COVID-19 could affect more races this year.

[izzy]

Italy has the largest percentage of population over 65 years in Europe. Spain, with less elderly... don't get me started (I am Spanish). Cuts in social care and the health system since the 2008 crisis are a factor, but also, there were large mass demonstrations in each city and full soccer stadiums on march 8th, 13 days ago, when we should have learnt from Italy. We did one day too late, I won't go into the politics behind that, but there were politics behind that.
But social dynamics might also be a factor. Meeting in large groups is part of the culture in Spain and Italy, while for example, some degree of social distance and extreme cleanliness is a social thing in Japan. Incidentally, using a mask is also perfectly normal in Japan, has been for years, where people always did that at the first sign of having a cold. Japan has much less growth of Covid-19 than other countries.

yes i was thinking how the Japanese bow, at a little distance. They do shake hands too but less i think, and women don't so much. So i can imagine how culture plays a part. And even things like cultures that arise from a lot of immigration, like USA and Australia, where people tend to be bold and disobedient and go to Bondi Beach and Spring Break

but still we need a country that has definitely stopped it spreading before we can call it more successful, i think. Without a vaccine it might all just be different points on the same curve, with the difference being time

[Tommy Cookers]

Being the way we are -scientifically illiterate, or just plain ignorant rather- we're well on our way to become a second Italy. The weather was quite nice on the equinox and many ppl did not stay at home, ignoring all warnings. It's going to be even better tomorrow...

the population is a bunch of self-focussed irresponsible children who think they are adults ...
who had parents who also spent their lives as self-focussed irresponsible children also pretending to be adults

these are the liberal metropolitan 'better-than-you' types who have personally imported the death virus

the guilt impulse's place in maintaining the concept of right and wrong was dismantled as supposedly obsolescent c. 1962
I saw this happen

[Shrieker]

I think we're just at a different place at our social evolution so to speak - just witnessed on a twitter vid an older dude who just happened to return from pilgrim in Saudi Arabia spitting at a police officer saying it's the curse of the holy land or some sh!t like that. All because they were being quarantined in vacant a student dorm as a precaution. I think you haven't gotten that vile, or it's a different type of vile at least.

[strad]

My generation were hippies who placed no constraints on their kids (not me) who in turn spoiled the heck out of their kids that they let run wild and think the world revolved around them and so think they should get to do anything they want.

[Pyrone89]

Italy: 6557 new cases and 793 new deaths

That's crazy. The peak is estimated to be reached in 1 or 2 weeks.

Isn't that strange that, the most affected countries are those with the weakest economy in eurozone. Italy and Spain, both countries were more or less insolvent. I believe there is more behind than just a virus.

Why? So the richer Eurocountries can yet again bail them out but now for a way larger sum? Sounds like some dumb plan,

[RZS10]

Meanwhile Germany has such a good healthcare system that they take on patients from the border regions of France because they don't have enough ICU beds

Spain, France and Italy have like 4000-5000 ICU beds each - Germany has 28000 ... which can easily be doubled by delaying non-essential surgeries.

Some of those beds are occupied by normal flu patients already but there's still more than enough as of now...

[PlatinumZealot]

Germany is interesting. The spread is relatively in line with others but the deaths are low.

[RZS10]

Maybe less of the elderly populace got infected in the first place and maybe they're in better shape, old people in Germany also love visiting the doc as a pasttime so maybe earlier detection? But yea ... at ~22k cases Italy already had 1401 deaths, Spain had 1093, Germany has 84 ... don't know whether Germany does double testing to confirm recovery (1x after no more symptoms + 1x after 2 more weeks) or whether it's just not being reported ... 209 recovered looks too low

[NL_Fer]

Italy: 6557 new cases and 793 new deaths

That's crazy. The peak is estimated to be reached in 1 or 2 weeks.

Isn't that strange that, the most affected countries are those with the weakest economy in eurozone. Italy and Spain, both countries were more or less insolvent. I believe there is more behind than just a virus.

It is just math. A large retired population and less invested capital in pension funds. Their pensions and healthcare needs draw of money from government funds and now they are hit hard by COVID-19.

It is family traditions and gatherings like carnaval that accelerated the spread.

[mmred]

Italy: 6557 new cases and 793 new deaths

That's crazy. The peak is estimated to be reached in 1 or 2 weeks.

Isn't that strange that, the most affected countries are those with the weakest economy in eurozone. Italy and Spain, both countries were more or less insolvent. I believe there is more behind than just a virus.

It is just math. A large retired population and less invested capital in pension funds. Their pensions and healthcare needs draw of money from government funds and now they are hit hard by COVID-19.

It is family traditions and gatherings like carnaval that accelerated the spread.

It Is probably Just a stronger strain of the virus affecting Italy and spain

[Big Tea]

Italy: 6557 new cases and 793 new deaths

That's crazy. The peak is estimated to be reached in 1 or 2 weeks.

Isn't that strange that, the most affected countries are those with the weakest economy in eurozone. Italy and Spain, both countries were more or less insolvent. I believe there is more behind than just a virus.

It is just math. A large retired population and less invested capital in pension funds. Their pensions and healthcare needs draw of money from government funds and now they are hit hard by COVID-19.

It is family traditions and gatherings like carnaval that accelerated the spread.

And, As I have problems convincing the wife, shopping habits. Where people take time looking at each food item and comparing several (touching each) it must be more of a risk than taking a prepacked item and dropping it in a basket.

[DChemTech]

Isn't that strange that, the most affected countries are those with the weakest economy in eurozone. Italy and Spain, both countries were more or less insolvent. I believe there is more behind than just a virus.

It is just math. A large retired population and less invested capital in pension funds. Their pensions and healthcare needs draw of money from government funds and now they are hit hard by COVID-19.

It is family traditions and gatherings like carnaval that accelerated the spread.

It Is probably Just a stronger strain of the virus affecting Italy and spain

Said it before and will say it again: Germany tests much, much more.
That, and plus demographic differences and a currently non-overloaded healthcare system, is probably all there is to it.

Vastly different strains would be alarming and such a conclusion should not be made lightly. Speculation thereof requires more than just a different -case- fatality rate.

[NL_Fer]

Also it looks like parts with a carnaval culture have more cases than rest of the country. At that is the case in my country. But I believe that in Germany Nordrein Westfalen and the French Elzas are also into carnaval as well? Can anybody confirm this?

[DChemTech]

Also it looks like parts with a carnaval culture have more cases than rest of the country. At that is the case in my country. But I believe that in Germany Nordrein Westfalen and the French Elzas are also into carnaval as well? Can anybody confirm this?

Southwest Germany for sure, Köln is a carnaval city. Not sure about Elzas, but I guess it has a string historical link with the German region too so I would not be surprised.

[RZS10]

The first main cluster existed in Heinsberg where a carnival meeting took place ... a large number of the cases (when they were still being tracked properly) could be tracked back to that meeting...

edit:

Said it before and will say it again: Germany tests much, much more.

Germany really doesn't test that much, if you have symptoms but you were not in any heavily affected area/country or did not have prolonged close contact to someone who was tested positive you will NOT be tested but just told to self quarantine - so the real case number is way higher than the reported one.

My sister's co-worker got tested positive, no one else who worked with her got tested, as far as my sis knows not even the family of her co-worker was tested ... I really don't know where that notion came from that Germany was testing a lot ... they aren't.