2019 Novel Coronavirus Covid-19 Discussion

Forums › Health and fitness › 2019 Novel Coronavirus Covid-19 Discussion

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#2447978 27-Mar-2020 13:35

iamaelephant:

What? Of course the supermarkets are going to profit from this. But for the government, who is setting the rules, that's not an important factor right now. Their focus is ensuring the disease does not spread. That's it.

I am asking why? Every other business that has closed is making losses. A large proportion of households are seeing reductions in household income. The government has done a lot in regards to trying to fight the spread. I don't understand why there is a need for supermarket owners to profit. Equally you havent provided a reason why they should be profiteering.

I 100% think the industry should be regulated immediately, to ensure households can access food at a more affordable price.

tdgeek

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#2447979 27-Mar-2020 13:39

Rikkitic:

The main point is it is going to get much worse, will go on for much longer than anyone thinks, and will happen again.

I agree with those three points. Its in runaway mode in many countries, not NZ though. There will be many learnings from Covid-19 for next time

Varkk

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#2447980 27-Mar-2020 13:39

freitasm:

QFT. Less people working means less chances to pass the virus. It is not about the companies.

While this is true, it also forces more people in to each particular supermarket, essentially putting everyone who goes to each shop in the same bubble. If they had more, smaller places to get food we could be in smaller, localised bubbles. And Mad butcher usually sold other groceries along with meat so you could potentially do all food shopping at one.

dogstar001

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#2447981 27-Mar-2020 13:42

itxtme:
iamaelephant:

Do you really not understand this? Or are you being intentionally obtuse?

Here, here's why: it's NOT ABOUT PROFIT, it's about saving literally tens of thousands of lives. This has moved beyond who will be the big winners and losers, it's a threat to public health. So we're not thinking about who is allowed to make money here, we're optimising for preventing the spread of a deadly infectious disease.

Jesus Christ why does this still need to be explained?

If this is the case, why are supermarkets not running at 0 profit? This is a time when every other competing business has been forced to close. How is it in the countries best interest for profiteering at supermarkets to occur? Surely you agree they should remove their profit?

I also think that Countdown's proferteering off this crisis is a disgrace. They have effectivly adjusted their pricing stucture to take advantage of the fact they have a monopoly on food. Government has the ability to requisition facilities with the level 4 lockdown, they should at the very least threaten this.

It's unfair that we have all to do our part & work as a team expect countdown.

elpenguino

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#2447998 27-Mar-2020 13:46

dogstar001:
itxtme:

If this is the case, why are supermarkets not running at 0 profit? This is a time when every other competing business has been forced to close. How is it in the countries best interest for profiteering at supermarkets to occur? Surely you agree they should remove their profit?

I also think that Countdown's proferteering off this crisis is a disgrace. They have effectivly adjusted their pricing stucture to take advantage of the fact they have a monopoly on food. Government has the ability to requisition facilities with the level 4 lockdown, they should at the very least threaten this.

It's unfair that we have all to do our part & work as a team expect countdown.

You should take this to the price gouging thread.

https://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumid=48&topicid=268532&page_no=3#2447983

Most of the posters in this thread are just like chimpanzees on MDMA, full of feelings of bonhomie, joy, and optimism. Fred99 8/4/21

elpenguino

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#2448000 27-Mar-2020 13:47

Rikkitic:

elpenguino:

Can you save us all 24 minutes each and tell us what the main point is?

The main point is it is going to get much worse, will go on for much longer than anyone thinks, and will happen again.

Thanks ! :-)

Most of the posters in this thread are just like chimpanzees on MDMA, full of feelings of bonhomie, joy, and optimism. Fred99 8/4/21

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kingdragonfly

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#2448002 27-Mar-2020 13:48

"Hobby Lobby" is a "Christian" craft store in the US.

They actively opposed Obamacare.

They filed a lawsuit against requiring health insurance provided by employers to cover emergency contraceptives

The store refuses to carry items related to Jewish holidays (yes, really)

They were caught looting archaeological sites in Iraq and Caesarea and smuggled artifacts to the US Museum of the Bible. There were fined 3 million dollars. In a bit a karma, some of the items cost them millions but were counterfeit.

The Independent: Coronavirus: Hobby Lobby billionaire keeps stores open after ‘God spoke to him’ – but won’t pay sick leave

The US arts-and-crafts chain Hobby Lobby has said it will remain open during the coronavirus epidemic – but has also refused sick pay for workers who fall ill, including from Covid-19.

The chain is keeping some stores open in states that have not ordered non-essential retailers to shut down. In a letter to all employees on 19 March, founder and CEO David Green warned that times would be tough: “To help ensure our company remains strong and prepared to prosper once again when this passes, we may all have to ‘tighten our belts’ over the near future.”

Mr Green, a devout conservative Christian whose net worth is in the region of $6bn, also wrote that “I cannot adequately express how much I appreciate each one of you.

However, in a March 23 memo to store managers seen by Business Insider, store operations vice president Randy Betts wrote that the business would “make every effort to continue working the employees”, and that sick workers will be expected to use their personal paid leave or take an unpaid leave of absence.

Much of the reaction to the revelations focused on the discrepancy between the Christian values expressed in the letter and the hardline payroll policies in the memo. Left-wing blog DailyKos, for instance, headlined its story “Hobby Lobby founder tells workers that God spoke to his wife and forgot to mention paid sick leave”.

Sure enough, in the 19 March letter to employees, Mr Green wrote that when his wife Barbara prayed for guidance the week before, “God put on [her] heart three profound words to remind us that he’s in control: Guide, Guard and Groom.

“While we do not know for certain what the future holds, or how long this disruption will last, we can all rest in knowing that God is in control.”

kobiak

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#2448003 27-Mar-2020 13:49

I don't remember if it was on this threat or on FB page. But someone from countdown marketing explained. that all promos are coming from suppliers and not from supermarket. yes supermarkets set margin they get for sold items, but maybe these are smaller now to cover the cost? dunno :(

helping others at evgenyk.nz

elpenguino

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#2448006 27-Mar-2020 13:50

itxtme:

iamaelephant:

What? Of course the supermarkets are going to profit from this. But for the government, who is setting the rules, that's not an important factor right now. Their focus is ensuring the disease does not spread. That's it.

I 100% think the industry should be regulated immediately, to ensure households can access food at a more affordable price.

Righhht. So you think we can come up with a whole bunch of sensible workable regulation really quickly. And that this won't have any effect on your ability to buy food.

It's easier to give people money through existing channels and for people to buy food through existing networks.

Surprise surprise. That's what's going on .

Most of the posters in this thread are just like chimpanzees on MDMA, full of feelings of bonhomie, joy, and optimism. Fred99 8/4/21

mattwnz

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#2448012 27-Mar-2020 13:56

Fred99:

If good information isn't available, then people make stuff up - and that's dangerous.

If you look at Thailand, their national emergency involves also censoring the media. We don't want that in NZ.

https://time.com/5808742/thailand-emergency-coronavirus/

frankv

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#2448014 27-Mar-2020 13:59

sbiddle:

In a best case scenario if NZ was to continue our look down for the next month we could see a few thousand infected people and hopefully no deaths. But what do we do then?

In the last couple of days we've seen reports such as the one out of Oxford that argue 50% of the UK population are already exposed, and a figure already established was that herd immunity required 60% of the population. It's very clear that a significant number of people who are infected do show are asymptomatic and do not show any symptoms of illness, but do carry and spread it.

If this is true the UK could well peak within the next 7 days or so, and from that numbers could decline. Despite some reports claiming people have caught the virus twice, other coronavirus variants do not work in this way (you typically can't catch the common flu twice in a season unless you have underlying health issues). They have had deaths, and will have more, but if some of these newer studies are correct it could mean that the UK could return to some form of normality. They would have herd immunity and the virus would die out.

You can catch flu multiple times in a season because their are multiple strains of flu present at any one time. When you catch flu and recover, you gain immunity to that strain, not to all flu. That's why the flu vaccination contains the three most common strains. Underlying health issues just means you're more likely to get ill from a flu infection.

It's not going to be "normal" by Easter, even if it peaks today in UK and USA. Wuhan is still locked down now, 6 weeks after their peak.

So this poses the big question. What if (and if is the question) the approach taken by countries such the US, UK and Australia where they moved towards lock downs at a later point turns out to be the best approach? If herd immunity develops in those countries life could possibly return to normal fairly quickly. We could know the answers to that within 7-14 days.

It's clear community spread has occurred in NZ, but it would seem that based on the number of sick people that our rates of spread would have to be significantly lower than other countries, and we'd certainly be nowhere near a point where herd immunity could even be close.

So where does that leave NZ? What if we do such a great job of wiping out the virus with our lock down that we don't have any deaths, have no herd immunity, but are now stuck on an Island where we have no choice but to keep our borders shut until a vaccine becomes available? What if that vaccine was still 12 months away?

There is a third option... gradual infection.

The problem is ICU beds... after our ICUs are full, 5% of infected people will die. If we have ICU beds available, only 1% die. So we could allow (say) Auckland to become infected and develop herd immunity, whilst maintaining infection-control "borders" between it and the rest of NZ. Allow open travel between Auckland and the rest of the world. When Auckland's ICUs are full, transport patients to ICUs in other hospitals around the country. When the demand for ICU beds from Auckland falls, remove the "border" between Auckland and Northland. Again, use the whole country's ICUs to treat patients from Northland. Repeat again for Waikato, BOP, etc, etc until the whole country has herd immunity.

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cshwone

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#2448016 27-Mar-2020 14:00

Supermarkets are putting up their prices for items and that is a conscious decision by them - at the very least government should be having a word at the highest level with the CEO's

Regulation and all that entails should be a last resort

kingdragonfly

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#2448019 27-Mar-2020 14:02

HOBBY LOBBY.
Executive Offices

March 19, 2020

To all the wonderful employees of Hobby Lobby and Mardel:

This country has experienced several calamities and disruptions over the past century. From world wars and terrorist attacks, to financial crises and pandemics. While the current COVID-19 virus has been added to that list, and is certainly concerning and disruptive, I have every confidence that we, as a country and Company, will sustain and thrive again soon. My and Barbara's confidence, and comfort, comes in large part from knowing that you are part of our Hobby Lobby family.

In my family, Barbara is the prayer warrior. Today, that title takes on such a different meaning than I ever imagined before because we are at war with this latest virus. To quote the late Dr. Billy Graham, "We are to pray in times of adversity, lest we become faithless and unbelieving. We are to pray in times of prosperity, lest we become boastful and proud. We are to pray in times of danger, lest we become fearful and doubting. We are to pray in times of security, lest we become self-sufficient."

In her quiet prayer time this past week, the Lord put on Barbara's heart three profound words to remind us that He's in control. Guide, Guard and Groom. We serve a God who will Guide us through this storm, who will Guard us as we travel to places never seen before, and who, as a result of this experience, will Groom us to be better than we could have ever thought possible before now.

God has blessed this Company with so much. His blessings, and the fruits of all of your hard work, have made it possible for the Company to not only operate without significant amounts of debt, but for the past decade to maintain wages and benefits that have far exceeded most retailers. Many retailers are not as fortunate, and are instead saddled with what may be overwhelming debt.

While we do not know for certain what the future holds, or how long this disruption will last, we can all rest in knowing that God is in control. The Company's leaders are doing all they can to balance the need to keep the Company strong and the needs of employees. To help ensure our Company remains strong and prepared to prosper once again when this passes, we may all have to "tighten our belts" over the near future. We have always been the most successful Arts and Crafts retailer in the country, and, because of you, we will continue to be. Our Statement of Purpose from the beginning of our company is as relevant today as it was in 1972: "We believe that it is by God's grace and provision that the Company has endured. He has been faithful in the past, and we trust Him for our future."

Again, I cannot adequately express how much I appreciate each one of you. I ask that you all pray for our health and a return to normalcy very soon.

Blessings,
David Green
7707 SW 44th Street,
Oklahoma City, OK 73179 I P: 405.745.1100 I
hobbylobby.com

kingdragonfly

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#2448034 27-Mar-2020 14:16

One person tests positive for COVID-19 after attending 'coronavirus party,' Beshear says

Lousiville Kentucky Courier Journal

Kentucky's overall confirmed coronavirus cases jumped to 163 Tuesday with at least one case stemming from a "coronavirus party," Gov. Andy Beshear said, admonishing the practice and calling for an immediate end to such gatherings.

“This is the part where I, the person that tells everybody to be calm, have to remain calm myself," Beshear said. "Because anyone who goes to something like this may think that they are indestructible, but it’s someone else’s loved one that they are going to hurt.”

“We are battling for the health and even the lives of our parents and our grandparents," he added. "Don’t be so callous as to intentionally go to something and expose yourself to something that can kill other people. We ought to be much better than that.”

Beshear said the infection was one of 39 new cases reported Tuesday but did not say which county the case was associated with. Beshear said the person attended a party of adults in their 20s.

"I guess thinking they were invincible flaunting the mass gathering prohibition," he said.
...

DarthKermit

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#2448036 27-Mar-2020 14:16

Thankfully we don't get all that god bulls**t coming from our government ministers and large companies here.

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