The Coronavirus Thread

The great country of "freedom means brainwashing children to fascist salute the flag" has been ignoring a situation that's been developing for over a month, and now it's frantically trying to spin like it's not their fault they've caught with their pants 'round their ankles same as everyone else.

Meanwhile here in Italy people are dying because there's not enough equipment for them, because our political class couldn't even be bothered to quarantine people coming from China, so the case count in Milan and a few other places in the North is already well beyond what the health system can cope with.

In general news, people are being people and thus generally devoid of higher brain functions and with all the intelligence and forethought of an existentially-confused goldfish, and broadly the political class worldwide continues to prove we'd all be at a net benefit if we shot them all and made fertilizer, which nobody needed further proof of.

Oh and the economy is going to shit, since its not in any way resilient to interruptions.

 

Well, Songmic, If you read this thread from beginning to end you will get a taste of Crono Panic around the world. Although this is a smallish forum, we are blessed with having members from around the world.
Here, the government and the media have managed to panic the average citizen which is good for their survival, but not pretty close up with hoarding weapons and ammo sales, etc. Its an interesting read with a touch of politics stirred in.

 

The UK is doubling down nearly every day, stores have been raided, schools to be closed from tomorrow, financial reforms for contractors have been postponed in an attempt to keep as many people at work. Military has been called and is currently setting up in hotels, probably a lockdown soon.

Too much panic, it's not as bad as war yet too few have the strength of mind stand up in the best way it can be done.

On the bright side, the polluted waters of Venice are clearing, fish and dolphins roam supposedly. At best we'll learn something and adapt for the future. At worst we'll get over it and resume to play the who can die with the most money game.

 

I wrote an email the other night where I was trying describe this feeling that is pervasive in the U.S. currently (because we are still a few days from the cases starting to overwhelm the health care system). I was listening to This American Life on the way into the hospital this morning. The recent episode is titled “Low Hum of Menace”. That is the perfect way to summarize this feeling of anxiety. I last experienced this feeling when I was deployed to Afghanistan and our hospital was under fire daily and we were told there was intelligence that our interpreters might be out to get us as well. Needless to say we were in full battle rattle and I was ordered to have my 9mm with a round chambered and safety off. We were instructed to vary our normal routines and everything from the Gym and Dining Facilities were shut down. I had to constantly be vigilant for the invisible enemy. We were even afraid of trauma victims that were brought it.

The point is this same “low hum of menace” is now prevalent in everyone’s daily life. Just like in Afghanistan, everyone reacted differently. Some hoarded food, some were out to get laid, some prayed; I just stayed in my quarters and listened to music and tried not to accidentally shoot myself or anyone else.

 

The polluted waters of Venice are not clearing. They're just not being stirred so all the crap is falling on the bottom.

 

To sit on top of the bed frames, doors, boats, truck wheels, fridges, and all the other crap that's accumulated since they stopped cleaning them in the 60s

They make a token effort sometimes, then go right back to pocketing the money.

Having socialist philosophy professor as major for near 20 years didn't help matters, either

 

@Gaspasser take a look at this twitter thread on the Imperial College team report on COVID-19 (also the pdf) let us know what you think as a physician. It scares the crap out of me: https://twitter.com/jeremycyoung/status/1239975682643357696

Interesting video on treating COVID-19 with a chloroquine and zinc combination. Zinc is a 2+ positively charged ion which can't normally get into cells. Enter Chloroquine diphosphate which is a zinc ionophore. It opens up gates on cell membranes to allow ionic zinc to enter cells then zinc interferes with the replication of SARS-CoV-2.



Another sobering report from MIT Technology Review: We're not going back to normal

 

I read through the summary and wanted to reply quickly. This doesn’t seem to say anything new and these are the strategies being used here and hopefully throughout the world. I assume the scary part is that these strategies are going to go on for 18 months or more. There is also some hope that this virus will be affected by warm weather and there may be a seasonality component.
Is there something else that scares you? Thanks for the links @allegro especially the MIT Technology article.

 

Amazon, who was talking about hiring 100,000 laborers to meet demand, just confirmed their first infected warehouse worker, so who knows how much longer we'll be able to order stuff online. I have no idea how anyone could expect so many people per facility to be under the same roof without PPE and not get infected, and spread that infection. In a week Amazon alone might have 1000 infected and symptomatic laborers, or more.

https://www.cnet.com/news/amazon-confirms-first-covid-19-case-in-us-warehouses/

Also, I just e-filed my tax return as it's looking like the Gov will be sending out checks, possibly tied to your tax return. This is one of the few places I support Trump, and not just because I'd get 'free' money.

Minnesota and Vermont have designated grocery clerks as emergency personnel, who may be eligible for free child care so that they can go to work:

https://www.motherjones.com/coronav...assified-grocery-clerks-as-emergency-workers/

 

Marv’s next kit.

 

So out of shock Amazon delivered my order of Cottonelle Ultra Gentlecare Sensitive Toilet Paper with Aloe & Vitamin E, 24 Family Mega Rolls today. That's almost half a year supply for me right there. Also I still have seven big Amazon branded TP, so my butthole is good for awhile.

And of course it was bound to happen that someone within Amazon will get the virus. As long as they are smart they can contain it. With this "free" money I will just put it aside and give it to @Donald North when my order is ready later in the year. I really shouldn't cash this pending check, but eh.

My friend from Singapore went into the local Publix today, and eveyone was avoiding him like the plague. He thinks it is due to being a dark skinned asian.

 

I admit it never made sense to me except on milk products. But I haven't shopped everywhere in Canada, mostly just on Vancouver Island.

Regardless of the rate, the town of Bellingham was RAIDED by Canadians till the closure. They already on a normal day have made CostCo there basically a CA store. Some of them buy $400k(usd) studio apartments to stop for a private poop before they go back across the border. Also a lot of stores made "local only" designed milk product sections prior to the coronovirus, a few years back, and have held study on that due to some religious group that comes and buys shopping carts per person worth of milk at a time, from Canada.

But when the corona scares came up with our announcements in the US, even hidden restaurant supply stores were stripped clean. My brother and his wife were able to buy a big bag of broccoli & zucchini but there wasn't really anything else. (meat/dairy/egg/grain gone) The parking lot? Full of CA licenses plates.

I love Canada (well, some areas). I don't understand this ^ at all. To me I never think of them like the boogeyman but if you live in certain areas it feels like that when 90% of the license plates at many stores are CA.

 

Just proves there is no shortage & after enough people hoard, shelves will be back to normal.
The fact the big chains are resupplying on all the essentials, basically every day, proves this.

 

When did the craziness (noticeable uptick on normal cross-border looting) start? There were reports here even 2 weeks ago of the local Costcos being stripped of toilet paper, but I didn't notice it in my local grocery stores until this Monday, and it's really only since then that I've seen reports of shortages of other stuff.

Hopefully the border restrictions will curtail this - I do have sympathy for you guys in WA, you have far more cases than we do currently and should have priority on local supply.

 

https://articles.mercola.com/sites/...d=20200308Z1&et_cid=DM478049&et_rid=825584335

 

Mr. Puee1n, sir, is it time to load the shotguns for home defense?

 

The "state of emergency" talk that I think was last Friday really made things go crazy. TP was already impossible to get at CostCo prior to that, however, by about a week. That's where I'm at, I'm not sure exactly at the border. I believe it was more like Canadians that typically shop south of it just realized they may not get the option for too long so they started buying way more before announcements, and when our president declared the emergency then everyone who shops south of it decided they better go right then and buy all they can.

 

@purr1n jfc Pasolini, talk about plumbing the depths of the Italian psyche.

There's a discussion to be had there, but this is not the place for it.