Covid-19 pandemic

[Balderdasha]

While Pakistan is nearing 300,000 cases, the number of daily new cases and deaths has dropped considerably over the last month. It seems to be a success story but, as with much to do with Covid-19, no-one is entirely sure how it happened. Article here: https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/...cess-story/amp

[Gangster Octopus]

The current USA death toll from Covid-19 is higher than the combined military USA death tolls from World War I, the Vietnam war, the Iraq war and the war in Afghanistan.

That's a lot of losers...

[Balderdasha]

The Philippines is the 22nd country to report more than 250,000 cases, currently reporting more than 4,000 new cases per day, and has recorded 4,108 deaths.

[ursus arctos]

Interesting thread

https://twitter.com/_miguelhernan/status/1304424019450630144

[Balderdasha]

Conclusion from that is that indoor dining = a bad idea. So, in the UK, where over the summer the government has subsidised over 64 million instances of people eating in restaurants, mostly indoors, through the "Eat Out to Help Out" scheme, we should not be surprised if we see a massive spike in cases.

[Balderdasha]

Romania now has over 100,000 cases and 4,100 deaths.

[Jimski]

"Eat Out To Help Spread" I called it.

[Jimski]

Cases in England estimated to be doubling every 7.7 days, and R at about 1.7.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...ys-study-shows

Lovely - let's get all those people back to their workplaces though, shall we?

[Jimski]

And quite frankly my thoughts on Hancock telling people off for seeking to be tested are unprintable. He should resign over that, I feel. Utterly disgraceful. Especially when you have a "world-beating" system in place.

[WOM]

This might have been mentioned on one of the preceding 448 pages, but I just read that the Mumps vaccine was the fastest one ever developed. It took four years.

[Snake Plissken]

And quite frankly my thoughts on Hancock telling people off for seeking to be tested are unprintable. He should resign over that, I feel. Utterly disgraceful. Especially when you have a "world-beating" system in place.

Yet Burnley Council tweeted out that a testing centre will be available this weekend, no appointment necessary.

[Jimski]

Just tried to register for a test for my son - no walk-through sites available. No drive-through sites available. No home test kits available.

World beating.

[Balderdasha]

Friend is supposed to be having a hen do in November. Will probably be thwarted by Covid-19 rules. Unless we reclassify it as "organised sport". It's not a hen do ladies, it's a weekend lacrosse competition...

[Balderdasha]

(NB, I am of course joking. It probably just won't go ahead. Which is a shame but better than putting all our families at risk).

[Fussbudget]

Conclusion from that is that indoor dining = a bad idea. So, in the UK, where over the summer the government has subsidised over 64 million instances of people eating in restaurants, mostly indoors, through the "Eat Out to Help Out" scheme, we should not be surprised if we see a massive spike in cases.

The Financial Times had an article a couple of days ago concluding that the timing of the accelerating rise in infections pointed to that and August Bank Holiday gatherings as the main factors. Also this:

https://twitter.com/HolstaT/status/1304349282699485184

[Balderdasha]

3,539 new cases in the UK today. Highest daily total since May 8th.

[Jimski]

https://twitter.com/doctor_oxford/status/1304407981832929285

[Jimski]

I'm just waiting for Hancock to tell doctors off for seeking tests now...

[Fussbudget]

Also obviously the testing system being overwhelmed coincides exactly with the schools reopening. I mean, I'm sure everyone on this board has already worked that out but it does my head in that I only see the two discussed in the papers (let alone by the government) as separate topics rather than one being clearly a consequence of the other.

[Balderdasha]

We have survived the first week back at school. This week's tally: 1 trip to A&E by ambulance, 1 night spent overnight in hospital, prescriptions issued for six varieties of medication, 1.25 days of schooling missed due to waiting for negative Covid-19 test result, all four members of the family with varying degrees of viral infection symptoms. Bring on week two.

[Balderdasha]

I always try and brace myself for infections when a new term starts and I am consistently caught by surprise by how horrific it is in reality.

[Fussbudget]

Like NS, I've received a letter to be part of that React-1 study where "the NHS"* sends home test kits to a random selection of people so they can gauge the prevalence of the virus in the population week on week.

I've agreed because why not do my part to help the war effort on Covid and all that, but it does baffle me a little that they seem to be sending out hundreds of thousands of home testing kits for this purpose when there aren't enough for key workers and people who are actually sick.

* NHS branded but actually private contractors, like everything to do with health seems to be these days. Ipsos Mori with Imperial in this case.

[Jimski]

Also there are apparently private tests available. They should just be commandeered for the NHS, in my view.

[ursus arctos]

Interesting long (and non-paywalled) piece from the FT on Tegnell and Sweden

https://www.ft.com/content/5cc92d45-...6-26501693a371

[Nocturnal Submission]

Like NS, I've received a letter to be part of that React-1 study where "the NHS"* sends home test kits to a random selection of people so they can gauge the prevalence of the virus in the population week on week.

I've agreed because why not do my part to help the war effort on Covid and all that, but it does baffle me a little that they seem to be sending out hundreds of thousands of home testing kits for this purpose when there aren't enough for key workers and people who are actually sick.

* NHS branded but actually private contractors, like everything to do with health seems to be these days. Ipsos Mori with Imperial in this case.

I wonder if we are part of the same study, Fussy.

My one is an Imperial-Ipsos MORI-NHS joint venture, but it's looking for antibodies rather than the live virus.

The kit I posted a picture of upthread is of one of the home testing kits that you can request (stick at it Jimski - it took me a few goes but I eventually managed to get one - try early in the morning, which was when I was successful) when you have symptoms or have been told to get one.

(I had a fever a few days ago, unusual for me, but I reckon it was just a regular virus. We'll see.)