thefooloftheyear Posted March 13, 2020 Share Posted March 13, 2020 I guess I am not the only one... https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/dr-drew-pinsky-media-creating-a-panic-that-is-far-worse-than-coronavirus-outbreak TFY 2 1 Link to post Share on other sites
major_merrick Posted March 13, 2020 Share Posted March 13, 2020 Around here, colleges have shut down for the semester! Public schools are taking an early and lengthy spring break, effective tomorrow. My husband told be that traffic in town was crazy. He went to pick up a few treats from the store, and shelves were absolutely STRIPPED of all basic items and lines were long. -No Toilet paper or paper towels, in spite of rationing -All meat gone, except stuff $6 per pound and up -Almost all dairy gone, except yogurt and ice cream -Most staple vegetables gone, except cabbage. He didn't even go into the pharmacy section, but I imagine that area is stripped bare too. People are scared here, as there's confirmed cases a couple of hours away now and the number is growing daily. The more I read about it, the less scared I am. This thing seems to be a slightly enhanced flu. We have no idea what the mortality rate will really be, since it hasn't spread far enough in the US yet. I'm staying home since I'm pregnant, but if I wasn't pregnant I wouldn't really be worried about it. I think the risk to pregnant women is the real unknown. I mean, the elderly always die...pretty much a given. But young healthy people are doing OK. I'll go to a funeral on Saturday, and after that I'm not leaving the house for anything. I hate staying home, but I'm doing it for my baby. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
LivingWaterPlease Posted March 13, 2020 Share Posted March 13, 2020 (edited) Two people who attend a church about two miles from my home here have the virus. It's not a church I attend and I don't know who the people are. I was out shopping for between three and four hours today. The crowds at all stores except the department store were bigger than usual. The only empty shelves I saw were for hand sanitizer, latex gloves and isopropyl alcohol. There was toilet paper but the stack was depleted more than usual. I didn't have to wait in lines more than usual. I cleaned shopping cart handles in the stores then held the wipes on the cart handles with my hands while I shopped. Since learning soap and water is more thorough than hand sanitizer I carried a jug of water, soap and a hand towel in my car which I used after being in each store. I was surprised to see the number of people (most, it seemed) not cleaning their shopping cart handles or acting any differently at all in the stores. Possibly they were all too young to feel the virus is a threat. I plan to be out and about every other day or so taking great care to stay a respectable distance from other shoppers and to be consistent about keeping hands clean. I'm now hearing the virus can be transmitted through particles in the air, too, so... Edited March 13, 2020 by LivingWaterPlease Link to post Share on other sites
SincereOnlineGuy Posted March 13, 2020 Share Posted March 13, 2020 11 hours ago, Redhead14 said: feel no civic responsibility and/or live in a cocoon that shelters them Uh, it's as if you have no idea as to what's going on in the world at present. Living in a cocoon IS 'civic responsibility' at this point. 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites
major_merrick Posted March 13, 2020 Share Posted March 13, 2020 Yeah the virus can linger in the air for 3 hours or so. Anybody who's got it can breathe, cough, or sneeze the virus into the wind. Pretty much no way around it. The normal influenza mortality rate is between 0.1% and 0.2% depending on the source. Except for places like Italy, Iran, and China.... the Coronavirus mortality rate seems to be about 0.4% or so. In other words, only twice as bad as the regular flu. And the usual folks are at a higher risk - old people, those with compromised immune systems, pregnant women, and really young kids. Obviously since I'm in the higher risk group, I'm taking precautions. But at this point, I just don't get why the general public is panicking....except for media hype and Trump going on TV about it yesterday. One thing to note - by the time the general public gets around to stocking up and panicking, the time to prepare is already OVER. The time to do that was back in late January or early February! Either it is out already, or it is a non-issue. But at this phase, running around and buying up toilet paper (of all things, dear Lord WHY?) is not going to do any good. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
SincereOnlineGuy Posted March 13, 2020 Share Posted March 13, 2020 10 hours ago, Beendaredonedat said: President Trump: Our testing for the virus is good NIH: We are failing in our testing. Not sure how Trump can say minimizing things like: How low USA numbers are and how bad South Korea's are when they test 10,000 a day and US hasn't tested half that number. His efforts to stop the panic with his mistakes about what is and what isn't is making me panic more. Its not so much "media hysterics" but rather who is lying. When you have no trust, angst ensues. The overwhelming majority of humans on this planet will NEVER be tested for coronavirus. "testing" is almost completely dissociated with the issue at hand. The vast majority of humans on this planet will NEVER get coronavirus. It's like AIDS... you can test billions of people, but that isn't going to impact the minute numbers of those who acquire AIDS. We could test everyone on Loveshack for smallpox... but to tally how many dozens of people that entails and then put a headline on the front of Loveshack trumpeting: "We tested everyone here for smallpox !" (would be about as dumb as a number of the other absurd alterations that have nearly buried this website over time) Link to post Share on other sites
Redhead14 Posted March 13, 2020 Share Posted March 13, 2020 35 minutes ago, SincereOnlineGuy said: Uh, it's as if you have no idea as to what's going on in the world at present. Living in a cocoon IS 'civic responsibility' at this point. Uh, you didn't read the entire exchange and/or didn't understand what I mean't . . . however, if it makes you feel better, it is true that living in a cocoon would be good now. Link to post Share on other sites
Lobouspo Posted March 13, 2020 Share Posted March 13, 2020 Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's wife has tested positive Link to post Share on other sites
LivingWaterPlease Posted March 13, 2020 Share Posted March 13, 2020 My thoughts from someone else saying it much better than I could and saving me the time of trying to write it out: https://m.washingtontimes.com/news/2020/mar/11/media-fueling-coronavirus-panic-under-fire/?fbclid=IwAR2R_qhyubQSPyTDr8zllwrPikjUl141tf23D3VUiFM8P3B8eCAhx9u037Q Link to post Share on other sites
LivingWaterPlease Posted March 13, 2020 Share Posted March 13, 2020 10 minutes ago, Redhead14 said: Uh, you didn't read the entire exchange and/or didn't understand what I mean't . . . however, if it makes you feel better, it is true that living in a cocoon would be good now. Redhead, I have just posted a link to an article that mirrors my thoughts about our exchange earlier today about the media. It also includes references to communications by the WHO, which you mentioned in your response to me earlier today. It says things so well I thought I'd pass it on to you (and anyone else who is interested). Not sure how long it will take for the mods to release it (or not?) to the thread. Link to post Share on other sites
littleblackheart Posted March 13, 2020 Share Posted March 13, 2020 (edited) The expert I heard speak on the BBC yesterday said it is likely about 20% of the population will have contracted it by 2022. It doesn't seem much but it still equates to 12 million people in the UK, where I live. That's 2 out of every 10 people, 80% of whom will likely only develop mild symptoms. This still leaves a relatively large number of potential critical cases, which is why we need to look after each other sensibly. No one is immunised and there is no vaccine yet, and because it's highly contagious but we don't know yet quite how people get contaminated, containment / self-isolation / school closures / etc. are best - which is exactly what the overwhelming majority of countries have done (except the UK, so far...). We kind of have to trust our gvts have our best interests at heart, because it's almost entirely out of our hands. There's not much to do other than follow WHO guidance on travel, hygiene and personal space, and hope for the best without getting too anxious. Edited March 13, 2020 by littleblackheart Link to post Share on other sites
sothereiwas Posted March 13, 2020 Share Posted March 13, 2020 1 hour ago, major_merrick said: really young kids. From what I've read so far, being really young seems to have some sort of preventive effect so far. Not sure if that's luck or something real. Link to post Share on other sites
LivingWaterPlease Posted March 13, 2020 Share Posted March 13, 2020 (edited) Great article; enjoy! But don't miss the stellar video included with it! No matter what you believe about this virus or the politics thereof, this video by an MIT Biologist, a scientist and researcher on the human immune system, will be a practical help to you, IMO. https://techstartups.com/2020/03/12/mit-biologist-says-fear-mongering-coronavirus-will-go-biggest-fraud-manipulate-economies/?fbclid=IwAR3Tq981fA2tqtnyxmD-WlTlRDhPvFkMMnnl0OHXJ-DmPpMbH0AriypvJlk Edited March 13, 2020 by LivingWaterPlease Link to post Share on other sites
sothereiwas Posted March 13, 2020 Share Posted March 13, 2020 He seems to be a brilliant guy but I don't see why I should trust him any more than the CDC: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shiva_Ayyadurai Link to post Share on other sites
Author gaius Posted March 13, 2020 Author Share Posted March 13, 2020 1 hour ago, Lobouspo said: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's wife has tested positive Which means Trudeau himself likely has it. I thought the Ayatollah would be the first world leader infected but it looks like the Canadian PM might have beaten him to the punch. Brazil is still in the running I guess. Link to post Share on other sites
LivingWaterPlease Posted March 13, 2020 Share Posted March 13, 2020 (edited) "The media and the 'Deep State' are doing the world a disservice by exaggerating the impact of the virus. Back in October 2009, the H1N1 killed 1,000 people in the United States, including almost 100 children before President Obama later declared national emergency for the virus." says Dr. Shiva, MIT scientist and researcher on the human immune system. One thing Dr. Shiva says is that no one wants to talk about building the immune system. I think he has a point there. There is no such thing as "The Corona Virus." In that there are seven Corona Viruses. The common cold is a Corona Virus. The covid-19 is one of seven, not "The." Johns Hopkins just came out today saying that there have been over 90,000 cases of the covid-19 and so far 52,000 have recovered. Others are continuing to recover. Edited March 13, 2020 by LivingWaterPlease Link to post Share on other sites
NuevoYorko Posted March 13, 2020 Share Posted March 13, 2020 51 minutes ago, gaius said: Brazil is still in the running I guess. I don't think we Americans need to give up hope of being in the running, since one of the Brazilian officials who was hobnobbing with trump over the weekend has tested positive. Though trump and Pence's publicists have stated that there was no close contact, there are plenty of photos showing otherwise. It's a race! 1 Link to post Share on other sites
LivingWaterPlease Posted March 13, 2020 Share Posted March 13, 2020 (edited) 12 minutes ago, NuevoYorko said: I don't think we Americans need to give up hope of being in the running, since one of the Brazilian officials who was hobnobbing with trump over the weekend has tested positive. Though trump and Pence's publicists have stated that there was no close contact, there are plenty of photos showing otherwise. It's a race! Trump will be fine. He's healthy. And it's just a flu, one of seven Corona Viruses. Most are recovering. The only ones who are not are aged and have other health problems. I am Trump's age. I am out and about all the time and plan to continue, just as I've done during all flu epidemics. Edited March 13, 2020 by LivingWaterPlease Link to post Share on other sites
NuevoYorko Posted March 13, 2020 Share Posted March 13, 2020 46 minutes ago, LivingWaterPlease said: Trump will be fine. He's healthy. And it's just a flu, one of seven Corona Viruses. Most are recovering. The only ones who are not are aged and have other health problems. I am Trump's age. I am out and about all the time and plan to continue, just as I've done during all flu epidemics. Do you believe that the reports of COVID-19's level of contagiousness are merely constructs of what you call the DEEP STATE and FAKE NEWS? Or do you think there's something to it? If there happens to be some factual basis behind what the medical professionals (who may, indeed, be secret agents of some type perpetuating a hoax - but just in case ) are reporting, carrying on just as you always have may be putting others at serious risk. Is this OK with you as long as they already have one foot in the grave? Link to post Share on other sites
RecentChange Posted March 13, 2020 Share Posted March 13, 2020 6 hours ago, simpycurious said: Now I am wondering about the Masters. I still cannot believe they cancelled March Madness. I read today that it is estimated that in excess of 10 Billion US dollars are bet on the Men's NCAA Basketball Tournament. Even the bookies are gonna take a hit. Think all that "distraction" time that sports provide, will need to be filled with other endeavors. Like perhaps writing people they lost connection with ,😏 I know people in my area are planning "virtual get togethers" to help the extroverts through this time 1 Link to post Share on other sites
ufo8mycat Posted March 13, 2020 Share Posted March 13, 2020 6 hours ago, major_merrick said: Yeah the virus can linger in the air for 3 hours or so. Anybody who's got it can breathe, cough, or sneeze the virus into the wind. Pretty much no way around it. The most frightening part of COVID-19 is that it can live on hard surfaces for 36 hours + in high temps. i honestly don’t know why this is being played down. You are better off with social distancing and a 50% productive economy that not and having 100% non productive. It isn’t just a flu. The mortality rate in the over 70’s is high. China has a young population. In Australia our population of old people is 3x that of China. i am pleased the young and health are ok, this is just another example of there being no greater crime than being poor or old. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
basil67 Posted March 13, 2020 Share Posted March 13, 2020 I'm local to you @ufo8mycat and understand (probably from ABC Sydney) that it can't live above 26'C and not more than a few hours on hard surfaces. The mixed messages are just adding confusion because who knows what's true... 1 Link to post Share on other sites
littleblackheart Posted March 13, 2020 Share Posted March 13, 2020 3 hours ago, LivingWaterPlease said: One thing Dr. Shiva says is that no one wants to talk about building the immune system. I think he has a point there. You can only build the immune system through herd immunisation when the majority of the population has already been inoculated with a vaccine, though. There isn't one. The problem here is not really how dangerous covid-19 is, it's how fast it's spreading. It's too much of a risk for already vulnerable people, and it puts too much strain on the health service if not contained properly. Even if 'only' 10% of the population get it (very conservative figure) and even if most people will likely be fine, it still leaves something like 3.5% who will not be fine. In a population of 70 million, it's like over 1.5 million, which is huge for any health service to cope with on top of everything else. 4 Link to post Share on other sites
Author gaius Posted March 13, 2020 Author Share Posted March 13, 2020 5 hours ago, NuevoYorko said: I don't think we Americans need to give up hope of being in the running, since one of the Brazilian officials who was hobnobbing with trump over the weekend has tested positive. Though trump and Pence's publicists have stated that there was no close contact, there are plenty of photos showing otherwise. It's a race! It would be pretty funny if Trump won that race after all his bluster and lack of preparation. Only if he didn't get really sick though. Link to post Share on other sites
Redhead14 Posted March 13, 2020 Share Posted March 13, 2020 1 hour ago, littleblackheart said: You can only build the immune system through herd immunisation when the majority of the population has already been inoculated with a vaccine, though. There isn't one. The problem here is not really how dangerous covid-19 is, it's how fast it's spreading. It's too much of a risk for already vulnerable people, and it puts too much strain on the health service if not contained properly. Even if 'only' 10% of the population get it (very conservative figure) and even if most people will likely be fine, it still leaves something like 3.5% who will not be fine. In a population of 70 million, it's like over 1.5 million, which is huge for any health service to cope with on top of everything else. There will be deaths that are indirectly caused by the "coronavirus" problem. People having other issues that need tending to but they can't get the care needed due to the overload. So, whatever deaths are directly assigned to coronavirus is one thing, indirect is another. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
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