re: OT: Alabama Coronavirus Thread (see link in OP for case numbers and death totals in AL)

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- First confirmed case in the state poops in the same toilet I do at work.

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Somebody come and get this guy

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I tried and they told me to wear a mask even though CDC Guidelines state to NOT wear a mask if you aren't sick.

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The one-thing-today-opposite-tomorrow CDC now recommends wearing a mask.

It did take them months after this started to even decide that on that little bit of common sense for a virus that spreads airborne in coughs etc. . .

I suppose they had to know all along and were pressured into not recommending it since there was a shortage and wearing masks makes it "looks more serious."

I actually know who the one patient in Geneva is.

People are getting tired of being out of work, out of money, and out of things to do. They’d better figure some shite out quick because the population outside of the real hot spots like NY are getting restless and unrest is about to get real.

Gotta get effective, safe medicine(s) readily available for use while vaccine(s) are being developed, tested, approved -- Priority 1a & 1b, imo.

Looks like remdesivir and ivermectin might work better and be safer than chloroquine:

LINK ]COVID-19 Treatment Update: Remdesivir, Hydroxychloroquine, Leronlimab, Ivermectin, and More

LINK ]How remdesivir limits replication of coronavirus: New study shares insight into anti-viral drug

LINK ]How the military secured a coronavirus drug (remdesivir) that has yet to win FDA approval

LINK ]Head Lice Drug (ivermectin) Could Be Used to Combat Coronavirus, Studies Show

LINK ]Local Doctor Tries New Coronavirus Drug Treatment (ivermectin)

ETA: This is very good news:

LINK ]Chaotic search for coronavirus treatments reveals another shortcoming in pandemic preparation (Washington Post)

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Federal officials say they are devising plans for a wide-ranging partnership to organize research

...Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, the nation’s largest biomedical research agency, acknowledged researchers’ frustrations but said in an interview Wednesday he has been working behind the scenes to launch an unprecedented, public-private partnership to address the problems. He said the framework involves top pharmaceutical companies such as Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson, domestic and international government agencies including the European Medicines Agency, and academic research centers.

Collins said the month-long discussions have been kept under wraps to ensure buy-in for an approach likely to require sacrifices of personal recognition, scientific credit and profit — a centralized decision, for example, not to proceed with tests of one company’s drug to move faster on a competitor’s.

“I think we have the necessary clout to steer this whole complicated ecosystem,” he said. “When you look at some of the things that are happening sporadically, we may be unlikely to learn what we need to from such disconnected, small trials. The whole point is to replace that with a coherent, evidence-based approach. … I want to know what works, and I want to have it answered by June or July.”

Agency officials said further details would be released in coming days.

Anthony S. Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), said in an email Tuesday that the partnership led by Collins is the “functional equivalent of a National Strategy." ...

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People are getting tired of being out of work, out of money, and out of things to do. They’d better figure some shite out quick because the population outside of the real hot spots like NY are getting restless and unrest is about to get real.

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The worse is yet to come. Right now everyone is living in the moment worrying about the coronavirus but the long term effect might end up being the worse economic situation in my life time. Many businesses even with help from the government are not going to recover. Many small business will close for good and larger business will not rehire or bring back those they layoff. Government intervention to prevent utilities, communication platforms, and eviction/foreclorsures from being stopped will not be there once this is over.

Local municipalities and state governments are going to have major shortfalls. Charlotte reported yesterday that due to loss income from sales and gas tax they are currently losing 32 million a day in tax revenue. Imagine how much a city like NY is losing. This is happening everywhere. This is income revenue for schools, colleges, and programs the majority of people rely on.

Landlords who need the rent money to pay mortgages are not going to be forgiving in the end. A report came out this week in NC 31% of renters did not pay their rent in April and national average was over 40%. That number is going to go higher for May.

The future is going to be rough over the next few years. If people think the population is getting restless now wait about 6 months or this time next year when more people are becoming homeless, unemployment is at a record high, and possible civil unrest in major cities.

When this started I remember reading a comment that said when this is over the number of people/businesses that will be bankrupt will far surpass the number of people that will die in this country from the virus.

Agreed. It was going to be a disaster no matter what.

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Trump is stopping funding of WHO in the middle of all this chaos because of supposed political advantages he perceives WHO has been showing to China and their supposed inability to properly warn the public of what was coming. What timing.

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I know a vast majority of people don't realize this, but the WHO already received their funding from the US for this year. This freeze on funding is for next year. If you believe the WHO needs change, what better way to get it by hitting them where it hurts? Funding can easily be reinstituted by the time next year's funding period rolls around.

And I really don't think it's far fetched to believe the WHO likes them some China. When asked about Taiwan's early response and warning, they purposely ignored the question 3 times. The WHO director later proceeded to blame the Taiwanese government for knowing about racist death threats supposedly sent to him. In addition the director hails from one of the many African nations that China is pouring money into. That director also appointed former African dictator Robert Mugabe to be WHO's goodwill ambassador. Something of which China approved of as well.

In addition, it's still really hard to believe that China has been seeing barely any deaths or cases (have had ZERO new cases for several days for the last month). Yet the WHO said their tactics were really effective. Back in January, they even agreed with China that there was no evidence this virus had human to human transfer despite it being quickly spread in China.

Lastly, the WHO wastes so much of their funding. According an AP report from 2016, they spent more money ($200M) on traveling and stay expenses (for 7K employees) than they spent on dealing with mental health problems, HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria combined.

I agree leaders are sucking it up but the WHO is included in that.

For comparison, Doctors Without Boarders spent $43M/yr despite having 30K more staffers that are traveling.

I struggle to see how ceding any opportunity for the Chinese to further increase their already expanding soft power is a good idea. I personally don't believe that most international governing bodies are particularly effective simply because they are pretty much all primarily subjected to the concurrent influence of liberal Western democracies such as the U.S., Canada, and the E.U. as well as totalitarian dictatorships such as China and Russia. Because the primary influencing bodies are completely at odds with one another, the organization as a whole is effectively neutered. This is why the U.N. is practically useless. Even though the Germans and Japanese of 2020 share many of our values as far as government and human rights go, the Russians and Chinese have veto power over any and every act the U.N. proposes to take because they were on the winning side 75 years ago. All that being said, the last thing we need to do is allow the Chinese to successfully gain primary control over these bodies and use them to expand their global influence.