A few things to the positive.

[Workingman]

The US Food and Drugs Administration has approved the use of remdesivir for treating coronavirus patients. The are clear to state that is not a cure nor a vaccine and that it does not affect the mortality rate. what it does do is cut the time for those in a serious condition but who are expected to recover by about a third. This takes pressure off the health care system. It is only approved for the States and supplies are restricted but the outcome is worth keeping an eye on.

The UK, along with a number of other countries, is now collecting blood plasma from people who had Covid-19 and recovered, providing they test positive for anti-bodies in sufficient numbers. The plasma will then be transfused into patients with a severe form of the disease to help their immune systems build up better resistance to aid recovery. The treatment has been around for a long time with varied results but it did prove to be a success with Ebola so well worth the effort.

The next bit of good news is that if you have had the virus and recovered you will not catch it again. That fits with a lot of viruses. There were reports that some people who had the virus were falling ill with it again but scientists and doctors in South Korea looked at the results again and found that faulty tests were responsible and not a new form of the disease.

[TheOstrich]

…. I have posted some positives on here. I even started a positive thread, though nobody replied ...

I had to dredge the archives to find your Positive Thread, Frank!

Yes, those were three very good points and worth remembering amidst the sepulchral gloom that is the face of the BBC and other news media.

For me, one key positive is that we are slowly seeing local trades and shops re-opening for business and life, in a small way, getting back to normal. Just as an example, my old work colleague R., living in West Dorset, reports today that his local Vauxhall dealership garage has reopened and started accepting general repair / MOT business so he's booked his car in, Dorset Waste are reopening their local recycling depot across town next Monday, and the same organization have resumed accepting new punters for the curbside garden waste collection; he's managed to sign up at a reduced rate for the year and is scheduled to get his brand-new wheelie bin delivered in June.

Only small positives, I know, but he, for one, certainly sounded much more upbeat than he was a week ago …..

[cromwell]

I got fed up of the tv news ages since Frank. Lots of countries are working on a vaccine, lots of people are working on treatments which is where I expect the quickest gains will be made.
Most of us are doing the best we can do in a difficult situation and hopefully the back of this will be broken before the end of the year. And if it isn't we carry on.
I would honestly reopen Sharlston pit, chuck our mainstream media down the shaft and leave them there; their attitude is depressing and frightening people unnecessarily.
Businesses will reopen as they work out ways to do it safely and in three weeks time I expect a lot more of them to reopen.
We are learning more about covid all the time and the more we learn the better the chance of beating it.

[Suff]

There is quite a lot to the positive now. Especially the UK vaccene in human trials and the Italian vaccene which has produced an antibody reaction in mice.

Then there is the fact that, as predicted, the numbers of infected are not ramping out of control as things slowly unlock. I put this down to a simple fact that the vast majority of cases will have seemed like a common cold and will have gone unreported. Meaning that it is very likely that hundreds of millions of people in the world have already had it and will not get it again. Because so many have already had it, the R0 factor will not be able to rise so steeply again. The downside of this is that any community which had totally avoided infection before lock down will be more vulnerable when it eases.

My view is this. It was never as bad as the worst case projections. When things unlock the infections will continue but at a steady and sustainable rate. Even then, it takes between 4 to 6 weeks before any real trend in increase becomes truly evident (already recorded), so headline screaming articles about R0 rises happening in a week are nothing more than sensationalising press. Most of the infected won't even know for a week and many for up to two weeks.

There are other positives, being spun as a negative. The antibody test fiasco shows that our government is thinking ahead and wants to get us out and about again. Knowing who has had the virus and, therefore, 99% certain not to get it again, is really important in getting back to normal. After all, anyone who has had it can interact with anyone and not pass it on with a few basic sanitary precautions. It was extremely good news that our government wanted to do this but the press has made it so to it it may never happenn now. Although I would expect the biotech company to be working night and day to fix their kits. It is not as if they don't work, they are just not sensitive enough.

Also in the news a Scottish/Swiss effort has produced machines that can detect antibodies in 30 minutes with a run rate of 3,000 per day per machine.

Looking forward, another positive is that PHE and the NHS at large are not going to avoid the swingeing review that will come in the wake of this tragedy. Meaning we can look forward to a much leaner and more reactive NHS in the future.

Things are moving forward, we have emerged from bunkering down and the full force of 21st century medical knowledge is in play to get us out of the mess.

[Workingman]

Chaps and chapesses, the positive news is out there, it is just such a shame that we have to dig and delve to find it. However, the most surprising thing of all is that there are things going on other than 24/7 coronavirus coverage.

[Suff]

Yes, like my cousins wife who has an abdominal ulcer. She tried to tough it out for two weeks because she didn't want to bother the NHS. When her GP urgently told her to get to hospital, she finally went. The hospital did a few tests but did not want to admit her, sent her home with oral broad spectrum antibiotics and told her to rest.

Result was that within a week the abcess burst, caused sepsis and put her back in hospital. A few days later she is on a drain, microbiology has been done and she is on a drip with targeted antibiotics but they still don't know if they need to operate or not. However they are trying to shove her out of hospital and back home with oral antibiotics.

I didn't think my opinion of the NHS could get much lower this year. But they just keep trying.

Sorry but nobody in my family is clapping for carers right now and if anyone doesn't like it that is not our problem.

[Workingman]

Suff, my idea for this thread was to offer upsides, so may I offer a different view to yours?

A few weeks ago I was due a fairly simple key-hole look at my long enduring back problem. It is a routine procedure under local anaesthetic, but it is invasive, if only minor. I received a phone call from my consultant, with a follow up letter, explaining why, under present circumstances, this procedure would be delayed till sometime, whenever, when it would be deemed to be safe. I accept that and I thank the NHS for working this way.

As for sepsis. I was hospitalised with it a few years back and also had a cannula drain and four hourly injections for two dedicated antibiotics. After five days I was sent home with two different oral antibs to be taken at four hourly intervals - set the alarm.

Guess what? I am still here, and I can't thank the NHS enough. Just saying.

[Suff]

Sorry, some things set me off.

There are a lot of upsides now starting with the fact that a lot of analyses seem to be taking Spanish flu as the baseline and ignoring 100 years of medical advancement, but adding in modern travel.

For me the vaccene successes are very good news.

[Workingman]

Sorry, some things set me off.

I know, me old, thing get to all of us at different times - you are not alone.

[TheOstrich]

Two major positives:

Garden centres in England are able to reopen from Wednesday next.

And I haven't burnt any cakes today.
Yet …….