Coronavirus Sars-CoV-2/Covid-19 Megathread

[The Larch]

I've never been able to get really cross with Cummings ever since i learned that he used to be a bouncer at Klute, the famously crap night club in Durham City.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/jul/26/dominic-cummings-was-doorman-at-europes-worst-nightclub

Many is the time I failed to get off with a bishop's daughter in Klute's back in the halcyon days of my youth.

Have you ever been there Tyr? Give yourself a treat and visit before its inevitable closure.

Of course there is no way that the silly bugger should be anywhere near the levers of government.

The 400-capacity club was apparently awarded the title of second worst nightclub in Europe by FHM magazine, before the venue in first place burned down, leaving Klute to take the top spot by default.

[Duque de Bragança]

I've never been able to get really cross with Cummings ever since i learned that he used to be a bouncer at Klute, the famously crap night club in Durham City.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/jul/26/dominic-cummings-was-doorman-at-europes-worst-nightclub

Many is the time I failed to get off with a bishop's daughter in Klute's back in the halcyon days of my youth.

Have you ever been there Tyr? Give yourself a treat and visit before its inevitable closure.

Of course there is no way that the silly bugger should be anywhere near the levers of government.

He remembers drinking a range of cocktails including "cheeky vimtos" – usually made from port and the alcopop WKD Blue.

So is French port (cognac + port) a bourgeois cocktail for these people or what?
As if alcopops alone were not bad enough.

[celedhring]

La Liga to resume on June 8

[Tamas]

Seems like the rumours about the level of power Cummings has were true. Senior politicians are defending him, like the attorney general saying "Protecting one's family is what any good parent does".

Such comments are a slap in the face to countless people who were told to self-isolate with their whole family if they had symptoms, let alone all the people dutifully stuck in lockdown for weeks.

It's terrible PR yet members of the government seem falling over each other to rush to this guy's help.

Michael Gove: "Caring for your wife and child is not a crime "

Dominic Raab: "It's reasonable and fair to ask for an explanation on this. And it has been provided: two parents with Coronavirus, were anxiously taking care of their young child. Those now seeking to politicise it should take a long hard look in the mirror."

Rishi Sunak: "Taking care of your wife and young child is justifiable and reasonable, trying to score political points over it isn't. "


Wow! Who would have thought "lockdown" meant "unless you and your spouse have symptoms in which case drive around the country to conveniently deposit possibly sick children with your parents".

[The Larch]

Spain will open borders for foreign tourism in July.

[Threviel]

So is French port (cognac + port) a bourgeois cocktail for these people or what?

Sounds like a good drink, when is it drunk and what are the proportions?

[Duque de Bragança]

Spain will open borders for foreign tourism in July.

Just need to be able to cross through it, but that will do it. 

[Sheilbh]

La Liga to resume on June 8

Since Bundesliga came back I've found myself watching way more football than normally (basically one of the matches that were on at any point) because there's nothing else to do.

Seems like the rumours about the level of power Cummings has were true. Senior politicians are defending him, like the attorney general saying "Protecting one's family is what any good parent does".

I don't think it's about his power, which would, in any event be profoundly diminished by this - all of those senior politicians are spending political capital defending him and God help the poor sod doing today's briefing. I think it's clear Johnson (and the cabinet) decided he's worth keeping so the cabinet are very much circling the wagons. But we'll see how long that lasts - my suspicion is it isn't sustainable and he'll stand down when it's too late for them to get any credit for it and after the damage is done

It seems pretty striking that there's lots of people issuing statements or tweeting but I don't think I've seen a flood ministers or senior tories doing interviews with the media yet - probably because they can't answer the simple question of should self-isolate when they have symptoms or a positive test? As I say I think whoever is at today's briefing will be absolutely savaged, and probably at the next few briefings too. Also we're already at a position where the police and Cummings have said contradictory things. I imagine lots of those cabinet ministers and Number 10 will have to "clarify" their statements which will not help Cummings' position. Plus I think this will reach into the classic scandal questions "what did you know and when did you know it?"

I don't see how he survives this - though maybe they'll try and stagger on into the week. I feel like it'll go down like a bucket of cold sick with people, you know it's hypocrisy which tends to really cut through to people: one rule for them another for us. I think the media will smell blood and will be really digging into this - espeically the Cummings story v the police story. There's an easy way to tie this up to the PM who surely must've known his chief advisor wasn't in town. And it cuts across the government's number 1 message (again this is the sort of thing that undermines compliance to go back to the Easter Egg debate with Yi). It just feels like there's story's got too many legs for him to stay.

My favourite comment so far was the anonymous Tory MP who said that, having interacted with Dominic Cummings, he found it very believable that no-one within 250 miles of him would be willing to help him out

Edit: Incidentally, I think Johnson's still in a very strong position, but I am starting to think he might not be PM at the next election.

[Duque de Bragança]

So is French port (cognac + port) a bourgeois cocktail for these people or what?

Sounds like a good drink, when is it drunk and what are the proportions?

For Minky never.  If you think your port is not strong enough or your cognac too strong.  VS only. There is also the question of white vs red port. White, I'd say, drunk as aperitif usually.
Strong long drink, so proportions are open to debate.

[Sheilbh]

So is French port (cognac + port) a bourgeois cocktail for these people or what?
As if alcopops alone were not bad enough.

Don't knock it

Spain will open borders for foreign tourism in July.

I am desperate to leave the country for a break.

[Duque de Bragança]

So is French port (cognac + port) a bourgeois cocktail for these people or what?
As if alcopops alone were not bad enough.

Don't knock it

Bénédictine being is elite for you and B&B ultra-elite, I guess. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bénédictine

The same company also produces "B & B" (or Bénédictine and Brandy), developed in the 1930s in response to a shift in taste toward drier (less sweet) liqueurs, simply by blending Bénédictine with brandy. Originally both products were 43% alcohol by volume (86 proof), but are now 40% alcohol (80 proof).

[Tamas]

I don't think it's about his power, which would, in any event be profoundly diminished by this - all of those senior politicians are spending political capital defending him and God help the poor sod doing today's briefing. I think it's clear Johnson (and the cabinet) decided he's worth keeping so the cabinet are very much circling the wagons.

I think you are misreading this. No minister would do this for a mere advisor. Also, I'd be surprised if the cabinet ministers have any actual say in decisions like that. They are not in cabinet due to their own merits or power, they are there because Johnson chose them, so I expect them to do what they are told. And that's what's happening.

Either Johnson told them to circle the wagons or Cummings have such a hold on them and/or Johnson that at least one of them thought it is worth taking the initiative and suck up to him, then the rest felt they must follow suit or fall out of favour.

[merithyn]

Welp the Alaska State fair cancelled today. First time since 1942 no fair. My august calendar is wide open.

Can I come visit then?

14 day Self isolation  quarantine is still in effect. So be pretty boring trip.

In August?? 

[merithyn]

Spain will open borders for foreign tourism in July.

[Syt]

https://www.cnet.com/news/more-than-40-of-republicans-think-bill-gates-will-use-covid-19-vaccine-to-implant-microchips-survey-says/

More than 40% of Republicans think Bill Gates will use COVID-19 vaccine to implant microchips, survey says

A survey from Yahoo News and YouGov finds that the conspiracy theory is popular among Fox News viewers, Republicans and Trump voters.

Fighting misinformation and conspiracy theories about the novel coronavirus has almost been as hard as battling the pandemic itself. And a new survey has found that one conspiracy theory about Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates is taking hold.

A conspiracy theory that Gates is planning to use a future COVID-19 vaccine to implant microchips in billions of people in order to monitor their movements has gained supporters particularly among Fox News viewers and Republicans, the survey found.

The representative survey of 1,640 US adults by YouGov for Yahoo News found that half of respondent Americans who say Fox News is their primary television news source believe the conspiracy theory. It's the largest group responding this way, followed by self-described Republicans and "Voted for Donald Trump in 2016" -- 44% of both those groups said they believed the conspiracy theory was true. Twenty-six percent of respondent Republicans said it was false, and 31% said they weren't sure.

Representatives for Fox News, the Republican Party, the White House and the Trump 2020 campaign didn't immediately respond to requests for comment. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which the namesake founders use to fund medical research and vaccine programs around the world, also didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

The survey findings underscore the level at which conspiracy theories have overtaken public perception of the coronavirus. The virus, which has infected 1.6 million people in the US and killed 96,000 Americans, has upended daily life since it was first detected in December of last year. Governments around the world have ordered citizens to isolate themselves and shelter in place in an effort to slow the virus' spread and reduce strain on hospitals and morgues.

As people adjust to these efforts, they've also begun reading and spreading conspiracy theories about the coronavirus. Such theories address everything from the political ambitions of people involved in the response to whether the coronavirus is as deadly as governments and health agencies are reporting to how and where the virus originated (experts say it came from wild animals). So many people wrongly believed 5G wireless played a role in spreading coronavirus that they vandalized nearly 80 cell towers in the UK over it.

Facebook, Twitter and YouTube have all said they're responding to conspiracy posts, adding links to more information and in some cases pulling down content that the companies believe could lead to people unknowingly harming themselves.

Gates has become a center for attention among conspiracy theorists in part because of his high profile efforts to vaccinate people around the world, as well as his recent media appearances over the past couple months. He's also criticized government responses to the crisis, such as in a March editorial published in The Washington Post.

"There's no question the United States missed the opportunity to get ahead of the novel coronavirus," he wrote in a column published March 31. "The choices we and our leaders make now will have an enormous impact on how soon case numbers start to go down, how long the economy remains shut down and how many Americans will have to bury a loved one because of COVID-19."

One analysis done by The New York Times and media watcher Zignal Labs in April found misinformation about Gates was the most widespread of all coronavirus falsehoods.

Yahoo and YouGov's May survey didn't find that everyone believed these conspiracy theories though. Forty-five percent of independents, 52% of Democrats and 63% of people who say they voted for Hillary Clinton in 2016 said they don't believe the conspiracy theory about Gates and vaccines.

The same survey also found that only half of Americans now say they intend to get vaccinated "if and when a coronavirus vaccine becomes available." Twenty-three percent of people say they won't, and 27% say they're not sure.

While the headline focuses on the Republicans accepting the theory, I'm also shocked and surprised that 48% of Democrats/37% of Clinton voters don't reject the conspiracy myth outright.