Coronavirus Sars-CoV-2/Covid-19 Megathread

[Duque de Bragança]

What if you don't have a printer?

Hopefully, you copy the template and have a clear handwriting hopefully.

PS: lack of printer is common along the elderly, pre-office automation crowds. Typewriting could be accepted I guess.

[celedhring]

I'm seeing right-wing, Thatcherite people proposing that the government probably needs to nationalise airports, airlines, railways and some elements of the supply chain (at the minute Amazon Prime Now etc are really essential infrastructure - but also we need people who work in supply chain roles to feel empowered to self-isolate/take time off) plus cash payments to individuals and small/medium businesses.

Again, just extraordinary - it all strikes me as sensible.

We've had several libertarians have come-to-jesus moments too. It will just be temporary.

[mongers]

Just finishing my hopefully last public transport journey in some time. London Bridge was freaky quiet both times I passed through it.

Good for you, because confined public spaces like buses and tubes seem like a threat.

So Gabby do you want to buy a bike instead? 

[mongers]

I think it's more likely there that the rich and well travelled are also more likely to be educated and are getting tested, and more likely to be in jobs where work from home is an option.
Amongst regular people I'm still seeing a disturbing amount of brexity style attitudes of its all a load of nothing, who cares if I have a bit of a cold, etc...
Quite a lot of disturbing Facebook posts going around on the weekend celebrating how Britain hasn't surrendered the way other countries have.

I too can see that for some people.

It's an extension of the anti-scientific belief that 'I know better than experts' which triumphed in Brexit and is fuels anti-climate change attitudes

[Sheilbh]

We've had several libertarians have come-to-jesus moments too. It will just be temporary.

We've also had some on the hard-left struggling with this. It started with "we need to requisition private wards" and then the government said they would do, so the hard left then said we need "expropriate private wards" with no compensation.

I imagine the same will happen with this. "We need to nationalise the railways." "Okay." "Not like that"

[alfred russel]

The economic reset will be Biblical. This will ruin countless lives.

I had a conversation last night on what the impact would be if there was an outbreak like this that killed 40% or 50% of people infected across all age groups.

Actually those epidemics are easier to contain. There's a reason Covid-19 will kill far more people than Ebola.

You totally missed the point...a super high mortality with a transmission rate such that it would infect half or more of the population...

[mongers]

First impressions of travel today.

Local bus was as crowded (or more crowded) than I expected. There seemed to be more people in town as well, suggesting people are shopping earlier or otherwise staggering trips.

Train north had only a quarter to a third as many people waiting for it as the last few weeks; this was reflected in the number of empty seats on the train itself.

There was a train to London due a minute after my own. There was one person waiting for it. Looks like all travel to London for pleasure has basically stopped assuming what I saw was an accurate reflection of the situation despite being only one datapoint (I asked at the ticket Office how quiet it had been; they laughed.)

Will have to see what my second train is like (that comes direct from London, no stops before Leicester.)

Interesting, thanks for that Agelastus.

I wonder if they'll start cutting back services due to lack of demand and later because of staff sick with the virus.

I was planning on using a lot of trains over the next couple of months, but that project is now out of the window. 

[celedhring]

The economic reset will be Biblical. This will ruin countless lives.

I had a conversation last night on what the impact would be if there was an outbreak like this that killed 40% or 50% of people infected across all age groups.

Actually those epidemics are easier to contain. There's a reason Covid-19 will kill far more people than Ebola.

You totally missed the point...a super high mortality with a transmission rate such that it would infect half or more of the population...

There's a reason these kind of plagues just happen in movies though. Something that can kill 50% would be harder to spread to half the population. It would be so virulent that you wouldn't have many mild cases walking around and spreading it.

Still, I share your worry that the social/economic price we'll pay for this will exceed the sanitary one. Poverty kills like nothing else.

[Josephus]

Ontario declared state of emergency

[alfred russel]

There's a reason these kind of plagues just happen in movies though. Something that can kill 50% would be harder to spread to half the population. It would be so virulent that you wouldn't have many mild cases walking around and spreading it.

Still, I share your worry that the social/economic price we'll pay for this will exceed the sanitary one. Poverty kills like nothing else.

They don't just happen in movies--the black death, the smallpox epidemic in the new world...it is highly unlikely both because they are historically rare and we do have the benefit of modern science, but it isn't totally inconceivable.

[celedhring]

I keep getting news of several Spanish factories turned over to manufacturing health care/protective equipment. It's like a war economy.

[alfred russel]

I keep getting news of several Spanish factories turned over to manufacturing health care/protective equipment. It's like a war economy.

I realize that this is anecdotal and not a substitute for real data...

But I have a friend who is a 62 year old doctor that used to be in the NIH and now is doing primary medicine as he nears retirement. His point of view is that the US is totally unprepared and the CDC has dropped the ball--he said in his practice (he is part of a larger medical group) only has 8 masks and isn't able to get more--his point of view is that you will never be able to fully prepare for something like this but basic supplies like masks and gloves should have been stockpiled and they apparently haven't been.

If that is true--there is no minute like the last minute to produce this stuff.

[mongers]

I keep getting news of several Spanish factories turned over to manufacturing health care/protective equipment. It's like a war economy.

This will annoy Duque, but I Macron saying 'we are at war' is the right rhetoric. 

[mongers]

I realize that this is anecdotal and not a substitute for real data...

But I have a friend who is a 62 year old doctor that used to be in the NIH and now is doing primary medicine as he nears retirement. His point of view is that the US is totally unprepared and the CDC has dropped the ball--he said in his practice (he is part of a larger medical group) only has 8 masks and isn't able to get more--his point of view is that you will never be able to fully prepare for something like this but basic supplies like masks and gloves should have been stockpiled and they apparently haven't been.

If that is true--there is no minute like the last minute to produce this stuff.

AR, I think a lot of Western countries will be grateful for Chinese medical aid in the next few weeks.

[Sheilbh]

I cannot find numbers on tests conducted in Germany.

Yeah - it's a slightly annoying gap in the global numbers in terms of big-ish countries. I assume it's because health isn't federal?

Also, Brits - consider signing up for this:
https://www.flusurvey.net/

Obviously more testing is needed but this was apparently really helpful in the 2009/10 flu epidemic by allowing Public Health England to monitor self-reported symptoms