Coronavirus Sars-CoV-2/Covid-19 Megathread

[Admiral Yi]

The health ministry is validating a new test that would give results in 15 minutes and increase the country's capacity for testing.

I'll give you 100 quatloos if the US can have that test first.

[fromtia]

https://www.npr.org/2020/03/19/818343720/homeowners-hurt-financially-by-the-coronavirus-may-get-a-mortgage-break

This well help people like me tremendously.

[Iormlund]

The health ministry is validating a new test that would give results in 15 minutes and increase the country's capacity for testing.

I'll give you 100 quatloos if the US can have that test first.

[Josquius]

Well. My parents are insisting I should still go there for mothers day since they're going to work as normal and get enough exposure there. Makes sense in a way. But still dodgy

[viper37]

I'm about to quit this racket and open a patisserie or something.

Yeah, much better.  A lot of patisserie owner ride in Ford Aviator and pay a BMW convertible to their significant other and pay the appartment and condos for their kids while bringing all the family on a yearly vacation at christmas.

It's funny how the most leftist of us change their tune when they're being asked to do a little extra for not much dollars.

We've been doing that for years, constantly overburdenned by bureaucracy.  We were called "selfish" to complain, and that's the nicest I've heard. Stop whining.

[Grey Fox]

I'm about to quit this racket and open a patisserie or something.

Yeah, much better.  A lot of patisserie owner ride in Ford Aviator and pay a BMW convertible to their significant other and pay the appartment and condos for their kids while bringing all the family on a yearly vacation at christmas.

It's funny how the most leftist of us change their tune when they're being asked to do a little extra for not much dollars.

We've been doing that for years, constantly overburdenned by bureaucracy.  We were called "selfish" to complain, and that's the nicest I've heard. Stop whining.

It seems to me like it is time for Zoupa to become a partner & stop being an employee.

[viper37]

Increasingly convinced our lack of experience of another pandemic in the West v South Korea, Hong Kong etc is a key factor. So not taking this seriously - see also the French comments about idiots and Italian authorities talking about "irresponsible behaviour of some citizens".

Just had an email from soneone who is at a leaving lunch now. Their theory is they've all been at work together for the last week

Most people around here seem to take it seriously and do as they're told.  A few are really stubborn though, but it's a minority.

So far, no social contagion, only people coming from abroad and their family.  *Crossing fingers*

[HVC]

I'm about to quit this racket and open a patisserie or something.

Yeah, much better.  A lot of patisserie owner ride in Ford Aviator and pay a BMW convertible to their significant other and pay the appartment and condos for their kids while bringing all the family on a yearly vacation at christmas.

It's funny how the most leftist of us change their tune when they're being asked to do a little extra for not much dollars.

We've been doing that for years, constantly overburdenned by bureaucracy.  We were called "selfish" to complain, and that's the nicest I've heard. Stop whining.

It seems to me like it is time for Zoupa to become a partner & stop being an employee.

what the average pharmacist wage? I recall hearing around 100k, but I could be pulling that out of my ass. so even a non-partner does pretty well.

[viper37]

I'm about to quit this racket and open a patisserie or something.

Yeah, much better.  A lot of patisserie owner ride in Ford Aviator and pay a BMW convertible to their significant other and pay the appartment and condos for their kids while bringing all the family on a yearly vacation at christmas.

It's funny how the most leftist of us change their tune when they're being asked to do a little extra for not much dollars.

We've been doing that for years, constantly overburdenned by bureaucracy.  We were called "selfish" to complain, and that's the nicest I've heard. Stop whining.

It seems to me like it is time for Zoupa to become a partner & stop being an employee.

No, no. Patisserie is the future.

[viper37]

My facebook feed is still peppered with Covid deniers,

I had a few like that last week.
Now, they're silent and confined at home, too scared to go out.

[Crazy_Ivan80]

So some religious types have been an absolute disaster, though not the Pope.

I just shouted at the tv "f***you c***" whilst watching a news report about an Iranian cleric who was shown on tv saying he'd been cured of the virus by drinking holy water from a shrine, guess what, he died from covid-19 a week later.

translated from Dutch,
gives a view of what is probably the situation in Iran and the absolute asshattery going on there.

Iranian power struggle in Corona times
Government negligence costs human lives
MARCH 19, 2020 Edward Azadi - Reading time 6 minutes

Ahmadreza Djalali has been in an Iranian cell since April 2016. The Iranian doctor lived with his family in Sweden, where he taught at the Karolinska Institute. He also regularly gave guest lectures on disaster medicine at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel.

During a mock trial, he was convicted on the basis of forced confessions. The accusation: espionage. The verdict: the death penalty. While a real medical disaster is taking place in Iran, and the country desperately needs all the help it can get, a disaster medicine specialist is languishing in the cell, waiting for his execution.

Hardly testing
When I write this, it is Tuesday March 17th. In Iran and some neighboring countries, 'Chaharshanbeh Souri' is celebrated tonight. Chaharshanbeh Souri is the last Tuesday for 'Nowuz' (literally: 'new day'): the Iranian New Year, which coincides with the beginning of spring on March 21.

During Chaharshanbeh Souri, fireworks are fired, and campfires are jumped: a purification ritual that bears resemblance to the old Germanic yule festival. Pre-Islamic Noruz and the associated festivities are the most important holidays in Iran. Everyone visits family. In the capital Tehran, where many inhabitants of other provinces come from, Nowruz means a real migration of people. Millions of residents leave Tehran and migrate to their hometown. Today Tehran is the city with the highest number of Covid-19 infections in Iran. And yet the government does not seem to be attempting to stop this migration.

In my area two people have already died of Covid-19. A teenage girl and her grandmother. The girl had flu symptoms and breathing problems. She died in the car on her way to the hospital. According to the doctors, it was almost certainly Covid-19. They therefore advised the family not to organize a large funeral ceremony. The grandmother died a week later, with the same symptoms. Neither have been tested on Covid-19. They are therefore not included in the statistics.

Officially, the counter now stands at 988 Covid-19 deaths in Iran

Officially, the counter now stands at 988 Covid-19 deaths in Iran . Despite the delivery of one hundred thousand test kits by the World Health Organization, hardly any sick citizens are being tested. Hospitals do not have enough test kits and only test the worst cases. Politicians and Mullahs are being tested on the assembly line. Several times, even if they don't show any symptoms. According to the World Health Organization, the actual number of deaths could be five times the official figure. If that is true, the number of deaths in Iran would be considerably higher than that in China.

Power struggle
In recent weeks, Iran has been held hostage by internal disputes in the regime. The first infections occurred in Qom, a city 100 kilometers south of Tehran. Qom is the religious capital of Iran. The Fatima Mausoleum is a place of pilgrimage that attracts visitors from all over the world. The sick come there, hoping for a cure. Quarantining the city or closing the shrine was unimaginable to the Mullahs. How can you believe in the healing power of the shrine, and at the same time close it because a virus would be spread? The health ministry had the shrine disinfected, to the anger of religious hotheads, who came to kiss and lick the shrine.

Iraq closed the Shia shrine in Najaf (the eternal rival of Qom) and in Saudi Arabia the Mecca mosque closed. But the shrine in Qom remained open. It was not until Monday, March 16, that the government finally closed the shrines of Qom and Mashhad. In both cities, an angry mob stormed the closed doors. They managed to penetrate for a moment, but eventually the shrines were locked.

In addition to the government, the Revolutionary Guard is also fighting the virus. For a moment it was said that the guard would force a lockdown. Gas stations would be closed to prevent people from traveling. The old rumor also re-emerged that the guard would carry out a coup. Eventually it was just a bit of parading through the streets. Revolutionary Guard members rode around on motorcycles, wearing medical protective clothing. While doctors and nurses have to improvise fully due to an acute lack of protective equipment.

The government and the Revolutionary Guard sometimes operate side by side, sometimes against each other.

The government and the Revolutionary Guard sometimes operate side by side, sometimes against each other. Both hoping to increase their support among the population at the expense of the other. In this crisis, the Mullahs also intervened, when they felt that the religious foundations of the state were being touched. Audio recordings of a crisis meeting in Qom leaked. In addition to doctors and politicians, an Islamic healer was also present there. He claimed a role for 'Islamic medicine' in fighting the virus (Iran's traditional 'Islamic medicine' is based on the ancient Greek theories about the balance of the 4 humores ).

Negligence
The population is now divided into a group that takes the threat seriously, isolates itself as much as possible, and a group for whom ordinary life continues. People continue to visit the bazaars to shop for the Nowruz party. Many do avoid public transport, which makes the already hectic traffic jams around Tehran even worse. The government briefly announced that people would only have to work half a day, a measure of which she quickly recognized the pointlessness and then turned it back.

Iran has only a very small private sector. Most Iranians work for the government, or for one of the many companies owned by the Revolutionary Guard Corps. The government and the guard therefore have an important means to slow down the spread. But instead of calling on people to stay at home, they emphasize that those who don't come to the office lose their jobs.

Supreme Leader Khamenei came up with a predictable explanation for the virus: it is a biological weapon of America's great enemy. Iranian state television has been fiercely imagined that the virus was specifically developed by the Americans to attack the genetic traits of Iranians. Italians also look a bit southern, so their genes look a bit like those of Iranians, which also affects them. After Boris Johnson and Mark Rutte, President Rouhani now also discovered the concept of 'group immunity'. We just have to go through it, he said, but he reassured the population that the peak of the infections would be over.

Half-hearted measures
At the start of the outbreak, Iran reacted just like China: by hiding the problem and arresting people who reported it. But while China eventually acted vigorously, Iran continued to wander rudderless. Measures are being taken. A large group of prisoners were released for the time being, for fear of spreading within the prison. Provincial borders were closed for a moment, and eventually the shrines in Qom and Mashad closed.

But measures are often half-hearted, or far too late. At the provincial borders, there were clashes between civilians, police and the Revolutionary Guard, with one closing the border for a moment, the others opening them again and then someone else closing them again.

In any case, the number of deaths will increase.

We cannot judge from here whether the peak of the infections is really over. In any case, the number of deaths will increase. Meanwhile, President Rouhani and Minister Zarif call on the international community to ignore US sanctions against Iran. Iran cannot fight Covid-19 because sanctions have depleted the economy, they argue. And so the Iranian government shamelessly reclaims the victims of its own negligence.

EDWARD AZADI

https://doorbraak.be/iraanse-machtsstrijd-in-corona-tijden/

[Grey Fox]

I'm about to quit this racket and open a patisserie or something.

Yeah, much better.  A lot of patisserie owner ride in Ford Aviator and pay a BMW convertible to their significant other and pay the appartment and condos for their kids while bringing all the family on a yearly vacation at christmas.

It's funny how the most leftist of us change their tune when they're being asked to do a little extra for not much dollars.

We've been doing that for years, constantly overburdenned by bureaucracy.  We were called "selfish" to complain, and that's the nicest I've heard. Stop whining.

It seems to me like it is time for Zoupa to become a partner & stop being an employee.

what the average pharmacist wage? I recall hearing around 100k, but I could be pulling that out of my ass. so even a non-partner does pretty well.

Maybe a little less, around the 70s. But, I suspect Zoupa's issue is not wage related, he seems annoyed with dealing with a boss.

[Syt]

In "First World Problems in the Time of Corona" ... Netflix, after request by the EU, reduced its bandwidth usage by 25% through compression etc.

The Austrian regulatory body has given an exception to the net neutrality law, permitting providers to throttle video streaming if resources should run low because everyone is working from home.

[Sheilbh]

This is from an unpublished paper and a very small sample size, but interesitngly my researcher friend said the most predictive symptom seems to be muscle pain without exercise - we'll see

The trackers at the minute. UK and Spain are still worrying on fatalities, but it still feels like the US is most concerning on both:

Diagnoses:


Also my researcher friend said anything short of 3 months is not going to happen. 3 months is best case scenario

Edit: Also up to 8,500 tests a day and I feel like testing is the key. This time last week we were still on 2,500 so there is some progress.

Edit: UK is relaxing competition rules to allow supermarkets to collaborate and relaxing the rules on delivery drivers. In general this would be bad but given where we are and (hopefully) the roads are clear it probably makes sense

[Valmy]

I am a bit worried about all the attention given towards the Western and Asian countries here. I get as the big world travelers we would be the first to confront this but as we see in Iran perhaps the capacity for this thing to really kill millions will be in the poor countries.