started it as it is such a big worry at the moment that I think that it's good to have an opportunity to express feelings, views etc. Not to have one might be a bit like ignoring 'the elephant in the room'. When my daughter was unwell I appreciated the supportive comments and enquiries here (she is fine now).

Today on the BBC News they announced that the mortality rate in the UK is 12% whereas in Germany it is 2%, which I find concerning.

[Que]

Today on the BBC News they announced that the mortality rate in the UK is 12% whereas in Germany it is 2%, which I find concerning.

These rates are highly unreliable since they are based on confirmed (tested) COVID-19 cases.
Unless you have nationwide tests of a representative portion of the population, like in Iceland, the total number of infections is anyone's guess.

The total number of fatalities related to the virus is unreliable as well: a significant number of people, mainly elderly, never make it to the hospital and die in nursing homes or their own home without ever being tested and reported. For example: the official death toll in the Netherlands is 1.766, but the Dutch Bureau of Statistics has already detected an unusual rise in deaths that coincides with the outbreak but is significantly higher.

Q

[vandermolen]

These rates are highly unreliable since they are based on confirmed (tested) COVID-19 cases.
Unless you have nationwide tests of a representative portion of the population, like in Iceland, the total number of infections is anyone's guess.

The total number of fatalities related to the virus is unreliable as well: a significant number of people, mainly elderly, never make it to the hospital and die in nursing homes or their own home without ever being tested and reported. For example: the official death toll in the Netherlands is 1.766, but the Dutch Bureau of Statistics has already detected an unusual rise in deaths that coincides with the outbreak but is significantly higher.

Q

Thanks for the clarification. Very helpful.

[GioCar]

An interesting graph.
In Iceland they randomly tested a large number of people. In the Netherlands they tested those presenting symptoms only.
The virus seems to be among the younger people more than expected.

[Pohjolas Daughter]

A couple of things:

1) Regarding changing sites:  my first thoughts were that any changes would be due to changing information/updates/perhaps different ways of analyzing and/or reporting figures, etc.  And/or new information/thoughts as to how it is spreading, ways to treat it, how it is impacting different groups and so forth.  Maybe I'm being too trusting, but those are my thoughts for now....and too busy trying to find out helpful info/updates (including from my state) to read lots of articles about conspiracies personally.

2) Very sad news about tornadoes in Tennessee and Mississippi adding insult to injury.  The weather/storms which did the damage there are now moving east and up along the coast.  Warnings last night and today of significant rains with very strong winds could lead to power outages in many areas.  Suggested:  turn up (down really) your freezers and fridges now to be ready for possible outages.  Personally, I turned my stand-alone freezer to its coldest setting and also turned down the freezer in my refrigerator, but not the fridge itself as I don't want to freeze my fresh food!

3)  We're all really stressed out here and going through tough times (some, more so than others I suspect).  Please, please no name calling and snarky comments!  Let's try our best to be supportive of one another.  I know, not easy, but let's try. This place should feel like a nice safe refuge and outlet and way to get through this together--not like a war zone!  I hope that I'm not alone in feeling this way here?

Best wishes to all,

PD

[Karl Henning]

A couple of things:

1) Regarding changing sites:  my first thoughts were that any changes would be due to changing information/updates/perhaps different ways of analyzing and/or reporting figures, etc.  And/or new information/thoughts as to how it is spreading, ways to treat it, how it is impacting different groups and so forth.  Maybe I'm being too trusting, but those are my thoughts for now....and too busy trying to find out helpful info/updates (including from my state) to read lots of articles about conspiracies personally.

2) Very sad news about tornadoes in Tennessee and Mississippi adding insult to injury.  The weather/storms which did the damage there are now moving east and up along the coast.  Warnings last night and today of significant rains with very strong winds could lead to power outages in many areas.  Suggested:  turn up (down really) your freezers and fridges now to be ready for possible outages.  Personally, I turned my stand-alone freezer to its coldest setting and also turned down the freezer in my refrigerator, but not the fridge itself as I don't want to freeze my fresh food!

3)  We're all really stressed out here and going through tough times (some, more so than others I suspect).  Please, please no name calling and snarky comments!  Let's try our best to be supportive of one another.  I know, not easy, but let's try. This place should feel like a nice safe refuge and outlet and way to get through this together--not like a war zone!  I hope that I'm not alone in feeling this way here?

Best wishes to all,

PD

Cheers!

[prémont]

3)  We're all really stressed out here and going through tough times (some, more so than others I suspect).  Please, please no name calling and snarky comments!  Let's try our best to be supportive of one another.  I know, not easy, but let's try. This place should feel like a nice safe refuge and outlet and way to get through this together--not like a war zone!  I hope that I'm not alone in feeling this way here?

Thanks, food for thought.

[André]

These rates are highly unreliable since they are based on confirmed (tested) COVID-19 cases.
Unless you have nationwide tests of a representative portion of the population, like in Iceland, the total number of infections is anyone's guess.

The total number of fatalities related to the virus is unreliable as well: a significant number of people, mainly elderly, never make it to the hospital and die in nursing homes or their own home without ever being tested and reported. For example: the official death toll in the Netherlands is 1.766, but the Dutch Bureau of Statistics has already detected an unusual rise in deaths that coincides with the outbreak but is significantly higher.

Q

We will not know for at least a couple of years. The only reliable indication is the number of 'excess deaths' in a given year (2020) compared to a reference period.
When that analysis will have been completed in many different population groups (asian, european, american), useful data will emerge.

Check the curve for 2020 in Spain, where the spike is clearly attributable to the current pandemic:


Graph from the wiki article on Mortality displacement:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mortality_displacement

[Irons]

A couple of things:

1) Regarding changing sites:  my first thoughts were that any changes would be due to changing information/updates/perhaps different ways of analyzing and/or reporting figures, etc.  And/or new information/thoughts as to how it is spreading, ways to treat it, how it is impacting different groups and so forth.  Maybe I'm being too trusting, but those are my thoughts for now....and too busy trying to find out helpful info/updates (including from my state) to read lots of articles about conspiracies personally.

2) Very sad news about tornadoes in Tennessee and Mississippi adding insult to injury.  The weather/storms which did the damage there are now moving east and up along the coast.  Warnings last night and today of significant rains with very strong winds could lead to power outages in many areas.  Suggested:  turn up (down really) your freezers and fridges now to be ready for possible outages.  Personally, I turned my stand-alone freezer to its coldest setting and also turned down the freezer in my refrigerator, but not the fridge itself as I don't want to freeze my fresh food!

3)  We're all really stressed out here and going through tough times (some, more so than others I suspect).  Please, please no name calling and snarky comments!  Let's try our best to be supportive of one another.  I know, not easy, but let's try. This place should feel like a nice safe refuge and outlet and way to get through this together--not like a war zone!  I hope that I'm not alone in feeling this way here?

Best wishes to all,

PD

As always a voice of reason. No place for Boris bashing or more importantly his lady friend.

[Pohjolas Daughter]

Thanks, Irons. 

[arpeggio]

I really do not have the time to read every post so I do not know how others are doing.

My wife and I are in our early 70's .  We have hunkered down and only go out if we have to.

Just learned that a friend just succumbed to the virus.  He was about our age and in good health.  Apparently not good enough.

[Mandryka]

Would you volunteer to be tracked?

Coronavirus: UK confirms plan for its own contact tracing app

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-52263244

[Herman]

I really do not have the time to read every post so I do not know how others are doing.

My wife and I are in our early 70's .  We have hunkered down and only go out if we have to.

Just learned that a friend just succumbed to the virus.  He was about our age and in good health.  Apparently not good enough.

That's sad. Just hold on to each other.

[Karl Henning]

I do feel grateful for you lot.

[Kaga2]

As always a voice of reason. No place for Boris bashing or more importantly his lady friend.

Seconded.

[Pohjolas Daughter]

I really do not have the time to read every post so I do not know how others are doing.

My wife and I are in our early 70's .  We have hunkered down and only go out if we have to.

Just learned that a friend just succumbed to the virus.  He was about our age and in good health.  Apparently not good enough.

So very sorry to hear that.  Condolences to both of you.

Best wishes,

PD

[Kaga2]

Would you volunteer to be tracked?

Coronavirus: UK confirms plan for its own contact tracing app

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-52263244

Probably. Devil in the details of course.

I think we should pay people to self quarantine for extended periods. An online auction would find those able and willing to stay home at least cost. Reduce the density out there. It would involve monitoring.

[Pohjolas Daughter]

I do feel grateful for you lot.

+1