Coronavirus around the world

There are 1,097 replies in this Thread which has previously been viewed 150,115 times. The latest Post () was by Rice.

    Breaking news from NYT early this morning -


    Britain granted emergency approval to Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine, the first Western country to allow its health service to begin mass inoculations.


    The authorization to use the vaccine developed by Pfizer, a U.S. pharmaceutical giant, and BioNTech, a much smaller German firm, kicked off a vaccination campaign with little precedent in modern medicine.


    Wednesday, December 2, 2020 2:32 AM EST


    I didn’t see these posts by SpaceNut and GlasgowJohn before starting a vaccine thread. Sorry! But I suspect there will be enough material in the coming months to warrant a separate thread.

    Good news for the people of Wales!


    According to The Times today,

    “Under new coronavirus rules people in Wales will be allowed to travel into Tier 1 and 2 areas of England from tomorrow to drink alcohol in pubs and restaurants despite being banned by the Welsh government from doing so at home.”


    Not so good news for the Swedes (NYT):

    “Sweden is to send all over-16s home from school after reporting a record 174 coronavirus deaths in a single day, with signs that the public is losing confidence in the government's plans to achieve herd immunity without lockdown restrictions.


    Strange news from Yemen (NYT):

    “In one of the most baffling turn of events in a pandemic that has constantly turned up surprises, the disease has apparently disappeared from Yemen as fast as it came. However, the World Health Organisation says it fully expects a second wave to strike the country, as has happened in Europe.”


    And unsettling news from Germany (NYT):

    “Germany's domestic intelligence agency is being urged to put the country's burgeoning anti-lockdown movement under surveillance as a potential threat to the state.”


    BURGEONING ANTI-LOCKDOWN MOVEMENT?? Potential threat to the state??

    Time to rethink the 2 metre standard for social distancing? Note that this raises questions about indoor dining in private homes, not just restaurants -


    Infected after 5 minutes, from 20 feet away: new study shows indoor virus spread.


    A South Korean study raises concerns that six feet of social distance may not be far enough to keep people safe from the coronavirus.


    https://www.latimes.com/world-…ndoor-dining-for-covid-19

    I think if the goal posts keep moving, ie now 20 feet instead of 6, I will increasingly just take my chances. I think most people are coming around to that idea too. It's an interesting question, when does the world throw its hands up and say, we just move on with our lives, for better or for worse? I don't care about going out to eat, but if you cannot be within 20 feet of people, that could be trickly in just about every situation, unless your Batman:



    Everyone in my immediate family got it so we have been dealing with that last 10 days. My wife, her sister and husband, their kids, her parents, and her brother. There was barely a symptom between the lot of them. Only ones not to get it were me and our two kids. Now, my wife has been isolated in a bedroom but even so, the idea of anywhere within 6 metes being infectious puts a lot of my apartment within that limit. Doctors tell me that I should not have another test unless I display symptoms. Fair enough, but surely there's a chance living with someone infected, albeit isolated, means I have caught during those 10 days and have been spreading it what I go out? It's all a mess and I am still not convinced the lockdowns have worked at all.

    So sorry that so many family members are COVID-positive, Semigoodlooking . I hope you and your two children can continue to avoid getting the virus, and that your wife and her family will continue to be without symptoms.


    The more I learn about the lockdowns, especially the apparent fact that there wasn’t exactly universal compliance, the more I tend to share your skepticism.


    Please keep us updated, and know that you have a concerned group of friends here on the forum.

    Quote from Rice

    So sorry that so many family members are COVID-positive, Semigoodlooking . I hope you and your two children can continue to avoid getting the virus, and that your wife and her family will continue to be without symptoms.


    The more I learn about the lockdowns, especially the apparent fact that there wasn’t exactly universal compliance, the more I tend to share your skepticism.


    Please keep us updated, and know that you have a concerned group of friends here on the forum.

    Thanks Rice, I think it's safe to assume someone burst our social bubble :D.

    • Official Post

    I am sorry to read about your family, Semigoodlooking. An Italian journalist whose blog I have been following for years (she just describes her family life in funny tones) has recently caught it. Apparently, her mother in law was hospitalized for a fall and was sent to their home to recover. She is the likely vector and caught it while hospitalized.


    While the old MIL had severe symptoms and had to be hospitalized again, this time for covid-19, with oxygen therapy, the mother (the journalist) spent 11 days in bed with no strength to eat or do anything, with high fever and no sense of time. One her three children got it with her, displaying cold symptoms and fever spikes. By the time she started recovering, the other child (a teenager) also got it and had high fever but nothing more. Now it's the husband turn. The youngest child, who should be 9 years old, is dreading he will be next. The mother in law is on the mend and has been transferred to another hospital (she was initially sent 150 km away because hospitals in Milan are full).


    I am not looking forward to this scenario and I reading stories in first person is a good way to keep in mind how bad things could go.

    Fingers would point at the culprit, right!


    It is so easy for us to mistake our familial ties or long-term friendships as part of our bubble, instead of strictly keeping the bubble to others who see no one besides us. I think that’s why epidemiologists no longer seem to even talk about bubbles, and they certainly don’t use the ambiguous word “family.” Instead they very carefully choose the word “household, and are recommending that no two households should get together for Christmas or New Year’s celebrations, to avoid either giving or receiving an unwanted, unwrapped, unseen gift of the virus.


    It’s easy to tell ourselves “he’s OK to invite - he’s my brother!” Harder to tell ourselves someone has been living in our house.


    In the US, hospitals are close to or past capacity, with some opening makeshift COVID units in gyms or parking garages. Public health officials are begging people not to have holiday celebrations that combine households. Every week, previous record numbers of new cases are surpassed. Yet no one thinks their own holiday plans should change.


    From yesterday’s Times:

    December 11, 2020
    Coronavirus has claimed more lives in a single day in the United States than were killed in the 9/11 attacks.

    • Official Post

    In my house, I'm now being labelled paranoid for questioning numbers of people to invite for Adri's birthday next Saturday.

    The youngster's attitude is, "I'm prepared to take the risk." And please don't question a millennial or worse still, become forceful in your arguments lest you be accused of aggression.

    The fact is, if I hadn't forcefully questioned the bizarre 25 people plus birthday party, it would still be going ahead.