China's actions reveal seriousness of coronavirus

The Washington Times ^ | Sunday, February 2, 2020 | Ethan Epstein

[E. Pluribus Unum]

ANALYSIS/OPINION:

The Chinese government’s response to the coronavirus demonstrates the vast powers accorded to it under its authoritarian structure. Tens of millions of Chinese citizens — an astonishing number of people — in and around the central city of Wuhan are under physical quarantine, barred from leaving. Imagine attempting that in a democratic country. The deadly, pneumonia-like ailment that is spreading rapidly across the world emerged from Wuhan, apparently from a market where wild and domesticated animals are slaughtered on site.

After the physical quarantine came the information quarantine. Late last week, I received a message over WeChat, the Chinese chat app, from a friend in Beijing. He told me that China has blocked Virtual Private Networks, the unofficially tolerated apps that allow users to bypass the so-called Great Firewall, which blocks content that’s unfriendly to the government. And he wanted to know: What’s going on with coronavirus? How many cases are there? Think of the absurdity of the situation: A person in China asking me, some 6,000 miles away, what’s actually going on there.

How serious is the coronavirus? Well, let’s look at what the economists call the “revealed preference” — the actions people take regardless of what they say or perhaps even think. One must be wary of accepting the Chinese government’s statistics about the spread of the virus. Honesty is not its strong suit. But the Chinese government’s revealed preference — what it’s actually doing, rather than saying — suggests that coronavirus is very, very serious indeed.

[null and void]

Bring Out Your Dead

Post to me or FReep mail to be on/off the Bring Out Your Dead ping list.

The purpose of the “Bring Out Your Dead” ping list (formerly the “Ebola” ping list) is very early warning of emerging pandemics, as such it has a high false positive rate.

So far the false positive rate is 100%.

At some point we may well have a high mortality pandemic, and likely as not the “Bring Out Your Dead” threads will miss the beginning entirely.

*sigh* Such is life, and death...

If a quarantine saves just one child's life, it's worth it.

[yldstrk]

I hope the commie government collapses

[Black Agnes]

We are so entertwined, we will have a major recession if they do.

(not arguing that long term it wouldn’t be a good thing, short term will be painful)

[Redcitizen]

Here in New Mexico, my local Home Depot is out of N-95 masks.

[LesbianThespianGymnasticMidget]

I put together a pandemic kit back during the ebola scare. I have the full schmear down to to the wellies.

[datura]

The R0 in first world nations is below 1. We wash our hands. We don’t raise and slaughter animals in our living spaces. We aren’t so densely packed into cities, and rural areas have all of the amenities of large cities.

Large apartment towers share the same air handling between residents. Human feces are used as fertilizer for vegetables in China.

If the virus gets deeply into the PLA, the CCP may lose their grip on the population.

[setter]

“We are so entertwined, we will have a major recession if they do.”

How so?

We bought 520 million from them and they 120 million from us.

Actually the US worker will make out if production is bought back from China.

This will boost the US.

[Redcitizen]

Wore a full MOPP suit during desert storm 1991. That was not fun.
Seems like I missed out on grabbing masks in time for this event.

[hardspunned]

I think the steps the feds took today are pretty aggressive. I’m sure more radical steps are in the offing if the virus doesn’t show signs of containment here in the US. After the Chinese left the barn door open for a month while telling no one, the chances this not running it’s course kinda disappeared.

[yldstrk]

I repeat, china is a third world shithole. We actually have a health care structure here. They don’t. Building a “hospital” in ten days my ass, they are building a warehouse for sick people.

[hapnHal]

Home Depot is out of N-95 masks. Masks going to Wuhan China, I suppose? Well how will they ship them, and will they get there? Hard to say.

[Redcitizen]

“But the Chinese government’s revealed preference — what it’s actually doing, rather than saying”

Actions speak louder than words despite the naysayers words on this forum and elsewhere.

[hardspunned]

At first I thought they were digging a mass grave. Maybe that’s a mass mausoleum.

[laplata]

No, I’d say the masks are right there in NM.

[laplata]

Thank you for your service and sacrifice.

[Pelham]

I agree. And what some here are missing is that this thing is now passing from human to human. And like the flu it’s airborn transmission.

The CDC has a backdoor that they have been using to get a better idea of what is going on in China. They read the chat sites popular with China’s taxi drivers.

[SE Mom]

This is an insightful piece. It’s beginning to look as if the nurse or doc that did the YouTube video about a week back saying 90k in Wuhan had the virus was right and wasn’t some conspiracy whackjob.

There were several videos that first week...but they have stopped. No freedom in China.

It must be a true crisis for them to do what they’re doing. And not one leader across the world says a word about the lies the Chinese government has told.

Oddly enough- it’s docs and scientists who are calling them out.

[BenLurkin]

That would be an interesting development!

[Jamestown1630]

I recently heard a political analyst who specializes in China say that the whole ‘build a hospital in a week’ thing is just propaganda - ‘The Marvelous CCP is taking care of you!’ - when it would be faster and cheaper to commandeer existing buildings and turn them into hospitals.