Economic damage worse than Covid

Joy is upset because the quarantine and restrictions have been restarted here for Christmas season, and will be especially strict in some rural areas near here. It may affect our ability to deliver rice, and hinder farmers from working with the "second harvest" rice fields.

the only way it affects me is that I still can't go into a church or mall, but now I have to use both a mask and a face-shield when I walk the dogs outside. DUH.

This Inquirer editorial summarizes the economic damage, mainly due to the quarantine and lay off of many workers.

The World Bank has estimated that the health crisis will make 2.7 million more Filipinos poor this year as a result of a record decline in the Philippines’ economic output as measured by the gross domestic product (GDP). The multilateral agency expects Philippine GDP to shrink by 8.1 percent in 2020,

and this article notes 300 thousand OFW have returned home: Many work in service type jobs, i.e. restaurants, hotels, maids etc. Many of these OFW support extended families, so the damage is worse than the number suggests.

and this article notes what I am seeing; lots of people dying at home from various diseases, probably not covid but many were never tested because they can't afford a physician or are unwilling to risk seeing one. 

Indeed, when I was hit with a bad case of Bronchitis and wheezing a couple weeks ago, I didn't go to the hospital or get checked but merely went on Zithromax and prednisone and even used my inhaler. I wonder if that was covid or just a chest cold. But never mind: like Lolo I prefer to die at home if I get sick, and like most docs I don't want to be put on a respirator or get CPR. I have made my will out when the epidemic hit in February, so no problem.

This StrategyPage article is a bit sarcastic over the Covid hysteria in the USA, noting it is not much worse than the Asian flu epidemic of the 1950s (which was pretty bad.).

For example, the 1957/58 Asian Flu (H2N2) killed at least 116,000 Americans. Adjusted for larger current population, that comes to 223,000 in 2020 and a worldwide total over two million. Covid19 deaths so far are 1.6 million worldwide.

and they then compare it to the 1918 Spanish flu, which killed 100 times as many people, and killed mainly young healthy people, unlike Covid, which mainly kills the old and chronically ill. 

so why not merely quarantine the vulnerable and allow normal, low risk people to work: as was done in previous epidemics?

And the author sarcastically says the overreaction is because those in charge of the governments are over 60 and at risk:

Most of the politicians and senior officials worldwide are older than 60 and feared covid19 more than the general population...Despite that growing popular anger, elderly military and political leaders in many nations saw covid19 as a personal threat.

The younger population did not and that has been generating a lot of friction or, in many parts of the world, ignoring the quarantine demands in order to avoid starvation and sliding into extreme poverty..

That could be called "ageism" bias, but since the writing style of the article suggests that the writer is the sardonic Jim Dunnigan, who last time I looked was over age 70, I suspect what he writes is true.

the latest miracle drug is Ivermectin, used to treat parasites in dogs.

Hmm...maybe when I got sick I should have self dosed myself with Papadog's mange medicine.

Oh well, Give them a week and they'll find problems with it, but never mind. But here is the latest news.

and the state of the bad science and panic about minor side effects can be seen in this article about UV light: cautions against it's use because of sunburn damage? Lack of information? But there are studies showing it works...Give me a break: the studies could have been done and certified by now.

In the meanwhile, here in the Philippines, the gov't is busy borrowing lots of money to buy vaccines: and is buying a lot of the Chinese made vaccine because it is available, even though many are skeptical about China whose products are notorious for being shoddy, and skeptical about the drug companies who have bribed officials in the past to get their products used.

the government is trying to discourage Christmas family get togethers and stop people from traveling home from the cities, which have a lot of viral cases, to rural areas that are not as badly hit.

 They also are trying to discourage attendance at the Simbang Gabi masses, nine days of early morning mass before Christmas. Usually families attend, and lots of young folks go too: And afterward folks often get food from restaurants or kiosks, reinforcing the family ties in this season (and the young folks all congregate in the plaza together to socialize) all forbidden now, but never mind.

Simbang Gabi: a commercial from a few years ago;

...

and today: