# Coronavirus COVID-19 (2019-nCoV) Thread - 2020 Breaking News **URL:** \ **Category:** The Quarantine Zone\ **Tags:** covid-quarantine\ **Created:** [February 11, 2020, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758 "2020-02-11T01:16:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 156
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2020, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/3111 "2020-05-13T04:20:56Z")
And the US death rate stays stubbornly above 1.0 ☹ ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2020, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/3112 "2020-05-13T04:41:42Z")
Taiwan confirmed no new cases of the COVID-19 coronavirus for the fifth consecutive day on Tuesday, keeping the total at 440 since the pandemic began late last year, according to the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC). At a daily press briefing, Health Minister Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the CECC, said it was also the 30th straight day that no domestically transmitted infections had been recorded in Taiwan. The number infected is down to 61, all of which are kept hospitalized in negative pressure rooms, even for asymptomatic cases. Life is pretty much back to normal here, with very few restrictions. I think nightclubs and karaoke bars are still closed. Other things are getting opened or have already been opened. In a rather mundane point, Worldometer has finally revised the Y-axis of the graphs for the number of total deaths and daily deaths. Taiwan has had only seven total deaths with a maximum of two in one day. Up until a couple of days ago, the axis was increments in 0.5 deaths. “I’m not dead yet!” ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2020, 7:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/3113 "2020-05-13T07:09:59Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > All stimulous payments are inherently inflationary. Not if the overall money supply is kept constant (i.e., if money for the stimulus payments comes from redistributing existing reserves of money). In a fiat currency system with, say, only $100 in circulation, of which Peter owns $90 and Paul owns $10 and the $1 price of a widget reflects its true value (i.e., the actual labour cost to produce it), then printing up and releasing an extra $10 into the system will only mean that the actual labour cost of a widget is now $1.10, and unless Paul gets more than $1 in stimulus money, he’s no better off than he was before. But if the stimulus is instead effected by the government taxing $1 of Peter’s money and giving it to Paul, then the actual labour cost of a widget, which is independent of Peter’s net worth, is still $1, but Paul is twice as wealthy. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2020, 7:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/3114 "2020-05-13T07:36:36Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > What is Austria doing right? I don’t think this is any great mystery. The people in charge of writing and enforcing the laws recognized the threat early, locked down the country immediately after the first couple deaths were reported, didn’t dismiss the severity of the pandemic or sugarcoat the prognosis to the general public, kept public communication regarding their measures and plans short and to the point, served as role models for the use of social distancing and protective equipment, used the lockdown to shore up pandemic control measures, and didn’t start relaxing the rules until the rate of infection had been brought under control. Trust in and compliance with the government’s advice was therefore extremely high. Compare this situation with some other countries, where those in power dismissed the threat amongst themselves or to the public, dithered about what to do and when, exhausted the public’s attention span with interminable press conferences-cum-campaign speeches, fought publically amongst themselves over the application of regulations and allocation of services and equipment, gave vague and conflicting advice to the public about what to do, publically flouted their own lockdown rules, failed to enforce the lockdown rules on others (or even praised those who violated them), and/or started lifting the lockdown well before the rate of infection had subsided to safe levels. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2020, 10:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/3115 "2020-05-13T10:32:23Z")
Tennessee’s rate of death hit third highest ever. A Kroger employee died of it, in the community where I live. There is a nursing home within a ten minute walk. 4 deaths there. ---
**Author:** ![Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiendish_astronaut/32/3295_2.png) [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiendish_Astronaut)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2020, 10:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/3116 "2020-05-13T10:46:10Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Panama’s president announced yesterday that tomorrow sectors of the economy will begin opening up in phased stages. > > Right now it’s just grocery stores, pharmacies, banks, gas stations, hardware stores, and restaurant takeout/delivery. > > There are six “blocks” of categories of businesses. Included in the group permitted tomorrow are electronics shops, car mechanics, plumbers, electricians, other maintenance activities, and fishing and aquaculture. > > There are no set dates for opening other sectors. In the next block are public works construction, non-metallic mining, places of worship, recreation and sporting areas, and industry. > > However, they are apparently still maintaining general quarantine, which means people can leave the house only two hours a day every other day. So I don’t know how you are supposed to visit those other places if you need to buy groceries regularly. Is there much difference between the instruction for Panama City and the rest of the country? I travelled to Panama a couple of years ago and the city was totally totally different from the rest of your (very very beautiful) country and it looked like people lived quite different lives. ---
**Author:** ![Grim\_Render](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a87d85/32.png) [@Grim\_Render](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grim_Render)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2020, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/3117 "2020-05-13T11:58:57Z")
The First Movers group of countries with the corona stats that have declined to very low, are in talks about reopening for travel and trade between them. The EU seems to want in on that and are having a phased reopening with travel between low virus nations to be normalized by june 15. Basically, nations that can’t get their virus under control won’t be allowed travel and limited trade going forwards. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2020, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/3118 "2020-05-13T12:32:37Z")
> [@psychonaut](#): > > I don’t think this is any great mystery. The people in charge of writing and enforcing the laws recognized the threat early, locked down the country immediately after the first couple deaths were reported, didn’t dismiss the severity of the pandemic or sugarcoat the prognosis to the general public, kept public communication regarding their measures and plans short and to the point, served as role models for the use of social distancing and protective equipment, used the lockdown to shore up pandemic control measures, and didn’t start relaxing the rules until the rate of infection had been brought under control. **Trust in and compliance with the government’s advice was therefore extremely high.** This is huge, and it exposes a festering problem with the US, where right wing media and politics have undermined the general public’s confidence in government for decades. Mainstream media haven’t helped either, of course. > [@psychonaut](#): > > Compare this situation with some other countries, where those in power dismissed the threat amongst themselves or to the public, dithered about what to do and when, exhausted the public’s attention span with interminable press conferences-cum-campaign speeches, fought publically amongst themselves over the application of regulations and allocation of services and equipment, gave vague and conflicting advice to the public about what to do, publically flouted their own lockdown rules, failed to enforce the lockdown rules on others (or even praised those who violated them), and/or started lifting the lockdown well before the rate of infection had subsided to safe levels. Surely, you’re not talking about us! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2020, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/3119 "2020-05-13T14:14:36Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > This is huge, and it exposes a festering problem with the US, where right wing media and politics have undermined the general public’s confidence in government for decades. Mainstream media haven’t helped either, of course. **Moderator Warning** Keep the political potshots out of this thread. This is an official warning. Do not do this again. Colibri Quarantine Zone Moderator ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2020, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/3120 "2020-05-13T14:59:20Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > Surely, you’re not talking about us! 😃 Sadly, not specifically. Many of the entries in my “how _not_ to handle a pandemic” list can be observed in practice in several different countries. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2020, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/3121 "2020-05-13T15:13:27Z")
[Target employee breaks arm in fight with shoppers who wouldn’t wear masks, police say](https://currently.att.yahoo.com/att/xandr/target-employee-breaks-arm-fight-212756049.html) > [@](#): > > Two men who allegedly refused to wear masks inside a Target store in California are facing felony battery charges after a fight that left an employee security guard with a broken arm, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. > > The suspects were not wearing face coverings when they entered the store’s Van Nuys location on May 1, and were confronted by store employees, police said in a statement released on Monday. They were being escorted out of the store when the fight broke out, police said in a statement released on Monday. > > “As they approached the exit, one suspect, suddenly without provocation, turned and punched a store employee,” according to the police statement. > > One of the guards broke his left arm in the fight and Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics took him to the hospital for treatment, police said. > > The incident came about two weeks after Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti issued an emergency order requiring all customers to wear masks in grocery stores and other essential businesses. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2020, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/3122 "2020-05-13T15:43:47Z")
Sure, assholes, just punch some other low-wage schlub who’s just trying to get through his day. As if he was the guy responsible for your having to endure the soul-crushing tyranny of having to wear a mask. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2020, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/3123 "2020-05-13T16:13:34Z")
Creating a situation where someone has to go to a hospital should be at least temporarily upgraded to attempted murder. I’ve thrown out a grand total of 3 people for mask related things at work. Nobody has taken a swing at me yet, although one woman screamed at me that I was a socialist. Anyone know what’s that about? Socialists wear masks? ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2020, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/3124 "2020-05-13T16:15:05Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Creating a situation where someone has to go to a hospital should be at least temporarily upgraded to attempted murder. > > I’ve thrown out a grand total of 3 people for mask related things at work. Nobody has taken a swing at me yet, although one woman screamed at me that I was a socialist. Anyone know what’s that about? Socialists wear masks? I thought socialists wore OTHER people’s masks?? ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2020, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/3125 "2020-05-13T17:02:04Z")
I think the logic in the mind of such a person would go like this: People who get upset about mask-wearing are largely towards the right end of the spectrum. In her mind, people on the left are to blame for her having to wear a mask. And in her mind, people on the left are socialists. No political commentary intended, just connecting the dots. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2020, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/3126 "2020-05-13T17:28:22Z")
I guess that makes sense. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2020, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/3127 "2020-05-13T21:37:55Z")
Today in Austria: [ul] [li] The health minister has announced plans to **reopen theatres** on 29 May. The government is currently drafting regulations concerning the appropriate level social distancing by patrons and staff. Vienna’s only **drive-in cinema** will reopen this Friday.[/li][li] As long as the pandemic remains under control, the **Austria–Switzerland border** , like the Austria–Germany border, will fully reopen on 15 June. It is likely that the borders with the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, and Slovenia will be at least partially opened in June. But the chancellor said today that the idea of relaxing border controls with Italy is completely out of the question for the foreseeable future.[/li][li] Restaurants will reopen on Friday, and in a bid to encourage their patronage, the city of Vienna will be distributing **meal coupons** in the amount of €25 (for individuals) or €50 (for families) to all 950,000 households in the city. The coupons will be redeemable at any of the city’s 6000 eateries between June and September.[/li][li] Churches and other religious institutions can resume **public worship** from Friday, provided congregants wear face coverings and keep their distance from one another.[/li][li] The federal government has announced **financial aid for non-profit organizations** , including clubs and sporting associations, in the amount of €700 million. A further **aid package for the hotel industry** in the amount of €500 million will be detailed on Monday.[/li][li] Current statistics: 15,973 confirmed infections, 624 deaths, 14,304 recovered.[/li][/ul] ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2020, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/3128 "2020-05-13T23:40:43Z")
Anyone care to comment on this: [The coronavirus ‘may never go away,’ a top W.H.O. official said, warning against expecting a quick vaccine.](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/13/world/coronavirus-world-news-updates.html#link-5459755e) > [@](#): > > The novel coronavirus spreading around the globe “may never go away,” becoming a long-term fact of life that must be managed, not an enemy that can be permanently eradicated, a top World Health Organization official said on Wednesday. > > “This virus may become just another endemic virus in our communities, and this virus may never go away,” Mike Ryan, head of the organization’s health emergencies program, said at a news briefing. “H.I.V. has not gone away but we’ve come to terms with the virus and we have found the therapies and we have found the prevention methods, and people don’t feel as scared as they did before.” > > … > > He also expressed cynicism about the prospects for eradication even with a vaccine, saying, “we have some perfectly effective vaccines on this planet that we have not used effectively for diseases we could have eradicated.” He cited the recent outbreaks of measles around the world. > > The only human disease that has been eradicated is smallpox. There are certainly plenty of people who will not submit to a vaccine even if one becomes available. What about the prospect of this turning into something that we learn to live with? ---
**Author:** ![Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiendish_astronaut/32/3295_2.png) [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiendish_Astronaut)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2020, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/3129 "2020-05-13T23:50:43Z")
They’ve been saying this since the start. It’s not unlikely that a COVID jab will eventuality be given out alongside the flu jab every year. Hopefully they’ll be able to roll both into one. ---
**Author:** ![Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiendish_astronaut/32/3295_2.png) [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiendish_Astronaut)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2020, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/3130 "2020-05-13T23:52:39Z")
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