Coronavirus Pandemic Information- Local and Worldwide

Donegalforever

expectationlost wrote: »

120 sick, just cause a TD says that doesn't mean its true.

Politicians would not lie, surely !

General de Gaulle, who was President of France (Resigned 1969) was once asked what makes a good politician and he is said to have replied :

"Lies, Lies and more Lies; when you start to believe your own lies then you are a good politician".

It certainly looks as if some, (if not all) politicians take his advice.

Water John

So, what's the true story?

Say my name

A patient in France that was admitted with pneumonia to hospital on the 27th Dec has had a blood sample that was taken at the time, test positive for Covid 19. This pushes way back the date from when it was first thought of being in France.

https://twitter.com/BBCkatyaadler/status/1257004321306222592?s=20

greysides

This is a lecture given by Prof. Chris Whitty, the UK's Chief Medical Officer. He gives a clear, concise update on the state of understanding of the virus as it stands now. The lecture was given on the 30th April and is an hour and twenty minutes of time well spent.

giveitholly

greysides wrote: »

This is a lecture given by Prof. Chris Whitty, the UK's Chief Medical Officer. He gives a clear, concise update on the state of understanding of the virus as it stands now. The lecture was given on the 30th April and is an hour and twenty minutes of time well spent.

Any chance of a quick summary in a few sentences?

greysides

The lecture discussed all areas of the disease: epidemiology and epidemiological counter-measures, clinical course, possible treatments (vaccines, drugs), diagnostics and the global picture, so a short summary isn't possible. It is worth making the time to watch if you have the interest, he's a good speaker and communicator.

wrangler

Say my name wrote: »

A patient in France that was admitted with pneumonia to hospital on the 27th Dec has had a blood sample that was taken at the time, test positive for Covid 19. This pushes way back the date from when it was first thought of being in France.

https://twitter.com/BBCkatyaadler/status/1257004321306222592?s=20

I'm convinced i got it the week of the 27th Dec, I've never had as bad flu and needed three rounds of antibiotics/steroids to clear my lungs.
I had it for a fortnight bad and even after that, when I'd walk the dogs, my shirt would be wet from sweat when I'd finish

Say my name

wrangler wrote: »

I'm convinced i got it the week of the 27th Dec, I've never had as bad flu and needed three rounds of antibiotics/steroids to clear my lungs.
I had it for a fortnight bad and even after that, when I'd walk the dogs, my shirt would be wet from sweat when I'd finish

There's a local pharmacist is convinced it was that at that time too.
There was people coming in with scripts for double doses of antibiotics and having no effect. She's still wondering why there wasn't a word about people dying at the time.

There was a local not far from here returned from Dubai for Christmas. A few days later his mother in her eighties was admitted to hospital with pneumonia symptoms. She's alright now but..

I think the household here got it the first week of March. After some of us were at a family gathering. There was someone at the gathering just after being in Milan. We never found that out till much later. It was one of your loved public servants who was in Milan and decided to head to a gathering.. The way it was working with us was spread was very fast. Symptoms were showing the next day after contact. But not all of us showed a reaction.
This was before the lockdown and when doctors maintained you hadn't the virus unless you were directly after coming from an affected place.

greysides

http://news.sky.com/story/coronavirus-antibody-test-with-almost-100-accuracy-could-be-in-uk-in-weeks-11982834

News of an antibody test that detects all who've had the virus correctly. One in five hundred who have not had the virus will be falsely labelled as having had it. That's nearly perfection as tests go.

Buford T. Justice XIX

'Only' 16 deaths and 266 new cases today.

https://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/ireland/another-16-patients-die-of-covid-19-as-cases-go-up-by-266-997580.html

It's a pretty sad way of looking at deaths, tbh:(

And there's some relief in intensive care units as well as there is now some spare capacity in the units, cases at 93 in ICUs.

Water John

Yes looks like below 20 deaths per day now. The nursing home and other residential settings seem to be now the main disease locations.
In the US they think it will reach 3K deaths per day, running at 1750 at present.

greysides

Scientists have discovered an antibody which prevents the coronavirus from infecting human cells in "groundbreaking research" which could lead to the development of new treatments.

They discovered that an antibody which prevents the SARS virus from infecting human cells could also block the novel coronavirus from infecting human cells too, according a peer reviewed study published on Monday in the journal Nature Communications.

Testing their collection of antibodies on cultured human cells, researchers discovered one which binds to a specific part which is present in both SARS and the virus causing COVID-19.


https://news.sky.com/story/coronavirus-scientists-hail-groundbreaking-discovery-of-antibody-which-prevents-infection-11982809

greysides

Number of cases will be influenced by testing policy.

greysides

https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/04/nih-s-axing-bat-coronavirus-grant-horrible-precedent-and-might-break-rules-critics-say?utm_campaign=ScienceNow&utm_source=JHubbard&utm_medium=Facebook

The research community is reacting with alarm and anger to the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH’s) abrupt and unusual termination of a grant supporting research in China on how coronaviruses—such as the one causing the current pandemic—move from bats to humans.


The agency axed the grant last week, after conservative U.S. politicians and media repeatedly suggested—without evidence—that the pandemic severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) escaped from a laboratory in Wuhan, China.....

There is no scientific evidence that SARS-CoV-2 originated in Shi’s collection of bat viruses at WIV, though researchers concede that such an escape can’t be unequivocally ruled out. The known bat virus closest to SARS-CoV-2, although 96.2% similar, is at least 20 years removed from the pandemic virus in evolutionary time—meaning that if it escaped from a laboratory, it would have taken decades for it to evolve into the virus that has now killed more than 230,000 people to date. One Nature Medicine paper further indicated that the pandemic virus shows no signs of having been engineered by scientists, another contention of conspiracy theorists. For one thing, although the researchers note that though the virus binds to a human cellular receptor to initiate an infection, that interaction is not optimal, “strong evidence that SARS-CoV-2 is not the product of purposeful manipulation,” they write.

whelan2

Boris Johnson's plan is off the scale. Back to work tomorrow....

alps

whelan2 wrote: »

Boris Johnson's plan is off the scale. Back to work tomorrow....

Question is, how much of a better place will we be in by the time we get to phase 5, 10th August, of our lockdown.

The risk will probably be just as high as getting to that point now..

The whole purpose of the lockdown was to ensure our hospitals could cope. With ICU running at 25% capacity, and this virus now looking like a long term game, does it not make sense to let the country operate to an economic extent that utilises the ICU capacity?

The solution to this is going to be so long term, that we're going to have to face it up and get on with things. We're going to have to learn to operate in the disease environment.

We cant endure this economic hit for much longer, nor can we endure the hit on health either.

The phased reopening as published is nothing more than a hopeful delaying mechanism that some solution will turn up by the time we get to phase 5 of the "plan"

Unless we decide to face up to and operate with this virus in our midst, there can be no back to school, no back to work for many, no elective surgeries, no shopping centres, no pubs, no holidays....

There only 2 options here....get rid of the virus or live with it...and we have no mechanism to get rid of it.

I

Water John

A couple of issues indicate that we have to progress in a measured way.
Covid 19 seems to be more infectious than the flu. It has a mortality rate that is a multiple of the flu. There is a delay time between an increase in infection rate and this showing up in higher hospital admittance.
The three week steps that Ireland are using seem prudent. I think Govn'ts are above all guided by the disaster that happened in Northern Italy, where hospital capacity could not cope.
In reality, social and business movement has increased considerably in the last 10 days.

einn32

They're lifting some restrictions here in Victoria, Oz. It will be interesting to see what happens. I think the public have had enough anyway and they won't be stopped! Buildings and trades kept working here with measures in place. It's been a breeze getting to work. Tourism has probably been hit hardest. Cafes were all takeaway. I've been meeting chefs and tattoo artists on building sites. They went and got other work when they had to. Testing is more open now. Any sniffle and you can walk in to get tested. Turnaround in a few days. Overall it has been a success but who know what will happen from this week on.

alps

einn32 wrote: »

They're lifting some restrictions here in Victoria, Oz. It will be interesting to see what happens. I think the public have had enough anyway and they won't be stopped! Buildings and trades kept working here with measures in place. It's been a breeze getting to work. Tourism has probably been hit hardest. Cafes were all takeaway. I've been meeting chefs and tattoo artists on building sites. They went and got other work when they had to. Testing is more open now. Any sniffle and you can walk in to get tested. Turnaround in a few days. Overall it has been a success but who know what will happen from this week on.

Do many have the tracker app on their phone?

yosemitesam1

alps wrote: »

Question is, how much of a better place will we be in by the time we get to phase 5, 10th August, of our lockdown.

The risk will probably be just as high as getting to that point now..

The whole purpose of the lockdown was to ensure our hospitals could cope. With ICU running at 25% capacity, and this virus now looking like a long term game, does it not make sense to let the country operate to an economic extent that utilises the ICU capacity?

The solution to this is going to be so long term, that we're going to have to face it up and get on with things. We're going to have to learn to operate in the disease environment.

We cant endure this economic hit for much longer, nor can we endure the hit on health either.

The phased reopening as published is nothing more than a hopeful delaying mechanism that some solution will turn up by the time we get to phase 5 of the "plan"

Unless we decide to face up to and operate with this virus in our midst, there can be no back to school, no back to work for many, no elective surgeries, no shopping centres, no pubs, no holidays....

There only 2 options here....get rid of the virus or live with it...and we have no mechanism to get rid of it.

I

Think the aim should have been to run icu's at full capacity for the summer. Being overcautious just saves the problem for next winter when the country is broke, jobs are lost and the public will have had enough.
Multiples of the supposed 3,500 saved lives will die over the coming years because of the lockdown/overcautious approach and the average age of those lives lost won't be in their 80's...

einn32

alps wrote: »

Do many have the tracker app on their phone?

5 million. I just looked it up.

Gillespy

People are stuck six weeks in the past. It's not at deadly as was thought back then. It's killing very old people. It's a nursing home problem. Punishing everyone for that months later isn't going to change anything. Get on with it while being smart. Flatten the curve was something people bought into. It was taken over by the 'one life is too many' crowd who hype all the bad news. No antibodies to this, people are getting reinfected! and now it's the ''2nd wave''. Defiantly a lot of people are enjoying this. They should be told where to go when the hard budget decisions need to be made in the years to come.

Base price

New covid-19 cases in Wuhan, China and South Korea since the end of lockdown.

https://www.ft.com/content/fbb9a1bb-9656-4023-aa97-01ff1dae4403

greysides

https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/05/finally-virus-got-me-scientist-who-fought-ebola-and-hiv-reflects-facing-death-covid-19?utm_campaign=ScienceNow&utm_source=JHubbard&utm_medium=Facebook

‘Finally, a virus got me.’ Scientist who fought Ebola and HIV reflects on facing death from COVID-19.

Many people think COVID-19 kills 1% of patients, and the rest get away with some flulike symptoms. But the story gets more complicated. Many people will be left with chronic kidney and heart problems. Even their neural system is disrupted. There will be hundreds of thousands of people worldwide, possibly more, who will need treatments such as renal dialysis for the rest of their lives. The more we learn about the coronavirus, the more questions arise. We are learning while we are sailing. That’s why I get so annoyed by the many commentators on the sidelines who, without much insight, criticize the scientists and policymakers trying hard to get the epidemic under control. That’s very unfair.

The Commission is strongly committed to supporting the development of a vaccine. Let’s be clear: Without a coronavirus vaccine, we will never be able to live normally again. The only real exit strategy from this crisis is a vaccine that can be rolled out worldwide. That means producing billions of doses of it, which, in itself, is a huge challenge in terms of manufacturing logistics. And despite the efforts, it is still not even certain that developing a COVID-19 vaccine is possible.

Today there’s also the paradox that some people who owe their lives to vaccines no longer want their children to be vaccinated. That could become a problem if we want to roll out a vaccine against the coronavirus, because if too many people refuse to join, we will never get the pandemic under control.

greysides

https://www.npr.org/2020/05/08/852435761/as-hospitals-lose-revenue-thousands-of-health-care-workers-face-furloughs-layoff?utm_campaign=storyshare&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social&fbclid=IwAR2WDuIUP1qE3vwOsOwgr_JNgBR0iw7qw44is8TE5IIPy8sI5qEDzDaZCNI

As Hospitals Lose Revenue, More Than A Million Health Care Workers Lose Jobs

Staff cut backs in US hospitals.

It's an ironic twist as the coronavirus pandemic sweeps the nation: The very workers tasked with treating those afflicted with the virus are losing work in droves. Emergency room visits are down. Non-urgent surgical procedures have largely been put on hold. Health care spending fell 18% in the first three months of the year. And 1.4 million health care workers lost their jobs

greysides

https://www.endcoronavirus.org/countries?fbclid=IwAR30FOy3JSfw3LxDXPP9oavlNMZupgRmvS8S9zs0rhEPfbmprhebfdv3udw


SOME ARE WINNING - SOME ARE NOT
WHICH COUNTRIES DO BEST IN BEATING COVID-19?

Reggie.

greysides wrote: »

https://www.endcoronavirus.org/countries?fbclid=IwAR30FOy3JSfw3LxDXPP9oavlNMZupgRmvS8S9zs0rhEPfbmprhebfdv3udw


SOME ARE WINNING - SOME ARE NOT
WHICH COUNTRIES DO BEST IN BEATING COVID-19?

Only thing about them graphs is that your relying on the countries to be truthful about thier figures

greysides

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/health/coronavirus-adults-should-take-vitamin-d-researchers-say-1.4250588

The Government should immediately change recommendations for vitamin D supplements as a matter of urgency by urging all adults to take them during the coronavirus pandemic, according to scientists at Trinity College Dublin.

This follows evidence highlighting the association between vitamin D levels and mortality from Covid-19 produced by Dr Eamon Laird and Prof Rose Anne Kenny, who lead the Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing.

They analysed European adult population studies completed since 1999 which measured vitamin D, and compared vitamin D and death rates from Covid-19.

The pivotal role of vitamin D in fighting viral infections is known but it can also “support the immune system through a number of immune pathways” involved in fighting Covid-19, they conclude in a study published in the Irish Medical Journal.

The correlation is so strong taking vitamin D should be advised immediately, Prof Kenny said. This was because vitamin D deficiency was common among those at risk of Covid-19 (particularly older people); there was no toxic risk from taking it at the recommended dosage level, and growing evidence of benefits.

Cytokine storms
The TCD data, produced in collaboration with Prof Jon Rhodes at the University of Liverpool, suggests it is likely to reduce serious Covid-19 complications. “This may be because vitamin D is important in regulation and suppression of the inflammatory cytokine response, which causes the severe consequences of Covid-19 and ‘acute respiratory distress syndrome’ associated with ventilation and death,” Prof Kenny explained.

Cytokine storms seem to kill a majority of Covid-19 patients, and not destruction of the lungs by the virus itself.

greysides

https://www.rte.ie/news/coronavirus/2020/0513/1138100-hiqa-coronavirus-review/

The Health Information and Quality Authority has said it appears that children are not substantially contributing to the spread of coronavirus, in their household, or in schools.

The authority also said its review found there is a lack of clear evidence as to whether long-term immunity is possible from the virus.

It said it is not yet certain if antibodies to the virus are transferred from mother to the child in the womb, via the placenta.

It said that while some individuals have tested positive after recovery from Covid-19, this is likely due to virus re-detection, rather than re-infection with a second virus.


HIQA also found that with other serious coronavirus infections, the antibody response is maintained for one to two years after initial infection, and then decreases.

Speaking on RTÉ's News at One, Dr Ryan said that in relation to immunity after contracting Covid-19 "we see that people do mount an immune response, and produce neutralising anti-bodies for at least eight weeks after."

She said studies are currently under way to understand whether immunity last beyond eight weeks.

In relation to antibody testing Dr Ryan said a lot of work is being carried out to try and validate the hundreds of tests that have come on the market since the discovery of Covid-19.

She said work is being coordinated by the World Health Organization and the European Commission to try and validate the accuracy of how they estimate results.

Even if tests have been validated at an international level they also need to be examined from a quality assurance point of view in relation to how they are going to be used here in Ireland, Dr Ryan said.
She said several rapid Covid-19 tests are being developed by the industry, which are going through the international validation process.

She said the WHO is still saying that the role for rapid test is only in research until the outcome of those studies is available.

greysides