International COVID-19 Megathread

[Meclazine for Israel]

Speaking of racially related things, my city has just had a COVID outbreak and it is apparently centered on the Dominican community.*

I don't know who's more stupid between those who think that mentioning this at all is xenophobic and those who have actual xenophobic takes about it.

*for reference it's the largest immigrant community present in La Spezia.

That is nothing. Pauline Hanson blamed the COVID-19 outbreak in Melbourne on "unemployed drug addicts who cannot speak English" on national TV.

https://www.mamamia.com.au/what-did-pauline-hanson-say/

[Meclazine for Israel]

Sure Europe has a second spike that will end up 10 times greater than the first spike.

But the death rate is remarkably low.

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/france/

Compare case graph vs death graph for France.

Are we dealing with:

(a) a less potent strain;
(b) a less vunerable population;
(c) vitamin D from summer helping to reduce the mortality rate;
(d) another factor...

It is very good news either way.

[Meclazine for Israel]

slower growth compared to the first peak.

Non.

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/france/

The 2nd spike is spreading much more rapidly in every country affected.

But I take your point about testing.

[Meclazine for Israel]

Don't forget that deaths are a lagging indicator.

We have waited long enough on the lag between deaths and case onset to see the death rate is miniscule compared to previous wave.

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/france/

There is something very different about this wave, and it has something to do with the efficacy of the virus itself (which may have lowered) and the population itself (becoming more resistant).

Increased testing may be something to factor in as stated.

[Meclazine for Israel]

Will be interesting to watch the death numbers in Sweden this winter.

They may have some advantages in their approach.

Maybe their population is too small to compare to the US and larger European countries.

[Meclazine for Israel]

Zero new cases in Australia today.

We are not opening international borders until after we get a vaccine. We might let some NZ citizens in and form a bubble.

I cannot believe Europe let in suicidal muppets from Tunisia to kill people during COVID-19 lockdown.

Someone is not doing their job in the French medical team.

I don't think we will be open until July 2021.

[Meclazine for Israel]

Sweden at 70% of ICU capacity, new polls shows only 42% of Swedes have confidence in the authority's ability to fight the virus, 44% worry that they are not doing enough.

Currently averaging about 4800 cases per day, projected to go up to 8000 per day in December. And we're back to about 20-40 deaths per day.

Sweden have been a success in my book.

The death rate is now under 15 people per day.

They took a risk, and it allows better scientific analysis of approaches. If everyone does the same thing, you would never know.

But the average Swedish person was given responsibility and they took it onboard.

Compared to their first wave, the infection rate is 4 times higher, but the death rate is 4 times lower.

So the death rate per case has dropped by over 15/16 or 94% less.

Incredible.

[Meclazine for Israel]

The first vaccinations have been administered in the UK.

https://youtu.be/FRfpKtYlI4g

The reception from the populous appears to be quite positive.

[Meclazine for Israel]

8 cases confirmed in Melbourne over the last week with zero new cases overnight.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-01-01/no-new-covid-cases-overnight-in-victoria/13025750

But Sydney looks like it may be in trouble as we enter 2021.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-12-31/covid-19-nsw-10-cases-three-linked-to-croydon-cluster/13022394

10 new cases in Croydon recorded yesterday.

Authorities fear that people meeting at Christmas may have picked up the virus and been most infectious 7 days later at New Years Eve celebrations.

Bring on the vaccine.

[Meclazine for Israel]

Alright, a couple of graphs to end 2020.

First up, top 25 and lowest 25 countries in the world for infection rate from 2020 data were selected. Their respective infection rate was plotted as a function of:

1. GDP per Capita


COVID-19 Infection Rate as a function of GDP (2018)

I took out Lichtenstein on the plotted points as people there are extra-ordinarily wealthy and it skews all the poor countries together in the bottom left corner too much.

2. Latitude of Country


COVID-19 Infection Rate as a function of Latitude

It's a bit macabre to plot the death rate. So the only stat worth sharing was that the mortality rate of the wealthy countries was 316 times greater as a percentage of the population when compared to the poor equatorial countries.

[Meclazine for Israel]

I think Australia ordered the wrong vaccine.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-01-26/astrazeneca-denies-report-vaccine-less-effective-in-elderly/13091806

This one needs to be kept at -70 deg C.

[Meclazine for Israel]

Australia with 13 Days COVID free.

We have halved our inbound flights for returning Australians and strengthened our quarantine protocols for hotels.

Professor Michael Kidd

https://youtu.be/s3GTyoR4u9s

[Meclazine for Israel]

Muslim women are finding greater acceptance in society thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic:

https://theconversation.com/muslim-women-who-cover-their-faces-find-greater-acceptance-among-coronavirus-masks-nobody-is-giving-me-dirty-looks-136021

One positive.

[Meclazine for Israel]

Western Australia had one active case two weeks ago.

We have had a mask mandate ever since.

Happy to say everyone in Perth today I saw was wearing a mask.

Community cases since equals zero. It's just incredibly easy to control in summer, so hopefully we handle what is coming in May June.

[Meclazine for Israel]

Australia's Department of Health has made a significant medical breakthrough in the COVID-19 vaccine rollout.

I know you guys think that because Australia has virtually no COVID-19 virus, we are not able to research the application of the vaccine in terms of the prevention of the virus. But this article proves we are at the pinnacle of medical research:

https://www.health.gov.au/initiatives-and-programs/covid-19-vaccines/is-it-true/is-it-true-can-covid-19-vaccines-connect-me-to-the-internet

"Can COVID-19 vaccines connect me to the internet?
COVID-19 vaccines do not – and cannot – connect you to the internet."

[Meclazine for Israel]

350,000 new cases in India alone today.

That will continue to climb, and they will have > 10M per month infected.

[Meclazine for Israel]

Honestly, most people in rural areas probably got off better than those in urban areas. People in rural areas are generally more active, less obese, and healthier than those in urban areas, even if they're somewhat poorer in material terms.

Country cases in Western Australia have been next to zero.

High humidity, high temperatures, lots of sunlight = no COVID 19.

City dwellers are getting it from air conditioners in buildings in colder, low humidity environments like Melbourne where our only outbreak has occurred.

Of course, whilst India shares some of these attributes, they are simply too crowded together in their social fabric.

[Meclazine for Israel]

India reported over 400,000 new cases yesterday.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-05-01/india-ravaged-by-the-record-breaking-covid-19-surge/100105294

Crazy numbers leading to more problems.

[Meclazine for Israel]

India losing over 4,000 people per day.

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/

Compared to Brazil, the mortality rate appears low which points towards the idea that India is under reporting on this numeric.

[Meclazine for Israel]

In the Australian winter, we have 3 or 4 capital cities in lockdown with:

1. Zero deaths in 2021 from COVID-19 in Australia.
2. 2 Million people in Perth locked down - 4 active cases

https://www.wa.gov.au/government/announcements/4-day-lockdown-introduced-perth-and-peel

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-07-01/no-new-perth-covid-cases-on-third-day-of-lockdown-in-wa/100258664

3. 4 Million people in QLD locked down - 22 active cases

https://www.qld.gov.au/health/conditions/health-alerts/coronavirus-covid-19/current-status/public-health-directions/restrictions-impacted-areas

4. 6 Million people + in NSW locked down - ~75 cases

https://www.nsw.gov.au/covid-19/rules/greater-sydney

With winter, we finally have some infection in Sydney.

Our total immunisation rate is 4.6%

I get my first Pfizer shot in September.

[Meclazine for Israel]

Looks like they will get herd immunity quicker than most - but what a price

It's pretty sad, India essentially became a biological experiment in herd immunity over the winter, and the cost was very high

Are the UK out and about, or just the youngest.

It really affects the aged care facilities dramatically as we have found.

[Meclazine for Israel]

[Meclazine for Israel]

Sri Lankans experiencing the Delta variant innovating in a very macabre way.

Cardboard Coffins

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Knbfjjl_s8w

More environmentally friendly, but cannot take people above 100kg.

[Meclazine for Israel]

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-09-24/wa-records-one-new-covid-19-case-no-g2g-pass/100488634

"Western Australia has recorded one new case of COVID-19, a woman from New South Wales who entered WA without an approved G2G pass.

The chief health officer has advised there is no cause for concern, and the woman is now in hotel quarantine.

The woman arrived in Perth on Tuesday, September 21 and was stopped by WA police."

One new case tried to penetrative our controlled border.

But they did not have any paperwork. Tested positive. Some people just don't care about the fact we have zero cases.

[Meclazine for Israel]

Disabled people suffer higher mortality from COVID-19 than the general population:

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-09-27/covid-vaccine-rolllout-disability-australia/100493464