COVID-19 (The artist formally known as Coronavirus)

[drahkon]

"Corona parties"

That's the phrase making the rounds in the news over here. Apparently young people (i.e. between 14 and 30 years old) all over the country are gathering in parks for barbeques and beers and call it "corona parties".

I'm at a loss for words. The stupidity on display is worrisome to say the least. 

Edited March 20, 2020 by drahkon

[Goafer]

32 minutes ago, drahkon said:

"Corona parties"

That's the phrase making the rounds in the news over here. Apparently young people (i.e. between 14 and 30 years old) all over the country are gathering in parks for barbeques and beers and call it "corona parties".

I'm at a loss for words. The stupidity on display is worrisome to say the least. 

Has their actually been any evidence of this, or has their been one incidence and the news has sensationalised it as usual?

[sumo73]

20 hours ago, MindFreak said:

Here in Denmark, people panic bought stuff on the first couple of days after the government had shut down the country but after a couple of days, the shops had replenished their stocks and now only a few things are genuinely sold out. I hope for you guys that something like that also happens! 

But yeah, buying huge amounts of fresh food (millk for instance) is just a waste of food as no-one can eat it / drink it while it's fresh anyways. I also saw a photo on Facebook where someone had bought 100 cans of baby powdered milk... That's basically more of a year's supply and that's just mind-boggling and stupid beyond belief. 

Things like bread and milk can be frozen for a while so that might explain why some people are going nuts on things like milk but the 100 cans of baby milk I don't get. I'm glad that the situation in Denmark in terms of food shopping has improved but I don't see this so far in the UK especially in terms of 'locusts'.

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/coronavirus/coronavirus-paramedic-stares-at-shelves-cleared-by-locusts-after-shift-saving-lives/ar-BB11qWWI?li=BBoPWjQ&ocid=mailsignout

[Ashley]

1 hour ago, drahkon said:

"Corona parties"

That's the phrase making the rounds in the news over here. Apparently young people (i.e. between 14 and 30 years old) all over the country are gathering in parks for barbeques and beers and call it "corona parties".

I'm at a loss for words. The stupidity on display is worrisome to say the least. 

Are they doing it to get the virus? If so chickenpox parties are a thing parents do for their kids so it's not such a strange idea. 

I assume they're actually just ignoring the advice though. 

[drahkon]

1 hour ago, Goafer said:

Has their actually been any evidence of this, or has their been one incidence and the news has sensationalised it as usual?

Police have been breaking up those "parties" on the regular according to news. I read them on Tagesschau (television news service by a puiblic-service television network; check the Wikipedia article for further info). You won't find any sensationalism there.

18 minutes ago, Ashley said:

Are they doing it to get the virus? If so chickenpox parties are a thing parents do for their kids so it's not such a strange idea. 

I assume they're actually just ignoring the advice though. 

Yeah, I think your assumption is correct. I doubt it's something like chickenpox parties.

[Pestneb]

4 hours ago, sumo73 said:

Things like bread and milk can be frozen for a while so that might explain why some people are going nuts on things like milk but the 100 cans of baby milk I don't get. I'm glad that the situation in Denmark in terms of food shopping has improved but I don't see this so far in the UK especially in terms of 'locusts'.

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/coronavirus/coronavirus-paramedic-stares-at-shelves-cleared-by-locusts-after-shift-saving-lives/ar-BB11qWWI?li=BBoPWjQ&ocid=mailsignout

Actually I popped into Aldi on the way back from work, tinned tomatoes, back in stock, potatoes loads, pasta - a little of the "premium" stuff. Rice was out but there were boxes left which shows it had been restocked recently. Seems in my town at least the hoarders have finally reached their storage limits. I suspect in two or three days shops will be back to normal. I have a couple of friends who have been able to help us out with bits so I am very pleased to say my store cupboard is almost ina good state - just need a bit of flour, eggs and regular pasta and everything will be perfect. As I'm now technically unemployed I'm planning on not shopping much at all just once or maybe twice a week depending on how well supplied shops are. I'm applying to work in super markets atm to keep the bank balance happy, if I get something I'll probably be merging shopping with working

Edited March 20, 2020 by Pestneb

[Rummy]

On 19/03/2020 at 5:52 PM, Hero-of-Time said:

One of my biggest takeaways from this whole thing is just how nasty and selfish people really are. Fights breaking out over food, elderly being pushed aside, supplies being stolen...it's disgusting. My sister was telling me how a woman went shopping, packed her car, put her trolley back and then when she returned to her car someone had opened her boot and stole a lot of what she had just bought. Ridiculous.

At the start of this the government said how it would require wartime community spirit and efforts to get through this. Back then, everyone looked after each other and people genuinely cared about others. Today's society is all about looking out for number 1 and trample anyone who gets in your way. This outbreak has proved that.

I agree with those who say that social media has a lot to do with the madness that has occurred so far. People are falling for any old rumour and are just acting crazy. Had this outbreak happened in a time before social media I imagine the panic buying wouldn't be half as bad.

Gotta give a counterpoint as I'm in three local Covid-19 mutual aid groups on facebook and the local community spirit/remnants of actual humanity are very alive and well there! So many folks offering to chip in and help each other; its really nice but a shame as you'd expect our leaders and moguls to be setting the example and leading the charge; not us on the street.

[Rummy]

15 hours ago, Ashley said:

Are they doing it to get the virus? If so chickenpox parties are a thing parents do for their kids so it's not such a strange idea. 

I assume they're actually just ignoring the advice though. 

I'm actually coming round to this idea tbh. I was even speculating to someone the other day(with a super out there idea) whilst we can't develop a vaccine to the virus would setting up 'infection and isolation' centres for the young/"80%" to volunteer catch it and isolate for 2 weeks under full care/watch(allowing controlled/lab observation of the virus too) work? They'd then be immune(assuming re-infection is either not a thing or negligble; if re-infection IS a thing this gets super riskier especially with mutation possibilities etc) just so we can have some known functioning members of society? Certified immunity etc. We need more testing across the board to know whos cool and who isn't, really.

 

My mum is isolating as is my CF mate - obvs difficult to isolate as it is but the lacking in socials and company can have quite an impact; I'd quite like to have it get clear with immunity and then know I can safely visit my mum my cf mate or even vulnerable folks in the community and help out with shopping company etc.

[WackerJr]

12 hours ago, Pestneb said:

I’m applying to work in super markets atm to keep the bank balance happy, if I get something I'll probably be merging shopping with working

Reading the news today it sounds like the major supermarkets are going on recruitment drives for temporary staff.  I think it was Asda that specifically mentioned offering temp jobs to those that had recently lost theirs, so you’ve got a good chance.

I think that’s a good thing. Provided they’re all taking the necessary precautions for their staff, it will help with the panic-buying madness and provide some money for people.

[Rummy]

2 hours ago, WackerJr said:

Reading the news today it sounds like the major supermarkets are going on recruitment drives for temporary staff.  I think it was Asda that specifically mentioned offering temp jobs to those that had recently lost theirs, so you’ve got a good chance.

I think that’s a good thing. Provided they’re all taking the necessary precautions for their staff, it will help with the panic-buying madness and provide some money for people.

Yeah apparently pretty much all of then are offering like 8 week contracts and more etc. It's kinda crazy how quick and easy this can happen in times of trouble but not quite so fast otherwise. Nonetheless it's kinda good and gets people doing and thinking about things that arent just for themselves alone but things can be useful to others too.

[EEVILMURRAY]

2 hours ago, WackerJr said:

Reading the news today it sounds like the major supermarkets are going on recruitment drives for temporary staff.  I think it was Asda that specifically mentioned offering temp jobs to those that had recently lost theirs, so you’ve got a good chance.

I think that’s a good thing. Provided they’re all taking the necessary precautions for their staff, it will help with the panic-buying madness and provide some money for people.

They'd be royally fucked otherwise. 

[Jonnas]

21 hours ago, drahkon said:

"Corona parties"

That's the phrase making the rounds in the news over here. Apparently young people (i.e. between 14 and 30 years old) all over the country are gathering in parks for barbeques and beers and call it "corona parties".

I'm at a loss for words. The stupidity on display is worrisome to say the least. 

There was one in Portugal a couple of weeks back. In a city not far from where I work, too.

Goes to show just how stupid and meaningless the sentiment of "Stick it to the man! We do our own thing!" is.

[Ashley]

Co-Op is also hiring temp staff on rolling 4 week contracts I believe (which at least means you know when I'll end and won't be let go suddenly). 

@Rummy I did think in a way I would like to get it now as I'm isolating anyway and then I'd be able to go help my nan in the knowledge it would be fine. 

I'm surprised there's not been a suggestion from the Daily Mail that millennials (though Zers should be included too they think all young people are millennials) should be infected and locked up together to build herd immunity. You can just see their headline "we fought in the war for you to have your iPhones, you can do this for us" even though none of them will have fought in any wars. 

First day of self isolation I slept until past midday. Might be more to do with not having slept for about 35 hours prior. 

[Rummy]

4 hours ago, Ashley said:

 

@Rummy I did think in a way I would like to get it now as I'm isolating anyway and then I'd be able to go help my nan in the knowledge it would be fine. 

I'm surprised there's not been a suggestion from the Daily Mail that millennials (though Zers should be included too they think all young people are millennials) should be infected and locked up together to build herd immunity. You can just see their headline "we fought in the war for you to have your iPhones, you can do this for us" even though none of them will have fought in any wars.

From the Daily Mail/Fascists angle I did quickly think about the risk of gathering a ton of fully consenting young adults to be infected with a virus in a lab and submit to to testing etc could easily distract some governmental scientists away from their GCP ICH ethics guidelines into dodgy stuff like eugenics very super easily - so y'kno; ups and downs!

Here's my big question though - you self isolate for two weeks now 'to be on thr safe side' but after that are you actually still safe to go see your Nan? So what happens to our Nans etc?

My mum is older retired and with a myriad of health issues(she casually told me last week her BP is almost 200 on top; like thats some casually cool shit in this climate); now the thing is because of Covid-19 she is now self-isolating basically. This however, tbh, isn't too a big a deal for her on the main scale as she spends a lot of time at home anyway. However THAT kills her. She has little things an routines she does and a weekly community social gathering she would go to - now she can't even get that. That's potentially really harsh on people's mental health imo. Add to it me and my mum have got loads closer in last few years we usually talk a lot about the world etc and I'm often a notable bit of her mental stimulation etc - I don't really under current ideas know WHEN i could safely visit and alliviate these things UNLESS I am confident I've had the disease and unlikely to infect.

I know it sounds madly small but that social contact can mean a lot to people; and being deprived of it and up in a box even worse. Even my CF mate who is young and would normally be out and about has no idea when it'll be 'safe' for him outside - we need more immunities at a safe rate so we can get these people and society interacting with each other again.

[Ashley]

2 minutes ago, Rummy said:

Here's my big question though - you self isolate for two weeks now 'to be on thr safe side' but after that are you actually still safe to go see your Nan?

If I show no signs - no.
If I show signs - potentially, but still a chance it wasn't something else
If I show signs and somehow get tested (which ain't going to happen) - yes

Regarding your other point, yeah that is going to be very difficult for a lot of people. My other nan rang this morning and she was saying as much. She's still walking her dog and said she had a chat with someone (sitting on separate benches) and that helped, but she's very lonely. I said to her that people could go to hers as long as she locks herself in the living room, they go out into the garden and then she goes into the conservatory and they talk through an open window (one of those little ones at the top). It would be weird, but I think people are going to have to do these kind of things.

Actually might end up doing that for my aforementioned nan. I guess she could sit in the dining room with the patio door partially open and others could sit in the patio/garden at a distance.

Tempted to try and order a kit from online but I guess that's not the kind of thing you can easily procure.

[Pestneb]

Rummy, the get infected idea is similar to the governments hope earlier on, and I think tbh is going on now. The problem is there is little knowledge on if immunity is short, medium or long term, and how it translates across to mutations.  Basically best case scenario = protected population, worst scenario imo would be a mix of flu and chicken pox -  immunity is very short term and reinfection is likely to cause more severe symptoms. Generally diseases do best if they don't kill the host, so I'm hoping this will mutate to be more like the common cold and a lot less dangerous.

I think the WHO have revised mortality rate estimates downward, for the general population I read it is closer to 1%, even the elderly and those with existing underlying health issues don't have a 100% mortality rate, so people shouldn't worry too much. On the other hand, obviously even 1% is too high, so people shouldn't be too blasé about it either. iirc vulnerable groups show a 5% mortality rate. Of course many of us may get this thing and never realise it, and those unreported cases hopefully mean that the mortality rates are much lower than even that. I really hope they are, because anything above 0.6% basically means we'll all likely know someone fairly close + important to us who'll end up the wrong side of this thing

[Pestneb]

3 hours ago, Rummy said:

 I don't really under current ideas know WHEN i could safely visit and alliviate these things UNLESS I am confident I've had the disease and unlikely to infect.

My mate is going to visit his mum in her garden

the back garden is accessible without passing through the house, he'll sit a distance from her and just be strict with not going close to her. It'll be a bit weird but sounds a good idea. he's taking his own chair and a flask of hot drink so they can hang out and have a chat and being outside obviously even if he has something it's very unlikely to get at her in the open air.

Basically if you have any symptoms stay away but I do think you need to find a way to interact with people. even if you phone them and look through a window it's important socially to put in the effort. I'm pleased the weather is lovely this week. I've seen a lot more elderly out and about walking recently and I think that is incredibly prescient. I think all of us should make an effort to take a walk and get out in this nicer weather, stretch our legs etc. look at France and think in a couple of weeks that may well be us, so soak up this freedom while you still can.

[Rummy]

10 hours ago, Pestneb said:

My mate is going to visit his mum in her garden

the back garden is accessible without passing through the house, he'll sit a distance from her and just be strict with not going close to her. It'll be a bit weird but sounds a good idea. he's taking his own chair and a flask of hot drink so they can hang out and have a chat and being outside obviously even if he has something it's very unlikely to get at her in the open air.

Basically if you have any symptoms stay away but I do think you need to find a way to interact with people. even if you phone them and look through a window it's important socially to put in the effort. I'm pleased the weather is lovely this week. I've seen a lot more elderly out and about walking recently and I think that is incredibly prescient. I think all of us should make an effort to take a walk and get out in this nicer weather, stretch our legs etc. look at France and think in a couple of weeks that may well be us, so soak up this freedom while you still can.

My thing is my mum doesn't do all video calls etc. and even chatting on the phone isn't the same as being in person ofc. I could try talking through the window but shes often up and down and tbh it'd just seem silly  I'd be tempted to go round if she spends a morning in the garden or so due to the distance but I'd still wonder on risk etc(tho atm I've kept going out lower than usual; but my mate may have been exposed as boyh his folks were a bit coughy this so I'm being careful atm).

It's doubly difficult as we've both had NHS appointments we've been waiting a while for cancelled. Her sister is currently terminal in Canada and found out Wednesday she's apparently taken a turn for the worse - days to weeks possibly. That's doubly bumming my mum out AND she has little distraction being stuck inside(my dad is useless) - she's also sad that most people won't be able to be there for funeral if it occurs due to Corona restrictions etc - her other sister over here with US passport tried making a special request to the embassy in case of the funeral but it's pretty much a no go we think. Makes good sense really but doesn't make it easier for my mum or her siblings atm. Happy Mother's Day eh? 

[Julius]

We're on the exact same trajectory as Italy, albeit with a 14 day delay. 

They introduced a nationwide lockdown in Italy on March 9th, so by that logic, to see the results a few weeks down the road that they're going to start seeing in a few days when there'll be a drop due to the lockdown being in effect for over 14 days, we should be on lockdown as of tomorrow (March 23rd). That's probably not going to happen, but any later will see our curve in a few weeks' time surpassing and then dwarfing theirs. 

Stay safe folks. 

[Pestneb]

I was wondering about seeing these kinds of graphs. I'm currently on personal lock down as much as possible, and hope everyone else is. My store cupboard is healthy for now, I am hoping that next time I go to a shop things will be sensible so I can get away with a fortnightly shop rather than weekly. I'm reducing meal sizes, partly because being in the house all day will reduce our need for calories, and also to reduce the need for food shopping, and finally.. both myself and my wife would like to lose a little weight. Still want to keep my store cupboards at their normal stock levels though, which, in effect will be increasing my stock because the same food will go further. I haven't a clue how much I weigh right now but if this goes on long term I'm aiming for 65kg, though 70 would be far healthier.

I'm going to start planting crops in my garden today, it's far too small to make us self sufficient but I'm hoping to at least reduce our reliance on outside sources of food. really I'd like t be able to grow enough wheat, or rice but they aren't possible for a few reasons! Potatoes would be nice, but with the size of our garden I know I couldn't grow enough for it to be worth while. The front garden is far more generous, but being open to the public I wouldn't put it past the panic buying sorts to come and "borrow" some of our crops. Besides which, while potato plants can be attractive in their own way... they aren't really front garden type of plants!

So with the more carby plants  ruled out I'm looking to protein, so peas, beans, lentils etc. Obviously I know I can't grow enough (from what I can gather I would need a 70 acre plot of land :D) it will be nice to have a little food growing here. Thinking of giving quinoa a shot, I tried it a while back but once the baby arrived it went on the back burner and they didn't appreciate not getting watered! this time round (hopefully) I can give them the attention they need, and if I'm lucky they might do ok. going to be planting a small variety of crops in any case and I'll see how they do.

[drahkon]

Gatherings of more than two people in public places are now prohibited in Germany.

Barbers, tattoo shops, restaurants etc are being closed.

Shit just got kicked into overdrive, apparently.

[killthenet]

The UK Government: "Close the pubs and open the hubs!"

[Pestneb]

Quote

numbers coming from Italy. The total of new deaths from coronavirus in Italy in the last 24 hours - 651 - is lower than the number reported in the previous day - 793.

According to the government, the number of confirmed cases has risen from 53,578 to 59,138, a 10% increase.

This is the lowest rise in percentage terms since the contagion came to light on 21 February, according to Reuters news agency.

 

That is positive news.

Shame people are spoiling things for others.

I am planning on taking a walk with my wife and baby tomorrow, think I will be sure to do so in case it turns out to be our last opportunity. I can't understand people who are acting as if the virus is fake, it's unbelievable - I suppose the opposite side to the hoarders. For those without an outdoor space I really feel for them. Our garden is tiny, but it is at least an outside space, it does us so much good just being able to get out there and soak up the sunshine. Hope people take notice.. and don't all go stupid and converge on one local park. if I see someone outside I give them a wide berth, and tend to hope for the same courtesy from them!

[Nicktendo]

The U.K will be higher than Italy soon.

 

 

[Hero-of-Time]

*watches video Nick posted*

Absolute idiots.