[Rugoz]

Similarly, places like Italy, Spain, and New York City were simply defiant for political reasons--Italians having a "hug a Chinese" week, Spain holding a feminist rally asserting that misogyny kills more people than Coronavirus

No doubt blown out of proportion by the dimwitted right-wing sites you visit. What we have actual evidence of, is religious nutcases spreading the virus like crazy.

and New York pols telling people it was perfectly fine to go to a Chinese parade and take public transit and carry on as normal.

In a city public transit is crucial for people being able to go to work. You cannot shut it down, unless you're willing to shut down the economy.

[foxdemon]

I've seen some claims that smokers are underrepresented among severe cases because nicotine downregulates this receptor.

I meant to ask how you are doing, foxdemon. You might have told us already, but I've not been reading all posts, so apologies if I have missed it.

Do you have a link about smokers? The data I have seen is mixed. Initially it was thought that smoking increased risk but later data didn’t show any statistical relationship. Hypertension is coming out as the biggie for co-morbidities. Obesity and diabetes are bad too. This is a serious concern when one looks at all the fat people in America.


I have an on going lung problem. I get any cold or flu going around. I had two in the last few weeks, but only minor symptoms. I would have ignored them but anyone who is even slightly unwell has to stay home at present. The doctor did send me off for a test but the test clinic refused due to government mandated testing criteria and sent me back to the doctor.

Anyway, my work has been dragging their feet on work from home. I won’t say anymore about that because it would give away who I work for. I have taken a few weeks annual leave up until after Easter. That should be long enough to be able to tell in the Oz gov strategy has worked or if it has failed.

As you can see on world test stats, Oz ranks highly. But those tests have been tightly focused on returning travellers, only recently expanding to health workers, suspicious pneumonia cases and prison, aged care and remote communities. There is still no serious effort at community testing. The Victorian gov has just started a random test strategy in hospitals. So, though Oz has high test rates by world standards, we really only know about airport arrivals and cruise ship passengers. The honest truth is the authorities don’t really know the extent of community transmission.


The country is in semi-lock down, which helps a lot. State borders are all supposed to be closed now. Returning travellers are almost all home now (well, in quarantine, but back in Oz). Still lots of idiots on cruise ships. It takes a special sort of stupid to go on a cruise during a pandemic, but this type of stupid appears to be common. But the important thing is that soon the traveller stats, which account for most cases and most tests, will be cleared and we can start to see the important stats of local contagion. Current case stats really reflect the places these travellers have come from (Europe, USA, cruise ships). So the statistical rate of growth is the rate in those places, not the local rate.


Given we just don’t know the local situation, I am “sheltering in place”, as the Americans say, until the real local situation becomes apparent. Note that local deaths also reflect foreign situations at this time. If there is a sudden and unexpected increase of pneumonia or intestinal cases at hospitals in the next two weeks or so, then the plan failed and there was lots of undetected community spread. Otherwise, if no surge in the hospitals, maybe, just maybe, the strategy worked. The Oz gov did restrict travel from China when it was still being described as racist elsewhere in the west. So that would have reduced early infect rates.

But we still need S Korean style community testing. The authorities really need to be able to see what is happening. Also we need Asian style masks for everyone. So yes, within two or so weeks we will know if Australia has managed to avoid the worst of the first wave of this disease. But we still need to adopt more of the strategies other Asian countries have developed through bitter experience.

[Rich]

In a city public transit is crucial for people being able to go to work. You cannot shut it down, unless you're willing to shut down the economy.

No but what you can do if you are a Cultural Marxist hate monger like Sadiq Khan is close down as many stations and services as possible so as to force people into as confined spaces as possible, so as to spread the virus, giving you excuses for even more the Red fascist control you've always craved. Of course Sadiq Khan has been working for years to maximise immigration, both legal and illegal and make London as over crowded as possible. Our overcrowded cities are the super spreaders of the Xi virus. Its the Cultural Marxists that want to take away our cars and force us into overcrowded cities.

One thing's for sure we are not all in this together. Some of us are under virtual house arrest, while police drones follow people seeking to enjoy a bit of countryside, mean while Prince Charles gets to walk his vast estates. His wife is not forced to share her family member's lockdown like the rest of us. And on the other side of the world her majesty, the Queen of Compton thinks this is a good time to move countries, accompanied of course by her loyal bitch.

[Godstud]

@Rich Cultural Marxism isn't a thing. It's a CONSPIRACY THEORY. Please take that to the appropriate thread, and not a serious one.

It doesn't matter what Mayor Sadiq Khan did, you'd have found fault with it, regardless.

[AFAIK]

Mayors have no influence over foreign policy.

[foxdemon]

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/30/coronavirus-food-crisis-looms-as-farms-idle-countries-hoard-supplies.html


More on food security and impending shortages. Labour shortages, local and international boarder controls, personnel hoarding and government food security protection measures are leading toward a shortage. At the very least, we can expect a rise in prices for certain items. If staples like rice go up too much in price, this will have drastic political consequences for many countries such as Indonesia.

[Patrickov]

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/30/coronavirus-food-crisis-looms-as-farms-idle-countries-hoard-supplies.html


More on food security and impending shortages. Labour shortages, local and international boarder controls, personnel hoarding and government food security protection measures are leading toward a shortage. At the very least, we can expect a rise in prices for certain items. If staples like rice go up too much in price, this will have drastic political consequences for many countries such as Indonesia.

I actually predict some sort of famine would happen...

[foxdemon]

I actually predict some sort of famine would happen...

Hunger is what brings governments down.


Edit:


A lot of people who commented thought this is an April fool’s joke.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=1rslyh7C6gs


China should be OK though. They still have plenty of bats to eat. Haha. Sorry, couldn’t resist.

[Patrickov]

Some reporting regarding North Korea.

(Source: Asia Times)

North Korea’s silent struggle against Covid-19

As the novel coronavirus pandemic continues to grip the world, countries are scrambling to effectively respond to this invisible enemy. One of the countries widely lauded as a model example for others to follow has been South Korea.

Typically, information is significantly more sparse regarding its notoriously opaque neighbor up north.

While Pyongyang continues to insist it has zero Covid-19 cases, minimal information has appeared regarding how the government is handling the situation and how the virus has really been affecting the everyday lives of North Korean citizens.

However, by piecing together official information from the regime, from state media and reports from ordinary citizens inside the country, a picture can be painted.

Information on the ground can be obtained from citizens supplied with smuggled Chinese cellphones. Testimonies are gathered on most days by Daily NK, a South Korea-based publication that operates under the auspices of Unification Media Group, a Seoul-based non-profit organization working to promote freedom of information within North Korea.

While the Kim regime will never win the kudos South Korea has gained for dealing with the pandemic, indications are that the crisis in the country is, in fact being contained – thanks to a combination of strict, authoritarian controls and some public ingenuity.

The first response of the North Korean government was to close its borders with China. The consequences of this continue to be felt to this day, given that the vast majority of trade the isolated country engages in moves across this frontier.

Cross-border trade officially came to a standstill on January 26, causing a massive blow to local markets and an ongoing shortage of goods. With nothing coming in from China, markets started running out of supplies to sell and whatever was available suddenly became much more expensive. The price of flour, for instance, increased by nearly 50% in days.

Panic ensued; rumors of looming economic disaster spread. Some locals from two northern provinces even opined to Daily NK that the closing of the border has had a worse effect on the economy than international sanctions.

The government has since implemented price control measures to attempt to stabilize prices, but markets are still struggling due to the border blockade.

There are signs of hope. Given the improved situation across the border, particularly in the Chinese city of Dandong through which most trade to North Korea passes, cross-border trade may resume in the coming weeks.

Smugglers and merchants who used to work in border areas have had to adapt to this new way of life and find different ways of providing for their families. One choice, arrived at based at least partly on misinformation and rumors, has been to take up drug smuggling.

One such rumor relates to the use of tuberculosis medicine. Many have started believing that such drugs can help combat Covid-19 on the misunderstanding that the novel coronavirus can, like TB, be transmitted through the air, from whence it causes infections in the lungs.

(In fact it spreads via droplets sprayed when infected people cough or sneeze.) With demand rising, the sale of such drugs on the black market has become increasingly common.

Besides TB medicine, ordinary North Koreans are trying other unconventional, “Do It Yourself” methods to keep the novel coronavirus at bay.

Given the shortage of disinfectants and cleaning supplies, many people make their own by using ingredients like sulfur, vinegar, hot water, salt water and lye. Others are also making special teas with herbs and plants, such as ginseng, which they hope will boost their immune systems.

Pyongyang has been trying to counter fake news and rumors about the virus by launching its own Covid-19 education campaign. The country’s main newspaper Rodong Shinmun has been publishing articles almost daily with information about the virus, including advice to citizens on how to protect themselves. And TV broadcasts about the virus are increasingly common.

Citizens are being urged to wear masks at all times when they go out, and can be punished if caught not doing so. Washing hands frequently and using vinegar to disinfect surfaces has also been promoted by the regime

One tool the regime has at its disposal is uniquely powerful social control mechanisms.

As soon as news of the virus reached Pyongyang, the regime began taking strict and swift measures to quarantine anyone with flu-like symptoms. Disease control officials were first deployed to the border province of Ryanngyang — the poorest in North Korea — on January 31. There, they inspected medical and quarantine facilities and provided guidance to local doctors.

By the end of February, over 7,000 people reportedly had been quarantined throughout the country. But quarantine measures have not resulted in zero deaths despite the official stance of the Kim regime, sources say.

The first death caused by the virus was that of a Pyongyang woman who died on January 27, according to Daily NK sources. In fact, a government source told Daily NK in late February that over 20 deaths had been linked to coronavirus-like symptoms since January. All patients were diagnosed with acute pneumonia.

To prevent more people from succumbing to the disease, the government is continuing to ramp up containment measures. Those not wearing face masks are no longer allowed to use public transportation and the temperatures of passengers are being taken before they board trains or long-distance buses.

Authorities are also doing their best to prevent any vehicles or people from transiting from the border regions to the interior of the country and vice-versa. In order to further enforce social distancing, the government ordered all schools to close for a month starting February 20, with the closures now having been extended until April 15.

The regime is trying to keep the elite as secure as possible. For example, members of the Central Committee of the Korean Workers Party – part of North Korea’s top 1% – have received packages of domestically manufactured face masks.

North Korean trading companies in China have been smuggling face masks and medical supplies across the border to make up for a nationwide shortage. Even though the border is officially closed it appears that this kind of trade is either condoned or possibly even ordered by state officials – albeit, with strict disinfection methods in place.

According to Daily NK sources, around 100,000 face masks, 4,500 protective suits and quantities of necessary drugs come into the country via these channels approximately every 10 days.

The government has also been keeping a close eye on any possible Covid-19 cases in the military. Leaders of military units have even been threatened with punishment if they fail to follow proper disease control procedures.

But despite these efforts, 180 soldiers died in January and February and approximately 3,700 soldiers are under quarantine, according to a military-commissioned report obtained via a Daily NK source inside North Korea’s military on March 6.

The report detailed the number of soldiers who had died after suffering from high fevers stemming from pneumonia, tuberculosis, asthma or colds.

Despite the lack of concrete data, this writer believes that North Korea’s strict and relatively swift measures to contain the virus have helped prevent what could have been an epic disaster.

Indications are that the Kim regime has done a surprisingly good job containing the spread of the virus – for now, at least. It’s also worth noting that the measures taken to curb the spread of Covid-19 are much stricter and were implemented much sooner than those aimed at the previous SARS and Ebola viruses.

Still, the full extent of the impact of these measures remains to be seen. Even if North Korea is able to avoid a pandemic, it will be faced with other challenges, mainly concerning its economy.

North Korea maintains it has zero cases and will most likely continue portraying itself as a strong country, with its ongoing emphasis on self-reliance. This strategy has been on full display through the recent missile tests as well as the military preparations currently underway to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Workers Party of Korea in October.

While it’s still too early to judge whether North Korea’s Covid-19 strategy has succeeded, damage for now seems minimal. With China slowly recovering and strict containment measures still in place domestically, the threat of the virus no longer seems as daunting as it did two months ago.

Comment:

The article seems eager to praise the regime despite also being quite frank about it lying on its situation.

I actually did expect North Korea would not fare too bad, mainly because they are very adept in locking themselves down.

[BeesKnee5]

UK office of national statistics have released their weekly statistics for deaths .

The numbers are 25% higher than the daily government figures because the daily figures are only those who die in hospital, while the ONS figures are those where covid-19 is listed on the death certificate.
https://blog.ons.gov.uk/2020/03/31/coun ... -covid-19/

[Rancid]

I witnessed and incident at the grocery store.

We are all waiting in line to get in. You have to be 6ft apart. Anyway, I see this women come in, she tries to walk in rather than get in line (we've been doing this for weeks, how could she not know she has to get in line?). At this point I'm thinking "This woman is trouble" she had this glazed look in her eyes, the kind of look that say's PSYCHO! Anyway, they send her to the back of the line. As we're waiting, she's complaining and saying stuff like "If I die, I die! Who cares! This is stupid!", etc. etc. There was this other guy in line, wearing gloves and a mask. He eventually speaks up, and tells the woman to stop touching her face. Well, after that, she erupts and starts yelling at him "Shut the fuck up, mind your business, etc. etc. etc.". There is a cop at every grocery store now, so she yells to the cop "Officer! Come here! Tell this asshole to shut up and leave me alone!".

More arguing happens, and eventually the cop basically tells face mask dude "I don't think you are wrong for telling her to stop touching her face, but I have to keep the peace here, so please just don't talk to her and ignore her." Of course, the guy freaks out and starts going off on the cop and telling him that he should arrest her for touching her face, he's not doing his job, etc. etc.

Eventually I got into the store, and made sure to avoid both those people. The grocery store here is huge, so that's easy to do.

[Patrickov]

More arguing happens, and eventually the cop basically tells face mask dude "I don't think you are wrong for telling her to stop touching her face, but I have to keep the peace here, so please just don't talk to her and ignore her." Of course, the guy freaks out and starts going off on the cop and telling him that he should arrest her for touching her face, he's not doing his job, etc. etc.

The cop was wrong by that he should have explained to the woman that the guy was not being hostile, with a tone possibly as polite as what he had done to the guy.

[Donna]

I witnessed and incident at the grocery store.

We are all waiting in line to get in. You have to be 6ft apart. Anyway, I see this women come in, she tries to walk in rather than get in line (we've been doing this for weeks, how could she not know she has to get in line?). At this point I'm thinking "This woman is trouble" she had this glazed look in her eyes, the kind of look that say's PSYCHO! Anyway, they send her to the back of the line. As we're waiting, she's complaining and saying stuff like "If I die, I die! Who cares! This is stupid!", etc. etc. There was this other guy in line, wearing gloves and a mask. He eventually speaks up, and tells the woman to stop touching her face. Well, after that, she erupts and starts yelling at him "Shut the fuck up, mind your business, etc. etc. etc.". There is a cop at every grocery store now, so she yells to the cop "Officer! Come here! Tell this asshole to shut up and leave me alone!".

More arguing happens, and eventually the cop basically tells face mask dude "I don't think you are wrong for telling her to stop touching her face, but I have to keep the peace here, so please just don't talk to her and ignore her." Of course, the guy freaks out and starts going off on the cop and telling him that he should arrest her for touching her face, he's not doing his job, etc. etc.

Eventually I got into the store, and made sure to avoid both those people. The grocery store here is huge, so that's easy to do.

Reminds me of the scene from Contagion when Kate Winslet tells a dude on a subway to cover his cough and he barks back "Fuck you, lady." Sort of.

[Rancid]

The cop was wrong by that he should have explained to the woman that the guy was not being hostile, with a tone possibly as polite as what he had done to the guy.

True, but I think the cop took this approach because the guy in the face mask engaged with her first, and after she basically told him to mind his own business, he continued to verbally assault her. Thus, in the eyes of the law, the guy was the instigator/perpetrator.

[fokker]

https://www.bbc.com/news/live/world-52115535

Pence: 'US model looks like Italy'

Based on White House project models, the US appears to be on track to see a coronavirus impact similar to Italy's, says Vice-President Mike Pence

"We think Italy may be the most comparable area to the United States at this point for a variety of reasons,” Mr Pence told CNN on Wednesday.

If not for the mitigation measures already being implemented, millions of Americans would have died, rather than the 100,000 to 240,000 currently forecast, he says.

"Our message yesterday, our message over the next 30 days, is the future is in our hands,” says Mr Pence.

There is still time to introduce new measures to avoid the Italian scenario developing in other states than New York. Is anything being done to avoid it?

[Rancid]

It's good to see the white house finally being more serious with what they are saying, rather than downplaying everything and giving false hope of drugs and whatnot.

The CDC and WHO may issue new guidance soon saying that the general public should wear masks when out in public.

That's assuming. If you can find one.

[ness31]

I hope the sailors on the USS Theodore Roosevelt are well looked after. That’s a situation that should be carefully monitored for data, considering the occupants are mostly all fit and healthy young men. Not expecting too many fatalities there *crosses fingers*

[Donna]

I'm impressed with the swift response from Hillsborough County sheriffs in arresting that megachurch pastor. An example needs to be quickly made for any religious crackpots who think they can fuck around with this.

[Zionist Nationalist]

[skinster]

lol