|OT| Novel coronavirus (COVID-19) news & discussion - No, it's not just a flu

[Wok]

Things are not heading the right way in France. Today, 18k new cases. Apparently, additional measures will have to be enforced at some point. Lockdown was necessary back then, because exponential growth does not bode well with over-confidence and lack of preparation. Lockdown does not solve anything though.

And situation in so many places is currently much worse than in France:

 

[Hektor]

I just got told that the student was tested negative.
Phew!

 

[Le Pertti]

France just introduced night time curfew. From 21h to 6h. Shit getting real again.

 

[Le Pertti]

I'm starting school next week and its in class and not sure how I feel about that.

 

[Le Pertti]

Trisolarian I'm going to school for app development and if there is one field that is good for "work from home" it's that one! I actually thought it was when nI signed up so I was surprised when I got info about the when and where. I'm still hoping they will move to or have a lot of work from home stuff.

 

[Trisolarian]

Trisolarian I'm going to school for app development and if there is one field that is good for "work from home" it's that one! I actually thought it was when nI signed up so I was surprised when I got info about the when and where. I'm still hoping they will move to or have a lot of work from home stuff.

I'm sure that they will have something remote available for you if needed. I did a lot of training (not for programming but for things like networking) and most of it was doable on a computer or with a book. Good luck in Uni tho!

 

[Le Pertti]

Paris is so fucked, fuuuuuuuuucked. Went out to a cafe and for a walk in central Paris and I have never seen so much people out. And I lived on those street for two years.

 

[Swenhir]

Paris is so fucked, fuuuuuuuuucked. Went out to a cafe and for a walk in central Paris and I have never seen so much people out. And I lived on those street for two years.

Do you mean homeless people, or people who don't give a damn and are hanging out and facilitating the spread of the virus?

 

[Le Pertti]

Do you mean homeless people, or people who don't give a damn and are hanging out and facilitating the spread of the virus?

I mean just people in general. Streets were packed in a way I have never experienced and all restaurants and cafes were full.

 

[Swenhir]

I mean just people in general. Streets were packed in a way I have never experienced and all restaurants and cafes were full.

What's wrong with people... I mean, here we also have a general feeling of "this doesn't really affect us" or "this is already over because steroids" but this is just BS in the context of the city having to shutter past a certain hour. They have to know it's getting bad. Besides, COVID fucks you up in more ways than just killing you.

There is nothing noble or defiant about this, there is no common sense or positive side to it. It's just dumb, and I don't get it.

 

[Le Pertti]

What's wrong with people... I mean, here we also have a general feeling of "this doesn't really affect us" or "this is already over because steroids" but this is just BS in the context of the city having to shutter past a certain hour. They have to know it's getting bad. Besides, COVID fucks you up in more ways than just killing you.

There is nothing noble or defiant about this, there is no common sense or positive side to it. It's just dumb, and I don't get it.

What surprises me a lot is that is seems to be a lot of tourists , that should be the first thing to shut down:

 

[Wok]

The situation is not looking good here in France. We are almost on par with India and the USA in terms of new cases today.

There is always a delay. I think we will be back to 300 deaths/day (twice worse than the situation today) in 3 weeks, so around mid November.

 

[Swenhir]

The situation is not looking good here in France. We are almost on par with India and the USA in terms of new cases today.

There is always a delay. I think we will be back to 300 deaths/day (twice worse than the situation today) in 3 weeks, so around mid November.

This is appalling. I guess this is why they declared a curfew.

 

[Le Pertti]

AirBnB sending out these, with the state the world is in.

 

[Le Pertti]

Yesterday, I did not see that coming. I thought we would have 3 weeks, not 24 hours.

Yeah I'm little worried, at first I was not sure how I would handle a new lockdown but now I think it would be for the best. Hopefully the curfew will help.

 

[Wok]

I have redacted my post. The website is wrong: "new cases" is right, "new deaths" is wrong.

Edit: wait, maybe it is right. Damn. Official numbers are confusing. Official website states +184 deaths at hospitals, but +298 in total.

 

[ISee]

Official website states +184 deaths at hospitals, but +298 in total

Wait a moment, 114 people died of covid-19 outside of hospitals?
Are hospitals full again?

 

[Wok]

Wait a moment, 114 people died of covid-19 outside of hospitals?
Are hospitals full again?

These additional deaths come from care homes for dependent elderly people.

Around Paris, nearly 2/3 of intensive care beds at hospitals are used by patients with COVID.
The remaining beds are also used but for patients with other issues.

 

[Le Pertti]

Someone in my class, that is in the group who I eat lunch with everyday might have covid.

It was nice knowing you all MC!

 

[Wok]

Exponential growth is back. Lockdown incoming in France tonight.

I am going to stock up on toilet paper!

 

[Eferis]

France officially under lockdown again, apparently. I think we're getting pretty close to that in Italy as well, cases surged to 25k today and we're having a spike in deaths and intensive care.

 

[ISee]

Germany is going into a "lockdown light" this Monday:

In short everything closes but for:

-Work, Retail, Schools, Kindergartens, Hair Stylists.
-Corona quick test for hospitals and nursing homes are being introduced.
-Only up to ten people, from two households are allowed to meet.
-People are supposed to work from Home Office as much as possible (where possible).
-Still allowed to leave our homes, no curfew.

So, no restaurants (take out allowed), bars, cinemas, no entertainement, no fitness centers, theaters etc. etc.

 

[curi0usBystander]

Spain has been in state of alarm since sunday but it's a mess.

The goverment has delegate to each community the authority of deciding what mesures to take. Aside from a curfew (for 15 days) the rest is up to the each region's government.

 

[Le Pertti]

I was scared of another lockdown but now I don't mind it. My classes will be online so it will be fine.

Just sad about not being able to get the Xbox, since the sign-up is only in person at the store. Really would have been perfect for confinement.

 

[Wok]

Hair Stylists.

I did not expect that.

Here, bookshops, hair dressers, etc. will be closed.

 

[ISee]

I did not expect that.

It's a strange republic.

 

[Le Pertti]

Here we are! Could have started worse, first night and I let a friend stay over at my place but she will take the train to another city today.

I have yet to realise it's a lockdown, I still have the feeling I can go out and explore like I do every day.

 

[Le Pertti]

I usually say that only boring people get bored, but man only two days in and I'm bored out of my mind!

 

[C-Dub]

Good luck to everyone going in to lockdown. Half-way through ours in Wales, and it will be nice to see my family again next week.

The first lockdown was okay for me. I coped well. I was needed at work, moreso than usual since I was asked to step up with a couple of initiatives to help the public who found themselves out of work, and I had a lot of opportunities for development and progression which are bearing fruits soon, I hope. I also put in a lot of work to add finishing touches on my novel (now being getting the once over from an agent) and all around I was rather productive.

This time, I'm fraying at the edges. I've been asked to step up and help again, but I've been explicitly told not to go to the office this time. The isolation is taking its toll on me. Even worse is when I'm allowed back into the office, I'll be in a whole new one in the middle of the city, in a new team! And that's only for a few months before we move to our fancy new regional centre and who knows what team I'll be part of then?

The joys of being competent is that you're asked to help out a lot and no day is ever the same, but I think I needed a period of things not changing as an anchor, and I haven't had that.

On top of that, when we come out of our lockdown, England will be one week into theirs; if what happened last time happens this time, many in the border regions will illegally travel into Wales and bring the plague with them. That alone makes me super anxious as I don't want to have made all these sacrifices only to have it ruined by a bunch of selfish lockdown-dodgers.

 

[Wok]

That was yesterday:

 

[Eferis]

So in Italy we're having some sort of lockdown in some regions of the country, some softer lockdown in other regions and some even softer measures in other areas... based on some arbitrary levels that are more political than scientific.

Gotta love politicians.

 

[Wok]

I cannot believe we French manage to be ahead of India once again. The current lockdown does not look like a real lockdown to be honest.

 

[Le Pertti]

Yeah I'm mentally prepared that this lockdown will go on till next year.

 

[Swenhir]

I cannot believe we French manage to be ahead of India once again. The current lockdown does not look like a real lockdown to be honest.

Per capita this is absolutely insane. And shameful.

 

[Le Pertti]

Here in Paris there are people everywhere, just as much as any other time. And people really don't respect the rules. Like standing one meter from others in que? Yeah no. Hell I even people out without masks.

 

[Swenhir]

Here in Paris there are people everywhere, just as much as any other time. And people really don't respect the rules. Like standing one meter from others in que? Yeah no. Hell I even people out without masks.

Pretty much consolidates my preconceptions about french culture : their self-centered attitude that makes them not give a give a damn about others or things outside of their field of view. I am aware it's a horrible generalization and that Paris is probably the worst, but I've had pretty bad experiences with French people unfortunately.

 

[Le Pertti]

Pretty much consolidates my preconceptions about french culture : their self-centered attitude that makes them not give a give a damn about others or things outside of their field of view. I am aware it's a horrible generalization and that Paris is probably the worst, but I've had pretty bad experiences with French people unfortunately.

To be fair, its a very small city with a lot of people, keeping distance is often impossible. As to seeing people maskless, its not often so overall people seem to take it seriously.

But now its completely different feeling than the first lockdown. Like during the first one, it was limited how many could be in a store, with ques outside, now stores are fully open and people can come and go as they please.

But to be fair again, I think it was shown that stores were a low risk zone either way.

 

[Le Pertti]

Ok I take back what I said Paris is good considering, they suck ass, parks are open and completely packed. Street are packed and people just hanging around.

 

[Swenhir]

Ok I take back what I said Paris is good considering, they suck ass, parks are open and completely packed. Street are packed and people just hanging around.

Yep, this... Kind of echoes my own experience. Very contrarian people, against reason. But then again, the sample size was me, and my perception bubble.

 

[Wok]

Apparently, there was a bug, which made us underestimate the number of new cases for a few days.

The only good piece of news is that I am pretty sure that we are one of the best countries in terms of testing volume.
We were really bad a few months ago, but we might be number 1 these days. Or at least, close to the USA.

 

[Ascheroth]

Welp, things are looking bad here in Austria. Really bad.
Especially here in Upper Austria - we're at 98% ICU capacity in hospitals, contact tracing and testing has been overwhelmed for a long time, but of course we've only started a "Lockdown Light" last week, and of course after Halloween and All Saints, so that the people could party a final time before the lockdown started
They've just announed that they're going to stop testing contact persons of someone who tested positive unless they have symptoms and call. And even before that it took like a week between the call that you maybe had symptoms and getting test results.
A lot of people just don't give a fuck (anymore), schools are open, shopping centres are open, public transport is open, home-office is only optional, etc. We needed a hard lockdown weeks ago, now I fear it's too late to stop it before the health system gets overwhelmed.
Our government apparently did fuck all during the summer to prepare, is completely failing now (in my opinion) and the people are idiots too, a recipe for disaster.

And here I thought we did pretty well during the first wave, but apparently it was just a case of "even a broken clock is right twice a day".
This sucks.

 

[Ascheroth]

These idiots just announced that shops have to close at 19:00 starting tomorrow (they're currently allowed to open until 20:00).
Like, correct me if I'm wrong, but all this does is reduce the time range one has for shopping after work, which means that now more people will shop at the same time, which is the opposite of what we should want.

Sigh.

 

[Swenhir]

These idiots just announced that shops have to close at 19:00 starting tomorrow (they're currently allowed to open until 20:00).
Like, correct me if I'm wrong, but all this does is reduce the time range one has for shopping after work, which means that now more people will shop at the same time, which is the opposite of what we should want.

Sigh.

This is completely symbolic of the current problem with governments : a crisis, inevitable, appears. Instead of paying the economical price, now, they delay until later, praying that it goes away and they won't have to be the ones to have to deal with it. All the while, normal people, the most vulnerable more often than not, get hit the hardest. They are lucky that a vaccine will exist at all because otherwise the economical and social price would be, by now, phenomenal due to their incompetence and lack of decisiveness.

This is a dress rehearsal for climate change and it makes me a bit depressed.

 

[Ascheroth]

The big thing I worry about is now that the BioNTech/Pfizer vaccine is making headlines, this will make people ignore the current dangerous situation (we'll get a vaccine so it's basically over, isn't it) and not understand that this will still take months at least and we should not let the current situation get any worse.
Meanwhile our government continues to be useless fuckers (our chancellor flew to Paris yesterday to meet with Macron instead of joining via video call like everyone else.)

 

[curi0usBystander]

(our chancellor flew to Paris yesterday to meet with Macron instead of joining via video call like everyone else.)

A few days after declaring the current state of alarm (that the government created in a way to leave the responsibilities to each region) various members of the government and politicians went to an event organized by a news site that had over 100 people.

 

[Swenhir]

The big thing I worry about is now that the BioNTech/Pfizer vaccine is making headlines, this will make people ignore the current dangerous situation (we'll get a vaccine so it's basically over, isn't it) and not understand that this will still take months at least and we should not let the current situation get any worse.
Meanwhile our government continues to be useless fuckers (our chancellor flew to Paris yesterday to meet with Macron instead of joining via video call like everyone else.)

Also, the virus will probably mutate, rendering the situation rather tricky.

 

[ISee]

A vaccine can still be effective, even after a virus mutated. The question is what mutated and what changed etc.
But true, even the best vaccine will only work for some time, because covid-19 will keep on evolving.
This will be a cat & mouse game for the next decade.

 

[Ascheroth]

To make things even funner, we now have had data problems the last couple days - states had issues entering the cases into the system.
Health minister just confirmed that the system was meant to document a couple thousand salmonella poisoning cases per year and not thousands per day, but they've now "tackled these problems with external help".
This has been known since spring. Nothing was done over summer. Bad data is really what you want when evaluating the effectiveness of certain measures in a pandemic, right.
What are they using, Excel?

 

[Wok]

What are they using, Excel?

It could be.

Excel: Why using Microsoft's tool caused Covid-19 results to be lost

The decision to use a spreadsheet format that dates back to the 1980s has proved to be unwise.

www.bbc.com

 

[texhnolyze]

A vaccine can still be effective, even after a virus mutated. The question is what mutated and what changed etc.
But true, even the best vaccine will only work for some time, because covid-19 will keep on evolving.
This will be a cat & mouse game for the next decade.

Yeah, people need to accept that the society that we know before is long gone now. New normal is a real thing, and we need to adapt.