International COVID-19 Megathread

[It’s so Joever]

I think the only piece of “good” news left is that no one outside of China has died, and even that is likely to change soon. The next few months will suck for everyone.

[It’s so Joever]

Is 800,000~ deaths Worldwide too optimistic?

[It’s so Joever]

Singapore is starting to look like an outbreak zone.....

[It’s so Joever]

And here we go...

https://twitter.com/carlyweeks/status/1226888094097563651

These cases came from someone who travelled to Singapore btw, just further proving my point above. Just banning people from China may not work anymore.

[It’s so Joever]

So.......how bad could it get?

At worst, millions could die and the World will be in complete political/social upheaval for at least a decade.
More realistically, hundreds of thousands of people die, but the deaths are concentrated in old people and the World is able to move on, although with a more tense/worried atmosphere than before.

[It’s so Joever]

Whether or not the changes turn out to be that big, what is the case is that the way proponents of globalisation have pronounced it as "unstoppable" and "inevitable" - as if it was like the weather or some sort of act of God - was never as true as they made it out to be.

There are very few things in this world that are not, to at least a significant degree, a choice.

Generally I’m a fan of globalism, but times of epidemics are the opposite and I do think countries should ban flights/close borders as needed. All that being said, to blame “globalism” for the disease itself is shortsighted. The lack of effective regulations regarding wet markets in China is what allowed this to occur.

[It’s so Joever]

Reuters: Around 70 people trapped as hotel used for quarantine collapses in China

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - About 70 people were trapped in a collapsed hotel in the city of Quanzhou, in southeastern Fujian Province, the city government said on its website.

The collapsed hotel is used for coronavirus quarantine, according to the official People’s Daily.

The building collapsed at around 7:30 p.m., and by 9 p.m., 23 people had been rescued, the city government said.

No reason for the collapse was given.

Would now be a bad time for a “made-in-China” joke?

[It’s so Joever]

Apparently Italy is going full Hubei. Good. Much of the rest of the world should follow suit. It will be easier to slow down now than if we dilly-daddle for another few weeks until things get worse. Epidemics do not get better on their own. --- correction, actually they do get better on their own... after a large % of the population has been infected...

https://twitter.com/yarotrof/status/1236374825175834624

This is how we can beat the virus! It worked in China. Sadly, just like China, Italy took too long to do this. Still it is better than nothing. Let’s hope other countries take suit and remove any leaders who don’t by any means necessary.

[It’s so Joever]

Gotta love how China actually almost ended the outbreak (after starting it), and then it flared in Italy and SK for a second round.

[It’s so Joever]

An interesting perspective on the Milan lockdown from Chinese health officials who are aiding Italy...
https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.rfi.fr/en/international/20200320-china-reproaches-west-s-laxity-in-fight-against-coronavirus-lockdown-italy-highest-death-toll-herd-immunity-covid-19

[It’s so Joever]

It’s almost as if lockdown measures work....
Who would have guessed?

[It’s so Joever]

The Chinese economic numbers seem to indicate that, at least there, a significantly faster recovery than expected is taking place, raising hopes that the same will go for Europe as we start opening up.

China: March, compared to the same month last year
Exports: -6.6% (Expectations by Economists per Reuters: At least -13%)
Imports: -0.9% (Expected: -9.5%)

China has (unlike Europe and NA) held off from implementing a massive government stimulus, or a wage subsidy system, so Domestic Consumption kept the pace regardless. And of course China was able to restart the economy significantly faster than Europe, not to mention the US, will. And Exports will be hit in April harder as those Economies tank.

Speaking of Stimulus, the Italian Government has refused the 39 Billion Euro Loans package that was negotiated. Five Stars apparently threatened to blow up the Coalition otherwise. Complete Idiots. Why would they say no to a 39 billion€ credit, with low interest and no conditions after working for low interest credits with no conditions for weeks? And doing it without even Consulting their Allies Sanchez and Macron? Populism has Italy by the balls and the entire country will suffer because of it.

China is almost certainly falsifying their economic data. Unlike viral data (which is harder to hide and easily can backfire on their own people) it would be a net-positive for them to falsify the data to look better. The EU and the US are a mess, but that doesn’t mean China is being truthful about their rapid economic and social recovery.

[It’s so Joever]

The Chinese economic numbers seem to indicate that, at least there, a significantly faster recovery than expected is taking place, raising hopes that the same will go for Europe as we start opening up.

China: March, compared to the same month last year
Exports: -6.6% (Expectations by Economists per Reuters: At least -13%)
Imports: -0.9% (Expected: -9.5%)

China has (unlike Europe and NA) held off from implementing a massive government stimulus, or a wage subsidy system, so Domestic Consumption kept the pace regardless. And of course China was able to restart the economy significantly faster than Europe, not to mention the US, will. And Exports will be hit in April harder as those Economies tank.

Speaking of Stimulus, the Italian Government has refused the 39 Billion Euro Loans package that was negotiated. Five Stars apparently threatened to blow up the Coalition otherwise. Complete Idiots. Why would they say no to a 39 billion€ credit, with low interest and no conditions after working for low interest credits with no conditions for weeks? And doing it without even Consulting their Allies Sanchez and Macron? Populism has Italy by the balls and the entire country will suffer because of it.

Well thanks for the daily dose of communist propaganda. Anyone whose been to China knows it’s a horrible place. Seems way poorer than Vietnam despite having 4x the per capita gdp. I’m pretty sure they inflate a lot of the their metrics. Like by not counting any infant mortality to boost their life expectancy.

China isn’t some 3rd World sh**thole like the WSJ wants people to believe.
Some of their data is obviously inflated, but they aren’t “poorer than Vietnam”.
Like the US, China does have a lot of economic diversity. Cities such as Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and Shanghai are on par with many developed cities in numerous ways. Rural areas in China can be shoddy and rival third World conditions in some cases. Keep that in mind when comparing conditions. We don’t judge the US solely based on rural Mississippi where they don’t have running water, and the same applies to China.

[It’s so Joever]

In a bit of good news, the J&J and AstraZeneca vaccine trials are resuming after being paused.
https://www.statnews.com/2020/10/23/covid-19-vaccine-trials-from-astrazeneca-johnson-johnson-to-restart/

[It’s so Joever]

https://twitter.com/business/status/1392010361809874949

The Chinese vaccines seem to be  effective at preventing deaths but not very effective at preventing cases. 2/3 of Seychelles is  vaccinated yet 1/3 of cases are still among the vaccinated.

It’s very worrisome, and definitely begs the question as to how effective Sinopharm actually is, and also whether this is just Sinopharm, or if the same logic extends to other vaccines, such as JJ and Moderna.

[It’s so Joever]

https://twitter.com/business/status/1392010361809874949

The Chinese vaccines seem to be  effective at preventing deaths but not very effective at preventing cases. 2/3 of Seychelles is  vaccinated yet 1/3 of cases are still among the vaccinated.

It’s very worrisome, and definitely begs the question as to how effective Sinopharm actually is, and also whether this is just Sinopharm, or if the same logic extends to other vaccines, such as JJ and Moderna.

If it was, we'd be seeing evidence of it in places like the UK and Israel.

Speaking of Israel, have you heard the latest joke from there? "The rest of the world's dealing with Corona and we're back to normal."

Perhaps, but it is early and the UK cases are starting to rise a bit (tiny compared to last wave) so I would watch.

[It’s so Joever]

https://twitter.com/business/status/1392010361809874949

The Chinese vaccines seem to be  effective at preventing deaths but not very effective at preventing cases. 2/3 of Seychelles is  vaccinated yet 1/3 of cases are still among the vaccinated.

It’s very worrisome, and definitely begs the question as to how effective Sinopharm actually is, and also whether this is just Sinopharm, or if the same logic extends to other vaccines, such as JJ and Moderna.

If it was, we'd be seeing evidence of it in places like the UK and Israel.

Speaking of Israel, have you heard the latest joke from there? "The rest of the world's dealing with Corona and we're back to normal."

Perhaps, but it is early and the UK cases are starting to rise a bit (tiny compared to last wave) so I would watch.

That's not true.

What’s not true?

[It’s so Joever]

Reports of an attempted disinformation campaign on Biontech/Pfizer vaccine surfaced these days. Apparently, influencers on social media were offered payments for spreading disinformation about this vaccine, especially in France. Some links point to Russia.

https://twitter.com/Dobrindt1/status/1397589773326462977

If this were China, all of Atlas would be calling for Xi’s head.
It’s a shame how standards are applied differently to Putin’s regime.

[It’s so Joever]

I’m very worried about Southern Africa.
Both Zambia and Namibia are seeing sudden spikes, and they obviously both have low vaccination rates.
Hopefully it won’t be as bad as it was in India.

[It’s so Joever]

Now in all seriousness, the rapid rise of the Delta variant should be of concern for even some highly vaccinated countries. Like Alpha, this variant does have a lot more capacity to spread. Luckily, Delta does not appear to be vaccine resistant (as opposed to Beta) to a high degree. Get your shots even if you are young, this variant has different symptoms and there is anecdotal evidence that it does hurt unvaccinated young people harder than previous Covid. Additionally, every unvaccinated person is another place for a new mutation. Don’t be patient zero, get your shot.

[It’s so Joever]

Each day I find myself liking Duterte more and more...

https://wgntv.com/news/ill-inject-the-vaccine-in-your-butt-philippines-president-threatens-to-arrest-those-who-refuse-vaccination/

[It’s so Joever]

Yet another revealation: It's plain obvious the Chinese Communist Party was engaged in a coverup in the early days of the pandemic.

https://twitter.com/dwnews/status/1408447391494193154

While it is pretty likely/established that Hebei government officials did engage in a coverup of the spread of this virus in late December/January, I don’t find it so likely this coverup began right at the start of the virus in humans.
Think about it: It is a novel virus which we don’t know to scan for during a season known for high prevalence of respiratory infections. Even had this began in your great Germany, such a virus could spread undetected for months. This is literally searching for something that has never existed before, it’s not going to be done quickly, especially given the context.
Fwiw, Hebei did engage in a coverup and that’s well founded (whether they were operating under higher orders is an important question not proven just yet) and it’s certainly possible they still are engaging in one regarding the spread of the virus in their borders.
But your article really doesn’t prove a thing, it just confirms common sense.

[It’s so Joever]

Interpret this as you will.
https://fortune.com/2021/06/25/covid-delta-variant-in-israel-vaccinated-adults/

[It’s so Joever]

https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-vaccine-drops-to-64-efficacy-in-stoping-infections-in-israel-as-delta-spreads-1.9971842

Awful news. This is just preeliminary, but so was the study that found an 88% efficacy. By Atlas standards, we should sanction India for allowing such a dangerous new variant to come up with their negligent response. We may be forced back to square one soon.

[It’s so Joever]

Allowing a virus with already a strong ability to evade current vaccines to spread through a partially vaccinated population is literally the best way to get more vaccine resistant mutations.
Boris Johnson is a complete fool, and we will need booster shots within a year for decent protection from hospitalization due to him, Mark my words.

Looking at the future, it appears we will be playing a game of variant whack a mole. We have the technology to adapt our vaccines relatively quickly, but we will constantly need to keep updating them. In the meantime, poorer nations will continue to struggle to even secure the hardly protective versions from long ago.
The rich and well educated will continue to survive fine, while those in poorer countries and the less educated will be f**ked.