The Worldwide C0VlD-19 Coronavirus Pandemic Discussion Thread...

[Matt Sun]

the Tanzanian President pulled a fast one with these tests, he slipped in goat and sheep samples and they still came back positive!
I wonder how many people have tested positive with these kits around the world when they never actually had COVID?

Tanzania president questions coronavirus kits after animal test

President Magufuli says tests were found to be faulty after goat, sheep and pawpaw samples test positive for C0VlD-19.

www.aljazeera.com

 

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[James Klymus]

The mayor of Chicago eliminated anybody’s ability to go to a salon but then later was caught on hidden camera in the salon.

Dont forget about how the governor's wife travelled to Florida, defying the house arrest order

"QUESTION: Okay. Mark Konkol with The Patch says, “Where’s the first lady? Is she accompanied by a state security detail? Has she engaged in non-essential travel? What is your response to people who say the state home order and non essential travel bans aren’t being abided by your family? I believe there’s a report from Illinois Rising Action that says that she recently traveled to Florida.”

"GOV. J.B. PRITZKER: Well, first of all, I want to say that in politics it used to be that we kept our families out of it. My official duties have nothing to do with my family, so I’m just not going to answer that question. It’s inappropriate, and I find it reprehensible honestly that that reporter wrote a story about it."

Don't you think that someone with nothing to hide would either say "No, my wife is at home" or at least give a very compelling reason why she needed to travel to Florida?

 

[James Klymus]

Woodstock Occurred in the Middle of a Pandemic

"The contrast between 1968 and 2020 couldn’t be more striking. They were smart. We are idiots. Or at least our governments are." ~Jeffrey Tucker

www.aier.org

"It’s not as if we had governments unwilling to intervene in other matters. We had the Vietnam War, social welfare, public housing, urban renewal, and the rise of Medicare and Medicaid. We had a president swearing to cure all poverty, illiteracy, and disease. Government was as intrusive as it had ever been in history. But for some reason, there was no thought given to shutdowns.

Which raises the question: why was this different? We will be trying to figure this one out for decades."

 

[James Klymus]

Illinois just released its "guidelines for reopening"

https://coronavirus.illinois.gov/sfc/servlet.shepherd/document/download/069t000000BadS0AAJ?operationContext=S1

Apparently, We're in phase 2 currently:

Phase 2 – Flattening: The rate of infection among those tested and the number of patients admitted to the hospital beds and ICU beds increases at an ever slower rate, moving toward a flat and even a downward trajectory. Nonessential retail stores reopen for curb-side pickup and delivery. Illinoisans are directed to wear a face covering when outside the home and can begin enjoying additional outdoor activities like golf, boating and fishing while practicing social distancing. To varying degrees, every region is experiencing flattening as of early May.

How about this gem from phases 3 and 4:

"Face coverings and social distancing are the norm."

The question is: Will we the people (who are in charge of the government) let this little plan play out by their rules or ours?

 

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[Xeon]

More big employers are talking about permanent work-from-home positions

Just curious what people's thoughts on this are.

 

[GIlman]

More big employers are talking about permanent work-from-home positions

Just curious what people's thoughts on this are.

It’s a prudent move. If the government can shut you down on a whim, then the prudent decision is to structure your organization in the most efficient way that can eliminate that vulnerability.

Operating risks have changed. Smart companies will respond accordingly.

 

[Xeon]

It’s a prudent move. If the government can shut you down on a whim, then the prudent decision is to structure your organization in the most efficient way that can eliminate that vulnerability.

Operating risks have changed. Smart companies will respond accordingly.

Ok, let's assume permanent work-from-home will be the norm from now. Wouldn't that mean all those gigantic office buildings and infrastructures will need to be demolished some day? Maybe parks, gardens and stuff will be built in their place. That would also mean lesser cars on the roads and less need for public transport.

If that happens, I think we may be looking at a much greener world.

Wow, the implications are insane. Less need for cosmetics and 'want' type of stuff since less people will be going out.

 

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[GIlman]

Ok, let's assume permanent work-from-home will be the norm from now. Wouldn't that mean all those gigantic office buildings and infrastructures will need to be demolished some day? Maybe parks, gardens and stuff will be built in their place. That would also mean lesser cars on the roads and less need for public transport.

If that happens, I think we may be looking at a much greener world.

Wow, the implications are insane. Less need for cosmetics and 'want' type of stuff since less people will be going out.

I have serious concerns about a commercial and real estate loan/foreclosure crisis. There are likely to be many many financial ripples from this situation. What will happen to the buildings, who knows.

 

[GB81]

I wouldn't want to be invested in large city centre offices at the moment. If tenants all say they need 20% less floor space then that is going to have a major impact. Properties will be downvalued, banking covenant breaches etc. They investors will probably get some sympathy initially but once its clear there's a structural change values will go down, certainly in the short-medium term.

 

[JamesQB8]

@GIlman I've really enjoyed your podcast and thank you for sharing all of that information.

The only issue I'm worried about is the sporadic mention of long term lung damage. I assume this is either in a very small percentage or something that returns to 100% in time. Do you have any opinions or data on that please?

Also sorry if it's already been covered.

 

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[GIlman]

@GIlman I've really enjoyed your podcast and thank you for sharing all of that information.

The only issue I'm worried about is the sporadic mention of long term lung damage. I assume this is either in a very small percentage or something that returns to 100% in time. Do you have any opinions or data on that please?

Also sorry if it's already been covered.

I don’t have any data at the moment on what percent of people suffer from long term damage or to what degree damage occurs. This type of information will probably take a long time to accumulate, it’s kinda complicated because ideally you have lung function tests before and after infection. It’s ideal to know someone’s baseline lung function to know how much they are effected.

The issue is that if any lung infection (pneumonia) occurs, if if is severe enough, the lung tissue can be permanently damaged and replaced by scar tissue or empty cavities. This is not unique to COVID, we see the same thing with bacterial and other serious viral pneumonia too.

A normal healthy person has a tremendous amount of lung capacity, your normal breath (called tidal volume) is much less then the capacity of the lungs. When you exercise your berating rate and volume with each breath increases. A young previously healthy person can sustain some damage before they would develop symptoms.

If you are curious about lung function, here is a Wikipedia link about link capacities.

Lung volumes - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

p.s. if you enjoyed or found my podcast useful, please share it on Facebook or twitter, quite a bit of growth has come from Facebook shares.

 

[Andreas Thiel]

Some anecdotal data points.

• My go to gun store is a national online seller, basically out of inventory for 4 weeks
• Guy at said store said he had more first timers in the last month than in his 10 years of selling guns
• My range has had a solid line of people reading the safety card reserved for first time shooters. There's never anybody reading the safety card.

All anecdotal, but methinks there's a lot of new gun owners walking around out there. I myself am now an long time owner, first time every day carrier.

Interesting!

I read somewhere that gun permit assessments cannot be executed within 3 days and people can insist they get their guns after that time. Can you tell if that has been a significant factor recently, or is that something that the German media exploits for "sensational" headlines?

 

[David Harrison]

I don't know. It's all so confusing and absurd I'm just exhausted.

I think the word you're looking for is "Gaslighting"

If anyone wants a better perspective on how things are done, watch Noam Chomsky's film "Manufacturing Consent".
Chomsky derived the name of the film from a book by Walter Lippmann "Public Opinion"


“They who have put out the people's eyes reproach them of their blindness.”

― John Milton,

 

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[Vigilante]

I don’t have any data at the moment on what percent of people suffer from long term damage or to what degree damage occurs. This type of information will probably take a long time to accumulate, it’s kinda complicated because ideally you have lung function tests before and after infection. It’s ideal to know someone’s baseline lung function to know how much they are effected.

The issue is that if any lung infection (pneumonia) occurs, if if is severe enough, the lung tissue can be permanently damaged and replaced by scar tissue or empty cavities. This is not unique to COVID, we see the same thing with bacterial and other serious viral pneumonia too.

A normal healthy person has a tremendous amount of lung capacity, your normal breath (called tidal volume) is much less then the capacity of the lungs. When you exercise your berating rate and volume with each breath increases. A young previously healthy person can sustain some damage before they would develop symptoms.

If you are curious about lung function, here is a Wikipedia link about link capacities.

Lung volumes - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

p.s. if you enjoyed or found my podcast useful, please share it on Facebook or twitter, quite a bit of growth has come from Facebook shares.

Done.

shared to www.facebook.com/mybradio

 

[Timmy C]

North korea must be a shit place to live.

Even the coronavirus doesn't want to go there.

 

[G-Man]

Interesting!

I read somewhere that gun permit assessments cannot be executed within 3 days and people can insist they get their guns after that time. Can you tell if that has been a significant factor recently, or is that something that the German media exploits for "sensational" headlines?

Sorry I got a little off-topic, but yes. I don't know that that's odd though. As far as I can tell, all news coverage on any topic is "sensational". It's one of the limitations of the medium.

Some great examples are happening with Coronavirus:

A man wore what appeared to be a KKK white hood on a trip to the grocery store | CNN

Masks and face coverings are recommended, even required, in many US supermarkets now.

www.cnn.com

Coronavirus has put the Klan back on the streets

Fed study: 1918 flu deaths linked to relative strength of Nazism | CNN Politics

The relative strength of Nazism between regions and cities in 1930s Germany is correlated with the effects of the 1918 influenza pandemic, according to preliminary findings of a new study by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, a finding that has increased relevance as the world grapples with...

www.cnn.com

Parts of Germany that went Nazi were hit more heavily by Spanish Flu. Innuendo: America is getting hit because it's full of Nazis. I won't even get into the problems with the actual study they're citing.

Women are better leaders. The pandemic proves it | CNN Business

While it may take a global pandemic to finally acknowledge the capability women leaders have, companies shouldn't wait until there is a crisis to afford women an opportunity to lead, writes Michelle P. King, director of Inclusion at Netflix.

www.cnn.com

Countries run by women have lower COVID mortality than the US. Sure the US has way higher co-morbidities and in-migration of Asian visitors, but that can't be it. The problem is the genitals of the leaders!

 

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[Andreas Thiel]

Women are better leaders. The pandemic proves it | CNN Business

While it may take a global pandemic to finally acknowledge the capability women leaders have, companies shouldn't wait until there is a crisis to afford women an opportunity to lead, writes Michelle P. King, director of Inclusion at Netflix.

www.cnn.com

Countries run by women have lower COVID mortality than the US. Sure the US has way higher co-morbidities and in-migration of Asian visitors, but that can't be it. The problem is the genitals of the leaders!

That is a great example. Some people just love such narratives .

I mentioned this several times, but it really bothers me that other countries envy Merkel and Germany now, just because Germany counts and reports deaths differently.

For everybody I know it was impossible to get tested. At first you needed to prove you either came from a known trouble spot or that you had contact with somebody known to be infected. Naturally both was impossible for most.

When there were enough cases that too many people could prove that they had contact with somebody who is officially infected, then the policy changed. Instead you needed to show severe symptoms. I don't know where the numbers that prove that Germany implemented wide testing early on come from. They must be invented.

 

[James Klymus]

Sorry I got a little off-topic, but yes. I don't know that that's odd though. As far as I can tell, all news coverage on any topic is "sensational". It's one of the limitations of the medium.

Some great examples are happening with Coronavirus:

A man wore what appeared to be a KKK white hood on a trip to the grocery store | CNN

Masks and face coverings are recommended, even required, in many US supermarkets now.

www.cnn.com

Coronavirus has put the Klan back on the streets

Fed study: 1918 flu deaths linked to relative strength of Nazism | CNN Politics

The relative strength of Nazism between regions and cities in 1930s Germany is correlated with the effects of the 1918 influenza pandemic, according to preliminary findings of a new study by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, a finding that has increased relevance as the world grapples with...

www.cnn.com

Parts of Germany that went Nazi were hit more heavily by Spanish Flu. Innuendo: America is getting hit because it's full of Nazis. I won't even get into the problems with the actual study they're citing.

Women are better leaders. The pandemic proves it | CNN Business

While it may take a global pandemic to finally acknowledge the capability women leaders have, companies shouldn't wait until there is a crisis to afford women an opportunity to lead, writes Michelle P. King, director of Inclusion at Netflix.

www.cnn.com

Countries run by women have lower COVID mortality than the US. Sure the US has way higher co-morbidities and in-migration of Asian visitors, but that can't be it. The problem is the genitals of the leaders!

CNN no less.

My mom told me earlier that people are wearing KKK masks now! I said "where'd you hear that, CNN?"

More big employers are talking about permanent work-from-home positions

Just curious what people's thoughts on this are.

2 things:

First, Obviously this is a hot topic right now because it's very relevant to this exact moment we're in. People are being told to separate, and work from home if they can, so obviously this topic is on a lot of people's minds.

Second, Good. Why do we need people to commute 5-6 days a week to a building if all they do is sit on a computer? My dad used to have to drive an hour to the office just to have a 30 minute team meeting. This is inefficient.

Think about the quality of life improvements if you don't have to commute for an hour each way every single day.

Think about all the time people waste at work anyways, between water cooler chatting, going to another persons cubicle and bothering them, surfing the internet. Less politics, less "dipping the pen in the company ink". There can be a lot of distraction eliminated by having people work from home.

And it can obviously have an impact on a companies bottom line by not having to pay rent for a big building, or even a building at all if every one is remote. So I think it's a mostly good move.

 

[MTF]

New updates at Facts about C0VlD-19 (too many to post them here)

One interesting study from Japan (which tests very little, only 1,473 per 1 M compared to current 23,453 in the US):

Seroprevalence of novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Kobe, Japan

Background Coronavirus disease 2019 (C0VlD-19) pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 has been affecting many people on earth and our society. Japan is known to have relatively less number of infections as well as deaths among developed nations. However, accurate prevalence of C0VlD-19 in Japan remains...

www.medrxiv.org

These numbers were 396 to 858 fold more than confirmed cases with PCR testing in Kobe City.

As for Charles de Gaulle and USS Theodore Roosevelt:

USS Theodore Roosevelt - since March 24, 1 death out of 1,102 cases. 0.09% mortality rate.
Charles de Gaulle - since April 10, 0 deaths out of 1,046 cases. 0% mortality rate.

Of course, there might still be more deaths but it's been six and a half weeks for Roosevelt and three and a half weeks for de Gaulle. Obviously, the media would rather spread fear than inform that healthy people have pretty much a zero chance of dying from it.

 

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[David Harrison]

And it can obviously have an impact on a companies bottom line by not having to pay rent for a big building, or even a building at all if everyone is remote. So I think it's a mostly good move.

In the name of efficiency...

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9-rnpfLzvI

 

[biophase]

It’s a prudent move. If the government can shut you down on a whim, then the prudent decision is to structure your organization in the most efficient way that can eliminate that vulnerability.

Operating risks have changed. Smart companies will respond accordingly.

My office is right next to Godaddy HQ. I haven't seen any cars in that lot for 1.5 months now. The other office buildings around me at least have 3-4 cars a day in the office. Godaddy has zero.

I think many companies will realize that they don't need to have massive office space.

 

[biophase]

Think about all the time people waste at work anyways, between water cooler chatting, going to another persons cubicle and bothering them, surfing the internet. Less politics, less "dipping the pen in the company ink". There can be a lot of distraction eliminated by having people work from home.

And it can obviously have an impact on a companies bottom line by not having to pay rent for a big building, or even a building at all if every one is remote. So I think it's a mostly good move.

When I didn't have to go work, I immediately saved more money. Things that I didn't have to pay for anymore were:
Train Pass $100/mo
Parking Pass for the train lot $50/mo
Bus Pass $80/mo
Gas to train station
(Yes commuting and working in downtown Chicago sucked)
Work Clothes (shirt and khakis)
Dry Cleaning

So right off the bat i saved probably $300 a month.

And I didn't have to wake up at 6am to get to work by 8am. I could just wake up at 7:45am.

I think many businesses will shift to this since they've all done a trial run now and found it feasible.

 

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[Vigilante]

My office is right next to Godaddy HQ. I haven't seen any cars in that lot for 1.5 months now. The other office buildings around me at least have 3-4 cars a day in the office. Godaddy has zero.

I think many companies will realize that they don't need to have massive office space.

My son works for Carvana in Phoenix and he said that even though their office has been empty for almost 2 months, people working from home and working longer hours with fewer breaks. Makes sense. Carvana has been in rapid expansion in the Phoenix area but what if they can do without the class a real estate?

 

[msufan]

I have the COVID antibody test in! I will find out by Wednesday if I had it.

If this is the case, I am an example of a case that can be traced back to late December- early January.

Update?

 

[Kak]

Update?

Im like a kid waiting for Christmas here. No word yet.

 

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[Kak]

My son works for Carvana in Phoenix and he said that even though their office has been empty for almost 2 months, people working from home and working longer hours with fewer breaks. Makes sense. Carvana has been in rapid expansion in the Phoenix area but what if they can do without the class a real estate?

Genesis has essentially done this actually. They already had room at the existing Hyundai dealership properties that they own. Obviously that is NOT the same sort of clientele that they want to attract, so they made the entire process concierge.

 

[Xeon]

Women are better leaders. The pandemic proves it | CNN Business

While it may take a global pandemic to finally acknowledge the capability women leaders have, companies shouldn't wait until there is a crisis to afford women an opportunity to lead, writes Michelle P. King, director of Inclusion at Netflix.

www.cnn.com

Countries run by women have lower COVID mortality than the US. Sure the US has way higher co-morbidities and in-migration of Asian visitors, but that can't be it. The problem is the genitals of the leaders!

Since several months back, I've been reading news of how New Zealand dealt with the Covid issue.
All I can say is, I've never been as impressed by a woman as Jacinda Arden. She is young, pretty, capable and is performing far better than fat, balding middle-aged male politicians so far. I don't worship celebs but I would be happy to have a poster of her in my bedroom.

Why do we need people to commute 5-6 days a week to a building if all they do is sit on a computer? My dad used to have to drive an hour to the office just to have a 30 minute team meeting. This is inefficient.

Think about the quality of life improvements if you don't have to commute for an hour each way every single day.

Think about all the time people waste at work anyways, between water cooler chatting, going to another persons cubicle and bothering them, surfing the internet. Less politics, less "dipping the pen in the company ink". There can be a lot of distraction eliminated by having people work from home.

And it can obviously have an impact on a companies bottom line by not having to pay rent for a big building, or even a building at all if every one is remote. So I think it's a mostly good move.

There's a big pitfall with the whole WFH thing.

If companies gradually re-structure themselves for employees to WFH permanently, with all systems and processes re-designed for WFH, what is stopping these same companies from hiring / outsourcing employees / freelancers from cheaper countries? Since everyone is now WFH and there's no physical prescence advantage anymore.

Seems that eventually many company bosses will realise this and start mass-layoff local employees since it's going to save them even more $$$ on top of savings from office rent.

 

[ApparentHorizon]

If companies gradually re-structure themselves for employees to WFH permanently, with all systems and processes re-designed for WFH, what is stopping these same companies from hiring / outsourcing employees / freelancers from cheaper countries? Since everyone is now WFH and there's no physical prescence advantage anymore.

Seems that eventually many company bosses will realise this and start mass-layoff local employees since it's going to save them even more $$$ on top of savings from office rent.

It means low skilled westerners can't coast on barriers to entry and will actually have to make themselves valuable.

Sorry Karen, your 2 college credits in excel aren't worth $30/hour, and it hasn't been for the past 10 years. You've just been asleep.

 

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[Andreas Thiel]

Charles de Gaulle - since April 10, 0 deaths out of 1,046 cases. 0% mortality rate.

Yeah, saw those numbers a while back in an article that said that this terrible tragedy (25 people in the hospital) could have been avoided.

Okay, it is old news now ... but there is also the EuroMoMo (European Mortality Monitoring) report.
They look at the excess death rate between 23rd of March and 19th of April in Europe.
Apparently there are 100,000 excess deaths total and 95,000 in the age group above 65.

 

[Kak]

I got the results and I’m unfortunately negative for the antibodies. Damn.