See? Under Trump the rest of the world is looking up to America again pic.twitter.com/zezOMELhf9
— The Daily Show (@TheDailyShow) May 7, 2020
“As bad as this has been, it’s just the beginning.”
The former head of the CDC says the coronavirus pandemic could go on for "many months and possibly many years” and predicts at least 100,000 deaths in the U.S. by the end of May pic.twitter.com/5ooTEayEs9
— Bloomberg QuickTake (@QuickTake) May 9, 2020
U.S. CDC reports 1,248,040 coronavirus cases, 75,477 deaths https://t.co/ZuaohZTWDQ pic.twitter.com/RMSpVAvM64
— Reuters (@Reuters) May 9, 2020
FDA approves first at-home saliva collection test for #coronavirus. Rutgers' RUCDR Infinite Biologics received an emergency-use authorization for a test that will allow people to collect their own saliva at home & send to a lab for results https://t.co/1r5lgtXQwC pic.twitter.com/wNk3dbYyHl
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) May 8, 2020
CNN/3
Small outbreaks can be controlled, w/immediate, brief lockdowns, social distancing. But for the next few years, until global immunization is executed, governance of #COVID19 responses will be extremely challenging, & economic fallout will be excruciating: The new normal.— Laurie Garrett (@Laurie_Garrett) May 8, 2020
Cover story on the global race to develop a #coronavirus vaccine. Story explores messenger-RNA, DNA, recombinant vaccines and more. By @DelthiaRicks https://t.co/LEVLdJ73YT pic.twitter.com/FYzemkLWAD
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) May 9, 2020
Heartland(tm) America…
Iowa now has had more confirmed COVID cases than South Korea.
— Steven Dennis (@StevenTDennis) May 8, 2020
And a very different curve. pic.twitter.com/dtJIylZssp
— Kedron Bardwell (@KedronBardwell) May 8, 2020
Iowa population: 3 Million
South Korea population: 51 MillionPence praises Iowa's 'success story' as infections climbhttps://t.co/3DfC2PQR9s
— Denise Shearin ?? (@DeniseShearin) May 8, 2020
New York City urged to shut down 80 live animal markets amid fresh pandemic fears https://t.co/oimilyHrCr
Dozens of live animal markets are dotted across the five boroughs and many operate out of storefronts in close proximity to homes, schools and parks pic.twitter.com/EDqYe2QKbg— Svein T veitdal (@tveitdal) May 8, 2020
Fifty years ago, when I was growing up in the Bronx, we didn’t have ‘wet markets’ in our neighborhood… so some of the nice Jewish ladies on the block made weekly trips downtown to get a really fresh chicken for the big Sabbath meal. I suspect, even now, most of NYC’s ‘wet markets’ are family-run butcher shops that supply fresh-killed poultry (and possibly in season, such as for Easter, lambs/goat) to a roster of known customers. I assume similar operations exist in any city large enough to support one or more kosher (or halal) butcher shops — and let’s not forget the trendy ‘organic’ outlets doing the same for paleo eaters & nose-to-tail-cuisine devotees. But, of course, it’s extremely easy for interested parties to stigmatize such operations as filthy dens of animal abuse that exist because ‘foreigners’ (including Orthodox Jews and Chinatown residents) don’t care if they contaminate decent (white) Real Americans…
… The Department of Agriculture and Markets, which oversees smaller live animal facilities, says that live bird markets in New York are different than the wet markets of China and mainly deal in domestic poultry.
However, animal welfare campaigners and public health officials point out that risks of infectious disease still exist…
Not to argue against shutting down these operations, at least during the current emergency, but let’s not allow their existence to become another talking point for the racists & xenophobes to attack ‘those people’ (while defending the known massive hot-spot instigators like Tyson and Smithfield as ‘essential American resources’).
Union opposes reopening U.S. meat plants as more workers die https://t.co/BwPJDF41D3 pic.twitter.com/qKwMQzd7oy
— Reuters (@Reuters) May 9, 2020
Why your steak is safe despite the abattoir coronavirus clusterhttps://t.co/T5goonNrq7
— ɪᴀɴ ᴍ. ᴍᴀᴄᴋᴀʏ, ᴘʜᴅ ?????? (@MackayIM) May 7, 2020
China reports one new coronavirus case, 15 asymptomatic cases https://t.co/POvOtFJJ3h pic.twitter.com/OdXGxV4Sju
— Reuters (@Reuters) May 9, 2020
Coronavirus: China offers to help North Korea fight pandemic https://t.co/1TloB1ILAP
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) May 9, 2020
Coronavirus forces Russia to hold slimmed down Victory Day in blow to Putin https://t.co/6nIsL0YpHt pic.twitter.com/dpvIOfLFlD
— Reuters (@Reuters) May 9, 2020
Coronavirus: Belarus WW2 parade defies pandemic and upstages Putin https://t.co/AoSvFfbfyC
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) May 8, 2020
Dearth of medical resources in Africa for #COVID19 reminiscent of early HIV/AIDS pandemic https://t.co/CVZbXfewTo via @medical_xpress
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) May 8, 2020
Germany's confirmed coronavirus cases rise by 1,209 to 167,300 – RKI https://t.co/gncWgXaJ9J pic.twitter.com/yKFMzBCRjM
— Reuters UK (@ReutersUK) May 8, 2020
The calculus of death shows the COVID lock-down is clearly worth the cost https://t.co/Ca2dAy248F via @ConversationEDU
— ɪᴀɴ ᴍ. ᴍᴀᴄᴋᴀʏ, ᴘʜᴅ ?????? (@MackayIM) May 7, 2020
Milan is a ticking #coronavirus time bomb, a virologist is warning. Italy's capital has reopened. But a high number of infected people are returning to circulation, the scientist cautioned. Their presence might reignite a wave of infections https://t.co/IJLJJUtTGu pic.twitter.com/JhQPDjVPYs
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) May 8, 2020
UK 'to bring in 14-day quarantine for air passengers' https://t.co/c0nigvgxWM
— BBC Business (@BBCBusiness) May 8, 2020
Australia's biggest states hold off relaxing COVID-19 lockdowns https://t.co/6pz003StqH pic.twitter.com/HnatEF0pw4
— Reuters (@Reuters) May 9, 2020
Kuwait imposes 20-day 'total curfew' from May 10 to curb coronavirus https://t.co/D85hKBAAYM pic.twitter.com/007GWZ3FLy
— Reuters (@Reuters) May 8, 2020
Brazil hits new record for daily coronavirus deaths https://t.co/UGuBUjyWes pic.twitter.com/pJqiGb4T2N
— Reuters (@Reuters) May 9, 2020
Roaming 'robodog' politely asks Singapore park-goers to keep one meter apart https://t.co/QkDNr4pNiV pic.twitter.com/obqoWdTizj
— Reuters (@Reuters) May 9, 2020
We know some about the intense immune response to #SARSCoV2. And we know a bit about #COVID clots.
How do they come together? Nicely reviewed today:
https://t.co/XfafCiypHp @TheLancetRheum pic.twitter.com/MU3DyjSRus— Eric Topol (@EricTopol) May 7, 2020
And a million smutty jokes are launched:
Clinical Characteristics and Results of Semen Tests Among Men With Coronavirus Disease 2019
-receptors were there, just a matter of time until someone testedhttps://t.co/s5NnltITWO— ɪᴀɴ ᴍ. ᴍᴀᴄᴋᴀʏ, ᴘʜᴅ ?????? (@MackayIM) May 8, 2020
Abbott coronavirus test is accurate; infected mother's breast milk may protect infants https://t.co/Ij0ShvGEpw pic.twitter.com/XUWoEKVs5z
— Reuters (@Reuters) May 8, 2020
Ex-NHL player who had COVID-19: Season shouldn't resume https://t.co/4v9DgWJgCj pic.twitter.com/mbegBeonwp
— Reuters (@Reuters) May 9, 2020
Reports: Silver says NBA doesn't expect fans back this year https://t.co/uJszphdvBO pic.twitter.com/kYSSyULxZx
— Reuters (@Reuters) May 9, 2020
Just in time for Mothers Day!
Downtown flower market in Los Angeles reopens pic.twitter.com/1GiFsVkHbF
— Reuters (@Reuters) May 9, 2020
Amir Khalid
For some reason, today’s media briefing by the Director-General of Health was not livestreamed. So these numbers for Malaysia are based on what I got off Worldometer:
34 new cases, total 6,589 cases. No breakdown available for local infection vs. repatriated Malaysians. 65 more patients recovered, total recovered 4,929 or 74.8% of total cases reported. One more death, total 108 deaths. 1,552 active cases, no breakdown available for patients in ICU or on respiratory aid. Case fatality rate 2.14%.
satby
Good morning Anne Laurie and thanks for your continuing work on aggregating these covid updates.
And it’s pretty obvious that Kushner wasn’t joking when he said the federal strategic reserve was “theirs”. Turns out that’s where all the tests are. That disgusting pack of grifters has been getting daily tests but the rest of us still have trouble getting one?
Sab
I am a retired introvert on Social Security. I will probably be fine, except my whole social circke ( stepkids, youngerr siblings etc are esential workers.
I xpcannot even imagine I canot even imagine for ” non-esential workers. ” What does that even mean. If they didn’t need you whybdid they even have you? Oh, they did need you, only justcsorta?
terben
From the Australian Dept of Health:
‘As at 3:00pm on 9 May 2020, a total of 6,929 cases of COVID-19 have been reported in Australia, including 97 deaths and 6,135 have been reported as recovered from COVID-19.
Over the past week, there has been an average of 18 new cases reported each day. Of the newly reported cases, the majority have been from Victoria.
To date, over 795,000 tests have been conducted nationally. Of those tests conducted 0.9% have been positive.’
Only two states of the 8 states/territories reported new cases today.
satby
@Amir Khalid: And good evening Amir. Malaysia is doing a good job for its citizens. Must be nice to have a functional government.
edit: typo fixed
JPL
Anne, Thank you again for these updates.
satby
The new wingnut theme (besides constantly spreading that plandumbic video) is that China and all the other countries are lying about their numbers. So if our country looks worse, it’s because the Trumpies “tell it like it is”. People are horrible.
mrmoshpotato
OT – Went on my nightly walk about midnight. There is still a giant hole in an intersection near me and excavators galore! Woo hoo! (Sewer work)
Amir Khalid
@satby:
That’s the terribleness (terribility?) we’ve come to expect from the Trump administration. The President expects people who require something of the federal Government to first kiss his ring like he’s Don Vito Corleone. Jared hoards PPE like it’s underpants and he’s a gnome. They’ve made an enemy of the World Health Organisation for no fathomable reason. They’re going to drag America through hell before this pandemic is done with. (Malaysia has embraced WHO guidelines for pandemic management, as have many other nations, and has done decently well.)
Baud
All other countries’ good curves should be called “Hillary curves,” to contrast with our own “Trump curve.”
Amir Khalid
@satby:
I don’t think we’d be doing as well under Najib Tun Razak. He insisted on leading the management of the MH370 disappearance, being PM at the time, and bungled it badly.
NotMax
Grr. One of those is something I had been saving for the morning thread. Best laid plains gang agley again.
;)
satby
Well, time to go see if enough people are behaving at the market for me to stay. Everyone have a good day or night, depending on location ?
germy
TS (the original)
This has been in place for some time in Australia (I can’t find the exact time, probably early april). The regulation is:
There are some exceptions to allow non-citizens entry, but anyone who comes into the country gets an automatic 2 weeks quarantine.
Seems that the UK is locking the gate rather late – or am I missing something?
NotMax
@mrmoshpotato
Be careful out there.
;)
NotMax
@TS (the original)
Same protocol been in effect in Hawaii for a while.
Amir Khalid
@TS (the original):
Malaysia instituted its border restrictions the same day lockdown began here. They’re essentially the same as Australia’s. I think it’s in the WHO guidelines for pandemic management.
Nicole
@satby: Take care! Wishing you an excellent day and folks who respect social distancing.
WereBear
We could have managed this well. But assholes gonna asshole. I sadly conclude that it took something politically impervious, spin-proof, and completely global to undermine the oligarch death machine, and it took death to do it.
Maybe, one day, the human race will learn lessons the first time.
germy
Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism
@Sab: It’s more “what do we still need if we temporarily don’t have customers?”
Zookeepers are essential; the animals will die without them. The people running the ticket booth are not essential; no tickets will be sold.
How many people does it take to run the pick-up counter vs the sit-down part of a restaurant?
germy
SURE, THE VELOCIRAPTORS ARE STILL ON THE LOOSE, BUT THAT’S NO REASON NOT TO REOPEN JURASSIC PARK
by CARLOS GREAVES
TS (the original)
@NotMax:
thanks for the info.
@Amir Khalid:
I think ours were slightly later than lockdown. We initially banned flights from China & Iran (& I remember at the time thinking what about Italy). My state is beginning to open up & I am not impressed. I think it’s way too early & won’t be joining in the festivities. Apparently the shopping centres were a mad house today with everyone out buying mothers’ day gifts – will watch for the new cases over the next couple of weeks.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-05-09/shoppers-raise-alarm-over-coronavirus-social-distancing/12231780
As you can see from the link, there is no obligation to wear masks in Australia (with certain exceptions) – and most people do not wear them.
hueyplong
Just watched Queen Elizabeth’s 4 minute video marking the 75th anniversary of VE Day.
Almost like a hard slap across the face, it focuses the viewer on the fact that we have never seen so much as a spark of humanity from Trump.
It calls to mind other things as well:
1. Pence seems inhuman as well. He is like the old school Disney Hall of Presidents robots except that, when watching them, your first thought was, “not actually human, but at least the creators tried.”
2. No way Trump could have read QE2’s speech because it’s about something unrelated to himself and being part of something greater than oneself, concepts and sentiments Trump cannot comprehend or fake.
3. Perhaps anti-Trump ads should put scenes of him up against scenes of actual humans (sequentially or in split screen) so as better to highlight Trump’s lack of humanity, dignity, etc.
4. A fucking monarch could go 4 minutes without engaging in self praise, yet the president of the United States can’t go 30 seconds without doing so and without being childishly transparent in the bargain.
mrmoshpotato
@germy: Clever girl.
Jinchi
@satby: China probably is lying about it’s numbers, but of course, we’re lying about ours as well. And China definitely acted to shut down the virus quickly, so they’ve got us beat on that count.
It would have been one thing if Trump had been calling out China when they were threatening to jail doctors who warned the public that an epidemic was emerging. Instead he praised them. Just like Pence is praising Iowa now.
Maybe the Republicans really are a death cult.
Mary G
Leaving the house for the first time since March 5 to take the cat to the vet. The masks I ordered on Etsy April 9 were supposed to be delivered in 1-2 weeks. New delivery date between May 13-18. I bought one of the neck gaiter type on Amazon that came today. It has a purple Milky Way printed on it in honor of my hippie youth and Bill’s OTR photos. They will come out to the car to get her and bring her out again when they’re done, the doctor talking to me on the phone during the exam and treatment. Pray for me trying to get her into the carrier. She is ornery.
mrmoshpotato
@hueyplong: What’d you expect? One worked as a mechanic during WWII (as a literal princess!) and the other is an orange shitstain who fled serving.
TS (the original)
@hueyplong:
She can also go 4 minutes speaking in sentences and words larger than 1 syllable – I think its past time that ads concentrated on this side of trump. Even if he wanted to actually do his job, he does not have the language skills to talk logically (or any other way) about anything that the government is doing.
Jinchi
We initially banned flights from China and Iran because the president is a bigot who wants to lock down America. He had an excuse this time, unlike the Muslim ban and his stupid wall, but the reason he was willing to do that one thing in response to the coronavirus is because he always wanted to do it anyway.
SFAW
@NotMax:
o’ Max and men?
SFAW
@germy:
Kennedy presumably thinks of himself as a Christian? I hope he keeps asking for ice water when he gets There, that evil motherfucker.
Suburban Mom
@Mary G: I also ordered masks from Etsy. The delivery took over two weeks beyond the latest date projected. It’s good that you have an alternative. I’m finding that different styles and attachments work better for different family members and it took some experiments to get everyone outfitted well.
hueyplong
@mrmoshpotato: He’s a shitstain, no doubt, and a day doesn’t go by without reminder.
This was just a reminder that the failure here is on such a basic, fundamental level that it’s about the concept of humanity itself.
SFAW
@WereBear:
His evil, moronic followers will continue to support him, no matter what, so it’s not clear that his Murder Machine will go away before he does.
And maybe I’ll wake up tomorrow looking like Chris Hemsworth or John Krasinski. [Not that there’s anything bad about Krasinski, but ending up with Emily Blunt factors into his name on the list.]
SFAW
@Jinchi:
“Maybe”?
Amir Khalid
@germy:
The only response to Senator Kennedy that I can come up with is “Fuck you, you heartless asshole.”
Shalimar
I have heard, because I just said it aloud, that preliminary semen tests are showing that the virus is making even asymptomatic men impotent and sterile.
ThresherK
Show of hands: Who else never heard of a “wet market” before all this Covid-19 stuff?
Baud
@Shalimar: I heard that too, when I read your comment.
@ThresherK:
?♂️
Anne Laurie
@Amir Khalid: The response I’ve finally conditioned myself to use to the Kennedys of this world: Wouldn’t your mother be proud of *you*?
(This amuses the Spousal Unit, because he says my tone of voice always implies, She will be most disappointed when I tell her about this, as you know I will make an opportunity to do.)
Shalimar
@Amir Khalid: I would have gone with a bucket of ice water over his head. Maybe many buckets for the Hell-bound.
SFAW
@Amir Khalid:
I don’t recall you using profanity much, if at all. [I (think I) notice that because I use it so much.] So it’s an indicator (to me) of the depth of your feeling, that you use it regarding that evil prick’s statements.
Steeplejack (phone)
@germy:
That thread was short but funny. Should get more play.
Amir Khalid
@Anne Laurie:
By the way, he’s not one of the Massachusetts Kennedys, is he? As fucked-up as some of that lot can be, I can’t imagine any of them saying anything so crass.
germy
@Amir Khalid: No, no relation.
Amir Khalid
@SFAW:
Profanity should be used but sparingly. That preserves its … magic, for want of a better term, for when you really need it.
YY_Sima Qian
Actually, I am fairly confident that numbers in reported in China over the past month has been accurate, or at least honest, meaning it represents the authorities’ best available data and understanding. This is especially true since the public heath bureaucracy started to publish asymptomatic cases since Apr. The reported domestic cases are so few, with detailed case reports published and updated, I think it will be difficult to hide cases from the public. A lot of people are closely reading these reports for inconsistencies and gaps, as evidenced by comment section discussions and blog reports on Chinese social media.
Testing is still very extensive, and continue to expand (Wuhan now routinely conducts approximately 65K PCR tests per day). Testing is available on demand across the country, you can make reservations at hospitals and community clinics, or purchase via e-commerce APPs such as TMall and JD.com. Cost is roughly $15 – $20, but employers will often subsidize or pay for these tests, and they are required for resumption of work at office. Tests for COVID-19 diagnosis is still paid for by the government, as is treatment (at least the portion not covered by medical insurance).
The entire administrative and teaching staff (several thousand people) of the university that my wife works at were just tested for PCR, in preparation for resumption of work (though return of in class instruction will probably be delayed until the Fall semester). Everyone came back negative for PCR. If anyone in China tests positive, but the local authorities fail to account for the case or publish the case report, the infected case and families and friends (and coworkers and acquaintances) will make a huge stink. May be not in mass media or on the streets, but information will spread like wildfire on private WeChat groups or comment section, much faster than the censors can respond. Since the central leadership has highlighted accurate and prompt reporting as a national priority since early Feb., it cannot be seen censoring incidents of false reporting, not after the hit to regime credibility in late Jan. And early Feb.
The recent nosocomial clusters at Harbin, Mudanjiang and Qingdao were all promptly and fairly transparently reported as they happened and grew, even though at Harbin the cluster numbered dozens of cases. These were very embarrassing incidents for the local authorities, inevitably led to reprimands and punishments for some local leaders. The authorities were some times still opaque on the specific policy or protocol failures that led to the local outbreaks, but there were no attempts to hide the outbreaks.
Guangzhou was slow to be public about the outbreak in the African immigrant community. They did not hide the cases in the daily counts, but also did not publicize the nature of the outbreak for several days, leaving rumors to fly in the meantime.
Interestingly, out of the several thousand people tested at my wife’s university, only six people were positive for antibodies (they were all tested for both PCR and antibodies), indicating past infection. That is an approximately 0.1 – 0.3% infection rate, much lower than the 3 – 10% false positive rate I keep hearing for antibody tests. It is also lower than the 0.5% asymptomatic rate (indicating current infection, possibly) that Wuhan has been seeing since early Apr. China really seems to favor drawing blood samples (a full tube) directly from the vein for antibody test, as opposed to the finger prick rapid tests, it may have much better accuracy and specificity.
YY_Sima Qian
As for the current state of COVID-19 epidemic in China, none of the recent clusters have (Harbin, Mudanjiang, Guangzhou’s African immigrant community, and Guangzhou’s outlying Zengcheng District) have added any confirmed or asymptomatic cases for several days. Harbins’s exported confirmed cases to Qiqihar in Heilongjiang Province, Fushun in Liaoning Province and Hulun Buir in Inner Mongolia seems to not to have triggered new clusters. Contact tracing of Wuhan’s exported confirmed case to Taiyuan in Shanxi Province, and from Yanbian Prefecture in Jilin Province to Luzhou in Sichuan Province, have not uncovered any hidden clusters, but these cases are still very new.
On May 7, Shulan in Jilin Province reported a new domestic confirmed case (a custodian at a local police precinct!), and the authorities have yet been able to identify the source of the infection. There must be a hidden transmission chain. Shulan is the home town of several dozen imported confirmed and asymptomatic cases among the repatriated Chinese Nationals from Russia, though most of them have been quarantined and treated at points of entry (Suifenhe in Heilongjiang and Manzhouli in Inner Mongolia). Per the National Epidemic Control and Prevention Protocol, Shulan’s risk level has been raised from Low to Medium, due to this single case. It is the only place in China at Medium risk. All of China except Hubei and Wuhan are at Level 3 Epidemic Response protocols, with only Hubei still at Level 2.
Everyday, Hubei continues to report 10 – 20 asymptomatic cases (almost all of them in Wuhan), and continue to export a couple of asymptomatic cases to the rest of China. However, these true asymptomatic do not appear to be infectious, and do not develop symptoms themselves. They are only found because PCR tests are required for anyone taking trips from Hubei to the rest of China, within 7 days before the trip, and upon arriving at the destination.
Sloane Ranger
@TS (the original): No, you’re not missing anything. This is what people here in the UK are saying.
The time to do this was at the beginning of the lockdown, not now. More evidence of our Government’s incompetence.
FlyingToaster
@Sab:
Up heah in the Commonwealth of Quarantine, it has a specific legal meaning, now.
If your business is “essential retail or service”, some subset of your employees will have to be there, geared up, dealing with customers, restocking, etc. Lab workers are essential. Hospital workers are essential.
If your business requires maintenance or ongoing care (the aforementioned zookeepers, farms), some subset of your employees will have to be there, maintaining the facility. For many facilities (schools, libraries, town halls, etc.), it’ll be one person, per day, for 4 hours getting mail, checking for breakages and vandalism, dealing with emergency paperwork, etc.
If you have a restaurant that can effectively do takeout, the minimum staff to run the restaurant for that shift. Our local Panera usually has 10-12 people on lunch shift; now it’s 2-3.
And “Essential” will change. As we slowly reopen sectors (now golf courses, garden centers and delivery florists), more workers will be gearing up and getting back to work.
NotMax
@SFAW
Thumbs up. :)
YY_Sima Qian
@Sloane Ranger: This is very much a case of better late (veeery late, countries in East and Southeast Asia, and Oceana have been doing so since late Mar.) than never. At least it really slows down the importing introductions that can seed new clusters. However, it is meaningless if the effort to first mitigate then suppress the domestic epidemic is lacking.
Sloane Ranger
@satby: From watching CNN it seems to be generally accepted that China lies about its numbers. I’m not so sure. I could accept that the numbers might not be 100 per cent accurate but that might not be deliberate, when you’re in the middle of fighting a pandemic, some bureaucracy goes by the board. The numbers China did report were bad enough, they should have got attention.
Anne Laurie
@Amir Khalid: No, no, not even distantly. ‘Kennedy’ is as common a surname in Ireland as ‘Thompson’ in England. As another member of the clan once said, The original Kennedy left so many of that name behind him, he must’ve been the busiest man in three counties.
Sloane Ranger
@YY_Sima Qian: Yes! We seem to leveled off in terms of cases but no sign of any downward curve.
BoJo to address the nation tomorrow and some relaxation of the lockdown is expected but the BBC is reporting that the changes will be minor.
The Cabinet is apparently divided with hawks wanting significant easing to “save the economy”, especially now several of our European competitors are loosening their restrictions. Apparently it hasn’t occurred to these geniuses that if you enter lockdown later than others, you leave it later as well. Also, to hell with the lives and health of the people concerned.
Amir Khalid
@ThresherK:
Wet markets are common in much of Asia. They don’t just sell live/freshly slaughtered wildlife, and in fact many of them don’t. They were what we had before supermarkets, and they’re still where people go for the freshest local produce and meat at the most reasonable prices.
YY_Sima Qian
@Sloane Ranger: Relaxing social distancing measure while still at the plateau will likely be tragic, need to wait for the epidemic well onto the downslope, paired with massive testing, rigorous contact tracing, and rapid case isolation. In my understanding, the U.K. is still trying to catch up in testing, gave up contact tracing early on, not sure about the efficacy there of self-isolation of mild to moderate cases. To relax the controls when the epidemic is still raging, while the other non-pharmaceutical intervention tools are still being established (or planned), will simply squander all the effort and the sacrifice made to date, in short order (seen in new case counts in two weeks and new death counts in three to four). It may be difficult to then lock down a second time, as the authorities would have lost all credibility.
YY_Sima Qian
@Amir Khalid: Yes, what’s needed for wet markets all across the world is better regulation and much better enforcement. Same goes for the factory farms and slaughter houses, too. The point should be to strive to minimize all potential avenues for zoonosis, not yet another club that people can discriminate or virtue signal with.
catclub
@ThresherK:
Not completely new to me. Sorry. ebola was bush meat and wet markets. Also SARS
catclub
@Baud: People are saying.
Sloane Ranger
@YY_Sima Qian: I know. Nobody I know will be taking advantage of any easing, no matter how minor. We’ll see what the plan is tomorrow.
The Welsh government has announced their easing, garden centres will be open from Monday.
Amir Khalid
@Sloane Ranger:
I haven’t had a chance to ask my fellow Liverpool fan Tony Jay this, but what do you think of the push to resume English Premier League football ASAP? I have misgivings. I would rather the season were voided with no title awarded (as painful as that would be to Runaway League Leaders Liverpool FC and us fans) than see even one life in England put at extra risk for the sake of football.
And given where Britain is re Covid-19, resuming football in June seems foolhardy to me — much more so than in, say, Germany where die Bundesliga resumes next week. Players — young men, some with young children — are being asked to accept that extra risk, along with coaches and other club staff, and I don’t believe they’re being offered a good enough reason.
SFAW
@Amir Khalid:
Pretty much what I assumed.
Sloane Ranger
@Amir Khalid: I agree that resuming any football fixtures in the UK is inherently dangerous. We are not talking about just young, fit men, who statistically would be reasonably safe, but about the entire retinue that accompany teams, the coaches, physios, etc. plus the referees and other officials, some of whom are not exactly in the first bloom of youth. Even if you were to isolate them all, there have been cases before of players and others slipping away against orders to visit their WAG’s.
Although Germany is in a different place, I think it is a bad decision there as well as there has been an uptick in cases since they started easing their restrictions.
I think all European leagues should announce they are formally ending their seasons.
ziggy
@satby: I’m sure you’re long gone, but that really got under my skin also. The fact that the pack of thieves are prancing around without any masks, without trying to do any social distancing, alter work habits, any kind of sacrifice–yet they are burning through the precious instant tests (now daily!). Of all things, it just fries me. They really consider themselves superior to us. At least the congress had the decency to forego the offer of rapid tests, to save them for where they are really needed.
planetjanet
@ThresherK: Don’t the lobster tanks at the high end grocery stores count as wet markets?
The Lodger
@Anne Laurie: Not to mention Justice Anthony Kennedy and his kin, and a college buddy of mine who is a Welsh Kennedy.
kindness
I’ve never seen a live animal market where the critters weren’t packed like sardines in a can. They’re miserable and it’s ugly. I’m not saying they should be illegal. Butchers should be able to butcher live critters. I’m just saying I’d prefer the critters were treated better for the short time they have left.
Martin
AL, you did have wet markets, but we don’t normally recognize them as such. A wet market is simply one that sells perishable food, so a butcher shop is a wet market, a farmers market is a wet market. The Fulton Fish Market is not only a wet market, but a live animal market as well. Any place that lets you pick your lobster is a live animal market.
US wet markets tend to be more sanitary than asian wet markets, but they aren’t fundamentally different.