Day of Chaos 2: a.Covid-19 thread.

[IndigoPrime]

It is supposedly highly technocratic and data driven.  More than anything though this situation has revealed the reality of this myth.

It wasn't a myth. This was the case. Then ideologues keen on bluster and bullshit above everything else got their hands on the steering wheel.

[paddykafka]

An interesting perspective, helpful advice and words of wisdom from NASA Astronaut Jessica Meir.

https://www.space.com/stephen-colbert-calls-space-station-astronaut-jessica-meir.html?utm_source=notification

[shaolin_monkey]

Much needed public inquiry into government handling of Coronavirus, especially considering the projected 49,000 deaths in the U.K. (Estimated at least 18,000 to date not inc. care homes).

Takes thirty seconds to sign.

Better than sitting on your hands.


https://www.marchforchange.uk/coronavirus_inquiry

[TordelBack]

...the projected 49,000 deaths in the U.K...

So given the uncertainties concerning community and care home deaths that's heading towards twice the deaths of the entire Blitz. And that's with current lockdown measures. Almost unimaginable suffering, but what sort of national myth will it foster in today's toddlers?

[Tjm86]

It is supposedly highly technocratic and data driven.  More than anything though this situation has revealed the reality of this myth.

It wasn't a myth. This was the case. Then ideologues keen on bluster and bullshit above everything else got their hands on the steering wheel.

Fair point.  This is one of the reasons why I've been so dubious about the "we're just following the science" blather.  Let's face it, 5 minutes on Cummings' blog is enough to show how twisted the science can get in his hands.  The Climate-change-denial brigade is slowly starting to make a lot more sense in terms of their ability to take sensible scientific work and turn it into something surreal!

[paddykafka]

Absolute genius!

https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/martyn-turner-1.4229854

[sheridan]

...the projected 49,000 deaths in the U.K...

So given the uncertainties concerning community and care home deaths that's heading towards twice the deaths of the entire Blitz. And that's with current lockdown measures. Almost unimaginable suffering, but what sort of national myth will it foster in today's toddlers?

Good question - the smogs in the 1950s led to the Clean Air Acts.  Except more people die from pollution each year now but barely any fuss is made of it.  So as long as people still believe the Blitz killed more people than die this year (whatever the actual facts are) then there'll be no repurcussions.

[shaolin_monkey]

If I'm reading this right, this is confirmation that doctors have been asked to only record those tested while alive as dying from COVID-19, and that untested deaths be left untested, and recorded as something different, such as pneumonia.

https://goodlawproject.org/covid-19-deaths/

Here's a copy of the guidance, from a link in the webpage:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/12msB_73qgmY2ZQwsUvkPyyEsFxo4kYNc/view?usp=drivesdk

[Eamonn Clarke]

The whole subject of verification of death, certification, and cremation forms is complex and has been subject to rapidly changing interpretation of the Coronavirus act changes.

In Norfolk the coroner has issued clear guidance that Covid 19 is acceptable as a cause of death even without testing, which we largely don't have in general practice. What coroners don't like is use of the word "probable" particularly in part 1a of the MCCD. Coroners quite rightly demand certainty from doctors. So you might put pneumonia as 1a secondary to probable Covid 19 as 1b.

That's Norfolk though and what has happened is that different regions have issued their own interpretation/guidance based on their reading of some understandably hasty legislation. I have seen the letter that the British Medical Association has written to the under secretary for health asking for clarity and national rather than regional guidance on this issue. It will surprise no-one on this forum to learn that there has been no reply from the vacuum at the heart of our elected government.

[shaolin_monkey]

Thanks for the clarification Eamonn.

If you've been struggling to follow the ventilator fiasco, this thread from Peter Foster, the Public Policy Editor at the FT, is a fascinating but horrifying read:

https://twitter.com/pmdfoster/status/1251434219139665920?s=21

[IndigoPrime]

In short:

We know better!
*shitstorm ensues*
*govt pivots*
*govt blames companies that had worked to govt's own guidance*
We had always been at war with Eastasia!

[Jim_Campbell]

Dept of Health confirms another 880 CV19 deaths in the UK, taking the total over 15,000.

Remember that these numbers don't include care home deaths or people who died at home. In the European countries where they have recorded this data, hospital/elsewhere deaths run about 50/50, so there's probably not much change out of 30,000 in the real figure.

[shaolin_monkey]

Here's a non-paywall version of the recent Times article describing the 'lost' 38 days.

We've covered a lot of this in this very forum, but it's good to have it in one place, and is still a blood-chilling read:

https://archive.is/20200418182037/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/news/coronavirus-38-days-when-britain-sleepwalked-into-disaster-hq3b9tlgh

[shaolin_monkey]

Some positive news, where we can all take action!

HELP KINGS COLLEGE LONDON TRACK THE VIRUS!

Just because the government is slow in tracking this damn virus, doesn't mean the rest of us have to be.

Scientists agree that data is the most important tool in tackling the pandemic. As the government is doing sod all about collecting data, how about helping King's College collect it instead?

They've got 2.3 million contributors already. It takes one minute a day - just follow this link!!


https://covid.joinzoe.com/

[shaolin_monkey]

A superb thread from Dr John Cook, who uses the same tools to analyse the psychology of COVID-19 science denial as he does on climate science denial.

A fascinating read, and an inoculation against the fallacious arguments going around at the moment.

https://twitter.com/johnfocook/status/1251871023370305536?s=21