Image Source: Twitter via 4chan.
I have published a new post at Vocal Media about governments' incremental plans to deal with the coronavirus. These plans show us where governments know this pandemic is going, even if we do not:
Citizens have been complaining on social media as they find their governments responding slowly and barely paying lip service to public health concerns. Typical examples are below and here. People are mystified as to why so little is being done. They even threaten their politicians will a reckoning at the ballot box. They don't grasp that - in the worst case scenario - there may be no elections.
This is not a prediction, rather a possibility. A lot depends on care available; whether vaccines or antiviral drugs are developed; how the virus mutates; and whether and to what degree the public and public authorities work in tandem - not at odds - to combat the pandemic. Much depends on whether the public are given full access to relevant information.
Legal Analysis: If the Government Thinks You Have Coronavirus, There’s Probably Nothing You Can Do to Avoid Quarantine https://t.co/wML95IZShO via @colinkalmbacher pic.twitter.com/aGVXvoZFTU— Law & Crime (@lawcrimenews) March 7, 2020
This pandemic will bring our whole view of governmental authority to a head - see related tweets by Kristin George Bagdanov, here. In the most extreme mass quarantine conditions, our civil and constitutional rights could be - and likely will be - suspended. The pieces are moving, and we have yet to see how much of an excuse the virus may provide.
@adriandix how can you say your doing your best? you guys are not even sterilizing public transit. DIY home quarantine, gas lighting about asymptomatic transmission and parroting of CCP talking points? What a joke.. #covid19Canada #CoronaVirusCanada— Ben L'Esperance (@BenLesperance) March 7, 2020
Must Read #CoronavirusUSA #COVIDー19 Some things you should know. #TrumpVirusCoverup https://t.co/ZuzPP3OtJk— COhummingbird (@COHummingbird) March 7, 2020
I just landed at JFK after reporting on #coronavirus in Milan and Lombardy —the epicenter of Italy’s outbreak— for @vicenews. I walked right through US customs. They didn’t ask me where in Italy I went or if I came into contact with sick people. They didn’t ask me anything.— Julia Lindau (@julialindau) March 5, 2020
The Italian experience:— Frank Vaughan (@FPVaughanIII) March 7, 2020
Paraphrased translation:
We treated it like the flu. It isn't. 10 percent need ICU beds. We are out of beds. Don't make the same mistake.
Every countries response:
It's just the flu. When we shun experience, we all lose.https://t.co/CWYncW2lQN
Coronavirus, dentro il reparto di terapia intensiva (5 March 2020). Video Source: LA7.
To give the authorities credit, they are dealing with rapidly-unfolding events and a lot of uncertainty, as with Italian doctors, above. There is footage circulating of mass graves Qom, Iran. On 7 March 2020, a hotel in Quanzhou, China filled with people under COVID19 observation collapsed (see here and here). In the Central Poltava region of the Ukraine, protesters attacked incoming Wuhan evacuees. Hazmat teams have been spotted at a football club in Scotland and at American university dorms (here and here). There are reports that the virus was allowed to spread in the United States unchecked and unmonitored for six weeks.
Despite the chaotic stream of reports, I suggested in my Vocal Media article that the reason governmental and health officials are dropping the ball is because they are already planning the next stage of pandemic management, particularly mass quarantines, when civilian concerns will go by the wayside. For authorities, the public's 'now' moment, and our level of current understanding, are long gone behind them. They hold press conferences to maintain stability and a semblance of normalcy, but this is a puppet show to keep us distracted and pacified.
It's crazy that the public's anxiety has been channeled through desperate hoarding of toilet paper. But it also shows that people don't know what to do and they feel they must do something. Our governments and health organizations have not given us clear indications on what to do to stop the spread of the virus. We have been told to wash our hands, sometimes to stock up on supplies, sometimes not. We have been told that COVID19 is like the flu, and we have been told that it is worse than Ebola. These mixed messages don't give citizens credit for being able to handle the seriousness of the situation without panicking.
I want it all!#COVIDー19 #CoronaVirusCanada #yyj #yvr #victoriabc #yyj #yyjre #yyjrealtor #yyjrealestate #victoria #vancouverisland #westcoast #realestate #remax #realtor #realtorlife #yvr #yeg #yyc #yyz #vichomes4sale #saanich #yxe pic.twitter.com/eynEfXqRwx— Curtis Lindsay REMAX (@VicHomes4Sale) March 7, 2020
The whole picture is released incrementally, in a drip feed. This is why the advisories change. It would have been better to tell the whole truth, as governments knew it, at the beginning. It is the partial picture, the drip feed, that is creating panic, because it leaves gaps in information. The public are left with no choice but to fill in those gaps for themselves.
CEO of the vaccine-maker Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, Dr. Richard Hatchett, states that public awareness and group behaviour are critical. We have to stop depending entirely on authorities to take care of us. At the same time, authorities should give the public credit and bring them into a collective action to stop pandemic spread, rather than treating people like children.
"It's up to societies how they will respond to the virus." Coronavirus expert: 'War is an appropriate analogy' (6 March 2020). Video Source: Youtube.
In America, this top-down trend is evident in the mysterious lack of testing, an almost criminally feeble response along the west coast, combined with the real enacted policy of US troop movements. People have taken smartphone footage of base camps, quarantine centres, and field hospitals being set up in New York State, Nevada, California, Oregon and Washington State. It's like the beginning of a disaster film, except that it's real. It looks like a Stephen King novel, where the first signs of real trouble are not in the cities, but just outside cities, along the highways, and in small towns. Here is a small sample of recent information on quarantines. I can't do all major countries today due to time constraints:
USA
- US Military approves 11 coronavirus quarantine camps near major aiports, February 2020. "The airports are located in Hawaii, Illinois, Texas , California , Georgia, New York, Washington state, Washington DC, New Jersey and Michigan."
- President Trump confirms quarantine plans, 26 February 2020.
- White Center neighbourhood, West Seattle, Washington State: quarantine trailer site for COVID19 patients under construction; the area is surrounded by a tow zone so that you can't park your car there to have a look. Similar facilities are being set up in King County, Washington (see here).
- Maple Lane School, just north of Centralia in Washington State has been converted into a quarantine camp, with fences topped with razor wire, 4-5 March 2020 (see here, here, here, here, here, here). For information, call: (360) 489-5357 (8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.); (360) 489-5498 (1:30 p.m. to 10 p.m.); (360) 489-5949 (10 p.m. to 6 a.m.). The Tacoma-Pierce County coronavirus page is here.
- US soldiers quarantined in Norway, 6 March 2020.
- US Army tells people to expect to see military convoys in New York State, 6-7 March 2020. The US Army Fort Drum coronavirus page is here. Text (315) 955-5385 with questions.
- Rules for quarantine in Denver, Colorado, 6 March 2020.
- Military aircraft spotted moving across US, January, February, March 2020 (see here, here, here, here, here, here).
- Police-enforced quarantine hits California's capital, Sacramento, 7 March 2020.
- New York governor declares state of emergency, 7 March 2020.
- Israeli government planning to quarantine anyone traveling to Israel from Washington, DC, New York and California, 7 March 2020.
- What to expect from a self-quarantine order, 7 March 2020.
- 2,700 in NYC are under self-quarantine, 7 March 2020.
UK
- For help, dial NHS 111 or go here online. Latest number of cases. Info sites: UK Gov; Department of Health and Social Care; Public Health England; NHS coronavirus page; UK Gov coronavirus response page.
- Footage of the quarantine unit in Oxfordshire, originally set up for British evacuees brought from China and flown into RAF Brize Norton.
- COBRA meeting, 24 February 2020: Ministry of Defence preparing British Army barracks as quarantine centres.
- Hotel in Tenerife with COVID19 cases had British evacuees who flew back on a regular flight to Bristol, 1 March 2020.
- Schools shut or students turned away, 3 March 2020.
- PM Johnson: British Army will support police to maintain public order, 3 March 2020.
- London mayor Sadiq Khan denies tabloid claim that a 'ring of steel' would be placed around the city to contain spread of the virus within the capital, 3 March 2020.
- Councils haven't been given their public health care budgets yet by the Tories, despite coronavirus emergency, 5 March 2020.
- Croyden, London, UK, 6 March 2020: Customers at Costco sprayed with disinfectant upon entering store.
- Millions of Brits could be told to quarantine themselves at home, February-March, 2020. NHS will stop testing for COVID19 once the UK reaches approximately 100 positive cases. Home quarantine currently for Channel 4 announcer, Jon Snow and Radio 4's Nick Robinson.
- NHS self-isolation advice. UK Gov: the general public may be asked to self-isolate.
- Liverpool Echo: constant updates with micro-level information.
- Info pages for: Feds (also here), call 1 (833) 784-4397; BC government, BC Centre for Disease Control, and BC government news; Alberta; Saskatchewan; Manitoba; Ontario; Quebec; New Brunswick; Nova Scotia; Prince Edward Island; Newfoundland and Labrador; Northwest Territory; Yukon; Nunavit.
- Coronavirus main pages: National Post; Macleans; Globe and Mail; CBC; Toronto Star; Radio-Canada; Le Devoir; La Presse.
- Canadian military switches to pre-pandemic planning, 4 March 2020.
- Cornwall, Ontario: quarantined Diamond Princess passengers released from 14-day quarantine, 6 March 2020. The evacuees' previous fortnight quarantine aboard the Diamond Princess was counted along with their fortnight in Cornwall. However, Diamond Princess conditions were reportedly so sloppy that that initial fortnight on the ship should not seriously be included. On 6 March 2020, evacuees were deemed free to go, and to reintegrate into society without protection. They traveled in two buses that afternoon to Montreal, one bus to Ottawa, one bus to Toronto. Not all people were tested during the quarantine. In addition: "It’s unclear whether Canadian Red Cross volunteers, who had been in close contact with those quarantined, were screened or not prior to their departure. All wore masks and full protective gear during the quarantine period."
- Toronto Transit Commission Advisory, 6 March 2020
- British Columbia Provincial Pandemic Coordination Plan (4 month plan as of 6 March 2020)
- British Columbia Emergency Program Act, 26 February 2020.
- British Columbia Public Health Act, 26 February 2020.
- CHEK News, big summary page on British Columbia pandemic plans, 6 March 2020.
- Grand Princess will dock in Vancouver and Victoria, 2-3 April 2020.
People have been spotting Military activity across the U.S. (updated) (6 March 2020). Video Source: Youtube.
I expect heavy censorship of the alternative media to follow, and am currently considering how to plan for that in terms of blogging about this topic. I will publish my decision in a different post.
Below, see what Wuhan looked like on 31 December 2019. Do not be complacent: it took only three weeks after that evening for normal life in that city to collapse.
COVID19 Wuhan Pandemic - Beginning of the Outbreak (6 March 2020). Video Source: Youtube.
See all my posts on Epidemics here and here.