[shrek]

Here's my two cents on this whole thing.

I definitely think it's a biological weapon. It could've been unfinished when it was released, or equally as likely it could've been designed to do exactly what it's doing now. Many weapons throughout history have been designed to wound and maim and spread fear and panic rather than kill outright. Assuming the goal is not just genocide, then it would make sense to develop a weapon that would kill only enough people that a surrender could be forced due mainly to economic collapse when people are unable to work, take public transportation, or even get a hospital room. 

I have no faith in the US healthcare system, government, or even general infrastructure here. And honestly it's not much better in most other developed countries. I could definitely see this getting out of hand quickly if people were to go without food or water for a week, especially in the big cities. Offices and schools would get shut down, grocery stores would run out of fresh food quickly and there would be logistical issues with shipping even basic dry and canned foods due to quarantine zones and fear of spreading it across states. Irinikus is right about how fragile the global economy is. Even local economies are no better off. Hospitals simply won't have enough beds to handle all the cases so people will die from a lack of treatment. In some areas there may even be problems with the handling of infected corpses (or the lack thereof) that lead to corpse-related illnesses spreading around, further clogging up the medial system which will already be stretched beyond its limits. 

The most frightening thing will be to see how governments handle this. North Korea has already executed at least one person for leaving quarantine. There are rumors that China has been cremating bodies and digging mass graves, and there are videos coming out of men in biohazard suits with rifles roaming around the streets, putting people in metal boxes or dragging them into unmarked vans. The US government doesn't exactly have the most stellar track record when it comes to human rights. Example include putting people of Japanese descent in camps, paying prostitutes to dose johns with LSD, infecting black men with syphilis, spraying cities with radioactive materials, opening fire on non-violent protestors, planning false flag attacks on civilians in Operation Northwoods... the list goes on and on. So that'll be fun.

On a personal level I'm a bit worried about my parents who are in their late 50s as well as my girlfriend who has issues with asthma and other respiratory stuff. It's not going to end well if they catch it.

[hamei]

You guys are nuts, and that's all I'm going to say on the subject.

[Raion]

You guys are nuts, and that's all I'm going to say on the subject.

Really now? Tell me something I don't know. We hung out in Shanghai. You know how I am, though I am probably a fair bit more disillusioned with china since they revoked my visa for no good reason. 

Overall I hope Xi Jinping Emperor Winnie the Pooh gets SARS-CoV-19 and dies like a dog. He has rolled back everything Hu Jintao worked on, and even gone further beyond than Jiang Zemin in ruining China. Fuck 'em. What a fag.

[shrek]

You guys are nuts, and that's all I'm going to say on the subject.

Why yes. Yes I am. What gave it away? Was it the ogre avatar or the obsession over obscure 20 year old computers? 

[hamei]

There are rumors that China has been cremating bodies and digging mass graves, and there are videos coming out of men in biohazard suits with rifles roaming around the streets, putting people in metal boxes or dragging them into unmarked vans.

I said I wouldn't say any more, and I shouldn't but ...

I actually live in China so I don't have to depend on rumours.

I also do not much care what happens to me, so I have been wandering around in three cities during this event, from mid-January until now.

These rumours are ridiculous. Worse than ridiculous.

I don't mind a good tinfoil-hat conspiracy, in fact I kind of enjoy them and give credence to more than most people. But the situation in China is nothing like that.

A new virus popped up in Wuhan in early December. Health authorities at the time pooh-poohed it (understandable) and then their reasoning turned out to be wrong. It turned out to be a contagious disease, and mortal to a segment of the population. Very contagious.

So they took measures which came from their experience with SARS. Scientific, logical measures.

The Public not only went along with these measures, they were more adamant about enforcement than the government. If you walked around without a mask, it wasn't the gate guards you had to worry about, it was the neighbors. In fact, most of the neighbors would give you the evil eye just for walking outside (where the streets were deserted.)

The "authorities" were friendly and helpful. Everybody was polite and helpful. Yes, there were things you had to do - sign in with your id and phone number and have your temperature checked to go into anywhere - and "anywhere" means grocery stores, cuz that's all that was open   But still, it went off very well, no one was abused (I say "no one" but in a country of 1.2 billion I am sure someone, somewhere got roughed up. Statistically speaking, no one)  and we are now done with it. Probably have to ban anyone from coming in, next

Testing and hospital care is free, salaries will be paid, they knew what the incubation period was and shut us down tight for that long and now there are 25 new cases a day instead of 2,000. Most people have gone back to work, except for people who are sick. Did I mention that testing is free ?

And they are now instituting measures to mitigate the economic losses to companies.

Much of the stuff I have read in western press is just trash. These silly conspiracy theories don't help. It is a dangerous disease, as Italy is now finding out. Truthful, logical discussion of what's going on is a help. Other conjecture, much less so.

So now I will actually shut up, sorry, but ... lots of people are going to die from this. I think we should not engage in far-fetched speculation.

btw, it is traditional for Chinese people to cremate. And the "mass graves" thing, jesus. Someone please get real.

Here's a real statistic for you -- something like fifty doctors have died fighting this epidemic. It's not very polite to engage in silly conspiracy theories when people have given their lives to stop this.

Let's see how well the west handles this. Italy has not been a great example so far.

[shrek]

Ehhh I wouldn't call it a "silly conspiracy theory" when there are videos coming out of China showing all sorts of crazy stuff. Have you paid any attention to any of the footage making rounds on social media? I'm not sure how tight the censorship is over there but over here we can see it all. I also don't trust any numbers put out by the Chinese government since they've lied so many times before and have a long history of human rights abuses. Saving face is also a huge part of Chinese culture, and the WHO seems to be in Xi's pocket.  The number of people they have locked down in quarantine over there and the economic losses they're taking in an attempt to get this situation under control speaks volumes. This whole thing just reminds me of Chernobyl in terms of the dishonesty and incompetence shown by various governments. Similarly, it will have long lasting political and economic implications that nobody seems to be too worried about, which is alarming. 

I recommend watching what average people are posting and talking about, and not just eating up state propaganda from your preferred source. The world is bigger than your backyard. I would urge you to take this seriously and buy some beans, rice, and bottled water. Maybe this is an American thing but I just can't see anything good coming from putting blind trust in government officials. 

Believe me, I'd love to end up looking like a complete fool if this all blows over like nothing. But I'll be genuinely surprised if it does. Preparing for the worst won't hurt.

[uunix]

We British have it sorted.. toilet rolls!!

[jan-jaap]

I'm not sure how tight the censorship is over there but over here we can see it all.

No, over here we don't have government censorship but we have social media networks who's algorithms keep you locked up inside your personal filter bubble and promote fake news because spectacular garbage keeps you tied up longer so they can fire more commercials at you. We have effectively outsourced censorship to the private sector.

[hamei]

I recommend watching what average people are posting and talking about, and not just eating up state propaganda from your preferred source. The world is bigger than your backyard. I would urge you to take this seriously and buy some beans, rice, and bottled water.

Oivay. All I am going to say is, I ACTUALLY LIVE HERE !!  Have for twenty years.

Thank you very much for your advice but you telling me about China is like me telling jan-jaap about firewire.

[Irinikus]

There are rumors that China has been cremating bodies and digging mass graves, and there are videos coming out of men in biohazard suits with rifles roaming around the streets, putting people in metal boxes or dragging them into unmarked vans.

I said I wouldn't say any more, and I shouldn't but ...

I actually live in China so I don't have to depend on rumours.

Let's see how well the west handles this. Italy has not been a great example so far.

Thanks for the input, regarding the actual situation in China!

This outbreak will F@$%K us up over here in South Africa, as we are nowhere nearly as capable as China is! (I don't think any other country is for that matter!)

There are possibly as many 7.5million people living with HIV in this country of ours. If you have HIV and contract this, I don't think you'll make it, as your immune system is compromised! (So never mind Italy, we could potentially become the biggest casualty!)