Australians should be thankful to Lewis Hamilton’s stand against holding the F1 Grand Prix. I know he was not alone in recognising the risk but he was very vocal and influential in his view that it was too risky to hold it.
It was the biggest soccer game in Atalanta’s history and a third of Bergamo’s population made the short trip to Milan’s famed San Siro Stadium.
Nearly 2,500 fans of visiting Spanish club Valencia also traveled to that Champions League match.
More than a month later, experts are pointing to the Feb. 19 game as one of the biggest reasons why Bergamo has become one of the epicenters of the coronavirus pandemic — a “biological bomb” was the way one respiratory specialist put it — and why 35% of Valencia’s team became infected.
The mayor said the teen “didn’t have insurance, so they did not treat him” when he arrived at an urgent care facility in the area. The medical staff then told the child to go to a local public hospital.
Italy had 931 deaths yesterday so that is their new highest daily death toll. The doubling of deaths is out to 6 days though. US is still doubling every 2 days.
AND Boris Johnson has tested positive for the virus.
The class system in both health and welfare in the USA is likely to skew their fatality statistics compared with other countries.
There are a huge number of undocumented workers in New York for example. My understanding is that they cannot access welfare. They need to work. It appears this group is already overwhelming hospital capacity in Queens for example.
Then there is access to medical care. My understanding is that that depends on the insurance available or not.
In Victoria at least, I believe the government will buy access to private hospital beds if needed. Hotels could become hospitals.
It will be these people who are infecting others in the USA. They present as much a risk to the rest of the population as they do to themselves. They will be inclined to work through illness for fear of losing work and required income. Those who die just add to the workload of people dealing with bodies.
It is no less valid than asking why this cohort is permitted to remain in the US (or any other country with a similar set of problems) when there is so obviously a cost to doing so.
Don’t go blaming hypothetical social systems ( Americans are actually more class-mobile than most) for political decisions that ignore the consequences of failing to enforce reasonable laws.
Ive been wondering if it is related to rates of smoking? You would first need to get good data on smoking rates by country, age and sex. It could be (for example) that the higher death rate amongst Chinese males is due to smoking (and/or drinking). Maybe more older Italians smoke? Although I believe the average rate of smoking is higher in Germany.
There are likely multiple factors at play. I would not be surprised at all if it were found that smoking will be one significant factor.
Given the way the virus affects the liver, heavy drinking is likely to be another.
There is a neat bit of work to be done here using regression tools. If the data is available in a useful and consistent form.
Triage decisions most likely. They did not get the “bomb” that the Milan football match dropped. Both Spain and Italy suffered from the football match.
Expect to see the rate rise in Germany as older people are tipped out of intensive care to allow younger people to get a chance.
US is different. The quality of health care there is more a function of wealth so expect to see a younger cohort emerge in the USA.
We are told
we now have the highest unemployment since the 1930s. No, we are just all on holiday.
the economy is in recession. No, there is no economy. We have just gone home.
that we must get back to work. No, we are on holiday.
the children must go to school. No they are on an unplanned break.
There is no problem but an attempt to stop transmission of this deadly chemical and so kill a killer. We have to do nothing but stay home.
Why is that so hard? If it was a real war, there would be damage. Not a single building is damaged.
The only tragedy is that people are bored, terrified, worried and the journalists are making it far worse by proclaiming the
worst employment numbers ever, a crashing economy and a projection that it is the end of the world and that we will never recover.
No we will come back. And they will be relevant again.
Even fearless pundit Andrew Bolt, just back from his usual holiday, insists everyone should go to work.
At least they are still at work. From home.
And the rest of the population is trying to work out how to really enjoy some quiet, relaxing time at home without going overseas. Probably impossible.
We in Australia fought so hard for the 40 hour week. Four weeks annual leave. Leave loading so we are paid more not to work.
And you would think the world has collapsed because we are told to take a few weeks leave at home?
My father and workmates used to get fired every Christmas and hired again in the New Year. That was life. And no one went overseas.
If you had a car you could get a caravan and park on the foreshore. There was nothing to do.
And then you get those retirement adds, older couples gazing into the distance and the setting sun. An image of tranquility when they should
be floating down the Danube with glasses of wine, gazing up at a castle.
The perversity of human nature. As Jean Paul Satre said, hell is being stuck in a room for all eternity with your three best friends.
And I really think they should have closed stock exchanges for a month but it’s too late now. It is a system built for wild speculation when
there is nothing wrong. It startles on a whisper. There is money to be made if shares go up and when they go down. There are no brakes
except for a runaway market. If you close the casinos, you should close the markets.
Adversity, hardship and pain is what gives meaning to our lives.
If you think about it and really imagine a perfect world, where nothing ever went wrong, you would not know the meaning of joy, or of gratitude or virtue. Life would be bland and boring and, most importantly, meaningless.
It is hardship and struggle that shows us what is good.
Tdef you’re forgetting the people that can least afford to miss a few paychecks that places them in dire financial needs, many Australians have gotten into a financial debt trap where along with a house there’s concreting, landscaping, pool, cars, bike, boat, overseas trip etc.. all racked up in mortgage or loans, the scale of debt varies a lot but its still there relative to the persons income.
I’m not saying all debt is bad and people are free to make choices but the stress of losing a lifestyle people worked hard for can easily harm or even kill them just as bad as an aggressive virus, early this year ex Premier of Victoria John Cain died, this man along with his ALP cronies destroyed the states economy so bad we had a credit rating lower than most banana republics, they also caused massive unemployment that led to loss of businesses and personal assets, my parents we’re one of these victims losing everything and never fully recovering, this type of virus can damage people for life.
Maybe it does mean that I drive a 28yo vehicle, but it also means that I’m not in a panic about making payments on a new car just because the market has tanked or it hasn’t rained.
There is a cost to thinking you can have as much as you can borrow. You make yourself a hostage to circumstances
That’s just sensible. Incredibly it is rampant spending which makes everyone rich and cars cheap. Perverse. And you can get caught in the middle with a pile of debt and worthless assets if the merry go round stops. My view is that it is in everyone’s interest not to foreclose for four weeks rent. Or everyone loses. But there will be sharks circling.
I noted with amusement yesterdy the prolific advertisements for liquor and wine. And the Australian mint pushing gold bars. It’s an ill wind.
My uncle used to love commentator Vance Packard, especially his 1960 book the Waste Makers on planned obsolescence. I remember the image of car makers making the economy run by making cars which were just driven straight out of the factory and off a cliff. Economic truth can be illogical. I have only once bought a new car but if no one bought new cars, they would not exist or the few which existed would be beyond price.
Yes, they are living on the edge. Anything which goes wrong, a major illness. A broken leg. A sick child. That is where I believe the banks and landlords and government can help and should help.
The fundamental problems of unemployment, distress, debt and the rest are unchanged by this.
We cannot change people’s circumstances and often poor life choices.
Yes governments often make things worse because they never lose their jobs and need more and more money. Especially in hard times. My mother used to say that in the depression you needed to be a public servant.
Even so, dealing with the next few weeks, people will help, I hope. This contagion must be stopped. My point is that it otherwise changes nothing and it is not charity to stop taxing people, forgive debt, give a rent holiday and an interest holiday. It is just sensible.
And so far all governments understand. Fundamentally they cannot afford the taxpayer to go broke or they will lose their jobs too.
The ONLY thing people should be worried about is AVOIDING CONTACT with others and things they have been in contact with.
China has released a biological bomb on the globe and nothing else matters but surviving until it can be controlled.
Sure there are essential services/supplies and some people are needed to stay in work to provide those services and supplies.
A non-existent priority is paying bills. No one is getting evicted. If someone comes to the door to evict you they are breaching distancing/quarantine requirements – call the police. Everyone in Australia should have access to enough money to buy basic survival food.
Or eliminating it completely from Australia. We didn’t want this. It was brought to this country. All these infections were imported and that is still happening!
We tolerate rabbits and foxes and cane toads but we do not have to tolerate COVID-19. Whether people understand it or not the whole point in Australia is to eliminate it, not just flatten the curve so that people die later in a manageable way at a convenient time. In fact they may not die at all if there are not too many of them at one time.
The other aspect is that the number of contacts possible in a crowd goes roughly as the square of the number of people. So a school of 600 students is 36,000x riskier than just two people meeting.
Isolating or two people meetings not only ridiculously reduces the chance of infection, it can stop it completely as sick people become non infectious.
The fact that is doubling every three days means that each sick person infects another person every three days. That has to stop.
For many it IS hard to take time off. Many families live week-by-week and some, meal-by-meal. Miss a pay cheque and people don’t eat.
And those families, couples and singles, pensioners, disabled and unemployed are also likely to be in positions where they don’t get ‘holiday pay’ or ‘sick leave’ etc.
We live on the breadline in the west. Economic rationalisation and the concomitant Just-in-Time supply lines mean ANY interruption to normal pay-buy-eat-work process can have cities starving within a week or so – very few places have stores and resources to continue for more than a few days.
Even the ancient Egytians had more sense than that.
There should be reports coming everyday regarding the results of chloroquine or hydrochloroquine (Plaquenil) on Coronavirus patients.
Yet there is nothing! TdeF surveyed 15 chemist shops and got vague replies or questions instead of answers. They all said they did not have any.
I rang the suppliers yesterday (sanofi-aventis australia pty ltd). Before they would even answer my question I was verballed. Who was I? What did I intend to do with the tablets? In the end they said they did have some supplies, but the drug could only be prescribed for the “approved indications”. https://www.nps.org.au/medicine-finder/plaquenil-tablets
My son said that there is no sound medical evidence on the benefits. He did say that supplies in Australia were being “guarded” for people who need it for other conditions.
If it is being used in New York hospitals then it is not having much impact unless it is only in selected locations.
Clive Palmer has offered to import $50m worth of hydrochloroquine and Greg Hunt reportedly accepted that offer.
Both are approved drugs by the FDA. The trials currently underway in New York will be decisive. There are another 69 approved drugs being tried around the world. If they are enough to keep people off respirators, that will help immensely.
I suggest that what’s going on is the establishment refusing to raise hopes with a magic pill which will solve all our problems. There’s no solid medical evidence that the drugs work, just hearsay and until a proper trial is carried out approving the chloroquine family for use against the Wuhan virus the official position has to be a denial of use.
We know who said it. We’ve read the papers in the professional journals. Perhaps you haven’t?
If so, here they are:
1. Xueting Yao, Fei Ye, Miao Zhang, et al. In Vitro Antiviral Activity and Projection of Optimized Dosing Design of Hydroxychloroquine for the Treatment of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). “Clinical Infectious Diseases”, (ciaa237, https://doi.org/10.1093/cid/ciaa237) Published: 09 March 2020.
“Hydroxychloroquine (EC50=0.72 μM) was found to be more potent than chloroquine (EC50=5.47 μM) in vitro. Based on PBPK models results, a loading dose of 400 mg twice daily of hydroxychloroquine sulfate given orally, followed by a maintenance dose of 200 mg given twice daily for 4 days is recommended for SARS-CoV-2 infection, as it reached three times the potency of chloroquine phosphate when given 500 mg twice daily 5 days in advance.”
2. Gautret et al. (2020) Hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin as a treatment of
COVID‐19: results of an open‐label non‐randomized clinical trial. “International Journal of
Antimicrobial Agents” ( In Press 17 March 2020 – DOI : 10.1016/j.ijantimicag.2020.105949}. A copy here:
“French Confirmed COVID-19 patients were included in a single arm protocol from early
March to March 16th, to receive 600mg of hydroxychloroquine daily and their viral load in
nasopharyngeal swabs was tested daily in a hospital setting. Depending on their clinical
presentation, azithromycin was added to the treatment. Untreated patients from another center
and cases refusing the protocol were included as negative controls. Presence and absence of
virus at Day6-post inclusion was considered the end point.”
3. Gao’s letter to BioScience Trends, 2020; 14(1):72-73.
The ABC “ Fact Check” segment on Friday stated that the Cloroquinine drugs were NOT FDA approved and actually reported that one person had died after taking the drug following hearing it was a possible cure !
Fact , fiction, or deliberate missinformation ?
Covered on WUWT Chad. The idiot drank swimming pool cleaner because it had hydroxchloroquine in its name. Sounds like ABC is deliberately trying to confuse.
Further to this, chloroquine phosphate, used to treat aquarium fish, is not FDA approved. But chloroquine and hydroxochloroquine have been approved by FDA for other medical uses.
However, the FDA hasn’t as yet approved the use of these drugs to treat COVID-19 patients.
Based on what Chad has said, It does sound as though the ABC is setting out to confuse the issue, as it appears that it’s an anti-Trump rant initiated by the BBC and The Conversation, those bastions of truth and enlightenment.
After the very organized run on masks and sanitizer coupled with their professional suspicion, even busloads raiding country stores, they are probably being very cautious with a limited supply.
I remember two years ago in a hospital the doctor prescribed a strong antibiotic for emergency treatment and was refused by the hospital clinic.
There was a national shortage and while they had some stock, they were keeping it for emergencies.
I also later found that it was in abundant supply at the local veterinarians. Different supply chain.
“On Thursday Dr. Fauci co-authored a report on the coronavirus in the New England Journal of Medicine.
The report, entitled “Covid-19 — Navigating the Uncharted”, was co-authored by Anthony S. Fauci, M.D., H. Clifford Lane, M.D., and Robert R. Redfield, M.D.
Here’s a direct quote from that report:
“If one assumes that the number of asymptomatic or minimally symptomatic cases is several times as high as the number of reported cases, the case fatality rate may be considerably less than 1%. This suggests that the overall clinical consequences of Covid-19 may ultimately be more akin to those of a severe seasonal influenza (which has a case fatality rate of approximately 0.1%) or a pandemic influenza (similar to those in 1957 and 1968) rather than a disease similar to SARS or MERS, which have had case fatality rates of 9 to 10% and 36%, respectively.2“
I think it fair to suggest that there would be many medical practitioners in ICU wards across the globe who felt Dr Fauci made at least one VERY BAD assumption in arriving at his conclusion.
Joanne nova your great on AGW but havent got a clue on Viruses https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7voUXgMCSs and actually what is happening most Australians and British People these days are irrevelant in the world This is just a NORMAL COLD VIRUS Check your daily normal deaths influenza AND OTHER AILMENTS 160000 die EACH DAY NORMALLY against youR data for coronavirus but i Thank you for your efforts on AGW cheers
Eliza if this is just a flu , getting smacked on the side of the face with a shovel is just a kiss !
In a normal flu season how many die in quick succession, so many that ICU beds have to be triaged ?
If you had carefully watched the vid you so kindly provided, you would not conclude the COVID-19 was just a “Normal Cold Virus”.
I do not understand how you could come to that conclusion given Dr. Ban G. Truong’s patient notes. Have you ever had a cold? Or a serious dose of the flu? This COVID -19 is neither.
However, thank you for link to the vid. That at least is valuable.
Regarding your “normal flu deaths” comment, may I suggest that you scan the WHO’s World Health Report linked below and see how many flu deaths are listed for 2004?
The resilient and devastating opportunists of the animal kingdom. Brought here for the amusement and sport of Englishmen. At least someone sees a positive.
If I could push a button and remove every fox and rabbit from Australia, I would. I’d remove cats even more quickly.. But we should not judge people from hindsight.
According to the theories popular in the day, there was little or nothing wrong with what they did. Had the term been part of the lexicon back then, they would no doubt have argued that they were increasing “biodiversity”.
Another historical snippet, is the degree to which large, fast “Kangaroo dogs” were part of the rural scene. They were so common and useful that when dog registration was introduced, there was a campaign to exclude Kangaroo Dogs as essential animals. Of course there are legal restrictions these days, so we are limited to using “Staghound” types.
Another “olde English” pastime of ferreting accompanied by whippets, also has its devotees.
I hope so. I saw a large dead dog fox on the road a few days ago and we see them often around here. The neighbours’ poultry, the ducks in paticular, were making a very loud racket in the early hours of this morning. I hope they were safely penned against Mr Foxy Loxy. We used to have rabbits here but our daughter’s dog was very good at catching and eating them!
What isolation? My industry is still at work. Will most probably continue if a lockdown is declared. Can’t see large union construction sites continuing. They’re bludgers anyway. Can’t cut it in the private market.
Husband is still writing a sermon for tomorrow, to be distributed via the parish newsletter!
Time to get outside for some fresh air (slightly smokey from fuel reduction burns, thank goodness they’re happening) and exercise.
While off topic here, this still relates to COVID-19.
I find it amazing that the ABC has given a ‘pass’ to this election in Queensland.
I cannot even begin to imagine what the ABC would write if this was a Conservative government doing this. Here I use the word Conservative for our non Australian readers (especially those in the U.S.) who equate the word ‘liberal’ with the left side of politics, while here in Oz, the Liberal party is to the right of centre when it comes to politics.
That also brings up a couple of other things as well, if we’re having a bit of fun.
As most of you know, I ‘blog’ at a U.S. site, and I have done so since March of 2008. Back then, there were very few weblogs here in Oz, and in fact, not all that many in the U.S. I made a comment at an article I read at that site, and the Blog’s owner asked if he could make that comment a Blog Post of its own, and if I would like to contribute on a regular basis. The rest is pretty much history, as I now have more than 2,200 separate Posts under my name at that site.
Along the way, the site owner asked me to include some history of Australia, and to explain a lot of things that are different about us. Even though we speak the same language, (English) there are so many inconsistencies, I had to explain them all, and often.
He (Americans in general really, as it also came from questions arising at some of those Posts) wanted to know why we referred to Australia as Oz. (the 3 letter international Country designator, AUS, pronounced as Oz)
They wanted an explanation of why Liberal was of the right here in Oz, when it was of the left in the U.S. Even to this day, I still have to explain that.
And (and this goes right back to the top of this Comment) they wanted to know if our ABC here in Oz was an affiliate of the U.S. ABC Network. Here, they were actually dumbfounded to learn that our Australian ABC is in fact 14 years older than the U.S. ABC.
They also don’t really understand rhyming slang all that well.
And some of our common sayings here in Oz go right over their heads. (just to of many here, flat out like a lizard drinking, and like a chook with its head cut 0ff, and with that one, they wanted to know what a chook was)
They also cannot comprehend why we ‘put up with’ compulsory voting, and how preferential voting works.
And perhaps one of the biggest things that astonishes Americans is that the size of Australia is basically the same as that of The Continental United States. They think of Australia as a small Island.
As the War of Independence was brewing up, they started to stop taking convicts being sent there from the overflowing prisons (and the hulks, and just look that up for a horror story) in England.
As the hulks even started to run out, they were looking to send their prisoners somewhere else, and someone mentioned ….. “say, what about that place James Cook found, how about we send them there.”
So they, umm, did a ‘feasibility study’ (so to speak) and then worked up the First Fleet.
That first fleet, under Arthur Phillip, then came here, arriving (phew) just days before the French did. (I say phew here, because luckily, Phillip received the email in Capetown that the French were also on their way, so he (Phillip) swapped ships and took off on the faster ones to Botany Bay via the Roaring Forties. Once he saw those wind turbines on Tasmania’s West Coast, he turned South and followed Van Diemens Land all the way around and then Off Gabo, set off for Port Botany)
Incidentally, and few know this, it took many many decades before the death attrition on those convict fleets was less by percentage than what Phillip achieved.
So, while the U.S. was a huge recipient of English convicts, it was not until that stopped that eyes turned towards what is now Australia.
As a matter of fact, the convict influence was absolutely swamped by the Gold Rush era.
Partly because of the enormous influx of free migrants drawn to the goldfields….. and partly because old money and class had so little meaning to people who firmly believed that a lucky strike would see them richer than their “betters”.
Even the convict sector itself was heavily influenced by the culture of the “new start”. That those with the skills and work ethic could finish their sentence and take up life as free men with opportunities.
Holding an election across the state is nothing short of criminal in the circumstances.
I would not turn up and would not pay any fine. Whatever the consequence of that would be less than the consequence of getting CV19.
The easy out is to say you were in quarantine. Anyone entering the state in the last week is in self-isolation anyhow. You can bet they have not had time to organise a postal vote.
If the election is not shambolic then people are breaking the isolation and separation rules. Every pencil and countertop should be disinfected after every vote. How could they possibly get how to vote forms out while maintaining the spacing rules!
Update of current trends (China’s figures are excluded).
Highest active case countries (countries with less than 1,000 total cases excluded):
Active cases | Country | Total Cases
97,805 … USA … 101,866
66,414 … Italy … 86,498
51,224 … Spain … 65,719
43,871 … Germany … 50,871
25,269 … France … 32,964
18,821 … Iran … 32,332
13,649 … UK … 14,543
11,167 … Switzerland … 12,928
8,054 … Netherlands … 8,603
7,374 … Austria … 7,657
6,137 … Belgium … 7,284
5,564 … Turkey … 5,698
4,665 … S. Korea … 9,332
4,378 … Canada … 4,689
4,149 … Portugal … 4,268
3,730 … Norway … 3,755
3,319 … Brazil … 3,417
2,997 … Australia … 3,180
2,948 … Sweden … 3,069
2,944 … Israel … 3,035
2,259 … Czechia … 2,279
2,094 … Ireland … 2,121
1,993 … Denmark … 2,046
1,876 … Malaysia … 2,161
1,562 … Chile … 1,610
1,556 … Ecuador … 1,595
1,550 … Luxembourg … 1,605
1,366 … Poland … 1,389
1,339 … Pakistan … 1,373
1,151 … Romania … 1,292
1,138 … South Africa … 1,170
1,066 … Saudi Arabia … 1,104
1,047 … Japan … 1,468
1,034 … Thailand … 1,136
1,024 … Finland … 1,041
987 … Russia … 1,036
913 … Indonesia … 1,046
Highest number of daily new cases (below 150 new cases excluded):
New Cases | Country | Total Cases
16,431 … USA … 101,866
7,933 … Spain … 65,719
6,933 … Germany … 50,871
5,909 … Italy … 86,498
3,809 … France … 32,964
2,926 … Iran … 32,332
2,885 … UK … 14,543
2,069 … Turkey … 5,698
1,172 … Netherlands … 8,603
1,117 … Switzerland … 12,928
1,049 … Belgium … 7,284
748 … Austria … 7,657
724 … Portugal … 4,268
646 … Canada … 4,689
432 … Brazil … 3,417
383 … Norway … 3,755
354 … Czechia … 2,279
342 … Israel … 3,035
304 … Chile … 1,610
302 … Ireland … 2,121
263 … Romania … 1,292
243 … South Africa … 1,170
229 … Sweden … 3,069
196 … Russia … 1,036
192 … Ecuador … 1,595
172 … Pakistan … 1,373
169 … Denmark … 2,046
168 … Poland … 1,389
160 … India … 887
153 … Indonesia … 1,046
152 … Luxembourg … 1,605
New cases as a percentage of their active cases (countries with less than 250 cases excluded, every other country above 12.5% included). Countries with large numbers in both columns have a serious period ahead, i.e. Turkey, UK, Belgium, USA, Germany, Iran, Spain, France, Canada, etc.:
The percent of total cases which have died (countries with less than 200 cases excluded, countries below 3.4% died level are excluded). This percent died number steadily rises as hospital systems can’t cope with more cases. So why did China’s percent who died not rise above 4.03%? Better anti-viral drug treatment? Or did they just not include anyone who got sick and died outside of a hospital bed?
Probably all of the countries on this short list have lost the fight to prevent the worst medical system failures developing, especially countries where large total case numbers already exist. Many more countries are going to join this list during the week.
Note that Germany had +84 new deaths today out of a total of 351 total dead to date, a 24% increase in deaths within one day. Their % died will shoot up from here, with 43,862 active cases today their hospitals can’t soak up any more, and there were 6,933 new cases today. They will not be admitted, so we are a week away from a rapid rise in the % who die there.
The German medical system put up a good fight for a long time but their national isolation was way too slow, much too late, too reactive and clearly politically paralyzed and hopelessly timid when they needed aggressive decisions. The national political leadership has failed to do the right things when they had the most warning.
I think the labs, staff and resources simply can’t keep up, so what we take as a glimmer of relent, is really just exhaustion, the disease continues to rip. Isolation takes longer to produce positive results.
All countries need to take note that terrible rise, don’t ease up, presume the worst, this virus is too contagious to do anything else.
Rickwill, sigh. Yes. But Italy is plateauing. That is a so much better that the exponential growth curve. They have to get the Ro below 1 and keep it there for 10 days or so to see it start to fall.
Some New York and Washington medical resources are already overwhelmed. That will push up the death rate in the USA.
The interesting thing about the US health and welfare system is its class structure; basically those with access and those with no or limited access. I expect the fatality statics to be skewed more along these lines than age or pre-existing condition.
I bet they already have a bed with ventilator set aside for Trump should the circumstances arise. Not sure about the Democrat presidential hopefuls though.
Yeah, it’ll be a spotty affair in the US, regional, neighboring states which did not isolate early enough will go down first, just as in Europe. The UK is in for same, and Ireland is being overwhelmed with active cases as well. We’re going to be stunned by the number of countries that end up like Italy soon.
And thirteen dead thus far. I know a few whom have lost their jobs and futures based on government restrictions. I suppose less people will die from alcoholism, mental sickness and family violence if there is a total lockdown? Nah…the brave new world.
TAKE CARE WITH THAT DATA !
I have mentioned a few times that some is this data is misleading, since much of it is based on “Confirmed”, and “New” cases…..but those figures are dependent on the number of tests done ..Daily and in Total. But those figures are not readily reported and are hard to confirm.
For example..
one source that seems fairly consistent is the NSW Health data.. https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/news/Pages/20200328_00.aspx
They report totals for tests and confirmed cases daily so accurate figures can be derived.
There was much concern that todays new cases were 212 , an increase on yesterdays 186 reported number…BUT.. what was not mentioned was that yesterdays result was from 3700 tests , whilst todays higher result was from 8800 tests !
So, in reality the proportion of new cases had reduced considerably !,,
Infact it has reduced from 1 positive case in 20 tests on Weds ,..to 1 positive test in 41 tests on thursday … the rate has halved !
Do the authorities not understand how to analyse data ?
WXc.. see above post ref NSW.
Have you come across any source of data for total or daily testing numbers for all states ?
If NSW is anything to go by, it is going to be very variable !
Just found data for Vic. https://www.dhhs.vic.gov.au/media-hub-coronavirus-disease-covid-19
Their numbers of confirmed cases are increasing,…..but so is the number tested each day ..IE..
Weds .. 900 tested…54 new cases….= 1 in 17
Thurs,..2300 tested…111 new cases….=1 in 20
Again suggesting a reduced incidence.
Or unreliable data reporting ?
So.. just to be clear..if just Nsw and VIC had done the same number of tests thursday as they did Weds, that 393 new cases would have been more like 230 !…… a significant reduction !
Beware of the data !
Hey what about us stranded down here in Godzone? Why can’t we get on any lists.
Our quarantine of arrivals from known infected areas was non-existent for 7 weeks and counting. Apparently we have just started compulsory again and there are heaps of arrivals.
How can it not be everywhere?
New Zealand’s figures are pretty bad but only 451 cases, but +83 new cases today, for a 20.7% increase of new cases as a percentage of the active cases.
The video presents a mixed message. The dire situation in the hospitals is apparent. The degree of isolation is mixed. People are still being permitted across regional borders for leisure purposes for example.
My view is that many in the US have been deceived by the statistics skewed by triage decisions in China and Italy. They will only get the seriousness when they or family try to get into a hospital.
I hope that’s a surprise to most of you. It was supposed to be but I let it leak a couple of times.
My dear friends, Circumstances have forced my hand and my living situation will soon change so that I will no longer be able to look in, chat and pester AndyG55. I shall miss you all, even Andy {yes,you too} and Peter Fitzroy. Besides which I’m tired after so many years and I need a rest.
I’m eternally grateful for your acceptance of me and your friendship. Those things mean more than you know and I’ll treasure them for the rest of my life. Special thank you to a certain resident NSW who sent me a surprise gift that still sirs on my coffee table today.
Fly the moderator, It struck me as the ultimate complement when you said you were learning moderating from me when all along I was learning from you. Your flair for that job is unsurpassed as was rhe name Fly. But have it either way you want it, knowing you has been great pleasure.
Joanne Nova, What a high wide and handsome swath you have cut right through the middle o Internet journalism. I’ve been in awe of your writing ability all done on a tight schedule. You gave me the opportunity to grow over the years that I could never have made for myself. Thank uou.
Finally, thank you Dr, Leo, Catharine Hogue and Peter. You saved my life.
At the not too old age of 81 I await whatever lies down the road ahead.
Roy
[ Strange what could be your last message went to moderation, I have learned a lot from you too Roy and you will be missed.] AD
What would you expect me to know? I thought the damned talking heads are the authority. To hear them, Donald Trump did it is the only possible answer to all the problems of the human race since Eve was seduced by the serpent in the Garden under a palm tree. 🙁
Oh Roy, I wondered where you were. I’ve really enjoyed your comments over the years. May I wish you all the very best for whatever the future holds. As a Christian I can’t help hoping that one day in the future, past this present life, that I may be privileged to meet again all the good and decent people I’ve ever met, whether face-to-face or through this blog and others. Cheers! Annie.
Heard a Dr. on TV say to get through the boredom of self isolation we should finish things we start and thus have more calm in our lives.
So I looked through the house to find all the things I’ve started but hadn’t finished…So I finished off a bottle of Merlot, a bottle of Chardonnay, a bodle of Jock Danielas, a butle of wum, tha mainder of Valiumun srciptuns, an a box a chocletz. Yu haf no idr how feckin fablus I feel rite now. Sned this to all who need inner piss.
I ran my own farm near there in the eighties. A place called Turill. Most probably a coal mine now. I came close to buying the Lue Hotel but thought farming best for my health.
Yes we do have some cases (of covid) and there are others in Orange, Dubbo and Bathurst. We’re all hunkering down like everywhere. If you’re talking about cases of wine, no tasting rooms are allowed to be open right now, you’ll have to buy online. Turill is certainly near the mines, probably more so than when you were there, but there’s still farmland there and the road’s sealed. ToM
Thanks for the info, Tides. The farm was 12 clicks from Ulan. I worked at the coal mine when White took it over. Constructing the amenities…concreting and bricklaying. In between the stages built up the farm and cut sleepers. Hard yakka. Would truck around twenty sleepers to the Gulgong railhead, hit the Prince of Wales and drive home with one eye open.
I reckon the only thing I regret in my life was up rooting and moving to Queensland. Oh well, can’t complain. Queensland has been good to me.
It lists flights with known CV19 carriers and gives seating proximity as well.
My sister returned to Gold Coast from Adelaide through the week. She said plane about 50% loaded and passengers well spread. Her flight is not on the list.
Phone stats from China mean nothing much and 21 million is not 0.13% of the population. And they might have let plans expire.
Amazingly there are 2.5Billion mobile phones and on average, everyone has two. Why is unknown, but it is amazing to see.
I believe that because China missed out on the PC, the laptop, the credit card even the internet, the mobile phone provides everything. An they do everything on Wechat. Imagine Facebook with banking and as a credit card for trains, theatres, everything and you have Wechat.
Fantastic video Jo. My boss is ophthalmologist and a professor. Very clever at visual science but utterly hopeless at any practical mechanical level. He would think this cake serving contraption was the simplest way of doing it!
As long as there is no vaccine, the only real remedy is plasma from a person who has antibodies. The virus is not transmitted through blood. Otherwise, the lives of around 20% of those infected are at risk.
When we reach the other side of this catastrophe, we will need a list of countries where the government has granted this virus free entry and where it is still roaming at large. Brazil must be on that list !
I was wondering why it took so long for someone to come up with the following draconian solution. Why is it it was so obvious at least to me it was going to come up? Is it because some of us are awake and feel like we are watching a live news version of 1984?
The Mount Sinai Health System this week plans to initiate a procedure known as plasmapheresis, where the antibodies from patients who have recovered from COVID-19 will be transferred into critically ill patients with the disease, with the expectation that the antibodies will neutralize it.
The process of using antibody-rich plasma from COVID-19 patients to help others was used successfully in China, according to a state-owned organization, which reported that some patients improved within 24 hours, with reduced inflammation and viral loads, and better oxygen levels in the blood.
Mount Sinai is collaborating with the New York Blood Center and the New York State Department of Health’s Wadsworth Center laboratory in Albany, with guidance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and expects to begin implementing the treatment later this week.
“We are hoping to identify patients who can provide the antibodies,” says Dennis S. Charney, MD, Anne and Joel Ehrenkranz Dean of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and President for Academic Affairs, Mount Sinai Health System. “We are at the front lines in fighting this pandemic and making discoveries that will help our patients.”
Late last week, researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine, in collaboration with scientists in Australia and Finland, were among the first to create an antibody test that detects the disease’s antibodies in a person’s blood. Development of the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was led by Florian Krammer, PhD, Professor of Microbiology, in collaboration with Viviana A. Simon, MD, PhD, Professor of Microbiology and Medicine (Infectious Diseases). Dr. Krammer, a renowned influenza researcher, recently made this so-called recipe available to other laboratories around the world so they can replicate it during the pandemic. In January, his lab was quickly retooled to begin studying COVID-19.
In addition to its widespread use in plasmapheresis, the antibody test will provide experts with an accurate infection rate so they can track the trajectory of the disease. The test will help identify health care workers who are already immune to the disease, who can work directly with infectious patients, and it can also help scientists understand how the human immune system reacts to the virus.
The new assay uses recombinant or manufactured antigens from the spike protein on the surface of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. That protein helps the virus enter cells, and it is a key target in the immune reaction against the virus, as the body creates antibodies that recognize the protein and seek to destroy the virus. The researchers also isolated the short piece of the spike protein called the receptor-binding domain (RBD), which the virus uses to attach to cells it tries to invade. The scientists then used cell lines to produce large quantities of the altered spike proteins and RBDs.
According to Dr. Krammer and his co-authors, the assay is “sensitive and specific,” and allows for the screening and identification of COVID-19 in human plasma/serum as soon as three days after the onset of symptoms. The antibodies were derived from three patients who had the disease. The study’s control participants—who did not have COVID-19 but had other viruses, including the common cold—ranged in age from 20 to 70.
Dr. Krammer says his preliminary findings also show that humans have no natural immunity to the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which would help explain why it spreads so quickly. But once the antibody sets in humans do become protected. He also says that at this early stage in the research, there is no evidence that people can lose their immunity and become re-infected.
Stuck at home with the missus for weeks or even months…
Condom sales will go crazy.
Get in fast people!
After the quarantine I suspect the divorce lawyers will be busy. Grin.
Australians should be thankful to Lewis Hamilton’s stand against holding the F1 Grand Prix. I know he was not alone in recognising the risk but he was very vocal and influential in his view that it was too risky to hold it.
It appears that a football match hosted in Milan was the main source of the rapid spread of the virus in both Italy and Spain:
https://apnews.com/ae59cfc0641fc63afd09182bb832ebe2
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Well I have always wondered about soccer !
🙂
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All that hugging and kissing. No wonder I was never a fan.
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Here’s me thinking soccer was all about acting !
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There are now reports coming from Europe that healthy teenagers are dying of CV19.
The fatality figure for younger people in the US may skew that way because they are unable to get appropriate care:
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/coronavirus-teenager-death-california-health-insurance-care-emergency-room-covid-19-a9429946.html
Italy had 931 deaths yesterday so that is their new highest daily death toll. The doubling of deaths is out to 6 days though. US is still doubling every 2 days.
AND Boris Johnson has tested positive for the virus.
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The whole issue of Public versus Private medical care is thrown into sharp relief by this virus.
It is highly infectious and can infect anyone very quickly.
I wonder if the medical staff at this center were wearing PPE gear or if they became majorly contaminated.
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The class system in both health and welfare in the USA is likely to skew their fatality statistics compared with other countries.
There are a huge number of undocumented workers in New York for example. My understanding is that they cannot access welfare. They need to work. It appears this group is already overwhelming hospital capacity in Queens for example.
Then there is access to medical care. My understanding is that that depends on the insurance available or not.
In Victoria at least, I believe the government will buy access to private hospital beds if needed. Hotels could become hospitals.
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Rick…
Do you imagine those illegal immigrants would be able to access better care in their own countries?
Just asking.
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That is not the question to be answered.
It will be these people who are infecting others in the USA. They present as much a risk to the rest of the population as they do to themselves. They will be inclined to work through illness for fear of losing work and required income. Those who die just add to the workload of people dealing with bodies.
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Rick.
No, it is a valid question.
It is no less valid than asking why this cohort is permitted to remain in the US (or any other country with a similar set of problems) when there is so obviously a cost to doing so.
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Don’t go blaming hypothetical social systems ( Americans are actually more class-mobile than most) for political decisions that ignore the consequences of failing to enforce reasonable laws.
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Can anyone explain why the death rate in Germany is so much less than in Italy? From what I’ve heard the ratio is about 1 to 20.
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Ive been wondering if it is related to rates of smoking? You would first need to get good data on smoking rates by country, age and sex. It could be (for example) that the higher death rate amongst Chinese males is due to smoking (and/or drinking). Maybe more older Italians smoke? Although I believe the average rate of smoking is higher in Germany.
There are likely multiple factors at play. I would not be surprised at all if it were found that smoking will be one significant factor.
Given the way the virus affects the liver, heavy drinking is likely to be another.
There is a neat bit of work to be done here using regression tools. If the data is available in a useful and consistent form.
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Triage decisions most likely. They did not get the “bomb” that the Milan football match dropped. Both Spain and Italy suffered from the football match.
Expect to see the rate rise in Germany as older people are tipped out of intensive care to allow younger people to get a chance.
US is different. The quality of health care there is more a function of wealth so expect to see a younger cohort emerge in the USA.
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There are some interesting stats on this “Worldometer” website:
https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/#countries
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Is it so hard for everyone to just take time off?
We are told
we now have the highest unemployment since the 1930s. No, we are just all on holiday.
the economy is in recession. No, there is no economy. We have just gone home.
that we must get back to work. No, we are on holiday.
the children must go to school. No they are on an unplanned break.
There is no problem but an attempt to stop transmission of this deadly chemical and so kill a killer. We have to do nothing but stay home.
Why is that so hard? If it was a real war, there would be damage. Not a single building is damaged.
The only tragedy is that people are bored, terrified, worried and the journalists are making it far worse by proclaiming the
worst employment numbers ever, a crashing economy and a projection that it is the end of the world and that we will never recover.
No we will come back. And they will be relevant again.
Even fearless pundit Andrew Bolt, just back from his usual holiday, insists everyone should go to work.
At least they are still at work. From home.
And the rest of the population is trying to work out how to really enjoy some quiet, relaxing time at home without going overseas. Probably impossible.
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We in Australia fought so hard for the 40 hour week. Four weeks annual leave. Leave loading so we are paid more not to work.
And you would think the world has collapsed because we are told to take a few weeks leave at home?
My father and workmates used to get fired every Christmas and hired again in the New Year. That was life. And no one went overseas.
If you had a car you could get a caravan and park on the foreshore. There was nothing to do.
And then you get those retirement adds, older couples gazing into the distance and the setting sun. An image of tranquility when they should
be floating down the Danube with glasses of wine, gazing up at a castle.
The perversity of human nature. As Jean Paul Satre said, hell is being stuck in a room for all eternity with your three best friends.
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And I really think they should have closed stock exchanges for a month but it’s too late now. It is a system built for wild speculation when
there is nothing wrong. It startles on a whisper. There is money to be made if shares go up and when they go down. There are no brakes
except for a runaway market. If you close the casinos, you should close the markets.
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Adversity, hardship and pain is what gives meaning to our lives.
If you think about it and really imagine a perfect world, where nothing ever went wrong, you would not know the meaning of joy, or of gratitude or virtue. Life would be bland and boring and, most importantly, meaningless.
It is hardship and struggle that shows us what is good.
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Tdef you’re forgetting the people that can least afford to miss a few paychecks that places them in dire financial needs, many Australians have gotten into a financial debt trap where along with a house there’s concreting, landscaping, pool, cars, bike, boat, overseas trip etc.. all racked up in mortgage or loans, the scale of debt varies a lot but its still there relative to the persons income.
I’m not saying all debt is bad and people are free to make choices but the stress of losing a lifestyle people worked hard for can easily harm or even kill them just as bad as an aggressive virus, early this year ex Premier of Victoria John Cain died, this man along with his ALP cronies destroyed the states economy so bad we had a credit rating lower than most banana republics, they also caused massive unemployment that led to loss of businesses and personal assets, my parents we’re one of these victims losing everything and never fully recovering, this type of virus can damage people for life.
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It’s why I don’t borrow a lot of money.
Maybe it does mean that I drive a 28yo vehicle, but it also means that I’m not in a panic about making payments on a new car just because the market has tanked or it hasn’t rained.
There is a cost to thinking you can have as much as you can borrow. You make yourself a hostage to circumstances
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That’s just sensible. Incredibly it is rampant spending which makes everyone rich and cars cheap. Perverse. And you can get caught in the middle with a pile of debt and worthless assets if the merry go round stops. My view is that it is in everyone’s interest not to foreclose for four weeks rent. Or everyone loses. But there will be sharks circling.
I noted with amusement yesterdy the prolific advertisements for liquor and wine. And the Australian mint pushing gold bars. It’s an ill wind.
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My uncle used to love commentator Vance Packard, especially his 1960 book the Waste Makers on planned obsolescence. I remember the image of car makers making the economy run by making cars which were just driven straight out of the factory and off a cliff. Economic truth can be illogical. I have only once bought a new car but if no one bought new cars, they would not exist or the few which existed would be beyond price.
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Yes, they are living on the edge. Anything which goes wrong, a major illness. A broken leg. A sick child. That is where I believe the banks and landlords and government can help and should help.
The fundamental problems of unemployment, distress, debt and the rest are unchanged by this.
We cannot change people’s circumstances and often poor life choices.
Yes governments often make things worse because they never lose their jobs and need more and more money. Especially in hard times. My mother used to say that in the depression you needed to be a public servant.
Even so, dealing with the next few weeks, people will help, I hope. This contagion must be stopped. My point is that it otherwise changes nothing and it is not charity to stop taxing people, forgive debt, give a rent holiday and an interest holiday. It is just sensible.
And so far all governments understand. Fundamentally they cannot afford the taxpayer to go broke or they will lose their jobs too.
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The ONLY thing people should be worried about is AVOIDING CONTACT with others and things they have been in contact with.
China has released a biological bomb on the globe and nothing else matters but surviving until it can be controlled.
Sure there are essential services/supplies and some people are needed to stay in work to provide those services and supplies.
A non-existent priority is paying bills. No one is getting evicted. If someone comes to the door to evict you they are breaching distancing/quarantine requirements – call the police. Everyone in Australia should have access to enough money to buy basic survival food.
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Or eliminating it completely from Australia. We didn’t want this. It was brought to this country. All these infections were imported and that is still happening!
We tolerate rabbits and foxes and cane toads but we do not have to tolerate COVID-19. Whether people understand it or not the whole point in Australia is to eliminate it, not just flatten the curve so that people die later in a manageable way at a convenient time. In fact they may not die at all if there are not too many of them at one time.
The other aspect is that the number of contacts possible in a crowd goes roughly as the square of the number of people. So a school of 600 students is 36,000x riskier than just two people meeting.
Isolating or two people meetings not only ridiculously reduces the chance of infection, it can stop it completely as sick people become non infectious.
The fact that is doubling every three days means that each sick person infects another person every three days. That has to stop.
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I have it on good authority that stage 3 will come into play next week, four months later peace will be declared and we can all get on with our lives.
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For many it IS hard to take time off. Many families live week-by-week and some, meal-by-meal. Miss a pay cheque and people don’t eat.
And those families, couples and singles, pensioners, disabled and unemployed are also likely to be in positions where they don’t get ‘holiday pay’ or ‘sick leave’ etc.
We live on the breadline in the west. Economic rationalisation and the concomitant Just-in-Time supply lines mean ANY interruption to normal pay-buy-eat-work process can have cities starving within a week or so – very few places have stores and resources to continue for more than a few days.
Even the ancient Egytians had more sense than that.
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Pharmacy Intrigue?
There should be reports coming everyday regarding the results of chloroquine or hydrochloroquine (Plaquenil) on Coronavirus patients.
Yet there is nothing! TdeF surveyed 15 chemist shops and got vague replies or questions instead of answers. They all said they did not have any.
I rang the suppliers yesterday (sanofi-aventis australia pty ltd). Before they would even answer my question I was verballed. Who was I? What did I intend to do with the tablets? In the end they said they did have some supplies, but the drug could only be prescribed for the “approved indications”.
https://www.nps.org.au/medicine-finder/plaquenil-tablets
Is there something going on here?
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My son said that there is no sound medical evidence on the benefits. He did say that supplies in Australia were being “guarded” for people who need it for other conditions.
If it is being used in New York hospitals then it is not having much impact unless it is only in selected locations.
Clive Palmer has offered to import $50m worth of hydrochloroquine and Greg Hunt reportedly accepted that offer.
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Both are approved drugs by the FDA. The trials currently underway in New York will be decisive. There are another 69 approved drugs being tried around the world. If they are enough to keep people off respirators, that will help immensely.
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I suggest that what’s going on is the establishment refusing to raise hopes with a magic pill which will solve all our problems. There’s no solid medical evidence that the drugs work, just hearsay and until a proper trial is carried out approving the chloroquine family for use against the Wuhan virus the official position has to be a denial of use.
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It’s not hearsay Kevin.
We know who said it. We’ve read the papers in the professional journals. Perhaps you haven’t?
If so, here they are:
1. Xueting Yao, Fei Ye, Miao Zhang, et al. In Vitro Antiviral Activity and Projection of Optimized Dosing Design of Hydroxychloroquine for the Treatment of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). “Clinical Infectious Diseases”, (ciaa237, https://doi.org/10.1093/cid/ciaa237) Published: 09 March 2020.
“Hydroxychloroquine (EC50=0.72 μM) was found to be more potent than chloroquine (EC50=5.47 μM) in vitro. Based on PBPK models results, a loading dose of 400 mg twice daily of hydroxychloroquine sulfate given orally, followed by a maintenance dose of 200 mg given twice daily for 4 days is recommended for SARS-CoV-2 infection, as it reached three times the potency of chloroquine phosphate when given 500 mg twice daily 5 days in advance.”
2. Gautret et al. (2020) Hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin as a treatment of
COVID‐19: results of an open‐label non‐randomized clinical trial. “International Journal of
Antimicrobial Agents” ( In Press 17 March 2020 – DOI : 10.1016/j.ijantimicag.2020.105949}. A copy here:
https://www.mediterranee-infection.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Hydroxychloroquine_final_DOI_IJAA.pdf
“French Confirmed COVID-19 patients were included in a single arm protocol from early
March to March 16th, to receive 600mg of hydroxychloroquine daily and their viral load in
nasopharyngeal swabs was tested daily in a hospital setting. Depending on their clinical
presentation, azithromycin was added to the treatment. Untreated patients from another center
and cases refusing the protocol were included as negative controls. Presence and absence of
virus at Day6-post inclusion was considered the end point.”
3. Gao’s letter to BioScience Trends, 2020; 14(1):72-73.
https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/bst/14/1/14_2020.01047/_pdf/-char/en
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Hadn’t seen that, not in UK media. Thanks for highlighting it. K
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The ABC “ Fact Check” segment on Friday stated that the Cloroquinine drugs were NOT FDA approved and actually reported that one person had died after taking the drug following hearing it was a possible cure !
Fact , fiction, or deliberate missinformation ?
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Covered on WUWT Chad. The idiot drank swimming pool cleaner because it had hydroxchloroquine in its name. Sounds like ABC is deliberately trying to confuse.
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Now, why would their green/left ABC want to do such a thing?
Who benefits?
00
Further to this, chloroquine phosphate, used to treat aquarium fish, is not FDA approved. But chloroquine and hydroxochloroquine have been approved by FDA for other medical uses.
However, the FDA hasn’t as yet approved the use of these drugs to treat COVID-19 patients.
Based on what Chad has said, It does sound as though the ABC is setting out to confuse the issue, as it appears that it’s an anti-Trump rant initiated by the BBC and The Conversation, those bastions of truth and enlightenment.
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After the very organized run on masks and sanitizer coupled with their professional suspicion, even busloads raiding country stores, they are probably being very cautious with a limited supply.
I remember two years ago in a hospital the doctor prescribed a strong antibiotic for emergency treatment and was refused by the hospital clinic.
There was a national shortage and while they had some stock, they were keeping it for emergencies.
I also later found that it was in abundant supply at the local veterinarians. Different supply chain.
These are the gate keepers.
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Here’s a fun read . . . . . . .
“On Thursday Dr. Fauci co-authored a report on the coronavirus in the New England Journal of Medicine.
The report, entitled “Covid-19 — Navigating the Uncharted”, was co-authored by Anthony S. Fauci, M.D., H. Clifford Lane, M.D., and Robert R. Redfield, M.D.
Here’s a direct quote from that report:
“If one assumes that the number of asymptomatic or minimally symptomatic cases is several times as high as the number of reported cases, the case fatality rate may be considerably less than 1%. This suggests that the overall clinical consequences of Covid-19 may ultimately be more akin to those of a severe seasonal influenza (which has a case fatality rate of approximately 0.1%) or a pandemic influenza (similar to those in 1957 and 1968) rather than a disease similar to SARS or MERS, which have had case fatality rates of 9 to 10% and 36%, respectively.2“
See report in the New England Journal of Medicine:
https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMe2002387
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I think it fair to suggest that there would be many medical practitioners in ICU wards across the globe who felt Dr Fauci made at least one VERY BAD assumption in arriving at his conclusion.
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We won’t know until the entire population is tested .
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Joanne nova your great on AGW but havent got a clue on Viruses https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7voUXgMCSs and actually what is happening most Australians and British People these days are irrevelant in the world This is just a NORMAL COLD VIRUS Check your daily normal deaths influenza AND OTHER AILMENTS 160000 die EACH DAY NORMALLY against youR data for coronavirus but i Thank you for your efforts on AGW cheers
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Thanks Eliza, New york doesn’t hire refrigerated trucks in a normal year to bodies of people suffering with colds.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=12320525
Not only do I have data on my side but all the photos, stories and anecdotes tell us something is very wrong in Italy, Spain, Iran, New York…
I appreciate that this is difficult news to absorb.
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Eliza if this is just a flu , getting smacked on the side of the face with a shovel is just a kiss !
In a normal flu season how many die in quick succession, so many that ICU beds have to be triaged ?
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Eliza,
If you had carefully watched the vid you so kindly provided, you would not conclude the COVID-19 was just a “Normal Cold Virus”.
I do not understand how you could come to that conclusion given Dr. Ban G. Truong’s patient notes. Have you ever had a cold? Or a serious dose of the flu? This COVID -19 is neither.
However, thank you for link to the vid. That at least is valuable.
Regarding your “normal flu deaths” comment, may I suggest that you scan the WHO’s World Health Report linked below and see how many flu deaths are listed for 2004?
https://www.who.int/whr/2004/annex/topic/en/annex_2_en.pdf
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My fun moments include some good dogs and the neighbouring hills.
This “pandemic” is likely to be very hard on the fox and rabbit population, locally.
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The resilient and devastating opportunists of the animal kingdom. Brought here for the amusement and sport of Englishmen. At least someone sees a positive.
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I did not know those dogs was English!
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TdeF.
If I could push a button and remove every fox and rabbit from Australia, I would. I’d remove cats even more quickly.. But we should not judge people from hindsight.
According to the theories popular in the day, there was little or nothing wrong with what they did. Had the term been part of the lexicon back then, they would no doubt have argued that they were increasing “biodiversity”.
Another historical snippet, is the degree to which large, fast “Kangaroo dogs” were part of the rural scene. They were so common and useful that when dog registration was introduced, there was a campaign to exclude Kangaroo Dogs as essential animals. Of course there are legal restrictions these days, so we are limited to using “Staghound” types.
Another “olde English” pastime of ferreting accompanied by whippets, also has its devotees.
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One mans “biodiversity” is another ones “invasive species”.
One has to be credentialed to know the difference right?
00
I hope so. I saw a large dead dog fox on the road a few days ago and we see them often around here. The neighbours’ poultry, the ducks in paticular, were making a very loud racket in the early hours of this morning. I hope they were safely penned against Mr Foxy Loxy. We used to have rabbits here but our daughter’s dog was very good at catching and eating them!
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PaRticular, groan.
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What isolation? My industry is still at work. Will most probably continue if a lockdown is declared. Can’t see large union construction sites continuing. They’re bludgers anyway. Can’t cut it in the private market.
30
Husband is still writing a sermon for tomorrow, to be distributed via the parish newsletter!
Time to get outside for some fresh air (slightly smokey from fuel reduction burns, thank goodness they’re happening) and exercise.
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Great find Jo!
Is it just me or are there a lot of political analogies in that vid?
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More Fun Moments.
Baby Maltese’s first grooming. Courtesy Shu & Tree
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZX6JZKP6w9I
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This is Shu:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxZiTLWLE-A
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This is Tree (tamu):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxDewyZkDqU
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While off topic here, this still relates to COVID-19.
I find it amazing that the ABC has given a ‘pass’ to this election in Queensland.
I cannot even begin to imagine what the ABC would write if this was a Conservative government doing this. Here I use the word Conservative for our non Australian readers (especially those in the U.S.) who equate the word ‘liberal’ with the left side of politics, while here in Oz, the Liberal party is to the right of centre when it comes to politics.
That also brings up a couple of other things as well, if we’re having a bit of fun.
As most of you know, I ‘blog’ at a U.S. site, and I have done so since March of 2008. Back then, there were very few weblogs here in Oz, and in fact, not all that many in the U.S. I made a comment at an article I read at that site, and the Blog’s owner asked if he could make that comment a Blog Post of its own, and if I would like to contribute on a regular basis. The rest is pretty much history, as I now have more than 2,200 separate Posts under my name at that site.
Along the way, the site owner asked me to include some history of Australia, and to explain a lot of things that are different about us. Even though we speak the same language, (English) there are so many inconsistencies, I had to explain them all, and often.
He (Americans in general really, as it also came from questions arising at some of those Posts) wanted to know why we referred to Australia as Oz. (the 3 letter international Country designator, AUS, pronounced as Oz)
They wanted an explanation of why Liberal was of the right here in Oz, when it was of the left in the U.S. Even to this day, I still have to explain that.
And (and this goes right back to the top of this Comment) they wanted to know if our ABC here in Oz was an affiliate of the U.S. ABC Network. Here, they were actually dumbfounded to learn that our Australian ABC is in fact 14 years older than the U.S. ABC.
They also don’t really understand rhyming slang all that well.
And some of our common sayings here in Oz go right over their heads. (just to of many here, flat out like a lizard drinking, and like a chook with its head cut 0ff, and with that one, they wanted to know what a chook was)
They also cannot comprehend why we ‘put up with’ compulsory voting, and how preferential voting works.
And perhaps one of the biggest things that astonishes Americans is that the size of Australia is basically the same as that of The Continental United States. They think of Australia as a small Island.
While similar, we are entirely different.
Tony.
100
Different yes.
Historically speaking:
Americans are largely descended from Traitors To The Crown.
Australians are largely descended from Criminals Of the Crown.
I’d say we were mostly Cousins.
My ancestors were Scots. So they were both.
I’ll buy a drink for any Australian, any day, any time, any where. 🙂
60
We really have ‘America’ to thank for Australia.
As the War of Independence was brewing up, they started to stop taking convicts being sent there from the overflowing prisons (and the hulks, and just look that up for a horror story) in England.
As the hulks even started to run out, they were looking to send their prisoners somewhere else, and someone mentioned ….. “say, what about that place James Cook found, how about we send them there.”
So they, umm, did a ‘feasibility study’ (so to speak) and then worked up the First Fleet.
That first fleet, under Arthur Phillip, then came here, arriving (phew) just days before the French did. (I say phew here, because luckily, Phillip received the email in Capetown that the French were also on their way, so he (Phillip) swapped ships and took off on the faster ones to Botany Bay via the Roaring Forties. Once he saw those wind turbines on Tasmania’s West Coast, he turned South and followed Van Diemens Land all the way around and then Off Gabo, set off for Port Botany)
Incidentally, and few know this, it took many many decades before the death attrition on those convict fleets was less by percentage than what Phillip achieved.
So, while the U.S. was a huge recipient of English convicts, it was not until that stopped that eyes turned towards what is now Australia.
Tony.
60
Lance.
As a matter of fact, the convict influence was absolutely swamped by the Gold Rush era.
Partly because of the enormous influx of free migrants drawn to the goldfields….. and partly because old money and class had so little meaning to people who firmly believed that a lucky strike would see them richer than their “betters”.
Even the convict sector itself was heavily influenced by the culture of the “new start”. That those with the skills and work ethic could finish their sentence and take up life as free men with opportunities.
30
Holding an election across the state is nothing short of criminal in the circumstances.
I would not turn up and would not pay any fine. Whatever the consequence of that would be less than the consequence of getting CV19.
The easy out is to say you were in quarantine. Anyone entering the state in the last week is in self-isolation anyhow. You can bet they have not had time to organise a postal vote.
If the election is not shambolic then people are breaking the isolation and separation rules. Every pencil and countertop should be disinfected after every vote. How could they possibly get how to vote forms out while maintaining the spacing rules!
Just stupid!
50
Electronic voting . Now there’s an idea .
Apparently these systems are impregnable.
And Jacinda Ardern walks on the water.
40
I didn’t vote and will not pay the fine. Going into one of those germ booths would be madness.
30
Update of current trends (China’s figures are excluded).
Highest active case countries (countries with less than 1,000 total cases excluded):
Active cases | Country | Total Cases
97,805 … USA … 101,866
66,414 … Italy … 86,498
51,224 … Spain … 65,719
43,871 … Germany … 50,871
25,269 … France … 32,964
18,821 … Iran … 32,332
13,649 … UK … 14,543
11,167 … Switzerland … 12,928
8,054 … Netherlands … 8,603
7,374 … Austria … 7,657
6,137 … Belgium … 7,284
5,564 … Turkey … 5,698
4,665 … S. Korea … 9,332
4,378 … Canada … 4,689
4,149 … Portugal … 4,268
3,730 … Norway … 3,755
3,319 … Brazil … 3,417
2,997 … Australia … 3,180
2,948 … Sweden … 3,069
2,944 … Israel … 3,035
2,259 … Czechia … 2,279
2,094 … Ireland … 2,121
1,993 … Denmark … 2,046
1,876 … Malaysia … 2,161
1,562 … Chile … 1,610
1,556 … Ecuador … 1,595
1,550 … Luxembourg … 1,605
1,366 … Poland … 1,389
1,339 … Pakistan … 1,373
1,151 … Romania … 1,292
1,138 … South Africa … 1,170
1,066 … Saudi Arabia … 1,104
1,047 … Japan … 1,468
1,034 … Thailand … 1,136
1,024 … Finland … 1,041
987 … Russia … 1,036
913 … Indonesia … 1,046
Highest number of daily new cases (below 150 new cases excluded):
New Cases | Country | Total Cases
16,431 … USA … 101,866
7,933 … Spain … 65,719
6,933 … Germany … 50,871
5,909 … Italy … 86,498
3,809 … France … 32,964
2,926 … Iran … 32,332
2,885 … UK … 14,543
2,069 … Turkey … 5,698
1,172 … Netherlands … 8,603
1,117 … Switzerland … 12,928
1,049 … Belgium … 7,284
748 … Austria … 7,657
724 … Portugal … 4,268
646 … Canada … 4,689
432 … Brazil … 3,417
383 … Norway … 3,755
354 … Czechia … 2,279
342 … Israel … 3,035
304 … Chile … 1,610
302 … Ireland … 2,121
263 … Romania … 1,292
243 … South Africa … 1,170
229 … Sweden … 3,069
196 … Russia … 1,036
192 … Ecuador … 1,595
172 … Pakistan … 1,373
169 … Denmark … 2,046
168 … Poland … 1,389
160 … India … 887
153 … Indonesia … 1,046
152 … Luxembourg … 1,605
New cases as a percentage of their active cases (countries with less than 250 cases excluded, every other country above 12.5% included). Countries with large numbers in both columns have a serious period ahead, i.e. Turkey, UK, Belgium, USA, Germany, Iran, Spain, France, Canada, etc.:
% New v Active | Country | Total Cases
38.00 … Ukraine … 310
37.19 … Turkey … 5,698
25.68 … Iraq … 458
22.85 … Romania … 1,292
22.51 … Morocco … 345
21.35 … South Africa … 1,170
21.14 … UK … 14,543
20.51 … UAE … 405
20.15 … India … 887
19.86 … Russia … 1,036
19.46 … Chile … 1,610
19.20 … Mexico … 585
17.45 … Portugal … 4,268
17.09 … Belgium … 7,284
16.80 … USA … 101,866
16.76 … Lithuania … 358
16.76 … Indonesia … 1,046
16.67 … Croatia … 586
16.67 … Dominican Republic … 581
16.35 … Andorra … 267
16.10 … Slovakia … 269
15.88 … Hong Kong … 518
15.80 … Germany … 50,871
15.67 … Czechia … 2,279
15.55 … Iran … 32,332
15.49 … Spain … 65,719
15.23 … Hungary … 300
15.07 … France … 32,964
14.85 … Serbia … 528
14.76 … Canada … 4,689
14.55 … Netherlands … 8,603
14.42 … Ireland … 2,121
13.37 … Philippines … 803
13.02 … Brazil … 3,417
13.00 … Armenia … 329
12.90 … Latvia … 280
12.85 … Pakistan … 1,373
The percent of total cases which have died (countries with less than 200 cases excluded, countries below 3.4% died level are excluded). This percent died number steadily rises as hospital systems can’t cope with more cases. So why did China’s percent who died not rise above 4.03%? Better anti-viral drug treatment? Or did they just not include anyone who got sick and died outside of a hospital bed?
Probably all of the countries on this short list have lost the fight to prevent the worst medical system failures developing, especially countries where large total case numbers already exist. Many more countries are going to join this list during the week.
% Died | Country | Total Cases
10.56 … Italy … 86,498
9.42 … San Marino … 223
8.73 … Iraq … 458
8.32 … Indonesia … 1,046
7.82 … Spain … 65,719
7.35 … Iran … 32,332
6.72 … Philippines … 803
6.67 … Morocco … 345
6.36 … Algeria … 409
6.35 … Netherlands … 8,603
6.05 … France … 32,964
5.60 … Egypt … 536
5.22 … UK … 14,543
3.97 … Belgium … 7,284
3.44 … Dominican Republic … 581
3.42 … Sweden … 3,069
Highest new deaths (countries with less than 250 total cases excluded).
New Deaths | Country | Total Cases
919 … Italy … 86,498
773 … Spain … 65,719
299 … France … 32,964
295 … USA … 101,866
181 … UK … 14,543
144 … Iran … 32,332
112 … Netherlands … 8,603
75 … Germany … 50,871
69 … Belgium … 7,284
39 … Switzerland … 12,928
28 … Sweden … 3,069
17 … Turkey … 5,698
16 … Portugal … 4,268
15 … Brazil … 3,417
14 … Canada … 4,689
12 … Morocco … 345
11 … Denmark … 2,046
10 … Dominican Republic … 581
Highest total deaths (countries with less than 250 total cases excluded).
Total Deaths | Country | Total Cases
9,134 … Italy … 86,498
5,138 … Spain … 65,719
2,378 … Iran … 32,332
1,995 … France … 32,964
1,590 … USA … 101,866
759 … UK … 14,543
546 … Netherlands … 8,603
342 … Germany … 50,871
289 … Belgium … 7,284
231 … Switzerland … 12,928
139 … S. Korea … 9,332
105 … Sweden … 3,069
92 … Turkey … 5,698
92 … Brazil … 3,417
87 … Indonesia … 1,046
76 … Portugal … 4,268
58 … Austria … 7,657
54 … Philippines … 803
53 … Canada … 4,689
52 … Denmark … 2,046
60
Note that Germany had +84 new deaths today out of a total of 351 total dead to date, a 24% increase in deaths within one day. Their % died will shoot up from here, with 43,862 active cases today their hospitals can’t soak up any more, and there were 6,933 new cases today. They will not be admitted, so we are a week away from a rapid rise in the % who die there.
The German medical system put up a good fight for a long time but their national isolation was way too slow, much too late, too reactive and clearly politically paralyzed and hopelessly timid when they needed aggressive decisions. The national political leadership has failed to do the right things when they had the most warning.
60
Note that Italy hit a new high peak, and that Spain’s peak deaths is almost as high as Italy’s previous highest of 800/day peak.
New deaths:
919 … Italy … 86,498
773 … Spain … 65,719
Spain is now just as bad as Italy was 1 week ago.
30
It is disappointing to see the new daily high for Italy. I felt they had got good control but this indicates there is still a way to go.
30
I think the labs, staff and resources simply can’t keep up, so what we take as a glimmer of relent, is really just exhaustion, the disease continues to rip. Isolation takes longer to produce positive results.
All countries need to take note that terrible rise, don’t ease up, presume the worst, this virus is too contagious to do anything else.
40
Rickwill, sigh. Yes. But Italy is plateauing. That is a so much better that the exponential growth curve. They have to get the Ro below 1 and keep it there for 10 days or so to see it start to fall.
40
Hi Jo, the whole concept of exponential growth is a hard one for most of us.
But I’ve just watched this video ( 7-8 minutes long )
It plots both axes on a logarithmic scale..
Really usefill
Bill
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=226&v=54XLXg4fYsc&feature=emb_logo
10
And what did it say?
10
Some New York and Washington medical resources are already overwhelmed. That will push up the death rate in the USA.
The interesting thing about the US health and welfare system is its class structure; basically those with access and those with no or limited access. I expect the fatality statics to be skewed more along these lines than age or pre-existing condition.
I bet they already have a bed with ventilator set aside for Trump should the circumstances arise. Not sure about the Democrat presidential hopefuls though.
30
Yeah, it’ll be a spotty affair in the US, regional, neighboring states which did not isolate early enough will go down first, just as in Europe. The UK is in for same, and Ireland is being overwhelmed with active cases as well. We’re going to be stunned by the number of countries that end up like Italy soon.
41
Thanks, but do you realise Australia is missing from every table except the first?
20
The Australia stats a couple of hours ago.
Total infections 3,195
Mild cases 3,172
In critical condition 23
And thirteen dead thus far. I know a few whom have lost their jobs and futures based on government restrictions. I suppose less people will die from alcoholism, mental sickness and family violence if there is a total lockdown? Nah…the brave new world.
41
This site is where I get my data from.
11
Yes, I noticed.
The Australian update usually shows up later in the day or evening.
40
TAKE CARE WITH THAT DATA !
I have mentioned a few times that some is this data is misleading, since much of it is based on “Confirmed”, and “New” cases…..but those figures are dependent on the number of tests done ..Daily and in Total. But those figures are not readily reported and are hard to confirm.
For example..
one source that seems fairly consistent is the NSW Health data..
https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/news/Pages/20200328_00.aspx
They report totals for tests and confirmed cases daily so accurate figures can be derived.
There was much concern that todays new cases were 212 , an increase on yesterdays 186 reported number…BUT.. what was not mentioned was that yesterdays result was from 3700 tests , whilst todays higher result was from 8800 tests !
So, in reality the proportion of new cases had reduced considerably !,,
Infact it has reduced from 1 positive case in 20 tests on Weds ,..to 1 positive test in 41 tests on thursday … the rate has halved !
Do the authorities not understand how to analyse data ?
40
Thank you for that bit of common sense.
10
393 cases today so far, 11 higher than the previous highest so far, but not leaping up again (so far).
2 Weeks ago I predicted between 3,000 and 4,000 for this Sunday. We may just keep it under the 4,000 level.
30
WXc.. see above post ref NSW.
Have you come across any source of data for total or daily testing numbers for all states ?
If NSW is anything to go by, it is going to be very variable !
20
Just found data for Vic. https://www.dhhs.vic.gov.au/media-hub-coronavirus-disease-covid-19
Their numbers of confirmed cases are increasing,…..but so is the number tested each day ..IE..
Weds .. 900 tested…54 new cases….= 1 in 17
Thurs,..2300 tested…111 new cases….=1 in 20
Again suggesting a reduced incidence.
Or unreliable data reporting ?
30
So.. just to be clear..if just Nsw and VIC had done the same number of tests thursday as they did Weds, that 393 new cases would have been more like 230 !…… a significant reduction !
Beware of the data !
10
Hey what about us stranded down here in Godzone? Why can’t we get on any lists.
Our quarantine of arrivals from known infected areas was non-existent for 7 weeks and counting. Apparently we have just started compulsory again and there are heaps of arrivals.
How can it not be everywhere?
40
New Zealand’s figures are pretty bad but only 451 cases, but +83 new cases today, for a 20.7% increase of new cases as a percentage of the active cases.
30
Update for NZ. Should look more like the others in a week or so.
https://thebfd.co.nz/2020/03/covid-19-update-28-march-2020/
20
The headline to this video rings true:
https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/nyc-sees-110-spike-in-death-toll-in-36-hours-supply-starved-nurses-seen-wearing-trash-bags-for-gowns/2344899/
The video presents a mixed message. The dire situation in the hospitals is apparent. The degree of isolation is mixed. People are still being permitted across regional borders for leisure purposes for example.
My view is that many in the US have been deceived by the statistics skewed by triage decisions in China and Italy. They will only get the seriousness when they or family try to get into a hospital.
50
I hope that’s a surprise to most of you. It was supposed to be but I let it leak a couple of times.
My dear friends, Circumstances have forced my hand and my living situation will soon change so that I will no longer be able to look in, chat and pester AndyG55. I shall miss you all, even Andy {yes,you too} and Peter Fitzroy. Besides which I’m tired after so many years and I need a rest.
I’m eternally grateful for your acceptance of me and your friendship. Those things mean more than you know and I’ll treasure them for the rest of my life. Special thank you to a certain resident NSW who sent me a surprise gift that still sirs on my coffee table today.
Fly the moderator, It struck me as the ultimate complement when you said you were learning moderating from me when all along I was learning from you. Your flair for that job is unsurpassed as was rhe name Fly. But have it either way you want it, knowing you has been great pleasure.
Joanne Nova, What a high wide and handsome swath you have cut right through the middle o Internet journalism. I’ve been in awe of your writing ability all done on a tight schedule. You gave me the opportunity to grow over the years that I could never have made for myself. Thank uou.
Finally, thank you Dr, Leo, Catharine Hogue and Peter. You saved my life.
At the not too old age of 81 I await whatever lies down the road ahead.
Roy
[ Strange what could be your last message went to moderation, I have learned a lot from you too Roy and you will be missed.] AD
110
Whatever’s the troubles, fight them all.
We’ll expect Mr. Roy Hogue to pester us all till whenever the pigs fly.
Saving that, God Bless you, Mr. Hogue. And save you.
Highest Respect.
70
I was looking forward to information on CV19 direct from USA via “Roy Hogue”.
70
Rick,
What would you expect me to know? I thought the damned talking heads are the authority. To hear them, Donald Trump did it is the only possible answer to all the problems of the human race since Eve was seduced by the serpent in the Garden under a palm tree. 🙁
10
All the best for the future Roy .
40
Thanks. 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂
00
Hi Roy, didn’t know you were AZ!
🙂
Relax, enjoy, we’re all getting there.
Just got back from visiting my brothers in law over there before the CV19 went ape.
All three of them are struggling so it was time to visit.
Keep flicking the pages.
Special thank you to a certain resident NSW who sent me a surprise gift that still sirs on my coffee table today.
All the best, Keith.
40
No problem.
I should have emailed him?
10
Damn. One of my go-to, must-read commenters. Thanks Roy.
40
Oh Roy, I wondered where you were. I’ve really enjoyed your comments over the years. May I wish you all the very best for whatever the future holds. As a Christian I can’t help hoping that one day in the future, past this present life, that I may be privileged to meet again all the good and decent people I’ve ever met, whether face-to-face or through this blog and others. Cheers! Annie.
40
Fair enough Jo.
10
Heard a Dr. on TV say to get through the boredom of self isolation we should finish things we start and thus have more calm in our lives.
So I looked through the house to find all the things I’ve started but hadn’t finished…So I finished off a bottle of Merlot, a bottle of Chardonnay, a bodle of Jock Danielas, a butle of wum, tha mainder of Valiumun srciptuns, an a box a chocletz. Yu haf no idr how feckin fablus I feel rite now. Sned this to all who need inner piss.
An telum u luvum. ToM
190
lol … and you’ve managed to finish the comment.
80
Yeeaaahhh! Woohoo!!!! ToM
80
Hi Tides, any cases in beautiful Mudgee?
I ran my own farm near there in the eighties. A place called Turill. Most probably a coal mine now. I came close to buying the Lue Hotel but thought farming best for my health.
40
Yes we do have some cases (of covid) and there are others in Orange, Dubbo and Bathurst. We’re all hunkering down like everywhere. If you’re talking about cases of wine, no tasting rooms are allowed to be open right now, you’ll have to buy online. Turill is certainly near the mines, probably more so than when you were there, but there’s still farmland there and the road’s sealed. ToM
30
Thanks for the info, Tides. The farm was 12 clicks from Ulan. I worked at the coal mine when White took it over. Constructing the amenities…concreting and bricklaying. In between the stages built up the farm and cut sleepers. Hard yakka. Would truck around twenty sleepers to the Gulgong railhead, hit the Prince of Wales and drive home with one eye open.
I reckon the only thing I regret in my life was up rooting and moving to Queensland. Oh well, can’t complain. Queensland has been good to me.
20
If anyone has travelled by air recently or know someone who has, then this link may be useful:
https://www.health.gov.au/news/health-alerts/novel-coronavirus-2019-ncov-health-alert/coronavirus-covid-19-advice-for-travellers#flights-with-confirmed-cases-of-covid19
It lists flights with known CV19 carriers and gives seating proximity as well.
My sister returned to Gold Coast from Adelaide through the week. She said plane about 50% loaded and passengers well spread. Her flight is not on the list.
50
I was sent this link a few minutes ago . . . . some may enjoy it . . . .
‘Coronavirus Rhapsody by Queen / COVID-19 Karaoke – YouTube’
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lr_tEdQvFcc
40
It appears as though 21 million chinese have decided to not use thier phones for the past 3 months i wonder why that is?
50
Phone stats from China mean nothing much and 21 million is not 0.13% of the population. And they might have let plans expire.
Amazingly there are 2.5Billion mobile phones and on average, everyone has two. Why is unknown, but it is amazing to see.
I believe that because China missed out on the PC, the laptop, the credit card even the internet, the mobile phone provides everything. An they do everything on Wechat. Imagine Facebook with banking and as a credit card for trains, theatres, everything and you have Wechat.
50
Thank god we have a chinese expert on line
21
Eat your heart out, Heath Robinson.
20
Iceland – important reference
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/iceland-employs-detective-work-testing-quarantine-coronavirus-fight-n1170166
20
Fantastic video Jo. My boss is ophthalmologist and a professor. Very clever at visual science but utterly hopeless at any practical mechanical level. He would think this cake serving contraption was the simplest way of doing it!
40
As long as there is no vaccine, the only real remedy is plasma from a person who has antibodies. The virus is not transmitted through blood. Otherwise, the lives of around 20% of those infected are at risk.
20
Not sure about that;
1. Quarantine works. It is proven, but is not being applied consistently.
2. Surely the virus is transmitted though blood if the virus is present in the blood.
10
You can check if the virus is present in your blood.
00
Quarantine doesnt prevent those infected from potential fatal result !
The blood plasma could .
00
Hi Jo
Here is soemthing interesting from the News.com web site
Bolsanaro the president of Brazil is refusing to shut down the economy
Tp prevent the spread of the virus !
https://www.news.com.au/world/breaking-news/sorry-some-will-die-brazils-bolsonaro/news-story/1f3dcdb7ea33bd34b85b7c7c970dfd59
When we reach the other side of this catastrophe, we will need a list of countries where the government has granted this virus free entry and where it is still roaming at large. Brazil must be on that list !
10
I was wondering why it took so long for someone to come up with the following draconian solution. Why is it it was so obvious at least to me it was going to come up? Is it because some of us are awake and feel like we are watching a live news version of 1984?
Gordon Brown calls for new global government to fight impact of Covid-19
10
The Mount Sinai Health System this week plans to initiate a procedure known as plasmapheresis, where the antibodies from patients who have recovered from COVID-19 will be transferred into critically ill patients with the disease, with the expectation that the antibodies will neutralize it.
The process of using antibody-rich plasma from COVID-19 patients to help others was used successfully in China, according to a state-owned organization, which reported that some patients improved within 24 hours, with reduced inflammation and viral loads, and better oxygen levels in the blood.
Mount Sinai is collaborating with the New York Blood Center and the New York State Department of Health’s Wadsworth Center laboratory in Albany, with guidance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and expects to begin implementing the treatment later this week.
“We are hoping to identify patients who can provide the antibodies,” says Dennis S. Charney, MD, Anne and Joel Ehrenkranz Dean of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and President for Academic Affairs, Mount Sinai Health System. “We are at the front lines in fighting this pandemic and making discoveries that will help our patients.”
Late last week, researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine, in collaboration with scientists in Australia and Finland, were among the first to create an antibody test that detects the disease’s antibodies in a person’s blood. Development of the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was led by Florian Krammer, PhD, Professor of Microbiology, in collaboration with Viviana A. Simon, MD, PhD, Professor of Microbiology and Medicine (Infectious Diseases). Dr. Krammer, a renowned influenza researcher, recently made this so-called recipe available to other laboratories around the world so they can replicate it during the pandemic. In January, his lab was quickly retooled to begin studying COVID-19.
In addition to its widespread use in plasmapheresis, the antibody test will provide experts with an accurate infection rate so they can track the trajectory of the disease. The test will help identify health care workers who are already immune to the disease, who can work directly with infectious patients, and it can also help scientists understand how the human immune system reacts to the virus.
The new assay uses recombinant or manufactured antigens from the spike protein on the surface of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. That protein helps the virus enter cells, and it is a key target in the immune reaction against the virus, as the body creates antibodies that recognize the protein and seek to destroy the virus. The researchers also isolated the short piece of the spike protein called the receptor-binding domain (RBD), which the virus uses to attach to cells it tries to invade. The scientists then used cell lines to produce large quantities of the altered spike proteins and RBDs.
According to Dr. Krammer and his co-authors, the assay is “sensitive and specific,” and allows for the screening and identification of COVID-19 in human plasma/serum as soon as three days after the onset of symptoms. The antibodies were derived from three patients who had the disease. The study’s control participants—who did not have COVID-19 but had other viruses, including the common cold—ranged in age from 20 to 70.
Dr. Krammer says his preliminary findings also show that humans have no natural immunity to the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which would help explain why it spreads so quickly. But once the antibody sets in humans do become protected. He also says that at this early stage in the research, there is no evidence that people can lose their immunity and become re-infected.
Read more stories about Mount Sinai and COVID-19
https://inside.mountsinai.org/blog/mount-sinai-to-begin-the-transfer-of-covid-19-antibodies-into-critically-ill-patients/
00
Check out this one:
https://youtu.be/a19OpQfwB2w
I am so jealous of this guy’s workshop. But he sure has sone skill with those tools.
00
Fascinating. Thanks.
00
Eat at home and be with virtual friends – start at 2.08
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=110&v=auIlGqEyTm8&feature=emb_logo
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Stuck at home with the missus for weeks or even months…
Condom sales will go crazy.
Get in fast people!
After the quarantine I suspect the divorce lawyers will be busy. Grin.
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How about put a beer in every room and do a pub crawl? 😀 Keep you occupied for a couple of hours on the crawl then 12 hours sleeping it off. 😀
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House has too many rooms Mark but I’ll give it a go !
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