Corona Virus

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Big and Bashful
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Re: Corona Virus

Post by Big and Bashful »

pelmut wrote: Wed May 13, 2020 4:53 pm I recently lost a contact lens and had to go into Bath this morning to collect a replacement.  I took the camera with me:

http://www.poppyrecords.co.uk/bath/AnEmptyBath.htm

At this time of year those streets would normally be heaving with tourists and shoppers, I would try to avoid some of them because of the crowds.
Quieter than our little Scottish village, wow! How is it changing with the relaxation of the rules this week?
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pelmut
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Re: Corona Virus

Post by pelmut »

Faldaguy wrote: Thu May 14, 2020 5:00 am ... Any wonder this grand enlightened country has more cases and more deaths than any other country -- regardless of population?
You will be pleased to hear that America is a fair way down the list when it is sorted as deaths per total population.  Journalists give a misleading impression by quoting the number of deaths without quoting the size of the population.
There is no such thing as a normal person, only someone you don't know very well yet.
Shilo
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Re: Corona Virus

Post by Shilo »

pelmut wrote: Wed May 13, 2020 4:53 pm I recently lost a contact lens and had to go into Bath this morning to collect a replacement.  I took the camera with me:

http://www.poppyrecords.co.uk/bath/AnEmptyBath.htm

At this time of year those streets would normally be heaving with tourists and shoppers, I would try to avoid some of them because of the crowds.
I love Bath and got to know it well in my daughter’s years at Bath university. I was first introduced to it as a small child by my father who spent leave there in wartime. In all my visits this is the first time I’ve been able to actually see the streets in daytime. Is Chai Walla still open for takeaways?
:roll:
pelmut
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Re: Corona Virus

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Shilo wrote: Thu May 14, 2020 8:14 am Is Chai Walla still open for takeaways?
I didn't know where that was, but have looked it up.  Most takeaways in the centre are closed through lack of trade, but that one and many of the takeaways in the suburbs are open and doing home deliveries only.

A friend of mine who lives in a close-knit community of Victorian terraced houses in Bath has just told me a heart-warming story of co-operation:  Their local 'chippy' has re-opened for home delivery only, which incurs a five pound surcharge.  Five households got together and placed a single large order for fish & chips, then took their tables and chairs out into the back lane, each one outside their own garden, all at a safe distance but feeling as though they were having a party together.

The neighbour who had organised it also gave them ice-cream as a surprise -- and knowing my friend was dairy-allergic, had got some sorbet just for her.
There is no such thing as a normal person, only someone you don't know very well yet.
Shilo
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Re: Corona Virus

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chair Walla is a little hole in the wall Indian street food place just outside the square, across the road from Boston Tea Party. He started a few years ago bringing in food cooked by his mum at home. He had just started cooking on the premises and employing staff. When he reopens you have to try it if you like that food it’s amazing. I think all his custom has grown from word of mouth as he doesn’t advertise
:roll:
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beachlion
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Re: Corona Virus

Post by beachlion »

Looking back, the impact of the virus on my daily life is not that severe. Because of my Dutch pensions, I have no financial problems. Being married to an American lady gave me even a small pension from the Social Security (thank you pres. Roosevelt). But it makes me feel very sorry for people who are struggling to stay afloat in these troubling times.

After the first weeks of the hoarding craze with empty shelves, some things are not back yet and for other stuff I had to find alternatives. Beside soap, bleach and hand-sanitizer everything is more or less back, some with a limitation.

What is left for us as a family is to stay healthy, body and mind, and ride out this disaster. Maybe some genes from my parents, who went through 5 years of German occupation, are helping me to cope.
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crfriend
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Re: Corona Virus

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pelmut wrote: Thu May 14, 2020 9:34 amFive households got together and placed a single large order for fish & chips, then took their tables and chairs out into the back lane, each one outside their own garden, all at a safe distance but feeling as though they were having a party together.

The neighbour who had organised it also gave them ice-cream as a surprise -- and knowing my friend was dairy-allergic, had got some sorbet just for her.
Stories like that are very heartwarming and most welcome in these dreary times. That sounds like a nice neighbourhood and good folks living there. Thank you very much for sharing it with us.
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partlyscot
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Re: Corona Virus

Post by partlyscot »

pelmut wrote: Thu May 14, 2020 7:40 am
Faldaguy wrote: Thu May 14, 2020 5:00 am ... Any wonder this grand enlightened country has more cases and more deaths than any other country -- regardless of population?
You will be pleased to hear that America is a fair way down the list when it is sorted as deaths per total population.  Journalists give a misleading impression by quoting the number of deaths without quoting the size of the population.
Well down? It's 13th from the top. Which is not the worst no, but there are 200 or so countries that are doing better.
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beachlion
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Re: Corona Virus

Post by beachlion »

According to the figures of worldometers.com the USA is at spot 7 in the number of cases, at spot 8 in the number of death and at spot 39 when it comes to testing, all per capita.

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/

It looks like a third of the cases worldwide are in the USA. It is almost the same ratio as the number of people in jails.
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pelmut
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Re: Corona Virus

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A lot depends on the way the population is distributed: large, tightly-packed cities with lots of commuting by public transport have a huge disadvantage from the outset and 'social distancing' has a much greater adverse effect on their daily life.
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crfriend
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Re: Corona Virus

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pelmut wrote: Fri May 15, 2020 6:34 amA lot depends on the way the population is distributed: large, tightly-packed cities with lots of commuting by public transport have a huge disadvantage from the outset and 'social distancing' has a much greater adverse effect on their daily life.
Indeed. This is one of the reasons that densely-populated New England has been hit so hard by this thing yet where Moonshadow lives in southwest Virginia the problem is trivial in scope.

There are also surprisingly rural areas in New England, and the populace of some of those are torqued off by being under the same restrictions as Boston. There's also the problem with the slow, ineffective, and ham-fisted way the response has been being handled. Whether that'll cause more damage in the long term compared to the actual disease has yet to be seen, and picking up on that -- if the research is ever done -- will take decades. I'm certain I'll never see any of it.
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Jim
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Re: Corona Virus

Post by Jim »

crfriend wrote: Fri May 15, 2020 12:38 pm ...
There are also surprisingly rural areas in New England, and the populace of some of those are torqued off by being under the same restrictions as Boston. There's also the problem with the slow, ineffective, and ham-fisted way the response has been being handled. ...
Being from a rural area, I understand the feeling. But if things were wide open here and not in Chicago and travel was allowed, folks from Chicago would flock here. Then our low infection rate would not continue.
trainspotter48
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Re: Corona Virus

Post by trainspotter48 »

Over on this side of the pond, the English government (0) has lifted some of the restrictions on travel, and the various holiday/second home locations are dreading what the weekend will bring, especially since this country is already fairly densely populated. (We've already had a kayaker from the East Midlands get into trouble off the Cornish coast, causing the deployment of the local lifeboat and Coastguard helicopter!)
The concern is that someone from an area with many infectious people comes to one of the more isolated (for the UK) areas, and spreads the infection, then the local area health services could very quickly become overrun.

(0) There is some devolving of decisions in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and these areas have decided to maintain the restrictions on travel at present.
Ray
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Re: Corona Virus

Post by Ray »

You mean the U.K. government? ;-)

I know that the impact is restricted to England only, but you don’t have your own parliament yet. It’s not a bad idea though. Proper federal structure.
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beachlion
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Re: Corona Virus

Post by beachlion »

I think the absolute numbers of cases with the virus are more telling than the numbers per capita. The infection is spread from human to human. From patient "zero" the spreading depends on the way people behave. If they take all the measures like distancing, face masks and cleaning surfaces, the spreading will be much slower than without those measures. In heavy populated areas the chance of an infection is much higher than in the country side

So if we can trust the numbers of other countries, the USA is on top, far ahead of the rest of the world. To counter balance that, the USA is also on top with the number of tests.
All progress takes place outside the comfort zone - M J Bobak
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