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18 votes
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Norway's prime minister will hold a separate press conference for children to answer their questions about the coronavirus pandemic
8 votes -
Your thoughts regarding the media coverage?
I skim-read multiple news aggregators daily, and for weeks now, every single day, 75% or more of the news is specifically about Covid-19. By comparison, it is worth reminding younger readers that...
I skim-read multiple news aggregators daily, and for weeks now, every single day, 75% or more of the news is specifically about Covid-19.
By comparison, it is worth reminding younger readers that we didn't even know about the Spanish Flu until ~30 years ago. During WWI, we (humans) suffered the deadliest pandemic of the modern era, and it took 60-70 years before anyone even noticed.
If you didn't grow up before the Spanish Flu became common knowledge, that may be a hard thing to grasp ... but during the late-80s and into the '90s, there was this slow, years-long trickle of news from medical researchers, historians and (FFS) archeologists (?!!?) about how there might actually have been a massive global pandemic during WWI that no one knew about.
Today in Wikipedia, there is just one little tidbit about how various things like (intentional) under-reporting and co-mingling of flu deaths with war casualties, led to it being nicknamed "the forgotten pandemic" ... which doesn't really capture that sense of "Holy Fuck"-ness when you discover that up to 100 million people died of the flu one year, and no one even noticed.
Okay ... at any rate .... you get my point. In 1919, the news intentionally under-reported it worldwide (except in Spain ... hence the name), in part to help prevent panic.
Today, the news media coverage is just incredible. Nothing on Earth happens any more, except Covid-19. A few thousand people die (I'm sorry, but yeah, more people die in car accidents), and the Media loses its mind.
OTOH, honestly, it's mostly been pretty good, accurate, up-to-the-second coverage (as best I can tell), really driving home the message of "we know it sounds lame, but wash your hands, dammit ... a lot", and etc.
So ... thoughts? This constant in-your-face media coverage ... good or bad? How much is media causing the panic vs just reporting on it?
17 votes -
White House takes new line after dire report on death toll: Federal guidelines warned against gatherings of more than ten people as a report predicted high fatalities in the USwithout drastic action
9 votes -
Why fighting the coronavirus depends on you
6 votes -
Silver lining to this pandemic?
I'm wondering if there could be a silver lining to this coronavirus pandemic, at least for the current generations. Maybe everyone will be more careful in the future about spreading infectious...
I'm wondering if there could be a silver lining to this coronavirus pandemic, at least for the current generations.
Maybe everyone will be more careful in the future about spreading infectious diseases by practicing better hygiene e.g. coughing in the elbow, washing hands more often, considering staying home etc. And maybe the number of people accepting vaccines will increase? I'm willing to make a bet on that one: a modest increase. I'm also hoping we can shame all the hoarders after this is over and have a better understanding of how society functions via cooperation which might lead to more self awareness. This is not going to be the last pandemic let alone epidemic, so I also hope that more governments will be better prepared for future biological natural disasters, like how Taiwan and S Korea seem to be dealing with this rather well because of their previous history with SARS.
What does everyone else think? I don't expect this to last too long, maybe a decade or two, but that would still be a good thing.
18 votes -
A report from the hospital front, from a reliable source
3 votes -
Do you think the measures being taken to stop the virus will/are be(ing) effective? If not, which measures do you think would work best?
Admittedly this depends on the measures being taken, which vary wildly from country/state to country, so you should probably specify where are these measures being taken to a national or state...
Admittedly this depends on the measures being taken, which vary wildly from country/state to country, so you should probably specify where are these measures being taken to a national or state level depending in the location.
12 votes -
If the measures we're taking to fight the coronavirus work, they'll look like we were overreacting. But the alternative is worse
14 votes -
A detailed factsheet on the Coronavirus from our world in data
5 votes -
Experimental coronavirus vaccine test opens with first doses to four volunteers
8 votes -
Bay Area authorities place strictest order in country: ‘Shelter in place,’ only essential businesses open in six counties
19 votes -
Canada to bar entry to most travellers who are not citizens or permanent residents, with exceptions for US citizens
14 votes -
Am I depressed or just lazy?
3 votes -
What's the coronavirus like where you are?
The last thread on this was from February 29, and a lot has changed since then. What are things like currently where you are?
27 votes -
Coronavirus victims in Italy will be denied access to intensive care if they are aged 80 or more or in poor health should pressure on beds increase
8 votes -
The UK backs away from “herd immunity” coronavirus proposal amid blowback
7 votes -
'Herd immunity': Why Britain is actually letting the coronavirus spread
15 votes -
Managing your anxiety in times of hysteria (satire)
4 votes -
New York City officials tell the UN that the coronavirus has spread widely throughout the city
11 votes -
Calls mount to free low-risk US inmates to curb coronavirus impact on prisons
6 votes -
Not enough face masks are made in America to deal with coronavirus
7 votes -
Washington state announces statewide shutdown of all restaurants, bars, and recreational facilities excluding takeout and delivery
11 votes -
The airport chaos is the product of negligence
9 votes -
The coronavirus called America’s bluff: Like Japan in the mid-1800s, the United States now faces a crisis that disproves everything the country believes about itself
18 votes -
All Ohio bars, restaurants to close 9 p.m. Sunday due to coronavirus - carryout still allowed
17 votes -
Trump’s Google testing announcement mixed up several real projects
5 votes -
Coronavirus lockdown may save more lives by preventing pollution than by preventing infection
8 votes -
Two women fell sick from the coronavirus. One survived
8 votes -
How concerned are Americans about the coronavirus so far?
12 votes -
Anti-inflammatories may aggravate Covid-19, France advises
8 votes -
Italy’s foreign minister hails Chinese coronavirus aid
9 votes -
Georgia is the second state to delay their primaries over the coronavirus
8 votes -
Back of the Envelope: COVID-19
3 votes -
Anyone arriving in Australia from overseas will to be forced to self-isolate for fourteen days
9 votes -
US travel ban will extend to UK and Ireland, effective at midnight EST on Monday
12 votes -
Coronavirus lockdown launches Manila into pandemonium
5 votes -
Chemotherapy and the coronavirus threat — my immunity levels mean you need to care about COVID-19
4 votes -
National Guard activated to combat coronavirus spread in six states, more to follow
6 votes -
Advice from a doctor who studied coronaviruses for 50 years
15 votes -
FDA worried about blood shortage as donation drives are canceled amid coronavirus concerns
8 votes -
How outbreaks spread exponentially: comparing social distancing, quarantining, and unmitigated spread of the virus
13 votes -
About 4 in 10 adults in the U.S. are at greater risk of developing serious illness if infected with coronavirus, due to age or underlying health conditions
10 votes -
Infected people without symptoms might be driving the spread of coronavirus more than we realized
9 votes -
Eating animals will be the death of us
11 votes -
Google says it's not publishing a national-scale coronavirus site anytime soon after Trump announcement
8 votes -
Everyone travelling to New Zealand from overseas to self-isolate
10 votes -
Drive-through virus testing so popular they had to shut it down
8 votes -
Germany to send face masks to Italy to help deal with coronavirus
9 votes -
Drive-through nation
@skybrian: You know what we need right now? Drive-through nation. Imagine @Walmart and Costco converting to drive-through only. You put in your order somehow and wait in the car. Workers wearing masks and gloves take stuff off shelves. It would actually create jobs.
4 votes