Back to COVID-19

*  The SMH/Age European correspondent, the normally fit 34 Bevan Shields, has written a compelling account of how unpleasantly ill he was with (what was almost certainly) COVID-19 in London earlier this month.

Remarkably, he wasn't tested for it, as they are only testing those admitted to hospital.   He came very close to that, but the nearest hospital (the one where Boris Johnson was treated) was at capacity.

If only someone with this disease could have a coughing fit in the offices of the IPA so we could see if a similar experience would make any of its spivs change their minds about re-opening everything quickly...

*  Singapore's early success has not been able to be sustained all that well, with a surge in new cases, mostly from the foreign worker hostels:

SINGAPORE: Singapore reported a record 447 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday (Apr 15), taking the national total to 3,699.

Of the new cases, 68 per cent are linked to previously identified clusters, while contact tracing is ongoing for the remaining cases, said the Ministry of Health (MOH) in its daily update.

A total of 404 new cases are from foreign worker dormitories. Five are work permit holders living outside the dormitories.

As for local cases in the community, 38 cases were reported on Wednesday, and there were no new imported cases.

* Japan is also getting very panicky, and is about to go with a nationwide state of emergency (going towards a more strenuous lockdown, by the sounds of it.)   If Toyko goes for a New York style lockdown, it would make for a once in a lifetime experience of empty streets.

*  It's hard to imagine international travel and tourism getting back to anywhere near "normal" within a year with all of these problems.   It will be interesting to see just how big an economic impact it will have - a real life test for the type of ball park guesstimates you sometimes hear about how a certain tourist friendly event with bring X amount of dollars to a city or region.