Coronavirus Sars-CoV-2/Covid-19 Megathread

[crazy canuck]

Mathematically the pandemic should peak late May, early June and we'll be out of the worst of it by the end of August. It could come back though, Spanish Flu did a few laps around the world before enough herd immunity was established globally to snuff it out. It will end, what we do personally and together will determine how many older folks will be left.

Yeah, if next 'flu' season could be a bigger problem

[crazy canuck]

As of Friday, 6,326 people had been tested for COVID-19 across B.C

We now have 73 cases - the old age home where we had our 1 death had 9 new cases.  So probably more deaths will occur there.

[DGuller]

I think CC is losing his periods.

[mongers]

Reuters is reporting that UK's ITN news has information that

UK to order four-month isolation for elderly: ITV

People in Britain aged over 70 will be instructed soon by the government to stay in strict isolation for four months as part of a planned response to coronavirus, broadcaster ITV's political editor said

[Sheilbh]

God. Cruel, but probably the right decision

It's up to home-care workesr, families and communities now to help them while they're in isolation and, as I say, try and show them how to Facetime or get on social media because the psychological effect will be huge.

[PDH]

I really get the sense that California will go full Italy this next week, shutdown for most.

[mongers]

God. Cruel, but probably the right decision

It's up to home-care workesr, families and communities now to help them while they're in isolation and, as I say, try and show them how to Facetime or get on social media because the psychological effect will be huge.

Indeed.

But it's going to be difficult for a lot of families. I now need to draft a polite email to my brother that gets over the need to not have the grandchildren visit their grandma anytime soon. 

[Maladict]

I now need to draft a polite email to my brother that gets over the need to not have the grandchildren visit their grandma anytime soon. 

I know you're British and all, but no need to be polite about it.

[grumbler]

I think CC is losing his periods.

That's one of the early symptoms of having Covid-19, medical experts* say




*internet medical experts who are making shit up


Edit:  OMG!

[mongers]

I now need to draft a polite email to my brother that gets over the need to not have the grandchildren visit their grandma anytime soon. 

I know you're British and all, but no need to be polite about it.

Can't throw the baby out with the bath water. 

[The Brain]

Today I channeled Martin Prince and bought soy.

[Eddie Teach]

Does that make you a "soy boy"?

[The Brain]

Does that make you a "soy boy"?

Sure I guess.

[mongers]

God. Cruel, but probably the right decision

It's up to home-care workesr, families and communities now to help them while they're in isolation and, as I say, try and show them how to Facetime or get on social media because the psychological effect will be huge.

Shelf, full Robert Peston blog on issue here:

14 March 2020 at 7:58pm
Elderly could be quarantined for four months in 'wartime-style' mobilisation to combat coronavirus, writes Robert Peston
ROBERT PESTON  PESTON'S POLITICS
People over 70 will be instructed by the government to stay in strict isolation at home or in care homes for four months, writes Robert Peston.
People over 70 will be instructed by the government to stay in strict isolation at home or in care homes for four months, writes Robert Peston. Credit: PA
People over 70 will be instructed by the government to stay in strict isolation at home or in care homes for four months, under a "wartime-style" mobilisation effort by the government likely to be enforced within the next 20 days.

It is part of a series of measures being prepared by the prime minister, health secretary, chief medical officer and chief scientific adviser to prevent the health service from "falling over" and to save lives as Covid-19 becomes an epidemic in the UK.

Other measures already being planned include:
the forced requisitioning of hotels and other buildings as temporary hospitals;
the requisitioning of private hospitals as emergency hospitals;
temporary closure of pubs, bars and restaurants - some time after next weekend's ban on mass gatherings;
emergency manufacture by several companies of respirators that would be necessary to keep alive those who become acutely ill;
the closure of schools for perhaps a few weeks, but with skeleton staff kept on to provide childcare for key workers in the NHS and police.
....

Full article:
https://www.itv.com/news/2020-03-14/elderly-to-be-quarantined-for-four-months-in-wartime-style-mobilisation-to-combat-coronavirus/

[Sheilbh]

Yeah - Matt Hancock has now written about some of these measures (non-paywalled in the Telegraph). It sounds like at this stage it'll be legislation which gives the government those emergency powers if needed.

But they all sound like sensible measures in a pandemic. It's extraordinary though.

Edit: I keep thinking about that epidemiologist (one of the modellers) who was asked what it'll be like at the end of the pandemic and he said it will have changed our society. He said in terms of similar experiences he could think of, he's from London, and his mother would talk about the blitz 60 years after it happened even though as he put it the loss of life was actually "only 40,000". And he said he thinks will be the same, we may keep the mortality low (from an epidemiological perspective - so still scary from a human perspective) but it'll be something we talk about when we're in our 80s.