Covid-19

[UnderSeige]

The announcement earlier this week was that they've tested it for covid-19 patients and it's been proved to help recovery. That's the important bit "tested" and "it helps" for the health impact of this new virus.

Makes sense that it's already been in use in other health conditions.

According to Chris Martenson's latest broadcast a small group of doctors out of Virginia (FLCCC Working group) tested this three months ago and designed a better protocol than the one discovered in Oxford.
https://covid19criticalcare.com/treatment-protocol/

Martenson was also astounded by the study which said that the drug reduced fatalities from patients on a ventilator from 40% to 28%. He said that fatalities are as high as 40% (or even 28%) in the first place, indicate that there is something wrong occurring in the treatment. He said that fatalities in other hospitals are much lower than this (The FLCCC Working group fatality rate is less than 1%). He said that the Oxford team are "doing it wrong" and that 28% death rates are awful".

If you want to hear about it navigate to 19:50 in the following video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnS4MbRribw

Later in the video (33:45 in) Martenson talks about the same professor (Martin Landray) from Oxford. When testing hydroxychloriquine, patients were given four times the recommended maximum dose. A French professor (Prof Perronne) looking into this came to the conclusion that the patients were being prescribed the dose for hydroxyquinaline. The French professor remarked "This man, who calls himself a doctor, is incompetent and dangerous. This is scandalous".

[UnderSeige]

Lets cheer up a bit
https://uk.yahoo.com/news/sees-green-sh ... 00748.html
https://uk.yahoo.com/news/drawing-plans ... 17217.html
https://uk.news.yahoo.com/5-covid-19-an ... 52246.html
https://uk.yahoo.com/news/coronavirus-v ... 18428.html

It looks like the vaccine developers are homing in on the virus. There are three vaccines in 'human trial' in China, two in the US and one in the UK. There are also several others who are likely to start trialling this year such as Johnson & Johnson.

[UnderSeige]

The PM'S to do list.

1) Paint plane
2) Change nappies
3) Brexit talks
4)Try and remember Marcus Rashford's name
5) Roll out the world-beating track and trace app

And that's just before breakfast.

[tiger76]

Semi-good news on the economy, it's bad but not as bad as feared.

The Bank of England has increased its support for the UK economy, despite it assessing that the outlook is not quite as awful as its scenario last month.

The economy is on course for a hit in the second quarter of around 20% compared with the final three months of 2019. That’s still historic, and off the scale, but not quite as extreme as the 27% it predicted in May.

The extra £100bn of purchases of government bonds also has the air of an insurance policy.

Still, there are concerns the recovery will not be quick due to the “prevalence of the virus” in the UK. And the bank remains wary of there being a second wave in future.

The concern quite rightly is this virus isn't being suppressed quickly enough, and the threat of a 2nd wave is greater in that case.

[bfcjg]

The PM'S to do list.

1) Paint plane
2) Change nappies
3) Brexit talks
4)Try and remember Marcus Rashford's name
5) Roll out the world-beating track and trace app

You forgot get stuck on a zip wire waving a union jack to take our minds of the disasterous brexit negotiations and Europes worst pandemic response. The berieved ,ill and unemployed will have a right old laugh.

[Grumps]

The PM'S to do list.

1) Paint plane
2) Change nappies
3) Brexit talks
4)Try and remember Marcus Rashford's name
5) Roll out the world-beating track and trace app

I didn't realise Boris had forgot Rashfords name.

[Billy Balfour]

Looks like Johnson's 'world-beating' app is heading for the bin. We will be using the Apple/Google model. I'm ******* sick of this incompetent govt

[martin_p]

I didn't realise Boris had forgot Rashfords name.

Because it was on his ‘to-do’ list!

[tiger76]

I didn't realise Boris had forgot Rashfords name.

It was a joke in case you hadn't realised.

[jrgbfc]

Looks like Johnson's 'world-beating' app is heading for the bin. We will be using the Apple/Google model. I'm ******* sick of this incompetent govt

Don't worry I'm sure the new one will be world beating! Track and trace seems to have gone very quiet as well.

[UnderSeige]

Don't worry I'm sure the new one will be world beating! Track and trace seems to have gone very quiet as well.

You would think that they could get a team of programmers in from overseas who have already developed a successful 'Track and Trace App'. Pay them commercial rates and get the thing up and running. If it's only half as good as the Korean one it would be better than what we have now.

We can't afford not to have this technology in place. Both in terms of health and economy. I am more confident that we will have a vaccine before the App. I hope this turns out to be British. If not I will settle for an overseas vaccine - whichever comes first.

[aggi]

Looks like Johnson's 'world-beating' app is heading for the bin. We will be using the Apple/Google model. I'm ******* sick of this incompetent govt

I wonder who got the nice chunk of money for that failed app? Current frontrunners seem to be Palantir and VMWare.

[tiger76]

Daily stats make of them what you will, but the fact that hospital numbers are dropping rapidly is a cause for hope. Deaths still stubbornly high though.

Hancock now turns to today’s coronavirus statistics.

In the UK, a further 135 people have died after testing positive for coronavirus, bringing the total number of virus deaths to 42,288.

In the 24-hour period up to 09:00 on Thursday, 136,516 tests were carried out or dispatched, with 1,218 positive results.

A total of 7,259,555 tests have been carried out and 300,469 cases have been confirmed positive.

The number of people in hospital with the virus in the UK has fallen from 5,863 to 5,193.

Hancock also points to a report by Public Health England which shows that last week, for the first week since mid-March, the number of people who died was no higher than is normal at this time of year.

[tiger76]

This is promising, let's hope the science is correct.

Hancock: Vaccine to be manufactured ' should science come off'

Hancock begins to talk about vaccines.

First he urges parents to make sure their children are getting their regular vaccinations including the MMR jab.

He then says AstraZeneca has struck a deal to produce the Oxford vaccine, so it can be manufactured and will be ready should "the science come off".

He says adults over 50 and those with heart and kidney disease will be prioritised if and when a vaccine is ready.

He adds that the government will continue to take into account those who are most vulnerable including those from BAME backgrounds.

[taio]

I wonder who got the nice chunk of money for that failed app? Current frontrunners seem to be Palantir and VMWare.

Not sure who got a chunk of money. But personally I understand that, given the situation, money often has to be spent before concepts are proven. It's the nature of the situation when working to deliver things that would take substantially longer under normal circumstances. Another example is producing and stockpiling a vaccine prior to approval in the event it gets approval - seems very sensible and right to focus on people's lives rather than money.

[Billy Balfour]

Surely it's only a coincidence that the app u-turn is announced on the same day when the death of Dame Vera Lynn is leading the news.

[Paul Waine]

Surely it's only a coincidence that the app u-turn is announced on the same day when the death of Dame Vera Lynn is leading the news.

What are you saying, Billy? Dame Vera was 103. We will meet again.

BTW: The Times was reporting on Apple "blocking" the app in both their online and print editions today. Several hours before Dame Vera's passing was announced.

[Paul Waine]

This is promising, let's hope the science is correct.

He says adults over 50 and those with heart and kidney disease will be prioritised if and when a vaccine is ready.

I'm pondering whether I think this is a good or a bad thing to be in the priority group for a vaccine. "If and when" is not "can you come in for your vaccine next week." What if the vaccine doesn't work? What if we have to wait until 2021 or later before there's a working vaccine?

[aggi]

Not sure who got a chunk of money. But personally I understand that, given the situation, money often has to be spent before concepts are proven. It's the nature of the situation when working to deliver things that would take substantially longer under normal circumstances. Another example is producing and stockpiling a vaccine prior to approval in the event it gets approval - seems very sensible and right to focus on people's lives rather than money.

True. But, when there is a ready made solution and other countries who'd already looked at creating their own solution decided it was a bad idea then we should probably put some more thought into it.

[CombatClaret]

Health Secretary May 18: "There is no alternative app."

Health Secretary June 18: "We backed both horses"

Pants on fire.

[jrgbfc]

Health Secretary May 18: "There is no alternative app."

Health Secretary June 18: "We backed both horses"

Pants on fire.

They tell that many lies they barely register any more.

[evensteadiereddie]

Which is exactly what they're aiming for, presumably.

[bfcjg]

"This is promising, let's hope the science is correct.

He says adults over 50 and those with heart and kidney disease will be prioritised if and when a vaccine is ready."
Well I have two out of the three so I'll have a jab in each arm.

[Steve-Harpers-perm]

They tell that many lies they barely register any more.

Exactly it’s just become normal and more worryingly just accepted.

[UnderSeige]

True. But, when there is a ready made solution and other countries who'd already looked at creating their own solution decided it was a bad idea then we should probably put some more thought into it.

It's a matter of 'getting the right people' and technology to do the job. The NHS has a bad track record with computer systems. Also the App required in the West will also need to comply with the West's Data Protection (DP) Standards. Having now looked into this a bit it looks a lot more difficult than first appears.

Countries who have developed successful systems are "China, Singapore, Taiwan and South Korea, which have allowed their authorities to use bluetooth technology or location data to digitally reconstruct chains of infection, successfully containing the pandemic.

In most cases, however, a very rigid approach is taken, which ignores the consequences for data protection, privacy and informational self-determination. Even a democratic country like South Korea seems to prioritize the digital fight against the threat, putting it above the protection of fundamental rights in the current crisis.

The government also made data on Covid-19 patients freely available on its data portals early on. Developers from the private sector immediately used them to program smartphone apps for corona defense.

“We have dealt with this outbreak from the very beginning with full transparency and that’s the way we’ve won the public trust and support,” said South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha in a recent BBC interview.

The government is visibly proud of the fact that it has so far succeeded in curbing the spread of Covid-19 with its digital measures. It is using its success for a veritable “corona diplomacy“, although the foreign minister admits that the South Korean response to the corona threat “may not be applicable in other countries with less IT infrastructure and other values”. (Brussles Times).

It looks has though the UK has churtled ahead with an App that both 'doesn't meet Data Protection Standards' and is not compatible with much of the West's Smart phone technology. Other Western governments have done likewise. The East has the correct technology and has gained the 'public trust' with DP issues.

Hopefully we are now turning to the US Private sector who have the technology to help us develop the App whilst conforming to DP principles.

"The so-called Pan-European Privacy-Preserving Proximity Tracing (PPEP-PT) was meant to be a basic solution that conforms to EU data protection regulations and could be used beyond national borders.

The first corona-warning apps based on this standard were supposed to be available soon after Easter, but a dispute has flared up among scientists and data protectionists on the question of central data storage as planned by the PPEP-PT initiative.

In an open letter, 280 scientists from all over the world called for the development of a technology that completely dispenses with the need to collect data on an institution’s server. The technology companies Google and Apple, which for their part had announced plans to cooperate on the development of corona warning apps, also advocate decentralized storage of data, solely storing on users’ devices.

At the end of the day, earning the population’s trust is key for the success of the app, which will only work if it is widely adopted. Thus, the German government has already changed tracks and decided to support the decentralized approach." https://www.brusselstimes.com/all-news/ ... i-airport/

"Singapore’s TraceTogether, released on March 20, is a more limited coronavirus tracking app that keeps a record of close contacts between the phones of registered individuals without registering where those interactions occurred. Unlike South Korea’s database, it is optional, and in fact only about 25 percent of the population has signed up. It uses a phone’s Bluetooth function to detect and log every instance when two people (or at least their phones) come close enough to each other for Bluetooth to recognize the signal

It is Singapore’s app, not the South Korean ones, that has become the model for other countries. This includes Australia’s COVIDSafe, which was rolled out on April 26. Although take-up of Singapore’s TraceTogether has been poor, Australians have flocked to COVIDSafe, with more than 4 million downloads in the first week." https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/05/12/co ... australia/

[Devils_Advocate]

Who is getting hit the hardest during Covid

https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1273 ... 66244.html

[tiger76]

This is tragic whatever the cause of death.

A 13-day-old baby with no known underlying health conditions has died with Covid-19, NHS England has said.

The baby is thought to be the youngest to die with the disease in the UK.

It comes as Sheffield Children's Hospital confirmed a child died on Monday after being admitted in a critical condition.

The hospital, which has not confirmed the child's age, said the victim tested positive for Covid, but the cause of death was yet to be determined.

Earlier it was announced a further 62 people aged between 13 days and 96 years, who tested positive for coronavirus, had died in hospitals in England.

The 13-day-old baby was the only person under 20 years of age recorded as dying.

In a statement, Sheffield Children's Hospital, said: "Sadly on Monday June 15, a child passed away... having been brought in to the hospital in a critical condition. Attempts at resuscitation were unsuccessful.

"The cause of death is not yet known. Tests have confirmed that the child had Covid-19, but it isn't yet clear if it was a contributing factor."

Previously, the youngest person to have died with the virus in the UK with no pre-existing health problems was Ismail Mohamed Abdulwahab who was 13 and from Brixton in south London.

In May, a six-week-old child who did have underlying health conditions died.

[tiger76]

Who is getting hit the hardest during Covid

https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1273 ... 66244.html

That gives a pointer into why BAME communities are adversely affected, but there would need to be further detailed research to get additional info, but it does appear that the reason they're made redundant is due to the nature of the sectors they're employed in, hospitality and Leisure are really going to struggle to recover from the economic shock that covid's delivered, and if anyone's employed on a short-term contract or zero hours, then sadly they'll be the first to be pushed.

How they work out the average white household has a wealth of 282k i have no idea, our household has nowhere near that amount, not even close.

Obviously home ownership will bump up those numbers, but even so, there's plenty of households that are struggling, and relying on food banks, whatever their ethnicity, now the fact that BAME workers are still earning 7-10k a year less than their white counterparts is troubling, but again are we comparing people in the same industries and skill sets, or is it more a question of why BAME people aren't making it into management roles that causes this disparity.

[tiger76]

Coronavirus: 'Outbreak' reports in Leicester and Cleckheatonhttps://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-l ... -53100321

Coronavirus: Almost 100 staff at food factories test positivehttps://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-53091149

[Devils_Advocate]

Playing golf Cleckheaton way tomorrow so think I'll take my own pasty for half way round

[Bfcboyo]

Playing golf Cleckheaton way tomorrow so think I'll take my own pasty for half way round

I genuinely hope you choke on it .

The golf that is , I'd hate to have you win.

[Devils_Advocate]

Me choke....

[CombatClaret]

Coronavirus: 'Outbreak' reports in Leicester and Cleckheatonhttps://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-l ... -53100321
Coronavirus: Almost 100 staff at food factories test positivehttps://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-53091149

I severely doubt the track and trace system is able to follow every thread and see these outbreaks are contained.

Government seems to be very quiet on what the R rate is, no more health experts at briefings. I think we're going to be in for a shock soon.

[dsr]

I severely doubt the track and trace system is able to follow every thread and see these outbreaks are contained.

Government seems to be very quiet on what the R rate is, no more health experts at briefings. I think we're going to be in for a shock soon.

We seem to be getting more and more of these cases where large numbers of people are getting the disease but none of them fell ill. It might be more of a pleasant surprise than a shock, perhaps?

What I would be interested to know is the number of new cases coming out where they didn't catch it in a hospital or a nursing home.

[Billy Balfour]

The core Apple/Google code incorporated into the German C-19 app are Open Source. We could have translated the German app and legally distributed it here in the UK weeks ago, but still, who wants a foreign app when we can have Johnson's 'world beating' app. The app that never was.

[Devils_Advocate]

Cleverly was in top form as ever on last nights QT

https://twitter.com/i/status/1273745301619257346

As for our govt and the track & trace app

[IanMcL]

I didn't realise Boris had forgot Rashfords name.

Called him Daniel, as in Harry Potter Radcliffe!

Bloody buffoon!

[martin_p]

Called him Daniel, as in Harry Potter Radcliffe!

Bloody buffoon!

That was Hancock.

[IanMcL]

Perhaps we are moving to a time where the virus has weakened to become it's own vaccine?

How many folk, of good health, die as a result of catching it now and when they pass it on now, what happens to their contacts?

[Grumps]

Called him Daniel, as in Harry Potter Radcliffe!

Bloody buffoon!

No he didn't!!! !!!

Bloody buffoon........

[ElectroClaret]

UK's Chief Medical Officers all agree Covid level alert should be reduced to 3.
(BBC)

[UnderSeige]

The core Apple/Google code incorporated into the German C-19 app are Open Source. We could have translated the German app and legally distributed it here in the UK weeks ago, but still, who wants a foreign app when we can have Johnson's 'world beating' app. The app that never was.

It looks like it solves the 'Data Protection Issue'. It also looks better than anything else the West has at the moment. But it looks likely that it will run into the same 'compatibility issues' with Apple as the 'world beating failed NHS app'. Around 50% of UK users have Apple phones.

"However, not all smartphone users will be able to install it: It will run on Android devices from version 6 and iOS from version 13.5. Google Play Services must also be running on the devices. This software component is not installed on newer Huawei smartphones, for example". https://www.dw.com/en/german-covid-19-w ... a-53808888

The other one that avoids 'Data Protection Issues' is Singapore’s Open Source TraceTogether, released on March 20. Australia have used this technology to develop their 'COVIDSafe App'. I can't find anything that says that there are 'compatibility issues' with it. However it is very heavy on 'battery drain' which puts a lot of people off using it. Only 17% of the Singapore population use it. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TraceTogether

India have had some success with their 'Aarogya Setu' app. "The Aarogya Setu app is developed by the National Informatics Centre that comes under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Government of India. The app is available on Google Play Store and Apple's App Store for download". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aarogya_Setu

Something like the following could be a great help in the UK to help people (not just mobile phone users) to identify COVID hot spots.

"But there are also some real effective non-government mobile apps & websites which are used to notify the people of Bangladesh which places are COVID affected and how many COVID patients are there in a place". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COVID-19_apps

[martin_p]

Not sure who got a chunk of money. But personally I understand that, given the situation, money often has to be spent before concepts are proven. It's the nature of the situation when working to deliver things that would take substantially longer under normal circumstances. Another example is producing and stockpiling a vaccine prior to approval in the event it gets approval - seems very sensible and right to focus on people's lives rather than money.

I think that’s very true if you’re doing something trailblazing, less so if you’re trying to do something other countries have already done and there are tried and tested solutions out there.

[UnderSeige]

Perhaps we are moving to a time where the virus has weakened to become it's own vaccine?

How many folk, of good health, die as a result of catching it now and when they pass it on now, what happens to their contacts?

• The viral load might be reducing (Italian doctor posts from two weeks ago).

• The virus might be mutating to something less contagious after it has infected a large number of people in a country or region.

• There have been suggestions that large numbers of people who have antibodies from the 'common cold' (another coronavirus) might have some sort (probably not full) immunity to it.

• For some people it is asymptomatic.

• Hospitals are improving in the way they treat critical patients.

Lets hope it 'withers on the vine'. But we need to stay cautious. It could still have a nasty sting in it's tail yet.

[tiger76]

CV present in Europe earlier than previously thought?https://www.iss.it/comunicati-stampa/-/ ... 3D5422725

Decline in coronavirus numbers is slowing, ONS data suggestshttps://uk.news.yahoo.com/coronavirus-i ... 0384.html

[CombatClaret]

We seem to be getting more and more of these cases where large numbers of people are getting the disease but none of them fell ill. It might be more of a pleasant surprise than a shock, perhaps?

17th - 2 Sister factory: 13 people testing positive with one in hospital.
18th - 2 Sister factory: 100+ test positive has no info on how many of these people are showing symptoms or not, they may have only become infected in the preceding 24-48 hours.

The only "positive" thing is that these people are of working age so less likely to develop sever symptoms but they can easily pass it to others who may.
If you're going to speculate back it up with figures.

[tiger76]

I haven't posted any good news stories in a while, so here goes.

Irishwoman emerges from 79 days on life support https://www.rte.ie/news/coronavirus/20 ... ient-cork/

[tiger76]

New Zealand goes back to being virus-free

It's back to zero new virus cases for New Zealand today - days after two women who travelled from the UK were found positive, ending a previous 24-day clean streak.

[tiger76]

The World Health Organization (WHO) hopes that hundreds of millions of Covid-19 vaccine doses could be produced by the end of the year and be targeted at those most vulnerable to the virus.

There is no vaccine yet, but WHO chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan said experts worldwide were working on more than 200 possibilities. Around 10 potential vaccines are currently undergoing human trials.

[CombatClaret]

The World Health Organization (WHO) hopes that hundreds of millions of Covid-19 vaccine doses could be produced by the end of the year and be targeted at those most vulnerable to the virus.

Tiger can you just post a headline and a link which people can chose to read please? Cut and pasting large chunks takes up a lot of page real estate and breaks up discussion. Fine if it's in reply to some one about a specific item but there's already news feeds out there.