Covid19

[ides1056]

I stayed here on my recent abbreviated trip:

home - Bicycle House

A very cool organization.

[jclay]

I stayed here on my recent abbreviated trip:

home - Bicycle House

A very cool organization.

Indeed it is. He's managing to provide bicycles for transportation to seriously poor folks; and a little bit of responsibility and personal pride/respect development in the doing.

I don't believe in God or any sort of spirit world for a second but Scott Benton is going to heaven anyway. And dogs; they're definitely going.

[ides1056]

I showed up at the end of a long day. The door was shut and locked. I knocked several times and then started to think about plan B. As I was doing so the door opened. Luis appeared and welcomed me. Showed me around the place: my bed, the shower, the kitchen, etc. Then gave me keys and told me where to get food. He also told me to head down to the Gulf, which I did the next day. Had I not taken his advice I would not have gone to Apalachicola, which rolled out the red carpet for me.

I am going to do the ride again next year from the beginning. I look forward to it.

My dogs are already in heaven, though if Fletcher keeps messing with Porcupines he might begin to wonder.

[claritycycler]

I have no fucking clue! This touches on many of my thoughts, emotions, fears, hopes. Powerful read for me, worth the time to read it.

I Have No F*cking Clue What's Happening

[ides1056]

[Chik]

Unsurprisingly, testing of Avigan hasn't gone as quickly as they previously thought. Even worse, it sounds like early indications on its efficacy are not encouraging.

https://japantoday.com/category/busi...-may-end-kyodo

[Matthew Strongin]

This is a bit unsettling.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/healt...d8d_story.html

[rec head]

I was at the doctor for something related to covid on Wednesday and figured while I was there I'd get the antibody test. Then the next day at work we all got sent for mandatory nose swab tests. I was negative on both tests. Seems like the regular flu this year was pretty similar to covid because I don't know if I have ever lost my senses of smell and taste as severely as I did this year. I still put my odds of getting it at 50/50.

[sk_tle]

This is a bit unsettling.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/healt...d8d_story.html

It kills a bit the enthusiasm in getting the virus quickly to reach herd immunity.

[Matthew Strongin]

It kills a bit the enthusiasm in getting the virus quickly to reach herd immunity.

Exactly. Everyone around here (Miami, not VSalon) seems so impatient to get back to normal that they're not recognizing that we may not know what "normal" looks like for those hit hard by this virus. I'm not usually an alarmist with these types of things and I'm not a medical professional by any stretch, but this has me nervous. Maybe one of the multiple experts here can provide some additional insight on the ME/CFS risks here.

[gt6267a]

a few covid thoughts after outings / interactions the last few days ...

1) 6ft is an unknown distance to most of the population. why not error on the high side? sound travels pretty well from 10 ft or even 15.
2) there is a STRONG human interest to talk closely. even if a conversation starts at 10ft, people step into a conversation and bring that down to 6ft and usually closer. i suspect people do this unconsciously.
3) if i step back, that is not an invitation to step forward.
4) pulling a mask down to talk while stepping in closer. um, what?
5) air powered hand dryers. are they designed to circulate all the air in a bathroom to ensure even coating?
6) the less in contactless is an important part of the word. advertising contactless and then providing NFL style full contact is not something to charge extra for. the struggle is real.

[j44ke]

It kills a bit the enthusiasm in getting the virus quickly to reach herd immunity.

I sent this article to someone who keeps saying that they wished they would get it so they could just get it over with.

[guido]

A Striking Disconnect on the Virus: Economic Pain With Little Illness - The New York Times

"In corners of the U.S. facing financial ruin, but where the coronavirus hasn’t arrived in full, an analysis of economic and infection data helps explain why some see reopening as long overdue."

[davids]

This is chilling: How the Coronavirus Compares With 1 Years of Deadly Events - The New York Times

[Chik]

They never put forth a scientific basis for their strategy, and now that the numbers seem to have been collated, they are patting themselves on their backs, but again without any hard evidence, just circumstantial noise. Which is more or less what one would expect coming out of Japan. An architect of Japan’s virus strategy sees flaws in West’s approach at fighting the pandemic | The Japan Times

Excess mortality in Tokyo suggests the possibility that official Covid-19 figures are a wee bit below reality. Minimal testing and no autopsies outside of previously confirmed cases don't really give me confidence that official numbers reflect reality. Tokyo deaths up by 1000, in April from year earlier as virus peaked | The Japan Times

[aingeru]

[guido]

In countries keeping the coronavirus at bay, experts watch U.S. case numbers with alarm | Washington Post

"As coronavirus cases surge in the U.S. South and West, health experts in countries with falling case numbers are watching with a growing sense of alarm and disbelief, with many wondering why virus-stricken U.S. states continue to reopen and why the advice of scientists is often ignored.

“It really does feel like the U.S. has given up,” said Siouxsie Wiles, an infectious-diseases specialist at the University of Auckland in New Zealand — a country that has confirmed only three new cases over the past three weeks and where citizens have now largely returned to their pre-coronavirus routines.

“I can’t imagine what it must be like having to go to work knowing it’s unsafe,” Wiles said of the U.S.-wide economic reopening. “It’s hard to see how this ends. There are just going to be more and more people infected, and more and more deaths. It’s heartbreaking.”

China’s actions over the past week stand in stark contrast to those of the United States. In the wake of a new cluster of more than 150 new cases that emerged in Beijing, authorities sealed off neighborhoods, launched a mass testing campaign and imposed travel restrictions.

Meanwhile, President Trump maintains that the United States will not shut down a second time, although a surge in cases has persuaded governors in some states, including Arizona, to back off their opposition to mandatory face coverings in public.

Commentators and experts in Europe, where cases have continued to decline, voiced concerns over the state of the U.S. response. A headline on the website of Germany’s public broadcaster read: “Has the U.S. given up its fight against coronavirus?” Switzerland’s conservative Neue Zürcher Zeitung newspaper concluded, “U.S. increasingly accepts rising covid-19 numbers.” "

[vertical_doug]

They never put forth a scientific basis for their strategy, and now that the numbers seem to have been collated, they are patting themselves on their backs, but again without any hard evidence, just circumstantial noise. Which is more or less what one would expect coming out of Japan. An architect of Japan’s virus strategy sees flaws in West’s approach at fighting the pandemic | The Japan Times

Excess mortality in Tokyo suggests the possibility that official Covid-19 figures are a wee bit below reality. Minimal testing and no autopsies outside of previously confirmed cases don't really give me confidence that official numbers reflect reality. Tokyo deaths up by 1000, in April from year earlier as virus peaked | The Japan Times

Considering the density of Tokyo > NYC, I'd think even if the April had an unreport 1000, 2000 or even 10000 deaths, it is still a superior result versus NYC and some other countries. It may not have anything to do with Government policies, but more so with the diligence of the Japanese. Since they already tend to wear face masks for colds on the tube, it may have helped significantly in stopping spread.

Even if PM Abe failed to lead here, I think Tokyo Gov Koike did a better job in leading. It mirrors a bit between Cuomo and Trump.

When infections started spreading in Lombardy, it seemed Italians fled the region bring the virus with them. The same can be said of New Yorkers. People I know left for the Hamptons, Watch Hill, Miami, Aspen... basically everywhere with a second home.

In Japan, I don't think they had the mass migration issues. I know Hakuba where I still have a house and is heavily reliant on tourism, the village decided on a strong stay away policy. It was probably just a stronger overall compliance with whatever policies they had. In this case, the 'deru kugi wa utareru' mindset worked to Japan's advantage.

[Chik]

Considering the density of Tokyo > NYC, I'd think even if the April had an unreport 1000, 2000 or even 10000 deaths, it is still a superior result versus NYC and some other countries. It may not have anything to do with Government policies, but more so with the diligence of the Japanese. Since they already tend to wear face masks for colds on the tube, it may have helped significantly in stopping spread.

Even if PM Abe failed to lead here, I think Tokyo Gov Koike did a better job in leading. It mirrors a bit between Cuomo and Trump.

When infections started spreading in Lombardy, it seemed Italians fled the region bring the virus with them. The same can be said of New Yorkers. People I know left for the Hamptons, Watch Hill, Miami, Aspen... basically everywhere with a second home.

In Japan, I don't think they had the mass migration issues. I know Hakuba where I still have a house and is heavily reliant on tourism, the village decided on a strong stay away policy. It was probably just a stronger overall compliance with whatever policies they had. In this case, the 'deru kugi wa utareru' mindset worked to Japan's advantage.

I have no doubt that the ubiquitous use of masks made a difference, but that's a cultural phenomenon that is difficult to replicate in the West and particularly in the US where there is a fanatic devotion to individualism. I am guessing that the notion of wearing a mask not to protect oneself but to protect others is an absurdly alien concept. However, as we agree, it was not a premise for government policy, so as much as Aso would like to take credit for it, I am not crediting government policy or leadership for the result. As for Aso going on about mindo, I would remind him that all former colonies fared better in dealing with the pandemic when measured by death per capita, even allowing for the wild inconsistencies in death count methodologies.

To be fair, as far as implementation of a lock down "request" was concerned, the national government had to "request" prefectural governors to implement local lock down "requests" since the national government cannot implement it themselves. So, I don't really think Koike did a better job than Abe. She could have chosen not to wait until Abe begrudgingly and belatedly made his move although I admit that such a move could have entailed significant political costs for her. However, since we're talking about leadership, she could have done better, and comparison to Abe is a very low bar.

Since Koike eased the lock down request, Tokyo's Rt has gone over 1 on at least 2 occasions. It was interesting to see that on the day Beijing uncovered 49 new cases, the government sounded the alarm, a few heads rolled, and a strict lock down was implemented. Tokyo reported 48 new cases on the same day, and it was just another day.

And yes, the provinces were set on not allowing city slickers from seeking refuge in their neck of the woods. Their vigilance was quite frankly awesome. All the credit goes to the people in the provinces because if it weren't for them, the Tokyo lot would have gone all over the place.

[Colinmclelland]

Well, we are into a second wave of stupidity. Toiler paper all gone at the supermarket today.

So even though hoarding was proven to be unnecessary last time, people have decided to go againg. WTAF?