Coronavirus COVID-19 - Global Health Pandemic #59

[tresir2012]

Relaxing lockdown 'risky' and 'political decision'

Prof John Edmunds said it was a "political decision" to lift lockdown and that "many" scientists would wait.

The warning comes as Sage, the group of scientists advising government, publish details of their confidential meetings.

One meeting on 23 April estimated there would be only 1,000 cases per day by mid-May.

Instead, estimates by the Office for National Statistics suggest there are currently 8,000 cases per day in England alone. Those figures don't include cases in care homes or hospitals.

'Little time for stringent measures'
"Many of us would prefer to see the incidence down to lower levels before we relax measures," Prof Edmunds, from the London School of Tropical Hygiene and Medicine, said.

Sir Jeremy Farrar, director of the Wellcome Trust and a member of Sage, agreed that measures were being lifted too early, writing on Twitterthat the newly-introduced NHS test and trace system needed to be "fully working" before measures were eased.

Newly-published Sage documents also warned of the dangers of having high numbers of cases.

They say this would "give little time to re-impose more stringent measures" if the infection rate (the R-number) started to increase.

Disease modellers feeding into Sage discussions said having high levels of the virus could allow restrictions to be eased as more people would develop immunity to the virus.

But that would "result in tens of thousands of direct deaths" and could not be achieved by autumn without intensive care units being overwhelmed.

A lot more at link to take in.

 

[tresir2012]

This is awesome.

Yes and I am not commenting.

 

[Miss Tic]

Seems that the first reported European cases were in France. First European CoVid death was in France.
Sounds as if China was the origin.


Epidemiology of first cases in the European Region
The first three cases detected were reported in France on 24 January 2020 and had onset of symptoms on 17, 19 and 23 January respectively [10]. The first death was reported on 15 February in France.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7068164/#__sec2title

About the first European cases, the article goes on to say:

...... reported for 35 cases (missing for three cases), of whom 14 were infected in China (Hubei province: 10 cases; Shandong province: one case; province not reported for three cases). The remaining 21 cases were infected in Europe. Of these, 14 were linked to a cluster in Bavaria, Germany, and seven to a cluster in Haute-Savoie, France.

It's actually been discovered that the virus apparently was already circulating unrecognized in France in December:

French coronavirus strain may have circulated in France earlier than thought

France's first coronavirus case 'was in December'

 

[tresir2012]

It's actually been discovered that the virus apparently was already circulating unrecognized in France in December:

French coronavirus strain may have circulated in France earlier than thought

France's first coronavirus case 'was in December'

27th December and confirmed by a positive test.

From your second link -

A patient treated in a hospital near Paris on 27 December for suspected pneumonia actually had the coronavirus, his doctor has said.

This means the virus may have arrived in Europe almost a month earlier than previously thought.

Dr Yves Cohen said a swab taken at the time was recently tested, and came back positive for Covid-19.

The patient, who has since recovered, said he had no idea where he caught the virus as he had not travelled abroad.

 

[CharlestonGal]

Trump terminates US relationship with WHO

Well that's just great.

 

[tresir2012]

Well that's just great.

Backlash after Trump signals US exit from WHO

 

[CharlestonGal]

Backlash after Trump signals US exit from WHO

I doubt the WHO will miss Trump and his paltry annual dues of $122 million. They might miss Bill Gates though. He gave $250 billion.

 

[tresir2012]

I doubt the WHO will miss Trump and his paltry annual dues of $122 million. They might miss Bill Gates though. He gave $250 billion.

Is Bill Gates leaving too?
Also, as WHO is part of UN, does he want to leave UN too? I just feel like we have been here before.

The United Nations, its subsidiary bodies, thirteen of the specialized agencies (ILO, FAO, UNESCO, WHO, ICAO, UPU, ITU, WMO, IMO, WIPO, IFAD, UNIDO, and UNWTO), and one related body (IAEA) are part of the United Nations common system of salaries, allowances, and benefits administered by the International Civil Service ...
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia › wiki
United Nations System - Wikipedia

Do you have a link to your figures because this link states US is no.1 with $400 million and Gates is second.

How is the World Health Organization funded?

 

[musicaljoke]

This is awesome.

I think it's a crime against humanity. It disgusts me.

 

[anneg]

Interesting Science blog post about a potential COVID-19 treatment using famotidine or other drugs with similar effects. It talks about the role of mast cells in the cytokine storm.

https://blogs.sciencemag.org/pipeline/archives/2020/05/29/famotidine-histamine-and-the-coronavirus

Here's the pre-print article abstract:
"SARS-CoV-2 infection is required for COVID-19, but many signs and symptoms of COVID-19 differ from common acute viral diseases. Currently, there are no pre- or post-exposure prophylactic COVID-19 medical countermeasures. Clinical data suggest that famotidine may mitigate COVID-19 disease, but both mechanism of action and rationale for dose selection remain obscure.

We explore several plausible avenues of activity including antiviral and host-mediated actions. We propose that the principal famotidine mechanism of action for COVID-19 involves on-target histamine receptor H2 activity, and that development of clinical COVID-19 involves dysfunctional mast cell activation and histamine release."
Link to article: COVID-19: Famotidine, Histamine, Mast Cells, and Mechanisms

(Side note--MOO: I used to take hydroxyzine, an antihistamine, as part of my treatment for interstitial cystitis. It (like famotidine) blocks mast cells' release of histamine. I never felt the drug was particularly helpful re bladder symptoms but the drug's sedating and anti-anxiety effects really did help me at night. I would take it only at bedtime. My current doctor doesn't recommend taking any sedating antihistamines because of my age (70s) ... the drugs are associated with memory loss and development of dementia in older folks, I believe.)

 

[tresir2012]

I think there are 102k reasons why the President is taken this action. China is already blaming the President for the deaths. Pretty rich if you ask me, on behalf of the 100k+ European deaths, I think the President is completely entitled to take that action until they have completed the investigation. Sorry, I tried not to comment, then I remembered all the victims.

MOO

Note: a large amount of the US contribution is voluntary. I suggest posters look at the contribution from China in the link I posted.

 

[CharlestonGal]

The U.S. still owes roughly $65 million in WHO member contributions, after paying about $58 million of the roughly $122 million that has been assessed. There is also an additional $300 to $400 million that the U.S. voluntarily contributes to the WHO that isn't earmarked by Congress, and the administration is looking for new partners on the ground to use that funding instead.

After the president announced his decision, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation announced on Wednesday that it would give an additional $150 billion to the World Health Organization, bringing the foundation's total contribution to over $250 billion.

Senior administration officials say Trump has authority to halt WHO funds

 

[CharlestonGal]

I think there are 102k reasons why the President is taken this action. China is already blaming the President for the deaths. Pretty rich if you ask me, on behalf of the 100k+ European deaths, I think the President is completely entitled to take that action until they have completed the investigation. Sorry, I tried not to comment, then I remembered all the victims.

MOO

Note: a large amount of the US contribution is voluntary. I suggest posters look at the contribution from China in the link I posted.

I don't think now is the time to "blame" anybody. For now, we need world cooperation to put out this fire. I don't see the logic in starting new, albeit smaller, fires on top of everything else.

 

[tresir2012]

I don't think now is the time to "blame" anybody. For now, we need world cooperation to put out this fire. I don't see the logic in starting new, albeit smaller, fires on top of everything else.

This has been simmering for a long time. This link may help. It seems to be getting serious.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world/asia/china?tblang=english-ca

 

[Cool Cats]

May 30, 2020, 2:10 AM EDT
A partygoer who attended the now-infamous Lake of the Ozarks pool party has tested positive for COVID-19, meaning hundreds could have been exposed

• A Lake of the Ozarks bar defended hosting a packed pool party, saying that social distancing isn't the law and that it checked everyone's temperature.
• Footage of the crowded party garnered condemnation online.

• 
  
  Revelers celebrate Memorial Day weekend at Osage Beach of the Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri, May 23, 2020

 

[nhmemorymaker]

Yes and I am not commenting.

ditto.

 

[10ofRods]

This is awesome.

Unfortunately and respectfully, it's not awesome at all. And we will probably all feel the consequences in the world economy. But hey, adding one more layer of economic pain won't be much noticed much.

Criticizing a flawed but powerful program for implementing world health measures is one thing. Defunding it is another. We have made the world a more dangerous place with this decision. We also have reduced our own chances of being able to solve future health crises.

 

[tresir2012]

IMO I definitely think China should increase their donation.

 

[margarita25]

Trump terminates US relationship with WHO

BIG BIG BIG mistake, moo.

What a shame. This is too bad.

We will pay for this later. Mark my words.

—-

ETA:
“But on Saturday, the European Union led calls for the Trump administration to reconsider its decision, warning it could hamper global efforts to tackle the coronavirus pandemic.”

 

[tresir2012]

Air ambulances land at Durdle Door to treat people seriously injured jumping off 200ft arch

Oh goodness look at the post lockdown crowds in this article. Air ambulance has to land on the beach. This is a long way from the car park so they all were told to leave the beach as you can see.