Coronavirus COVID-19 - Global Health Pandemic #43

[otto]

Call me Optimistic. I believe that our USA President, has a humongous smack down in the works for China.
I don't know what it is, but, I am guessing huge.
When, he is ready to do so.
I, for one will back up whatever sledge hammer he lays on China. 100%.
No country should be allowed, like, China, to continuously produce viruses that kill people over and over again.
Without Severe penalties!
This has to end.
No terrorists have been able to cripple our nation like China has, and continues to do so.
For me. I hope that President Donald J. Trump has a way to completely isolate China.
problem is... They produce our needed medicines.
For me, as a teeny, tiny speck in this universe.
I will look for "made in China".
I will Never buy, made in China again. Period.

He was very proud of his smackdown of 3M yesterday. Is that the best way to proceed?

 

[Cryptic]

What do you mean "no link." All day today, Bangladesh is mentioned in connection with medical supplies...

No, Bangladesh was mentioned as as a generic example.

There are others who could not afford the prices that Canada and Germany paid (well, in all probability) for those supplies. Here is a list if one is tired of references to Bangladesh: least developed countries UN

Do you really think any of those counties in the UN report can pay Canadian and German level purchase prices for any real quantities things that are in scarce supply and in high demand?

 

[otto]

Yes. We may have double the cases of Spain but our population is 330 million and Spain’s population is 47 million. Not trying to downplay our number of cases by any means, but I don’t understand the country comparisons like these. It just seems to incite more panic, and many of us are anxious enough as it is.

USA has 10 times the population of Canada. Canada has 208 deaths, USA has 7400 deaths. Should USA deaths be 10 times that of Canada, so 2080? No reason to panic, but a good reason to increase self-isolation.

 

[branmuffin]

Call me Optimistic. I believe that our USA President, has a humongous smack down in the works for China.
I don't know what it is, but, I am guessing huge.
When, he is ready to do so.
I, for one will back up whatever sledge hammer he lays on China. 100%.
No country should be allowed, like, China, to continuously produce viruses that kill people over and over again.
Without Severe penalties!
This has to end.
No terrorists have been able to cripple our nation like China has, and continues to do so.
For me. I hope that President Donald J. Trump has a way to completely isolate China.
problem is... They produce our needed medicines.
For me, as a teeny, tiny speck in this universe.
I will look for "made in China".
I will Never buy, made in China again. Period.

Smacking down China will backfire. America has Chinese blood running through its economic veins. It took that transfusion willingly. Almost everything you own, or wear or use was produced by the Chinese.

I bet those bulk plastic containers that restaurants use are made in China, as well as your dishes and pots and pans. Your light bulbs are probably made in China, maybe even your glasses. If you bought your granddaughter an American Girl doll it was made in China, same with GI Joe. Even American Flyer wagons are made in China.

The reality is that the symbiotic relationship America has with China was initially done from a position of power: a rich country exploiting the cheap labour for their own benefits: eye watering profits.

Not only does China produce most of the world's PPE's they produce most of the world's medicines, too. America could stop supply chains from China to encourage American manufactures to produce these products but doing it now would cost thousands of lives. Diverting product bought by other countries is a bully's way of doing business. No better than the Somali pirates that hijacked vessels for their own gain.

 

[otto]

They are just a generic example of a very poor country that even before the crisis, could not afford basic medical supplies for the majority of the population- doubly so after they absorbed a lot of Muslim refugees from Burma.

But, Ok, instead of Bangladesh as an example, we could use any of the others on this list: least developed countris UN

Generic examples of poor countries have nothing to do with medical supplies enroute to Canada and Germany that were suddenly and inexplicably diverted to the USA mid-transit.

 

[Cryptic]

Generic examples of poor countries have nothing to do with medical supplies enroute to Canada and Germany that were suddenly and inexplicably diverted to the USA mid-transit.

The supplies were diverted evidently because the US out bid (either directly or by proxy) Canada and Germany for the supplies.

The references to the poor countries illustrate that Canada and German, in all probability, out bid poor countries for those same needed supplies by paying more than they could possibly afford.

Yes, the US would also cry "foul" if the situation was reversed. Yes, the concept of out bidding others for mutually needed medical supplies only became problematic for Canada and Germany after they got out bid themselves.

 

[otto]

Smacking down China will backfire. America has Chinese blood running through its economic veins. It took that transfusion willingly. Almost everything you own, or wear or use was produced by the Chinese.

I bet those bulk plastic containers that restaurants use are made in China, as well as your dishes and pots and pans. Your light bulbs are probably made in China, maybe even your glasses. If you bought your granddaughter an American Girl doll it was made in China, same with GI Joe. Even American Flyer wagons are made in China.

The reality is that the symbiotic relationship America has with China was initially done from a position of power: a rich country exploiting the cheap labour for their own benefits: eye watering profits.

Not only does China produce most of the world's PPE's they produce most of the world's medicines, too. America could stop supply chains from China to encourage American manufactures to produce these products but doing it now would cost thousands of lives. Diverting product bought by other countries is a bully's way of doing business. No better than the Somali pirates that hijacked vessels for their own gain.

I think most of the world is in disbelief that this happened today, where the USA tore NAFTA to shreds while expanding their national bidding war to an international stage during a pandemic - completely bizarre.

 

[otto]

The supplies were diverted evidently because the US out bid (either directly or by proxy) Canada and Germany for the supplies.

The references to the poor countries illustrate that Canada and German, in all probability, out bid poor countries for those same needed supplies by paying more than they could possibly afford.

Yes, the US would also cry "foul" if the situation was reversed. Yes, the concept of out bidding others for mutually needed medical supplies only became problematic for Canada and Germany after they got out bid themselves.

The supplies were essentially stolen, as in piracy and wild-west. Medical supplies were ordered through normal channels. The USA intercepted the supplies in transit and took them.

Germany and Canada were ordering supplies, not bidding. It is the USA that has turned the supply of medical equipment into a bidding war, a tarmac money game. It is the USA that has compromised poor countries by ensuring that those with more money can corrupt any system.

 

[SandyQLS]

Oh, I know. Hopefully things will go well this weekend. Even with social distancing people can get out and do things. A walk in the woods, ride bike, fishing, maybe kayaking or canoeing, anyone on a lake can take their boat out, so there’s no shortage of cool things to do. A lot of golf courses remain open, they will be packed I think.

Don't the rivers and lakes have virus runoff? Maybe they don't have wave action:

Coronavirus at beaches? Surfers, swimmers should stay away, scientist says

"Kim Prather, a leading atmospheric chemist at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, wants to yell out her window at every surfer, runner, and biker she spots along the San Diego coast.

“I wouldn’t go in the water if you paid me $1 million right now,” she said. ...

...Prather fears that SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, could enter coastal waters in similar ways and transfer back into the air along the coast.

In her research, Prather has found that the ocean churns up all kinds of particulate and microscopic pathogens, and every time the ocean sneezes with a big wave or two, it sprays these particles into the air. She believes that this new coronavirus is light enough to float through the air much farther than we think. The six-feet rule, she said, doesn’t apply at the beach, where coastal winds can get quite strong and send viral particles soaring. ..."

*
I will be waiting for authorities to evacuate the wealthy and Hollywood people from their beachfront mansions in Malibu and their yachts in Newport Beach. Prather herself works in La Jolla at the shoreline...

 

[Snoods]

USA has 10 times the population of Canada. Canada has 208 deaths, USA has 7400 deaths. Should USA deaths be 10 times that of Canada, so 2080? No reason to panic, but a good reason to increase self-isolation.

Ahh, Otto. I really love Canada and Canadians so I am politely declining to participate in any type of US vs Canada war. I hope you understand, but it bothers me immensely when the country skirmishes pop up. I agree we should all self isolate. I love you all and we all should do what we can to help ourselves and others.

 

[branmuffin]

I think most of the world is in disbelief that this happened today, where the USA tore NAFTA to shreds while expanding their national bidding war to an international stage during a pandemic - completely bizarre.

Absolutely shameless, IMO.

 

[otto]

The last pandemic wasn't much different, by the sounds of it. It travelled silently, people dropped dead in a day, no age group was spared, it was extremely painful death, there was no vaccine.

Influenza 1918 | American Experience | PBS

 

[Boston Corbett]

Reported US coronavirus deaths via @CNN:
5 weeks ago: 0 deaths
4 weeks ago: 17 deaths
3 weeks ago: 49 deaths
2 weeks ago: 249 deaths
1 week ago: 1,588 deaths
Right now: 7,152 deaths

 

[Arkay]

The supplies were diverted evidently because the US out bid (either directly or by proxy) Canada and Germany for the supplies.

The references to the poor countries illustrate that Canada and German, in all probability, out bid poor countries for those same needed supplies by paying more than they could possibly afford.

Yes, the US would also cry "foul" if the situation was reversed. Yes, the concept of out bidding others for mutually needed medical supplies only became problematic for Canada and Germany after they got out bid themselves.

It strikes me as the common instinct of survival of the fittest. Whichever country can afford the most becomes the Apex Predator. Every country will tear to shreds any other country that gets in the way.
Sort of a macro version of the toilet paper on store shelves. Those who could afford it bought out all the supplies, while those with less disposable income could not afford to stockpile.
Into this cold-blooded survival of the fittest, we have the princes like Robert Kraft, who gave to his football "enemies" in NY, or the volunteer health care workers, Samaritan's Purse setting up a hospital in Central Park, and all others who risk their lives, give up their time, and in other ways go against their own survival instincts. (Of course Kraft didn't risk his life, but it was a magnanimous gesture).

 

[margarita25]

“The first coronavirus case in Colorado was reported on March 5. There have been a total of 4,182 cases reported and 110 deaths, according to a New York Times database.”

Coronavirus in Colorado: Map and Case Count
Updated April 3, 2020, 8:25 P.M. E.T.

 

[otto]

Reported US coronavirus deaths via @CNN:
5 weeks ago: 0 deaths
4 weeks ago: 17 deaths
3 weeks ago: 49 deaths
2 weeks ago: 249 deaths
1 week ago: 1,588 deaths
Right now: 7,152 deaths

Doubling rate of 3 days?

 

[airportwoman]

I respectfully disagree.
These ships are not set up to host infectious patients.
At all.
And. Period. As a longtime boat owner, I guarantee to you. No way and no how.

These ships are not meant to treat COVID. They're there to treat people who have other disorders, to free up room for COVID patients, and also reduce their own exposure to the virus.

 

[otto]

It strikes me as the common instinct of survival of the fittest. Whichever country can afford the most becomes the Apex Predator. Every country will tear to shreds any other country that gets in the way.
Sort of a macro version of the toilet paper on store shelves. Those who could afford it bought out all the supplies, while those with less disposable income could not afford to stockpile.
Into this cold-blooded survival of the fittest, we have the princes like Robert Kraft, who gave to his football "enemies" in NY, or the volunteer health care workers, Samaritan's Purse setting up a hospital in Central Park, and all others who risk their lives, give up their time, and in other ways go against their own survival instincts. (Of course Kraft didn't risk his life, but it was a magnanimous gesture).

Survival of the fittest is exactly how this will play out. People with secondary medical conditions who are infected will die - doesn't matter how old they are. Healthy people of all ages will die.

If the health system is overwhelmed, people over 60 will be told to go home without testing. They will skew the mortality rate to suggest that only old people die of the virus.

That doesn't mean that countries should start an international bidding war for medical supplies.

Funny thing about the toilet paper, even though people were hoarding, there's still no shortage of toilet paper. Everyone can still afford to buy toilet paper.

 

[margarita25]

Married for 51 years, they died of Covid-19 six minutes apart - CNN
Updated 8:39 PM ET, Fri April 3, 2020

Adrian and Stuart Baker were married for more than 51 years, and their family called them inseparable. On March 29, they both died of complications due to Covid-19 -- just six minutes apart.

—

Adrian and Stuart Baker, at the time of their marriage.

”"They were as compatible and inseparable as two human beings have ever been married and existed on earth," Baker said.

Baker's message for others
On Thursday, Baker, his three children and his sister's family gathered for his parents' memorial service in Boynton Beach. The service was live-streamed for other friends and relatives and watched by people all over the world, he said.
"Hopefully people hear our story and it motivates them to do the right thing," he said. "By doing that, maybe it won't affect them or it won't affect their family but maybe they help another family not endure the pain and agony that me and my sister and our kids and the rest of our family are enduring right now."
Baker said he hopes his family's story can be a catalyst for change. He's calling on people to listen to what health officials have been saying: practice social distancing, wash their hands regularly and most importantly, stay at home.”

 

[Deleted member 39678]

I've posted the link several times today, and a couple of others have posted the same links throughout the day.

This is a good place to start:

US accused of 'modern piracy' after diversion of masks meant for Europe

Trudeau worried supplies meant for Canada have been diverted to US

Thanks for the links. I don't see anything in them saying that the US intercepted supplies meant for Canada and Germany and took them.

The German reports said the masks had been made by a Chinese producer for the US company 3M, but the firm issued a statement on Friday night saying: “3M has no evidence to suggest 3M products have been seized. 3M has no record of any order of respirators from China for the Berlin police. We cannot speculate where this report originated.”

I see that Trudeau is curious about these reports and is wanting to investigate. Nothing here for me to get excited about.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau this week expressed concerns over reports that medical supplies originally designated for Canada have been shipped to the United States.

Trudeau told reporters Thursday that he has asked the country’s public safety minister and transport minister to investigate the reports,

US accused of 'modern piracy' after diversion of masks meant for Europe

Trudeau worried supplies meant for Canada have been diverted to US