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Scientists found regions hit hard by coronavirus share similar climate

Scientists have found “striking similarity” in temperature and humidity between regions that have reported major coronavirus outbreaks.
The researchers found that the places share an average temperature of 5°C to 11°C (41°F to 52°F) and 47% to 79% humidity.
 
They are located along the same temperature zone in the northern hemisphere. It includes outbreak epicenters such as China’s central province of Hubei, South Korea, Japan, Iran, Northwestern America and Northern Italy.

The study, done by a group of scientists from the US and Iran, was published on March 9 and is awaiting review by peer experts. 

The researchers said they may be able to predict which regions will be most likely hit by the virus in the upcoming weeks using methods of weather modeling. 

While the researchers said their predictions are speculative and do not take into account human factors such as travel and public health measures, large cities indicated as at risk include London, Berlin, Prague, Hamburg, Vancouver, New York and Kiev.

The study said a coronavirus outbreak could emerge in areas just north of the current outbreak zone.

But if temperatures warmed rapidly, the risks to these areas might be mitigated, the researchers added. 

The study was part of wider efforts by scientists to understand which traits the new coronavirus shared with other human coronaviruses and flu viruses, which display strong winter seasonality.

The team said that none of the cities affected by the coronavirus reported minimum temperatures below 0 degree Celsius (32°F), which may help to understand the virus's preferred climate.

The study echoes the findings of two other recent studies undergoing peer review.

Earlier, researchers from Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou, China, found that transmission of the coronavirus was “highly sensitive” to high temperature

Another recent study, conducted by scientists in Beijing, showed that areas with lower temperatures and lower humidity suffered more severe outbreaks than places that were warmer and had higher humidity.

https://www.inkstonenews.com/science/scientists-found-regions-hit-hard-coronavirus-share-similar-climate/article/3075085

 
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Lots of talking these days about this and that and how many percent here and how many there. The simple truth is: cancel as many personal contacts as possible whatever it might cost and it will dry out. Hopefully it will also dry out useless political figures like Trump and his Italian counterpart Savini who on February 27th proclaimed to open all that might be possible like stadiums, restaurants,bars, museums whatever is there. Savini almost became prime minister couple of months ago, obviously God held his protecting hands over Italy.

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I'm noticing a shift in the content, of the stories the media are running, vis Covid-19 and the response engendered from governments etc.

Then Apple and Nike have closed all or most of their stores. The cynic in me wonders why?

For the quest of the almighty dollar to be interrupted, there has to be a solid reason, and I don't think that the stated "to protect the people by minimising group contact",  actually flies in these cases.

Could it be, that they've been trying to get more people to move to the (less expensive in terms of overhead), online stores and this is a great opportunity to push people to do so? More dollars, yay!

Further: there's smoke in the breeze...

Economic effects, are undoubtedly being experienced by the world's economies. Some are having to deal with their outstanding debt issues, some are wondering where their next meal will come from, as trade looks like it could grind to a halt (by itself, not because of dickhead politicians).

Those countries with adequate food and water and 'lectricity, will fare OK, until the hordes begin to cross their borders.

I know, it sounds like I'm waving my end of the world flag, but if you think about all those "Zombie" movies and their ilk, and who the audience, for those pieces of drivel is, then you might wonder, if a significant proportion of the worlds less intelligent people, might be ready to believe in an armageddon-like reality.

As they say in the world of politics, Perception is Reality.

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43 minutes ago, Coss said:

Those countries with adequate food and water and 'lectricity, will fare OK, until the hordes begin to cross their borders.

I know, it sounds like I'm waving my end of the world flag, but if you think about all those "Zombie" movies and their ilk, and who the audience, for those pieces of drivel is, then you might wonder, if a significant proportion of the worlds less intelligent people, might be ready to believe in an armageddon-like reality.

As they say in the world of politics, Perception is Reality.

 

It's a pile of shit, it really is. I reckon most borders will be closed soon and sooner or later, most countries will go in to lockdown i.e. people will be house-bound, only allowed out to get essentials and go to work. It seems that is the only way to stop this thing, short of a vaccine being found - but word is that would be at least 12 months away.

The death toll is bad enough already but God knows where it will end up. And the economic carnage will be HORRIFIC!

Best to plant your ass where you want to be for the next several months because real soon it's going to get real hard to relocate....

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yep and make room for a couple more:

Passengers kicked off cruise ship, let loose in Wellington

https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/coronavirus/120298962/coronavirus-cruise-ship-with-with-suspected-infection-misses-wellington

Instead of doing the right thing, the ship's profit beneficiaries, are cutting the proles loose and keeping the money.

The ship is LE LAPEROUSE - https://helloworld.co.nz/cruise-ship/1539/le-laperouse

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How important climate is to transmission rate is unclear to me. I adjusted known CV cases by the population of the country for a few countries.

USA           -> 11 per million

Malaysia   -> 13 

Singapore -> 40

Singapore certainly has a warm and humid climate.

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Restaurants gutted by virus

The coronavirus pandemic is taking a heavy toll on Thailand's restaurant business, with 5,000-7,500 operators expected to throw in the towel this year.

Ladda Sampawthong, president of the Restaurant Business Association, said the contagion is only the latest in a series of negative factors.

"We've experienced several difficult times in the past decade, and overcame all of them. But this pandemic is worse than any crises in the past," Mrs Ladda said. "We expect 10-15% of operators, especially large and mid-sized eateries, to exit the country's 400-billion-baht industry this year."

The association has about 50,000 members nationwide.

Mrs Ladda said the majority of the hardest-hit restaurants are located in tourist destinations. The association is consulting with commercial banks on financial assistance, including special interest rates on loans.

The group plans to hold a meeting by the end of this month to seek new measures to support members.

According to Kasikorn Research Center (K-Research), foreign tourists' food purchases make up about 15% of their total spending here, worth 1.93 trillion baht in 2019.

In addition, locals are staying home because of the outbreak and the poor economy, which results in higher unemployment.

Consumers are warier of spending, with K-Research recently cutting the projection for food business sales in 2020 to 402-412 billion baht, down by 26.5-36.5 billion baht.

The research house said Thailand's food business grew 2.6% last year to 431 billion baht, compared with 4.2% growth in 2017 and 5.1% in 2018 to 400 billion and 420 billion baht, respectively. In 2016, the market was worth 383 billion baht.

K-Research predicts that Thailand's food business could contract by 4.3-6.6% this year to 402-412 billion baht if the pandemic persists.

https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/1879605/restaurants-gutted-by-virus#cxrecs_s

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