The Covid-19 Thread

[Sly Boots]

Shame.

[Mantis]

They've all been holding meetings and sitting on the benches in the Commons with each other and not practicing any kind of social distancing at all.

It's very noble of them to continue to promote the 'herd immunity' strategy by volunteering themselves to be infected first eh. Two weeks ago Johnson was visiting hospitals and shaking hands with patients of Covid-19 and then bragging to the media that he wasn't afraid of still shaking their hands. Absolute cretin.

[Hatredsheart]

Matt Hancock too.

I imagine all the top Tories are going to come down with it shortly.

So they can all isolate safely away from us peasants. Or am I talking out of my tin foil hat?

[Drarok]

The clapping thing... a nice gesture, I'm sure, but maybe the NHS would appreciate it more if they were properly staffed, properly recompensed and properly equipped as standard.

Well, yes, but that's not something the average person on the street has any control over. Showing some gratitude is all we can really offer, and our votes for parties that say they'll invest in the NHS when that time comes.

[Sly Boots]

I found this interesting on the BBC just now:

Why does severity of coronavirus symptoms vary?

Rebecca Morelle

Science correspondent, BBC News

Scientists are racing to find out how coronavirus is spreading so quickly and why the severity of symptoms varies so much.

Viral load is an important factor. It’s how much of the virus there is in your body at any point during an infection. The higher the viral load, the more virus you will potentially shed from your body, making you more infectious to others.

For coronavirus, the viral load is highest about five days after symptoms first appear. And some scientists think it’s the initial dose of virus you receive that’s important. If you’re infected with a small amount of virus, you’re more likely to develop a mild illness. But if you’re infected with a lot, you have a greater chance of developing severe symptoms.

It’s a major issue for health workers. They will be in very close contact with lots of infected people, raising their prospect of becoming infected when a patient’s viral load is at its peak. It’s why having access to protective kit is so important.

There's also been a death of a 16-year-old in France, no existing health conditions. One of today's deaths in the UK was 29, and there was one of 21 the other day.

It's becoming clear that age and good health are no protection against it, and I wonder if that viral load info on the Beeb could explain the spiking numbers we're seeing and that victims are younger and less vulnerable - perhaps that as time goes on increasingly higher concentrations of the virus are being spread.

Scary times.

[Achtung Englander]

no fucking kidding. I do not even want to leave home !

[Wrathbone]

The clapping thing... a nice gesture, I'm sure, but maybe the NHS would appreciate it more if they were properly staffed, properly recompensed and properly equipped as standard.

Well, yes, but that's not something the average person on the street has any control over. Showing some gratitude is all we can really offer, and our votes for parties that say they'll invest in the NHS when that time comes.

I’m much more in favour of pragmatic, material forms gratitude for something like this than symbolic applause organised via social media to give the appearance of national unity during a crisis, when actually people are scratching at each other for the last bog roll on the shelf. I don’t know; I feel extremely cynical about it for some reason. If someone in the NHS felt good because of it, great. I just think that we shouldn’t need applause to signal our absolute appreciation for the NHS right now - it should be inherently apparent.

Maybe it’s because it feels too similar to when morons clap after a plane lands.

[Raid]

I feel exactly the same way. If it gives just one person working in the NHS a feeling of support, sure, it's all worth it, but voting to fund the damn thing that's keeping the country alive is surely more useful.

[Rossell]

You can sing that in the theme too.

[Animalmother]

So the Irish government are pretty much shutting the country down for the next 2 weeks. Trains and buses are stopping and people asked not to leave home unless it's for food shopping or medical emergency. This should be fun :/

[Achtung Englander]

The fact that a trip to Tesco could ultimately lead to your death definitely puts on a spin "just popping out to get milk"

[Paul]

I found this interesting on the BBC just now:

Why does severity of coronavirus symptoms vary?

Rebecca Morelle

Science correspondent, BBC News

Scientists are racing to find out how coronavirus is spreading so quickly and why the severity of symptoms varies so much.

Viral load is an important factor. It’s how much of the virus there is in your body at any point during an infection. The higher the viral load, the more virus you will potentially shed from your body, making you more infectious to others.

For coronavirus, the viral load is highest about five days after symptoms first appear. And some scientists think it’s the initial dose of virus you receive that’s important. If you’re infected with a small amount of virus, you’re more likely to develop a mild illness. But if you’re infected with a lot, you have a greater chance of developing severe symptoms.

It’s a major issue for health workers. They will be in very close contact with lots of infected people, raising their prospect of becoming infected when a patient’s viral load is at its peak. It’s why having access to protective kit is so important.

There's also been a death of a 16-year-old in France, no existing health conditions. One of today's deaths in the UK was 29, and there was one of 21 the other day.

It's becoming clear that age and good health are no protection against it, and I wonder if that viral load info on the Beeb could explain the spiking numbers we're seeing and that victims are younger and less vulnerable - perhaps that as time goes on increasingly higher concentrations of the virus are being spread.

Scary times.

Christ, I hope that isn't the case. I'm absolutely stuffed if there's any truth in this

The infection control chap (presentation I attended) didn't say anything about viral loads, but that doesn't mean much. The data on all of this is, obviously, evolving day by day. Perhaps what he told us will be utterly redundant by tomorrow, if it isn't already.

[eny]

Well that's me, work has stopped - ran out of materials for fencing jobs, suppliers and hirers all shut, might not even be a business for me to go back to....but I'm not going to worry about that. Trying to embrace the opportunities free time offers me now, and move forward productively, rather than getting bogged down with worry about what I cannot change.

[Achtung Englander]

this is literally like being in a situation with a loose sniper who randomly shoots to kill

[arqueturus]

this is literally like being in a situation with a loose sniper who randomly shoots to kill

It's really not.