Coronavirus:

[Rufus T. Firefly]

You guys do know that the law is that the shipper's responsibility ends when the goods are placed in the hands of the carrier? If the buyer wants guaranteed delivery his contract is with the carrier, not the seller.

While true, also not relevant -- when you sell on eBay you enter into a contract to follow their regulations and their arbitration of disagreements between sellers and buyers.

You might do well to actually read the Terms of Use.

[Neil]

The reason the USPS is doing so badly and UPS, Fedex, etc. are doing reasonably well is quite simple. The USPS has not been allowed to use overtime, additional hiring, etc. to meet the increased demand thanks to fine people in the White House . USP, Fedex, etc. don't operate under those restrictions. The same people who want to privatize the Social Security Administration (and perhaps the Air Force?) also want to strangle the USPS. While cutting taxes for the fabulously wealthy and corporations. Great stuff in terms of the social contract. And getting your stuff from eBay through USPS.

I ordered some track from Ready to Roll in Miami. It sat at Gulfport MS (probably some pork barrel deal as to why there is a postal distribution center in this Southern metropolis) for weeks. Finally delivered after about a month. Priority Mail, which is usually 2-3 days. I survived, amazingly.

[HONDO74]

The reason the USPS is doing so badly is because the employees are controlled by ludicrous agreements with unions such as the National Postal Mail Handlers Union (NPMHU) and the American Postal Workers Union (APWU)

The agency will run out of cash by 2024, absent significant reforms and better deals made by leadership. Millions of mail consumers deserve better than a Postal Service that values excuses and passing the buck over much-needed comprehensive reforms.

It's a simple fix quadruple the price that they charge and the problem will go away.

Or maybe Grandpa and his Granddaughter can fix it it. Give the post office a couple of trillion dollars.....

[Rufus T. Firefly]

The reason the USPS is doing so badly is because the employees are controlled by ludicrous agreements with unions such as the National Postal Mail Handlers Union (NPMHU) and the American Postal Workers Union (APWU)

....of which the employees are members of and voted for.........which only shows what unions can do for for a business. Fold in Congress with a little oversight now and again, and it's a recipe for disaster that's finally arriving. This is what comes of mortgaging the future.

My decals (1st class mail) from Kentucky got within a few miles of my house in early Dec, and then were diverted in the opposite direction to Baltimore for 3 weeks. They did arrive though.

[HONDO74]

Covid-19: New variant 'raises R number by up to 0.7'
https://www.bbc.com/news/health-55507012

The new variant of Covid-19 is "hugely" more transmissible than the virus's previous version, a study has found.

It concludes the new variant increases the Reproduction or R number by between 0.4 and 0.7.

The UK's latest R number has been estimated at between 1.1 and 1.3. It needs to be below 1.0 for the number of cases to start falling.

Prof Axel Gandy of London's Imperial College said the differences between the viruses types was "quite extreme".

"There is a huge difference in how easily the variant virus spreads," he told BBC News. "This is the most serious change in the virus since the epidemic began," he added.

The Imperial College study suggests transmission of the new variant tripled during England's November lockdown while the previous version was reduced by a third.

Cases of Covid-19 have begun to increase rapidly during the second spike, and the number of cases recorded in a single day reached a new high on Thursday.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Cheery.

[HONDO74]

Talk about stupidity.....

ICU hospital staff: 'Scared, sad, petrified, worried'
https://www.bbc.com/news/av/health-55564425

For the first since April the UK has recorded more than 1,000 daily Covid-related deaths – one of the highest figures of the pandemic.

Right now, London is at the epicentre of this crisis. Hospitals now have more Covid patients being admitted every day than they did at the peak in April. Many doctors and nurses say they're reaching breaking point.

The BBC's medical editor Fergus Walsh has been allowed to film inside the intensive care unit at London's University College Hospital, which is one of the busiest in the capital.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Sadly, we've got them beat on daily death rate and stupidity. Seems to be a correlation there......

[HONDO74]

Boris Johnson announces national lockdown to control Covid-19 variant
https://www.bbc.com/news/av/uk-politics-55538715

Boris Johnson has announced new national lockdown measures for England.

Speaking in a televised address, the prime minister called the "spread of new variant is both frustrating and alarming".

Scientists believe it is between 50% and 70% more transmissible, so people are much more likely to catch the virus and to pass it on.

Hospitals are also under more pressure from Covid than at any time since start of pandemic.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Scientists believe it is between 50% and 70% more transmissible, so people are much more likely to catch the virus and to pass it on.

And it's in the US. Combine that with our epidemic of stupidity and we're pretty much screwed.

[MurphOnMillerAve]

Sadly, we've got them beat on daily death rate....

4,276 deaths in the USA in the past 24 hrs.
(ABC News @11pm)

[E7]

The 64,000 dollar question: Does the new vacine have any effect on the new variation of virus?

Answering my own question:

Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine appears effective against mutation in new coronavirus variants -study

[gregj410]

The 64,000 dollar question: Does the new vacine have any effect on the new variation of virus?

Fret not. With the Democrats in full power we will be living in perfect peace and unity in prosperity and good health for the next 4 years.

[E7]

The 64,000 dollar question: Does the new vacine have any effect on the new variation of virus?

Fret not. With the Democrats in full power we will be living in perfect peace and unity in prosperity and good health for the next 4 years.

Silly me! I forgot about that!

[Rufus T. Firefly]

The 64,000 dollar question: Does the new vacine have any effect on the new variation of virus?

Fret not. With the Democrats in full power we will be living in perfect peace and unity in prosperity and good health for the next 4 years.

Only Republicans could possibly actively politicize a pandemic while 350+ deaths have happened on their watch while setting this up to continue to increase for the next year. Had they actually done anything right in response we'd have a completely different political landscape now. The penchant for self-destruction combined with abdication responsibility while blaming others for the end result is truly impressive.