Reckless Greed: Our Universities driving coronavirus to Thailand and Australia. Israel has banned flights to Thailand. Are we next?

Trainwreck in process

Watch this interview. Write to your MP. Send letters to the Editor. Stop the flights at least for a few weeks. 

80% of Australians think closing the border was right so why is Scott Morrison undoing that?

Join these dots. Our universities took a huge bet on Chinese students that is falling apart. They’ve creamed the profits, but taken no insurance and stand to lose billions if they can’t get students to Australia — An extraordinary 65,000 of whom got caught in China by the quarantine. In China, travel agents are marketing 14 day holiday stopovers in Thailand to students, who are then flying on to Australia to get around the ban. But this is not quarantine. Thailand is open to China, and considered so risky that Israel has already banned flights from Thailand. What’s next? Australia imports the virus, tens of thousands may die, and all so the ivory tower smug academics can make their profits, while weak politicians sell out the nations citizens — especially the senior, longest serving ones?

How long before Israel bans Australian planes? We could be one the highest value clean nations in the world, waiting out our first winter of this pandemic until there is a treatment. We could be a place that wealthy tourists come to stay safe (after a two week real quarantine) and spend months of money. Perhaps we still can? Some students in Wuhan are offering to pay for a Charter Flight to Christmas Island if we’ll let them.

Martin North interviews Salvatore Babones and he is eloquently savage about the “mindbogglingly illogical” move of Australia to allow Chinese students to come in without proper quarantine. h.t David E.

Is Scott Morrison selling out the nations health for arrogant academic investors?

Read Australia’s glorious preparedness plan for Coronavirus it’s as Babones said — “56 pages of platitudes” — the plan Scott Morrison and Greg Hunt waved so passionately today is a recycled seasonal flu plan. It lacks almost all useful details barring advising people in Aged Care to get their Wills in order. (h.t Bill H)

Where are the Labor Party? Whining about sports allocations (minor junk pork barrelling). They could be scoring major points for senior citizens, the sick, the vulnerable. Or are they under the thrall of the Big-Government-loving universities  even more than the Liberals are?

His reports:

 

Salvatore Babones is an expert on the academic sector and points out how extreme the gamble has been by Australian universities. The most “Chinese” university in the US is Uni of Illinois, with 5,700 students. Uni of Sydney has four times as many students as this. The Uni of Illinois were so worried about that exposure they took out insurance with Lloyds of London against exactly this kind of event. He warned Uni of Sydney six months ago, but they didn’t buy the insurance. And there are many universities in Australia in a similar position. They took the taxpayer dollar, and took the profits but now that trouble has come, they want the government and the people to bail them out and foot the bill — with their health, even their lives.

$6b is at risk in Mining Tourism and Education, but it’s Education that is desperate for a bail out and to open those borders:

The mineral sector is not putting public health at risk…

The Tourism sector was highly dependent on China, but no one is talking of rerouting tourists through secondary nations to keep that alive.

The people pushing hardest on the politicians to risk Australians health are the smug ivory tower academics who recklessly bet too much on this.

The two week unsupervised holiday in Thailand is not a quarantine. Thailand is not wealthy, but is one of the only countries still allowing Chinese flights. It’s only kept its border open because of pressure from China. Australian universities are exploiting that “loophole”.

 Coronavirus’ sickening consequences

Tim Dodd, The Australian

Chinese travel agents are marketing bespoke “14-day, 13-night” packages to third-country transit destinations to help Chinese ­students enrolled at Australian universities get around the federal government’s coronavirus ban for as little as $2700 each.

Agents said the packages, which are being micro-targeted on Chinese social media, are selling well, as almost 65,000 Chinese students look for ways to get around the federal government’s travel ban on all non-Australian citizens and non-permanent ­residents coming from mainland China. “Thailand and Malaysia are the top two choices. Next is Cambodia,” said an education agent in Beijing.

Scott Morrison imposed the travel ban on February 1, when ­almost two-thirds of the 109,000 Chinese students enrolled in ­Australia were in China for the Lunar New Year break. Estimates suggest the ban could cost universities up to $2bn in deferred fees.

Stopping flights for a few more weeks — and from other locations too — will buy us time to find out more about this virus before we decide what to do for winter. Singapore and Hong Kong appear to be managing the virus, and we were containing it, perhaps with some help from summer — which ends today.

Do the maths

Look behind the marketing — for most people it’s like a cold. True – but for 5 – 10% it’s a hospital stay, and for 70 – 79 year old people in China it’s an 8% case fatality rate. In the 80 plus cohort 15% passed away. The death rate will be lower — the Chinese didn’t test the non serious cases who stayed home. The air is polluted in Wuhan and rates of smoking are high. But the rate of hospitalization for health workers was 15% too. Even  a few young healthy nurses and doctors have died (which happens with the flu sometimes too). Does this virus leave lasting lung damage or scarring? We don’t know. Can people develop immunity to it?  Another mystery. Is the Iranian version more deadly?

Flu kills 0.1% but we have antivirals, vaccines, and partial immunity thanks to other strains. This is not the flu.

If this was blight on wheat, would we let it in?

Winter is coming.

9.3 out of 10 based on 73 ratings

176 comments to Reckless Greed: Our Universities driving coronavirus to Thailand and Australia. Israel has banned flights to Thailand. Are we next?

  • #
    Sweet Old Bob

    How greed can k1ll ….

    101

  • #
    nb

    There is an upside. Our elderly Marxist friends in the universities are placing themselves at most risk of the egregious effect of their policies for a change.

    181

    • #
      Bill In Oz

      Ummm I wonder how much these uni courses are delivered
      via online and email nowadays ?
      From what I’ve seen almost all of them
      Lectures, reading materials, etc.
      So the Leftists there will be fairly safe !
      But this being the case
      Why is there such a huge need to import
      These students without going through proper quarantine ?

      80

      • #
        AndyG55

        “I wonder how much these uni courses are delivered via online and email nowadays”

        A lot!

        I know first hand of one student stuck in China and we are coming up with ways to get around the problem.

        The actual lectures are recorded anyway, so he can access them, and he will “attend” discussion groups using a web app through one of his friend’s mobile phone. (His friend stayed in Australia over the uni break)

        He has to give a presentation, which he will record and send to his friend.

        We will manage, I hope.

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    • #
      sophocles

      Let’s count the survival rate there!

      00

  • #
    TdeF

    Education performance mad Japan has ordered the closure of all schools until late March. Britain is considering the same.

    This is not a drill.

    And cash mad Australia is doing the opposite?

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    • #
      TdeF

      With a poor immune system I used to get sick two weeks after term started, every term. The private school children would come back from overseas holidays with the most aggressive viruses they collected in travels with their wealthy parents and passed them to my children and then to me. I planned to be sick two weeks after school term started off. Some were really nasty viruses but the children took them to school.

      Now Australia wants to make this official policy? If you want to promote a pandemic in Australia, this is a perfect distribution system for international viruses. Natural selection by Australia’s education moguls who want the cash and damn the consequences.

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      • #
        Annie

        I know that feeling well. In very early Sep 2017 I went down with (undiagnosed) ‘flu really badly. It wasn’t diagnosed as I thought I shouldn’t pass it on unecessarily to others at the local hospital; a close shave though as it was definitely the ‘bring me my coffin’ stuff.
        We had been asked to collect our unwell grandson from his Melbourne boarding school and suffered the two hour plus drive home in his infectious company. His mother was away at the time so we were lumbered! The next day I was trying to get back a couple of steers that broke through a gate to the neighbours’ place and became very chilled…damage done.

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        • #
          Annie

          In any future similar scenario my response to the school would be ‘he caught it there, he can keep it there’. I can’t afford many episodes like that with my age and a few problems. I don’t plan on departing this life unnecessarily early. Too much to do! I know one doesn’t always have the choice but I don’t intend to give in yet awhile!

          100

    • #
      TedM

      Bloody good comment Tdef.

      90

    • #
      OriginalSteve

      We have high speed internet, why cant they just reschedule classes on line?

      If we have kids at home for weeks, logic says just get it sorted and do it.

      Its not hard….

      110

      • #
        Bulldust

        That would make all the fancy buildings redundant. Can’t have that. What is a university without ivory towers?

        70

      • #

        If we have kids at home for weeks, logic says just get it sorted and do it.

        Its not hard….

        This is what I call the royal just. It is where the user of the word makes a royal proclamation to just do it. If you use “just” it must be easy right?

        It’s not though- if it was they would indeed just do it.

        12

      • #
        Damo

        I more or less made this comment in #6. If the students do courses online, without coming to Australia, then they won’t get permanent residency! They can do an online degree with another university, cheaper. What they want to buy from our Unis though, is a ticket to live (and preferably work) here permanently!

        80

    • #
      AndyG55

      I know the place I work is bending over backwards to try to deliver courses without the students needing to be present.

      Long lists of students stuck in China and possible solutions, can they proceed etc etc

      A lot more work at our end.. but that can’t be helped.

      80

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    • #
      Mike Jonas

      WHO is in China’s pocket.

      130

    • #
      Bill In Oz

      GRANT GUILFORD !
      Pedler of ‘academic’ garbage !
      [snip] is he dong in such a well paid job ?
      By the way Jo, if New Zealand has
      No quarantine policy for Corona virus 19
      We will have to put them in the sin bin as well !

      60

      • #
        sophocles

        Don’t just say it Bill, DO IT.

        From what I’ve been hearing:”We have a pandemic plan and we will use it.” — That was for Swine Flu, 2009. It might have been for SARS which was even earlier. It will be dusted off, a few names will be changed and it will be activated. After all, all pandemics are the same: people fall sick and some die… big deal.

        You can guarantee it will be at least 4-6 weeks too late.
        It will fail.

        00

        • #
          sophocles

          First official case in NZ. An Iranian who flew in Wednesday 26th and taken to hospital by family Friday 28th.
          It has begun.

          So: send Jacinda home, shut and lock all your doors ‘n windows (coz that won’t be happening over here.)
          Air New Zealand is offering really cheep fares to OZ – they’re so cheep they, well, cheep. You should close that border fast. (I really can’t see us doing it. Our Govt is a feeble bunch.)

          Cu L8R. (Waves)

          10

          • #
            Bill In Oz

            Reportedly this person is a New Zealand citizen.
            But as you say of Iranian origins.
            Yes New Zealand has a problem
            He flew home via Bali as well.
            Lots of time in the two flights
            With a hundred or so other people
            On the plane !

            00

          • #
            sophocles

            Bali will be pleased.

            Weather in Auckland today: cloudy, as usual.
            Sunshine may turn out to be the big disinfectant …

            00

  • #
    Travis T. Jones

    I was in the local chemist shop yesterday, and asked the chemist was there anything being said to them about the virus, noting that the latest news – it was a case of not if, but when the virus will be here in the community.

    The response was wry smiles, and a comment that a potential serum had been developed in Queensland.
    https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-01-24/coronavirus-vaccine-work-starts-with-queensland-researchers/11896346

    They seemed not worried about the pharmaceutical supplies from China.
    https://www.aljazeera.com/ajimpact/china-coronavirus-outbreak-hurt-global-drug-industry-200220051840577.html

    50

    • #
      OriginalSteve

      Yeah funny how its already underway, which makes you wonder if some form of pre-knowledge existed….

      90

  • #
    Damo

    This proves the product universities sell to international students is not so much education but migration. In this day and age it’s almost all online but if they physically study here they can then become eligible for permanent residency. That’s the problem the universities have! Travel bans directly devalue the product they are really selling.

    240

    • #
      Yonniestone

      Exactly migration and personal investment that further weakens Australia’s wealth and resources in the long term.

      Also its not just universities, in my town Ballarat we have a large number of Chinese student pilots that are housed in an outer suburb and trained at the airport not far away, I’d guess there’s about 22 houses used for residence and around 6 to 8 students in them its anything from 132 to 176 in the one location and that’s not counting others in town.

      The student turnover has been steady for the past 5+ years and it struck me when the government makes travel allowances for China when the risk is so great, this concern goes for all international travel so no racial finger pointing thanks, the reason I know this is through work as its been a semi regular part of my rounds (Auspost) and the students often get sign for packages so contact is close enough.

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      • #
        Bill In Oz

        Yonnoe the bigger picture is that Chinese want to establish
        insurance ‘refuges’ in other countries like Australia
        In case things go bad in China, politically, economically
        And now also because of a desire to stay alive.
        Such migrants we should basically welcome.
        But given the threat posed by the Corona Virus 19
        The process must incorporate a quarantine period.

        62

        • #
          Yonniestone

          Sorry Bill disagree with welcoming migrants that are loyal to Communist regime that they report information back to for the purpose of spying isn’t my idea of strengthening anything in Australia.

          Also the training of young men of fighting age on our soil loyal to any Communist foreign power isn’t a good idea full stop.

          180

          • #
            Bill In Oz

            It is their disloyalty which motivates them to seek refuge elsewhere Yonnie !

            23

            • #
              beowulf

              Your naivety is touching Bill.

              What disloyalty? Have you not witnessed many of them spouting the CCP line at protests in Oz? I’m not talking embassy thugs posing as “students” — that’s another issue — I’m talking actual students supporting the CCP, lots of them.

              Half of them want to get out of China, yes; the other half are sent here to keep the first half in line with threats against their families etc. Nothing happens by accident concerning China. The CCP fingers are always in every pie. They play us for suckers because we allow them to do so, again and again. Infiltration of our institutions and society is what the CCP is all about. Their students are the pawns in their game of supremacy.

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              • #
                truth

                I agree Beowulf.

                This eagerness to get back to Australia isn’t for campus life and their studies.

                The fact that the Chinese government’s militantly pushing for them to be allowed back has nothing to do with concern for the students IMO…more likely to do with the major plan ..to keep a death grip on the Australian universities and the research they’re doing…like UNSW’s nuclear fusion research..and the military-related research …and to maintain their fifth column in Australia.

                As others have said ..for the students it’s not just education but the opportunity of permanent residency that beckons.

                The Left including this Liberal Left Morrison government hasn’t the ticker to keep Australia secure and Australians safe….Morrison himself hasn’t.

                The universities and their Marxist academics are a subversive law unto themselves…thumbing their noses at the Australian people…likewise the whole foreign-owned electricity generation business on which absolutely everything else depends.

                The universities take in young Australians and roll out subversive Marxist revolutionary activists by the thousands…and that brain-scrambled cohort then ensures that the hoax of the millennium juggernauts Australia towards 3rd world poverty and insecurity….ripe for the picking.

                20

  • #
    OriginalSteve

    Hmm….it makes sense if you want the infection to spread…oh….hang on..nothing see here…move along…..

    60

  • #
    a happy little debunker

    The power of Indonesian prayer remains strong!

    92

    • #
      TedM

      Yes it helps them ignore the infections.

      72

    • #

      the weird thing is that large numbers of people have arrived/returned to Australia from indonesia and there have been no reported cases here linked to these people.

      41

      • #
        el gordo

        The virus is inactive at 30C degrees, which may explain why Indonesia has no reported cases.

        30

        • #

          who are these humans with sub 37 degree bodies. I guess you mean when exposed to the environment outside of the cellular environment? This is possible to some extent though you’d have to explain the occurrence in a few places but it is mostly affecting places experiencing a temperate winter; you could explain away singapore and hong kong as being almost all from people from outside. Plus those cities differ from indonesia by the higher prevelance of airconditioning.

          Ambient weather conditions are a good chance of being a contributor and it will be important to know when considering the southern winter approaching.

          61

      • #

        GeeAye, we are not testing people who have travelled to Bali. How would we know?

        The US will start mass testing soon and then we will see a repeat of Italy I fear.

        60

        • #

          Jo… totally agree. The temperature relationship is merely feasible and if true to some extent it could account for differences in spread which might be a factor affecting transmission within Bali.

          I stated elsewhere (I think this blog- if not you’ll have to believe me) that Chinese tourism into Indonesia is huge (easily verified) and given that and given the numbers of cases elsewhere that resulted from tourism, it is extemely likely that there were cases in Indonesia

          41

        • #
          Bill In Oz

          Jo one possibility is that newly infected individuals
          Travelling to warm tropical environments like Indonesia
          Are able to deal with the virus without extra outside help.

          Unlikely I know.
          But a possibility.
          I would love to see more data on this about infected persons
          From tropical countries.

          20

        • #

          The only way we would detect cases from Indonesia is if there was a sudden large upswing in ICU pneumonia that had no cause. Just as in California, they won’t test for CoV until they get a bad and unexplained case or a batch of much higher than usual cases. Normal pneumonia is not even worthy.

          30

  • #
    dinn, rob

    this Wuhan virus has a lot of facets–avian flu of 2017 in China (with big facet in US) forms some of the important context. For that facet see https://aumladder.blogspot.com/2020/02/nowhere-else-on-earth-do-so-many-people.html
    the biochem angle, the social engineering angle, globalist angle–many facets afoot. Some are touched upon here:
    https://aumladder.blogspot.com/2020/02/34-of-chinese-request-contactless.html
    hopefully that helps–cheerio

    60

  • #
    el gordo

    ‘Scott Morrison has moved ahead of international health authorities to activate a ­pandemic plan, as one of Australia’s leading virologists declared everyone will eventually contract coronavirus, but for most it will be no worse than a bad cold.

    ‘The Prime Minister warned on Thursday that the threat of the virus was “very much upon us”, saying the government was triggering preparations for fever clinics, aged-care home lockdowns and increased medical stockpiles.’ Oz

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  • #
    Kalm Keith

    Pat’s earlier comment describes, in part, the interweaving of university based endorsement with politics and government decision making.

    http://joannenova.com.au/2020/02/thursday-open-thread-3/#comment-2282291

    A response to that fits in with the theme of this thread:

    “Troughing, gouging and skimming by the usual.

    Throw in a “professor”, an ex politician with a finger in the pie and mention the woke state of S.A. and that’s covered most of it: and to think it’s all available to the privileged few because they sell the myth of “caring for the Environment”.

    The hypocrisy is overwhelming, the reality of their “scientific” justification for their actions is Non Existent but the woke lifestyle on the public purse is Wow!!!

    Welcome to the New World where reality no longer need be at the forefront of thinking: Environmental Justice, forget reality, the Environment is the god of our times, The Environment, the New meme that can deliver everything a politician could ever dream of.

    And in the meantime, for the last several decades our youth has been trying to tell us something about the direction our nation has taken: wrong direction.

    How can politicians get away with ignoring the fact that our youth have been for several decades “checking out” early?

    It’s a national disgrace and from recent comments New Zealand is in the same boat with youth “checking out” at embarrassingly high levels.

    Do we really live in caring societies?

    It doesn’t seem so.

    We need a Leader to bring a change in National Focus to give people honesty, direction and hope for a sane future”.

    KK

    60

    • #
      OriginalSteve

      Funny…but I keep thinking of the movie “V for Vendetta” and how such a thing could play out….

      If you watch whats happening, global populations are being herded abused by so many false threats created by the Establishment, people eventually will have had enough.

      In some ways its already starting – HK, Trump, Brexit.

      If the Elite panic because they have been caught out, they will start a war. The best thing at that point is refuse to go, at which point they could do another bali bomb to “motivate” people like they did with Australais reluctance to go fight in Iraq.

      If the 5G theroy actually holds water ( 60 Ghz can mess up O2, as supported by many technical docs ) then that also ups the ante. One video I saw raised questions whether proper safety testing has been done on 5G.

      Interesting stuff….

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    • #
      joseph

      I’m posting this link again. By the time it got through moderation last time everything had moved on a couple of threads . . .

      The BEST NEWS re CΟRΟNΑ VΙrus you’ve heard all month! Kinda. – YouTube

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtfqUtW_8AA

      The first I had heard of the 60 GHZ deployment in China and overall a very good vid . . . .
      No other country is using 60 GHZ 5G . . . . Makes you wonder . . . .

      40

    • #
      joseph

      Sorry KK, we seem to have taken this off on a different tangent . . . hope you can be forgiving . . . 🙂

      11

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  • #
    TedM

    I’m not sure sure about the way the maths are being done Jo. The fact that between 75% – 90% (depending upon the location that the figures are taken from) are still sick. Using total infected against number of deaths is totally illogical until the epidemic has finally run it’s course. At this stage I believe that we would be better to base our preparedness on the figures that emerged from the Lancet study.

    The comments made by virologist Ian Mackay, as quoted in today’s “The Australian” makes the virus sound almost benign. That is in stark contrast to the almost manic approach by the Chinese authorities in attempting to control it. Also the unofficial figures that are coming out of China are genuinely concerning. It is hard to believe that there is not something more to this epidemic than has been made official.

    The fact that all western countries quote Chinese official figures as fact really gets up my nose. I have had an absolute gutful of spineless politicians kow-towing to these political criminals. Since when has the CCP ever told the truth about anything?

    The wide disparity in the death rate between locations should also raise questions. I repeat my earlier suggestion, made in this forum, that maybe there is more than one virus involved. Possibly a more sinister virus that escaped from a P4 lab in Wuhan, and a more benign virus deliberately released to try to mask the escape.

    Is this a conspiracy theory? Well yes I confess. However as a still active 73 year old albeit with significant respiratory problems, I fall in the high risk category. So I would like to know the truth. I appreciate Jo’s ongoing attempt to arrive at that truth.

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    • #
      Analitik

      Using total infected against number of deaths is totally illogical until the epidemic has finally run it’s course

      Absolutely. Given that the virus is still spreading the proper expression for the mortality rate should be deaths / (deaths + recoveries).

      While I am not in the high risk category my parents and in-laws certainly are and this category is actually a larger percentage of the population in developed nations due to better health care extending lives. All those who shrug and say they’re healthy so it won’t affect them need to consider this.

      70

      • #

        TedM, I’ve been talking about the 8 day lag since I started. That’s why I use CFR which is case fatality rate. And the lag to death could be 2 or even 3 weeks from symptoms. Those CFR studies follow all cases at one point through to completion (inasmuch as we even know what completion is).

        I haven’t tried to calculate the death rate outside China because the numbers are too early and too small — ex Italy/South Korea/Iran but since they didn’t do enough testing — we still can’t calculate anything very useful.

        40

  • #
    Kalm Keith

    Mike, above, says;

    “WHO is in China’s pocket”.

    True, and more locally it would appear that people working for Australia notionally, are in China’s pocket.

    When those in power here can sell Australia’s surface water to Chinese interests to package and sell for profit, we have reached a new low.

    Australians are far too complacent and trusting where government is concerned.

    KK

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    • #
      PeterS

      Not only complacent but also asleep. Otherwise, we wouldn’t be stuck with either ALP or LNP majority governments. The next federal election might be different though. We shall see if voters are starting to wake up or not.

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      • #
        Kalm Keith

        Peter, unfortunately Australia is in the grip of the “frog in a pot” syndrome and nothing can help bar a massive event.

        The Australian voter cannot process the tidal wave of media junk and disinformation that’s thrown at them.

        Leaderless, clueless and future dangerously close to collapse.

        I notice and understand the meaning of the dozen or so shops and businesses closed in one formerly bustling local suburban, most wouldn’t.

        Less visible are the teetering remnants of our once world class heavy industry.

        Not looking good.

        I see both major Partis as sock puppets with the Union Mooment up one and the hidden troughers, like Photo something, up and controlling the other. Heads of state like Beris Gladachikliken are put there to cover up the real activity.

        We need a revolution but the stimulus for that isn’t in sight.

        KK

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        • #
          PeterS

          Australia is asleep. If we were awake and clever we would be taking this opportunity to revitalise our manufacturing sectors. Output from China is slowing down rapidly. If it continues the US will take up this opportunity to fill in the holes in the market left by China. Trump is likely aware of this. The sweetener is the oil price – its falling big time. The US is self-sufficient with oil so it will help other nations more so. Australia as usual has no vision, just dreams. We keep dreaming we can reach 0% emissions without nuclear. That’s an impossibility. Also new technologies like hydrogen rely on a variety of methods that produce CO2 emissions as well, except with electrolysis. The only power source that can provide enough cheap energy without emissions for that method is nuclear. That’s what UK is planning to do. What are we going to do? Blow wind from our backsides at more and more wind farms, or shine our touches at solar panels overnight? Australia has become a dumb nation that has replaced vision with drams soon to be replaced with nightmares.

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          • #
            truth

            Asleep and deluded I fear.

            The government flits from one shiny object to another…now it’s hydrogen.. to divert attention from the failure of windmills and solar panels…and impending doom as the only modern country that’s killed it golden goose power system.

            All this puffing about Australia providing hydrogen for the world because we’ve got more sun and solar and wind to power the electrolysis… seems ludicrous to me since all of our competitors and trade partners have nuclear or huge hydro or both… ie baseload power.. to electrolyse water themselves.

            Why would they all be waiting for Australia’s 100% weather-dependent intermittents to provide their hydrogen…with the added shipping costs?

            And the foreshadowed overbuild of RE including massive storage ..must be up to 10X demand by now.

            10

          • #
            sophocles

            You guys ‘n girls are wide awake compared with your trans-tasman neighbours. It’s panic over here.
            I went to the supermarket yesterday to replace some consumables for the weekend —my usual small shop. Many shelves were empty: people have been stocking up on everything esp. stuff which will go off in a couple of days or less than a week. Hmm, the tinned shrimp will last a bit longer than that. The waste is going to be enormous, and we don’t even have an epidemic … yet — just one confirmed case confined in Auckland Hospital so far …

            The supermarkets won’t be unhappy. Face masks worn everywhere, for whatever good they will do.
            Look at me! I’m woke. I’m being safe! </sarc>

            Have to start manufacturing those. Some people think they’re magic, so they’re money on the hoof.

            Darn, I knew I should have bought shares in the bottled water companies! Those shelves were MT!
            People don’t seem to have heard about chlorinated water, or kettles for boiling water. People have no idea of the differences between virii and bacteria. Nope, just dozens and dozens and hundreds of dozens of bottles of bottled water going out the door. Just in case. </sarc>
            I’m sure the supermarkets don’t mind.

            Hand cleaners? Que? MT
            Other soaps? Que? MT.
            bottles of spray on cleaners? Que? What? No glass cleaner? Gee … didn’t think of that one …
            Laundry cleaners? No, still OK. Oops, back up: no disinfectants. MT
            Car cleaners? Still OK.

            That’s just one supermarket — three more in the immediate area to survey today. 😀

            20

        • #
          glen Michel

          I can understand that people want to live uncomplicated lives that entails a lack of understanding, but sooner- rather than later the masses will have to wise up. Problem is how do we get away from the nonsense coming fromnMSM and social media.

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          • #
            PeterS

            That requires a will to be objective and seek the truth. Not many do, which is why civilisations come and go.

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          • #
            OriginalSteve

            A lot of this is driven by those who love to be connected.
            I’m all for dumping most news feeds and doing my own research.

            The problem too is that a lot of media is targetted at women ( and is in effect, abusive of women ) as it infiltrates familes via blatant emotional manipulation.

            The problem too is that the FOMO thing kicks in so everyone flocks to social media platform so they arent “left out”.

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  • #
    TedM

    Just looked at cases that have had an outcome on the worldometer. Death rate 8.3%. This of course will not include reinfections that should lift the death rate a bit more.

    60

  • #
    TedM

    If this is an indication of the death rate that what we should expect, then we should expect a death rate 83 times that which we experience from influenza. Not the 10 to 20 times figure that is being put forward by the authorities.

    40

  • #
    Peter Fitzroy

    If we, like China were to lose 15% of our health care workers, and this in a system where hospitals are running at close to capacity already, All the preparations and stockpiles will mean nothing.

    Close the borders, health is more important than wealth.

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    • #
      Bill In Oz

      Fitz, it is good that we agree on this issue !
      Tahnks for your comment.

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    • #
      glen Michel

      Geez Petera record number of green hits for you.

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    • #
      Sceptical Sam

      Peter,

      You’re right.

      We operate in an economy that is very fragile. That becomes most apparent during an emergency. There’s little redundancy is the system as a result of having pursued economic efficiency over all else.

      The lack of robustness is nowhere more apparent than in the tertiary sector of the economy – education, tourism, health services etc.

      Hopefully, if we survive what is possibly coming down the pike, we’ll relearn something long ignored.

      70

      • #
        OriginalSteve

        Correct, however we havent had a nasty bug go through the west for a long time.

        People might re-discover community too – paying bills then dying – there is more to life than that…..

        Glad I travelled when I was young.

        30

      • #
        TedM

        Good comment Sam.

        20

  • #
    Deplorable Lord Kek

    so the government is happy to let Australian citizens die to keep the rivers of Chinese gold flowing, apparently.

    i guess no one is really surprised.

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    • #
      PeterS

      Well the government has allowed our manufacturing industries to die and is allowing our agricultural industries to die or be bought up by the Chinese so the next step is to allow people to die. Supply of people is a plenty – just keep increasing the immigration allowance. I find it amazing how the unions are silent over all this. Perhaps they are on the same hymn sheet when it comes to selling out our country to overseas “investors”.

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      • #
        OriginalSteve

        Hmm…so allow our industry to go to China, then let the chinese drop off the map…..

        The dangers of socialist co-dependence.

        Time to dump china as the core of manufacturing, and bring it back in house instead.

        80

        • #
          PeterS

          For all that to happen we would need our version of a Trump. Not possible in our current political climate and voter sentiment. So we will have to learn the lesson the hard way; crash and burn.

          40

          • #
            OriginalSteve

            If things start falling apart, it will be required.

            It will be a Dads Army of manufacturing – a lot of retired tradies will come out of retirement to teach the youngsters how to do stuff.

            40

            • #
              Tony K

              That’ll be fun to see OS. Modern machining might rely on some things from 20 years and longer ago, but auto-loaders, robotics, ceramic cutting tools and IT programming will do a good job of confusing most retirees.

              20

      • #
        OriginalSteve

        I am starting to wonder if the whole thing has been deliberately left “now dont you worry about that…just sit over there like a good serf and do as youre told”

        The level of murkiness to the whole thing is bugging me and now makes me suspicious.

        I am concerned we are being deliberately kept in the dark so they can run the population around in circles like obedient trick dogs.

        50

        • #
          Bill In Oz

          Well Jo ( and I ) have been trying to help you out of that corner for a while now Steve !
          This is real.
          And it is as you say.
          Keep them in the dark
          And feed them horse dung !

          20

          • #
            OriginalSteve

            See things dont add up – how do you explain the allowance of potentially infected people in when the logical and sensible thing was to quarantine them?

            Govt is usually inpept, but its no different to greenists not doing enough hazard reduction burning then being conveniently “surprised” when the whole south coast is almost lost….. in some ways it appears absolutely no different.

            Thoughts?

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  • #
    Another Ian

    Here’s the chance to localise and update that song from “Lil Abner”

    “The country’s in the very best of hands”

    https://www.lyricsplayground.com/alpha/songs/t/thecountrysintheverybestofhandslilabnerthemusical.html

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  • #
    el gordo

    We are already doomed.

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8051549/Top-doctor-sensationally-declares-Australia-contract-coronavirus.html

    As an aside, the baby boomer bubble is most at risk, which may have a profound economic impact.

    50

    • #
      PeterS

      Still too early to tell. Only time will tell if the outbreak continues to worsen and becomes a pandemic of not. At least more and more nations are taking extreme measures to try and stop the it getting much worse. Whether it will works is unclear at the moment. The markets are not looking good either so put on your seat belts. We might be heading for a crash sooner than I thought. I hope not.

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    • #
      Analitik

      On the flipside, if the boomers and older generations are culled by Covid-19, then the millenials will find housing to be much more affordable (yes this is morbid and my parents and in-laws are in the high risk category so it’s not what I hope for).

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      • #
        Sceptical Sam

        And all those Millennials and other who’ve taken out their $750,000 + mortgages will be well under water.

        It’ll take them decades to recover, short of going belly-up.

        Bankruptcy professionals are likely to be very busy.

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  • #
    Travis T. Jones

    A biochemist’s analysis of President Trump’s coronavirus press conference

    Perhaps the best moment in the press conference came when Trump, a known germaphobe, discussed being hugged by a sick man.

    In that exchanged, Trump gave the public a real-world view of the virus’ spread.

    In my view, his suggesting that Americans use the same protocol for protecting themselves against a flu for which there was no vaccine…and describing the approach so vividly…was pitch perfect.

    https://legalinsurrection.com/2020/02/a-biochemists-analysis-of-president-trumps-coronavirus-press-conference/

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    Another Ian

    Around this area – Chiefio latest

    “27 Feb 2019-nCoV / SARS-CoV-2 / Covid-19 Diagnostic Of Pandemic”

    https://chiefio.wordpress.com/2020/02/27/27-feb-2019-ncov-sars-cov-2-covid-19-diagnostic-of-pandemic/

    10

  • #
    Kalm Keith

    Vietnam has shut down its schools.

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    Bill In Oz

    The pope is sick in Rome.
    He meets hundreds of people every day.
    And now he has a flu.
    Is it COVID 19 disease ?
    No one is sure.
    but there is a popular idea among some Catholics
    That miracles can happen through him.
    So there is an incentive for close contact.

    https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/breaking-news:-catholic-pope-francis-sick,-last-seen-coughing-and-having-a-runny-nose-as-italy-is-facing-a-coronavirus-crisis

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    PeterS

    We have a second economic fuse burning. UK’s commitment to action on climate change and 0% emissions by 2050 has lead to a court to rule the building of a 3rd runway and Heathrow airport illegal. This is our future here if we commit to a 0% target. All new projects will be deemed illegal in a court of law if anyone is prepared to take it that far. Quick way to commit economic suicide if the virus scare doesn’t do the job. Are we stupid or are we stupid?

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    • #
      Bill In Oz

      Put the judges in Corona 19 quarantine
      ‘Coventry’ for a few weeks !
      Or send them all to Iran on a special legal mission !
      Sort two problems with one stone !

      Meanwhile Boris with his new majority in the Commons
      Can over rule these judges if needed.
      And indeed rein in these activist judges generally.

      40

      • #
        PeterS

        Actually Boris was against the new runway and is pleased about the ruling. He is a committed climate change alarmists and advocate of 0% emissions.

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  • #
    Bill In Oz

    Excellent roundup of the USA situation by Chiefio just posted
    One very important message is coming through very loud & clear :
    the RT PCR test is not accurate or sensitive enough to be relied on.
    It can be wrong 30% of the time !
    Bugger !

    On the other hand a CT scan is ~ 90% accurate
    So it is the best diagnostic tool to use.
    https://chiefio.wordpress.com/2020/02/27/27-feb-2019-ncov-sars-cov-2-covid-19-diagnostic-of-pandemic/

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  • #

    I’m wondering here.

    The streets of Wuhan are deserted, and people are self quarantining at home, or as some suggestions are, being forcibly quarantined in their homes and elsewhere.

    What I’m wondering about is that when all this starts to go away, how many dead people will they find behind those ‘closed’ doors of all those homes.

    Tony.

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    • #

      depends on how thoroughly they were doing their door to doors beforehand.

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    • #
      Dennis

      Your comment reminded me of that silly joke about about the two house mice, In and Out.

      They never got to meet because when In was in Out was Out, and when Out was in In was out.

      One day Out returned and realised that In was in, instinct.

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    • #
      el gordo

      Somebody captured on their phone a young woman in a high rise apartment screaming loudly that her mother is sick and dying, no idea what will happen.

      10

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    george

    “so why is Scott Morrison undoing that?” Just like the cash ban, that is what he was told to do.

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    Cynic of Ayr

    Well, the word is that the Chinese Students bring the virus to Australia, and I guess that’s correct.
    However, they will mainly be bringing it to the University – to the lecturers, to the chancellors, to the very people who are agitation for it’s importation.
    Another example of intelligent people being very, very stupid.
    On a slightly different angle, for years now, since the armchair generals told the real General Schwarzkop, that he’d lose thousands of men and equipment going through the Iraqi tank traps, when he just went around.
    Since than, I’ve been inundated with “experts” telling me that the Earth is doomed by now, that temperatures will be five degrees higher by now, that the seas will be a metre or more higher by now, that it will never rain again by now, that there will be no ice in the Arctic by now, and on and on. By now, 2020.
    I’m told by some kid with an affliction that I have to stop burning fossil fuels tomorrow (with no idea how she’s get back to Sweden without the fuel)
    NONE of it has come true. There is not one single prediction that has even come close to being accurate.
    I’m told that if we give huge fortunes to the “experts” like Malcolm Turnbull who have invested in renewable power, they will save the world. The fact that they get rich by doing so is, well, they’re worth it, aren’t they?
    Now, I’m supposed to take the advice of another pile of “experts”, assuring me that if we give them enough money, they too, can save the world.
    I’m sick of it, I really am.
    There’s going to be some people who make a hell of a lot of money from this. Is it a clear scam, like climate change? Probably not, but there will be heaps of scams attached to it.
    Just who the hell do we believe?

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  • #
    Matty

    Chinese death toll over the last three days: 150 – 72 – 29. Voila!

    20

  • #
    cedarhill

    This maybe the first market correction and maybe the first market panic driven solely by hysteria over a few thousand deaths of an obscure, not very contagious, virus that is being used for political reasons by nearly every government.

    It’s always amazing, after seeing similar corrections and panics for 7 decades, to watch folks that are normal level header literally go absolutely la-la. Places in Ireland, for example, see people die, on average, at the rate of 300 per year. In the EU, over 83% of their 5,100,000 deaths per year are over age 65. That means over 4 million elderly die every year. That’s over 11,000 PER DAY. Gone. Dead. Every day. Every year. The CDC estimates in the US over 23% of that demographic are in fair to poor health. Poor health percentages will be even higher for those 80 and older. That’s why very few people, world wide, live past 85. Virtually all the Wuhan reports, from the beginning. stated nearly all the fatalities were/are in the elderly demographic.

    Even using only the most “at risk” demographic, the deaths won’t even change their overall death rates by anything meaningful.

    During the Wuhan super pandemic, so far, the CDC is reporting from 12,000 to 30,000 US deaths from influenza. The range tells you even in the West with really great high tech in every smart phone, it’s mostly a SWAG as to actual counts. Who knows, the US has from 0 to 10,000 Wuhan deaths so far — if they’d only redo the flu stats and project what the “real” number should be, perhaps even using the same algorithms and that the Australia Met offices uses to recast temperature reality. After all, numbers don’t matter with climate, why should they with viruses?

    No one that I’m aware, has analyzed this super pandemic in terms of all cause mortality. There is a long list in the drug industry (most notably statins) where the net effect of the drug had zero (as in no, none, zip) effect on all cause mortality. Categories may have been shifted around, but just as many died in a given group regardless of taking the drug(s). The Wuhan, as of today, won’t even make a “within statistical error” as to all cause mortality especially in the most at risk group. Actually, outside of the elderly, one could even say it will have zero effect.

    What is notable this time around is how the hysteria has been stoked and stoked by the Western media. Even China is getting smarter – they’re using Wuhan to eliminate the spread of dissent and shift attention to their public health systems and the “huge” number of deaths that amount to 1/10th of one days death rate in their country. In the US, Trump will likely suffer though a Wuhan impeachment. Lobbyist and special interests are in the process of making billions while the financial world is in the process of creating new billionaires that are playing the super pandemic.

    Given the interconnection of media and politics and the ability of nations like China to create reality of their choosing, we may actually see a world wide depression based upon unfounded, unreasoned fear of a virus that doesn’t seem to be able to kill any other than a small percent of frail people – and even those it does kill in the high risk demographic, 90% or so manage to make it through.

    For example, the US reported over 18,500 MRSA in 2005. And these were in the same hospitals we want to sent those infected by Wuhan.

    Fear does seem to be the best motivator. And it’s so easily created in the modern world.

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    • #

      Cedarhill, I wish I could be convinced like you are that just because no pandemic has swept the world with a 2% death rate since 1918 and previous panics ebola- H1N1 – SARS turned out fine (for us), that therefore it is Impossible that this virus could repeat the pattern of so many in human history.

      The Western Media I’ve seen has not stoked hysteria at all — they’ve stoked complacency “truth your rulers”. They keep telling everyone that “most people will be fine” and only the old and sick are affected. They haven’t mentioned the “all cause mortality” which has indeed been calculated and published in papers — albeit with wide error bars. They haven’t mentioned that once in the ICU in China, the death rate is 49%. Nor have they calculated total deaths likely. Nor have they explained why the head of the WHO has a conflict of interest that makes him an apologist for Xi. Nor have they asked our leaders one single hard question. How many people infected in Australia will it take before our hospitals are 1/ out of ICU rooms, 2/ Out of medical supplies, drugs, masks, hazmat suits? What point (weeks) do they expect to be sending people home that they would normally admit? 3/. What’s the cost to closing schools in Australia? 4/ Do they have plans to start manufacturing drugs and masks in Australia?

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      • #
        cedarhill

        We must read different papers and listen to different radio and watch different television.
        The US media, the US Left politicians and the US entertainment sectors have “screaming headlines” about how everyone will contract Wuhan, it’s too late to do anything because (Trump), cases that turn up from people (surprise?) visited Wuhan are tallied with the same headlines, etc. And the UK tabloids are, well, the UK tabloids. Imagine, they’re closing schools in the UK because some family with kids in the school t-r-a-v-e-l-e-d to Italy but not in the areas reported to have Wuhan cases. They even cited the precautionary principle. And this in a group (kids) that is not in the “at risk” category.
        Then there’s the business and news community where, every hour, on the hour, reporters declare the devastation of business and the crash/panic (choose you term) of the markets falling, and falling and falling — all due to the “Killer” virus. Some even report that Apple will fail because all their components (fake news, won’t happen) come from China and the plants are closed. Imagine – not being able to buy an IPhone for weeks, maybe months and all because (Trump).
        Just this morning, the news is awash with a John Hopkins “simulation” that Wuhan killed (not might, or could, or…) 65 MILLION. One supposes that might happen if we lined up all the elderly and AIDS patients and other immune compromised and injected them with a purified strain of Wuhan.
        And the UK press: The Worst One Day drop in History (based on points, not percents) as fears of THE global pandemic sweep the world. CNN business headlines “S&P is plunging at unprecedented speed. It’s about to get worse”.
        Even casual followers of business know the Left will do absolutely anything to sink what they call the Trump economy. Even Depression level crashing. Anything to rid the world of Trump. Mostly because Trump is re-ordering the global businesses which includes reducing, even eliminating, China as a supply chain provider and moving to other Asia, world sources.

        Even supposing there is 100% fatalities of those admitted to ICU, it’s still essentially all in the elderly having poor health. It would seem most medical experts could analyze the impact on all cause mortality for the high risk group. A question no one is willing to address is even if we “cure” this group of their infection, how many will die anyway given the myriad of killers lurking to strike the frail elderly? I.E., if the Wuhan is stopped/fixed/etc, then what’s to keep them from getting one of the hundreds of flus and/or other cold virus and dying from them? With all cause mortality studied, one can properly assess if one wants to spend their wheels and resources on folks that are in their end of life periods.
        And as to hospitals. Most of our elderly frail, at least lots and lots of them, are already institutionalized in long-term care facilities. Wouldn’t it be more appropriate to raise a howl about how best to isolate that population? If you’ve ever spent any time visiting those institutions, you’d know that infections literally sweep through them. For the elderly not yet in an institution, what protections are appropriate? Isolating them? Delivering meals using isolation suits for the providers?

        Still, there’s nothing, today, months after the emergence of Wuhan, which even hints at groups beyond the high risk elderly being at risk of dying. Most are at risk of contracting a respiratory virus and millions do each and every year. Thousands die as a result. So far, no matter what one projects as actually happening in China, the Wuhan is contributing only a minor add-on, if that, in the viral diseases.

        And it is interesting to see how the same, even worse, reporting shares so many elements of the climate narrative.

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    • #
      robert rosicka

      Cedarhill I find it ironic they use the term “market correction” when it slumps from being up , was it incorrect for being up ?

      30

  • #
    OriginalSteve

    Hmmm….foolishness becomes the law of the land…..

    Paris Agreement becomes and economy wrecker….as designed…..

    “1 The wise woman builds her house,
    But the foolish pulls it down with her hands.
    ” 6 A scoffer seeks wisdom and does not find it,
    But knowledge is easy to him who understands.
    “7 Go from the presence of a foolish man,
    When you do not perceive in him the lips of knowledge.
    “8 The wisdom of the prudent is to understand his way,
    But the folly of fools is deceit.
    ( Proverbs 14: 1, 6-8)

    https://www.michaelsmithnews.com/2020/02/heathrow-new-runway-ruled-illegal-over-climate-change-paris-agreement.html

    “Plans for a third runway at Heathrow airport have been ruled illegal by the court of appeal because ministers did not adequately take into account the government’s commitments to tackle the climate crisis.

    “The ruling is a major blow to the project at a time when public concern about the climate emergency is rising fast and the government has set a target in law of net zero emissions by 2050. The prime minister, Boris Johnson, could use the ruling to abandon the project, or the government could draw up a new policy document to approve the runway.

    “The government is now considering its next steps but will not appeal against the verdict. The transport secretary, Grant Shapps, said: “Our manifesto makes clear any Heathrow expansion will be industry-led. Airport expansion is core to boosting global connectivity and levelling up across the UK. We also take seriously our commitment to the environment.”

    “Johnson has opposed the runway, saying in 2015 that he would “lie down in front of those bulldozers and stop the construction”. Heathrow is already one the busiest airports in the world, with 80 million passengers a year. The £14bn third runway could be built by 2028 and would bring 700 more planes per day and a big rise in carbon emissions.

    “The court’s ruling is the first major ruling in the world to be based on the Paris agreement and may have an impact both in the UK and around the globe by inspiring challenges against other high-carbon projects.

    “Lord Justice Lindblom said: “The Paris agreement ought to have been taken into account by the secretary of state. The national planning statement was not produced as the law requires.”

    “It’s now clear that our governments can’t keep claiming commitment to the Paris agreement, while simultaneously taking actions that blatantly contradict it” said Tim Crosland, at legal charity Plan B, which brought the challenge. “The bell is tolling on the carbon economy loud and clear.”

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    TedM

    I just heard a medical expert????? on ABC radio. He was very reassuring. Nothing much to worry about, it shouldn’t be as bad as the 2009 flu epidemic, he doesn’t expect thousands of people to be infected, just stay healthy and follow normal hygiene procedures. He didn’t elaborate on just what that meant. One shred of logic was that vulnerable people should have their flu vaccination because they don’t want to get the Coronavirus and have a flu co-infection. Bravo the ABC, reassuring people so that they can get sick and possibly die. GOOD ONE ABC.

    One problem with that is that the flu vax isn’t usually available until April.

    50

    • #
      Dennis

      When I was vaccinated in 2019 for influenza the nurse recommenced a pneumonia vaccination for life and I agreed to have it.

      Maybe for older people the pneumonia vaccine now?

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    • #

      Another problem is that the Flu vaccine doesnt always protect against the right strain, and even when it does efficacy is a lot lower than 100%.

      But if you’ve been getting the flu vacc every year yes, you definitely need it. If you are strong enough to fight influenza and get natural protection that lasts a lot longer.

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      • #
        joseph

        Jo, I came across this Sharyl Attkisson podcast a couple of days ago and found it to be worth a listen. The third segment focuses on the flu vaccine and the fact that doctors employed by the CDC did research on the flu vaccine, to show that those who were critical of the vaccine were spreading false information. The results of their study were not what they were expecting. The results revealed that deaths were significantly higher among those older people who had received the vaccine! And she explains why we didn’t hear of those results. The other segments good value too. IMHO

        ‘Coronavirus – Who is controlling the information?’

        https://art19.com/shows/the-sharyl-attkisson-podcast/episodes/62e4a7e3-5983-4299-ac5e-1c03fa5c0b5b

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    Kalm Keith

    What’s driving our open borders to corona is that same thing that was seen driving the CO2 scare years ago, money.

    http://joannenova.com.au/2011/08/blockbuster-planetary-temperature-controls-co2-levels-not-humans/#comment-416613

    KK

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    • #
      Kalm Keith

      Link not working.

      10

      • #
        Kalm Keith

        Link.

        “MaryFJohnston
        August 5, 2011 at 2:12 pm
        If anyone doubts the importance of Global Warming just look at this.

        Re 85

        Stated;

        “”EU-wide emissions trading scheme is expected to generate between $143 billion and $296 billion over the next six years…””

        At a commission rate of 0.1% the banks handling these transactions will make somewhere between $143 million and $296 million.”

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    Bill In Oz

    This is from News.com today re what will happen in SA if the Corona Virus gets loose here :
    “Emergency plans now underway to deal with an expected coronavirus pandemic spreading to South Australia include using police to enforce home quarantines, special coronavirus-only clinics in hospitals across the state and out-of-hospital strategies should a disease outbreak overwhelm the hospital system.

    Schools could be closed and workers urged to work from home under worst case scenarios.

    Schools could be closed and workers urged to work from home in some scenarios – such is the case already in Wuhan, China, where the outbreak originated. Picture: STR / AFP
    Schools could be closed and workers urged to work from home in some scenarios – such is the case already in Wuhan, China, where the outbreak originated. Picture: STR / AFPSource:AFP

    SA Health’s Disaster Preparedness and Resilience Branch is helping lead the response, based on its Major Incident Plan to deal with catastrophes ranging from natural disasters to human disease outbreaks which are beyond the health system’s capacity to manage.

    However, Chief Public Health Officer Associate Professor Nicola Spurrier urged the public to be “alert, not alarmed” emphasising SA is in the containment phase of dealing with the threat with only three confirmed cases — two of which have recovered — and no deaths.

    She said the disease’s rapid spread to large clusters in places like Italy and South Korea meant it is inevitable the potentially deadly viral infection would arrive in SA regardless of travel bans. ”

    NOTE WELL Professor Spurier’s comment that it is “inevitable the virus would arrive in SA regardless of travel bans” !

    Hundred’s of years of travel bans & quarantine were effective before. But not now ! I wonder what she knows that we . do not know ? Or maybe she has a different agenda – like preserving the Unis by allowing travellers from infected areas to come here to SA ?

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    • #
      OriginalSteve

      “Or maybe she has a different agenda – like preserving the Unis by allowing travellers from infected areas to come here to SA ?”

      It suits a lock-down martial law type agenda……

      Maybe the virus is actually mostly smoke and mirrors – maybe the real plan is to train Australians to be obedient under martial law conditions. This is either a training run, or will become the real deal…..

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      • #
        Sceptical Sam

        If we had a green left government in place Federally I’d give that hypothesis a bit more consideration.

        However, I can’t see the evidence supporting it currently.

        Buy a set of bolt-cutters. 🙂

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  • #
    Serge Wright

    These same academics that claim we are in a climate emergency and seek to impose extreme socialism to save the world are now happy to kill us by importing a deadly virus. This proves it was always about the money.

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    Choroin

    Our Universities have been a joke for the last 20 years.

    They’re cookie cutter cash machines which gave up on their primary purpose – educating AUSTRALIAN’S to a high standard – a long time ago, not to mention their having become infested with leftwing group-think. They were bad enough 20yrs ago when I was at one.

    I really do fear for my nation.

    The LNP really doesn’t offer us much of a reprieve from the lunacy of our leftist parties. They’re barely entitled to call themselves a conservative party anymore. It’s just pander, pander, always on the defensive, never on the attack, never standing up for objective truth and the well being of AUSTRALIAN citizens. Neoliberal attitudes since the 80’s in particular seem to have totally neutered their effectiveness at fighting for the ‘quiet Australian’ we’re reminded so often they’re championing.

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  • #

    I dread what will happen in those aged care facilities if it takes hold in even one of them.

    I don’t care what people may say, but I can see the staff not wanting to come in for their shift.

    Please forgive my cynicism.

    Also, what will happen to the first University which records a case of COVID-19. Will they lock down the whole campus? Will they quarantine all the students? Will the staff and administrators even be on site?

    Again, excuse my cynicism.

    Tony.

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    • #

      Also, what will happen to the first University which records a case of COVID-19. Will they lock down the whole campus? Will they quarantine all the students? Will the staff and administrators even be on site?

      not sure I understand why you specify university? It is a workplace for many so would be treated in a similar way to any other workplace (shopping centre, factory, high school etc) – Employees and off campus students would go home and not return to work if directed. Students on campus would do the same except they’d be located on campus and they might not be “locked down at all. Their situation would be no different to those living in an apartment building. Provisions would be made to ensure health and safety of those subject to a lockdown the same as anywhere else.

      Also why would the first university be different to the 4th or 7th?

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      • #
        Bill In Oz

        Gee Aya, you forget one important thing
        Almost all the students here from China
        Are also working part time – up to 20 hours a week officially.
        So we will probably see virus carriers without symtoms
        Spreading this disease
        in their workplaces & to customers at those places.
        Thinks cafes, restaurants, privatised post office parcel deliveries
        Etc. etc. etc.

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      • #
        Sceptical Sam

        Your vested interest is showing GA.

        I suspect Tony specifies a university because of the “carve out” that the government has insisted it hasn’t implemented to enable university students from Communist China to find a way around his non “carve out” policy.

        Do you not understand that?

        Like, 14 days in Cambodia or Thailand? And a direct subsidy from the university to help defray their costs. $7,500 seems to ring a bell.

        Get it?

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    • #
      PeterS

      Your cynicism is noted but the reality is if this gets much worse and eventually becomes a pandemic, almost everything will shut down, including universities. Better stock up on toilet paper, etc. just in case. If it all comes to naught we can treat it like a test run for when the real pandemic arrives.

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    • #
      robert rosicka

      I think your fears have foundation Tony .

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    • #
      TedM

      They should lock down the whole campus. The problem is that there is live in students, and living at home students. With asymptomatic infection I see a huge problem emerging with the infection leaving the campus via secondary infection, as well as primary infected students also carrying it into their part time work places.

      As far as the staff is concerned some will and some won’t. I have to agree with Robert. Your fears are well founded.

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  • #
    Peter Fitzroy

    So further to my previous comment, and taking into account the higher risk groups (age related).
    If we were to match those with a higher risk, to those occupations who have high numbers in those cohorts, then freight transport will become a problem as there will be a lack of drivers. Also taking the 15% of existing trained workers unable to do their jobs, what impact, apart from catastrophic, will this have on essential services, and in this case I would include telecommunications (worldwide) next to power, water, sewage, and transport.

    This could be our own great depression and spanish flu combined

    /close the borders

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  • #
    RickWill

    It appears the the coronavirus is out of control in Iran. When senior government officials are carrying the virus, my conclusion is that it is widespread given the limited medical facilities in the country and the poor reporting.
    https://www.timesofisrael.com/iran-reports-3-new-virus-deaths-as-another-senior-government-official-infected/

    Sinbad’s story on the previous thread was informative.

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  • #
    Peter C

    Africa reports its first case; Lagos Nigeria.
    https://www.msn.com/en-au/news/world/nigeria-confirms-coronavirus-first-in-sub-saharan-africa/ar-BB10v7jA?ocid=spartanntp

    The man is from Italy.

    The Commissioner for Health for Lagos, Nigeria’s largest city, said Friday that an Italian citizen who entered Nigeria on February 25 from Milan on a business trip fell ill the next day.
    Commissioner Akin Abayomi said the man was transferred to Lagos State Biosecurity Facilities for isolation and testing.

    I was thinking “here we go”, yet I noticed that Lagos has a State Biosecurity Isolation Unit. Do we have such a thing?

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    • #
      el gordo

      At the moment Nigeria is hot and steamy, the virus hates that, so we shouldn’t expect a huge breakout.

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      • #
        Peter C

        Hopefully not a huge outbreak.

        Note that the first case is from Italy (where there have been quite a lot of cases) and not China.

        Also they have a Biosecurity Isolation Unit! So they are prepared, possibly better that Australia.

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  • #
    RickWill

    The Australian share market has fallen 10% in the last month; today alone down 3+%. US down over 4% on just on Thursday.

    First coronavirus case in sub-saharan Africa reported in Nigeria. Africa will be a nightmare if it takes hold – it may already be rampant but WHO would be unlikely to know:
    https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/02/coronavirus-outbreak-latest-updates-200227234556140.html

    WHO are now contemplating a “pandemic”.

    It remains surprising to me that the iron ore spot price is not in freefall. It has held above USD86 throughout February. It may be holding up due to port closure ahead of cyclone Damien earlier in the month. Falling iron price will be a firm indicator of Chinese industry slow down impacting Australian exports.

    Some speculation that Pope Francis has picked up coronavirus as he has cancelled a mass due to ill health.

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  • #
    Tim Spence

    jo, I was watching Fox news yesterday and the doctor who had been treating those in quarentine said something interesting. The treatment is not complicated and patients generally respond well to treatment, it does not present fever, it is a pulmonary infection accompanied by respiratory insufficency.

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  • #
    Bill In Oz

    Hi Jo, It seems New Zealnd has joied the COVID 19 club !
    A kiwi who flew back from Iran via Bali has been diagnosed with it.
    And is now in hospital.
    Curious thing is New Zealand has banned the entry of Iranians to Kiwi land.
    have we done that yet I wonder ?

    https://www.theepochtimes.com/coronavirus-live-updates-nigeria-reports-coronavirus-first-case-in-sub-saharan-africa_3253869.html

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  • #
    pat

    MSM sure are serious about this virus:

    26 Feb: NYT: Let’s Call It Trumpvirus
    If you’re feeling awful, you know who to blame.
    By Gail Collins
    So, our Coronavirus Czar is going to be … Mike Pence. Feeling more secure?…
    Totally qualified. First criteria for every job in this administration is capacity for praising the gloriousness of our commander in chief…
    https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/26/opinion/coronavirus-trump.html

    Obama Ebola czar rips Pence for controlling health officials’ state,emts
    Axios – 5 hours ago
    The Obama administration’s Ebola response coordinator Ronald Klain tore into the White House Thursday over a report in the New York Times…

    Tweet: Ronald Klain 27 Feb 2020
    Getting ready to join @maddow to discuss #coronavirus — before the launch of a new podcast tomorrow with @celinegounder (called Epidemic)…
    Reply: Anne
    I’m watching Rachel, who is doing an amazing job of bringing us up to speed on info which our own govt should have been telling us. It’s worrisome, seeing how this is spreading & knowing that we have no one in control of the govt’s response, & no reason to trust what they do say…
    https://twitter.com/RonaldKlain/status/1233212704099360768

    Wikipedia: Ron Klain is an American political operative and lawyer. He served as chief of staff to two U.S. vice presidents – Al Gore (1995–99) and Joe Biden (2009–11), and served as the United States Ebola response coordinator in late 2014 into early 2015…
    Klain joined the Clinton-Gore campaign in 1992 and was involved in both of Bill Clinton’s campaigns. He oversaw Clinton’s judicial nominations, and was General Counsel to Al Gore’s recount committee in 2000 election…

    During Klain’s tenure as Gore’s Chief of Staff, he was seen as too loyal to Clinton by some longtime Gore advisors, and in 1999, feuding broke out between Clinton and Gore loyalists. Klain was ousted by Gore campaign chairman Tony Coelho in August 1999…In 2000, Klain returned to the Gore campaign, once Coelho was replaced by William M. Daley who hired Klain for a senior position in the Gore campaign and then named him General Counsel of Gore’s Recount Committee…
    Klain was signed up as a lobbyist for Fannie Mae until 2005 whom he helped overcome “regulatory issues”…

    On November 12, 2008, Roll Call announced that Klain had been chosen to serve as Chief of Staff to Vice President Joe Biden, the same role he served for Gore…
    In 2011, amid concerns about whether the now-defunct solar-panel company Solyndra was viable, Klain approved an Obama visit, stating, “The reality is that if POTUS visited 10 such places over the next 10 months, probably a few will be belly-up by election day 2012.”…

    On October 17, 2014, Klain was appointed the “Ebola response coordinator” or, less officially, Ebola “czar” by President Barack Obama, to help coordinate the nation’s response to the Ebola virus. His appointment was criticized because he “has no record or expertise in Ebola specifically or public health in general”…
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ron_Klain

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    • #
      Bill In Oz

      Hi Jo & Pat, can we keep the actual medical aspect of of this virus and disease
      Separate from the politics
      especially the USA politics
      Which frankly most of us here in Australia Find confusing and ‘odd’ ?

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      • #
        Kalm Keith

        Hi Bill,

        Given that the CAGW death by incineration due to high CO2 levels meme has been constructed by the political class, I find Pat’s background stuff very useful.
        Seeing how politicians deal with stuff helps put the whole picture together.

        KK

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  • #
    cedarhill

    This is what funding should be directed:

    Breakthrough From Israel’s MIGAL Research Institute in Development of Corona virus (COVID-19) Vaccine
    http://www.migal.org.il/Migal/Templates/showpage.asp?DBID=1&LNGID=1&TMID=178&FID=1144&PID=0&IID=8138

    Imagine: A “stem” vaccine which is easily/quickly modified to a specific pathogen. The oral route is perfect and was proven the “go-to” method for vaccination against polio (for those us old enough to recall the original March of Dimes). Of course, one might have to weigh reactions and, even then, the elderly simply might not be well enough to take it.

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