Society's ChildS


Attention

The secondary harms caused by the lockdown get worse every day

Anthony Furey
Toronto Sun
Wed, 29 Apr 2020 21:32 UTC
Doctors
© Christopher Furlong / Getty ImagesDoctors at St Johns Medical Centre take part in their daily planning meeting on April 13, 2020 in Altrincham, England.
New numbers came out Wednesday on COVID-19 death projections.

Except they weren't about deaths directly caused from getting infected with coronavirus. They were deaths caused by the lockdowns, by the secondary harms that now seem to be getting worse by the day.

Researchers at University College London are now projecting that 18,000 more people in the United Kingdom will die over the next 12 months than previously expected.

"Cancer deaths in the U.K. could rise by almost 20% over the next year as treatments are disrupted by the fight against the coronavirus pandemic, according to a new research paper," reports Bloomberg.

To put that 18,000 figure in context, at the time of this writing the number of people in the U.K. who have died directly as a result of having COVID-19 is above 26,000.

Is a similar phenomenon happening in Canada? Not only does common sense tell us that it likely is, but data is starting to come out to confirm it.

Comment: Keep in mind the that lockdowns were never about protecting public safety. See also:

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Cardboard Box

Millions more US jobless than reported

Stephen Lendman
stephenlendman.org
Wed, 29 Apr 2020 00:00 UTC
change for food
Based on how it was calculated pre-1990s, Shadowstats economist John Williams has the real US unemployment rate at around 38%, heading higher.

According to the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), "millions" of jobless US workers aren't getting benefits because applications they filed, or were unable to because of a "buckle(d)" system, weren't processed.

EPI:
"For every 10 people who said they successfully filed for unemployment benefits during the previous four weeks:

Three to four additional people tried to apply but could not get through the system to make a claim.

Two additional people did not try to apply because it was too difficult to do so."
This disturbing reality shows that the official US unemployment rate is way understated.
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Question

One dead, five missing after Canadian military helicopter crashes off Greece

Lee Berthiaume
The Northern View
Thu, 30 Apr 2020 23:58 UTC
helicopter
© The Canadian Press
The Canadian military is deploying a flight investigation team to look into the causes of a helicopter crash off the coast of Greece that has claimed the life of at least one service member and left five others missing.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau confirmed during a news conference that six people were aboard the Cyclone helicopter that went down in the Ionian Sea on Wednesday as the aircraft was returning to the Halifax-class frigate HMCS Fredericton from a NATO training mission.

Chief of the defence staff Gen. Jonathan Vance confirmed the body of one sailor, Sub-Lt. Abbigail Cowbrough of Nova Scotia, had been recovered. Canadian and allied warships and aircraft were searching for the other service members, whose identities were not released.
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Eye 1

'Immunity' with benefits? Germans worried as govt mulls IDs 'making life easier' for Covid-19 survivors


RT
Thu, 30 Apr 2020 23:42 UTC
polizei
© REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski
Berlin is reportedly considering issuing IDs confirming the bearer is immune to Covid-19 and may have more freedom than the as-yet uninfected. It adds to debate on whether recovery from the virus protects humans from reinfection.

Germany's federal government has passed a bill that would allow for handing out "coronavirus immunity cards" to anyone who has recovered from - and thus developed enough antibodies against - the disease, according to Suddeutsche Zeitung newspaper, citing a copy of the document.

The IDs, similar to a vaccination certificate, could make life easier "in many places," Health Minister Jens Spahn believes. Owners of the "immunity passports" will be afforded a chance to carry out certain activities more easily, he said, citing healthcare staff as an example.
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Stock Down

Germany expects record recession in 2020 due to coronavirus pandemic

Michael Nienaber
Reuters
Wed, 29 Apr 2020 23:14 UTC
empty tables
Germany has slashed its economic growth forecast for this year, the economy ministry said on Wednesday, predicting the coronavirus pandemic would plunge Europe's largest economy into the deepest recession in its post-war history.

The government cut its estimate for gross domestic product growth in 2020 to -6.3% from +1.1% predicted in January, the ministry said. It expects the recession to bottom out in the second quarter and economic activity to pick up again after that.

For 2021, the government expects the economy to rebound with an expansion rate of +5.2%. The forecasts are based on the assumption that authorities can gradually unwind lockdown measures to contain the spread of the coronavirus.
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Ambulance

Due to coronavirus disrupting treatments, UK cancer deaths may surge

Thomas Biesheuvel
Bloomberg
Wed, 29 Apr 2020 04:44 UTC
Empty hospital
© sudoki1/Stock
Cancer deaths in the U.K. could rise by almost 20% over the next year as treatments are disrupted by the fight against the coronavirus pandemic, according to a new research paper.

Almost 18,000 more people with cancer are expected to die over the next 12 months than pre-pandemic estimates suggested, researchers at University College London and Health Data Research UK said on Wednesday.

Cancer treatment, testing and screening has been severely disrupted as the country moved to free up 10s of thousands of hospital beds to treat coronavius patients. At the same time, many people who have medical concerns have avoided going to hospitals. That's led government and health officials in recent days to appeal to people to go to hospital if they have concerns about their health, such as chest pains or symptoms they believe could be linked to cancer.

"We have got the facilities to treat people," Professor Peter Johnson, National Clinical Director for Cancer, said in a BBC interview Wednesday. "Cancer can be a much bigger danger than coronavirus, and we much rather see people when cancer is at an early stage."

Comment: See also:

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Ambulance

Brooklyn, NY: Dozens of bodies found in U-Haul trucks and inside funeral facility

Larry Celona, Elizabeth Rosner
New York Post
Wed, 29 Apr 2020 07:14 UTC
body movers
© AP/Craig RuttleWorkers move bodies to a refrigerated truck from the Andrew T. Checkley Funeral Home.
Police found dozens of bodies being stored in unrefrigerated trucks outside a Brooklyn funeral home and lying on the facility's floor Wednesday, law enforcement sources told The Post.

Between 40 and 60 bodies were discovered either stacked up in U-Haul box trucks outside Andrew Cleckley Funeral Services in Flatlands or on the building's floor, after neighbors reported a foul odor around the property, sources said.

The corpses were stacked on top of each other in the trucks. Fluid leaking from inside created a terrible smell and caused neighboring store owners to call the police, according to sources.


Comment: "Unacceptable"! says De Blasio
Mayor Bill de Blasio on Thursday said "This horrible situation that occurred with the funeral home in Brooklyn is absolutely unacceptable — let's be clear about that," he told reporters during a conference call.

"Funeral homes are private organizations. They have an obligation to the people they serve to treat them with dignity," the mayor said, adding, "I have no idea how they would let that happen." [He] questioned why the funeral home did not contact the state or the NYPD for help with the body situation.

"It is unconscionable to me," de Blasio said. "You're talking about the deceased loved ones of family. I'm sorry, it's not hard to figure out if nothing else is working, call the NYPD," said the mayor. "It was an emergency situation."

De Blasio added, "I'm very disappointed they didn't do that ... They do bear responsibility, they should have figured it out."
The reason for this is that funeral parlors and morgues have been told not to handle 'Covid-19 bodies' because 'they literally contain The Plague'...

Which is utter BS of course.

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Laptop

'You misspelled censorship!' YouTube expands 'fact checks' to protect Americans from coronavirus 'misinformation'


RT
Thu, 30 Apr 2020 18:26 UTC
YouTube
© Reuters / Dado Ruvic
YouTube will now "fact check" US search queries, expanding a feature tried in other countries last year in an effort to eradicate "misinformation" about Covid-19 - but some netizens are seeing hints of Orwell in the project.

The video-sharing giant rolled out the new feature on Tuesday, announcing that its "fact check information panels" will now appear on American searches, in which "authoritative sources" will show up below the search bar to correct claims that YouTube deems suspect.

"We're now using these panels to help address an additional challenge: misinformation that comes up quickly as part of a fast-moving news cycle, where unfounded claims and uncertainty about facts are common," the platform said in a statement, citing unverified claims that Covid-19 is a "bio-weapon" as an example.

Comment: See also:

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Bullseye

'The biggest myth about Sweden is that life is going on as normal', but treating citizens like adults has still paid off


TheLocal.se
Fri, 24 Apr 2020 18:58 UTC
Isabella Lövin Deputy Prime Minister Sweden
© Jonas Ekströmer/TTIsabella Lövin, Deputy Prime Minister, Environment Minister and co-leader of the Green Party.
Life in Sweden is absolutely not going on as normal, the country's Deputy Prime Minister Isabella Lövin told The Local as she warned the government was prepared to take stronger measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus outbreak.

Sweden has been the subject of huge international attention during the coronavirus crisis given the decision not to impose the kind of strict lockdown similar to those imposed across Europe and in the United States.

It has banned events of more than 50 people and barred visits to retirement homes, but has mainly relied on guidelines for social distancing and has stressed personal responsibility in the battle to slow the spread of coronavirus.

Comment: Note that the changes the Deputy Minister has listed have been through the voluntary cooperation of its population. Sweden has treated its citizens like adults (what a concept!), issuing guidelines, then letting them be implemented as individuals saw fit. Most have complied with the most sensible of them. The outcome has been the same or better than countries enacting ridiculous draconian measures.

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Briefcase

Russian Prime Minister Mishustin tests positive for coronavirus

Bryan MacDonald
RT
Thu, 30 Apr 2020 18:10 UTC
Russian PM Mikhail Mishustin
© Sputnik/Dmitry Astakhov/Pool via ReutersRussian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin
Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin has been diagnosed with Covid-19. The news was announced on Thursday evening, live on national television, during a video link with President Vladimir Putin.

First Deputy Prime Minister Andrey Belousov will step in as interim head of government during Mishustin's recovery.

It appears Mishustin - who replaced Dmitry Medvedev as PM in January - received the result of his test while at work. Earlier in the day, he headed a governmental session, conducted remotely. His diagnosis makes him the second major world leader known to have contracted the infection - after British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

"It just became known that the tests that I've passed for coronavirus gave a positive result," Mishustin told the president "In this regard, and in accordance with the requirements of Rospotrebnadzor [the national health watchdog], I must self-isolate and comply with the instructions of doctors: I have to do this to protect my colleagues."

Comment: See also: The effectiveness of social distancing on pandemic viral transmission

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