Covid 19 -

[Work Horse]

Originally Posted by tweeked

And yet tracking sites including government are called "Covid Live" or refer to Covid-19 all the time.

https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/Infect...nd-alerts.aspx

No I didn't think it was a conspiracy, just lazy health professionals, government departments and googlers on this page. But you think they have made it clear to to masses? ........ Near enough is good enough for you is it? Maybe instead of being condescending you might provide a bit of "peer review", sounds like you know what you are talking about.......and since you are a bit touchy on anyone questioning the way data is presented, you may be able to help and correct the wrong terminology being used in important places.

Wow Mate the guy went out of his way to explain something to you.

You clearly didn't understand the differance between the virus and Covid 19.

Now that you understand may be thank Metdevil and move on.....

[Metdevil]

Originally Posted by tweeked

And yet tracking sites including government are called "Covid Live" or refer to Covid-19 all the time.

https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/Infect...nd-alerts.aspx

No I didn't think it was a conspiracy, just lazy health professionals, government departments and googlers on this page. But you think they have made it clear to to masses? ........ Near enough is good enough for you is it? Maybe instead of being condescending you might provide a bit of "peer review", sounds like you know what you are talking about.......and since you are a bit touchy on anyone questioning the way data is presented, you may be able to help and correct the wrong terminology being used in important places.

Hence the confusion I'm talking about...

Sorry if it comes across as condescending, but this really should be something we know by now. Particularly by those who are so keen to argue about facts on the Internet. I mean, it's literally what comes up when you Google 'what is covid'...

"Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by a newly discovered coronavirus."

Surely you can see where the confusion is? Because you're right, we do see a lot of important places saying 'covid' when they're referring to SARS-CoV-2.
You have medical resources making statements like '[n]% of covid patients' and then news sources saying things like '[n] daily covid cases'.
Of course people think the numbers are BS, this is why people should be looking it up for themselves when they question something, and a few quick Google searches should solve that confusion.

Finally, I don't know why you think I'm being touchy about this. I'm just trying to clear up some misinformation which clearly have people confused.
As for the 'conspiracy' line, how else am I supposed to interpret somebody thinking these two terms are being used interchangeably as a "way of muddying the waters and confusing people"?

[Tickford.]

Originally Posted by russellw

Data valid as at 00:00 GMT January 7th, 2021.

Norway (825);
Estonia (1,104);
UAE (2,988) - 45% above the high yesterday;
Malaysia (3,027) - 17% above the high yesterday;
Lebanon (4,774) 15% above the high yesterday (again);
Japan (6,076) - 39% above the high yesterday;
Panama (5,186) on 6/1;
Indonesia (9,321);
Mexico (13,345);
Czechia (17,688);
Colombia (17,576); and
Brazil (87,134) - 23% above the previous high on July 29;

... recorded new daily highs; those in blue for the second consecutive day and those in red for a third or more consecutive day.

Wow, Brazil is on the way up again. Record number of 87,134 positive cases in a single day. And Japan is also in trouble. Olympics not going to happen this year that's for sure. They have declared a state of emergency for Tokyo and the surrounding suburbs I hear.

Also Russ, it goes without saying that the majority of us on the forums do appreciate your efforts to keep us all informed and updated. Despite what the 12 or so users in post #8864 reckon, this forum is one of the first places I check for world updates. Again, thank you.

[tweeked]

Originally Posted by Metdevil

Hence the confusion I'm talking about...

Sorry if it comes across as condescending, but this really should be something we know by now. Particularly by those who are so keen to argue about facts on the Internet. I mean, it's literally what comes up when you Google 'what is covid'...

"Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by a newly discovered coronavirus."

Surely you can see where the confusion is? Because you're right, we do see a lot of important places saying 'covid' when they're referring to SARS-CoV-2.
You have medical resources making statements like '[n]% of covid patients' and then news sources saying things like '[n] daily covid cases'.
Of course people think the numbers are BS, this is why people should be looking it up for themselves when they question something, and a few quick Google searches should solve that confusion.

Finally, I don't know why you think I'm being touchy about this. I'm just trying to clear up some misinformation which clearly have people confused.
As for the 'conspiracy' line, how else am I supposed to interpret somebody thinking these two terms are being used interchangeably as a "way of muddying the waters and confusing people"?

All good.....its nice to see some on here discuss reasonably.

What I meant by muddying the waters is just this general issue of incompetence we get that causes issues. Not that it is some sort of grand plan, the sloppiness feeds disinformation. Naming the virus incorrectly which leads to people then not believing the science is something I really struggle with. It should not be allowed to happen, and if it does it should be fixed.

I appreciate your knowledge and that you are clearing up the confusion, its just you should not have to.

[tweeked]

Originally Posted by Work Horse

Wow Mate the guy went out of his way to explain something to you.

You clearly didn't understand the differance between the virus and Covid 19.

Now that you understand may be thank Metdevil and move on.....

Wow, you missed the point.

Our health departments don't know the difference. That concerns me.

Let me know when you catch up.

[Tickford.]

Originally Posted by tweeked

No I didn't think it was a conspiracy, just lazy health professionals, government departments and googlers on this page. But you think they have made it clear to to masses? ........ Near enough is good enough for you is it? Maybe instead of being condescending you might provide a bit of "peer review", sounds like you know what you are talking about.......and since you are a bit touchy on anyone questioning the way data is presented, you may be able to help and correct the wrong terminology being used in important places.

Wow, really?

For someone who makes comments about other peoples posting styles, you make some interesting posts. Do go on.

[T3rminator]

Originally Posted by FairmontGS

Three-day lockdown imposed on Greater Brisbane to stop spread of mutant COVID strain

From 6:00pm tonight people living in Brisbane, Logan, Ipswich, Moreton and Redlands will be required to stay home until 6:00pm Monday in a bid to stop the spread of the highly-infectious United Kingdom strain of the virus.

Queensland records 9 new COVID-19 cases. There were more than 13,000 tests.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-01-...train/13040436

Excellent QLD. A very responsible move to help protect the rest of Australia.

If what I am hearing is correct, this cleaner has been miggling in crowded spaces over the 5 days, and if it is as infectious as they claim, then Brissy might be in a bit of strife. You know there is more to it when even the PM praises QLD for the lock down over this ONE case.

The saving grace may be that its summer. Apparently the virus doesn't like to replicate as quickly in summer as we've seen in NSW and Vic recently.

[Tickford.]

Originally Posted by T3rminator

Excellent QLD. A very responsible move to help protect the rest of Australia.

Here, here.

Reading and hearing idiots stating that QLD are over reacting, the same thing these idiots said about the VIC lockdown of the NSW border.

VIC closing the border to NSW when the NSW virus entered VIC wasn't an "overreaction". It was the reaction of an anxious state that went through hell and high water a few months back, to not only protect VIC residents, but the rest of the country as well. And we are pained that the same courtesy wasn't granted to us by NSW.

[tweeked]

Originally Posted by T3rminator

Excellent QLD. A very responsible move to help protect the rest of Australia.

If what I am hearing is correct, this cleaner has been miggling in crowded spaces over the 5 days, and if it is as infectious as they claim, then Brissy might be in a bit of strife. You know there is more to it when even the PM praises QLD for the lock down over this ONE case.

The saving grace may be that its summer. Apparently the virus doesn't like to replicate as quickly in summer as we've seen in NSW and Vic recently.

Yep, Act fast, but with a quick review to see where it is at, using the weekend to advantage too!

Not sure if they did, but hopefully they will bring a national standard to quarantine management. Vic's new system now looks like the front of the pack, and if QLD took up VIC's daily testing of dedicated workers in quarantine sites, they will find leaks like this quicker in the future.

[Beastie]

Originally Posted by Tickford.

Wow, Brazil is on the way up again. Record number of 87,134 positive cases in a single day. And Japan is also in trouble. Olympics not going to happen this year that's for sure. They have declared a state of emergency for Tokyo and the surrounding suburbs I hear.

Also Russ, it goes without saying that the majority of us on the forums do appreciate your efforts to keep us all informed and updated. Despite what the 12 or so users in post #8864 reckon, this forum is one of the first places I check for world updates. Again, thank you.

Where was there any mention of looking for world updates?

You are a master at twisting words - I think politics would be a great career for you...

And yes, you are right - Russ does provide great updates - factual and no innuendos...

[Metdevil]

Originally Posted by tweeked

All good.....its nice to see some on here discuss reasonably.

What I meant by muddying the waters is just this general issue of incompetence we get that causes issues. Not that it is some sort of grand plan, the sloppiness feeds disinformation. Naming the virus incorrectly which leads to people then not believing the science is something I really struggle with. It should not be allowed to happen, and if it does it should be fixed.

I appreciate your knowledge and that you are clearing up the confusion, its just you should not have to.

Thanks, I understand what you mean. I definitely thought you were coming from the 'grand plan' direction, it's a shame that a lot of social media discussion seems to come from that direction. I guess the cynic in me has just assumed that that's the default conversation position...

One thing that likely lends to some sources using 'covid' to refer to the virus is that the WHO chooses to call it 'the COVID-19 virus', which is admittedly very confusing

https://www.who.int/emergencies/dise...that-causes-it

For that reason and others, WHO has begun referring to the virus as “the virus responsible for COVID-19” or “the COVID-19 virus” when communicating with the public.

(Thanks to T3rminator for that link)

[prydey]

Originally Posted by Polyal

The shops will still be open.

QUEENSLANDER!

It was the same here in Adelaide. A lockdown announced and everyone rushes out to do the thing you can still do during the lockdown

10 months has taught people nothing.

It's madness.

[Work Horse]

Originally Posted by tweeked

Wow, you missed the point.

Our health departments don't know the difference. That concerns me.

Let me know when you catch up.

I think they do but they don't have the time or resources to stop and explain every nuance to individuals mid pandemic, especially when the information is readily available.

Every positive test for the virus is treated as a positive test for Covid 19 infection. This is the correct way to proceed dealing with the pandemic at this stage. So it really does not matter what name it goes by.

There will be plenty of time to compile the correct statistics once the pandemic is over. This will help us plan better for the next one.

[Metdevil]

Originally Posted by FairmontGS

Three-day lockdown imposed on Greater Brisbane to stop spread of mutant COVID strain

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-01-...train/13040436

Thanks for the link, FairmontGS, this is actually a perfect example of what tweeked brought up

These kinds of headlines are exactly the kind of thing which leads to confusion and misinformation
Not criticising the content of the article (or the lockdown, for that matter), just the terminology.

The new UK variant of the virus is not a new strain. The strain refers to SARS-CoV-2, the UK mutation is a variant of SARS-CoV-2.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/h...-b1777724.html

“There is one strain of [the] coronavirus. That is Sars-Cov-2. That is the single strain, and there are variants of that strain. These are variants.”

I actually made a post earlier in the thread which briefly pointed this out :P

Originally Posted by Metdevil

5) Yes, this new variant (note, not strain) is worse in that it drastically increases infectiousness.

(Also, I'm now ready to apologise for point 1 of that post now )

[FairmontGS]

Originally Posted by Metdevil

Thanks for the link, FairmontGS, this is actually a perfect example of what tweeked brought up

These kinds of headlines are exactly the kind of thing which leads to confusion and misinformation
Not criticising the content of the article (or the lockdown, for that matter), just the terminology.

The new UK variant of the virus is not a new strain. The strain refers to SARS-CoV-2, the UK mutation is a variant of SARS-CoV-2.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/h...-b1777724.html



I actually made a post earlier in the thread which briefly pointed this out :P

(Also, I'm now ready to apologise for point 1 of that post now )

Hmmmm. Encountering someone in this thread who knows what they are talking about makes me a bit uneasy

[Metdevil]

Originally Posted by FairmontGS

Hmmmm. Encountering someone in this thread who knows what they are talking about makes me a bit uneasy

Sorry, I'm sure I'm sounding like a broken record now, but I've got to pump my post count somehow

[Work Horse]

Sorry I'm not interested in clicking on an article about a variant strain.

But a Mutant strain, now you have got me interested!

[FairmontGS]

Victorian coronavirus exposure site pubs take contact tracing into their own hands


Immunologist Shalin Naik was one of several punters at Collingwood brewery Stomping Ground the Monday after Christmas.

Just a week later, he received a text from the pub telling him he'd attended at the same time as a confirmed coronavirus case — but it would take another two days before health authorities reached out.

"It was a text addressed to the wrong name. Someone called Emma, instead of me," Dr Naik said.

Dr Naik would go on to receive two phone calls from contact tracers that day, but says they ultimately created more concerns than answers.

"She was reading from a script basically — she didn't even know what exposure site we were talking about," he said.

"As far as she was concerned I was a close contact of someone."
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-01-...acing/13039998

Cardboard versus Gold I guess....

[DJR-351]

Western Australia reinstates hard border with Queensland

Video

https://www.9news.com.au/health/coro...a-b4bbafbf92cc

Western Australia will reinstate its hard border controls with Queensland at midnight tonight.

Premier Mark McGowan announced the decision today following a National Cabinet meeting discussing the recent case of the mutant COVID-19 strain found in Brisbane.

"The case of the hotel quarantine cleaner in Brisbane is extremely concerning," Mr McGowan said.

"This is a dangerous situation, not only for Brisbane, but for the whole of Australia," he said.

The hard border will return at 12.01am January 9.

And Queensland is now categorised as a medium-risk state, previously a very low-risk state.

Travel into WA from Queensland will no longer be permitted, with some exemptions.

The exemption list is the same as it currently stands for NSW and Victoria.
Anyone who arrived in WA from Queensland since January 2 will be required to get tested and complete 14 days of self-isolation.

Since January 2, 7500 passengers have arrived in WA.

It is advised these arrivals be tested by Tuesday.

Nine flights from Queensland are expected to arrive in Perth today.

All passengers on these flights will be granted entry into the state and will need to be tested, as well as immediately go into self-isolation for 14 days and be tested again on day 11.

"Return to Queensland, unless you have personal circumstances that require you to stay in WA," Mr McGowan said to any Queenslanders currently in the state.

"We need to take this course of action to protect Western Australians,
"We're not just dealing with COVID-19 of 2020, this is a whole new beast."

If you have recently arrived in WA from Queensland you are free to depart the state today.

The Western Australia community has been COVID-free for 272 days.

"All the way along, throughout the pandemic, out best defence has been our border controls,
"2021 looks a lot like 2020 right now."

Mr McGowan advised all WA residents against travelling outside of the state amid the evolving situation.

Following recent advice from the AHPPC, which includes limiting international arrivals nationally, Western Australia will be capping its international arrivals at 512 a week, down from 1025.

Changes to hotel quarantine workers include daily saliva tests for all workers on top of the weekly testing regime already in place.

[Mr_G6ET]

[QUOTE=DJR-351;6533267]Western Australia reinstates hard border with Queensland

I know this is difficult for many to accept or comply (and maybe selfish) but is it not stupid that the forewarning about borders closing simply lets people 'scatter' beforehand potentially spreading the 'bug' ?

Even before contact tracing was mature ? Who knows what is among other communities now !

[MITCHAY]

They might as well just keep the borders shut until the vaccine starts rolling out with the whole open/close BS because no one can travel interstate with any confidence at the moment.

It just causes everyone to run for the borders or the shops where they are potentially spreading it anyway and it seems plenty can't understand the restrictions

[Mr_G6ET]

Originally Posted by MITCHAY

They might as well just keep the borders shut until the vaccine starts rolling out with the whole open/close BS because no one can travel interstate with any confidence at the moment.

It just causes everyone to run for the borders or the shops where they are potentially spreading it anyway and it seems plenty can't understand the restrictions

Do we think after this behaviour we can keep this new strain under control ?
I wasn't a disease expert in this life or the last but its not hard to understand how easy everything can come undone.
Even here in the West, we can be in the same position in no time at all. Maybe the case we are not trained yet. Dumb ****ers, anti mask ****s etc.

[ute83]

http://www.9news.com.au/world/miami-...358444e0e0b396
Hope the link works.

[mostly_broncos]

Does anyone care to speculate on the complete extinction of the Flu virus?

Apparently there are essentially no cases of the flu in the United States during the covid pandemic. A virus spread in exactly the same way at the same time of year

[Metdevil]

Originally Posted by mostly_broncos

Does anyone care to speculate on the complete extinction of the Flu virus?

Apparently there are essentially no cases of the flu in the United States during the covid pandemic. A virus spread in exactly the same way at the same time of year

Between increased vaccination rates, and high transmission locations adopting more strict health measures, it makes sense that current flu estimates are lower than usual. 'Complete extinction' is a bit exaggerated though.

Like you said, Influenza spreads in the same way, the routines public places have adopted would affect the transmission rates of all droplet transmitted viruses.

Usually, we don't get confirmed Influenza figures for a couple of years after a season since a lot of reports turn out to be 'ILI', influenza-like illnesses. So we don't have any figures outside of estimates and reports anyway.

https://www.who.int/influenza/survei...rveillance/en/

[mostly_broncos]

either they are reporting flu cases as covid or masks don't work

everyone here is wearing masks everytime they go anywhere and practicing social distancing and yet we have over 200,000 "cases" a day

so if no one wore a mask at all how many cases a day would we have? 400,000 ?

The government has put policies in place that apparently didn't stop any second wave . But we should keep hanging on every word apparently in the hope that someday they may hit on the proper version of more of exactly the same stuff that hasn't worked so far

[tweeked]

[QUOTE=Mr_G6ET;6533271]

Originally Posted by DJR-351

Western Australia reinstates hard border with Queensland

I know this is difficult for many to accept or comply (and maybe selfish) but is it not stupid that the forewarning about borders closing simply lets people 'scatter' beforehand potentially spreading the 'bug' ?

Even before contact tracing was mature ? Who knows what is among other communities now !

Giving notice of a lockdown when you still have the 4 reasons defeats the purpose of the lockdown. I reckon there would be very few vacancies on the Sunshine and Gold Coasts, full of escapees making the most of the free long weekend
! The only exception was the lockdown of the Housing Commission flats in Melbourne. The logistical support to those in that community was not good enough. As long as you can still go out for supplies, why give a days notice. My only personal exception is that everyone should be allowed to go home. I think this should be a right that governments should have to work around to allow it safely.

[Metdevil]

Originally Posted by mostly_broncos

either they are reporting flu cases as covid or masks don't work

everyone here is wearing masks everytime they go anywhere and practicing social distancing and yet we have over 200,000 "cases" a day

so if no one wore a mask at all how many cases a day would we have? 400,000 ?

The government has put policies in place that apparently didn't stop any second wave . But we should keep hanging on every word apparently in the hope that someday they may hit on the proper version of more of exactly the same stuff that hasn't worked so far

Personally, I don't think masks work. Well, masks do work, but the average person doesn't know how to use them. They don't work when you touch them every two minutes, or when you take it off and put it in your pocket to use again later.

Governments' primary focus should be put elsewhere, not hoping that 300 million people have the same hygiene discipline as trained professionals.

Masks should be the last line of defense that people are utilising, not the bare minimum and then throwing their shoulders into their ears and saying "¯\_(ツ)_/¯ but we're wearing our masks".

[tweeked]

Originally Posted by Metdevil

Personally, I don't think masks work. Well, masks do work, but the average person doesn't know how to use them. They don't work when you touch them every two minutes, or when you take it off and put it in your pocket to use again later.

Governments' primary focus should be put elsewhere, not hoping that 300 million people have the same hygiene discipline as trained professionals.

Masks should be the last line of defense that people are utilising, not the bare minimum and then throwing their shoulders into their ears and saying "¯\_(ツ)_/¯ but we're wearing our masks".

I agree from a personal protection aspect, but I think they would have to be somewhat more effective in preventing airborne particles from someone, way better than “cough and sneeze into the inside of your elbow” surely? Don’t know about you, but maybe I have issues with flexibility, I can’t get my mouth to reach there!! Stopping a reasonable percentage from becoming airborne in the first place, then stopping another percentage from finding its way into someone’s airway/eyes etc has to help?

The way that Vic hit 60 odd zero days so quickly has to provide some anecdotal evidence that it doesn’t make it worse by “promoting a false sense of security” ( A pretty interesting arguement against that has been provided by some)

[Mr_G6ET]

Originally Posted by Metdevil

Personally, I don't think masks work. Well, masks do work, but the average person doesn't know how to use them. They don't work when you touch them every two minutes, or when you take it off and put it in your pocket to use again later.

Governments' primary focus should be put elsewhere, not hoping that 300 million people have the same hygiene discipline as trained professionals.

Masks should be the last line of defense that people are utilising, not the bare minimum and then throwing their shoulders into their ears and saying "¯\_(ツ)_/¯ but we're wearing our masks".

I bought the fabric N95 carbon filtered type and it's a tight but comfortable fit. Good msg about improper use, yes its the seal etc. Also with hygiene; random surfaces, or people taking off the mask, lifting it to talk, touching face with unwashed hands etc

Not my opinion but fitting: