I don’t blame them for it at all. Cytokine storm is an established mechanism in many viruses and immunosuppressants are one way to treat that. Very dedicated hard-working people are basically throwing paint against the wall to see what sticks because we don’t have any other options right now.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, we are basically in the middle of a giant, multipronged, worldwide experiment–1) to find out which ways are most effective at mitigating spread without killing our economies completely 2) to figure out how to restart said economies efficiently 3) figure out how to treat the damn thing so we don’t have a bunch of time bombs walking around. And because mother nature went to ultimate difficulty level, we get to do them all at once lol.
I am not very well informed on the happenings within the Continent. Do either of you have any good sources on super spreaders and the cases attributable to them across the pond? I am putting together an informal report.
I’m a layman and can only provide general information, notably about two major superspreader events - the first being the soccer game between Valencia and Atalanta Bergamo and the other about a now notorious bar in the “Ibiza of the Alps”
About 40 per cent of Norway’s 1,400 coronavirus cases to date have been linked to Ischgl. In Sweden the number of Ischgl infections has topped 1,000.
On a return flight to Reykjavik earlier this month, 14 of 15 passengers tested had the virus, also known as Covid-19. Danish media say 130 nationals brought coronavirus home from Tyrol.
And here’s the soccer game where my friend got infected:
As far as individuals go, this is the most famous one:
Cavan is getting an unusually high amount of cases, and this is likely due to the porous nature of the North South border. But I believe this is, as yet, unconfirmed.
The UK had a famous one who caught it, guess where? Alpine skiing.
More anecdotally, some of the first confirmed cases in Ireland were at my alma mater, Italian students returning to college may have ceded the college with COVID. Unluckily for us, they may have ceded the bioscience department. Luckily for us, the virology lab is on the other side of campus.
There was also a potential super spreader on the North South trainline, known as the Enterprise. This sent a chill up my spine, as I frequently get this train to go visit the family.
Actually, he picked it up at a business conference in Singapore and then brought it to a French ski resort where he improbably stopped for a short ski break on his way home.
I simply have to argue these finer points because my wife has spent the last two months informing me with grim satisfaction about the correlation between Alpine skiing and the risk of Covid-19 contagion.
I accept your correction, and acknowledge your desire to hit the powder as soon as possible. Given that I have the flexibility of a fridge, and the grace of a beached wale, skiing does not appeal to me, as I’d almost certainly collide with the nearest tree.
Business have opened up, hairdressers are doing double shifts - the missus has spent two hours today trying to find an appointment anywhere…
Those interventions curbed the number of new confirmed Covid-19 cases and deaths, allowing leaders to reopen schools and businesses and reintroduce a sense of normalcy into everyday life. Some are now reporting no new confirmed cases or deaths.
In effect, they followed the prescribed playbook for such a pandemic, and — surprise, surprise — it worked.
“At the end of the day, it’s not magic. It’s shoe-leather public health,” Thomas Bollyky, director of the global health program at the Council on Foreign Relations think tank, told me. Nothing is a better substitute for speed and aggressive action, he said.
I think @Alrightmiami19c already advocated and volunteered for this approach:
“Those found to be sick, whether at the airport or elsewhere, were placed in quarantine facilities for 14 days, free of charge. Self-isolation at home isn’t permitted in Vietnam, as the government worries those with the disease might give it to their family members.”-from the article
Slovenia has about 1/3 the population of Massachusetts(in a similar land area), and about 1/4 of NYC’s.
Greece has about two million more people than NYC, in an area about the size of Florida.
Jordan has over a million people more than NYC, in an area about the size of Maine.
Iceland has 350,000 people(of course, the article says 350,000 thousand…pretty sure I’m correct, though), in a land area nearly equal to Ohio’s.
America, why you so stupid? Why you no be like those countries?
Edit: Wyoming’s approach is even more successful: 452 confirmed cases, and seven deaths. I wonder what they’re doing?
Maybe I’m not fully understanding your point but doesn’t the article make it clear that certain interventions have proven successful? It seems like you’re arguing that because America has so many more people it doesn’t matter what we did in certain areas we were always doomed to have overwhelmingly higher numbers than some countries?
I’m not trying to invent an argument though just asking for clarification.
Since we have significantly more cases than every other country I don’t think we should dismiss what other countries have done simply because they aren’t the same size or population as us. To me it’s pretty clear we need to be learning all we can.
Yep. It’s also validated home test kits for the Rona. The FDA is busy keeping us safe from such testing(I stand corrected: We have approved a kit that costs over $100…Vietnam has approved three that cost less than $25).
Yes, but also proximity to the Asian and European epicenters of the pandemic respectively.
Answer to this rhetorical question is remarkably yes, in Slovenia the government foots the bill for the 80% of your wage while you’re in isolation so both you and (more importantly) your employer have an incentive to get you tested.
The point is move aggressively (testing and contact tracing) and move early (targeted shutdowns) - the more you wait the blunter insutrument you have to use to contain the virus.
In the US that would have been a difference between locking down some counties or even states vs. locking up the majority of the country, with orders of magnitude different economic consequences.
