Coronavirus - International stories and thoughts

Not looking good for BJ, just got taken to ICU as his condition has worsened.

Power has been transferred to Dominick Raab

 

Boris Johnson is being transferred to ICU. Prayers for s speedy recovery

 

Terrible news on Boris Johnson. I hope he recovers.

 

Yikes

 

He may still very well pull through, but it was also clear that the perfunctory “taken to the hospital for precautionary reasons” line wasn’t the whole truth. The amount of care they could provide at 10 downing almost certainly meant things were not going well if they took that step.

 

North Korea
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opin...id-19-cases-its-actions-tell-different-story/

It’s also rumored that agents at North Korea’s Ministry of State Security Bureau 10 have arrested North Koreans who attempted to discuss the virus via mobile phone. Last month, an anonymous social media commentator claimed that the regime had executed the first covid-19 patient in the country. Though this account hasn’t been verified, the regime has been known to kill any citizen it regards as an existential threat, and a person carrying the virus capable of wreaking havoc on the country’s economic and health-care systems would almost certainly fit the bill.

Clamping down on information for the sake of controlling the narrative comes at a price. North Korea’s attempts to conceal the 1990s famine meant that experts could not take early action because it was impossible to investigate or exchange information. It wasn’t until the famine had ravaged the country that Pyongyang asked for aid. We might see a similar situation with the coronavirus, which could rapidly overwhelm North Korea’s primitive health-care system.

 

Trump should go ahead and prescribe hydroxycholorquine for him. I hear its a miracle drug.

 

yeah but India has halted all shipments of the drug out of the country. Got that from Trump as well.

 

Precautionary, in case he needs a ventilator. Wish the chap the best like anyone who has this virus.

 

It's o.k., I hear 10 Downing Street has a really nice fish tank . . .

 

South Korea's return to normal interrupted by uptick in coronavirus cases

The first wave of the coronavirus struck South Korea in mid-February after a "superspreader" from the Shincheonji Church in Daegu, a major city southeast of Seoul, infected worshippers during a service — a single case that infected more than 6,000 people.

Since then, with the swift implementation of nonpharmaceutical initiatives, like refraining from handshakes and diligently wearing masks, South Korea significantly reduced its number of daily cases from a peak of 909 in late February to as low as 76 and 64 in mid-March.

Despite the general decline, 125 new cases were reported last Monday — a slight increase from the previous day, at 78. The new stats also showed a rising death toll.

 

I keep wondering how to safely go back to “normal”. How can we all stay inside, not get the virus (and therefore not be immune to the virus), and then come out and start touching all over each other again without causing a second wave?

 

I'm imagining extensive anti-body testing with a bracelet to show that you have had the virus and are free to move about in public.

 

Agree! The downslope was inevitable with social distancing and staying home despite the lack of full cooperation.

The hardest question to me has always been, when is it gone? Cause if it's not gone, and large groups remain cavalier when we open up for business, well... Aren't we right back here in weeks?

What would "gone" look like? 0 new cases for 2 weeks? How far away is that and would you even feel confident it's not still out there? Think people will remain locked in at home when the case numbers fall low?

Even when cases start to plummet, victory will be claimed by many.

I'm very happy to see what appears to be a plateauing and I remain optimistic, but I'm challenged to understand how we unwind ourselves from this dreaded thing.

 

Is that feasible for 7 billion?

 

Logistically, I think this could work, but how could it work in practice without a vaccine? If we’ve done our cdc-recommended duties well, we shouldn’t have the antibodies.

 

I am not sure it even makes sense.

Actually, Bayer (Chloroquine) and Gilead (Remdesivir) have both offered to ship medication for the Prime Minister. Now, not that I wish ill upon the Brittish Prime Minister, but why him and not any one of the other of tens of thousands of critically sick people??

 

More feasible than everyone staying home until this is over.

 

I see it as a way of getting things moving again before we have a vaccine. Those who have had the virus and recovered effectively are vaccinated, so let them get back to work.

 

There's a whole heap of uncertainty about the extent of immunity from re-infection. This virus is pissing me off.

What to Know About Coronavirus Immunity and Chances of Reinfection