They Lived In a Pandemic Bubble Now Covid Has Arrived

[CdS2 Roland]

Hello,
We left our SV in Tonga in November 2019 and planned to return an sail to the Fidjis in April 2020...
Tonga government decided to go "no Covid", like AUSTRALIA /NZ. Consequence no flight to join Tonga.
Tried to contact Embassies, they just don't answer your questions.
Fortunately our boat is stored in a boatyard, but now since 25 month. We expect some issues with almost everything on board.
So I'am quite "happy" Omicron is passing through Tonga, after that there will be no more reason to keep borders closed.
Can't understand why they didn't go more with the vaccination. In 2019 in Tonga they had measles epidemy, with dozens of children death and began to vaccine all the population.

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by CdS2 Roland

... Can't understand why they didn't go more with the vaccination. In 2019 in Tonga they had measles epidemy, with dozens of children death and began to vaccine all the population.

Tonga has administered at least 138,684 doses of COVID vaccines so far. Assuming every person needs 2 doses, that’s enough to have vaccinated about 66.4% of the country’s population.
Our World in Data reports 139K doses, 61.2% [64,680] fully vaccinated.
WHO reports: As of 4 January 2022, a total of 137,609 vaccine doses have been administered.
There have been 73 confirmed infections and 0 coronavirus-related deaths reported in the country since the pandemic began.

[El Pinguino]

Originally Posted by CdS2 Roland

Hello,
We left our SV in Tonga in November 2019 and planned to return an sail to the Fidjis in April 2020...
Tonga government decided to go "no Covid", like AUSTRALIA /NZ. Consequence no flight to join Tonga.
Tried to contact Embassies, they just don't answer your questions.
Fortunately our boat is stored in a boatyard, but now since 25 month. We expect some issues with almost everything on board.
So I'am quite "happy" Omicron is passing through Tonga, after that there will be no more reason to keep borders closed.
Can't understand why they didn't go more with the vaccination. In 2019 in Tonga they had measles epidemy, with dozens of children death and began to vaccine all the population.

Ah, at last a sailing related post, bonzer!

I hope your yacht is OK - I recently returned to my boat in Ecuador after 26 months or so - I had laid her up on the hard in November '19 expecting a 3 month separation - planned to fly back on 28th March '20.
She was in good order above and below, just some 'consumables' to throw out.
I hope you have the same outcome.

The sooner the 'outliers' in the South Pacific accept life as it is the better but when island states like Tasmania are still bleating about having 16 - yes - 16 - covid cases in hospital I simply despair.

Looking at the bright side of life Chile reports from chums 'in country' suggest they have opened their ports to O/S yachts over the last few weeks and Ecuador is talking about dropping testing and vaccination - not sure if that is a good idea - requirements for people entering the country.

[c.K.]

Originally Posted by seto_beril

All great points, but:
- I know people who missed a week of work after every shot
- The vaccine doesn't stop you from getting or transmitting the virus. I can say with 100% certainty that I haven't given covid to anyone. And that's something that someone who is vaccinated and asymptomatic can't say.
- The vaccine also has it's own set of risks. I know people who got all sorts of issues after getting the shot. Some brands have been pulled in countries due to myocarditis risks.

My point is really that decision to get the vax is personal and everyone has a different situation. Look, I have every other vaccine, and I'll continue to get them, but to doggedly insist that a healthy 30 year old who has a great diet, gets plenty of exercise and is covid recovered get vaccinated makes no sense to me. And to call everyone who didn't get it stupid like the OP did is perhaps not the best choice.

The risks around covid (especially omnicron) are pretty small vs other issues: diabetes, obesity, heart disease. I think its nuts were spending so much time talking about covid when all these other preventable diseases are killing many many more people. If we spent nearly as much time focusing on our overall health as we did infighting, pointing fingers and name calling around covid we'd all be in a much better place.

Thank you
dig deeper and you will find the real reason for all

[owly]

Originally Posted by c.K.

maybe look at the countries with the highest vaccination numbers : ALSO THE HIGHEST MORTALITY like isreal or iceland , Gibraltar
sure you don't read that in MSM
Also check out overall mortality in many countries and this is a crude way of checking (statistics!!!)it doesnot show higher number over the past 2 years
also of interest ( you can check the life insurance numbers that don't lie ) 40% increase in death in the younger generation probably most of them vaccinated
Hopefully the whole narrative will come unravelled and I hope that the guilty will find the Truth

I suspect someone with an antivax agenda is playing fast and loose with the numbers ignoring factors........That is pretty typical. In the US the exactly opposite is true. The state I live in has a low vaccination rate for example and a huge case count.......but a few months ago it was not the same. Our fatality rates are relatively low, but the most vulnerable populations got vaccinated for the most part, and the general population has far more robust health as a group than the southern states. When you have an agenda... such as convincing people for some reason that vaccines are bad or don't work... You have to cherry pick and distort data.

My rule of thumb is that if it smells like BS it is BS.......... I may not know the details of how the picture was painted, but you can't hide the smell!

[owly]

Originally Posted by El Pinguino

Ah, at last a sailing related post, bonzer!

I hope your yacht is OK - I recently returned to my boat in Ecuador after 26 months or so - I had laid her up on the hard in November '19 expecting a 3 month separation - planned to fly back on 28th March '20.
She was in good order above and below, just some 'consumables' to throw out.
I hope you have the same outcome.

The sooner the 'outliers' in the South Pacific accept life as it is the better but when island states like Tasmania are still bleating about having 16 - yes - 16 - covid cases in hospital I simply despair.

Looking at the bright side of life Chile reports from chums 'in country' suggest they have opened their ports to O/S yachts over the last few weeks and Ecuador is talking about dropping testing and vaccination - not sure if that is a good idea - requirements for people entering the country.

There is a lesson here............never leave your boat and go out of country without securing it as if it is to be left long term........The biggest issue is probably condensation and mildew / mold........ I'm a huge fan of foam core for this reason.

[owly]

Originally Posted by Sail Away 3

Getting back to the these island nations, each and every one of them has the right to make their own rules regarding entry. They make rules to protect their way of life, the health, their resources as they alone see fit. If a passport or a visa is required then that is what you will present. If it is a vaccine passport, the same applies. If you feel that is too much a burden for your convenience, then sail on by. It is a privilege to be allowed to visit... It is not a right...
Places opening up are taking a risk that the infection visitors will bring will be manageable. None of them want to subject their citizens to the devastation, the decimation, that the American natives had when European's arrived.

On another note I would love to see the graphics on the spread of this disease and how it correlates to international trade and travel. It didn't show up everywhere at the same time by magic. It wasn't spread by the magic ether. People brought it from place to place until it pretty much covered the globe. I imagine there are still a few places that haven't seen covid yet. Imagine being on an idyllic island and having an arrogant pompous fool who insists that it to much an infringement to his personal freedoms to do something so simple to protect himself... Would you want someone so reckless, with such a potential to harm your friends, loved ones, citizens in to potentially harm them.

Maybe I am getting too callous but if you won't protect yourself with something so simple, you catch this disease and are dying from it, I will not show you any sympathy, I will laugh at your stupidity. A vaccine is not a superman's cape protecting and making you impervious, it is a bullet proof vest that offers a higher level of protection from that fatal shot...
Get vaccinated if you want, that is your right, It is not your right to prevent prevent others from getting the vaccine.

Thanks for saying what needs to be said.......


What is truly bizarre is that idiots are framing this as about "freedom". And these idiots are people who call themselves things like "conservative", "christian", "patriot", all labels that once implied social responsible behavior, caring for one's fellow man and one's country, when in fact they are behaving totally selfishly, putting others in danger, spreading disease and death in the name of personal liberty. The hospitals here are full, the US is approaching a million deaths directly from covid, and countless others because of people being afraid to go to the hospital or there not being room because the hospital is full of idiots. Virtually all the covid patients in hospitals now are unvaxxed, Of course we have the "right" to spread pestilence to all parts of the world unimpeded by vaccine passports and testing ;-)

[thinwater]

A great flood happened.


A man was forced to climb to the second floor. He was looking out the window and a canoe passed. “Do you need help?” The people in the canoe called to the man. “Oh no, God will provide.” So the canoe went on it’s way.


The water kept on rising and the man was forced to go onto his roof. He was sitting there looking around when a helicopter flew close by and a man inside called, “Hey! Need a lift?”, and the man said, “Oh no, God will provide!”


The water rose even higher and the man drowned. He went up to heaven, met God and said, “I trusted you! You were supposed to provide!” And god said, “I sent you a canoe, and a helicopter!”


---


He gave us a brain, and the brain gave us vaccines and science that explains the reasons for good hygiene. We should probably be gracious for the gift of reason and use it. (From me, a complete atheist.)


Times are changing and the bubble is opening, but there is now a new virus in the world, it isn't going away, and we aren't going back to the good old days. Better to work our way through change, which is never easy. The pre-911 world is not coming back, but we have gotten used to it, hardly notice the differences unless we dwell pointlessly on the past, and some ways it is probably better. Adapt. The good old days of seasonal olds and the flu were not really very "good," and I'm looking forward to finding a safe but flexible, middle road.

[owly]

Originally Posted by thinwater

A great flood happened.


A man was forced to climb to the second floor. He was looking out the window and a canoe passed. “Do you need help?” The people in the canoe called to the man. “Oh no, God will provide.” So the canoe went on it’s way.


The water kept on rising and the man was forced to go onto his roof. He was sitting there looking around when a helicopter flew close by and a man inside called, “Hey! Need a lift?”, and the man said, “Oh no, God will provide!”


The water rose even higher and the man drowned. He went up to heaven, met God and said, “I trusted you! You were supposed to provide!” And god said, “I sent you a canoe, and a helicopter!”


---


He gave us a brain, and the brain gave us vaccines and science that explains the reasons for good hygiene. We should probably be gracious for the gift of reason and use it. (From me, a complete atheist.)


Times are changing and the bubble is opening, but there is now a new virus in the world, it isn't going away, and we aren't going back to the good old days. Better to work our way through change, which is never easy. The pre-911 world is not coming back, but we have gotten used to it, hardly notice the differences unless we dwell pointlessly on the past, and some ways it is probably better. Adapt. The good old days of seasonal olds and the flu were not really very "good," and I'm looking forward to finding a safe but flexible, middle road.

I think of the exact same story every time I hear some nitwit evangelical preacher exhort his victims not to get vaxxed because "God will provide and protect".... It is difficult to restrain oneself from gloating when one of these guys ends up on ventilation and/or dies of Covid. God provides in many ways, seldom in old testament miracles, but most Christians seem blind to it.

[GordMay]

For more than two years, the isolation, of the Pacific archipelago nation of Tonga, helped keep COVID-19 at bay.

But last month's volcanic eruption, and tsunami, brought outside deliveries of desperately needed fresh water and medicine — and brought the virus.

Tonga recorded its first two COVID-19 positive cases on February 1, among the front liners, handling incoming cargo shipments.
There are 107 active Covid-19 cases in the community, on Saturday, Feb. 12, taking the total number of cases to 108, after one had been recovered.

Vaccination rates continue to increase, with 98 percent having had their first dose, 89 percent having their second dose, and 15 percent got booster shots.

[hedgeworth]

Originally Posted by owly

Thanks for saying what needs to be said.......


What is truly bizarre is that idiots are framing this as about "freedom". And these idiots are people who call themselves things like "conservative", "christian", "patriot", all labels that once implied social responsible behavior, caring for one's fellow man and one's country, when in fact they are behaving totally selfishly, putting others in danger, spreading disease and death in the name of personal liberty. The hospitals here are full, the US is approaching a million deaths directly from covid, and countless others because of people being afraid to go to the hospital or there not being room because the hospital is full of idiots. Virtually all the covid patients in hospitals now are unvaxxed, Of course we have the "right" to spread pestilence to all parts of the world unimpeded by vaccine passports and testing ;-)

The “but ma freedumbs” crowd has taken the Hobbes/Rousseau argument—a debate as old as modern philosophy — and dumbed it down specifically so their worldview doesn’t seem so noxious and antisocial, as we all know it is.

They twist and cherry pick Rousseau’s argument that man can thrive in a state of nature without subscribing to any central authority to mean that (even though they live in a society governed by a central authority) they need not bother with any of its responsibilities

Even Rousseau, the original Marlboro man, disagreed with this. He knew, as we all do, that to be a member of a society requires that you subject yourself to its social contract.

Otherwise your obligation is to leave that society. A person is simply not entitled to the benefits of any given society without also meeting the responsibilities that membership in the society implies.

Of course, in practice, these rugged individualist never leave the comfort and order of the society that protects them. Because there are no other places to go that will tolerate the “all take and no give” attitude they espouse.

I believe the current wave of so-called populists are mostly just victims of a substandard education. It is indeed ironic that these so-called freedom lovers, at least in America, follow a single leader with almost cult like devotion. One would think such intellectual obsequiousness would would be anathema to their worldview.

For a bunch of rebels and intellectual Individualists, it’s comical how consistent and conformist their ideas are.

[rsvmille]

I am astounded how much some people hate freedom. You always have the choice to lock yourselves up but don't try to drag the rest of us into your psychosis.

[Uncle Bob]

Originally Posted by rsvmille

I am astounded how much some people hate freedom. You always have the choice to lock yourselves up but don't try to drag the rest of us into your psychosis.

Perhaps you would do well to re-evaluate your view of freedoms.

[rsvmille]

No thanks.

I will take my self-evident freedom and unalienable rights. You can continue to pretend that an imaginary authority grants you newspeak "freedoms" that it can revoke at will from your base existence of slavery from your earthly masters should they not allow you more.

“Freedom is the right to choose: the right to create for oneself the alternatives of choice. Without the possibility of choice, and the exercise of choice, a man is not a man but a member, an instrument, a thing." - TJ

[El Pinguino]

Originally Posted by GordMay

For more than two years, the isolation, of the Pacific archipelago nation of Tonga, helped keep COVID-19 at bay.

But last month's volcanic eruption, and tsunami, brought outside deliveries of desperately needed fresh water and medicine — and brought the virus.

Tonga recorded its first two COVID-19 positive cases on February 1, among the front liners, handling incoming cargo shipments.
There are 107 active Covid-19 cases in the community, on Saturday, Feb. 12, taking the total number of cases to 108, after one had been recovered.

Vaccination rates continue to increase, with 98 percent having had their first dose, 89 percent having their second dose, and 15 percent got booster shots.

Is that the adult population? Ourworldindata uses percentage of total population.