some good news in Italy

[ldubs]

1 hour ago, ilikeanswers said:

 

I for one do find it surprising. Taiwan even WHO has commended for their fast and effective response to COVID 19, South Korea flattened the curve in record time, even Singapore who was looking like it was about to go Wuhan status managed to slow down the spread. You have countries that have discovered effective strategies to fight the infection rate. One of those strategies that WHO recommended early on was to test as much as possible this should have indicated to Western nations to start stock piling test kits and instead we are rationing them out because there is not enough. It does kind of feel like the West was asleep at the wheel with this one.

 

You find it surprising that people expected better?  I don't.  I think you are getting this turned around.  But either way, I think you make some good points though again hindsight is always perfect.  Anyway, I'm not arguing there are not lessons to be learned.   But I will still stand by my original comment (post #17).    

[ilikeanswers]

3 minutes ago, ldubs said:

You find it surprising that people expected better?

 

Sorry I must have misunderstood I thought you were saying that people were not expecting better.

Edited March 30, 2020 by ilikeanswers

[ldubs]

Just now, ilikeanswers said:

 

Sorry I must have misunderstood I thought you were saying that people should not have expected better.

 

No, I meant I wasn't surprised people expected better.   Anyway, the whole thing is about as much of a nightmare as anyone wants.  Whatever should have happened, let's keep full pressure on now. 

 

BTW, I was in Singapore right when this thing was blowing up and travel was shutting down. Some of our travel companions made last minute flight changes to avoid Hong Kong.  We had our temps checked every time we entered our hotel.  Anyway, I don't have any special knowledge as a result of being there but it was interesting.   

[SRF]

21 hours ago, ed01106 said:

We had well over month longer to prepare for this virus than China.  We had a few weeks longer than S Korea and at least a week longer than Italy.

 

China was caught by surprise. The US government made a decision to ignore the warnings.  Yet despite the fact China had no warning, unlike the USA, they did a better job at containment.  China made multiple mistakes and did numerous things wrong, but overall their response was better than ours.

 

Because when the locked down, the really locked down.

 

You cannot get that response in the US.

 

Look at the idiots.  Spring Break.  

 

A friend is house sitting for someone who, LAST WEEK, flew from SoCA to FL for a wedding.

 

 

[ed01106]

1 hour ago, SRF said:

 

Because when the locked down, the really locked down.

 

You cannot get that response in the US.

Actually lockdowns aren’t containment, they are mitigation.

 

Containment is done by testing individuals and isolating the known sick from the healthy. Lockdowns, like social distancing, are mitigation in which you limit contact between people to stop the spread because you don’t know who is healthy and who is sick.  
 

China did use both approaches, but ultimately all mitigation can do is buy you some time.  Containment is the only way to truly control the disease, but that requires sufficient tests to test anyone who is suspected of having the disease or who may have come in contact with someone who has the disease. 

[Ava79]

On 3/28/2020 at 10:20 PM, ldubs said:

 

I agree with the last sentence.  Too many people focusing on petty politics, personal gains, finger pointing & even hate when we should all be focused on getting past this pandemic.   

 

And of course, hindsight is incredibly accurate.  

I agree with you. The word COVIDiot was invented for a reason. So many people could protect themselves and others just by sitting at home. On the other hand, we are now seeing a real example of the courage and heroism of our doctors, grocery store workers and transport services. I hope that in peaceful time we won't stop appreciating this less.

[ldubs]

2 hours ago, Ava79 said:

 On the other hand, we are now seeing a real example of the courage and heroism of our doctors, grocery store workers and transport services. I hope that in peaceful time we won't stop appreciating this less.

 

👍👍👍

[ed01106]

2 hours ago, Ava79 said:

I agree with you. The word COVIDiot was invented for a reason. So many people could protect themselves and others just by sitting at home. On the other hand, we are now seeing a real example of the courage and heroism of our doctors, grocery store workers and transport services. I hope that in peaceful time we won't stop appreciating this less.

I am not optimistic that this will translate into cashiers and stock clerks making a living wage. The business being bailed out will cry now is not the time for a higher minimum wage.

[SRF]

On 3/30/2020 at 3:28 PM, ed01106 said:

Actually lockdowns aren’t containment, they are mitigation.

 

Containment is done by testing individuals and isolating the known sick from the healthy. Lockdowns, like social distancing, are mitigation in which you limit contact between people to stop the spread because you don’t know who is healthy and who is sick.  
 

China did use both approaches, but ultimately all mitigation can do is buy you some time.  Containment is the only way to truly control the disease, but that requires sufficient tests to test anyone who is suspected of having the disease or who may have come in contact with someone who has the disease. 

 

Did I ever say it was containment?  NO

 

And containment does not always work also.  Especially with evidence that people who are recovered may still be shedding virus.

 

As for testing, only the UK is discussing testing for people who have had it and are now immune. The testing that is being done around the world is for ACTIVE cases.

 

And BTW the US is at a whopping 0.3% of the population having been tested.

 

And, BTW all the strategies are not to stop the spread.  It is only to slow it down.  1)  To spread out the load on the health care system and 2) to buy time for development of a treatment or a vaccine.

Edited April 1, 2020 by SRF

[Ava79]

On 3/31/2020 at 7:37 PM, ed01106 said:

I am not optimistic that this will translate into cashiers and stock clerks making a living wage. The business being bailed out will cry now is not the time for a higher minimum wage.

Well, it's hard for any private business right now. This, unfortunately, is logical. But people have to live and earn money somehow, don't they? So let's see what measures the government will take to support businesses

[Toofarfromthesea]

When we discuss government actions it sure would be helpful if folks would identify what country they are from in their profile.  Like in the above message saying "So let's see what measures the government will take to support businesses".  What government?  If US it just takes a little research to see what the government is doing to support business since we just passed a 2 trillion dollar relief bill.  If a different country, then that government may or may be doing anything.  But talking about what non-specific 'government' is doing in a general sense isn't very useful.

[Lois R]

Hi, yes, we did pass that bill but we will need a 4th one too.