Coronavirus - hype or pandemlc?

[Blade]

I'm motivated just lacking the equipment. Having to do body weight exercises and some free weights I have but its not the same as the gym.

[StMarks]

I was tempted to put this in the "Joke of the Day" thread, as it reads like a Two Ronnies Sketch imo.

Anyway, I've cut & pasted from the Independant.:

Reeling from post-traumatic small crowd disorder after his Tulsa and DC rallies, allegations from his niece’s book, and a staggering Covid-19 spike across the US, Trump now faces startling revelations from a newly leaked White House transcript. The transcript undoubtedly puts Trump’s Mensa application in jeopardy.

While anonymous sources have neither confirmed nor denied its authenticity, it is rumored the following transcript was remanded to a highly classified government server in late March. It allegedly captures a perfect conversation between the President and Dr Fauci regarding the World Health Organization (WHO).

President: You seem like a really terrific guy. Shorter than I like, but terrific. You’re my main infections person, right?

Fauci: Infectious diseases. Yes, Mr President.

President: And you’re familiar with the organization calling this corona-saurus thing a pandemic?

Fauci: Yes. “Coronavirus,” sir.

President: Tell me the name of the organization so I can terminate our relationship with them.

Fauci: WHO.

President: The organization that loves China and said Coed-19 was a pandemic.

Fauci: Covid-19, sir. WHO did.

President: That’s what I want to find out.

Fauci: I’m telling you. WHO is the organization that classified the outbreak as a pandemic.

President: You’re head of the invisible disease thing, right?

Fauci: Yes.

President: And you don’t know the name of the organization?

Fauci: Of course I do.

President: Then who is the organization?

Fauci: Yes.

President: The one calling the virus a non-hoax.

Fauci: W.H.O. WHO labeled the coronavirus a pandemic.

President: I don’t know. I’m asking you. Who is the organization?

Fauci: That’s the organization’s name.

President: That’s whose name?

Fauci: Yes.

President: Well, go ahead and tell me.

Fauci: That’s it.

President: That’s who?

Fauci: Yes.

PAUSE. Using both hands, the President drains a Diet Coke and sniffs loudly several times.

President: Look, there’s an organization that monitors health issues, right?

Fauci: Absolutely.

President: Who is that organization?

Fauci: That’s correct.

President: When countries around the world pay this organization over $5 billion a year, who gets the money?

Fauci: Every billion of it.

President: Okay, Doc. You’re taxing my patience. Everybody knows I hate taxes. We’re at war with an invisible enemy. So small, you can’t even see it. Imagine that. Invisible small. “Pandemic” is a fake news. It wouldn’t even exist if there was no testing. So, for the last time, who contradicted me when I said this virus would go from 15 people to zero? Who says it won’t miraculously disappear, that we need more tests, and that ending sheltering without guidelines is like fighting a brush fire using gasoline and wind turbines?

Fauci: Exactly. You’ve got it, sir.

President, whispering to Vice President Pence: Mikey, show Tony out. I need to draft a tweet that I hardly know him.

VP: Yessir, Mr President. I think you are doing an amazing job, sir. Incredible. Awesome.

Fauci to VP: I think Rex Tillerson was onto something.

VP: Who?

Fauci: No. Tillerson.

END TRANSCRIPT

[duke63]

So a few weeks after allowing shops to open our **** of a PM now decides wearing face masks in shops is a good idea after all.

[D6Nutz]

So a few weeks after allowing shops to open our **** of a PM now decides wearing face masks in shops is a good idea after all.

Since leaving Morrisons I've been to 3 shops. 2 local hardware stores, our local one your not allowed inside the other has 2 people in at a time. The final is our local mini supermarket, everyone in our village is very respectful.

Everything else is online and it's staying that way.

I've gone camping this weekend with James, only because he needs a break from home and with the caravan we're not really dependent on facilities so can keep ourselves largely to ourselves.

Sent from my ONEPLUS A6013 using Tapatalk

[duke63]

Enjoy your break, Jon. I know you treasure that time with your son.

[kiwikrasher]

So the State of Victoria is back at highest recorded numbers of new infections per day (270-300) and has had 3 deaths this week.

NSW (my state) which shares a border with Vic is starting to see outbreaks and increasing numbers.

Appears we are on the rise again, like many other regions around the world. Though some experts are saying for us this is really our first wave as last peak was overseas travellers returning accounting for nearly all the cases. Now we have a much higher percentage of community and untraceable cases.

They are saying being an island Nation we should have done a hard lockdown like NZ did and gone for eradication rather than suppression.

Once again I’ll be stuck offshore wondering if I can get home at the end of my swing

[Stonesie]

Just had an argument with a nurse, no face mask or exemption card but wanted to get on the bus anyway because she's asthmatic. Surely that means she should be avoiding crowded places and wearing a decent mask which doesn't restrict her breathing?

Apparently she had a letter from the doctor, at home...


My own thoughts are that if you want to use public transport, wear a mask, no exceptions. Not give exemption to the most vulnerable.

[Kwacky]

Babies are being born with it, which is pretty scary.

Doctors are saying that it appears to cause long term damage to the lungs, which will no doubt be a problem in the future.

[Kwacky]

Johnson reckons it'll all be over by the end of the year

[duke63]

He is a **** deluded idiot.

Soneone needs to remind him of his words in December.

Spain cases are on the rise and Barcelona is facing lockdown again.

[D41]

There's a lot of countries facing a rise in cases at the moment...and the very real possibility of a second wave/second lockdown...if it's not already a reality.
I don't feel blaming govts. - regardless of their politics, is serving any useful purpose...and it's definitely not going to solve anything.

[kiwikrasher]

It's kicking off over here too... Victoria has been on a steady rise, 428 new cases yesterday. Greater Sydney are has seen a moderate rise, 41 cases in a week but mainly from one outbreak though which was transmitted from a visiting Victorian.

Its caused all sorts of havoc with my work as the Northern Territory has designated the whole of Victoria and greater Sydney as hot spots, and people from those areas have had any exemptions to travel to the NT removed. Currently my council area is the last one not yet declared a hot spot by the NT Govt. If you do fly into the NT from a hot spot you have to do a mandatory 2 weeks in a Govt. supervised quarantine facility at your own expense, $2,500 for 2 weeks.

I'm the blue dot, the red areas are NT designated hot spots.

It is very likely my area will become a NT designated hot spot by the time i need to come back to work for next swing (6 weeks away). The new owners of my facility have shown to be less compassionate that the previous company. they have given us 3 choices;

1. don't go home after this swing, do my 4 week break in Darwin and they will pay accommodation and meals. effectively means i'd be away from Jess and the kids for a minimum 10 weeks, not withstanding having to do the same the following break.

2. Go home and if it becomes a hot spot, I have to leave 2 weeks early, do the govt. quarantine and pay for it myself, then do my 3 week swing at work. But if there are no flights available to get me to the NT because obviously demand will be non-existent, forced to stay home leave no pay.

3. Elect to stay home and have leave no pay.

Not in a good space atm..

[duke63]

Frankly Governments need to get real. Expecting people to work like that, kiwi, will lead to everyone eventually telling them to **** off you would hope. Totally unrealistic as this situation could go on for another two years or so.

[D41]

Yes...but he's in a very tiny minority of people who travel that far & that frequently for work purposes. I'll bet three-quarters of people or more work just a handful of miles from home.
Point being, everyone is not going to just tell the government to "**** off"...they'd have done so already.

[Blade]

Dammed if you do dammed if you don't.

People complain the lockdown rules are too weak, but then complain when their stricter. Guess some people will complain whatever

PS sorry your in a tight spot Kiwi, no option is ideal If push came to shove could, Jess and the kids come on a holiday to Darwin and spend a week or two with you. Not ideal just a possible short term solution, although far from ideal.

Hope you get something sorted pal

[kiwikrasher]

The thing that pisses me off the most is forcing us (the offshore workforce) into quarantine has no gains what so ever.

Our company already has a COVID management plan where we go direct from the airport to our own quarantine facility then we test on arrival and test when we leave. We go straight back to the airport in gloves, glasses and masks (because we don’t want to get infected) and get on the helicopter. We don’t go into the community AT ALL!!! I’d have no problem doing it if it was going to affect the safety of NT residents by not doing it.

The facility we currently quarantine in even approached the NT govt to see if we could do the two weeks there and were told no.

Bringing the kids and Jess up isn’t an option. They would have to also do two weeks in the govt quarantine at a cost of $2500 each. Plus they have school and Jess has uni and work.

I’m going home. I’m going to have to wear the quarantine time and cost, leave no pay would affect me greater.

If the situation occurs where I can’t get flights out of Sydney I’ve secured casual work at the gin distillery my mate is head distiller at, doing their bottling. They use a casual (uni student) workforce pool for this purpose and at the moment struggling to keep up. So he said I’ll go on top of the list. The kids will be with their mum as I’d normally be at work, so I could work 12 hr days and slow the erosion of my savings.

I feel better now I have a plan for each possible eventuality. None of its ideal but I will survive and I’m still in a better spot that a lot of others that have been affected by this crisis.

[kiwikrasher]

There is another side to this. While researching the facility I’d have to go too found some interesting info that explains the NT govt bullheadedness.

The facility was a construction workers village built when a number of large LNG plants were getting constructed. At the end of construction of these plants the gas companies involved had no use for it and gifted it to the NT Govt. It costs them to keep it in a suitable condition. The state is broke. They’ve leased their port to the Chinese for 100 yrs. They want to make money from the quarantine facility.

It’s all political BS.

[Blade]

Is a dispensation for Offshore workers with company specific quarantine measures being considered?

Your that well tested and quarantined it would seen viable to consider an exemption imo.

[Blade]

I don't know how they managed to do it but the fire fighting course I did Thursday/ Friday operated without any social distancing.

We had to agree to it before entering the training facility, but seeing as its a mandatory course I had little option.

Strangely the HSE were on site on Friday so they were clearly aware we were not social distancing.

There were people from all over the UK and Italy on the course.

[duke63]

Dammed if you do dammed if you don't.

People complain the lockdown rules are too weak, but then complain when their stricter. Guess some people will complain whatever

PS sorry your in a tight spot Kiwi, no option is ideal If push came to shove could, Jess and the kids come on a holiday to Darwin and spend a week or two with you. Not ideal just a possible short term solution, although far from ideal.

Hope you get something sorted pal

Past caring about what Governments thinks. Its safer to make ones own decisions than the to follow the Govt advice. They are a shambles.

If they had planned properly for this happening, as they knew it would happen eventually, then most likely the fall out from it would be far less but they ignored every warning from the last trial run, shut down the dept responsible and then ignored what has happening in every country in Feb and March this year. Much of the economic mess is of their own doing.

Lack of planning, lack of risk assessment lack of reaction. If they were a company they would be sued out of business.