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I don't understand this myth about Florida. It has fared very badly in the pandemic. You're three times as likely to have died in Florida from COVID, as opposed

I don't understand this myth about Florida. It has fared very badly in the pandemic. You're three times as likely to have died in Florida from COVID, as opposed to in Canada. It sits in the middle of the States, in terms of death rates, which overall have been among the worst in the world. Compare your example to an area where people really take masking serious, such as Hong Kong, and then maybe you'll have a valid comparison.

andreygrehov 5y ago
It's not a myth. I'm looking at statistics right now. A myth is that Florida has fared very badly (most likely a politically inspired myth). Compared to other states, it hasn't. It's indeed in the middle, meaning that Florida does better than half the states of the USA. It's on par with California numbers, but I've never heard anyone (in the media) slamming very badly on Cali. I honestly don't believe that a mask can make such a MASSIVE difference when it comes to Hong Kong vs USA numbers. I don't have the answer, but it's something else, something foundationally different that makes them less prone to catching the virus. Genetics? No idea. I mean, c'mon, I can smell literally everything around me when I'm wearing a mask, but it protects from a virus? I'm not an expert by any means, but something tells me it's a joke.
- logicchains 5y ago
  > I don't have the answer, but it's something else, something foundationally different that makes them less prone to catching the virus. Compare China to the US on: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_obesity_rate https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_obesity_r... . Obesity is the second biggest contributor to covid severity after age.
- boplicity 5y ago
  I think you missed my point that the United States has fared very badly and that Florida sits right in the middle of the pack, in the States. California has fared very badly as well, but that's a separate point. I think many Americans are so insular, they forget there's more to the world than just the States.
  - chrismcb 5y ago
    US hasn't fared that badly, they are in the middle, as far as per population goes. But that isn't really the point, it maybe it is. The point is that comparing California and Florida, they did roughly the same, despite attacking the issue differently. This isn't to say how well Florida or California did compared to the rest of the world.
logicchains 5y ago
>Compare your example to an area where people really take masking serious, such as Hong Kong, and then maybe you'll have a valid comparison. It's not fair to compare the US/Canada with East Asian countries like Hong Kong because the biggest contributor to covid fatality rates apart from population age is obesity rates, which are way lower in East Asia.
- greggman3 5y ago
  I haven't clue about statics so it's likely this is wrong but a quick graph of COVID deaths per million vs obesity rate for each country doesn't look like there is any correlation. https://jsgist.org/?src=7b456a001284587cb90c7693ac0e6f3b https://jsgist.org/?src=7b456a001284587cb90c7693ac0e6f3b Also, if age is the #1 factor then Japan should have the worst covid as they have the most old people per capita but they don't. They also haven't locked down but they have worn masks. (not saying masks were why covid is so low here). Yes they are having a spike now. It's still tiny (1/20th) other countries with comparable populations sizes.
  - astrange 5y ago
    Japan is kind-of locked down, mostly by canceling large events and keeping people home. They're working on the principle that covid has mainly aerosol transmission and is spread by rare superspreaders rather than just everyone. It's working okay but not as well as Korea.
    - greggman3 5y ago
      Japan isn't keeping people home. Restaurants are open (till 8pm). People are commuting in crowded trains, etc... I walk by the restaurants and cafes and they're plenty busy.
      - astrange 5y ago
        Did everyone give up on remote work?
edgyquant 5y ago
Or Washington state for an example in the US. They take masks very seriously and are one of the lowest in the countries in terms of effected.
kenneth 5y ago
I live in Hong Kong. The mask mandate here is entirely pointless, and has not made any difference to our handling of the pandemic. What has on the other hand is extremely aggressive tracing, tracking, and quarantining of all potential contacts. I've had a few friends who were unlucky enough to get caught up in a cluster, and the ones who caught it got out of the hospital far quicker than their contacts got out of their government quarantine. Rather aggressive tactics, but it's effective. But it's obvious that masks had nothing to do with it. There are plenty of unmasked activities (dining, drinking etc) that haven't spawned clusters, while masked activities (gym, dance club) spawned our big clusters.

andreygrehov 5y ago

It's not a myth. I'm looking at statistics right now. A myth is that Florida has fared very badly (most likely a politically inspired myth). Compared to other states, it hasn't. It's indeed in the middle, meaning that Florida does better than half the states of the USA. It's on par with California numbers, but I've never heard anyone (in the media) slamming very badly on Cali. I honestly don't believe that a mask can make such a MASSIVE difference when it comes to Hong Kong vs USA numbers. I don't have the answer, but it's something else, something foundationally different that makes them less prone to catching the virus. Genetics? No idea. I mean, c'mon, I can smell literally everything around me when I'm wearing a mask, but it protects from a virus? I'm not an expert by any means, but something tells me it's a joke.

logicchains 5y ago
> I don't have the answer, but it's something else, something foundationally different that makes them less prone to catching the virus. Compare China to the US on: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_obesity_rate https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_obesity_r... . Obesity is the second biggest contributor to covid severity after age.
boplicity 5y ago
I think you missed my point that the United States has fared very badly and that Florida sits right in the middle of the pack, in the States. California has fared very badly as well, but that's a separate point. I think many Americans are so insular, they forget there's more to the world than just the States.
- chrismcb 5y ago
  US hasn't fared that badly, they are in the middle, as far as per population goes. But that isn't really the point, it maybe it is. The point is that comparing California and Florida, they did roughly the same, despite attacking the issue differently. This isn't to say how well Florida or California did compared to the rest of the world.

logicchains 5y ago

>Compare your example to an area where people really take masking serious, such as Hong Kong, and then maybe you'll have a valid comparison. It's not fair to compare the US/Canada with East Asian countries like Hong Kong because the biggest contributor to covid fatality rates apart from population age is obesity rates, which are way lower in East Asia.

greggman3 5y ago
I haven't clue about statics so it's likely this is wrong but a quick graph of COVID deaths per million vs obesity rate for each country doesn't look like there is any correlation. https://jsgist.org/?src=7b456a001284587cb90c7693ac0e6f3b https://jsgist.org/?src=7b456a001284587cb90c7693ac0e6f3b Also, if age is the #1 factor then Japan should have the worst covid as they have the most old people per capita but they don't. They also haven't locked down but they have worn masks. (not saying masks were why covid is so low here). Yes they are having a spike now. It's still tiny (1/20th) other countries with comparable populations sizes.
- astrange 5y ago
  Japan is kind-of locked down, mostly by canceling large events and keeping people home. They're working on the principle that covid has mainly aerosol transmission and is spread by rare superspreaders rather than just everyone. It's working okay but not as well as Korea.
  - greggman3 5y ago
    Japan isn't keeping people home. Restaurants are open (till 8pm). People are commuting in crowded trains, etc... I walk by the restaurants and cafes and they're plenty busy.
    - astrange 5y ago
      Did everyone give up on remote work?

edgyquant 5y ago

Or Washington state for an example in the US. They take masks very seriously and are one of the lowest in the countries in terms of effected.

kenneth 5y ago

I live in Hong Kong. The mask mandate here is entirely pointless, and has not made any difference to our handling of the pandemic. What has on the other hand is extremely aggressive tracing, tracking, and quarantining of all potential contacts. I've had a few friends who were unlucky enough to get caught up in a cluster, and the ones who caught it got out of the hospital far quicker than their contacts got out of their government quarantine. Rather aggressive tactics, but it's effective. But it's obvious that masks had nothing to do with it. There are plenty of unmasked activities (dining, drinking etc) that haven't spawned clusters, while masked activities (gym, dance club) spawned our big clusters.