This should be an easy concept to understand, but these days we are not doing well with rationality: The less strict the lockdown, the longer it will last.

Like many, I found it incredibly moving; sent a shiver down my spine.

There will be many, perhaps dozens, of frontline NHS staff who lose their lives trying to save the lives of others during this pandemic. Once all this has settled down in the months to come, I hope there's a rekindling of support for the NHS and its staff, and a realisation that they need to be adequately funded, properly staffed, and supplied with the right level of equipment and other items - and that taxation must pay for it.

West Midlands emerges as a hotspot for coronavirus deaths

"The West Midlands has seen another sharp rise in the number of coronavirus-related deaths after emerging as a hotspot for transmissions of the virus earlier this week. Of the 115 new deaths reported across the UK in the latest update, 40 were recorded in the West Midlands. That took the total number of deaths across the Midlands to 112.

Eighteen people who died were being treated by the Royal Wolverhampton NHS trust, which has recorded the highest death toll from the virus for any trust in the UK for the second time. There have been 17 deaths in Sandwell and West Birmingham hospitals NHS trust, 16 in University Hospitals Birmingham NHS foundation trust and 11 in the Dudley Group NHS foundation trust so far.

Earlier this week the government said it was investigating the reasons behind a hotspot emerging in the region. Anecdotal evidence suggested people’s religious convictions and fears of social isolation could be leading to a sharp rise in the number of coronavirus transmissions in the area.

In an interview with the Guardian, the Birmingham MP Khalid Mahmood said older Muslim and Sikh people in the area were struggling to adhere to government guidelines about physical distancing because of their religious convictions. Despite most religious services being cancelled, some older people were allegedly continuing to attend mosques and gurdwaras to pray, Mahmood said. Another theory suggested panic buying in supermarkets, with people queueing next to each other for hours to pay for their goods, could be contributing to the large cluster."

https://amp.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/26/west-midlands-emerges-as-a-hotspot-for-coronavirus-deaths

It's an article from a self-confessed lobby group referencing documents in Mandarin which I can't read.

If you can provide translations of the documents I might take more notice.

I'd be more interested in what Chinese scientists are saying. If they were advocating injecting bear bile I might take you seriously.

Extended/large families living together could also be a factor.

Italy revised their 24h number of deaths to 712 (not 662).

UK Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick is pushed again on the timing - how long will all these measures last?

He says the government will review things at Easter but adds: "No-one is pretending this is going to be over by [then].

"What we do think is if each and every one of us does what we are asked... there is reason to believe within [12 weeks] we could see the beginnings of the turn of the tide, but it is on all of us."

The Lancet's Richard Horton says the public must be prepared for the "really tough challenge" of 12 weeks with these conditions.

"But if we don't suppress it, it is going to go on even longer," he adds. "We have to be tough now in order to get through this and return the economy to some semblance of order."

Mr Horton ends the programme with a warning the virus could return later in the year with a second, or even a third wave, adding: "We just don't know enough about this new virus."

Hm, what are they up to here?

La Stampa says China sent masks, ventilators; Russia sent irrelevant equipment used for bacteriological and chemical outbreaks. “Belief that Russia ...not helping us only for great goodness of its people... now beginning to circulate in broad sectors, military and political"

— Oliver Carroll (@olliecarroll) March 26, 2020

Key thing there is they now think the virus is "slightly" more transmissible. Not good news as lethality estimates are not changed.

Agreed. Makes lockdown measures even more crucial.

Germany is now testing 500,000 per week. They've been able to ramp up. We're told getting up to 70,000 per week is a major challenge because the global market is saturated.

https://www.thelocal.de/20200326/germany-ramps-up-coronavirus-tests-to-500000-a-week

Apparently we will be doing 10K tests a day from early next week according to a report o saw on the BBC earlier.

We keep being told this is happening, or this is close and in reality it doesn’t seem to happen

Germany has gone from 250,000 tests per week to 500,000 tests per week in no time at all. Our government really shouldn't be getting away with not explaining the problems here.

They are quite different cities, more people live in flats in NYC. 

Plus, Trump. 

I am perplexed and disappointed by your failure to understand my comments.

I am being completely rational: the virus originated in Wuhan; the authorities lost absolutely critical time before recognising the problem. In that wasted time the virus escaped to many other countries.

Your stance is equivalent to someone sinking a ship and then wanting credit for rescuing a few survivors whilst simultaneously claiming it wasn't their fault in the first place.

We should just listen to the likes of Maunder who says that all governments are lying, so why bother. 

It's you who misunderstands. I don't care if the virus started in Wuhan or even if the Chinese invented it. All I care is about trying to find the best way to help our people. Of course China has a lot to answer, but this shouldn't be relevant in trying to stop a public health crisis here.

Eh? That's just weird.  I care about trying to find the best way to help our people. I'm sure everyone cares about that.

But what has that got to do with attributing responsibility for this pandemic to where it belongs?

I think you're thinking is muddled; not something I expected of you.

I think part of it is for the same reasons cities like Madrid and Milan have problems - living density. Cities with high living density have faster spread of the virus. People live in apartment blocks in London of course, but we also have suburbia where everyone has their own front door and bit of garden or yard space - I am certain it makes a difference.