[Info-vax] [Totally OT] Covid-19, was: Re: Creating an open source version of VMS, was: Re: OpenVMS Hobbyist Notification

[Phillip Helbig undress to reply]

In article <r4g14g$2gu$1 at dont-email.me>, Simon Clubley
<clubley at remove_me.eisner.decus.org-Earth.UFP> writes: 

> > For those of us that survive 2020.
> 
> I was reluctant to raise this, given that it is totally off topic,
> but it affects everyone here and I was wondering what the situation
> is really like on the ground around the planet compared to what the
> media are and are not reporting.

There are those who say that the situation is much, much worse than it 
is now, or will soon become so, basically because many people have few 
symptoms and thus think that they are not infected and spread it to 
others.  There are others who say that it's a conspiracy to distract 
attention from other things, affect the economy so that Trump loses, and 
so on.  Often, when an idea is criticized about equally from both sides, 
it is pretty much correct.

Yes, total deaths now are not as high as from the normal flu.  
(Influenza is like an orgasm---if you aren't sure whether you've had it, 
you haven't.)  First, that could change soon.  Second, imagine a 
shooting spree.  During the at most few hours until the shooter is 
captured or shot, many more people will die in traffic accidents and so 
on, but that's neither a reason not to report on it nor a reason not to 
protect oneself from it.

> Here in Northern England in the UK, there's a lot of low-level concern
> but not a massive amount of panic buying yet (apart from the various
> hand gels). There is some concern that the UK government is not reacting
> strongly enough or quickly enough yet and there's a real feeling that
> things could escalate out of control over the coming weeks due to that.

I'm waiting for Boris Johnson to blame it on the EU.

The main problem in many places, especially if it spreads quickly, is 
that there aren't enough hospital beds.

> How are things in your part of the planet ?

People are keeping calm and carrying on, taking the necessary 
precautions.

> Anyone know if there are any open positions at the IceCube lab ? :-)

Probably not a good idea, as viruses like cold.  (Bacteria, in contrast,
like warmth, which is why one has a refrigerator to keep food fresh.) As
such, public saunas are one of the few places where there might be many
people but the risk of infection is relatively low.  Also, public
swimming pools are OK (even more so if the water is warm), as there is
chlorine in the water; one is literally swimming in disinfectant.  Of
course, one should keep one's distance here, but it is much less
dangerous than going to a concert, taking public transportation, going 
to the cinema, watching a sports match, and so on.