You are currently feeling the impacts of Covid at work, right? You have a capacity bottleneck brought on in part because of demographic vulnerability of the workforce pool. Admittedly, a surge of pent up demand is driving the bulk of this bottleneck, but once this pent up demand is satisfied, what is the longer term economic outlook? Dead and long term disabled Covid sufferers don’t make good consumers of descretionary goods. As such, would it be fair to say that Covid does and will continue to affect you? If you agree with my thought process here, it not personal action of some kind justified here? Personal action could include education and enforcement of your workforce PPE requirements, if not done already, as well as changing your position on this issue on social media. Better than agreeing with me would be you either refuting what I’m saying or taking decisive action as a responsible citizen during a recognized global pandemic by almost all countries and health organizations.
I'm not saying protective action shouldn't be taken. I'm saying that this action should be taken for the right demographic. It shouldn't be applied to all so that the cure is worse than the disease.
Welcome to COVID-20... A new coronavirus variant is seen spreading across Europe, research says https://www.cnbc.com/2020/10/29/coronavirus-variant-seen-spreading-across-europe-research-says.html A new variant of the coronavirus, identified as 20A.EU1 by researchers from Switzerland and Spain, was first observed in Spain in June. It has been recorded in Spain at frequencies of above 40% since July, the study said. Elsewhere, the new variant of the coronavirus has increased from “very low” values prior to July 15 to 40% to 70% in Switzerland, Ireland, and the U.K. in September. It was also found to be prevalent in Norway, Latvia, the Netherlands, and France. A variant of the coronavirus that is believed to have originated in Spain has spread across Europe and now accounts for most of the new cases reported in several countries in the region, according to the findings of a new study. The research, which is due to published on Thursday and has not been peer reviewed, details how an international team of scientists has closely monitored the coronavirus through its genetic mutations. Each variant of the coronavirus has its own genetic signature, meaning it can be traced back to the place it first emerged. It says a new variant of the disease, identified as 20A.EU1 by researchers from Switzerland and Spain, was first observed in Spain in June. The new variant has been recorded in Spain at frequencies of above 40% since July, the study said. Elsewhere, the new variant of the coronavirus has increased from “very low” values prior to July 15 to 40% to 70% in Switzerland, Ireland, and the U.K. in September. It was also found to be prevalent in Norway, Latvia, the Netherlands, and France. Researchers of the study said they had no direct evidence to suggest the new variant of the virus spreads faster than other mutations, despite the rise in frequency across multiple countries. It also said there was currently no data to assess the severity of the disease, and while 20A.EU1 was dominant in some countries, it had not taken over everywhere and diverse variants of the coronavirus “continue to circulate across Europe.” The authors of the study comprised of researchers from the University of Basel, the Biomedicine Institute of Valencia, and the University of Valencia, among others. What are the implications? The findings of the study indicate that people returning from vacations in Spain may have played a role in spreading the new variant of the virus across Europe. It also raises questions about whether a recent upsurge in the number of new reported Covid-19 infections across the region could have been capped by stricter travel measures and improved screening at airports and other transport hubs. “It is currently unclear whether this variant is spreading because of a transmission advantage of the virus or whether high incidence in Spain followed by dissemination through tourists is sufficient to explain the rapid rise in multiple countries,” the study said. A wave of new coronavirus cases in Europe has prompted some countries to impose fresh lockdown measures as winter looms. German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday announced a “light lockdown,” with bars, restaurants, gyms, cinemas and theaters to close from next week. In a similar move, French President Emmanuel Macron confirmed a second nationwide lockdown from Friday, with only schools and factories to remain open — in contrast to March, when these were also shut. Europe has recorded almost 10 million cases of the coronavirus, according to the WHO, with 273,678 related deaths.
No covid cases in 200 days: This country is now the world's envy https://www.livemint.com/news/world...y-is-now-the-world-s-envy-11603955280543.html While many countries around the world are hitting new highs in coronavirus cases, Taiwan has achieved a different kind of record -- 200 days without a locally transmitted case. Taiwan holds the world’s best virus record by far and reached the new landmark on Thursday, even as the pathogen explodes anew in Europe and the U.S. Taiwan’s last local case came on April 12; there has been no second wave. What did this island of 23 million people do right? It has had 553 confirmed cases, with only seven deaths. Experts say closing borders early and tightly regulating travel have gone a long way toward fighting the virus. Other factors include rigorous contact tracing, technology-enforced quarantine and widespread mask wearing. Further, Taiwan’s deadly experience with SARS has scared people into compliance. “Taiwan is the only major country that has so far been able to keep community transmission of Covid eliminated," said Peter Collignon, an infectious disease physician and professor at the Australian National University Medical School. Taiwan “probably had the best result around the world," he said, and it’s “even more impressive" for an economy with a population about the same size as Australia’s, with many people living close to one another in apartments. Taiwan will likely be among the few economies to grow this year, with the government in August forecasting that the gross domestic product will expand 1.56% in 2020. Still, Taiwan isn’t out of the woods yet. The government confirmed three more imported cases Thursday, from the Philippines, U.S. and Indonesia, and in the past two weeks has recorded more than 20 imported cases. Also, others that fought the virus well initially, like Singapore and Japan, later had spikes in cases. What countries with surging infections can take away from Taiwan’s experience is that nothing works without contact tracing those who have tested positive and then quarantining them, said Chen Chien-jen, Taiwan’s former vice president and an epidemiologist, in an interview. Also, as it’s not easy to make people stay in quarantine, Taiwan has taken steps to provide meal and grocery delivery and even some friendly contact via Line Bot, a robot that texts and chats. There is also punishment -- those who break quarantine face fines of up to NT$1million ($35,000). Here is how Taiwan has achieved its milestone: Border Control Taiwan began shutting down to non-residents shortly after the pandemic broke out in January and has kept tight control over its borders since. “Taiwan’s continual success is due to strict enforcement of border control," says Jason Wang, director of Stanford University’s Center for Policy, Outcomes and Prevention. That includes symptom-based surveillance before travelers board flights and digital fence tracking via cellular signals to ensure their compliance with a 14-day quarantine, he said. Masks, Distribution The decision to stockpile and have central distribution of face masks played a key role in Taiwan’s success. The government early in the pandemic stockpiled all domestically produced face masks and banned export. Within four months, companies increased production from 2 million to 20 million units a day, enabling the island to ration masks to residents on a regular basis. Contact Tracing, Quarantine Taiwan has world-class contact tracing -- on average, linking 20 to 30 contacts to each confirmed case. In extreme situations, such as that of a worker at a Taipei City hostess club who contracted the virus, the government tracked down as many as 150 contacts. Then, all contacts must undergo a 14-day home quarantine, even if they test negative. So far, about 340,000 people have been under home quarantine, with fewer than 1,000 fined for breaking it. That means 99.7% have complied, according to Chen. “We sacrificed 14 days of 340,000 people in exchange for normal lives for 23 million people," Chen said. SARS Experience The painful lessons of past epidemics paved the way of Taiwan’s success in fighting Covid. It began building an emergency-response network for containing infectious diseases after its experience with SARS in 2003, when hundreds became ill and at least 73 died, for the world’s third-highest infection rate. Taiwan later experienced pandemics like bird flu and influenza H1N1. As a result, its residents are acutely aware of disease-fighting habits like hand-washing and mask wearing.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/po...covid-numbers-are-almost-nothing-day-n1245449 Donald Trump Jr. says Covid numbers are 'almost nothing' on day reporting 90,000 infected, 1,000 dead The president's son dismissed medical experts as "truly morons" in an interview on Fox News