Thread: Corona Virus

4 ways Austraia's coronavirus response was a triumph, and 4 ways it fell short.

4 ways Australia's coronavirus response was a triumph, and 4 ways it fell short

I see infection rates have started rising again in 20 American states over the last 5 days of protests against police brutality and easing of lockdown rules by irresponsible Governors.

Originally Posted by DiscoMick

I see infection rates have started rising again in 20 American states over the last 5 days of protests against police brutality and easing of lockdown rules by irresponsible Governors.

The Great Unwashed will never see the harm they are doing to themselves by mingling.

Originally Posted by DiscoMick

I see infection rates have started rising again in 20 American states over the last 5 days of protests against police brutality and easing of lockdown rules by irresponsible Governors.

George Floyd had tested positive to the virus in the days before his death.

Originally Posted by vnx205

It may have been perfectly true that at the time they had found no clear evidence that it was happening. It may be that it was happening but they had not yet found clear evidence.

As for dismissing anything the WHO says because they got something wrong in the past, don't forget that there is a lot about this virus that is new. At first it was not well understood, but as time passes and the virus is better understood, the advice becomes more accurate.

After all, there was a time when doctors thought disease was caused by bad smells. Dies that mean that just because they were wrong then that we should not believe then when they say it is caused by germs?

Each statement about the virus has some chance of being more accurate than previous statements because more data has been gathered.

If you read the AP article that was linked to above it's pretty clear that none of that is true - for a variety of reasons the Chinese blocked and sandbagged WHO and the international community.

And the Chinese scientists knew from an early stage that it was remarkably similar to SARS but was far more infectious. As I've said before its name should be SARS-2, not COVID-19. They told the WHO that it wasn't transmittable from person to person - and WHO told the world that - when the Chinese government not only knew that the virus was transmissible but extremely so.

I was researching and writing about SARS-2 in late January/early February - for a briefing to clients - and it was clear even then that we weren't getting the full story - for example, I had Chinese colleague who'd just come back from Beijing and they told me that the city was in lockdown when that was officially denied by the Chinese government. And WHO definitely delayed calling it a pandemic, presumably because of Chinese pressure.

Originally Posted by DiscoMick

The WHO called an international emergency back in January, so the world had plenty of warning and many countries reacted quickly, including ours. And China did release the genetic code after a brief bureaucratic delay, so this is just another anri-China beatup, I think.

No, as the AP article makes clear, the Chinese do deserve criticism for their response.

The international emergency should've been called much earlier and it should in any have been declared a pandemic at that time.

If you want an example of how WHO was pandering to China in relation to its declarations have a read of this:

Statement on the second meeting of the International Health Regulations (2005) Emergency Committee regarding the outbreak of novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV)

Originally Posted by Arapiles

And the Chinese scientists knew from an early stage that it was remarkably similar to SARS but was far more infectious. As I've said before its name should be SARS-2, not COVID-19.

The disease is called Covid 19 which is caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

Naming the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and the virus that causes it

The Government in Egypt has asked the city's taxi drivers to drive around Cairo sounding their car horns.
It is hoped that the familiar sounds of the city will induce a return to tranquillity and normality following the recent pandemic.
Operation Toot 'n Calm 'Em will last for the rest of the week.