Baksteen

Well, you could start here https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/vsrr/covid19/excess_deaths.htm This source looks at the excess deaths in a given period, compared to what you'd expect by averageing other years/ This came up in a ten second google, there might be other resources. For the EU, look here: https://www.euromomo.eu/

I wouldn't need to pay an extra 17 cents for a Big Mac if the upper crust of the company would take a very slightly lower cut of the profits, pay themselves smaller bonuses, accept a higher WL on their Golden Parachute etc. Likewise, a waiter or waitress in any given establishment shouldn't be solely dependent on how much I tip them (from my own relatively low income). Tipping shouldn't be a duty to my fellow person so they can pay their bills, but rather it should be something extra as an acknowledgement of good service. That doesn't mean I do not care about other people, or are unwilling to pay my taxes. I'm just saying that the responsibility for solving the problem is placed with the wrong people.

Paraphrasing a funny tweet: ".....they tweet furiously from the shamelessly invasive tracking device they willingly carry everywhere they go".

Just build an entrance trap around the USA and be done with it. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/just-how-dangerous-is-the-murder-hornet/

Not necessarily targeting you. That most people wear masks to protect others instead of themselves is something that I find very hard to believe I've posted my stance on facemasks several times. But I (perhaps naively) was thinking that social distancing was being observed everywhere. I've since discovered otherwise. In your example: If you stand far enough away the guy can't pee on you so it is irrelevant if you are wearing pants (until the cops show up). When social distancing is not being observed, masks do help - but only if worn correctly and if they properly fit the form of your face. The fact that so many professional masks are basically being wasted by improper use while there are so many health care workers who have to do without is just something I still can't get my head around.

If the only reason to wear it is to engage in a recreational activity, that is a huge waste of PPE which could be better employed in the healthcare sector. Side question: Will it even survive freefall or do 'you' plan to take it off just before exit?

The link you quoted is updated daily around 14:00 LT (UTC+2). The PDF weekly on Friday at around the same time.

The fact that the national colour of my country is orange does not mean that I am orange (or even orange-ist) myself. I'm just saying that I have not read up on this particular subject, but it seems to be a few months too early to have high hopes about a short-term solution for COVID-19, given the timelines such solutions usually take. Yes, there is likely more funding available than for usual projects, but still there are a lot of corners you can't (shouldn't) cut before mass-producing a cure and injecting everyone and their mom with it.

If the Red Cross is close to an Ab test it'll probably still take quite a while before such a test can be mass-produced. But I admit I have not looked into this; just my gut feeling.

Don't worry, I got it :) https://www.rivm.nl/coronavirus-covid-19/grafieken can be translated by your webbrowser. Google translate does do a reasonable job at first glance. I was trying just now to post the entire contents but it got a little confusing, so you might want to try scrolling and copy/pasting bit by bit. The only document which is not easily translated is the pdf at the bottom. If I am really bored during the weekend, I'll see if I can make a translation of the document if people are really interested.

I have resigned myself to the fact that I may not be jumping anymore this year. Even if/when anti-C19 measures are relaxed at the appropriate time it may be not such a good idea to immediately cram yourself into an airplane with 18 others. Especially with people willing to travel from all over the area. Are you certain you or one of the others on that load are not infected?

Hmm.. interesting yet not unexpected. https://www.politicalcompass.org/yourpoliticalcompass?ec=-6.38&soc=-4.82

I'm not going to look up any other country, but the Dutch numbers in that link are accurate, as reported (and updated often) by the Dutch government. There are also several preliminary figures looking into confirmed cases and their underlying medical conditions, distribution of deaths gouped by sex and by age, infections among healthcare staff and among institutionalised people. All in Dutch, I'm afraid*, so I'm not sure what the value in sharing would be. Dutch hospitals, however, are not overwhelmed. If necessary, patients from the most heavily affected areas are relocated to and quarantined in areas which do still have the necessary hospital capacity. *Essential text and applicable measures are available in English (https://www.rivm.nl/en) and maybe a few other languages for those who do not speak Dutch well enough.

Can't see that at work, but I'll check it out once I get home. Cheers.

Inhibition of lysosmal activity? I always understood that lysosomes safeguard against pathogens, so I would expect reduced lysosome activity with increased cell vulnerability. Not trying to discredit your post, just confused.

I still am of the opinion that universal testing is in practice less valuable than people think. A negative test will only tell you that the individual did not have the virus when the sample was taken. If that's what you're depending on, you need a lot of retests to sift out the infected people. Self-tests may eventually help with that, but currently those are a long, long way from being accurate, reliable and anything but a waste of resources and money. But then, I'm from a country where the measures taken by the government generally seem to be observed by the majority of people living in it. Those few that do not observe social distancing have started to receive fines.

No, groups with increased risk only. That's 1) people who have symptoms as well as an underlying medical condition and/or old age 2) healthcare workers Sorry that I can't explain clearly.

Well, yes. That's what I was trying to say. There is not much worry about people switching to testing mills, no. But the average pay (in my country at least) is not that much higher, just structured differently. Starting out in the academic environment (including universities and hospitals) as I have, you may have a lower 'ceiling' but as an average employee you get there faster since salary increase is not performance based. Also, you get a 'thirteenth month' bonus at the end of the year. In the commercial sector the end salary is a little higher and the job is more varied and challenging. The salary is performance based as are bonuses. But the short of it is that noone becomes or remains a technician if status and money are big motivators in your career. In a nutshell, when I made the switch from academic to commercial I got a job which is a lot more satisfying and varied, but the salary 'below the line' is pretty much the same.

Actually, I *am* a lab technician involved in vcaccine research (though I am currently not involved with COVID-19). While it is absolutely true that technicians do not develop vaccines by themselves, they do perform the majority of the grunt work in all stages of production and (stability) testing. My point is that there are a limited number of qualified technicians available. Re-training them to do diagnostic testing means at least a portion of their time cannot be occupied with their regular field of work. Also, if you read my entire post, you'll understand why I see little value in blanket testing.

Well, the system isn't perfect, because, you know... people. Some celebrities in the beginning of the crisis called out to keep hugging and shaking hands, since they were being so cool and all. That has died down naturally over the weeks. When the first weekend of nice weather came about, many people went to the beach. This was approximately one week after the government proclaimed preventative measures, chiefly among those social distancing. The government was furious and instated(?) fines of up to €400,- per person if groups of more than three people (families excepted) were congregating. Police have started to give out warnings. A few individual townships have had to shut down visitor access, especially during the weekend. This, for the most part, seems to work. Even so, a few "c-word"s insist on holding so-called 'F*ck Corona parties'. Thankfully, the vast majority of the people who live in the Netherlands do have a brain. The government's message: "Yes, you yourself might get away with mild, flu-like symptoms. In that case you still observe social distancing. Not for yourself but for others who are more vulnerable".

What would that achieve? ETA: what do you want to do with the more accurate numbers. Testing capacity is not just a matter of having more tests available but also having trained lab technicians available to perform said tests. Technicians who might also be employed working on a vaccine for instance. Besides, even if a test is initiated immediately upon receival, a test takes time to run. So by the time the results of person X (who may or may not be symptomatic) come back positive they have already walked past many other people who may or may not be infected and who in turn may or may not infect others. You'll never be able to keep up with that, especially with an end time as arbitrary as "one month". Personally,I like the Dutch system: Tests (and, I might add, PPE) are reserved for people who actually need them. e.g. health care workers and symptomatic individuals who are at risk due to age or medical conditions. For everyone else it's simple: Stay at home as much as possible, wash your hands often and long (advice is 20 sec) and keep 1.5m distance if you do leave the house. If you or any of your familiy members show symptoms which might indicate COVID-19 you stay the F- at home, no matter how mild said symptoms are. Whether or not the individual actually has COVID-19 is not relevant as long as the symptoms are mild. If the symptoms worsen, you phone your GP who will assess whether testing is necessary or not, I assume based on your medical dossier and/or whether it looks like that hospitalisation may be necessary in the near future. The goverment reports the confirmed cases and hospitalisations of confirmed cases along with a warning that the actual number of cases are in fact higher because not everyone is being tested. Total Deaths are best compared to the predicted number of total deaths based on the time of the year (currently ~1.5x as high as normal). All this information is easily accessible for anyone who is interested and is updated daily. Aside from that our PM gives regular press conferences for those who prefer to get their information from such a format.

Well, I am an impressionable new (to SC) poster and therefore still have that wide-eyed look of innocence in my eyes.

That is a very irresponsible suggestion. Think of the panic you would cause, since it would seem that the USA was being invaded by Mounties.

I freely admit I am.

Thing is though, that if everyone is going to use mouth masks the demand for them is going to increase by hundreds of millions of pieces PER DAY, on top of the already increased demand. How are we going to meet this even greater extra demand if already people are being called upon to volunteer with sewing mouth masks? What are the consequences if we don't meet this demand? Again, I hate to see perfectly good mouthmasks being squandered through imperfect and/or improper usage if that same mouth mask could at some point be used for what it was originally intended. Whether that is protecting a carpenter from dust in their lungs when sanding a table or protecting a healthcare worker while doing their job makes no difference. Most people I see wearing mouth masks (thankfully few people over here) are wearing the type of mask that dentists and surgeons use. Never mind that this type of mask is useless against viruses, I can see from ten metres away that the masks are being improperly worn: straps not tightened enough, nose clamp not being used... If that person sneezes the effect is akin to me being at the shooting range: the least dangerous place is directly in front of me.