Coronavirus - worldwide spread and control

The nurse who did my coronavirus test this morning (it's a research project, I'm not ill) told me that they've had their training updated on how long the virus may survive on surfaces. She doesn't know the source of the information, only that it's been passed to them to assist with quarantining and cleaning. They've been told to assume it's possible for the virus to survive as follows:

Paper and tissues: 24 hours
Hair and animal fur: 24 hours
Cardboard and similar packaging: 48 hours
Leather and vinyl (e.g. shoes): 48 hours
Copper surfaces: 48 hours
Hard plastic and laminated surfaces: three days
Stainless steel: four days
Heavily contaminated surgical or filter masks: up to seven days

I asked if she knew whether they'd been tested for traces of viral DNA or viable virus, and she didn't know – and to be honest, I don't know whether it's even possible to distinguish between the two.

However, I thought I'd post it in case it's useful to people who're extremely vulnerable.

 

Deutsche Welle's Conflict Zone interviews Sweden's Foreign Minister Ann Linde about Sweden's Corona strategy. With so many deaths, was it a miscalculation?

Ann Linde claims one reason for the high death toll among elderly in care homes is that many part time employees doesn't have proper education in hygienic skills, eg. don't know how to wash their hands! (a vast part of carers in elderly homes are immigrants)
She doesn't acknowledge that the government could have done anything different/better.

The interviewer is great and asks a lot of hard questions, the ones many wish Swedish journalists would ask as well...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4bCTt3PAPVU

https://m.dw.com/en/foreign-ministe...cy-we-managed-to-flatten-the-curve/a-53846704

I fear I might accidentally break the rules if I speak my mind on this subject, so I'll express my sentiment with emojis instead :


ETA:
Ann Linde has been heavily critized for this interview.
https://www.svt.se/nyheter/inrikes/lindes-svar-efter-kritiserad-intervju-om-coronastrategin

ETA: more critism in this opinion piece in Expressen: https://www.expressen.se/ledare/linda-jerneck/ann-linde-later-som-en-obstinat-populist/

English Google translation :
https://translate.googleusercontent...ulist/&usg=ALkJrhinWVVWgEbj0RDTrMwNhoYk-G4LCg

 

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/jun/22/pandemic-zero-coronavirus-britain

 

It must be very worrying for extremely vulnerable people of working age, who will stop being eligible for UK statutory sick pay on 1 August (unless they have a fit note for the virus or another illness).

We don't yet know what's going to happen as the restrictions ease. If the virus starts spreading again, people in this group will forced to choose between taking a huge gamble with their health and having no income.

I wonder if it might be challenged in court, actually – it wouldn't surprise me if someone did, given the level of uncertainty.

 

TBH I am slightly shocked at how reckless HMG is being over 'pausing' sheltering.

Only slightly shocked, as my expectations, of the current officials, were/are quite shockingly low.

Still, it's come as a surprise.

Surely it would be wise to wait and see what happens to Joe Public in general after all the significant changes to social distancing and lockdown regulations before mucking around with sheltering?

 

Ireland: More than a third of new Ireland Covid-19 cases among young

http://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknew...ny-holohan/ar-BB15QgKk?li=AAnZ9Ug&ocid=ASUDHP

 

Even worse when you consider the following horrifying statistics:

https://www.disabilityrightsuk.org/...men-over-11-times-more-likely-die-coronavirus

 

[Caution - there may be a slight note of sarcasm in this post]

On the plus side it is reassuring to know that we (the UK) now has a vaccine and a treatment with better results than preventing death in 30% of the most critically ill (no mention of the amount of collateral viral damage that being treated when that close to death is tho i.e. that third may not die but their state of 'recovery' afterwards is unknown, at least to me)

Clearly HMG feels that given we have an effective vaccine, an effective treatment, and a 'world beating' track and trace system that the very same people who were considered to be at extreme risk of severe medical problems, and/or death, should they encounter covid-19 can now be successfully treated by the NHS, with no risk of death, or of significant 'complications' that go on to affect their QoL.

Wait....we don't actually have a vaccine, or treatment, or a working track and trace system?

We don't have anything that would help ensure a better outcome for those 'shielding' should they aquire covid-19?

At all?

So, clearly it's right and proper that we should remove 'shielding' as an option and send people back to the very same environments that were deemed as too dangerous/risky for those told to 'shield', whose 'shielding' status will shortly be revoked, when nothing has, in effect, changed as far as the risk to them is concerned should they encounter the virus.

As I said above, a 'surprising' decision by HMG and PHE.

This may get 'interesting'.

(I've just received my letter from Matt Hancock as mentioned on the media)

 

Can anyone clarify this about social distancing?

Is it with hands and legs straight or outstretched? It makes quite a difference, especially if the hands or feet are contaminated with infectious material.

 

Package just been on the BBC about how pubs will alter, an ideal way of doing things, with an app for ordering and everything.

Woman, without gloves, or mask, poured pint (whilst holding the glass 2-3" below rim, put it on a tray, then added a bag of crisps.

The tray was then given to someone else, wearing a mask, but no gloves, who carried the tray outside to the customer.

Is it just me or.......do these people not understand the point of social distancing is to prevent/reduce transmission?

 

It's beyond their pay grade to understand such "sciencey stuff".

 

I keep forgetting even to wear a mask when interacting with people. Maybe it's an effect of the virus? But none of my neighbours have worn masks either, at least at home.

 

My local health food store insist on pouring the coffee beans(into a bag) and grinding them for us. We have to stand 6 metres away while he's grinding. This is only the second time I've gone there in the last 3+months and they're still doing this, yet all their self-serve bins and spice jar are open to the public. We are obligated to sanitize our hands and wear gloves upon entrance, but masks are not required.

This is confusing people.

 

Whitty saying he “expects” coronavirus to continue to be circulating at a significant level here, even into next Spring... and we can think about it and “regroup” at that time apparently.

It’s not just something that happens though is it? It only happens if the govt doesn’t do something about it. We are definitely in herd immunity now. So thousands of people will keep getting infected a day, from now, through the winter, until next Spring? Hundreds will die every day? Not just the 60,000 that have already died, but thousands more? That’s acceptable?

https://twitter.com/user/status/1275540390658146306

 

A new 'tool' is being developed to help clinicians access individual patient risk to Covid-19:

Full details here:

https://www.phc.ox.ac.uk/research/primary-care-epidemiology/covid-19-risk-tool

It is notable that they don't appear to be considering a person's risk of suffering long term problems arising from even a 'mild' case of Covid-19 (currently being called 'Post Covid-19 Syndrome' and discussed on other threads on this forum).

 

And on (and on?) we go ...

http://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknew...gist-warns/ar-BB15VwtN?li=AAnZ9Ug&ocid=ASUDHP

It really is quite unbelievable

 

While in the USA

Coronavirus resurgence sends cases to new highs in south and west of the US

http://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world...-of-the-us/ar-BB15VUkm?li=BBoPRmx&ocid=ASUDHP

And consequently

New York, New Jersey and Connecticut announce mandatory 14-day quarantine for people coming from states with high coronavirus numbers

http://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world...us-numbers/ar-BB15Vdyv?li=BBoPRmx&ocid=ASUDHP

 

Meanwhile, another million cases worldwide are expected in the next week

http://www.msn.com/en-gb/health/med...-next-week/ar-BB15VgXt?li=BBoPWjQ&ocid=ASUDHP