Coronavirus COVID-19 - Global Health Pandemic #53

[Inthedetails]

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I heard some expert for the clothing retail industry say they are really so nervous about the future. Who is going to want to try on clothes that who knows who has been in? Make-up counters? I think people will be willing to do makeup stuff even before trying on clothes. Can you imagine the returns today as people buy online, try-on but need to return. I imagine that will show up in the prices.

I've thought about that too. My personal plan is to make do with what I have for as long as I have. I like new summer clothes, but this year, I'm wearing whatever is in my closet. As for makeup, I haven't worn any since March 15, except for the occasional video call with colleagues. Why bother with makeup under a mask anyway? I don't see many women in full make-up or overly-styled hair these days, but when I do, I think it looks odd, tbh.

I think a simpler, easier "look" will be what fashion industry should go for, something where the exact fit isn't necessary so online shopping is easier. I'm thinking a modern version of the 1920s era (which followed a pandemic) - lovely, fun, even whimsical looks....but that are easy for any body type to wear. Short, sassy, easy hairstyles.

jmo

 

[10ofRods]

Yes, it has been eye-opening. I would have assumed this forum would be the most empathetic group of people in the world because of all the trials and victims that we follow, and this being a victim friendly site.

And yes, in many cases here we have talked about people that do not have empathy, and many on threads call sociopaths. Understood though, 90% of people that are lacking in empathy and might be considered sociopath never commit a crime. We have discussed that many many times on the fridge

It's becoming clearer and clearer that many people don't have empathy to others perhaps for this pandemic?

Just an opinion that I'm seeing more and more in personal life and elsewhere.

Yet we see that the majority here are empathetic for not only those that are in their city, and or state, but are concerned about what is going to happen in third world countries.

Moo

What an excellent post. The sad thing about most third world countries is their lack of reporting infrastructure. My students say that things are bad in Mexico (most are from around Michoacán, which is on the west coast of Mexico and is a major tourist destination for many Americans). One student has a lot of family on the opposite coast (near Cancún), and there is no sense of needing to quarantine, but "older people are dying" there. Many places in Mexico have only what are called "clinics" and sometimes those are staffed by medical students rather than doctors. MRI/x-ray machines are not available, and yet that's a front line way of determining whether a person has CoVid.

Technically speaking, Mexico has a social distancing policy, but outside of the central plain area, I'm not sure how well it's being practiced. One student flew to Michoacám for a grandparent's funeral and there were 300 people in attendance. No masks.

Not sure I can believe that Guatemala has had only 15 deaths.

I do think Sub-Saharan Africa has been protected by the lack of airplane flights and their own tense border issues, not to mention by the desert itself (this has been seen in other global pandemics). South Africa is the major pump of CoVid, northward, into Kenya and Tanzania. The sad thing is that the rangers who were in the field stopping poachers have either been murdered or fled their jobs, as without the constant pressure from tourism and the guards who accompany tourists, poaching is once again rising to levels where many species will never recover.

 

[Reasonable & Just]

European shops, even in the 1980s, often did not allow people to try on clothing. Customers were measured, they selected the item style and purchased it. There's nothing wrong with returning to that practice, although it does require a bit more training to be a clothing salesperson, and it does require properly tailored clothing.

Hopefully not too far OT, but how great would it be to have a return to skills like cobbling and tailoring? Though things would probably cost way more

'The favour is returned': 173 years on, Irish donors thank Native Americans

The organisers of a fundraising campaign for Native Americans hit by the coronavirus have thanked Irish donors for their support.

People from Ireland have been sending money through a '********' page set up to help Navajo and Hopi families, with many of the Irish donors saying it was a way of saying thank you for the support shown to Ireland during the Great Famine.

In 1847, the Choctaw Native American people sent $170 of relief aid to Ireland, the equivalent of around $5,000 today.

This came at a time when the Choctaw people themselves were living in relative poverty.

The ‘********’ page has so far raised $1.7m of its $2m target and organisers have thanked Irish people for their support.

"Several of our recent donations for our ******** campaign have been inspired by the Great Hunger Famine in Ireland which started in 1845," said team member Vanessa Tulley.

"173 years later to today, the favour is returned through generous donations from the Irish people to the Navajo Nation during our time of crisis."

173 years on, Irish donors thank Native Americans

This is just too terrific! Made my day

 

[cody22]

Some 1.2 million Americans won't get stimulus checks because they're married to immigrants

National Virus News....moo

 

[Henry2326]

This is a tweet from Harald Ringbauer who appears to be knowledgeable in population genetics. I don't even begin to claim to understand all he says but here are some highlights....my interpretation, I think.....4 mutations appear to be more virulent and becoming more prominent.

Lately there has been speculation about a SARS-CoV-2 clade defined by four mutations that globally rose to >60 % frequency. Here are the dynamics per country and US state. Heads-up: Not only increased infectivity can explain such dynamics, but also expansion bottle necks. 1/11 Harald Ringbauer on Twitter

These four "equivalent" mutations draw attention because two change a codon in ORF1b and in the infamous S protein - (the latter one is key for host specificity). So far, SARS-CoV-2 has only 49 mutations with >1% frequency, and these four are the only ones with >25% 3/11 Harald Ringbauer on Twitter

Now, these four mutations are interesting to follow globally: They are almost absent in early East Asia, but now dominate in many European countries (e.g. Italy, Switzerland, France Belgium), and much of the US (in particular the hard hit East Coast). 5/11

Interestingly, in countries where one observed a mixture initially (US west coast, UK, Australia, Brazil) - the derived clade seems to rise now. If there is any difference in infectivity we really should know, as it changes what containment measures stabilize R0~<1. 6/11

But the prior for a "selection" scenario is low; in population genetics serial population bottlenecks that spawn exponentially growing local offshoots are a prime scenario of something we call "drift" or "gene surfing" - making rare mutations much more common by chance. 7/11

It could well be these four mutations were the lucky ones in Europe, rose to high frequency there and established "later" colonies in the US that took over because there are more of them. But in the lack of a good demographic model this is very hard to assess. 8/11

So we need 1) More viral genomic data from later weeks where founder effects become less prominent; and ideally with no glaring holes in geographic sampling and 2) Other lines of evidence (infectivity assays on cell lines, clinical data cross-linked to clades). 10/11

Harald Ringbauer on Twitter

I'm responding to the recent post I did, for more to the story.....

"Scientists have identified a new strain of the coronavirus that has become dominant worldwide and appears to be more contagious than the versions that spread in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new study led by scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory.

The new strain appeared in February in Europe, migrated quickly to the East Coast of the United States and has been the dominant strain across the world since mid-March, the scientists wrote.

In addition to spreading faster, it may make people vulnerable to a second infection after a first bout with the disease, the report warned."

“The story is worrying, as we see a mutated form of the virus very rapidly emerging, and over the month of March becoming the dominant pandemic form,” study leader Bette Korber, a computational biologist at Los Alamos, wrote on her Facebook page. “When viruses with this mutation enter a population, they rapidly begin to take over the local epidemic, thus they are more transmissible.”

https://www.latimes.com/california/...-original?_amp=true&__twitter_impression=true

This is the report....

Spike mutation pipeline reveals the emergence of a more transmissible form of SARS-CoV-2

 

[Inthedetails]

Yes, it has been eye-opening. I would have assumed this forum would be the most empathetic group of people in the world because of all the trials and victims that we follow, and this being a victim friendly site.

And yes, in many cases here we have talked about people that do not have empathy, and many on threads call sociopaths. Understood though, 90% of people that are lacking in empathy and might be considered sociopath never commit a crime. We have discussed that many many times on the threads

It's becoming clearer and clearer that many people don't have empathy to others perhaps for this pandemic?

Just an opinion that I'm seeing more and more in personal life and elsewhere.

Yet we see that the majority here are empathetic for not only those that are in their city, and or state, but are concerned about what is going to happen in third world countries.

Moo

ETA typo

I knew there were selfish people, but the extent of it surprises me.

Some people's response is to share - and then supplies go to where they are needed. Sharing works.

Some people's response is to hoard - and then people who need items go without while others sit on unused stockpile.

And now with "opening up," this could be such a great opportunity for the nation to work together on a project - like from the war days of rationing and victory gardens. It could be something we do in common, for each other - that gives us pride. Instead, it's become a divisive, smug, circus.

jmo

 

[raysgirl1126]

COME ON!!! THIS IS RIDICULOUS!!! imo

Virginia sees jump in COVID-19 testing

 

[Sillybilly]

Please continue discussion at Thread #54.

This thread is closed.