WHO chief says 'worst' of coronavirus pandemic is still to come

[BeckyDem]

( He is asking for solidarity from a sociopath. )


2:23 p.m.
Tedros Adhanom.


While some countries sense they are past their COVID-19 peaks and are tinkering with the idea of reopening some parts of their economies, World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus doesn't seem to share those cautiously optimistic beliefs. He said Monday that the 'worst' of the pandemic is yet to come.

"Trust us," he told reporters from WHO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. "The worst is yet ahead of us."

Per The Associated Press, Ghebreyesus didn't specify why he felt that way, though he and other officials have reportedly warned about the effect the virus may potentially have in the Southern Hemisphere, especially in Africa, down the line.

That said, Ghebreyesus still believes the world can prevent a tragedy on the scale of the 1918 influenza outbreak that killed up to 100 million people thanks to advancements in technology. But he urged global solidarity to ensure success, which is looking less likely these days, as the WHO comes under fire from the likes of President Trump, who has called the organization's response to the initial outbreak in China into question.

https://theweek.com/speedreads/909866/who-chief-says-worst-coronavirus-pandemic-still-come

[Bernardo de La Paz]

1. 1918 flu had second peak late or into 1919, AFTER some restrictions came off

[BeckyDem]

2. Thank you for that.

[sfstaxprep]

3. Great Graph!

Do you know if they reinstituted the interventions during the second increase?

[Bernardo de La Paz]

4. Dunno, but San Francisco had a similar double peak and they eventually did reinstitute. . . nt

[xyoungblood]

5. We are going to get hit hard in the fall, right in the middle of normal flu season. Trump

and the Republicans want to try to spur the economy back before then and try to keep the presidency, and then all hell is going to break loose. If they don't see any way in winning they will create massive destruction to keep Dems occupied doing clean up for three years. Expect a "war" with Iran or North Korea by September especially after today's oil price collapse.

[BigmanPigman]

6. St Louis and Phila are great examples of

how the timing and the leadership in fighting the 1918 Spanish Flu panned out to produce two different outcomes.
https://www.businessinsider.com/history-of-how-st-louis-vs-philadelphia-treated-1918-flu-pandemic-2020-4

On September 28, the city of Philadelphia hosted its "Liberty Loan" parade in the midst of the flu outbreak of 1918-19 — sometimes referred to as the Spanish flu. Shortly thereafter, hospitals were at capacity and 2,600 people had died.

Around the same time, the city of St. Louis was closing schools, libraries, courthouses, churches, playgrounds as well as limiting the number of people on streetcars and staggering work shifts to minimize contact.

"Interestingly, if you look at the data from St. Louis, you notice that their epidemic curve shows two peaks in the fall and early winter of 1918-19," said Erausquin. "Once the pandemic seemed to be declining, the city rolled back its social distancing measures. It did this too early, and flu deaths went up again. Health officials then put the measures back in place."

[appalachiablue]

7. Good for St. Louis. Even Gunnison, Colo., a small town in the

Rockies was a model for dodging the influenza pandemic because of very strict early measures. But in Feb. 1919 Gunnison let up and experienced a brief third wave.

...It worked. Gunnison emerged from the pandemic’s first two waves – by far the deadliest - without a single case. It was one of a handful of so-called “escape communities” that researchers have analysed for insights into containing the apparently uncontainable.

...By early February, with state-wide flu cases ebbing, Gunnison lifted restrictions. It was premature: a third wave in March infected about a hundred people in the town. The cases were mild and all survived.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/01/gunnison-colorado-the-town-that-dodged-the-1918-spanish-flu-pandemic

[BigmanPigman]

8. San Francisco and St Louis also had a THIRD wave....

The cities had battled the flu using different approaches but they still ended up having additional "waves". The continuing waves varied in severity though. Reading up on history can be enlightening AND scary. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

"But San Francisco’s luck ran out when the THIRD wave of the Spanish flu struck in January 1919. Believing masks were what saved them the first time, businesses and theater owners fought back against public gathering orders. As a result, San Francisco ended up suffering some of the highest death rates from Spanish flu nationwide. The 2007 analysis found that if San Francisco had kept all of its anti-flu protections in place through the spring of 1919, it could have reduced deaths by 90 percent."

"That’s not to say that St. Louis survived the epidemic unharmed. Dehner says the midwestern city was hit particularly hard by the THIRD wave of the Spanish flu which returned in the late winter and spring of 1919."

https://www.history.com/news/spanish-flu-pandemic-response-cities

https://www.democraticunderground.com/1016253213