Wuhan Coronavirus: Megathread - Got too big

[MrBlueSocks]

I wish the UK was as sensible, but the tories are terrified of anything that might look like universal basic income in case people realise it's actually a pretty sound idea. Instead, if you're employed you get 80% of your salary up to 2,500 a month, if your employer is honest and wants to do the paperwork. Otherwise, he can choose to fire you, or reduce your hours to 0 a week and not apply for the government help, and you're screwed. If you're self-employed (or fake self employed like Uber drivers) you currently get 94 a week if you fill out a load of forms. There's talk that maybe they'll start paying them based on the average income of their previous three years or bollocks like that. And if you just work for cash in hand (think buskers, casual labourers, drug dealers), you get nothing at all while forced under penalty of law not to leave your house. So that'll be nice for them, in a few weeks from now.

Honestly, they should just have given every single person a payment large enough to compensate for being deprived of the ability to earn a living. Every single person is suffering the same loss of liberty and opportunity, every single person deserves the same compensation. That just doesn't compute to the Tory mindset. It would be 'rewarding lazyness' or something.

That's a load of bollocks.
>every single person is suffering the same loss of liberty and opportunity, every single person deserves the same compensation

No. The money is an emergency fund so that people who used to rely on their salary to cover expenses can still cover their expenses. It's not compensation for your loss of liberty.
1- Non earner, lives on various benefits
2- lives with parents, earns minimum wage at mcdonalds
3- Has a mortgage, family, expenses

All get £2000 /month each, because of Antifa definition of 'fairness' . Insane.

Tying it to your previous amount of tax paid seems like a much fairer and simpler solution. Not perfect, but close enough.
Note, I am getting screwed by this, as I'm fake self employed and was switching occupations as all this hit. But that's the breaks. If they go to a previous year's tax model I'd be OK.

 

[Coolio55]

Things are picking up in the Middle East/Africa.

View attachment 1202808

They wanna talk face to face with the CEO of Coronavirus.

I wish the UK was as sensible, but the tories are terrified of anything that might look like universal basic income in case people realise it's actually a pretty sound idea. Instead, if you're employed you get 80% of your salary up to 2,500 a month, if your employer is honest and wants to do the paperwork. Otherwise, he can choose to fire you, or reduce your hours to 0 a week and not apply for the government help, and you're screwed. If you're self-employed (or fake self employed like Uber drivers) you currently get 94 a week if you fill out a load of forms. There's talk that maybe they'll start paying them based on the average income of their previous three years or bollocks like that. And if you just work for cash in hand (think buskers, casual labourers, drug dealers), you get nothing at all while forced under penalty of law not to leave your house. So that'll be nice for them, in a few weeks from now.

Honestly, they should just have given every single person a payment large enough to compensate for being deprived of the ability to earn a living. Every single person is suffering the same loss of liberty and opportunity, every single person deserves the same compensation. That just doesn't compute to the Tory mindset. It would be 'rewarding lazyness' or something.

I mean... UBI's usefulness is debateable and it certainly allows for abuse. I made no secret of my left-leaning tendencies but at the very least it'd have to be combined with work programs. But with this kinda healthcare crisis destroying the economy, you need to unstuck that shit. If they don't pass some kinda help UK will get fucked, and so far UK has been more sensible than the EU. So... as against my nature as this may be. I'mma tell you to have some trust on your politicians for once. You brits are too cynical sometimes.

The Conservative party won't do it because their entire manifesto is "We are the only non socialist party in the country".
Imagine telling a populous that have been fucked by a giant expensive government program (The NHS) that the solution is yet another giant expenive government program.
The previous points are divorced from the question of whether UBI even works. My money's on no.

The whole issue is: Where does the government get their money? The populace.
In the best case scenario you get exactly what you pay in back (all the legal administrative buggery notwithstanding). In the more realistic scenario (Since there are people who WON'T be paying) you pay money in to get less back. What is the point of this excercise?
In the more more realistic scenario, on top of that the politicians all take a cut and you get even less.
Targeting wealthy companies and individuals won't work as they already pay a pittance in tax, have loopholes up the arse to keep it that way and all the politicians are in on this racket. It's a lost battle.
The only entities who will be taxed are the normal everyday people and small businesses and even if all the "big entities" were somehow forced to give up their shekels they'd just raise all their prices rendering everything moot.

Resources aren't generated on their own. we're far FAR away from that potential future scenario. Who gets to choose not to work?

 

[Not Really Here]

For anyone keeping track of the Trump checks (so basically every American) and wondering how it works, this is the best, most concise article I could find that wasn't behind a paywall or adblock wall. Looks like the penalty for being poor (those who made under $2,500 were going to only get half the amount) was removed, and the checks will be based on your 2019 tax return if it has already been filed, or your 2018 return if not. Details:
$1200 for individuals
$2400 for couples
$500 for each kid in your household
This will start to phase out around $75,000 and cease entirely at $99,000 annually. People on disability, SSI or welfare will still get the same amount.
Full details to be released later tonight

How the coronavirus stimulus bill helps you

It's the rare legislative agreement that'll have an immediate impact for most Americans.

www.axios.com

Still hasn't passed the house so none of that is happening yet.

Edit: FYI the US House of Representatives was in session for 115 seconds today.
Your government at work.

Archive- https://archive.li/I9QQg

 

[Irrelevant]

I wish the UK was as sensible, but the tories are terrified of anything that might look like universal basic income in case people realise it's actually a pretty sound idea. Instead, if you're employed you get 80% of your salary up to 2,500 a month, if your employer is honest and wants to do the paperwork. Otherwise, he can choose to fire you, or reduce your hours to 0 a week and not apply for the government help, and you're screwed. If you're self-employed (or fake self employed like Uber drivers) you currently get 94 a week if you fill out a load of forms. There's talk that maybe they'll start paying them based on the average income of their previous three years or bollocks like that. And if you just work for cash in hand (think buskers, casual labourers, drug dealers), you get nothing at all while forced under penalty of law not to leave your house. So that'll be nice for them, in a few weeks from now.

Honestly, they should just have given every single person a payment large enough to compensate for being deprived of the ability to earn a living. Every single person is suffering the same loss of liberty and opportunity, every single person deserves the same compensation. That just doesn't compute to the Tory mindset. It would be 'rewarding lazyness' or something.

The problem is people think they need more than they do. I lived for a few years cutting things very thin and excluding mortgage/rent and electricity/oil you only need like £50 a week.

The other day the BBC had some woman saying £94/week isn't enough because even excluding rent she still has £950 of essential bills a month. What the fuck?

 

[Seed Pod Tits]

Where on earth are today's UK numbers? I know they've been getting later every day but this is new.

 

[1Tonka_Truck]

This essential business bullshit has really opened a lense on just who is considered worthy of living and who is expendable. Maybe we oughtta change the working class to being called the dying class. The businesses are essential, the workers are disposable.

My job is not essential, my boss expects me to be there. He's chillin at home,

This has nothing to do with class warfare, you just have a shitty job and a worse boss. A Skilled workforce is the basis of essential industries. Damn near every one has a workforce shortage.

Sorry faggots, the farmers in "flyover country" as you guys oh so love to dismissively say take priority over a bunch of assholes in an asshole + Wu Flu stew. If we don't get the farmlands back up and running in a few weeks, we're gonna suddenly need a shitload of food we won't have.

Shockingly, when a city's major export is 'culture' it ceases to be important in bad times.

The US is running on the edge of having not enough doctors coming into the system as the average age of doctors is slowly heading into the 50s not the 30s:

15 years ago all the older doctors were telling high schoolers to stay the fuck out of med school. At the same time, high school councilors were telling anyone with a B+ in chemistry or biology to go to pharmacy school. This how you get a shortage of doctors under 35 and you can't find an open pharmacist job within 200 miles of a university with a pharmacy school. The grumpy old docs weren't wrong, either.

 

[Reverend]

Coronavirus world map Time Lapse (Covid 19 World Map Time lapse)

Watch as Italy and Iran race to the top. It's staggering.


And here's Italy for you EU folks who know what region to blame for introducing the walking dead to your countries:

Is the north where all the factories are?


Iran's regions of death, no idea what areas are what and why they are so impacted. Can anyone fill in the blanks?

 

[beautiful person]

Assorted Oregon/Northwest Corona stories

Spoiler

8 Dead in Oregon, 3 just on Tuesday. (archive) Total confirmed cases at over 200 now.

Postal worker in Portland tests positive. (archive)
- Works at distribution center. CDC and WHO claim risk of transfer to customers is low.

School bus driver in Eugene tests positive. (archive)

High school student in Beaverton tests positive. (archive)

Previously-tested veteran retested and positive for coronavirus (archive)
- Veteran's home in Lebannon, Linn County. After initial infections, all residents tested. This resident previously tested negative but was retested after showing symptoms. Cases in this home now at 15, with one dead.

Oregon beaches shut down after flood of tourists (archive)
- Since everything else fun was shut down, in-land Oregonians flocked to the coast. Most towns on the coast are tiny, rural, and full of old retirees, so some of the town leaders were already shutting everything down and basically telling non-residents to fuck off and leave.
- Oregon beaches are all public land, considered state parks, so the government was able to close them all in one fell swoop.

Also on the coast, Newport police ask residents to stop calling 911 for toilet paper shortages. (archive)

Toilet paper stolen from car in Eugene. (archive)
- Other valuables taken. Likely a standard Eugene tweaker smash-and-grab who just happened upon a toilet paper stash.

Washington high school along interstate opens as rest stop for truckers. (archive)
- Many actual rest stops closed for coronavirus concerns, despite delivery truckers being reliant on them. Restaurants and other amenities also closed. High school is serving food and offering shower usage 24-7 for truckers.

 

[no_mad_johnny]

> normies freaking out over quarantine
> but for me, it was Tuesday

In less smug news, my relative in frogland has got the wuflu. There was a confirmed case on said relative workplace but it's anyone's guess as to where said relative got the wuflu since it took a while for them to experience any symptoms. Relative is young but lives with family who most likely got contaminated too but have yet to show any symptoms. Relative had high fever and tried to call frogland version of 911 but they're only attending people who experience shortness of breath. Very few people are getting tested on relative's region.

 

[Slap47]

The fuck did I just watch? How hard is it to just stay inside?

Women really like to get attention. They can't stand having to be inside.

 

[Irrelevant]

Where on earth are today's UK numbers? I know they've been getting later every day but this is new.

I'm waiting for them to explode. They hadn't really accelerated much for 3 or 4 days so either it's under control or it's going to jump massively soon.

 

[DidYouJustSayThat]

At least you don't see the coronavirus having toddler-like tantrums on TikTok. No, it's working hard to get its RNA into cells, new viral particles made, more patients infected and the air filled with infected droplets. I mean apart from the fact it's going to kill Grandad you have to admire that at least it's not whining and it will never whine. Even if we completely exterminate it, the last viral particles will be inactivated with quiet dignity, after trying as hard as they possibly could to maximize their offspring count. To secure the existence of viral particles and a future for viral offspring.

uwot, nigg3r?

 

[Gustav Schuchardt]

uwot, nigg3r?

Sorry mate. I got carried away Davrossing. It's one of my favorite tropes.

 

[JosephStalin]

The fuck did I just watch? How hard is it to just stay inside?

She sure has big lips, good to suck cocks with. Her infantile behavior reminds me of some young twat acting the same way about President Trump's election, right after Election Day. Saw it on YT.

 

[Green Man]

Most of the cases in Ohio are apparently in the Cleveland area. No wonder testing is lagging.

Probably late, but there's a big cluster close to Dayton too. Well, in Miami County. Friend of my mother's got infected and is currently in the hospital, supposedly 37 people or so in the same care center she was living in prior to being hospitalized are infected but they haven't reported it yet. The woman my mom knows is apparently doing well [believe she's 63 or thereabout] but has quite a slew of pre-existing health issues. Picked up COVID while in rehab for a broken hip that needed replaced. Apparently they're trying the hydroxychloroquine, azithromycin and zinc sulfate combination and it appears to be working quite well so far. She was confirmed to have it 8 days ago and thus far hasn't developed a bad cough, likely as a result of the treatment.

I'm not gonna say where exactly I'm located in the interest of not powerleveling and opsec, but to be vague, I'm in Ohio and supposedly my county has zero cases so far. However it's a very rural area, people don't tend to go to the doc unless they need a limb reattached, and the local government is a fucking shitshow. Additionally our local hospital is about as inept as any medical facility could be while still somehow remaining open. I don't buy it. COVID is definitely in my county and it's probably running around undetected for now. A lot of people at my [now former] place of work have been on leave for COVID related illness/concerns, roughly 30-40 individuals. Now we can safely assume that a lot of them are just taking the piss and using it as an excuse, but I'd say it's likely at least a few of them have it or something else that they've mistaken for COVID.

In other news, rural Ohioans are rather dumb. My neighbor is having a fucking barbecue today. Looked like at least 15 people. I didn't call the health dept. because I ain't no snitch, but all it'll take is for Aunt Susan to sneeze on the fucking macaroni salad and then we'll have a nice little cluster in my neighborhood too. As for me, I'm staying put until I absolutely have to go somewhere out of necessity. Mike Dewine and his staff seem to have done a pretty good job in my opinion and we're doing quite a bit better than several of our neighboring states. I never liked Dewine too much before but I've gained a good deal of respect for him now, he's been doing daily press conferences, updates and answering questions and overall he's been quite transparent and informative. One notable event is that the local Amish bishops have told their congregations to stay home as much as possible and church is postponed for now. When the Amish cancel church, you know shit is getting serious. Amish people LOVE church. Mostly because they can all forget about their chores for a day, go eat at someone else's house and not have a mess to clean up. At least until it's their turn to have church at their house. Probably a decent idea though because measles and pertussis run fucking rampant among the Amish, especially the kids.

 

[wokelizard]

Tying it to your previous amount of tax paid seems like a much fairer and simpler solution. Not perfect, but close enough.
Note, I am getting screwed by this, as I'm fake self employed and was switching occupations as all this hit. But that's the breaks. If they go to a previous year's tax model I'd be OK.

We evidently have different conceptions of what is fair, but I must insist you are incorrect to claim a universal basic income would be less simple than whatever ungodly mashup of employed people being paid via their (lazy/dishonest/I'm alright jack) employers, self-employed via universal credit (or whatever) based on an average of their tax returns, and the others left to starve.

I've got a friend who busks for a living. Things aren't going to be fair or simple for him.

 

[Linako 2.0]

Its not even on a fucking menu like why would you think its nice.

lmao, first worlders thinking the whole world eats nothing but pizza, burgers and hot chip.

 

[Dog-O-Tron 5000v5.0]

What we will see is more Artificial Intelligence taking over the menial work that medical staff can do in diagnostic so 1 Doctor can cover more patients after the machine does it's diagnostics. You'll probably see a nurse hook you into a device and then spit out a recommendation, a doctor in some remote facility reviews the notes, approves the pills, and the patient leaves.

Technology will solve the limitation in humans not learning fast enough or taking away the tedium.

She sounds fucking manic and unused to dealing with discomfort on any level. Christ, she shrieked like a fucking 4 year old at the end.

Was gonna mock her then I thought of the autistic hottie who allegedly an hero'd and it kinda takes the fun out of it.

 

[Reverend]

Amazon workers at 9 warehouses, including one in California, test positive for coronavirus

Amazon workers at 9 warehouses, including one in California, test positive for coronavirus

Amazon has temporarily closed some sites, but has largely refrained from mass closures.

www.kron4.com

Great now my fucking packages are being delivered slower and now with extra CoronaChan.

 

[Ihavetinyweewee]

And where are you going to build these hospitals to staff these nurses and then hire the doctors to manage/run them and ambulance drivers to get those folks there?

Epidemics like this ebb and flow. During flu system hospitals routinely hire travel nurses from other states to come in for 2-4 months to help staffing numbers. The hospitals would rather pay someone to come in that time than pay nurses Over Time for that same period. The laws for compensation and time for employees needs to be revised.

If you want to really solve nurses problems you eliminate the need for a doctor to sign off on certain medication and have the nurses be able to subscribe and deliver that medicine on their own recognizance. Right now it goes from Patient>Nurse>Doctor>Nurse>Patient with the nurse being the middle man even though they know what the patient needs and the doctor is running around checking patients for minutes and between floors.

That or allow more virtual physicians to approve meds remotely.

There are many many bottlenecks in the system that need to be solved, more healthcare workers would help certainly.

You're forgetting physician assistants and nurse practitioners. They can perscribe medication...