to think that there a reason why Trump, Johnson and Bolsanaro get Covid but leaders like Merkel and Ardern haven't?

[chomalungma]

World leaders
Prime Ministers, Chancellors, Presidents.
Busy schedules.
Meeting lots of people.

The chances of a world leader getting Covid-19 is reasonable. Given it's been 6 months now.

But I wonder if Johnson, Trump and Bolsanaro possibly have something in common when it comes to attitudes to Covid-19 that Merkel and Ardern (to randomly pick 2 world leaders) don't have?

That was the point I was making.

Indirectly.

How the heck does politics have any thing to do with getting the virus?

I was joking when I mentioned politics

The opposite of Jacinda Ardern's focus in her speech with was about protecting OTHERS.

Says a lot about people I think.

That event.

If I were setting an exam, you could get 3 points for giving 3 ways they could have reduced their risk of infection - and passing it on.

@seayork2020

How the heck does politics have any thing to do with getting the virus?

I was joking when I mentioned politics

You can't see how your politics might increase your chances of getting the virus?

OP do you think masks have tracking devices in them the each country's government can track which chocolate bars we eat?

@Bellesavage

I don't believe trump does have it. The rhetoric of US campaigns is 'stamina' and 'strength' - look how Hillary got hammered for her wobble/exhaustion during the 2016 campaign. If he had it I don't think we'd be told about it. This is to make him look strong when he miraculously bounces back in two weeks.

Someone I know wondered if this is being announced in part to keep him out of saying something stupid again in public and in part so that if he looses the election next month he can claim it wasn't fair because he couldn't campaign and refuse to leave

@seayork2020

OP do you think masks have tracking devices in them the each country's government can track which chocolate bars we eat?

Do you think that the way people behave towards this disease - especially in the US is often dictated (in general) by their political thinking?

Mask wearing
Social distancing

So if your political views mean that you have been encourage to take this virus less seriously, then you won't adopt methods to reduce your chances of infection.

Pretty much anyone can catch covid-19, OP. The only real way to avoid it is total isolation, and that's not feasible for politicians.
It's also possible that either/both Merkel and Arden have had it and either weren't aware, or chose to keep their medical status private, as is their right.

Pretty much anyone can catch covid-19, OP. The only real way to avoid it is total isolation, and that's not feasible for politicians

That's true.

What role do you think personal behaviour plays in increasing your chances of infection?

Given someone is surrounded by people who don't wear masks, what are the chances of them being infected vs being surrounded by people who do wear masks?

"How the heck does politics have any thing to do with getting the virus?"

Wearing, or not wearing, a mask has become a political statement in many cases, a show of which party you support in the upcoming election.
Associating with people who do not wear a mask increases the likelihood of your catching the disease from them if they are infectious.
Therefore there is a political component in the likelihood of catching it.

You're more likely to get it from a No Mask Republican, it seems.

You're more likely to get it from a No Mask Republican, it seems

And now there seems to be more mask wearing at the White House
For some reason

Colour me unsurprised.

I think the common denominator is they are arseholes?!? Shaking ungloved hands with covid patients, claiming covid isn't real and even if it is, masks do nothing...and the list goes on. Also, consider the handling of covid in countries run by these idiots compared to New Zealand and Germany (and I don't just mean current covid levels, I mean the actual handling of the situation; the communication, the government transparency to name just a few things).

Basically, trump and johnson and bolonsaro have not taken the situation seriously and it is evident.

Trump is in hospital, so I see no reason not to believe that he had Covid. The only surprising thing is that he didn't catch it before, considering his blasé attitude about mask wearing and social distancing.

He'll survive, because he's getting the very best treatment, unlike too many of he 204k Americans who have died.

It's ironic, too, as he only recently said that the disease was under control.

I agree that Trump, Bolsonaro and Johnson have made many of the same mistakes, which mean that it isn't surprising that they caught the virus. (Especially Johnson, with shaking hands with Covid patients.)

In mid March Jacinda Ardern said she intended to keep shaking hands. NZ was actually quite late to implement a shut down because she wanted the commemorations surrounding the anniversary of the Christchurch massacre to go ahead (which is completely understandable in many ways)

This is a picture of her from a couple of weeks ago when Auckland (where she lives) was at level 2.5.

Clearly she isn’t wearing a mask or social distancing so is it possible that your view of her (indeed all leaders) is a shaped by the coverage you see of her (or them) in the media and that this isn’t necessarily a completely accurate reflection of her (Or them) but reflects at least in part the narrative the media decides to tell you?

@PantryStaples
AFAIK there's no covid in NZ, that's why Jacinda isn't taking precautions.

Also, your evidence is a photo by a random person on SM?

Is the date of the picture from an unimpeachable source, or does it perhaps originate with someone of a different political persuasion on social media? Like for example an MP of a different party?

I so resent your post tbh OP. theres an implication there that people who catch the virus are somehow feckless and boorish and not just you know, human.

Sensitive one for me as DP and I both tested positive last weekend (both work with covid positive patients) .
I dont think you'll be so smug when your head feels like it's going to burst and you have stabbing pains in your chest and back all fucking day

"On March 7, Nicola Zingaretti, the leader of the Democratic Party [centre left] in Italy, became the first major European politician to announce a diagnosis."

I had Covid myself, I've had long Covid in fact. But I do blame the politicians who have mishandled the virus, so the point really is that it is partly their own fault if they also catch it themselves.

Clearly she isn’t wearing a mask or social distancing so is it possible that your view of her (indeed all leaders) is a shaped by the coverage you see of her (or them) in the media and that this isn’t necessarily a completely accurate reflection of her (Or them) but reflects at least in part the narrative the media decides to tell you

It's possible

Or it might be that the risk level in outside places is very low in Auckland now so people can start adopting different techniques as this risk level drops?

I so resent your post tbh OP. theres an implication there that people who catch the virus are somehow feckless and boorish and not just you know, human

Or maybe there's a suggestion that if you adopt behaviours that are riskier and you mix with people that have similar riskier behaviours, you stand a better chance of being infected.

Anyone can get infected. But there are ways of increasing your chances of getting infected.

I don't smoke. I could get lung cancer. Because of mixing with smokers for example. Or second hand smoke. But if I were to smoke regularly, to hang out with smokers and then I got lung cancer, I would look at my personal behaviour and wondered if that might have increased my chances of getting lung cancer.