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How deadly is covid-19?
- Thread starter Leongsam
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Don't worry about these sorts of alarmist headlines they are designed as click bait to attract people like you who don't look at the data.
There are absolutely no excess deaths so don't worry about it. Covid-19 is very mild and is making no difference whatsoever to the overall mortality rate.
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https://www.dw.com/en/england-lockdown-boris-johnson-issues-new-stay-at-home-order/a-55459610
England will go into a new monthlong lockdown on Thursday, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced on Saturday.
In a news conference with top government scientific advisers, he admitted that the current system of local lockdowns was no longer enough to stop the soaring coronavirus infection rate.
"From Thursday until the start of December, you must stay at home," the prime minister said.
Johnson, who was hospitalized earlier this year for a serious case of COVID-19, added that "no responsible prime minister'' could ignore the grim figures. "Unless we act, we could see deaths in this country running at several thousand a day," he said.
Scientists have warned that the virus is spreading significantly faster in England than their most dire predictions.
Over the past 7 days, England has seen an average of 226 infections per 100,000 people.
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https://www.dw.com/en/england-lockdown-boris-johnson-issues-new-stay-at-home-order/a-55459610
England will go into a new monthlong lockdown on Thursday, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced on Saturday.
In a news conference with top government scientific advisers, he admitted that the current system of local lockdowns was no longer enough to stop the soaring coronavirus infection rate.
"From Thursday until the start of December, you must stay at home," the prime minister said.
Johnson, who was hospitalized earlier this year for a serious case of COVID-19, added that "no responsible prime minister'' could ignore the grim figures. "Unless we act, we could see deaths in this country running at several thousand a day," he said.
Scientists have warned that the virus is spreading significantly faster in England than their most dire predictions.
Over the past 7 days, England has seen an average of 226 infections per 100,000 people.
All that staying home will do is to make things worse as it has been shown throughout the world that lockdowns do nothing to stop the spread.
Australia's extreme lockdown paid off as its coronavirus cases in epicenter are brought down to zero
https://www.businessinsider.com/australia-extreme-lockdown-paid-off-zero-coronavirus-cases-2020-10
Early interventions kept transmission low
Australia's government started testing and contact tracing in late January, when it had only detected a handful of cases. In mid-March, as cases started to rise, Australia banned gatherings of more than 500 people and told anyone arriving from outside the country to self-isolate for two weeks.
"Nearly all the cases were imported — in fact, they were all imported," Esterman said. "So at that stage, it was manageable and Australia did extremely well. We acted very, very early, not like a lot of other countries."
https://www.businessinsider.com/australia-extreme-lockdown-paid-off-zero-coronavirus-cases-2020-10
Early interventions kept transmission low
Australia's government started testing and contact tracing in late January, when it had only detected a handful of cases. In mid-March, as cases started to rise, Australia banned gatherings of more than 500 people and told anyone arriving from outside the country to self-isolate for two weeks.
"Nearly all the cases were imported — in fact, they were all imported," Esterman said. "So at that stage, it was manageable and Australia did extremely well. We acted very, very early, not like a lot of other countries."
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Australua lockdown paid off until it opens its border. Or remain closed and see its hotels and airlines go under.
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Yeah but unless you become a hermit nation forever the infections will just surge again once everything opens up. It's a futile exercise. It stretches the pandemic out for years instead of getting it over and done with.
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If you live in fear your lifeforce diminish over time, brillant depopulation agenda. Sayonara to the low IQ, weak, sickly and unwise old boomers your 'fight' is over. lol........
There are many good in this lockdown too as many irrelevant and sleazy businesses goes kaput and the earth's flora and fauna gets to rejuvenate. Even the salmons that used to swim upstream to lay eggs started to do it again and the ozone level is replenishing.
There are many good in this lockdown too as many irrelevant and sleazy businesses goes kaput and the earth's flora and fauna gets to rejuvenate. Even the salmons that used to swim upstream to lay eggs started to do it again and the ozone level is replenishing.
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I'm not complaining. I'm overjoyed that the fucking chinks are not arriving by the planeload anymore and peace and quiet has returned to the tourist spots. I just had the best domestic road trip ever. In previous years I was terrified of being run down by a crazy chink tourist driver.
However I have to say that I have many friends who are suffering financially and emotionally from the lockdowns. I feel really sorry for them.
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edition.cnn.com
Flu can be deadly, even in healthy kids
Ann J. Curley, CNN
8-9 minutes
Story highlights
Martin McGowan, 15, was healthy, yet died from influenza complications
New research shows that healthy children are also at risk of such complications
School-based flu vaccination programs may provide an important prevention tool
(CNN) —
Martin McGowan insisted on going to high school baseball tryouts, despite his mother’s worries he wasn’t feeling well.
After the tryouts, the 15-year-old complained of leg pain and seemed exhausted. He woke up and vomited during the night, Diane McGowan recalled. She gave him medicine for his fever, and he returned to bed, only to wake again, vomiting and complaining of leg pain.
At the emergency room, doctors diagnosed Martin with the flu, and said his leg pain was due to “compartment syndrome,” Diane McGowan said.
“Because the muscle has no room between the skin and the bone, it causes pressure on the arteries and veins with your bone, and can eventually cut off the circulation,” she said. “So if they had not taken him into surgery … they might have had to amputate his legs.”
But no one was prepared for what happened next – Martin died on the operating table that day in 2005.
“What I later found out is that the flu attacks the muscles, and that’s why you feel achy when you get the flu,” his mother said.
“Because he was so healthy, and because of the exertion he had done the night before, it (the influenza) went thru his system quicker than it would go through a normal child. … The heart is a muscle, and his heart gave out on the table.”
While Martin’s complication was uncommon, influenza can produce complications that result in death, including pneumonia, bacterial infection, acute respiratory failure, and encephalitis, even in otherwise healthy children.
His death has been motivation for his mother to work toward preventing such deaths in other children.
Getting children ready for flu season
At the time, Diane McGowan noted, it wasn’t recommended that children Martin’s age get the flu vaccine – something she worked to change, lobbying the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices to increase flu immunization requirements for children and teens.
She is now a volunteer with Families Fighting Flu, a group run exclusively by families who have experienced the loss of a child or a child who has suffered serious complications from the flu. The group receives funding through private donations as well as funding from organizations that include pharmaceutical companies in the form of unrestricted grants.
New research presented last week shows that healthy children, as well as those with underlying health conditions, are at risk of dying from flu-associated causes.
The research was presented at IDWeek 2012, the first conference held by a consortium of infectious disease groups. It examined deaths among children over the past eight flu seasons.
Between 2004 and 2012, 829 U.S. children under 18 died from influenza-associated causes. While many of the deaths occurred among children with underlying health conditions, including neurological disorders, asthma or lung disease, and genetic or chromosomal disorders, 40% occurred among children with no known medical condition, according to lead author Dr. Karen K. Wong of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Healthy children actually died more quickly, according to the research, with a median of four days from symptoms to death. That’s compared to a median of seven days from symptoms to death among children with a pre-existing condition.
“Because influenza-associated deaths can occur rapidly in children, prevention is really the best defense,” explained Wong, noting that over a third of deaths occurred in children younger than age 5 – a group known to be at high risk – and 11% occurred in children younger than 6 months. That’s a group that is too young to be vaccinated.
New research raises hopes in quest to find universal flu vaccine
School-based influenza vaccination programs, however, may help prevent the spread of the virus among children and young adults.
In tandem with the new data on pediatric flu deaths, an example of promising new research on flu prevention was presented at the ID Week 2012 meeting.
Results of a school-based program were presented by Dr. Pia Pannaraj, an assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Southern California and Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.
“We looked at a proactive approach for how to prevent influenza,” Pannaraj said. Her study followed 4,500 elementary school children in eight schools in Los Angeles County during the 2010-11 flu season. Half had a school-based flu vaccination program. The schools without a program served as the control group.
Thirty to 50% of children in the vaccine program schools received a flu vaccine. If any child came down with respiratory symptoms or a fever, cough or runny nose, they were tested for influenza. The process was done for all schools, Pannaraj explained, and included contacting homes of children who were out sick to make sure they were appropriately tested.
“We found that children who were vaccinated were three times less likely to get the flu and missed half the number of school days compared to children who were not vaccinated,” said Pannaraj.
“In our schools that had school-based influenza vaccination programs, their rates of influenza overall at the entire school were lower than at school that did not have any vaccination program. And again, also their attendance rates were also much higher than the schools that did not have any vaccination program.”
Vitamin D supplements no help for colds, flu
Vaccination of school-age children is important, Pannaraj said, because “children are very capable of spreading the flu. They go to school, they’re in their classrooms, they’re all together – they touch each other, touch doors, pass around papers and pencils.” They also can go home and spread the flu virus to family members including the very young or the elderly, who can become severely ill.
The entire community also benefits from school-based immunization programs, she said, as it means less time away from work for parents caring for sick children. In addition, parents don’t have to take their children elsewhere for the vaccine if they receive it at school.
Another bonus: “In the school where the vaccination rate was close to 50%, we see some protection extended even to those kids who were unvaccinated,” she said. “Their rates of influenza were less compared to schools with lower vaccination rates.”
There are simple steps that families can take to fight the flu. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommends a yearly flu vaccine for everyone 6 months of age and older. Vaccination is critical for people who live with or care for young children or children with medical conditions, to prevent the spread of flu to high-risk children.
Moms can help protect their babies by getting a flu shot during pregnancy. And make sure that family members and caregivers – including babysitters and grandparents – are all vaccinated to prevent spreading flu to children too young for vaccination.
While vaccination is the first line of defense, if children do get the flu, prescription antiviral medicines, which include Tamiflu (generic name oseltamivir) and Relenza (zanamivir), are recommended by the CDC as treatment to help ease symptoms and shorten the duration of the illness, Wong said.
Flu can be deadly, even in healthy kids
Ann J. Curley, CNN
8-9 minutes
Story highlights
Martin McGowan, 15, was healthy, yet died from influenza complications
New research shows that healthy children are also at risk of such complications
School-based flu vaccination programs may provide an important prevention tool
(CNN) —
Martin McGowan insisted on going to high school baseball tryouts, despite his mother’s worries he wasn’t feeling well.
After the tryouts, the 15-year-old complained of leg pain and seemed exhausted. He woke up and vomited during the night, Diane McGowan recalled. She gave him medicine for his fever, and he returned to bed, only to wake again, vomiting and complaining of leg pain.
At the emergency room, doctors diagnosed Martin with the flu, and said his leg pain was due to “compartment syndrome,” Diane McGowan said.
“Because the muscle has no room between the skin and the bone, it causes pressure on the arteries and veins with your bone, and can eventually cut off the circulation,” she said. “So if they had not taken him into surgery … they might have had to amputate his legs.”
But no one was prepared for what happened next – Martin died on the operating table that day in 2005.
“What I later found out is that the flu attacks the muscles, and that’s why you feel achy when you get the flu,” his mother said.
“Because he was so healthy, and because of the exertion he had done the night before, it (the influenza) went thru his system quicker than it would go through a normal child. … The heart is a muscle, and his heart gave out on the table.”
While Martin’s complication was uncommon, influenza can produce complications that result in death, including pneumonia, bacterial infection, acute respiratory failure, and encephalitis, even in otherwise healthy children.
His death has been motivation for his mother to work toward preventing such deaths in other children.
Getting children ready for flu season
At the time, Diane McGowan noted, it wasn’t recommended that children Martin’s age get the flu vaccine – something she worked to change, lobbying the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices to increase flu immunization requirements for children and teens.
She is now a volunteer with Families Fighting Flu, a group run exclusively by families who have experienced the loss of a child or a child who has suffered serious complications from the flu. The group receives funding through private donations as well as funding from organizations that include pharmaceutical companies in the form of unrestricted grants.
New research presented last week shows that healthy children, as well as those with underlying health conditions, are at risk of dying from flu-associated causes.
The research was presented at IDWeek 2012, the first conference held by a consortium of infectious disease groups. It examined deaths among children over the past eight flu seasons.
Between 2004 and 2012, 829 U.S. children under 18 died from influenza-associated causes. While many of the deaths occurred among children with underlying health conditions, including neurological disorders, asthma or lung disease, and genetic or chromosomal disorders, 40% occurred among children with no known medical condition, according to lead author Dr. Karen K. Wong of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Healthy children actually died more quickly, according to the research, with a median of four days from symptoms to death. That’s compared to a median of seven days from symptoms to death among children with a pre-existing condition.
“Because influenza-associated deaths can occur rapidly in children, prevention is really the best defense,” explained Wong, noting that over a third of deaths occurred in children younger than age 5 – a group known to be at high risk – and 11% occurred in children younger than 6 months. That’s a group that is too young to be vaccinated.
New research raises hopes in quest to find universal flu vaccine
School-based influenza vaccination programs, however, may help prevent the spread of the virus among children and young adults.
In tandem with the new data on pediatric flu deaths, an example of promising new research on flu prevention was presented at the ID Week 2012 meeting.
Results of a school-based program were presented by Dr. Pia Pannaraj, an assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Southern California and Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.
“We looked at a proactive approach for how to prevent influenza,” Pannaraj said. Her study followed 4,500 elementary school children in eight schools in Los Angeles County during the 2010-11 flu season. Half had a school-based flu vaccination program. The schools without a program served as the control group.
Thirty to 50% of children in the vaccine program schools received a flu vaccine. If any child came down with respiratory symptoms or a fever, cough or runny nose, they were tested for influenza. The process was done for all schools, Pannaraj explained, and included contacting homes of children who were out sick to make sure they were appropriately tested.
“We found that children who were vaccinated were three times less likely to get the flu and missed half the number of school days compared to children who were not vaccinated,” said Pannaraj.
“In our schools that had school-based influenza vaccination programs, their rates of influenza overall at the entire school were lower than at school that did not have any vaccination program. And again, also their attendance rates were also much higher than the schools that did not have any vaccination program.”
Vitamin D supplements no help for colds, flu
Vaccination of school-age children is important, Pannaraj said, because “children are very capable of spreading the flu. They go to school, they’re in their classrooms, they’re all together – they touch each other, touch doors, pass around papers and pencils.” They also can go home and spread the flu virus to family members including the very young or the elderly, who can become severely ill.
The entire community also benefits from school-based immunization programs, she said, as it means less time away from work for parents caring for sick children. In addition, parents don’t have to take their children elsewhere for the vaccine if they receive it at school.
Another bonus: “In the school where the vaccination rate was close to 50%, we see some protection extended even to those kids who were unvaccinated,” she said. “Their rates of influenza were less compared to schools with lower vaccination rates.”
There are simple steps that families can take to fight the flu. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommends a yearly flu vaccine for everyone 6 months of age and older. Vaccination is critical for people who live with or care for young children or children with medical conditions, to prevent the spread of flu to high-risk children.
Moms can help protect their babies by getting a flu shot during pregnancy. And make sure that family members and caregivers – including babysitters and grandparents – are all vaccinated to prevent spreading flu to children too young for vaccination.
While vaccination is the first line of defense, if children do get the flu, prescription antiviral medicines, which include Tamiflu (generic name oseltamivir) and Relenza (zanamivir), are recommended by the CDC as treatment to help ease symptoms and shorten the duration of the illness, Wong said.
U.S. Covid-19 hospitalizations surge at an alarming rate
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/11/04/coronavirus-live-updates.html
As the number of new Covid-19 cases soared across the country, the number of people hospitalized with the virus has reached record levels in many states, the Associated Press reports, noting the surge was most pronounced in the Midwest and Southwest.
Missouri, Oklahoma, Iowa, Indiana, Nebraska, North Dakota and New Mexico all reported record high hospitalizations this week, according to AP. Officials in Iowa and Missouri also warned that hospital bed capacity could soon be overwhelmed
- Joined
- Sep 22, 2008
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- 77,969
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It make no sense for virus to kill its host, unless it benefits from it.
- Joined
- Jun 27, 2018
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- 29,668
- Points
- 113
Australian health worker who caught COVID-19 in Sweden says she was 'chucked in the deep end'
Posted Yesterday at 6:44pm, updated Yesterday at 8:17pm
A nurse wearing full PPE gear at the hospital.
Perth nurse Alicia Bridges, like many of her colleagues, caught COVID-19 while working in Sweden.(Supplied)
At first glance, life in Sweden during the pandemic appears to have hardly changed — people can travel freely, and social activities have largely been uninterrupted — but those working in the public health sector share a different tale.
Key points:
Sweden's strategy relies heavily on people taking personal responsibility
The number of recorded cases surged by 80 per cent in Sweden's capital of Stockholm last week
Thousands of scientists in Sweden signed an open letter calling for more stringent control measures
Sweden never went into lockdown, however a series of national health guidelines and recommendations have been in effect since the start of the pandemic, many of which are not legally enforceable.
Health workers have claimed the country's decision to continue "life as normal" for many of its residents has not been sustainable.
And now COVID-19 cases are fast increasing, with Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven saying the country is in "a very serious situation".
"The developments are going in the wrong direction fast. More are infected. More die," he wrote on Facebook, adding that he's gone into self-isolation due to a person close to him testing positive.
Despite having a population half the size of Australia's, Sweden has recorded more than 6,000 coronavirus-related deaths as of Friday, according to Johns Hopkins University.
Mr Löfven said more intensive care beds were now being used to treat COVID-19 patients, and the respite Sweden had during summer "is over".
The ABC spoke to several Australian health professionals in Sweden who fear the worst is yet to come.
Alicia Bridges counts herself lucky that her COVID-19 symptoms were mild.(Supplied)
Catching COVID-19 'like everyone that I know'
Perth nurse Alicia Bridges has been working in the COVID-19 ward at one of Stockholm's main hospitals since late April, and said the work had been challenging for many reasons.
She told the ABC many people, including herself, were working 12-hour shifts, and the hospital was facing nurse shortages in intensive care.
"It felt like I was sort of chucked in the deep end. It was tough but all of my colleagues were all in the same boat, and I guess that made everything better," she said.
And while she said it had been "quite calm" over the past two months, an increasing number of patients were being admitted.
Just last week, Sweden registered its highest daily case count since the pandemic began.
Ms Bridges, 25, said she was "very lucky" her symptoms of a sore throat and runny nose were mild.
"I've had other colleagues who have been extremely unwell with [COVID-19] and they have had to be admitted and [needed] nebulisers," she said.
"There's one that was on a respirator for several weeks, and that was back in May. They're still not at work. And I don't think they will be working for the next six to eight months, at least."
Healthcare system struggling prior to pandemic
This week Mr Löfven introduced stricter regional recommendations as infections began to rise — they included refraining from using public transport and avoiding physical contact with people outside of one's immediate household.
Sweden's Prime Minister Stefan Lofven says Sweden is in a "very serious" COVID-19 situation.(TT via AP: Anders Wiklund)
Eating out at restaurants will also be limited to groups of eight people, he said.
Similar to the national recommendations of social distancing and getting tested, these new restrictions are not legally enforced and breaking them will not incur any fines.
"We want and have based our decisions from the beginning on following a consciously long-term strategy to do what is sustainable in the long run and that we can gain the widest possible acceptance for," Mr Löfven said.
Tyrone Sutton was anxious that he might bring an illness home to his family.(Supplied)
Sydney man Tyrone Sutton, a cardiovascular nurse in a Stockholm private hospital, said the Swedish public health agency initially "heavily downplayed" the risk posed by the virus.
"My reality was not the joys of continuing going to bars and restaurants as it was for many other Stockholm locals," he told the ABC.
"I think experiences would be very different if more younger people were affected. It's upsetting."
Mr Sutton said patients coming into the hospital with ailments not related to coronavirus were not isolated until a COVID-19 test came back positive, which could take days.
He said by then, the patients have usually been treated by health workers who have not worn protective gear.
"Another issue that became apparent … is that areas of low socio-economic status were over-represented, as there was [initially] no information on the public health care agencies website translated to other languages," he said.
"Before the virus, [Stockholm] had a heavily criticised healthcare system, known locally as the sjukvårds uppropet [outcry for healthcare], where personnel were protesting and providing witness statements on hospital-acquired injuries, and avoidable deaths.
'Politicians must intervene'
Sweden's chief epidemiologist Anders Tegnell says the country's health system is under strain.(Foreign Correspondent)
At the end of March, more than 2,000 scientists in Sweden signed an open letter calling for more stringent control measures.
It was followed by a scathing opinion piece by a group of 22 doctors and academics in a range of related fields, including epidemiology and infectious diseases, titled: The public health agency has failed. Politicians must intervene.
The piece, which was published in April when Sweden's death toll reached 1,000, criticised the Public Health Agency's claims that the spread of the virus has plateaued, and called for "swift and radical measures" to bring the virus under control.
The polarising piece was slammed by the country's chief epidemiologist Anders Tegnell, who said their claims were inaccurate, and lacked credibility.
"Together, as during the spring, we can push down this curve and avoid the strain on healthcare."
In March, private emails obtained by Swedish journalists under freedom of information laws showed Dr Tegnell was considering whether a higher death rate among older people might be acceptable if it led to faster herd immunity.
However, Dr Tegnell now says the strategy of attaining herd immunity is "neither ethical nor otherwise justifiable", according to the German newspaper Die Zeit.
Numbers may not be representative: Government agency
David Steadson has been gathering and charting publicly available data on Sweden's COVID-19 cases.(Supplied)
Sweden has the 14th-highest deaths per capita in the world and the highest number of deaths when compared to neighbouring Nordic countries.
Last Thursday it registered 2,820 new coronavirus cases within 24 hours — the highest single day jump since the pandemic began, according to government officials.
Sweden's Health Agency said the peak during spring was likely to have been much higher but went unrecorded due to a lack of testing, according to Reuters.
David Steadson, an Australian former epidemiological researcher who is now working in Sweden's tech industry, has been gathering and charting publicly available data on Sweden's COVID-19 cases.
"This virus can actually be stopped, which they didn't believe from the beginning and they're still struggling with," he told the ABC.
Wearing masks is not recommended in Sweden.(Reuters: Anders Wiklund)
Unlike Australia, where residents are updated with daily coronavirus figures, Sweden only provides an update on the country's COVID-19 data twice a week.
Sweden's Public Health Agency also discourages the wearing of masks, citing that the "scientific evidence around the effectiveness of face masks in combatting the spread of infection is unclear".
While they do recommend the wearing of masks to visit a doctor or in a crowded public transport, masks are not commonly seen outside of hospitals.
"Both my parents are in their 80s and very healthy and living in Queensland.
"I'm glad they're not here. Because if they got this disease, they probably would have died."
The ABC has contacted the Swedish Government for comment, but has not received a response by publication time.
Posted Yesterday at 6:44pm, updated Yesterday at 8:17pm
A nurse wearing full PPE gear at the hospital.
Perth nurse Alicia Bridges, like many of her colleagues, caught COVID-19 while working in Sweden.(Supplied)
At first glance, life in Sweden during the pandemic appears to have hardly changed — people can travel freely, and social activities have largely been uninterrupted — but those working in the public health sector share a different tale.
Key points:
Sweden's strategy relies heavily on people taking personal responsibility
The number of recorded cases surged by 80 per cent in Sweden's capital of Stockholm last week
Thousands of scientists in Sweden signed an open letter calling for more stringent control measures
Sweden never went into lockdown, however a series of national health guidelines and recommendations have been in effect since the start of the pandemic, many of which are not legally enforceable.
Health workers have claimed the country's decision to continue "life as normal" for many of its residents has not been sustainable.
And now COVID-19 cases are fast increasing, with Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven saying the country is in "a very serious situation".
"The developments are going in the wrong direction fast. More are infected. More die," he wrote on Facebook, adding that he's gone into self-isolation due to a person close to him testing positive.
Despite having a population half the size of Australia's, Sweden has recorded more than 6,000 coronavirus-related deaths as of Friday, according to Johns Hopkins University.
Mr Löfven said more intensive care beds were now being used to treat COVID-19 patients, and the respite Sweden had during summer "is over".
The ABC spoke to several Australian health professionals in Sweden who fear the worst is yet to come.
Alicia Bridges counts herself lucky that her COVID-19 symptoms were mild.(Supplied)
Catching COVID-19 'like everyone that I know'
Perth nurse Alicia Bridges has been working in the COVID-19 ward at one of Stockholm's main hospitals since late April, and said the work had been challenging for many reasons.
She told the ABC many people, including herself, were working 12-hour shifts, and the hospital was facing nurse shortages in intensive care.
"It felt like I was sort of chucked in the deep end. It was tough but all of my colleagues were all in the same boat, and I guess that made everything better," she said.
And while she said it had been "quite calm" over the past two months, an increasing number of patients were being admitted.
Just last week, Sweden registered its highest daily case count since the pandemic began.
Ms Bridges, 25, said she was "very lucky" her symptoms of a sore throat and runny nose were mild.
"I've had other colleagues who have been extremely unwell with [COVID-19] and they have had to be admitted and [needed] nebulisers," she said.
"There's one that was on a respirator for several weeks, and that was back in May. They're still not at work. And I don't think they will be working for the next six to eight months, at least."
Healthcare system struggling prior to pandemic
This week Mr Löfven introduced stricter regional recommendations as infections began to rise — they included refraining from using public transport and avoiding physical contact with people outside of one's immediate household.
Sweden's Prime Minister Stefan Lofven says Sweden is in a "very serious" COVID-19 situation.(TT via AP: Anders Wiklund)
Eating out at restaurants will also be limited to groups of eight people, he said.
Similar to the national recommendations of social distancing and getting tested, these new restrictions are not legally enforced and breaking them will not incur any fines.
"We want and have based our decisions from the beginning on following a consciously long-term strategy to do what is sustainable in the long run and that we can gain the widest possible acceptance for," Mr Löfven said.
Tyrone Sutton was anxious that he might bring an illness home to his family.(Supplied)
Sydney man Tyrone Sutton, a cardiovascular nurse in a Stockholm private hospital, said the Swedish public health agency initially "heavily downplayed" the risk posed by the virus.
"My reality was not the joys of continuing going to bars and restaurants as it was for many other Stockholm locals," he told the ABC.
"I think experiences would be very different if more younger people were affected. It's upsetting."
Mr Sutton said patients coming into the hospital with ailments not related to coronavirus were not isolated until a COVID-19 test came back positive, which could take days.
He said by then, the patients have usually been treated by health workers who have not worn protective gear.
"Another issue that became apparent … is that areas of low socio-economic status were over-represented, as there was [initially] no information on the public health care agencies website translated to other languages," he said.
"Before the virus, [Stockholm] had a heavily criticised healthcare system, known locally as the sjukvårds uppropet [outcry for healthcare], where personnel were protesting and providing witness statements on hospital-acquired injuries, and avoidable deaths.
'Politicians must intervene'
Sweden's chief epidemiologist Anders Tegnell says the country's health system is under strain.(Foreign Correspondent)
At the end of March, more than 2,000 scientists in Sweden signed an open letter calling for more stringent control measures.
It was followed by a scathing opinion piece by a group of 22 doctors and academics in a range of related fields, including epidemiology and infectious diseases, titled: The public health agency has failed. Politicians must intervene.
The piece, which was published in April when Sweden's death toll reached 1,000, criticised the Public Health Agency's claims that the spread of the virus has plateaued, and called for "swift and radical measures" to bring the virus under control.
The polarising piece was slammed by the country's chief epidemiologist Anders Tegnell, who said their claims were inaccurate, and lacked credibility.
"Together, as during the spring, we can push down this curve and avoid the strain on healthcare."
In March, private emails obtained by Swedish journalists under freedom of information laws showed Dr Tegnell was considering whether a higher death rate among older people might be acceptable if it led to faster herd immunity.
However, Dr Tegnell now says the strategy of attaining herd immunity is "neither ethical nor otherwise justifiable", according to the German newspaper Die Zeit.
Numbers may not be representative: Government agency
David Steadson has been gathering and charting publicly available data on Sweden's COVID-19 cases.(Supplied)
Sweden has the 14th-highest deaths per capita in the world and the highest number of deaths when compared to neighbouring Nordic countries.
Last Thursday it registered 2,820 new coronavirus cases within 24 hours — the highest single day jump since the pandemic began, according to government officials.
Sweden's Health Agency said the peak during spring was likely to have been much higher but went unrecorded due to a lack of testing, according to Reuters.
David Steadson, an Australian former epidemiological researcher who is now working in Sweden's tech industry, has been gathering and charting publicly available data on Sweden's COVID-19 cases.
"This virus can actually be stopped, which they didn't believe from the beginning and they're still struggling with," he told the ABC.
Wearing masks is not recommended in Sweden.(Reuters: Anders Wiklund)
Unlike Australia, where residents are updated with daily coronavirus figures, Sweden only provides an update on the country's COVID-19 data twice a week.
Sweden's Public Health Agency also discourages the wearing of masks, citing that the "scientific evidence around the effectiveness of face masks in combatting the spread of infection is unclear".
While they do recommend the wearing of masks to visit a doctor or in a crowded public transport, masks are not commonly seen outside of hospitals.
"Both my parents are in their 80s and very healthy and living in Queensland.
"I'm glad they're not here. Because if they got this disease, they probably would have died."
The ABC has contacted the Swedish Government for comment, but has not received a response by publication time.
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0h no....Sweden has given up n now there will be more lock downs etc
Swedish surge in Covid cases dashes immunity hopes | Sweden
People walking in the Old Town of Stockholm
People walking in the Old Town of Stockholm. Studies suggest immunity in and around the capital is significantly lower than predicted. Photograph: Tt News Agency/Reuters
Country has opted for light-touch, anti-lockdown approach since start of pandemic
Fri 13 Nov 2020 01.58 AEDT
New infections and hospital admissions have surged in Sweden as the country battles a second wave of the coronavirus pandemic that officials had hoped its light-touch, anti-lockdown approach would mitigate.
“We consider the situation extremely serious,” the director of health and medical care services for Stockholm, Björn Eriksson, told the state broadcaster SVT this week. “We can expect noticeably more people needing hospital care over the coming weeks.”
Swedish hospitals were treating 1,004 patients for Covid-19, SVT said, an increase of 60% over the previous week’s 627. Data from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control suggests the rise in recent weeks may be Europe’s fastest.
New infections are also surging, hitting a seven-day average of more than 4,000 this week against fewer than 500 at the beginning of October. The country recorded 4,635 new infections on Thursday.
Anders Tegnell, the country’s chief epidemiologist, told a press conference that case numbers had shown “a pretty big increase last week” and would “certainly increase” again this week, although perhaps not by quite as much.
The prime minister, Stefan Löfven, however, said on Wednesday that all indicators were “going in the wrong direction. The infection is spreading fast, and in the past week the number of people being treated in intensive care has more than doubled.”
Löfven said Sweden risked “more people getting sick, more people dying, more overworked people in the healthcare sector, more postponed operations … We need everybody to follow the recommendations. Every decision we take matters.”
On Wednesday the government announced it would ban the sale of alcohol in bars, restaurants and nightclubs after 10pm from 20 November to the end of February. Stockholm has banned visits to care homes and Gothenburg is set to follow suit.
On Thursday Sweden added four more regions to the list of those taking stricter local measure, in line with an approach that, since the start of the crisis, has been asking – rather than ordering – people to comply with health agency advice on physical distancing and hygiene.
Unlike other countries that have imposed (and re-imposed) strict lockdowns on shops, bars, restaurants and gyms, Sweden has kept similar facilities open throughout the pandemic, and the wearing of face masks is still not officially recommended outside hospitals.
Tegnell has always denied the aim was rapid herd immunity, but to slow the virus enough for health services to cope. He has also, however, repeatedly said he expected Sweden’s second wave to involve relatively fewer cases than countries that locked down, because of an expected higher level of immunity.
In fact, all studies carried out so far suggest immunity in and around Stockholm is significantly lower than the national health agency predicted. Twenty per cent of Covid-19 tests in the capital last week were positive, compared with 16% and 8.4% in previous weeks, the national news agency TT reported.
However, officials note that countries such as Spain and France, which stemmed their first wave through tough mandatory measures, have also experienced dramatic second waves, which might suggest Sweden’s decision not to lock down has not played a significant role in the recent surge in infections.
Since the start of the pandemic Sweden – which at one stage in June had Europe’s highest per-capita Covid-19 fatality rate – has confirmed 171,365 cases of infections and 6,122 deaths. Its death toll per capita is many times higher than its Nordic neighbours, but lower than countries such as Italy, Spain and the UK.
Lena Einhorn, a former virologist who is one of the fiercest critics of the country’s strategy, said whatever people outside Sweden thought would make little difference. “At first they said: ‘Wow, perhaps they are right,’” Einhorn told Deutsche Welle.
“Then there were more and more deaths in Sweden, and we became a monster; everyone thought Sweden was mad. Then in the summer, when there were fewer deaths, Sweden became a heaven on earth again,” she said.
“And finally when infections increased again in many countries in the autumn and there was opposition to new lockdowns, Sweden became the idol of libertarians. That’s no longer the case, now that cases are going up again in Sweden.”
Topics
Swedish surge in Covid cases dashes immunity hopes | Sweden
People walking in the Old Town of Stockholm
People walking in the Old Town of Stockholm. Studies suggest immunity in and around the capital is significantly lower than predicted. Photograph: Tt News Agency/Reuters
Country has opted for light-touch, anti-lockdown approach since start of pandemic
Fri 13 Nov 2020 01.58 AEDT
New infections and hospital admissions have surged in Sweden as the country battles a second wave of the coronavirus pandemic that officials had hoped its light-touch, anti-lockdown approach would mitigate.
“We consider the situation extremely serious,” the director of health and medical care services for Stockholm, Björn Eriksson, told the state broadcaster SVT this week. “We can expect noticeably more people needing hospital care over the coming weeks.”
Swedish hospitals were treating 1,004 patients for Covid-19, SVT said, an increase of 60% over the previous week’s 627. Data from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control suggests the rise in recent weeks may be Europe’s fastest.
New infections are also surging, hitting a seven-day average of more than 4,000 this week against fewer than 500 at the beginning of October. The country recorded 4,635 new infections on Thursday.
Anders Tegnell, the country’s chief epidemiologist, told a press conference that case numbers had shown “a pretty big increase last week” and would “certainly increase” again this week, although perhaps not by quite as much.
The prime minister, Stefan Löfven, however, said on Wednesday that all indicators were “going in the wrong direction. The infection is spreading fast, and in the past week the number of people being treated in intensive care has more than doubled.”
Löfven said Sweden risked “more people getting sick, more people dying, more overworked people in the healthcare sector, more postponed operations … We need everybody to follow the recommendations. Every decision we take matters.”
On Wednesday the government announced it would ban the sale of alcohol in bars, restaurants and nightclubs after 10pm from 20 November to the end of February. Stockholm has banned visits to care homes and Gothenburg is set to follow suit.
On Thursday Sweden added four more regions to the list of those taking stricter local measure, in line with an approach that, since the start of the crisis, has been asking – rather than ordering – people to comply with health agency advice on physical distancing and hygiene.
Unlike other countries that have imposed (and re-imposed) strict lockdowns on shops, bars, restaurants and gyms, Sweden has kept similar facilities open throughout the pandemic, and the wearing of face masks is still not officially recommended outside hospitals.
Tegnell has always denied the aim was rapid herd immunity, but to slow the virus enough for health services to cope. He has also, however, repeatedly said he expected Sweden’s second wave to involve relatively fewer cases than countries that locked down, because of an expected higher level of immunity.
In fact, all studies carried out so far suggest immunity in and around Stockholm is significantly lower than the national health agency predicted. Twenty per cent of Covid-19 tests in the capital last week were positive, compared with 16% and 8.4% in previous weeks, the national news agency TT reported.
However, officials note that countries such as Spain and France, which stemmed their first wave through tough mandatory measures, have also experienced dramatic second waves, which might suggest Sweden’s decision not to lock down has not played a significant role in the recent surge in infections.
Since the start of the pandemic Sweden – which at one stage in June had Europe’s highest per-capita Covid-19 fatality rate – has confirmed 171,365 cases of infections and 6,122 deaths. Its death toll per capita is many times higher than its Nordic neighbours, but lower than countries such as Italy, Spain and the UK.
Lena Einhorn, a former virologist who is one of the fiercest critics of the country’s strategy, said whatever people outside Sweden thought would make little difference. “At first they said: ‘Wow, perhaps they are right,’” Einhorn told Deutsche Welle.
“Then there were more and more deaths in Sweden, and we became a monster; everyone thought Sweden was mad. Then in the summer, when there were fewer deaths, Sweden became a heaven on earth again,” she said.
“And finally when infections increased again in many countries in the autumn and there was opposition to new lockdowns, Sweden became the idol of libertarians. That’s no longer the case, now that cases are going up again in Sweden.”
Topics
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Lockdown or no lockdown, it's the same result. So better no lockdown.
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Only way to reduce greenhouse gases is to depopulate.
@Leongsam https://www.cnbc.com/2020/11/14/us-...ns-as-states-roll-out-restrictions-again.html
U.S. reports record Covid hospitalizations as states roll out restrictions ahead of Thanksgiving
- More than 68,500 are hospitalized with Covid-19 across the country, more than at any other point during the pandemic, according to data from the COVID Tracking Project.
- The seven-day average of daily new cases has hit a fresh record everyday for at least the past ten days, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
- The surge is pushing hospitals in some parts of the country, particularly the Midwest and Western U.S., to their limits.
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Most US hospitals are private enterprise so the more covid cases more business for them.
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