Coronavirus

[Flashheart]

My boy's just been telling me all about the carbonaravirus.

[pauld]

My boy's just been telling me all about the carbonaravirus.

It's highly contagious, let's hope he hasn't pasta it on

[The Artist Formerly Known as Audrey]

It's highly contagious, let's hope he hasn't pasta it on

Was that a linguinistic error?

Or a slip of the penne?

[RobertT]

There was a guy on the radio the other day explaining why they have and will continue to have a massive rate of underdetection and hence more infections due to not diagnosing cases who then continue to wander round infecting people. At the moment, they don't have enough testing kits. They're ramping up production but it's going to be a race as to whether they can outstrip the rate of the virus spreading. Even if they do, lots of people who should be getting tested won't because while the tests themselves are free, associated costs will vary from state to state and even hospital to hospital. In some places it will be completely free. In others, the test will be free but the patient will be expected to pay for the doctor/nurse to administer the test, the lab time to analyse the results, the room in the hospital where the test is administered etc i..e only the test kit will be free, you'll get billed for everything else which could run into 1000s of dollars. Add in that there's no paid sick leave in the US and lots of people are not going to be able to afford to self-isolate or to even get tested to see if they should. It's a recipe for a disastrous failure to contain the spread.

Never has the case been so starkly made that the NHS and the welfare state are a public good from which we all benefit.

Whilst using a potential disaster, during the disaster, is not usually good form for making a political point.  I do wonder if this will see the door beginning to be pushed ajar for some form of guarantee'd minimum healthcare coverage.

The vast majority of illnesses and healthcare tend to be described as things that happen to the individual, whereas this is going to be someone elses fault that you get it, every time!

I have no doubt that a big % of the population here would avoid testing through fear of charges.  There was a case in Florida of a person claiming they were charged for a test - the industry quickly moved to dispel such a notion by pointing out he had presented with symptoms without any of the triggers for Covid-19, so he was tested for multiple illnesses.  On insisting he got the Covid-19 test, he was administered for free.  This of course completely missed the point that he wouldn't have gone in for anything if the world had not been informing everyone who is ill that they might have Covid-19, so while the test was free he did indeed get a whopping bill by going in for it!!!!

Trump was at the CDC on Friday and when asked about the ship in port at San Fran he said he wasn't keen on them being allowed off because it would make the USA numbers looks bad.

So, a combination of private healthcare and a President who knows fuck all about anything =  prime conditions for an epidemic to spread I imagine.

[RobertT]

So, obviously the source of this article delights in pointing out it's own bias, but the quotes are quotes

https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/09/politics/trump-cdc-coronavirus/index.html

[RobertT]

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/sanders-faces-pushback-over-call-to-make-coronavirus-vaccine-free

To add something from the other side of the media spectrum over here.  Goes to show the challenge anyone faces in changing the mentality towards Healthcare in the USA - this article basically encapsulates the views of most people I talk to about the NHS - they cannot get their heads around the concept.  In this article, it mentions how everyone with insurance will have the test covered - that still means anyone without insurance is playing a lottery, and once you find out you have it it you will need to pay for treatment, or pay to avoid getting it (depending on your insurance cover and the costs the end up with for the drug/vaccine).

[Pax Romana]

On a more positive note, I've been pleasantly surprised by the way the British Govt has handled it.

Listened to the experts, followed their advice, kept up a consistent message.

I would have expected some stupid grandstanding by Boris by now.

[horlock07]

On a more positive note, I've been pleasantly surprised by the way the British Govt has handled it.

Listened to the experts, followed their advice, kept up a consistent message.

I would have expected some stupid grandstanding by Boris by now.

He dis suggest on the political Bear Pit of This Morning one option was just to let it run its course which wasn't the brightest solution, I assume it has been pointed out to him that this approach would affect the Tories disproportionately!

More embarrassingly for anyone who saw Newsnight...

The BBC: ‘save us, save us, you’ll miss us when we’re gone’.

Also the BBC: ‘I know, let’s put Nigel Farage on Newsnight to talk about the Corona Virus’

Although TBF I think it’s good that the BBC has tried to understand the story from the point of view of a parasitic, destructive virus that forces its host to self-isolate from its nearest and dearest at great financial cost. (Taken from Twitter!)

 

[Flashheart]

It's easy for them to say 'let's just take it on the chin' when they have access to private medical care. (And be at the front of the queue). It smacks of the rich elite coming out with bollocks like 'we're in it together' when talking about austerity and what not.

There's only a certain number of respirators in Britain. What happens if/when these are all used and people need them, regardless of whether or not they have coronovirus,

[swindonmaniac]

There's only a certain number of respirators in Britain. What happens if/when these are all used and people need them, regardless of whether or not they have coronovirus,

Thats when the rich get pushed to the front of the queue as you implied.

[swindonmaniac]

Thats when the rich get pushed to the front of the queue as you implied.

Although thinking about it,  they wouldn't be in any queue,  they would all have private health insurance.

[RobertT]

In all fairness, the UK private healthcare systems is fantatsic for elective surgery, not so great for Emergency Care, given the Doctors need to do their hours at the NHS first.  If what you need is some TLC while getting a cyst removed, a bottle of wine and a decent meal to wash the pain down, private works wonders.  If you need the ICU, I;d pop into the nearest NHS hospital.

[horlock07]

Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis - who was at the home game on Friday - has announced that he has the Coronavirus. He met with the squad before the game and also met with loads of fans.

[tans]

Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis - who was at the home game on Friday - has announced that he has the Coronavirus. He met with the squad before the game and also met with loads of fans.

Loads of people panicking on twitter saying call all games off!

God sake

[horlock07]

Loads of people panicking on twitter saying call all games off!

God sake

He also owns Olympiacos who are playing Wolves this week and was at the Emirates the other week.