General Discussion/Q&A on Coronavirus (COVID-19)

[Pushka]

French trial of hydroxychloroquine and azrithomycin shown good results in treatment
(Small trial only)

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1240274548165169157

I made sure I refilled my script yesterday. Their dosage is 600mg and I'm on 400mg. I wonder if a parallel test might be to examine whether people already on Hydroxychloroquine for auto immune issues do not get this virus or shed it faster.

 

[Anna]

Earth population 7.5 billion. People's lives currently directly affected by covid19 restrictions probably 5 billion or so. Number of actual covid19 cases 200,000. Number of covid19 deaths 8,000.

I'm not sure what to make of the disparity between the huge effect of the restrictions and the proportionally tiny disease.

 

[opusman]

I'm not sure what to make of the disparity between the huge effect of the restrictions and the proportionally tiny disease.

a) Trade-off between inconvenience for many and death for some. More a moral judgement than anything else.
b) Deaths are not the only negative outcome; many who recover may have long term effects from reduced lung function etc. It doesn't sound like a disease you would want to get even if you're confident of surviving it.
c) Exponential growth is what everyone with a "she'll be right" attitude seems to have trouble coming to terms with.

 

[blackcat20]

Earth population 7.5 billion. People's lives currently directly affected by covid19 restrictions probably 5 billion or so. Number of actual covid19 cases 200,000. Number of covid19 deaths 8,000.

I'm not sure what to make of the disparity between the huge effect of the restrictions and the proportionally tiny disease.

The evolutionary biologist in me is curious to see what would happen if we just let evolution/natural selection do its thing....

 

[Pushka]

The evolutionary biologist in me is curious to see what would happen if we just let evolution/natural selection do its thing....

I can understand the interest there. However, you'd need to select the virus carefully. Swine flu made young people very ill and us oldies didn't even get it.

I understand Anna's comment. We are pretty much wrecking the world to combat this thing. And I'm almost in the age group that we are trying to protect. So much for leaving a legacy for the younger generation. I just hope we can put it all back together again.

 

[blackcat20]

I can understand the interest there. However, you'd need to select the virus carefully. Swine flu made young people very ill and us oldies didn't even get it.

I understand Anna's comment. We are pretty much wrecking the world to combat this thing. And I'm almost in the age group that we are trying to protect. So much for leaving a legacy for the younger generation. I just hope we can put it all back together again.

Its not about targeting any particular demographic, it just takes out those that are (evolutionary) "unfit".

 

[Pushka]

Its not about targeting any particular demographic, it just takes out those that are (evolutionary) "unfit".

That raises an interesting question as to what does "evolutionary unfit" mean in current day living. And whether that has changed - due to evolution I guess!

 

[tgh]

As a species , our intellect has worked against our fitness to survive.
We live with little life threatening adversity , have endless self indulgent food supplies, and prop up our survival with drugs.
Otoh , cavemen and their families , while presenting as finely tuned survival specialists… actually didn't do it all that well…...

 

[blackcat20]

That raises an interesting question as to what does "evolutionary unfit" mean in current day living. And whether that has changed - due to evolution I guess!

Hence my curiosity to see how it would play out. We are keeping people alive when, historically, they wouldn't have survived. So we're overriding evolution in some sense. A natural rebalance would be interesting.

 

[Pushka]

As a species , our intellect has worked against our fitness to survive.
We live with little life threatening adversity , have endless self indulgent food supplies, and prop up our survival with drugs.
Otoh , cavemen and their families , while presenting as finely tuned survival specialists… actually didn't do it all that well…...

Yes, and we get hung up on things that dont matter because all the important things have been covered off. Our expectations, until this week, were at the high end of the Need pyramid and now we are all back down to the bottom.

 

[jase05]

Tasmania enforcing tougher border controls

Tasmania to enforce 'toughest border measures in the country' amid coronavirus pandemic - ABC News

amp.abc.net.au

 

[lovetravellingoz]

b) Deaths are not the only negative outcome; many who recover may have long term effects from reduced lung function etc. It doesn't sound like a disease you would want to get even if you're confident of surviving it.

I think to be clear on this that one needs to understand that this is only from those that have been severely affected by CV 19. The vast majority of those who will get infected by CV 19 will not have long term effects.

 

[TheRealTMA]

Why extensive testing is important

Scientists say mass tests in Italian town have halted Covid-19 there

A study in Vò, which saw Italy’s first death, points to the danger of asymptomatic carriers

www.theguardian.com

 

[opusman]

I think to be clear on this that one needs to understand that this is only from those that have been severely affected by CV 19. The vast majority of those who will get infected by CV 19 will not have long term effects.

Only those severly affected by a car accident die, I'm not sure that means I want to be in one though.

 

[p--and--t]

Earth population 7.5 billion. People's lives currently directly affected by covid19 restrictions probably 5 billion or so. Number of actual covid19 cases 200,000. Number of covid19 deaths 8,000.

I'm not sure what to make of the disparity between the huge effect of the restrictions and the proportionally tiny disease.

Perhaps because the infection stats show a doubling of cases every 3-4 days and unless it is nipped in the bud (good case Italy) you will end up with a country with a paralysed medical system and all those people without COVID-19 will also be severely impacted and the entire health system will go into a death spiral.

Enough cases simultaneously then social order could collapse and we will not have workers for police-forces, factories, electricity suppliers, water supplies, food production et al.

 

[TheRealTMA]

Only those severly affected by a car accident die, I'm not sure that means I want to be in one though.

Tweet from POTUS "People are dying who have never died before."

Post automatically merged: Mar 19, 2020

Apologie! Told this by a usually reliable source but is apparently fake news. Sounded true

Did President Trump Say 'People Are Dying Today That Have Never Died Before'?

A number of hoaxes have circulated amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

www.snopes.com

Tasmania enforcing tougher border controls

Tasmania to enforce 'toughest border measures in the country' amid coronavirus pandemic - ABC News

amp.abc.net.au

Sensible.

 

[Denali]

I wonder what his thought process was. Was he just an angry, hateful person to want to spread it , did he have a breakdown?

Man who went to bar to spread virus dies

A Japanese man, accused of “terrorism” after he went to a Filipino pub earlier this month saying he wanted to spread the deadly coronavirus he was infected with, has died at a hospital in central Japan.

www.news.com.au

 

[TheRealTMA]

I wonder what his thought process was. Was he just an angry, hateful person to want to spread it , did he have a breakdown?

Man who went to bar to spread virus dies

A Japanese man, accused of “terrorism” after he went to a Filipino pub earlier this month saying he wanted to spread the deadly coronavirus he was infected with, has died at a hospital in central Japan.

www.news.com.au

a different approach

Italy charges more than 40,000 people with violating lockdown

Minority continue to flout decree as nation records biggest daily rise in coronavirus deaths

www.theguardian.com

 

[teammongo]

Or one could also think that morale and some distraction is very important at times like these to offset the massive stress and overload of bad news that is about.

Football is for the average fan not at all about $$$ at all, it is about their club and love of the game.

Personally with the numbers cases and infections still very low I would believe that there is no significant reason not to proceed when the players want to play.
With no spectators the risk of transmission of the case of running vs not running is probably very little different.


If the number of cases become high then things will be different just as they would be with many workers in non-essential jobs.

I made sure I refilled my script yesterday. Their dosage is 600mg and I'm on 400mg. I wonder if a parallel test might be to examine whether people already on Hydroxychloroquine for auto immune issues do not get this virus or shed it faster.

There is a study proposed to look exactly at this point.

 

[Pushka]

There is a study proposed to look exactly at this point.

Need any volunteers? Two in my family - as long as we dont have to get infected to try out the theory!