FML general thread [8]

[nullyoaG]

this sars 2.0 is turning out far more than i expected......not apocalypse level of course but things are getting intereesting.....every world leader got trolled by this virus so far and things are definitely looking bad i gootta admit

[silvermoonlight]

I think she's actually miffed, but I guess she's currently so turned in on herself that she's not really taking in what's happening in the outside world.

I have this same issue with an elderly member in my family, they seem to think this is some government ploy to get money and don't understand that this a very serious pandemic which is killing people and is highly contagious and could become a modern version of the black death and is effecting every country in the world. They pulled there ankle and cut themselves the other day and wanted to call out a medical nurse but were basically saying I'm a higher priority than these coronaviruses people which they fucking aren't...and I feel we are going to have, have that conversation going forward...

[ssevangelion1995]

Scottish schools are, perhaps, to close next week. I have heard a rumour (an friend of mine works at the Scottish office of a national UK political party) that the devolved parliament will soon follow.

Unfortunately, even here ''up the mulga'', if you like, in the Highlands, there is some panic buying. Pasta in particular. Not sufficient to be a real trouble - my cupboard is filled with dried noodles, tinned fish and tomatoes and other things of that sort, but it always is (cookery and I have a tangential relationship). There is a shop in my home ''town'' (three grocery shops, a butcher and several expensive tweed shops!) that sells instant miso soup, really very nice.

Difficult and concerning times - we are scarcely in the woods, never mind out of them. My best wishes with all of you in more built up areas.

[Shamsiel-kun]

^
Corporate America would make for an amazing parallel universe television show if it wasn't so terrifyingly real.

To be honest, even though part of the US response sucks (just like it does in the UK), the other part is pretty good. Compare that to the Netherlands, which is starting to look like a rollercoaster gone mad (and I want to get off!):
- Government refuses lock down.
- Batshit crazy group immunity theory which has zero proof of success elevated to official policy.
- Government denies this is the main objective, then acts in a way that basically proves it is.
- Government then complains when 75% of the people hamster and don't follow voluntary guidance at all.
- Local governments sound alarmed, call on people to follow voluntary guidance, but don't use the powers they have to enforce them.
- Dutch hospitals happily announce they created "insert very small amount of additional beds here" after discussing what to do with Italian hospital that created hundreds of beds.
- Dutch care homes basically commit euthanasia on any old person getting COVID-19 - WTF?
- Dutch cops complain that Belgium blocked borders with containers to prevent Belgians from getting out and Dutch from getting in, claiming the Belgium government has no powers over its own subjects and cannot prevent them from visiting free state Netherlands (where getting coronavirus apparently is a right, I guess). I kid you not...
- Official health authorities seem to look upon this as if it were a lab experiment, which will be evaluated in two weeks time.

So yesterday people went to the beach all together, stood in lines at DIY-centers, etc., basically ensuring that in two weeks time there will be an explosion of cases that will overwhelm the badly prepared health services. And the number of cases here is already growing at a rate faster than Italy. Do the math.
I expect ten thousands of deaths.

I've locked myself down. I now have enough basic food necessities to be able to survive for 2-3 months. Next week I will try to obtain those condiments that I need to avoid having to eat rice with nothing else for that period. Oh, and toilet paper/soap.

And if I get out of this alive, I will look at relocating to Belgium. They are doing a pretty great job for a country that has been without a functional government for over a year...

[pwhodges]

This graph from NY Times shows that most countries are doing as badly as each other, but the UK is arguably worst.

[silvermoonlight]

The UK is doing badly as some people are fucking ignoring the advice some of them just wanted to have their last beer or soak in the sun or visiting the beach just WTF why? They're not taking this seriously enough this is black death 3.0 they should wake the fuck up as it kills anyone with health problems young and old.



Everybody I know is now in lockdown or working from home.

[pwhodges]

This weekend the Snowdonia National Park had its busiest day ever.

[Blockio]

People are idiots

[Reichu]

A pity the virus doesn't specifically select for idiots.

[pwhodges]

A British supermarket just yesterday:

SPOILER: Show

(Tesco in Dudley, a suburb of Birmingham)

[ErgoProxy]

Looks like someone got used to personal liberty and bellyful existence. Keep it up and Mars will become Chinese colony, with Musk's head tucked on a pike.

Once ago we had such proverb here, saying roughly that "the future of the state depends on the upbringing of the youth". Maybe that's why Polish streets are now all but empty. Not because of some red-herd conformity; on the contrary, people remember that old motto of "the government will feed itself". So they keep precautions, because they know well that nobody up there will save them or protect them, as usual.

Still, Our (Not) Beloved Leader, Mr. Kaczyński, is attending church as if nothing was happening. He also urges to conduct the presidential elections in the time of the plague, before support for his puppet president drops below the level of danger. He even proposed walking with ballot-boxes door to door; probably this is how he understands serious, accountable leadership. Well, these are his choices*) and not mine.
___________________
*) choices - wybory; elections - wybory. Kone Megane, heh.

[Shamsiel-kun]

The UK is doing badly as some people are fucking ignoring the advice some of them just wanted to have their last beer or soak in the sun or visiting the beach just WTF why? They're not taking this seriously enough this is black death 3.0 they should wake the fuck up as it kills anyone with health problems young and old.

The Netherlands this weekend and today basically were exactly like that. "Let's all hump together with dogs, hamburgers, grandparents and kids! Nothing bad will come from it!". (I know, I must stop touching my face...)

Fortunately, most of the idiots went to the beach and not the nearby park, so I managed to take a decent walk on my own despite having to avoid two groups of dumb old people with dogs who clotted together like maggots of a piece of meat and didn't pay any attention to others. Unfortunately, when I was almost home I got jumped by a free-running dog and the stupid owner didn't see any problem getting within 20 cm of me to remove the bloody animal. After getting home I went straight into the shower (and all my clothes straight into the washing machine) for a good soapy scrub. Like I just got into a hazmat incident in the lab (never thought that experience would turn out to be handy in non-work situations).
This morning I went to the supermarket between 8 and 9, there were maybe 20 people in there, all behaving properly except for an old lady who was sneezing and wheezing and not paying attention to other customers. Fortunately she then went on to infect one of the automated checkouts instead of everyone who was queuing for the real cashier...
Meanwhile two of my 20-something coworkers are into their fourth week of 'flu' , and another one who likes to claim he never gets sick is into his fifth week of coughing and sneezing . So happy I don't have to go to work...

The other dumb news is that a local manufacturer of chloroquine has been threatened with violence by shady people and now gets police protection. And tonight the banhammer has come down on the remaining idiots as all groups of more than 2 people outside homes are now forbidden unless that want to get a fine of 400-4000 Euros.
There are also some positive signs that things are finally starting to move regarding the lack of hospital beds etc.

Now if they could just replace the health authorities' chairman by someone who communicates better instead of making gaffes like:
- "In two weeks a large scale investigation into antibodies carried by the Dutch population will start" vs. actually "Starting today we will investigate whether coronavirus antibodies are present in the Dutch population, and we expect to be at full strength in two weeks time".
- "The disease kills most people aged over 80" vs. actually "Most deaths will be in the group aged over 80".
- "The WHO says lock down is ineffective; our method is the right one" vs. actually "Lock down is not the only solution necessary for this epidemic".
The whole idea that "It's just a bad flu" that is still very popular here was also reinforced by this kind of bad communication...

[silvermoonlight]

A British supermarket just yesterday:

SPOILER: Show

(Tesco in Dudley, a suburb of Birmingham)

I think the thing that bothers me about this is there taking everything even though the government have said there is food stockpiled so there is no reason to do this and last week we did have issues getting stuff and had to visit other supermarkets.

The Netherlands this weekend and today basically were exactly like that. "Let's all hump together with dogs, hamburgers, grandparents and kids! Nothing bad will come from it!". (I know, I must stop touching my face...)

I think some people just think there invisible but the reality is your not this is a killer and our death toll just shot from 233 to 335 overnight, just sorry you're experiencing the same bullshit with people just being idiots. The sad part is I feel that the government's all around the world are just not being firm enough and they need to be harsher and treat this like wartime so people take it more seriously.

[robersora]

^
Viktor Orbán took this opportunity to extend his reign indefinitely changing Hungary from a democracy in name only into a full fledged authoritarian dictatorship.

I have to say, for all the wishy-washy flashy actions Austrian current leadership tends to do, I must say, they've handled this crisis quite responsively overall. Yeah, the minister of health seems like kind of a push-over, when it comes presenting, but overall they did a great and competent job. I must also say, that people take this very seriously as well.

I have to say, ~2 weeks ago I thought Samshiel-kun was being a little bit too much in hysterics and Corona will fly by like SARS did; but alas, I was wrong. This is a full-fledged crisis.

[Shamsiel-kun]

I have to say, ~2 weeks ago I thought Samshiel-kun was being a little bit too much in hysterics and Corona will fly by like SARS did; but alas, I was wrong. This is a full-fledged crisis.

So did my co-workers. Well, until they started to notice that my predictions for the new number of cases in the Netherlands was always accurate...

[silvermoonlight]

^
Viktor Orbán took this opportunity to extend his reign indefinitely changing Hungary from a democracy in name only into a full fledged authoritarian dictatorship.

I heard Putin has used this to extend his leadership to 2024....

[ErgoProxy]

Putin is a tzar-emperor de facto who will rule his state and nation 'till his last day in this world. All the democratic forms of government are more or less mock-ups in Russia, because imperial leadership is what the common Russians do expect and accept. They simply want their preciousss empire and all that comes in package, including some war victories from time to time - and Putin is able to provide them with such product.

A curio: while Putin is currently updating the Russian constitution (or has he already done that?), he actually wanted Russia to merge with Belarus to form a new legal entity; this hack would reset the counter of his terms of office. Why, oh why Lukashenko did not like the idea and cut it short as he started talks with the US?

[BobBQ]

Let's dial back the political stuff in here.

[Shamsiel-kun]

Well, the shit is about to hit the fan in the Netherlands.
The health authorities published a very optimistic report on the number of infections, claiming the infection rate was slowing, while at the same time publishing the new numbers of actual infections and deaths, which are going up faster than before. No official noticed the discrepancy in this. It looks increasingly likely that the authorities coordinating the response are working off a very theoretical model that does not account for 1) population response to measures taken and 2) a proper risk assessment with a worst case scenario - i.e. they are making really basic scientific modelling errors
Meanwhile, the people on the ground who actually have to deal with the patients are alarmed at the much faster than expected rise in severe cases and the lack of beds...

This is going to be a very bumpy ride...

Time for a sketch:

Dutch Health Authorities: "Don't pay too much attention to our numbers, they are inaccurate."
GPs in south of Netherlands: "We're noticing a much higher death rate among our home-nursed patients than usual, many with symptoms before death that point at Covid-19. These deaths are not included in your figures, meaning they are inaccurate. You need to include them."
Dutch Health Authorities: "We don't want to count those deaths, those would make our numbers inaccurate."
GPs in south of Netherlands and others: "WTF?"

Big time logic failure there. Direct result of this bullshit: there now is a website tracking everything Covid-19, set up by various parties except the Dutch Health Authorities.

[Justacrazyguy]

I'm just tuning out the news about Covid at this point. It's not that I don't care but I've had enough. I'm just hoping this ends soon enough so that the archaeological excavations don't get delayed or even cancelled.