Topic: COVID-19:VERIFIED news sources, 0 politishit, 0 CONSPIRACY SHITE

[John Higgins]

One for the herd immunity ghouls to digest here.

https://twitter.com/k_g_andersen/status/1263246859054641152?s=21

[BarryCrocker]

Yes when you listen to the experts its the UV that seems to be the most important aspect.

So global warming and a larger hole in the ozone are now mankinds saviour?

[No666]

Some of it is the kids though. McNasty's is often used as a 'treat' , or a reward. So the kids associate it with positive thoughts. I know home cooked food is tastier and should be considered more of a treat, but it's not a treat for the adult that's finished a 12 hour shift, has homework , housework , bath and bedtimes to sort to then have to prepare said treats. And then clear up afterwards.
That said. Chocolate cornflake cakes, 1 pan, 1 spoon , ten minutes....

If the link between Covid19 mortality rates and obesity doesn't encourage a bit of healthy eating and exercise then  nothing will.

[Lee1-6Liv]

One for the herd immunity ghouls to digest here.

https://twitter.com/k_g_andersen/status/1263246859054641152?s=21

If 5% of Italians have had it and there are over 30k deaths in Italy would that put the mortality rate over 1%?

[[new username under construction]]

If the link between Covid19 mortality rates and obesity doesn't encourage a bit of healthy eating and exercise then  nothing will.

I think it's more worrying he's forcing his kids to eat pans and spoons!

[John Higgins]

If 5% of Italians have had it and there are over 30k deaths in Italy would that put the mortality rate over 1%?

30k out of 60 million population with 5% having had it puts it bang on 1%.

[[new username under construction]]

30k our of 60 million population with 5% having had it puts it bang on 1%.

Bugs me though because it's all just guessing, i'd prefer it if Governments actually tested the population and then let us know

[jillcwhomever]

I really don't get that. I've enjoyed eating some great home cooked food during the lockdown, if anything eating well every day has made me miss this sort of food even less, I didn't used to eat it a lot but it'll likely be even less so after this. I enjoy cooking, but I've tried to do things I wouldn't normally, like making my own shortcrust pastry, homemade drinks, puddings, the elephant in the room is that cooking isn't that hard. What's the rush to go back to eating crap? Not everything you ever make yourself is 100% healthy (the pastry springs to mind) but If you can't get inspired to eat well/learn to cook now, when will you?

Spot on, really used this time at home to experiment with flavours I wouldn't normally put together. I eat quite a few stir-fries but just using ordinary vegetables, plus loads of different beans, nuts and the odd fruit in as well. Come up with some really unusual ones too which have ended up being a lot nicer than I thought they would be. My favourite aspect of this has been making my own fruit drinks and knowing that I don't have to use endless amounts of sugar to enjoy them. The sugar content on some drinks is lunacy and irresponsible.

[Dr. Beaker]

Spot on, really used this time at home to experiment with flavours I wouldn't normally put together. I eat quite a few stir-fries but just using ordinary vegetables, plus loads of different beans, nuts and the odd fruit in as well. Come up with some really unusual ones too which have ended up being a lot nicer than I thought they would be. My favourite aspect of this has been making my own fruit drinks and knowing that I don't have to use endless amounts of sugar to enjoy them. The sugar content on some drinks is lunacy and irresponsible.

Well I have finally managed to perfect a biryani - something I have always struggled with. I have also experimented with a lot of new stuff to try and break out of the rut that one inevitably falls into. Although I have had to work all through this period I have found myself to have a lot more time on my hands (and no, I have not taken up gymnastics as well).

[RainbowFlick]

You can buy antibody tests now for £69 to £75 with 100% specificity and 97.5% sensitivity.

I was speaking to someone yesterday who's mates had all bought the antibody test thinking they'd basically be able to go back to normal (i.e. meet mates again) if they tested positive.

AFAIK there is no clear evidence you build lasting immunity. Seems very reckless that they're being sold on a few websites without any real warning on this.

[jillcwhomever]

Well I have finally managed to perfect a biryani - something I have always struggled with. I have also experimented with a lot of new stuff to try and break out of the rut that one inevitably falls into. Although I have had to work all through this period I have found myself to have a lot more time on my hands (and no, I have not taken up gymnastics as well).

Good for you.    It's always satisfying to manage to do something you've struggled with. My pastry making generally is very meh, though a couple of times it has improved recently.

[eddymunster]

I was speaking to someone yesterday who's mates had all bought the antibody test thinking they'd basically be able to go back to normal (i.e. meet mates again) if they tested positive.

AFAIK there is no clear evidence you build lasting immunity. Seems very reckless that they're being sold on a few websites without any real warning on this.

Isn't the current concensus that the likely scenario is that if you've had it and recovered, your immune system has fought it off & therefore produced antibodies? If this isn't the case then aren't we pissing in the wind chasing a vaccine?

[oldfordie]

I was speaking to someone yesterday who's mates had all bought the antibody test thinking they'd basically be able to go back to normal (i.e. meet mates again) if they tested positive.

AFAIK there is no clear evidence you build lasting immunity. Seems very reckless that they're being sold on a few websites without any real warning on this.

TSC Posted this video yesterday. looks like you are immune once you have had the virus. the worry was if the virus mutated.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uATMbGK__Tg

[TSC]

I was speaking to someone yesterday who's mates had all bought the antibody test thinking they'd basically be able to go back to normal (i.e. meet mates again) if they tested positive.

AFAIK there is no clear evidence you build lasting immunity. Seems very reckless that they're being sold on a few websites without any real warning on this.

There was an update from dr John Campbell yesterday that refers to a study just completed from South Korea that seems to confirm immunity is present in those who’ve previously been infected.  I posted the link yesterday.

[TSC]

Is the higher increase because some countries have eased lockdown restrictions?

Think the ‘world’ is still in relatively early stages of this pandemic.  So it’s been through the Far East, Europe And Australia/NZ to date.  Still rising in the USA and Brazil and has rest of South America to go through.  It may also sweep through Africa yet.

[rafathegaffa83]

But we're coming out of it slowly. There is light at the end of the tunnel.

Until the second wave shows up

[Dr. Beaker]

Good for you.    It's always satisfying to manage to do something you've struggled with. My pastry making generally is very meh, though a couple of times it has improved recently.

Use half Trex.

[jillcwhomever]

TSC Posted this video yesterday. looks like you are immune once you have had the virus. the worry was if the virus mutated.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uATMbGK__Tg

It's more a shame that you can't discover if you've had it or not.

[jillcwhomever]

Use half Trex.

Tried that! Me and pastry don't get on. 

[PaulF]

If the link between Covid19 mortality rates and obesity doesn't encourage a bit of healthy eating and exercise then  nothing will.

The link between type 2 diabetes and obesity should have done this already. Sadly fat , salt and marketing are exceedingly persuasive.

[reddebs]

Tried that! Me and pastry don't get on. 

You need cold hands and a cold surface, something like stainless steel and put it back in the fridge for 20-30 mins before using it.

She says like she's an expert.  I just use bought stuff due to mine never working either [emoji16]

Sent from my SM-G960F using Tapatalk

[No666]

Tried that! Me and pastry don't get on. 

Vodka pastry. Works a treat. Especially if you finish the bottle.
https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2007/11/cooks-illustrated-foolproof-pie-dough-recipe.html

[jillcwhomever]

Vodka pastry. Works a treat. Especially if you finish the bottle.
https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2007/11/cooks-illustrated-foolproof-pie-dough-recipe.html

I don't like vodka. 

You need cold hands and a cold surface, something like stainless steel and put it back in the fridge for 20-30 mins before using it.

She says like she's an expert.  I just use bought stuff due to mine never working either [emoji16]

Sent from my SM-G960F using Tapatalk

I'll keep that in mind Debs. 

[Peabee]

No mate, hence way hot countries  still got high infection rates. The lockdown is global(barring one or two countries)

Research shows 19 times more likely to catch it indoors. In japan, during contact tracing they found only one of 380+ clusters started outdoors.

[Peabee]

I was speaking to someone yesterday who's mates had all bought the antibody test thinking they'd basically be able to go back to normal (i.e. meet mates again) if they tested positive.

AFAIK there is no clear evidence you build lasting immunity. Seems very reckless that they're being sold on a few websites without any real warning on this.

They do tell you that the presence of antibodies doesn’t mean you’re immune. Only peer reviewed research is on macaque monkeys, which is promising, but until we have empirical evidence from humans, we should all act like we’re not immune even if we’ve had it.

[Peabee]

Isn't the current concensus that the likely scenario is that if you've had it and recovered, your immune system has fought it off & therefore produced antibodies? If this isn't the case then aren't we pissing in the wind chasing a vaccine?

That’s the likely scenario but we need evidence. The only evidence so far is from monkeys, which do have immunity, so it’s promising. I agree with RainbowFlick that we should behave as if there’s no immunity until there is evidence not just conjecture.

[jepovic]

They do tell you that the presence of antibodies doesn’t mean you’re immune. Only peer reviewed research is on macaque monkeys, which is promising, but until we have empirical evidence from humans, we should all act like we’re not immune even if we’ve had it.

I think the strongest evidence for immunity is that there are no documented cases of people getting sick twice. There are some reports of viruses remaining at low levels, but not of people getting actually ill. If there was no immunity, it would be incredibly unlikely that nobody got sick twice.

It's also dubious that antibodies are necessary for immunity. There are other mechanisms that could be important, especially in the people that get only slightly sick.

[Peabee]

I think the strongest evidence for immunity is that there are no documented cases of people getting sick twice. There are some reports of viruses remaining at low levels, but not of people getting actually ill. If there was no immunity, it would be incredibly unlikely that nobody got sick twice.

It's also dubious that antibodies are necessary for immunity. There are other mechanisms that could be important, especially in the people that get only slightly sick.

 I’m just saying there’s no peer reviewed research of immunity in humans yet. It’s just conjecture. People may have three months or so immunity, given we’re not that far into the pandemic, but that’s just conjecture too

[redbyrdz]

From a UK perspective, I believe the 'weather' will have an impact.  It always suprises me what a large impact it has on economies.
I think there is little doubt that cases spreading outdoors are very limited, but I don't think I'd be risking an outdoor gig or sporting event. Begin indoors makes it much easier to spread the virus. 
I believe the weather itself (ie hot ) doesn't hamper the virus. Humid may do as the droplets bearing the virus fall to earth faster(though I may be wrong there, otherwise it would be less humid and more just rain perhaps).
However in the UK the weather encourages us to be outdoors more.  In very hot countries, people shelter indoors.
The lockdown has kept people indoors of course, but not able to spread outside their household and now workplaces.

Exactly this. Was too early for me this morning to explain it properly, thanks!

[redbyrdz]

I was speaking to someone yesterday who's mates had all bought the antibody test thinking they'd basically be able to go back to normal (i.e. meet mates again) if they tested positive.

AFAIK there is no clear evidence you build lasting immunity. Seems very reckless that they're being sold on a few websites without any real warning on this.

The problem is, what do you do with the result? You'll (and your employer) still have to comply with all the government guidelines, as if you're at risk. I'd rather wait until prices come down or it's available on the NHS.

I can understand if you're for example looking after extremely vulnerable people and are worried you'll bring it back home, so more for your own piece of mind. But then you still have to be careful because of all the things said above about immunity etc. (I do believe you get some sort of immunity, but it is unclear how complete that is and hiw long it will last (it will be afew years at least I think).

[Elmo!]

So this is the Scottish Governments plans for ending the lockdown, with the requirements for moving through the phases. Seems just a bit more clear than the Tories advice last week.

Phase 1 is expected to come into place on 28 May as things stand.

[TepidT2O]

So this is the Scottish Governments plans for ending the lockdown, with the requirements for moving through the phases. Seems just a bit more clear than the Tories advice last week.

Phase 1 is expected to come into place on 28 May as things stand.

Although it is the case that the Scottish government has had  the same deficiencies as the rest of the uk.

So lockdown didn’t work any better under sturgeon than under Johnson...

[Zeb]

This is interesting for a couple of reasons. It's using aggregated non-identifiable Facebook mobile phone data to estimate how likely it is a person who lives in X area will come into contact with a person in Y region within the country.

https://cmmid.github.io/colocation_dashboard_cmmid/

Can see how proximity plays a big part in it just by clicking on Liverpool.

So interesting in itself. It's also something which would seem useful if you wanted to think about how best to define an 'area' for local measures should there be a future large outbreak in a particular town or city or whatever.

[12C]

Here is the link to the Guardian article about how well Africa is coping in comparison

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/may/21/africa-coronavirus-successes-innovation-europe-us

[Elmo!]

Although it is the case that the Scottish government has had  the same deficiencies as the rest of the uk.

So lockdown didn’t work any better under sturgeon than under Johnson...

In many ways yes. The death rate in Scotland is noticeably lower here though.

[TepidT2O]

In many ways yes. The death rate in Scotland is noticeably lower here though.

Wasn’t meant to be a cheap shot at those north of the border btw.

More that I reckon many of the issues with the spread of covid 19 will turn out to be due to population density, global hub status and the age profile of the country...

Going into lockdown earlier clearly a factor too mind...

[Elmo!]

This is good, though the devil will be in the detail. The bolded line is disappointing from the SNP though.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/may/21/scotland-bans-covid-19-support-firms-tax-havens

Scotland bans Covid-19 support to firms based in tax havens

MSPs vote to prevent such businesses and individuals from using relief funds

The Scottish parliament has voted to block companies based in tax havens from using millions of pounds in coronavirus relief funding, in emergency legislation.

MSPs approved measures on Wednesday night brokered by the Scottish Greens to prohibit firms or individuals who are registered in tax havens, or are a subsidiary of an offshore company, from getting support grants.

The vote follows similar decisions by the Welsh government last week and by other EU member states, including Denmark and France, but ministers have yet to say how much Scottish government spending will be affected or how it will be enforced.

It is thought it could prevent companies with offshore links from applying to a new £120m enterprise resilience fund that provides grants for small- and medium-sized firms, and a £30m creative, tourism and hospitality bailout fund for firms that cannot get business rates relief.

The measures, which were also backed by the Conservatives, were supported by the Scottish National party after ministers asked for them to be restricted to grants instead of including loans after advice from government lawyers.

Patrick Harvie, the Scottish Green party co-leader, said: “Any company which avoids its responsibility to contribute to society should not be getting handouts when things go wrong. That’s why many European nations and Wales have already made this commitment.

“I’m delighted that ministers finally saw sense on this basic issue of fairness. This move isn’t the final word, but it marks the beginning of a new approach to tackling the companies which shamelessly avoid paying tax, and we will continue to build on what’s been achieved today.”

In other measures, MSPs were given extra powers to: take over badly run care homes where there was a threat to life; give £19.2m extra for carers; and, in a surprise defeat for the government, extend the life of pop-up cycle lanes and wider pavements to support physical distancing measures.

However, the SNP voted with the Tories against measures to freeze rents for two years to protect those on low wages or in arrears during the post-pandemic economic recovery.

Nicola Sturgeon, the first minister, said the Scottish Green proposals were flawed and could have unintended consequences.

The tax haven vote will renew the focus on the Scottish government’s use of offshore companies, which are set up legally in the UK and pay all the taxes they are expected to pay, in other situations.

An investigation by the Guardian and the Ferret website in 2018 found that companies based in the Channel Islands, Dubai and the Cayman Islands had substantial stakes in 47 private finance schemes to build Scottish motorways, schools, hospitals and colleges.

The analyst Dexter Whitfield found that offshore firms and investors were involved in about 60% of those Scottish government-backed schemes, which will cost £2.7bn to build but will cost taxpayers nearly £8bn in total once the borrowing, interest, management fees and running costs are paid off.

The Welsh government blocked companies with headquarters in a tax haven from accessing its £500m economic resilience fund on 15 May. Ministers in Cardiff said last week it would affect a small number of companies.

Rebecca Evans, the Welsh finance minister, said: “We have put in place the most generous business support package in the whole of the UK. It is only right that businesses which are not contributing tax payments to our economy should not benefit from this scheme.”

[[new username under construction]]

So we're getting 'free' antibody tests then

https://news.sky.com/story/coronavirus-free-antibody-tests-to-be-available-on-nhs-after-deal-made-with-roche-government-says-11992225

[TepidT2O]

Looking at testing rates, France was pretty much neck and neck with the uk...

Now they’ve less than half the number of tests....

Is this lack of correct data or lack of testing?

[Peabee]

This is interesting for a couple of reasons. It's using aggregated non-identifiable Facebook mobile phone data to estimate how likely it is a person who lives in X area will come into contact with a person in Y region within the country.

https://cmmid.github.io/colocation_dashboard_cmmid/

Can see how proximity plays a big part in it just by clicking on Liverpool.

So interesting in itself. It's also something which would seem useful if you wanted to think about how best to define an 'area' for local measures should there be a future large outbreak in a particular town or city or whatever.

Thanks zeb