Coronavirus: Please use this thread for all COVID19 talk!

Just found out a colleague of hers passed away. 38

 

I don't dislike Americans. I dislike stupidity.

 

I like americans, had some amazing times in america.

But trump told people to inject bleach and that UV lights will cure covid.

At best, that's complete incompetant stupidity. At worst, its deliberately misleading the country to discredit the medical and scientific community.

He is a joke that's gone too far at this point. How many people have to die before people call him out on his cavalier attitude?

 

Just the one

 

Here’s his explanation for what he said. Personally, if he was subject to British law, I would be suggesting that he was sectioned.

Bugger, video removed, but he claims that he was asking a sarcastic question to a reporter.

 

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Sweden's deaths

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Skyrocket:

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Note: please don't take this post too seriously. i just had a laugh at the argument so searched for most matching pictures i could find. you can just compress or expand the chart to make the trajectory look however you want.

 

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/sweden/

Sweden is an interesting case. Some stats are available here;

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/sweden/

Finding coverage from a trustworthy media source, in the English language anyway, is difficult. From what I can see, they have about twice the population of neighbouring Norway, who locked down early and severely, and about 10 times the number of Covid related deaths.


Population
Norway 5.368 million. Sweden 10.087 million

Cases
Norway 7463. Sweden 17567

Recorded deaths
Norway’s 199. Sweden 2192

Norway’s number of new cases is declining, Sweden’s is still going up.

On the face of it, using Norway as a comparison, those figures look pretty damning for the Swedish approach. On the other hand, they are clearly manageable numbers. I’m guessing the Swedish government is confident that their excellent health service can cope with all the modelled projections including, presumably, the worst case scenarios.

it’s also important to remember that in every country in the world, there are all sorts of risks that have to be judged and managed. The risk to people’s mental health, the risk to the economy, the risk of domestic violence. If you throw every resource and every policy decision entirely at containment of the virus, that will come at considerable cost in other areas, including socialy, economically, politically, and in terms of other health issues.

Those of us sitting comfortably behind our front doors, well fed and surrounded by loved ones whose behaviour is seldom worse than irritating, might want to consider those whose domestic circumstances are vastly different, before being tempted to call for longer and tighter lockdowns. The virus might be the greatest fear for some of us. For others, it really isn’t.

As for Sweden’s maverick approach; I’ll be watching it closely, and I’ll be wishing the Swedes all the best, as I will the populations of every other country. Including those who simply can’t afford a lockdown.

 

Depends how you ask that question. And I assume the people willing to take a 50% income hit must have a pretty damn good income.

Perhaps if you asked, would you prefer to continue housing, feeding and clothing your children, or would you prefer the whole family to live in overcrowded conditions with your ageing parents, who now have a higher % chance of dying prematurely? maybe you’d get different answers.

 

Anyway, I know this is the wrong thread, but a bit of Hank’s bar stool philosophy always lifts my heart. Hank was a songwriter who recognised simple truths, and never lost the ability to laugh at the absurdity of life...

 

I have colleagues in Sweden and Finland. The difference in approach is incredible and I guess Sweden could be in for a tricky time over the next few weeks. Yesterday my colleague told me how much golf he’s played restaurants he goes too and a party last weekend.

 

Is your Swedish colleague happy with his government’s approach so far?

 

I have two Swedish colleagues. One is retiring next year and is just one of those people who thinks everything is blah, blah, blah so if he can play golf and eat out still he’s happy. Not concerned. The other is unsure as he looks at other countries and doesn’t go out too much. One thing he did say was that Sweden basically has three populous areas: Stockholm, Goternberg. Malmo, with lots of space in between. Thinks that might help, but I suggested not if there’s no restrictions.

My colleague in Finland (Where I was when they introduced restrictions early March) isn’t impressed with Sweden’s approach and back then said that as Sweden’s rates increase, they worry more as so many cross the borders.

 

They are being asked to stay away from each other in restaurants and presumably golf courses in Sweden though? They're not eschewing all restrictions are they?


For what it's worth, I think the UK government has taken a fairly balanced approach to lockdown here. There are a lot of siren voices calling for tighter restrictions. I think the government is right to resist that. Keeping the parks open, for example, is absolutely the right thing to do imo.

 

The issue with most things in life is with how people behave. Most will understand the need for social distancing but there are always a few (and it only takes a small % to feck it up) that can’t be told what to do.

I cycle in the country every other day and do on average about 30 miles. If people are in a path, I steer out to the middle of the road to keep distance even if it is only as I briefly pass them, hey I see groups of cyclists huddled close together, which is crazy. I still come across people out together that look like they shouldn’t be. Yesterday I cycled by a group of 6 men in their late 20s/early 30s all in shorts, no tops with their bikes lying on the ground. They were hanging around the gate to a large property and looked up to no good. Can’t believe they needed to be there. Can’t believe they were exercise for (they only had shorts on and surely they’d have gone with at least full training gear). I passed a bus stop where two people were sat apart sensibly until three lads recognised one and all piled into the little bus shelter to talk to the one they knew. High fives all round.

If all people were following guidelines then it would help more. Sadly they don’t.

 

Just as troubling to me as the - in my experience pretty rare - examples of irresponsible behaviour, is the speed with which many people rush to point the finger of judgement at others. That doesn’t sit well with me.

One of my colleagues has 5 kids between 8 and 24, all living with her and her husband in a three bedroomed flat in Shepherds Bush. So she bought them a basketball hoop so they could all go outside and keep active, while she kept an eye on them from her balcony. Some of her neighbours were pretty quick to register their disapproval.

Never judge a man til you’ve walked a mile in his shoes, is my motto.

 

My 7 day isolation is over

Gonna pick the lad up in a bit and go on a nice long woodland walk, looks a nice day for it.