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.
Last call for entries to our Resene Shed of the Year 2025!
Take a look at Paul Bates' "surprisingly roomy" Tardis-inspired shed which took out our 2023 title, and if you reckon your shed is right up there, well, you could be in the running to win a robot lawnmower, Resene vouchers and a subscription to NZ Gardener. To enter, tell us why your garden shed is New Zealand's best, and send up to 5 high-quality photos to Resene Shed of the Year 2025, NZ Gardener PO Box 6341, Victoria St West, Auckland 1142. Or email to mailbox@nzgardener.co.nz. Entries close February 23, 2025.
🧩 Crack the Code: Today’s Riddle Challenge! 🤔
I’m a three-digit number; my tens digit is five more than my ones, and my hundreds digit is eight less than my tens—what am I?
Do you think you know the answer to our riddle? Don't spoil it for your neighbours! Simply 'Like' this post if you know the answer and the big reveal will be posted in the comments at 2pm.
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Head here and hover on the Following button on the top right of the page (and it will show Unfollow) and then click it. If it is giving you the option to Follow, then you've successfully unfollowed the Riddles page.
Poll: Do you have a pet at home?
Neighbourly members LOVE their pets, whether it's a smoochy cat, a trusty pup or even a feathered friend.
We'd like to know how many of you who see this post actually have a pet at home. Let us know in the poll below!
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73.7% Yes - I have a pet / multiple pets
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7.7% Not currently, but one day!
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18.6% Nope, I live in a pet-free home
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