Wuhan Corona virus

[drunkenshoe]

A little fluffy, obedient kitten like me? 

[GSOgymrat]

This is a very interesting article about the current state of the pandemic in the US and how we got here.

America is Trapped in a Pandemic Spiral - As the U.S. heads toward the winter, the country is going round in circles, making the same conceptual errors that have plagued it since spring.

... Many Americans trusted intuition to help guide them through this disaster. They grabbed onto whatever solution was most prominent in the moment, and bounced from one (often false) hope to the next. They saw the actions that individual people were taking, and blamed and shamed their neighbors. They lapsed into magical thinking, and believed that the world would return to normal within months. Following these impulses was simpler than navigating a web of solutions, staring down broken systems, and accepting that the pandemic would rage for at least a year.

These conceptual errors were not egregious lies or conspiracy theories, but they were still dangerous. They manifested again and again, distorting the debate around whether to stay at home, wear masks, or open colleges. They prevented citizens from grasping the scope of the crisis and pushed leaders toward bad policies. And instead of overriding misleading intuitions with calm and considered communication, those leaders intensified them. The country is now trapped in an intuition nightmare: Like the spiraling ants, Americans are walled in by their own unhelpful instincts, which lead them round and round in self-destructive circles. ...

1. A Serial Monogamy of Solutions - This brief attention span is understandable. Adherents of the scientific method are trained to isolate and change one variable at a time. Academics are walled off into different disciplines that rarely connect. Journalists constantly look for new stories, shifting attention to the next great idea. These factors prime the public to view solutions in isolation, which means imperfections become conflated with uselessness.

2. False Dichotomies - A world of black and white is easier to handle than one awash with grays. But false dichotomies are dangerous. From the start, COVID-19 has been portrayed as a disease that mostly causes mild symptoms in people who quickly recover, and occasionally causes severe illness that leads to hospitalization and death. This two-sided caricatureâ€"severe or mild, sick or recoveredâ€"has erased the thousands of “long-haulers” who have endured months of debilitating symptoms at home with neither recognition nor care.

3. The Comfort of Theatricality - Showiness is often mistaken for effectiveness. The coronavirus mostly spreads through air rather than contaminated surfaces, but many businesses are nonetheless trying to scrub and bleach their way toward reopening. My colleague Derek Thompson calls this hygiene theaterâ€"dramatic moves that appear to offer safety without actually doing so.

4. Personal Blame Over Systemic Fixes - Tattered social safety nets are less visible than crowded bars. Pushing for universal health care is harder than shaming an unmasked stranger. Fixing systemic problems is more difficult than spewing moralism, and Americans gravitated toward the latter.

5. The Normality Trap - The powerful desire to re-create an old world can obscure the trade-offs necessary for surviving the new one.

6. Magical Thinking - Magical thinking, in which some factor naturally defuses the pandemic, has become a convenient excuse for inaction.

7. The Complacency of Inexperience - Public-health departments are chronically underfunded because the suffering they prevent is invisible.

8. A Reactive Rut - In March, Mike Ryan at the World Health Organization advised, “Be fast, have no regrets … The virus will always get you if you don’t move quickly.” The U.S. failed to heed that warning, and has repeatedly found itself several steps behind the coronavirus.

9. The Habituation of Horror - Daily tragedy might become ambient noise. The desire for normality might render the unthinkable normal.

[drunkenshoe]

I think that's a summary of what is going on the planet in general.

[Baruch]

"South Dakota Gov. Slams Sturgis 'Superspreader' Study: "It's Fiction, Not Science"" ... Clyde (orangutan in Clint Eastwood movie) agrees?

"Assange Trial Abruptly Halted After US Attorney Exposed To COVID-19: "Courtroom At Risk"" ... attempted assassination?

"The Evidence Keeps Piling Up: Lockdowns Don't Work" ... the world that planned this with WHO in 2006 meant well ;-)

[Hydra009]

The governor says the non-peer reviewed study is far over-reporting the cases from that event.

You mean the Republican dumbass who thought it was a good idea in the first place?

Hundreds of thousands or "just" thousands of new cases, that was still pretty stupid and reckless.

Btw, she's also in the news for diverting covid relief money to tourism advertisements.

"The 30-second spot, which premiered on Fox News alongside Noem's speech at the Republican National Convention last month, features the governor saying that "with our breathtaking landscapes and wide-open spaces, we're a place to safely explore." But the state currently ranks second in the country for new cases per capita over the last two weeks, with 439 new cases per 100,000 people."

And I remember her name from her effusive praise of Trump pulling out of the Paris Accords.  No offense, but I don't (and no one with an IQ above room temperature should) take the say-so of Trump sychophants on anything.

[SGOS]

The governor says the non-peer reviewed study is far over-reporting the cases from that event.

I wonder if the governor's claim was peer reviewed.  I mean actually peer reviewed, as opposed to Trump approved?

[Baruch]

I wonder if the governor's claim was peer reviewed.  I mean actually peer reviewed, as opposed to Trump approved?

Dems don't need peer review, just pear review ;-)

[Cassia]

Far-UVC lamps (207â€"222 nm) have been shown to efficiently kill pretty much any pathogen without causing harm to exposed human tissues like the older style regular UV lamps do. It could take an hour or so but lamps like this would keep the indoor air virus-load down. I see an investment opportunity if this idea ever takes off.

[Baruch]

"China Launches First Human Trials For 'Nasal Spray' COVID-19 Vaccine" ... hard to get commissar up your nose ;-)

[Hydra009]

Apparently covid stats are secret in Florida now

The state Department of Health has tried to directly quash reporting on the virus in some instances, after DeSantis said K-12 testing data “needs to be put in the right context.”

With no statewide standard, local leaders are left to decide on their own how and when to report Covid-19 cases in their districts. The result is a mix of differing daily and weekly reports and digital dashboards at school districts across Florida, with some counties not reporting any data to the general public.

Air quotes on "right context"

In other news, Florida is opening up its bars on Monday

[Baruch]

Compare US or EU to Sweden

https://ig.ft.com/coronavirus-chart/?areas=usa&areas=swe&areasRegional=usny&areasRegional=usca&areasRegional=usfl&areasRegional=ustx&byDate=0&cumulative=0&logScale=1&perMillion=0&values=deaths

US is clearly past peak of second wave ...

[Blackleaf]

Apparently covid stats are secret in Florida now
Air quotes on "right context"

In other news, Florida is opening up its bars on Monday

The government holding back information from the public. That's certainly no cause for concern...

Hey, if we're going to build a wall, can we build it around Florida?

[aitm]

Hey, dammit. Let me out first!

[Baruch]

The government holding back information from the public. That's certainly no cause for concern...

Hey, if we're going to build a wall, can we build it around Florida?

Dems vote for Hurricanes, because Florida?  The government always holds back information from the public.  They are deplorables!

Woke people ... totally ignore evil behavior by China.

"'Rogue' Chinese Virologist Claims She Has "Evidence" COVID-19 Was Created In A Lab" .. why did her bosses in Hong Kong shut her down?  Why did she have to flee the utopia that China is making Hong Kong into now?  Which part of China most supports Trump in 2019?  Hong Kong.  Who in the US most support China?  Fentanyl users?

"Chinese Government Combines "Track & Trace" COVID-System With Social Credit Score" ... electronic evil

[Blackleaf]

Hey, dammit. Let me out first!

Nope. It's too late. You could be infected with the Florida Man syndrome. Can't risk it spreading to the rest of us. I thank you for your sacrifice.