International COVID-19 Megathread

[Middle-aged Europe]

Would you say AfD scores higher than average for anti-vaxxers as well?

Most likely.

Interestingly, because those two parties usually aren't intersecting at all, I had the increasing feeling in the last couple of months that this is a segment where the Greens are losing some of their support to the AfD. Historically, the Greens were affiliated with the anti-vaxxer scene, but this started to change over the last couple of years with a party leadership that is increasingly pro-vaccination. And Corona put the issue to the forefront.

[Hnv1]

How severe is Brazilian under reporting? well past 80K but it seems the numbers should be higher

[Alcibiades]

Would you say AfD scores higher than average for anti-vaxxers as well?

Most likely.

Interestingly, because those two parties usually aren't intersecting at all, I had the increasing feeling in the last couple of months that this is segment where the Greens are losing some of their support to the AfD. Historically, the Greens were affiliated with the anti-vaxxer scene, but this started to change over the last couple of years with a party leadership that is increasingly pro-vaccination. And Corona put the issue to the forefront.

A similar phenomenon to the leftie anti-vaxxers of Vashon Island?

[Middle-aged Europe]

A recent surge to about 800 new infections per day in Germany (average before that had been about 400) has led to Saxony's minister-president Michael Kretschmer proclaiming: "The second wave is here."

The surge is seemingly attributed to three factors:

- Returning vacationers from abroad. For instance, the Corona testing center at Frankfurt airport has so far reported 70 infections. Not all airports in Germany are testing that thoroughly so far though and a debate has now been stirred that the testing of returning vacationers must be made mandatory.

- The reopening of restaurants and specifically restaurant owners who don't abide by the Corona rules. For instance, this week we had at least 10 infections at a restaurant in central Berlin where apparently a huge (and nominally illegal) party had been thrown.

- The Trump explanation: Increased and more thorough testing in general.

[Silent Hunter]

Germany's current infection rate is still half that of the UK though.

[Middle-aged Europe]

Germany's current infection rate is still half that of the UK though.

We're maybe a little prone to panicking though.

[Silent Hunter]

Germany's current infection rate is still half that of the UK though.

We're maybe a little prone to panicking though.

A lot of people seem to be prone to panicking at the moment.

[CumbrianLefty]

Lockdown totally *eliminating* the virus was always a pipe dream (save for a few lucky cases)

It was really about control.

[palandio]

So far during the post-lockdown phase the local health authorities have been able to bring every local outbreak under control. This is good news and indicates that the measures and alert mechanisms in place have been appropriate so far.

It seems that currently due to the reasons mentioned by Old Europe (and I think that all three hold true to some degree) more local outbreaks are occurring simultaneously and local health authorities are more challenged. I'm confident that the authorities are capable of recognizing early enough if things should get out of hand and that appropriate actions would follow.

Total elimination of the virus at this point in time in a country like Germany only works in the naive models of some physicists-turned-epidemiologists and Mr Karl Lauterbach.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Exactly so. Arguments to the contrary get bizarre and almost utopian very quickly: you have expect the adherents to insist that 'rEal lOckDoWn haS nEveR bEen tRIeD'.

[Tender Branson]

I went shopping again with a mask this weekend, after the mandatory wearing became law again.

While the cases here in Austria continue to rise strongly, 5x in a row by more than 100 a day, the number of people in hospitals (97) incl. ICU (15) still continue to remain extremely low.

Only 2 additional deaths in the past 14 days have been reported.

There is a HUGE new cluster at the Wolfgangsee Lake at the Salzburg/Upper Austria border, with almost all of the 60 new cases there being reported from hotels on the Upper Austrian side of the lake. More than 800 tests are being performed there right now and the positivity rate is 5-10%.

Here in Salzburg there have been smaller clusters of 5 people or so recently, involving the police and people on vacation in the Balkans, now returning home. This is a massive problem, because Austria has ca. 500.000 people with Balkan origin who are visiting their family now.

Therefore travel restrictions have been increased significantly this week from the the Balkans but also from the US, effectively making it impossible for working people (you have to self-quarantine yourself for 2 weeks after returning from there).

Other major clusters in Upper- and Lower Austria are contained by now and the number of active cases are dropping there. But numbers are increasing in other regions now, such as in Vorarlberg or Styria.

https://kurier.at/politik/inland/ab-montag-einreise-aus-32-risikogebieten-nur-mehr-mit-test/400981613

[CumbrianLefty]

Exactly so. Arguments to the contrary get bizarre and almost utopian very quickly: you have expect the adherents to insist that 'rEal lOckDoWn haS nEveR bEen tRIeD'.

Though tbh cranks seem to be more notable on the other extreme, actual virus denial included.

[President Johnson]

Germany's current infection rate is still half that of the UK though.

We're maybe a little prone to panicking though.

Yeah, yesterday had 305 new cases, which is similar to the last few weeks. We still have around 6,000 active cases. That's less than Florida adds every single day.

[Silent Hunter]

As a side note to this, Netflix has the German TV series Charité available on it. The first series features one Robert Koch, who gives his name to the German government agency that is monitoring Covid-19.

He is also a demonstration of what can happen when you don't properly test a cure.

[NewYorkExpress]

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jul/26/kim-jong-un-conveys-urgent-meeting-after-suspected-case-of-covid-19

It took what seems like forever, but COVID-19 has come to North Korea...at least offically.

Odds are there were likely plenty of cases that Kim-Jong-Un just would not admit to.

[CumbrianLefty]

Rumours he had it himself, of course.......

[Silent Hunter]

341 new cases for Germany yesterday - the Sunday before it was 249.

[CumbrianLefty]

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jul/26/kim-jong-un-conveys-urgent-meeting-after-suspected-case-of-covid-19

It took what seems like forever, but COVID-19 has come to North Korea...at least offically.

Odds are there were likely plenty of cases that Kim-Jong-Un just would not admit to.

Turkmenistan still fighting the good fight there, they actually banned the virus don'tcha know?

[urutzizu]

All Arrivals into Germany from so-called "high-risk areas" will face mandatory testing for Coronavirus, because of concerns about people not adhering to Quarantine regulations. Practically all non-EU countries are designated "high risk". Meaning our drunk tourists can continue coming back from Spain which is surging past 2k cases per day, with no screening whatsoever, but Turkey remains "high-risk" despite less than 1000 a day on a much larger population. No racism here, no sirree. 🙃
 

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Turkmenistan still fighting the good fight there, they actually banned the virus don'tcha know?

Yes, a heroic effort. Unfortunately there is presently this mysterious and very dangerous dust blowing through the country, and citizens have been instructed to protect themselves by wearing face masks, and also, in order that the dust may circulate better, to stand about two metres apart.

[afleitch]

Turkmenistan still fighting the good fight there, they actually banned the virus don'tcha know?

Yes, a heroic effort. Unfortunately there is presently this mysterious and very dangerous dust blowing through the country, and citizens have been instructed to protect themselves by wearing face masks, and also, in order that the dust may circulate better, to stand about two metres apart.

Also applies to most of the States tbh.

[PSOL]

Price increases of food caused by the pandemic has worsened the state of malnutrition in already critical hotspots worldwide

[Middle-aged Europe]

341 new cases for Germany yesterday - the Sunday before it was 249.

Sunday numbers are considered to be a bit unreliable, because not all local health authorities are reporting test results that day. Today there were 633 new infections, which is a bit of an improverment over the ca. 800 per day towards the end of last week, but still higher than the average of 400 we had before that surge.

[President Johnson]

Greece now returns to mandatory mask wearing, including on offices. For some reason, churches are exempted.

All Arrivals into Germany from so-called "high-risk areas" will face mandatory testing for Coronavirus, because of concerns about people not adhering to Quarantine regulations. Practically all non-EU countries are designated "high risk". Meaning our drunk tourists can continue coming back from Spain which is surging past 2k cases per day, with no screening whatsoever, but Turkey remains "high-risk" despite less than 1000 a day on a much larger population. No racism here, no sirree. 🙃
 

It's kinda interesting my local radio station was doing poll on the show and most people wanted these mandatory tests not for free. The audience basically agreed people should pay for the tests when they go to high-risk areas.

[palandio]

[...]
It's kinda interesting my local radio station was doing poll on the show and most people wanted these mandatory tests not for free. The audience basically agreed people should pay for the tests when they go to high-risk areas.

Which shows that many people are petty-minded to a degree that it's outright stupid. We cannot afford people avoiding necessary tests because they would have to pay for them.