China Coronavirus

[Angelo]

It's amazing the way a few posters on a GAA messageboard are able to conclude that a novel virus that science are still struggling to work out 10 months on, is conclusively more severe than influenza.

We didn't "work it out", I posted a summary of multiple peer review scientific studies.
What evidence have you provided.

Because there is no evidence. How can you conclude something when we know extremely little about Covid? It's a novel virus 10 months in circulation, the bottom line is that there is very little we know about it. There's been huge spikes across Europe in the past couple of months, the virus is much more widespread, cases have doubled and tripled from the peak of the first wave but deaths aren't following suit as they did in the first wave so the next few months are going to be telling.

So quite how some of the experts can conclusively state that with certainty of the severity between flu and Covid is utterly preposterous, the only thing that will tell us that is time.

If the data follows suit as it is pointing to in the likes of Spain, Belgium, France etc with cases sky rocketing but deaths a fraction of what they were in the first wave then I think it will tell us that we have to learn to live with the virus rather than sitting on our hands waiting for science to solve something that are really struggling to make progress with.

Time will tell on this but only the most arrogant of idiots would be making conclusive statements on comparing a novel virus with influenza.

[armaghniac]

It's amazing the way a few posters on a GAA messageboard are able to conclude that a novel virus that science are still struggling to work out 10 months on, is conclusively more severe than influenza.

We didn't "work it out", I posted a summary of multiple peer review scientific studies.
What evidence have you provided.

Because there is no evidence. How can you conclude something when we know extremely little about Covid? It's a novel virus 10 months in circulation, the bottom line is that there is very little we know about it. There's been huge spikes across Europe in the past couple of months, the virus is much more widespread, cases have doubled and tripled from the peak of the first wave but deaths aren't following suit as they did in the first wave so the next few months are going to be telling.

So quite how some of the experts can conclusively state that with certainty of the severity between flu and Covid is utterly preposterous, the only thing that will tell us that is time.

If the data follows suit as it is pointing to in the likes of Spain, Belgium, France etc with cases sky rocketing but deaths a fraction of what they were in the first wave then I think it will tell us that we have to learn to live with the virus rather than sitting on our hands waiting for science to solve something that are really struggling to make progress with.

Time will tell on this but only the most arrogant of idiots would be making conclusive statements on comparing a novel virus with influenza.

We know the number of people who have died and who have been hospitalised, we have had this for 7 months. Some revision of the data will take place in the future but the general fact that Covid is much worse is obvious to anyone who does not refuse to see the evidence.

[Captain Obvious]

2312 cases on the island of Ireland today.

[Milltown Row2]

Why wait till Friday? If announced today why not shut it now and decrease the numbers from doubling?

[Angelo]

It's amazing the way a few posters on a GAA messageboard are able to conclude that a novel virus that science are still struggling to work out 10 months on, is conclusively more severe than influenza.

We didn't "work it out", I posted a summary of multiple peer review scientific studies.
What evidence have you provided.

Because there is no evidence. How can you conclude something when we know extremely little about Covid? It's a novel virus 10 months in circulation, the bottom line is that there is very little we know about it. There's been huge spikes across Europe in the past couple of months, the virus is much more widespread, cases have doubled and tripled from the peak of the first wave but deaths aren't following suit as they did in the first wave so the next few months are going to be telling.

So quite how some of the experts can conclusively state that with certainty of the severity between flu and Covid is utterly preposterous, the only thing that will tell us that is time.

If the data follows suit as it is pointing to in the likes of Spain, Belgium, France etc with cases sky rocketing but deaths a fraction of what they were in the first wave then I think it will tell us that we have to learn to live with the virus rather than sitting on our hands waiting for science to solve something that are really struggling to make progress with.

Time will tell on this but only the most arrogant of idiots would be making conclusive statements on comparing a novel virus with influenza.

We know the number of people who have died and who have been hospitalised, we have had this for 7 months. Some revision of the data will take place in the future but the general fact that Covid is much worse is obvious to anyone who does not refuse to see the evidence.

Nope we know it's a novel virus.

The trends in the likes of Spain, France, Belgium who are undergoing massive spikes would tend to say that once prepared for the virus in terms of knowledge gained when it comes to testing and tracing, treating it and having proper resources and equipment for medical staff that it is nowhere near as potent.

France

(Up to 31 July) 1st wave - 187,919 cases, 30,265 deaths - 16% mortality rate
(31 July onwards) 2nd wave - 568,553 cases - 2,560 deaths - 0.45% mortality rate

Belgium

(Up to 31 July) 1st wave - 68,751 cases, 9,715 deaths - 14% mortality rate
(31 July onwards) 2nd wave - 165,880 cases - 506 deaths - 0.31% mortality rate

If the data of this trend continues to be stable over the next few months then I think it shows that Covid is likely something that we will be able to live with as science continues to struggle to combat it.

You seem to be another one of those people who thinks a flu is a headcold or something. If a flu gets into a nursing home in winter it will kill and it will take lives, it can take the lives of healthy, young, fit people. It can cause long term health issues and completely knock the stuffing out of you. The flu is an established virus, I think 14m vaccinations are given every year in the UK for example - which is probably a little over 20% of the population, knowledge of the flu and how we treat it are more advanced.

But there is absolutely nothing to say whatsoever that the consequences of contracting the flu is worse than covid and it won't be known for years so to have a few blowhards on the internet coming out and making such proclamations is absolutely absurd.

The second wave Europe is encountering at the minute will give us some big answers on Covid and how much better better prepared we are to cope with it.

[armaghniac]

But there is absolutely nothing to say whatsoever that the consequences of contracting the flu is worse than covid and it won't be known for years so to have a few blowhards on the internet coming out and making such proclamations is absolutely absurd.

Which of the studies in the chart I posted above do you take issue with and what is wrong with their methodology, exactly?

[Milltown Row2]

Is The flu is harder to catch than this virus?

Does it spread quicker?

I've had the flu once (I was 19) floored me for a few days, aching couldn't lift head off my pillow. Was bad, never had it since and I've been in big groups through the years, working as a teacher for many years and being out socially a lot!  I never got it again thankfully. So was I just lucky?

[Angelo]

But there is absolutely nothing to say whatsoever that the consequences of contracting the flu is worse than covid and it won't be known for years so to have a few blowhards on the internet coming out and making such proclamations is absolutely absurd.

Which of the studies in the chart I posted above do you take issue with and what is wrong with their methodology, exactly?

I would say the fact that Covid is a novel virus that little is still known about and it impossible to make definitive conclusions on this. Look at the falling mortality rates that are being returned across Europe, it is defying any sort of logic to be making these types of conclusions at this juncture.

Time will tell us about Covid, we just don't know enough at the minute and it's idiotic to say otherwise.

Have you reviewed those studies yourself?

[thewobbler]

Is The flu is harder to catch than this virus?

Does it spread quicker?

I've had the flu once (I was 19) floored me for a few days, aching couldn't lift head off my pillow. Was bad, never had it since and I've been in big groups through the years, working as a teacher for many years and being out socially a lot!  I never got it again thankfully. So was I just lucky?

The flu seems dependent on your immune system. Some people don't get it. Some get mild symptoms. Some get the shit kicked out of them for a week sometimes. And some get the shit kicked out of them for a week every year.

I've only had one in my life. Before that I thought a flu was a bad cold. Now i'd take a month of bad colds over a couple of days of flu.

[Angelo]

Is The flu is harder to catch than this virus?

Does it spread quicker?

I've had the flu once (I was 19) floored me for a few days, aching couldn't lift head off my pillow. Was bad, never had it since and I've been in big groups through the years, working as a teacher for many years and being out socially a lot!  I never got it again thankfully. So was I just lucky?

At present, probably. I don't know.

Some people here clearly think a flu is a headcold or general chest infection. I had the Aussie flu a couple of years back and it was the worst dose of anything I've ever had, floored me for a good week and I'd say it was three or four months before I was fully back to myself in terms of energy etc. Covid will impact people in different ways though, like the flu does.

We live with the flu though, if someone with underlying health conditions or old or in general poor health then it can have extreme consequences. There are a lot of parallels between it and the flu by the effects and the impacts, it's impossible to say if Covid is worse or not at this point. It's a novel virus so with time, you'd expect that we will be better equipped to treat it, deal with it and prevent it.

We'll have a better idea on the severity of Covid in the next few months.

[thewobbler]

I'm tending to agree with you Angelo. If I describe Covid as a bad flu, it's with a mark of respect/fear, not nonchalance. You really don't want to get it. But I can't recall anything ever closing for a flu, let alone a country.

[Angelo]

I'm tending to agree with you Angelo. If I describe Covid as a bad flu, it's with a mark of respect/fear, not nonchalance. You really don't want to get it. But I can't recall anything ever closing for a flu, let alone a country.

You can understand it with the novelty of it, the scenes in Bergamo and Madrid in the early stages of the virus but if the trends we are seeing across Europe in terms of deaths per positive cases continue then you have to make decisions on what the greater good is in terms of the negative impacts of lockdowns and restrictions and deaths.

We don't shut down for seasonal flu which kills thousands every winter, clearly there is an acceptable level when it comes to this. The data over the next few months will give us some answers and rationale for moving forward. There are many countries dealing with this a lot better than both sides of the border and the UK are at the minute.

[Angelo]

I'm tending to agree with you Angelo. If I describe Covid as a bad flu, it's with a mark of respect/fear, not nonchalance. You really don't want to get it. But I can't recall anything ever closing for a flu, let alone a country.

And why might that be?

Seasonal flu kills people every year.

What is an acceptable level of death?

[Angelo]

I'm tending to agree with you Angelo. If I describe Covid as a bad flu, it's with a mark of respect/fear, not nonchalance. You really don't want to get it. But I can't recall anything ever closing for a flu, let alone a country.

And why might that be?

Seasonal flu kills people every year.

What is an acceptable level of death?

Won't more people die of seasonal flu, Covid and many other things if our hospitals are completely overwhelmed with Covid patients, which the trend looks set to bring about?

That's avoiding the question. Every year the flu comes around and the consequence of that is death. So what is an acceptable level of death? That's the question we need to be asking ourselves.

There is a conflicint argument that health services and resources are being completely consumed and focused on Covid which is having a negative impact on other health problems such as cancer.

[armaghniac]

There is a conflicint argument that health services and resources are being completely consumed and focused on Covid which is having a negative impact on other health problems such as cancer.

Here we have the usual bollix being repeated again, what can the health services do with Covid only treat it? WTF do you expect them to do differently?
ALready in Belfast over 100 procedures cancelled because of the refusal to have restrictions sooner.