The Spreading (And Potentially Deadly) Coronavirus Epidemic....

[TrekMD | 1,382]

Let's get ready for a second wave of this virus.  It will be worse than what we've had up until now.

[avatar! | 1,807]

Lest you think the USA is the only country full of idiots, I present 400 attending a football match in France

https://rmcsport.bfmtv.com/mediaplayer/video/strasbourg-un-match-de-football-entre-quartiers-rassemble-400-personnes-1249902.html

 

 

Edited May 25, 2020 by avatar!

[fcgamer | 4,719]

On 5/19/2020 at 9:38 AM, Boosted52405 said:

Ha!  When the dude gave the peace sign in the background I lost it, then he started dancing, that was worth the few minutes to watch.

Anyone on VGS with the same mentality as that woman? Kindly do disclose, I'll ban you for life from doing a transaction with me.

Discrimination? Lol. That's an insult to anyone whose truly been discriminated against, etc. 

[ThePhleo | 2,184]

I’m in Orlando, FL right now for business reasons and I don’t see too many people here.

I think the media is doing a good job making it look like it’s packed.

One thing I do notice though is only like one in every 10 or 15 people are wearing masks, and I’ve only seen a handful of people wearing gloves here.

My sons 5th birthday is tomorrow and while we technically CAN go to Disney Springs (it’s a shopping / dining city walk kind of thing) we absolutely refuse to go.

I don’t see any mass hysteria here either, but I can guarantee there will be a large RE-outbreak here soon since no one is taking their PPE seriously....ALSO, Floridians are a special kind of people. They won’t leave their house even if a category 3 hurricane is on their way to their homes.

[Bearcat-Doug | 5,104]

Places opened back up in Ohio last week and it seems like business as usual in Cincinnati outside of the spread out seating. I'm fine with having a healthy balance between recklessness and hysteria.

Edited May 25, 2020 by Bearcat-Doug

[Estil | 1,261]

1 hour ago, ThePhleo said:

I don’t see any mass hysteria here either, but I can guarantee there will be a large RE-outbreak here soon since no one is taking their PPE seriously....ALSO, Floridians are a special kind of people. They won’t leave their house even if a category 3 hurricane is on their way to their homes.

Of course they don't leave!  Cuz Gooooooodddddd's gonna take care of them!  

 

Edited May 25, 2020 by Estil

[Estil | 1,261]

19 hours ago, TrekMD said:

Let's get ready for a second wave of this virus.  It will be worse than what we've had up until now.

I sure hope you're wrong...I really do.  One wave was quite enough.

[Bearcat-Doug | 5,104]

2 minutes ago, Estil said:

I sure hope you're wrong...I really do.  One wave was quite enough.

I'm sure the media will build it up like the black plague either way. They seem to enjoy being lazy and doing nothing but virus coverage.

[TrekMD | 1,382]

56 minutes ago, Estil said:

I sure hope you're wrong...I really do.  One wave was quite enough.

I hope so myself but all it takes is one person to be carrying the virus in a place like that pool party for plenty of people to become infected.  Given how that same thing is happening in other places and people are not wearing masks or respecting social distancing, the likelihood that the virus will start to spread again is high.

I agree that one wave was quite enough but to prevent a second wave we have to remain vigilant and follow recommendations. 

[Strange | 1,700]

I hope we’re all wrong about a second wave too, but we need to be ready just in case. The second wave of the Spanish Flu a century ago killed more Americans than WWI did.

[Tanooki | 4,930]

The way I see it with the info that does come out about it and changes/evolves about transmission (how ...rates...) I figure this will go either way.

The people being overly cautious will end up looking foolish, or those acting like who gives a damn will.  There's really no middle ground.  I hope it was a lot of media hysteria and driven suggestive bs because people really just didn't have a clue who were working on learning to get one (scientists, etc) so the talking heads along with politicians worked that angle to get ratings and screw with people in a benefit to their own needs.  If that's what happened, this is what it is, and it'll just cool off in time.  But if it wasn't, given the incubation period, let's re-visit this around oh June 15th into the end of the month and see how many people end up hospitalized or dead.

[Reed Rothchild | 9,510]

10 minutes ago, Tanooki said:

The way I see it with the info that does come out about it and changes/evolves about transmission (how ...rates...) I figure this will go either way.

The people being overly cautious will end up looking foolish, or those acting like who gives a damn will.  There's really no middle ground.  I hope it was a lot of media hysteria and driven suggestive bs because people really just didn't have a clue who were working on learning to get one (scientists, etc) so the talking heads along with politicians worked that angle to get ratings and screw with people in a benefit to their own needs.  If that's what happened, this is what it is, and it'll just cool off in time.  But if it wasn't, given the incubation period, let's re-visit this around oh June 15th into the end of the month and see how many people end up hospitalized or dead.

The answer is always in the middle ground.  Even if talking heads and partisan hacks are unable to think that way and choose to entrench instead...

[ThePhleo | 2,184]

If we open the economy, many people will die.

If we keep the economy closed, many people will die.

Like it or not, we have to begin to do math of the devil and calculate which scenario has less death, and more importantly, which scenario has longer lasting effects.

 

If we throw the world into a situation that makes the great depression just look like a bad day at the stock market then we're going to see a lot more than a few hundred thousand people dead from a horrible, horrible virus.

But, on the other hand if we reopen the economy too soon we may see a couple hundred thousand dead turn into a couple million dead.

 

I am happy I don't have to make those decisions.

[ZeldaFreak | 3,600]

1 minute ago, ThePhleo said:

If we open the economy, many people will die.

If we keep the economy closed, many people will die.

Like it or not, we have to begin to do math of the devil and calculate which scenario has less death, and more importantly, which scenario has longer lasting effects.

 

If we throw the world into a situation that makes the great depression just look like a bad day at the stock market then we're going to see a lot more than a few hundred thousand people dead from a horrible, horrible virus.

But, on the other hand if we reopen the economy too soon we may see a couple hundred thousand dead turn into a couple million dead.

 

I am happy I don't have to make those decisions.

damned if you do, damned if you don't.

[Californication | 1,477]

There is a solution to this situation, that several countries are using. 1. Test people. 2. Do contract tracing to catch newly infected people before they spread it. 3. Provide support to people that cannot go to work because of being locked down.

All this inevetibale situation nonsense is silly and a cop out for a government that is too busy stealing tax money to resolve the situation.

Canada, Germany, South Korea are all having relatively succesful recoveries. 

Edited May 26, 2020 by Californication

[fcgamer | 4,719]

The country of Taiwan has the virus BEAT!!! It is safe to say no more corona virus here!

[Estil | 1,261]

2 hours ago, fcgamer said:

The country of Taiwan has the virus BEAT!!! It is safe to say no more corona virus here!

Well don't jinx it!

[fcgamer | 4,719]

Check the stats. It's been over three fortnights though, since Taiwan had any local cases, and almost all of those who had the virus have recovered and been released, with the rest being in quarantine.

Going by the incubation period and what not, it's safe to say it's done here.

[DoctorEncore | 3,690]

10 hours ago, Californication said:

There is a solution to this situation, that several countries are using. 1. Test people. 2. Do contract tracing to catch newly infected people before they spread it. 3. Provide support to people that cannot go to work because of being locked down.

All this inevetibale situation nonsense is silly and a cop out for a government that is too busy stealing tax money to resolve the situation.

Canada, Germany, South Korea are all having relatively succesful recoveries. 

Nailed it, @Californication. The response to Coronavirus has been nothing short of embarrassing and exposes everything wrong with our country.

Conservative Americans love to go on and on about American exceptionalism, yet they make endless excuses why we can't do what other countries can.

Healthcare for all, maternity/paternity leave, living wages, childcare assistance, college tuition assistance? Too expensive! Despite the richest economy in the history of the world, we can't afford it! How will we provide corporate welfare if we're busy spending money on our citizens? Bootstraps!

Smaller military? Not safe despite having the most advanced weaponry, intelligence, and counter-intelligence in the history of the world. You gotta spend money to make money! 

Modest gun restrictions? Criminals will still get them and murder us all! Not safe!

Immigration reform? They'll take our jobs! Who cares if our birth rate is flagging and we can't even fill the jobs we have!

Representative democracy? Sorry! The voting power of a hard-working farmer in Wyoming should be worth more than the vote of some liberal Hollywood sissy!

The entire country is built around keeping politicians in power, enriching the rich (stock market looking up despite record unemployment), and keeping the poor working (good luck paying for your cancer treatment without employer-provided health insurance).

America went from world leader to science-hating laggard in a single generation. As the Lord, Savior, and hero of the ignorant poor & disgustingly rich, Trump would say "SAD!" And, for once, he would be right.

Edited May 26, 2020 by DoctorEncore

[RegularGuyGamer | 2,011]

43 minutes ago, DoctorEncore said:

Nailed it, @Californication. The response to Coronavirus has been nothing short of embarrassing and exposes everything wrong with our country.

Conservative Americans love to go on and on about American exceptionalism, yet they make endless excuses why we can't do what other countries can.

Healthcare for all, maternity/paternity leave, living wages, childcare assistance, college tuition assistance? Too expensive! Despite the richest economy in the history of the world, we can't afford it! How will we provide corporate welfare if we're busy spending money on our citizens? Bootstraps!

Smaller military? Not safe despite having the most advanced weaponry, intelligence, and counter-intelligence in the history of the world. You gotta spend money to make money! 

Modest gun restrictions? Criminals will still get them and murder us all! Not safe!

Immigration reform? They'll take our jobs! Who cares if our birth rate is flagging and we can't even fill the jobs we have!

Representative democracy? Sorry! The voting power of a hard-working farmer in Wyoming should be worth more than the vote of some liberal Hollywood sissy!

The entire country is built around keeping politicians in power, enriching the rich (stock market looking up despite record unemployment), and keeping the poor working (good luck paying for your cancer treatment without employer-provided health insurance).

America went from world leader to science-hating laggard in a single generation. As the Lord, Savior, and hero of the ignorant poor & disgustingly rich, Trump would say "SAD!" And, for once, he would be right.

I typed a long response to this but then I remembered that arguing on the internet is akin to being in the Special Olympics.

All I can say is, the issue with this country is lumping ppl into one category. We need to see each other as Americans instead of part affiliates. 

[Californication | 1,477]

1 hour ago, DoctorEncore said:

Nailed it, @Californication. The response to Coronavirus has been nothing short of embarrassing and exposes everything wrong with our country.

Conservative Americans love to go on and on about American exceptionalism, yet they make endless excuses why we can't do what other countries can.

Healthcare for all, maternity/paternity leave, living wages, childcare assistance, college tuition assistance? Too expensive! Despite the richest economy in the history of the world, we can't afford it! How will we provide corporate welfare if we're busy spending money on our citizens? Bootstraps!

Smaller military? Not safe despite having the most advanced weaponry, intelligence, and counter-intelligence in the history of the world. You gotta spend money to make money! 

Modest gun restrictions? Criminals will still get them and murder us all! Not safe!

Immigration reform? They'll take our jobs! Who cares if our birth rate is flagging and we can't even fill the jobs we have!

Representative democracy? Sorry! The voting power of a hard-working farmer in Wyoming should be worth more than the vote of some liberal Hollywood sissy!

The entire country is built around keeping politicians in power, enriching the rich (stock market looking up despite record unemployment), and keeping the poor working (good luck paying for your cancer treatment without employer-provided health insurance).

America went from world leader to science-hating laggard in a single generation. As the Lord, Savior, and hero of the ignorant poor & disgustingly rich, Trump would say "SAD!" And, for once, he would be right.

I'm with you on a lot of that, but I gotta say that conservatives don't deserve 100 percent of the blame for health and immigration reforms. 

The leadership of the democratic party and many liberal democrats aren't on board for health reform. And I have yet to hear a coherent immigration policy from democrat's although their policies were never as draconian as the conservatives.

Also, as much nonsense as the conservatives are pulling, the house of representatives (with a democratic majority) is refusing to hold hearings and hold republicans to account or put forward a political narrative.

The democrats did almost nothing in the stimulus bills and signed off on the corporate give aways, and now that they have passed a new bill through the house, it's mostly more of the same garbage. They have give aways to lobbyists of all people. So yes, the conservatives are awful, but democratic leaders and liberal democrats should still be ashamed of themselves.

 

 

Edited May 26, 2020 by Californication

[captmorgandrinker | 1,649]

Wrong thread for the politics guys; you know where to take it.

[DoctorEncore | 3,690]

38 minutes ago, captmorgandrinker said:

Wrong thread for the politics guys; you know where to take it.

I would say this issue is inherently political based on the way it is being handled in America, but I'm tracking.

As others mentioned, arguing here is not particularly useful and I wasn't planning on having a political back-and-forth with anyone. However, I do believe this crisis has exposed many of the deep-seated flaws and inequalities in our system that people willingly ignore when life is good. These topics have been heavily politicized, but they are relevant to this thread because they are affecting how our country responds to this virus (except maybe gun control, which I will no longer discuss).

For example, minorities are suffering disproportionately in terms of economic hardship and medical outcomes due to this illness. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/need-extra-precautions/racial-ethnic-minorities.html

This is a complicated subject, but systemic inequality has created a disparity in wealth, health, living conditions, access to healthcare, education, and the justice system. These differences are both socioeconomic and racial in nature.

Thingslike the military budget may seem tangential, but it's a huge source of government expenditure that could be diverted to education, healthcare, childcare, and wealth accrual (government sponsored retirement savings plans, etc) for our underserved populations. Having these type of safety net programs allow people to make smart and safe decisions so they can weather hard times such as unexpected illness. Without these programs, people must continue to work when it is not safe to do so.

These are the important topics that I believe people should be considering right now. If your entire economy collapses because people have no savings buffer, no access to healthcare, and no options for childcare, you have an unethical economy. Less deaths and sick people mean a better economy!

That being said, I'm happy to discuss more science/medicine related topics here as well. There was a recent observational study in the Lancet (a respected medical journal) that showed hydroxychloroquine/chloroquine probably doesn't help COVID patients and may actually kill them. I would not recommend anyone take it outside of a randomized control study (there is still a possibility it could be helpful, but we need to find those specific circumstances). And I definitely wouldn't recommend anyone take it prophylactically since there is literally zero benefit and several known risks.

Another study just showed that Sweden's attempt at non-intervention with a goal of herd immunity has failed miserably. They have twice the death rate of America and have nowhere close to herd immunity.

If anyone wants help interpreting any of these studies, please reach out and I'll do my best to explain them.

[NESfiend | 1,514]

1 hour ago, RegularGuyGamer said:

We need to see each other as Americans instead of part affiliates. 

George W. Bush did a tremendous job with getting us all to see that immediately when 911 hit. We mourned together and got together against a common enemy. I didnt like W before that, but we stopped caring about party bs and came together as a country. Trump could have easily done the same and he actually would have benefited. 

Whether you like trump or not, we haven't been encouraged to mourn together or band together as one and thats just undeniable. There has been virtually no effort made to mourn 100k deaths of our citizens by that administration. Sad. Really sad. 

 

[RegularGuyGamer | 2,011]

3 hours ago, NESfiend said:

George W. Bush did a tremendous job with getting us all to see that immediately when 911 hit. We mourned together and got together against a common enemy. I didnt like W before that, but we stopped caring about party bs and came together as a country. Trump could have easily done the same and he actually would have benefited. 

Whether you like trump or not, we haven't been encouraged to mourn together or band together as one and thats just undeniable. There has been virtually no effort made to mourn 100k deaths of our citizens by that administration. Sad. Really sad. 

 

Guy who only cares about himself doesn't care about 100k deaths

Idk why anyone needs, or expect a, him to encourage that. Can't we do that as a country?

We just sweat and worship celebrities so much and make the president into one of the many celebs we obsess over. Idk if he told me mourn or celebrate. What's it matter? He's a jackass anyway I thought.