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| Covid 19 virus |
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| flyte:
--- Quote from: GlennSprigg on March 17, 2020, 01:12:12 pm ---MY MAIN reason for commenting here though, is that I'm sure I've missed a lot of points in the last 17 pages, but WHY was/is Italy hit so hard??? It seems disproportionate regarding the vast number of deaths there, compared to the rest of the world?? Were they totally UN-prepared, didn't take it serious, didn't have the resources??? I don't understand!! --- End quote --- It's math, basically. Each tick you miss on the x-axis of an exponential (infection) curve gets you hit by a smack of multiples on the y-axis. Add to that you need to look 14 days in the future on the x-axis, and there you have it. Italy was the first country outside Asia so they were taken by surprise. And they have a difficult demographic, too. I bear with the Italian people. If you ask me, and hopefully I will be wrong, the US is totally unprepared as well. It's understandable in some way, this is unprecedented. You just can't convince the general public to take "wartime measures" when only 20 people are infected. --- Quote from: Stray Electron on March 17, 2020, 05:17:20 pm ---Italy, the US and most other countries waited MUCH too long before they started quarantining people and before they shutdown the cruises and other densely populated events. --- End quote --- The Americas have no idea of what is coming their way now. Just like we had no idea of what was coming our way when the Italian case was considered "local". As you said, the incubation time is very long and it is very contagious, so anything you do now based on current evidence, you should have done two weeks ago. The only way to slow infection in the future is a drastic temporary halt of society life as we know it with measures beyond the current situation, and strict obedience by the population. Easier said than done. |
| Stray Electron:
--- Quote from: DBecker on March 17, 2020, 04:47:18 pm --- From what I've read covid-19 is *not* transmitted by feces. Do you have a credible study that states differently? --- End quote --- As a matter of fact, yes I do. https://externalmediasite.partners.org/Mediasite/Play/45a9a74f18ec45deb338e00ac4cf4e281d According to it, the virus remains active in fecal matter for over a week after the person is clinically "cured". Given that viruses like warm moist environments I suppose that it shouldn't be a surprise that it can be found in fecal matter, even after the patient is "cured". This could help explain some of the "reinfected" individuals and spreading from"cured" individuals that were noted in China. |
| Black Phoenix:
Well probably already reported here: Portugal closes the borders to contain the spread of virus, specially from Spain: https://www.politico.eu/article/spain-and-portugal-partially-seal-their-borders-over-coronavirus-covid19-outbreak/ https://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/portugal-to-close-border-with-spain-to-tourists-120031600058_1.html https://www.thenewstribune.com/news/business/article241209116.html Compared with Spain, currently we have less than 350 cases and 1 death. Although there are a lot of border between both countries without any type of control, specially in the south by sea. |
| nctnico:
--- Quote from: -gb- on March 17, 2020, 05:24:33 pm --- --- Quote ---FFS Just listen to the experts and don't think you know better. --- End quote --- Usually you are right. But here with Corona we, the western countrys do things very different from china and southkorea. Regarding the masks, i would do what officials say, but there is exactly no official reason Here in europe and the US is wintertime, there are many people who cough and sneeze who don't wear the mask because it is flu-season. so they think it is flu but it might also be corona. they simply don't know. those people would wear a mask if wearing a mask was mandatory. --- End quote --- There is an official reason given: hands are a very important means of transportation of a virus. Even when you keep a distance. Touch your face anywhere and you have the virus on your hands ready to deposit it anywhere (remember your eyes and ears have a direct connection to your nose and mouth!). A mask could even be counter effective because now the virus is smeared all over an infected person's face and enjoying the ride waiting for getting transferred to the person's hands. Edit: I'd like to emphasize flyte's remark: wartime measures. I told my kids that this situation is way worse compared to Chernobyl (which had the western part of Europe in a state of panic IIRC). |
| flyte:
--- Quote from: Stray Electron on March 17, 2020, 05:30:00 pm --- I can't believe that seemingly intelligent people in this forum and elsewhere continue to believe that this isn't extremely serious and still want to compare it the annual flu! Like the guy on here 13 days ago that told me that in Germany they only had 50 cases and that it wasn't anything for them to worry about. --- End quote --- Well, that's an easy one to convince people. Citing virologist Marc Van Ranst: What is the difference with the flu? * it's more contagious * it's more deadly * there is no vaccine * there is no antiviral medicine * nobody has antigens, nobody is immune to it Obviously, for 85% percent of the population this will be like a good flu, but if you're into that unlucky other 15% part, then you may get very ill, need intensive care like artificial coma and assisted respiration or possibly die. For a country like the US, that small unlucky 15% is about 50 million people. Now count how many free hospital beds there are, let alone specialized life saving equipment. Let that sink in. |
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