Traffic is not the problem - you cannot catch the virus sitting in your car. The problem is where people end up - most are heading for work and hopefully, employers have health and safety measures in place.

We cannot shutdown the entire economy for 12 months - getting vulnerable groups to self isolate is probably the right strategy. I say probably, since nobody knows - the whole of Europe is in a massive experiment, since we have not experienced anything like this in modern times (1918 was different - people just fell ill and many died from Spanish flu). The point is this, in a modern democracy, it is politically impossible to let nature take its course, hence the various lock-downs - those cannot be sustained indefinitely, so only time will tell when measures are relaxed.

 

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I find that letter quite extrordinary, Retron, and wonder how I would have taken it were I still teaching. It this what Govt have told them to say? Roger

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The UK is doing things differently - they are still only testing hospitalised patients and then NHS staff (which is important). This is deliberate policy to keep the reported numbers down.

My son-in-law is a local GP as you know - his mother who lives in Bridgenorth came down with COVID-19 (she is 70 years old) - was her own fault - she carried on as normal despite her own son telling her not to and it appears she picked up the virus from the gym. Anyhow, the point is this - she is self isolating at home, she is poorly and has all the symptoms, but does not require hospitalisation and despite her own son being a GP, she has not been tested - naturally, my son-in-law cannot visit himself, since he needs to avoid catching the virus if at all possible, given his job.

So, if the mother of a GP has it and is not tested because she is not sick enough to go to hospital, that tells you all you need to know.

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London's Victoria park has announced it's shutting its playgrounds, skate parks and cafes after "seeing more visitors than expected" over the weekend.

From the Guardian:

Among those who have died from coronavirus in the UK is a primary school teacher who was admitted to hospital with symptoms.

Wendy Jacobs, the headteacher of Roose Community Primary School was being cared for at Furness General Hospital, according to local reports.

The school’s board of governors said in a statement: “This is devastating news for our school and nursery community and all our thoughts and sympathies are with her family.”

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This is exactly why schools should have been closed earlier.

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Nearly 40% of Americans hospitalised by COVID-19 are aged between 20 and 54.

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  Exactly.  But as Darren’s letter shows, what they don’t know is how many staff ARE ABLE to go into work and how many pupils will turn up!  If a lot of staff have to self isolate, there could be a serious amount of pupils for each staff member to manage. 

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I disagree,the problem is govt policy. The whole thing is becoming a farce with confusing messaging, half measures and dislocated and poorly thought policies.

 

A Dr on the BBC breakfast programme has just said that patients are lying just to get into to see a doctor ? WTF - She has said that the PM needs much stronger measures 

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This is very disturbing. If the virus has its worst effects on known vulnerable groups, then you can to a large extent isolate those most at risk. However, if younger and generally fit people are at risk, that is a complete game changer. Example from the Telegraph:

"A staff nurse in a Walsall hospital is fighting for her life after contracting coronavirus.

Mother of three Areema Nasreen, who has no underlying health issues, is critically ill in the intensive care unit (ICU) at Walsall Manor, the hospital in which she has worked for the last 16 years.

Areema first developed symptoms ten days ago, suffering body aches followed by a soaring temperature and cough. Two days ago tests revealed she was positive for the severe respiratory illness.

Her sister, Kazeema, said the family are “heartbroken” but she praised the staff at Walsall Manor Hospital who have gone “above and beyond '' in their care, according to BirminghamLive.

Areema, 36 qualified as a staff nurse in January last year having started at the Walsall Manor Hospital as a housekeeper.

..."

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No, it's not - at least if you understand stats!

As I keep saying, a small percentage of a large population is the same as a larger percentage of a smaller one. And older people tend not to mix as much as younger people.

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Its a bit of both really UK public ( not all ) are ignorant to this  , my mates daughter ( 25 ) was told to self isolate for 14 days  , she has done 10 but yesterday walked through town to see her Mother ( who also thought that was ok ) 

BONKERS!

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Fair enough, but the Brisih plebs behaving like hedonistic cretins also plays a role. And frankly I refuse to believe the british population has the collective IQ of a necrotic left toenail, more likely they are simply unwilling to make the most meagre of self sacrifices. Perhaps it is because they have no concept of individual responsibility, it's far easier to just blame 'the other' whether that be Tories, austerity or whatever. There is absolutely no excuse to rush to the pub for a last minute booze up or get caught in traffic jams on the way to skegness. Sociopathic reprobates who are incapable of thinking about anything except their own endorphine highs.

 

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The policy is clear, whether it is the best policy or not is the issue. The Government is protecting the most vulnerable, but does not want a complete shutdown of the economy which in the long term would be more destructive than the virus itself. They are still going for a modified herd immunity strategy - but as discussed above, if younger people fall seriously ill and require hospitalisation, as the US experience appears to show, the strategy cannot possibly work.

P.S. if that is the case, a complete lock-down becomes inevitable.

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And yes I am pissed off, I've been doing this since January. 2 months as of tommorow. Yet some british t*ssers can't even do it for a f*cking day. It's really not that hard. When did we become such degenerates?

 

 

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And to be clear my Ire is not directed towards those that have no other choice to go into work or shopping e.c.t. But those that flock to buy flowers in a packed market on a saturday afternoon.

Ridiculous.

 

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Absolutely. The message is clear and people should abide by it. The question then becomes this for those still going to work - can their workplaces implement the necessary hygiene and social distancing measures? Some of us are fortunate enough to be able to work from home, but many cannot. One of my nephews is a car mechanic and he is still going to work - but he assures me they have social distancing operating at the garage.

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I don't believe that is the case, it's a just a matter of time before we get European style lockdowns. The government is playing catch up and things will get much messier. Just to give a few examples:

• restaurants closed but not those in hotels (they were rammed yesterday) 


• the half closed schools


• advise/nudge people instead of ordering them

We'll see the govt panic when we start getting hundreds of deaths daily.

I agree, though I hope it doesn't come to those disastrous sort of stats before the government react. Not sure what to expect with today's figures - a long time to go before we get those - but it wouldn't surprise me to see a sharp rise in deaths, sadly. It seems to be the most important stat to pay attention to given our testing strategy (if you can call it a strategy).

Finding the whole thing pretty darned depressing. Here on the Cardigan Bay coast, I run a small business giving sea-fishing guiding/tuition. It doesn't make a fortune but it's still an important line of work. I have obviously had to suspend it until further notice, but then I see people descending on the area in their hundreds/thousands, jostling shoulder-to-shoulder along Snowdonia's footpaths. This is great weather and meanwhile I'm stuck at home on my tod, because it seems the right thing to do, even though I'm well, with just the occasional quick shop-visit when I know it will be quiet. If everyone were to do that, we'd be starting to win the battle, but noooo....

Difficult to second guess the strategy - they appear to be waiting for the antibody test to be available on a mass scale - they want to know who has had it, rather than simply who has got it.

Testing is being reserved for hospitalised patients and key workers at the moment - probably the right thing to do now that contact tracing is all but pointless.

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At the moment we are still at this stage

Just seen pictures of the London Underground this morning.

Packed to the rafters as I expected it would be.

Sky are carrying the story now.

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I’m un-retired and working for a print company. Most isn’t essential work but some is, for example printing NHS letters.  Our company has taken some really good measures to protect us but getting the workflow right is now proving to be difficult.

They’ve split us into two shifts with half an hour between each to prevent contact between the two. They’ve spaced us all out and split areas into zones, with each being confined to their own zone and communicating between zones by phone only to avoid contact.  We have hand sanitiser to be used regularly and alcohol wipes for workspaces. 

However, I went in this morning for my planned early shift to find my job wasn’t ready.  It has yet to be die-cut by the operator on the late shift and won’t be ready until tomorrow.  It has a deadline, which I think is now academic, as it’s for a large retail chain that will probably be closed by tomorrow anyway.  Having looked at the job, I’ve told them it can be done at home, so they can deliver it to me if they want it doing and I came home.

I can understand and appreciate that companies need to make money and I have a real sense of loyalty to my employers.  It is very difficult under circumstances that change daily, to fulfil their orders and commitments etc and plan daily workload and it’s the same for schools and organisations.  It’s a situation we’ve never known before so it’s down to making on the spot decisions and acting responsibly. 

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UK: Obsess about stuff that, in the scheme of things, doesn't really matter that much like gender pronouns or unconscious racism.

Also UK: Doesn't take an international crisis seriously. Heads to f*cking skegness.

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