Antarctic science put on ice by coronavirus – next summer's expeditions restricted to essentials and robots

The novel coronavirus is yet to reach Antarctica’s small human population, but will impact science on the frozen continent next southern summer. While some Antarctic bases are accessible year-round, most receive the majority of their supplies and people by ship during the brief deep southern summer. Summer is also the time …

[Anonymous Coward]

Korea had infection same day as USA

Just to remind everyone that the USA had its first infection the same day as Korea. If USA had tackled it then, then USA would now be passed it like Korea.

They'd be finished, see "New infections each day", Korea is in the closing tail:

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/south-korea/

USA would be clear of Covid 19 by now. It would be past like SARS1 and MERS and EBOLA and the rest.

Korea's outcome, 2.9% death, same as SARS1 in the USA, so if 100 million infections, 2.9 million dead in USA. Likely many more, it kills overweight people in higher proportion and USA has an obese problem, so it will likely kill more fatter Americans.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-testing-specialrep-idUSKBN2153BW

"The United States, whose first case was detected the same day as South Korea’s..."

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Fox News has switched track, instead of Fox News' older viewer sacrificing themselves to save the stock market, they're saying old people should stay isolated and everyone else should intentionally get infected to produce herd immunity. This is dumb Mk 2.

0.56% death rate among under 60's, 250 younger million = 1.4 million dead.

Don't do this, just stop watching the liars on Fox News and keep yourself safe, young or old. Be a South Korea, not a Florida. You don't see any Fox News presenters, even the under 60s getting deliberately infected to help herd immunity, they're professional liars not idiots. Wear your mask, stay isolated, its only a few weeks, the longer Republicans stall, the more weeks it will be, but do it anyway.

Think you have good health insurance? That it won't kill you? Look at Boris Johnson, its ripping through his lungs right now. He's the Prime Minister of the UK, he has all the health treatment possible. We'll know in a few days if he survives or not.

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Florida Republican governor stalled any action, Trump stalled action, Republicans tested messaging on cancelling elections. Legal challenges to mail-in ballot elections happened, and as expected the Supreme Court ruled along Partisan lines, blocking 550k mail-in ballots in Wisconsin.

You can see how they continue to treat this, as an opportunity to grab power, by blocking elections, not as a health crisis.

If you cannot run a mail-in ballot and Florida Republican Governor DeSantis manages to get most of Florida infected, then he has an excuse to cancel elections. In doing so, his State can spread the cancellation like a virus to other states via the Supreme Court.

And with Florida infected and the Supreme Court and Trump keeping Florida borders open, to reinfect the rest of the USA, the election could not be run.

Notice it. Notice the attempts to block mail-in elections on specious grounds. Notice how the Supreme Court is pure partisan things now, ruling to disallow 550k mail-in ballots in Wisconsin.

21 million people in Florida, 600,000 dead if DeSantis gets his way.

[Anonymous Coward]

Masks work

Also this, please wear your damn masks, they do work, be careful to read the literature presented to you saying masks don't work. Particular the one tested on 4 patients to see if it could contain coughing and concluded that it couldn't.

Realize that to be breathed in by you, it would have to go through their mask (not just 20cms but 2 Metres), not coalesce into larger drops will traveling to you, and then make it through your mask.

So this is not an experiment to determine if masks work, its an experiment to determine if you can cough on a surface at 20cms through a mask.

https://annals.org/aim/fullarticle/2764367/effectiveness-surgical-cotton-masks-blocking-sars-cov-2-controlled-comparison

Note that wearing a mask is now CDC advice, not just 'A/C-on-elReg' advice. It's not just an Asian quirk, they don't wear the masks as a fashion statement, they wear the masks for health reasons.

Wear a damn mask already!

[Unicornpiss]

Re: Korea had infection same day as USA

While I'm not disagreeing with most of what you said, is this really the right forum for a political rant?

[macjules]

Antarctic stations have “tonnes” of toilet paper

Bloody hoarders! I bet they have tonnes of spaghetti as well!

[Chris G]

Re: Antarctic stations have “tonnes” of toilet paper

Right!

I'm off to the Antarctic to get some bog roll.

I may be some time!

[Evil Auditor]

Re: Antarctic stations have “tonnes” of toilet paper

There were the great prophets imagining that our post-apocalyptic struggle will be about fuel, medication or food. Little did they know that it will enter the electronic* history books as the Bog Roll War.

_{*obviously electronic since all paper will be traded as bottom wipes.}

[John Brown (no body)]

Re: Antarctic stations have “tonnes” of toilet paper

Get some oats while you're there.

[Fruit and Nutcase]

Re: Antarctic stations have “tonnes” of toilet paper

The Oates Collections

at Gilbert White's House, Selbourne, Hampshire

http://www.gilbertwhiteshouse.org.uk/the-oates-collection/

[fishman]

TP

Was that picture of toilet paper supposed to be a recruitment poster?

[Evil Auditor]

Re: TP

It's a trap. Don't fall for it. It's the antipodean and modern version of naming Greenland.

[JCitizen]

Why is everyone concerned about TP,

when anyone with an ounce of intelligence knows a bidet is way cheaper? (and way cleaner - Doh!)