tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746692.post8510268799625260273..comments2024-03-19T11:28:58.168-04:00Comments on History Unfolding: Some COVID-19 numbers.David Kaiserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05020082243968071584noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746692.post-69314684731857103832020-08-03T11:02:59.772-04:002020-08-03T11:02:59.772-04:00The economic disruption comparison between USA and...The economic disruption comparison between USA and Europe seems similar in proportions and worth a blogposting. American individualism or simply lack of harmonized sytems of control could account for much of the problem. If each state goes its own way for instance. There was similar here in Germany but agreement was found fairly quickly. Mask wearing in public transport, stores, etc is followed closely. I imagine an analysis of causes for the differences in numbers has been done somewhere. The mix between private and public control, cultural factors could all be significant. Also the long term implications of government spending sprees could be important. Are certain countries showing more fiscal constraint? Will recklessness in this area doom the USD as reserve currency? Energyflowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14476915209268786507noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746692.post-28040775938362293852020-08-03T09:49:11.980-04:002020-08-03T09:49:11.980-04:00I accidentally deleted a comment that, among other...I accidentally deleted a comment that, among other things, questioned my numbers. I think that was because the poster didn't understand that when I gave a date, it meant the week ending that date. Feel free to resubmit. Sorry.<br />David KDavid Kaiserhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05020082243968071584noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746692.post-28383498967687473932020-08-02T22:02:49.300-04:002020-08-02T22:02:49.300-04:00I enjoy the great fortune of living in Taiwan, whe...I enjoy the great fortune of living in Taiwan, where despite our proximity to China and the large amount of air traffic between the two countries, the current numbers according to Worldometer are 475 total cases and 7 deaths. These are the numbers for the entire pandemic from the beginning up to now.<br /><br />After the SARS pandemic, the government here devised detailed plans for dealing with future pandemics. When the authorities here got the first hints of something fishy going on in China, they immediately sent doctors there to investigate on the ground. They also immediately started aggressively screening airline passengers. I was in the U.S. visiting my parents over the Chinese New Year holiday. The day before I flew back to Taiwan, my wife called and told me to wear a mask on the flight. Most of the Taiwanese on my flight were wearing medical masks. At that point, the virus had not been named COVID-19 yet and had not yet been declared a pandemic.<br /><br />Although we're not out of the woods yet, we are many orders of magnitude better off than the States both health-wise and economically. This is thanks to a science based plan that has been competently and aggressively implemented. Meanwhile, I watch many of my fellow Americans back in the U.S. attacking the people that can help them and decrying public health measures as an affront to their putative freedom.<br /><br />I feel strangely detached from my country. Watching and reading American news is a little like watching a dystopian film.Doug Ptacek Jrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08863732023364705197noreply@blogger.com