Lockdown diaries - COVID-19 matters!

[Jean claude Vaaldamme]

What if this only is the start. What if this virus keeps mutating into different more severe strains for which the vaccines are ineffective and we sit for another 10year+ with it. Slowly depleting the world population?
Imagine 5years from now looking back and thinking this was child's play and we complained now but in 5 years we live in a Mad Max style apocalypse were survivors fight for water, food.
A fresh start or the beginning of the end?
Fluit fluit my storie is uit.

 

[Stranger]

You might be onto something there. It has long been predicted that it will not be a mechanical war that kills us off but a biological one and not necessarily against each other. We are such a stuffed up divided world as we are that humans are easy prey. Life as is, is easy for a lot of humans, others live in poverty and we as humans allow this mostly by turning the other cheek.

2 240 000 deaths in the space of a year.
7,794,798,739 current world population

If left unchecked, your scenario will be a reality

 

[Intuthu Kagesi]

What if this only is the start. What if this virus keeps mutating into different more severe strains for which the vaccines are ineffective and we sit for another 10year+ with it. Slowly depleting the world population?
Imagine 5years from now looking back and thinking this was child's play and we complained now but in 5 years we live in a Mad Max style apocalypse were survivors fight for water, food.
A fresh start or the beginning of the end?
Fluit fluit my storie is uit.

... and what if this is a blessing in disguise, an opportunity to create something better?

In my experience change is good, as it yanks us out of our respective comfort zones, and forces us to reassess the status quo

Fluit fluit my storie is ook uit

 

[Stranger]

No blessing if there is loss of life. For every life lost there is a ripple affect across the whole aspect of life that that individual touched.

I hear what you say though and it would be a wonderful thing if it happens.

 

[Hooked]

View attachment 221230

Better still, don't throw out; throw in - the garbage can.

 

[Hooked]

 

[Hooked]

 

[Resistance]

View attachment 221230

In the quest to keep humans safe we just created more pollutants.

 

[fbb1964]

https://www.businesslive.co.za/bd/o...-a-lifestyle-ngo-than-potent-global-watchdog/

The WHO more like a lifestyle NGO than potent global watchdog
The World Health Organisation spends more money on members’ travel costs than fighting infectious diseases
21 January 2021 - 15:53 David Christianson

The Covid-19 crisis developed because the global health watchdog has become overly focused on lifestyle activism at the expense of its original mandate to fight infectious diseases.

For the past 20 years the World Health Organisation (WHO) has been an institution searching for a role. Established immediately after World War 2 to fight the scourge of infectious diseases, it was able to bask in the glow of a mandate fulfilled when, in 1980, it declared that smallpox had been eradicated by vaccination (the last known case was identified in Somalia in 1977). Global health initiatives during this period also brought huge reductions in the prevalence of polio, leprosy, river blindness and yaws, though the campaign against malaria was a failure.

While the WHO likes to claim credit for the elimination of smallpox, it has tended to exaggerate and misrepresent its role. It has never had a large budget and has never employed front-line health workers. The WHO’s job was to act as an information clearing house and to facilitate co-ordination, through diplomacy. So, the WHO never directly vaccinated a single child against smallpox. That was done by volunteers working for the UN Children’s Fund (Unicef) and national governments.

But few institutions go quietly into the night once their initial mission is accomplished. The WHO cast around for a new role, and under former Norwegian prime minister Gro Harlem Brundtland (1998-2003) it found one. Drawing its mandate from the 1978 Alma Ata Declaration (Kazakhstan) — which declared that health should be exclusively a governmental responsibility — the WHO turned its focus to advocating universal health cover and campaigning against “lifestyle” issues associated with noncommunicable ailments such as heart disease, diabetes and cancer.

Since 2000 the WHO has launched campaigns against smoking and (later) vaping, alcohol, sugary drinks and talking on cellphones while driving. It campaigned for children to “work less and play more”, for regular exercise, and suggested that people who work from home or sit in aircraft “shouldn’t sit too long in the same position”. In 2018 it declared that video game addiction is a “disease” Among its tips for coping with the coronavirus quarantine is the idea that people shouldn’t “watch too much news”.

Of course, universal health cover is a desirable objective. But realising such an ideal is the responsibility of governments and their societies. It adds no value to these endeavours to have the WHO lecturing from the sidelines. Yet this is a major preoccupation of the organisation. It was the biggest single item and accounted for a quarter of the WHO’s 2020/2021 budget ($1.36bn out of $4.84bn).

It has to be pointed out that most of the WHO’s money is not spent fighting either infectious or lifestyle diseases. It spends most of its core funding on itself. In 2017 the organisation’s travel expenses were leaked to Associated Press. The WHO had spent $200m on travel expenses that year, more than it spent to fight HIV/Aids, malaria and tuberculosis combined. With 7,000 staff, it spends five times more on air travel than Médecins Sans Frontières, with its 37,000 aid workers. In 2019, an audit found that more than half of all WHO staff travel claims were fraudulent, mostly because they had found spurious reasons for upgrading to business class.

The current WHO director-general, Ethiopia’s Tedros Ghebreyesus, owed his election in 2018 to campaigning by the Chinese government. This may explain his active collaboration in the initial Chinese cover-up of the outbreak. Chinese labs had sequenced the coronavirus genome in December 2019 and a local medical scientist, Dr Li Wenliang, had sought to warn colleagues of the outbreak. But Li was silenced by the government and the WHO did nothing more than tweet, two weeks later, that there “was no clear evidence of human-to-human transmission”.

It also chose to ignore Taiwanese warnings in December rather than arouse the ire of mainland China. It is not clear why the Chinese were so keen to cover up the outbreak, but the claim that it originated in an accident in a Wuhan laboratory which, among other things, carries out classified military projects, gained credibility recently with the publication of a US state department fact sheet suggesting this may well be the deeper reason.

Weeks were lost and the pandemic was already entrenched in several countries by the time Tedros declared a public health emergency of international concern on January 30. But at the same time he stated that the “WHO didn’t recommend limiting trade or movement”. Instead of sounding the alarm early, the WHO only declared a pandemic on March 11, far too late. Further bad advice, including opposition to wearing masks, showed an organisation palpably unable to perform what should be its core function.

From focusing on a relatively few infectious diseases in developing countries it now concerns itself, almost exclusively, with dictating people’s lifestyle choices. For example, by referring only to studies that highlight the severity of disease in cases where smokers did contract Covid-19, the WHO ignored numerous studies that found smokers are less likely to contract the disease in the first place.

The WHO presents itself as a sort of global super health ministry. But it is nothing of the sort. Its track record shows it be much more like an activist nongovernmental organisation than an organ of global governance. It fits more comfortably alongside such hard-core campaigners as Oxfam and Greenpeace than real global governance organisations such as the World Trade Organisation or the Bretton Woods institutions.

If the world is to be better prepared for future epidemics it requires a root and branch transformation of the WHO. Some, including Brundtland (who still enjoys employment at WHO subsidiary the Global Preparedness Monitoring Board) have suggested more resources should be thrown at the organisation. But until it cleans up its act and is given a renewed infectious disease mandate by its stakeholder countries, that would simply be a waste.

• Christianson, a freelance writer, has been a political scientist, NGO researcher and development banker. He entered business journalism in 1997 and was Diageo African Business Writer of the Year in 2006.

 

[Grand Guru]

 

[ARYANTO]

You might be onto something there. It has long been predicted that it will not be a mechanical war that kills us off but a biological one and not necessarily against each other. We are such a stuffed up divided world as we are that humans are easy prey. Life as is, is easy for a lot of humans, others live in poverty and we as humans allow this mostly by turning the other cheek.

2 240 000 deaths in the space of a year.
7,794,798,739 current world population

If left unchecked, your scenario will be a reality

7794798739 divided by 2240000 =3479.8 years to get us extinct , luckily I'll be long gone by then.

 

[ARYANTO]

7794798739 divided by 2240000 =3479.8 years to get us extinct , luckily I'll be long gone by then.

Forgot to work in woldwide births per anum ...140 million per year.

 

[Hooked]

Doctors may administer Ivermectin in urgent cases before given approval, says court
https://www.capetownetc.com/news/do...urgent-cases-before-given-approval-says-court
3 Feb. 2021

"The Gauteng High Court has issued an order in agreement with the South African Health Products Regulations Authority (SAHPRA) to allow doctors to administer Ivermectin as a treatment for COVID-19 in urgent cases, despite it not yet being registered for human use in South Africa.

According to the Control of Medicine and Related Middle Act, a section 21 application must be directed by medical practitioners to SAHPRA to prescribe medicine that is not registered in South Africa for human use.

Doctors may begin ivermectin treatment as soon as they submit an article 21 application and do not need to wait for the outcome of the application to administer the drug. This is allowed only in cases where doctors deem urgent access to Ivermectin for a patient is needed, the court conceded on Tuesday [February 2].

The court order also rules that any person may qualify for access to Ivermectin and that medical practitioners may apply for access to Ivermectin.

One question the court order does not answer is whether SAHPRA may prevent doctors from using this medication if they do not receive permission from the regulatory authority, as is the current rule.

This court order comes after AfriForum and other parties heavily pushed for Ivermectin to be granted urgent use approval ... "

 

[ARYANTO]

Just for interest's sake
Free fibre speed upgrades and price cuts from Openserve
https://mybroadband.co.za/news/broa...uts-from-openserve.html?utm_source=newsletter

 

[ARYANTO]

Greyhound is the latest household name to close operations in South Africa as the Covid-19 pandemic and weak economy takes its toll.
According to the group’s website, Greyhound was the first luxury coach operator to start an intercity scheduled service in South Africa as far back as 1984. The group said it now carries more than 14 million passengers a year over a distance of over 25 million km.

The company thanked customers for 37 years of support and apologised for the inconvenience caused by the disruption.
https://businesstech.co.za/news/bus...-africa-after-37-years/?utm_source=newsletter

 

[Grand Guru]

Just for interest's sake
Free fibre speed upgrades and price cuts from Openserve
https://mybroadband.co.za/news/broa...uts-from-openserve.html?utm_source=newsletter

We are still paying way too much money for data in this country

 

[Drikusw]

 

[Grand Guru]

 

[Adephi]

 

[Hooked]

Ivermectin trials to kick off soon
https://www.capetownetc.com/news/ivermectin-trials-to-kick-off-soon
4 Feb. 2021

"Threee trials testing Ivermectin may begin soon, said the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA).

According to SAHPRA CEO, Dr Boitumelo Semete-Makokotela the clinical trials from the University of Stellenbosch, University of the Free State and Wits will begin soon and are predicted to shed light on the benefits of Ivermectin, which has been hailed as a “COVID-19 cure” but have not been officially tested to SAHPRA’s satisfaction... "

 

[Hooked]

US lifts travel ban for South African agriculture workers
https://www.capetownetc.com/news/us-lifts-travel-ban-for-south-african-agriculture-workers
4 Feb. 2021

"The US State Department has conditionally changed its travel ban rules for workers from high-risk COVID-19 countries such as South Africa. This applies to those who meet critical skills requirements for the US agricultural sector.

The exemption applies specifically to those in the H-2 visa program, which the department has deemed essential to the US economy and its food security. The H-2 visa permits US employers to hire foreign workers to come to the country and work temporarily in the agricultural and non-agricultural sectors as there is a predicted shortage of domestic labour.

“Therefore, we intend to continue processing H-2 applications for individuals who provide temporary labour or services essential to the United States food supply chain, as permitted by post resources and local government restrictions,” it said.

The department specifically mentioned requiring skills such as:

Seafood processors
Fish cutters
Salmon roe technicians
Farm equipment mechanics
Farm labourers
Those who apply for the visa will be considered an exception during their interviews... "

 

[Hooked]

 

[Timwis]

First time live Test cricket has been on free to air TV in England since 2005, watching England against India i am like a pig in s**t!!!!

 

[Hooked]

Teen awakens from coma after 10 months with no awareness of Covid – after testing positive twice
https://www.iol.co.za/news/world/te...ve-twice-c98aaa7b-f9e5-44a5-afe5-fd4b383a98ac

"Due to a traumatic brain injury sustained on March 1 last year, the 19-year-old Joseph Flavill woke up from a coma after 10 months without having any knowledge of the devastation the virus has caused worldwide, StaffordshireLive reported.

Joseph is also not aware that he has tested positive for Covid-19 twice while in hospital – the second time after he had been moved to a centre which provides neurological, physical and cognitive rehabilitation.

He got hit by a car while crossing the road in his hometown of Staffordshire three weeks before the UK went into lockdown. His family is now able to communicate with him through FaceTime, but discussing the Covid-19 pandemic is not a priority for them at the moment.

Sally Flavill Smith, Joseph’s aunt, said: “We don’t know how much he understands as his accident was before the first lockdown. How do you explain the pandemic to someone who has been in a coma?”

She also told the Guardian: “We don’t really have the time to go into the pandemic hugely — it just doesn’t feel real does it? When he can actually have the face-to-face contact, that will be the opportunity to actually try to explain to him what has happened.

"A brain injury is very much the unknown, so we haven't been given an idea of what to expect really."

His mother was allowed to spend time with him on his 19th birthday, but she had to stay socially distanced.

In May last year, Joseph was due to attend Buckingham Palace to receive his Gold Duke of Edinburgh Award. His life was full of sport – hockey, cricket, surfing and skiing – and he had a passion for music while completing his final year of his A-levels.

Now, the teenager is making progress after opening his eyes. In the last few weeks, he has started moving limbs when he is told to do so. He is engaging with family and friends through blinking and smiling, it was reported on Josephsjourney. Flavill-Smith said: "At first his eyes were open but he wasn't responding to anything, but over the last few weeks he's taken amazing steps. "He's really trying to engage and blinks and smiles. He's raising his limbs on instruction. He's making really good progress. We've got to try to remain positive.’’

 

[Hooked]

Organisers of ’super spreader’ events could face legal action
https://www.iol.co.za/news/south-af...l-action-32c0132f-e6c9-4eca-a92e-20c5f6180b82

"DURBAN: Organisers of events which later turn out to be ’’super spreaders’’ of Covid-19 could face legal action.

Using the Ballito Rage Festival as an example, where two people knew that they had tested positive for the coronavirus, Mthokozisi Maphumulo, associate and litigation attorney at Adams and Adams, said it then becomes relevant to look at whether there may be any legal recourse for the victims against the organisers.

He explained that each matter is decided upon its unique facts, and there is no blanket approach for the cases.

"Equally important, consolidation of court cases stemming from the same super spreader event is possible. Victims of Covid-19 who contracted the virus at these events may have delictual claims against the responsible organisers and/or relevant stakeholders.

’’The success of each case is bound upon its unique facts. The victim will have to prove, on the balance of prevalance, that the wrongful and negligent conduct of the organisers caused him or her harm – health wise and/or monetary wise," he said.

Maphumulo explained that the requirements listed have well established legal principles and tests applicable in proving them.

He said one of the major stumbling blocks in potential legal action relating to Covid-19 has been the inability to trace how the person contracted the infection, given the nature of the virus.

"This makes it almost impossible to prove the factual causal link," he said.

He said in cases of super-spreader events, however, the situation may be slightly more favourable to the victims, and the victims may be able to prove the link with less difficulty.

"In this regard, the victim may use circumstantial evidence and prove the link on the balance of prevalence. The circumstantial evidence in this instance would consider all the relevant facts and factors such as the cautionary steps employed by the organisers and whether they were in line with the Covid-19 regulations and protocols, such as floor markings, social distancing, the number of people at the venue, compliance officers for events where alcohol was served, temperature checks at the entrance and whether necessary enquiries were made to find out if the attendees were positive or had had close contact with the infected person," he said.

Maphumulo said, furthermore, with the contact tracing showing the number of attendees who got infected, this could be part of the circumstantial evidence – the more attendees testing positive, the easier it became for the victims to prove the link.

"These are some of the factors for consideration and the facts of the case will dictate whether there is a need for additional factors.

’’Lastly, in some cases it may not be justifiable to legally hold organisers solely responsible and, therefore, the victim may need to ‘shoulder’ some blame and, thus, the blameworthiness will be apportioned, accordingly," he said.

He added that whilst the conduct of the organisers may attract criminal proceedings in line with the Covid regulations, and thus be required to pay fines or face imprisonment, the victims may be able to claim for damages from them.

The possible heads of damages claimable include: past and future medical expenses; general damages; past and/or future loss of earnings or earning capacity.

The applicable head of damages in each case will be informed by the merits of the matter. There may also be claims for loss of support, where appropriate.

Maphumulo said the festive season may have passed, but the legal action may haunt the responsible organisers of super spreader events.

He said these events did contribute heavily to the spread of the virus, culminating in the second wave and the subsequent stricter restrictions.

“These cases, if brought forward, will probably become litigious and therefore may take long to finalise. In some instances, the parties may agree to settle, and this helps shorten the duration of litigation and lessen the legal costs involved.

’’Also, litigation is naturally costly, and most victims may be unable to afford to litigate. To this effect, it is pivotal to enquire as to the options available to fund litigation, especially for those who cannot afford litigation.

’’Further, the compensation amount will be bound upon the facts of the matter. Those who genuinely believe they may have legal cases must take the necessary steps timeously,” Maphumulo concluded."