Coronavirus is a breeding ground for conspiracy theories – here's why that's serious

[firemonkey]

The novel coronavirus continues to spread around the world, with new cases being reported all the time. Spreading just as fast, it seems, are conspiracy theories that claim powerful actors are plotting something sinister to do with the virus. Our research into medical conspiracy theories shows that this has the potential to be just as dangerous for societies as the outbreak itself.

https://theconversation.com/coronavi...problem-132489

[firemonkey]

Migrants aren’t spreading coronavirus – but nationalists are blaming them anyway

]

https://www.theguardian.com/commenti...-marine-le-pen

[Tembo]

It is good that we are taking precautions though, and making sure it doesn't have an affect like it could. It's also been a good reminder for people to make sure they wash their hands. Although the flu kills hugely more than the coronavirus, it is worth remembering that some vulnerable members of society could easily die from coronavirus, just like with flu. I believe 5% of the population are vulnerable to it. There is also the worry that the NHS is already under huge pressure over winter with the flu, so the added pressure of coronavirus is a concern. Of course, that could be more to do with the NHS being underfunded by the Tories, but still...

I certainly think there is mass hysteria though, even from more trusted news sources. It is almost being treated like a zombie virus! People taking their kids out of school to avoid ill people, trains and planes being cancelled, increased racism towards Chinese people. This doesn't happen as much with the flu! I'm worried about my holiday in April, which could be cancelled - not because of the virus, but because of the hysteria.

[Consolida]

As the Corona virus spreads the conspiracy theories are becoming more ludicrous by the day. It would almost be funny if some of them weren't outright racist

I didn't realise there were quite so many nut jobs in the world until reading social media comments: According to some, the virus is man made and is the 'Governments' way of decreasing the size of the Planets population and in particular getting rid of the old and sick. Basically it's World Genocide.

Other comments are implying it's God's way of punishing the Chinese for eating animals alive, especially dogs! And there was me thinking that if there is a 'God' he was meant to be a kind and forgiving dude.

And this comment on a women's Facebook group I belong to, I can't make head or tail of....

"The Chinese were all given mandatory vaccines last fall. The vaccine contained replicating, DIGITIZED (controllable) RNA which were activated by 60Ghz mm 5G waves that were just turned on in Wuhan (as well as all other Countries using 60Ghz 5G ) with the “smart dust” that everyone on the globe has been inhaling through chemtrails. That’s why when they say someone is “cured”, the “virus” can be “digitally” reactivated at any time and the person can literally drop dead. The Diamond Princess Cruise ship was SPECIFICALLY equipped with 60Ghz 5G. It’s basically remote assassination. Americans are currently breathing in this “smart” dust through chemtrails. Think of it like this..... add the combination of vaccines, chemtrails (smart dust) and 5G and your body becomes internally digitized and can be remotely controlled. A person’s organ functions can be stopped remotely if one is deemed non-compliant. Wuhan was a test run for ID2020. The elite call this 60Ghz mm 5G wave the “V” wave (Virus) to mock us. Trump has created a space force in part to combat this weaponized technology. We need to vehemently REJECT the attempted “mandatory vaccine” issue because our lives depend on it"


Absolutely crazy!!

[slrrrrp]

Americans are avoiding Corona beer amid coronavirus outbreak, survey finds

https://nypost.com/2020/02/27/americ...mpression=true

[Dougella]

^ Americans can't afford to get tested for the virus if they don't have insurance and can't afford to take time off work! I can see big problems emerging there.

[slrrrrp]

Yeah, on further investigation, I think 38% of people not drinking Corona is nothing to do with Coronavirus but to do with people preferring other beers, and the survey has been misreported.

[Merritt]

Although it isn't logical, I can understand not wanting to drink Corona at the moment. It's like, if you were hearing about people's flesh rotting off, you probably wouldn't fancy a refreshing pint of Ebolager.

[FraidyCat]

This should be a wake up call and reality check for people who advocate open borders.
This one only has kill rate of 2% (and mostly old people at that). But the next one could have a kill rate of 20% or higher and be just as contagious.
There always needs to be way to shut down our borders in an emergency. Not just from migrants but from tourists and everyone else.

[FraidyCat]

Originally Posted by HermannHesse

Coronavirus is one of those things that is actually fairly meaningless

Its not meaningless, if its gets bad its going to cripple the health services, which the last time i looked were already overstretched.
So the 'panic' is on to try and stop it getting bad.
And it kills about 10% of old people who get infected, while regular flu kills just 1%.

While the chance of you and me getting the virus is still low. Think about doctors and nurses.
Every year they get flu vaccines so they can treat people with flu without worrying too much about getting infected.
But there is no vaccine for this yet.
So they are on the front line, being exposed to this from patients, they have a higher chance of getting infected, much higher than you and me.
So they have to treat sufferers with hazmat suits etc. But you will say that this is all part of the Drama.

Its a Novel virus which makes dealing with it a lot harder than regular flu even if it kills fewer people in the end.

And if you die from this, the people working at funeral parlours wont want to touch your dead body either, and i don't blame them. So off you go straight to the incinerator. If its get bad they might not even bother filtering the bodies between those who died from the virus and who died from regular flu, send them all to the incinerator.

[Professor Willow]

According to the legend that is Donald Trump, Coronavirus is all just a hoax.

[Dougella]

Originally Posted by FraidyCat

This should be a wake up call and reality check for people who advocate open borders.
This one only has kill rate of 2% (and mostly old people at that). But the next one could have a kill rate of 20% or higher and be just as contagious.
There always needs to be way to shut down our borders in an emergency. Not just from migrants but from tourists and everyone else.

I don't think it has anything to do with open borders. There's been plenty of stories of people just wandering through airport security when they come back from areas where the infection is already spreading with no checks. People were just told if they felt ill to see their GP. (which is actually the wrong advice because people shouldn't go to their GPs surgery if they suspect they might have it!) I don't know if it was a problem of not enough staff, no proper planning or communication or what but we mayaswell have had open borders! (Also I've never actually heard anyone advocate for open borders so I don't know who it is that suggests that's what we should do.)

[slrrrrp]

Originally Posted by Professor Willow

According to the legend that is Donald Trump, Coronavirus is all just a hoax.

He said the Democrats' criticism of his handling of the crisis was their "new hoax", not coronavirus itself.

We are doing everything in our power to keep the infection and those carrying the infection from entering the country. We have no choice

Hardly the words of someone who thinks coronavirus is a hoax, despite what other idiocies Trump might come out with like the stuff about open borders.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/...ation-at-rally

[Mr. Nobody]

Originally Posted by Consolida

"The Chinese were all given mandatory vaccines last fall. The vaccine contained replicating, DIGITIZED (controllable) RNA which were activated by 60Ghz mm 5G waves that were just turned on in Wuhan (as well as all other Countries using 60Ghz 5G ) with the “smart dust” that everyone on the globe has been inhaling through chemtrails. That’s why when they say someone is “cured”, the “virus” can be “digitally” reactivated at any time and the person can literally drop dead. The Diamond Princess Cruise ship was SPECIFICALLY equipped with 60Ghz 5G. It’s basically remote assassination. Americans are currently breathing in this “smart” dust through chemtrails. Think of it like this..... add the combination of vaccines, chemtrails (smart dust) and 5G and your body becomes internally digitized and can be remotely controlled. A person’s organ functions can be stopped remotely if one is deemed non-compliant. Wuhan was a test run for ID2020. The elite call this 60Ghz mm 5G wave the “V” wave (Virus) to mock us. Trump has created a space force in part to combat this weaponized technology. We need to vehemently REJECT the attempted “mandatory vaccine” issue because our lives depend on it"

LMFAO that was clearly a piss-take aimed at all the conspiracy nutters

[Utopia]

^ I think the purpose of these memes is to make people reject conspiracy theories, of any kind about anything. If you read that and believe it then I'm sorry but you don't have an understanding of basic science.

[neilm]

Originally Posted by FraidyCat

This should be a wake up call and reality check for people who advocate open borders.
This one only has kill rate of 2% (and mostly old people at that). But the next one could have a kill rate of 20% or higher and be just as contagious.
There always needs to be way to shut down our borders in an emergency. Not just from migrants but from tourists and everyone else.

The Kill Rate for this will end up being much lower than the 1-2% being quoted by most of the media.

The reason for this is because, there are far more people infected out there who only have mild illness and are not being recorded as having the virus. Many experts think that that there may be anything between 2-10 times as many people people infected as are on the Official Figures. This is almost certainly the case regarding the outbreak in Iran for example.

We had 3 Serious Flu pandemics in the 20th Century and only one (the Extremely dangerous Spanish Flu in 1919) had a Kill rate of over 1%. The often quoted Kill rate in 1919 of 10-20 % is most probably wrong because it almost certainly underestimated the number of infected who didnt develop very serious illness, and therefor werent recorded in the stats (very similar in that respect to what is probably happening now) Its now thought that the actual Kill rate in 1919 was probably around 3-5%. However (And Very Unusually) Young/fit and Healthy people were more likely to die in this epidemic, than in any of the others

The 2 other most serious pandemics were in 1957 and 1968, which had Death Rates of around 0.2 %.

Swine Flu in 2009 was around 0.3%
And Seasonal Flu is around 0.1%.

OF COURSE these figures all relate to Averages and people with Health problems are much more at risk.

Taking all this into account its more likely than not the the actually Death Rate for Today's virus is far less than 1%.

However, it needs to be noted that only applies to the virus as it currently is. It may (as happened in 1919) mutate into something much more deadly. On the other hand it may not. Time will tell...

[Copernicium]

On the plus side I predict a lower infection rate among the socially anxious than among the general population, and an even lower rate among those who are agoraphobic.

Also on the plus side, for those of us who trudge unwillingly to work each day, I predict widespread 2 week (minimum) quarantine holidays as the Coronvirus hits each workplace. The more people in your workplace the more likely this is to happen. I work in a building with about 300 people, so I have my fingers crossed. I don't mind sacrificing a few of them for a 2 week Spring Break.

[Marco]

^Sounds nice, but wouldn't widespread quarantining be potentially disastrous for the economy? Is there a point where the infection becomes too widespread that we'd just have to let the virus takes its course until herd immunity kicks in?

[Copernicium]

Originally Posted by Marco

^Sounds nice, but wouldn't widespread quarantining be potentially disastrous for the economy? Is there a point where the infection becomes too widespread that we'd just have to let the virus takes its course until herd immunity kicks in?

Stock markets were tanking last week because of the disruption to the Chinese economy and the predicted effect it will have on the rest of the world. I think we just have to accept that there is going to be an impact with lower growth forecasts this year and hope the crisis is over quickly and the damage isn't too severe.

On the plus side, though, there might be some bargain shares to be picked up if markets continue to drop, which they probably will.

[Moksha]

Originally Posted by Dougella

(Also I've never actually heard anyone advocate for open borders so I don't know who it is that suggests that's what we should do.)

Really? I have. I know two people (both Guardian reading and left leaning) who believe in open borders. I suspect it’s a standard view at your average liberal left dinner party. The results, of course, would be disastrous, but then the hard left have never been much interested in reality, only in dreamy idealism. And I say that as a moderate centrist and Blairite, not as a Tory.

[Copernicium]

Originally Posted by Moksha

And I say that as a moderate centrist and Blairite, not as a Tory.

I'm not sure the hard left sees much of a distinction. They seem to loathe both with equal passion, the poor dears, and I say that as a Tory, not a wishy-washy, moderate, centrist Blairite.

[neilm]

Originally Posted by Copernicium

Stock markets were tanking last week because of the disruption to the Chinese economy and the predicted effect it will have on the rest of the world. I think we just have to accept that there is going to be an impact with lower growth forecasts this year and hope the crisis is over quickly and the damage isn't too severe.

On the plus side, though, there might be some bargain shares to be picked up if markets continue to drop, which they probably will.

I imagine those investing in Anti-Septic Handwash & Face Masks Stocks will be rubbing their hands in glee at all this.

[far north]

Originally Posted by neilm

The Kill Rate for this will end up being much lower than the 1-2% being quoted by most of the media.

The reason for this is because, there are far more people infected out there who only have mild illness and are not being recorded as having the virus. Many experts think that that there may be anything between 2-10 times as many people people infected as are on the Official Figures. This is almost certainly the case regarding the outbreak in Iran for example.

We had 3 Serious Flu pandemics in the 20th Century and only one (the Extremely dangerous Spanish Flu in 1919) had a Kill rate of over 1%. The often quoted Kill rate in 1919 of 10-20 % is most probably wrong because it almost certainly underestimated the number of infected who didnt develop very serious illness, and therefor werent recorded in the stats (very similar in that respect to what is probably happening now) Its now thought that the actual Kill rate in 1919 was probably around 3-5%. However (And Very Unusually) Young/fit and Healthy people were more likely to die in this epidemic, than in any of the others

The 2 other most serious pandemics were in 1957 and 1968, which had Death Rates of around 0.2 %.

Swine Flu in 2009 was around 0.3%
And Seasonal Flu is around 0.1%.

OF COURSE these figures all relate to Averages and people with Health problems are much more at risk.

Taking all this into account its more likely than not the the actually Death Rate for Today's virus is far less than 1%.

However, it needs to be noted that only applies to the virus as it currently is. It may (as happened in 1919) mutate into something much more deadly. On the other hand it may not. Time will tell...

Hmm, interesting. That would make sense right enough.

[Consolida]

Originally Posted by Utopia

^ I think the purpose of these memes is to make people reject conspiracy theories, of any kind about anything. If you read that and believe it then I'm sorry but you don't have an understanding of basic science.

Admittedly I'm a simple soul but no, I didn't believe it for a second. I was just trying to demonstrate the utter garbage that some people were coming out with. I realise that a meme taking the p out of conspiracy theorists was perhaps a very poor example.

[slrrrrp]

I got this mixture of truth and falsity in an email (I mean, to take one example, if coronavirus "dies at a temperature of 26 to 27 degrees" it will hardly survive in the human body)

An Italian doctor who graduated with a master's degree and works in the Shenzhen hospital was transferred to study Wuhan's Pneumonia virus, or Corona-Virus and notified the following:

If when you have a cold, you have a runny nose and sputum, it cannot be the new type of Corona-virus pneumonia, because Corona-virus pneumonia gives a dry cough without a runny nose. This is the easiest way to identify it. Tell your friends that if you have more medical knowledge, you will be more aware of how to identify and prevent it. Dean's reference.

It is good to know by this time that the Wuhan virus or Corona-virus is not heat resistant and dies at a temperature of 26 to 27 degrees. Therefore, drink more hot water. You can tell your friends and family to drink more hot water to avoid it (Infusions). Expose yourself to the sun. It is cold at the time of the year, so drinking hot water (such as tea and infusions) is very convenient. It is not a cure but it is good for the body. Drinking hot water is effective in killing all viruses. Remember! Try not to drink ice,

Doctor's advice about Corona-virus:

1. The virus is of a fairly large size (the cell has a diameter of approximately 400-500 nm), so any normal mask (not only the 3M N95 mask) should be able to filter it. However, when someone infected sneezes in front of you, it will take about 3 meters (about 10 feet) before it falls to the ground and no longer flies, that is, it is suspended in the air.

2. When the virus falls on the surface of a metal, it will live for at least 12 hours. So remember that if you come into contact with any metal surface, wash your hands thoroughly with soap.

3. The virus can remain active in the tissue for 6-12 hours. Normal laundry detergent should kill the virus. For winter clothes that do not require daily washing, you can put it in the sun to kill the virus.

Information on the symptoms of pneumonia caused by the Corona-virus:

1. First it will infect the throat, then in the throat it will feel like a dry sore throat that will last 3 to 4 days.

2. Then, the virus will fuse with the nasal fluid and drip into the trachea and enter the lungs, causing Wuhan's pneumonia. This process will take 5 to 6 days.

3. There will be a stage with pneumonia, high fever and breathing difficulties. Nasal congestion is not like normal nasal congestion. You will feel like drowning in the water. It is important to seek medical attention immediately if you have this feeling.

About prevention:

1. The most common way to get infected is to touch things in public such as handrails, door handles, handles on the bus, etc., so you should wash your hands frequently. The virus can only live in your hands for 5-10 minutes, but many things can happen in those 5-10 minutes (You can rub your eyes or not wanting to rub your nose without knowing that you have it in your hands).

2. In addition to washing your hands frequently, you can gargle with Betadine throat to eliminate or minimize germs while they are still in the throat (before dripping to the lungs).

Friends, be very careful and drink a lot of water.