Emotive camera work so graphic it requires a pre-item warning, is leading local media as to how big a clusterfuck India’s covid handling has descended to. A nation of an estimated 1.4 Billion souls almost the equal of its northern neighbour China, since winning the right to self government in 1948 it has amassed a nuclear capability, had a seven decade state of armed conflict with Pakistan, and territorial disputes since independence over Kashmir yet here in the third decade of the twenty first century India has run out of Oxygen. Bottled O2 that is everywhere in abundance as a fifth of the planets atmosphere and relatively simple to separate and compress under pressure for medical use.
Yes it seems the mutant that is killing Thousands daily is revealing a mismanagement of colossal proportions with many even apparently healthyish younger persons, dying in the streets unable to even access hospital admission so of course it looks tragic unless, one might question exactly how that stacks up compared to little ole NZ. Well NZ has less than 20 persons per sq kilometer while India has nearly 450 in that small area.
How to lock down one and a half billion souls who in Mumbai live in a density of 20 000 per sq km.
So in an orgy of exposure the media is obsessed with an infection rate and deaths associated as gross numbers that seem end of the world stuff, yet no relevance as to how many Indian citizens statistically die every day before The Rona became the weapon of choice for a Government and its propaganda ministry to instill ever more doomsday scenarios for alarmism. Jeepers with almost 1.5 billion people and a death rate of 7.5 per thousand such media manipulation has been missing in action for years.
Does anyone still believe we were saved by Saint Cindy of the Pestilence behind our Moat of nearly 2000 Kms, and a population able to socially distance even in Malls and super stores. So far NZ has avoided pandemic scenarios as much as by good luck and in spite of an ever growing litany of potential disastrous incompetent decisions. Too bad that did not allow many small entrepreneurial units to survive the malfeasance, however we will not talk about that when by showing the unfolding disaster in India the facade of competence continues from The propaganda Ministry.
No Minister 
Well <a href=Stuffs coverage is certainly lurid GD
Hospitals of course use oxygen generators to produce the oxygen they need for patients, not bottles but don’t expect a
reporterpropagandist to know this or tell you this if they actually do know it.Sadly yes, your collegue Veteran is a true believer as is Dr Wayne Mapp
And it is easier to debate with a Jehovahs Witness than it is with this pair when it comes to this topic.
India normally has about 27,000 deaths per day. Covid deaths is now 3,000 a day, but in fact will be at least double that. The overloading of the hospitals means people are not being treated for other conditions, and so will also be dying.
So probably a 30% increase over the normal death rate. That will certainly put stress on the heath system, and the dealing with the dead.
While you, Andrei, Rossco and Tom still seem to think that Covid is just the same as the flu, fortunately your view is becoming less and less popular. For instance, far fewer are arguing that on Kiwiblog. The evidence of the last three months, with the surge in the US and the UK (now rapidly diminishing in both) put paid to the view that Covid is no big deal. I see parts of Europe are experiencing fresh surges.
However, I do think the government is botching the vaccination programme. I got a flyer in the mail yesterday saying that the group I am in will be vaccinated in May and June. I don’t believe it. If it was the case we would already know the plan. But we don’t.
I am picking the rollout of the plan will be 2 months late. I don’t expect a vaccination before August. We will soon know.
And you can justify the statemment the figures are “at least double the official figures?” How dop you justify this. Or did you like politicians are want to do, just make it up
Have you ever been to India Dr Mapp I have a long time ago now and then the health system was definetly stressed – seeing street dentistry was certainly a novelty back in the day
I think you will find that in rural India the health system is virtually non existant
I’m a numbers man Dr Mapp so insteading of pulling crap out of my backside I’ll give you some numbers, the health expediature per capita for New Zealand, the USA and India for 2018 expressed in $US
New Zealand $4025
USA $10,624
India $275
Wrong again Dr Mapp. not being a scientific ignoramous such as yuurself I, at least am fully aware the family influenza viruses is a diffrent entity from the family of corona viruses. They are both respiratory viruses which afflict all animals and exhibit rapid mutation rates, the former being responsible with what is commonly refered to as “the flu” and the later with what was generally referred to as the “common cold” until the latest variants came along and were given a scary name to frighten the sheep
But this is about politics and not about human welfare if you gave a sou about the well being of Indians and there health, you would have been jumping up and down years ago about the problems they face with typhoid. cholera, malaria, tuberculosis all of which kill vastly more Indians every fucking year than your phantom pandemic even with its inflated figures
But I’ll bet if I searched Hansard you never once raised the issue of Indian Public Health when you were in Parliament
Wait! What? With some 200 million Americans vaccinated you’re still pushing for a supposedly zero-risk approach?
You’re not actually Dr Fauci are you?
Note also that those mini-surges happened in states where they still had mask mandates and lockdowns. And of course the warnings given by Dr Fauci and Biden about the surge in cases that would occur in those “Neanderthal” states like Texas that dropped their mask mandates in mid-March as well as opening up events like baseball games, did not pan out.
Unlike the mini-surges that happened in masked-up and locked-down Michigan, New Jersey and New York.
The good news is that those recent mini-surges have not resulted in a surge in death in those states, which is likely why those states, are making a big deal out case numbers instead.
Finally a little bit of sanity Wayne, actually calling out the rabble ever so slightly over their “rollout”, I wish to correct you though as I am not considering the WuFlu as just another Influenza, it is clearly more than just that. Made in China Eh.
I am not putting myself out to get Aids, Syphilis, Tuberculosis, Ebola or any other potential Pandemic threat either, now or any time soon. I survived other Virus threats during my Ambo Volly times not with masks, or PPE gear that never arrived, merely just keeping my distance and using basic hygiene protocols.That said I do not see why anyone might support the destruction of our way of life to deal with a threatened Pandemic with the over the top actions of an ignoramus and her enablers where the blunt instrument of Lock downs and selective permitting of monopolistic Big end of town retailers to make hay while a small independent high quality small business were forced to close their doors with high unredeemable losses from spoiling stocks resulting.
You have persistently given Oxygen to the Dumbest rabble to ever hold political power in this country I have been a thinking citizen of, for over Six Decades. Does that arise from some unfathomable affiliation for the old Club as Mark Mitchell and Nah seem to be such great company for each other on Wednesday Politics with The Hosk. Christ on a bike even the alcohol demented Muldoon at least had the benefit of Knowing what he was attempting even if Derek Quigley and I were amongst those opposed his philosophical control paranoia, reaching a conclusion it was not a light at the end of the tunnel, it was an oncoming train. I think the perfidy of my then neighbour John “Silver Spoon” Falloon was when my departure from ever trusting National again became final. When Falloon defied the directive from his electorate officials to support Quigley’s “Colonels Coup”, to follow his personal bauble supply. Amy, resigning, oh hang about, cancel that, oh I will leave anyway, Adams was just one of many who used the once anti socialism Party to garner a place in the walk of shame, perhaps a latest.
For all that is worthey will someone from National please stand up and say this socialist rubbish is just as abominable and racist as anything the Boors enacted way back in 1948 when the world became real for me with My Grandad showing where Finland sat in a world just awakening in my mind, Where a Silver Fern adorned New Zealander Yvette Williams won Gold at the Helsinki Olympics in the long jump.
To say the current party of the center right (sic) would struggle to hold a pissup in a locked down liquor shop is being kind, really, really kind.
Thankyou for the comment though just avoid the guessing of what motivates me and how I actually assess things, perhaps. I care very little if I am left standing all alone as I will not compromise my basic beliefs, politically, personally, philosophically, socially or any other field you may choose to criticise, I will try to remain true to my self, always. If that is a bad thing so be it.
Andrei,
I don’t know whether you are like Tom or not, and refuse to read, see or hear any MSM. However, in the last couple of days it has been widely reported that the Indian infection rate and death rate are severe underestimates. Most commentators, including many epidemiologists with a lot of knowledge of India, say the true rate is at least double, and maybe a lot more than that.
I made my assessment based on what I was seeing on TV, particularly the increase in cremations. A 10% increase in deaths would not be causing so many difficulties. It would need a much higher increase to do that. Also based on the number of cases coming into NZ from India. Often 10% of an incoming flight had covid.
So while i am not a scientist, I reckon I can make a reasonable judgement of what is occurring. I would note that I did do five papers at University in biological sciences as a minor in my BA, so I am not completely ignorant of the nature off science.
Anyway, you Tom, and now Gravedodger, can all believe that NZ response over lockdowns is wrong. So be it.
No Wayne I do read and watch MSM new reports but wiuth a skeptical eye
I quoted a stuff article in my first comment, meant to link it but messed up the HTML)
The thing about the MSM is that they need to attract the readers or viewers attention, so the hyperbolic stuff is in the headlines and the opening paragraphs and a more sober assesment of the facts is either entirely omitted or buried deep within the story. That is reality
Here is the opening paragraph of a story in an Indian Newspaper
The CDC data from the USA says the same thing about influenza, typhoid not being a thing in the US
Since a patient presenting at hospital with influenza is indistinguishable from one presenting with COVID-19 without laboratory tests we now have to unravel whether COVID-19 has surplanted influenza or whether influenza is being diagnosed as COVID-19 (there are financial incentives for this to occur).
We also have to ask does the demographic profile of the COVID-19 patients match that of the Influenza patients of pre- COVID times
These are hard questions Dr Mapp with answers unamenable to a poltician’s soundbites or newspaper headlines
The reality is, if you go scrutinise the publically available data that COVID presents virtually no risk to healthy people under sixty and you are more likely to win lotto powerball than a child who is still at school has of dying from a COVID-19 infection