Coronavirus Sars-CoV-2/Covid-19 Megathread

[Legbiter]

Actually based on these news we discussed to go to Iceland this summer.  I have been before, my partner not, but she's interested. Let's see.

Yeah I'm taking the family to the Westfjords instead of Italy this summer. 

[merithyn]

In Sweden, and apparently in some other countries as well, emergency response in parks is done by normal emergency response organizations. That's why I asked.

Here, park rangers generally call out the emergency squads (helicopters, etc.) when there's an emergency. We have entire teams dedicated to forest responses.

[The Brain]

In Sweden, and apparently in some other countries as well, emergency response in parks is done by normal emergency response organizations. That's why I asked.

Here, park rangers generally call out the emergency squads (helicopters, etc.) when there's an emergency. We have entire teams dedicated to forest responses.

It's one of those quirky cultural differences.

[merithyn]

In Sweden, and apparently in some other countries as well, emergency response in parks is done by normal emergency response organizations. That's why I asked.

Here, park rangers generally call out the emergency squads (helicopters, etc.) when there's an emergency. We have entire teams dedicated to forest responses.

It's one of those quirky cultural differences.

Or to do with forest sizes.

[The Brain]

In Sweden, and apparently in some other countries as well, emergency response in parks is done by normal emergency response organizations. That's why I asked.

Here, park rangers generally call out the emergency squads (helicopters, etc.) when there's an emergency. We have entire teams dedicated to forest responses.

It's one of those quirky cultural differences.

Or to do with forest sizes.

Surely there are decent-sized forests in the US?

[merithyn]

A few

[The Brain]

Phew.

[Razgovory]

In Sweden, and apparently in some other countries as well, emergency response in parks is done by normal emergency response organizations. That's why I asked.

Here, park rangers generally call out the emergency squads (helicopters, etc.) when there's an emergency. We have entire teams dedicated to forest responses.

It's one of those quirky cultural differences.

Or to do with forest sizes.

Surely there are decent-sized forests in the US?

I think that's Benedict Arnold's area of knowledge.  The poster not the general.

Or you just look up that forestry service. https://www.fs.fed.us/ivm/index.html  Apparently we have very big forests in the US.

[Valmy]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._National_Forests

The biggest one is 67,778 km2

[Admiral Yi]

Brain was throwing shade in his often opaque Brain fashion.  When Meri said it's about size, the assumption was parks in the US are bigger.  Brain turned that around and said I know parks are big in Sweden, does that mean they are not in the US.

[Iormlund]

I wouldn't be surprised if Scandinavia is the one place in Europe with forests comparable to those in the States though. Old forests in actually livable climates were probably gone by the Bronze Age.

[Barrister]

I wouldn't be surprised if Scandinavia is the one place in Europe with forests comparable to those in the States though. Old forests in actually livable climates were probably gone by the Bronze Age.

Not a chance.  The boreal forest in Alaska is almost certainly larger than all of Sweden.

[Threviel]

Sweden has almost no ancient primeval forests. 65% of the land area is forested, but almost all of it is planted mono-culture conifer types for the saw- and paper mills.

Take my part of Sweden as an example, Halland. Historically treeless heath and farmland, cattle country. In the 19th century described as the ugliest part of Sweden. Today, heavily forested and almost all forests are planted spruce planted in the 20th century. Also quite beautiful.

So yeah, Sweden has lots of forest, but I imagine that very very little of it can compare to the forests in North America.

[Syt]

https://www.newsweek.com/63-percent-religious-americans-say-coronavirus-sign-god-telling-humanity-change-its-ways-poll-1504492

63 PERCENT OF RELIGIOUS AMERICANS SAY CORONAVIRUS IS A SIGN FROM GOD TELLING HUMANITY TO CHANGE ITS WAYS: POLL

Sixty-three percent of religious Americans say that the novel coronavirus pandemic is a sign from God, telling humanity to change its ways of living, according a new poll.

The poll, which was conducted by the Associated Press/NORC, surveyed 1,002 U.S. adults who say they believe in God. The poll was conducted from April 30 to May 4 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.2 percentage point.

Among the 63 percent, 31 percent said they feel strongly that the coronavirus is a sign from God while the same percentage felt "somewhat strongly." According to the poll, 'born-again' Protestants were most likely to feel that the coronavirus was a sign from God, with 43 percent feeling strongly, while 28 percent of both "mainline Protestants," and Catholics felt the same.

When the poll focused on different races, it found that 73 percent of black Americans and 65 percent of Hispanic Americans felt that the virus was a sign from God, while 48 percent of white Americans said the same.

Additionally, the poll also that a majority of religious Americans, 55 percent, believe that God will protect them from being infected with the coronavirus, while 9 percent said they think God has abandoned humanity.

While a large number of religious Americans believe the virus is a sign from God, the poll found that this same group has decreased some of their religious activities. According to the poll, 38 percent of religious Americans said they donated money, food or supplies to a religious organization or group, which is a large decrease from 2019, where 53 percent said they did the same.

The poll also saw a decrease in the number of religious Americans volunteering with religious groups as well as helping or checking in on their neighbor.

According to the poll, 18 percent of Americans with a religious affiliation said they have volunteered with a religious group since the coronavirus pandemic began, while 34 percent of the group volunteered with organizations in 2019. Sixty-one percent of religious Americans said they have helped or checked in on their neighbors since the pandemic began, which shows a decrease of 2 points from 2019, where 65 percent said they checked in during the year.

Among Americans overall, without a religious affiliation, the poll found that 43 percent believe foreign governments are to blame for the pandemic, while 37 percent said it was caused by the U.S. government.

The new coronavirus, which causes the respiratory disease COVID-19, continues to spread throughout the U.S., which has remained the virus's epicenter. According to a tracker provided by Johns Hopkins University, there are currently over 1.4 million cases in the U.S., and at least 86,851 deaths.

[Admiral Yi]

Among Americans overall, without a religious affiliation, the poll found that 43 percent believe foreign governments are to blame for the pandemic, while 37 percent said it was caused by the U.S. government.

That's a badly worded question.  Blame or caused by could be interpreted as China tolerated bat and pangolin markets or the US allowed people from China to spread it to the US, or didn't quarantine people coming back to the US.