Possibly, but let's not fall into the trap of thinking we're at the front of the pack on antibody testing. We may or may not be. Evidence from the US and Germany would raise questions. 

The FDA have approved an antibody test in the USA:

FDA approves first antibody test in the US to detect the coronavirus

The Germans want to be running 100,000 antibody tests per day from mid-April

Germans' Immunity to Covid-19

Not sure if the following information is known to people or not but thought i would put a link to some of the details of the Nightingale hospital.

https://www.hsj.co.uk/news/exclusive-details-of-nightingales-clinical-model-revealed/7027299.article

.@SkyNews data via @IslaGlaister
- Deaths up 636 (27%) to 2,977
- 3 days for death rate to double (just)

NHS Eng 1st breakdown of date of death/age
- Shows 1st COVID19 death was Feb not March
- March 29 highest one day total (401 deaths)
- Over 60s account for 90% of deaths pic.twitter.com/Jh7kXpfyjd

— Beth Rigby (@BethRigby) April 3, 2020

Whatever. However, I am not the one making disgusting and shameful comments related to Himmler - that was an utterly shameful and disgraceful and contemptible post by Justin.

Anyhow, time to move on.

Isn't that just bureaucracy and red tape? After all, it may hold up the flow of taxpayers cash to the Cayman Islands.

The UK is heading for a 15pc contraction in GDP in the second quarter of the year - a crash that would dwarf that experienced in this country during the Great Depression and a slump which would be unprecedented, according to Capital Economics.

This is likely to be reflected across all the major European economies and the figures from the US are likely to be worse.

And yet not a word of regret for all this from China.

Thsts the trouble with experts. Some are wrong and some are correct.

Indeed, Justin. The silence from the Chinese authorities since this whole sorry saga began has been deafening.

Sadly she won`t be the last. The frontline nhs staff must be horribly exposed to the virus and literally getting bombarded with billions of viruses on a daily basis especially without the proper ppe. They don`t stand much chance and its comparible with troops being sent over the top on the somme in the first world war. The nhs is in danger of collapse due to staff sickness and deaths more than anything else. This antibody test is needed and be accurate NOW!!!

What staggers and upsets me is how many front-line NHS staff appear to be wearing surgical masks rather than FFP3s. It's the modern day equivalent of soldiers in WW1 having to urinate into their socks to make a "gas mask". 

Yes they should be made to cough up. *sorry.

If there is a blame game to be had, they are the ones the focus should be on. They should be held to account.

The interesting part to the economic part of this, is China productivity wise is now flying. We will be going to the debt markets to secure financing for all of this as well as QE. I wonder who will be purchasing all of that debt. I suspect China will be very close to the head of the queue. They already own around 20% of US debt and by purchasing more they can almost hold a country to ransom.

they should have been boycotted over the treatment of their Muslim population in any case. It’s time the place had a proper revolution.

I think there was a pundit in The Times who said the west should collectively default on debt if the Chinese won't agree to mark it down.

Indeed there was - I posted a link to the article last week. If I can find it again, I shall repost below.

Here it is:

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/china-should-write-off-debts-to-cover-the-cost-of-covid-19-vmzh7hprp

"Despite Beijing’s determined efforts, a comprehensive timeline has now emerged of the response of the authorities in Hubei province and in Beijing to the spread of the Covid-19 virus, proving that the Chinese authorities engaged in a cover-up in the critical early days. This makes them morally responsible for the global consequences of the pandemic in at least some key ways.

...

But Chinese ownership of sovereign debt is even more widespread than the virus. Italy owes China money, Spain does, everyone does. We should engage with Beijing to persuade them to waive the debts equivalent to the cost incurred by state budgets to handle the epidemic.

And if Beijing fails to heed this call, then it should be for the international community to come together and proclaim a proportional default on debts to China to pay for the fallout from Covid-19. By this agreement, perhaps underwritten by the IMF and the World Bank, we would proclaim than any such default would not hamper a country’s ability to seek credit on the open markets of the West.

Beijing has a moral obligation to forgive these debts. If it fails to do so, the rest of the world has a moral right to default. We may not have the capacity to force this on to China. But we do have the capacity, and the duty, to facilitate a co-ordinated default if it does not comply.

Dr Azeem Ibrahim is a director at the Center for Global Policy, Washington DC"

Well it seems they might be sitting on a lot of stock for a while as the rest of the world is too poor to purchase it!

What we should not do in business is turn the taps off completely. That will create many extra years of hardship for us. During the financial crisis the construction industry came to a complete halt. When things improved we could not build any new homes as brick making factories had closed down. We had to import bricks from overseas. It prolonged the subdued economy for much longer than it should. Some would argue it never really recovered.

All I am saying is, we need to hit the ground running when things start to improve.

Hancock talks about his virus ordeal. Worth watching even if you can't stand the bloke.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-52146227?ns_mchannel=social&ns_source=twitter&ns_campaign=bbc_live&ns_linkname=5e86f9764f63c606765ce3c4%26Matt%20Hancock%20describes%20his%20virus%20ordeal%262020-04-03T09%3A25%3A53.104Z&ns_fee=0&pinned_post_locator=urn:asset:9e7c8a9f-005d-475c-b122-adf3ddd234d8&pinned_post_asset_id=5e86f9764f63c606765ce3c4&pinned_post_type=share

That requires forward planning.......

In truth when you get hit with something like that it can take quite a while after to feel yourself again (perhaps the name Hancock will help him!).

Refreshing to see on that clip him not nodding his head when someone else is talking. Annoys the f out of me when I see people do that. More important things now to worry about though!

Unfortunately like most populist and nationalist regimes they will deflect blame and they will try to take advantage of the situation. They are already trying to turn this into a national triumph ('look how well we did and look how incompetent the West is'). There are reports of increased dissatisfaction among many young people in China, but I doubt it will amount to anything material. 

Sore bloody throat - I had quinsy 15 months ago and was rushed to the JR , that's a proper throat infection 

What surprises me is Hancock will be present at the opening of the Nightingale today. I think he was diagnosed 7 or 8 days ago. Surely he should still be self isolating and certainly not rocking up to a hospital? 

This is a laughable response by our own populists and neocons to cover up their responsibility. China might have tried to cover up the outbreak initially and they were incompetent too, but since late January at least the Chinese scientists had described in great detail the symptoms of the disease and the need for ventilators, ECMO and PPE. The western governments had ample warning.