Current Affairs Coronavirus Thread - Serious stuff !!!

[dholliday]

Germany has changed its tune on this recently. Starting to say masks are effective now whereas it hadn't in the past. Long way to go to everyone wearing them here though. At a guess I'd say max 20% of people here if not less are wearing them from what I've seen.

Reason was shortages: the government (via the media) didn't want to publicly say masks were needed when there were shortages, for fear of causing panic. Now there's been big shipments come in recently, so they feel more comfortable in saying masks help.

And of course masks help, even simple ones. Personally I can't wear them as it makes my asthma worse, so if we do get a Maskenpflicht (compulsory) then her indoors will have to do the shopping. Wearing them is now being officially recommended by health ministers, so it becoming compulsory is only one small step away.

 

[Barnfred 55]

Germany has changed its tune on this recently. Starting to say masks are effective now whereas it hadn't in the past. Long way to go to everyone wearing them here though. At a guess I'd say max 20% of people here if not less are wearing them from what I've seen.

More people here are wearing them in supermarkets than they were even a week ago. At least 1 in 10 I'd say. I think I'd wear one if I could get my hands on one. The missus has been pulling a scarf up over face in supermarkets for weeks so I guess she would too. No idea if it helps like

 

[Brennan]

The lockdown is about slowing the spread rather than stopping it. Stopping it is not really an option without a vaccine. The virus isn't going to just go away in the next few weeks and I'm not aware of any credible sources pushing the narrative of lockdown or immunity.

Slowing down the spread so those who require hospital treatment have a better chance of coming out alive at the end of it. Let it run riot through the nation and the hospitals will not have the capacity and less people make it through.

People all over the place have been slating the idea of herd immunity, so I’m not sure how you’ve not seen it.

 

[Agent Blue]

We've done it, forget lockdown, PPE or Vaccine and testing, we have the cure...

View attachment 83560

Patronising ejit.

This was a pic of the Health Minister removing his badge because the word "DOESN'T" had broken off.

 

[Catfish Blues]

Love the treatment these scum bags get

They take proper usage of their cycle lanes very seriously over there.

 

[Amw79]

Neil getting stuck into veterans raising money for charity, someone had to say it

98 year old veterans have had it too good for too long. It’s about time someone took them down a peg or two.

 

[jamieni]

It's grim and - because I'm certainly not a scientist and I doubt most people on here are who are pointing this out - it seems simple enough/common sense to realise this and it would have been prudent and sensible for our government, knowing this was going to have to be the strategy in one way or the other, do as much as possible to increase capacity of the NHS beforehand etc.

That's not to say lockdown wouldn't have been required - because I think a 4-6 period, looking at it now, was always going to be, at the very least, needed to slow the spread.

But if the NHS has more capacity, it should have meant fewer deaths in this initial period. But as we're now starting to see, the lockdown is helping because it's all a game of catch up.

The strategy has to be to manage/slow the spread and protect the vulnerable. The hope is that a vaccine is found quickly but if not then herd immunity will be achieved over time. But the important thing is to protect the NHS so that they can save as many lives as possible.

It’s about how herd immunity is achieved. Through a vaccine ideally, but if not then over a longer period with social distancing stopping things getting out of control. Letting this virus rip through the world killing millions and millions is not a sensible course of action.

 

[aazak]

Boris Johnson's popularity has surged with Britons rallying around the Prime Minister as he recovers from coronavirus, a study has found.

The majority of people (51%) now have a favourable opinion of Mr Johnson, up 17 percentage points from early March before lockdown measures were enacted, according to Ipsos MORI.

 

[Bruce Wayne]

we have had this argument before and you are yet able to show any legislation that suggests 30-60 mins.

All that is based on Michael Gove saying he thought an hour would be ok for most people

There is no legislation, it's taken from the government's guidelines on what is a healthy lifestyle, which you might reasonable translate as what they believe is a necessary amount of exercise given these extreme circumstances. As you say, you've clearly said you're going to do it regardless so just make sure you don't crash or otherwise inconvenience people.

 

[LocalNative]

A decent number doesn't get the job done, I'm afraid.

We have to have the numbers right up their for mask wearing to be effective.


Be very aware of this: mask wearing IS a huge part of controlling the spread of the virus, but our government are out of step with most civilised nations by failing to instruct its people to wear them. They do that because they know they'll be asked to provide them, and they have proven beyond all question to be utter failures in preparedness and also in procurement of vital gear.

Bang on. Everyone wearing a mask would help massively - even if it only prevents those that have it from spreading. Although the government know after the horror show they've already had with PPE there's no chance they would be able to supply masks to everyone.

 

[Billy Dean]

More people here are wearing them in supermarkets than they were even a week ago. At least 1 in 10 I'd say. I think I'd wear one if I could get my hands on one. The missus has been pulling a scarf up over face in supermarkets for weeks so I guess she would too. No idea if it helps like

Yeah I might start doing the scarf thing. Might stop me losing my you know what every time a stranger comes within 50 metres of me

 

[Bruce Wayne]

If you have COVID-19 and cough on someone from 8 inches away, wearing a cotton mask will reduce the amount of virus you transmit to that person by 36 times, and is even more effective than a surgical mask.

Unless you're in an intimate relationship with someone, I'm gonna go out on a limb and say you'll never be 8 inches away from them. I've just checked my pants, and that's like no distance at all.

There have been no RCTs of mask-wearing by members of the public in COVID-19. RCTs of mask-wearing to prevent other diseases (such as influenza or tuberculosis) have tended to show a small effect which in many studies was not statistically significant. In most such studies, people assigned to the mask-wearing group didn’t always wear their masks.

So like in real life then?

Natural experiments are scientifically imperfect, because there is no direct control group so we can’t be sure that any change is due to the masks. In some countries that introduced mask-wearing, other measures such as strict social distancing, school closures, and cancellation of public events happened at around the same time.

Indeed, correlation does not equal causation. Hardly an open and shut case

 

[aazak]

Sky News:

Firefighters helping move bodies in West Midlands

A Body Movement Team has begun moving bodies from hospitals, care homes and private properties as the region around Birmingham feels the strain from the virus.

They are working 12-hour day and night shifts moving and handling bodies, and placing the deceased into body bags," said the Fire Brigades Union.

"All personnel will have appropriate training and PPE, including a face mask with a reusable respirator designed for chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) response," said the union.

 

[tsubaki]

Boris Johnson's popularity has surged with Britons rallying around the Prime Minister as he recovers from coronavirus, a study has found.

The majority of people (51%) now have a favourable opinion of Mr Johnson, up 17 percentage points from early March before lockdown measures were enacted, according to Ipsos MORI.

its almost as if wall to wall positive coverage of an individual had an effect on how people think of them

 

[Shevin Keedy]

its almost as if wall to wall positive coverage of an individual had an effect on how people think of them

"Crackpot PM who hid in a freezer attempted to spread disease by deliberately shaking hands with victims and then attending fully staffed governmental briefings"

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