General Coronavirus chit chat thread - non-travel specific

I, unfortunately, am. :(

Just about to leave the house for the first time in over a week...... to go to the supermarket. I'm expecting stock levels to be low as social distancing measures are being enforced again, so should be fun. I'll probably still walk out empty handed. Can't get a delivery slot either. Looks like it might be takeaway food for the next few evenings until I can get to a supermarket at opening time to get some food!
Have you tried Amazon? Son seems to use them a lot for things he needs. Guess they don't do food though but they did deliver him a cheese making kit.

Although it sounds like the supermarket trip was a winner.
 
Have you tried Amazon? Son seems to use them a lot for things he needs. Guess they don't do food though but they did deliver him a cheese making kit.

Although it sounds like the supermarket trip was a winner.
I think Amazon do food - pretty sure Dr FM bought flour from them in May when she couldn’t get it at the supermarket.
 
Some UK news.A new treatment regime.

The citizens aren't revolting.
1610601288052.png.

But LHR finding the going is tough.
1610601322142.png.
 
Have you tried Amazon? Son seems to use them a lot for things he needs. Guess they don't do food though but they did deliver him a cheese making kit.

Although it sounds like the supermarket trip was a winner.
Amazon is an option, although their pricing varies a bit (usually in the upwards direction and quite exceedingly so). If desperate though.... 'tis an option. I do really need to try and get out of the house every day though because every day I don't just makes it harder and harder.
I think Amazon do food - pretty sure Dr FM bought flour from them in May when she couldn’t get it at the supermarket.
Indeed, although you still run into the same issues of minimum order amounts etc. All fun and games.....
Some UK news.A new treatment regime.

The citizens aren't revolting.
View attachment 237849.

But LHR finding the going is tough.
View attachment 237850.
I think the 7% and 9% that oppose lockdown were in the supermarket last night, highest % of people I've seen ignoring mask rules in the last 6 months. On the walk to the shop, saw 4 teenagers sitting around a table in a park (covered, as it was chucking it down) chatting, eating, drinking. When this is what you see with even just a short trip outside, well ......... I'll say no more. Enforcement action is pretty much non existent, so what people don't realise is sure, that's fine to do what you're doing ........ but we'll just remain in lockdown for longer, longer and longer.

UK is about to ban flights from Brazil (possibly it's neighbours too and/or all of South America) due to a strain there that has shown up. I didn't think it was possible but 2021 is actually looking like it'll be on track to be worse than 2020.
 
More from the journals
First your gut flora seem to be able to predict severity so maybe another form of treatment might be considered.

And another study on the use of immunosuppressive drugs.Neither increase or decrease chances of infection.

Larger study on aged care.Dementia is a very common risk factor for severe disease and mortality.

And more evidence that Americans are scared and confused.
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1610654019307.png.
 
The UK is trialing a new treatment that has performed well in early small scale testing. It "involves inhaling a protein called interferon beta".

"Early findings suggested the treatment cut the odds of a Covid-19 patient in hospital developing severe disease - such as requiring ventilation - by almost 80%."


And here is the link to a LANCET article about the treatment.

 
Alright, got out of the house for the 2nd time in just 3 days..... wooooah, look at me! Anyway, hit the supermarket mid morning for another data point and queueing up to get inside is definitely back. Fortunately no rain today; jacket, scarf and gloves did the trick and I was in within 5 minutes. Shelf stock was fine, so all good.
 
The police seem to slowly be stepping up enforcement, a few more reports of just going straight to fines rather than warn first and then if not compliant, fine. That's a positive (albeit very late) move.

Just heard of another 3 people who have died due to COVID-19 in my extended network. All had other 'complications' but just goes to show how serious the situation is over here.

To put a bit of context around it:
  • One of my friends, her mother's friend died the other week of Covid. At the time she thought she had the flu.
  • A friend heard she had the flu, so went to her house and brought her some soup and she caught Covid from her and is now in hospital unconscious
  • Before she went to hospital she spread it to her whole family (husband, son, son in law)
  • As a result of this, my friend's mother is now going to shield rather than taking the view she doesn't need to
 
The minder for our little dog lost her husband last December due to cancer. She was lonely so went to her daughter's place for Christmas. A friend of her daughter's family was there, tested positive. Daughter and son in law both in bed for 3 days, then daughter rushed to ICU, put on ventilator for more than a week. She is now off the ventilator but remains in ICU not sure for how long for further treatments. Our dog minder then got covid and ended up in hospital for 3 days with aggressive treatments. She is now home, but very scare for her daughter ... So sad.
 
Surveys of mask wearing in the US and UK surprised me with all the negative media reports you get.
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1611379576868.png


Not surprised by the figures on mental health.
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1611379723145.png
 
I keep an eye in cases in Ireland. In part as my eldest daughter's partner was born there (Irish father, Australian mother) with most of his family still there and partly as it was one of my more recent international travels (back in the good ole days).

Unfortunately Ireland has had a massive recent surge in new daily cases which is at least in part being attributed to relaxing restrictions for Christmas.

Remember that the population of Ireland is 4.9 million. Australia is 25 million.

View attachment 237640
I always a worry for my (much) older brother there - though he is outside a very small village in the centre so not quite fo bad. For the past few months he has been in full PPE when leaving home (as he needs to for supplies for their greyhounds).
 
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Surveys of mask wearing in the US and UK surprised me with all the negative media reports you get.
View attachment 238834

View attachment 238835


Not surprised by the figures on mental health.
View attachment 238836

View attachment 238837
Just going on ‘gut feel’, the 70-80% resultS for USA since mid-June look a bit higher than I’d expect.
Can‘t help but think that the self-selected YouGov survey pool is skewed a bit towards the type of people pre-disposed to mask wearing...
 
Just going on ‘gut feel’, the 70-80% resultS for USA since mid-June look a bit higher than I’d expect.
Can‘t help but think that the self-selected YouGov survey pool is skewed a bit towards the type of people pre-disposed to mask wearing...
I think so - certainly from what Master FM has said it wouldn’t be near that. He lives in California and spent a month in Arizona in October and 3 weeks in Oregon just recently. You would think some other states would be even worse than those.
 
Some more on treatments that have worked.


And Taiwan has had a recent outbreak.Source was the hospital used to treat Covid patients.The spreader was a doctor.
 
Some more on treatments that have worked.


And Taiwan has had a recent outbreak.Source was the hospital used to treat Covid patients.The spreader was a doctor.
It's such an insidious virus that the fact we don't have active community transmission here at the moment, and so can wait for the vaccine, it could change in an instant.
 
An ABC article, today, about how Oz has fared in relation to some other countries on COVID management, although there were some fairly specific reporting parameters:

 

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