Covid19 Part XVIII-25,473 in ROI(1,736 deaths) 5,760 in NI (551 deaths)(30/06)Read OP

BorneTobyWilde wrote: »

8 cases, 8 dead
100% death rate
We're doomed

BorneTobyWilde wrote: »

I was kidding.
WHOOSH

rusty cole wrote: »

as opposed to how many heart attacks normally?? WTF.
You do know stress and lack of exercise increase your risk of heart attacks don't you???

NDWC wrote: »

Who's "they"? Obviously nowhere in Europe

Hyperbolic nonsense

Jim_Hodge wrote: »

You seem a mite put out yourself there.

Prof Hendrik Streeck predicts there will be no second wave

By Justin Huggler
BERLIN
10 June 2020 • 5:13pm

One of Germany’s most prominent virologists has said the country’s lockdown was unnecessary to defeat the coronavirus.

“We went into lockdown too quickly because the prevailing concern was that there might not be enough intensive care beds and that there was pressure from the public,” Prof Hendrik Streeck said.

“We are seeing a lot of asymptomatic cases, that is infections with no consequences. This means we can assess the danger from the virus better. I still don’t believe that at the end of the year we will have had more deaths in Germany than in other years.”

Prof Streeck led the first comprehensive study into the effects of the coronavirus on an entire community in the German town of Gangelt.

The controversial study found the fatality rate for the virus was much lower than at first thought, at just 0.37 per cent.

It also found that ten times more people than previously thought may have acquired immunity to the virus.

“My position has always been that the virus should not be trivialized, but that it shouldn’t be overdramatised either,” Prof Streeck told Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung newspaper.

“I agreed with the initial restrictions and the ban on major events. After they were imposed, the infection process already started to decrease. I would have made further measures, such as contact restrictions, dependent on the actual course of the outbreak, in order to see how effective restrictions are and whether additional steps are really necessary.”

Prof Streeck said he did not expect a second wave of infections. “I don’t think we’ll see a big surge in Covid 19 infections again, but if we do we should be careful not to take such strong measures as we did in the spring,” he said.

“There will always be further outbreaks. So far, they have been rather harmless. Of course that requires coordinated and continuous monitoring.”

Prof Streeck’s intervention comes with no sign of a second wave in Germany more than seven weeks after the country began lifting its lockdown.

But his claims are likely to stir controversy. The Gangelt study he headed came under sustained attack from rival scientists who claimed it underplays the risk from the virus.

They claim it was commissioned for political purposes by the regional government of North Rhine-Westphalia, whose leader Armin Laschet opposed the lockdown — allegations Prof Streeck denies.

He spoke out in support of schools reopening. “Children are not major carriers for this virus. This is known virologically. The decision now has to be made politically,” he said.

“In any case, teachers have no higher risk of infection than other professional groups that work with people, such as nurses or sales staff.”

And he was critical of the requirement to wear facemasks in shops and on public transport in Germany.

“At the beginning of the pandemic, masks were specifically warned against. The reasons for this still apply, even if, strangely enough, they no longer seem to matter to anyone.

“People shuffle the masks in their pockets, hold them constantly and strap them over their mouths for two weeks, probably unwashed. This is a wonderful breeding ground for bacteria and fungi.”

podgeandrodge wrote: »

It's a reasonable opinion to consider that masks would be appropriate on public transport now as greater numbers travel together in confined spaces.

I don't quite get though, given virus is practically extinguished in terms of community transmission, and this happened while supermarkets were open, why people think shoppers in supermarkets should now wear masks.