Covid-19

[CRAZY-HORSE]

it seems Covid has crossed species again (first the Mink in northern europe) and now Gorillas at San Diego Zoo.
https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-ameri...56tmd.html

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most up to date virus link page: https://epidemic-stats.com/coronavirus/

[CRAZY-HORSE]

as Jerome said.
huge spike in infections in Ireland..

they had a total of 66,000 to date by NYE
until yesterday (12th Jan '21) they had a total of 129,000
that is almost double the cases in 12 days over the previous 10 months since their first confirmed case:
https://epidemic-stats.com/coronavirus/ireland

[Jerome]

^I don’t know about people dying in their cars Jerome, but there are field hospitals, and temporary tented facilities have been put up in the parking areas of the big hospitals in hotspots to assess patients before transferring them to wards, or to move stable patients out temporarily while taking in new patients. Yes, there have been reports of a few patients dying before being assigned to a proper bed, which is absolutely horrendous no matter the circumstances - not sure if those are all Covid patients or other emergencies as well - the system is overwhelmed, no doubt about it. Daily Maverick is usually a reliable source of information. Covid-19 Frontline Fighters: ‘When staff become patie... (dailymaverick.co.za)

There are not enough medical staff, or cleaning staff at certain hospitals (there have been protests and strikes because of inadequate PPE amongst other things – not sure where the Covid relief funds all went! Oh wait ...) and some hospitals have more capacity than others, depending on which area/province they are in.

We can’t cope with any more trauma, of any description and this is the primary motivation for the continuing ban on sales of alcohol. The Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital, which is massive (third largest in the world), had not one single emergency trauma case on New Year’s eve; for the first time ever, the ward was empty, and they ascribe it 100% to the prohibition and the curfew. There simply has to be a blanket ban because people can’t behave themselves. Crime drops generally as well. Nation of miscreants, I’m sorry to say.

All our land borders have been closed now too. Until February 15th, at least. Thousands of people are trying to leave Zim or get back into South Africa after the Xmas holidays – some scary scenes at Beitbridge.

Curfew will continue – 21h00 to 05h00, no gatherings of more than 50% capacity at any venue, no more than 50 people at a funeral (plenty of those, sadly, due to TB and HIV+TB casualties as well – 63,000 deaths ascribed to this alone in 2019), no alcohol sales at all – stay at home where possible, strict protocols apply to any office environment/retail businesses and wear a mask if in public or get a fine or even imprisonment (which people just don’t do despite the threat – no ways it’s possible to enforce – too many just not giving a damn and who wouldn’t be able to pay a fine in any event). Oh, and beaches/lakes/rivers/dams are out of bounds.

Thx for the update Ruby - as for the Covid relief funds - just look in the back pocket of any ANC politician and you will find it. Some things never change. I have heard about officials taking bribes at the border and not asking any questions. Same old same old.

[CRAZY-HORSE]

^^
that sort of bribery/corruption is systematic throughout African nations as youre well aware Jerome...
i suspect that by the time Covid is eventually 'under control' that 50% of the population on the Continent will be wiped out by it..

anyway:
92,000,000 confirmed worldwide infections now.

[Jerome]

At the start of the pandemic everyone was commenting on the fact that African countries were doing very well. What they don't seem to realise is the data-gathering systems in place are primitive to say the least and when this is finally over (if ever) you are going to find millions of people have died on that particular continent. A lot of people in Africa have compromised immune systems due to lack of sanitation, lack of food, HIV - which is rampant in Southern Africa, TB etc. etc. Their bodies just can't cope with infection of any kind due to living conditions and circumstances. It's a ticking time bomb and Covid is going to have an enormous impact. We really have not got the full picture of just how bad the pandemic is on the African continent because no-one really knows. The townships in South Africa are bad but Central Africa is an absolute nightmare.

[Ruby]

^I don’t know about people dying in their cars Jerome, but there are field hospitals, and temporary tented facilities have been put up in the parking areas of the big hospitals in hotspots to assess patients before transferring them to wards, or to move stable patients out temporarily while taking in new patients. Yes, there have been reports of a few patients dying before being assigned to a proper bed, which is absolutely horrendous no matter the circumstances - not sure if those are all Covid patients or other emergencies as well - the system is overwhelmed, no doubt about it. Daily Maverick is usually a reliable source of information. Covid-19 Frontline Fighters: ‘When staff become patie... (dailymaverick.co.za)

There are not enough medical staff, or cleaning staff at certain hospitals (there have been protests and strikes because of inadequate PPE amongst other things – not sure where the Covid relief funds all went! Oh wait ...) and some hospitals have more capacity than others, depending on which area/province they are in.

We can’t cope with any more trauma, of any description and this is the primary motivation for the continuing ban on sales of alcohol. The Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital, which is massive (third largest in the world), had not one single emergency trauma case on New Year’s eve; for the first time ever, the ward was empty, and they ascribe it 100% to the prohibition and the curfew. There simply has to be a blanket ban because people can’t behave themselves. Crime drops generally as well. Nation of miscreants, I’m sorry to say.

All our land borders have been closed now too. Until February 15th, at least. Thousands of people are trying to leave Zim or get back into South Africa after the Xmas holidays – some scary scenes at Beitbridge.

Curfew will continue – 21h00 to 05h00, no gatherings of more than 50% capacity at any venue, no more than 50 people at a funeral (plenty of those, sadly, due to TB and HIV+TB casualties as well – 63,000 deaths ascribed to this alone in 2019), no alcohol sales at all – stay at home where possible, strict protocols apply to any office environment/retail businesses and wear a mask if in public or get a fine or even imprisonment (which people just don’t do despite the threat – no ways it’s possible to enforce – too many just not giving a damn and who wouldn’t be able to pay a fine in any event). Oh, and beaches/lakes/rivers/dams are out of bounds.

Thx for the update Ruby - as for the Covid relief funds - just look in the back pocket of any ANC politician and you will find it. Some things never change. I have heard about officials taking bribes at the border and not asking any questions. Same old same old.

Yes - fleecing of the general populace – it costs these poor people an absolute fortune to travel overland to Malawi, Botswana, Zim – everyone is on the take at every turn. It's never going to change.

[Jerome]

I had a very mild dose of what I thought was the flu so I was off work for a couple of days because the rule of thumb is that if you have even mild symptoms you have to stay at home. Anyway after that cleared up next step was to phone my GP and he suggested I get checked out - just in case. Had a Covid test yesterday - must admit the test centre was very well organised. A drive-through test centre. You don't even have to get out of the car. Should have results in 48 hours. Expecting it to be negative but you never know. My GP says some people have no symptoms for 5 or 6 days and then suddenly they run into a brick wall. Oh well time will tell - it always does. Have zero symptoms at present.

[CRAZY-HORSE]

^^
best to be safe than sorry mate
i had a chest infection in may or june
was tested then at around 2pm on a friday afternoon
results texted to me at 6:30 the next morning which were negative.

[Jerome]

And the circus continues...

https://uk.yahoo.com/news/woman-fined-dr...56447.html

https://uk.yahoo.com/news/french-police-...00009.html

[CRAZY-HORSE]

one word....dickheads!

some people here are driving 4000km out of their way to just get home
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article...-home.html