The media is creating mass hysteria over the Coronavirus.

[Pleng]

I'm no scientist so I may be talking a load or arse, but to me smartphones seems like perfect receptacles for catching yourself a nice portion of take-home Corona. Every day I get on a train full of people all wearing masks, and 90+% of them holding their phones in their hands. Surely these are ideal landing pads for any little virus particles floating around in the air? If so then all the hand sanitizers at stations and face masks seem pretty much redundant if the virus can just attach itself to your third arm and have a free ride into your personal living space.

Anybody more scientific than me care to analyse this theory?

 

[notimp]

Not so much landing pads (but still, also correct), because most of the 'distribution' is still done by hand (hand, face, world), but as hands are touching smartphones - yes. Dont share your smartphones for a (maybe long) while, wash hands often, limit certain activities on your smartphone, thereby limiting how often you touch it. Cleaning it more often (with something that removes an oily surface film (same way washing hands works), then washing your hands) would all be good ideas.

All those are about limiting chance of infection (Concentration of virus also plays a role, when or if you first get infected (also virus hanging around in the air is far less concentrated, so also lower chance of infection, so washing hands, still a very good idea)).

There you get into 'hacking your behavior patterns' (how you use smartphone, when you wash hands, ...).

For that, if you want to, you can watch that (best practices for that are talked about in there):


Its usually hard, so society gets recommended only the most promising one of those (wash hands often).

Also, don't get too OCD..

 

[morvoran]

No only is the virus causing mass hysteria, it's also turned the US into a socialist country. Now, we have people standing in lines for essentials at markets, the government taking control of our daily lives/movements, giving people $1000 (or UBI), etc. SMH!!!

I can't believe that a virus that kills less people than the flu or common cold (why don't we take caution every year when any one is susceptible of dying from these diseases?) has caused us to give up our rights/liberties and allowed ourselves to be controlled by fear. We should all be ashamed of the governments and fellow citizens.

 

[notimp]

No only is the virus causing mass hysteria, it's also turned the US into a socialist country. Now, we have people standing in lines for essentials at markets, the government taking control of our daily lives/movements, giving people $1000 (or UBI), etc. SMH!!!

No lines for food here yet (in a democratic socialist country close to one of the epicenters of the outbreak).

1000 USD for everyone (concept) is preparation for telling people not to come to work for stints of up to one month. (This is how you flatten the curve more harshly. (This is also why you would close schools, same concept.). And in the US you have to do it that way, because you dont have many other (social) security nets.) Mixed with a concept called "helicopter money" to help the stock market recovering.

I'm absolutely sure it will go away, once something to alleviate dealing with the actual sickness is found (remedy, vaccine..).

If it comes to it it will come with instructions to mostly stay home though, and most bars and restaurants being closed. So dang it, no shouting at people (conceptually) for drinking it away.

Also that Jesse Lee Peterson Show, you draw your avatar from. Pretty coo-coo ... Just saying. If you are not him, maybe watch him less. Worth a mention..

 

[Pleng]

Not so much landing pads (but still, also correct), because most of the 'distribution' is still done by hand (hand, face, world), but as hands are touching smartphones - yes.

It's my understanding that it can last in the air for a certain amount of time, and then on surfaces for a while longer? And it that is indeed the case then surely it can last long enough from exiting somebody's body in a crowded train or supermarket or wherever to latch on to a smattering of phones?

Also, don't get too OCD..

I can barely stand up straight on a moving train let alone hold a phone still at the same time, so it's not really something to concern me personally.

 

[Xzi]

No only is the virus causing mass hysteria, it's also turned the US into a socialist country.

Rofl, I wish. The virus is doing a good job of exposing capitalism's many flaws, though.

Now, we have people standing in lines for essentials at markets

Which we...always...had? There aren't really shortages of anything, people are just hoarding more than they need which makes essentials look scarce.

the government taking control of our daily lives/movements

I must've missed the phone call in which Jared Kushner was supposed to relay my daily schedule to me.

giving people $1000 (or UBI)

Okay, the irony in that one is pretty funny. But it's also a necessity given that a lot of people will be losing their jobs over this, and like half of America would fall below the poverty line if forced to foot the entire bill for two months of self-isolation. Turns out our "great economy" was hanging by a thread this entire time.

why don't we take caution every year when any one is susceptible of dying from these diseases?

We do. There's a vaccine for the flu available yearly. Also, the mortality rate of the flu is about 0.1%, with the common cold being considerably lower than that. The numbers for COVID-19 aren't solidified yet, but it's somewhere between a 1% and 3% mortality rate, anywhere from 10x to 30x as bad as the flu. With no vaccine available.

We should all be ashamed of the governments and fellow citizens.

Oh I am definitely ashamed of our government and their slow, half-assed reaction to the start of this pandemic. With the exception of the hoarders, most citizens reacted appropriately and with common sense, well before the government told them to.

 

[notimp]

It's my understanding that it can last in the air for a certain amount of time, and then on surfaces for a while longer? And it that is indeed the case then surely it can last long enough from exiting somebody's body in a crowded train or supermarket or wherever to latch on to a smattering of phones?

Yes.

But. Sneezing usually goes downward (and people are currently trained by TV (in my country) to use tissues or their elbow), and after sneezing or coughing most of the virus falls out of the air immediately (too heavy) only particles mixed with warm air/mukus can remain in the air for longer (read source of one of the last links I posted ).

See it that way. President stood very close too a guy in the brasillian delegation at Mar-a-Lago who confirmed has it, and didnt get infected. And Subway trains now get disinfected more often than Mar-a-Lago.

Also, if you are not in the risk group for complications (older, preexisting condition), only 4% of people who got it currently are estimated to visit a hospital. Because the progression of the illness in most people is the opposite of problematic. All the things we do, we do for half, of those four percent (the ones wo eventually need intensive care). edit: And all the other people in hospital at the same time.

And the way you stop all those new things (plans being put into action) around us from happening is by 60-70 percent of the population getting it, or getting vaccinated. Vaccines in the first year (when they'll come into existance) will be limited to people in the risk groups mostly - because it is likely that calculated risk is taken to skip some of the side effect studies.

What people are doing is try to limit the quickness of how it progresses. So less people are catching it as quickly. Thats why people are doing all those strange new things. Not because we would be especially worried about most people - its just that as it spreads too quickly, the people with a high risk profile become so many quickly - that we want to prevent hospitals from having to turn away people.

So we are doing that stuff not so much because we in aggregate are very worried about the sickness, but about hospitals being overwhelmed in a short time.

(Difference between death rate of 0.8% and 5% of all infected.)

Probably shouldnt end on death rate ey? Oh well..

 

[morvoran]

Rofl, I wish. The virus is doing a good job of exposing capitalism's many flaws, though.

Not the flaw in capitalism, the flaw in humanity as a whole. Businesses are not responsible for people not washing their hands and spreading diseases.

Which we...always...had? There aren't really shortages of anything, people are just hoarding more than they need which makes essentials look scarce.

Sorry but standing in line for the latest iPhone revision is not a necessity, so that doesn't count in this case. When people hoard something, that causes a shortage for others.

I must've missed the phone call in which Jared Kushner was supposed to relay my daily schedule to me.

You must not have a job or small business that was affected by the government calling on these businesses to either close or cut their hours. Oh, xzi wasn't affected by a crisis, so no one else should panic. Move along, folks.

Turns out our "great economy" was hanging by a thread this entire time

No,the economy is still strong. We just have the lame stream media blowing everything out of proportion and causing everybody to fear the worst when the problem isn't that bad.

We do. There's a vaccine for the flu available yearly. Also, the mortality rate of the flu is about 0.1%, with the common cold being considerably lower than that. The numbers for COVID-19 aren't solidified yet, but it's somewhere between a 1% and 3% mortality rate, anywhere from 10x to 30x as bad as the flu. With no vaccine available.

As much bullshit you pull out of your ass, I bet you never worry about getting an impacted colon. Wow. I guess MSDNC has really got you convinced with their lies.

Oh I am definitely ashamed of our government and their slow, half-assed reaction to the start of this pandemic.

. Yeah, those damn democrats were too busy looking for a new way to impeach Trump and calling him a xenophobic racist, that they really dropped the ball on this one. Maybe they'll learn to work with the president instead of their personal agendas in the future and this won't happen again.


On another issue, sorry (not really) to hear about Bernie losing the nomination (again). I guess you won't get your Socialist in Chief this time around either. Maybe next time.

 

[JoeBloggs777]

(Difference between death rate of 0.8% and 5+% of all infected.)

talking about rates, any idea why Japans rate of infections and death are so low, say compared to the UK, Japan has less than 1,000 recorded cases of the Coronavirus with only 33 deaths. Japan was one of the first countries outside China to become infected, compare that to the UK, who have nearly 3 times the cases and number of deaths, yet the UK's first case was much later and have half the population size of Japan.

What are Japan doing differently to anyone else ?

 

[KingVamp]

Okay, the irony in that one is pretty funny. But it's also a necessity given that a lot of people will be losing their jobs over this, and like half of America would fall below the poverty line if forced to foot the entire bill for two months of self-isolation. Turns out our "great economy" was hanging by a thread this entire time.

You mean people living paycheck to paycheck, or even worse, isn't a great economy?

 

[notimp]

talking about rates, any idea why Japans rate of infections and death are so low, say compared to the UK, Japan has less than 1,000 recorded cases of the Coronavirus with only 33 deaths. Japan was one of the first countries outside China to become infected, compare that to the UK, who have nearly 3 times the cases and number of deaths, yet the UK's first case was much later and have half the population size of Japan.

What are Japan doing differently to anyone else ?

There was no question, that the virus would cross over, so 'harsh' measures (the ones we are seeing in europe currently) were taken more quickly, flattening current progression rate earlier.

Same as with singapore, f.e.

We (rest of the world that isnt close to china) were less 'attune' to the problematic nature of it for a while, so it could spread freely for a little longer (also meaning multiple vectors (so multiple groups of people spreading it (a wintersport resort in austria currently has gotten very bad press for partying until the end of season, and then sending all those people back home... )).

Basically it doesnt spread uniformly. Because of reasons. You see it in the US as well, you might have been affected later, because you had asia engaging in all those protective measures.

Also people in japan are culturally accustom to wearing facemasks, when having caught a flu. Maybe that plays into it as well, I dont know. Thats speculation. Actually, most of what I've just written would be.. (Testing doesnt allow us to see everything very clearly. As we are testing only a limited amount of people. Thats also a thing, low infection numbers because of limited test availability.)

If you are into modeling that stuff, look at the Imperial College London study, maybe. For some parameters, they just asked experts. (So there is uncertainty on some factors. That also plays a large role on outcome. But then we saw what happend in italy (hospitals overflown), and politics is setting actions into place, based on that.)


edit: edited.

edit2:

"Early" would explain low case numbers, but not lower percentage based growth rate.
So relative growth rate decrease would have to be societal factors (like not shaking hands, self isolation... ).

 

[Xzi]

Sorry but standing in line for the latest iPhone revision is not a necessity, so that doesn't count in this case.

I meant that people always stood in line at grocery stores to buy necessities. The lines being longer isn't much of a change.

You must not have a job or small business that was affected by the government calling on these businesses to either close or cut their hours.

That's not the same as the government taking control of our daily lives, as you first claimed.

No,the economy is still strong.

Rofl, it's already a foregone conclusion that we're going into recession. Now it's just a matter of waiting to see if it turns in to a full-on depression.

As much bullshit you pull out of your ass, I bet you never worry about getting an impacted colon. Wow.

I can pull a source for absolutely everything I wrote there, so what exactly are you contesting? Or are you just being a douche for the hell of it again?

Yeah, those damn democrats were too busy looking for a new way to impeach Trump

Dems passed a bill immediately while Trump was still calling the virus a "hoax," but okay.

You mean people living paycheck to paycheck, or even worse, isn't a great economy?

Big shocker that, I know.

 

[Pleng]

You must not have a job or small business that was affected by the government calling on these businesses to either close or cut their hours. Oh, xzi wasn't affected by a crisis, so no one else should panic. Move along, folks.

And that's the crux of it. Mostly the people who are crying "this is all hysteria we need to go on as usual" are (a subset) of those who are directly being affected by it. Well, shit, you got dealt a bad blow. That's life and nobody said life was going to be fair. In a situation like this there's always going to be some people who come out of it a lot worse than others. There's no winners, just different levels of losers.

 

[morvoran]

You mean people living paycheck to paycheck, or even worse, isn't a great economy?

People have always lived paycheck to paycheck in bad and good economies due to the fact that grown adults think servicing coffee or flipping burgers as careers. Not a good example for what's going on right now.

I meant that people always stood in line at grocery stores to buy necessities. The lines being longer isn't much of a change.

I don't know if you ever been in a grocery store before or your mom still does your shopping for you, but people have been standing in a separate line just to get toilet paper/bread/milk/etc. I'm not talking about standing in line to check out.

That's not the same as the government taking control of our daily lives, as you first claimed.

I was referring more to curfews and banning social events, but whatever, I guess you see that as a good thing since that's the kind of country you want to live in.

Rofl, it's already a foregone conclusion that we're going into recession. Now it's just a matter of waiting to see if it turns in to a full-on depression.I can pull a source for absolutely everything I wrote there, so what exactly are you contesting? Or are you just being a douche for the hell of it again?

I can pull a source for absolutely everything I wrote there, so what exactly are you contesting? Or are you just being a douche for the hell of it again?

I'm contesting the fact that you get your "info" from the same fake news orgs that started this whole mass hysteria fiasco. Here's an example of your sources -
I don't know why you would claim that I fill myself with water and vinegar and clean the inside of a female body part. That's a little off topic.

Dems passed a bill immediately while Trump was still calling the virus a "hoax," but okay.

Trump never called the virus a "hoax". He said that the Dumbocrats and lame stream media attacking him about not doing anything about the virus and causing mass hysteria was the hoax. I guess you wouldn't know that since you only listen to Fredo Cuomo for your news. Trump started handing the virus with all the travel bans he put in place that they demonrats called xenophobic and racist. The demonrats were the ones who were slow to start taking this matter seriously.

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

And that's the crux of it. Mostly the people who are crying "this is all hysteria we need to go on as usual" are (a subset) of those who are directly being affected by it. Well, shit, you got dealt a bad blow. That's life and nobody said life was going to be fair. In a situation like this there's always going to be some people who come out of it a lot worse than others. There's no winners, just different levels of losers.

The same could be said about the people who get sick. I haven't had the flu in decades and never get a flu shot, but I don't demand the world stop moving every flu season in order to prevent any chances that I might get sick. In fact, people should be doing things to prevent spreading diseases all year round such as washing hands, sanitizing schools, wiping down surfaces with disinfectants, etc.
We need to stop taking every little thing the lame stream media says and creating mass hysteria with every new disease that comes out. When there is a disease that spreads through the air that causes us to shit blood and die within hours and is incurable, I will start to freak out. Until then, we shouldn't be shutting down our economies and societies over something that is being blown out of proportion.

 

[Pleng]

Dumbocrats

Ah... I see. I think I'll stop engaging there.

 

[Xzi]

people have been standing in a separate line just to get toilet paper/bread/milk/etc.

Oh no, multiple lines! What ever shall we do, can your little virgin heart handle that kind of stress?

I was referring more to curfews and banning social events, but whatever, I guess you see that as a good thing since that's the kind of country you want to live in.

The kind of country where the health and well-being of citizens is prioritized over corporate greed? Yeah, that is the kind of country I'd like to live in.

I'm contesting the fact that you get your "info" from the same fake news orgs

Okay, I'll go ahead and mark that down as general douchebaggery and ignorance then. You don't have to go to MSNBC or CNN to look into microbiology or infectious diseases, Christ you're dumb.

Trump never called the virus a "hoax".

He did, and that was like ten dumbshit statements ago. He's a big part of the reason the stock market is tanking so hard despite every attempt to cushion it...the big money investors have zero confidence in the federal government right now.

 

[morvoran]

Oh no, multiple lines! What ever shall we do, can your little virgin heart handle that kind of stress?

Oh, just because you don't have to stand in those extra lines don't mean they're not inconvenient to others. Ask your roommate (aka mommy) how inconvenient it is since she does all the chores for you.
The fact that we have to queue up in a line and hope there is enough to go around is a major issue with the mass hysteria going on now (and socialism in general).

The kind of country where the health and well-being of citizens is prioritized over corporate greed? Yeah, that is the kind of country I'd like to live

Oh, the kind of corporate greed that you contribute to on a daily basis? How hypocritical of you!
Maybe, if you didn't blindly listen to your media, you'd see just how ungreedy some corporations are being during this mass hysteria.
I'd prefer to live in a country where a left leaning political party didn't politicize the fears of the citizens to attack a sitting president and put the health and economy over their own desires.

Okay, I'll go ahead and mark that down as general douchebaggery and ignorance then. You don't have to go to MSNBC or CNN to look into microbiology or infectious diseases, Christ you're dumb.

Then why don't you look into those other places instead of trusting and spewing the lies of your leaders? Mother Mary, you're so ignorantly blinded by your faith in the left.

He did,

Wrong! He didn't. Never said the virus was a hoax. Go watch the entire video and listen carefully and take your liberal earplugs out.

He's a big part of the reason the stock market is tanking so hard despite every attempt to cushion it...the big money investors have zero confidence in the federal government right now.

Wow, and you have the audacity to call me dumb?
Did you ever consider that maybe the stocks are falling because most of our stuff(including medicine) is made in china? Since the Chinese people are being forced to stay home and not make the things our economy needs, our corporations are not making profits now causing their value to drop and people to sell off their stocks. That on top of the mass hysteria caused by the left wing media. Maybe try looking into economics instead of the lies of your leaders.

By the way, Democrat policies are the reason china makes most of our goods. Maybe, you could thank your leaders for that when you are licking their boots.

 

[Xzi]

The fact that we have to queue up in a line and hope there is enough to go around is a major issue with the mass hysteria going on now (and socialism in general).

If you want to complain about the practice of hoarding, be my guest. The only issue being that it's practice which is a direct result of capitalism and wealth inequality. Suggesting that America is suddenly a socialist country, and only in this one instance, is beyond moronic.

Oh, the kind of corporate greed that you contribute to on a daily basis? How hypocritical of you!

"You criticize society yet you also participate in it...how curious."

Then why don't you look into those other places instead of trusting and spewing the lies of your leaders?

You didn't ask for any sources you dipshit. None of what I was going to post was going to be from news sites.

Did you ever consider that maybe the stocks are falling because most of our stuff(including medicine) is made in china?

Every country is dealing with this, and every country's economy/manufacturing is going to be negatively affected to varying degrees of severity. That doesn't mean competent leadership isn't capable of cushioning the blow, and it doesn't mean that incompetent leadership can't continue to make things worse than they would have been otherwise.

 

[ghjfdtg]

How did this turn into a left vs. right poo fight?

A week ago i thought it was mostly panic/hysteria too but this is now reaching dangerous levels in some countries. High enough to overwhelm healthcare and people die because there is not enough personnel in hospitals to handle all the cases.

If people would not be so selfish and hoard tons of food (or toilet paper) everyone would get what he needs.

 

[Xzi]

How did this turn into a left vs. right poo fight?

The right-wing in America doesn't believe in science, so getting them to accept basic facts is always a struggle, even when it's potentially a matter of life and death. The anti-intellectualism movement is a plague much worse than COVID-19 could ever hope to be.

A week ago i thought it was mostly panic/hysteria too but this is now reaching dangerous levels in some countries. High enough to overwhelm healthcare and people die because there is not enough personnel in hospitals to handle all the cases.

Yes, and it's still going to get worse before it gets better. If Americans don't take this seriously and take all necessary preventative actions now, Italy is going to start looking like paradise by comparison.