D&D and the rising pandemic

[Umbran]

I don't think it's even anything that major. It's just hard to act until you start seeing it in your community and the red counties tend to be more rural (less densely populated) and thus haven't noticed much local impact from this yet as it tends to get to those areas slower and spread slower in them.

Okay, so, the problem with that is that once folks start "seeing it in their community" it is far, far too late.

My office went to full "working from home" status back on March 13th. At the time, Massachusetts had a total of 123 known cases, and we were adding them at the rate of 15 per day. The Greater Boston area is nearly 5 million people. Nobody was "seeing" the impact of the virus at the time. The cases were 0.003% of the population - nobody knew anyone or had it, or even knew someone who knew someone.

Human intuition on when to act stinks for things that are not immediate physical threats. That is why we have put people in place who specialize in measuring the risks such issues raise. To then ignore those people is... really not smart.

I don't care if it is hard. We are the result of millions of years of evolution selecting for being smart. It is time to put on the big-person pants and act like it.

 

[Theo R Cwithin]

I noticed a distinct attitude shift out here in rural west Texas when the president announced the first "15 days" initiative or whatever it was in mid March. A lot of folks stopped the "overreaction" or "hoax" nonsense, and started taking the pandemic more seriously. Of course, the political grumbling continues, but in practice most everything is now either shut down or operating at reduced levels per official recommendations, even including churches.

It's pretty clear to me that if guidance had come from the top earlier, much of this could have been mitigated.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Another chapter in the book of ineptitude derived from nepotism:

Jared Kushner Ripped For Saying 'Our Stockpile' Isn't Meant For States To Use

“The notion of the federal stockpile was it’s supposed to be our stockpile. It’s not supposed to be states’ stockpiles that they then use.”

www.yahoo.com

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

It's pretty clear to me that if guidance had come from the top earlier, much of this could have been mitigated.

The world is getting a master class in the value of good leadership- and what it really looks like- right now.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

On the flipside though, we've got a population density that's practically insane. Trains in Tokyo are stile jammed to the rafters during rush hour. O.O

True, same as NYC.

But if those Japanese riders have otherwise been practicing social distancing and good hygiene, they’re probably far less at risk than the Americans who- honestly- haven’t been, and are interspersed with a bigger percentage of spring breakers, plague party attendees, covid-19 conspiracists, die-hard antigovernmentalists, and the poor working schmoes who simply haven’t been tested yet and are going to work sick because they can’t afford anything- healthcare included- if they don’t.

 

[FrogReaver]

Okay, so, the problem with that is that once folks start "seeing it in their community" it is far, far too late.

My office went to full "working from home" status back on March 13th. At the time, Massachusetts had a total of 123 known cases, and we were adding them at the rate of 15 per day. The Greater Boston area is nearly 5 million people. Nobody was "seeing" the impact of the virus at the time. The cases were 0.003% of the population - nobody knew anyone or had it, or even knew someone who knew someone.

Human intuition on when to act stinks for things that are not immediate physical threats. That is why we have put people in place who specialize in measuring the risks such issues raise. To then ignore those people is... really not smart.

I don't care if it is hard. We are the result of millions of years of evolution selecting for being smart. It is time to put on the big-person pants and act like it.

I don’t disagree it’s just that acting is an individual decision more than a governmental one. The people have to buy into there being a need to act. That takes visible impact

 

[Azzy]

In the bungling thing I'll put it a different way

Would you rather be in New Zealand/Germany or USA/Italy/Spain right now?

Assuming you had the same lifestyle/job and roughly equivalent resources?

No contest.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Things aren’t looking good for the quinine-related antimalarial drugs right now as a Covid-19 treatment.

A small trial finds that hydroxychloroquine is not effective for treating coronavirus

On Saturday the Food and Drug Administration approved the use of two antimalarial drugs, hydroxychloroquine and a related medication, chloroquine, for emergency use to treat COVID-19. The drugs were touted by President Trump as a “game changer” for COVID-19. However, a study just published in a...

www.yahoo.com

 

[Zardnaar]

We didn't lock down as fast as some authoritarian regimes but moved faster than most.

Stuff

i.stuff.co.nz

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Icelandic researchers are confirming that a high percentage of the affected are asymptomatic, which, of course, helps Covid-19 spread. They’ve tested 5% of their population and expect to get to @13% before the pandemic starts receding.

Iceland lab's testing suggests 50% of coronavirus cases have no symptoms | CNN

There's a lot about Iceland that other countries could envy: Its spectacular natural surroundings, its place among the world's happiest countries, and, now, its large-scale testing for the novel coronavirus, which could influence how the world understands the outbreak.

www.cnn.com