Coronavirus (COVID-19)

[News]

New Zealand is relaxing some social distancing measures, but is it safe for other nations?

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[Ninja_Stoker]

This is a good write in today from someone who went through a same thing, with the same expert that provided modelling for this shutdown.

An interesting article from Australia written about Sweden seems to be suggesting that maybe lockdown is driven by public opinion based on potentially flawed theoretical modelling https://www.theaustralian.com.au/wo...n/news-story/9a0519b6e2e8cb47b1e2cae2228c3b3d

It's worth adding that Professor Le Grand was Tony Blair's Public Service adviser but equally that whatever his politics, the unions were not fans. He has been an advisor to several governments and the World Health Organisation and the World Bank.

 

[Chelonian]

If the individual placed in care has assets over a certain level -£20k(?), including the value of their house, then certainly in my region, care costs are commonly offset and placed as a charge on the property deeds.

The principal dwelling is assessed as an asset if the spouse is not living in it or if another family member aged over sixty is not living in it.

Anyone assessed to have assets over the financial threshold might be deemed to be 'self-funding' which means that they must pay for everything. Typically a local authority negotiates a substantial discount for itself with the provider. This might be half the cost of that levied upon the self-funder.

I've long argued that describing many residential or nursing homes as 'care' homes is misleading as the standard of care is often very poor regardless of how much or how little the service user pays.

 

[News]

The country has stopped community transmission of Covid-19, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says.

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[News]

Some older pupils in Beijing and Shanghai are going back to classes as normal life begins to resume.

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[News]

"Dumbfounded" or "great job" - Americans who backed the president in 2016 rate his pandemic response.

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[News]

Immunity is the crucial question and understanding it will tell us how the pandemic will end.

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[GreyWing]

"Coronavirus: 95% of victims in England hospitals had underlying health conditions"

https://news.sky.com/story/coronavi...als-had-underlying-health-conditions-11979733

I think the thing up to now is that nobody knew what they meant by "another underlying condition". Here it seems to suggest 95% had "Serious other conditions". That's the first time I have seen that.

 

[Chelonian]

I think the thing up to now is that nobody knew what they meant by "another underlying condition".

One factor is that the underlying condition was significant enough to be formally recorded as "Cause of death" on the Certificate of Death.

My own pa died aged 89 five years ago and his cause of death is recorded as:

i: Alzheimer's Disease
ii: Old Age

A better indication of the lethality of COVID-19 might be inferred if it is identified how many died of the disease rather than dying with the symptoms of it.

Many people, particularly the elderly, die as a consequence of the cumulative effect of several illnesses that alone would not always be lethal.

 

[News]

Concerned about coronavirus, Mexican workers are calling for US-owned factories to be closed.

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[News]

What African countries are doing to help people to eat amid the lockdowns.

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[GreyWing]

I hope these lads and lasses have a bit of protection closeby.

 

[Caversham]

The wife and I went to a drive through testing station in Exeter on Wednesday. Virtually all the tests are self administered by yourselves in your car. There was no contact at all with those working there, except to open one window for a guy to drop the test kits in and again at the end on exit for us to drop the completed and sealed tests into a bag. There was only one lane for assisted tests and I saw no one in it.

The whole set up was extremely well done, considering the logistics involved and help was available throughout. Hancock took great pleasure in informing everyone, including MSM that he had blown a huge hole in the target.

Received the results this afternoon and both of us were negative.

Alan

 

[TheRents]

My wife (NHS) working with lads and lasses from Warminster in a drive thru.

All new PPE including full wet weather gear . Pods delivered ...

Same system as @Caversham experienced.

This is, for a lot of drive throughs, now a non contact process. The kits are evolving all the time. New kits for tomorrow - the team have all been sent a new instructional video tonight explaining the details.

The logistics from where we are based has involved multiple couriers, high speed sea transport and now airfreight too.

I am sure there will be the odd glitch, but deeply impressive logistics to date.

 

[robbo09]

Problem with the drive through style tests is there’s no guarantee the person in the vehicle is doing the test correctly. The swab isn’t suppose to touch anything other than the back of the throat, touching the tongue apparently voids the test.

 

[GreyWing]

One heck of a long article, but a very interesting one from the guy who invented the testing procedure. He thinks it is all nonsense.

https://uncoverdc.com/2020/04/07/was-the-covid-19-test-meant-to-detect-a-virus/

It's very strange because some of the things you thought were settled in science are not. HIV being the cause of AIDS, he and others say that it is not.

I wouldn't get tested for CV19, but I would go for the antibody test that may appear in a few weeks. Just out of curiosity.

 

[TheRents]

Problem with the drive through style tests is there’s no guarantee the person in the vehicle is doing the test correctly.

I think this is a numbers game and I don't mean in the political sense.

Is it better to do 150 tests a day at a station with a 95% success rate (staff swabbing), or 400 tests a day with possibly only a 70% success rate (self swab)?

This is all big picture thinking now and the more data you have the better the picture.

It's very strange because some of the things you thought were settled in science are not. HIV being the cause of AIDS, he and others say that it is not.

As is always the case you will never get all scientists to agree on anything. You can always find those who disagree with the consensus. We all love the thought of the lone voice finding the hidden truth - very occasionally it happens, most of the time it doesn't.

Anyway got to go, I am off to get my MMR

 

[GreyWing]

As is always the case you will never get all scientists to agree on anything. You can always find those who disagree with the consensus. We all love the thought of the lone voice finding the hidden truth - very occasionally it happens, most of the time it doesn't.

Anyway got to go, I am off to get my MMR

I found this one a bit more unique in that that the chap who invented the test, is the one rubbishing its use in this context.

The MMR debate, that is one I'll be staying well clear of. No middle ground on that one, both camps are at war.

 

[News]

Belgium believes its high Covid-19 mortality rate is down to more rigorous counting of cases.

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[Chelonian]

The MMR debate, that is one I'll be staying well clear of.

The anti-vaxxers appear to have fallen silent.
Presumably they are praying for a COVID-19 vaccine.