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[martinuzz]

Despite successive funding cuts the Spanish healthcare system is fairly well equipped, and ICU wise I think it was the third or fourth with the highest ration per capita. It could be that by shuffling people around (which they might have to do anyway if they took the private sector's offer) they can rely purely on public resources.

Qualified people are as scarce as ICUs and respirators.
Over here, our hospitals have scaled up their corona ICU capacity from 1150 to 2400 beds (theres a few hundred more but those are reserved for non-corona acute care), which might just barely be be enough for the peak, but probably not, because patients that survive keep the ICU beds occupied for 3 weeks.
However, even if we have more beds and respirators and all the other equipment needed, we are hitting a qualified personnell wall.
Where normally, there is at least 1 on 1 care per ICU bed, it's already stretched thin to 1 on 3.  Adding more ICU beds will not be possible for lack of nurses and doctors.
And with the schools and universities closed, it looks like there's not going to be many new doctors, nurses or interns this summer because lots of students will need to redo their year.

[Reelya]

So far, we've got 28 dead from COVID-19. That's about the average number of people who die each year from kangaroos, crocodiles and other assorted Australian wildlife. We haven't seen the end of this though, not by a long shot.

That you know of. As it has been stated elsewhere: everyone is counting the dead in a different way, and noone is doing it particularily well.

On the plus side in theory humidity and heat help push the virus back. And I assume Australian coastal cities are plentiful on both of those?

Not necessarily. The continent does span over 2000 miles north/south, and most of the population is clustered in the colder southern part. The vast majority of people don't actually choose to live in the hotter parts.

The summers are actually warmer in Boston than in Sydney apparently, for example. While Brisbane is probably the hottest major capital, but it's apparently still cooler than Miami in summers.

[martinuzz]

A highschool class in the Netherlands following an online class witnessed domestic violence when their teacher was physically abused by her husband in front of the camera.
The man has been arrested and the children have been offered victim support for having had to witness that.

[Starver]

"Despite the constant negative viral COVIDfefe..."

(Might be the most popular decision he's made for a while. Amongst both supporters and detractors, but for different reasons.)

Meanwhile, you know how Boris wanted to stop all early releases of prisoners, a couple of months back?  Well..

[Reelya]

The good thing is that all the right-wingers won't wear a mask now because reasons.

[TamerVirus]

Has anyone other than the US actually done that yet? Only news I've seen on that was the states doing it, so far.

Germany from the Swiss
France from Spain and Italy
Turkey from Spain
Czech from Italy, through they said it was a ‘misunderstanding’ and sent an equivalent amount later
USA from a bunch of places
USA federal government from different states as equipment procurement devolved into a Hunger Games bidding war

FREE FOR ALL!
CHOOSE YOUR CHARACTER!

[ChairmanPoo]

To be fair France and Germany gave it back too... but it underlines the degree of "every man for himself which reigns right now. And nobody trusts that they'll consitently give it back either...
I wonder what will the world look like when we get out.

Despite successive funding cuts the Spanish healthcare system is fairly well equipped, and ICU wise I think it was the third or fourth with the highest ration per capita. It could be that by shuffling people around (which they might have to do anyway if they took the private sector's offer) they can rely purely on public resources.

Qualified people are as scarce as ICUs and respirators.
Over here, our hospitals have scaled up their corona ICU capacity from 1150 to 2400 beds (theres a few hundred more but those are reserved for non-corona acute care), which might just barely be be enough for the peak, but probably not, because patients that survive keep the ICU beds occupied for 3 weeks.
However, even if we have more beds and respirators and all the other equipment needed, we are hitting a qualified personnell wall.
Where normally, there is at least 1 on 1 care per ICU bed, it's already stretched thin to 1 on 3.  Adding more ICU beds will not be possible for lack of nurses and doctors.
And with the schools and universities closed, it looks like there's not going to be many new doctors, nurses or interns this summer because lots of students will need to redo their year.

Ah, but the private sector has it's own share o anesthesiologist and ICU specialists (in Spain they are separate specialities.) ... but those cost money too.
I'm aware of the shortage (I said as much before... that's my suspicion as to why Tesla's respiators are actually BiPAPs fo NIMV), but yeah, that makes the private sector's offer so much more important because that means both respirators and specialists, not just more respirators.
I think that despite the public gloom they are not as globally short on ICU beds as the pretended, particularily if they shuffle people around from Madrid to elsewhere.

Btw schools and unis wouldnt sort out the doctor shortage because the largest lack is in particular specialities. Goverments want mostly two things now. Well three things: on one hand they want people able to intubate and operate ventilators. On the other, they want an army of as-cheap-as-you-can-get them inexperienced junior docs or even last year medical students to do odd jobs and deal with the deluge of mild cases in the ER, and a number of more experienced doctors(preferibly internal medicine, GPs, or respiratory) to oversee them and make rough plans for the non ICU patients.
The rest? They're not that necessary (for now) unless the ones they have get sick, because most of the regular activity has been cancelled.

(Yes I'm rather cynical about western goverment's crisis management how did you tell?)

[TamerVirus]

Everything is scare or inadequate here stateside.

Not enough testing
Not enough PPE
Not enough ICU beds
Not enough ventilators
Not enough medical staff
And now the word is that hospitals don’t have enough oxygen and are running out of paralytics and sedatives to keep the vented patients asleep.

It’s all one big shit show.

[Iduno]

Something was (unintentionally) said by someone the other day that I almost put in the Bad Jokes thread. I'm afraid that in the "Comedy equals Tragedy plus Time" equation it's severely lacking in Time, but...
Of one of the nurses who lost her life the other day, from COVID, there was a glowing memorialising from a colleague who knew her: When the situation was tough in the department, she'd always be there, and was always happy to help out preparing food in busy times and giving loads of hugs to people who felt bad.

I like the (gallows) humor of that one. Subtle.

A highschool class in the Netherlands following an online class witnessed domestic violence when their teacher was physically abused by her husband in front of the camera.
The man has been arrested and the children have been offered victim support for having had to witness that.

It's terrible that it happens, but it's heartwarming that people did the right thing when it was caught.

(Yes I'm rather cynical about western government's crisis management how did you tell?)

With their record, it's not unreasonable.

Everything is scare or inadequate here stateside.

Not enough testing
Not enough PPE
Not enough ICU beds
Not enough ventilators
Not enough medical staff
And now the word is that hospitals don’t have enough oxygen and are running out of paralytics and sedatives to keep the vented patients asleep.

It’s all one big shit show.

Accountants noticed that keeping extra stuff on hand was a cost without an immediate benefit, so nobody has extra anything anymore (pretty much regardless of industry). It turns out that maybe the experts know things as well? Sadly, people trust business people more than experts.


Edit: That'll teach you to be sick in this country. Even being hospitalized for work-related injuries a year ago (which insurance wouldn't cover because it's work related, and the employer wouldn't cover because) only cost me half of that.

[Teneb]

I hope the same.

The way things are going international markets are not reliable anymore. Countries are outright stealing each other's orders.

This here article is in pt-br, but the USA has jacked equipment meant for Brazil, France and Germany.

[Iduno]

I hope the same.

The way things are going international markets are not reliable anymore. Countries are outright stealing each other's orders.

This here article is in pt-br, but the USA has jacked equipment meant for Brazil, France and Germany.

Combined with the federal government in the US stealing shipments intended for individual states, to be kept for federal uses. And Jared Kushner has stated that states may not use anything from the federal stockpile.

[bloop_bleep]

I hope the same.

The way things are going international markets are not reliable anymore. Countries are outright stealing each other's orders.

This here article is in pt-br, but the USA has jacked equipment meant for Brazil, France and Germany.

Combined with the federal government in the US stealing shipments intended for individual states, to be kept for federal uses. And Jared Kushner has stated that states may not use anything from the federal stockpile.

What's his angle for keeping those in stockpile? He the Joker or something? Wants to watch the world burn?

I mean how can you justify that?

[Frumple]

He's a horrible fucking human being trying to hurt people he wants to hurt. Same as trump. It's not justifiable by anything anyone reasonable would consider ethical, just corrupt and cruel.

[Rolan7]

He is the worst kind of landlord (Dirty Money did an episode on him) so it's probably that same line of thinking.
Step 1: Acquire resources/capital
Step 2:
Step 3: Profit!

This federal hoarding is particularly "amusing" given that the official excuse for us refusing WHO tests in favor of desperately making our own was generosity.  We didn't need those tests, the rest of the world needs them too much - oh but our states need to source their own masks.  And give us some.  For reasons.

[ChairmanPoo]

Hey guys I had a stupid thought.

I mean I kind of commented on it tongue in cheek in the midly upset thread.

But... what about dwarf fortress as a model for epidemic spreading???
Toady should really look into this you know..