Corona Horse, Corona Rider - Covid #9

[Luzifer's right hand]

Many governments seem to have a vested interest in keeping the numbers as low as possible.

Here in Austria it is mostly not testing or not finishing tests of old people who die at home because of pneumonia.

The information you get from doctors, policemen and health care workers people know paints a picture that is much more dire than what the governments are telling the public. It seems to be the same in every country I have friends in.

I guess mortality rate statistics will tell the truth once this is all over (at least in most democratic countries).

 

[Ran]

Following John Hopkins' lead in using ARCGIS, the Swedish government is now publishing all of its figures via this rather neat interface. Swedish only, but avlidna = deceased, rest is fairly straightforward. Also a link to an Excel file with all the data here for those who like to play with that sort of thing.

This one corrects to some degree for lag of information, particularly over the weekend, as it adds in new cases and deaths on the correct day rather than when reported in to the central authority. So for example Sweden had a couple of 50+ death days but those were cumulative from several days and this corrects that. I'd guess many other countries have that same situation, though, so YMMV on how useful this is from an epidemological perspective.

The most interesting detail that may catch some eyes is the big region in the northwest  (Jämtland) that seems to have a more intense instance of cases compared to its neighbors, despite being further away from the epicenter of Stockholm. That's because it's a prime skiing holiday spot, and where a lot of people took vacations during ... I guess the Swedish equivalent of spring break, "sportlov" (which basically means "sporting holiday", though of course in Sweden it's considered more of a winter holiday than a spring holiday...) All the ski resorts have been closed down ahead of Easter, however.

And speaking of sportlov, part of the reason Stockholm pulled in so many foreign-sourced infections was that its schools had sportlov on week 9, while Gothenburg (second biggest city) was week 7, before the outbreak became widespread in the Alps.

[RhaenysBee]

15 hours ago, Cridefea said:

well it's important that you feel light for a while at least, it means you can still relax a bit. And with the news and the quarantine it's essential that you keep some time for activities you enjoy, it helps a lot...for not being overloaded.

yes eating all day doesn't help, expecially the mood. The feeling "there will be not food" is understandable, because our mind doesn't understand what's going on, we never experienced something like this before, so our brain tries to figure all the possibilties out , and can't find the solution, it has no scheme for that. So the "emotional part" is not convinced of what the "rational part" is saying. XD

 

See above. We have the feeling we need a lot of infos to understand what's happening and be able to find the best solution for us. 

I had a lot of dreamless night the first days of quarantine, the worst days in Italy. Then I started to have a lot  of dreams.

same as above. 

That's good!!

Well there's always the difficult to process what's going on as i said, but also there is the difficult to live the uncertainty for the future. We really can't do a lot of plans, because we can't focus on it. We are trying to elaborate new meanings, so we are "busy", we don't understand reality right now. Feeling indecisive and frustrated is normal because we must tolerate the uncertainty which normally it's not a good feeling for us, at least in our lives. This can create frustration or anxiety. 

But since you know how you feel, and you can also enjoy some things I think you are coping well, no?

Sorry for the long boring post. XD

Oh no, don’t be, thank you for the kind response. 

Yes, you know how it is, the brain knows but the heart/soul refuses to understand. Yes, I would say I’m coping all right, better than I did in the first week. And I suppose I can’t expect all the anxiety to go away, this is just not that kind of a situation. 

18 hours ago, Meera of Tarth said:

@RhaenysBee don't worry all these feelings are normal. You are adapring to a new situation.

Don't feel guilty for staying in your own world and feeling good or bad for what you are doing...it's normal we consume the news and we become stressed and we also engage in entertaining activities bc it's needed.

Also no one knows exactly how this virus work so it's in no way a matter of a lack of understanding from your perspective. Experts of different countries have different theories and everyhting is on the table right now.

I'm also feeling lots of things these days.

Take care! 

Thank you for the kind words, Meera! How are you doing over there? How are you coping with the quarantine?
Hope you are safe and healthy. 

[Mudguard]

1 hour ago, Ran said:

I think the way the Telegraph frames it isn't necessarily the way the authorities intend, but I can't say for certain because so far I can't find any reports in Swedish media that match what the Telegraph has said. Given the history of the Telegraph, and its biases, IMO, all we know for certain is that Swedish authorities want a better understanding of deaths in which coronavirus is the primary cause, and that they suppose they account for about 20% of deaths. Would the "cytokine storm" be the primary mechanism for death in these cases? Read an article in .. the NYT, I think, about two doctors in Wuhan, both mothers, both 29, and how one lived and one survived, and no one really knew why the one who died didn't make it.

I'll also note I raised the article because others in the UK had been posting about reports going around on the BBC and elsewhere in the UK media, hence my beginning with "Funny" since it was part of the same conversation and I had just read it moments earlier.

 

 

 

Thanks for the clarification.  I'm glad there's no confirmation in Swedish media.  I don't want to automatically assume the worst.  Maybe they just want to stress that young and healthy people are making up 20% of the deaths, in order to prevent some of the young people to treat this seriously.  In the US, we recently had a group of 80 students from the University of Texas at Austin go on a spring break trip to Mexico, and after they came back, about half of them at the time the story was published were infected.  Pure idiocy and selfishness.  Who knows how many people these 40 plus students infected after coming back, which could include their parents, grandparents, etc., who are at much higher risk. 

There were many articles in the press, and many press conferences by the authorities, that tried to calm people down by letting people know that the risk for the young and healthy appeared to be very low, which largely true if the health care system isn't overwhelmed.  Unfortunately, many of those people took that to mean that they didn't really need to change their behavior and observe social distancing recommendations.  It's clear at least in the US that voluntary guidelines aren't effective.  If you leave the beach, parks, or resorts open, people will come, despite there being a general order to shelter in place.  If Sweden wants to use that 20% number to push a counter message, I'm all for it.

[Jeor]

As a schoolteacher in Australia (where schools are still technically open, though almost all kids are staying home) I was looking forward to the end of term next week. Get some quiet holidays in, catch up on a few shows, read up some books, and finally get to finish my PhD in statistics which is almost there (submitting June 30). In Sydney there's a lockdown with people being fined if they leave their homes for no good reason (groceries, essential jobs, etc).

And then, helpfully, a pipe burst in my apartment and my kitchen and lounge were flooded.

Insurance has come in to remove the carpet, rip out the kitchen fixtures, and then installed huge fans and dehumidifiers to dry out the place, but now I'm in my apartment that sounds like working inside a 747 (noise-cancelling headphones are keeping me sane) and with a half-functioning kitchen (no water, but power at least) and a bare concrete floor. At least there hasn't been a run on bottled water, from what I easily acquired at the supermarket. And it's going to be impossible to get the kitchen fixed in a timely way - most companies have stood down their staff because of Covid. Fun times!

All that aside, I'll cope - there's plenty of people in worse situations, but still a pain in the neck.

[ljkeane]

Bloody hell Jeor. That's not great at the best of times and pretty grim when we're all being asked to stay home as much as possible. I hope you get it sorted out as soon as possible.

[Jeor]

Thanks @ljkeane!

Yeah, it's pretty rubbish at a time like this. And no cricket, Wimbledon or EPL to watch on TV to pass the hours!

Plumber supposedly coming on Monday to fix up the water access at least, I'll live.

[ljkeane]

1 minute ago, Jeor said:

Yeah, it's pretty rubbish at a time like this. And no cricket, Wimbledon or EPL to watch on TV to pass the hours!

Yeah. I know everyone's saying sport isn't important at a time like this but I miss it probably a bit more than I should. Watching highlights of old games really isn't cutting it.

In other depressing news the decision has been made to have the end of season drinks for my rugby club via Zoom. Ffs.

[Jeor]

Yeah, there's lots of catching up on seasons of stuff and movies, but it's not quite the same as watching some sport in real-time.

There's a sense of being present and connected from watching sport and talking about results with friends that you don't get from series or films. When all the real-time content is just coronavirus news, sport would have been really useful.

That said, I do totally agree that for athlete safety most things had to be shut down and playing behind closed doors was not really an option either, so I'm not saying sport should have gone ahead. It's just a shame that it's gone.

[Spockydog]

9 hours ago, Triskele said:

With such a fast-moving thread apologies if this has been mentioned already, but what do you all think if this concept of the immunity certificate?  

 

 

As I said few days ago, we'll all be chipped by the end of the year. Well, at least those of us who wish to re-enter society.

 

[Fragile Bird]

3 hours ago, Ran said:

The most interesting detail that may catch some eyes is the big region in the northwest  (Jämtland) that seems to have a more intense instance of cases compared to its neighbors, despite being further away from the epicenter of Stockholm. That's because it's a prime skiing holiday spot, and where a lot of people took vacations during ... I guess the Swedish equivalent of spring break, "sportlov" (which basically means "sporting holiday", though of course in Sweden it's considered more of a winter holiday than a spring holiday...) All the ski resorts have been closed down ahead of Easter, however.

The rich appear to have a lot to do with the spread of Coronavirus! While there are impoverished young ski bums still around, you pretty well have to be quite well off to fly to the Alps or Sun Valley or wherever to ski, and all the big resort areas seem to be hot beds of infection. I previously posted that article about Idaho, where the ski resort areas have higher per capita rates of Covid-19 than NYC. Back in February, iirc, I saw an interview on CNN about a group of 13 American men who went to the Italian Alps skiing and within a day or two of getting there, starting getting flu-like symptoms. By the time they returned four immediately went to hospital and the ICU. The doctor said it was the first time in his life he had seen every person in such a large group get infected by a virus, which worried him greatly. They were lucky it was very early in the pandemic, they still got on a plane back to the US and the four got beds in the ICU. 
eta: and infected God only knows how many on their return journey.

I must now go and check on Whistler. I have not seen any news reports about infections in the BC resorts, the big area has been Vancouver.

[Loge]

21 hours ago, Arakan said:

US pirates strike again. Protective masks bought in China and designated for Berlin were seized by US officials in Bangkok. 

They have already been paid for and were „confiscated“. There is no excuse for this especially after the vaccine shenanigans by Trump around the German company CureVac. Politicians are speaking of an act of piracy. They are correct. 
 

Who needs enemies when you have such „allies“. I am angry. 

Turns out the story wasn't true. While a shipment of masks was apparently diverted, US officials had nothing to do with it. Berlin police didn't buy from 3M either but from a dealer. Looks like somebody offered the dealer a better price. 

[Meera of Tarth]

4 hours ago, RhaenysBee said:

Oh no, don’t be, thank you for the kind response. 

Yes, you know how it is, the brain knows but the heart/soul refuses to understand. Yes, I would say I’m coping all right, better than I did in the first week. And I suppose I can’t expect all the anxiety to go away, this is just not that kind of a situation. 

Thank you for the kind words, Meera! How are you doing over there? How are you coping with the quarantine?
Hope you are safe and healthy. 

 thanks for asking and don't worry. It's normal.

I'm doing fine. It's been 3 weeks and now till the 26th we will still be in lockdown. I was very nercous at the start (also bc I also had low fever and not feeling well in general for a while...) But now I'm a little bit better. Lots of anxiety nervous seeing daily the figures on TV.... so I know what it is...

My main issue has been to adapt to the master online. We will finish the course this way. But since it's a lot of work this distracts me. However not socialising physically it's also difficult, probaly the worst. Not moving in general... Looking at the screens for so many hours... But we get accustomed.

I don't have to work. Since I worked at the university but my job necessarily needs to be there and now it is completely closed I can't even connect to the computer there. We didn't think of it since they closed it out of a sudden. We will see. My boss said we would talk when it's finished. He works online but I bet he can't do half of what he did.

Now they have said around 15x100 of the population might have had it.

 

[Freshwater Spartan]

7 hours ago, Fury Resurrected said:

In one of the addresses this week, MN governor Walz hinted that schools probably won’t open again this year. I guessing that means that I also will not be returning to work in the beginning of May like is the current plan. It is very weird that it doesn’t matter at all what time of day it is for me anymore. But I do expect to make a lot of progress restoring the el Camino

Whitmer announced this week that all MI schools are done for the year but learning will continue. Schools have until the end of the month to develop plans as to how they will accomplish this. I'll have spring break but then it will be back to the grindstone. 

[DMC]

8 hours ago, Fury Resurrected said:

But I do expect to make a lot of progress restoring the el Camino

Once you get it running does that mean your plan is to drive to Alaska?  Not the worst idea.

[Arakan]

1 hour ago, Loge said:

Turns out the story wasn't true. While a shipment of masks was apparently diverted, US officials had nothing to do with it. Berlin police didn't buy from 3M either but from a dealer. Looks like somebody offered the dealer a better price. 

Do you have a source? I read one article which stated that 3M denied the incident. Which of course was to be expected. PR damage control. It’s not 3M‘s fault but embarrassing nevertheless.  But if you have a more detailed source, a Link would be appreciated . 

[Zorral]

2 hours ago, Fragile Bird said:

The rich appear to have a lot to do with the spread of Coronavirus

Like the pack of 40 college bros out of CA who chartered a plane to Mexico for a party their asses off for spring break. Guess what? Why yes, and we didn't even have to think about it did we?

Story after story, with infinite variations, like this.  Not to mention then grabbing all the supplies and resources for the places they flee to - vacation in.  Not to mention thinking they can successfully raise chickens when they've never done it before so they've bought up all the baby chick supplies (and seeds too for the garden they've never had either).  News bulletin -- raising chickens, particularly if you want to them to lay eggs, isn't easy.  Chickens are finicky, they are easy prey for predators -- who are having a holiday too, and trust me that badgers, raccoons, coyotes, fox are really cunning at getting at chickens -- they are also prey to many diseases, and to each other.

If nothing else this proves there are far too many gdded rich people on the planet.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Today, me, otoh, am pretty chill.  LA Cannabis chemist / entrepreneur's package of goodies arrived yesterday -- and are they good!  The 'recreational' for my partner, pain stuff for me, plus a big bottle of what promises to boost the immune system.  Gads does she do beautiful packaging too, with everything fully labeled and amounts and every bit info one might want / need to know included.  Crashed hard yesterday, so made it a time out day, the first since March 6th.  I got in a workout for the first time since then too.  Partner said, as I stretched the aching back on the mat, like I was orgasming. Ha!

 

[JoannaL]

19 hours ago, Tears of Lys said:

There's plenty of things to get outraged about currently.  How about THIS one?

https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2020/mar/30/-scene-british-reporters-say-chinese-markets-again/

(Limited clicks.)

"China is permitting wild animal markets to resume selling bats, believed to be the source for the deadly coronavirus now killing people across the globe, including over 2,500 Americans to date, British reporters say.

Chinese authorities in January closed down the Wuhan city “wet” market after five of its workers were among the first diagnosed with what would become COVID-19.

A number of scientists say it is likely that bats either infected other market animals or humans directly. Bats carry a variety of coronaviruses and are blamed on for the 2002 SARS coronavirus epidemic that also originated in a Chinese market."

 

 

This isnt true , is it????? The chinese wild animal markets brought us SARS, then they -didnt learn from it- and now with have SARS 2, now they don't learn and we will get SARS 3 in 10 years which will be even more deadly???

What about their responsibility to the world!!!

[Zorral]

I admit to wondering about the veracity of those highjacking stories.

That's because the Florida media has been trumpeting for days and days now that all their intended supplies have been stolen one way and another by ... New York ... which, in truth (he's even boasted about it in his twits etc.) is being denied both financial and medical fed support and assistance, while Florida is awash in it -- as well as awash, guess what? in infections.

Not that I'd put anything past these guys, who are already, are profiteering madly, publicly and criminally, out of controlling the federal supplies and administration for dealing, including contracts.  The more they can get their bloody greedy hands on the more $$$$$$$$$$$$$$ for them.

As for the wet markets reopening -- this is why, along with climate catastrophe, one does think the planet will have rid herself of homo saps in about 10 years.  The rank, planentary infernal stupidity, greed, narcissism, ignorance and selfishness, and the lack of any competent, intelligent leadership, with so few exception . . . .

[Loge]

44 minutes ago, Arakan said:

Do you have a source? I read one article which stated that 3M denied the incident. Which of course was to be expected. PR damage control. It’s not 3M‘s fault but embarrassing nevertheless.  But if you have a more detailed source, a Link would be appreciated . 

Nobody seems to know what really happened but neither 3M nor US officials seem to have been directly involved.

 

https://www.tagesspiegel.de/berlin/200-000-atemschutzmasken-doch-nicht-konfisziert-lieferung-fuer-berliner-polizei-wurde-in-thailand-zu-besserem-preis-aufgekauft/25715448.html

 

https://www.morgenpost.de/berlin/article228847541/Konzern-Kein-Hinweis-auf-Umleitung-von-Masken-fuer-Polizei.html