Coronavirus, Monday: Boris In Hospital, USA Numbers Spiralling
Isolation Bangers; NRL Island; Malcolm v Kevin
Hello, it’s April 6 and the first edition of ‘5+5: coronavirus edition’ in a couple days. I have no excuse or fun story about my absence. You know where I’ve been — the same as you — sitting in front of the TV and impatiently staring at the clock. I did warn you this would only be (almost) every day.
Each day I’m bringing you 5 big things to know, and 5 other bits, about the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak — misinformation and dodgy claims; good news and bad news; resources to do your own fact-checks, to not fall for shit, and keep across the latest info.
The fire hose of news being blasted out every day is getting more intense and confusing. Let me try to help you get it under control.
You can email me at joshb2@protonmail.com or find me on Twitter at @joshbutler if you have tips, feedback, ideas or just want to chat.
Wash your hands and sneeze into your elbow. Practise physical distancing - at least 1.5 metres of separation. “Stay the fuck at home”.
5 BIG THINGS
Today’s stats:
The latest stats from the Johns Hopkins University Center for Systems Science and Engineering (as of 9.13am Sydney time on Monday) report 1,272,115 confirmed COVID-19 cases worldwide. There have been 69,374 deaths, and 260,012 people have recovered.
The global picture has shifted so much in recent days. The United States (337,072 cases) now has more than 2.5x the confirmed cases of the next-highest — which is now Spain (131,646), which has just overtaken Italy (128,948). Next is Germany (100,123) and France (93,773). China, where new reported cases have (suspiciously, according to some observers) slowed dramatically, sits at fifth, with 82,602. Italy still has the most deaths (15,587) followed by Spain (12,641), the USA (9,633) and France (8,078)
By comparison, in Australia — the latest federal Department of Health stats (as of 3pm Sunday, with Monday 6am stats due soon — check back later) show 5,687 cases. The death toll is 34, which has risen by 50% in just a few days, but our new cases have slowed to a relative trickle. We’ve done more than 297,000 tests, hailed as one of the highest testing rates in the world, and one of the lowest positive result rates.
The latest Australian graph:
The curve is flattening:
Look at the columns getting smaller along the horizontal axis. That’s new cases, and the columns getting littler is good news. But again, complacency isn’t allowed yet. We’re early in this thing, and as can be seen in the U.S. example, things can explode even when measures like lockdowns are put in place. The numbers are going down but that is a reason for the strict measures we’re under to continue — not an argument for them to be dropped. Keep doing what you’re doing. Deputy chief medical officer Paul Kelly said Sunday:
“I really would caution against thinking that we have got through this completely, because we definitely have not”
Ruby Princess criminal investigation:
NSW Police will open a criminal investigation into the Ruby Princess cruise ship, which was allowed to dock in Sydney several weeks ago and spew its passengers into the community without sufficient health checks. At least 10 people connected to the ship have now died of coronavirus, hundreds more have contracted the virus, and there are calls for heads to roll politically.
NSW Police commissioner Mick Fuller said Sunday there were “discrepancies” in the stories from various parties involved (story here), explaining:
“The only way I can get to the bottom of whether our national biosecurity laws and our state laws were broken is through a criminal investigation”
On Monday, the Ruby Princess was allowed to dock in Port Kembla, south of Sydney (Guardian story here).
Boris Johnson in hospital:
The British PM, who recently revealed he had contracted coronavirus, has been admitted to hospital. It is unclear exactly how sick he is. A spokesperson said he was undergoing “routine tests” — “This is a precautionary step, as the prime minister continues to have persistent symptoms of coronavirus 10 days after testing positive for the virus.” (BBC story here) Johnson, you may remember, was recently bragging about how he was still going around shaking hands, even with people in hospitals.
The news came as Queen Elizabeth issued a rare public message of encouragement during the coronavirus crisis. Her son, Prince Charles, was recently diagnosed with the virus. "While we may have more still to endure, better days will return. We will be with our friends again. We will be with our families again. We will meet again," she said (story here).
Fears for developing nations:
The Guardian has this story raising the alarm about developing nations needing urgent help in the outbreak. The government has relented and made it easier for charities and non-profits to access its JobKeeper program, allaying concerns such humanitarian groups may have had to downsize staff and scale back their operations abroad. But still, worry remains about how less-equipped countries may face the virus outbreak. Care Australia chief executive Peter Walton told The Guardian:
“I think there is a moral imperative that if we really want things to return to normal in Australia, we have to think about how we also make it return to normal within our region and more broadly as quickly as we can”
5 OTHER THINGS:
Malcolm v Kevin: Australia’s two most online former Prime Ministers are spending isolation taking potshots at each other on Twitter over the National Broadband Network, and frankly, we should have seen this coming.
Isolation bangers: There’s no concerts happening right in the real world (leaving aside the excellent ‘Isol-Aid’ Instagram festival happening each weekend) but that doesn’t there’s no music. A nascent genre we’ll dub ‘isolation bangers’ is budding, thanks to some musicians stuck inside with little but their instruments.
Triple J has been getting musicians weekly to write a song in 24 hours, and while the first one from Ali Barter and Oscar Dawson was lovely, this Peking Duk x Benson one is an absolute ripsnorter. It’s called, shockingly, ‘Isolation’ and that refrain of “stay the fuck home” is literal music to my ears.
Aussie producers Mashd N Kutcher also shared this one, sampling Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews’ recent instant classic quote, when he told people they shouldn’t “have all your mates around and get on the beers” during isolation.
(Incidentally, Andrews joked after that press conference that “the time will come” when he tell us that it is time to indeed get back on the beers, and honestly, they need to play this one in the clubs when they’re allowed to open again)
This all comes after the ABC’s Andrew Probyn became a massive Tik Tok meme for his ongoing verbal toe-to-toes with the Prime Minister in press conferences, the audio of which was eventually mashed with Duke Dumont’s ‘Red Light Green Light’.
NRL Island: You’re hearing it more and more. The people want the island, footy island, an island just for footy, and they want it now (story here)
Scotland’s chief medical officer resigns after being caught disregarding her own social distancing advice and going to her holiday house: Yep, that’s it (story here).
Sam Neill’s quarantine film festival: ‘Jurassic Park’ star Neill is always one of the most delightful people on the internet (his pigs are my favourite celebrity pets) but you need to see his latest isolation output. He’s making short, strange films and posting them online — with his latest effort being a collab with Hugo Weaving, where they “share” a bath. It’s quite something. Get around it.
IMPORTANT EVERY DAY:
You “must” stay home at all times unless: shopping for essential supplies, and even then, doing that as infrequently as possible; getting medical care; exercising alone or with one other person; or work and education (more information here)
be hygienic; wash your hands properly, for at least 30 seconds with soap and water, multiple times a day (here’s how you need to do it, plus a handy Dr Karl video tutorial); sneeze and cough into your elbows; use hand sanitiser
Listen to only official information from the World Health Organisation and legitimate health bodies — Don’t share dodgy stuff on Facebook. If it looks too good (or bad) to be true, it often is. Verify, fact-check, don’t be part of the misinformation problem
World Health Organisation latest statistics here
Australian government latest statistics here
Signing off - stay safe, be healthy, look after yourself and others
Josh