Covid 19 CRISIS

Months ago they built what was basically a super morgue here in secret to deal with all of the bodies they were expecting to deal with. Those never came and last I heard people were pissed at how much it cost and there was debate about it being deconstructed. But now... it very well might come in handy with how things are going.

My sister was finally able to get tested today, but she won't get the results for a few days. My BIL got tested a few days ago and he was clear, dunno if it means he had it and is now clear or if he never had it in the first place.
 
 
Having a literal order of magnitude less people and 1/9th the population density making it one of the less densely populated countries in the world?

But US bad I guess. Don't tell Alaska, that bit of the US/Canada border does not seem to have gotten the memo if the map of little red dots is anything to go by.
 
Having a literal order of magnitude less people and 1/9th the population density making it one of the less densely populated countries in the world?

But US bad I guess. Don't tell Alaska, that bit of the US/Canada border does not seem to have gotten the memo if the map of little red dots is anything to go by.
Not only that, but also -how you count them-

For example, France is the most hit country in Europe, as of today, and yet its red dot appears almost alone ane little among the constellation of (actually smaller) red dots around it.

It is because France counts infections as a single entity, while Italy, for example, counts them as the sum of each region combined. You can see Italy showing a red dot for each of its 20 regions.
 
The Guardian has a summary of the European situation, concentrating on the decreasing willingness to put up with the hapless attempts of the various governments:
As Europe's governments lose control of Covid, revolt is in the air
Fears of civil unrest grow as people across the continent no longer trust leaders to protect them during the crisis.

...
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2...e-control-virus-revolt-civil-unrest-continent

Exactly how I feel. For half a year everyone was forecasting a second wave of infections for the autumn, and surprise surprise, that's exactly what's happening. But apparently the governments - at least the German one, I kind of assume the same for others - have been sitting on their hands during the summer months.

Every time there's a mass shooting in the US, we mock them for their response of "thoughts and prayers". Now I feel that's exactly what the current Covid strategy over here amounts to. They try to keep schools open, they try to keep the economy open - but in my view, that reduces people to work drones. We have to function, do our jobs, but are denied actually living our life.
 
^ I think the problem, mostly, is that there is actually no solution to this. It comes, it hurts, it goes away after a couple of years, exactly like it happened along the course of history. (Or maybe, differently from the past, we make it go away). But... what other options will you have?

You can't really double the ICU in a couple of months, because it's too expensive or you don't have enough people to make the equipment operational. You can't make those things appear out of nowhere.

You can't also really trace too many people, because of a similar kind of logistic problems and lack of equipment or laboratories or technicians, or even call centers.

So most of the Governments tried to implement a mix that was thought to be enough not to have to close a second time. Unfortunately, it wasn't.

The only way to stop the spreading goes back to the lockdown, with all the huge costs it involves, both on a personal level AND on an economical perspective. Our world (our socio/economic system) is not designed to manage unexpected pandemics.

Clearly, many people that on the first wave suffered but had some emergency reserves, now don't, and they get angry.

But... apart from manifesting a difficulty which many times it's even too real, what would you do?
I've seen it in Italy: people protest, riot, scream; many of them are perfectly righy. But then... their activities are fundamentally incompatible with the curbing of a contagion curve which is, again, exponential.

It is not a position where there is right or wrong, it is a tragedy happening before our eyes, or even on our own skins. But what possibilities could have been implemented (without being an over-controlling, opaque dictatorship boasting good numbers everywhere)?
 
in my view, that reduces people to work drones. We have to function, do our jobs, but are denied actually living our life.
That’s exactly what we are in the neoliberal world view: drones that have to be watered, fed and (if possible) housed in exchange for an unquestioning drive to work for the benefit of the hive.

Cultural activities, socialising, travelling and the like are nice to have extras but in no way essential. In the words of someone a lot smarter than myself: Civilisation is a thin cover that flakes off very easily.

It’s easy to see where this view leads because most humans are a whole lot more complex than bees, but sadly, it continues to have a huge influence on politics and policies.
 
Not a fan of the Guardian article,as it botches perfectly legitimate peaceful protests, or local politicians asking the EU for financial support, together with riots to paint a picture of a whole continent on the verge of a revolution.

Yes, a lot of people will lose their minds. Yes, a lot of people will lose their jobs. No, these will not necessarily be the same people. And if we are lucky, just like the black death ended the Middle Ages, Covid will bring about the end of neoliberalism. And if we are less lucky, it will bring about the end of liberal democracy and start a descent into neoliberal econo-fascism. We will find out.
 


Can't wait for the spike from voting day.
 
My sister finally got her test results back, and she doesn't have covid. I think this was the test that just showed if you have covid when the test is administered and not the one that shows if you have the antibodies meaning you had it in the past.

Locally things are bad and only getting worse, but Missouri elected Parson for a full term because he's done such a bang up job so far.
 
My area is going nuts. As of this morning my company was at 78.4% ICU capacity filled, 55.2% non-ICU beds filled. They are working on turning some other units, like pediatrics, into emergency ICU. Nurses are being flown in to help with staffing from New York and they are trying to grab any traveling nurses they can.
 
I read today that projections are Germany's ICUs will be at capacity within three weeks. I'm curious how this plays out.
 
 
I read today that projections are Germany's ICUs will be at capacity within three weeks. I'm curious how this plays out.
Two ways this can go - either we will, like in spring, have put in tougher restrictions just in time to avoid disaster, and people will complain about the restrictions having been "overdone" and "unnecessary", or we will have a few weeks of mayhem, people will die unnecessarily, and people will complain why there haven't been tougher restrictions.

I certainly hope case numbers will start going down come next week and it'll be scenario #1. We will see.
 
 
Great. Dad tested positive this weekend. So far last fever was 101°F, 38°C
 
So as the US sat in front of their television looking for three straight days at unchanging numbers and talking heads, this was happening in Honduras. It was rather remarkable in the sense that it represents the first time in Honduras has experienced a dual red-alert. COVID for one and the flooding for the other. Though we can begin the healing process again now that the hurricane has gone away, it's likely that we will also see a spike in cases thanks to the lack of testing over the last week as well as the fact that the two emergencies require steps that are more or less opposed to each other.

So that has me worried.

On a tangentially related question: I expect that some measures have been taken on the celebrations that have been springing up across the US over electoral results? With the second wave already underway it would be disastrous if those became contagion hubs. Especially if other cities are following the path that Blind's is regarding admissions.
 
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