International COVID-19 Megathread

[Tender Branson]

A live map of Austrian cases by state and district, from the Health Ministry:

https://info.gesundheitsministerium.at

[Tender Branson]

A live map of Austrian cases by state and district, from the Health Ministry:

https://info.gesundheitsministerium.at

Coronavirus cases are more common in ÖVP-Green voting areas, not so much in SPÖ-FPÖ voting areas ...

[Tender Branson]

New Market and Gallup polls:

98% of Austrians have changed their way of life and are living according to the new guidelines to reign in the virus.

The government and individual government members such as Chancellor Kurz, Health Minister Anschober etc. are all getting very high grades of approval for handling the situation.

But almost 30% of Austrians also think that Coronavirus was deliberately produced by a foreign power to unleash it on the population ...

https://www.derstandard.at/story/2000115940786/oesterreichs-bevoelkerung-stellt-sich-auf-lange-corona-krise-ein

[Tender Branson]

The growth of new cases is a bit lower today in Austria, compared with recent days:

As of 8am, there are positive 2.203 cases (of which 9 are fully recovered and 6 dead).

That's an increase of 19% compared with 8am yesterday.

In previous days, the increase was about 26-28% per day.

[Tender Branson]

The ÖVP-Green government has announced a 40 Bio. € package for the economy (= 10% of GDP) and that thousands of soldiers and former civil servants will be re-activated to help out in supermarkets or elsewhere, so that the police can check and fine people on the streets who are in groups and not separated by at least 2 meters from each other.

[Tender Branson]

A ÖVP member of the Austrian parliament is Corona-positive.

He is not present at today’s parliamentary session, but was at the previous Sunday session ...

[Tender Branson]

Looks like Austrian curfew measures are starting to work.

2.400 cases as of 3pm today (+19% with 3pm yesterday).

That is the 2nd lowest rise since the epidemic started here.

Tyrol (which is completely sealed off) is only seeing a small increase anymore.

The number of deaths (6) remains low and virtually all are over 60 with significant illnesses before.

The weekend promises even a further reduction of the percentage-wise growth, because the weather will turn cold and snowy/rainy and people will even spend less time outside (except for the necessary groceries shopping).

[Tender Branson]

+98.000 filed for unemployment money in Austria in the past 4 days alone.

So, we had ca. 340.000 registered unemployed at the end of February.

If we factor in today’s numbers, it is likely that unemployment increased by 120.000 this week, or by more than 30%.

https://orf.at/stories/3158727

[Tender Branson]

https://twitter.com/darthmewwww/status/1239991921910730754

[Tender Branson]

Italy:

+627 dead in the past 24 hours.

[Tender Branson]

Nice chart.

Could also be a ranking of how good a country’s healthcare system is.

https://twitter.com/justinwolfers/status/1241102311071645699

[Tender Branson]

Austria:

2.664 positive cases as of 8am today.

That's an increase of 21% compared with 8am yesterday - which is a bit higher than the 19.5% increase the day before, but yesterday was a sunny warm day as well.

The weekend will be cold, the increase should be smaller under normal circumstances.

7 dead (+1).

[Tender Branson]

https://twitter.com/philippenarval/status/1241123025292050434

[Tender Branson]

Nice chart.

Could also be a ranking of how good a country’s healthcare system is.

https://twitter.com/justinwolfers/status/1241102311071645699

I don't think so. The differing death rates at the moment is something that really stands out. On the one hand, you have the likes of the Nordic countries, the Germanic countries or Switzerland where the death rate is hovering around 1% or below. And on the other, you have (forgetting Italy) the Spain, France, UK, the Netherlands a bit; where it is more lie 3% or higher. I mean for sure, the countries in the first groups are generally richer than the second group, but I don't think "healthcare systems" even comes close to making a difference of a factor of 4-5 in terms of death rates. The French system in particular, has always had a very good reputation. So there is clearly more going on here.

And for case numbers, there are obviously other factors at work. Ticino is part of Lombardy, geographically speaking - and hugely economically dependent on it. So Switzerland was always going to walloped from the moment it became obvious what was going on in Italy.

True, but:

What about autopsies ?

There might be differences in how countries conduct autopsies on the dead to obtain causes of death.

In countries such as Austria or Germany, the number of autopsies performed in recent decades has fallen significantly.

How many patients dying of the common „flu“ are just buried without being tested for Corona here ?

🧐

I guess a lot here are being hidden as „flu deaths“, whereas other countries are testing and perform autopsies more thoroughly.

[Tender Branson]

The Medical Science Lab at the University of Salzburg has created a medication that can reduce the most troubling symptoms of the Coronavirus by 90%:

According to a report by the Salzburg ORF, the Salzburg State Clinics have a new drug. This is said to reduce the effects of Covid 19 disease by up to 90 percent, says Primary Richard Greil.

According to Greil, the drug is used in the specialist and research department against cancer that he heads. That is why they have access to the drug: "The drug can slow down the so-called inflammatory storm. The corresponding data have not yet been published, but will be soon.

They show that a reduction in the severity of the disease by 90 percent can be achieved" , the primary is quoted by ORF. According to ORF Salzburg, a second drug is also available in the Salzburg clinic, which could even have a direct effect on the virus.

Link

Would be good if such helpful medication to prevent mass deaths would come here from Salzburg.

[Tender Branson]

2.814 cases in Austria by 3pm.

Compared with 3pm yesterday, an increase of 17.8%

That is the lowest percentage-wise increase since the epidemic began here.

8 people are dead, 15 in intensive care units. More than 99% are quarantined at home with only mild symptoms or none at all.

Daily testing has reached a record-level today.

[Tender Branson]

Vienna police giving „private concerts“ at residential areas where people are under curfew, by playing music out of their police cars ... 💪🤟👍😎👏

https://twitter.com/jaxn_0/status/1241429373191966721

[Tender Branson]

According to the live tracking of reported cases in Austria, the daily increase will be the lowest today when the 8am numbers are out.

+14% compared with yesterday 8am.

2.664 (8am yesterday)
3.024 (6am today)

The increase in absolute numbers has now also peaked. Were the cases increasing by about 500 per day so far (peak), the increase until this morning will be „just“ 400.

https://info.gesundheitsministerium.at

[Tender Branson]

The number of cases in my district (Zell am See) is stable for quite some days now at around 50. The district, like most western ones, is a tourist/skiing hotspot - so most cases involve tourists who are now isolated for 2-3 weeks in their rooms.

And there’s even a Corona „drive-through“ test station here at a parking lot, operated by the Red Cross.

But you cannot just drive there on your own to get tested, only if you called the doc beforehand because you feel feverish and the doc orders you there for a test ...

[Tender Branson]

3 infected British tourists under quarantine here in Zell am See have been double-tested and rated cured.

They can travel back to England now.

https://salzburg.orf.at/stories/3040327/

A couple others are not rated "cured" yet and remain in quarantine.

[Tender Branson]

My state, Salzburg, has doubled the daily testing capacity to 500 - starting today (by tasking a private lab with the additional tests).

Therefore, a big jump in cases has been reported here today.

[Tender Branson]

Really intrigued about whats going on in Germany.  They've kept the death per day rate down and based on patients in intensive care, no indication yet that that will change any time soon.  They are either doing something very right, or there is serious underreporting going on. If its a case of limiting the exposure of their elderly, how did they do this and so many other European countries didn't?

In Germany, about 3.000 people are dying each day during a 1st quarter of a year (many of them old ones, from the flu).

I would assume that many of those also die from Corona these days, but are not showing up in the statistics as such, because they die at home or in the retirement home and autopsies and tests are not performed. Autopsies have declined a lot in recent decades here.

[Tender Branson]

We’ll probably hit 4.000 cases tonight or tomorrow morning.

Currently, it’s 3.784 cases - of which 114 are hospitalized (of which 14 are in intensive care units).

3.670 have mild symptoms and are quarantined at home.

56% of the infected are male.

The infected largely represent all age groups, but the dead disproportionately are over 65.

There are now 18 dead.

https://info.gesundheitsministerium.at

[Tender Branson]

Cases in Austria have exploded today, after a relatively quiet weekend.

Maybe they didn't test/release as much over the weekend and only released the results today ?

Anyway, 4.500 cases now.

[Tender Branson]

The number of daily tests here has about doubled to 6.000 yesterday.

Austria now has among the highest number of per capita tests worldwide now.

That also led to a bigger jump than usual to around 4.500 cases as of 8am today (+25%).

https://info.gesundheitsministerium.at