This is a story being repeated over and over. So the likely infected person is being told there's no need to test, then presumably going about their business and spreading the infection.

Because the NHS either cannot cope with increasing the numbers of tests carried out, doesn't have the budget for the hundreds of thousands of tests required, or is being instructed to keep tests to an absolute minimum.

This IMO is a national scandal and heads should roll.

From the Sky News live blog (10:43)

60-70% will get the virus - Merkel

German chancellor Angela Merkel has been speaking and says experts believe 60-70% of the population will be infected. But she says countries in Europe should not isolate each other.

https://news.sky.com/story/coronavirus-live-first-death-in-belgium-as-f1-team-members-in-isolation-11955081 

China has now adopted the Moldova policy - all foreign arrivals (including Chinese citizens) must self isolate for 14 days.

I wonder whether Johnson will make a statement first and Hancock will be available for Parliamentary questions.

I would and expect the PM to be leading from the front on this issue as is of national concern. But I quite agree, I think something is afoot.

You've already posted this news item?

"German Chancellor Angela Merkel has warned that according to experts, 60-70% of the German population could become infected with the coronavirus."

Which is more or less the same 'worst case' assumption given by the CMO here, which was "up to 80%". It's an absolute worst case scenario based on epidemiological modelling of a novel virus for which there is no herd immunity.

Good point, but as you know (and keep saying) it's all about the timing. Closing schools early when the number of infections is still very low could be better than closing them during a spike of infections.

Who really knows anyway.

I find that rather ironic, given China set this thing in motion three months ago and pretended nothing was happening for the next month.

Where is that reported?

BBC's health correspondent yesterday mentioned likely number of infected people in the UK is around 10 times the figures being published given the selective nature of testing. It may well be more than that if the cohort who make it through to testing have to a) be symptomatic, and b) had either close contact with another confirmed case or travelled recently from a known hot-spot.

Some government spokesperson earlier on said that from today there is now capacity for 20,000 tests per day. They've only tested about 27,000 in this whole outbreak so far. Let's see that extra capacity being used.

So despite friendly requests from Xioni & GtW to not use headlines from sites that misrepresent what Merkel has said, you willfully ignore them.

You are such a cretin.

Are you doing this on purpose or are you stupid? All german newspapers have Merkel saying that up to 60-70% of Germans could be infected. This is the worst case scenario that modelling studies show with minimal intervention. It is very different from saying 60-70% of Germans will be infected.

There was an interview on the radio this morning with someone who said, in effect, people are selfish and act in what they think are their own interests with little regard for others and society in general.  Whatever the government announces the test will be how many comply.

The rush to leave northern Italy when the quarantine was extended is a perfect example of self-interest and disregard for others, with people carrying the infection with them as they fled the area.

It is all about timing because if a lot of people think it's a big fuss over nothing then the measures will not be as effective. I've had a number of conversations like that in the last week or so, along the lines of "it's just another virus" and "what's all the fuss about?".  When I've mentioned that your elderly grandparents have a one in seven chance of being killed by it you see a moment of realisation dawning.

https://twitter.com/bethrigby/status/1237700169719779331?s=21

That's pretty bad. I started thinking that perhaps I should start 'social distancing' now, basically stay at home much more.

I am entering Quantum mode now, I need urgent help. 

It's called 'link-itus' and he has a rather severe form, unfortunately....

😉

I'll be f***ing livid if they close all schools. My eldest is sitting her GCSE's in May/June and I don't want anything to disrupt her chances. These results will stay with her for life.

To be fair, that's a direct copy from the Sky News website, so the blame lies with them.

To be fair to him, sky news also mis-reports the quote, but still.

I don't think they'll do this, at least not yet.

Yes, but several of us have flagged the word 'could' as absolutely key to getting the message right.

You and I could win the lottery this week.....

They are already drawing up contingency plans to deal with the implications. I think you can relax; either they'll be delayed or an allowance will be made if a student has been taken ill in the run up to, or during, the exams.  When it's nationwide I think it's less of a concern in terms of fairness and impact - but I fully understand the worry.

Here's the Guardian's take on it:

"Angela Merkel has said 60-70% of Germany’s population will be infected with Covid-19, unless measures can be found to slow down the spread and develop vaccines in the time won."

...

“We know that we are dealing with a pandemic virus that will infect 60-70% of people”, said Lothar Wieler, head of Robert Koch Institute (RKI), Germany’s federal agency for disease prevention, at the same press conference.

They can't delay them - there's things like proms organised and holidays booked.

We've got a long weekend in Spain in early July, when a villa in France booked (along with ferry - we're taking the bloody dog!!) late July into August.

I'd be happy to apologise if that's the case, but here is the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung headline: "Especially the elderly and those with previous illnesses need to be protected against the coronavirus, says the Chancellor. The point now is to save time. 60 to 70 percent of the population could become infected. " 

And the Süddeutsche Zeitung headline: "Up to 70 percent could be infected"

Sounds about right for the Daily Fail

If you want to know how low a journalist can go, @DailyMailUK on my doorstep in the middle of my trying to deal with everything else. He opened the gate, knocked on the door, rang the bell. I hope he washes his hands. #Coronavirus

— Nadine Dorries 🇬🇧 (@NadineDorries) March 11, 2020