Interesting article on COVAC-19 and its link to Yunnan bats:
www.nzherald.co.nz/[...]

@Dazzer
Don’t drink medicinal alcohol. It contains too much Methanol to be healthy.

Sorry its not COVAC-19 but COVIT-19. Still have to get used to it ;-)

Irony would be, if all these people stuck in the mountains to protect them from the virus would get the virus from the bats in their neighbourhood caves.

The more isolated bat caves in your local mountains may spawn less lethal or transmittable carriers than the current epidemic.

Bats indeed have strong immune system to ward off their high virulence. But bat viruses may need animal intermediary to jump to humans.

"SARS got to humans through the Asian palm civet; MERS via camels; Ebola via gorillas and chimpanzees; Nipah via pigs; Hendra via horses and Marburg through African green monkeys. Nonetheless, these viruses still remain extremely virulent and deadly upon making the final jump into humans."

www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/02/200210144854.htm

Though COVID19 originated with bats, the virus needed some of the intermediary wildlife creatures sold at the Wuhan wetmarket, such as pangolins, to spread to humans. A "99%" DNA match between pangolins and COVID19 in fact.

www.medicalnewstoday.com/[...]

N95 mardi gras screwdriver party tonight at Dazzer's. I'll bring the Ethanol. Bring your own oranges.

@lemon

What wasn't mentioned on your Chinadaily link was that quite a few negative test results weren't 100% reliable. The doctors who worked on the front-line in Wuhan reported on testing unreliability via social media. It was also reported on either BBC or Guardian a few days ago that patients still developed symptoms after being tested negative twice.

You'll have to dig for source links on your own.

SCMP just published a piece on Yunnan's resident tracking:

(proxy required)
www.scmp.com/[...]

Title: Yunnan province plan to contain coronavirus by tracking residents in public places comes under question

By: Tracy Qu

Published: 3:25pm, 13 Feb, 2020

"In the latest effort to use big data to help contain the coronavirus outbreak, a province in southwestern China is asking residents to scan a code when they enter public places, sparking debate over whether the measure is effective.

Starting Wednesday, authorities in Yunnan province require all residents to scan the code through a WeChat mini-program when they enter and leave all public places to trace those who have had close contact with anybody confirmed or suspected to have been infected.

The move has sparked criticism on social media as to the effectiveness of such a screening process, especially since not everyone owns a smartphone with the required app. A Weibo post by state media people.cn seeking public opinion on the plan received a mixed response, with some indicating support but many others commenting “I disagree.”

“There are still many elderly people who do not use smartphones,” said one Weibo user. “Once implemented, there will no doubt be congestion and queues in public places [to scan the code]. The risk of infection will be higher,” said another.

The latest move in Yunnan province is in line with the country’s efforts to contain the outbreak. Earlier this week China’s State Council backed the launch of a “close contact detector” platform with a similar purpose, based on information gathered from public transport records, including trains and flights.

The coronavirus, which is now officially called Covid-19, has spread to at least 24 countries, sickening more than 60,000 people worldwide. There have been more than 48,000 confirmed coronavirus cases in China’s Hubei province resulting in more than 1,300 deaths, although Yunnan province had only recorded 155 infections, according to figures reported on Thursday.

The mini-program, whose name roughly translates as “Fight the coronavirus in Yunnan”, requires users to enter their phone number and receive a verification code to register. After that, they scan the “in” and “out” code when visiting public places such as airports, railway stations, subways, bus terminals, shopping malls, supermarkets, residential areas, as well as hospitals and pharmacies.

The mini-program does not ask users to enter their name and national identity numbers.

Some residents have indicated support for the Yunnan government’s effort to trace people’s movements as a way to limit the spread of the virus. “We’ve been very cooperative because we really want to get this outbreak under control,” a Yunnan resident surnamed Gao, who declined to give her full name, told the Post.

In the city of Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang province, authorities have implemented a “health code” which asks residents to use a web-based program to report their health status when returning home. Only those with a “green” code can enter the city, while those with “red” must undergo a 14 day quarantine and those with a “yellow” code need seven days of quarantine.

On Thursday, Zhejiang reported 1,145 confirmed coronavirus cases."

More on Yunnan's circular QR-code tracker...

"Residents who refuse to scan their codes could be barred entry or exit, and those who try to force their way through could face legal consequences, People’s Daily, the Chinese Communist Party newspaper, said on the social platform Weibo."

www.weibo.com/[...]

"The program has already begun in the county of Luliang, and more than 5,600 scans have been performed at hundreds of venues, the statement said. In the next 12 days, it will be implemented across a broad variety of public venues, including medical facilities, hotels, malls, supermarkets, transport checkpoints, remote villages and farmers’ markets."

www.yn.gov.cn/ywdt/zsdt/202002/t20200212_189329.html

via

(proxy required)
www.nytimes.com/[...]

I got registered and used the new scan mini program yesterday.

It was no problem other than the fact I needed my wife's assistance since I can't read Chinese.

Anyway, we needed to go to the hospital since my wife needed to renew her heart medication.

Before getting near the entrance there was a team of nurses checking temperatures.

Anyone showing signs of fever would be taken to a tent setup before the entrance for further testing and presumably to be taken to the quarantine section of the hospital.

One thing I noticed was that the hospital did not have a place to scan the qr code to indicate you had been there, while the wet market we visited on the way home did.

@AlPage, thanks for the update on your end. As @lemon mentioned, it may take a while (or never) for folks to enforce it. Unless a security guard is present, store employees may be too busy as it is. So the efficacy of these tracking may be dependent on our own social conscious/duty to perform these actions.

For those who are still a bit confused about it. There will be two circular barcodes that needs to be scanned with your WeChat after a one-time SMS verification. (Recommended to pin WeChat scanner shortcut on your homepage for easy access)

One copy of the circular barcode will be for entering, labelled "入" which you would scan upon entering a venue (e.g. bakery, pharmacy, etc.).

A success ("成功") confirmation will be logged and displayed on your WeChat mini-program.

Upon exiting the store/venue, scan the the other sheet of barcode labelled ("出").

Once again, a successful ("成功") exit confirmation message will be logged and displayed.

You may have to repeat these actions repeatedly in one afternoon if you visit various establishments that require them.