Coronavirus General Discussion (no politics, no flamewars!)

Capn Jack wrote in post #19029845
Levina- I hope that whatever is prompting the need for the MRI is benign.

Thanks very much, Jack.
I'm hoping the same thing. I will just have to wait a bit to find out.

For the birders here, I loved this mailing that came from Cornell.

How To Make These Next Few Weeks A Little Easier, Courtesy Of Birds

https://www.allaboutbi​rds.org …easier-courtesy-of-birds/

CyberDyneSystems wrote in post #19029827
My tax guy today told me that the filing was extended to July too,. maybe I misunderstood.

Excerpted from https://home.treasury.​gov/news/press-releases/sm948

"Washington – Following President Donald J. Trump’s emergency declaration pursuant to the Stafford Act, the U.S. Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) today issued guidance allowing all individual and other non-corporate tax filers to defer up to $1 million of federal income tax (including self-employment tax) payments due on April 15, 2020, until July 15, 2020, without penalties or interest. ... This guidance does not change the April 15 filing deadline.

“Americans should file their tax returns by April 15 because many will receive a refund. Those filing will be able to take advantage of their refunds sooner,” said Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin. “This deferment allows those who owe a payment to the IRS to defer the payment until July 15 without interest or penalties. Treasury and IRS are ensuring that hardworking Americans and businesses have additional liquidity for the next several months.”

Any question about any individual states needs to be researched on line at that state's website. Journalists don't always get it right! Just yesterday there was an article written by four contributors on staff at a newspaper of a major city in the SF Bay area, they referred to a 'lockdown' and failed to distinguish the difference (very restrictive) vs. a 'shelter-in-place' (less restrictive)

Levina de Ruijter wrote in post #19029833
Over here everything has closed: public places like restaurants, bars, sportclubs, you name it. Many shops have closed as well, big chains as well as small shops. Today the government announced a total lock down of nursing homes to protect the elderly. Only the people who are dying are allowed company so they don't have to die alone.

The streets of Amsterdam are empty. Traffic is almost non-existent. Even in the daytime it's quiet. Only those that need to be on the road (delivering groceries, parcels etc.) are. People are urged to stay at home, work from home, to avoid contact with other people. No social gathering but social distancing. The Eurovision Songcontest, which was to be held here in the Netherlands as we won last year, has been canceled. Everything is being cancelled. Sportevents, concerts, you name it.

Strange times.
Scary times.

I have astma and am concerned. I home-isolate. I only go out for groceries. I wanted to have them delivered but that's not even possible now. Too great a demand. No new customers. Super markets are working hard to remedy this.

I had an appointment for an MRI. The hospital canceled the appointment. Let's hope I don't have a brain tumour...

Here's what Amsterdam looks like now. Filmed by Dutch film director Dick Maas, on a scooter, riding through the city centre. The heart of Amsterdam, normally full of people having a good time, now the streets are empty.

Our friends have been in a hotel near the Amsterdam airport since Tuesday. They hope to get out Saturday.

Left over from Y2K?

Gregsiem wrote in post #19029850
For the birders here, I loved this mailing that came from Cornell.

How To Make These Next Few Weeks A Little Easier, Courtesy Of Birds

https://www.allaboutbi​rds.org …easier-courtesy-of-birds/

Great stuff, I'll definitely have a look at those tomorrow, thanks for sharing!

digital paradise wrote in post #19029854
Our friends have been in a hotel near the Amsterdam airport since Tuesday. They hope to get out Saturday.

Yes, Schiphol is now a kind of skeleton airport. Five of the seven piers are closed and used as parking lanes for planes. There is still flight, but far less.

CyberDyneSystems wrote in post #19029827
My tax guy today told me that the filing was extended to July too,. maybe I misunderstood.

I've seen many news headlines which repeat mention of the additional 90 days now allowed
for paying of taxes owed, while the same articles specifically mention that the filing deadline
has not been extended(as of today).

In all truth, I just don't get it.

Comparing historical numbers of transmission/infection rates against fatalities
and the percentages, aligned with the draconian measures being taken now,
it seems to me that the human race has been wrong this whole time.

If the current measures are truly necessary in the face of what's going on now,
then by all indications, the entire world should have been locking the doors
and turning off the lights during every flu season for centuries before now.

And what's the binge-buying of toilet rolls about?
Cripes, what a clusterf**k!
Don't the majority of bathrooms/restrooms have a bathing tub or shower
right next to the toilet? That's just about the world's largest bidet I can think of.
Plumbed/running water is not in danger of imminent stoppage,
nor is typical and common soap.

Banks closing, bars closing, restaurants closing, public parks closing, sports venues closing,
theatres closing, healthcare for elderly closing, public transit closing, schools closing,
municipal facilities closing, even courthouses closing, as well as outdoor venues for
social gatherings closing, and there's even a few militant-state places now declared
within the US. What's next? Book-burnings and military-enforced lockdowns?
WHY!?

The numbers still don't even come close to SARS, Zika, HERS and a bunch of stuff
like Ebola, and even Tuberculosis, to warrant such a large-scale shutdown
on a global scale.

I blame social media first, because they're the first of the zealots to come out with
distorted renditions or outright falsehoods of current events. The 'trusted' media
then steps in, attempting to separate the falsehoods from truth, while the
social-media zealots continue to perpetrate the bulls**t they believe,
and it becomes a media warfare, leaving the public with no fully trusted source
of factual information.

With this Coronageddon now fully entrenched in the world public's view, I'm genuinely
afraid for the first time in my life. I'm afraid that my neighbors may become hostile
towards me with no provocation, and I'm afraid that my and my wife's livelihood
are in significant danger or becoming so. I'm not afraid of the virus which is
the cause of this state of affairs, but of the knee-jerk reactions of the multitudes
of the world's populace which seems to have abandoned rational thought in regards
to a newer strain of a virus known to mankind for decades.

SkedAddled wrote in post #19029872
I've seen many news headlines which repeat mention of the additional 90 days now allowed
for paying of taxes owed, while the same articles specifically mention that the filing deadline
has not been extended(as of today).

In all truth, I just don't get it.

Comparing historical numbers of transmission/infection rates against fatalities
and the percentages, aligned with the draconian measures being taken now,
it seems to me that the human race has been wrong this whole time.

If the current measures are truly necessary in the face of what's going on now,
then by all indications, the entire world should have been locking the doors
and turning off the lights during every flu season for centuries before now.

And what's the binge-buying of toilet rolls about?
Cripes, what a clusterf**k!
Don't the majority of bathrooms/restrooms have a bathing tub or shower
right next to the toilet? That's just about the world's largest bidet I can think of.
Plumbed/running water is not in danger of imminent stoppage,
nor is typical and common soap.

Banks closing, bars closing, restaurants closing, public parks closing, sports venues closing,
theatres closing, healthcare for elderly closing, public transit closing, schools closing,
municipal facilities closing, even courthouses closing, as well as outdoor venues for
social gatherings closing, and there's even a few militant-state places now declared
within the US. What's next? Book-burnings and military-enforced lockdowns?
WHY!?

The numbers still don't even come close to SARS, Zika, HERS and a bunch of stuff
like Ebola, and even Tuberculosis, to warrant such a large-scale shutdown
on a global scale.

I blame social media first, because they're the first of the zealots to come out with
distorted renditions or outright falsehoods of current events. The 'trusted' media
then steps in, attempting to separate the falsehoods from truth, while the
social-media zealots continue to perpetrate the bulls**t they believe,
and it becomes a media warfare, leaving the public with no fully trusted source
of factual information.

With this Coronageddon now fully entrenched in the world public's view, I'm genuinely
afraid for the first time in my life. I'm afraid that my neighbors may become hostile
towards me with no provocation, and I'm afraid that my and my wife's livelihood
are in significant danger or becoming so. I'm not afraid of the virus which is
the cause of this state of affairs, but of the knee-jerk reactions of the multitudes
of the world's populace which seems to have abandoned rational thought in regards
to a newer strain of a virus known to mankind for decades.

The death rate is higher than most influenza strains, and it spreads more rapidly.

I'm a little frustrated at the number of outdoor recreational venues that are closed. In colorado springs they are closing the manitou incline, a popular hiking trail, an the city of denver has closed access to waterton canyon. Both of these venues epitomize social distancing as the participants are often solitary, or perhaps a couple of friends together. Certainly less than groups of ten that we've been warned to avoid.

I'm in favor of most of the restrictions on gatherings and limits on restaurants and bars but closing low density outdoor venues seems like overkill.

SkedAddled wrote in post #19029872
...

In all truth, I just don't get it.

Comparing historical numbers of transmission/infection rates against fatalities
and the percentages, aligned with the draconian measures being taken now,
it seems to me that the human race has been wrong this whole time.

If the current measures are truly necessary in the face of what's going on now,
then by all indications, the entire world should have been locking the doors
and turning off the lights during every flu season for centuries before now.

>snip<

Many people are making the mistake, sometimes in the face of compelling, contradictory and credible evidence, of comparing C-19 with flu and then deciding there's little to panic about.

The FACTS are (and these explain why leaders worldwide are risking whole economies and millions of jobs in the fight):

Capn Jack wrote in post #19029877
The death rate is higher than most influenza strains, and it spreads more rapidly.

1.3% was the latest figure I read about, worldwide, as compiled from confirmed
or official sources.

Even so, it doesn't compare to the Spanish Flu of 1918, by a long shot.

Australia's Northern Territory, an area a bit bigger than California, Arizona and Texas combined, has just, in the last few minutes, reported its second case of Covid-19. The first was a week or so ago, a man flew in from Sydney with it. This one arrived from overseas a few days ago. Our Chief Minister is trying to find out if he can close the NT's borders.

SkedAddled wrote in post #19029881
1.3% was the latest figure I read about, worldwide, as compiled from confirmed
or official sources.

Even so, it doesn't compare to the Spanish Flu of 1918, by a long shot.

How bad should it get before we do anything?

SkedAddled wrote in post #19029881
1.3% was the latest figure I read about, worldwide, as compiled from confirmed
or official sources.

Even so, it doesn't compare to the Spanish Flu of 1918, by a long shot.

Come back in two years with the C-19 numbers, because that Spanish Flu number is the total across TWO YEARS, whereas we only have a few weeks' worth of data for C-19 (the China data being highly dubious).

Besides, the Spanish Flu occurred when nutrition, hygiene, medicine and ICU treatment was waaaay behind where we are now, largely explaining the horrific death rate. For this new virus to infect and kill so many people, so quickly, despite the very effective care available these days, is unprecedented and deserves to be taken very, very seriously.

The numbers of deaths in Europe and America might seem less daunting at present, but we have already seen in Italy that, because C-19 spreads very rapidly and silently, ICU facilities rapidly become overwhelmed. If that scenario repeats itself in other, highly-populated nations, things are going to get really bad.

And that's before we start talking about the implications of 'the unknown'. There is growing alarm over the behaviour of C-19 is several ways, the most recent being the possibility that a recovered victim can relapse days or weeks after being discharged from hospital. If that turns out to be true, the way we use isolation to mitigate transmission will have to be seriously reconsidered.