Coronavirus (Football Thread)

[NEM]

50 minutes ago, DD1903 said:

Which government's approach would you like to see the world agree on and adopt?

Belarus'

[Matt Armstrong's Dog]

37 minutes ago, NEM said:

Belarus'

Alexander Lukashenko is a proper, decisive leader. 

[afc1903mad]

On 10/28/2020 at 10:51 AM, NEM said:

Belarus'

 

On 10/28/2020 at 11:29 AM, Matt Armstrong's Dog said:

Alexander Lukashenko is a proper, decisive leader. 

 

Pandemic mindset

The relatively low death rate is thought to be thanks to Belarus’s large hospital capacity which allowed the country to isolate people early on, says Andrei Vitushka, a healthcare policy expert at the Belarusian Institute for Strategic Studies in Vilnius, Lithuania.

With 11 hospital beds per 1000 people, Belarus outnumbers nations like Germany (8) or the UK (2.5).1 “It’s usually a problem because it takes a lot of money to maintain them, but it turned into our advantage in this situation,” says Vitushka, who is also an intensive care physician in Belarus.

“Belarus, like most of the post-Soviet states, has a focus on “sanitary epidemiological problems” meaning large scale health scares like a pandemic,” says Rasmus Nilsson, a teaching fellow at University College London’s school of Slavonic and east European studies.

This may be one reason Belarus also outperformed most of Europe in terms of mass testing during the first four months of the pandemic. While many countries were reluctant to carry out extensive testing, according to the state owned news agency BelTA, testing in Belarus started as early as 23 January. Most kits were donated or purchased from China and Russia2 using government funds and donations from companies3 and ordinary citizens.4 The country stepped up testing in early April,5 developing its own rapid testing kits6 and switching to the use of domestically produced reagents for polymerase chain reaction testing in May.7 According to government information, there are now 32 laboratories processing samples across the country and testing is widespread in hospitals as well as from GPs.

By the end of June, Belarus had conducted around one million tests,8 covering more than 10% of its population.

Citizens doing it for themselves

With low expectations of the authorities, Belarusians were bracing themselves for the worst.9

With the last of a handful of press briefings on the pandemic held on 24 April, information on safety protocols and the country’s situation has been scarce, inconsistent, and often contradictory. “It’s a personal decision for every citizen. If you want, you wear a mask. If you don’t want to, you don’t wear a mask—and this is a problem,” says Vitushka.

Citizens began practising self-isolation early on. On 26 March a crowdfunding campaign “ByCovid19” was launched in order to buy safety equipment for hospitals across the country. The movement collected around $360 000 (£277 000; €304 000) in three months and, with the help of nearly 1500 volunteers, they purchased and distributed around 450 000 pieces of personal protective equipment, oxygen tanks, and other medical equipment.

Although initially slow to react, the health ministry has worked alongside ByCovid19 and taken measures to reorganise hospitals and encourage social distancing, says Vitushka.

Another factor is that Belarus has very few care homes (203 beds per 100 000 of the population compared with 854 in the UK), with most elderly citizens living separately.10 This has helped shield its most vulnerable. “In many cases in Belarus, you have already had some isolation of elderly people, particularly in the countryside or in single flats” says Nilsson.

Nilsson says Belarus also benefited from being a relatively isolated country where the government can easily shut down borders and monitor those passing through. “People tend to go in the other direction,” he says, “Very few people will go to Belarus for holidays or work.”

Not out of the woods

With anti-government demonstrations ongoing in Minsk and other big cities following a controversial 9 August election that awarded Lukashenko another term, Belarus will likely see a sudden spike in infections. Nilsson believes this will serve as another pretext to crack down on government critics.

Lukashenko has allegedly overcome coronavirus infection, Nilsson says, framing it as yet another chapter in Belarus’s historical sufferings that the country managed to overcome. “This is Lukashenko 101, and he is probably not going to change.”

Although the low death numbers are encouraging, some experts fear that many coronavirus related deaths are registered as cases of pneumonia—UN data show a difference of 5605 between April-June 2019 compared with the same period in 2020.11 And the deaths per capita ratio remains one of the highest in Europe. Nilson is cautious, “Until we have the figures for excess deaths, I don’t want to praise Belarus too much.”

[Tord31]

What's the chat with the Tier's then?

Any more clarity on what level of fans to expect in 0, 1, 2, 3 and 4.

[Matt Armstrong's Dog]

2 hours ago, afc1903mad said:

 

 

 

 

It just shows you what can happen when objectivity and solidarity comes together within a nation when trying to overcome adversity, instead of having a manipulative and untrustworthy megalomaniac as our leader. 

[G31DON]

2 hours ago, Matt Armstrong's Dog said:

It just shows you what can happen when objectivity and solidarity comes together within a nation when trying to overcome adversity, instead of having a manipulative and untrustworthy megalomaniac as our leader. 

Don't think you can blame Mcinnes.

[Matt Armstrong's Dog]

18 minutes ago, G31DON said:

Don't think you can blame Mcinnes.

Ha ha, definitely not Derek McInnes, more a combination of Sol Campbell and Josep Guardiola.

[afc1903mad]

3 hours ago, Matt Armstrong's Dog said:

It just shows you what can happen when objectivity and solidarity comes together within a nation when trying to overcome adversity, instead of having a manipulative and untrustworthy megalomaniac as our leader. 

The article is suggesting that they could not trust the authorities, thus took it upon themselves to be safe.

[Matt Armstrong's Dog]

15 minutes ago, afc1903mad said:

The article is suggesting that they could not trust the authorities, thus took it upon themselves to be safe.

Perhaps they did but it seems the authorities left them to do what they wanted, within reason, without the unnecessary threat of fines or imprisonment getting meted out by the powers that be. 

I watched President Lukashenko on a TV interview back in April, when he had just been subbed playing ice hockey, as I was intrigued to find out why the majority of Europe was in lockdown but Belarus decided to do their own thing. His mantra to counter the pandemic was (in Belarusian, of course) "drink Vodka, breathe fresh air, stay active and play ice hockey." Wise words indeed. 

[Tord31]

Dons saying the average PPV audience is 1,800 (plus 9000? season tickets).

Pretty savage

[muttonhumper]

21 minutes ago, Tord31 said:

Dons saying the average PPV audience is 1,800 (plus 9000? season tickets).

Pretty savage

 

Nae sure fit you're saying.

Fit's savage?

 

 

[Tord31]

8 minutes ago, muttonhumper said:

 

Nae sure fit you're saying.

Fit's savage?

 

 

Average attendance down from 15k to 10.5k while the ticket prices have went from £25 to £10

[1903Fitba]

13 minutes ago, Tord31 said:

Average attendance down from 15k to 10.5k while the ticket prices have went from £25 to £10

A family of 4 will watch the same stream. A family of 4 will buy 4 tickets. 
 

Simple. 

[dazzy_deff]

14 minutes ago, Tord31 said:

Average attendance down from 15k to 10.5k while the ticket prices have went from £25 to £10

Offset by reduced operating costs of a matchday of course. 

[Tord31]

42 minutes ago, dazzy_deff said:

Offset by reduced operating costs of a matchday of course. 

For sure not having to cope with the 10,000 season ticket holders must save some sort of money. Wouldn't have a clue how much.

[muttonhumper]

59 minutes ago, Tord31 said:

Average attendance down from 15k to 10.5k while the ticket prices have went from £25 to £10

 

Yeah, thought that was the angle, but also may have been savage the (perceived) lack of uptake?

Everything is savage at present.

For every cunt.

Fucking shite.

[Tord31]

21 minutes ago, muttonhumper said:

 

Yeah, thought that was the angle, but also may have been savage the (perceived) lack of uptake?

Everything is savage at present.

For every cunt.

Fucking shite.

Yea it's disappointing thats our average buy rate. Makes you wonder what sort of buys some smaller clubs are getting

[Dynamo]

12 minutes ago, Tord31 said:

Yea it's disappointing thats our average buy rate. Makes you wonder what sort of buys some smaller clubs are getting

I don't think it's that bad given there are streams available where you can watch it for free, and factoring in a family/mates of 3/4/5 watching together when they would have paid to go the match individually.

I've got in to the habit of buying it now, but was dubious at the start of the season as to quality/any lag etc. 

I certainly wouldn't judge anyone watching it for free. online Got to look after yourself as well and £12.99/£9.99 when things are tight for many could be tough for every game.

Also, it's just not the same is it. Can see your non hardcore not bothering very easily.

[afc1903mad]

18 hours ago, Tord31 said:

For sure not having to cope with the 10,000 season ticket holders must save some sort of money. Wouldn't have a clue how much.

Not so sure about that. There’s a commercial stream missing from additional sales at the club shop and from the food stands.

Corporate hospitality will also have taken a huge hit, which it seems we were quite successful at.

[Henry]

Quote

Rangers players Jordan Jones and George Edmundson have been banned for seven games by the Scottish FA for Covid-19 related breaches.

The pair attended a party after their side's 1-0 Scottish Premiership win against Kilmarnock on 1 November.

Jones, 26, and Edmundson, 23, were charged by the SFA and were suspended by Rangers pending investigation.

 

[afc1903mad]

3 hours ago, Henry said:

Rangers players Jordan Jones and George Edmundson have been banned for seven games by the Scottish FA for Covid-19 related breaches.

The pair attended a party after their side's 1-0 Scottish Premiership win against Kilmarnock on 1 November.

Jones, 26, and Edmundson, 23, were charged by the SFA and were suspended by Rangers pending investigation.

Was it not suggested that it was Arfields birthday party?

[Mankinitime]

1 hour ago, afc1903mad said:

Was it not suggested that it was Arfields birthday party?

Only after mad Phil went through all the birthdates of huns and found Arfield's was closest and made a story up.  File under bullshit as per with that clown

[aberdeen1970]

We're lucky our boys were first. 

Players will get absolutely hammered now. 

Being cynical I'd say that these are two players the Huns have no intention of playing.  First teamers at other clubs need to take note as this will be used as a precedent for others now. 

[WesthillWanderersFC]

2 hours ago, afc1903mad said:

Was it not suggested that it was Arfields birthday party?

Only by a mentally ill Tim with an anagram of a name on Twitter 

[super_al]

3 million loss up to June 2020.

[Guest milne_afc]

6 hours ago, super_al said:

3 million loss up to June 2020.

Decent for them.

 

[fine-n-dandy]

If, as Cormack says, fans are so vital to the game, & our absence has caused such a MASSIVE loss in revenue (£10m) then why the fk are we generally treated like shite under ‘normal circumstances’ & forced to endure such a bore fest of turgid ‘tactical’ football (especially at home) under McInnes? 
Maybe once all this COVID shite is over the fans will be a bit more appreciated & be entertained for once.

[aberdeen1970]

We'll be fine. 

The McKenna deal won't be included in those accounts. 

Plus we'll sell Cosgrove. 

Pity those transfer fees will be used to keep the lights on rather than grow the club though. 

We're lucky we have some assets to sell.  If this had happened ten years ago I'd be worried 

[Big Hat Logan]

Here we go 

https://www.afc.co.uk/2020/11/21/club-confirm-positive-test-result-for-covid-19-2/?fbclid=IwAR3zl0o0IB9663RWMAWMwCTar7MAVaoSw4zhQQ1QBhAcPlX1YXpWtTIhhRE

[Ten Caat]

Motherwell have 2 players out isolating for 14 days having been away with Scotland U21 (one of them  is Campbell). Issued a statement "they have questions to ask the SFA" regarding what went on in Greece that has caused this outbreak. Not at all happy

We have just issued a statement too. Also not happy.

Celtic have come out and said that David Turnbull is one of the 3 that has tested positive.