Coronavirus

1192022242552

Comments

  • bosoxfanbosoxfan Posts: 611MI6 Agent
    They said that here too at one point, actually they have said about everything here at one point or another. I guess I figure it can't hurt and if it helps at all it is worthwhile. I did like the visual above however :))
  • Sir Hillary BraySir Hillary Bray College of ArmsPosts: 2,174MI6 Agent
    Number24 wrote:
    They say masks only prevent you from infecting others...
    Isn’t that reason enough to wear one?
    Hilly...you old devil!
  • HigginsHiggins GermanyPosts: 16,618MI6 Agent
    Exactly.

    Andrew Cuomo said it many times:
    I am wearing a mask and am protecting you.
    You are wearing a mask and are protecting me.

    It‘s simple

    That aside, just look at Hong Kong, which is on the doorstep to China and has managed COVID best so far. One of the reasons is, that HK people are wearing masks when they are outside since January.

    Here in Germany, you must wear a mask, when you are in a shop or other public room.

    Imo everybody who moans about masks is a baby.
    There are people dying in ER rooms, there are Drs and nurses that are getting infected and may infect their families that way.
    And you are not willing to wear a mask?
    President of the 'Misty Eyes Club'.

    Dalton - the weak and weepy Bond!
  • Napoleon PluralNapoleon Plural LondonPosts: 10,239MI6 Agent
    3070.jpg

    Recent take on the Cover-19 crisis in care homes.
    "This is where we leave you Mr Bond."

    Roger Moore 1927-2017
  • Napoleon PluralNapoleon Plural LondonPosts: 10,239MI6 Agent
    EXlys-Za-XYAEj2-Up.jpg
    "This is where we leave you Mr Bond."

    Roger Moore 1927-2017
  • Number24Number24 NorwayPosts: 21,709MI6 Agent
    Number24 wrote:
    They say masks only prevent you from infecting others...
    Isn’t that reason enough to wear one?

    That's a good reason to wear one, but it seems to me (an absolute amateur in medicine) that masks have limited impact for most people in an environment with little Corona. In spite of prettymuch only medical staff wearing masks here we have very low numbers of Corona dead and hospitalized here. I think washing, social distancing and massive testing has much more effect. Of course very few areas in Norway are densely populated. If I lived in Wuhan or Northern Italy I too would have worn a mask, regarless of what the rules are.

    Sidenote: The local library are opening tomorrow, and soon some of the cinemas too! :D
  • Sir MilesSir Miles The Wrong Side Of The WardrobePosts: 26,420Chief of Staff
    Number24 wrote:
    They say masks only prevent you from infecting others...
    Isn’t that reason enough to wear one?

    It’s a start - but not necessarily the whole truth...social distancing and hand washing are FAR more effective...wearing a mask on its own has limited benefits...but still benefits.
    YNWA 97
  • HigginsHiggins GermanyPosts: 16,618MI6 Agent
    Coming back to the COVID measures in Sweden.

    We all have heard that Sweden did not introduce strict rules but recommended safety measures and hoped that citizens will follow.
    It‘s also reported that a strategy of herd immunity is followed, while I am not 100% certain that this is the case.

    I can understand when leaders are trying to avoid the economic shock when they are locking large parts of their businesses and it seems to me that this was the main goal for Sweden.

    I am also aware, that the swedish specialists are telling us, that their present numbers may be not good, but they are sure that at the end of this pandemic, they will be better than other countries.

    A recent forecast outlines some doubts.

    For the Eurozone, a 7,7% minus is expected, for Sweden it is 10%
    If that happens, Sweden will suffer a stronger economic shock and pay a higher price in fatalities in the end.

    As said, all predictions and we are far from seeing the end, but interesting for sure
    President of the 'Misty Eyes Club'.

    Dalton - the weak and weepy Bond!
  • BarbelBarbel ScotlandPosts: 36,060Chief of Staff
    Splits are beginning to appear between Boris Johnson and the First Ministers of the devolved nations (Scotland, N. Ireland, Wales). Nicola Sturgeon gave her update at 3pm our time today, while Johnson gave his at 7pm. There was some contradiction between their views. At one point Johnson stated that he was "Prime Minister of Scotland, England, N. Ireland and Wales" which I cannot help but see as a direct stab at Sturgeon.
  • Number24Number24 NorwayPosts: 21,709MI6 Agent
    Higgins wrote:
    Coming back to the COVID measures in Sweden.

    We all have heard that Sweden did not introduce strict rules but recommended safety measures and hoped that citizens will follow.
    It‘s also reported that a strategy of herd immunity is followed, while I am not 100% certain that this is the case.

    I can understand when leaders are trying to avoid the economic shock when they are locking large parts of their businesses and it seems to me that this was the main goal for Sweden.

    I am also aware, that the swedish specialists are telling us, that their present numbers may be not good, but they are sure that at the end of this pandemic, they will be better than other countries.

    A recent forecast outlines some doubts.

    For the Eurozone, a 7,7% minus is expected, for Sweden it is 10%
    If that happens, Sweden will suffer a stronger economic shock and pay a higher price in fatalities in the end.

    As said, all predictions and we are far from seeing the end, but interesting for sure

    The number of Corona dead is about seven times as high as in the neighbouring countries, even adjusted for the size of the populations. Can the Swedish leadership be right? Yes, if no effective medicine or vaccine is found before most of the populations are immune. Many Swedish scientist believe pretty much everyone will get infected, and if so Sweden has done the right thing. By not closing down the country they have saved the economy and many jobs. But if we get a medicine in a few months the Swedisih authorities have made a severe mistake and in effect killed several thousand of their citizens.
  • 00730073 COPPosts: 977MI6 Agent
    edited May 2020
    Number24 wrote:
    ...But if we get a medicine in a few months the Swedisih authorities have made a severe mistake and in effect killed several thousand of their citizens.

    Do you really believe that this guy https://images.app.goo.gl/LUb9TFxPQj3LUVBq9 makes mistakes in any direction? He looks like a Bond villain!! B26: A New Kind of Enemy! Global Threat! Can Doctor T. Kill the entire population of the Most Beautiful Nation on Earth!? Can Bond save at least the massage therapists and blond girls!? Is the masked man on the street a villain, a hero... or just somebody? Find out in Is Kissing Enough Armor!!
    NO ONE COMES CLOSE TO BOND!!! because he's social distancing...
    "I mean, she almost kills bond...with her ass."
    -Mr Arlington Beech
  • Number24Number24 NorwayPosts: 21,709MI6 Agent
    0073 wrote:
    Number24 wrote:
    ...But if we get a medicine in a few months the Swedisih authorities have made a severe mistake and in effect killed several thousand of their citizens.

    Do you really believe that this guy https://images.app.goo.gl/LUb9TFxPQj3LUVBq9 makes mistakes in any direction? He looks like a Bond villain!! B26: A New Kind of Enemy! Global Threat! Can Doctor T. Kill the entire population of the Most Beautiful Nation on Earth!? Can Bond save at least the massage therapists and blond girls!? Is the masked man on the street a villain, a hero... or just somebody? Find out in Is Kissing Enough Armor!!
    NO ONE COMES CLOSE TO BOND!!! because he's social distancing...

    :)) :))

    The leader of an international group trying to find a medicine for Corona patients thinks they have a decent chance of finding one before the second wave. That's great if they do, but the Swedish epidemics experts will be standing in the corner with a dunce's hat on.
  • Napoleon PluralNapoleon Plural LondonPosts: 10,239MI6 Agent
    So what are the best washable face masks to buy?
    "This is where we leave you Mr Bond."

    Roger Moore 1927-2017
  • HigginsHiggins GermanyPosts: 16,618MI6 Agent
    I am using these

    https://www.hemden.de/van-laack-mund-nasen-maske-weiss-4er-pack-sp.0932.z50806.999.004

    The inside is has a silver-ion finish which is antibacterial for 30 circles.
    They sit well and are comfy
    President of the 'Misty Eyes Club'.

    Dalton - the weak and weepy Bond!
  • Sir MilesSir Miles The Wrong Side Of The WardrobePosts: 26,420Chief of Staff
    So what are the best washable face masks to buy?

    Remember that face masks are only ‘good’ for three hours at a time, ideally you’d also wear some form of eye protection.
    Also the amount of times I see people wearing these and then keep pulling at the mouth part of the mask - sheer lunacy :#
    YNWA 97
  • HigginsHiggins GermanyPosts: 16,618MI6 Agent
    So what are the best washable face masks to buy?

    I do hope that the HKRITA masks will become available at some point.
    Hong Kong citizens will receive one free mask in the next days and people in HK have a tremendous experience with virus diseases and with using facemasks.

    Most people that I see here are covering their mouths but keep their noses exposed.

    And keep in mind, you are wearing mask to protect others and others are wearing masks to protect you.
    President of the 'Misty Eyes Club'.

    Dalton - the weak and weepy Bond!
  • JoshuaJoshua Posts: 1,138MI6 Agent
    It is sobering to learn that the biggest group of fatalities in the UK professions is among security guards.

    I present this song from Africa. Please listen.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=3&v=PUHrck2g7Ic&feature=emb_logo
  • HigginsHiggins GermanyPosts: 16,618MI6 Agent
    Just have heard an interview with the PM of Iceland.

    She said, that they have been testing and preparing since 31st.January, 4 weeks before they had the first COVID case.

    They had no new infection for days now.
    President of the 'Misty Eyes Club'.

    Dalton - the weak and weepy Bond!
  • Napoleon PluralNapoleon Plural LondonPosts: 10,239MI6 Agent
    What about some Dr No style headgear? I am not really joking. Rather wear that than a mask.
    "This is where we leave you Mr Bond."

    Roger Moore 1927-2017
  • HigginsHiggins GermanyPosts: 16,618MI6 Agent
    edited May 2020
    ZDF (Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen) US Correspondent Elmar Thevesen *reports, that US intelligence observed and reported significantly increased hospital activities in China mid November with the assumption that there was a serious and significant medical problem and warned the US authorities.
    The head of CDC Robert Redfield has been warned in person of a contagious Virus outbreak by his Chinese colleague on 3rd December.

    * he‘s head of ZDF Washington Studio and a terrorism expert - very well connected in the world of Intelligence Services
    President of the 'Misty Eyes Club'.

    Dalton - the weak and weepy Bond!
  • 00730073 COPPosts: 977MI6 Agent
    edited May 2020
    Higgins wrote:
    US intelligence observed and reported significantly increased hospital activities in China mid November with the assumption that there was a serious and significant medical problem and warned the US authorities.

    Yup, this was reported back in early April. ABC has a report of it here: https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/intelligence-report-warned-coronavirus-crisis-early-november-sources/story?id=70031273

    ""Analysts concluded it could be a cataclysmic event," a source said."

    There are also credible sources that dispute this reporting. There are a number of reports stating earliest recorded SARSCOV2 cases in the second week of December, so there could not be an intel product out there warning about "out of control epidemic" in November.

    The whistle blower Dr. Li Wenliang, who first told about the corona virus on social media in Wuhan and died of it in February, made a social media post on December 30th in which Li told colleagues that there were “7 SARS cases” and patients “quarantined in the Emergency Department of our hospital.”

    The NCMI did conclude in a reprt that the virus was likely to spread across the globe and could become a pandemic. But that was in early January.
    "I mean, she almost kills bond...with her ass."
    -Mr Arlington Beech
  • HigginsHiggins GermanyPosts: 16,618MI6 Agent
    0073 wrote:
    Higgins wrote:
    US intelligence observed and reported significantly increased hospital activities in China mid November with the assumption that there was a serious and significant medical problem and warned the US authorities.

    Yup, this was reported back in early April. ABC has a report of it here: https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/intelligence-report-warned-coronavirus-crisis-early-november-sources/story?id=70031273

    ""Analysts concluded it could be a cataclysmic event," a source said."


    There are also credible sources that dispute this reporting. There are a number of reports stating earliest recorded SARSCOV2 cases in the second week of December, so there could not be an intel product out there warning about "out of control epidemic" in November.

    The whistle blower Dr. Li Wenliang, who first told about the corona virus on social media in Wuhan and died of it in February, made a social media post on December 30th in which Li told colleagues that there were “7 SARS cases” and patients “quarantined in the Emergency Department of our hospital.”

    The NCMI did conclude in a reprt that the virus was likely to spread across the globe and could become a pandemic. But that was in early January.


    Knowing Thevesen's work a bit from his reporting, he has direct sources in the Intel World, I doubt that he was only relying on the mentioned ABC report.
    The November warning was only about increased hospital activities in Wuhan with the assumption that there was a serious medical problem - according to him.

    He did not mention "out of control epidemic" which would be at a later state.

    His report also mentions that health secretary warned Trump several times in January and Trump "did not have time for him".
    On 18th April, he reached Trump by phone at his golf resort and warned him of the virus and asked him to give an order to ramp up PPE and testing capacity. Trump changed topic and criticized Azar about his handling of e-cigarettes....
    President of the 'Misty Eyes Club'.

    Dalton - the weak and weepy Bond!
  • 00730073 COPPosts: 977MI6 Agent
    Higgins wrote:
    0073 wrote:
    Higgins wrote:
    US intelligence observed and reported significantly increased hospital activities in China mid November with the assumption that there was a serious and significant medical problem and warned the US authorities.

    Yup, this was reported back in early April. ABC has a report of it here: https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/intelligence-report-warned-coronavirus-crisis-early-november-sources/story?id=70031273

    ""Analysts concluded it could be a cataclysmic event," a source said."


    There are also credible sources that dispute this reporting. There are a number of reports stating earliest recorded SARSCOV2 cases in the second week of December, so there could not be an intel product out there warning about "out of control epidemic" in November.

    The whistle blower Dr. Li Wenliang, who first told about the corona virus on social media in Wuhan and died of it in February, made a social media post on December 30th in which Li told colleagues that there were “7 SARS cases” and patients “quarantined in the Emergency Department of our hospital.”

    The NCMI did conclude in a reprt that the virus was likely to spread across the globe and could become a pandemic. But that was in early January.


    Knowing Thevesen's work a bit from his reporting, he has direct sources in the Intel World, I doubt that he was only relying on the mentioned ABC report.
    The November warning was only about increased hospital activities in Wuhan with the assumption that there was a serious medical problem - according to him...

    I'm sorry, if I wasn't entirely clear; I didn't mean, that Thevesen's report was based on the ABC publication. It was more in order to imply, that there has been reporting about the November in several outlets, not just in Thevesen's work. This means that there are sources / a source, that is driving the narrative of gross negligence in the part of the US prez in this matter by propagating this story of the November briefing.

    But be that as it may; what I have seen steers my opinion more in the direction that the official timeline that is known is more than likely a true one. If that is the case, then in January Trump would have had in his disposal the intel, both sigint as well as human sources, that already showed the direction where the pandemic was going. By the end of January there were also opensource data in the matter. This would most likely have been featured in Alex Azar's briefing of Trump in January, by which time the problem was getting more apparent at a breakneck speed.
    I have no sympathy for Trump, but neither do I have time for sensationalist hate mongering. Isn't it enough, that things went as they did, does the perception of Trumps handling of the pandemic need to get any worse?
    "I mean, she almost kills bond...with her ass."
    -Mr Arlington Beech
  • HigginsHiggins GermanyPosts: 16,618MI6 Agent
    No matter, what happened before, on Jan. 31, the Trump administration declared a public health emergency for the novel coronavirus and announced travel restrictions to and from China, effective Feb. 2.

    So that it the latest possible date that Trump can claim that they‘ve been mislead and lied by China.
    President of the 'Misty Eyes Club'.

    Dalton - the weak and weepy Bond!
  • 00730073 COPPosts: 977MI6 Agent
    Higgins wrote:
    No matter, what happened before, on Jan. 31, the Trump administration declared a public health emergency for the novel coronavirus and announced travel restrictions to and from China, effective Feb. 2.

    So that it the latest possible date that Trump can claim that they‘ve been mislead and lied by China.

    I think we are pretty well on the same page on this one! {[]
    Furthermore: After Feb.2 they did nothing for almost a month.
    "I mean, she almost kills bond...with her ass."
    -Mr Arlington Beech
  • GrindelwaldGrindelwald Posts: 1,294MI6 Agent
    Norways constitution day on sun and its snowing here now :o
  • CoolHandBondCoolHandBond Mactan IslandPosts: 6,033MI6 Agent
    The beaches have reopened here but I will not go until there is some feedback on crowds etc.
    Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
  • ChriscoopChriscoop Belize Posts: 10,449MI6 Agent
    The beaches have reopened here but I will not go until there is some feedback on crowds etc.
    You do right, I'll only be doing essential trips out of the home for work staying next week and. To local places to exercise with our dog.
    It was either that.....or the priesthood
  • HigginsHiggins GermanyPosts: 16,618MI6 Agent
    +1

    Until we‘ve found a vaccine, that will be my conduct
    President of the 'Misty Eyes Club'.

    Dalton - the weak and weepy Bond!
  • HigginsHiggins GermanyPosts: 16,618MI6 Agent
    So, we all know that many companies have been hit hard by Covid and the airlines have been part of them.

    In February, I have booked 2 tickets from Hamburg to London for the NTTD premiere.
    Price was around 400 Euros, around 50% of that price where taxes and fees.

    As the premiere did not happen but flight cancellations where becoming increasingly more, I decided not to cancel ( would have lost most of the money) but to ride it out.

    Then end of March, British Airways cancelled the flight and offered an alternative, which has been cancelled again.

    According to 2004 EU law, if an airline cancels a flight, the passenger has the right to receive a full refund of his money.

    For weeks, I have tried to reach BA by phone - not a chance.
    Then via a very hidden link, I have cancelled the flight because of the previous cancellation.
    All emails have been replied as received - nothing happened.

    I am all for solidarity and I would never demand the full amount back from the airline in such a situation. But the taxes and fees they should refund.
    They simply took the money and instead of forwarding the money, they sit in it.

    So, if BA would, have replied, I‘d have demanded my taxes and fees back - for the rest I‘d have accepted a voucher or coupon,

    As BA has decided to play deaf and hardball with their customers, I had to protest the payment at PayPal and have now received a full refund.

    Do I feel sorry for BA? Well, not very much!
    President of the 'Misty Eyes Club'.

    Dalton - the weak and weepy Bond!
This discussion has been closed.