Ongoing Epidemics

[Zhang Huaxian]

I'm a bit confused of the absence of this topic up till today——I haven't found anyone talkin' 'bout coronavirus outbreak while it's already out of control...relatively. So I decide to open this to let us feel free to discuss about this. Also, words about the nationwide flu are welcome.

[Dong Zhou]

Hello Zhang Huaxian

In truth it is rare new topics come up, people will tend to latch onto an existing one like US politics so feel free to create new topics. What is nationwide flu?

Not much to say, there seems to be an element of desperation in government's responses while trying to give sense of calm, it will be intresting to see what happens if things aren't solved by summer given major summer events planned. The descent into anti-Asian racism has been sadly predictable , worried about impact on the economies on the world as things were fragile enough and business seems shaken.

[Zhang Huaxian]

Hello Zhang Huaxian

In truth it is rare new topics come up, people will tend to latch onto an existing one like US politics so feel free to create new topics. What is nationwide flu?

Not much to say, there seems to be an element of desperation in government's responses while trying to give sense of calm, it will be intresting to see what happens if things aren't solved by summer given major summer events planned. The descent into anti-Asian racism has been sadly predictable , worried about impact on the economies on the world as things were fragile enough and business seems shaken.

If I'm not going wrong I guess the flu across the States already caused 10,000+ death?

And yes, since the aftermath of the outbreak is relatively unpredictable, authorities are walking the wire on balancing the spreading of the plague and the panic. Asian oversea students are already having a hard time, cold shoulders, bullying, whenever and wherever possible. Semiconductor plants in South Korea have to shut down due to lack of supply from China. Things in the greengrocer market around my apartment got more expensive than usual.

It's also interesting that our online living(if I could call that), though relevant systems or platforms not enough developed still, now embracing a chance to leap to maturity due to the epidemic. Take Chinese as example, they first tried online schools, then business meetings, competitions, even the disco pubs, karaokes——they don't provide or "invent" possibilities, they just dug them out. They say that they all learnt somethin' during their seclusion. Couldn't we learn somethin' from that also?

[Dong Zhou]

I'm from the UK so I honestly have no idea

It's also interesting that our online living(if I could call that), though relevant systems or platforms not enough developed still, now embracing a chance to leap to maturity due to the epidemic. Take Chinese as example, they first tried online schools, then business meetings, competitions, even the disco pubs, karaokes——they don't provide or "invent" possibilities, they just dug them out. They say that they all learnt somethin' during their seclusion. Couldn't we learn somethin' from that also?

What do you mean by a leap to maturity and what specifically did they learn?

I imagine health authorities are keeping an eye on what worked and what didn't, that would seem to be the thing to concentrate on and take lessons from how things have panicked, on individual level I get slightly wary of people learning something during a time of crises, being a better person and more likely forgetting about it within a week

[ky9ersfan]

I hope they find a cure soon. I am praying for my Asian brothers & sisters in the infected areas. What is really scary, was I heard that they discovered the first American case in California, with no known links to Asia, from unknown origin.

I don't know if this is true or not, but I saw on a program where I was channel flipping, they said that there is a theory that infected bats might be the cause of the corona virus. They said there were unkempt animal shops by Wuhan, that someone handled a bat, got infected bat body wastes on their hands, and then didn't properly clean their hands, and then proceeded to touch their mouths with contaminated hands(like eating for example). And that was their theory to how it all started. It is doubtful, but that was a theory I heard.

[Zhang Huaxian]

I hope they find a cure soon. I am praying for my Asian brothers & sisters in the infected areas. What is really scary, was I heard that they discovered the first American case in California, with no known links to Asia, from unknown origin.

I don't know if this is true or not, but I saw on a program where I was channel flipping, they said that there is a theory that infected bats might be the cause of the corona virus. They said there were unkempt animal shops by Wuhan, that someone handled a bat, got infected bat body wastes on their hands, and then didn't properly clean their hands, and then proceeded to touch their mouths with contaminated hands(like eating for example). And that was their theory to how it all started. It is doubtful, but that was a theory I heard.

At least the bat was not the only host, but all the wild animals that were been sold in that narrow, dark and unclean market could be. What was astonishing is that even during this curfew, some Chinese still hunt for bats and other wildlife to vary their menu(all the cases I know were occured in rural areas, and they have been arrested immeadiately). Meanwhile the National People's Congress realized that could be a Pandora Box and outlawed wildlife trading forever.

[Dong Zhou]

Offically an pandemic with WHO accusing some countries of lacking resolve while various banks and governments issue emergency stimulus

I'm puzzled by US response though

1) I'm aware US insurers now offer the tests free (that they didn't raises questions about endangering public safety surely?) but what about the uninsured? Are they getting it free becuase otherwise that seems a disaster waiting to happen

2) Why does the travel ban contain EU countries but not UK? I think even the UK government would say there's is a far lighter approach then, say, Italy which is in mass quarantine

In UK our Health Secretary Matt Hancock is generally handling it well, Bank of England Governor Mark Carney and new Chancellor Rishi Sunak generally agreed to have really thrown stimulus at economy but some worrying deep lying issues that I fear will bite us. The state of social care ie those most at risk was bad going into this so how will it cope now? Emergency measures have been put in place to ensure sick leave but sick pay is really low for self-employed and gig workers, I worry that faced with destitution, some will go into work and will be major hits for those that quarantine when required.

[Shikanosuke]

Offically an pandemic with WHO accusing some countries of lacking resolve while various banks and governments issue emergency stimulus

I'm puzzled by US response though

You're not alone.

1) I'm aware US insurers now offer the tests free (that they didn't raises questions about endangering public safety surely?) but what about the uninsured? Are they getting it free becuase otherwise that seems a disaster waiting to happen

From what I understand, they're on their own and their provider can charge whatever they want. I'm still unsure what is going on with the CDC's delayed testing kits or if they ever materialized. Also of a fun note, while Trump was sort of correct that insurers have agreed to waive the cost of testing (from what I'm reading) they have not agreed to waive any costs associated with treatment should you actually be sick with covid or another illness.

2) Why does the travel ban contain EU countries but not UK? I think even the UK government would say there's is a far lighter approach then, say, Italy which is in mass quarantine

In my opinion because this isn't a real attempt to address the situation at all. Its an optic move to seem like he's now finally taking the pandemic seriously. As you noted, the UK is exempt and we do alot of business and travel with them and yall have quite a few confirmed cases as well. But that's the thing, closing borders with the larger Europe now is irrelevant to fixing the problem. It's here, Americans aren't going to get sick from European folks, they're more likely to catch it from the American public at large.

I figure from the inception the Trump's administration's response to this has been political and focused on the election. He's downplayed it from the get go (often dismissing it as a hoax or just hysteria over the flu). The CDC was entirely inadequately prepared to do the testing and the tests they originally intended to put out I understand were first faulty, and now have been unreasonably delayed. All the while this is spreading. Of humorous note, I recently read Trump disbanded the WH team in charge of infections diseases prediction and spreading back in Spring '18.

[Dong Zhou]

Just in case, NHS here is advising people not to take ibuprofen to treat the symptoms of coronavirus, use paracetamol

It has been... intresting watching the way everything has changed. Everything shutting down, the way moods are changing, staples vanishing. I do worry about what will happen when the entertainment lag kicks in as people get through backlog during the isolation and new stuff doesn't come out. Or when the factories being shut down begins to kick in with certain goods

It is a weird world where places like Conservative Home (politically influential, social consecrative and economic conservative website) are suddenly advocating biggest government interference since WW2 and measures they would be screaming Venezuela about any other time. Or carefully independence finical watchdogs saying "sod the debt, just unleash every finical tool you have chancellor and ones that haven't been invented yet."

[Aygor]

Hi, I hope you are all doing well and that your families are safe as well.

While this virus is not extremely threatening on a personal level, it is very contagious and has proven to be able to collapse highly developed sanitary systems through sheer numbers.
It is vital to limit and slow its spread as much as possible to ensure that everyone can access medical care, this is crucial especially for the elderly and for other high risk individuals, such as who has cardiovascular or respiratory ailments.

Here are a couple of useful links:
https://coronavirus.app/map
https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/

And a call for help:
https://crowdfightcovid19.org/
This is aimed to volunteers with and without scientific expertise. Please consider sharing this and, if you are able to, volunteer.

Please take serious measures to stay safe during the pandemic, and be up to date with your local situation and regulations!
Stay safe!