COVID19 Factors We Should Consider/Current Events

[Brian Harlin]

A Message From The Ministry Of COVID-Compliance | Zero Hedge

[Soule]

more on Gold’s here:

Golds files for bankruptcy

[Sean Berry]

more on Gold’s here:

Golds files for bankruptcy

Let me make this clear up front....Gold's sucks as a place to lift weights.

However, their business model as "fitness" outfit was like printing money. Cardio movie rooms, auto drafts, good looking pin-setters, senior hours, goofy group classes, etc.....

IF they can't make it, no one is going to lend money or invest in this industry.

Incidentally, noticed at least one small college (private) will be closing their doors forever. An institution that has been around since 1885. May not seem like a big deal, but 200+ years of continuous existence is a pretty big deal to suddenly just go away. What's next?

sb

[John Brothers]

Going back to my earlier comment about government not rising to the occasion: below is some heartwarming commentary on NY Gov. Cuomo's recent collage unveiling.

YouTube

[Shiva Kaul]

The committee is bullshit. It's a blatant attempt by our spineless, piece-of-shit governor to cover his own sorry ass. "I followed the experts, nothing can be my fault." Anyone who has ever worked with other human beings knows that 21 people is about 16 too many to actually get shit done. Especially when 4 of them are purse-carrying lackeys.

Just wait until you see Cuomo's advisory board.

His plan opens gyms last, along with other "recreational" businesses. This contrasts sharply with Trump's plan, which opens gyms in the first phase. It spells doom for the boutique fitness industry in NY.

[David A. Rowe]

This data shows the DRC19 at 0.028319%. This is the only figure that really matters, the percentage of the US population that has died of this disease. It is insignificant, especially in the context of the damage the response has done.

I knew that map looked familiar, so I did some digging -- for all of about 40 seconds. I was not disappointed.

Given the below image I hastily cut together in MS Paint, and what we know to be likely or confirmed true:
-Seroprevalence studies and have only demonstrated higher pre-existing rates than assumed.
-"Poorly performing" flu vaccine with potentially higher rates of negative tests
-Spread of disease related to SARS-CoV-2 in December 2019 (COVID-19) from China was assumption.
-Low mortality rate in socially vulnerable populations (i.e. homeless)
-Lack of Influenza tests confirmed by testing (<2%) with fast tests (most common) being inaccurate (50-70%)
-No confirmed significantly higher transmissibility or survival rates of the virus.
-The rate of testing increase roughly matches the rise in COVID-19 cases (not even gonna touch deaths).


New hypothesis:
SARS-CoV-2 arrived late last season or early this season for infectious respiratory viruses like other corona and influenza variants, and then spread at roughly the same rate without a significantly worse mortality rate. Testing rate increases were merely a correction of our situational awareness, and not at all correlated with the actual spread of the virus.

COVID-19 vs Population Density.jpg

TL;DR: It was here the whole time, and was so statistically insignificant we didn't notice until China made the world notice. Modelers jerked themselves off getting to be relevant. Politicians who already didn't value individual liberties did politician things. No one went to work.

Bonus Analysis: Doesn't matter, at this point, if we stagger the "opening" of the economy for a few more weeks. It's the difference between doing massive damage or slightly more massive damage.

Are we still clapping for being good boys and girls? OH, GOOD. I thought we had stopped.

[Mark Rippetoe]

That's a pretty damn good summary, David. Good boys and girls wear their masks, and Santa Claus remembers.

[Yngvi]

Like clockwork.

All roads into Gallup, New Mexico are closing as governor invokes Riot Control Act over coronavirus spread - CBS News

Now we will see if patriots and free men still live in Gallup, New Mexico. I hope I am wrong, but I suspect only sheep and slaves now live in Gallup.

MIT Technology Review: Machine learning could check if you’re social distancing properly at work
I do not consent

They do not care if you consent. They will have their way with you.

[Jr_Geezer]

No, you are not reading it right. If you just want the CDC total, go here:
Cases in the U.S. | CDC

What you are looking at with the 38k number is a breakdown of multiple death types, some of which are not COVID, and which is about a week delayed.

Thanks for the clarification. Sorry for being dense here, but why are the 67,456 deaths being reported by the CDC at that link more useful, reliable, believable, accurate or what ever you want to call it, than the 38,576 in provisional data? I'm honestly not being snarky here, I really don't fully understand the significance of the difference when it comes to judging the severity of the outbreak. On the "Provisional Death Count" page, the deaths are described as "Deaths with confirmed or presumed COVID-19, coded to ICD–10 code U07.1" using death certificates, while the "Cases in the U.S." page counts "confirmed and probable cases and deaths". "Probable" being those cases which don't seem to include lab confirmation. I do understand there is a lag in confirmation as it takes time for death certificates to be processed, but a difference of a factor of 1.7 times is pretty big.

[Mark Rippetoe]

I can help with this, RJP. 67,456 is more useful than 38,576 because it's a bigger number.