The Zambian Government has opened up Restaurants, Gyms, Cinemas, and Casinos. However, bars remain closed.

14 new cases out of 700 tests done overnight.

This is encouraging. Maybe other countries will follow.

Looks like there may be some hope to ending lockdown.
Why keep bars closed though when even casinos, gyms and cinemas re-open?

Andrew; Great news!!!!

14 cases in 700 tests certainly isn’t positive news in my book!
This thing has got a way to go yet in Africa I’m afraid to say......

Good news in a way, as people there can get back to their normal life.

But, it meas very little for us outside who might wish to go there.

There are far too many hurdles and hoops still standing that one has to get through.

I still cant believe people think 3rd world countries can actually lock down.The best they do is lockdown metro areas, in other words its more of an exclusion zone(keeping the poor out) than a lockdown.

Most the populations in superslums and rural areas are logistically impossible to lockdown. When you have limited or no power and plumbing, you need communal water to draw from and live produce markets or you die in 72 hours. In other words 1-2 billion people are still mingling in extremely high density living.

If covid was as bad as they say, 70% transmission( would be 100% in high density areas) and 3-12% kill rate, there should be 30-100 million deaths now cross these populations. 3rd world governments can hide numbers, but they cant hide that many bodies. At least one of the hundreds of UN/red cross observation centres or western hospitals spread throughout the 3rd world would be pointing to '7 figure death counts' by now. Not to mention when you have that many bodies piling up you have flow on pandemics from the polluted water sources, dysentery and cholera would pandemic like it hasnt since the 60's. And also wars as people try and escape their location and cross borders, standard refugee conflict 101, but on a continental scale.

What do we have? Very little movement, no million level deaths, no major cacacading pandemics. But a bunch of 1st worlers sitting at home wearing gas masks while their economies are burning.

Just saying...

Zambia has only recorded 4 deaths and to be honest, hospitals are working as normal and my business partner who owns a graveyard states there has been no noticeable increase in deaths.

Everyone keeps telling us it is coming but when? We are waiting.

Maybe it is because Zambia has a young population that constantly has to fight off far more dangerous diseases that the flu.

Great to hear Andrew. Hopefully its the start for everyone to open.

I think more and more economies will open over the next 2 months. Don't think we have a choice, really.

quote:

Originally posted by Karl:
I still cant believe people think 3rd world countries can actually lock down.The best they do is lockdown metro areas, in other words its more of an exclusion zone(keeping the poor out) than a lockdown.

Most the populations in superslums and rural areas are logistically impossible to lockdown. When you have limited or no power and plumbing, you need communal water to draw from and live produce markets or you die in 72 hours. In other words 1-2 billion people are still mingling in extremely high density living.

If covid was as bad as they say, 70% transmission( would be 100% in high density areas) and 3-12% kill rate, there should be 30-100 million deaths now cross these populations. 3rd world governments can hide numbers, but they cant hide that many bodies. At least one of the hundreds of UN/red cross observation centres or western hospitals spread throughout the 3rd world would be pointing to '7 figure death counts' by now. Not to mention when you have that many bodies piling up you have flow on pandemics from the polluted water sources, dysentery and cholera would pandemic like it hasnt since the 60's. And also wars as people try and escape their location and cross borders, standard refugee conflict 101, but on a continental scale.

What do we have? Very little movement, no million level deaths, no major cacacading pandemics. But a bunch of 1st worlers sitting at home wearing gas masks while their economies are burning.

Just saying...

quote:

Originally posted by Karl:
I still cant believe people think 3rd world countries can actually lock down.The best they do is lockdown metro areas, in other words its more of an exclusion zone(keeping the poor out) than a lockdown.

Most the populations in superslums and rural areas are logistically impossible to lockdown. When you have limited or no power and plumbing, you need communal water to draw from and live produce markets or you die in 72 hours. In other words 1-2 billion people are still mingling in extremely high density living.

If covid was as bad as they say, 70% transmission( would be 100% in high density areas) and 3-12% kill rate, there should be 30-100 million deaths now cross these populations. 3rd world governments can hide numbers, but they cant hide that many bodies. At least one of the hundreds of UN/red cross observation centres or western hospitals spread throughout the 3rd world would be pointing to '7 figure death counts' by now. Not to mention when you have that many bodies piling up you have flow on pandemics from the polluted water sources, dysentery and cholera would pandemic like it hasnt since the 60's. And also wars as people try and escape their location and cross borders, standard refugee conflict 101, but on a continental scale.

What do we have? Very little movement, no million level deaths, no major cacacading pandemics. But a bunch of 1st worlers sitting at home wearing gas masks while their economies are burning.

Just saying...

I'm sorry, Karl but I doubt that your friend who owns a cemetery doesn't qualify as an "expert". Where did he get his PhD? Which university is he from? What government panels does he sit on?

On a brighter side, there are a few signs of sanity poking through. Where I live in Arizona the governor fired the blue ribbon panel of "experts" from local universities who were advising the state on its Covid-19 strategy. No doubt he realized that their daily vomit of doom had no beneficial effects and they would never sanction a return to normalcy.

quote:

I'm sorry, Karl but I doubt that your friend who owns a cemetery doesn't qualify as an "expert". Where did he get his PhD? Which university is he from? What government panels does he sit on?

Speaking of Education John, you might want to work on some reading comprehension. You have mixed me up with another poster.

But defending that fellow anyway, what PHD would someone need to report what is happening in a business in his home city? Whats the weather like where you are at the moment? Blue skies or do you need a meteorologist to verify it? Can we trust what the African PH's tell us about a hunt before we fly in, or do we need it checked by a wildlife professor in the USA first?


As to which universities might be involved with the opinions I was giving.Every WHO, UN, Red cross expert in the world apparently.Since they are the ones who are reporting no mass deaths across any UN reportable regions in the 3rd world.

If anyone has figures to the contrary would love to see them. And by mass deaths I don't mean 'tens of thousands dead' level stuff either. That's peanuts. Covid was sold on its ability to kill millions, tens of millions in vulnerable regions.

Sorry Karl. As for education, I'm afraid it's a bit late for me...

The bottom line is that the virus has not taken off in Africa and I am sure of high exposure there.

Zimbabwe has a very high number of Chinese!

No bad news from there either.

I am in a sort of undecided phase about this.

A friend here and all his family became infected.

They have been in hospital for 23 days now!!

Spoke to him yesterday, he said it was very bad for a few days.

Abundant Sunlight = Vitamin D Saturation = Fewer Covid-19 Related Deaths

quote:

Originally posted by JohnDL:

quote:

Originally posted by Karl:
I still cant believe people think 3rd world countries can actually lock down.The best they do is lockdown metro areas, in other words its more of an exclusion zone(keeping the poor out) than a lockdown.

Most the populations in superslums and rural areas are logistically impossible to lockdown. When you have limited or no power and plumbing, you need communal water to draw from and live produce markets or you die in 72 hours. In other words 1-2 billion people are still mingling in extremely high density living.

If covid was as bad as they say, 70% transmission( would be 100% in high density areas) and 3-12% kill rate, there should be 30-100 million deaths now cross these populations. 3rd world governments can hide numbers, but they cant hide that many bodies. At least one of the hundreds of UN/red cross observation centres or western hospitals spread throughout the 3rd world would be pointing to '7 figure death counts' by now. Not to mention when you have that many bodies piling up you have flow on pandemics from the polluted water sources, dysentery and cholera would pandemic like it hasnt since the 60's. And also wars as people try and escape their location and cross borders, standard refugee conflict 101, but on a continental scale.

What do we have? Very little movement, no million level deaths, no major cacacading pandemics. But a bunch of 1st worlers sitting at home wearing gas masks while their economies are burning.

Just saying...

I'm sorry, Karl but I doubt that your friend who owns a cemetery doesn't qualify as an "expert". Where did he get his PhD? Which university is he from? What government panels does he sit on?

On a brighter side, there are a few signs of sanity poking through. Where I live in Arizona the governor fired the blue ribbon panel of "experts" from local universities who were advising the state on its Covid-19 strategy. No doubt he realized that their daily vomit of doom had no beneficial effects and they would never sanction a return to normalcy.

It is simply an indicator as so are our hospitals and medical facilities.

The last deaths were attributed to COVID but mainly in conjunction with other serious ailments.

I do wonder exactly how accurate the figures are? It depends on many things, and statistics can be misleading due to time delays in reporting, human error etc.

How many of you have known a close friend or relative that has had the virus, recovered or perished? I only known of 2 who have passed and all over 60.

I wonder what the death and/or infection rates are in more deprived communities such as India, and cities with large populations? How does that compare? And how is China and Russia doing in all this now?

85 cases today in Zambia, with 79 out of 170 tests in Nakonde. That's a really high rate of positive cases, but also shows, imo, that things in Tanzania are much worse than reported.

quote:

Originally posted by WR500:
1 4 cases in 700 tests certainly isn’t positive news in my book!
This thing has got a way to go yet in Africa I’m afraid to say......

Until 50 or 60 carriers fly in to bring it to the folks out in the bush!
…...…...………………………………...

...……………………...…………….

quote:

Originally posted by BushPeter:
85 cases today in Zambia, with 79 out of 170 tests in Nakonde. That's a really high rate of positive cases, but also shows, imo, that things in Tanzania are much worse than reported.

Zambia shows 252 cases with 7 deaths.

Tanzania, has not tested in May. The tests that were provided by China were not reliable (same ones that Trump turned down), the tests showed a positive for a goat and fruit and were not deemed reliable. Therefore the president made the decision not to use the test and they were looking at their options.

Maybe our tyrant governors in the US can learn something from them.

As heavily infiltrated as Southern Africa is with Chinese...and with the nature of living of the general populace...I am sure they are heavily exposed. It seems they just not susceptible to virus...at least for severe disease.

I just hope they know what they are doing.

quote:

Originally posted by JohnDL:
...I doubt that your friend who owns a cemetery doesn't qualify as an "expert". Where did he get his PhD? Which university is he from? What government panels does he sit on?...

Reminds me of when I moved into my house. We have some acreage in the country, and in the spring I had burned some tall grass around my place.

A couple of days after I had burned I was working in my yard and I heard some yelling and saw smoke from the other side of my next-door neighbor's house. I grabbed a shovel and ran next door.

He was in full panic yelling at his wife to call the fire department. He had lit a 30' triangular patch of tall dry grass on fire and it had flared up. The grass was surrounded by gravel on two sides and a snow bank on the third. It couldn't go anywhere.

I calmly asked him if he wanted me to put the fire out, and when I started throwing shovels of snow on the fire, he asked me "Will snow put the fire out?" It did.

Both he and his wife had PhD's in Sociology and Psychology. I didn't originate the definition of PhD as Piled higher and Deeper, but in my neighbor's case, it fit.

quote:

Originally posted by buffybr:

quote:

Originally posted by JohnDL:
...I doubt that your friend who owns a cemetery doesn't qualify as an "expert". Where did he get his PhD? Which university is he from? What government panels does he sit on?...

Reminds me of when I moved into my house. We have some acreage in the country, and in the spring I had burned some tall grass around my place.

A couple of days after I had burned I was working in my yard and I heard some yelling and saw smoke from the other side of my next-door neighbor's house. I grabbed a shovel and ran next door.

He was in full panic yelling at his wife to call the fire department. He had lit a 30' triangular patch of tall dry grass on fire and it had flared up. The grass was surrounded by gravel on two sides and a snow bank on the third. It couldn't go anywhere.

I calmly asked him if he wanted me to put the fire out, and when I started throwing shovels of snow on the fire, he asked me "Will snow put the fire out?" It did.

Both he and his wife had PhD's in Sociology and Psychology. I didn't originate the definition of PhD as Piled higher and Deeper, but in my neighbor's case, it fit.

Classic.

I would have thought a Graveyard owner would be in the know.

quote:

Originally posted by buffybr:

quote:

Originally posted by JohnDL:
...I doubt that your friend who owns a cemetery doesn't qualify as an "expert". Where did he get his PhD? Which university is he from? What government panels does he sit on?...

Reminds me of when I moved into my house. We have some acreage in the country, and in the spring I had burned some tall grass around my place.

A couple of days after I had burned I was working in my yard and I heard some yelling and saw smoke from the other side of my next-door neighbor's house. I grabbed a shovel and ran next door.

He was in full panic yelling at his wife to call the fire department. He had lit a 30' triangular patch of tall dry grass on fire and it had flared up. The grass was surrounded by gravel on two sides and a snow bank on the third. It couldn't go anywhere.

I calmly asked him if he wanted me to put the fire out, and when I started throwing shovels of snow on the fire, he asked me "Will snow put the fire out?" It did.

Both he and his wife had PhD's in Sociology and Psychology. I didn't originate the definition of PhD as Piled higher and Deeper, but in my neighbor's case, it fit.

Sounds like they were proof that a higher education doesn't always relate to greater intelligence.

That's the truth. Some folks are educated beyond their capabilities.

quote:

Some folks are educated beyond their capab

Genius!

quote:

Originally posted by Cajun1956:
Abundant Sunlight = Vitamin D Saturation = Fewer Covid-19 Related Deaths

Or just stronger immunity due to the conditions we grow up in?

Common sense does not automatically equate with higher education

Are people who travel into Zambia still being but in quarantine for 14 days, or was that misinformation I heard?

Yes!

quote:

Originally posted by Use Enough Gun:
Common sense does not automatically equate with higher education

I didn't graduate from college until after I retired from the military, I was 44.

The only reason I got a degree is that it has helped me move higher up the civil servant food chain. Most of the people that I know that have college educations are not any smarter than anyone else I work with. Even advanced degrees, a PHD in public administration does not equate to advanced intelligence, it just means you know a lot about how the government works at least according to one academic institution.

I also work with chemical engineers and physicist. They are smarter than the rest of us. One of them has PHD, and another spent over 30 years working for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

I have also noticed that even with my inability to perform complex math, but for some reason I can work out complex problems (I don't understand it either) that not everyone sees things through the same lens.

Hmm? Time for a few bwanas to walk the talk.

Not exhibiting symptoms, no hay problema shamwari.


Excerpt:

"International flights in and out of Zambia are allowed, but only from the main airport in Lusaka. Visitors arriving at the airport get a temperature screening, and those exhibiting symptoms are taken away for further testing and mandatory quarantining."


***
Bulawayo 24 News (May 13, 2020)

Zambian President orders re-opening of Victoria Falls 'to save jobs'

Zambian President Edgar Lungu on Tuesday ordered the re-opening of the Victoria Falls and local hotels to tourists – on the same day that the country announced the highest daily jump in coronavirus cases.

Lungu announced a partial lockdown on March 25, closing gymnasiums, bars, restaurants and large gatherings, but he did not close the country's borders.

On May 8, he allowed most businesses to re-open and also announced the re-opening of exam-taking classes from June 1.

The 63-year-old took a tour of the Victoria Falls on Tuesday and ordered officials to re-open the premier tourist attraction, on the border with Zimbabwe, "to save jobs". On the same day, the health ministry announced 174 new cases from 338 tests performed on May 9 and 10, taking the cumulative cases to 441.

Lungu said the closure of the Victoria Falls was "suffocating" the tourism sector, which contributed US$1.8 billion to the economy (6 percent of GDP) and employs more than 300,000 people, according to the World Travel & Tourism Council.

Lungu noted that Livingstone town had no recorded cases of the coronavirus, as he urged his tourism minister Ronald Chitotela to facilitate a re-opening that adheres to "the new normal" – a reference to World Health Organisation guidelines on curbing the spread of the virus.

Chitotela noted that international restrictions on air travel could mean that it would be many months before overseas tourists flock to the falls again. He urged tourism players to come up with incentives to encourage domestic tourism.

Lungu said it was disheartening that not many tourists will get to see the spectacle of the Victoria Falls this winter season after an astonishing rebound.

"The falls are at their peak this year after several years of low water levels, but there are no tourists here," Lungu said.

Livingstone Tourism Council representative Rodney Sikumba said they were grateful to the government for responding to their request of re-opening tourism sites whose closure threatened thousands of jobs.

Seven people have died from the coronavirus in Zambia, while 117 have recovered.

All systems go … Zambian President Edgar Lungu leads officials on a tour of the Victoria Falls

Zambia did not follow its neighbours in closing its borders although it has closed its border with Tanzania over concerns about that country's response to the spread of the virus. The move came after the town of Nakonde, on the border with Tanzania, recorded 76 new cases.

International flights in and out of Zambia are allowed, but only from the main airport in Lusaka. Visitors arriving at the airport get a temperature screening, and those exhibiting symptoms are taken away for further testing and mandatory quarantining.

Zimbabwe, meanwhile, has closed the Victoria Falls rainforest indefinitely, although most businesses have been allowed to re-open. Only one person has tested positive for the coronavirus in Victoria Falls from the 37 cases nationally, and they have since recovered, according to the health ministry.
***

Re-open to who? Which tourists? Just that it's open won't say tourists will come.
Most cases in Zambia are at the borders, Nakonde and Chirundu, yet there haven't been any new cases in the last few days in Tanzania and Zimbabwe.

My understanding is that most of the new cases in Nakonde were sex workers and truck drivers.

Mark

Sounds like the old joke..."Men, half the hookers here have tuberculosis, the rest have V.D. You knows what that means?"

quote:

Originally posted by KMG Hunting Safaris:

quote:

Originally posted by Cajun1956:
Abundant Sunlight = Vitamin D Saturation = Fewer Covid-19 Related Deaths

Or just stronger immunity due to the conditions we grow up in?

Googling 'Spanish Flu 1918 Vitamin D' and 'Corvid-19 Vitamin D' will result in some interesting reading.

Just say'n.


Excerpt:

By analyzing publicly available patient data from around the globe, Backman and his team discovered a strong correlation between vitamin D levels and cytokine storm -- a hyperinflammatory condition caused by an overactive immune system -- as well as a correlation between vitamin D deficiency and mortality.

"Cytokine storm can severely damage lungs and lead to acute respiratory distress syndrome and death in patients," Daneshkhah said. "This is what seems to kill a majority of COVID-19 patients, not the destruction of the lungs by the virus itself. It is the complications from the misdirected fire from the immune system."


***
Science Daily (May 7, 2020)

Vitamin D levels appear to play role in COVID-19 mortality rates

Patients with severe deficiency are twice as likely to experience major complications

Date: May 7, 2020
Source: Northwestern University

Summary: Researchers analyzed patient data from 10 countries. The team found a correlation between low vitamin D levels and hyperactive immune systems. Vitamin D strengths innate immunity and prevents overactive immune responses. The finding could explain several mysteries, including why children are unlikely to die from COVID-19.

After studying global data from the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, researchers have discovered a strong correlation between severe vitamin D deficiency and mortality rates.

Led by Northwestern University, the research team conducted a statistical analysis of data from hospitals and clinics across China, France, Germany, Italy, Iran, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, the United Kingdom (UK) and the United States.

The researchers noted that patients from countries with high COVID-19 mortality rates, such as Italy, Spain and the UK, had lower levels of vitamin D compared to patients in countries that were not as severely affected.

This does not mean that everyone -- especially those without a known deficiency -- needs to start hoarding supplements, the researchers caution.

"While I think it is important for people to know that vitamin D deficiency might play a role in mortality, we don't need to push vitamin D on everybody," said Northwestern's Vadim Backman, who led the research. "This needs further study, and I hope our work will stimulate interest in this area. The data also may illuminate the mechanism of mortality, which, if proven, could lead to new therapeutic targets."

The research is available on medRxiv, a preprint server for health sciences.

Backman is the Walter Dill Scott Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Northwestern's McCormick School of Engineering. Ali Daneshkhah, a postdoctoral research associate in Backman's laboratory, is the paper's first author.

Backman and his team were inspired to examine vitamin D levels after noticing unexplained differences in COVID-19 mortality rates from country to country. Some people hypothesized that differences in healthcare quality, age distributions in population, testing rates or different strains of the coronavirus might be responsible. But Backman remained skeptical.

"None of these factors appears to play a significant role," Backman said. "The healthcare system in northern Italy is one of the best in the world. Differences in mortality exist even if one looks across the same age group. And, while the restrictions on testing do indeed vary, the disparities in mortality still exist even when we looked at countries or populations for which similar testing rates apply.

"Instead, we saw a significant correlation with vitamin D deficiency," he said.

By analyzing publicly available patient data from around the globe, Backman and his team discovered a strong correlation between vitamin D levels and cytokine storm -- a hyperinflammatory condition caused by an overactive immune system -- as well as a correlation between vitamin D deficiency and mortality.

"Cytokine storm can severely damage lungs and lead to acute respiratory distress syndrome and death in patients," Daneshkhah said. "This is what seems to kill a majority of COVID-19 patients, not the destruction of the lungs by the virus itself. It is the complications from the misdirected fire from the immune system."

This is exactly where Backman believes vitamin D plays a major role. Not only does vitamin D enhance our innate immune systems, it also prevents our immune systems from becoming dangerously overactive. This means that having healthy levels of vitamin D could protect patients against severe complications, including death, from COVID-19.

"Our analysis shows that it might be as high as cutting the mortality rate in half," Backman said. "It will not prevent a patient from contracting the virus, but it may reduce complications and prevent death in those who are infected."

Backman said this correlation might help explain the many mysteries surrounding COVID-19, such as why children are less likely to die. Children do not yet have a fully developed acquired immune system, which is the immune system's second line of defense and more likely to overreact.

"Children primarily rely on their innate immune system," Backman said. "This may explain why their mortality rate is lower."

Backman is careful to note that people should not take excessive doses of vitamin D, which might come with negative side effects. He said the subject needs much more research to know how vitamin D could be used most effectively to protect against COVID-19 complications.

"It is hard to say which dose is most beneficial for COVID-19," Backman said. "However, it is clear that vitamin D deficiency is harmful, and it can be easily addressed with appropriate supplementation. This might be another key to helping protect vulnerable populations, such as African-American and elderly patients, who have a prevalence of vitamin D deficiency."

Backman is the director of Northwestern's Center for Physical Genomics and Engineering and the associate director for Research Technology and Infrastructure at the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center at Northwestern University.
***