On this thread, in case you feel like North & South America are the dens of iniquity, while the rest of the world is in recovery, don’t be so sure:
Germany, for instance, recorded 633 new cases on Tuesday, compared with more than 6,000 daily cases at its peak. But German health authorities said the nature of the new infections is concerning, with outbreaks no longer largely confined to slaughterhouses or nursing homes.
“Corona is coming back with all its might,” warned Bavarian state premier Markus Söder, according to German news site Merkur.
In France, new cases hit an average of 850 over the past three days — nowhere near the average of 2,582 in April. But the Health Ministry noted that recent progress has been erased, and Health Minister Olivier Véran warned of as many as 500 active clusters.
In Belgium, cases suddenly started rising this month after declining consistently since April. There were 707 cases diagnosed nationwide the week of July 6. Just two weeks later, the figure had tripled to a level not seen since early May. [WaPo]
Coronavirus is a slippery little pathogen, but it’s not unfair to say that we’re fairly lucky. Transmission is easy, meaning the ‘R’ number is fairly high, but at least we don’t see people dropping in the streets. In that sense, coronavirus is nowhere near a nightmare scenario, which makes the ignorant behavior of some folks all the more disappointing.
Imagine a virus that transmits as easily as coronvirus, and is as deadly as its cousin MERS appears to be, at a 43% case-fatality rate. Imagine that, like today, an infected person was asymptomatic and contagious for two weeks after infection, and then had a 50% chance of dropping dead – or spend a week in the hospital, dying.
That’s what frightens me, because that’s not an impossible disease profile. That sort of tragedy would break a lot of people, send them off in stark raving madness. And the shysters would come out in droves to prey, petty bloodsuckers that they are, much like Kenneth Copeland, and daily life would be a horror.
And, now, back to our current minor contretemps, already in progress. Watch the Administration and GOP members of Congress abdicate their responsibilities! Marvel at the premise that they think they’ll deserve to be reelected in November! Spend another tenner at the booth to have another ten minutes with our favorite dead clairvoyant, Sylvia Browne, to see what’s coming in Your Future!
What’s that you say, sonny? She was not a clairvoyant, but a medium? Why, son, you’re quite right – she was never excellent, and even medium was overstating the case! In any case, two tenners for you, put them right there! Sylvia’s waiting around that corner for you with bated breath – what else can a dead person do? – to give you your future!
