COVID statistics
I thought it might be reassuring to share some of the data around Covid risk that we don't seem to see in the news. While it is undoubtedly a serious health concern for some at the moment, it is also important to keep the risk in perspective for the sake of personal mental health wellbeing. Despite what seems to make the news, we are very unlikely to die from this virus, or even show serious to critical symptoms. The following link is the raw data on country statistics comparing testing rates, case fatality rates, recovery rates for the 5 million reported cases so far www.worldometers.info... . You can see how NZ ranks globally on these metrics (somewhere in the middle of 215 countries for most measures). The data focuses on reported cases, which as the following link explains, overestimates frequency for the worst case outcomes. The link goes to the Oxford University Centre for Evidence Based Medicine (do your own research on how credible you think they are) which analyses the case data, and uses health records and studies on what was known about SARS/ MERS/ Swine flu to estimate what the Infection Fatality Rate (IFR) for Covid-19 is likely to be (as opposed to the less reliable Case Fatality Rate (CFR)) www.cebm.net... . Draw your own conclusions but these sites show either factual information or use data science to provide a risk profile. In summary the estimated IFR for Covid is between 0.1% to 0.41% (i.e. chance of survival 99.6-99.9% for person selected at random). While this is also age dependent, the estimated IFR for otherwise healthy 70+ age group is still likely less than 1%. Some interesting points also made about selection bias, and coding of cases and outcomes that skew the reported results.
Live Q&A: Garden maintenance with Crewcut
This Wednesday, we are having another Neighbourly Q&A session. This time with John Bracewell from Crewcut.
John Bracewell, former Black Caps coach turned Franchisee Development Manager and currently the face of Crewcut’s #Movember campaign, knows a thing or two about keeping the grass looking sharp—whether it’s on a cricket pitch or in your backyard!
As a seasoned Crewcut franchisee, John is excited to answer your lawn and gardening questions. After years of perfecting the greens on the field, he's ready to share tips on how to knock your garden out of the park. Let's just say he’s as passionate about lush lawns as he is about a good game of cricket!
John is happy to answer questions about lawn mowing, tree/hedge trimming, tidying your garden, ride on mowing, you name it! He'll be online on Wednesday, 27th of November to answer them all.
Share your question below now ⬇️
Poll: Should all neighbours have to contribute to improvements?
An Auckland court has ruled a woman doesn’t have to contribute towards the cost of fixing a driveway she shares with 10 neighbours.
When thinking about fences, driveways or tree felling, for example, do you think all neighbours should have to pay if the improvements directly benefit them?
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82.7% Yes
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14.8% No
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2.5% Other - I'll share below
What's your favourite recipe for courgettes?
Kia ora neighbours. If you've got a family recipe for courgettes, we'd love to see it and maybe publish it in our magazine. Send your recipe to mailbox@nzgardener.co.nz, and if we use it in the mag, you will receive a free copy of our January 2025 issue.
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