Main Coronavirus / Covid-19 Discussion Thread

[Dick Head]

Not keen on the letter spacing on that.

It's horrible. Hopefully the people who iron the transfers on have an eye for kerning.

 

[Swansman]

Just a study of 78 people, but smokers and ex smokers got 14 times higher risk of ending up in intensive care or death.

The anxiety is not making it easier to stop though..

 

[Wozza]

Terrible statistics in Italy, we can only hope what many of us are doing now will prevent us reaching that level as fast as they have.

https://twitter.com/jburnmurdoch/status/1240723388336877569?s=21

[tweet]1240723388336877569[/tweet]

 

[Guinness Boy]

Just a study of 78 people, but smokers and ex smokers got 14 times higher risk of ending up in intensive care or death.

The anxiety is not making it easier to stop though..

Sorry, but that is just nonsense.

Smoking causes issues with the lungs the older you are. COPD and emphysema for example. We already know people in this category are higher risk. But what is the data on "ex smokers"? For example, I smoked for many years but gave up when I started to have kids 13 years ago. Since then I have taken up marathon running and probably have a better VO2Max than many in their 30s.

You need a MUCH better data sample and you need some young, fit, reformed smokers in there.

I hear you on the stress though.

 

[Swansman]

Sorry, but that is just nonsense.

Smoking causes issues with the lungs the older you are. COPD and emphysema for example. We already know people in this category are higher risk. But what is the data on "ex smokers"? For example, I smoked for many years but gave up when I started to have kids 13 years ago. Since then I have taken up marathon running and probably have a better VO2Max than many in their 30s.

You need a MUCH better data sample and you need some young, fit, reformed smokers in there.

I hear you on the stress though.

Yeah I know the data is very insufficient and there must be a lot of difference between someone smoking three cigarettes a day and someone smoking a pack and someone who quit ten years ago or who recently begun.

Still... fairly certain its not an advantage.

Apparently they are looking into whether smoking is the reason more men than women got bad consequences from the virus, since a lot more men than women smoke in Italy and China. Seems more plausible than the reason stated by our state epidemiologist -"as usual we men seem to be a bit weaker than the women...".

Think I'll try stop smoking tomorrow and go with snus instead.

 

[Bry Nylon]

Johnson was pretty poor in today's press conference. There was almost nothing new to announce and he got into a mess with a claim that 'we can turn the tide' within 12 weeks. When pressed he went into bluster mode and was unable to indicate what that might actually mean. He almost lapsed into 'get Brexit done' mode i.e. repeating a slogan.

On the 'London issue', still no intention to shut down pubs and clubs, even though he acknowledged that there was a 'patchy' response to social distancing. Has he ever been in a pub? Surely if only 5 people can turn up to a C of E wedding, why is he happy to see people sitting jam-packed in a pub (perhaps this tradition is more scared than a church wedding?)

Not a great session for building confidence, in my view.

(Wetherspoons,, Worthing at 15.00hrs as seen through a window: no shortage of 70+ punters sitting around the same tables.)

This is the problem with the daily press conferences in my view. There was a clamour for them but for what purpose? The government and their advisers should announce something of significance when there is something significant to announce. This daily briefing is a distraction to the real task in hand.

 

[Swansman]

This is the problem with the daily press conferences in my view. There was a clamour for them but for what purpose? The government and their advisers should announce something of significance when there is something significant to announce. This daily briefing is a distraction to the real task in hand.

I agree with this.

I've never heard Boris before this all started (just like I'm fairly certain you've never heard Stefan Löfven) and just had some news channel running in the background and when I heard his voice I thought "whoever this might, calm and convincing black man is, I'm gonna listen to him". Since then I've been watching every press conference and while positively surprised in the beginning, its starting to get watered now.

And today I thought: this is meaningless. Its just desensitising people if you do it every day if you dont have important new information. At some point people stop listen and just think "well its the usual corona blabbery". Either very bad strategy or he is not up to it (since I still find every Trump press conference interesting despite the same "strategy").

 

[portslade seagull]

So far i thought Boris and the two with him had been dealing with questions quite well but today they were very poor, just repeated the same answers, I thought particularly the expert in epidemics looked extremely tired and downtrodden, remember they are human too, so as much as it wasn’t a very enlightening conference I can’t imagine they are going to be everyday, there isn’t always going to be anything new to say.

We are in a phase of this virus now where the early damage has been done, we must all be responsible and act now so that in two weeks time we aren’t where Italy are.

Not really sure updating every 24hrs is a good thing especially when there is nothing of note. Hence bluster mode. Decision should be finalised on the status of clubs and pubs. Just close them for the timescales required

 

[Solid at the back]

Sussex County been told they are 10 days behind London. Be vigilant people

 

[Green Cross Code Man]

Sussex County been told they are 10 days behind London. Be vigilant people

Sussex County what?

 

[Weststander]

Sussex County what?

Football Association, obviously. Wake up.

 

[Weststander]

https://twitter.com/jburnmurdoch/status/1240723388336877569?s=21

[tweet]1240723388336877569[/tweet]

Inevitable for an open democracy?

 

[atomised]

Football Association, obviously. Wake up.

I was going to guess cricket club

 

[oldboyroy]

My landlady who works in the NHS has said that there are 30 and 40 year olds in intensive care with covid 19 confirmed and they have no underlying health conditions and they are fighting for their lives right now but at least it's a 75% chance they will recover

 

[Weststander]

This is the problem with the daily press conferences in my view. There was a clamour for them but for what purpose? The government and their advisers should announce something of significance when there is something significant to announce. This daily briefing is a distraction to the real task in hand.

Totally agree.

Unfortunately PR and politics comes into everything. With every PR and Communications legend in his or her lunchtime, calling LBC and 5Live to say that they’d hold a daily press conference.

Trump runs a comic and version every day, that lasts three times along, filled with hot air, casual racism and “everything’s amazing”.

 

[Hugo Rune]

Inevitable for an open democracy?

Germany, South Korea or Japan?

 

[Weststander]

Germany, South Korea or Japan?

Germany - I thought the number of cases there is very high. But their miracle is that they have a very low mortality rate compared to France, Spain and Italy. No one’s sure why, one theory that their popular private health insurance system and ‘nhs’ have funded amazing hospitals with a huge number of ICU beds.

South Korea - demographics of those afflicted, compared to Italy, according to https://edition.cnn.com/2020/03/16/opinions/south-korea-italy-coronavirus-survivability-sepkowitz/index.html.

Japan - possibly their social isolation according to https://www.businessinsider.com/why-japan-cases-of-coronavirus-are-so-low-2020-3?r=US&IR=T. With uncertainty that a time bomb may hit them later.

 

[jimhigham]

Apologies if it’s already been said but Question Time is so much better without a studio audience. Answers are listened to respectfully and the respondents get to expand their ideas. Downright civilised compared to the normal bear pit. Would like to see them stick with this format.

 

[Hugo Rune]

Germany - I thought the number of cases there is very high. But their miracle is that they have a very low mortality rate compared to France, Spain and Italy. No one’s sure why

The BBC piece I just saw (Newscast) believes it’s vigorous testing.

South Korea - demographics of those afflicted, compared to Italy, according to https://edition.cnn.com/2020/03/16/opinions/south-korea-italy-coronavirus-survivability-sepkowitz/index.html.

With 25,000 tests per day, South Korea proved that the young ‘spread it’ and the old die from it. They are tracking it very closely and controlling it where they can.

Japan - possibly their social isolation according to https://www.businessinsider.com/why-japan-cases-of-coronavirus-are-so-low-2020-3?r=US&IR=T. With uncertainty that a time bomb may hit them later.

I’m going to guess this one, testing?

 

[BN41Albion]

The BBC piece I just saw (Newscast) believes it’s vigorous testing.


With 25,000 tests per day, South Korea proved that the young ‘spread it’ and the old die from it. They are tracking it very closely and controlling it where they can.


I’m going to guess this one, testing?

Why is it that we're not able to test in the same way as these countries??