Coronavirus (NO POLITICAL OR SOCIAL COMMENTARY PLEASE)

[dublinbluray108]

Ireland's Prime Minister, Leo Varadkar, is to announce a formal roadmap for the next phase of restrictions within Ireland from tomorrow. The Department of Health CMO's had advised the Irish government this week that no easing of restrictions should happen right away. There is still a danger, according to Mr Varadkar at an Irish parliamentary sitting held today in Dublin, making the suggestion that the virus still has not gone away from Irish shores.

There has been some mixed news today from Professor Phillip Nolan of the National Public Health Emergency Team from this evening's briefing at The Department of Health in Dublin. However he did say that the numbers of Irish people who have Covid-19 within Irish hospitals has not fallen as much as expected. There has been some talk of regionalized restrictions on movement from the Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan to take place within every county around the Republic. But Dr Holohan has said that there was not any case to justify it at the current time but he said it "wouldn't be ruled out in future".

Ireland's Minister for Health Simon Harris has also said today that the reproductive rate of Covid-19 in Ireland has remained stable to between 0.5 & 0.8 which is some good progress to note. When Mr Varadkar makes the announcement in Dublin tomorrow; he will say that any easing of or tweaks to the restrictions should happen in The Republic of Ireland within every 2 to 4 weeks. He has set 5 levels of criteria for this to happen but I would expect to be very minimal sets of criteria. The topic of releasing the elderly from their homes has being highlighted from Irish government ministers to Dr Tony Holohan at the moment. But I am not sure if that type of restriction from the elderly will be lifted from tomorrow. I will expect that to last for a longer while yet.

In the UK, Prime Minister Boris Johnson, has said today that the country has passed it's peak of the virus from today's NHS government briefing in Downing Street. Although, none of the health experts in the UK, are saying that the peak of the virus has passed in the country as of yet. There are signs that the peak of the virus has passed in London. But there is some confusion happening among British experts with them suggesting that they don't have hard figures to say that the peak of the virus has passed from the rest of the UK.

The European Central Bank in Frankfurt has placed a very grim economic assessment based on Covid-19 today for economies within the Eurozone & for the rest of Europe. The Head of the ECB, Christine Lagarde, has put out a speech setting out the challenges based on the grim assessment of Europe's economy to journalists at a news conference via videocall.

Here is what she said.

"The euro area is facing an economic contraction of a magnitude and speed that are unprecedented in peacetime," Ms Lagarde told reporters in a videocall.

Output in the 19-nation euro zone is expected to shrink by "5-12% this year, she said.

The size of the contraction will depend on the duration of the confinement measures aimed at curbing the outbreak and the policy responses to the pandemic, she said.

"As containment measures are gradually lifted, these scenarios foresee a recovery in economic activity although its speed and scale remain highly uncertain."

The ECB chief reiterated her longstanding plea for euro zone governments to play their part and support the ECB's easy-money policies with fiscal policy.

"An ambitious and coordinated fiscal stance is critical," the former French finance minister said.

https://www.rte.ie/news/business/202...rates-meeting/

In sport, for fans who follow French Football, news was announced this evening from the domestic leagues in France on the awarding of the Ligue 1 Trophy as the remainder of the domestic football season in the country has been called off prematurely because of Covid-19. The official football league bodies in France have declared this evening that Paris Saint Germain are official champions of their 9th Ligue 1 title for this year.

The news comes after French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe had announced earlier this week that no sporting events will take place in France until at least September. The league has confirmed that PSG have been awarded a ninth title after the division was decided on a points-per-game system. Marseille have finished in second place with Stade Rennais in third while Lille are placed fourth and Nice are in fifth place. There has some bad news for Lyon fans though as their club, Lyon, have officially missed out on a place to take part in the next season of the UFEA Champions League. This news makes them unable to compete within official UFEA European Championship football tournaments for the 1st time since 1997 which is a gap of 23 years.

There are also plans happening in Germany at the moment to reopen live football games to take place behind closed doors within the Bundesliga on a date after the 9th of May. Players from Bayern Munich have resumed training at their training grounds from today. Although the clubs have said all of their players are taking part in restricted training sessions by adhering to their own official government advice on social distancing.

Some schools in regions of Germany have also reopened their doors to students while adhering to their government's social distancing guidelines.

[Lacit170]

Scientists said the wave of South Koreans who tested positive for COVID-19 even after they recovered did not have the virus reactivate after going dormant and that they were not reinfected.

The Herald described the experts as saying that "dead virus fragments" were lingering in patients' bodies after they recovered and that the virus did not appear to be active in the patients.

He said that dead virus cells could take months to leave patients' bodies after they recover and that their test could not determine whether the virus was alive or dead, leading to false positives, according to The Herald.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/south-kor...133600512.html

[IndyMLVC]

Well, I just went to get the antibody test done at my local City MD. Luckily I have two close by and the closer one had a 2 hour wait. The other had no wait whatsoever.

Walked the mile and was taken almost immediately. Took my vitals and asked very few questions. I asked the nurse about it and she said results take 5-7 days and, even if it comes back positive, you still have to worry. She said that they are learning new things every day and that this test didn't mean you were immune to it -- just this strain. The doctor confirmed this.

Because I haven't been paying attention, I thought this meant I was in the free and clear. Oh well.

There was no co-pay for the test so it only cost me a long walk and some blood. Since then, I've talked to 2 other people who went and got their tests done today as well.

On the positive side, there was a McDonalds right next to it and you bet your booty I went in and got an order to go for the first time in 2 months. Even lukewarm at home, it was delicious.

[ronboster]

Originally Posted by MrHT

No no no, you have it wrong. Just remember, Coronavirus will never end, people may never gain immunity to it, the summer weather won't get rid of the virus and we may never be able to create a vaccine for it. There is a strong possibility that we may have to live with this pandemic for years to come and we will need to social distance for a long time. But please, don't freak out!

That is what I learned from all the posts in this thread.

Sorry, but weren't you the member that complained in the Forum Feedback that you wouldn't mind the closure of this thread because it was just "too much" for you to handle (not sure of the exact phrase you used)?

Not trying to pick on you, but maybe it is time to take a break? Personally, I will switch over from NPR to sports talk for a break.

[MrHT]

Originally Posted by ronboster

Sorry, but weren't you the member that complained in the Forum Feedback that you wouldn't mind the closure of this thread because it was just "too much" for you to handle (not sure of the exact phrase you used)?

Not trying to pick on you, but maybe it is time to take a break? Personally, I will switch over from NPR to sports talk for a break.

But that's why it was "too much." People insisted I calm down but keeping posting about how we need to prepare that things will never settle, a vaccine will never come out and people will die. If you guys want people like me to calm down and not worry, why post scary nonsense like that, especially claims or possibilities that even experts have yet to prove?

If you want me to take a break, then have the moderators close the thread again. But so long as they want it open and people want to continue posting here, then that means this thread is important enough to keep reading...

[ronboster]

Originally Posted by MrHT

But that's why it was "too much." People insisted I calm down but keeping posting about how we need to prepare that things will never settle, a vaccine will never come out and people will die. If you guys want people like me to calm down and not worry, why post scary nonsense like that, especially claims or possibilities that even experts have yet to prove?

If you want me to take a break, then have the moderators close the thread again. But so long as they want it open and people want to continue posting here, then that means this thread is important enough to keep reading...

Maybe it's time to self-moderate, instead of expecting the site to close the thread to stop you from posting and reading.

Again, it's your decision to post about 300 times in two months, no one is forcing you to read and post. You are the only one responsible for your reaction to what others are posting.

I was suggesting (hopefully in a nice way) that you should take a break, if it's having this kind of impact on your psychological well-being.

But, as I said you are the one responsible for your decision to read the thread, post in the thread and your reaction to what is posted in the thread.

[Batman1980]

What will remains closed
Offices, workspace, retailers (except for curbside/delivery)
Dine-in restaurants and bars (except for curbside/delivery)
Indoor malls, gyms, salons, theaters and casinos
The governor says New Mexico is “well on our way” to getting closer to reopening. She says phase one is more relaxed, phase two more businesses open and economic recovery, phase three consists of a vaccine.

During Thursday’s conference, Dr. David Scrase from the Department of Human Services said that Los Alamos National Laboratory middle case projections have had a very high correlation with actual counts. He also talked about the changes in the current social distancing policy that would impact these projections.

Source - KRQE.com

[Underworld54]

So at the start of this thing we had an unemployment rate that was under 4%, we just hit 30M unemployed and if things aren't opened back up soon we're going you be headed to 14 or 15% unemployment. That's what keeps me up at night, it's not that I might get sick, it's that tons of us will take years to find a new job. That's scary folks. How is the U.S. going to pay 40-50M people?

[IndyMLVC]

Originally Posted by Underworld54

So at the start of this thing we had an unemployment rate that was under 4%, we just hit 30M unemployed and if things aren't opened back up soon we're going you be headed to 14 or 15% unemployment. That's what keeps me up at night, it's not that I might get sick, it's that tons of us will take years to find a new job. That's scary folks. How is the U.S. going to pay 40-50M people?

It was never about *you* getting sick. It was always about other people with compromised immune systems getting sick.

It's amazing that people care about other people's jobs but not their heath. If you aren't healthy, a job doesn't mean shit.

When businesses start to open up, that number of unemployed will go down. I've said it before and I'll say it again, some people ASKED to be laid off because they'll make more money unemployed than they would employed. Expect that number to lessen as more things open up.

Unless, of course...there's a second wave.

[Underworld54]

Originally Posted by IndyMLVC

It was never about *you* getting sick. It was always about other people with compromised immune systems getting sick.

It's amazing that people care about other people's jobs but not their heath. If you aren't healthy, a job doesn't mean shit.

When businesses start to open up, that number of unemployed will go down. I've said it before and I'll say it again, some people ASKED to be laid off because they'll make more money unemployed than they would employed. Expect that number to lessen as more things open up.

Unless, of course...there's a second wave.

I'm scared for a lot of people's jobs. It's going to ruin lives. Let the healthy people get back to work so we can slow this runaway unemployment rate. The money is going to dry up...and then what?

[IndyMLVC]

Originally Posted by Underworld54

I'm scared for a lot of people's jobs. It's going to ruin lives. Let the healthy people get back to work so we can slow this runaway unemployment rate. The money is going to dry up...and then what?

Know what else ruins lives?

Death.

[rdodolak]

Originally Posted by IndyMLVC

It was never about *you* getting sick. It was always about other people with compromised immune systems getting sick.

It's amazing that people care about other people's jobs but not their heath. If you aren't healthy, a job doesn't mean shit.

When businesses start to open up, that number of unemployed will go down. I've said it before and I'll say it again, some people ASKED to be laid off because they'll make more money unemployed than they would employed. Expect that number to lessen as more things open up.

Unless, of course...there's a second wave.

High risk people, such as those with compromised immune systems, can stay home. They won't be forced to go to work. Allow those that are low risk go back to work.

That's another issue, people shouldn't make more on unemployment than they make when employed. By doing so, you've removed the incentive for those people to work.

[rdodolak]

Originally Posted by Underworld54

I'm scared for a lot of people's jobs. It's going to ruin lives. Let the healthy people get back to work so we can slow this runaway unemployment rate. The money is going to dry up...and then what?

A lot more people will begin to die, more so than if people were allowed to go back to work.

[Underworld54]

Originally Posted by rdodolak

High risk people, such as those with compromised immune systems, can stay home. They won't be forced to go to work. Allow those that are low risk go back to work.

That's another issue, people shouldn't make more on unemployment than they make when employed. By doing so, you've removed the incentive for those people to work.

Yes, those high risk people should stay home without the stress of losing their jobs, guarantee their jobs. But the rest of us should be let out. I'm chomping at the bit to get back to work.

[Underworld54]

Originally Posted by rdodolak

A lot more people will begin to die, more so than if people were allowed to go back to work.

People don't realize this aspect though, they don't realize the suicide rate is going to jump dramatically. I also saw a report where domestic violence is really high now too.

[Underworld54]

Also, states are going to have to start cutting teachers salaries and police salaries in order to gain money for unemployment.

[AFFanAttic]

Quick! Throw more old people and disableds and a statistically inconsequential number of young-n-healthies onto the fire to help keep the suicide rate down!!

[Underworld54]

Originally Posted by AFFanAttic

Quick! Throw more old people and disableds and a statistically inconsequential number of young-n-healthies onto the fire to help keep the suicide rate down!!

I don't think anyone is saying that, the high risk people should stay in quarantine so they can remain safe.

[rdodolak]

WHO says Sweden's Corona strategy could be "a future model" post lockdowns

[rdodolak]

Originally Posted by AFFanAttic

Quick! Throw more old people and disableds and a statistically inconsequential number of young-n-healthies onto the fire to help keep the suicide rate down!!

Ladies and gentlemen, this is why you don't allow people to make decisions based off of emotions.