The Coronavirus Thread

[laklak]

How many non-Covid deaths were registered as Covid and vice versa?

[Svartalf]

If verified, that is rather disturbing and smacks political interference or just ignorance and ineptitude.

not that the two are mutually exclusive

[Cunt]

If someone wanted to pretend there was no virus, p-hacking.

If someone wanted to pretend the virus was world-destroying, p-hacking.

If someone wanted to tell any number of 'truths' about it, p-hacking.

There is plenty of data, across plenty of dimensions, to allow almost any story to be sold. Now that most authorities have embarassed themselves on this very topic...well, it makes the only really stupid approach certainty of any kind. Well, except to blame Trump for it of course.

[JimC]

In the UK the Financial Times has been logging the number of registered deaths against the official figures on Covid-19 deaths (UK coronavirus deaths more than double official figure, according to FT study, 27 Apr. (paywall)) and comparing that with the season average. Something clearly doesn't add up. Today The New York Times published...

64,000 Missing Deaths: Tracking the True Toll of the Coronavirus Outbreak

At least 64,000 more people have died during the coronavirus pandemic than the official Covid-19 death counts report, a review of mortality data in 20 countries shows — providing a clearer, if still incomplete, picture of the toll of the crisis.

Over the last two months, far more people have died in most of these countries than in previous years, The New York Times found. The totals include deaths from Covid-19 as well as those from other causes, likely including people who could not be treated as hospitals became overwhelmed.

...

Mortality data in the middle of a pandemic is not perfect. In most places, the disparities between the official death counts and the total rise in deaths reflect limited testing for the virus rather than intentional undercounting. Officially, about 280,000 people had died worldwide of the coronavirus as of Monday...

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/202 ... eaths.html

... which suggests that the UK is top of the underreporting league with a 65% discrepancy. Now we can quibble about the stats and the data, but I don't think it's unreasonable to suggest that the mortality rate is higher than the official figures show - and perhaps by more than statistical errorbars might allow for: it's hard to tell. But if Covid-19 death are being underreported then we might assume infection rates are similarly affected.

All I'm saying is that we probably shouldn't put too much weight on headline death counts to determine if the infection risk is manageable or not in public health terms.

There was a recent study in Oz comparing death rates at the same time last year. Unlike many places overseas, there was no clear discrepancy, so it seems that our official number of deaths (under 100 at the moment) is pretty close to the real figure.

[pErvinalia]

Yep, I called it. Stupid monkeys. The city of Naples had to close their beaches a week after reopening them because the imbecilic fucking monkeys (I can't even call them ground apes any longer, they're not that evolved) can't obey the simplest, most rational, easy to follow rules.

But libertarianism!

[laklak]

There's libertarianism and then there's utter fucking stupidity. I'm not sure which one I am. I'm whatever one wouldn't be on the beach sitting in some stranger's lap becuz Freedum! I'm seriously surprised there aren't imbeciles carrying ARs and sniper rifles. Maybe they don't have camo board shorts?

OK I officially give up. I hope they all get the fucking 'Rona. I don't necessarily want them to die, mind you, but just fucking suffer for a good while.

[JimC]

More confirmation that ethnic minorities are affected worse by this virus than white majorities:

https://www.theage.com.au/national/in-t ... 54rvt.html

People who are black or Asian are more than 1.5 times more likely to die from COVID-19 than white people, according to preliminary data from a huge new study in the UK.

The study suggests being black or from southern Asia is more strongly associated with dying from the disease than having chronic heart problems or asthma.

The study's authors say governments around the world now need to recognise ethnic minority groups are at particularly high risk from the virus, and should take urgent action to protect them.

[Cunt]

More confirmation that ethnic minorities are affected worse by this virus than white majorities:

https://www.theage.com.au/national/in-t ... 54rvt.html

People who are black or Asian are more than 1.5 times more likely to die from COVID-19 than white people, according to preliminary data from a huge new study in the UK.

The study suggests being black or from southern Asia is more strongly associated with dying from the disease than having chronic heart problems or asthma.

The study's authors say governments around the world now need to recognise ethnic minority groups are at particularly high risk from the virus, and should take urgent action to protect them.

Is the difference between races as significant as the difference between sexes?

It looks like more men are dying. Unless you can find a way to 'blame the victims', that study's authors are going to have to take urgent action to protect them...

[Sean Hayden]

Great, a fucking racist virus.

[JimC]

The idea of "immunity certificates" could be fairly dodgy...

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-05-12/ ... s/12233792

[Cunt]

The idea of "immunity certificates" could be fairly dodgy...

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-05-12/ ... s/12233792

Like voter ID, but for everything.

[Fletch F. Fletch]

Bizarre thing here. These people from the meat industry were meeting with Mike Pence. At 6:10 someone comes out and gestures for them to remove their masks.
Maybe Pence insisted on no masks, for some weird reason. False machismo is all I can think of, or religious nuttiness. Bear in mind this numbskull was in the vicinity of people who have tested positive recently. [yt]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TB8eNXa6_cY[/yt]

[Scot Dutchy]

That report about data just confirms what I have been stating all along. You cant trust government data as it has been political from day one. In the USA it has been the most political. Of course it is a conspiracy. These daily figures that get pumped out are gospel is the claim but finally people are realising they are as trustworthy as Trump himself.
We dont have a clue what are the genuine figures. Deaths here are are recorded as Corona deaths when the patient has been tested positive but no autopsies are carried out so the actual cause is never discovered. This seems to be the case in most European countries. Care homes are the biggest suspects as once the virus appears all deaths afterwards tend to be labelled as Corona even though no investigations are carried out. This was very true in Spain and Italy.
We cannot say if lockdown works as the data proving one way or the other does not exist or is untrustworthy.

[Scot Dutchy]

The idea of "immunity certificates" could be fairly dodgy...

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-05-12/ ... s/12233792

Especially as the antibody test is 30% reliable.

[pErvinalia]

That report about data just confirms what I have been stating all along. You cant trust government data as it has been political from day one. In the USA it has been the most political. Of course it is a conspiracy. These daily figures that get pumped out are gospel is the claim but finally people are realising they are as trustworthy as Trump himself.
We dont have a clue what are the genuine figures. Deaths here are are recorded as Corona deaths when the patient has been tested positive but no autopsies are carried out so the actual cause is never discovered. This seems to be the case in most European countries. Care homes are the biggest suspects as once the virus appears all deaths afterwards tend to be labelled as Corona even though no investigations are carried out. This was very true in Spain and Italy.
We cannot say if lockdown works as the data proving one way or the other does not exist or is untrustworthy.

Oh do shut up.