COVID-19 could affect more races this year.

[Just_a_fan]

he's just a risk-taker,

Yeah, but he wasn't the one taking the risk, was he?

"I'm a risk taker. Here play Russian roulette between yourselves whilst I sit over here."

well it would've been a risk for Helmut, just imagine if one of his drivers had died! He'd have been in the biggest disgrace you can imagine, and his whole involvement in motorsport would've been over. But it's his perception of risk that's different, he's just weighing up one risk against another, and one of those risks is not winning

You might want to reread that. Risk of someone else dying and his "career" being over when he's well passed normal retirement age anywhere. That's hardly a fair share of risk is it?

[izzy]

Actually, Marko did in fact contract the virus and despite his age etc, he survived it ! His suggestion was a medically proven action which has been used many many times with previous viral infections. And the mortality rate is still comparatively low , with nearly all fit young atheletes being unaffected by it.

yes exactly, this is who he is, an extraordinary person, doing his forestry at 76 and afraid of nothing so he can look at things objectively, weighing risks on a basis of his choosing. Imo we don't even have to completely agree with the idea to appreciate what it stands for

[izzy]

You might want to reread that. Risk of someone else dying and his "career" being over when he's well passed normal retirement age anywhere. That's hardly a fair share of risk is it?

he's not doing it like that tho. It's likely half or more of the drivers are going to get it, isn't it? Then the odds are very long anyway against one of them dying being so fit and young, and they'd have the very best facilities. So he weighs up the risks and benefits in a very objective way, because he has a risk-taker's view of life and death - we're all gonna die and what matters is the quality of the experiences between now and then. That's how i see it anyway, i don't think it means he lacks empathy, i think he lacks the fear most of the rest of us have

[PlatinumZealot]

Actually, Marko did in fact contract the virus and despite his age etc, he survived it ! His suggestion was a medically proven action which has been used many many times with previous viral infections. And the mortality rate is still comparatively low , with nearly all fit young atheletes being unaffected by it.

Unsubstantiated claim by Marko himself!

[aral]

and are you medically qualified to say that he didnt have it? There are many many people who have been tested and found to have the virus , yet have had no symptoms. Marko had the symptoms and there is no reason to doubt him

[izzy]

Unsubstantiated claim by Marko himself!

true but it might be true, this is what he said:

He even thinks he has caught the virus himself already. Marko: “I had a strong cold with a strong cough in mid-February. The condition lasted for ten days, which was unusually long for me. Today I am almost certain that the cause was the virus.”

The reason: “I din’t catch it at the stopover from Melbourne at Dubai Airport, where tens of thousands of people of all nations crowded together in a confined space, being coughed at, jostled, accidentally touched. For me that was the ultimate corona hotspot, where I should have caught it unless I was already resistant. So if I really had it before, it would show that older people can survive this disease, so it would be important to have less panic and a much more rational approach to the pandemic.”

https://f1-insider.com/en/formula1/form ... ad-corona/

so you can see his mindset, at least

[henry]

Marko , and everyone else, needs to understand that they cannot isolate personal risk. If someone deliberately becomes infected they risk infecting others who may not have the same resilience. And if they are not as resilient as they think they risk using up precious, finite, health resources that are stretched to breaking point by those who become infected despite trying to avoid so.

[Big Tea]

Marko , and everyone else, needs to understand that they cannot isolate personal risk. If someone deliberately becomes infected they risk infecting others who may not have the same resilience. And if they are not as resilient as they think they risk using up precious, finite, health resources that are stretched to breaking point by those who become infected despite trying to avoid so.

I know 4 people who had/have it. One guy 71 very bad chest and quite frail, looks like he will recover. On guy 30, body builder, dead. 1 woman 40's Rough but over it, one woman 40's was not so rough nut in her 4th week of chest problems.

These are people I know or knew personally. I know of several others and all seem to have fully recovered, but all word of mouth. The guy I was 100% sure would not make it did, and the one I would give best odds did not.

[LM10]

Marko , and everyone else, needs to understand that they cannot isolate personal risk. If someone deliberately becomes infected they risk infecting others who may not have the same resilience. And if they are not as resilient as they think they risk using up precious, finite, health resources that are stretched to breaking point by those who become infected despite trying to avoid so.

I know 4 people who had/have it. One guy 71 very bad chest and quite frail, looks like he will recover. On guy 30, body builder, dead. 1 woman 40's Rough but over it, one woman 40's was not so rough nut in her 4th week of chest problems.

These are people I know or knew personally. I know of several others and all seem to have fully recovered, but all word of mouth. The guy I was 100% sure would not make it did, and the one I would give best odds did not.

Being a bodybuilder does not necessarily mean that you have a good immune system. Stress, for example, plays a significant role. If your body is in stress it produces adrenaline and cortisol and that's what makes you vulnerable against upper respiratory viral infections (not only that of course). There are many ways of your body having stress. Sports, being one of them, is good for your immune system, but only if you do it right. If you overexercise, you'll weaken your immune system for a couple of days. Even worse might be to keep on exercising while having a cold. No matter how simple your symptoms are, sports at the same time might turn things around in a dramatic way.
I don't know, if any of what I've written applied to the person you knew. Maybe it did and maybe, in combination, he caught the more serious strain of the virus. Maybe none of them was the case and he just was very unlucky. There's one thing for sure and it's that it's sad.

[izzy]

I know 4 people who had/have it. One guy 71 very bad chest and quite frail, looks like he will recover. On guy 30, body builder, dead. 1 woman 40's Rough but over it, one woman 40's was not so rough nut in her 4th week of chest problems.

These are people I know or knew personally. I know of several others and all seem to have fully recovered, but all word of mouth. The guy I was 100% sure would not make it did, and the one I would give best odds did not.

what a shame about the body builder, but they can have issues with white blood cell count can't they. Same with any athlete if they overtrain even without any supplements, it does weaken the immune system

as LM10 is saying too, it's a factor

[strad]

Unsubstantiated claim by Marko himself

PZ you act like it's a death sentence. Of the people who have contracted the virus the vast majority have survived.
Should you risk giving it to people especially vulnerable people? HELL NO!
But people should quit thinking it's more deadly than not. You have people scared and depressed thinking it's some kind of death sentence. People should not panic but should follow the guidelines.

[Just_a_fan]

Marko had the symptoms and there is no reason to doubt him

He had some symptoms. And there is no more reason to believe him than not. It is unsubstantiated.

[Just_a_fan]

Unsubstantiated claim by Marko himself!

true but it might be true, this is what he said:

He even thinks he has caught the virus himself already. Marko: “I had a strong cold with a strong cough in mid-February. The condition lasted for ten days, which was unusually long for me. Today I am almost certain that the cause was the virus.”

Hmmm, the symptoms of COVID-19 are not those of a cold. If you've got a runny nose etc. then it's a cold. COVID-19 is principally fever, 'flu-like symptoms such as aching joints, aching muscles, extreme lethargy, and possibly breathing difficulties.

Listening to people who have had a decent dose of it, and 10 days would be a decent dose, it doesn't sound like he had it from that description. Most 70-80 year olds with a decent dose seem to require medical intervention of some sort.

Thinking further, Marko lives in Austria doesn't he? Austria's first recorded case was late February so he was jolly lucky/unlucky to be one of the first in his country to get it... If he caught it in the UK when visiting the factory then he was also lucky/unlucky as there was only a handful of cases here in mid-February.

[Just_a_fan]

Unsubstantiated claim by Marko himself

PZ you act like it's a death sentence.

For 37,606 people, so far, it has been a death sentence. 25,590 others are serious/critical and it might be for them too...

You have people scared and depressed thinking it's some kind of death sentence. People should not panic but should follow the guidelines.

Scared and depressed is bad. Aware and observant is what is required. As you say, following the guidelines is what is required.

[PlatinumZealot]

To "protect them" from re-infection if the seasons goes undeway, he proposed to gather all the Redbull drivers into a "Covid camp," innoculate them with the virus somehow, and let them tough it out until they are recovered. This he hoped would have given them immunity so they wont be sick for any of the races. After all, they are young, fit guys who he is 100% sure will go through it totally unscaved. And somehow races will still be kept with the other teams drivers suffering from the virus...among other things.

That Marko he is a true racer but he sure is something else on top of it.