4 hours ago, Huntress said:

 

It's the same in Germany. In my city, 44 people have died (as of today), and most of them were over 70 and had underlying illnesses. 15 of these 44 people died in a single retirement home.
Notable exceptions were a younger woman who lived in a facility for disabled people and a 47-year-old doctor who apparently didn't seek medical treatment (!) and died alone in his apartment. His body was found a week later.

 

The weather has been fine all week and people are roaming around in the parks, riding their bicycles and enjoying the sun – but of course only with their families or in groups of two. There have only been a few instances where larger groups needed to be dissolved, so most people are acting reasonable.
In the supermarkets and drugstores, there is access control during rush hour, and cashiers sit behind a wall of plexiglass. Hoarding is no longer allowed (for example, you are only allowed to buy one packet of toilet paper). People are encouraged to wear masks, but hardly anyone does.
Everything else is still closed, but apparently politicians will be trying to re-open the country step by step at the beginning of May.

 

 

Berlin is like a ghost town these days. Places that were once overcrowded day and night and flooded by tourists and locals are lifeless.

 

Huntress... I wish things around here were that deserted. The traffic doesn't seem to be much different than normal days. Maybe a bit. 

The confusion about the Missouri deaths may be that it was widely reported that all the Covid19 deaths in St. Louis were African Americans.

18 minutes ago, Darcy said:

The confusion about the Missouri deaths may be that it was widely reported that all the Covid19 deaths in St. Louis were African Americans.

Thank you. And you are correct. The report was for St. Louis county and St. Louis city, not the whole state. I found the report. The St. Louis metro as of yesterday had 57% of the positive cases in the whole state, with around 25% of the population. Why the black population has this rumor going around that black people are immune is beyond me. 

https://www.newsweek.com/all-coronavirus-deaths-st-louis-missouri-have-been-african-americans-1497199

Edited April 11, 20205 yr by alphanguy74

 

17 hours ago, I Am A Swede said:

It's fascinating how we've become the object of such interest from the rest of the world....

But it feels like there are some misconceptions on how we've handled this pandemic here in Sweden. I get the feeling that some people think that we haven't done anything and are living as normal, and that is not completely true. Our government hasn't forbidden people from going outside, and most businesses are still open. Congregations of more than 50 people have been banned however, and high schools and universities have closed and the students work from home. There is also a ban on visiting retirement homes, since the elderly have shown themselves more vulnerable to this disease

 

I don't see where the misconceptions are. What you're saying matches what I've heard over and over. Sweden has implemented soft containment measures. Which is kind of questionable to me, but I guess we'll wait and see.

 

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Only time will tell which method, ours or most other countries, have been more succesful.

Uhm I don't think it's a matter of seeing which method works best. The question is: can your country's health system face a potential peak? If it can, more power to you. Most countries were not equipped for a peak and had to famously flatten the curve by applying a lockdown. Also: they did not want to risk people's lives, which is something some people keep forgetting.

 

Quote

There will come a time, in the probably not so distant future, when other countries will have to relax their rules, and we'll see what happens then.

 

We don't need to wait to know that. China and South Korea are living that "not so distant future" already. They've radically changed their way of living. They've placed glasses between tables at restaurants, they've placed stickers on the ground to tell people where to stand, they've filled their cafes with hand sanitizers, provided face masks to everyone. They get your temperature before you walk into a public building. Is that what you guys are already doing in Sweden? Is that what "relaxing the rules" means for you?

 

I know that Norway, Denmark and Austria have started to relax their rules somewhat. You cannot keep an entire population under lock and key forever. The society will collapse if you do that.

 

I don't think anyone has ever implied that.

 

Will they have been able to stop the virus spreading, or will it start to spread again when people come out of their confinement....?

 

You seem to suggest that the countries imposing a lockdown are somewhat short-sighted. And that they will have to come to their senses sooner or later. I find that rather insulting to the people trying hard to respect the government imposed lockdown. It's obvious that the virus will keep on spreading but we are trying to contain the *pandemic* by staying at home. If your country is applying a different method I am in no position to judge, but those who are in lockdown right now deserve major respect.

Edited April 11, 20205 yr by Aback

 

 

  

  

 

  

 

 

 

   

Edited April 11, 20205 yr by victoria foxton

Thank you, @DramatistDreamer, @Huntress, @I Am A Swede and others, for keeping us all informed on how the coronavirus outbreak has affected life globally.  From my perspective, the U.S. media doesn't focus enough attention on how the virus has devastated people outside our borders.

 

Oh, and everyone would be wise to ignore the poster who keeps coming around here and inciting drama with his racist and off-base assumptions.

Edited April 11, 20205 yr by Khan

Rihanna has consistently put out money, vital money, throughout this ordeal. It's one of the reasons I find the "celebrity culture is dying hyuk hyuk" smugfests tiresome. 

 

As for the celebrities fleeing to smaller states, I wouldn't be as bothered if they actually did anything for the areas they're hiding out in. They rarely, if ever, bother. Timberlake can't even treat his own wife with respect, let alone anyone else.

1 hour ago, Aback said:

Uhm I don't think it's a matter of seeing which method works best. The question is: can your country's health system face a potential peak? If it can, more power to you. Most countries were not equipped for a peak and had to famously flatten the curve by applying a lockdown. Also: they did not want to risk people's lives, which is something some people keep forgetting.

 

Are you by that implying that we do want to risk people's lives? Because if you do I find that rather insulting.

We've chosen a different tactic than other countries have, and so far it has worked just as well as yours.

 

1 hour ago, Aback said:

You seem to suggest that the countries imposing a lockdown are somewhat short-sighted. And that they will have to come to their senses sooner or later. I find that rather insulting to the people trying hard to respect the government imposed lockdown. It's obvious that the virus will keep on spreading but we are trying to contain the *pandemic* by staying at home. If your country is applying a different method I am in no position to judge, but those who are in lockdown right now deserve major respect.

 

You're reading way too much into what I wrote.

 

You're welcome @Khan. This is a worldwide pandemic and this disease has been tragically effective at crossing borders and across oceans, which keeps this in perspective for me.

Speaking of global,

Seems as if Russia could finally be coming to terms with the fact that coronavirus is spreading there.  I'm reading that infection rates are doubling daily in Moscow and almost half of the cases of infected in the capital city are of people under the age of 45. I don't know how the quality of the general health of younger populations are in Russia but in terms of the spread, that's not good news. Looks like Putin is playing the same type of role as Xi Jinping did in China, which was hardly any, with Putin opting to leave for the countryside and let the mayor of Moscow deal with the scourge.

 

The only three regions currently clear of #Covid19 in Russia are the Altai Republic, the Nenets Autonomous region and Chukotka. Pictured here is a view from the Altai mountains by Alexey Salamatov #Covid19Russia pic.twitter.com/xcbtu1df6j

— The Siberian Times (@siberian_times) April 11, 2020

“Putin, who usually takes the lead with great fanfare in times of crisis, has...retreated to his country residence outside Moscow, leaving the mayor and prime minister...to take the heat for a health crisis that now looks set to get far worse.” https://t.co/pldaDX0J2O

— Connie Schultz (@ConnieSchultz) April 11, 2020

2 hours ago, Faulkner said:

 

New York State Governor Cuomo says no decision has been made yet but New York City disagrees and says they were right about initial social distancing before Cuomo agreed.  Ridiculous that New York’s Governor and Mayor can’t get their acts together and work better without throwing out conflicting important information.

British people who evacuated from Wuhan and now are under lockdown in the coronavirus-stricken UK wish they hadn’t come home. “We should have stayed in China” says one https://t.co/Xvspy0PN7h

— Liz Sly (@LizSly) April 10, 2020

That article reminds me of a weird propaganda type piece I saw on Politico earlier today about the "national spirit" of COVID which proves the UK is no longer following America's path on polarization and brokenness. 

 

https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2020/04/11/coronavirus-uk-us-brexit-trump-177924

 

They only fleetingly mention the main reason the same polarization is not as evident (their system of government), and instead just mention buzzwords about the Queen's speech and people wishing Boris Johnson well. Scant mention of the mounting death tolls and the lack of testing and PPE, or the number of people who were deeply concerned by the half-truths and evasions from the government about Johnson's health, or that Johnson was so focused on painting the image of a wartime heroic leader that he nearly died.

 

The media over there are just in love with Johnson in a way even our press will never be with Trump. 

Edited April 11, 20205 yr by DRW50

2 hours ago, Khan said:

Thank you, @DramatistDreamer, @Huntress, @I Am A Swede and others, for keeping us all informed on how the coronavirus outbreak has affected life globally.  From my perspective, the U.S. media doesn't focus enough attention on how the virus has devastated people outside our borders.

 

Oh, and everyone would be wise to ignore the poster who keeps coming around here and inciting drama with his racist and off-base assumptions.

You might be wise to simply have a discussion like a grown person, instead of playing the part of some playground bully, trying to get all the other "children" not to play with me. All because I said something that offended you six years ago. Before that time, we had perfectly normal discussions for the better part of 5 years. Just let it go already. 

Edited April 11, 20205 yr by alphanguy74