Coronavirus Pandemic

[Ollie the Optimist]

a well-deserved ninja emoji, as the reality is when the rest of the EU picked up we'd still have a fucked economy and fewer supply chains

For the avoidance of doubt, a no deal brexit would be catastrophic for the country and i dont want it!

But i dont think things will rebound that quickly for the EU either. Italy was already perilously close to major financial problems along with Spain and others. This crisis will more then likely push some of them over the edge.

[Niall_Quinn]

I didn't even have to look because it's easily predictable (with a zero margin or error, unlike this technocrat's shoddy work). But I checked anyway.

Murray is a professor of health metrics sciences at the UW School of Medicine with adjunct appointments in global health and in health services. With funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, he led the formation of IHME, an independent global health research center administratively based in UW Medicine. IHME will remain as a separate research institute based in UW Medicine.

Murray served at WHO from 1998 to 2003 as the executive director of the Evidence and Information Policy Cluster. From 2003 to 2007, he directed the Harvard University Initiative for Global Health and the Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies, and was the Richard Saltonstall professor of public policy at the Harvard School of Public Health.

[Mac76]

the US and UK have handled it worst.

coincidentally of course they are the two countries with the most narcissist, right-wing freemarketer governments who willingly inflict suffering on their own people in the name of 'freedom'

[Mac76]

The "decisions" made by ministers are based on the advice of the civil servants that turn the wheels. ?

that's a myth these days, perpetuated by constant references in the media to 'Sir Humphrey' etc.

Those civil servants who haven’t already been made redundant from big staff cuts are shivering at the thought of being bullied by Priti Patel, Cummings et al, mean they meekly do whatever they're told, e.g. coming out with bullshit about how leaving the EU isn’t a fucking disaster, or they resign as many senior civil servants have (rather gutlessly in my opinion)

[Letters]

Still trying to understand how N_Q thinks the US have handled it well tbh.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Just as long as we never buy anything from them again. That's the best way to contain them.

How many things do you own that were made in China?

For me it's a lot. And I don't have that many morals.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Still trying to understand how N_Q thinks the US have handled it well tbh.

NQ Pence.

[Niall_Quinn]

Have they, though? You've said this a few times. How have they done a good job?
Looking at the numbers their "total cases" curve has flattened very slightly. The deaths one maybe a tiny bit.

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/us/

And there are still a LOT of active cases so it's a bit early to conclude much just yet. I'm interested to know how you think they've done a good job.
Last I heard there was no country-wide policy on social distancing or lockdown so each governor was making up their own policies which led to a very scatter-gun approach across the country.

By population size, and considering the majority of cases are clustered around New York and on the West Coast, they seem to be doing a better job than the larger European nations. Seem to be, because there's still no consistency in any of this data. It's actually quite amazing that with all these global bodies nobody, after months, has managed to get a good handle on what's really happening.

Everything will change as more testing is conducted, and the US is testing faster than almost anyone. So their infection rates are going to look bad, but when you compare the data with the rate of testing and consider the total population they appear to have fewer deaths by population. Even then, Italy has been counting every death as COVID19 related simply because a patient is infected, so their actual death toll is likely to be greatly overstated.

The levels of testing in Iceland is revealing. They have far fewer people, but also far fewer resources. Nevertheless they have tested a significant segment of the population and they MIGHT be classifying deaths by standard means (that all nations used before this pandemic began). When you look at their data it shows the situation may not be as bad as many opportunists are trying to sell.

I remain surprised at how poorly we have handled it here in the UK though, whichever way you shuffle the data. The legacy of Tony Blair maintained all the way through to the present has left our health services dangerously unprepared and under equipped. Now the price is being paid, the profits have long since been taken.

[Niall_Quinn]

coincidentally of course they are the two countries with the most narcissist, right-wing freemarketer governments who willingly inflict suffering on their own people in the name of 'freedom'

As opposed to the Chinese?

Left wing opportunism appears to be boundless.

[Niall_Quinn]

Still trying to understand how N_Q thinks the US have handled it well tbh.

By looking at the numbers, such as they are. That's all we have to work with right now.