Coronavirus: Over 600 People Test Positive At German Slaughterhouse
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on DW News.
This is the introductory paragraph.
Yet another German slaughterhouse has registered a massive outbreak of the coronavirus. Roughly two-thirds of the test results so far have come back positive.
Does the author think this is a recurring problem?
There is a sub-heading in the article of By No Means An Isolated Case, where this is said.
Germany’s meat processing sector has come under increasing scrutiny during the pandemic, with several plants reporting massive outbreaks. The sector is plagued with poor working conditions, exploitative contracts and usurious rents in mass housing for eastern European workers.
The company is blaming Bulgarian and Romanian workers going home for the long weekend.
The next paragraph, would appear to debunk that theory.
According to the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control, Germany has had far more confirmed cases of coronavirus than either Romania or Bulgaria. In the past 14 days, Germany registered 4,814 new cases, compared to 2,898 in Romania and 915 in Bulgaria.
By comparison, we have had 14,932 lab-confirmed cases in the last fourteen days.
The article says that this slaughterhouse is in Gutersloh and from a picture in the article, the slaughterhouse seems to process pigs.
Out of curiosity, I looked up the Wikipedia entry for Gutersloh.
It looks to be a typical German town of 100,000 people, but it does have one unusual feature according to Wikipedia; ten percent of the population are Arameans.
I have found these facts on Wikipedia.
- The total number of Arameans in Germany is between 100,000 and 120.000. See Arameans
- There has been a long history of Turkish people migrating to Germany. See Turks In Germany
- The number of Turks in Germany is 2,774,000, making them the largest minority. See Demographics of Germany
- Many of the Turks were brought to Germany in the 1970s to do the jobs the Germans didn’t want to do and to solve a labour crisis, after the building of the Berlin Wall. See Turks In Germany
Turks are Muslim and the Germans produce a lot of pork. So do Turks work in German slaughterhouses handling pork and making sausages?
If they don’t, does this explain the large number of Arameans in Gutersloh? Arameans are Christians and unlike Muslims and Jews, eat pork.
Their diet also contains alcohol and appears to be gluten-rich!
I’d love to have German statistics of COVID-19 by ethnicity!
Hydrogen Freight Trains And Anti-Slip Technology For UK Railways Get Share Of £9.4m Funding
The title of this post is the same as that of this article on Professional Engineering, which is published by the Institute of Mechanical Engineers.
This is the introductory summary.
A zero-emissions machine that removes and replaces rails, a hydrogen-based turbine system for freight trains and ‘cryogenic blasting’ to prevent wheel slip could all be coming to UK railways thanks to a new £9.4m fund.
The article is a good summary of the important projects and it also gives details of what a project in the last round of funding achieved.
I seem increasingly to be reposting articles from professional engineering institutions. Does this mean, that we’re all thinking that good engineering, is one of the ways out of this COVID-19 mess?
I also think, that if I look at the list of twenty-five new projects, that I listed in First Of A Kind Funding Awarded For 25 Rail Innovation Projects, that some will benefit the wider UK population in a world dominated by the remains of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Heated Railway Platforms Tested To Avoid Ice Accidents
The title of this post is the same as the first part of the title on this article on Engineering and Technology.
The platforms have been developed by researchers at Sheffield Hallam University and have received a share of the Government funding, I wrote about in First Of A Kind Funding Awarded For 25 Rail Innovation Projects, where it is Project 4.
These paragraphs describe the project.
The concrete slabs come with a built-in heating system that activates in freezing conditions to prevent dangerous icy conditions for passengers.
Rail Safety and Standards Board figures show that 19 people were killed and more than 7,000 were injured in accidents around platform edges on Britain’s railways in a recent five-year period.
It looks like there’s scope for this simple idea to save a few lives.
COVID-19 Reconstruction Projects
If the trial installation or installations, that will be paid for by the Government grant is or are a success, I can see large numbers of the UK’s three thousand or so stations being fitted with these platforms.
This is surely the sort of project, that could be rolled out on lots of sites across the UK to get the constriction industry working again, after COVID-19!
Atheists Less Likely To Die From Covid-19 Than Believers, Research Finds
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article in The Times.
This is the introductory paragraph.
People without religious faith are less likely to die from Covid-19 than believers, according to the first analysis of its kind from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
This paragraph gives some actual statistics.
For Muslims the figures were 198.9 deaths per 100,000 males and 98.2 deaths per 100,000 females. Among Christians, the death rates were 92.6 for men and 54.6 for women, and among Jewish people 187.9 for men and 94.3 for women.
These are my observations.
The Average Death Rate
The average death rate of these religious groups is 121 per 100,000 people or 1 in 826 people.
The Number Of Coeliacs In The UK Population
This page on the NHS web site says this about the number of coeliacs in the UK population.
Coeliac disease is a condition that affects at least 1 in every 100 people in the UK.
But some experts think this may be underestimated because milder cases may go undiagnosed or be misdiagnosed as other digestive conditions, such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).
Reported cases of coeliac disease are around 3 times higher in women than men.
I hadn’t known the last point, but all my coeliac friends and acquaintances, with two exceptions are female! The two male exceptions are both chefs!
Thinking about the last point, I do wonder if women are more likely to have coeliac disease as the disease can affect their natural functions, so they are likely to go to the doctor with a problem, that could be a coeliac symptom, like the inability to conceive.
Diagnosed Coeliacs On A Gluten-Free Diet And Cancer
It has been shown by Joe West at Nottingham University, that diagnosed coeliacs on a gluten-free diet are less likely to get cancer, than the general population.
Does this mean, that this group of people have a strong immune system?
Diagnosed Coeliacs On A Gluten-Free Diet And COVID-19
Various doctors have said, that COVID-19 attacks people with compromised immune systems.
So do diagnosed coeliacs ona gluten-free diet get a measure of protection from COVID-19 from their strong immune systems?
Ashkenazi Jews And COVID-19
My coeliac disease comes from my great-great-great-grandfather, who was from Konigsberg in East Prussia.
In those far-off days at the start of the Nineteenth Century, if you were a Jewish male in East Prussia, you had to leave at eighteen, unless you were from one of the privileged Jewish families.
As my ancestor wasn’t a nenver of a privileged family, he hopped on a boat and ended up in Bexley.
Luckily, I was diagnosed as a coeliac at Addenbrooke’s hospital at the age of 50. My health, which had been poor off-and-on improved immediately and considerably, once I was no longer eating gluten.
But in the Jewish population, there are a lot of undiagnosed coeliacs, who probably have poor immune systems due to their diet.
Are they like targets in a shooting gallery for the evil COVID-19 virus?
Christians And COVID-19
I do wonder about communion rituals.
Especially, as some churches insist that wheat must be used. Even if you’re coeliac.
Surely, your health is more important.
Why Are Women Less Likely To Die Of Covid-19?
If undiagnosed coeliac disease is an explanation, as the disease is three times more common in women could explain it, if all coeliacs are on protective gluten-free diets.
Muslims And COVID-19
Most Muslims come from areas, where coeliac disease is rare and are probably on a gluten-free anyway.
But they do appear to suffer high levels of other diseases like diabetes, that compromise your immune system.
Who Needs Offices? Zopa Doesn’t!
opa’s update to all their investors yesterday.
It had a sub-heading of At Zopa!
Finally, a quick update on where we’re at as a company. All of our staff are still working remotely. Our diligent preplanning for a situation in which we could lose access to our offices has meant we’ve been able to continue to serve our customers throughout the pandemic, while also implementing new solutions to adapt to this unprecedented situation. Like other businesses, we’ve been planning for what a return to our offices looks like. But as we’ve been able to keep serving your needs while operating from home, we are in no rush. Being in this position allows us to stay focused on supporting your needs during this challenging moment.
How many companies after we are through the COVID-19 pandemic will decide to downsize their office requirements considerably?
Dexamethasone Declared First Drug To Save Lives Of Coronavirus Patients
The title of this post, is the same, as that of this article in The Times.
These are the introductory paragraphs.
British scientists have hailed a “huge breakthrough” in the fight against Covid-19 after a cheap drug was declared the first to save lives.
Dexamethasone, a decades-old steroid that costs about 50p per day, was found to reduce deaths by up to one third for the sickest patients. NHS hospitals were advised to begin using it immediately.
According to a retired Senior Hospital Pharmacist friend, Dexamethasone has been around a long time and is used in shock. She added “So don’t know why not tried before.”
The Times article says this about previous use.
While it had been administered to Covid patients in China and elsewhere its use was controversial, with no definitive proof that it worked.
Could it be that the research was discounted on ageist grounds against the drug?
Wikipedia also says this about the drug?
it was the 259th most prescribed medication in the United States, with more than a million prescriptions.
That is about 1-in-327 of the US population.
Dexamethasone And Coeliac Disease
Out of curiosity, I typed “Dexamethasone and coeliac disease” into Google.
I found this page on SpringerLink, which is entitled The Role of Corticosteroids In Celiac Disease.
This is the first sentence.
Since Dickie first described the benefits of a gluten-free diet in the 1940s and 1950s, this diet is the standard of care for all patients with celiac disease. For patients with a new diagnosis, dietary compliance can be difficult to achieve, possibly resulting in a clinical course marked by delayed recovery and persistent symptoms. This is of particular concern for patients in the developing world, where gluten-free food items may be difficult to obtain or to identify. While dietary modifications are likely to remain the treatment of choice in celiac disease, the use of adjuvant corticosteroids in newly diagnosed patients is a topic that has been addressed previously.
I’m no medic, so what follows in the scientific report is beyond my limited medical knowledge.
However in A Thought On Deaths Of The Elderly From Covid-19, I estimated that there are around 120,000 undiagnosed coeliacs in the UK, who are over 65. I used data from Age UK and Coeliac-UK.
According to Joe West of Nottingham University, diagnosed coeliacs on a gluten-free diet have less chance of getting cancer!
Could it be that this group of people, of which I am one, have a strong immune system?
So could the reverse be true and that undiagnosed coeliacs on a typical gluten-rich diet have a compromised immune system?
My son was an undiagnosed coeliac, with a poor diet who smoked. He died at just thirty-seven from pancreatic cancer!
Could some of the patients, who recovered from COVID-19, when given dexamethasone, have been undiagnosed coeliacs?
I, of course don’t know.
But the role of coeliac disease in the recovery from COVID-19 must be investigated.
A quick way to test my theory would be to survey the catering departments of all hospitals and see how much gluten-free food was being sent to wards, where COVID-19 is being treated.
Coeliacs, whether diagnosed by doctors or self-diagnosed, will probably be vociferous in their need for gluten-free food. I certainly was, when I had my stroke in Hong Kong.
Give me the data and I’ll analyse it!
I would also like to hear from any coeliacs, who have been given dexamethasone!
Transport for London’s Hand Sanitisers
These pictures show Transport for London’s hand sanitisers.
I like them, as you can use them with one hand.
They are also fairly numerous!
Greater Manchester Illegal Raves: Man Dies, Woman Raped And Three Stabbed
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the BBC.
This is the introductory paragraph.
A 20-year-old man has died, a woman has been raped and three people have been stabbed during two illegal “quarantine raves” that attracted 6,000 people.
What the hell was going on?
There have been some exuberant parties in Hackney Marshes, but they didn’t appear to be the on the scale of the Mancunian troubles.
Last night on Stephen Nolan’s program, there was some very heated debate on what went on in Manchester. Some, who had been present, should have been arrested, if what they alleged they’d done was true.
If you look at total COVID-19 cases in London and the North West on June 15th, they are as follows.
- London 27, 330 – 306.8
- North-West 26,759 – 367
The second figure is a rate per 100,000 of the population. Although the Government data doesn’t give the legend on the chart! Poor presentation again from the Government statisticians!
I have been on public transport a lot in London and the behaviour of passengers seems to follow the rules. Especially, on the Overground, which seems to be busier than the buses and the Underground. Today on a trip out, everybody I saw on public transport was masked!
All Quiet On The Oxford Street Front!
These pictures were taken at about 16:00 on Friday this week.
There we’re many people about.
Spanish Covid-19 Recovery Investment Scheme Funds 12 Energy Start-Ups
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Power Technology.
These are the two introductory paragraphs.
Several energy companies have announced they will assist and invest in a scheme to develop smaller companies assisting in Spain’s Covid-19 recovery.
The Positive Energy+ investment scheme has taken 396 proposals over 13 days. The promoters of the programme have chosen 12 businesses they believe will have a large impact on the country’s decarbonisation, digitalisation and mobility, while also considering their social impact.
It looks like Spain is going a similar route to Norway, with their fund.
The Anonymous Widower 