A G.P. friend has suggested to me that many of those who get it won't realise they've got it. They'll be contagious, but will just feel "a bit off colour" Hence it will be spread by those who don't realise they should be staying at home.
Another interesting tweet in that thread, that many countries have an ethnocentric fantasy that it won't happen here. Or it will only happen because of people coming in. I think Australian govt seems to be in that mindset. Trump almost saying that it's the fault of the Democrats!
Satellite images have shown a dramatic decline in pollution levels over China, which is "at least partly" due to an economic slowdown prompted by the coronavirus, US space agency NASA says.
I notice one guy charged $3000 for being tested. FFS, does nobody think that therefore people will avoid being tested? Profits over people.
Well yeah. That's the system working as it's designed to do. As I noted a few days ago the American health care system is designed to give end users (i.e. anyone needing health care) a financial disincentive to actually use the system. The euphemism often used is that they have "skin in the game" if they're charged a fee, as if the fact that their health (and actual skin) is on the line doesn't do that already.
I am thinking the estimate that 80% of the Scottish population will be getting Covid 19 is somewhat high.
I am not seeing that from China. Wuhan, for instance, has a population of 11 million. That would mean chose to 9 million people should have caught it using the Scottish minister's claim. Of course, most cases are very mild so it could be quite a few would have caught it without having severe symptoms. It seems the rate of infection in China is decreasing now.
Worldwide, there are around 90,000 confirmed cases now. Assuming that is only 20% of actual cases, that would mean 450,000 people may have it now.
Locally, two small school districts have closed to sanitize their facilities. One of them had students from a Kirkland school district stay overnight this weekend. A student from Kirkland has tested presumptive positive, but he was not in the group that stayed overnight.
I developed a cold on Friday and left work that afternoon. I was still coughing and having a runny nose last night, so after consulting with my boss, I am staying home today. Fortunately, the symptoms I am experiencing are decreasing, but since I work in a university setting, boss and I both felt it was in everyone's best interest to stay home at least for today.
I am thinking the estimate that 80% of the Scottish population will be getting Covid 19 is somewhat high.
It's a self-described "worst case scenario". It's a useful bracketing exercise. Any measures beyond what is needed to deal with the worst case scenario are probably excessive. Anything which is unable to deal with the best case scenario is likely insufficient. Anything in between those two is a judgment call based on probabilities and optimism/pessimism.
I am reminded of a comment about the discrepancies of the differences in casualty reports between the US and the Viet Cong. The US always gave a high ball retort and the VC always gave a low ball report. A reporter asked a field commander how to interpret the differences. The commander commented, "It is probably somewhere in the middle."
I am reminded of a comment about the discrepancies of the differences in casualty reports between the US and the Viet Cong. The US always gave a high ball retort and the VC always gave a low ball report.
That would be more relevant if the US Army and the Viet Cong were cooperating and gaming out alternate scenarios rather than running competing disinformation campaigns.
I suggested to our minister at church that maybe we should stop shaking hands at the 'peace' in an attempt to reduce the chance of hand to hand viral contact. However, I was met with a look of shock horror and a comment that you can't tell people to do that and his observation that germs don't spread in a church. How do you counter ignorance?
Another interesting tweet in that thread, that many countries have an ethnocentric fantasy that it won't happen here. Or it will only happen because of people coming in. I think Australian govt seems to be in that mindset. Trump almost saying that it's the fault of the Democrats!
That's not my impression. Yesterday the Australian Govt. issued guidelines about personal greetings, suggesting that handshakes, hugs and kisses on the cheek be substituted for others, such as a pat on the back.
That pat seems a little problematic to me, especially if your aim is off. I plan to curtsy or bow, depending on the social situation.
Yesterday the Australian Govt. issued guidelines about personal greetings, suggesting that handshakes, hugs and kisses on the cheek be substituted for others, such as a pat on the back.
Yesterday the Australian Govt. issued guidelines about personal greetings, suggesting that handshakes, hugs and kisses on the cheek be substituted for others, such as a pat on the back.
--There are articles bringing up the "unique" US situation* of many people not having sick days, not having health care, or both. I saw something else saying like 30% of Americans don't get (paid) sick days. I was in that situation for a long time. If I didn't work, I wouldn't get paid for days I missed, and could lose my job. That means having to work when sick.
*I presume they mean among 1st-world countries, but they didn't specify.
--I'm concerned about the possibility of closing schools, both here and elsewhere. (Has been done in some places.) Where are the kids supposed to go? Who's going to keep an eye on them? And who's going to feed the kids who are dependent on free/subsidized lunch at breakfast at school?
Lots of kids don't have anyone at home during the school day. Some might be able to stay safely on their own. Some are way too young, but their grownups (parents, grands, other caregivers) may not have any other choice. Kids on their own can explore things, on their own or with others, that can cause big trouble.
--This is going to be rough on/for homeless folks. Here in SF, we have many thousands more than there are shelter beds. So they could be sick and helpless on the streets. And *someone* will consider homeless folks carriers, whether or not they actually even have the virus. Stressed and scared people can do awful things...and there are already varying levels of disgust, fear, etc. about them here. People don't want them on *their* streets. SF (very tourist-dependent) has lost various conventions and such, AIUI, because attendees don't want to be around the homeless.
IIRC, there've been some problems with employees of the big tech/Net companies that have installations/HQs here not adjusting to being around the homeless. And THAT opens a can of worms. SF has had an affordable housing crisis for decades, and it's gotten progressively worse. When tech/Net companies started moving here, their employees could afford much higher rents than folks who needed affordable housing. So building owners raised rents--a LOT. And that cut way down on the already-diminishing affordable housing...which did not make the companies and their employees popular.
--Individual and family budgets are going to be hit hard, all over the world. If people can't go to work, can't work from home, they'll be hurting financially. If they manage to get out to a grocery store, the store's staff may well be diminished; and if you extend that to supply chains...
Six people in Washington state have died so far, and the disease generally has a morbidity rate of about 2%, so can we guess that about 600 people in that area are infected?
I think it's some kind of newish social media, but not sure. I think I've seen it spelled "Tik-Tok".
I know that is a children's social media site. Is that what is meant? Does WaPo usually post things on children's social media sites? When you click the link it goes to WaPo, not Tik-Tok.
--There are articles bringing up the "unique" US situation* of many people not having sick days, not having health care, or both. I saw something else saying like 30% of Americans don't get (paid) sick days. I was in that situation for a long time. If I didn't work, I wouldn't get paid for days I missed, and could lose my job. That means having to work when sick.
That's not unique to the US, unless full time/ part time workers don't have sick leave. We have a category of employment called casual which attracts a loading in return for no annual or sick leave. It is meant to be for businesses which have peaks and troughs in labor demand or (in aged care for example) you need to be able to draw on a pool of workers when permanents call in sick, or there is extra work because of outings etc. It has been horribly abused by employers. Another abuse is to try to say that workers are not employees but independent contractors, and so don't attract the statutory sick leave. That's usually bullshit too. The so-called 'gig' economy is a prime example of young vulnerable workers being abused in this way.
No matter how good your system might be, workers still have to fight to get their entitlements, and unscrupulous bosses will screw you as soon as look at you.
It's interesting to read the list of hospitals that will be doing extra testing:
Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals, Guy's and St Thomas', Royal Brompton and Harefield, Royal Papworth Hospital, University Hospitals of Leicester, University Hospitals of South Manchester, Nottingham University Hospitals and Sheffield Teaching Hospitals.
Brighton I can understand as that's been a hotspot, it makes sense to have one of the London trusts involved, and Brompton and Papworth are both major heart-lung centres. Otherwise, they're all in the midlands, or the southern end of the northern regions. I doubt it's based on who has the fanciest lung problem equipment or the best labs, as there are other trusts in other regions we might have expected to see on the list, and I know at least one of those isn't a designated major trauma centre, so it raises the question of 'what do Public Health England know that the rest of us don't?'
How many of us trust what the NHS say? Insiders in the NHS who I know personally say that the Govt has as much clue as the rest of us. That is, wash your hands and don't go out.
One very large hospital can cope with 5 (yes 5) cases. That's all -and that is one with a specialist infection control unit
Papworth hospital does heart surgery so will have lots of intensive care facilities, it’s also now based at Addenbrookes Hospital so nearby testing facilities and research laboratories . I noted that it was chosen a few days ago (it’s a short walk from my house) and thought it was ideal.
Yeah but Addenbrookes is hardly the top dog it often claims to be. Cutting edge - yes. Basic nursing care - rubbish.
Maybe they're trying to get as many plague victims out of London as possible? Heaven forbid that Our Glorious Leader and his minions should be inconvenienced in any way. Or perhaps it's an attempt to pretend they care about the new Tory seats in the North and Midlands...
Or if it was an NHS decision rather than a government one, perhaps that's just where the acute care beds are. The two people from York who got coronavirus had to be shipped to Newcastle.
Moving people long distances to the nearest available acute care facility is nothing new, despite the problems for families involved.
It'll get worse, though, if ALL the acute facilities are full at any one time - patients may then have to be transferred abroad (though I can't see many EU countries being willing to help now... ).
Yeah but Addenbrookes is hardly the top dog it often claims to be. Cutting edge - yes. Basic nursing care - rubbish.
Until recently I taught ophthalmic nursing there...
Anyway, Papworth is a separate hospital based at Addenbrookes, it moved there recently from its rural location. I believe it is the same trust though.
Opinions as to the quality of nursing care are bound to be somewhat subjective.
Our local hospital is often slagged off - but is equally often praised...
Alas, if the virus puts real pressure on any given hospital, then some reduction in an otherwise excellent quality of care elsewhere in that same hospital (some of whose nursing staff may themselves be affected by it) is inevitable.
Maybe they're trying to get as many plague victims out of London as possible? Heaven forbid that Our Glorious Leader and his minions should be inconvenienced in any way. Or perhaps it's an attempt to pretend they care about the new Tory seats in the North and Midlands...
Or if it was an NHS decision rather than a government one, perhaps that's just where the acute care beds are. The two people from York who got coronavirus had to be shipped to Newcastle.
That makes for a change. Usually the aristos abandon London and leave the great unwashed to their fate.
That makes for a change. Usually the aristos abandon London and leave the great unwashed to their fate.
The red death had long devastated the country. No pestilence had ever been so fatal, or so hideous. Blood was its Avatar and its seal -- the madness and the horror of blood. There were sharp pains, and sudden dizziness, and then profuse bleeding at the pores, with dissolution. The scarlet stains upon the body and especially upon the face of the victim, were the pest ban which shut him out from the aid and from the sympathy of his fellow-men. And the whole seizure, progress, and termination of the disease, were incidents of half an hour.
But Prince Prospero was happy and dauntless and sagacious. When his dominions were half depopulated, he summoned to his presence a thousand hale and light-hearted friends from among the knights and dames of his court, and with these retired to the deep seclusion of one of his crenellated abbeys. This was an extensive and magnificent structure, the creation of the prince's own eccentric yet august taste. A strong and lofty wall girdled it in. This wall had gates of iron. The courtiers, having entered, brought furnaces and massy hammers and welded the bolts.
They resolved to leave means neither of ingress nor egress to the sudden impulses of despair or of frenzy from within. The abbey was amply provisioned. With such precautions the courtiers might bid defiance to contagion. The external world could take care of itself. In the meantime it was folly to grieve or to think. The prince had provided all the appliances of pleasure. There were buffoons, there were improvisatori, there were ballet-dancers, there were musicians, there was Beauty, there was wine. All these and security were within. Without was the "Red Death."
As for alt greetings, why touch at all? Why even fist-bump? A hands-together namaste greeting bow, smile, wave, etc. avoids all that.
I can't help, but when I first hear "namaste" 40 years ago, I didn't understand why people were confessing "I'm nasty" and thought it was some unusual recognition of the sinful nature of all of us, and we might as well recognise it right off. I should like politicians particular to confess "I'm nasty" with folded hands. And more a few people who drive cars.
I suggested to our minister at church that maybe we should stop shaking hands at the 'peace' in an attempt to reduce the chance of hand to hand viral contact. However, I was met with a look of shock horror and a comment that you can't tell people to do that and his observation that germs don't spread in a church. How do you counter ignorance?
Our Diocesan office issued guidelines (CofE based) on Coronvirus, basically banning intinction, but retaining the common cup and handshaking. But being sensitive to the fact that some might prefer not to do these things; perhaps those with compromised immunity for some reason. And also reassurance that receiving in one kind is ok. We now have a little bottle antibacterial gel on the credence table for pre-ablution cleanliness.
We might have to re-think the handshaking business if numbers continue to rise. Even if only for reassurance.
Mr Dragon would be happy if it cured most of St Quack's of their bad habit of not just greeting those immediately around them but the whole of the rest of the congregation, even when the Agnus Dei has started.
Well, it's not really incredible, to be fair. Many of our folks are genuinely fond of each other and would no more think of refraining from simple physical touch with regard to a friend, than they would with a family member - sick or healthy - to say nothing of those who are related anyway.
However, it's a small enough compromise to make for the possible potential of keeping viral spread down. It would be more difficult to remind folks about the ordinary ways they greet (or say goodbye to) each other outside of the Peace - many kiss and hug as a matter of course! And shaking hands with the vicar going out of the church door would also have to be banned.
And presumably, after service refreshments must become a minefield. All those bits of crockery, tea-towels, spoons and handing the biscuits round. And come to that - what should those of us who tour the sick and elderly vulnerable with the Sacrament do (including oils for anointing)? I keep antibacterial gel in my handbag as a matter of course. But maybe that won't be enough either. Better to be safe than sorry definitely.
And come to that - what should those of us who tour the sick and elderly vulnerable with the Sacrament do (including oils for anointing)? I keep antibacterial gel in my handbag as a matter of course. But maybe that won't be enough either. Better to be safe than sorry definitely.
NHS hand hygiene best practice is plenty of soap and water before and after patient contact, making sure that all parts of the hand are rubbed. (An internet image search will bring suitable sources up). I'm sure you've heard of the Happy Birthday trick for this by now.
We have to an assessment once a year, where we cover our hands with a substance that glows under black light - then wash our hands, then your manager checks them with a black light and writes up an assessment as to assess as competent. The NHS trust I work for audits this, alongside mandatory training.
If you put an incompetent moron who facilitated an HIV outbreak and doesn't believe in evidence or science in charge of a public health emergency then you deserve everything you get.
The majority of the American voting public voted AGAINST Trump, including me. Do all of us deserve to get sick, too?
I believe that nobody deserves to get sick, even Trump supporters, which include some of my close family members.
Here is a chart comparing this Coronavirus to other outbreaks at least in my lifetime.
This is very deceptive since it doesn't give a time range. The COVID-19 hasn't run its course yet so any such comparisons are grossly premature.
The point being that other outbreaks have had higher death rates. This afternoon, China has announced that while the fatality rate in Wuhan was at 2% the death rate in other provinces has been 0.7%. NPR is also saying that the fatality rate will likely be less in other countries that have better medical facilities.
Here is a chart comparing this Coronavirus to other outbreaks at least in my lifetime.
This is very deceptive since it doesn't give a time range. The COVID-19 hasn't run its course yet so any such comparisons are grossly premature.
The point being that other outbreaks have had higher death rates. This afternoon, China has announced that while the fatality rate in Wuhan was at 2% the death rate in other provinces has been 0.7%. NPR is also saying that the fatality rate will likely be less in other countries that have better medical facilities.
Also deceptive. The 1918 flu had a low death rate at first, then apparently mutated into a form with a high death rate. I don't think we're in a position to be complacent. Not yet, if ever.
How woefully slow to start the US has been. Most notably in not having enough testing because not enough testing kits. California's department of health says they've tested 300 as of, it seems, March 2 and will be able to test 1200 shortly (this is total not per day). My county in California has 11 known cases; I wonder how many cases where they would like to test but have to ration.
My university has just banned large gatherings (defined as over 150 people) unless special permission is gotten (likely only given if the crowd would be well spread out) and asked organizers to consider canceling or adjusting if a smaller event would be densely packed.
Here is a chart comparing this Coronavirus to other outbreaks at least in my lifetime.
This is very deceptive since it doesn't give a time range. The COVID-19 hasn't run its course yet so any such comparisons are grossly premature.
The point being that other outbreaks have had higher death rates. This afternoon, China has announced that while the fatality rate in Wuhan was at 2% the death rate in other provinces has been 0.7%. NPR is also saying that the fatality rate will likely be less in other countries that have better medical facilities.
Also deceptive. The 1918 flu had a low death rate at first, then apparently mutated into a form with a high death rate. I don't think we're in a position to be complacent. Not yet, if ever.
I am not suggesting complacency; but, rather just suggesting keeping this all in perspective. The sky is not falling.
In the case of the Spanish flu, the first infection was rather mild, true. Then it mutated and came back around with a vengeance. A 2007 analysis of medical journals from the period of the pandemic[ found that the viral infection was no more aggressive than previous influenza strains. Instead, malnourishment, overcrowded medical camps and hospitals, and poor hygiene promoted bacterial superinfection. This superinfection killed most of the victims, typically after a somewhat prolonged death bed. https://academic.oup.com/jid/article/196/11/1717/886065
For this reason, I am not so much worried about how this virus will impact first world countries as much as how this will impact people in refugee camps and third world countries.
Comments
Well yeah. That's the system working as it's designed to do. As I noted a few days ago the American health care system is designed to give end users (i.e. anyone needing health care) a financial disincentive to actually use the system. The euphemism often used is that they have "skin in the game" if they're charged a fee, as if the fact that their health (and actual skin) is on the line doesn't do that already.
I am not seeing that from China. Wuhan, for instance, has a population of 11 million. That would mean chose to 9 million people should have caught it using the Scottish minister's claim. Of course, most cases are very mild so it could be quite a few would have caught it without having severe symptoms. It seems the rate of infection in China is decreasing now.
Worldwide, there are around 90,000 confirmed cases now. Assuming that is only 20% of actual cases, that would mean 450,000 people may have it now.
Locally, two small school districts have closed to sanitize their facilities. One of them had students from a Kirkland school district stay overnight this weekend. A student from Kirkland has tested presumptive positive, but he was not in the group that stayed overnight.
I developed a cold on Friday and left work that afternoon. I was still coughing and having a runny nose last night, so after consulting with my boss, I am staying home today. Fortunately, the symptoms I am experiencing are decreasing, but since I work in a university setting, boss and I both felt it was in everyone's best interest to stay home at least for today.
It's a self-described "worst case scenario". It's a useful bracketing exercise. Any measures beyond what is needed to deal with the worst case scenario are probably excessive. Anything which is unable to deal with the best case scenario is likely insufficient. Anything in between those two is a judgment call based on probabilities and optimism/pessimism.
That would be more relevant if the US Army and the Viet Cong were cooperating and gaming out alternate scenarios rather than running competing disinformation campaigns.
That's not my impression. Yesterday the Australian Govt. issued guidelines about personal greetings, suggesting that handshakes, hugs and kisses on the cheek be substituted for others, such as a pat on the back.
That pat seems a little problematic to me, especially if your aim is off. I plan to curtsy or bow, depending on the social situation.
The fist bump will save us all!
Better than a fist bump: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/video/coronavirus/video-2122128/Video-Chinese-men-avoid-contact-Wuhan-shake-greeting.html
If any church starts doing this for The Peace, video needed.
--There are articles bringing up the "unique" US situation* of many people not having sick days, not having health care, or both. I saw something else saying like 30% of Americans don't get (paid) sick days. I was in that situation for a long time. If I didn't work, I wouldn't get paid for days I missed, and could lose my job. That means having to work when sick.
*I presume they mean among 1st-world countries, but they didn't specify.
--I'm concerned about the possibility of closing schools, both here and elsewhere. (Has been done in some places.) Where are the kids supposed to go? Who's going to keep an eye on them? And who's going to feed the kids who are dependent on free/subsidized lunch at breakfast at school?
Lots of kids don't have anyone at home during the school day. Some might be able to stay safely on their own. Some are way too young, but their grownups (parents, grands, other caregivers) may not have any other choice. Kids on their own can explore things, on their own or with others, that can cause big trouble.
--This is going to be rough on/for homeless folks. Here in SF, we have many thousands more than there are shelter beds. So they could be sick and helpless on the streets. And *someone* will consider homeless folks carriers, whether or not they actually even have the virus. Stressed and scared people can do awful things...and there are already varying levels of disgust, fear, etc. about them here. People don't want them on *their* streets. SF (very tourist-dependent) has lost various conventions and such, AIUI, because attendees don't want to be around the homeless.
IIRC, there've been some problems with employees of the big tech/Net companies that have installations/HQs here not adjusting to being around the homeless. And THAT opens a can of worms. SF has had an affordable housing crisis for decades, and it's gotten progressively worse. When tech/Net companies started moving here, their employees could afford much higher rents than folks who needed affordable housing. So building owners raised rents--a LOT. And that cut way down on the already-diminishing affordable housing...which did not make the companies and their employees popular.
--Individual and family budgets are going to be hit hard, all over the world. If people can't go to work, can't work from home, they'll be hurting financially. If they manage to get out to a grocery store, the store's staff may well be diminished; and if you extend that to supply chains...
Yikes.
(:votive:)
As for alt greetings, why touch at all? Why even fist-bump? A hands-together namaste greeting bow, smile, wave, etc. avoids all that.
Six people in Washington state have died so far, and the disease generally has a morbidity rate of about 2%, so can we guess that about 600 people in that area are infected?
I know that is a children's social media site. Is that what is meant? Does WaPo usually post things on children's social media sites? When you click the link it goes to WaPo, not Tik-Tok.
That's not unique to the US, unless full time/ part time workers don't have sick leave. We have a category of employment called casual which attracts a loading in return for no annual or sick leave. It is meant to be for businesses which have peaks and troughs in labor demand or (in aged care for example) you need to be able to draw on a pool of workers when permanents call in sick, or there is extra work because of outings etc. It has been horribly abused by employers. Another abuse is to try to say that workers are not employees but independent contractors, and so don't attract the statutory sick leave. That's usually bullshit too. The so-called 'gig' economy is a prime example of young vulnerable workers being abused in this way.
No matter how good your system might be, workers still have to fight to get their entitlements, and unscrupulous bosses will screw you as soon as look at you.
Relevant info:
"38 Percent Of U.S. Workers Have No Paid Sick Leave: CNBC" (HuffPost).
Not just temps and such.
"How two uniquely American issues could make the coronavirus worse" (Yahoo).
It can mean a minute-by-minute timeline. Though my source for that is The West Wing and heading for 20 years old now.
How many of us trust what the NHS say? Insiders in the NHS who I know personally say that the Govt has as much clue as the rest of us. That is, wash your hands and don't go out.
One very large hospital can cope with 5 (yes 5) cases. That's all -and that is one with a specialist infection control unit
Yeah but Addenbrookes is hardly the top dog it often claims to be. Cutting edge - yes. Basic nursing care - rubbish.
Or if it was an NHS decision rather than a government one, perhaps that's just where the acute care beds are. The two people from York who got coronavirus had to be shipped to Newcastle.
It'll get worse, though, if ALL the acute facilities are full at any one time - patients may then have to be transferred abroad (though I can't see many EU countries being willing to help now...
Until recently I taught ophthalmic nursing there...
Anyway, Papworth is a separate hospital based at Addenbrookes, it moved there recently from its rural location. I believe it is the same trust though.
Our local hospital is often slagged off - but is equally often praised...
Alas, if the virus puts real pressure on any given hospital, then some reduction in an otherwise excellent quality of care elsewhere in that same hospital (some of whose nursing staff may themselves be affected by it) is inevitable.
That makes for a change. Usually the aristos abandon London and leave the great unwashed to their fate.
The red death had long devastated the country. No pestilence had ever been so fatal, or so hideous. Blood was its Avatar and its seal -- the madness and the horror of blood. There were sharp pains, and sudden dizziness, and then profuse bleeding at the pores, with dissolution. The scarlet stains upon the body and especially upon the face of the victim, were the pest ban which shut him out from the aid and from the sympathy of his fellow-men. And the whole seizure, progress, and termination of the disease, were incidents of half an hour.
But Prince Prospero was happy and dauntless and sagacious. When his dominions were half depopulated, he summoned to his presence a thousand hale and light-hearted friends from among the knights and dames of his court, and with these retired to the deep seclusion of one of his crenellated abbeys. This was an extensive and magnificent structure, the creation of the prince's own eccentric yet august taste. A strong and lofty wall girdled it in. This wall had gates of iron. The courtiers, having entered, brought furnaces and massy hammers and welded the bolts.
They resolved to leave means neither of ingress nor egress to the sudden impulses of despair or of frenzy from within. The abbey was amply provisioned. With such precautions the courtiers might bid defiance to contagion. The external world could take care of itself. In the meantime it was folly to grieve or to think. The prince had provided all the appliances of pleasure. There were buffoons, there were improvisatori, there were ballet-dancers, there were musicians, there was Beauty, there was wine. All these and security were within. Without was the "Red Death."
I think we can guess how the tale ends (if we haven't read it before)...
I can't help, but when I first hear "namaste" 40 years ago, I didn't understand why people were confessing "I'm nasty" and thought it was some unusual recognition of the sinful nature of all of us, and we might as well recognise it right off. I should like politicians particular to confess "I'm nasty" with folded hands. And more a few people who drive cars.
Our Diocesan office issued guidelines (CofE based) on Coronvirus, basically banning intinction, but retaining the common cup and handshaking. But being sensitive to the fact that some might prefer not to do these things; perhaps those with compromised immunity for some reason. And also reassurance that receiving in one kind is ok. We now have a little bottle antibacterial gel on the credence table for pre-ablution cleanliness.
We might have to re-think the handshaking business if numbers continue to rise. Even if only for reassurance.
The reassurance bit is important IMHO, given the screaming scaremongering of the doomladen daily 'newspapers'...
Well, it's not really incredible, to be fair. Many of our folks are genuinely fond of each other and would no more think of refraining from simple physical touch with regard to a friend, than they would with a family member - sick or healthy - to say nothing of those who are related anyway.
However, it's a small enough compromise to make for the possible potential of keeping viral spread down. It would be more difficult to remind folks about the ordinary ways they greet (or say goodbye to) each other outside of the Peace - many kiss and hug as a matter of course! And shaking hands with the vicar going out of the church door would also have to be banned.
And presumably, after service refreshments must become a minefield. All those bits of crockery, tea-towels, spoons and handing the biscuits round. And come to that - what should those of us who tour the sick and elderly vulnerable with the Sacrament do (including oils for anointing)? I keep antibacterial gel in my handbag as a matter of course. But maybe that won't be enough either. Better to be safe than sorry definitely.
NHS hand hygiene best practice is plenty of soap and water before and after patient contact, making sure that all parts of the hand are rubbed. (An internet image search will bring suitable sources up). I'm sure you've heard of the Happy Birthday trick for this by now.
This is very deceptive since it doesn't give a time range. The COVID-19 hasn't run its course yet so any such comparisons are grossly premature.
The majority of the American voting public voted AGAINST Trump, including me. Do all of us deserve to get sick, too?
I believe that nobody deserves to get sick, even Trump supporters, which include some of my close family members.
The point being that other outbreaks have had higher death rates. This afternoon, China has announced that while the fatality rate in Wuhan was at 2% the death rate in other provinces has been 0.7%. NPR is also saying that the fatality rate will likely be less in other countries that have better medical facilities.
Also deceptive. The 1918 flu had a low death rate at first, then apparently mutated into a form with a high death rate. I don't think we're in a position to be complacent. Not yet, if ever.
My university has just banned large gatherings (defined as over 150 people) unless special permission is gotten (likely only given if the crowd would be well spread out) and asked organizers to consider canceling or adjusting if a smaller event would be densely packed.
I am not suggesting complacency; but, rather just suggesting keeping this all in perspective. The sky is not falling.
In the case of the Spanish flu, the first infection was rather mild, true. Then it mutated and came back around with a vengeance. A 2007 analysis of medical journals from the period of the pandemic[ found that the viral infection was no more aggressive than previous influenza strains. Instead, malnourishment, overcrowded medical camps and hospitals, and poor hygiene promoted bacterial superinfection. This superinfection killed most of the victims, typically after a somewhat prolonged death bed. https://academic.oup.com/jid/article/196/11/1717/886065
For this reason, I am not so much worried about how this virus will impact first world countries as much as how this will impact people in refugee camps and third world countries.