So anyway, about this coronavirus thing...

Gotcha. Same here. No need for them to see or hear those things. I wait until they're in bed to watch the little bit I do, but they still hear everything somehow. Kids need to kid, and that's it!

 

Maybe one of you statistics junkies can help me with this....I have been trying to find the mortality rate for the virus du jour as a percentage of the general population, not as a percentage of infected. I am curious how it compares to other behaviors such as crossing the street or driving to work. So far no luck. I just want to get a good feel for exactly how much this is being hyped.

 

You can't.....at least not if you are looking for an accurate figure. The numbers coming out of China are a complete fabrication so the mortality rate that you equate from it will be just some imaginary percentage.

 

I don't agree with the term target. For sure IV drug users. My point is I can't ever remember AIDS and then later the HIV virus not being associated with homosexuals regardless of who else contracted it.
Yes Ryan White Iirc.

 

Same family, but common flu only has a 0.2% mortality rate, whereas this is somewhere around 3%, which is 15x more lethal.

And 100x if you're in Iran, apparently, last figure I saw was 15 deaths on 75 confirmed cases.

 

Doesn't really work like that, it's compounding the infection rate to the number of people who have it around you, with the mortality rate, to determine if/when you die. Crossing the street today or a month from now doesn't change the likelihood of dying, whereas the chances are drastically different if you tried taking a flight today with 0.01% global infection rate versus if it was 10%.


The heightened awareness is because there is no vaccine or treatment, so there's no mechanism currently to stop the spread other than to quarantine and wait for it to pass (or for the infected to die) before it can be transferred to new patients. So far it seems to behave like the flu and is relatively easy to spread, unlike Ebola, which was not a respiratory illness and could only be transmitted by direct contact w/ bodily fluids.

 

It has nothing to do with "screaming feel good bullshit". It is a fact that the virus started in China, and there were already thousands of cases before anyone knew it was a thing.

The only "good" thing about SARS (and Ebola) is that not only did they have a short half-life, they were also much more lethal. Which at first obviously doesn't sound like a good thing; but in terms of the world, it was. Those viruses had a short incubation period, and killed the host relatively quickly. Which meant there wasn't a lot of time for the host to spread the virus. Since sickness/symptoms developed early, and hard, it was easier/quicker to recognize, and perform subsequent quarantines. Put that, with their short half-life, and those viruses basically evolved themselves into extinction.

COVID-19 is less deadly, has a longer incubation period, and people are contagious while asymptomatic. Which means there is much more time for the host to spread the virus.

Here is some reading material for you. At the current time, there are 50 countries affected, and more new cases are popping up outside of China, than within. Right now, Italy is getting hit the hardest.
https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/

Or you can read it directly from the CDC:
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/about/related-stigma.html
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/about/share-facts-stop-fear.html
Diseases can make anyone sick regardless of their race or ethnicity.
People of Asian descent, including Chinese Americans, are not more likely to get COVID-19 than any other American. Help stop fear by letting people know that being of Asian descent does not increase the chance of getting or spreading COVID-19.

I think the "feel good bullshit" is for people to think this is something that typically targets Asians, and everyone else shouldn't worry so much. There are multiple articles stating "COVID-19 knows no ethnicity", and Europe is getting hammered at the moment.

 

Yep.

Or that "H1N1 is an American disease". Sure, it started in America and hit Americans hard, but that shit killed people all over the world.

 

Only if you believe the numbers that China are releasing are accurate.....which you'd have to be a fool to trust.

They are a country of 1.whatever billion people and they'd have you thinking that there are less than 100,000 documented cases. They've already admitting that due to their own screwed up testing protocol that their "official" figures are basically no more than made up imaginary numbers.

 

Related question, what if you aren't sick, are willing and able to go to work, but the company states you can't because of where you live (or have to travel through), would/should they still be obligated to pay you?

Some Operators (like Repsol, Exxon, etc) are coming out with policies that say "If you live in ______ or have to travel through _____, you will not be allowed to board the vessel". There is one guy who will be affected by that on this ship. He lives in Taipei, and he just got to work before this Operator sent out a memo stating such. If he would have needed to travel 2 days later, he wouldn't have been allowed to come to work.

He has now been told he cant go home. Well, technically they cant tell him not to go home. But he has been told if he goes home, he wont be allowed back.

The way I see it (as an employee), if I was him, id be like "I am healthy, ready, and willing to come to work. It is YOUR decision and YOUR newly created policy that is preventing me from doing so...therefore I should still be paid".

Am I wrong on that? Would/should they have to pay, or no?

 

Would you pay?

 

Initial reaction is "yes", but its kinda hard to say. Often times what "feels like the right thing to do" doesn't actually have any legal or policy backing.

I just think it isn't right to be like "We know you are ready to come to work, but because you live here, we wont allow to come....and by the way, we aren't going to pay you either".

If nothing else, IMO it should at least fall under the "short term disability" policy. If someone misses work because of illness/injury/etc at home, they draw full salary for 3 months, then I think 80% salary for another 3 months (or something like that). I think it should at least fall under that policy.

 

I landed in Dublin on Sunday to the news that it had broken out in Italy. Then I headed for London on Tuesday and am boarding for home now.

sorry you sunsabiches. I’ll be your huckleberry/patient 0.

I should probably quarantine in the toy hauler for 2 weeks.

 

The policy is not intended to punish the one guy, but to protect the rest of the crew. It is a bit draconian, but what is the right move? Shut down a rig?

 

I'm not saying it isn't the right move. I don't necessarily disagree with the policy, as you said it is to protect the crew. My question is more on, if he will/should still get paid or not.

 

But since you mentioned shutting down the rig, that leads me to the next question. When/where does it stop?

There are confirmed cases in 50 countries, and EU is getting hit really hard right now. We have people that live/travel from all over the world. What is next? Will they say if you live or have to travel through Italy, Rome, Spain, Switzerland, or anywhere in the Middle East you cant come to work?

What if a few more cases pop up in the US?

If they try to ban anyone from traveling from/through China, the US, or Europe, that will essentially prevent damn near every crew member from getting here. There are a few Aussie's, one guy that lives in Brazil, and maybe a few others I'm missing. But some of those guys still have to travel through the US or EU to get to work.

 

Don't know...I'm still trying to evaluate the actual threat level. Reaction seems to be slipping from prudent to paranoia in a hurry.

 

Agreed.

It is something to be somewhat aware of, possibly even mildly concerned about. But rushing the grocery stores and emptying them, filling up tons of gas jugs etc...that is just ridiculous (at least at this point).

People didn't do that when SARS, Ebola, H1N1, and other shit was out there. Hell, tons of people are killed by the "regular flu" every year, and people never do that. I think this hysteria is absurd.

But that's what happens when everyone has a social media account and access to every happening in the world.

 

This is another trial to see just how much they can manipulate the mass's into panic..."control" takes many forms.

 

Typical government budgeting process...."hey Boss, we'll need 1.5 billion to fight this flu. Boss says then we'll ask for another billion so we can at least get what we need". Schummy gets the political bug up his ass and says you'll need 8 billion so we can divert money to my lost causes. DJT goes "great, I'll take it...and when we're done with this flu shit I'll spend the left over 6.5 gigabucks on the wall...FU Schummer!"