Ah, the Basil Fawlty method. I've seen it in more than one pub over the years too...

The snag, I find, is that the cheese goes all funny - it sorts of dries out and turns translucent. Offputting!

Now that the prospect of this lasting months and months is firmly on the table (it was before, of course, albeit not publicised as such), I'd imagine there'll be another wave of hoarders, and then - hopefully - supplies can get back to some semblance of normality.

The rationing efforts by the supermarkets seem to have helped enormously, albeit some of the quotas could do with looking at (it seems daft, for example, that Tesco allows you either 3 individual cans of soft drink, or 3 crates of 24 of the same soft drink!)

After  Every time you wash your hands apply a small amount of Petroleum Jelly. Probably the best preventative for chaps.

Just checked the German Health Ministry website.

https://www.bundesgesundheitsministerium.de/en/press/2020/coronavirus.html

As expected it's very clear about the criteria for testing and who pays.

Who decides whether a test for SARS-CoV-2 will be conducted?

Currently, hospitals and family physicians decide who will be tested. They base their decision on the recommendations of the Robert Koch Institute. According to these recommendations, symptoms such as fever, a sore throat and respiratory complaints, on their own, are not sufficient. The person must additionally have had contact with an infected person, or have spent time in a region in which the virus was proven to exist over large areas.

Testing should be done only if disease symptoms are present. If you are healthy, a test will not be able to tell you whether or not you will fall ill in the coming days. At the same time, this puts an unnecessary strain on our testing capacities.

Does the health insurance pay for the SARS-CoV-2 test?

By and large, health insurance funds have been covering the cost of coronavirus testing since 28 February 2020. The prerequisite is that the attending physician decides whether the patient should be tested.

Wondering where the stuff some of the hoarders have ends up? Parties, apparently!

(There's a time and a place for building up supplies of stuff, especially if you're vulnerable, but a party surely isn't it...)

I'm a big fan of Neutrogena. I find it works like magic. (And no - I have no connection with the company.)

This avoids Four's point about what we are trying to achieve.

The Deputy Chief Medical Officer hinted today that the lockdown might continue for six months.

What will the criteria be for a return to normal? Given that infection rates are very low in my part of the country, very few people in my area will have developed immunity.

I also read today that some midwives are being redeployed - a quite deplorable decision.

Four's point misses the key reason that I've mentioned before: time. If most get it now, more die. If most get it over the next 6 months, more live, as treatments and knowledge improve.

I suspect there are many businesses in coastal towns who rely on the period June-Sept to make their money and hope some movement is allowed then, but it is unlikely to happen. Saying that, we already hear there is some adapting of businesses into a different sector that is deemed essential if they can. Adapt is going to be a well used word, we are all going to have to.

But as I have written on a couple of occasions, there are low tech alternatives for isolating the RNA. We should be using them.

I know Spanish flu was actually traced back to a pig farm in Kansas, USA

After 6 months of this many of the population will be obese alcoholics and type 2 diabetics with mental illness caused by cabin fever.  They will collapse the NHS in a different way

Not necessarily true - the truth is that they are still unsure of its origins:

https://www.history.com/news/why-was-it-called-the-spanish-flu

Except that it did not originate in Spain.

Whereas it is 100% that COVID-19 originated in China and that there is a connection to the "wet market" in Wuhan.

I have noticed my beer, wine and whisky intake has increased markedly in the last couple of weeks.

Don’t forget the Black Death had it’s origins in China and spread west through the 13th century.

The truth may well never be known. Different medical historians say it could be a UK army camp in France, a pig farm in Kansas or China with chinese labourers working for the army

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_flu#United_Kingdom

Pray tell MM, what exactly is a "wet market?" this has been bugging me today.

No, but Bozo doesn't do weekends at the best of times

No news of Charlie either. I assume they will be given the experimental chloroquine treatment if needed

Strangely mine has fallen! I don't like drinking at home alone!

And since I have been walking a lot, and getting shopping for the old fart next door,  I have lost weight in the last week. Silver linings I suppose

"Wet markets are a series of stalls that sell fresh vegetables and fruits, live fish, chickens and other meats.

They are named after the melting of ice used to preserve goods and the washing of floors to clean blood and entrails."

But the Pangolins got their revenge in the end

Made in China.

Dark days, so a tiny glimmer of light #Venus will seem brighter tonight - less pollution. #Venus was the incarnation of eastern goddesses #Inanna #Ishtar and...err #Venus Her star sign is on many loos. 'Wanders' so was thought to be both a morning and eve star. Look up if poss x

— Bettany Hughes (@bettanyhughes) March 29, 2020

Ahh, that explains things. 

These places need to be SHUT permanently.

Yuck!

I echo Whether Idle's comment above about closing these places once and for all.