
Thousands of coronavirus tests are going unused in US labs - bgutierrez
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-01068-3
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mnm1
Not having advanced medical equipment or doctors is one way to have a health
system that doesn't work. Not hiring a programmer to write you a script to
connect two systems during the worst unemployment event in almost a hundred
years is another one. As are so many of the other reasons here. We are finding
out that our healthcare system really isn't up to par not only because we
don't have equipment, but because due to lack of regulations that benefit
profit seeking, the system barely works. If only we had some sort of over
arching entity that could force all these disparate systems to work together
based on a set of rules ... you know, a government and specifically a
government that works not one that's constantly being dismantled by idiots who
think the corona virus is a hoax. In the end, the crisis always boils down to
not having an effective, functioning government and leadership. This would be
unacceptable in many places, but the US has extremely low standards in general
so it's business as usual.

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johnchristopher
Take that with a pinch of salt, things aren't clear yet, but:

Well, I read today we have a problem like that in Belgium: it seems small bio
labs aren't allowed to test even though they adapted their equipment and
workflow. Only big pharma are lined up.

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kingkawn
I live in nyc and have a brother who lives in Vietnam. When a person in my
brother’s building tested positive for the coronavirus the government
quarantined the building, tested every single person who lives and works
there, stationed police outside to enforce the lockdown, and delivered food
for two weeks. If someone had tested positive they would be relocated to a
hospital facility for treatment. When the tests for everyone else in the
building came back negative the government let them all resume the normal
social distancing rules and going to the grocery store again.

Contrast this with nyc where the virus is outta control, few tests are being
done outside the hospital system, and there is no sense of a comprehensive
presence of government effort other than the police harassing people who
quarantine together when they take walks in public.

America is finished if this is the best we got.

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rmetzler
Quarantine and testing is the way to fight the virus and be able to return to
the normal as soon as possible. Western countries fear it’s not possible to do
this and regulate the people much more than they usually do. But the problem
is, without quarantine the virus is going to spread and shutting down the
economy like they did now will have much bigger consequences over the long
run. Too many people live from paycheck to paycheck.

~~~
notyourday
> Quarantine and testing is the way to fight the virus and be able to return
> to the normal as soon as possible.

What you are describing is a way to handle flare ups and it only works in
police states. At the current time the only way to fight viruses is with
vaccines. It is extremely unfortunate that even during this pandemic our
experts keep avoiding repeating this.

~~~
eecc
Oh come on, please stop this “it only works in police states” rhetoric. It’s
not true, nor is the slippery slope argument.

Asking people to undergo testing and voluntary quarantine is perfectly within
democratic bounds of civic duty and anyone with a iota of ethic is more than
willing to collaborate. It’s also fair for a democratic society to compensate
for any economic loss incurred.

It’s not necessary to use the iron fist except for the most egregiously anti-
social deniers, but that’s the same as with the neighbors that refuse to turn
down the volume of their music after 24:00

~~~
notyourday
> Oh come on, please stop this “it only works in police states” rhetoric. It’s
> not true, nor is the slippery slope argument.

Vietnam is a police state. Singapore is a police state. South Korea is a
police state. China is a police state. HK is a police state.

> Asking people to undergo testing and voluntary quarantine is perfectly
> within democratic bounds of civic duty and anyone with a iota of ethic is
> more than willing to collaborate.

 _Asking for a voluntary quarantine_ is different from quarantining people. US
states have _asked people to voluntarily quarantine_. The argument that is
being offered is that voluntary quarantine is not enough.

> It’s not necessary to use the iron fist except for the most egregiously
> anti-social deniers, but that’s the same as with the neighbors that refuse
> to turn down the volume of their music after 24:00

It is a civil and not a criminal violation.

~~~
rjzzleep
> Vietnam is a police state. Singapore is a police state. South Korea is a
> police state. China is a police state. HK is a police state.

Taiwan is not.

I'm not Taiwanese but one sentence I used to hear when I was little was:

"The extent of your personal freedom goes as far as it starts endangering
other peoples personal liberties"

The reason why the US and Germany are resorting to police state techniques is
because:

1\. The countries have been pushing there boundaries for at least a decade now
and this is the perfect opportunity to use.

2\. Even though Germans are happy to police you crossing a red light in the
middle of the night, there is no sense of communal unity in society and there
is even less trust in Government because there is zero transparency in
communication. Basically the Government assumes everyone besides them is an
idiot. Social shaming is the weapon of choice in Taiwan.

~~~
notyourday
For practical purposes Taiwan is a police state which is rather understandable
considering that its neighbor thinks it is a rogue province.

Neither US nor Germany resorted to police state techniques. In a set of the
Western democracies only France is getting close to it.

