128 new cases yesterday in the Czech Republic, 14 more than the day before. However, 454 more tests were performed yesterday than the day before, meaning the percentage of positive tests decreased.
Unfortunately, another person here succumbed to coronavirus. This person was 45 years old and while testing him, they found out that he had end stage cancer in multiple organs. Pretty brutal double whammy.
On a positive note, another patient hospitalized with coronavirus has recovered. A 55 year old man beat it. Took two weeks to overcome it since he tested positive.
While the curve of total cases isn’t flat by any stretch, we’re seeing a reduction in the number of new cases per day compared to the peak number. I know it’s still new cases but it seems that the daily workload might be becoming more predictable.
I think people in America need to start publicly shaming those who ignore social distancing and other practices that slow the spread of coronavirus. Social distancing needs to be made the norm for the time being and anybody not doing it has to be lambasted. The virus is moving too rapidly for people to congregate in large groups. It’s definitely not easy when you’re just one person and having someone else with you doing the same contradicts the message you’re sending. However, shaming is the only way it can be done.
The Australian Government has just announced a range of nationwide tough new measures. I won’t go through a whole list of all the things which have been banned, but to give you an idea, house parties and birthday parties are banned. Weddings must only have the couple, a celebrant and up to 5 witnesses. Funerals may have no more than 10 people, all observing social distancing. Etc.
update from the Netherlands. Since yesterday a number of measures have tightened. So far we have the follwing.
In place until at least April 6th:
Schools closed, except for children from parents working in essential services
Restaurants, bars, etc closed except for take-out
Strongly advised to work from home if you can
Contact professions (hairdressers, tattoo shops, nail salons, physiotherapy, etc) temporarily banned from working
Mandated to stay home if you have a cold or fever, except when you work in health care then it’s stay home when you have a cold and fever
New:
All public gatherings are banned until June 1st (no minimum group size)
Everybody must keep at least 1.5 meter distance from each other, at all times. Exceptions: people from the same household, and children younger than 12 who are playing outside (in which case it is still advised to minimize contacts)
Shops need to make sure people are keeping enough distance. Guideline: max 1 customer allowed per 10 square meters (100 square feet) of shop floor, excluding employees
If someone from your household has a cold or a fever, everybody must stay home (except for health care workers)
Outside, no group larger than 2 persons can gather, unless they are from the same household
Fines will be imposed on non-compliant persons and businesses
Strong advise to not invite more than 3 people who do not belong to your household in your home, and to still maintain 1.5m distance
Additionally, the education minister has decided that the central national school exams will not take place this year and students will have to be graded by their current performance metrics.
Infection metrics:
5560 total confirmed cases (we’re only testing people with severe symptoms since March 12)
1495 total hospital admissions
536 total people admitted to an ICU, of which 466 are still on IC
276 deaths, of which 49 took place on an ICU
Maybe good to know: hospitals in less hit regions are taking patients from hospitals in heavy hit regions.
Meh. There’s actually new news here. Yesterday Dick Pound said it would happen but supposedly there would be a monthlong decision. This morning IOC and Abe announced the games are officially delayed.
I guess? But if Norway shuts its economy down for like three months I suspect things would get pretty bad there as well. It seems obvious that any society will have to balance the economic harm of a prolonged shutdown against the potential harm of intensifying the epidemic.
Yeah, certainly. We are discussing the matter of degree. I think a society with Norway’s economic structure is more resilient generally and will suffer less harm coming out the other side of this than we will, even if they completely shut down for several months.
Yeah, that’s what I’m going to do. I just called the tax office and they said there’s no way I can renew my tag without the emissions test. But she also said there’s only a $5 late fee. I’ll just take my chances that I don’t get pulled over the few times I go out.
I mean like, “capitalism” is being used dishonestly there and the calculation that some amount of money is worth more than some amount of human life is a reasonable one which goes on constantly. It’s a necessary feature of any universal healthcare system. There are treatments which aren’t supported because they extend life too little at too great a monetary cost.
This is not to say that I agree that workers should be going back to work obviously, but whether the economic cost of this is going to be too great a cost to bear isn’t like some totally illegitimate line of questioning.