S07.E03: Coronavirus

[PrincessPurrsALot]

Coronavirus - it's not about watery beer.

Also: Tom Steyer neglects to back that up; Chris Matthews cannot nail his sign off; the Phillie Phanatic

Original air airdate 2020.03.01

[Annber03]

That "absentee father" line...

But yeah, that's the part that worries me the most about this Coronavirus situation. It's not so much the virus itself, though indeed, it is something to pay attention to. No, it's the fact that we've got people in charge whose response to it has been...troubling, to say the very, very least, and way too many people listening to too much misinformation and doing stupid things in response (drinking bleach. Really?). To those here and in other countries who actually are doing their jobs to try and tackle this issue, and being responsible with the information they're putting out, here's hoping their efforts prove successful. 

As for the guy ranting about China and how it's not "civilized" enough, suffice to say he needs to take a look in the mirror. 

On a lighter note, Oliver's reaction to that clip of Steyer is mine. No, Steyer. Just...no. 

And I trust he'll be keeping us updated on the Philly mascot situation :D. I'm going to laugh so hard if they actually wind up getting that mascot. And yet, I won't be all that surprised. 

Edited March 2, 2020 by Annber03

[ElectricBoogaloo]

In case you need a premium werewolf solution:

http://www.werewolfsolution.com

#respecttheconicalhonker

Edited March 2, 2020 by ElectricBoogaloo

[ElectricBoogaloo]

2 hours ago, Annber03 said:

As for the guy ranting about China and how it's not "civilized" enough, suffice to say he needs to take a look in the mirror.

Unfortunately, the corona virus has made people feel emboldened to be really open about their racism. There have been a lot of terrible stories since the news about the virus came out (Asian people being yelled at on the street - some have even been attacked and beaten). Chinese restaurants and businesses in Chinatown are empty because people are stupid enough to believe that they will get sick if they go there.

The latest development is that stores are sold out of hand sanitizer and wipes (I went to Target and the grocery store this weekend and both were completely wiped out, and amazon is out of stock of just about every brand) - despite the fact that what you really need to do is just wash your hands (and despite the fact that hand sanitizer can't treat or prevent viruses).

It's really quite a contrast to see the White House claiming that the corona virus is no big deal and nothing to worry about versus everyone who is buying every mask and hand sanitizer they can get their hands on.

[Annber03]

4 minutes ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

Unfortunately, the corona virus has made people feel emboldened to be really open about their racism. There have been a lot of terrible stories since the news about the virus came out (Asian people being yelled at on the street - some have even been attacked and beaten). 

Yeah, I've heard about some of the nasty rhetoric coming out about Chinese people, sadly. Hadn't heard about the attacks and beatings, though, but unfortunately, that doesn't surprise me, either. God, some people are just....ARGH. 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

6 minutes ago, Annber03 said:

Yeah, I've heard about some of the nasty rhetoric coming out about Chinese people, sadly. Hadn't heard about the attacks and beatings, though, but unfortunately, that doesn't surprise me, either. God, some people are just....ARGH. 

This is just the first article I found when I googled, but I have seen a lot of stories on social media in the last few weeks. The first story I actually saw about Asian people being harassed and attacked because of the corona virus was in Italy. This isn't the same article I originally saw, but it covers the same info: Coronavirus prompts 'hysterical, shameful' Sinophobia in Italy. I wish I could say it's hard to believe, but it's not. They're using this virus as an excuse to express their racism (punching Asian people in the face for being out in public, being told "I hope your daughters are raped and raped again so you can learn to stay wherever you came from," taxi drivers refusing to accept Asian passengers, a mayor posting, ""These f****** Chinese, they eat everything. Bats, snakes, dogs and insects, they should be the only people to die in this epidemic," on Facebook, a school announcing that "Oriental students" were all suspended).

[swanpride]

Honestly, out of the "developed" countries, the US is the one which worries me the most. Not just because of Trump, but also because of the sh... health care system. Over here, when someone feels bad, we seek help (currently we are advised though to NOT go to the doctor if we show symptoms of the virus but instead call in). But in the US? Most people will only go if there is really no other choice, which leaves who knows how many people running around with what they maybe think is just a light cold, and they might even go to work with a light fever because that's the culture the US is encouraging.

[Annber03]

31 minutes ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

being told "I hope your daughters are raped and raped again so you can learn to stay wherever you came from," taxi drivers refusing to accept Asian passengers, a mayor posting, ""These f****** Chinese, they eat everything. Bats, snakes, dogs and insects, they should be the only people to die in this epidemic," on Facebook, a school announcing that "Oriental students" were all suspended).

Quote

 

"Every disease has ever came from China, homie. Everything comes from China because they're f****** disgusting," the man said.

"They can be so smart and be like, 'Oh yeah, I developed this, I developed that.' But like yeah, you can't even wipe your a**."

 

Some people really shouldn't be allowed any access to the internet whatsoever. 

My heart goes out to everyone who's had to deal with that kind of horrific behavior, and I hope they're able to find more people sympathetic to them than not. I also hope anyone who makes the above kind of horrific comments, or abuses and attacks anyone over this, is swiftly caught and held accountable. 

Quote

 

But Emanuele Russo, president of Amnesty's Italy chapter, said the Italian government needed to do a lot more.

"Our politicians openly use racist and hate rhetoric. Anti-racist speeches and initiatives by individual politicians are not sufficient to change the racism embedded in our public institutions. Fear of the virus' spread has simply shed light on the Sinophobia that was already present. We need the government to take a formal anti-xenophobia stance and criminalise acts that violate human rights" 

 

As the saying goes, "Louder for the people in the back!" 

[swanpride]

I don't think that they have a chance to really keep it at bay, also because people are just incredible egoistic. We had a case of a pair which celebrated carnival...most people who celebrated with them readily accepted two weeks of quarantine, which turned one of our smaller towns into a ghost town. Ironically none of them showed any signs of infection. Who did was one women who celebrated there but apparently just decided to ignore the fact that she might have gotten ill, so she run around the last two weeks, happily spreading the virus around. In the city I am living in.

Well, I guess I will continue my live as it is, and continue to wash my hands after every contact.

[biakbiak]

Claire!!!!!!! This is all! 
 

[FoundTime]

So glad John set the record straight re: face masks. I was at a Wal-mart pharmacy earlier in the day and they had a sign up that they were out of face masks. I said to the pharmacy tech who was helping me that (a) the masks are for people who are sick, and (b) if people who don't need them buy them all up, there won't be a supply for the healthcare professionals who do need them.

Even with that great bit of public service that segment did, I was so grateful for the rest of the show too. The Chris Matthews montage had me on the floor, and the Phillies were my late grandmother's team and I can't even imagine what she would have thought of all that 😉

 

[Robert Lynch]

I am seeing echoes of that Dustin Hoffman movie called Outbreak and I pray everything gets under control. I still wash my hands! It's bad enough when politicians get involved and say everything is fine. It is too much when you know how the plot unfolds. Just like a movie.

[sab85]

5 hours ago, swanpride said:

Honestly, out of the "developed" countries, the US is the one which worries me the most. Not just because of Trump, but also because of the sh... health care system. Over here, when someone feels bad, we seek help (currently we are advised though to NOT go to the doctor if we show symptoms of the virus but instead call in). But in the US? Most people will only go if there is really no other choice, which leaves who knows how many people running around with what they maybe think is just a light cold, and they might even go to work with a light fever because that's the culture the US is encouraging.

Yup all of this. Also, our lack of sick leave + low wages means a lot of hourly workers can't afford to take time off even if they are ill. You know who makes low hourly wages? A lot of people in the healthcare industry (CNAs, techs, etc.) and almost everyone in the food industry. Cause that's who you want forced to come to work sick.

[swanpride]

One shouldn't forget that face masks were invented for doctors who were operating to prevent gems reaching the patient and creating post-operational complications, NOT to protect doctors from getting ill. That's another kind of face mask, the one which the CDC uses. So before you stand in a queue in order to get one, you might consider that the very act of standing in said queue puts you at more risk than going without a face mask. Not to mention that those face masks need to get handled properly, too.

[Danny Franks]

Trump's attitude to the Coronavirus crisis is everything people feared, when he became president - he doesn't understand it, he isn't interested in it, he doesn't care about the victims or the chances of it escalating. All he cares about is how it impacts his personal image, through its impact on the stock market. Him just wandering out of the room as the press were asking for clarifications on which of the putzes at the podium were in charge of it was horrifying.

The racism that this crisis is stoking is so dumb. Sure, criticise the culture of wild animal trade in China, that's fine. But why attack someone who looks like they might have origins in South East Asia, on the streets of your city? Why blame them for a virus outbreak three thousand miles away? It's almost as dumb as boycotting Corona beer.

But honestly, trying to contain an airborne virus that has a two week gestation period seems like an exercise in very expensive futility. There are definitely thousands more people infected than we know, and all they're doing is infecting more people. Personally, I'm just hoping that, when I or someone I care about inevitably catches it, they're strong enough to survive.

[swanpride]

I don't think that it is really about containing anymore. It's about slowing it down, if for no other reason than preventing an overload at our health services. The equipment needed in the worst cases of the virus, to help people keep breathing isn't limitless. They don't want to get into a situation in which they have to leave people for dead just because other people have a better survival chance then them (or in case of the US, because they happen to be poorer).

Plus, while the whole "april" thing is idiotic, there is a kernel of truth in it that it spreads slower in hotter climate, so it can maybe be contained in the summer. Hence the slowdown might safe a lot of lives in the long run.

 

Not to mention that every day more is another day they can look for treatments.

[ahisma]

Thank the Flying Spaghetti Monster for John’s sane coverage. Just want to add that his meme dancing game is on point! 

[Annber03]

3 minutes ago, ahisma said:

Thank the Flying Spaghetti Monster for John’s sane coverage. Just want to add that his meme dancing game is on point! 

I love that he actually learned that dance :D. 

[swanpride]

I wonder if the song actually helped to stop the virus....

[peeayebee]

I admit I don't wash my hands for 20 seconds. I do rub very vigorously, however.

I "can't believe" (but actually I can) that Trump walked out of the press conference. 

Loved the phrase that John used to describe the Philly Phanatic: master of the mascotical arts.

[swanpride]

I admit that I have a hard time keeping my hands out of the face. I do a lot of "thinking" in front of the computer, and I have now noticed that every time I do, I put my hand under my chin, often with my pinkie finger right over the corner of my mouth, or with my whole hand in front of my mouth, so that the tips of my fingers are touching it.

Strange what you notice once you pay attention to it.

[Annber03]

10 minutes ago, peeayebee said:

I admit I don't wash my hands for 20 seconds. I do rub very vigorously, however.

The clock in our bathroom is an old-school one, with the red second hand and all, so I've taken to looking at that now and timing myself when washing my hands. 

Quote

I "can't believe" (but actually I can) that Trump walked out of the press conference. 

I truly don't get how anyone can think it's even remotely acceptable for a president to do that during an important conference. 

4 minutes ago, swanpride said:

I admit that I have a hard time keeping my hands out of the face. I do a lot of "thinking" in front of the computer, and I have now noticed that every time I do, I put my hand under my chin, often with my pinkie finger right over the corner of my mouth, or with my whole hand in front of my mouth, so that the tips of my fingers are touching it.

Strange what you notice once you pay attention to it.

Same here. I just went out to check the mail and it's a bit windy out, so a strand of hair blew in my face, and I had to reach up to brush it away. That's going to be a tough thing to do, for sure. 

[peeayebee]

I just washed my hands for 20 seconds (counting in my head), and it really didn't seem that long.

[scarynikki12]

Ollie I agree that the Vietnam hand washing song is great but NOTHING is better than Ernie’s Rubber Duckey song. That shit is a masterpiece. 

[Lantern7]

Great episode. John taught us the basics about the Coronavirus and some of the dumber reactions to it. Bonus: we got to hear Bob Costas say "fuck."

As much as I'd want an online clip of John making a pitch to give obscene amounts of HBO money to the Phillie Phanatic, I think John did us a service with the education. Even if it turns out the Coronavirus doesn't turn out to be the disease to end all diseases, it still has the potential to take out large amounts of people, so we have to take it seriously. Sadly, our president talked about it in his usual way, and that was not reassuring.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

My coronavirus PSA:

Washing your hands is the most effective way to prevent the spread of viruses (much more than hand sanitizers). But if you feel the need to use hand sanitizer and your local stores are sold out, you can easily make your own at home with rubbing alcohol or vodka. But as noted in the link I posted before, Purell and most hand sanitizers with alcohol won't kill the 99.9% of germs that they claim unless you soak the surface thoroughly and let it evaporate (and be aware that the high alcohol will be very drying on your skin so stock up on hand lotion or other moisturizer!).

If you sing either Happy Birthday or the ABC song twice while washing your hands, that's about 20 seconds. If you sing Take Me Out to the Ball Game, that's around 30 seconds.

The World Health Organization recommends that you wash your hands for 40-60 seconds (not just 20 seconds). Warm water is fine. It does NOT have to be scalding hot water. Be sure to thoroughly dry your hands afterward.

If you're standing at the sink wondering what do for 60 seconds, they have a handy chart (which you can download here if you want to print a copy):

They also have a video demonstrating each step:

ETA: You should wash your hands like this EVERY time you wash your hands - not just when it's flu season or when there's a panic about an illness.

Edited March 3, 2020 by ElectricBoogaloo

[swanpride]

Sure, but let's be real, most people don't. And I don't use the last step anyway, the kind of faucet we have can be closed by lightly pressing down on it with your wrist.

[peeayebee]

10 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

, you can easily make your own at home with rubbing alcohol or vodka.

Vodka!

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Just a practical note on homemade hand sanitizer - it's mostly alcohol which means your skin is going to get REALLY dry after you use it a few times so make sure you have lotion or moisturizer!

[Kromm]

On 3/3/2020 at 2:35 AM, ElectricBoogaloo said:

you can easily make your own at home with rubbing alcohol or vodka. 

 

On 3/3/2020 at 12:37 PM, peeayebee said:

Vodka!

Sadly,that article (and many people unintentionally) are peddling disinformation.  You can't use 80 proof Vodka like that article says.  Whoever wrote that apparently doesn't understand proof.  80 proof is 40% alcohol.  It takes a minimum of a 60% alcohol solution to even stand a chance of killing a virus, providing you follow all the other proper usage directions as well. In other words, 120 proof alcohol.  So... for the most part just Ethanol, aka "grain alcohol".  Not 80 proof or even 100 proof vodka. There are also a tiny number of Whiskeys, Rums and yes, even a few Vodkas of that strength, but not many, and the article says 80 proof, and the talk going around the Internet is just saying "Vodka", like you can use any kind.  

 

EDIT - okay, to be fair, the dumbass "80 proof" thing is in the "Community Q&A" section, not that main part.  

But it IS true that the vodka thing, overall, is being passed around the Internet like crazy and... is nonsense.  It's just as bad as using one of those bottles of 50% Isopropyl Rubbing Alcohol that a lot of stores are putting on their endcap displays now that they are out of the 70% stuff.  Useless and even dangerous in how misleading it is (not that hoping that hand sanitizer at ALL is really going to do that much even if it's made correctly--at most it just increases your chances of killing the virus before you inivitably touch some entrance to your body.  

Edited March 9, 2020 by Kromm

[peeayebee]

I need to check the percentage on my bottle of hand sanitizer. I just have a cold, but when I can't wash my hands, I use the other stuff. I'm afraid it's probably a lower percentage than recommended.

[Robert Lynch]

New York is on high alert now.

[swanpride]

So I guess people didn't manage to avoid the "full" subway waggons didn't they? WHAT a surprise!

[Xantar]

Watching that Vietnamese PSA video is so bizarre as a Vietnamese person. And it really does slap.

So they ran a montage of mascots associated with Last Week Tonight and they didn't show ChiJohn? For shame!

[swanpride]

Well, in my area there are more and more cases. I guess it is only a matter of time until I get infected, if I haven't already.

[Annber03]

Take care and stay safe, @swanpride. 

[swanpride]

I am not overly worried. I am not part of the risk group and being in Germany, I can trust our healthcare system. So far we had only three deaths, and those were all people who had already really bad health (one of them was over 90. I just don't want to accidentally infect my mother.

[DEL901]

5 hours ago, swanpride said:

I am not overly worried. I am not part of the risk group and being in Germany, I can trust our healthcare system. So far we had only three deaths, and those were all people who had already really bad health (one of them was over 90. I just don't want to accidentally infect my mother.

I have been watching the German numbers and they are truly impressive and a tribute to your healthcare system.  Canada is doing okay as well, with 1 death.  

We have the advantage of being a large country that is pretty spread out except for the big cities.  We have the disadvantage of being next to the US which has outsource much of the anti-virus research and stated "Private companies will control their own pricing, but we hope the vaccine will be affordable for most Americans."

[swanpride]

Well, the numbers look maybe better than elsewhere because we test more people, hence we have more of the light cases in the statistic. We will know more in a month or so, when we might reach Italians level. In the area I live, there was never a chance to escape, because it is the most densely populated area in already densely populated Germany, and a logistic hotspot, with a lot of Autobahn meeting in the area. Plus, multiple airports.

The upside is that there are a lot of hospitals and doctors, too.