here is the most prestigious medical journal.

nemo wrote: ↑Sat Jul 11, 2020 2:26 pm

just an opinion of one epidemiologist

Which is less qualified than your own which draws it's sources from the media you decry?

https://www.worldhealth.net/news/why-ev ... was-wrong/

Note: The original article was published in the Swiss magazine Weltwoche (World Week) on June 10th. The author, Beda M Stadler is the former director of the Institute for Immunology at the University of Bern, a biologist and professor emeritus. Stadler is an important medical professional in Switzerland, he also likes to use provoking language, which should not deter you from the points he makes.

it appears that the UK govt has mandated face coverings now! - let's see how many sheep follow blithely along with this, come 24th July

Did you know seat belts in cars do not save people if they are not involved in a accident . I guess it's the same with face masks.

Face masks may reduce COVID-19 spread by 85%, WHO-backed study suggests
By Rachael Rettner - Senior Writer June 02, 2020


................................With face masks, the chance of infection or transmission was 3% with a mask compared with 17% without a mask, a reduction of more than 80%. And for eye protection, the chance of infection or transmission was 6% with protection and 16% without. "Our findings are the first to synthesize all direct information on COVID-19, SARS and MERS, and provide the currently best available evidence on the optimum use of these common and simple interventions to help 'flatten the curve,'" study senior author Holger Schünemann, a professor at McMaster University, said in the statement.
https://www.livescience.com/face-masks- ... ntion.html


Everyone should wear face 'masks' in public, CDC now recommends By Laura Geggel - Associate Editor April 03, 2020


However, as more knowledge about the virus has come to light, it became apparent that asymptomatic people could be spreading the virus. Up to 25% of people with COVID-19 may not show symptoms, the CDC found. Moreover, a new small study found that COVID-19 may be most infectious when symptoms are mildest, meaning that people may be spreading the virus before realizing they have it.

"This means that the virus can spread between people interacting in close proximity — for example, speaking, coughing or sneezing — even if those people are not exhibiting symptoms," the CDC said in a news statement today. "In light of this new evidence, CDC recommends wearing cloth face coverings in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain."

Under the new recommendation, healthy individuals are advised to wear mouth and nose face coverings — including homemade masks, scarves or bandanas — when they go to a public area, such as the grocery store or a pharmacy.
https://www.livescience.com/cdc-recomme ... virus.html

Physical distancing, face masks, and eye protection to prevent person-to-person transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Derek K Chu 1 , Elie A Akl 2 , Stephanie Duda 3 , Karla Solo 3 , Sally Yaacoub 4 , Holger J Schünemann 5 , COVID-19 Systematic Urgent Review Group Effort (SURGE) study authors
The Lancet | Volume 395, ISSUE 10242, P1973-1987, June 27, 202

Our search identified 172 observational studies across 16 countries and six continents, with no randomised controlled trials and 44 relevant comparative studies in health-care and non-health-care settings (n=25 697 patients).

........................................................Face mask use could result in a large reduction in risk of infection (n=2647; aOR 0·15, 95% CI 0·07 to 0·34, RD -14·3%, -15·9 to -10·7; low certainty), with stronger associations with N95 or similar respirators compared with disposable surgical masks or similar (eg, reusable 12-16-layer cotton masks; pinteraction=0·090; posterior probability >95%, low certainty). Eye protection also was associated with less infection (n=3713; aOR 0·22, 95% CI 0·12 to 0·39, RD -10·6%, 95% CI -12·5 to -7·7; low certainty). Unadjusted studies and subgroup and sensitivity analyses showed similar findings.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32497510/

The reported cluster in SW Sydney produced full blown symptomatic infections within 24 hrs according to Australian media.

Florida reports 15,000 new coronavirus cases, a record single-day total in the US
Rise is the biggest in any state since start of the pandemic as its daily average death toll continues to also rise
Miranda Bryant and agencies
Last modified on Mon 13 Jul 2020 13.38 BST

Florida broke the national record on Sunday for the largest single-day increase in positive coronavirus cases in any state since the beginning of the pandemic, adding more than 15,000 cases as its daily average death toll continued to also rise.

According to state department of health statistics, 15,299 people tested positive, for a total of 269,811 cases, and 45 deaths were recorded. California had the previous record of daily positive cases 11,694, set on Wednesday. New York had 11,571 on 15 April.

The numbers come at the end of a grim, record-breaking week as Florida reported 514 fatalities, an average of 73 per day. Three weeks ago, the state was averaging 30 deaths a day. Since the pandemic began in March, 4,346 people have died in Florida of Covid-19, the state says.

As of Sunday, there were more than 3.2m total confirmed coronavirus cases across the US and 135,066 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University’s tracker.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/202 ... y-total-us

CEOCambodiaNews wrote: ↑Wed Jul 15, 2020 10:40 pm Florida reports 15,000 new coronavirus cases, a record single-day total in the US
Rise is the biggest in any state since start of the pandemic as its daily average death toll continues to also rise
Miranda Bryant and agencies
Last modified on Mon 13 Jul 2020 13.38 BST

Florida broke the national record on Sunday for the largest single-day increase in positive coronavirus cases in any state since the beginning of the pandemic, adding more than 15,000 cases as its daily average death toll continued to also rise.

According to state department of health statistics, 15,299 people tested positive, for a total of 269,811 cases, and 45 deaths were recorded. California had the previous record of daily positive cases 11,694, set on Wednesday. New York had 11,571 on 15 April.

The numbers come at the end of a grim, record-breaking week as Florida reported 514 fatalities, an average of 73 per day. Three weeks ago, the state was averaging 30 deaths a day. Since the pandemic began in March, 4,346 people have died in Florida of Covid-19, the state says.

As of Sunday, there were more than 3.2m total confirmed coronavirus cases across the US and 135,066 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University’s tracker.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/202 ... y-total-us

#$%^&*()!

And then the news comes out that those numbers were off by a multiple of 10X higher than reality. In otherwords, it was BULL SHIT news to begin with. Follow the money, follow the politics. It's not about health and welfare, it's about money and politics.

Re the report about masks being rather ineffective... perhaps an N95 'respirator' mask properly fitted and worn for a limited period of time MIGHT help. Against what I'm not sure as in Thailand 99.95% of the population hasn't even had the sniffles from the CV flu, but all the cloth masks/face diapers with cute emblems and fashion logos are only good to keep you from swallowing mosquitoes and airborne dust. But as far as stopping microb sized viruses, might as well think underwear can stop a fart. And who is recommending everyone wear them - THE GOVT IS, THAT'S WHO. Geez, it even says on many boxes that masks are not effective at stopping viral transmissions. IT IS A SCAM.

So what do I read this evening? The Aussie penal colony is on lockdown again and no outgoing travel is permitted, and that was it Quantis? One of the big Aussie airlines has suspended all international flights until Mar 2021.

Not to get a little out in the grasses, but IMHO this isn't ending anytime soon, we'll all (in Cambo and Thailand) be lucky if the govts don't come up with some idea to kick all foreigners out, and we'll be locked up in our countries of origin. I also am of the opinion that there will be a world wide banking crisis/crash/shutdown coming, and it will be blamed on CV or v2.0 of CV. I hope that in a years time some people will reply to this and say we knew you were nuts as it never happened.

sigh.

this is a disaster for the long term expats/semi-expats who have little or nothing to fall back on in their home countries - what exactly is an old fella supposed to do now?