And the Rest of It

As of this writing, Canada has 2,584 coronavirus cases (poor testing, as well) and twenty-five deaths.




One should remind others that the WHO claimed that North Korea had a great healthcare system and its current director-general hid the extent of cholera outbreaks in Ethiopia:

Such methods have been pursued aggressively by countries like Taiwan, Singapore and South Korea, allowing them to get the virus somewhat under control, while avoiding large-scale lockdowns like Canada’s.

Asking everyone to stay home is important but only a “defensive measure,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, head of the World Health Organization, said Monday.

“To win, we need to attack the virus with aggressive and targeted tactics —  testing every suspected case, isolating and caring for every confirmed case, and tracing and quarantining every close contact.”

Canadian officials insist that’s what’s being done here.

“Case identification and very rigorous contact tracing is still being carried out in every province and local municipality,” Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada’s chief public health officer, said Monday. “That is still Canada’s strategy … We’re still containing the virus as much as possible.”

Bull. Sh--.




Oh, stop show-boating, Vlad:

President Vladimir Putin donned a hazmat suit and respirator on Tuesday during a visit to a hospital treating coronavirus patients and the mayor of Moscow said the outbreak in the Russian capital was much worse than official figures showed.

The comments, by Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin, marked the strongest statement yet by Russian authorities suggesting they do not have a full grasp of how widely the coronavirus has spread throughout the world’s largest country by territory.

Russia has so far reported 495 cases of the virus, a figure that is much lower than in many European countries. One woman, who tested positive for the virus, has also died.

I see it's another disease you don't have in Moscow, Vlad.




But ... taxes fix the climate ... somehow:

European airlines crippled by the coronavirus have demanded lasting relief from environmental taxes – in a move that pits their immediate survival against longer-term emissions goals.

The looming tax tussle underscores shifting environmental battle lines and a broader question for governments injecting billions into their afflicted economies: Should bailouts come before climate objectives or rather be used to advance them?

Well, good luck with that:

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Tuesday the government would impose a nationwide lockdown from midnight for 21 days to stem the spread of the coronavirus.

“If we listen to the health experts we know that 21 days are crucial to break the cycle of transmission,” Modi said in his televised address to the nation on Thursday. “For a few days forget what it means to go out. Today’s decision of a nationwide lockdown draws a line outside your home.”

India has so far reported 482 confirmed cases of the coronavirus and nine deaths. ...

The biggest challenge for Modi will be to curb the spread of the virus in a country of 1.3 billion and shield an economy that’s set to expand at the slowest pace in more than a decade. But experts say the country could be on the same trajectory as Italy, where the outbreak quickly escalated, causing hospitals to overflow.