An open community 
of Macintosh users,
for Macintosh users.

FineTunedMac Dashboard widget now available! Download Here

Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
Page 1 of 9 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Coronavirus information: assorted web links
#53723 03/19/20 04:29 PM
Joined: Aug 2009
Likes: 1
Moderator
OP Offline
Moderator

Joined: Aug 2009
Likes: 1
Considering the adage Knowledge is Power, I think it might be helpful to provide a collection of web links about the Corona virus/COVID-19 that could help our FineTunedMac community assess and better understand the current pandemic, and what it means to them and the various other communities they’re part of.

It can also help dispel rather ubiquitous mis- and disinformation on the topic. In addition to this, the current pandemic offers new opportunities for various malfeasants targeting those looking for information on the internet. One example is described HERE, but I’m sure there are many others. Be careful out there!

To get you going, here are a few links I found quite useful:

- Coronavirus articles on Medium* made available freely by Medium
- Coronavirus information page compiled by MacInTouch/Ric Ford
- Coronavirus map of the US: latest cases state by state by The Guardian
- Hour by hour: the spread of the coronavirus across the globe. Interactive map by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty

*) A particularly helpful overview is Tomas Pueyo’s Coronavirus: Why You Must Act Now. This has been updated at least once, and may be again.

**) I cannot guarantee that there is no bad info in the above links, but they are well curated. Please use your common sense and check multiple reputable sources for verification.

Note that
(1) most of these pages are updated regularly, so it pays to check back, and
(2) they are currently freely accessible, i.e., not behind a paywall.


alternaut moderator
Re: Coronavirus information: assorted web links
alternaut #53726 03/19/20 10:33 PM
Joined: Aug 2009
Likes: 16
Moderator
Offline
Moderator

Joined: Aug 2009
Likes: 16
Thanks for posting those sites. Very informative and better than anything coming out of DC these days.

There is a statistic missing however. While the absolute number of infections and deaths is interesting, the RATE OF INFECTION (infections per say 100,000 population) and the RATE OF DEATH as well as the RATE and VECTOR of change in those numbers would tell far more about progress in containing and managing the infections. On the other hand it is a given that the absolute numbers in many countries are questionable if not outright bogus. (That is not a criticism of the reporting sites, it is a commentary on governments that might mis-report to hide of deny the true facts.)


If we knew what it was we were doing, it wouldn't be called research, would it?

— Albert Einstein
Re: Coronavirus information: assorted web links
joemikeb #53727 03/19/20 11:40 PM
Joined: Aug 2009
Likes: 1
Moderator
OP Offline
Moderator

Joined: Aug 2009
Likes: 1
Originally Posted By: joemikeb
There is a statistic missing however. [...] RATE

The biggest problem with that statistic is the number of infected people, which determines the other variables you mention. Accuracy here requires for everyone to be tested, because many of those infected only show minor symptoms. This makes all available numbers everywhere iffy, even without resorting to ‘massaging’ the data some governments are suspected of.

Right now, such wholesale testing is not going to happen, but the actual number of infected people may be estimated after the fact, e.g., by determining anti-COVID-19 antibody presence in the population. The underlying mechanism is that whomever has been exposed to COVID-19 produced antibodies to the virus, regardless of their symptoms. (This may actually be more accurate than the COVID-19 test data, because people may get infected after having that test, and hence not be counted there.) In the case of SARS1 (COVID-19 = SARS2), such antibodies are readily detected even now, almost 2 decades after the 2003 outbreak. Of course, it requires another test, while yet other population measurements during/after the current pandemic may be accurate enough for such estimates, as well as for other purposes.

With regard to the other part of the RATE equations, the number of dead is more obvious, but also dependent on the medical characteristics of the target group, as well as on timely available medical care, both major variables. We’ll learn a lot about those in the near future, but it will take a while. tongue


alternaut moderator
Re: Coronavirus information: assorted web links
alternaut #53731 03/20/20 12:10 AM
Joined: Aug 2009
Likes: 4
Offline

Joined: Aug 2009
Likes: 4
And for Canada: Coronavirus Updates

Keep in mind:
• Never take medical advice from politicians.
• Every time the American Shmuck in Chief opens his mouth re coronavirus, he's lying.

Re: Coronavirus information: assorted web links
grelber #53735 03/20/20 08:48 AM
Joined: Aug 2009
Likes: 4
Offline

Joined: Aug 2009
Likes: 4
Read it and weep:

Before Virus Outbreak, a Cascade of Warnings Went Unheeded

Government exercises, including one last year, made clear that the US was not ready for a pandemic like the coronavirus. But little was done.

Just remember – as I have oft noted – that this Andromeda strain is merely Gaia's way of thinning the herd to improve living conditions ... but it's not doing it in a maximally efficient fashion. More virulence!

Re: Coronavirus information: assorted web links
alternaut #53740 03/21/20 06:19 PM
Joined: Aug 2009
Likes: 16
Moderator
Offline
Moderator

Joined: Aug 2009
Likes: 16
Originally Posted By: alternaut
The biggest problem with that statistic is the number of infected people, which determines the other variables you mention. Accuracy here requires for everyone to be tested, because many of those infected only show minor symptoms.
100% accuracy is neither feasible or required. Only a statistically valid random testing is necessary. At the present time in most of this country there are only enough tests available for those who are showing a specific symptomology and/or are in high risk groups. So any statistics are heavily biased in favor of being infected.


If we knew what it was we were doing, it wouldn't be called research, would it?

— Albert Einstein
Re: Coronavirus information: assorted web links
joemikeb #53741 03/21/20 09:10 PM
Joined: Aug 2009
Likes: 1
Moderator
OP Offline
Moderator

Joined: Aug 2009
Likes: 1
Originally Posted By: joemikeb
100% accuracy is neither feasible or required. Only a statistically valid random testing is necessary.

I agree, and realize I should have phrased that better. That said, it’s not yet clear what the optimal requirements for a statistically valid random test should be, given the unknowns of COVID-19, but at this stage any new data improves upon what we’ve got. And what we’ve got can be compared to a mountain island, representing the known/tested infected, with the snowy peak the deceased, and the larger submerged base the unknown infected.

More info, now from The Atlantic, and free from their paywall: What You Need to Know About the Coronavirus


alternaut moderator
Re: Coronavirus information: assorted web links
alternaut #53744 03/22/20 01:28 AM
Joined: Aug 2009
Likes: 1
Moderator
OP Offline
Moderator

Joined: Aug 2009
Likes: 1
And on a lighter note: The Coronavirus Toilet Paper Calculator (be sure to check out the advanced options!) cool


alternaut moderator
Re: Coronavirus information: assorted web links
grelber #53759 03/23/20 07:31 AM
Joined: Aug 2009
Likes: 4
Offline

Joined: Aug 2009
Likes: 4

Re: Coronavirus information: assorted web links
alternaut #53786 03/24/20 11:32 PM
Joined: Aug 2009
Likes: 14
Offline

Joined: Aug 2009
Likes: 14
From the Visual Capitalist, the seven best COVID resources they've discovered so far.


ryck

"What Were Once Vices Are Now Habits" The Doobie Brothers

iMac (Retina 5K, 27", 2020), 3.8 GHz 8 Core Intel Core i7, 8GB RAM, 2667 MHz DDR4
OS Ventura 13.6.3
Canon Pixma TR 8520 Printer
Epson Perfection V500 Photo Scanner c/w VueScan software
TM on 1TB LaCie USB-C
Re: Coronavirus information: assorted web links
alternaut #53835 03/27/20 11:29 PM
Joined: Aug 2009
Likes: 14
Offline

Joined: Aug 2009
Likes: 14
And, on a hopeful note, I just watched a news item with a 102 year old Italian woman who has recovered from COVID. On doing a DuckDuckGo search, I found there was also an 86 year old woman and a 101 year old man who recovered from it.

We'll be eating a lot more spaghetti and guzzling plenty of Ruffino.

Last edited by ryck; 03/27/20 11:30 PM.

ryck

"What Were Once Vices Are Now Habits" The Doobie Brothers

iMac (Retina 5K, 27", 2020), 3.8 GHz 8 Core Intel Core i7, 8GB RAM, 2667 MHz DDR4
OS Ventura 13.6.3
Canon Pixma TR 8520 Printer
Epson Perfection V500 Photo Scanner c/w VueScan software
TM on 1TB LaCie USB-C
Re: Coronavirus information: assorted web links
ryck #53843 03/28/20 09:47 AM
Joined: Aug 2009
Likes: 4
Offline

Joined: Aug 2009
Likes: 4
Originally Posted By: ryck
We'll be eating a lot more spaghetti and guzzling plenty of Ruffino.

And guzzling is all you can do with ruffino and most chiantis.

Now if you want to savor, try Nebbiolo, Nero d'Avola, Amarone, Barolo, Brunello, any Super Tuscan, etc.

Re: Coronavirus information: assorted web links
grelber #53844 03/28/20 10:37 AM
Joined: Aug 2009
Likes: 4
Offline

Joined: Aug 2009
Likes: 4
Seattle Is Living Your Coronavirus Future

Among other things ...
President Trump’s talk of opening the United States for business by Easter is greeted in this precinct of sanity as the heartless bluster of a career con man. The public radio station in Seattle, KUOW, has stopped airing Trump’s live briefings because the volume of misinformation he puts out cannot be corrected in real time.

Re: Coronavirus information: assorted web links
grelber #53850 03/29/20 02:32 AM
Joined: Aug 2009
Likes: 15
Online

Joined: Aug 2009
Likes: 15
In a different vein: Stacks of Urns in Wuhan Prompt New Questions of Virus’s Toll

The interesting thing about this article is that 2 months or so ago I saw an article in which someone who claimed to have had info from people in Wuhan said that they had already cremated 50,000 bodies.


The new Great Equalizer is the SEND button.

In Memory of Harv: Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. ~Voltaire
Re: Coronavirus information: assorted web links
artie505 #53860 04/03/20 01:17 PM
Joined: Aug 2009
Likes: 14
Offline

Joined: Aug 2009
Likes: 14
Originally Posted By: artie505
In a different vein:

And, in another different vein, it seems the other big pandemic The Black Death involved social distancing.


ryck

"What Were Once Vices Are Now Habits" The Doobie Brothers

iMac (Retina 5K, 27", 2020), 3.8 GHz 8 Core Intel Core i7, 8GB RAM, 2667 MHz DDR4
OS Ventura 13.6.3
Canon Pixma TR 8520 Printer
Epson Perfection V500 Photo Scanner c/w VueScan software
TM on 1TB LaCie USB-C
Re: Coronavirus information: assorted web links
ryck #53862 04/03/20 05:06 PM
Joined: Aug 2009
Likes: 4
Offline

Joined: Aug 2009
Likes: 4
Originally Posted By: ryck
And, in another different vein, it seems the other big pandemic The Black Death involved social distancing.

Indeed. Death is the ultimate social distancer. tongue smirk

Re: Coronavirus information: assorted web links
grelber #53867 04/03/20 07:04 PM
Joined: Aug 2009
Likes: 4
Offline

Joined: Aug 2009
Likes: 4
Touting Virus Cure, ‘Simple Country Doctor’ Becomes a Right-Wing Star

How Dr Vladimir Zelenko's claims for his coronavirus treatment spread from a New York village all the way to President Trump.

Re: Coronavirus information: assorted web links
grelber #53886 04/08/20 07:53 AM
Joined: Aug 2009
Likes: 4
Offline

Joined: Aug 2009
Likes: 4
From The Atlantic in 2018 ...

The Next Plague Is Coming. Is America Ready?

The epidemics of the early 21st century revealed a world unprepared, even as the risks continue to multiply. Much worse is coming.

Re: Coronavirus information: assorted web links
alternaut #53924 04/11/20 04:18 PM
Joined: Aug 2009
Likes: 14
Offline

Joined: Aug 2009
Likes: 14
Another one from Visual Capitalist, showing what COVID does to your body.


ryck

"What Were Once Vices Are Now Habits" The Doobie Brothers

iMac (Retina 5K, 27", 2020), 3.8 GHz 8 Core Intel Core i7, 8GB RAM, 2667 MHz DDR4
OS Ventura 13.6.3
Canon Pixma TR 8520 Printer
Epson Perfection V500 Photo Scanner c/w VueScan software
TM on 1TB LaCie USB-C
Re: Coronavirus information: assorted web links
alternaut #54137 04/18/20 12:10 AM
Joined: Aug 2009
Likes: 14
Offline

Joined: Aug 2009
Likes: 14
Yet another from the Visual Capitalist. This time, information about high tech companies' contributions to the fight and more.

Last edited by ryck; 04/18/20 12:13 AM.

ryck

"What Were Once Vices Are Now Habits" The Doobie Brothers

iMac (Retina 5K, 27", 2020), 3.8 GHz 8 Core Intel Core i7, 8GB RAM, 2667 MHz DDR4
OS Ventura 13.6.3
Canon Pixma TR 8520 Printer
Epson Perfection V500 Photo Scanner c/w VueScan software
TM on 1TB LaCie USB-C
Re: Coronavirus information: assorted web links
ryck #54142 04/18/20 02:49 PM
Joined: Aug 2009
Likes: 7
Online

Joined: Aug 2009
Likes: 7
Scammers are coming out of the woodwork. As the quip goes, "The devil is an optimist if he thinks he can make people worse than they already are."

Doctor Charged With Fraud After U.S. Says He Sold Treatment as ‘100 Percent’ Cure for Covid-19

I would characterize this as snake oil, except that this type of chicanery is beneath the dignity of my pet black rat snake.


Jon

macOS 11.7.10, iMac Retina 5K 27-inch, late 2014, 3.5 GHz Intel Core i5, 1 TB fusion drive, 16 GB RAM, Epson SureColor P600, Photoshop CC, Lightroom CC, MS Office 365
Re: Coronavirus information: assorted web links
jchuzi #54149 04/18/20 06:25 PM
Joined: Aug 2009
Likes: 7
Online

Joined: Aug 2009
Likes: 7
I'm replying to myself with this. The Huckster-in-Chief is now in cahoots with the TV Quack-in-Chief. The Unholy Alliance of Trump and Dr. Oz


Jon

macOS 11.7.10, iMac Retina 5K 27-inch, late 2014, 3.5 GHz Intel Core i5, 1 TB fusion drive, 16 GB RAM, Epson SureColor P600, Photoshop CC, Lightroom CC, MS Office 365
Re: Coronavirus information: assorted web links
jchuzi #54152 04/18/20 07:14 PM
Joined: Aug 2009
Likes: 15
Online

Joined: Aug 2009
Likes: 15
For all of Oz's MANY faults, he's got at least this one wonderful quote going for him:

Quote:
A minor procedure is a procedure that's being performed on someone else.


The new Great Equalizer is the SEND button.

In Memory of Harv: Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. ~Voltaire
Re: Coronavirus information: assorted web links
artie505 #54154 04/18/20 08:56 PM
Joined: Aug 2009
Likes: 7
Online

Joined: Aug 2009
Likes: 7
And another saying, not by Oz, involves the difference between a recession and a depression. When your neighbor loses his job, it's a recession. When you lose yours, it's a depression.


Jon

macOS 11.7.10, iMac Retina 5K 27-inch, late 2014, 3.5 GHz Intel Core i5, 1 TB fusion drive, 16 GB RAM, Epson SureColor P600, Photoshop CC, Lightroom CC, MS Office 365
Re: Coronavirus information: assorted web links
grelber #54155 04/18/20 11:27 PM
Joined: Aug 2009
Likes: 1
Moderator
OP Offline
Moderator

Joined: Aug 2009
Likes: 1
OK, here are a few more links discussing available data on COVID-19 from a US point of view, and how to (not) read it:
- A New Statistic Reveals Why America’s COVID-19 Numbers Are Flat
- Without More Tests, America Can’t Reopen
- Coronavirus has destroyed the myth of the deficit


alternaut moderator
Page 1 of 9 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Moderated by  alternaut, cyn 

Link Copied to Clipboard
Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.4
(Release build 20200307)
Responsive Width:

PHP: 7.4.33 Page Time: 0.063s Queries: 65 (0.051s) Memory: 0.7160 MB (Peak: 0.8964 MB) Data Comp: Zlib Server Time: 2024-03-28 14:20:07 UTC
Valid HTML 5 and Valid CSS