COVID-19 Pandemic

[Zelgiusfan5000]

A new virus identified in mid-December that’s quite similar to SARS, 500+ confirmed to be infected (although one source estimated it to be a lot more) and 17 deaths already. Apparently Wuhan has shut down the airport, train stations and blocked off highways. The residents are stockpiling food so they don’t need to go outside and risk catching the virus later. I’d recommend to read updates of the disease on a daily basis, wash your hands well, maybe wear a mask just in case

[Adamski]

A tragedy. 3 Chinese cities in lockdown now. Total of about 18 million people.

[antichrist]

A tragedy. 3 Chinese cities in lockdown now. Total of about 18 million people.

I think ancient Greeks thought that cities should be no greater than 10,000 people. It would certainly make emergencies easier to deal with.

[antichrist]

I heard the virus came from eating bat and snake soup - what a combo, throw in a few magic mushrooms and the ultimate.

[Kevin Bonham]

I heard the virus came from eating bat and snake soup

The snake thing is probably a beatup, based on a paper rushed through refereeing. See https://www.wired.com/story/wuhan-co...source=twitter

This is a common problem - one paper finds something sensational and then the claim is all over social media before other scientists who disagree with it can be heard.

[Zelgiusfan5000]

https://m.washingtontimes.com/news/2...linked-chines/

[Capablanca-Fan]

The snake thing is probably a beatup, based on a paper rushed through refereeing. See https://www.wired.com/story/wuhan-co...source=twitter

This is a common problem — one paper finds something sensational and then the claim is all over social media before other scientists who disagree with it can be heard.

“Falsehood flies, and the Truth comes limping after it”—Jonathan Swift, 1710.

[antichrist]

from the Guardian sit

Drug watchdog takes church to court over Covid-19 bleach cure
Australia’s drug regulator has started court proceedings against a “healing church” that promoted a solution containing industrial bleach as a cure for coronavirus, after the church failed to remove advertisements promoting the product from its website.


It comes after the Therapeutic Goods Administration fined the Australian chapter of the Genesis II Church of Health and Healing more than $150,000 in May for selling and promoting the solution containing sodium chlorite, a chemical used as a textile bleaching agent and disinfectant.

The product is named Miracle Mineral Supplement and Miracle Mineral Solution on the church’s MMS Australia website, which claimed it could prevent and treat a range of diseases including Covid-19. The TGA said the company had breached multiple advertising laws.

https://www.theguardian.com/australi...ths-death-toll

[MichaelBaron]

COVID.png

As predicted, this is how efficient the APP is

[Patrick Byrom]

COVID.png
As predicted, this is how efficient the APP is

Although the app was definitely over-hyped, that headline is misleading (my italics):

Since its launch on April 26, more than 6.2 million people have downloaded the app. But so far, no local health authorities have announced that COVIDSafe identified any otherwise unidentified contacts. Authorities say that is because case numbers in Australia are so low.

In other words, the app hasn't identified any contacts who weren't also found by other tracing methods.

[littlesprout85]

Believe Meh AC n All that are here at chesschats when meh say that over Half of America have come down with da corona(250 mil).... How Can This Be Sprout :? Its Because da Shots do Nothing on Preventing you From Catching da Plague... Its totally a Wives tale that da shots give u any protection from contracting da corona, just look around we are at 70% of all people statside whom had a shot or 2 or 3... Corona shots just gives u a better chance of surviving da crud not from catching it.

Today in da Hospital We Are Flooded With Corona Patients on all Three Floors to da point where they are filling up da hallways worse than ever before in da past 2 1/4 yrs.. we Are At 156% over full with no ER/ICU Surgeries at all going on let alone elective surgery like you just got AC. We Got 182 deaths today in Arizona with over 16k new infections & Where is Mr.Prez w all da Help :? oh hes handing out 400 mil mask cause they know that this crud is spreading on da breathes of da vaccinated. oh He Encourages more n more shots but WHERES DA PILLS :?

Obviously they (top officials stateside) don't want to stop da plague cause all da hospitals in da states are reporting record profits for 2020 n 2021 n 2022... Let Da Good Times Roll Huh :? ... Shots are not stopping this plague at all but they got da cure(pills) but WHERE IS IT :?

-Sprout85 =)

[MichaelBaron]

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/wor...f3feee7c2d8192
Lockdowns have “had little to no effect on” reducing deaths from Covid-19 and should be “rejected out of hand” for dealing with the next pandemic, according to a new international study that comes amid falling confidence in public health authorities in the US.

Business closures and stay at home orders in the US and Europe reduced deaths by 0.2 per cent on average, according to a new analysis by American and Swedish researchers that questioned whether the novel health policy, pioneered by China in Wuhan in early 2020, would pass a cost-benefit analysis.

“Lockdowns have not been used to such a large extent during any of the pandemics of the past century,” the authors said, suggesting their “marginal at best” benefits needed to be compared with their “devastating effects”.

[antichrist]

The lockdowns were necessary due to lack of full knowledge about the virus, also due to lack of PPE for months. It had exported to China

[Patrick Byrom]

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/wor...f3feee7c2d8192
Lockdowns have “had little to no effect on” reducing deaths from Covid-19 and should be “rejected out of hand” for dealing with the next pandemic, according to a new international study that comes amid falling confidence in public health authorities in the US. Business closures and stay at home orders in the US and Europe reduced deaths by 0.2 per cent on average, according to a new analysis by American and Swedish researchers that questioned whether the novel health policy, pioneered by China in Wuhan in early 2020, would pass a cost-benefit analysis.
“Lockdowns have not been used to such a large extent during any of the pandemics of the past century,” the authors said, suggesting their “marginal at best” benefits needed to be compared with their “devastating effects”.

The original paper can be found here, published in the journal Studies in Applied Economics. Not a well-known journal:

The Studies in Applied Economics series fills gaps in the history, statistics, and scholarship on a variety of subjects. The authors are mainly Fellows of the Institute and students at The Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore who conduct research under the general direction of Prof. Steve H. Hanke, Founder and Co-Director of the Institute for Applied Economics, Global Health, and the Study of Business Enterprise.

Unfortunately for lockdown opponents, the much lower death toll during the earlier lockdowns in Australia, despite our current high vaccination rate, proves conclusively that lockdowns do reduce death rates.

[Patrick Byrom]

The original paper can be found here, published in the journal Studies in Applied Economics. Not a well-known journal: ...

Unfortunately for lockdown opponents, the much lower death toll during the earlier lockdowns in Australia, despite our current high vaccination rate, proves conclusively that lockdowns do reduce death rates.

The paper is even worse than I thought:

In their new report, Herby et al appear to define lockdown as imposition of one or more mandatory non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs); by that definition, the UK has been in permanent lockdown since 16th of March 2021, and remains in lockdown – given it remain[sic] compulsory for people with diagnosed COVID-19 to self-isolate for at least 5 days.

With that definition, Qld is currently in lockdown, because people are required to wear masks indoors. The idea that the effect of this policy is equivalent to the effect of an actual lockdown is ridiculous!

Peer-reviewed studies, such as this one, find completely the opposite effect:

Our results show that major non-pharmaceutical interventions—and lockdowns in particular—have had a large effect on reducing transmission. Continued intervention should be considered to keep transmission of SARS-CoV-2 under control.