Wuhan Coronavirus: Megathread - Got too big

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Got an optimistic piece of news (even though this isn't anything like immediate):

Recruitment Begins for First Test of Experimental Coronavirus Vaccine
Moderna’s shots to undergo a faster-than-expected study on Seattle-area volunteers

 
YouTube livestreamer walking around Seattle in hazmat suit.


















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Edit: might be portland
 
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Canada is now up to 34 cases in Ontario and BC and a possible first death is imminent (I hope she recovers).

B.C. announces 13th case of coronavirus; woman in critical condition


A woman in her 80s in the Vancouver area recently returned from travelling in Hong Kong and India before her tests showed a presumptive positive for the potentially deadly virus.

B.C. Health Minister Adrian Dix said the woman is in critical condition at Vancouver General Hospital.

She's 80. If she has any pre-existing conditions, very likely, she's basically done for unfortunately. Why are all these people travelling right now? If she just 'recently' returned. You'd think anyone in the most dangerous age range would know better than to take a trip to a place where it's got far more cases. At 80 years old it's incredibly unlikely she was on a business meeting or anything like that. At this point I feel like people should know better.

I'm also genuinely confused as to how many Canadians came back from Iran with the virus too like what the fuckin' fuck were you doing there in the first place?
 
When is the next furry convention? And isn't Pride Month in June?

Texas Furry Fiesta just happened. Over 5,000 furries, well known for their hygiene, gathered from around the world to mill around in a hotel, fuck all weekend, and run around downtown Dallas visiting all the restaurants and tourist spots. A good number would have passed through DFW Intl. Airport going there and back. Once the event ended, several could be seen taking to Telegram to say "hey guis did anyone else get the ol' con crud, coof coof uwu".
 
What’s more important, profits or living? They’re at least giving refunds out apparently so maybe if they lose enough money it will shut down but I have a strong feeling by the end of the week the governor will close it.

It’s just sick that it has to come to that and not commonsense.

There's a large international equipment show happening in Vegas very soon, March 10-14, called ConExpo. They also haven't cancelled. They're expecting something like 130,000+ people to attend. They literally keep updating the page claiming they're doing everything they can to keep people from getting sick short of cancelling.

Every large scale gathering of people in the next few months is basically an outbreak waiting to happen. Yet the cons themselves and the people attending are willing to take risks and will take the risk unless something is done to prevent people from gathering together in one space. It's the same with schools as well. Nursing homes. Sports games. Etc.

It's not just money it's where does one figure out the line of total societal shutdown vs. virus risk.
 
No, closest one is in San Francisco, the On-Nu-Ri Church. Don't know what On-Nu-Ri means.
Thank you. We have a huge Korean population up here and their churches are all over. After reading up on these guys, I'm now pretty sure I was seeing recruiters for this cult in the U district in Seattle a few years back. The bible study pitch they do in particular sets off bells.
 
Dude I had friends who been to China and lived there. they heavily sanction churches they see it as a threat to CCP.

Yes, but there is still somewhere between 30-40 million Christians in China. The CPC might not like it, but they don't seem to actively persecute it either.
 

Seems to me the John Hopkins site might be counting the people released from the biocenter as Diamond Princess and not as a county/city since there is no Omaha listed like the US recoveries.
 
Not sure if this was brought up


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Mask-clad commuters make their way to work during morning rush hour at Shinagawa Station in Tokyo on Friday. | AFP-JIJI
BUSINESS
Coronavirus prompts Japan to reconsider long-hours office culture
BY SHOKO ODA
BLOOMBERG


The coronavirus outbreak is forcing Japan to examine some of its longest-held aspects of workplace culture in a country where spending long hours in the office is still regarded as crucial to success.
Authorities have urged companies to break long-standing taboos and encourage their employees to work from home to curb the spread of the virus, and Prime Minster Shinzo Abe’s call last week to shut down schools across the country has forced millions of parents into a work-from-home experiment the country’s firms are ill-prepared for.


Panasonic Corp., NEC Corp. and Mitsubishi Corp. are among the growing number of firms that have mandated or recommended remote work for tens of thousands of staff. The change is testing the ability of the nation’s companies to embrace a more flexible work style — overturning a workplace culture that dates back decades and values physical presence and endurance of long hours over productivity or efficiency.
“Employers are unable to evaluate workers appropriately, so they put emphasis on length of hours worked. Those who work long hours are rated highly,” Naohiro Yashiro, a professor at Showa Women’s University in Tokyo, said in an interview. “The failure to promote remote working is just the tip of the iceberg. The real problem is Japan’s low labor productivity.”
Many firms also force employees to use legally mandated vacation days instead of sick days when they’re ill, which pressures people to come into work even when they are feeling unwell. That presents a challenge for authorities increasingly desperate to prevent the spread of the disease by keeping those who might be infected at home.
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“There’s a strong belief that work happens when you’re at the workplace,” said Rochelle Kopp of Japan Intercultural Consulting, who advises and trains Japanese firms. “If you leave, you’re thought of (as) somehow letting down your team. People tend to feel badly or are made to feel guilty if they aren’t physically present.”

Workers endure
Well before the virus outbreak, face masks were common throughout the year as those with colds forced themselves into the office.
“Even if you cancel public events, it won’t help when there’s a group of people that have to go to work even when they feel unwell,” one Twitter user quipped, pointing to a popular over-the-counter cold drug that promotes itself as the “cold remedy even when time-off is not an option.”
And it’s not just illness that workers are expected to endure — during last summer’s record typhoons, which twice paralyzed public transport in the capital, many workers on social media were vocal about companies that forced them to come to the office instead of seeking shelter.
“There’s a sense of tacit knowledge, that work know-how is embedded in individuals and can’t be replaced,” said Hiroshi Ono, a professor of human resources management at Hitotsubashi University. People think, “‘If I’m not there, things won’t get done.’ Japanese people think that it’s their responsibility. They think if they take time off, they’re causing bother to others.”
Even as the virus forces companies and workers to accept the reality of remote work, many are complaining that in reality, firms are simply not equipped or prepared to let employees work remotely. Despite government encouragement, the information technology infrastructure at many firms isn’t yet able to support remote working.
A survey compiled by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications in 2018 found that fewer that one in five companies had implemented telework, while a Workport poll from August found 90 percent of staff had no experience of working remotely.
Lack of access to laptops and strict security protocols not designed for remote work make it difficult for firms to open up to the practice, Kopp said.
“The problem is, it’s not something a lot of companies can just snap their fingers and do,” she said. “I don’t know how many Japanese companies will be able to get anything together quickly, as it’s an IT challenge.”

Even as the coronavirus forces companies and workers to accept the reality of remote work, many are complaining that in reality, firms are simply not equipped or prepared to let employees do so. | PHOTOGRAPHER: CARL COURT/GETTY IEven as the coronavirus forces companies and workers to accept the reality of remote work, many are complaining that in reality, firms are simply not equipped or prepared to let employees do so. | GETTY IMAGES‘Unintended merit’
The outbreak is also a moment of truth for labor reform measures launched to great fanfare in 2018. Those measures, aimed at combating a decline in the labor force, were designed to make the labor system more flexible and make it easier for those with children or elderly parents to contribute.
With Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike having already called for more companies to set up remote work protocols to alleviate the pressure on rush-hour commutes during the upcoming Olympics, the virus outbreak could yet help to spur change.
“Companies’ way of thinking will change,” Showa Women’s University’s Yashiro said. “By being forced into doing it, it has the unintended merit of showing companies that they can in fact do remote work. If these companies increase, it could be a useful strategy during disasters.”
And not everybody is struggling. GMO Internet Inc. was one of the first Japanese companies to send its workers home following the outbreak, citing the proximity of its offices to major destinations for tourists from China. So far, management is pleased.
“Looking at these results, I’m seriously thinking about the need for an office at all,” CEO Masatoshi Kumagai tweeted on Feb. 16.
In an interview with Bloomberg News, Kumagai — speaking from home — said that the company had conducted remote work training each year for the past decade or so. “We’ve been in remote work for a month now, but this is a first for us,” he said. “It’s a massive social experiment.”
Kumagai says the company had learned many lessons from the experience so far, and hopes to make use of it in the future.
“There were many things we didn’t initially expect,” he said. “After a month, there are some people who prefer working from home, and others who find it stressful. It really depends on each individual.” Kumagai also sees the experiment as having benefits going forward.
“Personally, I think the results of this will lead to reduced office costs in the mid-term,” he said. “With a hot desk system, you could increase workers by 20 percent with no increase in office costs if employees work from home once a week.”
Bic Camera Inc., one of the country’s largest electronics stores, said it saw a 20 percent increase in laptop sales in February, as inquiries around remote working surged.
And some companies are developing novel responses to workers’ ingrained habits. Software developer Asteria Corp. said staff with a fever of 37.5 degrees Celsius (99.5 Fahrenheit) or higher will be forbidden even from working from home, the Sankei reported, and will be considered “in attendance” so that staff with little paid leave don’t have to worry.
“I think this may ‘turn misfortune into a blessing,'” Hitotsubashi University’s Ono said, referencing a Japanese proverb in describing the decision to close schools. “It’s an opportunity for more people to be at home, for remote work to be pushed forward, for a more flexible lifestyle to progress.”
Many workers have reacted positively to the new normal.
“Working from home is the best! I want to do this forever,” said one engineer on Twitter, citing a superior computer monitor, a lack of wait for the bathrooms and an absence of meaningless meetings.
But of course for many teleworking will remain a pipe dream.
“There’s no such thing as remote work for us truck drivers,” said one Twitter user. “If we don’t load up our trucks and drive, there’s no salary for us.”
 
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