NZ does but I, like a lot of Kiwis, tend to use electronic processing rather than cash, especially if it's contactless.
New Coronavirus threat
- Thread starter John Fedup
- Start date
John Fedup
The Bunker Group
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #622
In fact here, many places only accept contactless electronic payment due to COVID, especially take aways.
Todjaeger
Potstirrer
5 minutes in a microwave oven set on High should be sufficient to ensure that you do not get infected from that cell/mobile phone.
Don't let other people handle your cellphone and there should be no need to disinfect your cellphone. If you have to disinfect it anyway, just wipe it with some disinfectant. Alcohol based disinfectants should be safe and won't damage the plastic. Some other disinfectants may be safe too. Just make sure to give the disinfectant time to work. If you use 70% alcohol, wait for it to dry by itself and that should be enough time.
My wife's done that. Alcohol-based disinfectants seem to penetrate much better than water. Took a few days before it was working properly again. She almost bought a new one.
Atlantic Realm
New Member
Nah, Florida’s fine.
Well, 30 of them managed to get themselves infected. I'm actually surprised leave was granted - might have been better to keep 'em penned up.
Atlantic Realm
New Member
Tested positive for shed viruses from months ago most likely. Florida managed the virus much better than peer states and most countries in the West.
Total number of deaths isn't the best measure. Deaths in proportion to population is better.
Deaths per million population:
Florida 750
Georgia 723
Texas 607
Alabama 572
USA 682
For comparison -
Spain 732
UK 647
Italy 607
France 519
Germany 119
I don't see Florida as having managed the virus particularly well. More deaths than the US average, or the major European countries.
But if you look at new cases Texas is doing much worse than Florida, & so's Alabama.
Deaths per million population:
Florida 750
Georgia 723
Texas 607
Alabama 572
USA 682
For comparison -
Spain 732
UK 647
Italy 607
France 519
Germany 119
I don't see Florida as having managed the virus particularly well. More deaths than the US average, or the major European countries.
But if you look at new cases Texas is doing much worse than Florida, & so's Alabama.
Atlantic Realm
New Member
Look, virus is gonna virus. Mark 2020 as the year ‘experts’ decided to pretend we could hide from a submicroscopic particle for which person-to-person is just one potential vector. And guess what ? You’ve been breathing Covid all year ... and you’re still alive!
@Atlantic Realm
Dismissing COVID-19 as something we just have to live with (suggesting it is essentially a non-event) flies in the face the growing understanding of the bug, the action being taken to control it and the impact it has had on many lives. You need to drop this topic as I suspect it will divert the thread off topic and the comments are contentious in any case.
Regards
Alexsa
1. Rubbish. Florida’s death toll of 16,544 people from CORVID-19 is higher than Germany (9,960 deaths), South Korea (455 deaths), NZ (25 deaths), and Singapore (28 deaths) combined.
2. In Florida there have been 771,780 cases of coronavirus since March, according to the Florida Department of Health. On 23 Oct 2020, the weekly case average increased to about 3,335 coronavirus cases announced per day. Therefore, Florida at 750 deaths per million due to CORVID-19 is incompetent and doing poorly by comparison to Europe and criminally negligent compared to 4 of the 5 countries listed below:
(a) France (519 deaths per million);
(b) Germany (119 deaths per million);
(c) South Korea (8.9 deaths per million);
(d) NZ (5 deaths per million); or
(e) Singapore (4.3 deaths per million).
3. US President Trump’s refusal to use masks has caught up with him, resulting in his family and the White House becoming a cluster of CORVID-19 infections. In this Brave New World that Germany, Korea, NZ and Singapore is part of, frequent hand washing is recommended and wearing a mask when leaving home is the norm. Let me share some facts from Singapore:
(a) Masks help to reduce the expulsion and transmission of droplets, which is the predominant route of transmission of COVID-19 (see Ministry of Heath (MOH) FAQ).
(b) Some 11 million masks were given out to Singaporean residents, along with free hand sanitisers, as part of CORVID-19 efforts by Temasek Holdings to support the nation's fight against the pandemic.
(c) In addition, about one million face shields were distributed to young schoolchildren and front-line workers in the food and beverage industry, while 250,000 oximeters - devices used to measure blood oxygen levels - were donated to various groups in the community.
(d) It will soon be compulsory to use the TraceTogether app or token to perform SafeEntry check-in at certain venues conducting activities with large groups of people in Singapore. This transition from other SafeEntry methods, such as scanning identity cards, is vital as Singapore prepares to resume larger-scale events and further reopen its economy safely, said Singapore’s Smart Nation and Digital Government Office.
4. Agreed. In Europe, Germany with 417,350 infected and 119 deaths per million is often seen as the gold standard for CORVID-19 management.
5. In common with other countries that have a competent pandemic response (like Korea, NZ and Singapore), what’s often cited for Germany’s above average effectiveness in its governmental response is through:
(a) an effective deployment of technology, such as a contact tracing app, to fight the pandemic;
(b) the frequently praised mass testing program, which rivals South Korea’s; and
(c) the oversupply of ICU beds— controversial before the coronavirus, now lauded.
The most important factor is leadership that understands the science and engineering efforts needed to solve problems. In this regard it helps that Angela Merkel has a doctorate in quantum chemistry and heads a country that treats scientists, like the Berlin-based virologist and podcaster Christian Drosten, like superstars.
6. When compared to Europe’s gold standard, South Korea, New Zealand and Singapore are the platinum standard for CORVID-19 management that would put any American state or city to shame — taking the pandemic seriously, these countries despite some set backs, have managed risks properly:
(a) South Korea has had a total of 455 CORVID-19 deaths, to date, with a population of about 51.3 million. Korea has 25,698 cases and has the 2nd lowest rate of reported cases at 268 per million population in OECD countries (above Japan at 181; as per 17 July). The fight to keep infection rates down is ongoing with some set-backs, including on 21 Oct 2020, when Korea added 121 new coronavirus cases — 104 locally transmitted and 17 imported from overseas. It marks the first time the number of locally transmitted cases surpassed 100 since 24 Sep 2020. A total of 26 cases were traced to a medical institution and a nursing facility, both in Gyeonggi Province, where infected patients from a family gathering spread the virus at their workplace and a senior care home. New clusters of infections were also reported from a swimming pool in southwestern Seoul, and from a clothing factory in Yangju, Gyeonggi Province, with 10 cases and seven cases linked to the clusters so far, respectively.
(b) NZ has had a total of 25 CORVID-19 deaths, to date, with a population of about 5 million. NZ has 1,914 confirmed and probable cases (as at 22 Oct 2020), has the third lowest rate of reported cases at 310 per million population (above Japan at 181 and South Korea at 267; as per 17 July).
(c) Singapore has had a total of 28 CORVID-19 deaths, with a population of about 6.5 million; partly because smart management of pandemic risks ensured that the heath system was never over-whelmed. This is despite the fact that 57,941 were infected, which is a much higher rate per million of population than in Korea or NZ. In Apr 2020 infections peaked at 1,426 cases per day, to 300 per day in July, to 8 per day (as at 22 Oct 2020). From Apr to Aug 2020, Singapore struggled to bring infection rates per million of population (that was higher than Korea or NZ) under control; but as the numbers show in Oct, transmission rates have gone way down thanks to effective leadership and testing, contact tracing, use of technology, and numerous other effective measures at a whole-of-government level.
(d) Deaths per million population compared:
Germany 119
Korea 8.9
NZ 5
Singapore 4.3
(e) Total COVID-19 infections compared:
Germany 417,350
Korea 25,698
NZ 1,914
Singapore 57,941
7. As of 17 Oct 2020, 37 COVID-19 patients remain hospitalised in Singapore, with none in intensive care. In Singapore more than 99% of those infected have been discharged, while there are 41 in community care facilities.
(a) One of the most effective ways of keeping patients alive in the early days was flipping them around to lie prone - or on their front - instead of on their backs when they were on ventilators.
(b) But the simple manoeuvre helped patients breathe easier and absorb oxygen better, buying time for the body to recover as there was no effective therapy at that point in the outbreak.
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Don't bother giving Atlantic Realm the benefit of the doubt. Look at his posting history. He is not someone who joins our group wanting to talk about defense matters and then talking about current events such as the coronavirus pandemic. He is an account specifically created to spread misinformation about the coronavirus. Look at the way he copy-pasted the exact same post at the same exact time on two different threads. That is not a person. It's a bot.
8. The Moderators have banned Atlantic Realm in the interim pending a decision on his long term fate in DT. Poor management of COVID-19 risks is resulting in 73,000 new cases in America — with the rate of increase rising. Denial and refusal to recognise risk is killing Americans at a record rate. On 24 Oct 2020, the number of new coronavirus infections in America at 77,640 is greater than the total number of infections in many countries.
9. Unlike idiots like US President Donald Trump and members of his administration who earlier refused to wear masks or touted the use of hydroxychloroquine (an anti-malarial drug) for the coronavirus, medicines like remdesivir and dexamethasone are proven effective at clinical trials. Dexamethasone, a commonly used corticosteroid, helps to dampen inflammation, as patients can develop severe disease due to overwhelming inflammation in the body that is triggered by the viral infection.
10. Singapore’s National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID), a purpose built 500 bed facility, collaborated with Gilead and the United States' National Institutes of Health for the remdesivir clinical trials.
(a) Explaining how the drugs work, Dr Lee Tau Hong, 39 said that remdesivir is an anti-viral agent that acts directly on the SARS-CoV-2 – the virus that causes COVID-19 – thus reducing the harmful effects of the disease — remdesivir shortened the average length of stay in the ICU for patients on the study.
(b) "Eventually, we were proven right with the official release of the trial results, which showed remdesivir to be the first drug with proven efficacy against SARS-CoV-2," Dr Ray Lin Junhao, 37, an infectious disease consultant at Tan Tock Seng Hospital and NCID said.
11. As with the other misinformation about the coronavirus you try to peddle, this is also factually untrue. Risk can be managed, even as the economy is being progressively opened up for business again. For example, Singapore will pilot pre-event testing from mid-October to December to identify a model that can be widely implemented so that more large-scale events can safely resume, announced Minister for Health Gan Kim Yong on Tuesday (Oct 20).
(a) This means that participants going to an event or activity will be tested either at the event venue or at a separate testing facility, and only participants who have tested negative in these Antigen rapid tests (ARTs) will be allowed to participate in the event.
(b) Although polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests are currently used as the “definitive test” for confirming COVID-19 cases, the results take about one to two days, which is not feasible for pre-event testing.
(c) The ART results will be valid for 24 hours from the time of the swab, and it must be valid at the point of entry until the end of the event, said MOH.
12. Broadly, two modes of transmission of COVID-19 exist—direct and indirect.
(i) The direct mode includes (a) transmission via aerosols formed via surgical and dental procedures and/or in the form of respiratory droplet nuclei; (b) other body fluids and secretions, for example, feces, saliva, urine, semen, and tears; and (c) mother-to-child.
(ii) Indirect transmission may occur via (a) fomites or surfaces (e.g., furniture and fixtures) present within the immediate environment of an infected patient and (b) objects used on the infected person (e.g., stethoscope or thermometer).
Todjaeger
Potstirrer
There is potentially a third mode of transmission, as there have now been a number of instances where frozen food packaging has tested positive for viable SARS-CoV-2 viruses. Not viewed as a major risk at present, based off the number of positives (22) vs. the # of frozen food packages tested (670,000 samples IIRC) and at present it seems unknown how the virus cultures ended up on the frozen cod packaging, but it is another thing to be mindful of.
John Fedup
The Bunker Group
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #636
Clearly, free and open societies haven’t been doing well against COVID with a few notable exceptions. Poor leadership is partly to blame along with populations with a significant number of Darwin Award contenders.
In addition to poor leadership, the US also has this stupidity to deal with, not sure how difficult $hit-canning a federal court judge is? Mind you I am not a fan of holy rollers so maybe this is gene pool improvement.
Two Colorado churches win lawsuit against state's Covid-19 mask and crowd limit requirements
Two Colorado churches win lawsuit against state's Covid-19 mask and crowd limit requirements
In addition to poor leadership, the US also has this stupidity to deal with, not sure how difficult $hit-canning a federal court judge is? Mind you I am not a fan of holy rollers so maybe this is gene pool improvement.
Two Colorado churches win lawsuit against state's Covid-19 mask and crowd limit requirements
Two Colorado churches win lawsuit against state's Covid-19 mask and crowd limit requirements
Well it's their constitution @John Fedup and since they want to live by the absolute word of it and a Bible sobeit. As we say in the pussers, not our part of ship. May I suggest that you start campaigning your illustrious great leader to build a wall and get the yanks to pay for it.
John Fedup
The Bunker Group
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #638
Junior can’t get a relatively short pipeline built. How could he manage a 5000 mile wall? Don’t think the yanks have to worry about any payments any time soon.
Poor leadership would imply that there has been any leadership. From the outside it looks like the US is one step away from being a failed state. Regardless of who wins Tuesday you will have around half the population ready to take up arms. The Chinese must be gloating over what they would see as the imminent failure of democracy.
The White House is pushing back after Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s leading infectious disease expert, said the United States is in a terrible position to face the upcoming months of the pandemic. A White House spokesman called Fauci’s remarks “unacceptable.”
I don’t understand, often times, Dr. Anthony Fauci is the only adult in the room.
The biggest public health challenge in the United States is that these policies are largely implemented at the state and local level; so we can’t blame everything on the White House. The federal government has financial resources and can help set the tone, but it is ultimately up to these state governments to decide what makes sense for them. This is precisely where many of the problems with America’s Covid-19 response emerge – and that is because of how public health has become a partisan issue.
In this election, Trump is both an incumbent and an underdog.The Economist thinks Mr Biden is "very likely" to beat Mr Trump while FiveThirtyEight , a political analysis website, sees Mr Biden as "favoured" to win the election but says the president could still come out on top.
I hope sanity resumes in America after this 2020 election but the signs are not promising. It may take awhile for the Nov 3 election results to come in.
That period of time between voting and results is especially vulnerable to attack, by foreign countries, like Russia that seek to spread disinformation and undermine the legitimacy of the American electoral process. Some Americans are definitely nervous — US gun sales reach record highs in 2020 amid COVID-19, civil unrest (NYPost).
I don’t understand, often times, Dr. Anthony Fauci is the only adult in the room.
The biggest public health challenge in the United States is that these policies are largely implemented at the state and local level; so we can’t blame everything on the White House. The federal government has financial resources and can help set the tone, but it is ultimately up to these state governments to decide what makes sense for them. This is precisely where many of the problems with America’s Covid-19 response emerge – and that is because of how public health has become a partisan issue.
The CCP sees both risks and opportunities arising WITH a Trump Presidency that may stretch into a second term. In the short term, US allies are able to deter China; but I think in the mid-to-long term, we, in Asia, have to figure out a way to move forward without the American leadership, even if Biden wins.
In this election, Trump is both an incumbent and an underdog.The Economist thinks Mr Biden is "very likely" to beat Mr Trump while FiveThirtyEight , a political analysis website, sees Mr Biden as "favoured" to win the election but says the president could still come out on top.
I hope sanity resumes in America after this 2020 election but the signs are not promising. It may take awhile for the Nov 3 election results to come in.
That period of time between voting and results is especially vulnerable to attack, by foreign countries, like Russia that seek to spread disinformation and undermine the legitimacy of the American electoral process. Some Americans are definitely nervous — US gun sales reach record highs in 2020 amid COVID-19, civil unrest (NYPost).
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