Coronavirus Sars-CoV-2/Covid-19 Megathread

[Tamas]

 

[Sheilbh]

Finally UK government messaging focuses on staying outdoors/fresh air (the doctor hosting this does breakfast TV):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2gIdEITYEMo&t=2s

Something the Japanese have been doing since last March, but at least we got there

Edit: I've no doubt we'll continue to see lots of people getting into a moral panic about people in parks instead of insecure indoor locations (especially workplaces) being re-opened but there we are

[The Larch]

AFAIK in my region vaccination will continue as usual during Easter, but the limitations lie in the number of available vaccines (Pfizer and Moderna are available and will be used to keep vaccinating over 80s, while an expected shipment of AZ to be used for 55-65 yos is delayed). For what I've read the regional government is planning to significantly ramp up vaccinations after Easter, but this is contingent on shippings of the AZ vaccine arriving on time.

[Maladict]

Finally UK government messaging focuses on staying outdoors/fresh air (the doctor hosting this does breakfast TV):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2gIdEITYEMo&t=2s

Something the Japanese have been doing since last March, but at least we got there

Edit: I've no doubt we'll continue to see lots of people getting into a moral panic about people in parks instead of insecure indoor locations (especially workplaces) being re-opened but there we are

I have some hope the mild spring weather will save us from the worst of the third wave. Nothing else will.

[Tamas]

Hungary continues to worsen, after several days of stagnating hospitalisation numbers (despite skyrocketing infection numbers) these are now on the rise again. Maybe they have found further empty beds.

More and more doctors speak out on the terrible conditions caused by the overflow of covid patients, but they continue to be dismissed by the government who insist everything is fine. Which I find terribly counterproductive as people should be scared into staying home. Instead, they are talking about the reopening schedule like they are the UK, and not a country being drown in the virus.

[Maladict]

Big spike in hospital admissions for the 70+ demographic.
This could have been prevented

[Zanza]

I'm all for international collaboration, but the whole Russian policy of "fuck our own, we'll use the vaccine to further our international agenda" is... weird. I suppose it's one of the luxuries of being an authoritarian state.

Yeah. Russia's outbreak is I think a little better than the rest of Europe has been over winter - but is nowhere near the level of China who are also exporting a lot (about 50/50, same with India). My slight question with Russia is whether the international orders are actually an important way of building reassurance/belief in their own population?

Russia has extreme excess mortality, second worst globally. I think Putin just does not care.
https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/coronavirus-excess-deaths-tracker

[DGuller]

I wouldn't assume that Russians disagree with Putin's approach.  Almost a century ago, they were exporting grain while suffering from a devastating famine at home, and no one complained back then.

[Zanza]

Germany's vaccine commission decided to stop using AZ on below 60 year olds (2 days after I got it). There are now 29 cases for women, 2 for men with a very rare kind of thrombosis in the brain.

Based on the administered doses so far, that's about 1 in 61,000 women and 1 in 430,000 men. The figure for women is significant for this rare type of thrombosis.

About 2.8 million got their first shot of AZ so far, very few got a second already.

[Sheilbh]

Russia has extreme excess mortality, second worst globally. I think Putin just does not care.
https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/coronavirus-excess-deaths-tracker

Also likely.

Thing I find really striking about presenting the data in that way - which I hadn't realised - was in relation to excess deaths the winter wave in the UK was less severe than the first wave, even though in absolute numbers it was far worse. It really hits home how many people die every year in the winter flu season.

[Zanza]

It's also striking that there was barely a flu season this year. The lockdown and hygiene measures that look insufficient against the Corona virus seem sufficient for the influenza virus. 

[Sheilbh]

I wonder if that is going to be a long-term consequence of covid - that we change behaviour at winter because we know we can seriously reduce the number of flu deaths through a little bit of distancing, wearing masks etc.

I don't think anywhere will fully lockdown, but I feel like a public health campaign around taking some of extra hygiene steps to save lives might work.

[Duque de Bragança]

Just read on Twitter that Germany is partially pausing vaccinations during Easter. 

Same in Austria.

Karfreitag is more extreme than I though.  "Silent" holiday...

[Zanza]

You should google "Tanzverbot", duque!

[Duque de Bragança]

You should google "Tanzverbot", duque!

I already know what it means, "silent" in this context means no music and no dancing. 

I still don't see the link with music and dance to vaccinations though.

Mind you, I was always out of Germany for that long week-end during my years in Frankfurt.